Summary: Taylor Simmons is screwed. Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.
Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they're in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it's better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard. My Opinion: Warning--I am trash for the fake boyfriend trope. So, I might be a little biased for this book. But I loved it. It was adorable and hilarious. The dialogue was witty and fresh. The main character has an obsession with mushrooms (which I myself cannot relate to, as I hate mushrooms, but it was cute anyway). And, as mentioned before, I love the fake boyfriend trope. It kills me. The only problem that I have with this book is a few chapters in the beginning. The book begins with the main character, Taylor, waking up in a bed with a notorious playboy (and they didn't have sex, just fell asleep). And she is labeled as a slut. People make fun of her, call her a whore and a slut, laugh at her behind her back. Her "reputation" is ruined. Meanwhile, no one says anything about Mr. Playboy. That makes me really freaking mad. Why should a girl be considered slutty for sleeping around while a boy is not? Why should a girl be ruined for having sex and a boy is simply patted on the back, handed a condom, and sent on his way? It's ridiculous. To quote Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club, "If say you haven't, you're a prude. If you say you have, you're a slut. It's a trap." It makes me really angry, and I guess I understand why the author did it because otherwise they didn't need to get together, but still. Ridiculous. I was so angry as I was reading it. Urgh. Characters: Taylor Simmons--extreme good girl, straight-A student, Columbia bound (she hopes), wants to be a lawyer, extremely driven. I really liked Taylor. There were some moments when I wanted to strangle her (like all good protagonists), but she was a great character. I loved how snarky she was, and I was also able to connect with her in some ways. Taylor was a great character, although I'm still upset about the whole "slut" thing that she bought into. Come on, Taylor, you're better than that. Evan McKinley--bad boy surfer. He was very... open. It was interesting to read. He was fun. I always like when I get to read a book from both love interests' perspectives because I get to see how they fall in love with each other. And I liked how Evan stood up for Taylor, even when he barely knew her. I also like how he changed for her, rather than she having to change for him. (Although, really, all he did was apply himself and not sleep with every girl he saw. It wasn't that big of a change.) Rating: 4 stars (I'm sorry, but the whole slut thing just made me too mad.) Summary: Salem's Vengeance, Salem's Fury, and Salem's Legacy. These books are set nineteen years after the Salem Witch Trials. (I don't want to write each of these summaries so feel free to look them up.)
My Opinion: These books are very interesting. They taught me a lot about the Salem Witch Trials and gave an interesting take on why they occurred. The first book follows Sarah Kelly, who has a surprising connection to the Salem Witch Trials. The second and third books, however, follow Sarah's younger sister, Rebecca. Rebecca is very different from Sarah. Where Sarah is proper and delicate, Rebecca is wild and ready to fight. Frankly, this is the reason why I wasn't all for this book. I didn't like how Sarah narrated one book while Rebecca narrated the next two. I would have preferred one person for all of the books, or a different person for each book. While I understand why the author did it, I didn't like it. Don't get me wrong: I liked the books. I just would have liked consistency better. Another thing about this book is that there were a lot of typos. A lot. There was half of a paragraph that wasn't even italicized when it was supposed to be. There were misspelled names every once in a while, and some missed punctuation marks. The author should have just gotten a better editor. Characters: Sarah Kelly--I liked her. She cared very much about her family, and at the end of the book, she made a big sacrifice that affected her for the rest of her life. Rebecca Kelly--I didn't like her as much. She was raised by Native Americans and completely embraced it. I liked Rebecca in the fact that she was independent and did what needed to be done. She was strong and loved her family and fought for herself. We need characters like that. However, she was a little too driven by revenge, and, quite frankly, judgmental. I understand that most teenagers like that, but I didn't like her attitude. Bishop--he was Irish and old and funny and there for a family in their time of need. I love the song that he made up: it added for some much needed levity. He was one of those fun characters, but he was more than just there for a laugh. He was probably my favorite character in the series in all honesty. Rating: Three-point-six stars Summary: Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.
My Opinion: I love Victoria Schwab's writing. The Archived, A Gathering of Shadows, and Vicious are a few of the books that I've read and absolutely loved. This book, however, has to be my favorite young adult book of hers. I love books that take a different approach to writing, and this book absolutely takes the cake. The book starts off with Kate setting a chapel on fire at her boarding school. I automatically loved her, and it was a great beginning for a story. Then we meet August and get a slight glimpse into his backstory, which draws the reader in even more. The story alternates between Kate's and August's perspective, both in third-person. I never felt bored while reading this book. There was continuous action or dialogue or descriptions. I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading. Which I did. In the perspective of a future-editor, there were quite a few mistakes. Somewhat frequent typos and a few punctuation errors, but I probably only noticed them because I'm picky. All in all, this book was amazing and I'd recommend it to anyone. Particularly someone who is into fantasy/violent books. Characters: Kate Harker--probably my favorite female character ever. She is clever and ambitious, and she knows what she wants and how to get it. She can be ruthless, but she still has a conscious. All she really wants is for her father to view her as his daughter, and she will stop at nothing to get her way. When she and August are running for their lives, she doesn't let August hide her away. She fights. Hard. With her cigarette lighter/pocket knife. To sum it up: Kate Harker is amazing. August Flynn--I love him. I think what I love most about him, besides the fact that he's a monster (Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal, sing you a song and steal your soul), is that he plays the violin. Granted, he has to play the violin in order to take souls so he can survive, but he still plays the violin. And it's more than just playing the violin, he loves music, mostly classical. I just loved reading about his passion for music. About how he wants to be human so he can play the violin without fear of hurting someone. I just really love August Flynn and his violin. Some other minor characters (but it was mostly about Kate and Harker): Leo, August's older brother and also a Sunai, is okay. He's a little too cruel for me to really like him. Ilsa, August's oldest sister and the first Sunai, is wonderful. She's one of those characters who isn't quite altogether almost. She reminds me of Luna from Harry Potter. She's sweet, and she loves cats. Which brings me to the last character I'm going to discuss: Allegro. The cat of a deceased man. August brings Allegro back to Flynn Headquarters. He's a cute little kitty. There are other characters, too (such as Callum Harker, Kate's father, and Sloan, a Malchai monster), but these are the ones that I felt like discussing. Rating: Five stars (three-point-eight for grammar/spelling/punctuation) |
AuthorJust some reviews about some books I've recently read. Check 'em out! Archives
March 2017
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