The Symmetrical Bookworm

After reading a succession of great books, my luck finally ran out with Ransom. Damn.

So, I love the story of the Iliad. Haven't actually read the original story, tbh, but nonetheless I am quite fond of the story. So when I discovered Ransom, my hopes were high. Unfortunately I was let down. The problem with Ransom is that it's too long. It takes a rather poignant moment from the original story and tries to expand upon it, but ultimately the expanding takes away from the poignancy. And the scene between Priam and Achilles really is a sad, poignant, beautiful moment. It has been done well, such as in the retelling Song of Achilles. But in Ransom, I feel let down

The writing is beautiful at times but most of the time it falls into purple prose territory. And that is what took away most from the story. The purple prose writing detracts rather than adds.

There's a lot of focus on Priam's driver Somax. Why? He's really irrelevant and adds nothing to the story.

There's a lot of build up in the beginning but when the central moment finally arrives? I felt let down. It was underwhelming.

Tl;dr version- Ultimately I feel disappointed and I would not recommend this. I don't regret spending time reading this but it was underwhelming and there are so many other books you could be reading. If you're looking for retellings of the Iliad, I recommend Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which I loved.

I was so looking forward to this, and I am pleased to say it did not disappoint!! Yay!!

Also I apologize in advance for my enthusiastic use of caps and exclamation points.

Making six complex, interesting characters that don't sound all the same is hard work. And I think Bardugo accomplished that splendidly. Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan are all so unique and special and lovable. Gah, I love them all. The problem, or at least it's my problem, with having a large group of main characters is that I end up shipping everybody with everybody and I DONT KNOW WHO TO SHIP MORE. There's so many options. I'm liking the pairing Kaz and Inej, and it's already hinted at. But I also kind of ship Inej and Nina. Then there's Nina and Matthias. And I also very much ship Wylan and Jesper. UGH I CANT DECIDE. I think my top two favorites are Kaz and Inej and Jesper and Wylan. The former one is already practically canon, and the latter is hinted at a little bit so I'm hoping it becomes a reality. PLEASE MAKE JESPER AND WYLAN A COUPLE.

Moving on from characters, I love the action! So exciting! And plot twists abound! And that cliffhanger ending! This was just damn good fun to read. Very entertaining.

Also, I really like the world building. I was afraid things would be confusing since I have not read The Grisha Trilogy, but nope things were fine. It's so interesting and it was fun to see the correlations between cultures in the book and real life cultures.

Tl;dr version- Excellent characters, lots of exciting action, and cool world building. Originally I rated this four stars but I reread my review and I used a lot of caps. This means it deserves five stars. Five stars it is. Now, I NEED THE SEQUEL.

PS. I'm going to fangirl again about Wylan and Jesper, because it's my review and I can! PLEASE MAKE THIS A THING. Please. Their banter is so cute and they have such a chemistry and OMG I NEED THIS TO BE CANON. I cannot stress enough how much I approve of this pairing. I VERY MUCH APPROVE.

PPS. I did warn you about those caps ;)

Goddamn.

I still love the characters. I love Blue's fierceness and her uniqueness and her Blueness. And she's short. As a fellow short person I empathize. In short (no pun intended, haha), Blue is amazing. I'm finally starting to warm up to Adam. Ronan is so angry all the damn time and it's kind of scary but also you can't help but love him. Gansey is still Gansey. Noah is adorable, but I wish he was more present. There's also lots of new characters, who are awesome. Except for Colin and Piper. They're kind of funny at times, but mostly I just want to kill them.

So, A+ for characters. However. It's the third book and I still have no idea what's going on, plot wise. It's confusing. But I love the characters so much that I don't even care. So plot's not my favorite aspect, but I don't even care. Because I love everyone in this book too much.

I have a confession to make. The only reason I started reading this series is because I heard about the romance between Adam and Ronan while reading reviews for The Raven King. And there's finally a few moments in Blue Lily, Lily Blue! No kisses in this one, but I'm almost there!!

THAT ENDING!!! NO!!!!! Curse you, cliffhanger! Thank god I have The Raven King on hold at the library. I'M COMING FOR YOU, THE RAVEN KING! I'm so close!! Now I have it checked out from the library and I'm SO EXCITED.

While I really like this series, I have never given any of these books more than three stars. And I feel bad, I really do like this series. Something just feels missing though. But, for now, I'm giving Blue Lily, Lily Blue four stars. Maybe that rating will change, but for now four stars it is.

Tl;dr version- Ugh, I really like The Raven Cycle. Amazing characters, and I'm so psyched for some Ronan and Adam moments in the next book. Plot can be confusing at times, but overall I really enjoy this series. I'm excited for the next book but I'm also sad to see it end.

Meh. Enjoyable but nothing special.

I guess I have a thing for characters named Blue (the other Blue that comes to mind is Blue Sargent from the Raven Cycle). Anyways, this Blue is fucking cool. He's a thief with a heart of gold and he's sarcastic and funny and...could he be any more lovable? So, yeah. Blue is awesome. He doesn't act like an adult, tho. He acts like a teenager. Which begs the question: how old is he?

As for the other characters? Meh. Mick's likable enough but not lovable, and there's really no other characters I gave a shit about.

While I liked the action in the last 20% of the book, I thought the plot about the drug was so fucking stupid. One really needs some suspension of disbelief to get through this book

Also, I feel like there's no reason for Laura to have been in this story. She really doesn't do anything. Also, I know nothing about multiple sclerosis (the illness she had), but according to other reviews it was misrepresented. Shame shame. Do your research, authors.

Tl;dr version- It's short. It's really a novella, I had no idea it was a novella and not a novel. So, yeah. Short. Overall, it's nothing amazing but it was enjoyable enough.

Well well well. What a pleasant surprise. I bought this on my kindle on a whim, and I was afraid it would disappoint. It didn't. I'm so glad I took a chance on this one, I ended up really enjoying it!

I love both our main characters. Jesse is the sweetest, most adorable guy, but he certainly can stand up for himself! He's vulnerable and sweet, but not a pushover, and I just love him. Jesse is the kind of guy that brings out people's protective instincts. He actually really reminds me of someone I know.

And Nick is hella awesome. He's got his baggage, but it never felt melodramatic or anything. He's tough but he's got a heart of gold. He's genuinely a good guy and I really like him. Talking more about characters...I love Chi-Chi! She's a very minor character (and I'm unsure of her pronouns? But I'm going to use she/her for now), but from what I saw of her she was sassy and pretty freaking awesome. Can we get a spin-off series about her, please?

So the best thing about this is that both Jesse and Nick standing alone as characters are awesome. But when they're together...wow, the romance is beautiful and sweet and so many damn feels. I LOVE the romance so much <3

So, a few complaints. Things got a little melodramatic towards the end. Like, come on Nick, get it together. Classic case of miscommunication. But they worked it out, that's good. And Kelly's kind of a jerk, but he's pretty interesting.

Tl;dr version- Overall, Out of Bounds may have its flaws but overall it was very enjoyable and I do recommend it. Was this the author's first try at writing m/m?? If so, I'm fucking impressed! This was great!

Well. The Dream Thieves was a lot of things. It was magical. It was slow at times. It was exciting at others. And most of all, it was wholly unexpected.

I grew to like Ronan in this one. Sure, he's wild and reckless and impulsive. But deep down he's quite lovable. Blue, as always, is amazing. She's smart and sensible and a little bit sassy and a feminist (hooray!). Gansey is likable but I don't love him as much. I wish there was more Noah. And Adam? Adam is my least favorite out of the bunch. He can be such a jerk. But he has his reasons, I guess.

Now, for the adult characters: The Gray Man...he certainly is interesting. He may be a killer but he's not too bad. Calla and Persephone and Maura...all amazing, strong, funny women.

If you can't tell from the above rambling paragraphs, I love the characters of The Raven Cycle. That really is the series' strength.

Its weakness, though? Plot. The story dragged and/or was confusing at times. It took longer than usual for me to finish this. The last section made up for it, but still.

And the writing is gorgeous.

Tl;dr version- The Dream Thieves, even with its flaws, is an interesting and unexpected story. I can't wait to see where the next two books lead.

I'm glad I read this. And I recommend it. But in the long run, I'm not sure it's a book that will stick with me.

In my opinion, Kurt's chapters were the best. He spent the most time with Alice, he knew her, and thus his chapters were the most complex and...I don't know, interesting. As for the other characters, I finished unsatisfied with their stories. Elaine kind of turned things around, tried to make amends. Even if it was too little, too late she tried, and I appreciated that. But Kelsie? Josh? They never apologized for their actions. I wanted more from Kelsie. And I wanted more from Josh as well.

The main thing I didn't like is that there's so much unresolved! Kelsie's family situation/aftermath of her abortion was unresolved. The romantic feelings Josh had for Brandon (or maybe I've just been reading too much m/m and reading too much into it, lol) were only slightly hinted at. It is mentioned that Elaine and her mother both have some body image issues-what ever became of that? Did Kelsie apologize? Did Josh? The only thing resolved is Alice and Kurt's relationship. Ugh, I want more!!! MORE!!!

I would've liked to see things from Alice's perspective. We hear all this stuff about her and we don't even get to see her side of the story. But maybe that's the point? Hmm...

Here's the thing though: I hated what happened to Alice. I hated the slut-shaming, the rumors, the bullying. But I didn't feel as strong of an emotional connection as I would've liked.

Tl;dr version- it's good and I do recommend it, but I don't have strong feelings about it.

Well, this was hella creepy. I'd recommend not reading this at night. This is full of stories that will give you chills, make you uncomfortable, give you nightmares. Stories that will haunt you and scare the hell out of you.

My favorite stories were In the Forest Dark and Deep, Emmeline, Stitches, and On the I-5.

Overall a very solid anthology of horror/creepy stories that I would recommend if you're into that sort of thing.

This was a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. No insta love, and likable characters. Full review to come! 

Wow, this is actually the first f/f romance I've ever read. I've read a fair amount of of m/m, but f/f is a first for me. And I'm glad I took a chance and tried something different.

Garnet's cool. She's relatable and I just really like her. At first I thought Isabella was too perfect. But as we get to know her, her flaws and vulnerabilities and struggles are revealed. Made her more realistic and I appreciate it.

Obviously I like the romance. It's very sweet and it's built on friendship and I just really enjoy it.

I like the setting (1920s Minnesota)! It felt authentic and true to the time period, although I admit I'm not an expert. But it worked for me

Tl;dr version- Well, I quite enjoyed this. It's probably not a book that will be a treasured favorite or anything, but it was good and I don't regret reading it.

Well, shit just got real.

Lots of games, twists, intrigue. Lots of scheming, of sneaking around. Not really a lot of fighting action, but I was very interested nonetheless.

I find the writing to be gorgeous. I can't even explain, I just adore it.

Kestrel is so fucking awesome. She's clever, ruthless, strong, but she also has her weaknesses and flaws. I also grew to like Arin more in this one.

I like the romance. I don't love it, but I don't disapprove of it.

Tl;dr version- Yeah, I like this one. A good sequel to Winner's Curse

What do you get when you mix psychics, some Welsh mythology, one awesome girl, 4 awesome guys, magic, action, friendship, and hints of romance? You get The Raven Boys.

I don't even know what I can say about this that hasn't been said already, because I feel like everyone has already read and reviewed this. But nonetheless, I shall try.

Firstly, a caveat. The plot can be confusing as hell, that's for sure. Despite that, there's enough action and magic and intrigue to keep the story interesting.

This book's main strength is its characters. I really like Blue, she's smart and a little sassy and strange and just so cool. I also like her family full of psychic women, their powers/skills are really interesting, plus girl power! Calla is hella cool and Persephone is kind of adorable..? Adam's alright, but can be a little annoying. Ronan's so...how do I explain this? You know those characters whom you should dislike but just can't because their anger is because of pain and you just feel sorry for them? Ronan is that character. Noah is just adorable. And you know who Gansey reminds me of? Tamaki Suoh. He's rich and can be a little unaware of how privileged he is, but he also is a kind soul and cares very deeply for his friends. So, a little irritating but otherwise lovable.

That was a long rambling paragraph, but what I'm trying to say is that this book has really interesting characters and that is the main strength of Raven Boys.

Also, I like the writing. :)

Tl;dr version- overall this was enjoyable and I recommend it. Fucking awesome characters and a cool if sometimes confusing plot. Only three stars though, in case the sequels are better. 

Well, this was disappointing. I wanted to love this, I really did. But it's just very lackluster and overall I would suggest skipping this one.

I like Syd, and kudos to the author for an LGBT character whose sexual orientation isn't the only part of his personality. Syd was cool, very likable. As for the other characters? Well, to start I hate Knox. He's an irritating, selfish, ignorant little shit and he never learns his lesson.

And everyone else was just boring.

It started off well enough, but rapidly went downhill. The plot was unoriginal and boring and I actually had to set it down a few times because I was just so uninterested.

Usually I appreciate when there isn't a romance. Usually I like when the main focus is on the action. But not in Proxy. Why? Because the plot is so boring and a love interest for Syd would have made things more interesting.

Tl;dr version- Overall I wouldn't recommend Proxy. It's a cool idea that just failed. And I'm not going to read the sequel.

Wow, this was fantastic! Can't believe I waited so long to read this.

I don't like the romance between Allie and Zeke.

But I like Allie as a character, I like Kanin, I like Jackal, and I thought the story was interesting and exciting.

I don't think I'll write a full review. If you're interested in hearing more about my thoughts, you can always leave a comment!

Hmm...I don't know what to say about this one. I actually have no strong feelings about it.

I thought it shed some interesting insight into the events of World War 1. And I appreciate that.

Here's the problem, though: a lot of sad things happen, and people die. But I felt no attachment for these characters, so while it's sad it's not heartbreaking.

Okay, I have to say this. Don't judge me, but I actually ship Paul and Kat. <3

Sometimes the writing is way too descriptive and it's purple prose. That was annoying. But there's actually a few really good quotes (I'll add them later)

Tl;dr version- This definitely has literary merit, so I would absolutely recommend reading it! Quality wise, I'd give it four stars. But I just didn't particularly enjoy it and it's not a book that had a large emotional impact on me. Hence three stars.

Tl;dr version- Cute drawings, funny and adorable characters, hints of an m/m romance, and a cool fantasy world. I like it!

(Too lazy to write a full review, so that's all I'm gonna write)