Category Archives: 2016

2016, top ten tuesday

[Top Ten Tuesday] – #126 – Villains in Books

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

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This Week’s Theme:
Villains in Books

Initial Thoughts:

I’ll be honest: I find myself enjoying villains more than their heroic counterpart as they’re simply more interesting to me. (Not saying I’m interested in evil things though.) What I appreciate is when villains are bad (but good) but actually but (but actually good).

It’s all in perspective.

Continue reading [Top Ten Tuesday] – #126 – Villains in Books →

2016, Book Review

[Review] Vassa in The Night — Sarah Porter (feat. Excerpt from the Book)

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Book Title: Vassa in the Night (Standalone)
Author:     Sarah Porter
Number of pages:  304

Synopsis:

vassa in the night - sarah porter - book coverIn Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

(re: Goodreads @ Metaltown by Kristen Simmons)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr review:

– Retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful
– This Brooklyn is all kinds of dark and fantastical; longer nights, anthropomorphic creatures, and whimsically vivid imagery
– The prose is a hit/miss depending on the reader’s tolerance to sugary, purple prose
– There is romance but it is not the focus of the story (therefore does not necessarily hi-jack the plot)
– Though Erg, the talking wooden doll, is a secondary MC, there are moments the Deus Ex Machina trope is exhibited from her

Initial Thoughts

“What the fuck did I just read?” — literal reaction upon finishing.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Vassa in the Night  from Indigo Books.

Continue reading [Review] Vassa in The Night — Sarah Porter (feat. Excerpt from the Book) →

2016, Book Review

[Review] Metaltown — Kristen Simmons

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Book Title: Metaltown (Standalone)
Author:     Kristen Simmons
Number of pages:  380

Synopsis:

metaltown - kristen simmons - book coverMetaltown, where factories rule, food is scarce, and hope is in short supply.

The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does.

(re: Goodreads @ Metaltown by Kristen Simmons)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr review:

– Steampunk Newsies meets Les Miserables — if this intrigues you, go for it and read no further
– Dark, dirty, and visually compelling, Metaltown weaves the themes of social inequality and classism through its infrastructures and character dynamics
– Non-protagonist characters (e.g. antagonists) lacked depth that made conflict of striking very easy and convenient to attain
– The instalust/instalove/romance can feel as though it hi-jacks the plot.

Initial Thoughts

I must have hyped this book to myself way too much because it was a flop for me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Metaltown from Raincoast Books re: TOR Teen.

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