Tag: Review blog

Review: Things I’d Rather Do Than Die by Christine Hurley Deriso

GoodeyReads2 Comments

Things I'd Rather Do Than Die

 

Rating: ☆☆.5
Audience: Teen, quite a bit of language, a few kisses, minor violence
Length: 300 pages
Author: Christine Hurley Deriso
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: September 18th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

SAVE THE DRAMA…for someone else’s Mama.

My biggest issue with this book was that it tried too hard. Every page was filled with trying to add more to the story when it was already brimmed to bursting with this and that thing happening.

When I took the story between Ethan and Jade for just their story, I thought it was cute. Maybe a bit rushed, but I could see the goodness of them.

The Christian aspects also felt very forced. While it started off as the beginning of their ‘relationship’ by discussing all things religious, from there it drifted in and out of the book at random times. As if to keep including it, but I didn’t think it played that big of a part in the story.

The book is written in a young style, but the addition of a lot of language takes that away. They’re a few kisses here and there, and no love scenes. Some violence in the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Flux, for the digital ARC! Page counts, and date of publication are subject to change.

 

Review: Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Children of Blood and Bone

 

Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Audience: YA+, no language, a few kisses, a ‘love’ scene, some violence
Length: 525 pages
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: March 6th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

 

A WILD RIDE.

I feel like some books benefit from starting off in a ‘high action’ way and continuing on that path before slowing down, and this is one of those cases. Children of Blood and Bone takes off from the first chapter and buckles you in for an adventure.

I loved having multiple POVs (though definitely want Tzain in there next time *cough cough*). It added to the story and helped straighten out thoughts and feelings of the embattled characters.

The ladies carry themselves and all the sword slashing and magic wielding kept me on my toes. I finished this much faster than I thought I was going too. All of the positive reviews didn’t lie!

And the ending. Whoa, I mean WHAT. I was torn in two, because my loves weren’t going along with what I wanted haha. This aside, because it created a lead into the second book that I know will be so so good.

Side note, I wanted to have a pet Lionaire like Nailah from the first page I met her. WHO DOESN’T WANT A LION WITH HORNS? The creativity in that alone had me gushing.

Truly a young adult book. No language, a few kisses. A scene that can be interpreted as a love scene (but is so vague that it’s still a clean book). A lot of violence and torture.

Happy Book Birthday to Sky in the Deep!

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

 

HAPPY PUBLISHING DAY!

Sky in the Deep

I thoroughly enjoyed this book so much and am so grateful to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the digital ARC!

Here is the synopsis:

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating. 

 

Ah, doesn’t that sound so enticing?! I loved that this book was Viking-esque. It is a take on historical YA that feels like a breath of fresh air to the genre. My review can be found here. Now available, so make sure to check this book out!

Happy reading.

 

Copy of Sky in the Deep_Whim 1.png

 

Review: Alex and Eliza (Alex & Eliza #1) by Melissa de la Cruz

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Alex and Eliza

 

Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Audience: YA+, no language, a few kisses, some violence (it is a war after all)
Length: 368 pages
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 11th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

REVOLUTIONARY.

Let me preface: I have not seen Hamilton, I know only from my A.P U.S. History class information on Hamilton. I’m generating this review based off this book alone.*

*Though I do admit this has made me want to go read that 800 page biography of Hamilton now.

Now we’ve got that out of the way, I thought this book was nice. It was interesting seeing how the author interpreted the story and added her own twist and take on the story.

Even if you know the story it has some good twists. I got through it quickly and had am now inspired to learn more about this story and Hamilton’s in general.

There wasn’t any language. Some kisses were in there, and of course, a bit of violence.