Sway

Sway by Kat Spears

ISBN: 9781250051431
Pages: 304
Source: The Reading Room

Publication Date: September 16, 2014

Appearance: 

Summary:

In Kat Spears’s hilarious and often poignant debut, high school senior Jesse Alderman, or "Sway," as he’s known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specializes in getting things people want---term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. He has few close friends and he never EVER
lets emotions get in the way. For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions.
But when Ken Foster, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all-around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things. While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget’s belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy. Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him. Could the tin man really have a heart after all?
A Cyrano de Bergerac story with a modern twist, Sway is told from Jesse’s point of view with unapologetic truth and biting humor, his observations about the world around him untempered by empathy or compassion---until Bridget’s presence in his life forces him to confront his quiet devastation over a life-changing event a year earlier and maybe, just maybe, feel something again.

Hello everyone and welcome to my review for Sway by Kat Spears. This book comes out TOMORROW so be sure to check your local bookstore or order it online! Thanks so much to The Reading Room for sending me a copy to review! Let's get started :)

Jesse Alderson is your man if you want anything. From Fake IDs to a date with whoever you want, as long as you can pay up, he'll get it done. He's connections, he's smooth, and he gets the job done. That is until he is approached by Ken Foster with the request to get him a date with Bridget Smalley, the sweetest and most angelic girl in the school. Jesse's golden rule is to never let emotions get in the way, but the more time he spend with Bridget, the closer he gets to breaking that rule.

Jesse was such a fantastic narrator. I absolutely adored his character and his voice throughout the story. He was so blunt at times and at other times he was so freaking smooth you wanted to smack him the head before falling over laughing. He is so complex and so real as a character with his endless list of flaws. Despite that, he does has his good side and we get to see that through the things that he does for Bridget. This is a Cyrano de Bergerac based story and I think that it's a pretty good twist on the classic play. Jesse definitely does the charming of Bridget for a completely different guy which is essentially what Cyrano does. What he does differently is that he steps up at points in the book when he finds himself falling in love with Bridget.

Bridget is probably the character that I had the most problems with. I didn't have much of a problem with Ken because I knew from the beginning that he was going to be a douchey person so I think he was portrayed pretty well. But Bridget...she is such a freaking saint throughout the entire book and it seems like there is nothing bad about her. I tried to find at least one flaw in her, even if it was something stupid, but I couldn't find anything. When the truth of everything came out at the end, I was hoping that maybe she'd blow up and we get to see some flaw, but she ended up just walking away feeling hurt and as for her feelings towards Jesse? She couldn't hate him because she was too damn nice. I didn't hate her, but I just felt like she wasn't real because she was just too darn perfect.

Pete on the other hand I adored as well. He's Bridget's younger brother and he as cerebral palsy. Kat Spears made him such a normal character that you forget at times that he has a disorder because he's just a normal kid. I felt like I could understand where he was coming from being the "different" kid in the family and feeling a bit neglected when in comparison to his perfect older sister even though in my family, I'm the older one. It was the poignant way that the author portrayed him as that he became Jesse's best friend and the one who really slaps some reality into the otherwise "emotionless" Sway.

There's also Joey. She's one heck of a complex character, but it was through her that we get the first glimpses of how amazing Jesse's character is. Their friendship is special but indifferent, but it's just something so beautiful at the same time. Actually, calling it beautiful is a bit weird, but they care for each other and through their friendship we get to see Jesse's heart that he hid after his mother died. And the last character I want to talk about is Carter. Carter is an amazing friend, a part time druggie but nonetheless, he is someone that Jesse could count on and for that I think he's awesome.

So that's all my thoughts on the characters. As for the plot, it was interesting, but the "infatuation" with Bridget which was the main focus of the book became a little bit boring and redundant for me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book and seeing a different take on Cyrano de Bergerac and I guess I'm glad that everything works out, even if Jesse had to take a couple of beatings to get there.

Overall, I definitely recommend it. It's a fun read and I definitely cracked up with Jesse's smooth humor and narration. My biggest plus for this book is the fantastic narration and the amazing creation of the main character. So that's it, if you pick this book up please let me know your thoughts below!

3.9 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,

Meaning Behind My Name

Hey everyone!! Welcome to my first Penny For Your Thoughts post!! This series was inspired by Kayla from Bookish Owl and her series called Coffee Conversations. Basically this is a series where I rant and talk about anything from bookish things to the color of the sky to something personal. So I thought I'd start with something a little random but that's where I got the name Rivalie from.

So if you search the name Rivalie on the internet chances are, I'm one of the few people who pop up. I found the name Rivalie when I was searching through a baby naming website because I was looking for a weird and unique name for a character in a story that I was working on. I don't remember exactly what I was searching for, but somehow I stumbled across that name.

The original spelling on the website for Rivalie is actually Rivalee but I thought the two e's looked a bit weird so I substituted it with an i. Rivalie means "to bind" and surprisingly enough, it's actually a variant of the name Rebecca. To make that even more cool, my parents had told me since I was little that they were going to name me Rebecca or Sabrina before going with the name I have today. I always complained about my name because it was long and kind of like a boy's name that someone made into a girl's. So I thought it'd be really cool to take a name that potentially could have been mine and make it into a sort of "online" identity for myself.

My parents are Asian and therefore extremely cautious of the internet world. They prefer that I not post any identifiable images of myself or reveal my actual name online. Obviously, there's Facebook, but even for that, I'm using a variant name.

I've been using Rivalie ever since I created my first email account when I was in third grade and I proudly called the email: bunnies4eva (please don't send an email to that account)

After creating Rivalie I've definitely went around using different alias names for myself. I used nicknames that sounded somewhat like my name as well as names that made no sense at all. Here's a list of a couple: Ausrine, Jody, Joy, Jessalyn, and more commonly Viktoria.

I'm a little weird in the fact that I've actually wanted to get rid of the Rivalie and start with a new name but I've just grown so attached to that name that I can't stop using it. After starting my blog, my "identity" as Rivalie has definitely solidified more on the interwebs and now it's actually kind of cool because there's really no other Rivalie out there.

I know that using a "fake name" can be a bit discerning to some people cause you don't know who is really behind the screen and I do think that sometime in the future, I'll put my real name and a picture out there because it's impossible to hide behind a computer screen and alias forever. But for now, I hope you guys are okay with Rivalie and hopefully it's grown to have a connection with this blog which essentially is like an online extension of myself.

So...My name's Rivalie. I'm a 16 year old girl living in the United States of America. I'm addicted to bunnies, music, food, books,stationary, tea, and chocolate. I'm ABT (American Born Taiwanese) and a crazy BBC Merlin fanatic since 2009. Yup, that's me.

Hopefully you guys enjoyed this type of posts, I'm hoping to do more in the future. If you have any suggestions for topics, please let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading :)

Foreverly Obsessed,

Mini Review: Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

ISBN: 1416975888
Pages: 502
Source: Library

Appearance: 

Summary:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Hey everyone! Welcome to my review for the second book in the Infernal Devices Trilogy. I've got quite a lot of feels so let's just get into the review:

OH MY GOODNESS GUYS! WILL HERONDALE HAS A HEART! In the first book he was pretty much this big fat jerk who acted like a pompous ass to Tessa which made me dislike him a lot. I had high hopes for him as a character because everyone seems to love him and now I know why. I am so sorry William Herondale for ever doubting you. Clockwork Prince focuses a lot on the characters, their past, and the development of the impending danger of Mortmain's clockwork army. The story continues to wrap intrigue around you and you find yourself turning the pages almost non-stop because you desperately want to know what happens next. Now that I have new feelings about Will's character the love triangle becomes a little more messy in my mind. I think I prefer Will with Tessa just so I can have Jem for myself. Okay, joking aside, I personally think that if Jem wasn't sick and dying that Tessa would actually pick Will. I just have this feeling that she doesn't want to hurt Jem and leave him because she's afraid her rejection will kill him. Let me explain, she says she loves Jem and you can obviously see it, but Will is constantly on her mind and I don't think that's really fair for Jem. Just my personal thought. This book didn't have a lot of action with Mortmain really just planning everyone's doom, but you really get to know all the characters a lot better and become more invested in the story. Oh and may I just say, Benedict Lightwood is a big fat butt who needs to go live in a hole and leave Charlotte alone. Also, I definitely expected a certain someone's betrayal to the Shadowhunters, I knew it was coming and I almost laughed when it actually happened. The ending definitely was a bit of a heartstopper after all the information you just learned about Will and then that just happens. Clockwork Prince is a pretty awesome sequel especially for a trilogy and it really just tightens the hold that the trilogy has on your heart and makes you want to know what happens next.

4 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,

BOOK BLITZ: Phantom's Dance

Phantom's Dance

by Lesa Howard 

Release Date: 03/01/14

Summary from Goodreads:

Christine Dadey’s family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy’s finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she’s told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she’s willing to do to cope with it.

Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world’s stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik’s face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he’s lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine.

Drawn in by Erik’s unwavering confidence, Christine allows herself to believe Erik’s declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine’s hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik’s shadowy past jeopardizes Christine’s unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge.

Available from:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

When I reached the back corner of the four-story, brick building, I hesitated. The sun had dipped below the adjacent structure, leaving the alley in a gray haze and giving it a creepy vibe. My heart sped up as I replayed all the horror stories Mom had drilled into me. Though we tell everyone we’re from El Paso, the truth is we lived in a small suburb outside the city. So Mom filled my head with tales about the dangers of living downtown in a city the size of Houston—muggings, assaults, drug deals, she’d warned me repeatedly, and now those cautionary tales were hammering through me with every beat in the music spilling from behind the building.
Pressing my back against the bricks, I felt the heavy thump of the bass in my chest. The music issued out, echoing around me, like a rhythmic call to battle. I stood there long enough for one song to end and another to begin. Then, clutching my bag to my side, I peeked around the bend and was surprised to see a group of about a dozen people gathered in a loose circle. A mixture of ethnicities, some shuffled and shimmied, while others bounced and popped to the music’s time.
When their formation shifted, I could see into the ring of figures. A young African-American man danced there, arms snaking in and out and legs nimbly swirling. After several steps, he twitched his head toward someone in the surrounding group, and a woman laughed uproariously before jumping into the center as he sauntered out. She jiggled and jolted to the music in a way that was captivating. It was as if the music emanated from the dancer, rather than the big boom box sitting on the trunk of a car.
Their laughter was exhilarating, and I could see that taunting and bragging was a part of the performance. Completely engrossed, I became careless and before I knew it, I’d drifted from the safety of the building’s shadow to stand in the open. Then someone spoke, and I knew I’d made a horrible mistake.

Author Interview/Post

I'm not good with interviews. The problem is I have an extremely eclectic personality—emphasis on extremely—so it makes it difficult to answer some of the questions asked. But before I try, be aware Lesa Howard is a pen name, so you may see my website and contact information with the name Lesa Boutin, or even Lesa Howard Boutin. They're all me. Did I mention I'm a Gemini, which is represented by twins? Add to that my eclectic tastes in everything from books to food to home décor, and I could easily be described as octuplets rather than twins. That said, here's my attempt to answer a few author questions.

Did I always want to write?
I didn't start writing until I was thirty. I'd dreamed of it, though, since tenth grade when I'd written a short story which scored the highest in the entire sophomore class. The teacher had raved about my imagination and the twists and turns in the story. So much so that I was kind of surprised because I assumed everyone daydreamed like I did.

So why did you wait so long to start writing?
I wanted to be a grown-up, which when I look back on it is crazy, but I married and had children before pursuing a career. And even then I secretly dreamed of writing for a looong time before ever acting on it. I was terrified of letting anyone read what I wrote. Plus, I thought I'd be laughed at for reaching for something outside the realm of my abilities.

Umm, that didn't really answer the question as to why you waited so long to start writing.
For me, writing turned out to be a lesson in getting to know myself, and along the way I discovered something that completely changed who I am, at least who I thought I was. When I finally decided to wrestle my fears to the ground and choke the ever-loving-life out of them, I started attending writing conferences, taking lessons, learning everything I could about the craft, but I still had these horrible doubts about my grammar. I never worried about coming up with a story or having writer's block. My imagination is just too wild for that. But I knew that if there was anything holding me back it was my grammar. It's not that I didn't know the "rules" but sometimes I had trouble executing them. At this point, I'd been immersed in the education field. I planned to get a degree and teach junior high. Yeah, you read that right. I could be reduced to a quivering mass when posed a grammar question, but I was working toward becoming a teacher.
Then at some point, I can't remember exactly when, but whether it was a series of events or conversations with other educators, I had an epiphany. I realized without a shadow of a doubt that I had a learning disability and it had a name, Dysgraphia. When I read all the symptoms of the disorder I was shocked. I'd suffered, dealt with, almost every manifestation on the list of warning signs since elementary school. The National Center for Learning Disabilities defines Dysgraphia as: a learning disability that affects writing, which requires a complex set of motor and information processing skills. Dysgraphia makes the act of writing difficult. It can lead to problems with spelling, poor handwriting and putting thoughts on paper. People with dysgraphia can have trouble organizing letters, numbers and words on a line or page.
I already know what you're next question will be.

Why on earth do you want to be a writer if you can't do it?
I did try not to. Honestly I did. I was going to school to teach math, or science, or maybe even become a librarian. I even have the student loans to prove it. But I couldn't get away from writing. Finally, I had to say, "To hell with it! I'm already broke. Might as well be broke doing what I love." And I have been blessed along the way to connect with people who help me. I rely heavily on my critique partners and beta readers. They help me spot the mistakes I overlook. Sure, that's what an editor is for, but I'm still obsessive about trying to get it as right as I can on my own. So whether it's an issue of incorrect punctuation (I seriously love commas) homophones (pair or pear?) or missing letters (appl) I will keep writing. Even if I'm the only one who ever reads it.




Top Ten Favorite Books
Broken Down by Category

Children's Books:
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

Young Adult (Tough Category)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Holes by Louis Sachar
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Adult Novels:
Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas ****** Favorite book of all time******

About the Author
I'm not the typical author. I didn't always enjoy reading or writing. While in school, I found it to be a chore I'd just as soon skip. I would rather have been daydreaming, my favorite past time. It wasn’t until I grew up and didn’t have to, that I realized reading was fun. I soon discovered that reading fueled my daydreaming. So, remembering a short story I'd written in high school, I began imagining expanding that story into a book. Before long I found I had loads of ideas for not just the short story but other books and stories as well. Fast forward a few years, a lot of studying about writing, practicing my writing, studying some more, taking classes from people who knew what they were doing, studying and practicing yet more, and ta-dah, author! In the same way I had learned I loved reading, I learned I loved writing, too. It’s just that writing is a lot harder than reading.

Author Links:

   

GIVEAWAY:

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Book Blitz Organized by:

Top 10 Underrated Authors

Hi everyone! Welcome to my first Top 10 Tuesdays post! I've done Top Tuesdays before but this is my first time actually participating in one that is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is:

TOP 10 UNDERRATED AUTHORS FROM ___ GENRE

I'm actually going to take a loophole and not confine myself to a genre just because I couldn't come with enough. Anywho, let's get started! 

1. AMY HARMON - I will never stop talking about her! Funny though, I only have one review of her book on my blog but my second one is coming soon. She's super fantastic and I love her writing, stories, characters, everything. I found her through a book blog but I haven't heard a lot about her so yes, she' number 1.
2. ELIZABETH LABAN - Author of the wonderful Tragedy Paper. Sadly she only have one YA book out but it's fantastic and I love it. Definitely recommend and hopefully people will start picking her book up and talking about it! 
3. KRISTI STRONG: I recently read her YA contemporary book called Finding Keepers and I'm literally dying to get my hands on her fantasy series. I never heard of her before participating in the book tour for Finding Keepers but I think she's pretty fantastic. 
4. STEPHANIE BEERDEN: Author of the new Elements series which I absolutely love. There's only one book out but it was pretty great and I really love her writing style and the way she creates this world with so much history and conflict.
5. MELISSA PEARL: Her Fugitive duology is one of my favorite YA thrillers. It's tense and fast paced with amazing characters. Definitely recommend!
6. CC HUNTER: She's the author of my new favorite paranormal series: Shadow Falls. I think she's pretty well known but I personally haven't heard much about her from the blogs and booktube channels that I follow so I thought I'd throw her name in. 
7. ELISA DANE: She wrote the Diamond Girls series which I believe has 2 books out right now. I read both books for tour and it completely took me by surprise. She has this talent of creating a pretty stereotypical stories with a twist that involves a social/societal issue. 
8. JOANNA WIEBE: Can I just say how excited I am for the second volume of Anne Merchant's story? I will admit I came so close to putting this book down but after getting about 60% of the way through, this book got real and things just happened. Huge props of creating such a complex world that seems so normal but is actually really crazily messed up.
9. SOPHIE DAVIS: She is the reason why I have dystopian a chance. Honestly, I had no interest whatsoever in the dystopian genre but the first book was free and the cover looked pretty badasss so I picked it up and I was completely blown away. Her Talented Saga is really underrated but I think it really is something absolutely amazing. So go check it out!
10. ERICA STEVENS: I've only read one book by her but that book made me cry for hours. I seriously need to continue on with the series because that ending was just completely heartwrenching and no, it was just one big NO. One note: This is NA not YA.

That's my list! I am actually pretty proud of myself for actually making it to 10 because I had some serious doubts. Watch me be completely wrong and these authors are actually pretty well known. They're on this list because I haven't heard much or anything about them from other reviewers so if you haven't heard of them either go check them out! Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you guys later~ 

Foreverly Obsessed, 

Mini Review: Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

ISBN: 1416975861
Pages: 479
Source: Library

Appearance: 

Summary:

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

Hey everyone! So I've finally jumped on the Cassandra Clare bandwagon! Confession time, I actually read City of Bones waaaay before it became really popular but I never picked up the second book and I sort of lost interest. When I heard about all the hype I tried it again, but never really pushed through. So...I kinda got frustrated with myself and decided to try something different which brought me to the Infernal Devices. 

The story starts with Clockwork Angel which has a pretty interesting story premise. I got sucked in a lot quicker than I expected especially with the Dark Sisters and their "kidnapping" of Tessa the minute she steps off a ship on English grounds. As a character, Tessa is pretty cool. I really liked reading about her as she discovers her powers and really harnesses it. When she changes into Jessamine to show the other Shadowhunters what she can do, I think I burst out laughing because their reactions were hilarious. She had this fire in her but also a dreamer's heart and I really loved her exchange of quotes with Will, brought back a lot of Dickens memories. She also has this really strong dedication to family which I liked but Nathan did not deserve it at all. I was actually really surprised with who Nathan turned out to be because Tessa painted him in such a glorious image that who he really is turned to be quite disappointing. Charlotte and Henry are absolutely adorable. I loved their relationship and how they interact with each other. They are just the cutest couple and pretty much perfect. The family that they have created at the London Institute with Jem, Will, and Jessamine is quite chaotic but at the same time really open with the way they took Tessa in and made her one of them, even though she isn't technically a Nephilim like them. Personally, I don't understand why everyone loves Will because in this book he was pretty much a jerk and as of right now I am 100% Team Jem. Jem is just so romantic and has such a beautiful heart that he's an angel compared to Will. One last note before I wrap things up, the Dark Sisters are creepy as hell and Mortmain is a crazy psychopath. So that's it for my little mini review of the first book. Hopefully I'll have my review for Clockwork Prince up soon so keep a lookout for that! :)

4 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,

Memory Lane Monday: Prophecy by Ellen Oh

Hey everyone! Welcome to a brand new meme! Actually, I don't know if this is blogging meme but I'll just call it that. This was created by Caitlin from YA Bookworm whose blog I recently came across and it's fantastic so please check her out. The premise of this meme is you pick a book that you haven't reviewed on the blog and answer 5 questions. Let's get started!!

This week we are going to visit:

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

ISBN: 0062091093
Pages: 312
Source: Library

Appearance: 

Question # 1: You've got 5 WORDS! Describe the book.

Demon slaying girl saves the world.

Question # 2: Pick a quote, any quote!

“Your differences are what make you unique. They're what make you special. You have nothing in common with these ignorant retches who thrive on superstition and fear. You were meant for greatness.” 

Question # 3: Hit, Miss, or Meh?

Meh. This book already had iffy reviews but it still sounded amazing. I was a bit disappointed with the story but it still intrigued me enough to pick up the second book.

Question # 4: Best or Worst Quality?

Best Quality: Correct me if I'm wrong but I do believe that Prophecy is based loosely on a Korean myth? I really enjoyed the fantasy world that was based on an Asian culture with a strong female as the leading character. 

Question # 5: Most Memorable Character.

Taejo, he's the heir to the throne and was absolutely adorable. I know some people were annoyed by his random outbursts with a ton of exclamation marks but he helped Kira destress throughout the book and again, he's so cute!

So that's it for this trip down memory lane, if you want to join in please do and leave a link below for me to check it out! Thanks so much for reading and I'll see ya next time!

Foreverly Obsessed,

Bookish Identity Tag

Hey guys! Today I'm going to be doing the Bookish Identity Tag which was created by Catriona at Little Book Owl, Kat from Katytastic, and Benjaminoftomes. This tag is originally designed for Youtube, but since I don't have a Youtube channel I thought it'd do it here. :)

Q: What dystopian/fantasy world would you like to live in?

A: There are so many amazing ones!! Can I pick two? The generic answer is Hogwarts but another world would be the Seven Satrapies world from the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks. It'd be really cool because I would be able to manipulate light and colors and hang out with Kip and Karris. It'd be really fun. 

Q: Who would your partner be?

A: Why must you ask me this? Okay...I'll go with my current book crush: Kylar Stern from the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. He is kickass and an assassin, plus he's got a lot of depth and dimension. ♥ For a contemporary boyfriend, I'm currently crushing on Ambrose Young from Making Faces by Amy Harmon, I swear he's amazing. 

Q: Who would your godly mother/father be? (Percy Jackson Series)

A: Can I choose to become one of Artemis's huntresses? Cause that'd be amazing :) If I had to choose an actual parents...either Hades because I adore Bianca and Nico or Poseidon because water is probably my favorite element. 

Q: Would you rather be a Downworlder or a Nephilim? (The Mortal Instruments Series)

A: Downworlder probably. I love the Shadowhunter world, but I don't think that I'm quite built for the action. Plus being a Downworlder means I get to pick my battles...sort of...and to be more specific I'd want to be a warlock. Eternity doesn't sound great, but I really want animal features! Cat ears and a tail please!

Q: What House would you be in? (Harry Potter Series)

A: This is the hardest questions EVER! I took the Pottermore quiz and I got Slytherin which I was surprised on because I didn't think I would be placed in Slytherin, but I guess that makes sense with ambition and all, but to be honest, I'd probably be the nicest Slytherin there. Then to make things more complicated, I took a bunch of online quizzes and every single time I got Ravenclaw which is awesome cause Luna Lovegood, but I feel bad for leaving Slytherin because that was where I was placed...can I be a Slytherclaw?

Q: What faction would you be in? (Divergent Series)

A: I took the quiz on the Divergent website and I Amity which does not make sense considering I'm Slytherin...do you get my struggle yet?

Q: What would be your daemon? (Northern Lights Series)

A: WOLF or JAGUAR or LEOPARD or FALCON or OWL :)

So what's YOUR BOOKISH IDENTITY? If you're reading this, I TAG YOU! Go do the tag and leave your link in the comments! 

Foreverly Obsessed,

Shadow's Edge

Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks

ISBN: 0316033650

Pages: 636
Source: Library

Appearance:

Summary:

Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession. 
But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?

Hey everyone! Welcome to my review of Shadow's Edge! This is the second book in the Night Angel Trilogy with the first being The Way of Shadows. I do advise that you read the first book before reading this review, but I will try to avoid major spoilers. Let's go~

Shadow's Edge pretty much carries off where the first book left off. The Cenarians have been conquered by the Khalidorians, everything is in massive chaos, Kylar, Elene, and Uly are leaving for Kylar to live an assasin free life away from killing, Durzo and Logan are dead, and again chaos. 

Kylar decides to leave the assasin's life so that he can live peacefully with Elene, the love of his life, and Uly. They are leaving the city and moving in with Elene's aunt where he will start a business as an herbalist. At the beginning he is very adamant about leaving behind the killer's lifestyle, but struggles to leave the urges behind. As the story progresses, you get to see him come to terms with who he is and take control of the power that he wields.

Logan is in the Hole. Honestly, the sentence that introduced his situation had be me laughing but the Hole is no laughing matter. The Hole is hell where food is scarce and even the noblest of men will become a monster. Logan essentially spends the majority of the book fighting for his life, but in addition to surviving, he matures and grows so much that you really get to see his potential as king. On a side note, Natassa! She represented the hope that Logan desperately needed to hang on to his humane side and I just wish she was still there to give him that hope.

We also get a new character and that is Viridiana whose name I am officially in love with. I kinda hated her in the beginning because she was well...she was going to kill two very important people BUT somewhere down the road, you get to see her in a vulnerable position and your heart just reaches out to her. She is a really strong character and the only female assassin in the book so you still end up liking her. Oh a little side rant, there is a little love interest between her and Kylar but Kylar is so hung up on Elene. Seriously...Elene just doesn't fit Kylar in my opinion and I definitely ship him with Vi. Definitely.

Okay, one of the biggest problems in this trilogy that has turned many people off is the sexist view. There are two types of women in this story. You are either some virtuous saint or your sleep around with a lot of people. Yes that was offensive and I didn't like it. But you can't exactly say that it's demeaning women when you have girls like Vi and Kaldrosa Wyn who is pirate captain and super kickbutt and well in both of their cases, they only slept with people to protect themselves and those they loved. So quick note to the men out there, not all women will sleep with you on a request and at the same time, not all women are virtuous saints. There is an in-between. Thank you very much. But honestly, yes I don't agree with how Weeks portrays women sexually in the book, but I do appreciate how we still get some dignity with some kickbutt characters.

Overall, this was a pretty good in-between book. It didn't have such a big effect on me as the first book, but I still really enjoyed the story and I'm definitely looking forward to finishing the trilogy. 

4 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,