Explanations + Reviewing: Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

You may have noticed that after Day 5 my community service posts stopped happening. Well, I'll tell you why. First of all, I forgot to do Day 6. I got too busy to do Day 7. I had no wi-fi Day 8. And by Day 9, well-- I gave up. It's not like there was a lot to talk about-- if you'd read all my past posts they withered down to complaining about the heat, Windex getting in my mouth (had I mentioned that? if I hadn't, it's terrible), sore feet, waking up early, and having to be social. Also, doing the exact same thing every weekend. It's great knowing exactly what to do and how to do it (I'm very much a control freak-- at least, I am when it comes to a situation I'm in), so it's not all bad. It's actually gotten to the point where I don't mind it.

But enough about community service. I have other topics for this post, one of which is a book I recently read called Juliet Immortal.

It was another recommendation by my sister, who had been torturing me to read it for months (minor exaggeration) and I finally got around to it.

I liked it. I liked it lots.

Fans of Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush will relish this intense paranormal love story featuring Romeo and Juliet, literary history's most tragic couple, who meet again, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.
The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Okay well let me start off by saying it is not like Shiver or Hush (thankfully, because Shiver was just okay and Hush, well... I did a review on that). And even if I loved both of those books, it still was nothing like Juliet Immortal.

Ahem... Quick Tip

This is one of those books that is very hard to review without giving away major spoilers, so in preparation for that, spoilers will be shown as [  ] with variating spaces between brackets. The type between them is white so you'll need to highlight to read them.

The Main Characters

Juliet wasn't immediately like-able. I didn't really enjoy reading about her until the last half of the book, and even then she was just okay. She seemed naive, love-sick, and indecisive, and then we suddenly see the darker side of her-- the side of her that grew in response to Romeo's betrayal. But if we're being completely honest here, [it wasn't actually Romeo's fault. Juliet killed herself, and he didn't anticipate that she would].

Romeo has got to be one of the best villains I have ever read. I was constantly questioning if he was a villain or not. If he still loved Juliet or not. If he was just insane or not. And that's what villains are supposed to do. They are supposed to make you question. Not just to question them or their goals, but yourself. In fact, I'm still not sure that he was the villain. I'm sure that he didn't start out the villain all those years ago when he was still Romeo Montague-- naive and innocent. Maybe he became one through all the choices he made and all the torture he went through.

About the Ending...

Not only was it kind of abrupt after the endless possible endings the author was offering, it was way too neat. Way too neat. Everything just fit together perfectly, and to be honest [the whole alternate universe thing made close to zero sense to me]. However, I didn't hate it. It was okay, and it wrapped things up, thus completing its assigned job. 

Final Judgement 

Things I Liked:

Romeo. Shocker here. I thought I would hate him (not as a character but as a villain. Does that make sense?) but turns out he was one of my favorite characters.

The creepy factor. Call me twisted. The creepiness honestly is one of the things that kept me tied to the book.

How Juliet [fixes the relationship between Ariel and her mom] < super minor spoiler. I liked this part because it shows what Juliet's job really is. To bring hope and love to people's lives. Also, it was just super touching.

Ben. I didn't like [the insta-love that happens between him and Juliet and how he ends up being Benvolio (how convenient, amiright?)] < this is NOT a super minor spoiler-- but he was so nice that I couldn't help but like him.

Contemporary Romeo and Juliet with a dark twist. Need I say more?

Things That Were Just Okay OR I Hated:

Juliet. Juliet could have been better. For me, who thinks the story rides on the characters-- especially the main character-- she was a little bit of a let-down.

Gemma. So bitter and angry and her mood-swings are cray. (I understand that half the characters in this book are supposed to be damaged people, but Gemma...)

Nurse. Nurse made me very mad. That is all. 

How convenient the ending was. With the amount of tension leading up to what I assumed would be a huge finale that would leave me clapping like an elated seal (that is a thing, by the way) this was also a bit of a let-down.

She will fight for light, and he for dark, 

Battling through the ages for love's sweet spark. 

Wherever two souls adore truly, you will find them, lo, 

The brave Juliet and the wicked Romeo.

Reviewing: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. Forhope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

*Contains spoilers*

Spoilers will be between these [ ] -- Highlight to read them.

Days of Blood and Starlight moves on the lighthearted romance/magic/action vibe that Daughter of Smoke and Bone had and becomes entirely war-based, meaning the book just got a whole lot more violent, gory, and intense.

And I liked it. In the first book, my attention would sometimes drift off and I would start thinking about fudge and chocolate chip cookies and the like. But in this one... I couldn't tear my eyes away. I read it in one sitting.

So why, you ask, are you missing a star?

Okay, well, as fabulous as it was, it just wasn't perfect. I still didn't [see how Madrigal and Karou were the same person at all. There wasn't even a fraction of Madrigal inside of Karou, and even though I liked that it showed how much she had changed, I just couldn't feel the story as much as I could have.]. Also, the book focused less on the characters and more on the plot. Now, I am all for plot, don't get me wrong. But in my opinion, characters carry the plot, not the other way around.

Karou is an amazing character, but I wasn't really able to connect with her in either DoSaB nor Blood and Starlight. The only thing I really felt when reading in her point of view was her love for her family and her fierce will to survive. 

I loved Mik and Zuzana. They added so much... spark to the book and I am so, so glad Laini Taylor didn't just let Zuze -- the best friend-- fade into the background once Karou started getting involved with the chimaera. However, I was not a big fan of [how easily Karou decided to stay with the chimaera-- the ones who tricked her and plotted to kill her-- instead of her best friend in the modern word. The modern world that has wi-fi. Priorities, people.].

Akiva had a lot of character-building in this book. At least, I thought so. I liked how it actually showed things from his point of view and allowed us to really get to know him beyond the fierce warrior with awkward side angel person we saw in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. 

Laini Taylor has an incredible writing style that makes every sentence sound haunting and has a big impact on the reader. I hung on to every word.

Reviewing: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

I am completely aware that there are a ton of different opinions (both negative and positive) about this book and by sharing mine I will possibly be offending a lot of people. (Oops.) This is why I'm going to try to give a non-ranty (by this I mean no unreasonable venting) review while trying to say what I liked about the book.

Leggo.

Okay, so about Nora. Nora, in my opinion, was mediocre for a main character. She needed to stand up for herself more and take control of what was happening to her. I understand that it was difficult-- these are angels and Nephilim, after all-- but in all fairness the angels in this book were not the toughest angels. She also was guessing around to much. She was letting Patch get into her head and control her actions and her thoughts-- which is absolutely not good, in case you were wondering-- and never actually takes action to make him stop harassing her, sexually or otherwise. So, yeah. I thought she was pretty weak.

Her best friend, Vee, sucked at being a best friend. She was constantly shoving Nora into situations that made Nora uncomfortable, scared, or downright terrified. At first I sort of enjoyed her quirky loudness, but then it just got on my nerves as it became more and more obvious that Vee cared more about hanging out with hot guys than the safety of her best friend. I don't know about you, but if someone was harassing my best friend and making her feel threatened to the point that Nora was, I would get her as far away from them as I could. I wouldn't even want to share the same airspace as him, let alone push her to spend time with him.

Patch was a stalker. He followed her everywhere, made mental notes on her likes and dislikes, friends and possible boyfriends, etc. Harassing her and embarrassing her were just added bonuses. He tried to make literally every conversation have a sexual element, and he knew that made Nora uncomfortable. 

Here are some examples:

"You smell good, too," said Patch

"It’s called a shower." I was staring straight ahead. When he didn’t answer, I turned sideways. "Soap. Shampoo. Hot water."

"Naked. I know the drill."

-

"Say 'provoking' again. Your mouth looks provocative when you do."

I understand that Patch was the villain. Because of this, he was actually one of my favorite characters in the book, because he made a very good villain. I just thought his reason for becoming a hero was shakey. 

Nora's teacher was terrible. No teacher should force two students to be together in a class when one of them has already stated how uncomfortable the other has made her felt, unless he's secretly a shipper at heart. And when he said "no way," to Nora's request, she should have gone straight to the principal and continued to try and get Patch the heck away, not just submitted and gone to her next class.

But that's not even my biggest issue. My biggest issue are the angels. Now, in my opinion, angels are pretty powerful. And by pretty powerful, I mean a human could never stand a chance against one in battle, okay? Some angels are warriors, some are messengers, etc., etc, The warriors are called what they are for a reason. It bothered me that out of the two angels that became important, Patch was the only one that was described as powerful and there was actually supporting evidence that he was. I couldn't really get the angels in this book. Not only were they totally not pure at heart (not even the ones who weren't fallen), they couldn't kill Nora. Nora, who was not armed and was totally panicking, and just hiding while the angel (I forgot her name sorry) ransacked the room looking for her. 

Two stars, because even though I didn't really enjoy this book, it managed to make me read it until the end. I was intrigued.

Also, quick tip if you haven't read it but want to: Read this book as though Patch is the villain, because until the nearing-end of this book, he absolutely is.

The Fault in Our Book-Buying

That title sounded a lot better in my head.

So I was tossing around ideas in my brain, and I came up with this: How do you know if you're buying a good book? Um, yeah. It's not a good idea, but it can be answered, which is more than I can say for my other questions, like: "Would it be possible that humans came from water creatures?" or "Would it be possible to attach wings to said humans and be capable of flight?"

Anyways, the answer to how you know you're buying a good book or not is simple. You don't know. It's horrible.

One of the great and terrible deeds in reading (other than dog-earing pages and judging only by covers) is skimming. But why? I mean, skimming is... is okay. (This is my way of saying that I do it a lot.) It helps you get an idea of what the book is about. And often times, I read the first chapter before buying a book that I like the look of. I'm poor, therefore, I am picky. Skimming helps when you can't decided whether or not to pick a book, okay? Just don't skim to close to the ending of the book. That's... that's just bad.

Another thing: Do I believe my friends' recommendation or not? 

This is big for me, because my sister is constantly shoving books in my face and a lot of what I get around to reading are books that she has recommended. Do I always love them? Um, absolutely not. I hate some of them. This has resulted in many attempts at ending my life by said sister. But I do love lots. 

Which basically means that none of my questions are getting answered and this is pointless.

But, oh, the dreaded question of: This book has a ton of hype but it doesn't sound like something I'd love. Should I get it?

I have read many books because of hype. Legend by Marie Lu, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Angelfall by Susan Ee, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, the Mara Dyer books... the list goes on. Most of them I have loved, but only because I was staying in a genre I was comfortable with. The only book I read that had a ton of hype and wasn't dystopian or something similar, is The Fault in Our Stars. (Which I watched last night. It was sad. *sniffles at the memory*) Some have been awesome, and some have been not-awesome, which here means: terrible-- at least, in my opinion.

So the answer to my question is still that books cannot be judged merely by skimming or covers or friends' recommendations. But I'm totally open to yours.

Since I am on my fall break, I have a ton of free time now. Free time I would love to spend reading-- except that I don't know what to read. So, if you have any books that you have read recently and fell in love with, tell me about them. Only if you want to, of course. It's not like I'm forcing you. *wiggles eyebrows*

The Book Gif Tag

Um so I got tagged.

*internal screaming*

HUGE thank you to Aneta@The Graffiti On The Wall. You are awesome. I offer chocolate and brownies as thanks.

Onwards!

Peter Pan:

GIF says it all. I have never read Peter Pan-- mainly because I'm terrified of classics and all their formal descriptions and general large-ness. Classics do smell fabulously, though. 

The Help:

I don't know and I am so sorry. I really, really want to read this book because my sis said it's awesome, and also because I loved the movie. BUT IT'S SO HUGE I'M SCARED.

Throne of Glass:

You said it Hades. But I did love Throne of Glass. I just found it hard to like the main character because she felt so much like a villain. But, hey. I dig that. Villainous heroes should be a thing.

Divergent:

Um, yeah. Divergent confused me. Mainly because the first 50% I absolutely loved, and then the rest just sort of... was there. I liked it, but it didn't have that POW POW that the beginning had.

Twilight:

I have never read Twilight, and I'm not sure I want to. I've heard it's torturous. I saw the first movie. That was torturous.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones:

I liked it. I liked it lots. More Jace sarcasm please. He's 70% of why I liked the book. Simon was the other 30%. CLARY JUST NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN DRAW RUNES EVERY 1/3 OF THE BOOK. Ahem. Sorry.

The Mediator: 

Never heard of it. But it sounds interesting. 

Legend:

Um, yeah. I LOVED LEGEND. LOVED IT. There were little bits that I would've changed, but hey, I'm just super negative about everything.

13 Reasons Why:

I... have never read this book. But I really, really want to. 

Pride and Prejudice:

I have read Pride and Prejudice. I liked the movie more. When it comes right down to it, I just have trouble finding what is so enjoyable about classics. Some of them are interesting, but I have the attention span of a caffeinated squirrel, and "interesting" usually doesn't cut it.

Alas, I am also a lonely caffeinated squirrel and so, um, I don't know anyone who hasn't already been tagged. (I really should get out more. And by get out more I mean stay on my computer and explore more blogs while indoors.) Outdoors are scary, peoples. Take it from someone who feels personally victimized by mosquitoes.

Whoever else wants to join in, please do so! I really, really would love to see your reactions. Just post the link in a comment below and I'll check it out-- pinky swear.

Here are the books:

1. Angelfall by Susan Ee

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

3. Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

6. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

7. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

8. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

9. Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

10. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

So, thanks again to Aneta for tagging me! And also I probably won't be on my blog very often, so if it takes me a while to reply to your comments or put up any new posts, you'll know that it's because of school. 

Community Service Day 5

(Sorry for being a day late.)

Okay, so, I showed up a little before 8, as per usual, and got busy doing the exact same thing. I said "Good morning," to the lady who sits at the desk, then dry-mopped the basketball court. Pink-Ponytail-In-Overalls asked me how I could tell where I'd been, and I told him I followed the lines. It requires a lot of focus, actually. 

After I was done dry-mopping (the old lady who uses the track every Saturday wasn't there for some reason), I cleaned the windows by the exit and entrance. 

Then I took a small break and cleaned the track windows. No one came in until a red-haired dude who was dribbling a basketball and staring at his phone while wearing headphones.

It turns out you can do a lot of people watching through the track windows. Call me a creeper, but nothing gets me bored like cleaning windows for one hour.

Welcome to my hometown, where every guy over the age of eighteen wears a baseball cap and grown men race their golf carts.

It's very amusing.

I ate chocolate while waiting for my mom to pick me up. It was delicious. 

When I got home, I danced in my room for a while (around 30 minutes, which is pretty short compared to how much I've been dancing recently) then ate. And then I watched Youtube for a few hours. And then I danced some more. And then I wrote for one of my WIPs for a little while. And then I danced. And then I ate and watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier with my dad and sister. 

IT WAS PERFECTION. I swear, Marvel keeps getting better.

Before I end this post, I want to apologize for not talking about books in a really, really, really long time. I've been super busy with school and such. My only free time is on the weekend, and those are usually spent chilling with the fam. I'll try to put up something book-related soon, but I make no promises.

Community Service Day 4

So I've already been drowning in regular school and now I have to take a college course while participating in group projects and doing community service and ASDFGHJKL.

But that's okay because I can do this.

Maybe.

Ahem. So, today went fairly well, except for the part where I got blisters on the backs of both of my feet and I could barely walk. 

I did the exact same thing today as I did for the past two weeks. CLEANING CLEANING WALKING CLEANING WALKING SWEATING.

It's getting very tiresome, but it could be worse.

I'm getting pretty comfortable with minimal socializing now, so that's good. A weird thing I noticed about myself is my voice just goes like an octave lower when I talk with strangers.

Good news is I listened to music while cleaning today so it wasn't as boring. 

I hate my alarm.

It's all high and screechy and SUPER DUPER loud even though my volume was turned way down and I was worried I wouldn't hear it.

My mom burst in the room and was all like "WHY IS YOUR ALARM SO LOUD"

And I was trying to open my eyes but they were refusing so I kinda just turned my face towards her with my eyes 1/3 opened and groaned bewilderedly (that is a word now), which, translated, means: why are yoU SO LOUD.

My brother was super happy to see me when I got home so I was all like YAY and did a dramatic hug and spin thing the movies. 

Yes these are k-pop gifs. I have no regrets.