(Book Review) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir//Spoiler-Free

Title: An Ember in the Ashes #1

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Razorbill

Goodreads Synopsis: Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, it’s most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Review

A whole new world to me, the first diverse book I’ve read and loved. It was a bit slow in the beginning, and a little hard to get into each characters’ head. I guess, this is my first Sabaa Tahir book so I don’t quite understand her writing style… yet. But that changed after the first chapter. I was totally in the characters’ head, and that made it easier to follow. The voice from the characters was clear and real. I was caught on and it wasn’t difficult to understand the narrative. The dialogues gave me more reason to NOT put the book down. I love reading them!

I love seeing the characters as they find themselves in sticky situations. Scenes like that thrill me. I love it when the characters have something to hide to protect another. I love a slow romance – and that is very hard to find in books nowadays. I’m not a romance-lover but I love seeing how love blossoms into something big later. Sabaa does this well. She knows how to make a hint of romance grow through these pages. That’s what I like.

 

Overall, I rate this 4.5/5

 

That concludes my review. I am sure that I will be picking up the next book in the series, A Torch Against the Night soon! I recommend this to anyone who likes action-packed, slow, hesitant romance, and soldiers. 

 

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(Book Review) City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab // Spoiler- Free

Title: City of Ghosts

Author: Victoria Schwab

Publisher: Scholastic

Goodreads Synopsis: Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

Review

One word: boo!

 

Boo in a good way NOT in the bad.

 

This book sort of reminds me of Danny Phantom meets the Ghostbusters. When I first picked it up, I wasn’t sure to like it, but it sounds like something I enjoy writing about so I gave a go.

 

This is my first Victoria Schwab book, and I must say I enjoyed her writing style. It is simple and easy to understand. Though this markets to young readers or middle graders, it is still an entertaining read.

 

The pacing is fast which I like. The dialogues are natural as if I can hear them speaking through the pages. From time to time, there were some humorous times that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Whenever Jacob is with Cassidy – he makes the scene less tense and those are my memorable moments! I love their friendship and how they got each other backs in times of trouble. Every time Cassidy, the main character converse with her best friend, Jacob, it is like I am right there in the room with them.

 

All in all, my favourite character is Jacob. Schwab has written him to be a relatable, and comical character. I love seeing 4.5/5him communicate with Cassidy. And I cannot wait for the sequel!

 

I rate this 4.5/5.

 

That concludes my review. I sure can see myself rereading this book. I recommend this book to whoever likes reading about Scotland, ghosts, and curses.

Alex is signing out.

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(Book Review) Desolation by Derek Landy// Spoiler-Free

Title: Desolation (Demon Road #2 Trilogy)

Author: Derek Landy

Publisher: Harper Collins

Goodreads Synopsis:

THE EPIC NEW THRILLER CONTINUES.

The second book in the mind-blowing new supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant.

Reeling from their bloody encounter in New York City, Amber and Milo flee north. On their trail are the Hounds of Hell – five demonic bikers who will stop at nothing to drag their quarries back to their unholy master.

Amber and Milo’s only hope lies within Desolation Hill – a small town with a big secret; a town with a darkness to it, where evil seeps through the very floorboards. Until, on one night every year, it spills over onto the streets and all hell breaks loose.

And that night is coming.

Review

This is the second book in the Demon Road Trilogy. And I munched it in one go! Not literally, figuratively speaking, though it did take a few days to digest. I wasn’t sure that the next instalment was going to suck me in like what happened with the first book, but it did transport me into another dimension. So in other words, it did.

Okay, I may sound overly dramatic but it was a whirlwind ‘book’ ride.

The suspense was killing me, and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat each time I turned the page. What happens next, I wonder every time when I had to put down the book, not that I wanted to, but I needed to. This book was intense!

The characters were flawed and interesting. I like how they grow throughout the book, even if this is the first time reading about them. I also like that the book has a lot of dialogues – the dialogue itself tells the story. I find it intriguing that Landy made their conversations so realistic that I can picture every scene. 

The pages flew through as if I was watching a motion picture. It was drastic, gorry, violent and oh my – steamy – just what I needed to get me back into reading last December.

Landy has done it again! His fast-paced writing style has left me, feeling hungrier even more! That concludes my review. I can’t wait to get my hands on the final book in the series! Gimme now!!

I rate this book 4/5.

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(BOOK REVIEW) The Princess Save Herself in this One by Amanda Lovelace// Spoiler Free

Title: the princess saves herself in this one
Author: Amanda Lovelace
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Goodreads Synopsis:
“Ah, life- the thing that happens to us while we’re off somewhere else blowing on dandelions & wishing ourselves into the pages of our favorite fairy tales.”

A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.

Review

The starting of the book was a little hard to get into BUT that doesn’t stop me from turning the pages. I was curious to know more about the use of this style, and of course what reading modern poetry feels like. Even though the words, the author uses, are so simple, I like how the simplest thing can have a deeper meaning.

At first, I thought this book follows a princess, and how she was imprisoned in the tower, waiting for someone to save her. But it wasn’t all that. Hence, the title of the book, the princess saves herself in this one. So technically, she was locked in the tower, but nobody came and so she, herself rescued her.

It tells the story and that is what I love about it, and Lovelace’s life story – I actually felt her sincerity through the words, and the empowerment. She also explores the events of mental abuse, and it is such a painful thing to know, as a reader, that the book is actually based on true events. In her life.

Also, it isn’t hard to completely understand the book. Even though Lovelace uses simplicity to create content, the words she has chosen are deep. Deeper than the ocean, I guess. And it reads nicely like the waves in the ocean. Therefore, easy to absorb. I don’t see myself bumping over hurdles at times and rereading the line over and over ’cause I didn’t get it.

Thus, I rate this book 4/5.

That concludes my review. You bet I’m going to keep reading her books! 🙂

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(Book Review) The Prom Queen by R. L Stine // Spoiler-Free

I couldn’t be happier than to borrow this #13 book in the Fear Street series from my cousin. Why didn’t borrow it sooner? That mystery continues. I haven’t read an R.L Stine book in a long while, and I cannot see why I hadn’t pick this one yet since it was sitting in the bookshelves, haunting me with its eyes saying ‘read me.’ You don’t find that scary?Let me tell you, I heard it at night. Now that is.

Pic-from-Google

 Title: The Prom Queen

 Author: R.L Stine

 Publisher: Archway Paperback

 Goodreads Synopsis: Dance of death…

A spring night…soft moonlight…five beautiful Prom Queen candidates…dancing couples at the Shadyside High prom—these should be the ingredients for romance.

But stir in one brutal murder—then another, and another—and the recipe quickly turns to horror.

Lizzie McVay realizes that someone is murdering the five Prom Queen candidates one by one—and that she may be next on the list! Can she stop the murderer before the dance is over—for good?

Review

Now this book is what I like to call thrilling! Not only was the plot interesting and well written, it was also fast paced. I literally gobbled every page I read. It was BAM this happened, BAM that happened, and then BAM someone was dead.

I like the way Lizzie, the main character was written in the story. It made me feel as though I was in the main character’ shoes. I could feel what she was feeling; my heart beating when she was close to solving the mystery. My pulse racing when she was in tight situations. My breath heavy when she saw who the killer was!

Every page was a page turner! The entire time I was kept at the edge of my seat, I screamed when she screamed. I wanted to know who did that and of course who the killer was. It kept me up all night, wanting to know more. What was going to happen next? I haven’t been this entertained for a long while. One of the best books I have read so far, I must say.

I rated this book 4.5/5.

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