Crimson Bound

Crimson Bound

By Rosamund Hodge
Hardcover, 441 pages
Published May 5, 2015
9780032224767

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.
Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?
Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption

 I thought this book was an interesting concept, but unlike Cruel Beauty, I was really put off by the main character. Her feelings flip-flopped a lot, which caused her actions to, and by the end I wasn't enthralled the way I had been reading the previous novel. I enjoyed the incorporation of a late 1700s France mixed with the author's own additives as the novel setting, but to me, the characters of this novel, along with the pacing, fell flat.

I don't think this was a bad book, I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened. I don't really feel like this one was a retelling/reimagining as much as the last novel was. In fact, there were a lot of ways it was very similar but the world was not correlated at all.

To be honest, I was very meh about the whole book. I liked the prose, and the secondary characters more than the main character, but this one was just lacking something and I still can't figure out what. I'll get back to you if it comes to me....

Cruel Beauty

Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published January 28, 2014
9780062224736

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-poowerful, imoortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love h3er sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? with time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I first saw this book at a Books-A-Million the year it came out, took a picture of it with my phone so I wouldn't forget about it, and wouldn't you know I did just that. While going through some photos, I saw it again, and decided to -finally- pick it up and start reading.

I love fairy tale retellings and I must say, I loved this one. Reading about the author, I saw that Rosamund is a huge fan of mythology, which is very prevalent in this book, especially that she creates a world that is based/loosely based at times, on Greek mythology.

One thing I absolutely loved, was that the main character of Nyx, was not sweet. She was full of spite, while readily accepting her fate, she cursed the people who did nothing to stop it. She resents her sister who is full of her father's favor, and regrets being the daughter that bore her father's face. She had character, she was angry, and she had a job to do.

Hodge's prose is very well written. Sometimes, there's more explanation given for things that didn't really matter that much in the book, such religion, because the things that are explained don't give much to the story.

I loved Ignifex's charm, and how through the characters, the reader still has a chance to decide which "monster" is the most cruel.

All in all, it was a great book and I found it hard to put down after I got past the first three chapters.

Romancing the Inventor

Romancing the Inventor
by Gail Carriger
ebook, 149 pages
Published Nov. 1, 2016
9781944751067

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Imogene Hale is a lowly parlourmaid with a soul-crushing secret. Seeking solace, she takes work at a local hive, only to fall desperately in love with the amazing lady inventor the vampires are keeping in the potting shed. Genevieve Lefoux is heartsick, lonely, and French. With culture, class, and the lady herself set against the match, can Imogene and her duster overcome all odds and win Genevieve's heart, or will the vampires suck both of them dry?

This is a stand-alone LBGTQ sweet romance set in Gail Carriger's Parasolverse, full of class prejudice, elusive equations, and paranormal creatures taking tea.

I received a copy of the ebook from the author in exchange for my honest review.

First off, I've read Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, The Finishing School Series, and the new Prudence series. Basically, what I'm trying to say is "I'm a Gail Carriger fan". 

Romancing the Inventor was such a breath of fresh air for me. One of my favorite things about Carriger's books is the characters. She write such diverse and colorful characters and Genevieve LeFoux has always been a favorite of mine since she debuted in Changeless. The constant sadness that came along with her character made me always quietly root for things to turn out well. She became even more of a favorite after reading some of her childhood in the Finishing School Series. To finally get to read Genevieve's happy ending was just wonderful.

Imogene, the main character of the story is lovely. character. She's strong willed, a romantic, and optimistic. She's trying to find where she fits in the world during a time period where women are supposed to be with men (and that's that), where classes don't mix. She constantly is saying she isn't special, only that she's "good with sums". Yet, there's something fresh and sweet about her, especially when staying strong defending herself against those who think she's trying to move up in the Hive household.

I thought the budding romance between Imogene and Genevieve was sweet, romantic, and completely natural. This was not my first forray into an LBGTO romance, but it definitely left me with more of a sweet happy feeling after reading, because of how well these two characters fit together.

In my opinion, Carriger's done it again with creating a novel in her series that is a romance, but is sweet and realistic, and just a lovely piece of standalone work. 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill
388 pages, published Aug. 9, 2016 by Algonquin Young Readers
ISBN 1616205679 

Synopsis (From Goodreads):

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. 

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.

QQ Sweeper Vol. 1-3

QQ Sweeper Vol. 1-3
By Kyousuke Motomi
Synopsis (from goodreads.com)

The manga's ad uses the tagline "brush away all the soot of the hear". The "cleaning story of love and bravery(!!)" follows Kyuutarou, who never leaves a speck of dust behind when he "cleans". One day, he meets a girl who wants to be his apprentice.

Review: 
First off, I'm a big fan of manga, especially 'shojo' titles, so my review may be a tad biased.  Potential spoilers ahead too.

This was a really interesting story idea. It is about people that harbor bad thoughts of self doubt, etc, that causes their minds to become corrupted or "dirty". They leave behind these black insects that Kyutaro "sweeps" away using magic. He calls himself a cleaner. He meets transfer student Fumi after she stumbles into the mind path and destroys a bug with her bare hands.

His brother has him take her on as an apprentice since she has no where to stay. The dynamic between them is similar to Motomi's other series, Dengenki Daisy, but the improved art and paranormal aspect of the story makes it fresh and a solid series in it's own right.

According to other reviews that I've read on Goodreads, this series ends with volume 3 and continues as a new series. I'm definitely interested in learning the continued story.

I rated this series as a 4, as the art and story were interesting, and kept my attention through all three volumes.

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot
By Peter Brown

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published April 5th 2016 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN 0316381993

Synopsis (from goodreads.com)

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz's only hope is to learn from the island's hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her....

I'm going to start this a review with me gushing about how much I love Peter Brown's children's books! I love Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Children Make Terrible Pets. When I saw he had a middle grade book, I wondered if his magic of telling stories would shine through. I was not disappointed.

Roz the robot is wonderful. For a robot with "no emotions" Roz's personality begins to shine through with her actions and those end up ultimately defining her. I love that even though animals run away, she is persistent, and observes, learning how to make the animals less frightened of her.

The book also covers a lot of subjects that are great entry-ways into deeper conversation with a child that might be middle grade aged. 

-Adoption (with the caretaking of Bright Beak)
-Death
-Responsibility
-Building relationships
-Communication
-Pollution/Global Warming

I really liked how Peter Brown approached the subject of death, and how it was perceived by the animals in the forest. The harshness of it along with the casual, this is how things are.

It was such a wonderful book, one that I read hurriedly in an afternoon and I was not disappointed, and the lesson of doing things for the greater good of all was just such a wonderful message and had such a wonderful messenger in Roz, the robot.

Sorry for lack of activity!

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted much, I've been doing a lot of reviews on goodreads.com. Feel free to add me there (saruwarui) for reviews.

I'm going to try to start using this more as I'd like to keep documenting books that I've read! Stay tuned for some reviews!