Review: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Title: This Savage Song

Series: Monsters of Verity #1

Author: Victoria Schwab

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Age group: Young adult

Pages: 464 (Hardcover)

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publication date: July 5, 2016

Synopsis from This Savage Song's Goodreads page

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

THOUGHTS:

I've read one of Victoria Schwab's books before, that being Vicious, and it is one of my all time favourite books ever. So, when I found out that she was releasing a book this year (and that it was a young adult novel) I was ECSTATIC. I love her writing, and I bought this book as soon as I was able to, with staggering expectations.

Firstly, her characters are always amazing. They have such depth and such amazing pasts and lives. August and Kate were no exception. They both had horrors in their past but neither of them let them control them so that they couldn't find themselves. They also interacted in the perfect way as well. One of the appealing things about this book is that there is NO ROMANCE. That's basically unheard of now, not only in young adult but also in books in general. There is always some form of romance, and there is absolutely none in this novel. I feel like that helped the characters to connect in a way that couldn't have been even remotely touched (with a 10 foot pole) if there was any form of attraction or romance between them. It also helps the reader to see friendship without any hindrance.

The idea behind this novel was also absolutely amazing. I find that so many young adult books have monsters that are similar or that just aren't enough monster or are too much monster (if that makes any sense...) and that you can't see them as how the author intended for you to see them. Some monsters are so human that you feel too much pity for them, and others are so far from human that you feel no pity towards them. The monsters in this novel were just enough human at times and just far enough from human at other times that the reader felt pain and pity towards them, but also anger and disgust at other times. The story also has so many important details, like trust issues, influence from parents, lying and searching for the truth, and becoming friends with someone you could never even see as human before. I loved how well everything flowed together and how all the characters were developed and functioned with each other and by themselves.

With that said, I found that there was something missing for me. It wasn't that there was no romance, but that it was told in a different way from how I'm used to Victoria Schwab's writing. She usually has a very flowing, very soft, heavy way of writing, and I found this book to have more of a lighter tone in places that I felt should have been heavy. I also feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, and although I know that there is going to be a second book and that it was supposed to end on a cliff hanger, but I feel like this one was so much more sudden and unexpected. After I had finished the book I felt like there should have been a bit more to it, and bit more of a finalizing end.

Overall though, I loved this book and the characters, plot and the connections between the characters was amazing.

Overall - ★★★★☆



Review: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Title: The Miniaturist

Author: Jessie Burton

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age group: Adult

Pages: 416 (Paperback)

Publisher: Ecco

Publication date: June 2, 2016


Synopsis from The Miniaturist's Goodreads page


Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam—a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion—a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.


“There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . .”

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office—leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella’s world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist—an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes’ gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand—and fear—the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

THOUGHTS:

I've seen this book all over European BookTube, and I've been meaning to pick it up and read it for awhile. While I was on vacation earlier this month, I was able to find it in a used bookstore (an amazing bookstore as well) and finally sit down and read it.

I absolutely love historical fictions books, especially ones that take place in this time period and especially ones that take place in Europe. This book was different though, as it takes place in Amsterdam, so I was extremely excited when I sat down to read it about what I would be able to learn about the city and how the people lived in this time period.

First off, I loved the setting of the novel. Amsterdam is one of the top places that I want to travel to one day and I just gathered up as much as I could about the city and about the houses and places in it. The description of the city was just beautiful, and I loved how the buildings and rooms were described throughout the entire novel. It just makes me want to travel there even more now!

I also loved the characters in the novel. I found some to be a little frustrating at times, but as the novel progressed you learn why they are the way they are. I also loved how each character was so different, and how they each had their own traits and how they all had flaws and vulnerabilities. The author did an amazing job with these characters, because by making them all have such visible (and hidden) flaws, they all seemed to become more real. They were easier to connect with, and to understand.
I also absolutely loved the plot of the novel. The storyline kept building and building throughout the entire novel, and I loved how the end of the book seemed to feel like the climax. So much of the story was spent just building up to the sudden ending, and although I usually like to have more happen after the climax and have things wind down a bit afterwards, I feel that this book could not have been better if that had happened. This story needed to have the sudden climax, the massive building until the very end, and everything that happened in the novel happened exactly where it should have.
The only problem I had with the novel was that some parts of it dragged a little bit more than it should have, but other than that there was nothing wrong with it. The characters were amazing, the plot was wonderful, and the storyline was absolutely perfect.
Overall - ★★★★☆.5 

Review: More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Title: More Happy Than Not

Author: Adam Silvera

Genre: Contemporary

Age group: Young Adult

Pages: 336 (Paperback)

Publisher: Soho Teen

Publication date: April 26, 2016


Synopsis from More Happy Than Not's Goodreads page


In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again—but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

THOUGHTS:

The first book I read this summer was More Happy Than Not. I bought it last month because I had heard so many good things about it, and although I did really enjoy some parts of it, other parts I wasn't too fond of.
As a whole, I felt that the book had an amazing way of interpreting someone coming of age, figuring out who they were, and discovering their sexuality. I loved how the characters had so many conflicts, and how some lasted for a long time and others for mere pages, because that's exactly how life is. Some things last longer than others.
I also really enjoyed the character development in this novel, because I found that many of the characters really grew into who they were at the end of the novel and reached places that they weren't even close to seeing at the beginning and throughout the novel. They were all different and they all had flaws, some much larger than others. I loved how this book not only covered topics of sexuality and finding yourself, but how it also covered topics such as struggling for what you have, living in a single parent home, and harder topics such as suicide and depression. A few of the characters suffer greatly from depression and there is much talk of suicide throughout this book, which I feel is an important thing to talk about, especially within the young adult genre.
Something I wasn't a massive fan of was how the characters' sexuality was explored; I feel like the book could have had more of the characters figuring things out themselves instead of just jumping into so much action in places. That isn't to say that the actions of finding your sexuality shouldn't be covered, but for this book I just personally feel that there could have been a little more of the characters trying to figure things out, think through who they are and who they wanted to become before they jumped into their decisions.
I loved the idea of having memory wiping technology, and while reading this book it really makes the reader ponder if you have any memories that you want erased. Although the people in the book working for the memory wiping company are much pickier with who gets memories wiped and who does not, it makes you think about if you would want anything, or anyone, wiped from your mind, possibly forever. I thought the idea of it was absolutely brilliant.
I also loved the settings in this novel, and how drastic the settings differed from each other. They really affected the mood of the story as well as the characters and how they acted with and to each other. The difference between the Bronx homes and the memory wiping labs was so drastic, it really affected both the characters in the novel as well as me while I was reading. It creates a whole new atmosphere, and a whole new book almost.
The writing style in this book was very well done, and I really liked how this book talked about topics that you usually never hear about, especially in young adult fiction. The writing was wonderful, and I found so much of this book to be so different from other things I have read.
With that said, I am definitely looking forward to Adam Silvera's next novel, and I will hopefully be reading it as soon as it comes out. For his first novel, this book was good, and I look forward to more from him.

Overall - ★★★☆☆.5

June 2016 Book Haul

Although I barely read anything last month, I finished my exams and graduated high school so I figured I would reward myself with a few books.
I got:


Young adult:

1. Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall (Paperback)
2. Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between by Jennifer E. Smith (Paperback)
3. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson (Hardcover)
4. A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas (Hardcover)
5. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera (Paperback)
6. Talon by Julie Kagawa (Paperback)
7. Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (Paperback)

Adult:

1. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh (Paperback)

Classics:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (My second copy - Paperback)
2. The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde (Paperback)
3. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Paperback)
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Paperback)
5. Heart of Darkness & Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad (Paperback)