Book Reviews: Siddharta | The Copper Gauntlet | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Title: Siddharta

Author: Hermann Hesse
Original title: Siddharta
First published: 1922
Genre: Classic, Philosophy
Series: --
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 116
Finished: 26/07/2019
Summary: Siddhartha, a handsome Brahmin's son, is clever and well loved, yet increasingly dissatisfied with the life that is expected of him. Setting out on a spiritual journey to discover a higher state of being, his quest leads him through the temptations of luxury and wealth, the pleasures of sensual love, and the sinister threat of death-dealing snakes, until, eventually, he comes to a river. There a ferryman guides him towards his destiny, and to the ultimate meaning of existence.

My thoughts: My fifth read for "The Reading Rush" 2019! This one was read for the challenge "read a book with purple on the cover"; a challenge that proved difficult to fulfil! It seems that not many of my slimmer books have something purple on the cover, so I was lucky to discover that "Siddharta" delivered in my time of need ;)
Unfortunately, I didn’t find this book to be anything but boring. It is a work of philosophy, and it was easy to read and understand, but it offered me no new wisdom or view on life. Basically, it’s a repetition of “money can’t buy happiness” and a small bunch of other lifestyle ideals. The characters were boring, and I really didn’t care for Siddhartha going out into the world and finding himself and the right path of life. Overall, this book scores a low rating because it gave me nothing at all, without being inherently bad.

Rating: 2/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: The Copper Gauntlet
Author: Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Original title: The Copper Gauntlet
First published: 2015
Genre: Middle-grade, Fantasy
Series: Magisterium #2
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardback
Pages: 264
Finished: 27/07/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall. It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc. Call escapes to the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic -- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

My thoughts: Behold: my sixth read for the 2019 Reading Rush! This was read for the challenge "read a book you meant to read last year".
This series is still a lot like Harry Potter. The similarities are just too many to go unnoticed. However, seeing as I read and loved “Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell, which also shares a glaring amount of similarities with Harry Potter, I guess I cannot fault this series for doing the same. And honestly? It’s a very decent middle grade fantasy series. As far as these first two books go, I’m enjoying them a lot and as the world and story unfolds, I am compelled to read more and more. We follow a worried and cynical protagonist with a character depth that I like, and I’d say almost all the characters are well developed and described so far in the series. I’m also starting to see how much parts of the series are similar to Cassandra Clare’s other works, though I can’t say the same about Holly Black with certainty, since I’ve only ever read one book by her.
All in all, a solid, suspenseful, exciting read!

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky
Original title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
First published: 1999
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Paperback
Pages: 231
Finished: 28/07/2019
Summary: This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

My thoughts: My seventh and final read for the 2019 Reading Rush, thus completing the last two challenges on my list; "read a book with five or more words in the title" (this has 6) and "read seven books" WHICH I HAVE NOW DONE OMG. I am officially the best ever (for a minimum of 2 minutes).
This is a very special book. Did I cry? Yes. I don’t think I will say more than that.

Rating: 4,75/5

Book reviews: Spirit Bound | Yttersta offret | Elden

Title: Spirit Bound

Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Spirit Bound
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #5
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Paperback
Pages: 489
Finished: 03/02/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's - and to her best friend, Lissa. It is at long last graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.

My thoughts: Due to sickness, this took me a full week to finish. Trust me, it would’ve taken like four days otherwise, because this series just hook onto me and don’t let go until I’m done reading. The last book, “Blood Promise” didn’t impress me quite as much as the third, “Shadow Kiss”, and now it seems more like a filler novel to me. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t boring, and the character development of Rose was important, but it could’ve been shortened down by at least 100 pages. This book, “Spirit Bound”, was more reasonable in that aspect. At just under 500 pages, the story made decent progress and some characters, whom I now love, got more time in the spotlight, AND, of course, exciting stuff happened. However, I have a few burning spoiler thoughts on my mind that I need to share, so if you’ve NOT read the 5 first books in the Vampire Academy series, do not attempt to read what I’ve written next.

If you HAVE read the 5 first books, you can go ahead and mark this white text to read the spoiler section of this review: So, this book definitely has me conflicted on the sudden strong triangle drama. I was 100% team Dimitri up until the fourth book, which had me doubting (because of the whole Strigoi thing), but this just almost turned me around to being team Adrian. In fact, I am team Adrian right now. Admittedly, I’ll probably change my mind when Mead wants me to in the last book, but ADRIAN!!! Such a sweet little potato, the crispiest fry in the pile, the softest ball of them all. He deserves more than Rose though, seeing as all she can think about is Dimitri. About that, I can’t fault her for being super focused on Dimitri. Like, it’s her former lover turned death machine, turned back into a dhampir and then…?? He’s being a pitiful little meep about it, and NOT in a good way. He acts like Edward Cullen in New Moon. It’s that level of selfish pity and I’m not liking it. Instead, Dimitri is worshipping Lissa, which I also get, but why so intensely? Idk he seems fake all of a sudden. Or just boring. I hope he turns around in the next book and makes up for this, because he definitely has to if I’m gonna go over on his team again.

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Yttersta offret (The Ultimate Sacrifice)
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Last Sacrifice
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Vampire Academy #6
Publisher: Bonnier Carlsen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 647
Finished: 08/02/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! The Queen is dead and the Moroi world will never be the same. Rose Hathaway is awaiting wrongful execution and there exists only one man who can stall this terrible fate. Rose must look to both Dimitri and Adrian, the two great loves of her life, to find him. With her best friend, Lissa, in a deadly struggle for the royal throne, the girls find themselves forced to rely upon enemies and questioning those they thought could trust... But what if true freedom means sacrificing the most important thing of all? Each other.

My thoughts: I did it! I finished the series! Woop!

But was it good? I’m not certain. Like, sure, it was good, but it wasn’t really what I’d wished for. In my opinion, this series peaked with the third book, “Shadow Kissed”, and from then on… it got a bit bleak, didn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, the series still has a lot to offer in the last half; action, drama, some nice characters (*cough* Adrian *cough*) and stuff. It’s all swell, and I did enjoy it, but there turned out to be several things I was missing. I’ll get into that in the spoiler section of this review. All you spoiler free peeps need to know is that the series is definitely worth reading and that much of my displeasure was probably due to all the spoilers I’d gotten before I even started the series. Alright, let’s get on with the spoilers.

Mark the following white text in the SPOILER SECTION to get the juicy stuff: I ended up not really being on Team Dimitri? Like, I knew it was gonna be endgame with Dimitri and Rose, but with Dimitri not “doing his romantic part” for two and a half thick ass books, I lost interest in him. They went on with this New Moon style pretend one sided romance for so long that I just moved on. It didn’t help that Rose got a better boyfriend than Dimitri too. Adrian was such a babe, but then again I’m glad they weren’t endgame. Adrian deserves better than Rose’s Dimitri thirsty ass. I guess that’s one of the reasons that I wasn’t pleased with the ending; it sucked for Adrian. Poor boy. The rest was happy as fuck, too happy. Lissa became a fucking queen (I don’t like that? Feels fake? Tbh she’s 18, I wouldn’t put her in the position of so much power.), Rose got her Dimitri AND her freedom AND happy ending and all that jazz and I ain’t liking it to be completely honest. This series went from being kinda badass to ending with “love solves everything” crap and it was just… weak. Also, the Swedish translations aren’t good. I read book three and five in English, and those turned out to be my favourites in the series. Coincidence? I think not!

Ok so this has all sounded so negative, but in all honesty even though I’m displeased with the ending, this series was a lot of fun. Rose’s character development was good; she definitely changed a lot from the first book. The romance(s) became a bit wobbly at the end, but it is what it is. Like I said, it could depend on me being majorly spoiled at some important shit in this series (like Dimitri becoming strigoi and Lissa becoming queen). The best parts of this series was the third book, pre-strigoi Dimitri, and Adrian <3

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Elden (The Fire)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Fire Study
Genre: High fantasy, YA
Series: Poison Study #3
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 376
Finished: 13/02/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder—able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena's unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena's fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before...

My thoughts: Another series finished; this time “Poison Study” by Maria V. Snyder. I enjoyed this series to an extent which I had never fathomed. These books could very well have been written as tailored for my tastes. Of course, that means I loved them. Like, really loved them. Everything about this series was good. Characters? Good, and on all parts of the good-evil spectrum. World building? Superb, cool, and easy to get to know. Plot? Fast paced and exciting. Narrative? Good af. Everything? Awesome. Super duper. Plz read.

Valek is my new fictional crush (as is Ambrose and Yelena, but not to the same extent). That's all.
(PS: There is a follow-up trilogy to this that is called "Soulfinders", which I really want to read now)

Rating: 5/5

Book reviews: Giftet | Magin | Carry On

Title: Giftet (The Poison)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Poison Study
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Poison Study #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Finished: 20/01/2019
Summary: About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

My thoughts: Oh. My. GOD. This is BY FAR the best YA novel I've read for a long time. This story, with its writing and realistic characters, had me ensnared from the first page. I mean, come on, just the premise of this book is AWESOME. A teenage girl on death row in a Merlin-esque world gets the option of becoming food taster for the Commander, working alongside a vicious assassin. I LOVE IT. The romance had me hooked (and I know the age difference is questionable, but I frankly don't care). The characters are soooo good, the world building is solid, the politics aren't dull, and, again, the fricking romance. Yelena is such an interesting character to follow, with her dark and tragic past that is given to us in small hints throughout this first novel. And Valek is superb. Just fantastic.
All in all, I am so glad I finally picked this up after having it on my shelves for many years. This translation is really good and the book is so worth reading. You definitely won't regret it. If you enjoyed BBC's Merlin, you'll like this too (although this is mayhaps a bit darker). GO READ IT.

Rating: 5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Magin (The Magic)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Magic Study
Genre: YA, fantasy
Series: Poison Study #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Finished: 24/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster... 
With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep.
But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Nor the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye.

My thoughts: After absolutely loving the first book, I threw myself into the second book, “Magin”, or “Magic Study” in English. This was a really good continuation; the new scenery and characters keeps the story alive and exciting. We get to find out more about the political situation and how magic works. Yelena grows more badass as a character, I love her very much. I don’t have a lot more to say, except that I really like the romance in many ways. One big reason for that is that there’s no doubt between Yelena and Valek. She never doubts that he’s the one she loves and the right person for her, even when others show romantic interest in her. Her loyalty is strong, and so is his. It’s unusual to find such romances in YA books. Often there’s at least a love triangle.
Don't even look at the cover. It will distract you with its ugliness. It's absolutely froglike.

Rating: 5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Original title: Carry On
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Simon Snow #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Hardback
Pages: 517
Finished: 27/01/2019
Summary: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

My thoughts: Finally! I’ve been looking forward to reading this since 2015, when it first came out. I thought I’d read “Fangirl” first, but I guess the pull of this one was stronger. In the end, it was my friend, Emilia, who pushed me into reading it now. Something that's good to know is that this is basically a fanfiction on Harry Potter, but with a lot of stuff kinda changed. Idk, I like it, but then I've also had my fair share of experience when it comes to other Harry Potter fanfics.

“Carry On” was a quirky and fun as I was expecting it to be. The first 200 pages or so were basically just exposition and world building, and I’d say the good stuff starts after that. There’s the mystery about the Humdrum, the tension between Simon and Baz (who is a smexy BAZtard hehe), and a political war going on in the background. The romance was a lot of fun, but not as fun as the magic. Tbh, having spells be idioms, saying, and famous quotes or song lyrics’ is just brilliant and hilarious. I found myself giggling at even the most serious scenes, because someone would be casting “These are not the droids you’re looking for” and send me into a fit of laughter.

All in all, this was a great book for this god awful weather. Something to warm me up with both laughter and happy feelings overall. I’m very much looking forward to the sequel, which is said to be coming THIS YEAR, so I certainly hope it does.

Rating: 5/5

Book reviews: Fruset blod | Shadow Kiss | Löftet

Title: Fruset blod (Frozen Blood)
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Frostbite
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Publisher: Bonnier Carlsen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 334
Finished: 10/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory. But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

My thoughts: I read this book with the motivation to work on two of my reading goals for this year; to continue series I’ve already started, and to read books I’ve owned for several years. I read the first book in 2014, and have owned this second book for just as long. It was a really quick read, even surprisingly quick, and I’ll be moving on to the next book right after this. “Fruset blod”, or “Frost Bite” in English, was entertaining, but I didn’t love it. Don’t worry, I didn’t dislike it either. I just didn’t love it, which is rare for a book that I finish so quickly without forcing myself. I had a few issues with the novel that weren’t glaring to me, but which definitely affected my judgement. One negative aspect was an underlying sexism and quite blatant heteronormativity through the whole book; something I would probably barely have noticed had I read this years ago. It wasn’t annoying to an extent that I felt annoyed, but, you know, I noticed it and it was consistent. The other big thing was the main character, who is cocky and impulsive… a bit too impulsive, sometimes, for my liking. She often acts completely without thought for consequences, and more than once I felt an urge to face palm at her rash actions. Nevertheless, I don’t dislike her at all as a main character; in fact I can see good potential for her character development in later installments of the series.
Other than that? The romance is nice, the plot is exciting, and the world building credible. The language is easy and fun, and the amount of swear words seems to me a nice choice of style for a YA series. I had fun reading it and look forward to the third, but not final, book!

Rating: 3/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Shadow Kiss
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Shadow Kiss
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Paperback
Pages: 443
Finished: 12/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Rose knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa - the last Dragomir princess - must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken... Then a strange darkness begins to grow in Rose's mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy's iron gates. The immortal undead are closing in, and they want vengeance for the lives Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most... but will her choice mean that only one can survive?

My thoughts: Spoiler free section: aaaAAaaaAAAAAaAaAAaaaaaaaaaaAaskjflkdsjgskl!!!!!!!!!!1! OMFG!!! ...phew. Damn. Wow. Where to start?
This book had me warming up to this series in just the way I was hoping it would. After the second book, “Frostbite”, I was entertained, but a lot was still missing for me. I wanted to see more character development for Rose, more wider world building, and definitely development in the main romance. Guess what I got? I got ALL OF THAT, baby! Woop! I think I prefer the English version over the Swedish translations, but as I already own books 4 and 6 in Swedish, the only other book I’ll read in English will be “Spirit Bound”, the 6th instalment. However, I’m not moping! I’m so looking forward to continuing with this series! This book had my adrenaline rushing and my blood pumping. If I could see the potential after reading book 2, imagine my anticipation after this! Kkjslkdjgksldg
Spoiler section: (mark white text to read spoiler review) Rose is still being called whore left and right, I feel, which had me siding with her a lot more than I thought I would. All the other characters having prejudices and suspicions about her just made me cheer harder for her. And fuck Queen Tatiana! >:( Some of the things I really liked about this book were the new aspect of Rose being affected by being shadow-kissed in a more clear way. It definitely adds more to her character. I only wish she would've taken time to talk more to Mason's ghost and, idk, apologised for never telling him she could never love him back? But I guess he got the message anyway. He didn't seem too upset. We also saw Rose developing a lot as a person, both after the finale of the last book, and in her interactions with Dimitri and evil peeps like Tatiana and Victor. Her new perspective on the relationship between herself and Lissa also brought a lot of credibility to Rose’s character and had me sympathising with her. Also, we got to know more about Dimitri’s side of the romance. He’s been pretty silent about the whole thing for the past two books, but in this one his character was really pushed to talk and act more, which I found to be positive. Therefore, I also felt a lot more about the romance in this book than earlier. Also, THE PLOT TWIST. I had Dimitri becoming a Strigoi spoiled for me years ago, so I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN sooner or later and I could sense it towards the end and I didn’t really want to finish the last 40 pages but I DID and it was rough but I also LOVE how the book ended with Rose leaving the school and Lissa (temporarily, maybe, according to her) to try to find Dimitri. I like Lissa and her friendship with Rose, but what I like more is Rose being strong enough to leave Lissa and do something for herself. Awesome characters development! Great plot! Woop!


Rating: 4,5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Löftet (The Promise)
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: Blood Promise
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Vampire Academy #4
Publisher: Bonnier Carlsen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 522
Finished: 17/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved? 

My thoughts: Big spoiler warning! After “Shadow Kiss”, I was super excited to continue the series, which I of course did immediately. Unfortunately I read this fourth book in Swedish, which was a bit of a downer. The translation is at times faulty, words are sometimes misspelt or completely missing from sentences, and the language overall feels stilted. There were jumps in time in the plot which seemed sudden and confusing, and I can’t tell if that’s the translator’s fault or the author’s. Overall, this book was darker than the last one, and I missed Dimitri a lot. Rose was distanced from her own self in a way for the whole book, which is understandable when you think about what she’s going through, but it also had me feeling unsettled at times. We followed another story in this book, namely Lissa’s. I was irritated at her character in the beginning of this novel, which I hadn’t really been before, but I also think we got to know her character better as the story progressed. The relationship between Lissa and Rose grew stronger and more credible. We’re also getting more familiar with both Adrian and Jill, which I like. Other than that, I don’t have much to say, except that I’m anxious to get my hands on the next book in the series.


Rating: 4/5

Book reviews: Så har jag det nu | Wonder | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Title: Så har jag det nu
Author: Meg Rosoff
Original title: How I Live Now
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Series: --
Publisher: Brombergs
Format: Paperback
Pages: 188
Finished: 15/5/17
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy. As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. 

My thoughts: Let me start off by stating that this was not particularly my cup of tea. I don't enjoy dystopian novels very much (though my Swedish teacher keeps throwing them as us) and I'm not too fond of bland, forced heterosexual romances that seem to only be there for the sake of it. I don't mean to take it out on this novel specifically; I'm just so tired of all these halfhearted love stories between and guy and a girl that don't do anything to enhance the story or add any depth to the characters. In fact, romances in general shouldn't stand as a major theme in most novels. I could name several that would do just as well, or even better, without the romance in the centre.
Anyways, back to the novel. The protagonist's name is Daisy and she has some issues. She's anorectic, a bit depressed maybe, and just generally sad and miserable most of the time. I can't say I enjoyed reading the story from her point of view. Not because she had issues, not at all, but because she was passive as all hell and didn't care about almost anything but her cousins, how thin she was (and proud of it), and her dad and his new girlfriend, both of whom she seems to hate a little. While there was an ongoing war around them, she still focused on eating less, ignoring all else. I was rather interested in said war, but nope, we don't find out much about it so....
The other characters are fine, though I never got to know any of them well enough to actually come to care for them. The novel is short, and there is little focus on anyone but Daisy overall. I would've liked to read it from someone else's point of view, Isaac's for example, but I was stuck with Daisy throughout the whole thing. Well-o-well. I didn't hate her character; I could sympathize with her despite me disliking her.
The story itself is interesting, or at least to a certain point. The plot has its moments of excitement, but I was never really into it enough to enjoy it. There will be other books, though. This is by far not the worst I've ever read.

Rating: 2/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio
Original title: Wonder
Genre: Contemporary, Middle grade
Series: Wonder #1
Publisher: Corgi Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 310
Finished: 27/5/17
Summary: Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

My thoughts: As usual, I don't have as much to say about good books as I have with not-so-amazing books (*cough cough* How I Live Now *cough cough*). I did thoroughly enjoy Wonder, though! The novel is of reasonable length and I worship the short chapters. I'm especially grateful for them as I only have a 9 minutes train ride each morning to read and I'm a slow reader...
Anyways! The short chapters are not what made this book into what it is. This is an emotional ride following a young boy, August, who's struggled with poor self esteem his entire life due to a severe facial malformation that he's had since birth. We get to read the story from several different points of view, all of characters that are close to August. I enjoyed all the perspectives and I was impressed at how the author had really succeeded in successfully writing so many different perspectives and personalities in a believable way. I loved the friendship between August and Jack and Summer, though I'd wished to see more of Summer towards the end of the novel. I also missed the character of Miranda in the first half, but oh well.
In the end, I had a hard time putting this down while reading it. It's one of those books where you go "ah, just one more chapter" again and again. It was uplifting and inspirational and invoked a lot of sympathy in me. The reason I'm not giving it a full 5/5 rating is because I didn't find it exciting. That was the one element I missed during the entire story. I didn't get excited at any point really. Sure, it wasn't a fantasy adventure or anything of the sort so I can't have expectations that are too high, but even books like these can invoke some rush of adrenaline. Well, that's what I didn't get.

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: Jack Thorne
Original title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Genre: Fantasy, Play
Series: --
Publisher: Little, Brown
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 330
Finished: 3/6/17
Summary: It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

My thoughts: My first impression when I started reading this was not good. I had dearly hoped it would be better than its Goodreads rating told me, but I was met with something that didn't even live up to that rating in the first place. I was about to give up on it completely, I kept going and in the end, it did sort of redeem itself. Here's my thoughts.

I read this along with my good friend Emilia. It was a quick read, though it still took me about a week to get through it, what-with schoolwork and all else that stands in the way. Let me start off by stating that I do not, and will not, consider this book to be a true part in the Harry Potter series. Partly because J.K. Rowling didn't actually write this, and because I do not feel it deserves it. Argue however you like, but this is my final judgement. When reading Act One of this play, I very nearly hated it. The old characters were wrong to me, and although I understand that time might have changed them, they were still just ghosts of how I remember them. However, where Jack Thorne failed with characters like Harry, he still did a pretty good job with the newer characters, like Albus and Scorpius (whom I ship together). Nevertheless, I got used to his Golden Trio in the end, thank dog. In acts 2 through 4, I thankfully encountered some real excitement and though there were some MAJOR PLOT HOLES, I still found myself captured by the story.

I had a hard time picturing this play on an actual stage. I'm sure the pros made it work, but some things in the script just seemed impossible to do even with cool light and sound effects. I guess I'll have to wait and see when they release the play on video.

My rating for this book was going to be a 2/5 rating in the beginning, but I ended up adding a star. The story really picks itself up in the second act and some scenes had me moved. However, I still cannot overlook the first act and the plot holes, and the major issues I had with some of the characters. I see it more as a passable fanfiction. Far from the best I've read, but still decent enough to give a try. As a fanfiction. Maybe it's better when seen as a live play? I don't know. As a script, though, it has some things to work on before I'm going to find it worthy as the eighth part of the Harry Potter series.

Rating: 3/5

Book reviews: The Iron Trial | White Cat | Days of Blood & Starlight

Title: The Iron Trial
Author: Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Original title: The Iron Trial
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Series: Magisterium #1
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 295
Finished: 04/09/2015
Summary: Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.
Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.
All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.
So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.
Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

My thoughts:
Okay, so here's the thing; this book has a lot of things similar to Harry Potter. I still loved it, but at the same time I felt the authors could've worked a little harder on making it less Harry Potter-ish. I mean, there's even a Death Eater on the cover (kind of)! But don't worry, The Iron Trial is in a lot of ways also its own. I especially liked Call, the main character, for many reasons, but I won't mention them all since I don't wish to spoil you. I just really appreciated his personality and humour and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story, his story, from his point of view. And the sidekicks were totally loveable characters as well and I felt they all developed through the story though it's not a very long book. Actually, the characters overall were pretty awesome.
Also, it built up to the ending in a really good way. I almost missed my train to school because I was so caught up in reading towards the end. I loved that! Plus, the story held a good pace and for the first time in a long time I felt I'd rather read a book than sit with my laptop. It was a great feeling and maybe I can throw this reading slump off my shoulders and start truly enjoy reading in my free time again.
I give this book a 4/5 stars. It would've probably gotten a 5/5 stars if I hadn't felt so many times that it was so alike Harry Potter. I think they could have tried a little harder to make it its own story completely. I expect more from the upcoming books. I'm so excited for The Copper Gauntlet! Aaah!

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Original title: White Cat
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Curse Workers #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 310
Finished: 07/09/15
Summary: Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.
But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.

My thoughts:
I admit I bought this book a little bit because of the cover. A little. But can you blame me, really? I mean, just look at it! It's gorgeous!
Anyway, White Cat is more than a pretty cover. It's not a normal YA fantasy novel. It's a bit different from all those books that are all the same, and that's what makes this book stand out so much. Firstly, it's written from a boy's point of view. I really wish we's see more of that in the YA community. It's always girls; almost as if it's part of the genre to have a girl as main character. I'm not saying it's not cool to read from the points of view of badass young women, but boys should be seen too. At least to encourage more teenage boys to read.
Secondly, the atmosphere is darker in a much more professional way in White Cat than in many other novels that try but never fully succeed. It loved the family relations and the relationship Cassel has with many of the characters. It felt very real.
Thirdly, the world was so cool and rather unique. Magic in a new way.
And may I just say I loved Barron as a character? So well done; I applaud you, Ms Black.
Overall, a truly unique book amongst the sea of YA. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story with twisted elements of darkness.

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Days of Blood & Starlight
Author: Laini Taylor

Original title: Days of Blood & Starlight
Genre: YA, Fantasy

Series: Dauther of Smoke & Bone #2

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Format: Hardback

Pages: 513

Finished: 08/09/2015

Summary: (Spoiler alert!) 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.

My thoughts:
I've been meaning to pick this up for at least a year. Now I finally got that little extra push of motivation to read it, as I'm going to the Swedish yearly Book Fair this year, and guess who's going to be there! Laini Taylor! So I want to have read the whole trilogy before I meet her in the end of September.
I knew from non-spoiler reviews on Goodreads that this book was supposed to be pretty sad. It was not just "sad". It was heartbreaking. But in that amazing way that feels great no matter what way you put it. I was, I don't know, fifty-ish pages into this book and I was already both depressed and obsessed.
I can't say too much about it since it's the second book in a trilogy and I don't want to spoil anyone, but let me say a few things.
The characters! So real and so well described I felt I knew them in real life. I was so into the story, I almost felt I was the characters. I felt their sorrows and their grief and regrets. Not much happiness, because there's little of that in this book.
I especially like Karou as a female protagonist. I felt she was rather just a person than a girl. That's something I've come to realize I don't like about most YA novels; it's made so very clear that the female protagonists are females. I wish it could just be natural that they're girls rather than... forced.
What I liked less about this instalment of the series was the pace. It felt sooo slow at times and it was just misery and depression and badness. But, that's the only downside with this book, and I guess all the slowness was a build up and  it was a good way to introduce all the new characters.

Rating: 4,5/5