MY THOUGHTS This book was on of my most anticipated releases of the year, so I had high eThis and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS This book was on of my most anticipated releases of the year, so I had high expectations. This book wasn't as groundbreaking as I expected, but I still loved it!
Ever since an accident at the zoo when she was a child, Fiona has had a large scar running across her face. Her scar prevents her from being brave (and trying out for any contact sports). She's too scared to face her crush and too scared for anyone to hear her songs. When an opportunity arises for her to surgically change her face, will she take it? Then there's Fi. Fi is what Fiona might've been. Fi doesn't have a scar and is a star lacrosse player.She lives for lacrosse and she wishes her only problem was that her best friend might be interested in her.
It's no secret that I love parallel universes. This book isn't as sci-fi as my favorite parallel universe reads, but this book has my favorite factor: What if? This question is what I find so fascinating about parallel worlds. There are so many crossroads throughout our lives and I find it so interesting to wonder how different our lives could be in each one! This book explores this concept in such an amazing way!
One thing I always wonder, especially, if how different I would be if my life went a different direction at one point. It's entirely possible that I could be an entirely different person! That's the case with Fiona and Fi. They're the same girl, but they are completely different. They each have different talents, interests, personalities, and lives. Fiona is a songwriter, Fi loves lacrosse. Fiona is shy, Fi is more outspoken. It's just amazing how different someone could be if lives were led a different direction!
I loved seeing the differences between the two universes, but I also loved seeing how they connected. Fiona/Fi's stories were different, obviously, and their two lives were different, but the surroundings had similarities. One main factor that I loved was how both of them had the same people in their lives somehow. Fiona's best friend was just an annoying class partner to Fi, but there were others who were always there and I liked that. It gives the idea that the same people revolve in all of your lives.
I know I'm raving about this book, so now here comes the part that I wasn't a fan of. This book follows Fiona//Fi for 3 years (last two years of high school and first year of college. While I liked seeing how their lives went, it was told in a way that we were following their lives. I don't want to say it was uneventful, because there were big moments, but it wasn't enormously exciting. Still liked it, but it's what prevented me from giving this book a 5/5.
IN CONCLUSION Overall, this was an amazing book! I love how the question of "What if?" was addressed and I found the two stories fascinating! This book was a bit slow-going due to the format, but it's still a great read! I strongly recommend it and I look forward to any books Moriah McStay writes in the future!...more
AFTER READING MY THOUGHTS I was looking for a feel-good read and thought that Morgan MatsoThis and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
AFTER READING MY THOUGHTS I was looking for a feel-good read and thought that Morgan Matson would be a great choice and this is one that I hadn't yet reread. It also has puppers, a character who writes, and it takes place in the summer, so it really felt like a perfect book to reread! Rereading this book I realized that there were so many details I still retained but I still immensely enjoyed reading it! Some things were different than I remember, but it's still a great Morgan Matson book.
Andie's plans include an all-important internship at a med school. Not only will it help her future and look good on a resume, but it lets her out of the house after her dad (a congressman) got involved with a scandal. But when said scandal causes Andie to get pulled from an internship, she doesn't know what to do. All of the other internships and jobs are already taken and she can't have a gap in her resume. She has to find something to do and sure it wasn't walking dogs, but maybe she can find greatness in this summer after all.
This indeed has a lot of feel-good to it (the puppers help). One of the reasons why I love Morgan Matson's books is that while her books can sometimes be predictable, her books are incredibly realistic because there is complexity to them. Yes, this book has a romance in it, but it's not just about romance. There is a lot about trying to figure out what you are doing when the unexpected happens (which is definitely relatable) and trying new things. There are themes are sticking with your friends and fixing relationships. There is even Andie still dealing with her mother's death years later and the father that is so caught up in work that he has no time for her. Speaking of Andie, there was just so much growth in her character in the book and even growth in the characters surrounding her as the book progressed.
The characters in this book are just fantastic! I loved seeing the group texts between Andie's friends! I also loved that Andie's dad was a part of the book and we see their relationship change from a nonexistent relationship to a close relationship. I honestly just loved seeing everyone react around each other. Again, it goes back to the complexity that Morgan Matson includes in her books. Each character is dynamic with their own unique personalities. They all feel like real people which made all of the emotions feel real. Let's not forget the dogs! I love love love dogs. If you asked me what my favorite animal was it would be, no question, dogs! So that was a big part of why I wanted to reread this book. Even the dogs get their personalities showcased! The main dog we see is Bertie who is a Great Pyrenees and I am just full of happiness just thinking about him! I volunteered walking dogs in the past and I kept getting reminded two Great Pyrenees, a brother and sister that the shelter was trying to get adopted together. They were just sweet furballs and I adored them. Thankfully they are now in a happy home!
Okay, I'll stop talking about dogs (even though I don't want to) and get to what disappointed me during my reread. My first time reading I gave this 5 stars, this time it gets 4 stars. This is mainly is due to the last part of the book, which I completely forgot about. Near the end, there is a large portion where the feel-good drops and we get a lot of conflict. I don't have a problem with the fact that there is conflict, because in real life there is conflict, I have a problem with the reasons why there was a conflict. A lot of it seemed stupid, avoidable, and it took up a lot of space in the book (this isn't a short book) (view spoiler)[My main gripe is that there is conflict over the fact that one friend has a crush on a boy and it turns out that boy has a crush on another friend (and they strike up a relationship). Andie finds out about it and there is DRAMA. It was just so stupid. I'm not on either side, but WHY WOULD YOU LET A GUY RUIN A FRIENDSHIP! Because this actually ends a lifelong friendship, over a guy who was not worth it! WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS?! Ugh. Frankly, it was also a bit cliche. (hide spoiler)] It really just made me frustrated.
IN CONCLUSION Overall, I did enjoy rereading this book! Part of the later part frustrated me, but I just loved all the characters and the friendships and the puppers! This is a really great summertime read and I'm glad that I gave it another read!
BEFORE READING I don't even need to know what this book is about. IT IS BY MORGAN MATSON It could be about purple unicorns and their adventures in a dentist office and I would still want to read it....more
THE RUN-DOWN Heart has no interest in romance and plans to spend prom with her friends as tThis and other reviews can be found on The Pychotic Nerd
THE RUN-DOWN Heart has no interest in romance and plans to spend prom with her friends as the No Prom-A Drama Crew. But she suddenly gets two surprising invites to prom and can't decide on who she should go with. The simple solution is to flip a coin. Heads she goes with one, Tails with the other. Told in alternating narratives, Heads and Tails, we get to see what happens if Heart were to choose either of the guys.
MY OPINION When I first saw this book, I wasn't very interested. Since the book takes place at prom, I thought that the book would be too girly. I thought that this would not be my kind of book. [image] Yeah, I was wrong. Thanks to the raving reviews from bloggers, I decided to pick this book up and I definitely ended up liking it! Let me start out by saying this: This was an adorable, fluffy read! [image] It was so much fun and entertaining to read this book! Not only because of the random shenanigans and whatnot that are found throughout the book, but the characters are amazing! Our main character, Heart, is hilarious! She definitely has a personality that shows up in the book! Schroeder (A.K.A. Chase) was also a great character and, to be honest, Heart and Schroeder's relationship was one of the reasons why I loved this book! Their bantering was hilarious and the nicknames for each other were also fun (Schroeder calling Heart names of other organs, Heart calling him Schroeder after the Peanuts character). (view spoiler)[I was shipping them so hard throughout the book!!! (hide spoiler)] In fact, everyone in the No Prom-A Drama Crew were amazing! Heart is lucky to have such great friends!
You might be wondering, why did I not give this book 5 stars if all I'm doing is raving about it? There was absolutely nothing that I did not like in this book, but I couldn't give the book more than 4 stars because, while I really really liked it, it did not knock my socks off enough for me to up the rating.
IN CONCLUSION This was an adorable read, mostly thanks to the great characters in the book. I definitely recommend this book!...more
This is the perfect contemporary and the perfect road trip book! This was my first Morgan MatsThis and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
This is the perfect contemporary and the perfect road trip book! This was my first Morgan Matson book, but certainly not my last! I have since read all of Moran's other books and adored them all! This one, though, still remains as my favorite! It's fun, with a romance to root for, an amazing road trip, and it even has more serious aspects, but all in all it's a great summer read that will leave you with a good feeling when you finish it! I highly recommend this book and anything else by Morgan Matson!...more
MY THOUGHTS This book was definitely not what I was expecting. I didn't like this book as This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS This book was definitely not what I was expecting. I didn't like this book as much as I hoped, but I did end up liking it. The main thing that surprised me about this book was how dark it ended up being.
The book's world is so interesting! It takes place in a fantasy world with many dystopian aspects and kind of a resemblance to a renaissance Venice. The world-building was very well-done, though, as I said, very dark. In this world, there was a fever that struck and all the adults with the fever died, children who had the fever and survived (not all survived) came out of it with special abilities. They are called malfetto. All of them are marked in some way (EX: Adelina has silver hair). Malfetto are feared and often killed for suspect of being with The Young Elites. The Young Elites are a group of Malfetto that are aiming to take back the crown to its rightful owner. The overall world in this book is just so extraordinarily developed!
The characters in this book are a very interesting mix of characters. You will not see any cliche characters in this book. All of them are very different than the usual batch of characters seen in YA books. I'll say this again: they are dark. An example would be Adelina, who has had such a hard life and she is full of such darkness. Another thing I should warn you about: Marie Lu is not afraid of killing off her characters.
There is a brief romance in this book, but it does not distract from the storyline at all. In fact, there is hardly a romance at all.
My only issue with this book is more of a "It's not you, it's me" thing. I just could not relate to the characters. Did I feel for them? Yes. But they just felt flat to me. Same with some of the story. Though, this book is in third person and I usually have that issue with third person books.
IN CONCLUSION This is a very dark dystopian/fantasy, but very well-done. The world is very developed and the characters are a breath of fresh air compared to most YA books. I had issues with relating to the characters, but all-in-all, a great book! I do recommend this book (and the Legend trilogy) and I will be continuing the series!...more
MY THOUGHTS I just have to start off with saying this: This is not another Hunger Games. IThis and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS I just have to start off with saying this: This is not another Hunger Games. I see a lot of reviews complaining about how similar this book is to The Hunger Games and how this is just a copy. Yes, these books are very similar to one another (especially the last half), but there are more differences. And it is a dystopian book. Every dystopian book has something in common with The Hunger Games, it happens.
Anyway, now that I got that out of the way! I'm actually writing this book after reading this for the 2nd time and I still enjoyed reading this book the 2nd time around! This book is well-written and definitely original! I was very fascinated with The Testing, I thought it was horrible what society was doing to these teens , but I thought that the idea was very interesting and very well thought-out. I really liked out main character, Cia. It is very obvious why she's in The Testing. She's an absolute genius and can figure problems out. She's also a very strong leader. Not the kind that The Testing is looking for, as they are looking for those who do not care for human life, but she is the kind of leader that should actually lead.
The only issue that I had was the romance. It's not bad, I actually like the love interest, but I found it a bit ridiculous. I honestly felt like The Testing was not the time for romance.
IN CONCLUSION This book is kind of a hit or miss for most people, to be honest. Like I said, many people complain about Hunger Games parallels and those people don't enjoy the book. My advice: Do not compare this book while reading it. It will ruin the experience for you.
Now, I, enjoyed reading this book (again!) and will definitely continue the trilogy! That was actually the whole point of me rereading this... ...more
MY THOUGHTS Honestly, I loved Splintered, so I was fully expecting to love this book. And This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS Honestly, I loved Splintered, so I was fully expecting to love this book. And I did love it, of course! And A.G. Howard surprised me again!
Alyssa is back at home, finally able to have a semi-normal life. Not really. Her mom is out of the asylum and she's dating Jeb, but her work in Wonderland isn't done. She is part Wonderland after all. But Morpheus becoming a student at her school doesn't make things easier. Especially since Queen Red isn't entirely gone.
This book does have a bit of a middle book feel to it, but it's still exciting! This book has a completely different vibe than the first book. This book takes place in the real world, with Wonderland seeping in from time to time. It was very interesting and well done! And it was still very imaginative!
It was very interesting seeing Wonderland in the real world, especially Morpheus. I still love Morpheus, even though I still can't tell what exactly his motives are. I like Jeb. I honestly think Jeb gets too much, not hate, but dislike? from all the fans of the series. He's a really sweet guy and obviously loves Alyssa. Morpheus is still awesome.
IN CONCLUSION Overall, this was a really great sequel! A.G. Howard does it again! If you loved the first book, you will not be disappointed by this one! If you haven't read the first book, what are you waiting for?!...more
MY THOUGHTS So, I’m a bit disappointed. I first read this book back in 2013 and now, seveThis and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS So, I’m a bit disappointed. I first read this book back in 2013 and now, seven years later, I decided to reread it to refresh my memory and finally read books two and three. First Read: I adored this book! It got 5 glorious stars! Second Read: well, it’s a whole different story.
Iolanthe is an incredibly powerful mage, one who can control most of the elements, but she has had no formal training. She also doesn't realize how powerful she really is. When she has to go on the run because of a prophecy she is apparently a part of, she is helped by Prince Titus. Even though Titus is royalty, and should be in charge, his kingdom is falling out of his control. His mother saw him helping Iolanthe in her visions, so Titus has lived to carry out these visions. Now, they are hiding in Industrial London, planning a way to save their Realm.
This book does have an extraordinary world and a fascinating magic system. There is a unique way of teleporting. People can control the elements. There’s a book of fairytales you can jump into. There was some really fascinating stuff. I honestly think the author created an interesting world and thought hard about the magic system. My book even had little footnotes to give more information (but that required turning to the back of the book, so I never really bothered to use them). Yet, I felt like we rarely got to see the actual magical world. We didn’t spend much time there, most of the book was spent in industrial London. And worldbuilding requires more than just how the magic works, there needs to be an understanding of the culture and the politics, and I didn’t get a good grasp of that. So much of the book was even focused on the politics of the world, but I was still confused. I never fully understood the characters' goals either, beyond saving the day.
As for romance, it was incredibly lackluster. One of the few things I remember loving the first time was the romance. I remember there being so much tension and shipping it so hard. So I was surprised to find that the romance was really flat. Maybe that comes from the characters feeling flat to me, but there was so little tension as well. Sure, there were some scenes that felt like it was trying to add tension between them, but it mostly felt like the book was just forcing the two protagonists into a relationship because one is a boy and one is a girl.
By the end of the book, I honestly just started to skim reading because I needed to finish this book. I just felt like I was forcing myself to finish. Overall, I did end up disappointed. I think this book has so many interesting concepts, and it did have some interesting scenes, but most of the book fell flat for me. I was honestly just so disinterested while reading.
INC ONCLUSION So, my second read I felt like this was more of a two-star read, but because I loved it so much the first time, I bumped it up to a middle rating. But I really didn’t enjoy reading this book the second go-round. I wish this was a raving review instead of, well, this. I also wish I remembered why I loved this book the first time. This just goes to show that tastes change. And, I will not be continuing the series. I know I reread this book for the purpose of continuing the series, but I felt like I had to force myself to finish this book. I’m not forcing myself to read two other books....more
Jessica (Goldenfurpro)
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