My Thoughts On: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Turtles All the Way Down

by John Green

Source: bought

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 

****

 

I’ve been a huge fan of John Green ever since I read Paper Towns, and I think I’ve loved all of his books, even when the language barrier made it hard for me to properly understand them. That’s why I’ve been anticipating Turtles All The Way Down since the day it was announced. I couldn’t wait to read, so of course I started reading it on the release week. 

Maybe because I’m a huge fan it’s hard for me to describe how I feel about this book. The thing is, I liked it so much, but I didn’t love it because I couldn’t feel John Green in it. For starters, since I didn’t read the synopsis, I was bit shocked to discover the book is narrated by a girl (yeah, I know TFIOS is narrated by a girl, too), but I was used to his male narrators (Quinn, Will Grayson, Colin, Miles), so I was kind of expecting a boy as a main character. But that’s my fault cause, like I said, I didn’t read the synopsis.

The second thing that bothered me a little is the romance, but even I don’t know why. I understand why it was the way it was, but I was expecting a little more when it came to it. 

You see, I don’t know what to think. I’m a mess inside. This book is about Aza’s (the MC) struggles with her mental illness and how she’s trying to overcome it, and at the same time, explain them to the people around her. Aza is such a great character and she broke my heart throughout the book and all I wanted was her happiness.

Aza’s journey is deep and heartbreaking, but John Green has the ability to capture the feelings of wonder with his words, so, at the same time, there were many times when this book made me feel happy!

And have I told you how good was the friendship between Aza and Daisy? In all honesty, that friendship was my favorite part of Turtles All The Way Down. 

So, overall, I enjoyed this book. I might not have loved it as much as TFIOS, but I still liked it and I’ll read John Green writes from now on.

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My Thoughts On: The Rose Society & The Midnight Star by Marie Lu

    

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Amazon/ TBD/ B&N

Source: bought.

My rating: 5 stars.

 *****

 

I read The Young Elites by Marie Lu a few months after it was published. I liked it a lot. But I didn’t love it. I was one of those people who thought Adelina wasn’t a real villain, as everyone made me believe. I thought it was a marketing strategy, so I felt kind of cheated. When The Rose Society came, I didn’t have time to read it, I didn’t care about it enough.

I don’t remember why I read the first chapter of The Rose Society two weeks ago. I just remember I didn’t know what to read. It took me so long to read this sequel, but as soon as I finished it, I couldn't wait to read The Midnight Star.

This was definitely love at second sight. Adelina was finally the villain everyone was rooting for. The plot was unpredictable and every one of the characters was gorgeous and ferocious.

Since I read them right after the other, The Rose Society and The Midnight Star feel like one big book to me. It made so happy to see the character development and how well the world-building was created.

I loved these books, I loved the world these characters live in, I loved the writing and I loved the Elite’s journey. I have to admit it, I loved Teren, best villain ever.

I love ALL the characters!

When I picked up The Rose Society I wasn’t expecting all the feels. The ending was just as bittersweet and perfect as Legend’s. I’m so glad I got the chance to read this series. I’m sure I’ll be re-reading it again since now it’s one of my favorite series.

I highly recommend it if you haven’t read The Young Elites. If you loved Legend, you’ll love this one, too. You won’t be disappointed!

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I BECAME A TRUTHWITCH FANGIRL

 

Amazon/ TBD/ B&N

Summary from Goodreads

In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.  

*****

I BECAME A TRUTHWITCH FANGIRL.

There are Truthwitch reviews everywhere, so I wasn’t going to write one. BUT I wanted to shout out how much I loved this book. So I’ll go with this: I became a Truthwitch fangirl.

And this is why:

I’m a misfit and a daydreamer: If you’re following Susan then you know what this is. If you don’t know: The misfits and the daydreamers is how Susan calls her readers and how she divides her newsletters.

Well, I haven’t read Something Strange and Deadly, though I own the three books. And I’ve been following Susan’s For Writers posts for a while now. This means that I knew a little about Truthwitch even before there were ARCs, because sometimes Susan used Truthwitch as example for her writing tips. I knew Iseult when she was named Sorsha. I knew Aeduan when Susan wrote about COOKIES and her writing cookie was: Aeduan, my love. (I love those posts so I have them bookmarked).

I’ve been dying to read this book since then, but you know, my wallet wouldn’t let me buy it before.

The Friendship makes me wonder…

I love Safi and Iseult’s friendship so much. They are badass together. And that’s why I’m wondering if they are going to drift apart someday. Maybe not enemies but go on different sides. Or maybe they’ll be together to the end. That friendship alone makes me want to read the next books.

I want Aeduan and Iseult to be together. Badly.

This is silly, and I don’t “ship” couples. But there is something about these characters… oh boy, I really, really want at least one kiss between them.

I loved Merik and Safi trying to kill each other. Every single time.

Oh, the romance between these two. I don’t know if this was hate-to-love or love-to-hate-to-love. They are wild so perfect together!

I loved the magical system and the myths inside the world.

The Origin Wells, the Cahr Awen, the Cleaved, the Puppeteer, I loved them all.

I loved Susan Dennard’s neat writing.

Susan is brilliant. And since I’ve read how hard she’s been working on this series, now I know that it was worth it.

And that’s it. Of course, I love many more things, but these are my favorites. Now, if YOU haven’t read this book or subscribe to Susan’s newsletter, do it now!

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Preview Thoughts: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

The Forbidden Wish

by Jessica Khoury

Temporary rating: 5 stars

Preview provided by Netgally in exchange for a honest review.

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

"When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years -- a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.  

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury."

*****

This book will be epic!

Most of the time I don’t read previews because, you know, it’s hard to stop abruptly when you’re enjoying something, but I had to read this one because this book sounds amazing!

This preview has only a few chapters, but I can tell the writing and the plot are fantastic. This is the first time I read something by this author, and I’m so happy this was the book! Her storytelling is incredible! I adored how the book feels like a tale the jinni is telling to her long dead friend. The one she apparently betrayed.

Now, can I tell you about Aladdin? Oh my God! I don’t need to read the whole book to know he’s a gorgeous character! He’s a thief, yeah, he’s tough, and he’s so charming!

And the jinni?  She’s spectacular! She’s old; she’s smoke, she shape-shifts.

I adored that this book doesn’t seem to be focused only in these characters. There’s the hint of a rebellion, there’s a fight for freedom, there’s an amazing group of warrior girls…

Oh boy, I can’t wait to finish this book! It has everything to be one of the best of the year! 

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