The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski in Review

   

     Title: The Winner's Curse

     Author: Marie Rutkoski

     Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

     Published: March 4th 2014

     Pages: 355

Goodreads Synopsis:

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

This book has received so much hype in the book world that I just had to pick it up and check it out for myself. I guess you could put this book into the fantasy category, kind of, but meh for me I would just put it down as a romance. I have really high standards when it comes to fantasy stories, thanks in part to Brandon Sanderson's epic books, so fantasy books have a LOT to live up to. Recently, the YA fantasy I have been reading has just been so BLAH. Often times far too focused on the romance leaving the plot, well, non-existent really. Unfortunately, this book is lumped right in there with those such as Falling Kingdoms, Throne of Glass series and Shadow and Bone, all below average stories which focus more on the romance than an actually plot.

My main problem with this story is the lack of action. This book is a real slow burner, it took a REALLY long time to build up to the action which was all squashed into the last third of the book. When it did pick up, eventually, it was really good, but there just wasn't enough of it. I love the action scenes and wish there had been more throughout the story. What really ruined the plot for me though was the romance, which really was the focal point for this story. I find it hard to label this story fantasy as there is no magic, no fantastical elements to it whatsoever, I would be more inclined to label it a historical romance. Far more effort is put into setting up the romance between the two main characters Arin and Kestrel. The romance was a slow burner which is good right, because who links insta-love?

 When the romance reached its peak, however, it did so pretty much completely out of the blue. There was no point where I thought, oh ya they are really falling in love here, there was absolutely no reason why they should. It just wasn't very believable, especially when Kestrel is the LEAST lovable person EVER. 

Kestrel, ugh, so much HATE for her character. I really don't think you are meant to like her character though, after all she did buy a human being to keep as a slave, and, while she doesn't believe in the mistreatment of slaves, she is by no means a revolutionary. She is happy out to live her beautiful villa which once belonged to the Herrani who now must bow to her every whim. YA characters all have to have one attribute that they just excel at beyond everyone else and Kestrel is no exception to this. While I like that she wasn't the perfect fighter even though she has been trained to fight, she is an exceptional musician, something which is used to make her stand out from the other Valorians as they do not find music important. This is the aspect that was also used to tie Kestrel and Arin together, they both like music. So it's okay that Kestrel BOUGHT HIM, as long as she plays music all is forgiven.

My eyes will never truely be the same after this book with the amount of eye-rolling I did. I loved Arin's character at the beginning and that was what really pushed me through the first slow part of the story but the more he liked Kestrel the more pathetic he got. I say this in nearly every review now, but I am going to say it again...why oh why must the guy become a TOTAL IDIOT when he falls in love with the girl. I have said enough already, if you read the story you will know what I mean. Goodbye awesome, bad-ass Arin, hello soppy, idiot!

Now because I hate to end on such a sour note I will speak a bit about the aspects I liked in the book:

1. The world - now this was not the best world-building I have ever read but I did really enjoy the setting, think Ancient Greece with beautiful sprawling villas, horse drawn carriages and high-society parties. 

2. The writing - Rutkoski is a really great writer when she isn't lengthily described Arin noting Kestrels opinions of him (this guy has to be an empath). This is one of the reason I want to pick up the second book. 

3. Like I mentioned already, when the action got going it was really good and I did find myself devouring those pages, the problem here was that it just didn't last long enough and the ending was eye-roll worthy and far too rushed. Oops, I was meant to finish on a positive note.

What I will say is that I am not a lover of romance and lately I have realised that most YA fantasy stories are far more focused on the romance then building an action packed plot. This book has PLENTY of glowing reviews and I feel like the only one who was left disappointed by this book. On a happier not I have heard that the Winner's Crime is much better so I will continue on with this series and hopefully like the second book a lot more.

If you have read this book leave your thoughts in the comments below as I would love to know if I am the only one who didn't like this book.

Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Publisher: Putnam Juvenille
Published: Febuary 7th 2012
Pages: 330

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave. Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Yet again, this is another book I have chosen because of it's popularity in the booksphere. I was particularly excited for this one, not only because I had been wanting to read a witch book for awhile, but also because of the time period it is set in. I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this book is an alternate history story. This story is set in the late 1800s, nearing the start of the early twentieth century. Putting it in context with our real history this book would be set in a time soon after the Salem witch trials as Cate states that in her grandmother's time witches were burned at the stake. As I had wanted to read a book about witches and magic for so long I had high expectations for this one, which were unfortunately not met.

The aspect that disappointed me the most in this story was, in fact, the magic, or should I say the lack of magic. For a story about witches this book has very little actual magic in it, apart from a scene near the end of the book. I would even describe the magic as quite boring - the most interesting thing to happen being a garden blooming to life or Cate moving an object through the air with difficulty. There is also very little explanation behind the magic and it appears that only women have these gifts.

So, the magic wasn't the main attribute focused on in this story, what was?...The romance (I know right, shocking!). When I picked up this book I wanted to read a book full of witchy goodness not a book about a love triangle, which happened to be the most boring "love story" I had ever read. I was not particularly enamoured with either of the love interests, one of them was purposefully made out to be a little bit sketchy and just plain boring, while the other was made out to be the nicest guy you have ever read about but again, boring.

The plot was incredibly predictable which isn't the worst thing when reading YA fiction. However, the lack of originality was the problem for me. It followed the usual plot of YA stories: female protagonist must fight against the oppressive system in order to save those she cares about. Parents are MIA, mother is dead and father is always away. The main character is involved in a love triangle, and ultimately cannot be with the one she loves because of the oppressive society she lives in and so we wait to find out what happens in the next two books to resolve this. OK, I loved Delirium and it followed a similar plot line to this, along with several other books I have enjoyed but there has always been some saving grace, such as the characters or the world-building, that has redeemed the book in my eyes. The characters in this book did not do that for me.

The three sisters are each stereotyped into one role that they play throughout the novel, leaving absolutely no room for character growth which is something I love to read about. Tess, the youngest, is the genius of the family, who is good at, literally, everything. Not only is she the most intelligent, musically gifted and the best at magic, she is also able to read people and understand their true intentions. Then we have the middle sister Maura, and being the middle sister she, of course, is the rebellious one. She is a character who is impossible to like because she causes most of the problems in the story and she is a complete and utter spoiled brat. Finally, we have Cate, the eldest, so naturally she plays the protective older sister role. She is your typical YA female protagonist who does not understand how beautiful/talented she really is. She puts everyone else in front of herself, and is the martyr of the story.

Now, before I bash this story altogether (which was not my intention but I tend to go off on rants), there was one aspect to this book that I did enjoy and that was the issue that was tackled. I love when a book, especially in YA because I feel it is quite rare, tackles serious issues. This book deals with the issues of inequality between men and women. This story is set in a time where (in real history) women lived in a patriarchal society; the women were completely controlled by men and their place was seen to be in the home. At the time the main objective of a woman was to find a husband and to be a good wife and mother. These are all aspects that feature in this story. Cate's impending intention ceremony is one such example. Cate must either have a marriage proposal or chose the Sisterhood (basically similar to the nuns) before her seventeenth birthday or the Brotherhood will chose a husband for her. Women are not allowed to run businesses and are looked upon unfavorably if they do, e.g. Finn's mother. The fear men had of women is excellently portrayed in the book. Not only were the Brotherhood afraid of the real witches they also feared women who didn't rely on men, such as women who had relationships with other women, women who ran their own business' and woman who acted too mush like men "aping" their clothing and what not. Women who "refused to submit to man's authority" were punished (quote from Maura on p.38, line 20-23). Another interesting aspect was how Spotswood refers to the Arab women as the free women of society, allowed to run businesses and wear trousers, a clear role reversal as strict Muslim women do not run business nor wear trousers and must cover up from head to toe.

While I did not love the story, and found the plot and characters unoriginal I loved the discussion on the role of women in this story and that is why I give this book a rating of:

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Published: January 1st 2011
Pages: 338

Goodreads Synopsis: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi has been all over the blogsphere. It is a favourite of so many of my favourite booktubers and bloggers, so of course I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was so excited for this series that I bought the second book, Unravel Me,  before I had ever read Shatter Me.

The minute this book came through the letterbox I was all over it. I firstly have to comment on the cover of the book, and there is only word that springs to mind: WOW. The covers, of both Shatter Me and Unravel Me, are easily my favourite book covers of all time. I love the colours, the image of the eye with trees as eyelashes and the waterfall as tears; too beautiful for words.

So, after staring at the amazing cover for an age, I flipped open the book, incredibly excited for what was to come. This book tells the story of Juliette, a girl with the power to drain a person's lifeforce when she touches them. She has never been loved by anyone, not even her parents and she has been treated like a freak by all her peers. When the book opens Juliette tells us she has been in the insane asylum for 264 days where she has not seen or spoke to anyone. That's all about to change when Juliette gets a new cellmate, Adam.

After reading the first couple of pages I realised how different Mafi's style of writing is. Mafi uses a great deal of strikethrough text. At first I didn't mind this, but as the story progressed there was just far too much of this style of text and it significantly slowed down my reading. There is, also, a great deal of metaphorical writing throughout the story, in fact, far too much. Some of the metaphors were beautiful and would have been a great addition to the book if there just hadn't been so many - in fact the entire book was a string of metaphors. Another aspect to the writing style that slowed my reading progress was the abundance of short sentences and repetitions -

 "I thought my hands were helping

I thought my heart was helping

I thought so many things

I never

never

never

never

never thought".

Although this did slow down my reading, I didn't find it all that annoying. This form of writing made me feel as though I was really listening to Juliette's jumbled thoughts.

I really enjoyed the first couple of chapters with Juliette and Adam in the asylum. However, as the story progressed I felt that it was lacking some well-needed action; I was halfway through the book and felt that very little had actually happened. I felt that the sole focus of the story was on the romance and as a result the other aspects to the book suffered. One such aspect is the world-building. There was little to no world-building in the story apart from being told that birds don't fly, people were dying at an enormous rate and that the Reestablishment held society on a tight rein; a typical dystopian setting. The characters and setting all seemed to be a carbon copy of x-men, lacking any originality. Juliette's power is identical to Rogue's and the institution at the end of the story very similar to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

The one setting, however, that I did thoroughly enjoy was the asylum. This setting was by far my favourite part of the world Mafi created. It was an incredibly dark and disturbing place. I found it interesting how completely isolated Juliette was from the other inmates (until Adam's arrival). For 164 days Juliette was holed up in a cell with no one to talk to. She never met a single sole in their until Adam. I loved the scene where Juliette and Adam make their way to the shower room. The door to their room suddenly open into a pitch black corridor where they must blindly find the shower room, strip and wash themselves in two minutes. They are completely alone. 

Before I go on to speak about the romance in the story I must put in a disclaimer. I am biased when it comes to romance in stories. Please remember when reading this that I am not a huge fan of romantic stories. I don't mind a side story romance. What I don't like is insta-love and a romance that overpowers the plot, and unfortunately this is one such story. I won't talk about this too much but Adam and Juliette almost instantly fall in love with each other and the story basically closely follows their blossoming romance, and as a result the plot of the story suffers.

I have quite mixed feelings about the characters in this story. I didn't by any means hate the characters in Shatter Me - with the exception of Warner who is the antagonist of the story and so that is the whole point of his character. As Shatter Me isn't a new book, I know so many people are team Warner and I am just here like: OMG what happens in Unravel Me to make people like him? In this book Warner is a despicable person. He also appears to be a total creep with a weird obsession with Juliette that I don't understand (I am assuming Unravel Me will explain this).

Juliette was more of a contradictory character in my opinion. At first I found her to be strong-willed  and a really positive role model. She didn't care about the fancy clothes hanging in the wardrobe unlike other female protagonists (Caelena from Throne of Glass and Alina from Shadow and Bone). While she appeared strong-willed she was not wholly so, and her weaknesses showed through, something which was to be expected from a person in her position. However, as the story progressed I came to like her a lot less. I found her to be far too melodramatic for my tastes: "I whisper, broken, dying in his arms". She becomes persistently more whiny as the story continues. Also, while at the beginning I believed her to not be shallow, this soon changes with her constant descriptions of how beautiful both Warner and Adam are. It makes me question whether Juliette actually loves Adam or simply lusts after him.

I liked the character of Adam well enough, however, I found his character to be lacking in substance. All I really know about Adam after finishing the book is that he is incredibly beautiful with a great body. The purpose of Adam seems more to be seen rather than be heard.

As I went into this book with incredibly high expectations this book was a big disappointment for me. I couldn't get passed the complicated writing style with the strike through text and abundance of metaphors. The romance was far too overpowering and the characters lacked a great deal of substance. While this book wasn't for me, people who are interested in romance stories might enjoy this.

RATING:

If you have read this book let me know what you thought about it in the comments below.

Book Haul - December 2013

Here are some of the books I have bought so far in December....

All of these books were bought in Chapters in Dublin, except for Graceling which was gifted to me by sister.

During my trip to Dublin I had to make a pit stop (or two) in Chapters bookstore. I had read reviews online about the store and just had to see it for myself. As someone who lives in a town with one teeny bookstore I was in heaven when I walked through the doors. The downstairs comprises of new books (lots and lots of new books), while upstairs contains a fairly large volume of secondhand books. My first stop was the secondhand books. I went straight to the young adult section where I managed to find a copy of Slated by Teri Terry in perfect condition for only 3.99:

This book tells the story of Kyla whose memory and personality has been wiped. Children under sixteen years of age who have been violent or involved in terrorist activities are sent to the hospital where their memories are wiped clean in order to give them a second chance to be a better citizen. However, everything is not what it seems and echoes of Kyla's past haunt her. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12743472-slated

The YA second hand section was not very large and this was the only book on my TBR that I found, and so, I retreated downstairs. Even though I bought the rest of the books in the "general", new book section I got all these books, except for The Final Empire, for discounted prices due to a sale that was on at the time. The best bargain I found in the YA section was this hardcover copy of The Diviners by Libba Bray for 4.99:

This book has been all over booktube and so I just had to pick it up. I am not too sure what the story details however I do know it is set in the 1920s in New York during the time of the speakeasies and so I just had to have it. You can find a description of the book and several reviews here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7728889-the-diviners?from_search=true

The next book I picked up was Forsaken by Jana Oliver (The first book in The Demon Trappers series). When I saw this for only 3.99 I had to get it of course. This was another book that was on my TBR list, mainly because the Goodreads book description reminded me of The Mortal Instruments series. 

This book is about Demons and of course "demon trappers". One such demon trapper being the protagonist 17 year old Riley. By the sounds of it (correct me if I am wrong) women are not usually allowed become demon trappers, however, due to the increasing numbers of demons in Riley's city she is welcomed into the guild. Find more info about this book here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8534899-forsaken?from_search=true

One of my favourite purchases of this book haul was The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson:

Regan from Peruse Project (find her videos here http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6Qlkv2hif7KPtmMmNUGUw) raved about this book and mentioned it recently in one of her book hauls. It is the first book in the Mistborn series. This book basically follows the story of what happens when evil triumphs good. The immortal Lord Ruler has oppressively ruled over the land for the past thousand years...and so the story begins. Find a far better overview of this book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.Mistborn?from_search=true

Can I first just say how ugly this cover is? Never judge a book by the cover they say but with a name like "Dark Lover" and a review from "Vampire Genre" saying "these vampires are hot"....it was very difficult for me to buy this book. However, it was in my TBR and happened to be 4.99 so here it is:

All I know about this book is that it is about vampires and that it has a really high rating on Goodreads (4.24) hence why I bought it! Find a detailed synopsis here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42899.Dark_Lover?from_search=true

This next book is either loved or hated in the booktube community. The premise of the book sounded interesting and so for 4.99 I said why not pick it up:

In this world, at the age of sixteen everyone has an operation that turns you from an "ugly" into a "pretty" and from there on out the only job you have is to look pretty. Sounds good right? Well not for everyone. The protagonist's friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. Shay would rather live life on the outside and remain an "ugly". The protagonist learns about the harsh realities of the "pretty" world when Shay runs away, and the authorities tell her: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Read the reviews here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24770.Uglies?from_search=true

This is another book I picked up after watching one of Regan's hauls:

I know very little about this book except that it is set in Russia (awesome) and involves magic (again, awesome). Find a far more detailed synopsis here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194157-shadow-and-bone?from_search=true

Please excuse the following photo, for some reason this photo just would not upload correctly. This book was in my Goodreads TBR-but not right away list. However, I picked it up anyway as it was only 3.99 - How could I say no?

I know next to nothing about this book so here is Goodreads description: "While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice. When Rachel's father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city's brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father's apprentice, Logan—the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making. (qtd. by Goodreads.com)"

This last book I received as a gift for my birthday from my little sister (again, this was on my TBR):

In this world there are Gracelings who have special skills. The protagonist Katsa, is a Graceling whose special skill is her ability to kill with her bare hands....and that's about all I know about this one. As always here is the link to the book's Goodreads profile:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling?from_search=true

They are all my books that I have gotten so far this month. I just recently placed an order with the Book Depository (find them here http://www.bookdepository.com/). I don't expect to receive these until after Christmas so I should have another haul up around then.

Nollaig shona duit (Happy Christmas)

November Wrap-Up 2013

Hey guys. This is going to be a really quick overview of the books I read this month. I will be reviewing a few of the books in further detail. This month was a good reading month for me. I read a total of ten books. 

The first book I read was Divergent by Veronica Roth. 

Pros: Quick and easy read with plenty of drama. 

Cons: Irritating female protagonist, run of the mill young adult romance. 

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars

Recommend: Yes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13335037-divergent?from_search=true

The next book I read was the Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Pros: The female protagonist's humor, Christian

Cons: The love stories between the main characters, and some very irritating characters, namely Dimitri and  Lissa

Overall Rating: 3.5

Recommend: Yes. Mainly because I heard the second book is better, and the film will be released soon.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/345627.Vampire_Academy?from_search=true




Next book: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, the sequel to Divergent.

Pros: Again a quick read, mildly interesting, more world building

Cons: The "heroine" spends the entirety of the novel worrying about a boy and their relationship....

Overall: 3.5 stars

Recommend: Honestly, no. Especially when I know how terrible the third book in the series is.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent?ac=1

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack

Pros: The relationships between the characters, the story, EVERYTHING
Cons: Honestly, I loved this book so much I can not pick one.
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Recommend: 100 times YES!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief?ac=1




Prodigy by Marie Lu

Pros: The male protagonist, such an entertaining story
Cons: The Female protagonist
Overall Rating: 5 stars.
Recommend: Yes. This is the second book in the legend triology and each book is just as entertaining as the next.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414446-prodigy?from_search=true




Wither by Lauren Destefano

Pros: Interesting dystopian story, female protaganist
Cons: The relationship between Rhine and Linden
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Recommend: Yes. I didn't rush out to buy the two other books in the trilogy but all in all it was an interesting read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither?from_search=true




The Selection by Kiera Cass

Pros: Aspen
Cons: Pathetic female protagonist, relationship between female protagonist and Prince Maxon, fluffy, girly, ridiculous
Overall Rating: 2 stars.
Recommend: No. Unless you enjoy girly books with little story and annoying, bratty girls who get what they want.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10507293-the-selection?from_search=true



A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Pros: None.
Cons: The characters, the lack of story, everything.
Overall Rating: 2 stars.
Recommend: No.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17786125-a-little-too-far?from_search=true





The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Pros: Everything. This was one of my favourite reads this month. I invested a great deal in the characters, vying for them from the off. The romance wasn't overbearing and the story was fast paced and interesting throughout the whole book.
Cons: None.
Overall Rating: 5 stars.
Recommend: Yes. I will be picking up the second book in the trilogy, Never Fade.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10576365-the-darkest-minds?from_search=true

My favourite book of the month was: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Pros: My favourite aspect to this book was the female character Tana. She was extremely badass without being unrealistically so. The romance in the story again was not over powering and there were many different characters and relationships including gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender which is thoroughly refreshing in a book.

Cons: That it is a stand-alone book.

Overall Rating: 5 stars.

Recommend: Yes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12813630-the-coldest-girl-in-coldtown?from_search=true