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[queenofthestubbornreaders]

The Council by Kayla Krantz

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had high hopes for this book. Perhaps that’s where I went wrong.

The Council is about Lilith (nicknamed “Li” and I’m not exactly sure where that came from. I never really understand nicknames that are just shortened versions of your name with a different vowel sound unless she’s literally just called “Lih”) who lives in a place called “the 5 realms”, one for each type of witch: mind powers, water, air, fire, and healing. She lives in the fire realm and is just finishing up her schooling, where she will be “sorted” into a coven and given her job. Unfortunately! Our protagonist was born to “UnEquipped” parents, which means they don’t have powers, so she won’t have them either. Or it’s highly unlikely that she will get them. Or there’s a small chance. Depends on the page you’re reading in the book. It’s all over the place. Lilith and her similarly UnEquipped friend Helena along with their friend Clio who is the class leader (despite the fact that Lilith is suuper smart and has no powers, she thinks she ought to be the class leader… I don’t get that one) all talk about the UnEquippeds’ chances of getting powers in vastly different ways. One moment it seems totally possible! You just have to study! Next minute, Lilith is SUPER SPECIAL for being born to UnEquipped parents and getting powers. Then! During her ceremony that reveals the telekinetic powers that she has been hiding from everyone (it’s okay, she did a couple of dramatic reveals before the ceremony) she is actually revealed to hold powers from EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE REALMS. IT’S AMAZING. Chaos ensues.

“it’s okay…” I whisper to myself. Lots of books have super speshul characters. “It’ll be okay”. Reader, it was certainly not okay.

To summarize the spoiler free version of this review, Lilith continues to be super special, but like her chances of developing powers, her degree of super specialness seems to vary page to page. One minute she’s incredibly rare and powerful. The next minute, all of her abilities seem to be a totally possible thing to happen. Maybe this was the author’s way of tempering the “oh my god she’s the chosen one! She has all the powers! She’s so SPESHUL.” It wasn’t very successful.

Lilith is also disabled from a magical related accident that seriously injured her leg as a child. This causes her constant pain and difficulty moving around. From her POV, it’s a life ending injury that causes literally everyone around her to doubt her ability to do literally anything. If she was destined to a non-magical job anyways (if all/most magical jobs are protecting the coven) are there NO jobs were she could just sit down? Besides, this injury didn’t happen yesterday and she seems to function basically fine and is stubborn and accomplished. Why is this still such a major factor? Why is everyone handing her new pain medicine all the time? They’re just like leaves. Is everyone discovering new leaves constantly? I need to know!!

Wholesale, I don’t think this book is terrible, but it needs a lot of work and a very, very good editor. There’s still typos and awkward sentences, not to mention a lot of the inconsistencies I mentioned earlier. The overall idea, I would rate as good. The book could definitely be marketable and a whole lot better if it was heavily revised and edited. Despite my own stubbornness, I just can’t push through to the second book because I know my likelihood of DNFing is like 85%.

SPOILERS BELOW. DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED.

Spoilers (and general complaints) ahead!!

Okay, why is Lilith so obsessed with how “chunky” Rayna is? She delights in the fact that she is not the only “slow walking” person because Rayna is fat???? I had to read this line like 5 times before I even comprehended it. She goes on to mention several other times how her robe is larger than the other Council members or that she’s chunky. Seriously, the other Council members, even if you don’t like them or they made you join against your will, are supposed to be accomplished in their skill. Lilith doesn’t even seem mean spirited in general. She doesn’t even just flat out refuse to get to know any of these people. She just wants to fat shame this one girl???

Please… it’s “oughta” not “outta”.

Lilith suspects that her parents are not her real parents after the ceremony is interrupted and she learns things from the first Elemental woman. Then when someone else mentions that it could be true (Lavina the healer), she faints from the surprise? You already had this thought! You have been suspicious of them! Why are you so freaking shocked now?

There are several scenes where Lilith freaks out (sometimes even understandably) and she runs off to seek solace in someone’s company. Here’s how it goes:

Lilith’s friend: Hey, how’s it going? Why are you here?

Lilith: Oh, you know, I’m just here on business. Thought I’d stop in.

Lilith’s friend: Oh neat, have you been by to see your parents? (or any other reference to something tied to why she was upset literally five seconds before)

Lilith: Oh right! I was super upset! LIFE SUCKS. *cries*

She literally had to be on the brink of being mauled by a bear to use some fire powers. Now when called upon as a surprise during an execution, she can just light the fire to burn the witch and she spends .5 seconds thinking about it?????

If their world is comprised of 5 realms and Lilith goes to visit them all, why does she not ride a horse (or whatever applicable technology exists) to save her bad leg and WHY does it seem like it takes them like a day to walk to each one? Is their world the size of Rhode Island?

Last thought, I swear. Size of the world aside although that does really bother me, where are the Elementals hiding and why is this never mentioned? If someone came out of the woodwork and interrupted my magic ceremony, claimed I was one of them and attacked my coven, why am I not speculating where they are hiding? Is there some wasteland outside of Magic Rhode Island? Is there another realm? Are there whole other cities/towns/etc outside of this place? Can they not just leave if they want to?

So. Many. Questions.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Fires of the Dead by Jed Herne. A review. 

Realistically, I'd give 3.5/5 stars if I could. It was good. Honestly, I can't muster any stronger feelings than that either negatively or positively.

It was billed to me a YA, but did not read like YA at all. It was relatively short, in a way that didn't feel like a novella, but more like it just needed to be fleshed out more. I never felt much for the characters so when anything happened to them, I kind of just shrugged and moved on. A little before halfway through, it seemed you could predict the remaining course of the novel, which is exactly how it played out.

I don't hate novellas as a rule. Some stories aren't meant to be 7 large books, but here it didn't feel like it needed to be a novella or was necessarily served best by being one. The author clearly has skill. I think if this story was fleshed out, it could easily get way closer to 5 stars for me.

On the positive side, the story was interesting and thrilling. The characters were varied. I didn't feel like I got to know any of them except the lady Pyromancer (I literally just finished this book an hour ago and forgot her name) who seemed like she could be a good story. I'm guessing this is a result of there actually being another short story surrounding her.

If you have Kindle Unlimited, I'd pick it up to occupy an afternoon. Soft recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

The Unchosen by Simon Markusson

It's December 26th as of this review and I'm sitting at around 150 books for the year and The Unchosen scooted it's way to the very tippy top of my list for the whole of 2019. It's almost like I can't remember any of the other books I read in 2019, The Unchosen just swooped in and wiped them from my memory- it was that good.

My average GR rating is 3.63 and I often wonder if I'm being too harsh, but I want things to be good and I'm very often hard pressed to give 5 out of 5 stars, but this book worked hard to wrestle it from me that it’d be a shame not to give it its due.

I don’t want to spoil much of the book because it really would defy any mortal summary, but is witty without trying too hard, elicits a great deal of sympathy for some not entirely sympathetic characters, and just enthralls you as quickly as possible. I’ll say there’s no greater crock than books claiming to be “great for Harry Potter fans!” But if you’re willing to accept that that doesn’t necessarily mean a bunch of kids at a magic school, but rather a story that will stand the test of time, that lingers with you long after you turn the last page (the last digital page in my case) and leaves your mind racing through this new, amazing world, then this book could definitely carry the hefty weight of that eye catching statement.

If you like to read books of any kind, EVEN if you don’t like to read, pick this one up. I personally guarantee it’s worth every second.

Lastly, a quote that I felt instantly hit me as emblematic of the carefree wit of this book.

“That’s Skull,” the stable master said when he noticed Nathelion’s stare. “Skull?”“Seems to be his favorite thing. He loves to kick men’s skulls in. Aye, that’s why we named him Skull.” A brief, thoughtful pause, and then: “You want him?”

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

I have read this book within the last year but only extremely barely remember it after reading this review. Not a good sign. (A+ review though)

Stealing Snow - Danielle Paige

I love me a good fairy tale retelling, so I went in with high expectations. There were a couple of things I liked. Main character Snow has an anger issue, which I found a pleasant change from the easy stereotype of an ice-wielding princess with a heart colder than her snow. I liked that she was so volatile, it made her a much more real character, which is important in a fantasy-based setting.

I also like the Robbers, a collection of rebel women who steal people’s faces (and everything else they can get their hands on, including magic). I adored the idea of magic-wielding, glamorous robber girls who will ruthlessly rob you blind but defend each other to their last breath. That’s the kind of female friendship I want to see more of in my readings.

On to the things I didn’t like, and unfortunately there are more of them than the things I did. First of all, like most books in which the protagonist starts off in a mental hospital, it takes too damn long for Snow to make her escape. Like I get it, everyone thinks she’s crazy, she thinks she’s crazy, she’s not happy there, etc. Move on, please. I think I would have actually preferred if the book started with Snow’s escape from the hospital and then experienced flashbacks.

Second, and I will preface this by saying I might have a slight prejudice against romances, but I still didn’t appreciate that not only does Snow have a massive crush on Bale, her friend who was also committed to the insane asylum for burning down his parents’ house, but she also runs around Algid (the ice kingdom and her homeland) getting involved with pretty much every cute guy she comes across. So there’s a girl with three love interests, and they sort of fade in and out depending on who she happens to be with at the time. Kai kisses her out of nowhere, and then she runs off and starts messing around with Jagger, feeling guilty the whole time because she really wants to be with Bale, and I just gotta say, that’s too many guys to be juggling around while she’s trying to save her kingdom. No wonder it took her so long to figure out how to use her magic.

I mocked a book a little while ago for making up words, and I’m going to do it here. If you as an author have to make up words to get your point across, you’re doing something wrong. I’ll give Daniel Jose Older a pass because he was trying to be funny, but this did not strike me as a comedy, so making up a word does not come across as good writing. For example:

“Blood was already Rorschaching around Margot, staining the snow redder than red. There was so much blood. Too much” (343).

Lastly, I thought Stealing Snow was trying to do too many things. There are a lot of random twists, including a non-magical twin sister for Snow, and by the end I didn’t even care anymore. I wasn’t even surprised when the Enforcer turned out to be Bale and I wasn’t moved when he died in front of Snow. I’d had enough. All I wanted was for it to be over.

There’s an as-yet-untitled sequel set to come out in 2020 that I will not be reading, so I guess I’ll never find out why Bale happened to be on the mental ward in the first place, especially since he was only like, six when Snow met him. I guess I won’t find out a lot of things because I can’t bring myself to care enough about what happens after Snow is soundly defeated.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Mighty need

Good morning guys! I’m so excited to finally have these bangles up on the Etsy! They all feature quotes I like from various books. I love these babies and I hope you will love them too! I currently have 5 up and that’s it until next month, so check them out soon!

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[queenofthestubbornreaders]

“Why do you read so much?”

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Book club!??

Anyone have an booklr book club going especially for YA? I’ve been in a finding-new-books slump and would love to have people to discuss them with! Help a girl out!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Currently reading and OBSESSED

Also can anyone give me tips on how to clean my kindle so I’m less embarrassed.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Uncanny Valley by C.A. Gray

I’ll admit that when I read that the author’s mother edited the book and that she didn’t know what “uncanny valley” was, I was skeptical. But I said to myself, Margaret... don’t be a judgey Mcjudge pants and give it a fair-ish shot. I did get it from voracious readers only and my luck there has been about as good as a casino. Any brief shining star of good luck is quickly and brutally extinguished. I’m looking at you, Enlightened. I’m looking at you.

What I liked was the mystery. There were little and big twists that I didn’t really see coming which is rare in YA and even rarer in the sorts of books you get from VRO. The main character was also refreshing. She was obsessed with a boy and it didn’t annoy me?? Because she had other things going on in her head as well?? People have personalities? That don’t solely revolve around boys? Is this really YA? IS IT??

My only complaint is that there were a couple of times when the main character doesn’t understand something technical that another character is trying to explain to her, usually Liam. Every time I’m like, aren’t you supposed to be some brilliant researcher studying brain things? But you can’t listen to a five minute theory of something brain related? Oh well we all have our blonde moments. It was a little jarring but I can probably overlook it.

Would recommend. Not mind-blowingly amazing but does avoid some common pitfalls of YA which makes it a refreshing read.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Clio at War by Peggy Gardner

Oh Clio at War. You confuse me.

This book read to me like a young high schooler who has read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time and is /INSPIRED/. Local English teacher gives creative writing assignment a B-. Hopefully you’re picking up what I’m laying down. If not, I’m glad you enjoyed the book ;)

My biggest issue with this book is that I had basically no idea what age Clio was supposed to be. One minute she could have been 8. The next minute she could have been 16. Her personality and maturity seemed ALL over the map to me.

My second biggest problem was guessing the villain. About a quarter of the way through I made a conscious decision to not speculate as to who done did the deed. It was a good choice as anyone literate who spends .5 seconds thinking about it could have guessed. Make this decision on page 1 is my recommendation.

But on that note, do not recommend.

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Knight of the Hunted by Elizabeth Dunlap

2% of the way through the book (thanks kindle for helping me make this ludicrous observation) we are treated to the line “he looked up from his game and gave me a half smile, his brown Japanese eyes showing sympathy.” Oh, I cringed. I cringed real hard.

Great start though, folks! When I went to write my weekly reviews, I was surprised to see this book at 100%. I had to think long and hard about whether I had actually read it. Good sign! This book is fairly interesting, but suffers from a fairly fatal flaw in my opinion. Main character goes through suffering and traumatic experiences and I end up feeling nothing. She is basically held hostage and tortured and I could barely muster a meh. Nothing in the writing made me feel sympathy or anger towards the villain or anything.

Here’s your plot in as much detail as I can summon the strength to remember. Protagonist is a vampire but was born one and is hella old so she has special powers others don’t. Yay! She goes on the run after committing a crime against vampire law. Boo. She falls in love with someone she’s not supposed to. Yay? She gets captured. Boo? The end.

This book needs a better editor as well, please. Both for improving the writing and for grammar and spelling.

Soft do not recommend.

ALSO DID ANYONE NOTICE THAT THE AUTHOR AND MAIN CHARACTER HAVE THE SAME NAME??? AHHHH

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Book club!??

Anyone have an booklr book club going especially for YA? I’ve been in a finding-new-books slump and would love to have people to discuss them with! Help a girl out!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Yassss helps me get through the day.

You know, I have a strange thing when every time I go to bed before work day I think how I will return home on next day and will be laying on sofa with my lovely books and food. So, I have a question. Does anybody do the same or am I just crazy tired girl?

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

@queenofthestubbornreaders

Active Booklrs Who Want More Interaction

I’m seeing a lot of stuff about people feeling that booklr is really empty, that no one really replies to posts or reblogs to add their opinion and we’re all really lacking interaction and discussion. 

I’m definitely in the same boat and it’s a real shame. So what can we do? Well to start with I want to make a bit of a list of people who want to be more active in the book blogging community. Then what we can all do to help is follow each other / reblog each other’s posts and add comments / ask and answer bookish questions / reply to people’s reviews and so on. A lot of us are feeling this way so hopefully by bringing us all together in one list it will make it a bit of a difference - if only because we can stop screaming into the void and actually respond to one another. 

And if we all have more interaction and discussion, that might encourage others to join in too. 

So here goes (and if I miss anyone I am super sorry, please just reblog and add yourself and anyone else you know in!). 

@theinkstainsblog

@bookavid

@books-and-cookies

@magic-in-every-book

@howlsmovinglibrary

@audreys-book-nook

@immzies-adventures-through-books

@thatgirlreads

@boneseasonofglass

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

it’s 2018 and Goodreads still doesn’t let you give half ratings, so has humanity really made any actual progress, hmm??

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Literally this. Although I usually don’t really give a straight answer when I’m asked what I’m reading (because it’s usually a polite question by an almost in-law, etc and I know they won’t know what I’m talking about) so I’ve never really gotten shamed for it. I’m also a pretty young looking 24 year old and people still think I’m in high school so it’s pretty easy to get away with it.

But furthermore! Some YA books are shallow! Some are deep! But lots of adult books are shallow too! The adult romance section is pretty popular and those books sure aren’t all think-y pieces. Even non fiction. You wouldn’t judge someone for reading a book about flower arranging when they could be reading about law?

Who cares what someone else reads? I only really take notice if I see someone reading a book I know of and then all I want to know is if you loved it or hate it. Read more books! Read random books without reading the description! Read whatever you want! Have fun!!

Time for Kyrsten’s Opinion: YA Edition

Keep reading

[queenofthestubbornreaders]

Who is your “read everything” author? That author you love so much that you’ll read anything they write??

Mine in Charlie N Holmberg who wrote The Paper Magician (and many other greats).