Tag Archives: romance

The Fault in Our Stars: A Masterpiece

Posted on by
Reply

The Fault in Our Stars has been talked about a lot. It’s moving, it’s tragic, it’s so wonderfully and horribly true.

(It’s making me wax poetic as we speak!)

I don’t know quite what I would say in a spoiler review, so instead let this post be here to convince you, to be that sign to check out TFIOS. You won’t regret it.

A sixteen year old girl named Hazel Grace has, as she puts it, lungs that “suck at being lungs.” She uses a cannula to breathe and carries an oxygen tank around; she suffers from thyroid cancer. Every week she goes to a cancer meeting of survivors and patients, as forced by her mother. Hazel, of course, is in the patients group- her disease is terminal and always has been.

Eventually, Augustus Waters, who has been cancer-free for a year and bears a prosthetic leg for his burden, comes into a meeting. And so the two click.

Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters; love in its rawest, purest, most untainted form. As John Green so famously wrote, and as Hazel Grace so famously said: “…I fell in love the way you fall asleep. Slowly, and then all at once.” 

Filled to the brim with enough wit and metaphors to last a lifetime, the pair thrives off of each other’s sharp and astute nature. Books and poems, the thrill of the chase.

It’s filled with rides and waves and those beautiful aha moments and those crushing, sweep you off your feet realizations. 

Oh, this book takes your heart and whips it up into a pretty cream just to drop it and watch it splatter on the sidewalk

In a good way, of course.

I developed a tendency to put mini-sticky bookmarks over particularly good quotes, scenes, or anything I might want to come back to.

And I have to say, this book is an endless trove of remarkable quotes – I ran out of bookmarks

I’ll have to stop here before I ramble on any longer. Seriously, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, read this. Maybe there are a few tropes in the plot, but the writing far outweighs it. Brilliant execution.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It’s one of the best reads I’ve ever had.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Lady of Darkness: Book Review

Posted on by
Reply

I was on Bookstagram the other day, and I found that many people were recommending this book, so it piqued my interest quickly! I read it, and I would say the book is better than I thought! Lady of Darkness is the first of five books, and it is a completed series!

The thing that I found interesting about this book is the fact that although there was romance in it, it didn’t obscure the whole plot of the book. The main heroine, Scarlett Monrhoe, 100% was involved in her own part of the story. Although she was influenced, she never strayed from her own personal goals.

SPOILER AHEAD:

From the first page of the book, you can pretty much guess that she was an assassin, but what the reader doesn’t know is that it goes so much deeper than that. Throughout the book, she’s mourning the loss of one of her sisters and her mother, and she goes through an insane amount of trauma.

For unknown reasons in the beginning, she’s somehow living in a mansion, with one of her childhood best friends, Cassius, under a rich lord who is in charge of her. The story starts picking up the pace when a mysterious man who is in charge of the lord’s armies spots her. From there, she starts training with him, as she is intrigued by the speed and agility that she equally matches.

There are multiple subplots going on at the same time, so it is difficult to explain all of them in order. However, as she is dealing with the mysterious man, children are going missing as well. So, she puts all her energy into finding the children and uses any methods possible to get a clue that might help.

As the story begins to tie together, we see that the mysterious man is the meeting point of all of her problems: her heritage, her mother, her sisters, the assassin lord…

I would say that this book is a good read for anyone who is feeling that rebel in them and wants to give this book a try!

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Posted on by
1

Nathan and Bree have been best friends since high school, but never had the courage to tell each other about their true feelings. However, after Bree suffered from a life-changing car accident and Nathan left for college and the NFL, the two lose touch, only to be reunited years later with their feelings just as strong and still just as much stuck in the friend-zone. Eventually, after six long years, things begin to change as a drunken conversation with a nosy reporter forces them to start fake dating.

All in all, I loved this book. Personally, I’ve always loved friends-to-lovers and fake dating tropes, which is just two of the many things that I enjoyed about this book. Positives also include:

  1. Nathan is a big sweetheart. He was always so loyal to Bree and would stand up for her whenever someone tried to belittle her. He was also super patient with her when she was drunk and wanted to respect her boundaries.
  2. Jamal, Derek, Price, and Lawrence are probably the bestest friends you could ever ask for. The way that they were silently rooting for Bree and Nathan the whole time and even made Nathan a romance sheat sheet, so that he could woo her, automatically makes them the best matchmakers ever!!!
  3. Dylan was probably my favorite character out of this whole book. I found his interactions with Bree and Lily to be especially fun, espescially when he kept having to constantly shop for her and then carry them up several flights of stairs to Bree’s dingy apartment.

That being said, this book did have a few flaws.

  1. Personally, I would have liked to see Nathan stand up to his mom about her never letting him relax or do anything except play football.
  2. Again, just a personal preference, but I would have liked Bree to have had some involvement in the wedding planning. I know it was a little rushed since they literally got married on the same day that Nathan proposed and everything was planned beforehand according to her preferences, but I still would have liked to see Bree going around trying wedding cakes, dresses, or do anything wedding-related at all.

Overall, I’d probably give it a 4/5, but it’s definitely worth the read if you like a sweet, down-to-earth romance.

The Lunar Chronicles: Winter (SPOILER REVIEW)

Posted on by
Reply

There’s a definitely a certain amount of pressure, I think, on writing the final book in a series.

It has to wrap up all the characters’ goals, defeat the antagonist, and resolve the overall plot, with no threads hung loose.

Yeah, a lot of pressure.

Does Winter live up to the standard? (Beware of spoilers!)

Winter takes a deep dive into the Winter’s pysche like none of the other books before. I find her to be an extremely compelling character. The mental willpower to hold herself back from using her manipulation even when she knew she would start to hallucinate and lose her mind is impossibly strong. It’s the exact opposite from what the entire Lunar court thinks of her. She is the most powerful of any of them.

Winter went through so much.

I wish there was more of her. She’s such an amazing character but despite the book being named after her I felt like there wasn’t nearly enough attention on her. She almost seemed thrown in, which is the opposite of what she deserves as such a rich and compelling character.

I also don’t think Wolf got a finished ending. The book was all nonstop plot and twists, with hardly any room for the characters. And there’s a lot of characters.

The climax between Cinder and Levana was bloody and dramatic, though it was really a bit of an idiotic move on Cinder’s part to think that the mass murderer wouldn’t try to kill her as soon as she put down the gun.

I have to say, I do love the ending. Cinder dropping it off the same balcony she’d jumped off of? The tiniest reference to the glass slipper? Kai and Cinder’s relationship finally resolved, with hope for the future? It’s all beautiful, tinged with just the right amount of bittersweet, knowing that the battle was far from over.

I do think explicitly having all four main characters end up in a neatly established romance made it feel forced instead of natural. I also have some problems with Cress and Thorne’s relationship, but I might save that for a review on Cress instead.

There was so much good in this book, but also a lot I didn’t like.

Still, everyone has the right to their own opinions. What do you think?

Winter by Marissa Meyer is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.



You & Me at the End of the World by Brianna Bourne

Posted on by
1

Imagine being the only person in the world, with time suspended for some unknown reason, until you finally stumble upon someone. A very affable, music-aficionado someone, in Hannah’s case.

Hannah Ashton and Leo Sterling are the only people in the world. They are completely isolated in an alternate reality without people, problems, or expectations. They take the opportunity to discover their true selves and each other.

I really enjoyed seeing perfect, rigorous, ballet-dedicated Hannah Ashton realize that she also loves feeling wind blowing through her hair and Leo Sterling’s guitar playing.

In real life, Hannah is a driven ballet dancer with high aspirations and Leo is a laid-back rock guitarist. They knew each other from school, but they would never talk to one another. In this dimension, they are given the chance to truly get to know each other.

The entire mystery of the reason for this apocalyptic event kept me in suspense throughout the novel. The instances where Leo and Hannah’s true connection shone, I was expecting a blackout, or a glitch in the matrix of some sort to eventually drive them apart, but it never really came.

The setting of the novel felt almost dream-like. I wondered if Hannah was only imagining Leo or if his personality was a figment of her imagination. Without the confinements of their regular lives, they are free to be whomever they choose.

Eventually, towards the end of the novel, their blissful world takes a turn of events. In the center of the chaos, they find each other.

House of Beating Wings: Book Review

Posted on by
Reply

This book has been an amazing fantasy read! I have been trying to find a book that has matched the past fantasy books that I have read (aka: ACOTAR, Throne of Glass Series, Shatter Me, Red Queen…) and this one has met most, if not all, of my criteria! It has those plot twists that I love, the romance, and the world building that is so complex, yet complicated. The premise of this book is about a twenty-one-year-old girl named Fallon who is half fae. She is often undermined by the pure fae and the humans as well.

Half-fae don’t have the rights that pure fae’s have and they are not allowed to use magic. Fallon is stubborn, like most female heroines, and she has a love for animals, especially water serpents. But, she has no magic, which she questions. As a result, people often mistrust her and sometimes she doesn’t even understand what and who she is. However, she has her best friends, Sybille and Phoebus that back her up, as well as the prince, Dante who has been her childhood love.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Fallon lives with her grandma who is in charge of taking care of her, and her mom who is in comatose state. After she goes out to party one night, she meets a woman named Bronwen who tells her a prophecy in which she will be the Queen of Luce if she collects five crow statues.

With nothing to lose, she goes on a journey to retrieve the five crow statues. The interesting thing is after she collects a crow, they come to life. The more and more crows she collects, she realizes that it can actually talk to her and keeps her company during the journey.

As they get further and further into this journey, she begins to uncover some of her heritage/bloodline, secrets that has been kept from her, and her kingdom’s secrets.

This series is a trilogy, and it is a well worth it read! I am currently on the third book, House of Striking Oaths, and the plot twists, world building, and romance have kept my anxiety and heart rate up there! I really recommend this book for anyone who is in a book slumber and needs a book to take their mind off of things!

The Golden Slipper by Valia Lind

Posted on by
Reply

After being abused by her stepmother and stepsisters for years, Mira finally has a chance to escape to the human world and open her own flower shop after her best friend provides her an opportunity to work at the palace. However, with the threat of Baba Yaga looming overhead and her secret romance with the prince, Mira’s plans may yet be delayed.

The Golden Slipper is truly a fantastical wonder piece that beautifully retells Cinderella’s story. It’s filled with magic, wonder, and a budding romance between two people who come from completely different worlds. After each subsequent encounter with each other, the two begin to literally fall for each other as they prove that with the power of true love, they can overcome any spell, whether it be from a wicked witch or a fairy godmother.

Although their relationship has its ups and downs, as the two attempt to navigate through arranged marriages and a wicked stepmother, they only continue to grow closer and closer to one another. However, as the two dance with each other night after night at the masquerade ball, completely unaware of each other’s identity, feelings, and dark past, the two prove that anything is possible.

The Golden Slipper is a great read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a little magic in their life!

Book Review: Trial of the Sun Queen

Posted on by
Reply

This novel was a very interesting novel from my perspective because it included all the fantasy tidbits that I personally enjoyed. This would be appropriate for fans of Sarah J. Maas (aka Throne of Glass and ACOTAR), especially if you are having a book hangover like I did.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The story is about this girl called Lor. She is currently stuck in this high-stake prison that she’s been in for twelve years with her brother and sister for a crime they did not commit. The conditions are rough, as they have no clean water, no beds, and are all half-starved. The life expectancy there are around a year or two. The prison is meant to die in, and no one is ever released.

After she gets in a big fight with another girl, she gets put into the Hollow, in which no one ever survives. She’s sentenced for two weeks with no food, no water, and no shelter from the wild magical animals that gobble up humans like her.

After about a week, she suddenly gets rescued by one of the soldiers from a far away kingdom. She wakes up in luxurious clothing, a bed made for a queen, and a maid. As the story progresses, she realizes she is in a trial competing for the Sun King’s heart and the Sun King is very interested in her, even though she is very much overlooked by all the other beautiful fae competing for his heart as well.

As she competes in one trial after another, she somehow survives each and every one. She questions her abilities until she overhears the Sun King, Atlas, and her guard talking about her which makes her question why the King favors her and what she has to offer him (which she thinks is nothing).

The ending I will not spoil because I think it was very surprising to say the least because the story unfolds in a way that wasn’t expected. It is not as good as ACOTAR or Throne of Glass, but its close enough that it will get you hooked instantly!

Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter

Posted on by
Reply

*this review may contain spoilers*

I’ve recently been in a reading slump and haven’t been able to pick up a book and genuinely enjoy it until this read! Those who have read my other posts will know I’m an avid romance reader and it’s my preferred genre and let me say this book fulfilled my little heart. :”)

This story follows Liz and Wes or Libby and Wessy. They’ve grown up being neighbors for most of their life and they were presented as enemies every since childhood to their adolescent years. Whether it be hide-and-seek or stealing each other’s parking spaces, they’ve been at it.

However, the book takes a twist when Liz’s childhood crush, Michael comes back and she gains those same feelings for him that she felt when she was a kid. She isn’t quite sure how to grab his attention and fall for her and this is when Libby makes a “genius” plan to fake date Wessy. Our rival neighbors are bounded by this fake relationship for Liz to get the guy of her dreams and Wes to obtain the parking spot right outside their houses.

With their final year of high school left, the book follows along on Liz and Wes’ friends, hangouts, etc. The very predictable ending is that they fall for one another, or rather Liz falls for Wes.

Even though this book has a great deal of predictability, the main characters are easy to become attached to because of their charisma and personalities. This book can guarantee someone out of a reading slump! (PS. I finished it in a day) This was also my first read from Lynn Painter and it has be intrigued on her other novels, which are all relatively new. I would recommend this book for anyone trying to get into romance or just want a fun read!

-Madison C.

Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: Cinder

Posted on by
1

You’ve probably heard of the Cinderella fairy tale before.

But you probably haven’t heard of the story becoming a sci-fi dystopian romance series, have you?

Marissa Meyer’s series The Lunar Chronicles is amazing. Today, we’ll just be reviewing the first book, called Cinder.

Book Blurb

In this novel, Linh Cinder is a talented mechanic and cyborg, living many years after the Fourth World War in New Beijing.

There are laws that demolish cyborg rights to nothing, and her stepmother treats her like trash, calling her junk. Her only friend is an android named Iko, who Cinder built out of spare parts.

A plague by the name of letumosis is raging through the world, killing countless people.

Cinder’s life is routine and repetitive, until Prince Kaito shows up at her mechanic stand with a repair request for a damaged android. Romance, death, adventure, and more await…

This book does contain dark themes, and the series as a whole touches on gore, death, etc. Just a friendly disclaimer!

This book absolutely hooked me right into the rest of the series: which I love to death. But let’s hop into the actual review to see if this book is right for you!

Let’s start with the pros.

Marissa Meyer does an AMAZING job of executing the plot twists, and I just love the dialogue between characters. It flows so naturally.

This story pulls you in with an engaging hook, setting up the absolute masterpieces that are the rest of the series.

The world is so immersive – the book doesn’t throw a ton of exposition at you for you to understand certain parts of the culture, world, etc.

The morality of mind control and influencing others emotions, what makes someone human, and more is tackled in this book and the rest of the series. It’s beautiful to read.

I could not recommend this book more. The series is close to my heart, and Cinder is a stellar hook to pull you in.

You might be wondering – where are the cons?

Books are subjective. Since I love this novel a TON, it was hard for me to find things I didn’t like.

It is pretty lengthy, standing at 387 pages. Cinder is also more tame compared to the rest of the series – and if you read this you’ll want to read the rest, so be wary!

If you’re looking for a dark, yet thrilling sci-fi adventure with a creative world, sparks of romance, and a wealth of references to fairy tales? This one’s for you.

(not sure if there’s anybody specifically looking for that last part, but regardless :p )

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.