Quick Cram-a-Thon Wrap Up 2017

Hey everyone! I'm here with a (hopefully) super quick wrap up of the 2017 Cram-A-Thon! This read-a-thon was hosted by: HardbackHoarder, Julia Sapphire, Dylanthereader5 and the Awkward Bookworm (all of their channels will be linked below).

It was announced that from December 26th until January 2nd, you were to read seven of your shortest books and to complete seven challenges. Bre, my Youtube partner, and I decided that we were going to try and participate. Bre had never participated in a read-a-thon, and though I had before, this was my first time participating with another person and with a twitter. Bre killed the read-a-thon and I did alright. I also found out that I'm not very good with twitter........but I'm learning. Haha! Enough about that...Let's get into the challenges and the books I read!

The first challenge was to read a book with less than 200 pages. For this challenge I decided to read the 9th volume of Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi. 

Challenge the second was to read a book with LGBTQIA+ rep in it. I didn't really have a short book that fit this challenge, but Bre mentioned that No. 6 by Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino fit, so naturally I picked it! She had lent me the 3rd volume, so I needed to get to it anyway.

The third challenge was to read the shortest book on your TBR (To Be Read) pile. I had taken Yu Yu Hakusho volume 10 out from the library (along with the 9th one), so it was something I needed to get to. Plus this is my favorite manga/anime series, so I wasn't mad about having to read it.

Challenge 4 was to read a book with your favorite color on the cover. I have no pink books and I wasn't interested in any of my yellow books, so I went for The Prisoner of Azkaban...by JK Rowling, which is my favorite of the Harry Potter series and has a beautiful purple and green cover.

Challenge the 5th was to read a book that was gifted to you. I very rarely get books as gifts, but for Christmas my sister gifted me The Wonderling by Mira Bartok. She said she saw it and thought of me. I was super touched and was super excited to pick it up.

Challenge the 6th was to read one of the host's favorite short books. I don't know what they all chose...and to be honest, I'm too lazy too look it up...but I was watching HardbackHoarder's video and saw that one of the host's favorite books was George by Alex Gino, and since it was a book I had been meaning to read for a long time, I chose that and borrowed it from my library!

And last but not least, challenge 7 was to read seven books. I was about half way through Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (I was on page 356 at the time of the read-a-thon). My goal was to have it read by the end of the year, so this was a good push to get it finished.

So, how did I go?

I only finished 4 books...2 manga and 2 novels...eh....

But honestly, for the week I was having...it wasn't too bad.
I read all of Prisoner of Azkaban, George, and Yu Yu Hakusho volumes 9 and 10. I also made it through 111 pages of the Wonderling and worked on a bit more of Warbreaker. I didn't finish it, but I'm just glad I made progress. I had absolutely no interest in picking up No. 6, though I did end up reading it after the read-a-thon was over. I'm not going to go into my thoughts on the books I read, as I mentioned them all in my December wrap up on our Youtube channel (which I will link). 

So that's that! I know it has been a while since the cram-a-thon ended, but I felt like it was incomplete without an official wrap up! A lot of stuff happened that week and I wish I could have gotten more read, but I'm glad I was able to accomplish what I did!

I have a few "New Years" stuff planned for this blog, so stay tuned for that!
See you next time!
~Momo

Channel link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5eRrShYL-HK0Gzg2qp4zQ
Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-supermomochan-peachyfishybooks 

Cram-a-thon host channels:
Julia Sapphire: https://www.youtube.com/user/JewlSapphire
HardbackHoarder: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpjGKbwm-ZXBedvkOI1uAjA
dylanthereader5: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxpHOP-SCTA0bQ7GZ3fLI0Q/featured
The Awkward Bookworm: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCferU-BCL2dlFjWdD0rS75Q

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virture by Mackenzi Lee -- A Not So Favorable Review

Summary: Monty is lechy lush with an abusive father and a crush on his childhood best friend. Percy is bi-racial in a time where that in unacceptable. Felicity is Monty's sister and just wants to study medicine. They go on the Grand Tour of Europe together. Shenanigans ensue, the trip derails and Alchemy happens?

I gave this book 3 stars...Ugh






I want to start out with a strong statement...What the ACTUAL fuck is this book?! Holy. Shit. I just can't.

  
I know that the opinions below are probably going to be very unpopular...I just want everyone to know that I'm not judging anyone who enjoyed this book. This book wasn't meant for me, and that's ok!  So, to start us off, I'm going to talk about the positives. It's a polite thing to do.

On a Positive Note:

The first 100 pages or so were AWESOME! I was super enjoying this book! It was hilarious! Monty is a lech and he loves to drink and gamble. Naturally it gets him into a lot of trouble and some really awkward predicaments. I loved it! If the whole book had just been about the Grand Tour and all the shit Monty got into, SOLD! Unfortunately, it wasn't...but we'll get to that later. I promise. It was funny and interesting to read. I understood 100% why people were losing their shit over this book. Again, I will touch on what happened later.

The characters are soooooooooooo good! I love Monty, Percy and Felicity. They are real people with real problems and they are treated in a way that I feel was historically accurate for the time period in which this book was meant to have taken place. Monty is terribly flawed and very stupid, but that is part of his charm. You watch him struggle with trying to please his father and trying to fight against his wild nature. He was charmingly frustrating and I loved that about him. 

Percy was super sweet and I was genuinely cheering for him throughout the novel, as I was Felicity as well. At first I found her to be annoying, but as her character and personality came out, I didn't mind her so much.

I did also like the romance between Monty and Percy. It was a bit like Carry On by Rainbow Rowell...but not done nearly as well. Still, I was rooting for them to get together...and for Monty to pull his head out of his ass. Haha

Things that DIDN'T work:

Honestly, if it wasn't for the characters I would have DNF'd the hell out of this book.

Let's start with that love story I was just praising. It was SOOOOOOOO hot and cold, but not in a sexy way. Monty is so frustrating...I am not sure how Percy put up with him. He must be a saint! He insults Percy multiple times, mostly because Monty is a privileged white boy and has no idea what is like to be in Percy's shoes (as I mentioned before, Percy is bi-racial and he doesn't have the same rights as Monty does in this time period). He also doesn't really try to understand either? I don't know. I wasn't super into the romance...but I still wanted them to succeed.

The plot was a hot mess. First we are the Grand Tour, then something happens and they end up going on a wild goose chase all over Europe because of alchemy.....What? And I didn't even think it was original! It was like Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa. I can't say how because it might spoil both series, but trust me...there were some odd parallels...

There were scenes that reminded me of other things as well...like:

Or this:

And if all those things weren't enough, how about some of this:

...upon looking at all of this, it sounds really cool...but the thing is, it has all been done before...and better! All I could think of were these comparisons and how much better they were than what I was currently reading. Plus what I was reading was NOT what this book was advertised as. I was expecting something completely different. A best friends road trip novel...but in Europe and it's all old timey and there is an amazing M/M (male/male) romance...but it really wasn't what the book is about. It's about best friends who are SUPPOSED to go on a European tour but something happens and they end up getting severely sidetracked because Monty is an idiot.

I am having a really hard time expressing my feelings for this book. I was annoyed with most of it and everything is spoilers so I can't really say what else bothered me. UGH!

So anyway...I think I'm done thinking about this damn book. I was mislead, I was bored, I was upset and shocked that everything felt like a plagiarized bastardization of things that already exist...and are a million times better....I am emotionally spent.....I need some alcohol....and an angry nap.

I also want to apologize for the excessive use of GIFs in this post...I was trying something new and I may have gone overboard? Maybe not? Ehh...I'll probably keep doing it until someone stops me. Hahaha

Here's where to find me!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-supermomochan-peachyfishybooks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5eRrShYL-HK0Gzg2qp4zQ/featured















Again....I can't just leave it like that...I have more to say...and it's spoilery...so...you've been warned if you go past this point. 

I still have no clue why this book is so bloody popular. It is literally the biggest rip off a ton of major anime/movie titles...I mean...yeah, it's not a complete bastardization, but there were so many parallels that it made me really dislike this story. Yeah, if you haven't seen One Piece or Fullmetal Alchemist, I could see that it might be an enjoyable read a little bit more....but even then...after looking past everything...this is NOT what was expected. At. All. After the incident with the robbers and escaping into town, I was already starting to get disappointed...then we find out Percy is sick and that he's going to be sent away...so yeah, that was sad, but they find out the trinket Monty had stolen from the important French guy....whose name I can't be arsed to remember...is actually a key for an alchemical heart that could possibly cure Percy...so this is no longer a story about a final horrah on a Grand Tour...which is what I was hoping. This is a trio of teenagers trying to get a key to a heart of a chimera...of a not dead but mostly dead woman...I didn't want this. They spent so much time in Spain faffing around trying to get answers from the son and daughter of the guy who did the alchemy...great...more shit I don't care about. Like, we went through some shitty character development of characters we didn't need to hang around. Yeah....we are supposed to feel bad about taking the heart of their mother...but we shouldn't have been in this position to begin with. Then the whole going to Venice and getting the key................Going into the catacombs....the fight scene......the escape.......like a scene right out of Indiana Jones...except they weren't looking for a religious item.

I know this is kind of incoherent and maybe it doesn't make sense...but I just feel like I can't fully explain why I didn't like this book...................................There were just too many things working against it. I had such a hard time talking about this book. I literally have a headache. I sorry if this ending bit is a bit...shit. XD

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon -- A Mildly Unpopular Review

Summary: Dimple doesn't want to find an Ideal Indian Husband (IIH) and just wants to code. Rishi is all about pleasing his family and is excited about his arranged marriage to Dimple. They meet at a coding camp. Rishi gets soaked in coffee because Dimple thinks he's creeping on her. Stuff happens, dancing ensues.

I gave this a 3.5 stars...reluctantly...please don't kill me everyone....

As you can see from the star rating...Momes wasn't really all that impressed with this book...I realize this is an unpopular opinion but I can't help the way I felt. So let's get this over with.

Things this book did well!:

I really liked that this book was about things that aren't really discussed in YA. Coding for one. Dimple is super into coding and really wants to make apps that help people which is something I can respect. She doesn't want to do what her parents tell her is right for a young Indian woman. She just wants to do what she wants to do. Sick. Good for you.

I loved Rishi. He is such a great character. He is kind, he stands up for himself and I really liked watching his struggle with trying to please his parents and also do what he wants to do (which I feel is a problem that a lot of young people can relate to). He tries everything he can to win over Dimple and it is really sweet.

MANGA REPRESENTATION! Holy. Shit. As you all may or may not know, I do read a decent amount of manga and even though it is becoming less and less taboo to say that you read manga, I feel there is still a bit of a stigma around it. But Rishi seems like a really cool, "popular" type guy and he's totally into comics. That's great and all, but then we get to see popular titles listed though out the story that most manga nerds would know and it's pretty cool! I know I was super shocked to see some popular titles pop up in this book.

There are also some interesting conversations about race and ethnicity. Just because your parents are from another country doesn't mean you identify with their culture and believe in their beliefs. Dimple obviously doesn't agree with her parents and she discusses with the reader how weird it is for her to live in America, where she is treated as the "weird Indian girl", to how she is treated in India where she is the "weird American girl." Having lived in both Japan and America, I can relate to this feeling of being neither one culture or another. Got me right in the feels.

I also really liked all of the Bollywood mentions. I haven't watched a lot of Bollywood films, but as a dancer I love different types of dance. So seeing names of actual dances from films and being about to YouTube them and watch them was really cool! I, naturally, had to watch all the dances Menon mentioned. It was so much fun and I really appreciated that she did that. It gave people who were not familiar with Bollywood a chance to learn and appreciate.

Google images Dil Na Diya from Krrish

The book was also really addicting and easy to read, so it had that going for it!

Now that seems like a pretty strong case for a 5 star rating....but as it only got a 3.5, let's get into some of my issues.

What didn't work:

I honestly had hoped that the romance would have been a bit more....slow burning. The thing that really bothered me was that Dimple was VERY adamant that she wasn't interested in wearing makeup, getting dressed up, finding her ideal husband and all that romantic stuff. She often got in fights with her mother, and did everything she could to avoid looking presentable. All she wants to do is be a coder. Yet after meeting Rishi once, she finds herself looking for him in the crowd. She is instantly woo'd by him (though, to be fair, I was too) and I felt she gave into him pretty quickly. I would have been much happier if she had been slightly stand-offish until the end, maybe start to feel something but then not really act upon it until the end where she confessed her love for him...or whatever. The whole thing felt insta-lovey to me and I wasn't really into it.

I also felt that Dimple was really abusive towards Rishi. She toys with his emotions so much in this novel...I think that's why I didn't like the romance the way it played out. If it had been the slow burning romance that I had wanted, maybe Dimple wouldn't have taken out her romantic frustrations on him. She was so hot and cold for him and she didn't really seem to care about his feelings. She does a lot of stupid things to him that made me question if this was a healthy relationship or not. Though I think Dimple grew a bit a the end of the novel, I can't help but wonder what their future is going to be like...

I also wished that with such a big premise as a girl who can only ever think about coding and wants to be the best coder ever, there isn't a lot of coding happening. Like, yeah, it would have went over some of our heads if she had put in a lot of technical coding stuff...but there is a lot of artistic things about coding she could have up in it besides the art...like concepts and other things...or at least talk about the project more. But I felt like it got brushed away for many other things...

The talent show....Though I loved all the Bollywood references and I realize that the money was to help with the coding (the coding we hardly ever got to hear about)...I HATED the talent show. It was just more reason to cause drama and f**k around. There was so much added and useless drama that happened and I just didn't want any of it. It also took up a large portion of the latter half of the book. Completely unnecessary.

I found a lot of the things that happened in this book to be completely unnecessary. Friendship drama and some of the boy crazy, sex stuff was really not needed.

So, all of that being said, though I did like a good deal about this book, I think the bad out weighed the good. I also don't think I am going to pick up Sandhya Menon's next book. Again, it just sounds like a book full of lies and abusive relationships. That is not something I'm interested in.

Here are all of my links and such!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-supermomochan-peachyfishybooks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5eRrShYL-HK0Gzg2qp4zQ 

In case you were curious, like I was, here are the links to the two dances Dimple and Rishi practiced and talked about during the talent show. I enjoyed watching these very much and hope that you check them out too!

Dance Pe Chance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJivRs-FEs&index=17&list=WL
Dil Na Diya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHFtoEHw08&index=18&list=WL 

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh -- A Spoiler Free Review

(again....sorry for the shitty picture....the lazy is strong with me)


Summary: A girl volunteers as tribute to a Caliph who keeps murdering his wives every morning, one of whom was her best friend. Naturally they fall in love. Has some Arabian Nights story telling in it. Some shit happens. Eh?


3.5 stars (dropped from 5 stars)



3.5 stars is not a bad rating. It just hit me after a few weeks that I didn't love this book as much as I did whilst I was reading it. Haha

I'm not really sure how I want to organize this review, so I'm just going to talk about my feelings and we'll see where this goes from there. Hopefully there will be some organization involved...Hahahaha 😅 

For starters, I really wasn't too into the characters. I can't really think of one character that I was really excited for. Shahrzad was annoying for most of the book and I REALLY hated when it was in Tariq's perspective. He did NOTHING for me and I kind of wish he wasn't needed in the story. Shazi (Shahrzad) was just annoying and, to me, a typical YA female protagonist. Trust issues and a mission to complete but then forgets all about it when she falls in love. Instantly.

Yes, this has some insta-love in it. Barf. I mean it wasn't INSTANT..but it was too soon for my liking. I would have been perfectly ok if nothing happened until the end...or there was no romance in it at all. Why couldn't this have just been a fantasy/revenge story with some mystery? Why does everything have to have a romance in it?! SCHTAP IT YA AUTHORS!!!! NOT EVERY GIRL NEEDS A MAN!!! I liked that Shazi tried to uncover why Khalid (the Caliph) was killing all those girls and even though she did fall in love with Khalid, she never lost sight of the reason she was there. She would mention that she was upset that she liked him but how he had killed her best friend and many other innocent girls. That redeemed the book a bit....but not really by much.

I really liked the story telling element that Renee Ahdieh had in the beginning. Shazi would tell Khalid a story every night to keep her alive until the next day and it was really nice to hear the stories from Arabian Nights, a book I had a really hard time reading because of all the names. I wish that had carried through the book more. The author, at one point, decides that it's not necessary anymore and we stop getting stories. If I remember right...this is the premise of Arabian Nights? They are a bunch of short stories told to a Sultan who is murdery? Or was that just a Looney Toons short? Someone will correct me. Haha! I feel like that was lost and I wanted more! I don't think we'll be getting anymore of it in the second book...bummer.

I did really like the idea of the world. There was some interesting magic happening that I want to learn more about. And we got a VERY small taste of what the world outside the caliphate was like and I want to know more. Hopefully we will...because after the events of the first book...we kind of need to know more.

As much as I think I bitched during this review, I don't think this is a bad book at all. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who asked me. The atmosphere was great and the magic and world look really interesting. This is a good introduction to Middle Eastern story telling without all of the complicated names that can sometimes come along with it....and the family histories...Which are very important to Middle Eastern story telling but can be daunting to someone with isn't familiar with that part of the world. I'm really hoping the second book (this is a duology by the way) expands on the things that were really good about this book and that some of the things I didn't like get fixed. 

I think that's all I have to say? I have no idea if this is coherent or just a cluster fumble of nonesense...but I suppose someone will tell me if this is shit. Hahahaha!

If you've read this book, tell me what you thought about it? What did you like or not like? Let's start a conversation!

If you would like to follow my Goodread and keep up to date with what I'm reading and my thoughts on the things I'm reading, please feel free to send me a friend request! If you wanna see my stupid face and my friend's stupid face, please check out our YouTube channel! All links will be posted at the end of this post!

Until next time! Stay awesome!
~Momes (Momo)

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-supermomochan-peachyfishybooks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5eRrShYL-HK0Gzg2qp4zQ

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher --First DNF in 2017--

I am DNF'ing this book at 229 pages (just shy of halfway)

I had heard so many amazing things about this series. I am currently in Japan for the next three months and I needed a good decently sized fantasy book to get me though a chunk of it....I got about halfway in about a week and couldn't take anymore.

So, I know this series was started with two silly topics, but I think both of them weren't really done that well. I understood the Pokemon references (I mean, there is a mountain (?) called Garados....XD) and I could see the roman legion-ness...but honestly neither of these things made the story any better for me.

I really hate when the author names the characters similar names...I guess that's common in Roman times to have names that honor others and such...but he didn't make them interesting enough for me to remember who was who. And as I'm dyslexic, having indistinguishable characters with similar names name it IMPOSSIBLE for me to keep them straight. Gaius Sextus.....honestly tho. Besides the shitty naming the characters were super boring. I honestly couldn't care less about what happened to any of them. I felt like they had no personality and when bad things happened to them, I didn't really feel myself rooting for them to win. I also felt like things would happen to them just to try and give the story substance...or to move the not so good plot forward. Kinda. I think there was so much action that I didn't know what the plot was....and then once I figured out the plot I felt like it had just been thrown in there randomly so that the story would have a plot. Period.

If you are looking for a rich world, you won't get it here. You are just kind of thrown in. The world history is thrown at you as you go along, almost as if the author is making it up as he wrote the book. And the furies? LAME! I didn't really understand how they worked. I mean, I understood that they chose you based on your skills to furycraft an element (like water or fire), but I had a hard time picturing what they looked like or how they did some of the things they did.

At the point I DNF'ed, I decided I didn't care if I came across any spoilers, so I looked up the book's fan-wiki. I was bored just reading the summary...At no point was anything the wiki said a surprise nor was it something that I thought would be interesting to read. I then read the last few pages and decided it really wasn't worth it to read all the middle bits, so I put it down. Also, I did find the plot points in the other books to be interesting enough for me to continue reading so I decided to sell all the books once I got back to the states.

I do plan on reading his Dresden Files series (as I did enjoy the first few chapters I read as a sampler), so I'm not completely giving up on Jim Butcher. I am just giving up on this series.

2017 Bookish Resolutions --The Better Late Than Never Edition--

So, we are currently half way through 2017 (wow....already?!) and I am now deciding that it's time for me to do a bookish resolution....Like they say, "Better late than never!" right?

I'm going to be trying a few goals that I know, for me personally, are achievable (especially with the amount of time I have left in 2017). They may seem silly or stupidly easy for some of you, but it's not about you. Sorry. 😅😅

 So let's get this party started!!

First of all, let's start off with something super easy. Manga goals. I have been super into manga again this year and I've been taking them out from the library like mad. They know who I am the second I walk in the door. VIP library stats for the win. 

I'm currently 10 volumes into Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi. Ever since I started reading manga and watching anime, this...this has been a constant. It's so nostalgic for me, it hurts. Being such a huge fan of it, I've never finished the manga or the anime. Until now. This year I'm planning on reading the entire series (Yes, all 58 of them). I currently have volumes 11 and 12 out (I'll probably read them after I'm done posting) and plan on taking two volumes out every couple of days or once a week depending on my reading mood...don't want to burn myself out, ya feel me? 

 I am also currently 10 volumes deep into Rin-ne, by the same author.  I didn't even know she had done this series until last summer. What kind of Rumiko Takahashi fan am I?! Apparently a bad one.  So I plan on finishing this series (24 volumes) by the end of this year as well. I have been reading it along with Inuyasha. It's a sweet deal. Rin-ne isn't nearly as deep as Inuyasha, as I believe it's for a younger audience, and it also repeats itself constantly (probably because it was a Shonen Sunday). Still, it's a really cute manga and I would recommend it.

I also have a few other series that I'm almost finished with that I want to get done this year (Kitchen Princess, Assassination Classroom...and a few others I can't remember at the moment...XD)

Now for the novels. This is the real challenge for me. I have been in the worst reading slump which has been going on since last year. This is going to be a struggle for me, but I'm going to try my hardest to get some of these finished!

 First I am 425 pages into A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. I started reading this when I was in Japan (January-April, 2017). I would just like to finish it. That's all. Just before the end of this year. ^^''

I would like to finish the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy by Sarah J. Maas. I am behind and I'm trying desperately to avoid spoilers and such. I really want to read the second book...but with my lack of reading drive, I just haven't.

I would also like to make some progress with Elantris by Brandon Sanderson...but it's not a priority. It's kind of slow going, so I don't know if I'll be up to it. 

Lastly I want to try and make TBRs every month. At least on here. I really want to try and set a monthly goal of some sort. At least one novel a month...even if it's just middle grade.


And that's it! Nothing too exciting....but yeah! That's all I have to say.......Haha! I know this is late and people are doing mid year "How I'm doing" updates...but meh. Whatever!

Until next time! Tootles!

Everything, Everying by Nicola Yoon -- A Review

Summary: A girl is allergic to everything and lives in a vacuum sealed house that she hasn't ever left. A "hawt" boy moves in next door and she decides to do some crazy stuff.

 2.5/5 Stars

I did NOT like this book. I was so disappointed by it...I hadn't heard anything bad about this book since it came out in 2015.  

Things I didn't like about this book: 

I didn't care about the characters. I don't know....I just felt like I didn't know them. I don't really know why I felt this way. Maybe I felt they were underdeveloped? Maybe they were just kind of shallow? I felt like they were just kind of there. 

Insta-love. This book was so insta-love I couldn't even handle it. I hoped beyond all hope that it wouldn't be...but everything happened so fast. I don't even think I was 15% in? Maybe even less? Who knows. It was like, "boy moves in....we saw each other and we are now in love." I didn't think it was necessary.  Insta-love is rarely necessary. And it wasn't even cute love. Like sometimes you read about couples and it makes you squee and feel all warm and fuzzy inside...like "God....I want that too." I didn't feel anything. If you are going to do something poopy like insta-love, make it squee-worthy.  

Shitty family dynamic...standard, "abusive drunk dad beats my mom and it wasn't always like that..." kind of thing. But I don't think that was necessary either. Like...it didn't really do anything for Olly's character. He didn't have any issues with love or relationships...it didn't do anything...Only one time did it do something, but I think the events could have happened with out the whole shitty family background idea.

The ending and the pacing. Though the book was a quick read, (about two days of non-committed reading) everything happened too quickly and the really good stuff didn't happen until about 60% into the story.  Which, in my opinion, is kinda poopy.  I also didn't really like how it ended. Like the last page or so.  I felt like things weren't really resolved and everything was a bit convenient.

Things I did like about this book: 

It was a really fast read. The chapters were super short and there were some neat illustrations and some charts and such. I appreciated that.

The writing was decent. It was descriptive and painted pictures when it needed to. Sometimes, it was a bit flat, but all in all it was enjoyable.

I liked the last 100 pages. It was a good ending (minus the above mentioned problems) and that helped with the rating.

This book was pretty typical YA for me. I liked bits of it, but it just wasn't for me. I am glad I didn't buy this book and I am also glad that I had a chance to try it out. YA contemporary is really hit or miss for me. This was a huge miss...



So hello again....long time no update. I just got back from three months in Nagasaki, Japan and I hadn't been reading too much.  I have been 30% into A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin for the past two months and not reading much else. Now that I am home again and have full access to my library and the local library, I'm starting to read again. Hopefully these will be more frequent...but I always say that....Hahaha!