Perilous Sea Review

The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

Title: The Perilous Sea

Author: Sherry Thomas

Series: The Elemental Trilogy #2

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: September 16, 2014

Genre: Fiction; Historical Fiction; Adventure; Fantasy; Romance; Young Adult

Pages: 414                     

Format: Hardcover

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After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.

Yep. Sherry Thomas still got it.

Iolanthe (how do you say that? EYE-OH-LANthhh? EEE-uh-LAWNT? I wish I knew. It would make the book so much better if I wasn’t always thinking “DAMMIT WHAT IS THAT NAME?”) and Titus come back together after spending a summer apart after the crazy events of The Burning Sky. Iolanthe is still acting under the pseudonym of Archer Fairfax. She and Titus continue to work together, reading spell books, practicing magic, and a little something extra, if you catch my drift (*wink wink*). Things are going good until Titus decides to have a realization that will ruin all their plans and their relationship. Way to go, Titus. You put the im- in impossible romance. Iolanthe aka Archer can no longer serve the purpose she was originally promised. Can she recover from being tossed aside after everything that’s happened?

I had doubts. It had been a while since I read The Burning Sky, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that I would remember all that I was expected to remember. Like when you go back to school after summer break. Unrealistic expectations of you retained from last year’s chemistry class is inevitable. Lucky for me, this book was very different from a chemistry class (thank God). The story was surprisingly easy to catch up on with skillfully placed reminders.

The sequel was just as fantastic as the first book. The key to a successful series is to write the separate installments as separate stories with their own personalized story lines. Otherwise, readers are stuck with a boring continuation of a story to which they already said goodbye. Readers want new, exciting, suspense. They can’t have that if they are caught into reading a prolonged conclusion to a washed-up plot line. Sherry Thomas knew this and played it up. Her Perilous Sea story was exciting and filled with its own set of problems. I was just as entertained with the dazzling magic in this book as the previous.

The characters were built and written fully. They were well rounded and complex. Their romance was held back just enough to keep my intrigue and left me wanting just the right amount of more. Respectfully clever and hard to put down, this novel an overall success. With the bar set to sky-scraping heights, I can’t help wonder if Sherry Thomas can keep up with the standards she’s set for the final book.

The Immortal Heights

October 13, 2015

Infinite Sea Review

Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Title: Infinite Sea

Author: Rick Yancey

Series: The Fifth Wave #2

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Publication Date: September 16, 2014

Genre: Science Fiction; Fiction; Romance; Adventure; Young Adult

Pages: 300

Format: Hardcover

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How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

I am so glad I finally got my hands on this glorious, magnificent novel! I honestly forgot how amazing this series was, but now, I am fully aware of the splendor of Yancy’s genius…and I am going to continue to be aware of it for 5 more long awful months. Oh goody.

Cassie, Ben, Ringer, Evan, and everyone else are still on the arduous and eventful adventure in which they try to defeat the infamous and tyrannical Others. Cassie Sullivan, pulled into the underground rebellion against the Others by trying to save her little brother Sammy, now finds herself fighting for something bigger than herself and her family. Ben, once a reputable child soldier, now fights against the very people he once fought for, alongside his closest friends and troops. Of course, the Others are pulling even more dangerous and complex combative techniques in attempt to quell the small group of stubborn and persistent teenagers that are wreaking havoc on their delicately planned hijacking of the world. The 5^th wave was only the beginning.

Oh my god. How exactly did I survive the limbo between when I read the first book and the release of the second? Did I just black out? I must have because I have no idea how I stood for that miserable time, and I definitely don’t know how I’ll survive this one. And what’s worse? There’s a movie coming out! A movie. Coming out. Next year. Ohmygod. 

The 5^th wave instigated intense instability of my emotional state, but this book? Oh, this book literally crushed all my remaining sanity and any grip on reality that I had. You read the first book of this series, and you think, Woah, that was some serious stuff, but then you read Infinite Sea, and you’re like, OHMYGOD WTF DID I JUST READ?! *throws book across the room* Yeah. You’ve been warned.

Curse you Rick Yancy! Is it too much to ask for a little bit of closure? Just a little? I’m not even asking for much, just a teensy tinny happy ending. Just like, convince me Cassie and Evan are a safe, and I’ll be good. Kind of. Okay, maybe not good, just not screaming from the desperation I harbor as I wait for your third and final(?) book.

I…I just…I really–I loved this book. The characters, the plot, the setting, the dialogue, the pages it was written on, everything. I’ve just, you know, lost all handle I had on my emotions, but that’s okay, right? I think I’ll recover from this series. Maybe. Hopefully.

The Last Star

September 8, 2015

Dorothy Must Die Review

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Title: Dorothy Must Die

Author: Danielle Paige

Series: Dorothy Must Die #1

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: April 1, 2014

Genre: Fantasy; Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 452

Format: Hardcover
goodreads

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

I don’t usual read spin-offs, like, as a rule. That may be because I’ve never actually read a good spin-off of any fairy tell. And, well, when I saw this cover, I have to admit that I was skeptical. Maybe a little bit more than skeptical. I kind of made a decision to avoid this book because I honestly thought it wouldn’t be any good. But, because of a recommendation, I decided to give it a chance. I am so glad I did.

We all know the story: there’s a tornado, a lion, a scarecrow, a tin man, and lots of gingham. But what about after? Amy Gumm never thought about that, and why would she? It was a happy ever after, end of story, right? Wrong. After Oz, Dorothy found a way back into the magical land and took over all power. As a result, she kind of became a control freak– a blue gingham covered, ruby slipper wearing control freak. Oz is breaking, slowly fading into a sad memory of what it used to be. In one freak accident of a rampant tornado, Amy Gumm finds that she’s not in Kansas anymore. Oz has become twisted. The wicked have become the heroes, and the good have become the enemies. With the help of moody goth munchkin, a wingless flying monkey, and four wicked outcasts, Amy must survive in a world where Oz is nothing like you thought, and Dorothy is anything but an innocent, kind-hearted farm girl.

Reading spin-offs and retellings, in my opinion, is like trying to fix something that is anything but broken. In most cases, it hurts the original story rather than add anything to it. This was not the case in Dorothy Must Die. Besides being hilarious, this parody of the Wizard of Oz was highly creative and delightfully imaginative. In short, I absolutely adored it.

The characters, unlike the two-dimensional sweet and innocent characters of the original Wizard of Oz story, were complex and well crafted. Throughout the entire story, you’re never quite sure who to trust or what the other characters are thinking. I absolutely loved the ingenious manipulation of the lion, tin man, the scarecrow, and, of course, Dorothy. I also appreciated the creation of the new characters I have never heard of before, like Glinda’s sister, Glamora, and Nox.

Amy is nothing like Dorothy, before or after she turned evil. Amy is underestimated and complex. She thinks she is less brave than she actually is, and she is much more capable than she expects. I loved her character’s development through the story.

Long story short: Dorothy Must Die was action packed, grimly magical, and fascinatingly complicated. I can’t wait to find out how Paige will follow up this epic masterpiece.

  

The Wicked Will Rise

March 30, 2015

Maze Runner Movie vs. Book

Many books turned to movies have obtained considerable failure while going from white page to silver screen. Take Percy Jackson, for example. Probably the worst movie rendition of a book that I have ever seen. Sure, Sean Bean and Logan Lerman were there, but even that couldn't have saved the movie. There is risk in making a motion picture based on a top-selling novel. For one,  the audience you're appealing to is a majority of book nerds (like me). If you skimp of the book details, there will be talk of an uprising. We want it done, but we want it done right. 

I absolutely love the Maze Runner book. Not so much a fan of the entire series, but the Maze Runner itself is fantastic. The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure just went downhill for me. It was violent, and I felt the author lost all sense of the story. It warped too much and eventually bored me. (Honestly I can't even remember how this series ends...) While it ended badly, the series started out well with the Maze Runner. When I went to the theater, I just hoped that the movie makers didn't mess it up too bad. 

First thing that the Maze Runner movie people did right: Dylan O'Brien. Second thing they did right: the setting. Exactly like the book! And not just the setting; the story and the character were all so close to the book. I loved the cast (except for Theresa, but I'll get to that later) and Chuck was the highlight of the movie. O'Brien was perfect for this role. He was exactly like how I imagined Thomas in my mind. And the Grievers (even though they scared the crap out of me) were just right. When I read the book, they were less scary, and I think they could have toned it down in the movie. But overall, they were great. And the action was fantastic. Watching this movie, I finally understood what the term "at the edge of your seat" meant. I must have held my breath for two thirds of the entire movie. 

Things the Maze Runner people did wrong: Theresa, and the violence. I did not like the girl casted for Theresa; they could have done so much better. She was a mediocre actress at best. Secondly, the violence. While the book was violent, book violence is different from movie violence. In books, you can kind of just skim past all the blood and gore, while in movies, you kind of have to watch it. I didn't like that I had to watch it. The book was violent, I'll admit that, but the movie seemed even more violent than the book. 

By the time the theater lights faded in, I liked the movie. My heart was pumping hard and the book nerd inside of me was satisfied (and not just from watching O'Brien for two hours straight). Fans of the Maze Runner I am sure will be fans of this movie. Not even the person sitting behind me who felt it necessary to kick my seat of five minutes could ruin the movie for me. It was good, and I liked it, and I think other people will too.