Review | "Cry Sanctuary" by Moira Rogers

This week's review is over the first book in the "Red Rock Pass" series by the writing team that makes up Moira Rogers (the same writing team that is responsible for the Kit Rocha "Beyond" series).
This review is, again, a few months in the making, so before my review, here is the book's Goodreads description:

Keith Winston is tired of fighting. The war between werewolves and wizards rages on in Europe, but he's come home to Red Rock, Montana in hopes of finding a bit of peace. Instead he finds more strife as he struggles against the pack’s dictates that he resume his place as the alpha’s right hand man.

When he rescues a new wolf on the run, he knows his instant attraction to her could cause trouble. What he doesn't expect is to find himself embroiled in another battle that goes against all his instincts—and his heart.

Abigail Adler learned about the existence of werewolves only when she became one. With her life is threatened by a corrupt alpha, she flees to the only sanctuary she knows: Red Rock. While she’s grateful for the pack’s protection, she chafes under its unbreakable rules of conduct—except when it comes to submitting to the passion Keith stirs in her.

Then her tormentor kidnaps her sister in an attempt to lure her out of hiding. To save her, Abby and Keith must be willing to do the very thing that could get them all killed—break all of the rules.

I read this book in July when the authors announced that the first books in all their series (Kit Rocha included for those of you interested) would be available for free in ebook format. Now, the Moira Rogers paranormal romances are hit or miss with me. 
This is more of  miss. 
While I gave the book three stars, it wasn't my favorite by them. The sex seemed thrown in and didn't fit with the build up and afterwards the characters had a forced element to them. Like their interactions were trying to be natural and the dialogue was unnatural at times. Somehow the storyline rushed before things could develop as intricately as they could have been, but the book seemed to drag.  
Since the book is available for free, I recommend it if you're interested in reading something from these authors. Do I personally think I will continue with the series? Probably not.

Review | "Scarlet" by Marissa Meyer "The Lunar Chronicles #2"

Today's review is a few months in the making. Luckily I have my notes from my reading so I can still review my thoughts even if it's been a few months.
Since this review will be over the second book in a series, there will be some spoilers for "Cinder" so I advise you to click out of this review if you haven't read that book yet and you would like to.

As always, before I get into the review, here is the book's Goodreads description:

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

After absolutely adoring Cinder, I was extremely excited to jump into Scarlet and over all, I wasn't let down! I do have a couple notes to keep in mind though that kept the book from being perfect. 
The relationship between Scarlet and Wolf doesn't make sense, and by that I mean it's rushed. Part of that is due to the fact that this book follows mainly five characters' perspectives whereas the first installment only followed Cinder and Kai- which allowed them more room in the book to interact and blossom a relationship. The way the story progressed didn't allow the reader to see them evolve as characters and so it seems abrupt. The reader might feel like they've missed something because, while the end game is predictable, you don't get to see the entire journey the characters took in their own minds to get there. This isn't a big problem as it's certainly not the first book to do something like this, but it is a plot point the reader might almost have to turn a blind eye to. 
There are a few chapters thrown in randomly that follow characters other than the five main perspectives. This serves to let the reader know what is going on throughout the storyline, and that makes perfect sense, but it is also a little confusing and choppy feeling to never see those perspectives come up again during the course of the book. 
In the end, I think that if you liked Cinder, you'll enjoy this book as well. The new characters are a little stubborn and might be difficult to like in the beginning, but they grow on you and I am extremely excited to see where the series goes.

Book Review | "Isla and the Happily Ever After" by Stephanie Perkins

This week's review is over one the books I had most anticipated for 2014, the conclusion to the "Anna and the French Kiss" companion trilogy: "Isla and the Happily Ever After"! This book, as most fans of Stephanie Perkins know, was originally supposed to be released in 2012, then 2013. In a blog post by the author, she explained why the book was taking so long to be released, but it still made the anticipation almost unbearable!
Anyway, I'll get into my thoughts, but first, here's the Goodreads description:


The café is boiling. The atmosphere is clouded with bittersweet coffee. 
Three years of desire rip through my body and burst from my lips: “Josh!”
His head jolts up. For a long time, a very long time, he just stares at me. 
And then…he blinks. “Isla?”
Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on brooding artist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And, after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer break, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to face uncertainty about their futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.
Set against the stunning backdrops of New York, Paris and Barcelona, this is a gorgeous, heart-wrenching and irresistible story of true love, and the perfect conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series. 

I will admit, while being an absolutely adorable book, it wasn't my favorite in the series. That place is still held by Anna, followed by Isla and ending with Lola. My main issue with the story was the communication between Isla and Josh. This is one of the only young adult stories I've read where two characters like each other, tell each other that fact and start a relationship without a whole mess of conflict getting in the way first, which is a plus. However, it seems like after that their communication goes out the window. 
Yes, it's believable, but only to a point. They're in a relationship for a reason, and I found myself wanting to somehow reach into the book and shake some sense into both of them. Nearly all the conflict in this book shouldn't be there, and wouldn't be there if the characters would just TALK to each other. 
I didn't exactly buy the insta-love and wish we got to know Josh and his feelings for Isla a little bit better so his side of the relationship didn't seem forced into existence. 
Isla, while endearing and adorable, seemed to push the limits of quirky a little too much (she is constantly tripping over things and falling down which stops being cute and starts seeming like the fact that she's "a little strange but in a cute way" is being played up too much). 
There were a few cliche` elements that weren't necessary, but didn't exactly take away from the story and are only faults if you begin to really break the novel down. 
Also, the timing of the book is a little confusing. It is supposed to be set during the same time period as Lola's book, but it's not. It's set up to make it seem like it's taking place the year after "Lola and the Boy Next Door" which, in turn, throws off details from "Anna and the French Kiss".  Again, that's a pretty minor issue, but it is something I noticed.

Ultimately, I think the story could have been tweaked to perfection, but it's also understandable that writing the ending to your first series, one that's so beloved, can be an extremely trying task for an author. While it could have been better, I still loved the book and wholeheartedly recommend the trilogy.

Book Review | "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones

I'm back with another book review! Finally! My last review dates back all the way to August, if you can believe that. I took some time off to study for exams I just finished with at the end of October and in doing so I've collected quite the list of books I need to review, so I'll just get right into my review over this week's book, "Howl's Moving Castle"- the first book in a series, though it can be read as a stand alone.

A lot of you may be familiar with the animated film adaptation of this book, but I went into the story only having heard some great things about it on Booktube, and I can't disagree with what all the reviews have been saying! 

Before I get into my thoughts more in detail, here's the book's Goodreads description: 

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye. 

This book was a lot of fun to read. It's typically classified as being middle-grade, though the main character is in her late teens and Howl is in his twenties, but something about the whimsical nature of the book, the innocence of the adventure, makes it a very good choice for younger readers as well as older readers who are just looking for something light. 

Now, that being said, I did have a few (though some rather minor) issues with the book, and here they are:

I'm not sure if the author intended for this book to be a middle grade story from the start, which would explain the word redundance and the tendency for some phrases to be written very simplistically. However, older readers might find that writing structure a little annoying, at least at the beginning of the book. 

A large chunk of the book passes without much plot development. That isn't necessarily a complaint, because I was still entertained by those passages, but it could have been trimmed down a bit so easily bored readers don't put the book down because it lacks action. That being said, the characters didn't seem to develop that much during those times where the story wasn't moving along. Neither independently, nor in their relationships to each other which is a little disappointing. A story that could have been more or less entirely character driven was pushed ahead by the magic and fantastical setting over the people living in the world. 

Also, the ending seemed rushed. It was thrown together in a way that seemed a little too silly. 

I wish the author would have spent less time on the more "boring" moments and elaborated the characters and the stories ending a little more.

All that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am interested in what the rest of the series has in store.