Angela's May Wrap-Up

Angelfall- Susan Ee
World After- Susan Ee
End of Days- Susan Ee 
3:AM Kisses- Addison Moore
Sweet Submission- Roxy Sloane
Silence- Natasha Preston
Sweet Filthy Boy- Christina Lauren 
Clockwork Angel- Cassandra Clare
Anomaly-Tonya Kuper
A Court of Thorns and Roses- Sara J. Maas
The Heir- Kiera Cass
An Ember in the Ashes- Sabaa Tahir
Fangirl- Rainbow Rowell
Never Never pt 2- Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher 
After- Anna Todd
Ugly People Beautiful Hearts- Marlen Komar
Black Iris- Leah Reader

I know I'm posting this early, but it's only because Leah and I will be in New York the rest of this month for BookCon... And were only kind of freaking out about it... OK WE ARE REALLY FREAKING OUT ABOUT IT!!!! So excited!! Anyways, I didn't plan on reading very much this month but somehow managed to knock out 17 books. This put me at 102 out of my 185 goal this year... Which is freaking insane!

As far as May went, well I think it went alright. My favorites for May are: Angelfall, Sweet Filthy Boy, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Never Never pt 2. I know Angelfall is a little older series wise, but I was waiting for all three books to be released so I could marathon the whole series, and marathon I did. I freaking loved this series. The whole concept of Angels coming down to earth and being villains was amazing.  If you know me then you know this next one was no surprise; Christina Lauren's Sweet Filthy Boy. Those two have definitely become two of my favorite writers. SFB is my favorite book of theirs to date and kind of sad I didn't read it sooner. How could this list be complete without a Sara J Maas book?? It couldn't, ACOTR was a new release this month and I loved it. It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but don't let that fool you, it is stunning. And last we have Never Never pt 2. Short stories aren't really my thing, but this series of novellas has me hooked! I need answers like yesterday. Those were without a doubt my favorites in May. I was surprised by two books, Ember in the Ashes and After. I thought for sure Ember would have been in my favorites, and yes I liked it a lot but then again it didn't blow we out the water like I hoped. After was a book I thought I was going to hate then ended up getting super hooked to.

When it comes to the books I thought were the biggest let downs, well I only have 3. Black Iris, The Heir, and 3AM Kisses. These three are the epitome of a book letdowns. I waited so long to get my hands on Black Iris, and was floored when it turned out to be a cluster f of badness. Leah Reader's Unteachable was one of my favorite books last year, so I was hoping for the same with Black Iris. 3AM Kisses, well lets just say it's one of the lamest things I've ever come in contact with. Spent most of my time trying to hold back my metaphorical vomit while reading it. The Heir, was another one of those books that I was really looking forward too, then got a hold of it and found myself asking "what was the point in this book?". Was so excited to fall back into the world of the selection and was highly disappointed.

That's all for now. See some of you in BookCon and the rest in June. 

-Angela

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

If you follow pretty much anything regarding YA books, you have heard about the release of An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. It's definitely one of the biggest book releases this year and has already been opted for a movie deal. Whenever a book has that much hype around it before it even releases, I get super skeptical. I don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed. I can honestly say that all the hype surrounding Ember is absolutely true.

The world building in Ember is amazing and is one of the things that makes this book so special. You have so many different types of people that live in this alternate world, though only three are really talked about. The first ~100 pages or so is a bit slow because Tahir is setting the scene and really makes sure you have a clear vision of the world and the people. I was absolutely lost in the fantasy and couldn't get enough. I love the alternating POVs, I loved the action, I love the betrayals, I love the secrets... I just love all of it. I especially love that I didn't know where the story was going to go at any point. There was so many different paths it could have taken, so I was constantly guessing and then second guessing myself.

I went back and forth pretty much this entire book on which POV I liked more. Elias gave a lot of action and adventure, whereas Laia gave a more emotional approach to the story. The way the story is told really paints a full picture of the world that Tahir built. It was easy to develop an emotional connection to each character during their POV, and it was also easy to see the hate and intolerance that each character has for the other. Laia grew up in fear of The Masks, and the more that Elias comes around her the more uneasy she feels. She doesn't know what Elias could possible want from her other than to rape or hurt her. Elias has never viewed a slave as he has Laia, which is probably because she is the first slave that he has really paid attention to. Now that he noticed her and has become invested in her, he can't just turn his head when things start happening.

One thing I really loved about this book is that their is no clear romance. From the beginning, you kind of assume that at some point Elias and Laia are going to get together seeing as they are the two main characters. However, Laia and Elias each have someone else that they have feelings for, so it complicates their situations even more. The story doesn't focus on the romances, though it does play big parts in the decision making process of each person. I know some people felt like Ember lacked romance, but I think the little bit that was featured was just perfect. I feel like in the sequel (which has just been announced as moving forward!!!!!) there will be more romance. I personally just feel like the book didn't lack anything because it didn't have a lot of romantic moments. With all the crossover between YA and NA these days, it was really refreshing to read a book that wasn't weighted down by this big love story and steamy scenes (and y'all know I love a good scandy scene.).

Ember reminded me a lot of Red Rising. When Laia is telling about her life growing up a Scholar and then her life as a slave, it made me think of Darrow when he was a Red. When Elias was describing his time at BlackCliff as well as the trials he faces, it reminded me of when Darrow became a Gold. Also, the differences in the names in Ember is similar to the differences in names between Reds and Golds in Red Rising (i.e- Laia is just Laia, whereas Elias is Elias Veturius of Gens Veturia). The story itself is nothing like Red Rising, and I would actually compare it a lot to Legend by Marie Lu. If you have read Legend, you'll remember that Thomas and his unwavering servitude to his government and his duties. This was reminded me so much of Helene's character in Ember and is probably what reminds me of Legend the most. Forbidden love, government resistance, revenge for a fallen family member, yes yes yes! All of the things I love!

For me, this book lived up to all of its hype and more. I was completely blown away and found myself trying to read slowly (as oppose to just blowing through it) because I wanted to savor all of my time in this amazing world and with the characters. If you are a fan of true YA writing (not YA that leans towards NA regarding romance), then you will enjoy this book. It is definitely one of the best ones that I have read this year.

5/5 stars

Silence by Natasha Preston

Oakley Farrell hasn’t spoken in over a decade. At age five she stopped talking and no one seems to know why. Since she refuses to speak Oakley only has one friend, Cole Benson. Cole and Oakley have been friends their whole lives and have formed their own way to communicate. When forced to face the past Oakley has to decide wither to remain silent or speak out.

Silence is a book that I am going back and forth with… I'm on the fence about how to really rate it. Silence is written in dual Pov changing between both Oakley and Cole. Oakley wasn’t my favorite character. I didn’t hate her but I definitely didn’t love her. She was strong in some ways but overall pretty weak. When she does go into why she isn’t talking I did overall like the reasoning behind it. As far as a character that doesn’t speak goes she was pretty interesting. I did think that for how mature she was about her personal issue she was far too immature about others. As far as Cole’s character went I was head over heels for him. I thought he was funny, charming, and definitely swoon worthy. I liked that he was more than just a love interest that he was a great friend. Even though we got a lot less chapters from his point of view I found myself loving his side and the way he spoke way more. It was his sweetness though that really won me over. Their relationship was the biggest plus of this book. I enjoyed that we got so much back story and build up of their relationship. It wasn’t just a “hey they’ve been friends forever so that why they should be together.” It was how relationships should be: starts off as a friendship, explores that for awhile, then builds to something more. So I appreciated that it wasn’t insta love. As far as sub characters the only few that I want to touch base on. Julian (the bully), her cousin with the stupid name, and her parents. I wish we would have gotten more interaction with her mother and father and gotten more out of them. The other two I really hate, Julian and her cousin. Julian was set up to be this horrible mean bully, but all he did was be creepy then convenient. I hate random thrown in characters and he was the epitome of one. Her cousin was as equally as pointless and dumb. Overall I felt no real connection to any character except Cole.

The thing that has me torn though was the flow of the story. In the beginning the story is slow, and this isn’t my problem… In Silence case I can respect the slow start. It really made me connect more with the story and characters (aka Cole). But I still found myself wanting more out of it. I felt like the first part of the book is a two star rating (goodreads). The meaty middle of this story is what I fell hard for. I liked when the families went on vacation, I liked the sweet little dates, and the late night hang outs. I enjoyed getting to see our leading couple fall for each other. It'll give you a toothache it was just so sweet. This had me thinking the middle section of this book would be rated a solid 4 stars (goodreads). It was the ending of this book that has me annoyed. How everything plays out had me so mad. It’s clearly not a spoiler that ya girl Oakley eventually talks, and from then on out it had my blood boiling!!!! I can’t even tell you why I’m so mad either, because it would be giving out spoilers. All I can say is that the last few chapters took this book from a 4 star read to a 1. The ending could have been what it was but the way it was laid out and presented was a huge no in my book. It felt like the ending given was just so there could be a follow up book. I personally wanted this to be a standalone and play out the complete opposite of what it did... But like I said even if the ending is what it is the way it went down…. No. I’m not ok with it. It was rushed and slammed. Silence  isn't a long book and could have handled 30 more pages to make it something more. I wish the romance in this book would make up for the ending but sadly it didn't. I felt this book was just the sweeter version of Speak and it could have been similar and yet had something that made it standout.

5/10 Stars 
-Angela  

The Heir by Kiera Cass

"Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought." -Goodreads synopsis 

Sigh. I'm a little disappointed in this edition to The Selection Series. I don't know what I was truly expecting when I picked this up but this wasn't it. This probably wont be one of the longest reviews, but that's because I don't have much to say. Overall I don't even feel like this edition needed to be written because it really didn't add anything that wasn't already there.

Eadlyn the heir to the throne and our leading lady, is a total bitch. I know a lot of people will say "oh well she has her reasons", but I disagree. She was malicious at times for no real reason. Being a brat doesn't make you a strong women. It takes more courage to stay delicate in a world that cruel. And yeah, I've read snotty characters before and loved them and this just wasn't the case for Eady. Her constant complaining got
to be far to much for me to ever feel a connect with her. One of the contestants even tells her shes a stubborn self-centered brat and I think he nailed it.

As far as America and Maxon, her parents and the leading characters from the first three books, too me feel completely different than how they were before. I was so excited to get even just a little taste of them in this book and was again let down. America went from this strong, amazing role model for girls to this empty shell. Same basically goes for Maxon too. Sadly both felt rather unrecognizable.

As far as her male suitors went... Again a let down. When she finally starts going on dates I thought I was about to get excited and would have a guy I could start cheering for.... and that never happens. We get so little time with them. There wasn't one I was super swooning over, or one that made my heart skip a beat. And actually a lot of them were kind of dicks. I'm more than certain that anyone who picks this book up will know who she will end up with (it can really only be between two. One is a bit predictable the other is who you'd want which again is kind of obvious). No, this isn't an open and close read it's left on a "cliff-hanger". Which I HATED! I wish I could give you even a little bit of a plot summary, but can't because there's not much of one. Basically we gets 300+ pages of Eady repeating the same sentence, stomping her feet, then caving a little here and there. If you start reading this, and then do like I did, and kept saying and waiting thinking there has to be some "WOW moment" that really makes this book complete, I'll sadly tell you that you'll be waiting forever. I wouldn't of even given this book the rating I did if it wasn't for her brother Ahren. He too me was the only highlight of this book. I loved him! I did find it was a little ridiculous that he understood what true feminism was over his sister. Found myself wishing that he was the heir and that we would have gotten the book from his sweet POV.

"You can be brave and still be feminine. You can lead and still love flowers. Most important, you can be a queen and still be a bride."

Truly let down by how this book went. It had all the potential to be great and then just drug it's feet. Hoping the next one goes balls to the wall.

3.5/10 Stars 
-Angela