Monday, January 25, 2016

2 Mini Reviews



Title: Graceling
By: Kristin Cashore
Published: October 1, 2008

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

Honestly at first I was really intimidated when I first picked up this book because of all the hype. Like I mean the book seriously didn't disappoint me, but that doesn't mean I completely loved Graceling. Because I have to say while reading it there were too many times I was tempted to put down the book and quit reading it. I felt the book just really dragged on and on about the details especially when I was mid-way through the book, and it was really slow paced. 


This book was something I really really wanted to love. The summary was intriguing, the characters and especially Katsa sounded amazing, I mean Katsa is a bad-ass girl who's an assassin and she sounded similar to Celaena from TOG so I thought that would automatically mean that I would also love this book but it didn't. -sighs- Another thing I didn't really enjoy was the romance. It felt like it was insta-love, and while I'm okay with it most times, I didn't like it in this book at all. Po and Katsa's love just didn't seem realistic to me. :| Plus the ending of the book when (SPOILER: Katsa faced off against Leck, and when they went back to find Po felt like it was rushed.)

I felt so bad at times for Giddon. Though he wasn't a main character, he was there in the beginning and honestly I thought he could've played a much bigger part in the book. I feel for him because what Katsa did was really harsh. (SPOILER: She just left him after he practically proclaimed his love for her and said he wanted to marry her.

So to those who have this on their TBR list, don't feel discouraged about this book. Even though I didn't like it, it doesn't mean you guys won't. This book has as many bad factors as it does good, it just depends on the person if they choose to like this or not. And unfortunately Graceling just didn't work out for me. Though I will be reading the next two books in the series. 


Title: Illusion
By: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Published: April 1, 2014

You just might get it.

Nick Gautier is tired of his destiny. He doesn’t want to be the son of a demon who’s fated to end the world. Nor does he want to see another demon or other preternatural creature who wants to kill or enslave him. He just wants to be normal and have normal problems like everyone else.

But normality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When he gets sucked into an alternate reality where his mother has married his mentor and his Atlantean god best friend has become a human geek, he begins to understand that no life is free of pain, and that every person has a specific place in the universe… Even the son of a hated demon.

Most of all, he sees that his powers aren’t the curse he thought they were, and that the world needs a champion, especially one its enemies can’t imagine rising up to defend the ones he should destroy.

Old enemies and new friends square off for a major battle that will either restore Nick to his real world, or end him forever.

Gosh after the last book I was pumped up to read this since it left on a cliffhanger!! D: And it was so worth waiting for it because when I finally got my hands on this book and read it, IT WAS SO AMAZING AND HILARIOUS!! ♥♥♥♥  This alternate world was what you would call interesting. The summary was point on "Normality isn't all it's cracked up to be". I mean Ash is 5 ft tall? Simi dress' modestly, Caleb is a dork, Bubba's a father, and worst of all Nick has blond hair?! *Alert, Alert This isn't an Illusion at all, this is "his" normal life isn't it? Well it is, in an ALTERNATIVE universe. 

“Life is never simple. It's messy, complicated, and at times debilitating.” 

Nick wakes up one normal morning and he learns suddenly that nothing is as normal as it seems. He has no power. He's utterly normal, with no drop of malachi blood in his system at all. And he doesn't know why. Its  like the universe is conspiring against him, or worse its trying to tell him that this is what his life will be for now on. Looking boths ways trying to determine if his friends in his universe are still in friends in this universe or if they would be his foes. But he works it out with Ash or should I say Ash senior? I was honestly a bit confused about that. I mean there was the 5ft Ash, and then there was our usual "I-will-kill-you-if-you-look-at-me-the-wrong-way-Ash". At first I thought it was his twin brother, I think he was called 'Styxx', but it wasn't. And surprising he also gets out of this wacky world with the help of someone unexpected; his father.. O_O



Like whoa, when I got to that part I had to re-read it several times. His father; Adarian Malachai. The man who not only tried to kill Nick once, but several times?  Hates, I mean hates Nick for being the center of Cherise's affections, who she cherishes above all else. He helped Nick out willingly? Uh, well that was so unexpected I would've never thought of it. But he did the impossible, he helped out Nick out of love for Cherise, because he promised that he would never want to make her cry or get hurt. He solely was the catalyst that made the prophecy come true. The moment he freed Nick from Noir's grasp, Adarian in my opinion totally redeemed himself. He was a true father at that moment, and for once I respected him.  

“No destiny is set by any birth. no matter how lowly or how high. All creatures have the right and ability to choose who and what they become...
Be it good or evil.”

Out of all the outrageous things this book has popped out, Kody's secret was probably the most bizarre and heartbreaking one of them all. I mean anybody would cringe, if they knew the reason behind why Nekoda is a ghost, and how it all connects back to Nick. Nick has just gotten the hold of controlling his powers, and though that is a great thing to achieve, it also means going down a more dangerous path. The harsh brutality of being a malachai, is that one can never harm there creator hence "Braith, Azura, and Noir", and that as they continue to grow more powerful it'll only attract more and more powerful beings to them. Its already bad enough that now Nick has been marked by Noir and Azura, cause now that he's marked it means that from now on they could potentially locate where Nick is at, if they ever escape from their prison.  

The thing I find so addicting about the Chronicles of Nick is Sherrilyn herself. Her writing is so beautiful and her prose is spot on. -Ahem- Sorry Cassandra, but I think somebody is definitely aiming for your top spot as my favorite writer. I mean even though I'm reading the Chronicles of Nick, there is still the whole world of the Dark Hunter Universe I haven't even explored in. Sherrilyn has to be some sort of robot to produce so many amazing books, cause its pretty impressive seeing the amount of books she has written, published, and planned already. Okay now here are some bonus quotes from TCN (The Chronicles of Nick) that I didn't get to incorporate into my blog post before, that will prove how her writing is definitely worth falling in love with.  

“They, like you, were born to walk the line of shadows. One foot in the light and one in the dark. A few are scared enough of both that they stay in the middle and never pick a side. Others are strong enough to choose the light and stay firmly planted there, even while the darkness tries to claim them. And others are too weak or blind to fight the lure of the darkness. It overwhelms them with false promises and before they know what's happened it owns them.” 

“Over, under, around, or through, there’s always a way. You don’t give up and you never give in. They can scar your body and take your freedom, but only you can surrender your heart and soul. Nothing is worth compromising yourself for. Stand fast and stand true. Always.”

“Hear me Isis as I pray.
See her pain and take it all away.
Let the heaven's light shine bright from above.
And wrap her in your most benevolent love. 
Let no evil touch this child.
Protect and hold her all the while. 
Save her from the darkness, ills and fevers of all kind. 
Heal her wounds by your most sacred design. 
There is nothing more earnest I can say.
Except please accept my humble heart as I pray.”

“We do it for those tiny moments when the world opens up and we're no longer alone. Those moments when we realize that we aren't the center of the universe, but to one single person, we're their entire existence. We are what they live for and we matter to them more than anything. No matter how hard we get knocked down, we stand back up, and we face the darkness that's inside us and we raise our fist at it and tell it, not today. You won't have me yet. I won't let you take that last bit of my soul.” 

“Nick moved over to Amanda, who seemed to be the safest bet in this family of homicidal loons. Amanda glanced at him over her shoulder. “For the record, if they attack, I’m throwing you at them and running for the door.” “Gee, thanks.” She shrugged. “How you think I’ve survived so long in this family?” 

Until then, Cindy :)

2 comments:

  1. I haven't read either of those two books, but I've seen them practically everywhere! I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like Graceling. I've heard nothing but good things, so I still might give it a try one of these days. I've read the first book to the Chronicles of Nick, but I have yet to read the rest of the series! I suppose it's time I get on to that, no?
    Great reviews, Cindy! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah you should give Graceling a chance, because you might end up liking it more than I do. & Yes, give TCN a try, it's an amazing series to just binge read through if you have all the books! :D
      Thanks Erika! ;)

      Delete