Showing posts with label arc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arc. Show all posts

What Went Down: June 2016

Friday, July 1, 2016
Ah, June. The start of summer vacation and the anime binge-a-thons. I'm so happy to have time to write posts! Finally! I'll have a lot of posts for July.
But...onto the important stuff.

Eternal Book Devourer

I was in a bad, bad reading slump this month. I read only THREE books.
This is My Brain on Boys by Sarah Strohmeyer. I didn't really like this book. It was quirky? And really...different. But not a favorite. 3/5 
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. This was an interesting LGBT+ book. (Which was pretty good for June which is Pride Month.) But I didn't really like it... 3/5


This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. I didn't like the start of this book. But it wasn't too bad overall. Pretty good. REVIEW TO COME. 4.5/5

I Am A Boss Blogger (And This Is Proof)

My Posts
I participated in The Crown's Game readalong, and I wrote a review for it! 

I started the switch to anime posts. So I have basically no new bookish posts. I might find a coblogger who does book posts. To get the Lit in Litaku covered.

I did THREE episode analyses for anime. 
Episode 9 of the spring 2016 anime Kiznaiver (Which I spelled wrong for the longest time...and is about friendship and troubled romance) 

And I reviewed the anime Fate/Stay Night. And wondered...why?


Blogosphere Posts (Mostly book ones...)

Event Stuff
We're about to announce the teachers/schedule for InterBlogCon. It's coming up, guys! It's on July 16 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm EST.
And we started a Twitter! 

I Do Not Watch Too Much Anime (And Other Lies I Tell Myself)

I watched/finished NINE animes this month. Woot woot! (Guess how many that'll be back when school starts.)
The spring season is ending with Kiznaiver, Bungou Stray Dogs, and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress coming to a close. As I write this, I've seen the last episode of Bungou but not Kiznaiver. SOON! And Kabaneri has one last episode. So far.

I watched:
  • Fate/Stay Night. I felt like this was overrated...so. 3/5
  • Magi: Labyrinth of Magic. This was sooo good. I loved the magic and the friendship. Team Ugo forever. 5/5

  • Your Lie in April. This anime was one of the saddest I've seen. It's soooo sad. But it's gorgeous. Especially if you love music. 5/5
  • Baccano. I felt like this too was overrated. I didn't really like it. It had a confusing story line, and I just couldn't keep up with the massive cast. 2.5/5
  • Toradora. Most people love this anime. But I didn't? The love dodechedron was annoying. I hate thingsl like that. 2.5/5
And all the spring 2016/airing anime:
  • Space Patrol Luluco. This was a cute and short anime. Reminisicnet of Hetalia... 3/5
  • Kiznaiver. At first, I didn't like this anime. But it got better. It got sad and romance-y. But it was done really well. I haven't seen the last episode. So no rating. Yet.
  • Bungou Stray Dogs. Agh. I can't believe this is over. It's an interesting anime with a plot twist at the end. Aka we need season two now. 4/5
  • Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. This is interesting. People say it's an AOT copy...which isn't true really. Sorta. Kinda. Maybe. But it's cool. And Ikoma is cool. It's cool. Plus, the OP is awesome. It's by the same group that did the Guilty Crown OST. So...I'm in love. I haven't finished it yet. So no rating!
And let's do something new!
Which anime do I recommend?

RECOMMENDATIONS
  • Fantasy: Magi: Labyrinth of Magic. This anime has awesome magic. It's about Alibaba and Aladdin who are complete strangers but form a connection. I love that. The two of them go through a lot. The animation is pretty awesome, and I love all the characters. 
  • Slice of life/shoujo: Your Lie in April. It's a sweet anime about love and first love. And about hurt and loss. And overcoming your fears. And, of course, music. Kousei's story is empowering and wonderful. I truly love it. Be warned that you might cry. A lot.
  • Supernatural: Bungou Stray Dogs. This anime is good. I admit it. The animation is awesome. The OP is even better. You have Atsushi, a seemingly innocent boy, who joins a group of gifted people who solve crimes. But there's a sinister organization to defeat. And interesting powers.

Overall: Magi: Labyrinth of Magic. Just beautiful awesomeness. Why didn't I watch this sooner?

Daily Lives of High School Peoples (aka Wren)

  • I helped out with a summer camp. And the kids dunked me with water. FUN. 
  • I got a whole bunch of book mail. Which I love! Check out my unboxing here.
  • I started this weight loss program. Which I don't like. Sorta. I don't eat breakfast. wich I don't do anyways. Yay for waking up late!
  • I got Nishinoya. The Nendoroid I mean. He's sooo cute. He's sitting next to me right now. 

  • I went to BFest. And I got ARCs and samplers. (Including History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. WHO IS SUPER COOL.) I might do a booksfortrade soon. Maybe. And I saw Nicola Yoon! Eek!

What did you do this month? Enjoying summer break? What summer anime are you looking forward to?


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Are You a Monster? 'This Savage Song' Review

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

This Savage Song

Author: Victoria Schwab

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

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I'm so honored to have an ARC of this book. Thank you, Emily for this ARC. Love you!

 I wanted to like this book way more than I did. Sure, I did quite like it, but there were some things lacking.

 First and foremost, August Flynn is amazing. He's so human it hurts. I adored him. He's not my favorite Schwab character, (By a landslide, that's Victor Vale) but I could really connect to August. He was caring. And he truly didn't want anyone hurt. A human in a monster's skin. Doesn't everyone feel like that sometimes?
His side of the story hurt my heart. I'd love to see more from him. Really.
(By the way, does anyone else read his name as Augustus? I'm not sure why, but I do.)

 I want to touch upon Kate Harker for a quick second. She had an intersecting backstory. And if the story was just her story, I might have liked her more. But she acts so brash, so sometimes that it doesn't work. Yes, I know that's contradictory since I liked the brash Lila Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic, but Kate pushes it too far. And while she seems monstrous, her humanity is so significant that it negates her acts and just makes her a brat.

 The second half of the book (With August and Kate on the run) was way more interesting than the two of them talking and getting to know each other. I'll touch upon my thoughts on the first half of the book later, but the second half was much better. I felt more engaged in the story and less bored.
As a reader, I prefer stories with action compared to long pieces of talking. Even if I write lots of dialogue in my own pieces.

 And the twist ending. Man, I never expected that. It really shocked me. I never expected that. I guess, looking back, I could have guessed it. But still.

 Per usual with Schwab books, the action was amazing. It was heart pounding and descriptive. I felt immersed in the fight scenes. I definitely wanted more.

 Victoria Schwab is known for her A+ storytelling and worlds. But the world for this book was a bit confusing. I was a bit lost on how these monsters were created. (Just saying, if a Sunai went dark, wouldn't a new Sunai be created?) Admittedly, it's a new and strange world. But I felt like there were some gaps. Why did the Sunai use music? How exactly are these monsters created? What are their weakness? I was lost on whether this was a book about the monsters or the people in this monstrous world.

 And the thing that I disliked the most was the slow start. There is too much time spent with August and Kate at Colton. I honestly didn't care much for the boring talk between the two of them. As I said, I prefer action. If the second half with the action and running had happened earlier, I might have been more interesting. This was a main sour point for me since I really couldn't get into the story. I actually had to put the book down. It was that hard to swallow.

 What did you think of the book? Who was your favorite character? And are you a monstrous human or human monster?

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