The Book of Impossibility: 'The Cruelty' Review

The Cruelty

Author: S Bergstrom
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Publisher: Feiwell and Friends
Page Number: 384

Goodreads / Amazon

When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him. Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking. As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was one glaring thing that made this book meh for me. And it was the basic idea of the story. Gwendolyn's actions were completely irresponsible, if not completely impossible. But I'll address that later. 
That fact aside, there were some really intriguing aspects of the book. 

I am someone who enjoys action scenes. The heart-pounding action combined with death-defying stunts makes my pulse race. And the book really satisfied my need for action scenes. Gwendolyn's training was action-y as well. It was exciting to see her put in those situations. The tension was there. The action scenes were spaced out and well placed. I truly did like them.

Yael was badass. Completely. I wouldn't want to be her protegee; her teaching methods were brutal. But she was cool. She fought. And fought. It was interesting seeing her react to life-or-death situations. 
Also, I picture her as Tanaka's sister from 'Haikyuu'. Looks wise. I dunno. That or some gorgeous Inej-from-'Six-of-Crows' look. FAN CASTING TIME.

Remember when I mentioned the basic concept was flawed? Well, we're returning to that. The entire book revolves around the idea that Gwendolyn would take action. For almost every other girl, they would wait for the cops to handle it. Or, at least, the girls I know. It seems impossible for her to take action. Especially since it put her life in danger. Many people, not just girls, would back out. It's too scary or too risky. But the Unsinkable Gwendolyn Bloom (Heh heh. 'Titanic' reference) said, "Poo poo," and carried on. Possible? Maybe... Likely? Probably not. 
Throughout this book, I had to suspend my disbelief. Because, no, just no.

Gwendolyn started out as an introverted girl who disagreed but didn't fight back. In the end, she was a badass, fighting heroine. The problem is that this wouldn't happen in real life. Her change was so fast. It takes time for people to hone these skills. She latched onto them like a baby calf latches onto her mother's teat. Aka...too fast. (I think my metaphor is failing me. Sorry.) Unless there is a month or two or three missing. Which could explain things, but the story isn't told that way. So we're going to assume that Gwendolyn Bloom somehow mastered Krav Maga in a few weeks, or even a month or so. 
Aka...impossible. 
Sorry, but even 24/7 training won't advance you that fast.

This book was truly an interesting spectacle. The basic idea was impossible, but some of the characters and the scenes were well-done. I'm torn, really. The action scenes were quite amazing. But...who knows? Maybe you'll like it more than I did.

What Went Down: September 2016

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

Tears! The summer anime season is basically over. (I'm only finishing up Mob Psycho 100 and 91 Days to my recollection. It's so sad that it's gone. BUT we have Haikyuu season three coming in. WHOOP WHOOP. It's going to be the BEST anime for fall for me. No doubt about that. 

I only was watching ONE anime that's finished. Seasonal anime doesn't really count since it goes on for a few months. BUT since the season's over, I'm gonna link all the animes I watched this summer as well as the one anime I watched during September.

Mob Psycho 100. Wow. This is one of my favorite animes of this season. It's quirky and distinct. There is no action/supernatural anime as amazing as Mob Psycho 100. 5/5

Amanchu. This was such a surprise for me. It's so beautiful. The friendships are amazing, and Teko's character development was spot on. 5/5 

Orange. I was kinda disappointed by this anime. It was cute and emotional AT FIRST. But then is seemed to change and become something I didn't particularly like or dislike. So, overall, not a huge fan. But it's emotional beginning really did set the tone. 4/5 

Morose Mononokean. I wanted to love this so much. But a lot of things were just lackluster. The character development. The story. I much prefer an overarching arc; episodic is great...but not beneficial to telling a story. Plus, Ashiya could have been expanded more, but he never was given the chance. 3/5

91 Days. As much as I like revenge stories, 91 Days seems to fall flat for me. It doesn't go all out. The art is fine, but the story wasn't pushing itself hard enough. 3/5

New Game. This was cute. And that's really all. The story wasn't there. And the characters were following overused stereotypes. I liked the cuteness and Ko and Rin's relationship, but nothing was expanded. 3/5

Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru. At first, KonoBi's strange episodic nature turned me off. But then I realized I was rooting for Usami to get with Uchimaki. I was led on by this show, hoping for this to happen. And, no spoilers, but it wasn't the best ending. JUST GIVE THE FANS WHAT THEY WANT. 3/5

Re:Zero. AHHHHHHH. I love this show. It takes these morally gray characters and makes them likable. The animation is fabulous. Both OPs are to DIE for. And Subaru is so sweet and brave. Just ahhhhhh. And REM. BEST GIRL. 5/5

Neon Genesis Evangelion. I haven't really watched much of this. Because school. I'll try to watch more during October. Hopefully... So no rating yet!

Recommendations
Best Overall Anime: Re:Zero or Mob Psycho 100
Best Saddest Anime: Orange
Best Animation: Mob Psycho 100

Eternal Book Devourer

I've read EIGHT books this month. That is very...normal. I typically read 8 books a month. So not weird at all...

Steelheart. Dude. This was very action-y. I loved that. It was this pulse-pounding action book. With superheroes. Or supervillains? I'm not sure on that. But AMAZING. 4/5

Stalking Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper's always an interesting case. But this book really showed that. I didn't like the characters as much, but the mystery was pretty good. 4/5 Check out my review here!

The Thousandth Floor. Wow. Rich, horny teenagers much? That's all I can say. Because...I was so disappointed. This is a book where you can't judge it by its cover. 2/5

Firefight. After the amazingness of Steelheart, I kinda was disappointed by its sequel. It wasn't as action-y. And the romance thing kept forcing its way into the story. And...no, bro. No way. Not too bad. But not the best. And I'm not reading Calamity. NOPE. 3/5

The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love. Wow. I feel attacked. As an otaku (anime fan), I feel mildly attacked. The MC kept talking about otakus as if it's like "WOW. Candy-colored hair. Not as cool as comics." I feel attacked. And I'm not sure if the NYCC setting was right. But...meh? 2/5

Vassa in the Night. Dude. This was one whimsical book. I don't know the original myth. But it was very magical. A good read. BUT check out a more in-depth book on Teen Reads. Later. Sometime. 4/5

The Rift Uprising. AGH NO. This was such a strange book. It didn't seem right. The Blood Lust? NOPE. The 2016 dystopia? NOPE. The everything? NOPE. 1/5

A Study in Charlotte. I really wasn't shocked about this book. It was fine. Nothing special. I'd have preferred if Charlotte was the MC, but Jamie works. I guess? 3/5

I Am A Boss Blogger (And This Is Proof)

My Posts

Haha. School's been disrupting everything. Including posts. WHOOPS.

Almost everything I posted was book related. Not that I mind. But I like anime too! 

I participated in a blog tour for Phantom Limbs. It is a very interesting book. VERY interesting. Check it out here. 

I also reviewed Stalking Jack the Ripper. But that's above.

And I reviewed A Court of Mist and Fury. Which is -fans self- Check it out here. 

For BBCP, my team did another aesthetic. Mine is for Illuminae! Check it out here.

And the only anime post I had this month was a review. For Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Check that out here.  

Blogosphere Posts

Book

Mary @ Mary Had a Little Book Blog discusses diversity and her experiences with diversity

Alicia @ Awesome Book Assessment guest posted on Chasing Faerytales about copy-editing

Jeann @ Happy Indulgence Books discusses diversity and when books really aren't 'diverse'

Molly @ Molly's Book Nook gives us 4 blog hacks

Anime:

Arria Cross @ Fujinsei talks about blogging motivation and how to improve on that

Blade Licking Thieves talks about...piracy

Kausus @ Otaku Gamer Zone discusses the biased factors between anime and manga

Lita @ Lita Kino Anime Corner discusses the horrible word weeaboo and the negative connotation that goes along with it

Lita @ Lita Kino Anime Corner poses the question: do reviewers lose enjoyment?

Lita @ Lita Kino Anime Corner talks about anime collecting habits

Eris @ HoneyFeed talks about the emotional building blocks of anime

And I found two really interesting Re:Zero posts. SO. Here ya go.

Crunchyroll shows us the reactions from the 'Re:Zero' staff after the anime ends

Black Dragon Hunt shows us a lot of information about 'Re:Zero'

Daily Lives of High School Peoples (aka Wren)

• Ah, school. You hate me so. I had an APUSH test that I ROCKEDD. Yess. And I did pretty well on both Psych tests. But one was basically statistics, and I'm in AP Stats. So...no brainer there. But APUSH isn't too bad. It just depends on how much you like history and how hard you're going to push yourself. 
• The first issue of my school paper is coming out soon! I haven't written a thing, but I've done photos and page designs. Only the latter is going in print, though. Or is it? I'm not sure. I don't think any of my photos are in this print this issue. But yeah! I did 5 pages this issue. I've only do maybe 3 at most. But it wasn't bad. I did 2 pages in one day, though. 
• I'm taking up photography? Whaaa. It's true. I'm doing photos now for the paper as well. I like it. It's calming to see things through the lens. Plus, photos from a newbie like me turn out FABULOUS with the Nikon. Even though I might be trying for some artsy that doesn't work. Plus, my cutlines aren't too bad. 

• I also went to a carnival with friends. I went on some spinning rides. And then I attended my first football game at my school. I've only gone to one before that. So it was interesting... 

• I met Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings for the first time! I was at a Half Price Books event for the two of them. Plus, I met with some awesome friends from NTTBF 2016! Liv. Lizzie. Whitney. Caitlin And some of Liv's friends.
• There was a Japanese festival! And I got goldfish. You know that goldfish scooping game? Yeah, I got three goldfish from that. I haven't named them yet. But I might call them all Harold in honor of my dead fish from my other goldfish scooping conquest back in April.

What did you do this September? What did you think of the summer anime? Are you going to Homecoming? Tell me in the comments!

Hot and Bothered: 'A Court of Mist and Fury' Review

A Court of Mist and Fury

Author: Sarah J Maas
Genre: Fantasy, New Adult, Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Page Number: 640

Goodreads / Amazon

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are three types of people who have read both 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' and 'A Court of Mist and Fury'. 
1) People who liked ACOTAR and liked ACOMAF.
2) People who didn't like ACOTAR but read ACOMAF and liked it.
3) People who didn't like either book.
Guess which one I'm in?
(If you guess option 3, you're correct!) 

Honestly, I didn't really like the world of the fae in this series. Something about the courts or whatnots. I wasn't a huge fan. Like most people who didn't like ACOTAR, I was peer pressured into reading this book. (Not by any one person in particular. Just ACOTAR fans as a whole.) There were aspects of the book I did like, though. (As there are with most books.)

I really liked the romance. Strange as it sounds. The two of them were very complicated together. Their relationship was strange. It was tense at first, but it changed completely by the end. Their banter was funny. I didn't expect to like it so much. Since I knew what would happen in the end (Or some part of it), I was surprised by the changes in their romance. It was cute seeing them come together and get close. I don't necessarily ship it, but I approve. 
The chemistry, though, was insane. My heart was racing whenever they had intimate scenes. 
I do want to acknowledge the sex scenes, though. They ARE there. And there are maybe...three or four of them. And they are pretty descriptive. They don't have vulgar language or anything, but they have words like 'cock' and stuff. A lot of it is implied. It's not straight up erotica. So if you don't know what sex is before this book, you'll definitely find out. (Also, was anyone else more 'hot and bothered' about Tamlin's sex scene and not Chapter 55's? Because...that's me. Strange...)

Rhysand was a broken character. My heart went out to him. Antiheroes are amazing, and I was completely caught off guard about his reasons for his actions Under the Mountain (Still wondering why we have to use capital letters for the U and M.) Feyre's acceptance of that is amazing. She felt for him. She understood him. Honestly, we need people who are like Feyre. She isn't the nicest person in the bunch, but she is caring. And that's a breath of fresh air.

On the other hand, I felt like I couldn't connect to the story. There was something about it that made me not connect. Maybe the characters or the more adult nature of the book...I'm not sure. But I didn't feel like Feyre was someone I could truly relate to or open up to. 

The plot was fine, but I felt like it could have been better. It was interesting to see Feyre come into her powers and seeing her argue with Rhysand, but I wanted more action. We had action scenes mostly at the end and scattered throughout the middle, but these weren't like the action scenes from the last book. Plus, who wouldn't want to see Feyre unleash her powers on someone?

At the end, we're given a completely random Rhysand chapter. The entire book is in Feyre's point of view, yet we get this ONE Rhysand chapter. Sure, it revealed some important information, but Feyre could have explained it on her own. Seems a tad redundant to me.

Aesthetic Addict: 'Illuminae'

Today's BBCP is about...Illuminae.

A bit about the book first.

Illuminae

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.
This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a freaking amazing book. It's gorgeous and heart-wrenchingly amazing. You gotta read it. Here's a snippet of my Goodreads review.

"The way the pages looked was definitely different. It was a truly unique way of telling a story. Reports and chats and drawings. It wasn't just written word. It was art. How serious, I know. All the artwork was great. The artwork used words to form pictures. That's called concrete poems, if I recall correctly. They were beautiful and captivating. Made me want to try. Probably wouldn't make something distinguishable if I tried.
"I seriously can't think of any problems with this book. There aren't any questions left. I have no qualms about the romance. I even like the romance. All I want is the second book."

And here's my aesthetic! 

And time to explain the six photos! 

This beauty is my image of Kady. She's mentioned as having beautiful pink hair. And this girl is gorgeous. Also, just saying, this picture is gorgeous.

This is a section of code. (Yeah, I can't read it either.) But Kady is a GREAT hacker. That skill helps her survive in the latter part of the book. And I liked how this code looked.

This is a popular quote from the book. Not to spoil things for people who haven't read this book, but Bay 4 is a very important place. And it starts a whole bunch of shit

Of course, this book is set in space. Gorgeous, gorgeous space. (How many times have I mentioned gorgeous? Actually, don't tell me. I don't want to know.) And space is a feast for the eyes. It's sublmine (Membean word!) So yeah.

Ezra (Which I read as Erza sometimes because Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet. Haha.) is a space pilot fighter. Without any knowledge about space fighting. YAY.

And this boy is...you guessed it Ezra. Brown haired and lovesick and pretty badass. Simple and easy.

(PS: Sorry for the weird formatting. I don't even know...)

Check out everyone else's posts!

Jamie from Books and Ladders

Mariam from Flying Through Fiction

Charley from A Writer Named Charley

Sabrina from Beyond the Book Reviews

Nori from ReadWriteLove28

Have you read Illuminae? What did you think?

What Went Down: August 2016

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

I started and finished two animes this month! (Excluding all the airing animes I'm watching.)

Kamisama Kiss. Huh. I'm surprised by this. It's cute. The romance is cute. The plot is fine (Not the  best.) And Nanami is AWESOME. 3/5 (PS: Check out my review here.)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This was a moving anime. It was sad. And happy. And meaningful. I'm surprised. I liked this more than I thought I would. 5/5

I'm watching WAY MORE than these two. 9 airing anime in total. But these are the finished animes I've finished. (Wow. Sounds great, Wren.)

And because of school, I haven't finished the third anime I started. Which is Kill la Kill. But I still have some way to go!

Recommendations

If you want a cute, emotional anime, check out Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
If you want a fast-paced, adrenaline anime, check out Kill la Kill.
If you want a very moe anime about game design, check out New Game.
If you want a maybe-sci-fi anime with a freaking amazing romance, check out Orange.
If you want a surprisingly dark and artistically amazing anime, check out Mob Psycho 100.

Eternal Book Devourer

For once, I read! Haha! I have NO TIME anymore for anything. Except on the bus. So I read on the bus. (I gotta be in WiFi to watch anime.) Might try to pick up anime over the weekends, but it's tough when you constantly have assignments. OH WELLS. 

But I finished a WHOPPING NINE BOOKS this month. 

Also, ignore my ugly carpet.

This Ordinary Life. (Thanks, Brianna from Otaku Twins for giving me this as part of my birthday present! And, in case you're wondering, my birthday was back in April.) This was an interesting book. A quick read definitely. I didn't love it or hate it. It was interesting to see the family dynamic, but that was drowned out by the romance. 3/5

Tell Me Something Real. (An eARC for a book tour!) This was a different book. It had an interesting family dynamic, much like This Ordinary Life, but the story was more riveting and tense. Still, the romance was annoying. 3/5 (PS: Check out my review of it HERE!)

Phantom Limbs. (An eARC for a book tour!) The story of loss always seems to hit my feels. Hard. This book does make me feel for Otis. But still. 3/5 

The Girl Who Fell. Abuse is rough. Books typically don't show abusive relationships. But this one did. And it hurt my heart. But...I still couldn't fall in love with it. 3/5 (PS: Check my review out HERE!)

Let's Get Lost. Wow. I'm surprised by this book. It's pretty freaking amazing. It's cute and funny and meaningful. Not the best book. But pretty amazing nonetheless. 4/5 (PS: I totally took a lot of photos of this book when I was on a plane to FL and one the way back. Also, I was in first class. With the food photos to prove it.)

My Lady Jane. Wow. I liked this one. It's strange...but I do. It's cute and funny and witty. Plus, it's creative. Definitely a new take on the historical fiction genre. 4/5 (PS: Check out my review here!)

The Cruelty. I really had to suspend my disbelief about this book. It's action-filled and pretty cool. But the book wouldn't happen if Gwendolyn wasn't STUPID. 3/5 (Review to come)

Ask the Passengers. This is a cute book. But, per usual, with AS King books, I couldn't really get into it. It's strange. The story was hard to believe. And this is a contemporary book? I'm confused. 3/5

A Court of Mist and Fury. Unlike most people, I'm not a fan of this book. Or ACOTAR. The romance was fine, but I expected much more. Hype at its best. 3/5 (PS: Review to come!) 

I Am A Boss Blogger (And This Is Proof)

My Posts

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is considered a copycat of Attack on Titan, but I don't think so. See why here.

I read my first S Usher Evans book. The main character was whiny, but the magical history was pretty awesome. Check out my review here.

This season's anime hit its mid-season. What do I think so far? Check out my recap here.

There are problems with summer 2016's Orange. And I discuss on of them here.

Have you seen KonoSuba? Did you like it? I didn't. Why? Well...many reasons. See why here.

I participated in ReadThemAllThon. Which was super funn. 

Aesthetic Addict time again! I made a book aesthetic for...A Darker Shade of Magic. Wanna see? Look no further! It's HERE 

Blogosphere Posts

Books:

Ashley from NoseGraze guest posts on Chasing Faerytales to talk about coding and blogs!

Jackie @ No Bent Spines discusses sex in YA

Ardelia @ Ardelia Lee discusses Twitter!

Pages Unbound shows us astounding facts about blogger stats

Claire @ Cover to Cover explains her bookstagram skills

Mary @ Mary Had a Little Book Blog explains how she moderates panels

CW @ Read Think Ponder talks about diversity and her problems with the word

Anime:

Arria Cross @ Fujinseii tells us the story of her reviewing journey

Justin @ HoneyFeed talks about being a seiyuu

Isaac @ Crunchyroll talks about sports anime and what we look for in them

The Otaku Lady discusses her thoughts on why we watch anime

Hara @ Tokyo Otaku Mode explains how he takes photos for TOM

Zataku @ UnimeTV talks about balancing school and anime

Daily Lives of High School Peoples (aka Wren)

• Dual credit is done! And has been for some time. And I was FREE. For like...10 days.
• I went to FL for a quick trip. (As stated in my quick recap of Let's Get Lost.) And have FOOD PHOTOS.

• School started. I'm in week two/three of school. APUSH is DEATH (I mean that almost-literally.) And I'm wondering how the rest of the school year will be.
• There was also a lovely Asian festival at a local grocery store. And I got FREEE stuff.

• And I've decided to start a personal Tumblr! I haven't actually opened it yet. But it'll have photos with witty captions and vignettes and fun! So yeah. You should go check it out. When I make it. 

What did you do this month? And what's to come?

Beware the Boy: 'The Girl Who Fell' Review

The Girl Who Fell

Author: Shannon M Parker

Goodreads / Amazon

High school senior Zephyr Doyle is swept off her feet—and into an intense and volatile relationship—by the new boy in school. 

His obsession.
Her fall.

Zephyr is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and leaving her small town for her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and … terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.

If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abusive relationships start out normally. You feel like you're in love. And maybe you are. But then, something goes wrong.

These days, books are pretty open-minded. We have books about all sorts of things. But abuse seems to be lagging behind. We need to have an open conversation about abuse. And I think this book could start it.

As I said, we need more books about abuse. Before this, I never read anything about abuse. (Not to my recollection, at least.)
The abuse in this book was bad. You knew it was coming (You saw all the warning signs), yet you couldn't help but shiver when it came. (By it, I mean the Worst Part of the abuse. The physical part.)
Abuse in the real world can be like this too. The other person seems so kind and so sweet. You fall for them, hard and fast. But then things pop up. Unexplainable things. But, by then, you're too late.
I hope this book helps teach people about the warning signs and when to stand up for yourself. I hope it empowers people who are in abusive relationships.

The sex didn't fade to black. Honestly, I was surprised by that. But I'm kinda happy that happens too. Sex, in reality, doesn't fade to black. It's you and another person. It's real. Books need to show that. Sex is real. And books show reality to a certain degree.
We need more sex-positive books. Because sex is okay.

I know the romance was supposed to be hurried and crazy. But I couldn't stand it. If he's forcing you from your life, there's something wrong. Zephyr dove in too deep. If she had calmed down and taken it slower...things might have been better, or worse I don't know. I just felt sick reading all the sappy parts. It made my stomach churn. Romance isn't like that. At least, not like that in my mind.

The ending seemed rushed. We had hints about Alec's personality throughout the book, but the climax of the story came in the last 100 pages or so. I really couldn't stand this. We had a whole story that teased the scene in the beginning, but it took forever for us to actually get there. I was annoyed, to say the least.

Overall, this isn't a bad book. If you want to read a book that does show abuse, this is not bad. But I couldn't stand the romance. Even if I knew its implications.

Verdict:

Not lost in love

History with a Twist: 'My Lady Jane' Review

My Lady Jane

Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Number: 491 pages

Goodreads / Amazon

The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane is about to become the Queen of England. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

History can be written over and over, but history can be boring. That's why people rewrite history. 'What if's can be interesting things. That's why we write them and read them. I don't typically read these books. Why? I'm not a fan of history. It's over and done for me, and that's all that needs to be said. The hype of this book was crazy, though. People were talking about it for a long time. Of course, this leads me to think 'Hey, why not?' After a long drought of books, this was something that people loved. I am a person, and, using logic, I should love it too.
And, yes, I kinda do love it.

The Lady Janies crafted a unique take on the story of Jane Grey. I have never read anything about her. I know more about Roman emperors than English monarchs, and I don't know a lot about Roman emperors (I used to, though. I was in Latin for three years.) With my lack of knowledge, I soldiered through this book. Thankfully, the authors supplied us with tidbits of history here and there. I know this isn't a completely accurate depiction of history, (After all, there are no shapeshifters...or are there?) but the story continued to be enjoyable. The alternate world this book takes place in is strange and unique. Many customs do stay the same, but there are major changes that make this world stand out.
I do hope we see more books set in this alternate world. I'd love to see how these shapeshifters work in real life.

Most books are written without any involvement of the authors, but this book had hilarious commentary from the authors. Their comments were throughout the entire book, and it made it every enjoyable. I learned about the invention of the modern pen and pencil and lots about the standards of society through these three ladies. I laughed out loud at their commentary at times.
Also, their hilarity seeped into the characters. G(ifford) had lots of snarky remarks, and Jane had her good share as well. (I mention them in this order since I last remember laughing at G's comments, not Jane's.) These characters were witty and sassy. But I'll talk about that in a second.

The main character Jane was sassy. But let's not forget Gracie who was a fireball too. I loved the fierce girls. They stood up for themselves and didn't take anyone's nagging. I imagine that people will brandish this book when girls ask for role models. Jane would be an amazing role model; she promotes literacy and bravery and love and compassion. Who doesn't love that? Gracie was tough and rough around the edges, but she still held her chin high. We didn't get a lot of her character because she did come at the end. Yet, she is a well-written and developed character even if she isn't one of the main characters. Both these girls were stars in their own right.
Not to say that the guys weren't done well either. The two main guys are funny. Edward is a bit of a stick in the mud, but, again, I'll address that later. G was quite a character. He was snarky and hide his feelings. I would typically fall for this type of character if I hadn't already approved of Jane and G's relationship (Which was adorable.) The split perspective of the book was done well. We got to know each of the characters. Even if some of us (Ehem me) didn't like all of them.

Although the book is titled 'My Lady Jane', two of the three main characters were guys. (Not that I have a problem with that.) I do have a minor problem with Edward the King of England. He was a bit of a sexist (Or...he was a sexist.) The reality is that men back then were sexist, and women were treated as lessers. It's the sad truth. I do understand that was how men thought, but Edward could have lessened the harsh words. A ruler of a kingdom is a good one if they are just and fair. You shouldn't judge on their gender. It's rude. Admittedly, he began to change his ways after meeting the foxy Gracie (I mean that literally.) Thank goodness for that change or I'd hate him.

I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I laughed at the commentary and marveled in the unique world. The characters were fascinating, female and male alike. While I could do without Edward's sexist thoughts, it's something that was common in the time period and, therefore, mildly understandable.
Truly, this book is good for anyone looking for a good laugh or a new spin on the tale of Lady Jane Grey.

Did you read this book? If so, what did you think? Did you like Jane? How about G? And Edward?