Shadows of Self | Review

We jump back into the familiar yet new world of Elendel. Where the first book took us on a new journey like Sherlock Holmes meets Magic, we now get a reminder about some of the more ancient and interesting parts of the Mistborn World.

The story took an interesting turn. I had originally assumed it would keep these more self contained stories that didn't breach anything too deeper. Instead you a Final Empire part 2 but SO much more interesting because you're combining everything you knew (or thought you knew) from the Era 1 plus Alloy of Law. Amazing cameos are abound! Lets get to some characters:

Steris is actually pretty great. Im so torn on who to root for. It seems socially and logically Steris and Wax should be together, but emotionally and going by chemistry, it should be Marasi and Wax.
Its actually a love triangle that makes sense! I never thought I would agree with one but since its not integral its kind of amazing.

The whole scene at ZoBells with Steris is really interesting and made me really like her.

Wayne, Wax, and Marasi continue to impress. They are honestly so great. This book actually elaborates more on them individually as well. The ending was perfectly crafted to give each of them something impactful and natural to their strengths.

Im not going to lie, I was kind of hoping for a bit more lite reading since finishing Mistborn Era 1 and in the middle of going through Stormlight Archives. But Sanderson always writes it so well I dont mind I went on this ride I wasnt expecting and enjoyed every moment.

The rest is some spoiler discussion/ review:

"Steel was his domain."

Wax was hit with ALOT in this book. Honestly I was shook about Lessie. The closer you get to the end you just start getting this dreadful feeling building up between who Bleeder really is and what Harmony has done.

They pose an interesting question. If Wax lived in the time of the Lord Ruler, would he be the one to capture and arrest Kelsier's Gang.

"He'd come here for a moment of solace, to think. Turned out, he didnt like where those thoughts were taking him."

Honestly the ending is just...wow, another God? A strange metal? Is Sazed/ Harmony that bad? I cant tell if the third book is going to continue on this trend of getting deeper and crazier or settle back down to end with Wax just taking on his Uncle.

Ill end this on a heartfelt note. The inclusion of MeLaan and Tensoon was amazing. MeLaan because I feel like she always should have done something more in Mistborn and Im glad she got the chance. TenSoon I always loved after Well of Ascension. And the following just made me tear up with the memory and Ill leave you with that:

"She was strong and vulnerable all at once: TenSoon whispered. "She was my last master, and my greatest. She had a way of pouring everything of herself into what she did. When she fought, she was the blade. When she loved, she was the kiss. In that regard, she was far more...human than any I have known."

Arch Enemies | Review

This book was such a disappointment. Why did my SuperHero novel turn into an angst y romance. My biggest recommendation for this book would have been to make it SHORTER. Then she could have cut out so much CRAP.

Seriously barely anything happened in this book. Its a huge step back from book one. I know its common to say "middle book syndrome" but Ive rarely encountered it first hand. This, however, is a HUGE example of it. Everything introduced in book one: the strained slow burn romance, the gray moral decisions of heroes were all COMPLETELY runned into the ground.

Also, when writing this review I just remembered this was the tag line: Time is running out. Together, they can save the world. But are they each other's worst nightmare?

I have no idea what time is running out, how how this is saving the world and they are too similar to be each others nightmares. -_-

That's my non spoiler review, the rest is just specific complains about the book/ examples:

The introduction of the "superpower cure". Where everyone is ok with it except Nova and we have to hear her just preach about it, internally and externally. This gets extremely irritating to read. All of this really shows in chapter 19, if I had to pick a chapter that really made me start questioning and disliking the book, it would this one. 

Its where Nova keeps pointing out the immoral nature of the agent N while the Justice League bird lady just ignores it and blah blah, its annoyingly pandering. And Nova almost trips when she sees Adrian. While practicing shooting Adrian gets distracted by how BEAUTIFUL she is. Its just ...sickening. I actually had to stop after that chapter and take a break because it was that difficult. (Can I also point out that the book NEVER talks about Novas looks and neither has Adrian really until this point so its annoying that this comes out of no where.)

Didnt realize my super hero novel would have so much "romance".

The back and forth of Nova and Adrian (which I tolerated in book one) just becomes annoying and intolerable.

The ideas in the first book were interesting. But doesn't progress so it's just Nova hitting us over the head over and over again about her hate for renegades. It was a mistake this book was so long. 

The part where Nova steals the necklace is kinda dumb. Like what if Dread Warden looked at it ANY time after she left. Also wont Adrian immediately know its her when they realize its missing? I think it would have been more interesting if Nova REPLACED it. Then we'd get a pretty tragic scene where Max and Simon meet up only to realize it doesnt work and then he'd lose his power. THAT'S some compelling drama and would give them all more motivation. Because, Jesus, will Nova STFU about the Renegades not saving her parents.

That part where Adrian still didnt think she was nightmare after putting him to sleep. Was just baffling, and adding in the part where she calls him the same thing Nightmare called Sentinel in book one and he STILL doesn't get it is incredibly frustrating. Meyers even kept writing that he clearly reacted to things oddly, but when we switch to Adrians point of view he doesnt think about it at all. And your telling me that they STILL DONT KNOW EACH OTHER by the end of the book. It was so stupid, I cant believe Meyers didnt resolve this in book two.

I would have been more interested in finishing the book series if she did.

Ill point out some good things about the book:

Adrian is probably the most compelling character. His torn decisions between following the rules and just going out and doing it. It really creates a nice gray area that helps prove Nova's point.

Max is a great addition. Im really interested to see how he will help in the 3rd book. I just kinda wanted Ace to die but the idea of these two fighting would be epic.

Monarch not being a dumbass like everyone else was cool. I really wanted her to make it out so Nova would get found out, Im really not rooting for Nova. How Nova is stopping Monarchs power is interesting. Though I dont know why she doesnt just bring her whole swarm to Novas house...like she did with Ace. Again another plot hole, shit I turned a positive into a negative. Oops.

Apollo: The Burning Maze | Review

I'm very torn on this book. I originally planned for a 3 star but by the end leaving it as a 4 Star. I still think the second one is the strongest of the series so far.
    The Negative: For this book is the pacing. I was actually surprised by how long it was considering what happened. At least for me the cameos that came in were not as interesting as in book two. The environments never seemed interesting. I mean we came from Indianapolis to California and I felt like we should go back. Lastly I didn't like how Riordan nerfed Apollo after he was finally getting good in book two. Especially after the finale where he exploded with his light form. I expected him to be get better not worse.
    The Positive: Apollo and Meg still grow really nicely as characters. The saving grace I think is how deep the books are going. The villains are a real threat, death happens, people mourn. It really shows a growth in his novels, it's what made me bump it up to a 4 star. It still has its silly charm, dont get me wrong, but he's built this dangerous situation and its refreshing to see consequences from it, even if it is sad. Also even though Apollo lost his powers again he still wasn't much of a hindrance, his thought process and intelligence made him a pleasure to follow.

This next part is more spoiler discussion about what I liked and didn't like specifically.
    The people in this book definitely will determine how much you like. I personally dont remember much of Grover since he was all the way back in the original Percy Jackson series, so his appearance didn't immediately win me over. Same with Coach Hedge and honestly Jason was the demi god from the second series I cared the least for.
    That last part is actually what made me bump up the score because through out the book it actually made me care more about Jason. So if he could do this for someone I didnt care much about showed some great writing and character building. I definitely felt the pain when they lost him. Surprisingly Crest was also a pretty tragic loss. It was sad to think of this young kid getting stabbed over and over again to finish the mission and save Apollo.
     Something I didnt like though was how people kept blaming Apollo. As if these bad emperors wouldnt be an issue without Apollo? Its clearly written so Apollo can build up regret and guilt.
     I really thought the book was going to have Camp Jupiter parts as well, which by the end I kinda wish they did, because as I said above this book felt too long for everything that happened in it.

Final grade still a 4 star for the emotional impact and a great set up for book 4 while still satisfying this part of Apollos quest. Im assuming since the ending lines is him saying, no more Lester, "I am Apollo" that means we are going to get a more competent main character.

TigerLily | Review

So lets just get this out of the way in case anyone reads this before the book. There is NO FLYING. So don't go into expecting.

This was honestly a pretty bitter sweet book. I would definitely recommend to someone looking for something with emotion.

I didn't realize this was a complete retelling. I thought it was more of a prequel from Tiger Lilys point of view. So prepare to know some of your familiar Peter Pan characters but have the outcome different than you'd expect.

It's kind of tragically beautiful. But Im definitely needing something to cheer me up right now. 
Read if you are looking for something thought provoking and a little sad. 
I wouldn't recommend to read if you are going through anything too difficult in your life.

If you're still interesting in some Peter Pan stories and want something with a but more magic and pick me up I recommend Peter and The StarCatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson. 

Know Your Books | Challenge

- Without looking at the description, tell us what the book is about!

8 13

Storm Glass

My Answer-A story of two lands one in the sky that uses magic and a surface realm where they don't have magic...thats about as far as I remember.
Verified Answer- I was basically right, I just didnt add in the two characters trying to live in their opposite sides.
I consider this a win!
-Without looking it up, what is the genre of this book?

4 11

Cinder

My Answer - Scifi
Verified Answer- GoodReads categorized as YA Fantasy/Sci, so another Win!
- Without looking at the book, tell us what is on the cover!

6 16

The Floating Islands

My Answer- Well this one is quite easy, there is the image of floating islands over the water.
Verified Answer- In the picture above. Thats 3 in a row!
- Without looking it up, what is the main character's name?

10 4

Priory of the Orange Tree

My Answer- Unfortuantly Ive never read it, so I have no idea.
Verified Answer- According to GoodReads I think there is 2. Ead Duryan and Tané 

- Without looking, name a side character!

4 5

Name of the Wind

My Answer-Unfortunatly I have no idea. Havent read it, from what I heard I barely know the main character, who I will not probably mispell - Kuaf???
- Guess how many pages the book has without looking! (If you guess 25 below or 25 above the number, you can count it as a win!)

2 14

Red Rising

My Answer- It really doesnt seem that big Im gonna guess 315
Verified Answer- Ouch..388, my bad.
- Without looking it up, what rating did you give this book? If you land on a book you haven't read, pick a new set of numbers.

4 15

Strange the Dreamer

My Answer- Definitly a 5 stars.
Verified Answer- Goodreads says I did indeed give it a 5 star!
- Without looking, where does this book take place?

10 16

Dwarves

My Answer- Girdlegard (Technically I cheated because I asked my roommate because its his book he LITERALLY just bought.)
Verified Answer- He was right! Though I did cheat on the spelling initially. I owe this to my strict regiment of any new book we buy we HAVE to read the first chapter before it goes on the shelf. 

- Without looking, what are the parent's names?

7 3

School of Good and Evil

My Answer- I literally have no idea. I assume Prince Charming and Queen...Lily?
Verified Answer- Eh it didnt tell me in the Goodreads description and I didnt want to dig more than that.
- Without looking at the hardback, what color is the book under the dust jacket?

9 5

Top Ten

My Answer- White
Verified Answer- Hm..its black, didnt see that coming.
- Without looking, is there anything on the hardback? Like an imprint or an image of some sort?

10 9

Angelology

My Answer- Its an older book so Im going to say no.
Verified Answer- In silver letters its the Authors initials...this irritates me.
- Without taking the dust jacket off, what is the color of the font on the hardback?

9

What if Its Us

My Answer-....Orange. I think.
Verified Answer- Nope. its blue.
- Without looking do the chapters have titles or are they just numbered?

1 10

+Anima

My Answer- Im thinking yes.
Verified Answer- Yup, labled with number and a title!
- Without looking at the book cover, does it have an award on it?

8 11

The Dark Mage

My Answer- Im pretty sure this is self published book that I found on a whim so Im going to say no.
Verified Answer- I was right, no awards.
- Without looking, does this book have any author blurbs on the front cover?

7 1

NeverMoor

My Answer- Im going to say Yes.
Verified Answer- I was wrong, there was not.
- Without looking, does the book have a description on the back?

2 10

Muse of Nightmares

My Answer- Im really thinking no since its hardback and they almost never do.
Verified Answer- Crap, I was wrong. It does.
- Without looking, does this book have an author photo?

9 21

Reign of the Earth

My Answer- Im going to say yes.
Verified Answer - It does indeed.
- Without looking it up, is this author using a pen name?

5 1

Clockwork Angel

-My Answer- Cssandra Clare? I dont think Ive ever heard somone say anything else. But at the same time when all that tea was going around about her fanfiction history I feel like she would have published it under a different name...Final Answer is she IS using a pen name.
Verified Answer-That was a close one, I was right. Her name is Judith Lewis.

- Without peaking, what POV is this book written in? 1st or 3rd?

2 4

Wicked Saints

My Answer- 3rd person, though I have no idea I havent read it and this was before I decided to read the first chapter of every book I got.
Verified Answer- It is indeed 3rd person.
- Without looking are there any pictures or graphics in this book?

4 2

Strange the Dreamer

My Answer- No, I doubt it. There is probably a map, I dont know if that counts.
Verified Answer- No picture, not even a map.
- Without looking, does it have an epilogue?

3 15

Seafire

My Answer- I think this is a stand alone, so Im going to say no.
Verified Answer- It does not.
- Without looking, does this book have a prologue?

2 21

We Hunt the Flame

My Answer- Luckily this is one of my "read first chapter" books. So Im like 99% sure there was no prologue.
Verified Answer- No prologue :)
- Without looking, is this book signed?

5 13

Atlas Shrugged

My Answer- I was kinda hoping Id get one of my Owl Crate books for this since they always have them signed, but no this isnt signed.
Verified Answer- Not signed.
- Without looking, do the page numbers have a design above or below them or none at all?

9 12

Ship It

My Answer- Going to guess no.
Verified Answer- It does not!
- Without looking, do the chapter headers have designs on them?

2 1

Wicked Saints

My Answer- Im thinking Yes
Verified Answer- The letters are kinda fancy..does that count?
- Without looking, are the acknowledgements in the front or the back of the book?

8 2

Spin the Dawn

My Answer-....the back?
Verified Answer- They ARE in the back!
- Without looking, what year was this book published?

7 4

The Alchemyst

My Answer- OOoooh lord is this book old. Im going to say 2001
Verified Answer- Whoops not that old. May 22nd 2007
- Without looking, what year did you read this book?

2 14

Black Wings Beating

My Answer- Easy, this year 2019.
Verified Answer- May 7, 2019. Good thing I didnt get Harry Potter or something, though I have no Idea how I would verify it.

Renegades | Review

3.5 Stars out of 5

I think the high points of this book are the people and their motivations. Even their negative qualities made sense with their back stories and thoughts. The ending and over all moral questions were VERY valid.
For instance, the idea that people without powers are lazy because they rely on superheros is interesting. If it wasnt for Novas reliance on heros maybe she would have gotten up and done something, similar to others who just wait to be saved instead of doing it themselves. Its rare to get a story where anarchy or the gray area is valid and you really dont know who is right. This book did this VERY well.

The low points are really just how long everyone took to figure things out. That and the flow of the story was odd. The build up wasn't well done that by the time the book was ending I was surprised THIS was the climax.

I still think its one of the better Super Hero books Ive read in a while though. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in hero novels.

Some Spoiler Discussions:
I dont understand why she would be so "smart" but not think its odd that her father made weapons for a gang leader. Then went to renegades for help. But not his brother who was clearly capable of handling the Roaches... Plus her father even said she didnt want to have to rely on Ace, which should have been a red flag right there.

I didnt like the reveal that Ace was alive. Im not surprised that he is, Im just surprised that Nova knew the whole time. Its hard to make a surprise like this work when we've been in her head this whole time.
I think if she hadn't known he was alive it would be more believable and read better.

The Way of Kings | Review

This book posed an interesting challenge. After getting off the high that was the Mistborn Trilogy I was intrigued by what Sandersons Fans deem his "best series".

I know not everyone agrees on this as we all have different opinions, and Im of that opinion. Though I very much liked the book I would say it didnt grasp as well as the Mistborn first book. I think the characters however were fantastic! The world was pretty overwhelming but it made it interesting for when you finished and you looked back and realized all the features of it you now understand.

I think my only complaint is I just wish it didnt take so long to get there. I feel like a lot of the middle of the book could have been shortened. Specifically Kaladins story. It probably made it seem longer because you get his flash backs too. Dont get me wrong, I very much liked Kaladin, I think his struggle was compelling, it just took too long to get to the end.

The ending, in typical Sanderson fashion, hit you with wave after wave of revelations. Part 5 was like being stuck in an undertow. Just when you think youre about to break the surface you get knocked back down again.

A further comparison to Sandersons work Ive made is that this book feels more like Hero of Ages than The Final Empire. Most of the book drags and is a bit slow, then slams all together at the end.

That's a pretty good overview of my opinion. The rest is just more details about characters and parts that happen in the book. So slight spoilers.

I think biggest moment in the book is at Dalonar's betrayal. I was practically yelling "GO GET THEM" I honestly thought they weren't gonna do it. I was already mentally notating how this would be my biggest disappointment. Thank you Sanderson for not wasting this beautifully built up moment!

Adolin is probably my favorite. Even though he doesnt get a lot of page time.

I kept waiting for him to betray his father, dishonor him, just be the opposite. It was so refreshing and nice to have this relationship, this strength of their bond and ideals. Bless Adolin.