Hey there! Today I decided it was time to sum up all the books I've read in the past few months, but haven't reviewed yet. Because some of them have been read quite a while ago and I don't have the best of memories, or I just don't want to talk too much about them because I didn't enjoy them quite as much as I'd have liked to, I'm starting a new kind of Book Review post. It's going to be a Mini Book Review series, where basically I just review a few books at a time in shorter versions.
Today I'm going to review the following three books: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell, The Kill Order by James Dashner and The Last Star by Rick Yancey. The first two are quite recent reads and The Last Star I read rather further back in 2016. As always, if you click on the cover you'll get to the goodreads page.
About the novel
Title: Kindred Spirits
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Short Stories, Fiction
Published: March 3rd, 2016
Read: August 2016
My Copy
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Waterstones Edinburgh
My Rating:
If you broke Elena’s heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she’s expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she’s not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels. |
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My Review
I loved this short story so much! It was cute and everything I wanted for a nice quick read. I just love Rainbow Rowells’ writing and this story is further proof of how great she is. If you fancy a simple and short read, then I really recommend you pick this one up. Every fangirl will enjoy this story as it reflects so much of our true nature (*smirk*). I’m not really a Star Wars fan, but I definitely recognize myself in Elena because I’d do the same as her for any of my favourite franchises (and have done already).
About the novel
Title: The Kill Order
Series: The Maze Runner 0.5
Author: James Dashner
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult, Science Fiction
Published: August 14th, 2012
Read: August 2016
My Copy
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Can't remember
My Rating:
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease. Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees. Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive. |
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My Review
I don’t have all too much to say about this book because it was quite a disappointment for me. I really enjoyed The Maze Runner series and thought it would be great to read about the time before Thomas went into the maze thinking it would be about his childhood and whatnot. Instead I got, well… this. The story was well written and all, it just didn’t appeal to me. And the “plot twist” in the end was way too foreseeable for my taste. I’ll probably continue reading the sequel though when it gets out, because I think that will focus on Thomas (or better said: I hope so).
I do have to admit, though, reading about the very beginnings of the virus and now kind of understanding where it all came from was very interesting. I hope we’ll get to know more about this as this new trilogy will go on because this is the very reason I picked up the prequel. I want to understand what madness went through the heads of the responsible people for the outbreak of such a terrible virus. And I want to read about other people’s experience with the world going under...
I do have to admit, though, reading about the very beginnings of the virus and now kind of understanding where it all came from was very interesting. I hope we’ll get to know more about this as this new trilogy will go on because this is the very reason I picked up the prequel. I want to understand what madness went through the heads of the responsible people for the outbreak of such a terrible virus. And I want to read about other people’s experience with the world going under...
About the novel
Title: The Last Star
Series: The 5th Wave #3
Author: Rick Yancey
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult, Science-Fiction
Published: May 24th, 2016
Read: June 2016
My Copy
Publisher: Penguin Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Book Depository, Online
My Rating:
They’re down here, they’re up there, they’re nowhere. They want the Earth, they want us to have it. They came to wipe us out, they came to save us. But beneath these riddles lies one truth: Cassie has been betrayed. So has Ringer. Zombie. Nugget. And all 7.5 billion people who used to live on our planet. Betrayed first by the Others, and now by ourselves. In these last days, Earth’s remaining survivors will need to decide what’s more important: saving themselves…or saving what makes us human. |
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My Review
Might contain spoilers! Read on with caution please. My expectations were just too high for this book. And they were disappointed so much, that I don’t even want to get into this too much. The 5th Wave and The Infinite Sea were really great books and I enjoyed them so much. I loved the characters, the plot was fascinating and there was so much mystery behind it all, I could barely put these books out of my hands. Naturally, it had to go downhill from there. Although it should be obvious that there shouldn’t be all too much of a happy ending in dystopian novels, I’m all against Allegiant-like endings. It’s just not what I want from dystopias. But that wasn’t even the worst part of the book. The plot was pretty bad, the characters were all too self-sacrificy (I’m just gonna use this word and hope you all know what I mean by it) and well, there just wasn’t enough wow in it anymore. Now I can’t blame Rick Yancey all too much, because he had such high expectations to meet, but I think he laid out such a great foundation in the first two books and I wish he just had sticked to it.
Have you read any of these books (or plan to?) or have you reviewed them already? Tell me what you thought of them and if we have the same opinions :) I'd love to hear what you've got so |
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