Showing posts with label mythology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mythology. Show all posts

Thursday, 9 February 2017

Book Review: Miss Mayhem


About the book

Title: Miss Mayhem
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Rebel Belle #2
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Expected Publication: April 7th, 2015
Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Speak
Edition: Paperback
Purchase Location: Rome



My Rating:


Goodreads Summary

Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and her best friend, Bee, has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can focus on the important things in life: school, canoodling with David (her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie), and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant. Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or make her more powerful than ever.


My Review


So … my first reading progress update on Goodreads says: "I'm not eyerolling as much as I did when reading the first book so I guess that's a good sign, right? :3". I think it’s safe to say that it was a good sign. I remember not enjoying the first book at all. I think the plot was just kind of weird to me, without any real subtext and I didn’t like the style too much. Which makes me even prouder to tell you that I picked up the second book anyways, and actually quite liked it.

This book was filled with a lot of suspense, turning events and a lot of tension. I’ve come to like (okay, maybe that’s a strong word, let’s go with appreciate) Harper’s character a little better. In Rebel Belle she annoyed me quite a bit which isn’t a good thing for a book, when you don’t like the protagonist. However, it seemed to me that she matured quite a bit and took things more serious. She feels like she has to have everything under control, although that’s clearly not possible and the plot put a lot of obstacles in her way.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews of my friends who feel like they’ve been disappointed, let down even. I’m happy to say that this book actually made the whole series more interesting and against my expectations actually surprised me in a good way. I’m definitely going to pick up the last book in the trilogy Lady Renegades, but I’ll have to wait until the paperback version from speak gets released.

Spoiler Alert! Proceed with caution.


I was so glad to see Bee return, however, I think Rachel Hawkins made it way too easy. I would have liked to see more about her background story. What happened to her exactly when she was away? How did she cope with things? How does she take in the world she’s come back to? I mean really, all the book told us was basically: Oh yeah Bee’s back. She didn’t like her Paladin training. But she’s stronger and better now than Harper. And she’s in love with Harper’s ex-boyfriend. But she doesn’t want to be a Paladin. I was a little disappointed with that turn of events. It was just a way too shallow description in my opinion.

The ending had me really upset. I need the next book to read on what happens. It didn’t make sense to me how David actually managed to leave, because it was clearly said that he couldn’t. I thought maybe he’d die trying or whatever, instead he “just walked over” the town line. I think this made for a pretty good cliffhanger, though! :)

Other books in the series



Rebel Belle #1 (My Review)

I'd like to know

Have you picked up the Rebel Belle series? What are your thoughts on the books so far? If you've read the third book, please don't spoil me! How do you go on with series where you didn't enjoy the first book all too much? I'd love to read your thoughts on this in the comments! :)


Sunday, 26 June 2016

Book Review: The Son Of Neptune

About the novel

Title: The Son Of Neptune
Series: The Heroes of Olympus #2
Author: Rick Riordan
Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade
Published: September 30th, 2011
Read: May 2016
My Rating: 4.5

My Copy

Publisher: Puffin Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Amazon, Online


Goodreads Summary

ONE CURSED DEMIGOD. TWO NEW HEROES. A QUEST TO UNLEASH THE GOD OF DEATH - Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth. Only one thing is certain--Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: The Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk. Percy's old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed...


Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Mini Book Review: The Lost Hero

Hello there guys! It's been a while and I'm so sorry about that, but it turns out that I didn't get to work less this month. That's why I decided to start posting mini book reviews, because I'm so behind on telling you about all the books I've read the past two months. These book reviews will not contain any spoilery-contents which will make them a lot smaller and quicker to read (and write...). I'm so sorry, but I just don't have the time at the moment to write any thorough reviews, although I'd really love to. Hope I'll be able to do that soon again! Hope you'll enjoy my review nonetheless!



About the novel

Title: The Lost Hero
Series: The Heroes of Olympus #1
Author: Rick Riordan
Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade
Published: October 12th, 2010
Read: May 2016
My Rating: 

My Copy

Publisher: Puffin Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Amazon, Online


Goodreads Summary

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? - Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. - Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who;s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason's amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?


Monday, 28 March 2016

Book Review: Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods


About the book

Title: Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods
Series: PJ and the Olympians companion book
Author: Rick Riordan
Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Young Adult, Children, Adventure
Published: August 6th 2014
Read: February 2016
My Rating: 

My Copy

Publisher: Penguin Export
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Kinokunyia, Singapore


Goodreads Summary

"If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on... Who could tell the origin stories of the gods of Olympus better than a modern-day demigod? In this whirlwind tour of Greek mythology, Percy Jackson gives his personal take on the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece - and reveals the truth about how they came to rule the world.


Monday, 14 March 2016

Book Review: Rebel Belle



Title: Rebel Belle
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Rebel Belle #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance, Mythology
Published: March 3rd 2015
Read: February 2016
Rating: 3.5 

My Copy

Publisher: Speak
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Kinokunyia, Singapore


Goodreads Summary: Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts. Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him--and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth. With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

Other books in the series:

 

Miss Mayhem (#2) & Lady Renegades (#3)



My Review

First of: this book was fun to read. It was fast-paced, interesting and you don't have to think a lot about possible plot twists because they'll happen without any foreshadowing. You get sucked directly into the plot from page one and it doesn't leave you any choice in the matter. Action from the very beginning and no end in sight. 

So this beauty queen gets involved in a life-and-death situation. Naturally she would scream, cry about her broken nails and run away, right? False. The protagonist Harper Price totally took me by surprise in acting very maturally in such a situation. Now this is the part I had the most problem comprehending. When you see your school janitor die in the girls bathroom and somehow manage to kill your history teacher in a matter of seconds, would you just go on with your life and think: Well, I guess I'm a superhero now. Gotta go and safe the world. Would you? I think not. But that's exactly what Harper did. Her whole coping with the situation seems very unbelievable about the story and bothered me throughout the entire book. Not even dystopian heroes think of themselves that highly and they have to worry about a lot worse enemies than another teenage girl with magic. 

This first book reminded me a lot of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. Although it has nothing to do with Angels the female protagonist becomes the protector of a young boy and doesn't know what she has to do or what lies ahead in her path. And of course she falls in love with the wrong boy (but I have to admit I'm still not sure about which guy I prefer).

Now I'm a big fan of conspiracy theories and I couldn't stop myself thinking that maybe Harper's boyfriend was the bad guy (back when you didn't know who belonged to the good side and who to the bad). I even started suspecting Mary Beth, Harper's best friend. But luckily, the author didn't have that much of a deceitful treacherous touch in mind. The worst case scenario at the end of the first book though makes me wonder why I didn't see it coming. And then again I wasn't that surprised. 

The biggest reason why I gave this novel such a 'low' rating was Harper's reaction to the whole thing. I was just bothered to much by the whole I'm-going-to-save-the-world-because-I've-been-a-superhero-for-five-minutes-now attitude. Otherwhise I quite enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend it if you want some light-female-butt-kicking-action.