Caraval by Stephanie Garber

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“Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.”

(Goodreads)

 

So to start, I definitely think this book was over-hyped. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Yeah, the ending kept you guessing, but the overall storyline was a bit muddy. It was an odd mix of bubblegum princess and old fashioned descriptions. I mean I understand that Caraval is supposed to be this magical thing, but the descriptions were almost too much for me. I would give this book a 4 out of 5.

Pros:

• Scarlet is a good main character, she grows as the story goes on
• Scarlet’s relationship with Tella is very believable
• The time period made things interesting

Cons:

• Scarlet was naive
• Tella was an important theme throughout the book, but she wasn’t very present (would’ve liked to see some chapters from her point of view to even things out)

 

*** Spoilers Ahead***

 

So to start, I really didn’t hate this book, but I also didn’t love it. It definitely kept you guessing who Legend was and where Tella was, but it was also very confusing. The timeline got a little fuzzy here and there for me, but maybe that’s because they ran on backwards time (the game is played at night instead of during the day). The relationship between Scarlet and Tella was very well thought out and I can relate to them because I have younger siblings and I am very protective of them too. So that part was enjoyable. Julian. Oh, the mystery. I knew something was fishy from the beginning with him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Not gonna lie, I thought he was secretly Legend for the majority of the book, so when I found out he was really his brother I was just like, oh, ok cool. The relationship between Scarlett and Julian is pretty adorable. I mean, you don’t just give up a day of your life for some stranger. That was endearing. So their ending for me was alright. Now to discuss Legend. So the guy playing Legend during Caraval was actually a guy named Caspar and that whole situation got a little confusing for me (There’s a different actor that plays him every year?). Tella’s role in the game was unexpected to say the least. That was a nice twist as well. Scarlett and Tella’s father was not a nice guy at all and the whole engagement thing to the Count was a little too much. It made the book a little overwhelming because so much was going on at once. And Scarlett seeing colors with her emotions? Why was that necessary? It again felt like too much. Overall, this book was full of twists and turns and I’m not sure that that made the book better. Actually, I have to say it made the book a little more confusing in the end when everything came to light. It was almost like the book was trying too hard.

Pros:

• Scarlett and Julian’s relationship evolution
• Tella’s role in the game
• New Legend every Caraval (interesting concept)

Cons:

• Scarlett seeing colors with her emotions
• the whole engagement part of the storyline (I know it supported the idea that Legend was trying to screw up her marriage for revenge on Anna, but it was unnecessary)
• Too many twists and turns, I was constantly over-analyzing everything
• Tella wasn’t very present throughout the story, even though it was kind of all about her

Riders- Veronica Rossi

Hello, so this is my first post on here and it is about the book “Riders”. I saw this book while I was shopping at my local bookstore and the cover just caught my eye. You can’t deny that a fiery horse is pretty badass. So first off this book got 3.7 stars on Goodreads, which is okay, but personally I enjoyed this book way more than just 3.7 stars. This is a post-apocalyptic setting book which I enjoyed a lot. The main character is Gideon Blake who is in  RASP, which is training to become a elite Army Ranger. Unfortunately Gideon cannot finish his training because of a terrible accident that occured during his training. When Blake begins recovering he notices a strange cuff on is wrist and that all of his injuries are better. He doesn’t understand the meaning of the cuff until he meets a young lady named Daryn. She tells him that he is one of the Four Horsemen from the book of Revelation. He is the horseman, war, the other three are death, conquest, and famine. Daryn tells Gideon that he is needed as  a horseman to protect a object, but first they must gather the other three horsemen. Gideon still doesn’t quite understand the cuff or the meaning of being war. Along the journey of finding the other horsemen, Gideon slowly learns from Daryn and the other horsemen about his power, weapons, and armor. The horsemen are protecting a object from the Kindred which are  a group of demons exiled by satan. The object they want can open a whole different realm that the Kindred could rule over. The horsemen must work as a team but struggle a little bit. Gideon struggles a lot through the whole story, until he becomes close with his fiery horse Riot. Each character develops throughout the story and they are great characters that the reader can connect with. I would give this book 4.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed it and thought there was enough action and also enough softer parts to keep a nice balance and keep it interesting. There is a second book that just came out in May called “Seeker,” so hopefully it will be as good as “Riders.”

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

What a better way to start my first blog post by then writing about one of my favorite books! This is admin ameliar1045 and typically read fantasy, historical fiction, and some contemporary.

I remember first picking up Throne of Glass and reading the first 30 pages and ended up putting it down. A year later I tried again and I ended up reading the whole book in a day! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book.

The author of this book, Sarah J Maas creates characters you cant’t help but love and builds up worlds you want to live in. This series starts with an assassin named Celaena who recently was chosen by a Crown Prince of a kingdom that destroys cultures and other kingdoms in its path for power. Celaena, a woman who slaved in a salt mine for year, is chosen to be his champion and participate in a competition against other assassins and trained killers to win their freedom and become the Kings Champion. This series has it all, from high adventure on rooftops to the far off places.

I reread this book every now and then because I cannot stray away from this world and all the characters old and new, that are in this story. I would rate this book a 4.3 out of 5. The writing was amazing but a little bit iffy at a few points in the novel. That usually happens in authors first couple of novels. But don’t get discouraged by that, Sarah j Mass’s writing gets better and so does her books. She is one of my favorite authors and her books are well worth the read.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

“Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?”

(Goodreads)

 

This book was ultimately a little disappointing. The synopsis makes it seem like it will be a tale of forbidden love and death. And while it is these things, it is unfortunately dry and has very little emotion. The emotions that the characters are feeling just don’t seem to be realistic enough. It is like you are experiencing the book through a pane of glass. You can see it clearly enough, but you have no other connection to it. I did enjoy that the book was set in an older time period and I also liked the fact that Ismae had a distinct personality.

Overall, I was give this book a 3 out of 5.

Pros: time period setting, Ismae’s wit

Cons: not enough world building, flimsy characters, no emotional connections

 

***Spoilers Ahead***

 

Even more reasons I didn’t really like this book:

• Ismae was a little too naive for an assassin
• the relationship between Ismae and Duval developed in an odd way
• the plot was pretty simple, no real twists or surprises
• Crunard was the obvious villain from the beginning (that might just be me, but it seemed glaringly obvious)
• the whole thing with Hivern and the plot to deplace Anne was not really important or needed
• the politics of the court are poorly explained
• Ismae’s desperation to find Duval as he is dying was sudden and shocking

Things I liked:

• Anne was smart and cunning, but you could still tell she was a child
• The allusion to Hades and Persephone when Ismae tells Isabeau the story of Mortain and Arduinna’s sister
• Ismae was actually skilled as an assassin: she knew poisons and weapons well and explained their use pretty well
• Duval’s devotion to his family
• The part when Ismae meets Mortain and finds that she does not have to kill just for vengeance, she can kill for mercy too