Book Review: Nemesis by Anna Banks

My Rating: 2.5 

For some reason when I started this book I thought it was about mermaids. Haha. That's what happens when you have a tbr pile a mile tall and you are in the habit of not reading the book summaries because they be spoiling the book like hell! So it took me a while to switch gears but that's okay...

no worries we'll just read about land people instead

ANYWAYS. Let's get to the review.

Another tragic death of a great concept at the hands of a poor execution. At first the plot of Nemesis seems alluring with talk of mystical kingdoms, deadly man-eating mermaids, and a precious sought after resource called "spectorium". But as you delve deeper into the story you begin to realize how trite everything is. So yeah... sorry. This is going to be another rant type review. But here is some IU to make you smile.

We have a princess that is the sole producer of spectorium. A king that is just coming into power and needs that spectorium to save his people. Sounds ok, right? Not so.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Princess runs away from her kingdom (for no good reason), and despite her description of herself as a badass that can fight and is super intelligent and cunning, she displays none of her super awesomeness. She ends up getting kidnapped by two lame vagabond hunters. They miraculously never find out her ability (although she does very little to hide it and keeps spewing very bright silver liquid metal in random ditches).

Following that, she gets sold into the King's harem and blah blah blah. At this point I have already lost all respect for the heroine and her supposed "beauty" and skill. Banks wanted desperately to portray her as a strong beautiful lead but I just didn't buy it. And as soon as you add a harem in there I am done. Because a harem by its very nature demands explicit details to portray its authenticity. You can't do that in the young adult genre without coming across as unlearned.

The Princess has been in the harem barely a day when she already has the other "beauties" hating on her. She too quickly becomes the prize of the harem and has caught the King's attention (who by the way, has never before felt obliged to be interested in the harem at all).

***END SPOILERS***

The romance that ensues is (thank God) not insta-love and yet equally despicable. There seems to be zero chemistry between the pair. If not for the confines of this book the characters would run from each other in real life.

Banks also tried to add the pyramids in there but without all their glory. She seemed to want to pursue an Egyptian backdrop as the setting but tbh that didn't even register on my radar it was so inefficient. Instead of the characters truly immersing themselves into the story, they seemed to float by experiencing a little piece of everything. I wish she had picked one thing and focused on it. Be it the mysterious parani, the ties between kingdoms, the royal romance, or the search for spectorium. Had she delved deeper into the world  and fleshed it out more I might have endured the painful romance. But since even the world-building was absent, I didn't really know what I should be interested in. Where was the rich culture of the people? The mysterious history of the beautiful creatures that inhabit the world (parani and the dragon-like creatures...)?

Then there is the body paint. Oh my. I won't even. Let's just leave it. Did they really paint themselves all gold and silver in ancient Egypt? Or was that unique to this book. I really have no idea so I can't say much. I just didn't like the idea though. Nuh-uh.

So yeah, rant over. I've run out of things to say that would actually add to this review without making it sound more of a rant. I would like to hope the second book in the series is going to improve on its predecessor, but as of now I don't think I will be reading it. As always, please remember these were just my opinions and I'm sure there people out there who loved the book. This just wasn't my cup of tea.

(Pssst...Lies! I really just hated it because it wasn't about mermaids..hehehe....) I'm gonna go now and find a mermaid book, ok?

Have you read Nemesis by Anna Banks? Did you like it? Any good mermaid books you know of? Let me know in the comments and I promise to give you a great recommendation in return!

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Impostors: It's Almost Here

Who else is super exited about the Impostors by Scott Westerfeld coming out this month?

I was obsessed about the Uglies series as a teenager and it keeps its place on my favourite bookshelf. To have another four books set in the same world is like a dream come true. Thank you so much Scott Westerfeld for this. I would re-read the Uglies again, but at this point I have them all memorized. I am going do the next best thing and recommend it to every breathing thing I spot (yes, possibly animals as well).

Also, I'm going to walk around everywhere super charged with stars in my eyes so that people can ask me what happened to my usual restingbface, and I can then promptly launch into my campaign to convert the world to Uglies fan. Imagine that: one expansive fandom travelling over the continents of non-fans and changing them one at a time.

We are coming for you!

Next would be the multiverse fyi.

Gawd. Do I always get this crazy when it comes to Tally& friends?

So, September 11 2018 everyone! Impostors. Get the book (preorder it, borrow it from the library or steal it from a friend). Partake in whatever insanity gets you closer to it. Read it. Fall into a delirium induced coma (possibly die of excitement? plz dont). And then come back and talk to me about how blessed we all are.

*rambling continues as she leaves*

Who was your favourite character in the Uglies world?
What other books would you recommend for fans?

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Book Review: Heir to the sky by Amanda Sun

This book had so much going on.

• Monsters
• Floating cities
• That cover
• Man/Woman vs. nature themes
• Romance (lowkey)
• A rebellion
• Villainous fiancee 
• Interesting mythology

BUUUUUT...I  just. Couldn't. Get. Into. It.

Why? Let's delve into it shall we?

I am going to try very hard to describe my mixed feelings for this book and why it was a miss. There were parts I loved and then some that just left me confused? There was so much potential for the story to completely blow us away but in the end there was some essential ingredient missing.

Great concept: Kali is the future heir to a floating kingdom in the sky. She is a true believer of the ancient phoenix that brought them all up there. She is ready to burn for her people and light the way for them. Then things take a turn. A secret she learns leads her to become one of the fallen. Leaving behind the comforts and securities of home, she now has to battle the monsters that plague the earth, if she is to survive.

Okay, so as far as I can remember I have not read many, if any, books about floating continents. Which is why I really dig the idea. While I wanted to enjoy the journey with Kali desperately, I felt myself becoming very detached from her situation. Her thought process irked me because it was very black and white. Very basic, I guess. Her character, especially through the first half of the novel came across as flat. Everything was either good or bad.

I really liked how she was "trained?" by Griffin and his sisters to become equipped to handle danger, but I totally didn't buy HOW good she got in such little time. I mean Griffin had trained all his life to be slaying monsters the way he was. This sheltered little princess comes along and saves him several times giving him a run for his money?

Wait what?

Griffin and Sisters: these were the characters I wanted more of. While Griffin's attraction for Kali was too close to insta-love I found the majority of his reactions pleasantly surprising. Not to mention, he was super at kicking some monster butt. The sisters also surprised me. I don't know why, but I was expecting hostility from all of them. Instead they displayed kindness, compassion, and understanding. Even offered Kali gifts and helped her understand her world and the politics of it.

The Romance:  It was merely an afterthought. The book could have benefited from a deeper chemistry between the pair, but I didn't mind too much. I would much rather have a simple lighter romance that takes a backseat and does not offend then a misplaced heavy handed one that is all about life and death but fails to convince me of its authenticity. Also, no love triangles, thankfully.

The action: I enjoyed all of the monster kills. Esp. the last one Yay! #nospoilers

The revelations: there were some good moments I didn't see coming, which is always neat. Mostly though,the plot was predictable and kinda benign because for the type world Kali lived in the stakes should have been higher.

The ending: too quick and tidy, but then again I am used to reading trilogies/series. For a standalone, I guess it was to be expected. Still, I think the climax could have been heavier...should have made me feel more. I kind wanted to pour out my emotions by the end. Meh. But as I mentioned, the action near the end was particularly hot 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I found myself fascinated by that scene.

Overall: Of course, I would not read again (I rarely do except my favs). Might read a follow up if one was available, purely for more Griffin and the Benu which I found didn't get the attention they deserved. Also, Jonash seemed like a character with sooooo much potential. But again....standalone.

I wish other people can enjoy this book more than I did. For me though, it was not as exciting as I had hoped. In another universe I am sure this book is somehow more powerful.

Have you read Heir To The Sky? What were your thoughts on it? Liked the romance? Hated it? Which monster was your favourite? Leave a comment below and let's talk!

Also looking for some nice book recommendations. Young adult/ sci-fi/ fantasy. Something like The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. My fav!

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Back in the game

After starting this blog more than ten years ago my life and in turn the blog has gone through so many ups and downs. The goodtimes had me writing and blogging my heart out. And then I started university and unfortunately was unable to keep up with the blogging scene. I made the mistake of deleting the blog. Forward to some years later and it was back up, if only to hold my writing and poetry. Sort of like a showcase. But I have lost all followers and there have been no knew posts. Until this one.

I am glad to be back in the blogging scene. Medschool although stressful and time consuming has been endured. I have grown and changed in so many ways. And I am ready to discover my new voice in the storm that is storytelling. The sparks of imagination fly again. I write again. I Read again. I dream again. And so I blog again. Please come back followers. Come to the dark side with me. There are lots and lots of cookies.

Also I am starting book reviews again. You'll be seeing them posted here (and goodreads) regularly so please leave a comment to encourage me, thanks. Let's talk and discuss books. Super excited! I am looking for new blogs to follow as well so leave a link in the comments and I will be forever greatful.

Take care my lovelies.

The Non Unique State of Things

So today is one of those days. You know the ones. That kind of day.
And I am sitting here procrastinating as usual, diverted temporarily from studying, and wondering to myself: Am I unique? I mean really, actually, truly? What makes me so, or what even ever led to me to think I was to begin with? I bet it was my parents. Probably.

See? Philosophy kind of day.
Seriously though. You are not unique. Think about it. What do you do that no one else can do or already does. For example, here I am, a medical student studying for final year surgery exam. The home stretch and all you know? But that's not unique. Okay okay, so I am also procrastinating, downloading all my favorite sci/fi television shows off the meganet, wondering wow is somebody else also doing this exact thing out there right now? Yeah, I bet they are. Not unique. So now I am being forced to think of everything I do that is mundane and what would be extraordinary?

And really what it?
Nothing.

Questions/ Comments? Go ahead and leave me a thought. Guess what? I bet whatever you write WILL be unique. Or just share your mundaness too. Please and Thank you.

Shine

Not knowing how he feels,
I dream he feels the same.
Not knowing what he sees,
I dream he sees me.
Not knowing what he thinks, what he breathes, what he speaks,
I pray he speaks my name.
Chants it over and over
But.
Let's just say he doesn't--
If his prayer is of some other being. His soul calls to another's.
Well, then surely all dreams must be the realities of parallel universes. Somewhere in the chaos of time and space we must exist as a single entity--
Results of a massive collision of two dying stars.
We must be the sun in each others worlds somewhere.
Me and him.
We must,
Shine.

Bittersweet

Something in me stretches and coils
A burning desire
A consuming fire
And if I am to never tire of these fumes
I must forge a path clean through the streets of my heart,
Through to a centre much more sound and sane,
To a mind much more free than the cage that is your love.
You smoulder, but trap.
You kindle, I crack.
We are such deficits of each other that any fire and all desires burn each street raw
Until I am at the core of you I am nowhere and then when I am there I am also lost.
We are such parodies of lovers that despite all that stretches and coils within me,
I am nothing but an embarrassment of you.
And yet if I were to die within a day,
I would do it scrubbing clean the ash strewn streets,
Our messed up dreams, so that when I am gone,
You are no longer just me.