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.

My Love Has Died And Gone Away

Because my love has died and gone away, ashes to the wind, I grab at every speck of dust, keeping it safe in a crystal box of hope. But every day the sun rays burn through that crystal as if it were wax and my collection comes loose to escape. It flies free to another land where I must chase it.

Because when I thought of digging the grave I realized I'd need flowers to aid me mask the horror of his pale face so I went in search of it. But sad to say even that decay could not please the angels.

Because my love was an unrepentant sinner I cannot even pray for the ground to receive him gently. The dirt is now wet with rain and I think I've stood too long crying in it. If only these tears were not so bloody they could have blended and I could have fooled the lonely souls eagerly watching me.

Because I am bad at lies and forgiving sinners and false hopes and catching wandering ash, my love is no place for me to get lost in. The words like a maze keep twisting and take me into exile, where I stand now and I'll stand here a while longer than necessary. Because so broken I am that my love has died, with pleasure, and gone away.

Stuck

Nobody listens to the screams of those buried underground. What happens to the voices lost beneath the sand? Or the sounds behind the roar of the world? Do they exist past that one desperate moment of relief? Do I dare break my silence? Or let others rule my life forever? Is it wrong to change what I need from what I thought I wanted? Maybe, since I've grown as a person so has my ability to think and decide. Why is it so hard for people to understand I CAN choose for myself, that I will not always be a child requiring guidance. If a flower was forever a seed it would never bloom into a colored beauty, and be trapped within it's shell, always. I crave so desperately the taste of untainted air within bubbled freedom. Now if i could just breathe in and spread out my wings wide. But afraid of falling, I never prepare for flight. I wish there was a ray of light guiding me, a hand that let me take it along for the ride instead of making me follow it. Can't these restrainers be my courage instead? When will I see hope? I wait.

Breathless Walk

A breathless walk,
Through a world of imbalanced extremes,
Through the echoes of silence inside the mind,
That is for now,
Lost to the noise, the buzz,
Sanity never restored.
If ever the world lived lies,
Now in this catch of truth,
On this breathless walk,
That dizzies and nauseates,
Past the signs, the dummies
And puppets with strings,
Dancing to the rhythm of obscurity,
Content in the Shield,
Of momentary display,
The bubble of certainty never achieved,
But with the skeleton,
Of smoke in the night,
All remembered like oxygen,
On this breathless walk of life.

The Night Beckons

Befriend the night for it beckons, all ye who shall listen to its darkness. For it whispers to your left and dances to your right, this darkness you crave. But turn to it, and it’s out of sight, vanishing in the corners of your eyes, this burnt shadow you chase. Like liquid it flows, like time it slows, slipping through the fingers of your mind. Chase crave listen, pray it does not return, this darkness waiting for your hand. In the instant before you understand and reach out to befriend, the burst will swallow your life. And then you are forever grounded in this night.

Broken Shells

And we are left these broken shells,
With some things inside but nothing well.
Praying for an emptiness,
These days I sit very still,
Afraid of making my insides rattle again
And to have my crux disemble as before it fell.
Pieces broken and pieces missing,
Can this mirror creature ever be whole again?
Wisps of a damaged soul can be felt.
No silken ribbons here, but only dying spells
Rotting away in some broken shells.

That Is My Curse

If only crying didn't make me feel better,
And these promises burnt into my heart could be kept,
I would be somewhere sunshine ruled the order of things,
All good and evil.

Perhaps then I would be happy,
With no scars to hide and no tears to wipe,
Amongst an eternal bliss of that world,
I would begin to live again.

And I know even now that that's the place I would find you.
What a sight we would be.
Two angels ascending at last,
To the thrones we had lost.

If only I could tell the truth and hold back sadness and be a little less selfish.
But fallen out of grace,
I cannot yet embrace
You or the glory of heaven.
And thus I am forever human.

Summer

These are such grand houses
On such fragile coasts
The ocean waves a hand
And they are gone
Like scattered mist
Or bubbles blown
Snatched away by the wind.

These grand houses
Now fall into grand tombs
And with the rubble
Buried is your happiness.

Summer has ended
A blow sends the dandelions
To a lost land
Faded and withered
The seeds moan for your loss too.
Though you never cared
For their end
They cry for yours.

CIB Resurrected: What Started As A Whisper

Have you ever had that urge to do something new and exciting, but it seems that the entire universe is simply conspiring against you? Every obstacle becomes inhibiting. No matter how hard, or how many times you try to get back on track, things just don't seem to be working out. Over and over, this happens, until you simply give up and don't care anymore.

Well that's a summary of what I've been going through for the past year and a half. After making the grave mistake of deleting my previous blog (wiping it off the face of this earth), I regretted not having this platform to vent anymore. Slowly, a whisper began in the back of my head. "You must write again," it said. "You must post again, even if it's to tell the tales of a tedious, tiresome routine of being a Med student." "You must not keep all the strange flavours of words to yourself, you selfish little girl." "Be empowered. Forget the past, and begin again!" They were soon screams, and commands that would not be ignored. And while I have not yet started back on the path of being a full time aspiring writer, I have decided to piece together a nest of twigs where I can store all the scattered tidbits of poetry and short stories I've worked on.

Maybe you, the one reading this right now, will find something worthwhile and be inspired to break your own chains. To reach greater heights after having learnt not only how to fly, but also how to fall and rise up. Once again, Be Empowered! Fix things while you can. Who knows where tommorow will take you. You were lucky enough to get today so don't waste it. I understand that after too much dawdling. Suddenly, the universe is innocent and alluring like before. Just as I like it.

So in honour of Coffee, Ink, and Blood Part 1, this is Turity cutting the ribbon to CIB Resurrected.

What happened to this blogger? Did she die?

No, unfortuanately for those who know me and suffer from my never ending tirades of University and writer stuff, I didn't die. But I did go underground for winter, trying to repress my urge to a) write b) write and c) blog.

Needless to say I was unsuccessful in such attempts, because being a writer isn't the icing on a cake, it IS the cake(at least for me)--something you can't do without. You can try to have your laptop confiscated so that you can actually study and pass that darn midterm, but what to do with your brain and the day dreams it has on your latest plot-line? Inescable.

So during one such attempt of trying to avoid this blessing, I heard this. Well, more than I heard, I watched it. It's a song by Regina Spektor(admirable piansit), that I just can't get over. While procrastinating, I decided to flick that television to a PPV channel (not recommended for anyone who plans on getting any work done, as it is simply addicting and time-wasting)and there was Chronicles of Narnia- Prince Caspian. Since I'm not reviewing the movie in this post I'll just say that it was... bearable =).

Of course, my favourite part was saved till the end. The song "The Call" accompanied the goodbyes of Edmund, Peter, Susan, and Lucy--but that wasn't what I saw. In my head I was already thinking of how PERFECT the lyrics and soothing music was for my story. To the innocent it would seem as if I plotted that specific scene after listening to the song, but of course that is not the case, as the idea for this book rests in my head for several months now.

Back to the original question: I'm back (I think), and I'll try to blog regularly (not daily though)...so help me out with the motivation part and check out the song...then re-kick it here in the comments!(the sentence will make more sense if you check out Scott Westerfeld's, Extras .

To show my love for the book(series), I'll finish off the post my saying...Cake. ;)

Forbidden

Name: Forbidden

Image: Unknown

Designer: Maria; brush credits to their originals creators. Font taken from dafont.com

Program: Photoshop 7.0

Dimensions: 1024 x 768

Comments: The text is a repeat of the poem "Untitled" by Emily Dickinson. It can be found here.

*To use this wallpaper left click on the image. Then right click the image on the new screen and click save as.*

Inner Peace...Outer Strength

Name: Inner Peace...Outer Strength

Image: Animewallpapers.com

Designer: Maria; brush credits to their originals creators.

Program: Photoshop 7.0

Dimensions: 800 x 600

Comments: One of my all time favourite Anime characters, Sakura, from the series Cardcaptors. This wallpaper has been locked up on my computer for some time now and I'm finally putting it up. Enjoy!

*To use this wallpaper left click on the image. Then right click the image on the new screen and click save as.*

Lake Twilight

Name: Lake Twilight

Image: Maria

Designer: Maria

Program: Photoshop 7.0

Dimensions: 1280 x 800

*To use this wallpaper left click on the image. Then right click the image on the new screen and click save as.*

Spiralling Aspires

Name: Spiralling Aspires

Image: Everystockphoto.com

Designer: Maria; brush credits to their original creators

Program: Photoshop 7.0

Dimensions: 1056 x 768

*To use this wallpaper left click on the image. Then right click the image on the new screen and click save as.*