The Magicians by Lev Grossman – Review

January 2, 2020January 3, 2020 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

A thrilling and original coming-of-age novel for adults about a young man practicing magic in the real world.

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

Review:

Initially, I rated this book 4 stars, but as I was writing this review, I realized I leaned more toward 3.5.

Spoilers for the book and show are present but probably not life-changing.

I read this book because I absolutely adore the show and after binge watching season 4, I decided I need more of the universe and I thought it might help throw me out of my reading slump. Admittedly, I watched the show first, which is something I try very hard not to do, but in this case I didn’t even know there was a book.

For those of you that just want a short review: Just watch the show, it’s better.

Yikes! A show that is better than the book? Unfortunately I feel like this review is going to more of a comparison. Grossman tries really hard to immerse his readers into the world of The Magicians, but if I hadn’t already seen the show, I think I would have been quite lost. The thing that threw me off the most about this book is that the main character, Quentin Coldwater (who I love), isn’t even out of high school when he gets whisked away from his life and everyone he knows to go to Brakebills College, a school that teaches magic. At the start of the book, it’s clear that Quentin has some serious depression and that he feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere. However, the further you get into the book, the more you realize that that’s simply how the narration is written. Unlike the TV show, this book talks about Quentin’s magical experiences over the course of at least 5 years. It jumps around quite a bit, but there were times I felt like it helped me understand parts of the show where I had been confused. However, this constant jumping around also made me feel like we were simply skipping over the nitty gritty details and jumping right into the most interesting thing to happen to him every year. This isn’t something I would normally complain about, but when you just get into his 4th year at Brakebills for a chapter and then instantly jump into his 5th year, it feels a little off.

The thing that really hit me was how bitter the characters all were. It was like Grossman was trying to convince me that magic was terrible and life-ruining. The characters were driven mostly by emotion, often betraying their friends and getting into screaming matches only to sleep with that person or forget an altercation ever happened at all. Strong characters that I love in the TV show suddenly were weak and quiet or considered obnoxious and scandalous. It was quite jarring.

A side note: This book was published in 2009, but for some reason still used the outdated term “hermaphrodite” in one instance, which felt weird to me. No one in editing thought that should be addressed?

Throughout the whole book, you’re always been told about the books Fillory and Further because they are books that the main character Quentin was in love with since he was a kid and then continued to love long after his friends and peers had given that up. Believe it or not, Fillory doesn’t become a reality until the last 150 pages or so. I mean they put the map of Fillory in the book’s end pages for god’s sake, you would think it was the main plot point. But the real plot point of the book seems to be “How will Quentin handle this next magical thing?”. It’s somewhat unclear. What is clear is the theme of “magic always comes with a price” or “dreams are never what you thought they would be” which is very Once Upon a Time, but accurate.

Overall, if you want a book that talks about the principles of magic and jumps around from interesting plot point to interesting plot point with characters that might all love or might all hate each other (it’s really hard to tell), then this might be the book for you! However, if you want a TV show packed full of action with badass females, an awesome magic concept, and multiple universes, I definitely recommend watching the show first and then reading the book to see what was supposed to happen. Honestly, the show runs relatively the same as the book, with a few tweaks here and there that were actually for the better.

Bonus points awarded for: unique magic system, book inside of a book, and map

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Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi – Review

April 13, 2019 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

Title: Defy Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me #5

Rating: 4/5

Plot:

Shatter Me has been one of my favourite series for as long as I can remember, but this might be my least favourite. For some reason, Kenji is a fan favourite, so he got a big POV for a good portion of this book. Reading his perspective just felt overdone and like it was pandering to the fans, but I found myself skimming his parts just to find the 1-2 pages of Warner or Juliette (I mean Ella). Even the parts with Warner and Julitette seemed disappointing though. There was very little action and when there was action it went so fast I could feel myself getting hyped up about it. And it was always the kind of action where I never felt like the characters were in danger.

Characters:

Juliette/Ella:

I get the idea behind the name change, really, but Juliette is such a beautiful name and basically erasing that and throwing a generic name like Ella (sorry to the Ellas out there) into the mix just makes me kind of sad. It’s like all that history of the first three books is just gone or it gives me a whole new perspective on it that I don’t like. I used to love the first three books and now I feel like everything in them was a lie.

Warner:

Sweet boy. After Ignite Me his character started going downhill. Now he’s the kind of character where his only purpose is to argue with other characters, come off as the I-never-had-a-good-childhood-and-now-I-don’t-know-pop-culture character, and serve as Juliella’s (I’m using that as a coping mechanism) protector/worry about her all the time. It makes me sad. I still love him and I think he had some great character development in this book regarding his relationship with his father and learning about his past with Juliella, but I can’t help but feel like a part of that character I loved is missing.

Kenji:

Y’all already know how I feel about this boy. As far as I’m concerned, he’s there for comic relief and to be a friend to Juliella but other than that I can’t figure out why he is so overhyped. I can understand a small POV to get the perspective of the sector since Juliella and Warner weren’t available to come to the phone, but he had some thick chapters.

Overall:

There were some good parts to this. I particularly liked Juliella’s POV when she was being held, because it felt so intense and raw.

I’m at that point where I kind of wish they just hadn’t come out with three more books and just left it at Ignite Me. Restore Me was okay, but now I’m just not in it anymore. This doesn’t even feel like the same series. And even though I love Warner and Juli…Ella together, their relationship just seemed off kilter and awkward in this book. Of course, that won’t stop me from reading the last book and it won’t stop me from preordering it and reading it as soon as I get it, but I already feel the disappointment on the horizon. I just hope it has the same satisfactory end as Ignite Me.

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They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera – Review

March 6, 2019 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

Title: They Both Die at the End
Author: Adam Silvera
Rating: 4/5

Themes:
death, friendship, love, celebrating life, courage

There’s something beautiful about death. When I picked this book up, I didn’t even bother to read the synopsis because I had heard good things about it and I just wanted to charge right in. I would say spoiler alert, but the book itself is a spoiler.

Plot and World-Building:
Conceptually, the idea of Death-Cast is intriguing. The idea is that you get a call on the day you’re supposed to die. No one knows how Death-Cast knows when you’re going to die, but they are never wrong. The idea of knowing when you’re dying has to be a heavy weight. Sure, some people get told they have a month, 6-months, a year, but these people get 24 hours maximum. And it’s all via a phone call from people that their entire job is calling these will-be-dead people called Deckers. I could probably read a handful of books from this world because I have so many questions about it. Does this make people do more reckless things on days they don’t get a call? Are people more outgoing? More violent? More loving? I think if we lived in this world I would get a panic attack in the middle of the night, just staring at my phone waiting for the inevitable and that just isn’t healthy.

I need someone to talk to me about this because I find it very interesting and I want more details. Even though this story is told from the perspective of Mateo and Rufus, I like that Silvera added some snippets from other characters here and there. Not only did it show that effects of “the call” on other people, but it also showed how many paths crossed with Mateo and Rufus along the way.

Characters:
Overall, I really enjoyed the characters. Rufus doesn’t necessarily have the best taste in friends, but they’re loyal and they have his back until the end and I think that’s really good. And yes, Peck, I would be extremely pissed off if my girlfriend’s ex came out of nowhere and beat me up, but I don’t think I would be so extremely pissed as to try and get him arrested or maimed on a day he is supposed to die. Just doesn’t feel very worth it.

The characters in this were very diverse, which was a pleasant surprise. I particularly liked that Lidia was a single teenage mother that works hard to sustain them both. It shows a healthier side as opposed to what reality TV says about teen moms.

Mateo:
In all honesty, I thought Mateo was a recluse from the beginning and for the first half of the book I just wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him yelling “Live a little”. Meeting Rufus was really good for him and watching that relationship grow and develop from the start isn’t something easy to do in a 24 hour period of time.

The one thing I don’t agree with is his initial feeling to not tell Lidia he’s dying. It just isn’t fair to her and that took precious hours that could have meant a lot.

Rufus:
Their contrasting personalities were interesting. Unlike Mateo, Rufus is tough and outgoing. But he has had a hard life, so I think meeting Mateo did him as much good. He needed someone to push the boundaries with him, emotionally, to help him open up a little.

Last Thoughts:
The fact that this is a YA book is earth-shattering. Usually, death is too real for people to handle, especially when it’s set in a world so similar to ours and the characters so similar to people we know. I think that breaks a boundary and really drives home that life is short and we should take advantage of the time we have. Counting the minute and seconds won’t get us anywhere. So, take the jump off the cliff, run around in the rain, tell that person you love them.

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Vortex Visions (ARC) by Elise Kova – Review

January 24, 2019 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

Title: Vortex Visions (ARC)
Author: Elise Kova
Series: Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles
Release Date: February 4th, 2019
Rating: 3/5

**Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Edition of this book in exchange for an honest review**

For those of you that don’t know, Vortex Visions is the first book in a new series in the same world as its sister series, Air Awakens. If you haven’t read Air Awakens or finished the series, there is bound to be some spoilers in here, but, as the author Elise Kova has openly stated, you don’t have to read Air Awakens before reading Vortex Visions.

Also, my reviews tend to be a bit spoilery, so if you’re not a fan of that I suggest going forward with caution. I do, however, try to keep plot spoilers and big events out so not to ruin the book for anyone.

For this review, I’ve decided to split this into a few categories; plot, world-building, and characters.

Plot:
I picked this book up excited not only because I got to revisit the Solaris Empire, but because I would get to see some of my favourite characters all grown up and meet a whole bunch of new characters to accompany them. Instead, I got a lot of Vi complaining about her life, going to her lessons, and learning a bunch of new stuff that seems completely woven from scratch and not at all like the original series. Perhaps this is what Elise Kova meant when she said you don’t have to read Air Awakens.

Quite honestly, and here’s a spoiler so don’t get mad when I say that the most interesting parts of this book were when Vi had run-ins with death. It’s like with some fantasy series when the characters take long walks to get from place to place except there’s no walking and it is all in the same general area but with a lot of thinking, extremely fake girl gossip, and complaining about how life isn’t all that fair. You’re not 13, Vi, it’s time to grow up a little.

The disease, the White Death, was probably the best plot aspect of the whole book and something I hope to hear more about in future books.

The ending was okay. It was much like I expected given the rest of the novel, but at that point, I reached a point where I didn’t really care about most of the characters involved, which is not great. I think it’ll be a great way to push into book two. A lot of loose ends that make me want to pick up the next book.

World-Building:
Of course, Elise never disappoints with her world-building. I absolutely can’t complain about it. And for those of you that read Air Awakens, were probably surprised about the inclusion of even more world-building in this! I must admit, part of me is very upset that there is a bigger world than what we previously thought. To me, it seems like that just makes the plights of the characters seem less worth it. In other words, why would a bigger kingdom in a bigger part of the world not matter more?

The magic aspect of Air Awakens was one of my favourite parts and by essentially belittling the powers of those in Solaris, it made me sad that Vhalla, who was seemingly so important, doesn’t matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of the world. I’m really picky when it comes to magic systems and I happened to like how the magic system was in the first series, so the fact that that was all basically thrown out and replaced with the formulaic “words are power and are what drive power” idea is kind of irritating. It’s how most magic systems are in a lot of other YA fantasy, so I expect something different because I kept thinking about Eragon by Christopher Paolini the whole time. Now that is a magic system with words that works.

Since J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, I think it has become a cliche that fantasy writers feel like they have to have elves in their writing. 5 books written in the exact same universe before Vortex Visions and there is no mention of “elfin” until this book. I understand that the world has expanded and that we are still learning about it, but this feels a little forced and I’m not for it.

Characters:
Vi:
As far as main characters go, I found her…bland. She came off as the typical character that was separated from the life she should have lived with very little freedom. And of course, she likes to go out and hunt. How very original. I found her less individual and more like a watered-down version of her mother, Vhalla. It’s no wonder the Senate was unsure about her taking the throne seeing as she never set foot in their capital city, no one knew much about her, and her younger brother Romulin was living the life she essentially should have. I feel very little sympathy for her cause.

I think she did a lot of growing up throughout the book, though and I’m genuinely interested to see where the next book takes the rest of her journey.

Taavin:
He might have been my favourite part of the book. He was mysterious and intriguing, so I can’t wait to dig into his character more. Especially with how this one ended *wink wink*.

Andru:
Poor, beautiful, misunderstood Andru is too pure for this world and deserves to be showered with love and attention. He was made out as a bad guy almost the entire book, but he has so much more to him.

Ellene:
Perhaps my least favourite character. Acts like the worst teenage stereotype I’ve ever seen. Quite disappointing, really.

Last Thoughts:
I can’t lie, I liked Air Awakens far more than this and, for those of you that are reading this to decide where to start, I have to recommend you start there. This series can wait for you, but I also think, despite the deep flaws in this story, it is truly worth the read. There are enough characters that I care about, mainly from the original series, but a few in this as well, that I’m quite attached to and would like to see how they end up.

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Another Day by David Levithan – Review

August 20, 2018 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

Title: Another Day
Author: David Levithan
Series: Every Day #2
Release date: August 25th, 2015
Rating: 5/5

**SPOILERS Y’ALL**

It has been a hot minute since I read a book that I genuinely thought I should write a review about, so here we go.

As a refresh of book one, Every Day is told from the perspective of A. A wakes up every morning in the body of a different person. It’s all they have ever known. Then, Rhiannon comes along. And for all of my Fleetwood Mac lovers out there, you know it changes everything.

Book two is Every Day but from Rhiannon’s perspective. Now, it has been a good long while since I read the first book, but 4 pages in I was already caught up and hooked.

Let’s just take a second to put yourself in A’s shoes. A new body, new life? Sure, why not? Then you start to realize “Well then who do I talk to every day? My family? My friends?” This is exactly why my heart twists for poor A and Rhiannon just doesn’t make it any better.

Right away, we are thrown into her relationship with her boyfriend, Justin, and he is just…so unlikable. It’s one of those moments where you wish you could reach through the pages and grab Rhiannon by the shoulders, shaking her, and yelling “You cannot fix this!” Professionally, I don’t think it is technically considered domestic abuse, but it’s clear that she’s grasping at straws to be with him.

The concept of a person like A is my favourite aspect of this series. The part that keeps echoing in my mind is when A finally tells Rhiannon that he jumps from body to body every day and she asked: “Are you a boy or a girl?” And A just kind of frowns: “I don’t see myself as either.” Don’t mind my completely paraphrased quotes, but it’s such a forward way of thinking that, as a reader, also causes me to think about how I would respond in that situation. A new body every day means different genders, different nationalities, different races, different body types, and poor A, who seriously deserves a break at this point, just can’t seem to grasp why it matters to her what the body looks like when it’s just A on the inside. That is heavy and poetic.

But it does matter, doesn’t it? We all just see the outer surface, never looking past the shell and looking at the person on the inside. Be careful, a book like this might actually make you a better person! And seeing Rhiannon’s preferences actually have an effect on A and how he/she feels about the body he/she is in is earth-shattering.

The ending is where this all gets a little iffy. Rhiannon can’t be with A, because it’s too complicated (too cliche?) and because she can’t connect with some of the bodies A has (wears?). And A is such a delicate being that needs to be guarded and protected, because no matter how heartbroken and torn down he/she feels about their “breakup”, he/she goes completely out of their way to find a guy he/she finds suitable for Rhiannon.

This book is just so good. Seriously, it left me thinking so much and I have no one to talk to about it. Someone, please talk to me about it.

Another Day is all about being better/caring more about yourself and accepting those around you for who they are. In reality, personality is all that should really matter to ANY of us! And it is all about breaking free from those people that are holding you back from being the best you you can be.

*casually adds book to Goodreads “favourite” shelf*

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Earth’s End by Elise Kova – Review

January 24, 2018 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

Title: Earth’s End

Series: Air Awakens
Author: Elise Kova
Rating: 4/5

Vhalla Yarl has made it to the warfront in the North. Forged by blood and fire, she has steeled her heart for the final battle of the Solaris Empire’s conquest. The choices before Vhalla are no longer servitude or freedom, they are servitude or death. The stakes have never been higher as the Emperor maintains his iron grip on her fate, holding everything Vhalla still has left to lose in the balance.

Can we just take a minute to applaud Baldair on just being a genuinely amazing person? *soft clapping sounds in the distance* Lovely. I’m confident enough in my own ability to latch onto unsuspecting characters enough to be able to go out on a limb and say that he could possibly be my favourite character from this book. I know, I know, “But Price Aldrik is everything you love in a love interest, what has happened?!” Well, hear me out.

Alright, for starters, Aldrik legitimately creeped me the hell out. In Air Awakens and Fire Falling, it was like “Ooh dark prince, me likey”. And at the start of Earth’s End, this is much how I reacted. He was hurt, he needed Vhalla, and then his reaction to her absence when he woke up was just amazing and I freaking loved it. However, I don’t think Aldrik completely has his wits about. Not only does he essentially openly attack his father, but he does it in such a flamboyant and over-the-top fashion that it’s…unnerving. You know nothing good can come from that. Then, when he started snapping at Vhalla more and more about her “prying” I started getting those uneasy feelings that remind me of Tamlin from ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas. He is unstable and not in the sexy way that the dark prince usually is, but like serious disturbed. When Vhalla finally allows herself to see his drinking problem, I think that solidified my resolve. The fact that she turned to Baldair in that situation speaks volumes to me. Not to mention he put off his own affairs to help her. Aldrik is like…clingy in a creepy way and throws around “my love” WAY too often for it to be smart. Just saying, uneasy vibes.

There’s two more books to this series, I knew this one couldn’t have a happy ending. The fact that Aldrik and Vhalla both thought they could get away with their…to avoid spoilers…plan for the end of the war was just ridiculous. They basically flaunted their plan and were asking for it to be dismantled. Once again, I turn to Aldrik’s unholy reaction. I don’t know what it is with people and just pushing their significant other away at inopportune times, but stop. The last 10 pages were probably the best part of the entire book just because of the sheer magnitude of everyone’s reactions. Not to mention it’s when Vhalla is the most badass because she basically says “Screw you” to everyone and just *poof* disappears.

I love this series and the fact that I’ve been dragging it out as long as I have is both amazing and terrifying. I do hope Aldrik cleans up his act, because I’m getting real tired of his bs while Baldair is out there being the golden boy (ha). His character alone and a few of Vhalla’s “WTF” moments are the only reason I couldn’t bring myself to give this a full 5 stars, but it was STUNNING nonetheless.

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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – Review

December 13, 2017 carolinevaughtLeave a comment

**Quotes based on the US paperback

“Name one hero who was happy…you can’t.” He was sitting up now, leaning forward.
“I can’t”
“I know. They never let you be famous and happy…I’ll tell you a secret.”
“Tell me.” I loved it when he was like this.
“I’m going to be the first.” He took my palm and held it to his. “Swear it.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the reason…” (pg. 104-105)

The Song of Achilles tells a twist of The Iliad from the perspective of Patroclus. It follows the life of Patroclus from being a young, simple prince and all the way through the Trojan War. It tells a heartbreaking tale of him meeting Achilles and the progression of their relationship from strangers to companions to something more.

I latched onto this story from the very start. In my freshman year of high school, before I knew this book even existed, I wrote a retelling of The Iliad where Achilles and Patroclus were implied lovers, but never explicitly said so. When I heard of this book, I knew I had to read it. This story was beautifully tragic and wonderfully heartbreaking. In the beginning, Patroclus is so depressing (yet somehow humorous) that you can’t help but feel bad for him and the bad luck the Fates seemed to bestow on him.

“She wants you to be a god,” I told him.
“I know.” (pg. 55)

Watching Achilles grow in his experiences from a perspective other than Homer’s is unexpected and something I welcome. Seeing him embrace Patroclus as a friend so readily was so heartwarming.

Thetis. The wrath I felt for the minor goddess was not something I had anticipated. She clearly loved Achilles and the fact that she wanted him to become a god is something I had never looked at before. Heracles became one, so why shouldn’t he? Her disdain for Patroclus was gut-wrenching and left me tense with every interaction. By the end, I was almost completely over her character, but the last few pages left me feeling only grief for the goddess.

“There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles,” Chiron said. “And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?” (pg. 84)

It was when the war came that I truly began to feel the full weight of this book. Anyone who has read The Iliad or read up a little on Greek stories/history knows there is only one way for this book to end. I saw a deep change in Achilles during the Trojan War. He was no longer the same innocent boy and he knew what the war would mean. Not only for himself, but for Patroclus. In the war, it is the first time Achilles feels the full weight of his mortality as realization sets in that he will not be a god.

Achilles was looking at me. “Your hair never quite lies flat here.” He touched my head, just behind my ear. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you how I like that.” (pg. 182)

Patroclus makes it clear to the reader that he has no intention of surviving the war or ever leaving Troy. He will do anything to keep Achilles alive and even goes as far as to keep him from killing Hector. It is a running theme during the war for Achilles to claim he has no reason to kill Hector. It is obvious that he is doing this not only to buy time from the Fates, but to remain with Patroclus for as long as possible.

The time in war weighs heavily on Achilles and even starts to change who he is. His hubris begins to consume him as he realizes that the gods never promised how much or why he will have fame. Patroclus fears that people will remember him for the wrong things, the terrible things he does in war instead of the Achilles he knows and loves. There is even a time in which Patroclus considers suicide in a fit of rage to punish Achilles for his selfishness.

I forced my voice to match his in lightness. “I’m sure you’re right. After all, Hector hasn’t done anything to you.”
He smiled then, as I had hoped he would. “Yes,” he said. “I’ve heard that.” (pg. 247)

This book was the most beautiful book I have ever read. I could read the story of Achilles and Patroclus and still cry at the end. That is how amazing this is. I could go as far to say that this is now my favourite book and that I play to read it many many more times in the future. The Song of Achilles truly makes you appreciate the time you have while on earth, however short it may be.

Achilles makes a sound like choking. “There are no bargains between lions and men. I will kill you and eat you raw.” (pg. 344)