Book Review | The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

The Unexpected Everything

By: Morgan Matson (@morgan_m)

Published By: Simon & Schuster on May 3, 2016

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 517

Goodreads // Book Depository

Andie had it all planned out.

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected.

And where’s the fun in that?

“Because believing you’re not alone is the cruelest trick of all.”   

I was so freaking excited about TUE, as I loved Matson's SYBG and the synopsis sounded so interesting. Alas, I was slightly disappointed about the read. TUE follows Andie, a politician's daughter who's father has just been involved in a 'political scandal.' Andie is used to following a plan, so when her entire summer goes awry, she has to find the unexpected. (everything)

Andie wasn't a very relatable character, and her choices were especially unbelievable. Towards to end of her character arc, I started to find her less irritating, but for the majority of the book, I just couldn't stand her. On the other hand, TUE features a very amazing and swoon-worthy romantic interest - Clark. As soon as they first met and it mentioned the nerdy t-shirt, I was hooked. He's like awkward and nerdy, but adorable overall. They work out. I ship it so hard. *fangirl squeals*

Friendship was such a major portion of this book - Andie's squad (Palmer, Toby, Bri, Tom?) of friends were different yet similar and they each were funny in their own way and brought different aspects to the book. My favorite has got to be Palmer (with Toby at a close second though); she's like the mother of them all. Andie's relationship with her father was also great, I loved how they started out extremely awkward but eventually became really close.

My main problem was this book was overly predictable, as I felt like Matson follows a formula as I talked about it here, so the ending wasn't as satisfying for me. The ending of summer is sort of like the climax in her novels, and I was expecting what had happened to happen.

As always, I enjoyed most parts of this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, easy, light summer read. However, I would advise you to read her other books first, as Matson drops tons of easter eggs in her story. Overall, TUE was a solid, lighthearted enjoyable summer read. 

Let's discuss! What did you think about The Unexpected Everything?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄

Writing With a Formula?

Note: Please don't read this post if you want massive spoilers for The Unexpected Everything, Since You've Been Gone, Second Chance Summer, or any of Rick Riordan's novels.

I just finished The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, and although I found myself grinning happily during many parts and satisfied enough with the ending, something was tugging at me as I went to rate it 5 stars on Goodreads. Which lead me to staring at the computer screen for about 5 minutes, then marking it as read, but not giving it a rating. 

I had suspected what was going to happen right around the middle, but I had shoved that thought away in hopes that it wouldn't actually happen. But it did, and after I finished, I thought about the three books of hers that I had read, and I realized that each of fit into a formula. 

This is the formula: A shy but pretty girl finds herself without anything to do during the summer. She finds a cute, nice guy and they start hanging out. Something drastic happens, and the girl breaks up with the guy, and they get back together at the end. 

See, when I first read Since You've Been Gone, my first Matson book, I thought that the story was brilliant. But after finishing The Unexpected Everything, I was expecting the breakup to happen, that it wasn't as good as before. In fact, the moment Andie stepped into Clark's house the day the breakup happened, I already knew what was going to happen.

Another author who uses a formula is Rick Riordan. Riordan's novels are classified as  "middle grade" which is somewhat of an excuse for its simplicity, but as I grew older, I started realizing that a formula was, in fact, present. Wanna know it? A teen who doesn't know anything about the mythical world accidentally stumbles into one (minus Trials of Apollo, which I've only read like 50 pages of) and they have to go on a quest to save the world. Somehow, they luck out and save the world without dying. Yay!!

I'm not saying that using a formula is bad, as Morgan Matson and Rick Riordan are two of my favorite authors ever. However, I do appreciate an author who goes out of their typical comfort zone and writes something different (Marie Lu, Rainbow Rowell). But seriously, is using a formula the best case? Let me know down below!

Book Review | The Raven King by Maggie Stievfater

The Raven King (Raven Cycle #4)
By: Maggie Stiefvater (@mstievfater)
Published By: Scholastic on April 26, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 438
Goodreads // Book Depository

Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey…and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

"What a strange constellation they all were."

It took me three tries to finish The Raven Boys. Thank god I was bored out of my wits that day and just needed a book to read, because otherwise, it would've never been read. The Raven Cycle is just one of those incredible series in which the first few books in it are confusing, but the finale is just a masterpiece, weaving all those loose ends back together.

I missed the characters so much. Before the book came out, I spent a lot of time going through edits and rereading, and it made me realize how much I loved this series. Blue and Gansey and Ronan and Adam and Noah just make me so happy inside. And can we talk about the ships?!?!?! My heart literally exploded and I had to shut the book to prevent myself from crying during the middle of an English class. 

That epilogue, ugh, I just wanted more! The first three, I was more like, "That was good." and I wasn't as invested. In this book, Maggie Stievfater's impressive foreshadowing skills were just astounding. Finales always scare me, because they're just not enough most of the time. I was super scared for this one, because I wasn't ready to let go. Thankfully, Stievfater tied up (most of) the loose ends and satisfied me (mostly) (but pynchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh). 

The blurb doesn't do the book justice at. ALL. If I were to tell you three things about it to get you to read it, they would be: psychics, welch king, and prep school boys. Those things sound vague and confusing, but believe me. If you haven't hopped onto the Raven Cycle bandwagon, you're seriously missing out. Do me a favor, and just pick it up.

Let's discuss! What did you think about The Raven King? Are you absolute TRC trash (yet)?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄

Book Review | The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

The Love That Split the World

By: Emily Henry (@EmilyHenryWrite)

Published By: Razorbill on January 26, 2016

Genre: Sci-Fi

Pages: 396

Goodreads // Book Depository

Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.

Natalie’s last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start... until she starts seeing the “wrong things.” They’re just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn’t right.

That’s when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls “Grandmother,” who tells her: “You have three months to save him.” The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.

Emily Henry’s stunning debut novel is Friday Night Lights meets The Time Traveler’s Wife, and perfectly captures those bittersweet months after high school, when we dream not only of the future, but of all the roads and paths we’ve left untaken.

“Love is giving the world away, and being loved is having the whole world to give.”

The Love That Split the World is a beautifully written sci-fi contemporary fantasy romance hybrid. I absolutely adore hybrid stories, I just think they're so unique and amazing. (but also sort of a pain to shelf on goodreads but that's beside the point). TLTSTW was unique and incredibly thought-provoking.

The narrator of the story, Natalie, is Native American, which already has me nodding, as DIVERSITY!!! She's just a typical girl, which makes me so happy because realistic stuff! She's a feminist, and isn't afraid to stand up for herself. Unfortunately, the romance is just...ugh. It's an instalove, and you can pretty much tell who it is just based on the blurb. One of my favorite things in this novel is the Native American stories. Native Americans are one race that are pretty rare in YA, so reading their mythology and stories interesting.  

Problems? Typically, I love flowery writing, but Henry's writing just felt over the top. The pacing also caught me at times, the beginning being extremely slow, and dragging on. I nearly wanted to stop, but the ending (which I still have an iffy feeling about). The ENDING.

Overall, TLTSTW was a cool hybrid story involving time travel, and great adventures! If you love a good romance, character diversity, and feminism, pick up this novel!

Let's discuss! What did you think about The Love That Split the World?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄

Book Review | Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

*image via wednesday.blog.for.books on instagram

Passenger (Passenger #1)
By: Alexandra Bracken (@alexbracken)
Published By: Disney Hyperion on January 5, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 486
Goodreads // Book Depository

Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

“It's our choices that matter in the end. Not wishes, not words, not promises.” 

Sadly, the highly anticipated and hyped Passenger, unfortunately, did fall a tiny bit short for me. If it had been a normal YA novel, I may have loved it, but this just did not meet my expectations. *cries in corner* Despite this, Passenger was still chock-full of of fun and adventures. I had lots of fun reading this, and I'm extremely excited for the upcoming sequel, Wayfarer.

Passenger follows Etta, an aspiring violinist (or maybe she already is one). I loved reading about the violinists that my mother is obsessed with. (I play piano, but my sister plays violin, so I get to hear about them.) Suddenly, she gets whisked into this world of time travel, and stuff happens. When we first arrive, we meet Sophia Ironwood, who strikes me as a bit funny. 

Speaking of characters, let's talk about Etta. I knew she was going to kick butt and stuff (come on, this is YA), but she's a genuine person. Reading how she gave up all her social life, a boyfriend, and everything just for violin just broke my heart. She may not be the strongest YA heroine, but I truly do admire her. Nicholas was also a surprising character. For one thing, he's a POC, which I don't find very often in the love interests in YA fantasy, but he felt a bit dull comparing him to Bracken's previous male interest. Too much time was spend describing him, and not enough seeing him in action. The romance in this novel is driven a bit too quickly for my taste, as they sort of fall in love at first sight, but it's enjoyable, and not the main aspect, so I'm fine with it.

Can we just admire the plot, because the plot is just SPOT-ON. Bracken weaves together a brilliant story that was surprising and very well done. Time travel novels, most of the time, having me half sleeping by the end, because they're just so confusing. Either the fact that it's explained too much, or it's just not explained at all. All the questions, I had answered. *claps*

Although this novel is slow paced, similar to the Darkest Mind's trilogy, it was a beautifully done adventure with an amazing, intricate and well thought out plot that captures the beauty of time travel in a clear way. I am more than excited for the coming sequel!

Let's discuss! What did you think about Passenger?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄.5

Series Review | To All The Boys I've Loved Before Duology by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I've Loved Before Duology
By: Jenny Han (@jennyhan)
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 288 // 337
Goodreads // Book Depository

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before:
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

PS: I Still Love You:
Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?
In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

“You'd rather make up a fantasy version of somebody in your head than be with a real person.”

I just guess I just hate fluffy, romantic, flimsily-written contemporaries. I just happen to be a fantasy person. This duology was HIGHLY praised and claims to be romantic and awesome. I was expecting something more exciting, and I was, yes, expecting a love triangle, but this series came out to be a huge disappointment. Yes, I did read the second book, but after what happened in the first book, who couldn't? Han's writing also consequently happens to be pretty darn addicting.

Let's be positive and happy and discuss what I liked! I loved the family dynamics and how prominent her family and siblings were in her life. My friends and I often bake, and I liked the baking aspect of this novel. Lara Jean (LJ because I don't want to type) is always baking cookies and delicious treats, and they just make me so hungry! The novel didn't exactly embrace the Korean culture of this novel very well; it must be since her father is white and her mother passed away that they don't focus on this. I would have really enjoyed that detail if it was written well.

However, LJ is such a pain. She's naive, immature, and did I mention SPOILED? She's sixteen, and probably way more immature than I am. Her narration makes me want to cringe how much she whines. After all the pretty drastic events that occur in this novel, she doesn't mature at all. She's still the baby she was in the beginning. And does it just feel like LJ is a bit clingy? A tiny bit? 

The romance was a hopeless mess. It was like this "love triangle", if you even want to call it that. I like to refer to it was a love mess. It's OBVIOUS who she's going to get together with, and although I like him, he just feels plain and a simple cookie-cut main interest. I don't even understand how they got together. SPOILER: Did I mention that the other guy is her sister's EX? Do you know how revolting that is? *shudders* In the second book, there's ANOTHER love mess thing.

Plot? What plot? Uh, they literally just get in fights and do nothing and LJ seems like she has nothing going on in her life. She has no activities, and it just seems she just stays at home and does nothing. The first book's plot was decent, but the second book's "plot" was stupid and did not help the story at all.

Let's discuss! What did you think about the To All the Boy's I've Loved Before Duology?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄

Book Review | Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

*image via endpages on instagram

Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1)
By: Susan Dennard (@stdennard)
Published By: Tor Teen on January 5, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 416
Goodreads // Book Depository

In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

"Sometimes justice was all about the small victories.” 

Truthwitch was the highly, highly hyped up novel of January 2016. I wasn't particularly impressed with Dennard's other novel, Something Strange and Deadly, but the amount of buzz that came with Truthwitch was just literally insane. Sarah J. Maas blurbed this book, which I do suppose is because she is Susan Dennard's BFF or something. 

One of the main things that sold me in this novel was the friendship aspect. Fantasy is missing this friendship aspect, and I'd like to see more of it! Our two main characters, Safiya (Safi) and Iseult, are Threadsisters, meaning that they are like BFFs. I like to refer to Threadsisters sort of like parabati. Safi is just plain stubborn and reckless. She often put the two into loads of trouble (even from the beginning) and just got on my nerves. Iseult, on the other hand, had more maturity and was more badass and actually did things with a purpose. Her chapters were also more enjoyable and fun.

Dennard doesn't seem to have the elegant writing style that some authors do, but she does have a fast-paced, compelling style that I seem to enjoy. She also writes extremely snarky and wonderfully sarcastic dialogue that I just can't help but fall for. Safi has a bold personality, which may be the reason for her recklessness, and whenever she and Iseult are talking, I'm bound to be laughing at one of her comments.

Sadly, the world building was horrific. I think I've read enough fantasy novels in which there is an elemental magic system (fire, water, air, earth, aether), and none of them seem to be my cup of tea. This book had so many complicated names and places, it got hard to follow. If there was a guide in the front, perhaps, explaining everything, maybe I'd be okay. ALSO - number of different witch types were absurd. There were like SO MANY and I'm just the type of person who needs to know them ALL. Again, I'd like a book separate just explaining. The magic system also wasn't explained very well. How does one become a witch? Is everyone a witch? There also did happen to be a map in the front although it didn't help much. It was pretty, though! :)

I like Prince Merik, and I enjoyed the romance in this novel, but I just felt like it romance was a bit random. It wasn't exactly instalove, but it was close, as when they first meet, they sort of catch each other's eye and stuff. I adored their love-hate relationship, although it's a bit strange. I'm still rooting for #SAFRIK? #MERFI? It might even be a love triangle with that other guy. *cough*

Overall, Truthwitch was a highly entertaining novel with great pacing. It's not the perfect fantasy, but it's tolerable and enjoyable. I can't wait for the sequel!!

Let's discuss! What did you think about Truthwitch?

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄