7 Reasons Why I Couldn't Bring Myself to Like: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Title: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Audiobook
Published: February 24th, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: YA - Fantasy - High Fantasy - Magic - Romance
Source: SYNC Summer Free Audiobooks

A startling, seductive, deliciously dark debut that will shatter your definition of YA fantasy.

Sixteen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, no one speaks to her. No one even looks at her. Because Twylla isn't a member of the court.

She's the executioner. As the goddess-embodied, Twylla kills with a single touch. So each week, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason.

No one will ever love her. Who could care for a girl with murder in her veins? Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to her touch, avoids her.
But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose playful smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the goddess. Yet a treasonous romance is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies-a plan that requires an unthinkable sacrifice.

Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

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The Sin Eater's Daughter is a huge disappointment of a book. I think the only thing that salvaged this to 2 stars for me is the twist at the end, which I completely did not expect. Aside from that, I don't even know what to praise anymore. I mean, I guess the story is quite original, but nah, unfortunately, it's not my cup of tea.

Here's why I couldn't bring myself to like this book:
1. The world. The world was basically constricted to Tywlla's room and temple and a few parts of the castle. Yes, there were talk of other Kingdoms, but none of them were explored.

2. The plot. Because the world is constricted to Twylla's room and temple, there was not much of a plot except for the evil queen and the romance. Granted, there were a lot of revelations, but still, the world and plot seemed to be narrow-scoped to me, compared to most fantasy novels.

3. The love triangle. Oh, it was so predictable that she would fall for Lief! I mean, what ever happened to girls wanting to marry Princes as the cliché? In novels nowadays, cliché means loving the other guys, and thus it's what's predictable nowadays.

4. What is up with that ending? The novel has an open-ending that I don't get, and there were many loose ends still not tied. What ever happened to the Kingdom, the prince and Lief? There are still so many questions left unanswered, and overall I'm just not satisfied with that ending.

5. It was a boring read. I didn't feel compelled to read it, and the only reason that I didn't put it down is because I have a hard time not finishing books and feel the need to finish them once I reach pass 50%. I keep waiting for amazing things to happen, but until the twist and after the twist, everything was just boring for me.

6. I can't connect to the characters. Twylla is stupid and both Lief and Merek felt manipulative to me. The queen is evil, we all know that, and her mother is a bitch. Everyone in this novel infuriated me at some point, and I just couldn't find a single character that I liked.

7. Self-pitying Twylla. In the end, Twylla was talking about everything was her fault, bla bla bla, and said that she should stop pitying herself. But what does she do a few pages later? Go back to pitying herself, of course. Ugh, Trylla, you infuriate me!

Overall, I didn't like the world nor the plot, didn't get a proper ending, and dealt with characters that infuriated me. If it were not for the unexpected twist, this would have been a 1-star book. I think it's safe to say that I wasted my time trying to finish this novel, when clearly I didn't connect to it from the start. 

2 stars. Ah, it's okay. 

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Review: Unlit Star by Lindy Zart

Title: Unlit Star
Author: Lindy Zart
Kindle, 258 pages
Published:  May 28th, 2014
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: YA - Romance - Contemporary

We are not guaranteed anything, not even this life.

Rivers Young is the popular guy untouchable by reality. He is like a star—bright, consuming, otherworldly. The thing about stars, though, is that they eventually fall, and he is no different.

He falls far and he falls hard.

Delilah Bana is the outcast enshrouded in all of life's ironies. Alone, in the dark, like dusk as it falls on the world. When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun.

Only, the greater the star is, the shorter its lifespan.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo

"You're saying one day I'll be a butterfly,” he says skeptically. I look up. “I'm saying you've always been one.”

From its synopsis to its simple yet attractive book cover, Unlit Star caught my attention when I first found out about it. I've been wanting to read this book for a while now, and I was lucky enough to finally be sent an email regarding an Amazon book lender. As soon as I got the book, I started reading.

“Something remarkable can always be the result of something devastating, if you choose to find that one positive in a nest of negatives.”

At first I thought I was going to be disappointed by this book. I mean, the writing was beautiful, no doubt, and the story had a lot of potential. But the beginning was just too wordy - full of narratives - and a bit repetitive without revealing anything important. Then as I read on, I felt more and more into the book and I couldn't help but love it.

 “We always think we have more time and that is the wrong way to think, because time is something we never have enough of.”

This book is really amazing. The main story arc is simple and may be a bit cliché, but the whole story really is not like any other I've read. Delilah Bana is a confusing main character with her own very unique personality. She may not seem very realistic at times, but I sure do admire her! Oh, and Rivers! Rivers is such a smooth talker I just want to smack him sometimes, haha! Put these two together and I got an epic love story that made me laugh multiple times, making me look like an idiot in public a while ago.

“And isn't it weird that no one wants to change who they are, yet they aren't even trying to be themselves? Just a thought. We're all so focused on being somebody, and it's usually never the real us.”

Lindy Zart's writing style in this novel really amazed me. Her words flowed really smoothly, like a calm ocean. Everything really worked together and there so many uplifting, inspirational and relatable quotes. There were also so much feels, and the family element is not to be ignored. Both don't have perfect families, but what they have is pretty amazing. Lindy Zart has a powerful way of writing in a way that her one-liners drove so much impact. This book makes me think that I really should read her other works as well. 

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.



Here's also a handwritten typography of my favorite quote from the novel.

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ARC Review: True Letters from a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan

 
Title: True Letters from a Fictional Life
Author: Kenneth Logan
Kindle, 336 pages
Published:  June 7th, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA - Contemporary - Romance, LGBT

If you asked anyone in his small Vermont town, they’d tell you the facts: James Liddell, star athlete, decent student and sort-of boyfriend to cute, peppy Theresa, is a happy, funny, carefree guy.

But whenever James sits down at his desk to write, he tells a different story. As he fills his drawers with letters to the people in his world--letters he never intends to send--he spills the truth: he’s trying hard, but he just isn’t into Theresa. It’s a boy who lingers in his thoughts.

He feels trapped by his parents, his teammates, and the lies they’ve helped him tell, and he has no idea how to escape. Is he destined to live a life of fiction?

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo

To be honest, I was really wary of reading this book at first. I try not to judge the book by its cover (literally), but I judged this book by its cover, and I thought it wouldn't be a great book. But I was reeled in by the fascinating synopsis, and a lot of people gave this one good reviews so I totally didn't listen to my gut and went ahead to request this one. Boy am I glad that I did because this book turned out to be amazing!

"... but I've always been told that I'm straight. And that's the story I was trying to make happen. I didn't come up with the lie. It wasn't mine. They handed the lie to me, and I tried like hell to make it work for a while."

The opening scene made me feel wary of this book when I started reading this because I thought Mark is part of James' close friends, and I just didn't want to read about an asshole friend throughout the hole book. Luckily, it turns out that that's not the case so I was safe. As I read the novel, the more that I liked it.

 ""If you ain't scared standing up for what's right, then you ain't standing up for much."
    - Not Mark Twain"

True Letters from a Fictional Life is more centered on the coming out process of James, and also how he found himself in a relationship with Topher. This book featured the different reactions of the people closest to James, some being more accepting than the others. What's unique about this book is how James explained to Rex, his younger brother, what being gay is because apparently there's a huge misconception on his part. I really liked how the author included someone young in this book, and how he reacted. I also really enjoyed how supportive James' friends and brother were with his coming out.

"Right now it doesn't matter whether you feel courageous. Make them believe you are. You win this one by acting like you're a happy, calm, strong kid, even when you don't feel that way."

The romance of this book is just so cute! I don't know what it is about gay couples, but when done right, I get more feels from them than straight couples. The romance here is not overbearingly sweet or anything like that, but I just really enjoyed it. It's not really centered on the romance either, but I loved the small glimpses of it that the book offered.

"Well, you can always count on some people to be human and others to be monsters, right? That'll never change. That should never surprise you. So practice that smile you're going to flash when other kids insult you. Arm yourself with a few clever one-liners."

Honestly, I don't know what more to say about this book other than I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and light read, even if it features an issue which usually becomes heavy because of the reactions of people when one comes out. Anyway, I read this mostly in just one sitting, and I really liked it!

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

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ARC Review: Suffer Love by Ashley Blake

Title: Suffer Love
Author: Ashley Herring Blake
Kindle, 360 pages
Published:  May 3rd, 2016
Publisher: HMH BOooks for Young Readers
Genre: YA - Romance - Contemporary

“Just let it go.”

That’s what everyone keeps telling Hadley St. Clair after she learns that her father cheated on her mother. But Hadley doesn’t want to let it go. She wants to be angry and she wants everyone in her life—her dad most of all—to leave her alone.

Sam Bennett and his family have had their share of drama too. Still reeling from a move to a new town and his parents’ recent divorce, Sam is hoping that he can coast through senior year and then move on to hassle-free, parent-free life in college. He isn’t looking for a relationship…that is, until he sees Hadley for the first time.

Hadley and Sam’s connection is undeniable, but Sam has a secret that could ruin everything. Should he follow his heart or tell the truth?

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo

Oh hell, no! You did not just give me that ending! After tearing my heart into bits and pieces, that's the ending that I get? This book convinces me that authors are evil and they enjoy seeing their readers get completely attached to the story and characters, only to break the reader's heart in the end and make them cry their eyes out. Mine did break, by the way.

Suffer Love, oh what do I even say about this book? Suffer Love is a heavy-issue book, and I tend to avoid heavy-issue books, so I don't know what got into my head when I read this one. It did what I predicted it would do - make me completely attached and feel every single feeling the main characters were feeling. As cliche and unrealistic as this book seems to be, I still loved it.

Hadley and Sam's love story was doomed from the start. Their parents had an affair with each other - Sam knows, Hadley doesn't. We all know how badly this is going to end, but that didn't stop my heart from breaking anyway when it happened. I hurt for both Hadley and Sam, I hurt for the parents and for Livy who got thrown in the middle of it all. I hurt for Kat and Ajay, who got thrown into the mix anyway.

I really loved all the friendship in this book. How close Sam and Ajay were to each other, in the way that they shared everything with each other. Oftentimes in YA, boy-boy friendships show how boys only talk about shallow stuff and how they would call each other pussies at the mention of real feelings. Ajay and Sam's friendship is full of teasing each other and giving each other crap, but at the end of the day they know everything about each other and are not afraid to be intimate with each other.

Hadley and Kat's friendship, on the other hand, is far from perfect, but they do try. They're willing to say sorry and admit their mistakes, and Kat is always willing to give Hadley the harsh truth no matter what. We still know that she has Had's back though.

And of course, my favorite relationship of all is Sam and Livy's relationship. How willing they are to protect each others backs. How Sam never complained when he had to do all the things for Livy - cooking, looking out for her, etc. Livy, in her own way, also looked out for Sam. I just loved the dynamics between the two - the closeness between two siblings.

Reading Suffer Love is a unique experience that you won't get from just reading any other book. Although I've encountered a lot of heavy-issue books, even books with cheating parents, this one felt different somehow. I don't know what it is about this book, but I sure enjoyed reading it, even though my heart was being torn into a million pieces as I flipped each page onto the next.

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

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ARC Review: Ruined (Ruined #1) by Amy Tintera

Title: Ruined (Ruined #1)
Author: Amy Tintera
Kindle, 368 pages
Published:  May 3rd 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA - High Fantasy - Romance - Magic

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake. 

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo

  Thank you, Amy Tintera, for giving me a new fantasy series that I can excited about! Ah, this book is wonderful, and it kind of hurts that I won’t get to read the second book anytime soon. Amy Tintera created a world that is easy to love, no matter how complicated the politics may be. As you guys may know, I am not much of a fantasy fan, so it always takes me by surprise whenever I really, really enjoy a fantasy novel. And Ruined? Well, Ruined did amazing in the books of a not-so-fantasy-fan. Ruined is told in a dual POV, which I just love so much, so that was definitely an added bonus.

  In Ruina, people are valued for the powers they possess. However, Emelina, a member of the royal family, is regarded as useless because of her lack of powers. When the King of Lera waged a war against Ruina, killed her parents and took her sister hostage, Em pretends to be Princess Mary of Vallos in order to execute a complicated plan to avenge her family and save her sister. As Princess Mary, Em had to marry Prince Casimir of Lera, where she realized that Prince Cas is not what she expected at all.

  One of my absolute favorite things about this book is the blood-pumping action that made it hard to resist to keep turning the pages. My heart was literally pounding because of the action-packed chapters, and I’ve never been more excited while reading a book! I felt everything as though I were the main characters, and that’s just one of the most amazing things ever. Although this book is action-packed, Tintera still managed to make this one well-paced.

  And the romance! The romance just made me feel so giddy. I’m a hopeless romantic, and I just love reading about romances like these. I feel like they’re full of tension, which just makes everything all the more exciting. Em and Cas slowly started seeing more of who the other truly is, and that process of liking each other despite not expecting to do so just makes me happy.

  Ah, Ruined truly is an amazing book, and I just cannot wait for the next books in the series! This is definitely a book that I would recommend. Oh, just please let me have the second book already!

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

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