a bad day does not negate the progress you’ve made
Even if you have storms in your eyes, a flood in your heart and complete darkness in your mind, you deserve to be here and you deserve to be loved. You are just as worthy on your bad days as you are on your good days. The battles that are going on inside of you do not dermine your worth. Please remember that feeling down from time to time is part of life. You will recover, you will be happy again and you will feel more you than ever. The storm will pass eventually. You are so brave for enduring it and I am so damn proud of you.
red queen series, by victoria aveyard
2015 - 2018, but forever in our hearts
Have you ever done that thing when you’re reading a book and your so engaged that when you snap out of of your book faze you’re genuinely confused that you’re not the main character??
Allegedly 4/5
This book is about Mary B. Addison, a girl convicted of allegedly murdering a baby when she was nine years old and how she tries to uncover the truth when she learns she is pregnant and told she cannot keep her child because she is a ward of the state. In order to discover the truth, she must turn to the person she can’t trust, her mother.
This book had me feeling all of the emotions. Happiness, sadness, confusion, anger and much more. Tiffany D. Jackson, the author, paced the book very well. She dropped subtle hints from time to time about what really happened the night Alyssa died. I liked that she wrote it this way, the fact that I wanted to know what happened and whether Mary would be able to keep her child kept me reading the book for hours and hours at a time.
The setting of the group home and the characters in it was written well. The girls all had distinct personalities and although they were secondary characters they had layers to them as well. All the characters found themselves in the same boat of just trying to survive until they were out of the system. Mary was determined not to let the others girls get to her and focused on taking the SATs and getting into a great College. This is what drives her throughout the book and what keeps her going when she finds out she’s pregnant. Her relationship with the father, Ted, another boy in the system, was well written. They went through what you’d expect teenagers to go through when they discover they’ll be having a baby. Freaking out, making plans, getting frustrated, it was all real. Though I wasn’t exactly a fan of their relationship after some information was shared later on in the book but it was realistically portrayed. Mary’s relationship with her mother was also well written. It was rocky and frustrating but it was real.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book, and I’m sure others who have read this book will agree, is the ending. I felt as though it contradicted everything it was striving for in previous chapters and it also left me confused. But aside from the ending the book altogether was really good and I definitely recommend reading it.
An Ember in The Ashes and A Torch Against the Night - 4.5/5
These. Books. Are. Astounding.
I knew these books were good when I had to cover the last page of each chapter so I didn’t spoil anything for myself. (I would write a summary but then this would be like a four page essay so I’ll let you look it up).
These books are so unique and so well written, I’m having troubling finding words to express my love for them. It moves at a relatively steady pace, the beginning was kind of slow but it picks up really quickly, the characters are extremely well written and complex and the plot makes sense. One thing I really loved about this book was its lead character Laia. I love how Laia is different from other female leads in fantasy novels. Her strength was measured more on the mental and emotional level rather than physical which is something I don’t see a lot of concerning female leads in books. Her progression throughout the first and second book was beautifully and sensibly written.
Onto the second lead of the books, Elias Veturius. When I say he is one the best fictional male characters to exist I mean HE IS ONE OF THE BEST FICTIONAL MALE CHARACTERS TO EXIST. Sabaa Tahir perfectly captures how he internally struggles with who he wants to be and who he should be. Also his internal and external conflicts with the world around him and his family ties. He is a good man though and through and only deserves the BEST.
And last but not least Helene Aquilla. This girl right here is a downright badass. She has a very good dynamic to her character although I only started to truly like her during the second book when she had her own P.O.V. She is a fiercely loyal person (and although I admire this about her there are certain times in the book where it pissed me off a lot).
Now I’m going to talk a little bit about the romance in the book. The romances didn’t exactly play out how I expected them to but I liked that because it made the book unpredictable. There’s obviously a love triangle, well technically a love square buuuuuuut I’m not going to get into that because I don’t trust myself to not spoil it if I do. The only romance that I cared about in these books was the one between Elias and Laia. I love how it wasn’t rushed and that it was still developing well into the second book. I was rooting for these two from the moment they met and I loved how I had a stupid smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach when they were even mentioned in the same sentence.
I also really loved the action sequences, the setting of the book and the different cultures surrounding it. I also really liked how I was able to feel all the emotions. I remember every time I read a part that had the Commandant in it I lowkey pissed my pants. She is truly one of the scariest characters ever.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is how I didn’t like that Helene had feeling for Elias, who she’s been best friends with since his arrival at Blackcliff. It’s just that there are so many books were the best friend is in love with the other one but it’s obvious that they won’t feel the same way and at this point I’m just really tired of seeing that but…
All together these books were amazing and I cannot wait for the third book to be released in 2018.
what she says: i’m fine
what she means: carlos cifuentes was nothing but good to alba and all he got in return were lies and a broken heart so i need the writers to take care of my child from now on
You know it’s a good book when you have to cover the end of the chapter with your hand so that you don’t accidentally spoil it for yourself
- Tommy Wallach, We All Looked Up
(via theperksofbeingabookseller)
