tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61502162373805446072024-02-19T11:04:07.977+05:30A CLIFFHANGER CRISIS“True stories seldom have endings.
I don't want a happy ending, I want more story.” procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-70950037970778310152020-06-09T09:46:00.000+05:302020-06-09T09:46:42.943+05:30Saga: Compendium One by Brian K. Vaughan (Author), Fiona Staples (Artist)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published August 27th 2019 by Image Comics</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></span></span></h2>
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<i style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">THE ULTIMATE BINGE-READ</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Collecting the first nine volumes of the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series into one massive paperback, this compendium tells the entire story (so far!) of a girl named Hazel and her star-crossed parents. Features over 1,300 pages of gorgeously graphic full-color artwork, including a new cover from Eisner Award-winning </span><b style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">SAGA</b><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> co-creator </span><b style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">FIONA STAPLES.</b></i></div>
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<i style="background-color: transparent; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;">Collects SAGA #1-54</b></i></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>My Review</u></span></b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3WtQO7hkrBXJNWHm-vYYxf-FQ-8ACjkBZenztOpFNvWNpxZkWBNGdp50wmVdx8bpCQfP3ABuzNfFYCESXZNUKa_I5vUDdl6njiQ2Xlksq21moxy-htA4E6xnSe2r1VUEPkfKl9lnUWaS/s1600/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="380" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3WtQO7hkrBXJNWHm-vYYxf-FQ-8ACjkBZenztOpFNvWNpxZkWBNGdp50wmVdx8bpCQfP3ABuzNfFYCESXZNUKa_I5vUDdl6njiQ2Xlksq21moxy-htA4E6xnSe2r1VUEPkfKl9lnUWaS/s200/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Once upon a time, each of us was somebody's kid.</i></span></span></div>
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Everyone had a father, even if he never provided anything more than his seed.</div>
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Everyone had a mother, even if she had to leave us on a stranger's doorstep.</div>
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No matter how we're eventually raised, all of our stories begin the exact same way.</div>
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They all end the same, too.”</div>
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Oh. My. God.<br />
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I don't know where to begin. I don't know what to say. So I'll try to keep it short or I'll end up gushing.<br />
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You know those books that reduce you to a blubbering mess and leave you empty because you can't believe it's over (or in this case on a hiatus) and you love the characters so much that it's a little insane and the withdrawal after the book ends is so bad that you're driven to the dark recesses of the internet in search of fanfiction?<br />
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Yes, Saga was one of <i>those </i>books.<br />
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First of all, I think this compendium is the best way to read this series because:<br />
1. It's way cheaper than buying individual volumes.<br />
2. You can read it one go (which is pretty much the only way you should read it).<br />
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At >1200 pages, it's bulky and can possibly be used as a weapon to inflict some serious injury and it's impossible to lug around. But these are minor inconveniences.<br />
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Okay, now let me begin by talking about the story. It's unlike any other that I've ever read. Brian K. Vaughn just <i>understands </i>fantasy. It's the kind of fantasy that at the first glance is absolutely ridiculous in its absurdity. There are trees that are basically sentient rocket ships, there are inter-species romances, there are giant eggs in space that hatch to give birth to blackhole like creatures...the list is endless. But everything, absolutely <i>everything, </i>fits together so beautifully. All these crazy things become the new normal as you read on. You see giant sex workers with just heads attached to mile long legs without a torso and you're like, okay, this makes sense.<br />
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Secondly, the narration style was sooo captivating. Everything that happens in the book has deep psychological undertones and is totally relatable to our real world at large. The characters were so finely fleshed out that you grow to love them and hate them and root for them.<br />
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Last but not the least, the ART! Oh my Merlin, the art! Such breathtaking, beautiful images. Yes, the number of penises and dead bodies is pretty high throughout the series, but then again this <i>is </i>an adult graphic novel. But hats off to Fiona Staples for making me appreciate the guy who has a tv for a face. Not kidding, he has a literal television screen instead of a face. And somehow, as I read on I swear I could see expressions on his blank tv face. Also, Marko is such a hottie! And just when I thought he couldn't get hotter, Fiona Staples gave him a beard.<br />
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There are so many things I can gush about but I think the best way to go into this series is to go in blind and be <i>very </i>pleasantly surprised. And this series needs to get out of hiatus asap, because that cliffhanger is EVIL.<br />
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Highly recommended for <i>everyone</i>!</div>
procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-65891851932959752412020-06-01T23:48:00.001+05:302020-06-01T23:48:58.777+05:30Review: Watchmen by Alan Moore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Published 2005 by DC Comics </span><nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;">(first published September 8th 1987)</nobr></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="white-space: normal;">One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial best-seller, </span><span style="white-space: normal;">Watchmen</span><span style="white-space: normal;"> has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as </span><span style="white-space: normal;">V for Vendetta</span><span style="white-space: normal;">, </span><span style="white-space: normal;">Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</span><span style="white-space: normal;"> and </span><span style="white-space: normal;">The Sandman</span><span style="white-space: normal;"> series.</span></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3WtQO7hkrBXJNWHm-vYYxf-FQ-8ACjkBZenztOpFNvWNpxZkWBNGdp50wmVdx8bpCQfP3ABuzNfFYCESXZNUKa_I5vUDdl6njiQ2Xlksq21moxy-htA4E6xnSe2r1VUEPkfKl9lnUWaS/s1600/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="380" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3WtQO7hkrBXJNWHm-vYYxf-FQ-8ACjkBZenztOpFNvWNpxZkWBNGdp50wmVdx8bpCQfP3ABuzNfFYCESXZNUKa_I5vUDdl6njiQ2Xlksq21moxy-htA4E6xnSe2r1VUEPkfKl9lnUWaS/s200/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;">“<span style="white-space: normal;">Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?</span></nobr><span style="background-color: white;">”</span></i></span></div>
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This year I had resolved to read all the graphics novels on the essential graphic novel reading list. That included everything from manga to comic books to graphic memoirs. And so far, I haven't been disappointed at all. In fact, as someone who kind of looked down on the entire concept of graphic novels, it has been quite an intellectual awakening for me. Because there is SO MUCH GOOD STUFF out there!</div>
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Watchmen by Alan Moore was naturally on top of the list. The premise itself was so interesting to begin with: dissecting the concept of super heroes, what it means to be a vigilante, do these heroes suffer from the same human failings as common folk do, and who watches these watchmen? It reminded me of the Prime TV show The Boys, where the superheroes are commercialized and are giant assholes who believe that the are not answerable to anyone. Highly recommended show by the way!</div>
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But I digress. We're here to talk about Watchmen. Watchmen tells the story of the rise and fall of self proclaimed vigilantes or super heroes in America during the 1940s to 1980s. Mr. Moore cleverly take historical events like the Vietnam War, World War 2, etc and intertwines these events with the involvement of these vigilantes. He presents entirely human reasons which made these people take up crime fighting in the first place - selfish human reasons like power, thrill, adventure, money, publicity. He examines the murky backdrop of the mundane lives of these heroes behind their costumed public figures. He also tells the story of their interpersonal relationships with one another and how this super group is plagued by the same human problems as the rest of us.</div>
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The story is very beautifully told through vibrant comic panels, newspaper clippings, excerpts from another comic book inside the story and a retired vigilante's autobiography. The characters are distinctly unlikeable and entirely unforgettable and extremely human. It is a dark, dreary and gory dystopia which somehow feels too close to the truth to be comfortable.</div>
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I would highly recommend this brilliant piece of fiction to EVERYONE. And I'll probably go and check out the movie now and crib about how it does not match up to the magic of the book. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor...I am Pagliacci.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>**shivers**</b></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-87987379711974923212020-01-30T10:26:00.000+05:302020-04-15T13:56:16.430+05:30Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Published February 19th 2019 by Vertigo </span><nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;">(first published October 1st 1998)</nobr></b></span></div>
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<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Goodreads Synopsis</b></span></nobr></h2>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Half a crusading epic, half based in Tolkien-esque mythology, Neil Gaiman's award-winning graphic novel fantasy is now back in a brand-new edition!</i></span></b><br />
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><i>Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall—named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...</i></span></span></b></div>
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<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText17021196139248793134"><i style="white-space: normal;"><span id="freeText17021196139248793134"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Neil Gaiman's Stardust</i> features the <i>New York Times </i>best-selling author (<i>The Sandman</i>) and one of the industry's best illustrators at the height of their creative powers.</span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"> </span></i></span></nobr></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFY-uHhfy4rzSYFGsRo8JPykg4FjfK-QhxhZMo0xOYLn1-fUC71YRLa9CdHn9fCnXYS0TtuV7AooQQ4u9NHHFQMZ2Ox68jHKYBnG67O7kziMP1o3Ggj5lXjFjwyS_hh7QqfPwf4ebdcbn5/s1600/star-four-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="1600" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFY-uHhfy4rzSYFGsRo8JPykg4FjfK-QhxhZMo0xOYLn1-fUC71YRLa9CdHn9fCnXYS0TtuV7AooQQ4u9NHHFQMZ2Ox68jHKYBnG67O7kziMP1o3Ggj5lXjFjwyS_hh7QqfPwf4ebdcbn5/s200/star-four-11.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really..."Do the stars gaze back?" Now, that's a question.”</span></i></span></div>
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<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; white-space: normal;">I'd been wanting to try out graphic novels for a very long time. It was just one of those things that I told myself that I would do and I kept procrastinating due to sheer lack of enthusiasm for it. So when I received an illustrated copy of Neil Gaiman's Stardust for my birthday, it was the perfect happenstance. I started reading it with no small amount of reluctance though, because I believed graphic novels were for children. I didn't <i>need </i>nor want pretty pictures in my books to make them more readable.</span></nobr><br />
<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; white-space: normal;"><br /></span></nobr>
<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="white-space: normal;">But I was in for a pleasant surprise. I've always been a big fan of fairy tales: beginning from the sweet, innocent stories of Rapunzel and Cinderella when I was a little girl, to the magnificence of the Arabian Nights, to the the still darker versions of these tales in the original Grimm Brother's stories. There's a certain magical charm to these stories that is timeless.</span></span></nobr><br />
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<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="white-space: normal;">In Stardust, Gaiman channels the same charm and tells the story of young Tristan Thorne who sets out on a quest to win his one true love. On the first look, the premise is nothing new or special. There are evil witches, castles on cliffs, royal politics and backstabbing, face off with monsters, and of course, romance that ends in a happily-ever-after. All the ingredients that would make up a good old fairy tale! But Gaiman manages to take these ingredients and weave it into a fantastic story of adventure and intrigue. His writing style is quite unique, unlike anything that I've read before. He writes like he is one of the bards in a Royal Court who is narrating a saga. The beautiful drawings by Charles Vess just accentuates the mystical quality of it all. I realized that having pretty pictures accompanying the splendid text isn't an irritating add on but an intelligent one.</span></span></nobr><br />
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<nobr class="greyText" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="white-space: normal;">This book isn't for children. There is gore and sex and violence. It can be safely classified as young adult though. I would recommend this book for everyone who loves fairy tales and like their fantasies peppered with romance and drama.</span></span></nobr><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Rating: 4/5 stars!</span></span></div>
procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-72591636349410205122020-01-24T11:11:00.001+05:302020-01-24T11:11:45.330+05:30Review: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Published May 21st 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: white;"><i>The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i><i>In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i><i>For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, FDA officials, and her own employees. When Carreyrou, working at The Wall Street Journal, got a tip from a former Theranos employee and started asking questions, both Carreyrou and the Journal were threatened with lawsuits. Undaunted, the newspaper ran the first of dozens of Theranos articles in late 2015. By early 2017, the company's value was zero and Holmes faced potential legal action from the government and her investors. Here is the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="text-align: left;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">A sociopath is often described as someone with little or no conscience. I’ll leave it to the psychologists to decide whether Holmes fits the clinical profile, but there’s no question that her moral compass was badly askew.</span><span style="text-align: left;">”</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I seldom read non-fiction. Fantasy is where my heart lies. But when this book popped up in my Goodreads recommendations, I couldn't help but be intrigued by its premise. I'd vaguely heard about the infamous Elizabeth Holmes and her now defunct health care startup Theranos. The story of a young self made female billionaire in the Silicon Valley turning out to be a fraud after 15 years of duping investors and the public alike into believing that her company had come up with ground breaking healthcare technology, was sad and riveting at the same time. I decided to break norm and give the book a try.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">What I wasn't prepared for was a tale of insanely audacious fraud, severely compromised morals, a highly toxic work environment, corporate espionage, and at the height of it all, a young woman with a vision who got sidetracked by ambition and lost sight of what's important. Having worked at a "super-unicorn" like Facebook, I'm well familiar with the "move fast, break things" ideology that seems to be so popular in the Valley. The fake-it-till-you-make it approach to problems doesn't pose that much of an issue for software based tech startups, but it takes on a whole new dangerous meaning for health care companies where people's lives are at stake.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Relying on incorrect blood tests that Theranos provided could've proved to be disastrous.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“A false positive might cause a patient to have an unnecessary medical procedure. But a false negative was worse: a patient with a serious condition that went undiagnosed could die.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">John Carreyrou mentions instances in his book from firsthand patient accounts who had fallen prey to a case of false positive, in which the patient lost thousands of dollars on unnecessary tests when the incorrect Theranos blood tests indicated that she might have a stroke. </span><span style="color: #181818;">But even the possibility of either of these two nightmarish scenarios materializing into reality couldn't deter Elizabeth Holmes.</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<span style="background-color: white;">By all accounts, she had a vision that she genuinely believed in and threw herself into realizing. But in her all-consuming quest to be the second coming of Steve Jobs amid the gold rush of the “unicorn” boom, there came a point when she stopped listening to sound advice and began to cut corners. Her ambition was voracious and it brooked no interference. If there was collateral damage on her way to riches and fame, so be it.</span>”</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“...actions that ranged from blackmailing her chief financial officer to suing ex-employees, she had displayed a pattern of ruthlessness...”</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Holmes surrounded herself with powerful people from the very starting (like Rupert Murdoch and Henry Kissinger). She even had a star studded board of directors including people like James Mattis and David Boeis (something that was just for show since she had veto rights and no decision was made without her consent). The rosy image of a future where thousands of blood tests could be performed by taking just a few drops of blood from the finger was so enthralling that companies like Walgreens and Safeway hastened to jump on the Theranos bandwagon after suffering a severe case of FoMo. The absence of peer reviewed medical publications outlining her technology in no way prevented her from establishing a nine billion dollar unicorn in the middle of Valley.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I loved the amount of meticulous detail with which John Carreyrou tells Theranos' story. It is easy to see why he has been the recipient of two Pulitzers. The book has an ominous tone to it. Even though I already knew what was going to happen next, I could feel myself breathless with anticipation as I waited for the events to unfold. The instances where he mentions that the company hired PIs to tail its former employees and how callously people were fired for questioning the way the company operated were particularly jarring.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="background-color: white;">I would highly recommend this book to everyone. It's way more detailed and well structured than the HBO documentary. And this book should be treated not just like a piece of investigative journalism but also as a tale of caution. Because, as Nihar Satpathy has so wisely said: <i>T</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><i>ruth may sometimes appear to be unpalatable and unreasonable. But ultimately, it finds its own way to establish itself.</i></span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-27577427905869215112019-01-08T15:43:00.002+05:302019-01-09T15:42:36.383+05:30Review: Verity by Colleen Hoover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1537519686l/41957126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1537519686l/41957126.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Published December 7th 2018 by Hoover Ink, Inc.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">A standalone romantic thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, releasing December 18th.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“...the things lurking around inside the mind can be just as dangerous as tangible threats.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had forgotten how much I like Hoover's writing sometimes. It isn't that her books have some mind boggling plot lines or because they have something new to offer. It's just the way she writes her characters. She makes her characters seem so real and her books read so easily that it's impossible to put them down. It's very easy to connect to her characters because Hoover knows how to get inside her readers' minds and manipulate their emotions. I've always thought that she is one of those authors who writes angst very well. After reading <i>Verity </i>I realized that she can write creepy even better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Throughout <i>Verity, </i>she creates an eerie atmosphere of foreboding and doubt. I couldn't help but turn page after page, coming up with my own theories as to what might happen next. It was interesting to read about a character who's an author from an author's point of view. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“A writer should never have the audacity to write about themselves unless they’re willing to separate every layer of protection between the author’s soul and their book. The words should come directly from the center of the gut, tearing through flesh and bone as they break free. Ugly and honest and bloody and a little bit terrifying, but completely exposed.”</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was also easy to imagine how writing about fucked up characters might fuck up the author's mind in the process. Because, aren't all fictional characters a piece of the author's soul, however small that piece maybe? Don't the events of a book sometimes have an element of wish fulfillment attached to them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The only issue I had with the book was that even though the plot escalated quickly, the actual climax was a bit meh. The ending felt kind of rushed, almost as if it were an afterthought. It left me feeling dissatisfied and I didn't find it worthy of the buildup.</span></div>
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I had come up with my own crazy little theory that the whole manuscript was written from Verity's husband's POV and <i>he </i>was the actual author in the story, writing under the pseudonym of his wife's name. That would mean that all the crazy things mentioned in the manuscript were his doing and writing them down as though his wife did it was just a way of covering his tracks and putting the blame on her. Yes yes, my mind works in twisted ways.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But overall, it's definitely a great quick one time read that is bound to give you the creeps. <b>Rating: 3/5 stars!</b></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-81296223953528019032019-01-07T13:43:00.001+05:302019-01-07T17:01:37.946+05:30Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Published March 6th 2018 by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>They killed my mother.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>They took our magic.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">They tried to bury us.</span></i></span></div>
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Now we rise.<br />
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Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.</div>
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But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.</div>
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Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.<br />
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Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">What?! What does that even <i>mean</i>? </span>This was such a disappointing read. I'd been steering clear of YA fantasy for a while because I was fed up with the excessively tropey, unoriginal books masquerading as the next best thing in YA. So, I picked up <i>Children of Blood and Bone</i> with no small amount of trepidation, even after all the glowing reviews that it got from trusted reviewers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, it turned out to be an incredibly cliched, surprisingly slow paced, dud of a book. Evil prince who switches sides after falling for the oddball destined to save the world? Check. Meek little best friend who eventually transforms into a badass? Check. Insta-love that blossomed in a span of <i>hours </i>and came in the way of the greater good? Check. Gaahh.. the only thing missing was an unnecessary love triangle and this would've been every other YA fantasy in a 500 page nutshell!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The book started out slow and just got slower. I determinedly slogged through the first 200 pages, thinking that maybe it's just a slow burn that would eventually build up into something interesting, but boy was it a downer! I couldn't care about any of the characters either. The book is told from the perspective of <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Zélie (the dull-as-a-Fourier-Transform protagonist), Amari (the scaredy little rogue princess) and Inan (the incredibly annoying crown prince). None of these characters managed to capture my interest or made me feel anything except scorn at the way they acted throughout the book. Some of the things that they did made zilch sense (hint: partying out in the open without cause for celebration with the enemy at their heels? Ugh. Dumb). The only person who actually had a stable head on his shoulders was </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Zélie's brother Tzain, and even he was as uninteresting as a sack of hay.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The world building was shoddy at best and there was no proper explanation as to how magic or the Gods' will worked. The racial discrimination and violence at the hands of a cruel, tyrannical King may have been intended to throw some light on racial discrimination in Nigeria, but it fell flat and evoked no real sympathy or dread from me. The book was peppered with random events that made little to no sense and just made me more aggravated at the book's length. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Overall, a highly disappointing way to kick off the new year. This makes me so much warier of the entire YA fantasy genre now. It'll be a while before I'll be able to trust the hype again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rating: 2/5 stars!</span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-4957283228610704352017-07-30T18:51:00.000+05:302017-07-30T18:51:41.916+05:30Review: And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1) by Kiersten White<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532l/27190613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532l/27190613.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published June 28th 2016 by Delacorte Press</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“A dragon did not crawl on its belly in front of its enemies, begging for their help. A dragon did not vow to rid the world of infidels, and then invite them into its home. A dragon did not flee its land in the middle of the night like a criminal.</i></span></span></div>
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A dragon burned everything around herself until it was purified in ash.”</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;"><i>“If we were not pushing, fighting, claiming what is ours and challenging what is not yet ours, others would be doing it to us. It is the way of the world. You can be the aggressor, you can fight against crusaders on their own land, or you can stay at home and wait for them to come to you. And they would come. They would come with fire, with disease, with swords and blood and death. Weakness is an irresistible lure.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">This was one book that made me feel ecstatic and ashamed in equal measure- ecstatic because it was enchanting in plot, characterisation, emotion and substance, and ashamed because it made me aware of my ignorance of Eastern European history. I actually mistook Wallachia to be a fictional place initially and only after a sound googling session was I made aware of my folly. The googling session acquainted me with the fascinating history of the Ottoman empire and mde me realise how cleverly Ms White has twisted a few facts and manipulated history to potray Vlad The Impaler as a girl.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Which brings me to the best part of the book- Lada!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;"><i>“On our wedding night," she said, "I will cut out your tongue and swallow it. Then both tongues that spoke our marriage vows will belong to me, and I will be wed only to myself. You will most likely choke to death on your own blood, which will be unfortunate, but I will be both husband and wife and therefore not a widow to be pitied.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; text-align: left;">Even though I'm straight as a ruler, I'd be lying if I denied that I was totally crushing on Lada. I'd expected her to be a badass, but she was in a different class entirely. She was ruthless and efficient (almost to the point of being cruel and callous), independent and brave and fiercely protective of those she cared about at the same time. She was a chaotic mess of emotions and it was sooooo much fun to see her struggle to choose between love and duty, herself and her country. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; text-align: left;">Radu, her brother, was another very interesting character. He was her stark opposite in almost every way- soft to her innate hardness, kind to her callousness, scared to her brash bravery. But his character development came as a complete surprise. It's commendable how flawlessly Ms. White melded his mouse of a character to be a smart, strategic, almost cunning man, while retaining all the essential qualities that made Radu <i>Radu</i>. I can't wait to see how his character shapes up in the later books. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Mehmed's character was also very captivating. It was entertaining to see his transformation from a nobody to an able emperor. The world building was perfect. Nowhere in the 400+ page journey was I bored. There was a subtle build up before any major plot twist, enough to make me squirm with excitement in my seat. Ms. White paints a very vivid picture of the dreary lands of Wallachia, of the opulent wealth of Edierne, of bloody battles and of sexy romantic scenes. It was a delicious mix of characters and emotions and I adored every bit of it. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">The ending was perfect and painful in equal measure. It was kind of meant to be, and at the same time I couldn't help hoping for an alternate one. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I'm eagerly awaiting to get my hands on the sequel and read more of these characters to see them get the ending they deserve. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Highly recommended: 5/5 stars!</span></span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-88264196690518254942017-06-07T11:29:00.000+05:302017-06-07T11:29:22.843+05:30Review: Baaz by Anuja Chauhan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493666382l/35040369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="299" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493666382l/35040369.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published May 1st 2017 by HarperCollins</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Why do they call you Baaz? </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">It means falcon, he replies solemnly. Or bird of prey. Because I swoop down on the enemy planes just like a Baaz would. </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Then he grins. The grey eyes sparkle.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">It s also short for bastard. </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">1971. The USSR-backed India-Mukti Bahini alliance is on the brink of war against the America-aided Pakistani forces. As the Cold War threatens to turn red hot, handsome, laughing Ishaan Faujdaar, a farm boy from Chakkahera, Haryana, is elated to be in the IAF, flying the Gnat, a tiny fighter plane nicknamed Sabre Slayer for the devastation it has wrecked in the ranks of Pakistan s F-86 Sabre Squadrons. </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Flanked by his buddies Raks, a MiG-21 Fighter, Maddy, a transport pilot who flies a Caribou, and fellow Gnatties Jana, Gana and Mana, Shaanu has nothing on his mind but glory and adventure until he encounters Tehmina Dadyseth, famed bathing beauty and sister of a dead fauji, who makes him question the very concept of nationalism and whose eyes fill with disillusioned scorn whenever people wax eloquent about patriotism and war... </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Pulsating with love, laughter and courage, Baaz is Anuja Chauhan's tribute to our men in uniform.</span></i></span></div>
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<b>Rating: 3.5/5 stars</b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>“Hai, Baaz Faujdaar is just so cute, yaar!’</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>‘You ought to see him in his flight overalls, then,’ says a ribald auntyji. ‘The way that G-suit locks around his waist and thighs but leaves all the vital bits uncovered … uff tabaahi!”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">How aptly the salivating auntyji describes Ishaan 'Baaz' Faujdaar- <i>tabaahi </i>indeed! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Anuja Chauhan is my favourite chick-lit author for a reason. None of the other authors I've read in the genre can create more deliciously sexy characters like she can. She manages to turn the most mundane stuff into something totally droolworthy. Her heroes aren't invincible six pack wielding gods who can do no wrong and her heroines aren't perfect little princesses who look resemble Aphrodite. What makes her characters so appealing is how real they are. She manages to make ordinary men in kurta pyjama from freakin' nowhere in bloody Haryana appear positively edible. Her heroines are flawed creatures who make bad decisions and then scramble about to correct them. But they are just <i>sooo</i> enchantingly <i>real</i>! She compels her readers to care for her characters, be it the protagonists or any of the side characters as well. They cry, you cry. They're happy, you're ecstatic. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">And the romance!! Oh god, the <i>romance</i>. It's ....there's no other word for it really... <i>perfect</i>! With just the right amount of flirtatious banter, sexual tension, drama and angst. The plot of course resembles a cheesy, masala bollywood flick through and through. It's almost a guilty pleasure- the fact that I adore it that much. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Baaz</i> is the story of Ishaan 'Baaz' Faujdaar, a 5'6 (yes, he's short) dashing, cocky, young fighter pilot from Chakkahera in Haryana. He's a total family guy, the <i>laadla</i> of his numerous little siblings, although he does have a skewed relationship with his foul tempered step father. His love for adventure and the rapid dhak-dhakking of his heart when he does something particularly adrenaline inducing is what prompts him to join the Indian Air Force. The female protagonist of the story, Tehmina 'Tinka' Dadyseth, nicknamed Tinka because of her tall lanky figure is an army brat herself. She is a pacifist and is staunchly against the concept of war and the warped concept of patriotism that brings about these wars. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">The fates of the two collide during the time the USSR-aided Indian-Mukti-Bahini alliance is on the brink of war with the America-aided Pakistani forces. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">The story was a whirlwind of debonair men in uniform (cue lustful sighs), hilarious situations, action packed fight sequences, toe curling romance, lots of drama and enough masala to put a steaming plate of Delhi's famous <i>paav bhaaji</i> to shame. The colourful menagerie of side characters like Tinka's fiesty aunt or Baaz's loudmouthed besties Raka and Maddy were downright adorable. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Why then, did I knock 1.5 star off my rating, you ask? Giving away the reason would be impossible without giving out spoilers. Let's just say that the ending left a lot to be desired. It felt forced and unnecessary and was a total anticlimax. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">But apart from <i>that</i> little grievance, this little book made me smile from ear to ear, actually snort out loud in a few places and fall in love all over again. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Highly recommended for all the chick-lit lovers out there! </span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-34255677052614931072017-01-29T21:13:00.002+05:302019-01-09T15:40:58.419+05:30Review: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Just because we didn’t end up on the same wave, doesn’t mean we aren’t still a part of the same ocean.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Published August 2nd 2016 by Atria Books</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST</b><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">This book contains graphic scenes and very sensitive subject matter.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.” </i></span></span></div>
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Umm... I have some conflicted views regarding this book. I just can't seem to make up my mind about how much of this book I actually liked. It showed up in my Goodreads feed when it won the annual award for the best Romance novel and many of the reviewers whose taste in books match my own were raving about it. So I thought, <i>Yeah! I should give this one a try!</i> I went into it with some inhibitions since I'm not the biggest Colleen Hoover fan. Though her stories read very easily and the flow she establishes is flawless, they aren't as plot rich or have enough character development for my taste. </div>
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So, <b>the things I liked about the book were</b>:</div>
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1. <b>The theme</b>. After reading the blurb I was kind of expecting a love triangle. But <b>the book was about an important topic and sent out a powerful message.</b> I would have liked to say something else about this, but I can't really do that without giving away spoilers. And I, like several other reviewers, believe that going into this book blind would probably make the reader enjoy the book more. </div>
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2. I liked all the <b>characters</b> in the book. Even the ...<i>ahem</i>... negative ones, though there is no negative character per-say. There are just normal people who are caught in bad situations. And <b>Hoover writes their emotional turmoil very beautifully</b>. There were instances in the book when I nearly cried at their misery, primarily because no one was at fault and because the situations described in the book were very real situations that probably happen every day in multiple households. </div>
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3. The<b> flow of the story</b>. Yes. Like I mentioned before, it's the best thing about this author. Once I start a book, the words flow so easily that it's impossible to put it down. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“He pulls back to look down at me and when he sees my tears, he brings his hands up to my cheeks. “In the future... if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again... fall in love with me.”</span></i></span></div>
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4. The part about <b>Lily's diary entries which she addressed to Ellen Degeneres</b>. This was a fun and quirky habit that I loved. </div>
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Now,<b> the things that I didn't like</b>:</div>
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1. <b>Insta everything</b>. Ugh. I hate when authors do this. Ryle and Lily meet at a rooftop one night and <i>ZAP</i>! Instant attraction! He tells her that he wants to fuck her and she's breathless with desire for him. **<i>pulls a meh face</i>** And what was with all of Ryle's creepy behaviour? Was it supposed to be sexy? Well, it wasn't. And if it wasn't enough that there was insta love, there was also insta friendship! Lily and Issa meet and<i> BAM</i>! They are instant BFFs. </div>
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2. <b>The part of the book where everything was sickeningly perfect and everybody was deliriously happy</b>. Seriously, it was very fake and irritating. </div>
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I might also be a <b>little put off by the ending, even though in retrospect it was perfect</b>. But I was just hoping so strongly for everything to be all right. But then again, that's life. :-( And the world is not a wish granting factory. </div>
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All in all, an okay one time read. </div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-2359834959428835972017-01-27T10:38:00.000+05:302017-01-27T10:38:19.399+05:30Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published July 26th 2016 by Crown</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“If there are infinite worlds, how do I find the one that is uniquely, specifically mine?” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">“Are you happy with your life?” </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.” </i></span></span></div>
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Oh. My. God.</div>
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This was me throughout the book, right from the very first chapter. </div>
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And this was me near the end. </div>
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<i>Dark Matter</i> is so <b>artfully written</b>, the <b>plot so amazingly crafted</b>; there really is <b>not much scope for dislike at all</b>. It was a <b>total nail biting page turner from start to finish</b>. And <b>there's this sense of doom and paranoia that the author creates, that was palpable throughout the book</b>. I was constantly at the edge of my seat, clutching my iPad with shaking fingers, almost afraid to find out what was to happen next.</div>
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And it made me feel oh-so-small, like an insignificant little blot compared to the infiniteness of the universe (or in this case, the 'multiverse'). The book begins with our MC, poor Jason Dessen, being abducted and tossed into an alternate reality that is nothing like his own. It's a topsy turvy place where he's a legendary genius but without his beloved family. And this is where shit hits the fan. Teemed up with an unlikely ally, Jason tried to make it back home- a job that is much more difficult than it sounds.<b> The author writes Jason's rage, helplessness and determinedness very beautifully.</b> I was moved by his suffering, by the very idea that he couldn't reach home, that he was trapped amidst infinite possibilities, unable to figure out which one is his.</div>
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<b>The author has also written all the scientific explanations very thoughtfully</b>. Everything makes sense and nothing is out of place. <b>It is neither too abstract nor too detailed, but just the right amount</b>. I also loved the entire concept of people being the sum total of their choices and the choices they might have made. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“We're more than the sum total of our choices, that all the paths we might have taken factor somehow into the math of our identity.” </span></i></span></div>
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The entire idea of an infinite reality tree, sprouting new branches every time a person is confronted with multiple choices was mind bogglingly awesome. Then there was also the irresistible but extremely questionable idea of having a clean slate. <b>If somehow you could switch realities, having seen the consequences of an apparently wrong choice, would you? Or is it better to live with your choices and learn?</b> That was a real toughie! And it led to me having sympathy for the negative characters in the book too, because regret is a very tangible thing, and I totally got where the crazy desperation was coming from. </div>
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<b>This book was scientific, mysterious and emotional rollercoaster and it rendered me breathless with it's pace and intensity. </b>Highly recommended for everyone! </div>
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And one last quote perhaps?</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">“It's a troubling paradox -I have total control, but only to the extent I have control over myself.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">**slinks away to contemplate life, universe and everything.**</span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-78620900357317423232017-01-24T13:18:00.003+05:302017-01-24T13:21:08.201+05:30Review: On Every Street by Karina Halle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Published March 9th 2013 </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Metal Blonde Books</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">“You know,” he began, voice low and full, “if you were to ever leave me, I’d come looking for you, on every street.” </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">“You promise?” </span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">“Always.” And I knew he kept his promises.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>Ques: Romantic or creepy?</b></span><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">When young con artist Ellie Watt decides to call herself Eden White and go after the drug lord who ruined her as a child, she never expects to fall for one of his henchmen. But Javier Bernal is no ordinary man. Subtly dangerous and overwhelmingly seductive, Eden finds herself passionately in love with Javier, the very person she's set-up to betray. With her body and heart in a heated battle against her deep need for revenge, no one will walk away from this con a winner.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Takes place six years before Sins & Needles. It can be read before or after Sins & Needles and may also be read as a standalone.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Any love that starts out under a lie is bound to kill you. I just didn’t want to die on my feet.” </i></span></div>
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I read the first book of the <i>Artists Trilogy</i> ie. <i>Sins and Needles</i> quite a while ago. It was a lot of fun as far as smutty action packed mafia romances go. I never got around to reading the sequels and it was only by chance that this novella showed up in my Goodreads feed... and I thought to myself <i>'What the hell! I'm in the mood for some morally questionable romance!'</i> and I picked it up with almost zero expectations. </div>
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But it was just <b>so addictive</b>! I finished it in one seating flat. There's just something irresistible about forbidden love, isn't it? Also, there is a telltale feeling of doom right at the beginning of the book. You know things aren't going to end well. But Halle writes the romance so sexily, that you just can't help but root for the doomed couple. Ellie Watt, our favourite congirl from the <i>Artist Trilogy</i> is back in this book, set about six years prior to the first book (<i>Sins and Needles</i>). Although this one can be read as a standalone, it did explain a lot of stuff that was left unaccounted for in <i>Sins and Needles</i>. I completely got where Ellie's paranoia came from, Javier's obsession with finding Ellie, the whole background story about their supposed great romance and it's painful ending. </div>
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Also, Javier's character wasn't all that significant in <i>Sins and Needles</i> but we get a look at him now. And boy is he one hot son of a bitch! And I totally agree with Ellie when she says, </div>
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<i><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“He was a kinky motherfucker, that’s for sure.”</span></i></div>
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You'd think that all the foreplay talk he came up with would be cheesy or just plain gross, but sometimes it's hot as hell instead. Plus the whole aura of power he has, the knack of getting things done, passion almost bordering on violence... well I won't lie... it's <b>SEXY</b>! Then there are some instances when he actually shows a vulnerable side and then I just find myself melting into a big gooey puddle. He was a gentleman sometimes, he was downright animalistic a few seconds later. The personality switches were rapid and <b>FUN</b>! </div>
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Then there was Ellie. I liked how Halle writes her struggle so well. She's a novice as far as conning goes but she is determined to get vengeance from the man who ruined her life. She is a risk taker. She is headstrong. But what she didn't bargain for was Mr. Sex-On-Legs Javier Bernal. It was just so very human to see her desire for revenge crumbling in the face of new found love. </div>
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<b>I loved the analogues with song lyrics, as is evident from the title of the book itself</b>. I liked all the songs the author mentioned in the book. <b>The sex was a bit over the top.</b> That was probably what prompted me to knock off a star or two off the rating. But then <b>stories with a lot of smut are just not my thing</b>. <b>But the romance was oh so good</b>. The ending of course was heartbreaking and I feel like I need a Javier POV to straighten things out. **hint, hint** ;-)</div>
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<b>A great, swift, hot read to warm you all over!</b> Rating: 3.5/5 stars!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Vengeance is a beast, you know. It can be tamed. I just stopped feeding it.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;">AAhhh... if only! :-(</span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-45084725238048494352017-01-23T10:52:00.000+05:302017-01-23T10:52:34.992+05:30Review: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S King<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“I was also built from delusional optimism and folly.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span id="freeText3468900954517748948" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.<br /><br />So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?<br /><br />Edgy and gripping, <u>Please Ignore Vera Dietz</u> is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising.</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I knew not to give the best of myself to the worst of people.” </span></i></span></div>
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You know those kind of books that build up a lot of momentum throughout? The books that begin with a crazy prologue and continue with an element of utter mystery and there are flashbacks and subsequent revelations as the mystery unravels? Sometimes you are able to predict what might happen, what the big secret is. But some books leave you with your mouths hanging open, eyes wide, almost breathless with the knowledge of the secret that has been divulged. </div>
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<b><i>Please Ignore Vera Dietz</i> was one of the books with a lot of built up momentum, a lot of anticipation</b>. There was something about the writing style that put me on edge and made me flick the pages faster, eager to get to the end. The book begins with a death and then deals with the events that led up to it and its aftermath. There were a lot of things I loved about the book. There was the fascinating character of Vera, who was so realistic in her troubles and her approach towards living life. She is tired of turning a blind eye to all atrocities going around her, like she has been taught to do so by her cautious parents. She's just a teenager harbouring some secrets of her own, trying to become invisible. I loved her little eccentricities, her love for her Dad and Charlie, her desire to do the right thing.</div>
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Her best friend Charlie was her complete opposite- wild, unrestrained, rebellious, excessively passionate, holding out a lot of suppressed anger. It was impossible to really <i>like</i> Charlie, not with everything he did. But it was possible to feel a little sympathy for him. He was just a kid in need of a little love, a little affection, some reassurances. Then there was Vera's Dad. Described as excessively cautious and parsimonious, you'd think that he'd be an unlikeable character. Instead, I liked him best. He is a loving and caring parent who is unsure as to how to raise a teenage daughter all by himself. He is plagued by demons of his own, the greatest of them being that his daughter might turn out to be an alcoholic due to the strong alcoholic genes that run in his family. He is unsure how to be happy or let go of the past. He is almost as vulnerable as his daughter. </div>
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I loved, loved, loved Vera's Dad's flowcharts concerning life. Here's one of them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKrd1NWkT_tGHOkbI1AxSCXN1uEvxU4QMqDbNjS7Dw8cptcyjv0LqPQWG50divyAYOmlR_d4r_OudPnAa6L7W9HvEA5BVW41fgjNQg2XK5tipwtcggF_ua2E3cyZLK983Vs37-FjKHhyH/s1600/VeraDietz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKrd1NWkT_tGHOkbI1AxSCXN1uEvxU4QMqDbNjS7Dw8cptcyjv0LqPQWG50divyAYOmlR_d4r_OudPnAa6L7W9HvEA5BVW41fgjNQg2XK5tipwtcggF_ua2E3cyZLK983Vs37-FjKHhyH/s1600/VeraDietz.jpg" height="640" width="396" /></a></div>
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It made me think- if only life was really as straightforward as these flow charts, things would be a helluva lot easier. </div>
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<b>The book deals with death, teenage angst, friendship and a lot of problems like domestic abuse, perversity etc in a great way. </b></div>
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Then again, there were several things that I did <i>not</i> like. For instance, the character of the antagonist in the book was not very greatly shaped. The author tells us that indeed they are the devil's incarnate but gives no reason whatsoever as to why that is. There was no real reason or motive for whatever that happened. Also, <b>the ending left a lot to be desired.</b> All that build up, all that anticipation, amounted to almost nothing and the ending was superbly meh. A lot of things were left unexplained and it just seemed hastily put together. </div>
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All in all, it was a slightly unsatisfactory although entertaining read. </div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-11086036105153737672017-01-04T13:46:00.001+05:302017-01-07T12:52:03.126+05:30Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Published June 7th 2016 by HarperTeen</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“On everyone’s lap rested a book. Any book. In case the wedding got boring.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In </span><span style="text-align: left;">My Lady Jane</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of </span><span style="text-align: left;">The Princess Bride</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane is about to become the Queen of England.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>My Review</u></b></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What an amazing way to kickstart 2017! Yeah indeed, this book pleaseth me greatly. ;-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You know you've struck gold when the dedication of the book goes something like:</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">For everyone who knows there was enough room for Leonardo DiCaprio on that door.</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">And for England. We’re really sorry for what we’re about to do to your history.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">I picked this one up because I was in the mood for something light and of course there's this whole fascination I have with modern retellings of the Tudor era. I expected some light hearted rom-com stuff, but nothing could have prepared me for the <b>super cutesy fluff and hilarious laugh-out-loud jokes </b>that the trio of authors dished out in this <b>rib-tickling (and splendidly inaccurate) retelling of English history</b>. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818;">People who are anal about not messing with history or to whom a healthy dose of entirely illogical and </span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">inappropriate humour does not appeal too much, will not be great fans of this book. But if you are looking for a quick comic read with a dash of <b>endearing romance</b> thrown in, this is the book for you. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">I loved how the book overrode gender stereotypes of the olden era; how every female character in the book was a definite badass and how the male ones were gloriously supportive and how they broke through their sexist ideologies to rediscover their beliefs. There were impossible situations and impossible solutions. There was subtle toe-curling romance and characters so enchantingly cute, that all I wanted was to bring them to life and then cuddle them to death. <b>There was politics, backstabbing, power hungry royals, our favourite dish which is best served cold and tons of drama.</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">“No horse jokes," he said.</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">"My lord, I apologize for the horse joke. If you put down the book---unharmed!---I will give you a carrot."</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">He brandished the book at her. "Was that a horse joke?"</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">"Neigh."</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">"Was </span><span style="text-align: left;">that</span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; text-align: left;"> a horse joke?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*snorts indelicately* Just read it. :-)</span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-11507077945015499382017-01-01T22:18:00.000+05:302017-01-01T22:18:46.822+05:30Happy 2017 Folks!! The Customary Come-Back Post :-)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Merlin, it feels so good to be hammering away words on the keyboard for my blog again. I've neglected my baby for far too long, courtesy of the ridiculously monotonous yet busy life at an engineering college. But as the four years of my BTech studies are drawing to a close, I've made a mental note to update my blog regularly.<br />
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There is indeed nothing quite as blissful as raving about a great book you just read, fawning over some character you just fell in love with, ranting about some book that wasn't quite to your liking, or maybe just lamenting about the withdrawal you suffer after finishing an amazing series.<br />
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I've also decided to let my other written material see the light of the day! :D Yep, you guessed right! <i>A Cliffhanger Crisis</i> will no longer be solely about book reviews, but will also have a few of my own original written pieces. Reviews, comments, constructive criticism, appreciation, any reaction at all actually will be greatly appreciated.<br />
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And third item on my to-do list is to try out all the genres out there that I have left unexplored, ranging from graphic novels to manga to magical realism. Who knows what hidden gems I might find! So feel free to leave suggestions in comments.<br />
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So, here's to hoping that 2017 brings a lot of bookish-goodness for us all! :-) Looking forward to sleepless nights and tons of cliffhangers. </div>
procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-27552373059979701582016-05-01T10:17:00.001+05:302016-05-01T10:17:30.734+05:30Review (Part #1): The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Grisha trilogy had been on my TBR forever. I read the
spinoff- <i>Six of Crows</i>- first, and
fell in love with Ms. Bardugo’s fictional world of the Grisha and <i>otkazat'sya</i>
alike. There was something terribly alluring about cunning conman Kaz Brekker
and his crew of misfits. Their daring and perilous journey to pull of the greatest heist in the world, written in such an
enchanting way, prompted me to finally give the Grisha trilogy a chance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And boy, was that the best decision ever!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The trilogy was mindblowing in all senses of the word, with a
richly woven story set in the backdrop of an elaborately crafted fantasy world, with all the ingredients of a perfect YA series chucked into it. There was nail biting action, unpredictable plot changes, subtle but toe curling romance, swoonworthy heroes, badass villains and a intriguing plot. There is so much I want to say about these books that it's almost impossible to decide where to begin! Starting from the beginning sounds like a good idea though. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, this review will be in two parts. The first one will cover the first book in the series and the second one will be about the other two. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Book 1: Shadow and Bone</u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Published: June 5th 2012</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><b><u>My Review</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Starting off on a positive note...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Things I adored:</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>1. The concept of Grisha magic/The world building</u></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Everything in the world could be broken down into the same small parts. What looked like magic was really the Grisha manipulating matter at its most fundamental levels.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Marie didn’t make fire. She summoned combustible elements in the air around us, and she still needed a flint to make the spark that would burn that fuel. Grisha steel wasn’t endowed with magic, but by the skill of Fabrikators, who did not need heat or crude tools to manipulate metal.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ms Bardugo came up with an interesting explanation for the existence of magic. It was quite possibly one of the most plausible magical theories I've read in fantasy books. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“The grounding principle of the Small Science was “like calls to like,” but then it got complicated. Odinakovost was the “thisness” of a thing that made it the same as everything else. Etovost was the “thatness” of a thing that made it different from everything else. Odinakovost connected Grisha to the world, but it was etovost that gave them an affinity for something like air, or blood, or in my case, light. Around then, my head started swimming. </i></span><i style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One thing did stand out to me: the word the philosophers used to describe people born without Grisha gifts, otkazat’sya, “the abandoned.” It was another word for orphan.”</i><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>2. The Darkling</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">AAghh! For the love of droolworthy antagonists everywhere! The Darkling's character was so spot on- dark, dangerous, broody, shrouded in mystery, with a hidden softer side. Also, I <i>cannot</i> be the only one who thinks that the title- <i>The Darkling- </i>seems deliciously badass!<i> </i>He was an irresistibly hot mess of awesomeness. He's the kind of guy most sensible girls (including me) would shy away from in real life, and yet he makes the pages of the book come alive. It was impossible for me to hate on him or make way past his ruthless, shrewd and sexy avatar. A well deserved entry to the Book BFs list for sure! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><u>3. The Plot</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A plot is to books what dessert is to a multiple course dinner. A book can have great characters or excellent writing style, but the presence of an intriguing plot is what makes it complete. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Shadow and Bone didn't disappoint in terms of story at all. Although the book started out slowly, it picked up pace somewhere near the middle with an unpredictable plot twist, and gave way to an excellent action-packed storyline. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Things that seemed meh:</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><u>1. Alina Starkov</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It seems a like a big drawback for the protagonist of a book to be unlikeable. Fortunately, Alina Starkov was possibly the only major thing wrong with the book. She was whiny and needy. I understood that these traits stemmed from her upbringing as an orphan but having such low self esteem got real old real fast. She was kind of obsessed with her looks, always whining to herself about how very plain and unattractive she was. I also understood her desire to be cherished and loved, but her flitting from Mal to Darkling to Mal etc just made her seem fickle and impressionable. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><u>2. Obsession with beauty </u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now this is one thing that YA books are filled of. I won't lie; attractive characters do draw in the readers but there is a balance authors need to find to avoid making it look extremely repetitive. It seems highly unrealistic that every major character in the book has to be drop dead gorgeous. Imperfect characters with imperfect looks can also be very loveable indeed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Shadow and Bone had too much emphasis on beauty- whether it be Grisha good looks fuelled by the use of their power or Mal's otkazat'sya magnificence. Even the protagonist, Alina, seemed hopelessly fixated on beauty as well. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Overall reaction:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But inspite of these little grievances, the book was a downright unputdownable treat from start to finish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Highly recommended to all fantasy/fiction/romance lovers out there! Rating: 4/5 stars!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Book Trailer:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Look at this awesome book trailer with such a catchy soundtrack!</b></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/exhdELDNZT8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/exhdELDNZT8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Comment about the fancast that you envision for the book! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think that Theo James would make a wonderful Mal. Choosing the Darkling seems difficult though, because he's so irresistible in the books. And perhaps Chace Crawford as Nikolai?</span>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-72513896797147525012016-04-30T11:14:00.000+05:302016-04-30T11:16:37.854+05:30Blog Hop: Feature and Follow #4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h2 style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6f4f77; font-family: 'Crete Round', Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">
3 FAVOuRITE HEROINES, BOOKS THEY’RE IN, AND WHY YOU LOVE THEM.</h2>
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It was difficult to choose just 3 but here they are (in no particular order):</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #38761d;">1. Celaena Sardothien (The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas)</span></u></b></div>
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<a href="http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n601/G_Scar/Throne%20of%20Glass%20Downloads/HeirofFireAUSCelaenaWallpaper1366x768_zpsec228263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n601/G_Scar/Throne%20of%20Glass%20Downloads/HeirofFireAUSCelaenaWallpaper1366x768_zpsec228263.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">I loved Celaena's character. She was everything I love in a female protagonist- cunning, brave, decisive...a bit cocky and arrogant (but I guess she's allowed that liberty by virtue of being THE most feared and revered assassin of the Kingdom). She is definitely not a damsel in distress and and can kick butt of men four times her size. I liked that she was clear about her priorities and wasn't afraid to take a stand for what she thought was right. Her impulsiveness and straight forward behaviour were also appreciable. I loved that being a badass in no way stopped her from being distinctly girlish- what with her love for parties, beautiful dresses, music or boys. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me.”</span></i></span><br />
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<b><u><span style="color: #38761d;">2. Scarlett O' Hara (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)</span></u></b></div>
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Scarlett is possibly one of the most flawed heroines of all time. Then you must be wondering that what the hell is she doing on my list! Well, it is precisely because she was so flawed. Her character was so beautifully and painstakingly crafted by Miss Mitchell- be it her extreme stubbornness, her innate selfishness, her bitchiness, the love that she bore for her family, her obsession with a married man, the love she had for her own husband...</div>
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There is no one way to describe her complex character. Yes, I despised her for a major portion of the book. I felt bad for her. I admired her And then I loathed her again. I wanted her to be punished for her selfishness. I wanted her to get rewarded for her resourcefulness and bravery. She was courageous and manipulative, thick skinned and pigheaded. She was a rollercoaster of emotions! One of the best female protagonists of all time!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Hunger gnawed at her empty stomach again and she said aloud: 'As God is my witness, and God is my witness, the Yankees aren't going to lick me. I'm going to live through this, and when it's over, I'm never going to be hungry again. No, nor any of my folks. If I have to steal or kill - as God is my witness, I'm never going to be hungry again.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><b><u>3. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series by JK Rowling)</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 21px;">Need I say much about this awesome character? Let's just say the the wizarding world wouldn't have been freed from the tyranny of one noseless douchebag if it hadn't been for this beauty with brains. </span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-2952166152962901812016-04-10T16:40:00.000+05:302016-04-10T16:40:05.264+05:30REVIEW: FANGIRL by RAINBOW ROWELL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published September 10th 2013 by St. Martin's Press</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><em>A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.</em> </strong><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Cath is a Simon Snow fan.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><b><u>My Review</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“There's nothing more intoxicating than creating something from nothing. Creating something from yourself."</i></span></span></div>
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It's not very often that I come across books that show me a reflection of myself, books that are so eerily relatable that it almost seems as if the author was thinking of me while writing it. This was one of those books. Every single fanboy and fangirl will be able to relate very strongly to the quirky protagonist Cath and the entire general theme of the story. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“I'm the kind of girl who fantasizes about being trapped in a library overnight.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“The whole point of fanfiction is that you get to play inside somebody else's universe. Rewrite the rules. Or bend them. The story doesn't have to end. You can stay in this world, this world you love, as long as you want, as long as you keep thinking of new stories.” </i></span></span></div>
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Cath's fascination with the Simon Snow franchise, her compulsion towards fanfiction, the bond she shares with fellow fans even when they're complete strangers, queueing up outside book stores hours before the book release to get a copy of the novel, the truckloads of Simon Snow merchandise that is the pride of her collection, having a completely different online persona amidst a fandom and getting teary eyed at the mere thought of the end of her favourite series- all of this and more made me nostalgic of the Harry Potter days. It wasn't long before I was reminiscing about that time in middle school where my little world revolved around JKR's franchise and the biggest problem in my life was the return of giant douchebag Lord Voldemort and his masked-and-pretentiously-named cronies. </div>
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In short, this book was unlike anything I've ever read. The story of Cath begins with her arrival at college- a world completely different from the one she's used to. Her beloved twin sister no longer wants to share a room with her, her new roommate is an intimidating badass, her roommate's boyfriend constant presence is unnerving (especially since she's weirdly attracted to him), her fiction writing class is a disaster as it appears that the only thing she wants to write is Simon Snow fanfiction, her long absconding Mom wants to reconnect and of course there is the whole big issue of socialising. Out of her depth and comfort zone, Cath tries to flounder through it all, learning new life lessons along the way. I loved her bizarre analogies and the unconventional way in which she described things. Her peculiar adjectives had me conjure vivid imagery in my mind throughout the course of the novel. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Levi's eyebrows were pornographic. If Cath were making this decision just on eyebrows, she would have been "up to his room" a long time ago.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“God, his chin. She wanted to make an honest woman of his chin. She wanted to lock it down.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“His mouth was small, but bowed. Like a doll's. She wondered if he had trouble opening it wide enough to eat apples.” </i></span></span></div>
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The writing was natural and engaging, the characters were absolutely adorable and while there wasn't much plot development to the story there was a certain realness to it that made the book unputdownable. Highly recommended with 5/5 stars!</div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-88951174147895416422015-07-21T14:03:00.001+05:302015-07-21T14:04:20.639+05:30Review: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865374l/82434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865374l/82434.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published May 9th 2006 </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b> Knopf Books for Young Readers </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“People with lost personalities will suffer a great deal more than those with lost virginities.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Goodreads Synopsis</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A compelling story of romance, family, and friendship with humor and heart, perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Lauren Myracle.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastian’s, a boys' school that pretends it's coed by giving the girls their own bathroom. Her only female companions are an ultra-feminist, a rumored slut, and an impossibly dorky accordion player. The boys are no better, from Thomas, who specializes in musical burping, to Will, the perpetually frowning, smug moron that Francesca can't seem to stop thinking about.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there's Francesca's mother, who always thinks she knows what's best for Francesca—until she is suddenly stricken with acute depression, leaving Francesca lost, alone, and without an inkling of who she really is. Simultaneously humorous, poignant, and impossible to put down, this is the story of a girl who must summon the strength to save her family, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>My Review</b></u></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBpf2YFSdbBRSKSgSOG6i6l7gCYNQkrovRasf7FY9kHgkPEB8Ov5ztYElVU9M6I9b5jZIBLl7EbWbVp3zAV5LBI8zDwJylJKuTr3Y1GVTAZ6CmYg6rYit0jkTodS-Ei0BSiUJUoQN3d_b/s1600/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBpf2YFSdbBRSKSgSOG6i6l7gCYNQkrovRasf7FY9kHgkPEB8Ov5ztYElVU9M6I9b5jZIBLl7EbWbVp3zAV5LBI8zDwJylJKuTr3Y1GVTAZ6CmYg6rYit0jkTodS-Ei0BSiUJUoQN3d_b/s200/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Comfort zones are overrated. They make you lazy.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow. This was amazing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Never have I encountered such a gut twistingly honest version of teenage life in contemporary fiction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are no sexy beasts with six packs, no murderous bitches out for blood, no insta love and no same lame back stories.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No. There is Francesca, a reluctant transfer from an all girls school to the newly turned coed St Sebastian. And there is her feisty, always-ready-for-revolution mom, suddenly battling with acute depression; and her happy-go-lucky father who is not so optimistic anymore, and her little brother who huddles with her as they wait for things to go back to how they should be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then there is Francesca's group- just a bunch of grudging teens thrown together because there is nowhere else to go and a couple of teachers who say just the right things to perk up a student. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And there are <i>emotions</i>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Merlin! So many emotions. Truckloads of them. And everyone of these emotions were so gloriously glorious because they were just so <i>real</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“I miss the Stella girls telling me what I am. That I'm sweet and placid and accommodating and loyal and nonthreatening and good to have around. And Mia. I want her to say, "Frankie, you're silly, you're lazy, you're talented, you're passionate, you're restrained, you're blossoming, you're contrary."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I want to be an adjective again. But I'm a noun. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>A nothing. A nobody. A no one.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">There are no perfect boys who say perfect things. There are just awkward, horny teenagers who fart and crack dirty jokes at inappropriate moments and make you laugh. There are boys who love sports they can't play to save their lives and boys who have hearts as soft as marshmallows and try to act as tough as nails. There are boys who think with their penises, boys who think with their hearts, boys who think too much and boys who don't think at all. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“For a moment I can't help thinking how decent he is - that there's some hope for him beyond the obnoxious image he displays. Maybe deep down he is a sensitive guy, who sees us as real people with real issues. I want to say something nice. Some kind of thanks. I stand there, rehearsing it in my mind.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"Oh my God," he says, "did you see that girl's tits?"</span></i></span></div>
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Maybe not today.” </div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">There are no bitchy girls or good girls or stupid girls or rebels. There are your average selfish teens in search of companionship, girls who roughhouse the boys at basketball and cry during cheesy romantic movies, girls who crush at the cute guy at the bus stop and fangirl about him over late night pillow talks and girls who stick together after swearing at each other in ugly fights, girls who claim that they've had enough with sexism and girls who'd rather have popularity than personality. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I think I'm a bit in love with these girls. They make me feel giddy. Like I haven't a care in the world. Like I'm fearless."</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ms Marchetta created such a colourful menagerie of characters and wove such a simple but heartfelt story around them that the book was absolutely unputdownable. The simplest, most childish phrases like <i>killing ourselves laughing</i> and <i>duh brain</i> had me grinning like a goof at the realness of it all.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">An endearing feel good read!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Highly recommended : 5/5 stars!</span></span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-87430920633556395892015-07-17T13:15:00.003+05:302015-07-17T13:19:06.809+05:30Blog Hop: Feature and Follow #3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A good way to get more followers is by joining the #FF Feature & Follow Hop!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How does this work? The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools — keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them “hi” in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Thanks for stopping by!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 20px; line-height: 32px;"><b>Q: If you had the money what would your personal library look like? What would be in it? What colours, decoration etc would you put in it?</b></span></span></div>
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That's one loaded question indeed!<br />
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Umm...well let's see. First and foremost, I would love my personal library to be either in the loft or in the basement! I love the idea of having a library in a secluded portion of the house, like a world different form reality, a safe haven, my own little clubhouse with a trapdoor! :P<br />
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It would be warm and well lit, with a gigantic comfy couch and soft rugs to read on for hours on end.</div>
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A fancy desktop, a large bulletin board and some flashy posters would complete the look. </div>
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And if I'm being really self indulgent I might just get a high tech security system for the place to keep people away from my pretties. :D What? I'm possessive about my books like that.<br />
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And while none of these pictures do justice to what I have in mind, I liked the look and feel of these little libraries. </div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-54659161260791647572015-07-13T19:56:00.000+05:302015-07-13T19:57:02.268+05:30Review: Made You Up- Francesca Zappia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Published May 19th 2015</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> Greenwillow Books</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Sometimes I think people take reality for granted.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">Silver Linings Playbook</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">, and </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">Liar</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><u><b>My Review</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">“I didn't have the luxury of taking reality for granted. And I wouldn't say I hated people who did, because that's just about everyone. I didn't hate them. They didn't live in my world. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="color: red;">But that never stopped me from wishing I lived in theirs.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've always had a peculiar fascination with Schizophrenia. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How does it feel to be unable to distinguish between reality and imagination? How does one cope when the things they adore turn out to be non-corporeal, and just another figment of their mind's creations?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These questions hound my brain every time I encounter a book or a movie dealing with Schizophrenia; be it John Nash and his non-existent best friend in <i>A Beautiful Mind</i>, Bipasha Basu and her dreamed-up lover in <i>Madhoshi,</i> or poor Karthik who received phone calls from himself in <i>Karthik Calling Karthik</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Francesca Zappia's debut novel deals with the disease in simple yet incredibly engaging way. The protagonist Alexandra Victoria Ridgemont (yeah....her parents were history enthusiasts) a.k.a Alex is a schizophrenic teenager about to start her senior year at a new school after being expelled from her previous school due to some incident, that was a result of just one of the many manifestations of her disease. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Alex was a delightful protagonist. Her small little quirks- like doing perimeter checks before entering any building, arguing with her self over what was real and what wasn't, her habit of clicking pictures to assure herself that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, her enthusiasm for history and her adorable adorable impulsiveness- were absolutely relishing to read. It was a bittersweet experience to be inside her head, as she battled with the line between paranoid and crazy and fantasy and reality. I loved that despite of her disease she refused to take shit from anybody and was amazingly strong throughout the book. </span></div>
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<i style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Was everything made up? Was this whole world inside my head? If I ever woke up from it, would I be inside a padded room somewhere, drooling all over myself?</i></div>
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<i>Would I even be myself?” </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The second extremely likeable, extremely flawed, yet extremely bewitching character was that of Miles James Richter. A total nerd at heart, a boy who "had a way with words", who knew the names of all the Aztec emperors, who played pranks on people for money....these are just some of the shades of the enigma that was Miles. He was the perfect YA hero. Except that it doesn't feel right to call him a hero. He was just Miles, a constant looming mystery that was unraveled bit by bit throughout the course of the book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The development of Miles' and Alex's relationship was cute- no insta love and no cliche YA mush and cheese- just a sweet, gradual ascent into love.</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">“Mile's fingers pressed into the small of my back. "Basorexia," he mumbled.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Gesundheit."</i></span></div>
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<i>He laughed. "It's an overwhelming desire to kiss."</i></div>
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<i>"I thought you weren't good at figuring out what you felt."</i></div>
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<i>"I'm probably using the word in the wrong context. But I'm pretty sure that's what this is.” </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I loved all the secondary characters in the book- be it the bitchy Celia, the eccentric school principal, Alex's little sister Charlie and Alex's enchantingly diverse group of friends- everybody had their part to play in the book and the story didn't appear to be about just one person but about everybody.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The story was witty, engaging and unique in a way that made me realise that perhaps each of us has a bit of crazy inside our minds and it all narrows down to the definition of crazy that deemed one crazy. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I kept taking pictures, hoping I’d look at one and know its subject was a delusion. I did my perimeter checks, thinking I’d eventually be able to walk around paranoia-free. I spent every day hoping someone would tell me I smelled like lemons.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I wasn’t insane by anyone else’s definition, I figured I was at least insane by Einstein."</i></span></div>
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Highly recommended. 4/5 stars!</div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-7082089480952154602014-12-19T12:05:00.000+05:302014-12-19T12:06:31.219+05:30Review: Cruel Beauty- Rosamund Hodge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published January 28th 2014 by Balzer + Bray</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“If you desired someone, if he comforted you, if you thought he might leech the poison out of your heart, was that love? Or only desperation?” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>My Review</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Knowing the truth is not always a kindness.” </i></span></span></div>
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When the synopsis promised a different take on the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, never in my wildest speculations did I think that it would amount to<i> this- </i>this artistically written poetic jumble of lore, legend and myth. </div>
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Enter Nyx Triskelion- daughter raised like a lamb for slaughter, to atone for the sins of her father and avenge her dead mother. Nyx's character was perfect because of her imperfections, most of which made her seem eerily real. The jealousy and hatred that gripped her adolescent heart, the love she tries to bear her sister even though she despises her, her gnawing desire for affection and acceptance and her quest for vengeance were all beautifully written.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“If one of us had to die, it ought to be the one with poison in her heart.” </i></span></span></div>
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Ignifex's or the Demon Lord's character was another delight. His snarky comments, the occasionally seen vulnerable side, his acceptance of his cruel nature and less-than-noble intents and his devil-may-care attitude made him the perfect YA hero/anti-hero. A more interesting characterisation was that of his pious-than-though shadow self Shade. Shade's personality was as complex as Ignifex's. Throughout the book, it was impossible to judge or predict anyone's intentions or actions. All of them were immensely flawed creatures searching for their true selfs.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“You fought and fought to keep all the cruelty locked up in your head, and for what? None of them ever loved you, because none of them ever knew you” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="readable" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; text-align: left;">“You deserve all that and more. It made me happy to see you suffer. I would do it all over again if I could." I realized I was shaking as the words tumbled out of me. "I would do it again and again. Every night I would torment you and laugh. Do you understand? You are never safe with me." I drew a shuddering breath, trying to will away the sting of tears.<br /><br />He opened his eyes and stared up at me as if I were the door out of Arcadia and back to the true sky. "That's what makes you my favorite." He reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. "Every wicked bit of you.”</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> </span></i></span></div>
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The plot was fantastic- a completely twisted take on the classic fairy tale. The complexity of the story increased somewhat exponentially in the latter chapters but the initial ones had enough banter and description to keep me occupied. </div>
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<i style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">“And you would know so much about women, locked up in your castle."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"Locked up with eight wives. And sometimes I make house calls for my bargainers. There's many a lovely woman desperate enough to bargain with me." </span></i></div>
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<i style="background-color: transparent;">This idea had never occurred to me before. "You touch another woman and I'll cut your hands off," I snapped.</i></div>
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<i style="background-color: transparent;">He looked delighted. "I thought you were afraid of hurting me.” </i></div>
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I loved the bickering between Nyx and Ignifex, her exasperation and his wisecracks, their delicate dance for dominance. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“If you start wondering how this house works, you'll likely go mad. That could be amusing, I suppose. Especially if it's the kind of madness that causes you to run naked through the hallways. Do feel free to indulge in that anytime.” </i></span></span></div>
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The naming of characters was interesting. Ignifex and his masters- the so called villains of the story- were named the Gentle Lord and the Kindly Ones respectively. It was a fantastic oxymoron because even though they twisted their bargains with the humans viciously around loopholes, they still left clues for the poor unsuspecting humans to find their way out of the mess they created. </div>
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This is a story not just about love and passion and vengeance, but also about hatred and self discovery and consequences. It tells us that everything in life is a result of the decisions we make, that everything has a price, that no one is completely pure and everyone has a little poison in their heart and an internal demon just waiting to be cut loose. </div>
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<i style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">“We'll both be foolish," I said, "and vicious and cruel. We will never be safe with each other."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"Don't try too hard to be cheerful." His fingers threaded through mine.</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i style="background-color: transparent;">"But we'll pretend we know how to love." I smiled at him. "And someday we'll learn."</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>BOOK TRAILER</b></u></span></span></div>
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Highly recommended. </div>
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Rating: 4/5 stars</div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-33640441298941281512014-09-06T14:09:00.000+05:302014-09-06T14:10:18.967+05:30Vicious (Vicious #1)- V.E. Schwab : Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published September 24th 2013 by Tor</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: blue;">“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? </span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Vicious</em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.'</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“The absence of pain led to an absence of fear, and the absence of fear led to a disregard for consequence.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are some books which one </span>often picks up with zero expectations and more than just a hint of trepidation. Nothing can be more satisfactory than these books turning out to be one hell of a roller coaster ride. </div>
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<i>Vicious</i> was one those books. </div>
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It provides a twisted view of the world- where superheroes are the bad guys, friend turns on friend, family members betray each other and no one can be trusted. The whole setting was majorly creeptastic with extremely well crafted prose which made me erupt in goosebumps several times during the course of the book. </div>
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The story starts with two best friends and an apparently harmless research project about superheroes or the 'extra-ordinary' people. Eli and Victor- college roommates and best friends- with wild ambitions and multi layered personalities are the only ones who recognise the more animalistic sides in each other. When they are confronted with the possibility of a major breakthrough in their project, they decide to experiment on themselves to test out their theories about the possible existence of EOs. But things go horribly wrong when jealousy and a thirst for power overcomes rationality. </div>
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Fast forward to 10 years later, when Victor escapes from prison aided by a prisonmate turned friend to go after Eli, his former friend turned foe. Along the way he finds a young girl with an astonishing ability, who has her own bone to pick with Eli and they join alliances to take revenge against the man who changed their lives forever.</div>
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The most alluring aspect of the book was the absence of the so called 'good' characters. Every character was layered in shades of grey with wildly contrasting personalities. All of them were equally dangerous, equally deranged and identical in their desire for bloodshed. It was easy to get carried away by the barrage of emotions which was so excellently put forth by the author. It was one those books which would make you question your beliefs. </div>
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Should progress for the progress' sake actually be discouraged?</div>
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Is a superpower enough to make someone a 'hero'?</div>
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If faced between family, friends, love and the 'greater good'- which one would you choose?</div>
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The writing style was flawless and was obviously aimed to shock. The fast paced plot combined with such interesting characterisation along with the whole 'revenge is a dish best served cold' aspect made the book an absolute page turner. </div>
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Highly recommended: 5/5 stars! </div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-67866061661273127572014-07-16T14:38:00.000+05:302014-07-16T23:37:17.991+05:30Review: Prisoner of Night and Fog- Anne Blankman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published April 22nd 2014 by Balzer + Bray</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she's ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>My Review</u></b></span></i></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOlrkha-A5bexygMa7MV2I_1fGoY4US9Iqgm7ZRsVos4qacy21RQ5WHDhp23d1spj-hdj8PxOSg5e4bufbOhD_C3q1rEyp68G3O9GP5nk_OHl8XQlWKu9GYy7WxCbxwlVyeURuZg0udbj/s1600/star-four-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOlrkha-A5bexygMa7MV2I_1fGoY4US9Iqgm7ZRsVos4qacy21RQ5WHDhp23d1spj-hdj8PxOSg5e4bufbOhD_C3q1rEyp68G3O9GP5nk_OHl8XQlWKu9GYy7WxCbxwlVyeURuZg0udbj/s1600/star-four-11.png" height="46" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">I've always had a morbid fascination about wars- the reason behind such large scale destruction, the psychological effect of the huge losses, the inclination to fight for petty reasons and so on. So needless to say, </span></span><span style="line-height: 19px;">any tidbit of info about WWII is considered a treat. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">I do not usually read war </span><i style="line-height: 19px;">fiction</i><span style="line-height: 19px;"> as very few authors can actually capture all the grisly details with perfection. Exceptions always exist; </span><i style="line-height: 19px;">Gone with the Wind </i><span style="line-height: 19px;">is one mind blowing masterpiece which triumphs above all war fiction novels.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">But as soon as I read the blurb for </span><i style="line-height: 19px;">Prisoner of Night and Fog</i><span style="line-height: 19px;">, I was completely hooked onto it. The idea of a novel based on romantic association between Hitler's pet and a Jew in Nazi Germany was too interesting to resist. What I loved best about the book was how the author has so ingeniously shaped her fictional characters around real ones. Anne Blankman has woven the story of a fictitious murder<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">around two of the most devastating real events in Hitler’s life: Germany’s surrender while he was being treated for hysterical blindness and the Beer Hall Putsch. The fact that the story is set around the time </span></span><span style="line-height: 19px;">before the actual Nazi regime began only heightens its appeal. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">It describes the story of Gretchen- Hitler's 'sunshine' and his saviour's beloved daughter- who discovers that everything she has been told about her father's death is a lie. That he had not voluntarily taken bullets to protect Hitler during the Putsch shootout, but had been murdered. She joins forces with an ambitious Jewish Reporter, Daniel Cohen and embarks on a quest to find the truth hidden under a blanket of cunningly woven lies. She realises that her beloved 'Uncle Dolf' might not be the affectionate caretaker he seems to be. She uncovers the macabre truth about his twisted mind, the fact that he is indeed a 'classic psychopath' and realises that this knowledge could mean doom for her family and herself.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">The story might appear slow to some, and indeed in some places it was. But I think that was essential for the gradual thickening of the plot. In retrospect, the truth about Gretchen's father's demise was pretty obvious. But if I try to put myself in Gretchen's shoes, I think accepting the bitter truth about her father's murder and her Uncle's treachery would have been painfully difficult. Daniel was perhaps the only really likeable character in the entire book. He was moralistic, ambitious and headstrong. However, the ease with which he accepted Gretchen was downright weird, what with him being an outcast in the world created by her Uncle Dolf. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">The book was also frightening in some aspects. The revelation about Hitler's psychopathic tendencies gave me the heebie-jeebies, especially since this was before the time he started the holocaust. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">Overall, the book was an engrossing read. Highly recommended to lovers of historical fiction who have a preference for factual precision. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">Rating: 3.5/5 stars</span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><u>About The Author:</u></i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Anne Blankman may have been meant to be a writer because her parents named her for Anne of Green Gables. She grew up in an old house with gables (gray, unfortunately) in upstate New York. When she wasn't writing or reading, she was rowing on the crew team, taking ballet lessons, fencing and swimming. She graduated from Union College with degrees in English and history, which comes in handy when she writes historical fiction.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">After earning a master's degree in information science, Anne began working as a youth services librarian. Currently, she lives in southeastern Virginia with her family. When she's not writing young adult fiction, she's playing with her daughter, training for races with her husband, working at her amazing library branch, learning to knit (badly), and reading.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Anne Blankman is the author of PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG, the first in a three-book deal slated for publication in spring 2014 from Balzer + Bray | HarperCollins. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.</span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-85075163549209971052014-06-30T22:18:00.000+05:302014-06-30T22:18:02.942+05:30Stacking the Shelves #2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="background-color: #fffcf5; color: #333333; line-height: 20.78333282470703px;">Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by </span><a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/" style="background-color: #fffcf5; color: #478c8e; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Tynga's Reviews</a><span style="background-color: #fffcf5; color: #333333; line-height: 20.78333282470703px;">. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I finished with the first two books- </span><i style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Magic Study</i><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> and</span><i style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> Poison Study</i><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- of Maria V Snyder's </span><i style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Study Series </i><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">and I'm waiting to get my hands on the next book <i>Fire Study</i> with breathy anticipation. So, it goes on the very top of my TBR list.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">While I was re-reading some of my favourite parts from the </span><i style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Covenant series</i><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> by JLA (yeah, i tend to revisit my favourite books from time to time), I had the urge to stack up my TBR shelf with books featuring greek mythology. And hence, my next two choices which I picked up due to some glowing reviews and recommendations from fellow bloggers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">After the Study series, my appreciation for kickbutt female protagonists has reached a new limit and hence Robin LaFevers' </span><i style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Mortal Heart</i><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> also goes in my TBR shelf. Another fascinating piece of historical fiction that I'm dying to read is </span><i style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">The Prisoner of Night and Fog </i><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">by Anne Blankman, which is the love story of Hitler's pet and a Jewish Reporter.</span></span></div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6150216237380544607.post-16327398174893863492014-06-30T21:01:00.001+05:302014-06-30T21:21:23.327+05:30Review: Magic Study( Study #2)- Maria V Snyder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Published October 1st 2006 by Luna</b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Living is a risk," I snapped at him. "Every decision, every interaction, every step, every time you get out of bed in the morning, you take a risk. To survive is to know you're taking that risk and to not get out of bed clutching illusions of safety.” </i></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Goodreads Synopsis</u></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><strong style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">YOU KNOW YOUR LIFE IS BAD WHEN YOU MISS YOUR DAYS AS A POISON TASTER...</strong><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways—and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better....</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training—especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince—and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies</span></i></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>…</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><b><u>My Review</u></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBpf2YFSdbBRSKSgSOG6i6l7gCYNQkrovRasf7FY9kHgkPEB8Ov5ztYElVU9M6I9b5jZIBLl7EbWbVp3zAV5LBI8zDwJylJKuTr3Y1GVTAZ6CmYg6rYit0jkTodS-Ei0BSiUJUoQN3d_b/s1600/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBpf2YFSdbBRSKSgSOG6i6l7gCYNQkrovRasf7FY9kHgkPEB8Ov5ztYElVU9M6I9b5jZIBLl7EbWbVp3zAV5LBI8zDwJylJKuTr3Y1GVTAZ6CmYg6rYit0jkTodS-Ei0BSiUJUoQN3d_b/s1600/amazon-5-star-review-2.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">“I'd wish you luck, but I don't think it would help,"</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"Why not?"</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"My lady, you make your own luck.” </span></span></i></div>
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There's this feeling that one gets after reading an absolutely mind blowing 2nd book in a series they have high hopes for. I call it<i> bliss</i>! The utter satisfaction of discovering a book series that you won't abandon and new characters to fangirl over is almost indescribable. </div>
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Where<i> Poison Study </i>wowed me, <i>Magic Study</i> just took up all its awesomeness and multiplied it two fold. Yelena is back with a bang in the strange and mysterious world of Sitia, far away from Valek, Ari, Janco and the comfort of the north. She embarks on a perilous journey to find her magical prowess with Irys, her instructor. Along the way she gets reacquainted with her family- her adorable parents who accept her with open arms and her douchebag brother who is convinced that she's a northern spy. </div>
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Yelena's talent for trouble also resurfaces and she unearths a heinous plot by a group of barbaric psychopaths who are incidentally very powerful magicians planning to take control over the world. As Yelena tracks down a string of brutal murders, Snyder once again weaves an enchanting plot that had me devouring the book in one go. </div>
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<b>Plot intricacy? </b></div>
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Perfect! There was action, family drama, romance, some engrossing world building and best of all- unpredictability. </div>
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<b>Characters?</b></div>
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Oh Yelena, how I love thee? She is everything I love in a YA heroine- strong, independent, impulsive, formidable and dangerous. Valek, Ari and Janco make a reappearance. There are also some new supporting characters who are delicately layered in shades of grey. </div>
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<b>Hotness Quotient?</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">“When I carved this, my thoughts were on you, love. Your life is like this snake's coils. No matter how many turns it makes, you'll end up back where you belong. With me.” </span></i></span></div>
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<i>Sizzling </i>of course! Although Valek doesn't appear until much later in the book, the limited pages he does occupy are a treat. We get to see a more playful and less reserved side of him along with his usual dangerous and purposeful one. I have to admit I had a hard time deciding which one was more desirable.</div>
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The chemistry between Yelena and Valek is absolutely scorching and they were adorably cute together. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“He made a weak attempt to look innocent, but I knew better.</i></span></span></div>
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<i style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"Should I guess how many concealed weapons you have or should I strip search you?"</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"A strip search is the only way to be absolutely certain." Valek's deep blue eyes danced with delight.” </span></i></span></div>
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<b>Ending?</b></div>
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Not a cliffhanger, thank Merlin! I don't think I could have handled that. My need for the next book is urgent enough as it is. </div>
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Overall a perfect entertainer!</div>
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Highly recommended. Rating: 5/5 stars!</div>
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procrastinator135http://www.blogger.com/profile/13643731320873273469noreply@blogger.com0