Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Series: Seraphina #1
Source: Bought hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Age Genre: Young Adult

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

 

I adored Seraphina. It's been a while since I've read any good "dragon" book, and I love them as a creature. Fire breathing, treasure hoarding, deadly, beautiful winged-scaled animals? What could be better?! Maybe this is also good time and place to ask you guys on suggestion for other good dragon books.

But I digress.

Seraphina is a wonderful heroine. She is so fleshed out, that she is right there in front of you. You could almost touch her. She is a brave, smart young lady, filled with insecurities and self doubt and self hate. But she never lets it stop her, and you feel her pain as strongly as if it were your own.

Alongside Seraphina we have a great cast of side characters, from the headstrong and sometimes silly princess (but don't let that fool you - she's a sharp one) to the adorable Dragon uncle Orma, to the music master, and the cast of grotesques (of whom we will hopefully see a lot more in the sequel).

Oh, and let's not forget the prince.

Kiggs is a prince. He is also a bastard, and the head of the Guard. He was smart, sweet and loyal to a fault. He is perceptive and once he makes you his friend, you'll be hard bent to shake him off. Not that you'll want to, really.

His and Seraphina's relationship was an interesting one. It progressed slowly, but surely, and I feel like we just touched the tip of the iceberg of what these two could become, despite love declarations already made. It feels to me like this could become an epic love, but it's not there yet.

But, get this, the most interesting part of this book is not any of that. The best part of this book is easily the dragons and the world - here, dragons are something like autistic people. They're analytic, logical, and seem to lack emotions - and an understanding of them. However, as much as people claim them "soulless", they are far from that. At least the dragons we meet in Seraphina.

The ideas behind this book are so intriguing and create one heck of a setting. Of which I'm actually thirsty for more. I can't wait to revisit this world in the next book!

The only "downside" of the book may be in the action department, which I felt was a bit lacking. The book was never dull or boring, but it wasn't action filled. Even the exciting parts were usually done or solved in talking. So don't expect any epic sword-fighting. And while this didn't bother my enjoyment of the book at all, I do feel this may relate to why the book also lacked that WOW moment that blows you away.

But even without that wow moment, this is a wow book, for me. I'll eat the hat I'm not wearing if I don't read the next book as soon as it comes out.

The Turbulence Journey to Getting Seraphina

And I'm going to digress again, this time on purpose, because the story behind how I finally got my hands on the book is one I need to tell. On July, I ordered the book from Amazon. Their shipping is normally too expensive for me, but I wanted the purple cover too much, as I'm not a fan of the black&white one. From experience, Amazon shipments get here in about two weeks, despite their month and a half expectation date. 

But two weeks flew by, then a month, then a month and a half. And still, I waited. The delay could be on my side, after all. We did have a sort of war going on for a while there. Fast forward another month and a half, and I know the book isn't going to get to me. Other orders have reached me, and three months is enough of a wait. So I sent a message to Amazon, after a frustratingly long time trying to figure out how to do that - it wasn't in any convenient/obvious place.

But finally I did. Maybe a day later, I got a reply. They put a new order for me, with the best shipping they had, which was unexpected. I had hoped for a new shipment, but didn't expect the extra mile. Three days later, the book was here. Three days!

Well done, Amazon! Well done.

   Nitzan★

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: November 15, 2005

In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.

It took me a really long time to read this one. Around three weeks, actually. And if you know me well, that's bad. That rarely ever happens to me - and never without good reason. And I hate to say it, but if ever there was a good reason, this book was it. I feel like Memoirs of a Geisha was just... boring.

Yep, I said it. Boring. That's the best way to describe it. Don't get me wrong, the storytelling itself was pretty - but it just dragged and dragged until I could barely take it anymore; and then it continued. It was a sad story, but I think the saddest part was the way that it seemed to go nowhere.

I liked the descriptions of the Geisha world - it was obviously a cruel and harsh place, and I'm glad that the author went out of his way to make it seem real. But this book just wasn't for me, unfortunately. I'm sorry for the really short review, you guys!

Burning by Elana K. Arnold

Burning by Elana K. Arnold
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for review
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: June 11, 2013

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him.

Pete, Hog Boy, and I were spending Monday afternoon screwing around on our skateboards on the shipping dock at the deserted drywall plant.

For me, Burning was a must-read book from the very moment that I heard about it. I couldn't wait to read about a gypsy girl and a regular guy falling in love, which I was sure would happen. But Burning is so much more than a love story-- it's actually more about self-discovery.

Lala had a very authentic voice. I loved hearing about her people's customs, and reading the words that she speaks in her own language-- it's a lot of fun to see a different voice once in a while. I liked hearing the old Romani stories that she told, and I enjoyed seeing things through her eyes, but I find that I don't really connect with her.

I connected much more with Ben, who's lived in a small town his entire life. The things that he says and thinks about small town life are absolutely true-- people generally tolerate you because they've known you forever. It's a fact of life. Anywho, I enjoyed Ben's character. He was so sweet and caring, but I also detected fierce protectiveness from him.

I'm proud to say that Lala and Ben's voices were easily distinguished from each other-- I never found myself rushing back to a chapter marker to see who was speaking. So that was well done. I also enjoyed the ending-- it was completely different than what I expected, but it was perfect.

All in all, Burning was more about self-discovery than love, but it's worth a read for a break from all the relationship drama. (:

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Title: Dualed
Author: Elsie Chapman
Series: Dualed, #1
Source: Sarah from Book-A-Holic
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Goodreads||The Book Depository

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.  Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

I wasn't impressed with Dualed. Even today, just eight hours after finishing this book, I don't have much to say about it. It was just boring. That pretty much sums up all of my problems.

The main characters, West and Chord were mediocre at best. I didn't feel the little "romance" going on between them, and I just didn't like them as characters. West is supposed to be oh-so-tough and strong, but I didn't get that from her. Most of the time, it just seemed like she was trying to be something she wasn't, and Chord just seemed to be added in so that he could stalkishly try and help her complete. The whole story line was just off the grid.

I have so many questions-- for instance, PK's (peripheral kills) occur fairly often. So what happens if an idle is killed in a PK? Does s/he's alt just automatically complete? Do they die? What on earth happens? Another thing that I'm not so clear on-- the creation of the alt system. It was touched on a little in the beginning of the book, but I never really got it. In theory, the alt system was created when a drug that everyone was given made everyone infertile, so the alts are a genetic creation. But how did the government get everyone to take this drug? It sounds like it was corrupt way before this book began....

On another note, the action was okay. It just couldn't keep me occupied-- I was literally always wandering off and leaving this book face-down. The only time that I could focus was when I was noting all the things that bothered me never.

All in all, this just wasn't for me. The action was too boring, the storyline didn't make sense, and the characters had no depth. It did, however, have a good ending. I feel like everything that could possibly be wrapped up was. That is all.

All for peace. Fighting ourselves in here, so we don't have to fight the world out there. ~ Pg. 19, ARC

Every Day by David Levithan

Buddy read with Sarah! Woohoo! *imagine awkward dancing* Check out Sarah's review too! (:

Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Series: N/A
Source: Traded for
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Goodreads||The Book Depository

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

I feel like Every Day was written just for people who are romantic. People want to believe in true love, along with loving the same person even when they're in different bodies. What's my problem with that, you ask? Nothing. I want to believe it too. But I had a hard time believing it in this book. Our main characters, A and Rhiannon, simply fell in love way too fast. Page 22, first day meeting each other for A, and 5 days later for Rhiannon. I do not believe in love at first site, so that was a little off the grid for me.

Rhiannon was a little off the grid for me too. She seems nice and fun, but she doesn't have enough development as a character to really work for me. Neither does A, in a sense.

However, I was willing to play along with that. And I learned that A is apparently not a teenager, because no teen that I know talks metaphorically. He (I say he) thinks philosophers' thoughts, which makes him kind of unbelievable. I just have issues with that kind of telling, because no teenager says things like that! At least, none I know.

Which brings me to my third point-- we get to see so many different lives, and yet it's not like we're experiencing it. It's like we're being told about all the things going on. I never really felt like I could get immersed in the story, which was unfortunate. It kept me reading, though. I did really want to know what happened, because the premise was just so unique!

I feel like the ending was perfect. It all worked out so fantastically, which makes me oh-so-happy! I was really afraid that A was going to do something stupid, but it turns out that he didn't, so yay! It all worked out, even if it wasn't exactly the way that I expected.

All in all, I enjoyed Every Day, but I expected a little more.

I want to get back to her. I want to get back to yesterday. ~ Pg. 47, ARC

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

Title: The Brides of Rollrock Island
Author: Margo Lanagan
Series: N/A
Source: Won
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: September 11, 2012
Goodreads||The Book Depository

On remote Rollrock Island, men make their living--and fetch their wives--from the sea.

The Witch Misskaella knows how to find the girl at the heart of a seal. She'll coax a beauty from the beast for any man, for a price. And what man wouldn't want a sea-wife, to and to hold, and to keep by his side forever?

But though he may tell himself that he is the master, one look in his new bride's eyes will transform him just as much as it changes her. Both will be ensnared--and the witch will look on, laughing.

In this magical, seaswept novel, Margo Lanagan tells an extraordinary tale of desire, despair, and transformation. With devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also of unspoken love.

Mostly, I thought that The Brides of Rollrock Island was an enchanting and strange book, chocked full of stories and characters that I just had to know more about. But for all of that, I'm sure that it wasn't perfect. I loved it to death, and I can't wait to see more by this author, but I can't discount the fact that the beginning just wasn't for me. It was just to abrupt, and it took me about 100 pages before I got into the story.

After that, though, everything proceeded perfectly! Margo really knows how to write a mysterious story, and her writing was fabulous even in the beginning! It might be the only thing that kept me reading for so long-- which I'm really happy about, because when it's all said and done I really liked this one.

It had heartbreak. It had intrigue. But most of all? It had an ugly old witch, who's the center of all the stories. And yes, I know that it's stereotypical to have an ugly witch. But it's also stereotypical to have a beautiful witch, so where do you wanna go with this? I thought as much.

Anywho, we have an ugly witch, and her name is Misskaella. Honestly, Misskaella actually surprised me. She's a total contradiction. In the beginning, I truly thought that she was just cruelly picked upon. She was so unselfish in taking care of both of her sick parents, and she just took all of her sisters' cruelty. I don't think that she would've turned out the way she had if it wasn't for all of this.

She became something strange-- and like I said, a total contradiction. In the end, I was left confused at how she had truly gotten there. How she truly became the seal witch. I mean, I think I get it, but the mysterious element of how and why isn't really what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how she inherited it.

The Island of Rollrock is a strange place, I'll give it that. But it was also magical and interesting and I never ever wanted to leave once I had gotten there. I never wanted to leave the mystical island, full of the women that came from the sea and their sons. But they have no daughters. Because the sea has reclaimed every last one of them-- how awesome is that?

I love the idea of a person that can emerge from a seal skin, or essentially, the sea. Like I said before, all of the stories included Misskaella, the seal witch. One memorable bit was even told by her! I loved the way that all of the stories came together, and how they were all essentially connected. The apprentice of Misskaella. A father and son who were involved in the seal-wives. A grandmother jilted by her husband and his seal, along with her grandaughter who becomes a part of that world soon. All so beautifully connected. *sigh*

All in all, I really enjoyed The Brides of Rollrock Island. It was enchanting and beautiful and so full of crushed spirits and broken hearts that I couldn't help but love it for what it was. A gorgeously written book.

All the years to come crowded into that time, and I lived them, long and bitter and empty of him. ~ Pg. 76