Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society

Again, this post is coming to you late. But this time I have a good excuse! I DID, in fact, remember I had to write this whilst I was reading the book... however, I was running out of time. I only had a few hours left with the book before I had to return it to the library so all I had time for was to read it and then leave. See? I didn't forget this time! It's all the library's fault!!! ... *Coughs* Okay, so it was a pathetic excuse... DON'T JUDGE ME! *Ahem* Anyway, without further ado, on to the review-ish thing.

So this next book I am coming to you today with is called Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society by Adeline Yen Mah. Let's see... I enjoyed the book. I thought it was a unique mixture of the tale of Cinderella with events that happened in WWII. Mah's writing style is a bit simple but considering the massive amounts of historical facts displayed throughout the entire book, I don't fault her. I love this book for showing me the Chinese side to the war. When I was in school, I only used to learn what happened on the American side or the Japanese but never the Chinese. It was a very educational to see how they suffered during that time period. In short, as an educational tool, this book was phenomenal. However, when it came to the fantasy-based storyline and the characters, the story fell a little flat. I suppose the main purpose of this book was to talk about WWII and the Chinese's involvement in it but if that was all it was supposed to do, I don't see why Mah had to try to weave in some fantasy elements which was only two scenes to be perfectly honest with you.


The characters all felt the same. There was no personality distinctions besides one being a great martial artist, one being really smart, and another being brave. The main character, Ye Xian (or CC), was really nothing special. All she did was cry or run away from home and ask stupid questions. Yeah... she annoyed me a little. The other characters all spoke in the same "voice" so there was no way to tell them apart unless the book stated so. I did like Marat because he knew a lot of languages and we all know how much I love that! Anyway, besides Marat (and that's because I'm jealous of his abilities), all the characters were bland, dull, and just plain... boring. Nothing made me connect with them. In fact, whenever the novel didn't inform the reader about what happened during WWII, I was really bored with the story.

Like I said, it was a good book. However, halfway through, you just wish it was over already. I'm not saying it was a bad book or anything, I just expected a little more. And since this was supposed to have some fantasy elements, I was really hoping for some intense magic. All I got was a book scene that shows the past... yay. All-in-all, if you want to learn more about WWII and the involvement of the Chinese then check this book out. If not then... well, that's up to you.


Once again, want to see a more detailed review? Go to my GoodReads account. The link should be somewhere in the sidebar. The next book I talk about is going to be a good one. Want to know how I know that already? Because it's going to be a sequel to a book I already read and let me tell you, the first book was AMAZING!!! I cannot wait to get started on that one! So look forward to it!


Till next entry! See ya!

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Yup! More dystopian novels being read by yours truly~ I can't help it. It's one of my favorite genres and I've been meaning to read more of them as of late. So when I heard about The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and how amazing the premise was, I just had to go to my library and read it for myself. However, I am a little disappointed with what's happening within the novel. It's not as epic as I thought it was going to be. The story, dude, is great. I am really into the history of New World and its inhabitants. The plot is not the problem. Neither is the writing, although I do have my complaints about that (more on that later). My main problem are the characters.

Whenever I read a book,  I must have my characters being amazing otherwise, I won't enjoy the story no matter how good the plot is. Todd, the male lead, started off as really immature and just plain stupid. A lot of the problems that he encounters happen because of the foolish decisions he makes. There are times when he overreacted to a situation. Like that battle between him and a Spackle, an alien species that are natives in New World, which he had no reason to go apeshit on the poor creature. I'll admit, I'm towards the end of the book right now and he has shown improvement. He's grown, but he did so many stupid things throughout the book that I can't seem to bring myself to like him at all. He's the blame for something really bad that happens... I won't say for spoiler's sake... but know that I am pretty pissed off at him for it. *Twitch*

Another character that got on my nerves: Viola. She starts off not saying a word to anyone. I thought she was a mute which I found to be intriguing. She was mysterious and cool, I thought. Then we got to know her... and my God, did I want to slap her! She was pathetic. Okay, I know she's in a new place and she's scared out of her mind. But when your life is in danger and there are people chasing after you to kill you, you don't just sit around, rocking back and forth, waiting for them to come chop your head off! A lot of the time both Todd, Manchee (more on him in a bit), and Viola nearly died because of how stupid she was acting. However, unlike Todd, she really shows character development. I really hated her at the beginning but now, that I'm almost done reading the book, I can actually say I like her. She made the decision to buckle down, keep her head held high, and try to survive this hell she was tossed in. She's surprising me with how brave she truly is. She's the perfect example of a character that, even if they are scared out of their mind, if they try hard enough, they can face any danger. Plus, she's was awesome when it came to Manchee.

Manchee is my favorite character in the entire book. He's Todd's loyal dog, a dog that comes through for him time and time again. My God! I cannot even begin to tell you how many times he's saved Todd's ass. He is such a good dog. I love him to bits. Words cannot express how truly wonderful he is. Plus, he's an endless amount of entertain throughout the entire book. His simple vocabulary and his honest feelings being expressed throughout the novel shows his genuine love for Todd. I'm really taken with him and it was for him that I was able to continue reading the book. Because, even though I love the story and the mystery hiding behind the villagers of Prentisstown, I couldn't really stand the main characters. It's a good thing they are getting slightly more bearable, though!

Patrick Ness's writing style is... unique. He purposefully write grammatically incorrect to show Todd's lack of education. Now, I'll admit... it's a bit hard to get used to at first. I'm still not quite used to it yet but... I'm able to handle it. What I don't like about his writing style is the need to keep going without pause. He's a genius when it comes to run-on sentences. I know this is what he was aiming for but... I'm not a fan of it. I'm just not. I can handle not using proper grammar and his need to repeat things three times to shown emphasis but when it comes to going on and on and on about something without the use of periods... it irritates me... quite a bit. Just my opinion, of course. Even though I'm not too big on his writing style, I love his ability to tell a story. Such a fantastic story as well! It's well-thought out and it keeps you in suspense. I will say this though... the story seems to drag out slightly. Most of what the characters do in the later half of the book is running away from the army. It is exciting but at the same time... you feel like, "Uh... didn't I read this already?" I love the story but it could have been cut shorter to save from being redundant.

All-in-all, it's a good book. A decent read. I wouldn't say it was the greatest but it's doable. I was expecting a lot more so I am disappointed... especially since it's such an amazing story! *Shrugs* I don't know. You should pick it up and judge for yourselves. It's definitely not a horrible book but I've seen better. Anyway, that's all for now. For a more detailed review, don't forget to read my GoodReads! I will talk more about the problems I've had with the book once it is finished.

Just a quick reminder that the main purpose of this blog is to mark what I am currently reading and what I think about it so far. All proper reviews are done in GoodReads so if you really want to see what I thought about the whole book after I finish reading it, then go there! As for the rest of this series... still not sure if I'm going to read it. It's good... but... considering what happens in the book and how the content hits home for me... I'm thinking I might just skip the rest of the series.

Till next entry! See ya!

Squeaky Books Birthday Bash!

Hello everyone~ Just letting you know that Squeaky Books will be hosting a bunch of giveaways in celebration of her birthday! You should really go check her out. She does amazing YA book reviews and a ton more. That's including some adult and children's literature. So if you want to read amazing reviews and want a shot at winning some awesome prizes, please click on the link below! You will not regret it! ^_^

The Awesome Maze Freakin' Runner!

As you can tell by the title, I love this next book I am reading. It's a FANTASTIC read! Let me tell you guys something. It's be FOREVER since I last read a book that I absolutely have fallen in love with. Most books written today just... suck. They take the same story and rehash it again and again as if that's what we, as readers, want to see over and over again. *Sighs* You think there would be someone out there to realize we want something new and exciting! Well, I was starting to lose hope. That is... until I picked up this book. ^_^

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is a perfect example of dytopian at its finest. There's so many twists and turns and cray outcomes that you are literally turning the next page with such eagerness! You just do not want to put the book down! I know I don't! Trust me. Right now it's so hard putting the book down just so I can give you this update on what I'm reading and my thoughts on it! I so cannot wait to see where the plot goes because right now, I have no bloody clue! That's another thing I love about this book. There's no predictability whatsoever! I can usually guess what's coming next whenever I read a book but with this book, I have no idea! Plus, the writing is amazing! I am in awe at how well Dashner can write! I'll go more in depth with that in my full review on GoodReads!

I have to say that I love ALL the characters in this book. Even the baddies you are supposed to hate. Each and every single character here makes the book so much more engaging! I love reading about them and seeing them grow. Thomas is a wonderful protagonist. I love how strong he can be and how he's always thinking of others. (Not to mention all the little yaoi scenes he has with the other boys. *Smirks*) I enjoy Teresa, the only girl in this novel. Dude, I usually hate girls in books. They always end up being weak and stupid or make the guy character into something stupid. But none of that happens here! Thank God. These two actually have a great relationship going on and it's not about acting stupidly in love or anything. This book is all about the action and I'm lovin' it! XD

My favorite character (I have to talk about my favorites with each book I read. It's a must!) has to be Newt. He is so funny, witty, brave, sexy--everything! I love how he handles himself. He takes the lead when he needs to but also backs down when he knows he can't be in control. He's the perfect balance for someone who needs to be a leader. Also, he's just so caring for the other boys that you can't help but love him! There are a lot of amazing characters in this book but I can't talk about them all in this little update. I'll save that for my full review, which should be posted later on today on my GoodReads! Please look forward to it! ^_^

Till next entry! See ya!

Like Water for Caca!

Oh... my word people. Just a few days ago, I just finished reading this book... and it made my brain bleed. Yeah, I know I'm a bit late with this... I... uh... kinda forgot to write this post whilst I was reading it... *Sweat drop* Well, I'll give you some general opinions about said book that I had whilst reading it. And, as always, you can check out my full review on my GoodReads page! I go into a lot more detail there than I do here. Trust me. *Smirks*

Okay! So we have Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and it's not what everyone makes it out to be. When I first heard about this book years back now, people used to tell me all the time about what a wonderful novel it was. Then, when I was in high school, my friend told me she had to read it for her English class... and told me how much it sucked. Now, I trust my friend's opinion on literature a lot more than I do with random strangers because she has a lot of the same tastes in books as I do. However, I was still curious to see whether my friend was right or not. Off to the library I went!

...why did I ever take out this book? Seriously, people! It was a disgusting, pathetic, brain killing read. The main character, Tita, upsets me so much! I wanted to beat her to a bloody pulp. Everything she decided to do was based on a man. A MAN! She's so bloody weak she can't live without being with Pedro, her love interest. To tell you the truth, I don't even know WHY she wants to be with him. He dumped her, married her sister, got her sister pregnant, treated her like crap, and was over-jealous when Tita found Dr. John Brown, a kind and gentle man who she SHOULD have ended up with, which he had no right to show her! All that crap about him always being in love with her and how he did the things he did was to be closer to her was just that: CRAP! God, I hate this book.

As if that wasn't enough, the entire book centered around food, which I find to be revolting in and of itself, and most of the main talk was disgusting. Mentioning vomit, shit, gas, burps, bugs for food... ugh! It was vile and I do not like reading about such disgusting topics! Not to mention that I don't believe a single thing was written in a love's point of view. It was lust and we all know it! Love!? BAH! No such thing in this book! (Feel free to disagree but that's what I believe to be true.)

The only two things I love about this book was Dr. John Brown and Gertrudis. They were both kickass characters! XD Gertrudis was a tough cookie! She didn't give two shits whether she was supposed to act a certain way to appease her surrounding folk. She did what she liked and I admire her for that. (That horse scene wasn't so bad either! X3) And John was just so sweet. Too sweet for words! I can't express how much I love his character. It amazes me that Tita can be so bloody stupid as to not choose him for her husband! He obviously cared about her a lot more than that no good Pedro. But, alas, women are stupid. It makes me sad to be one. *Sighs*

All-in-all, I don't recommend the book. Only if you have to read it for school, should you. If not then stay away! Oh, but if you're curious, you can always give it a go. See what you might think of it. I warn you now, most of the book is BLAH! You might like John though! I know I did. In fact, I plan to marry him because he was just too awesome to not love completely. ^_^

Anyway, I am now reading a dystopian novel. I love my dystopian~ It never lets me down. I will tell you more about it when I write my next update on what I am reading. Stay tuned because this one is going to be a good one! I can already feel it. >:3

Till next entry! See ya!

What I'm Reaing ATM!

Well, since I have nothing new to talk about... I figured I should talk about what I'm reading at the moment. Of course, if you guys follow my GoodReads then you should know already but here I go anyway!

Right now, I'm reading Redwall by Brian Jacques. It's a fairly cute book. The main characters are mice! MICE! I haven't read a book where the main characters are centered around animals since grade school! It's just so cute.  I love the story as well. It's your classic Good vs. Evil battle plot and I'm loving every minute of it. It takes me back to when I was in fifth grade. Ah~ I miss those days. Anyway, I think that this book is something I'm really going to enjoy.

There's three characters I love the most. Constance, a badger is just so badass. She can just kick you and you'd go flying to the moon! Then there's Basil Stag Hare. He's a nutty rabbit. Seriously, if you know who Zack Fair is then you know how Basil is. He's so bloody adorable! Then there's my absolute favorite! Methuselah. He's a wise old mouse! He knows everything there is to know about Redwall and its inhabitants! I love how intelligent this mouse is. I might be a bit biased towards him because one of his gifts is languages and I'm a bit partial to languages myself but still... XD He can figure things out, too! There's this little riddle in the book that they have to figure out and he does! He's so wonderful!

Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about the book. This is going to be somewhat of a new segment for this blog. I'm not going to write out my reviews here. As I said, I'm posting all my reviews up on GoodReads. However, I will post what my general thoughts are here. Kind of like if I like it or hate it. And if there's any characters that I like. If there are characters that I hate, I'll just hint at it and then let you see on my review. Hopefully this will keep this book blog alive. I'm pretty bad at keeping on top of things.

Also, I did went out to get more books but... I forgot to take pictures. I did make a video though! You should see that video up on my YouTube Page soon enough. I just have to edit it around some. XP Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new idea I have and I promise to take some pictures the next time I go out to get books! And don't forget, check out my GoodReads if you want to stay on top of what I am reading!

Till next entry! See ya!