Tag Archives: HarperCollins

King’s Cage — Victoria Aveyard — Red Queen #3

“Now I’m in a king’s cage. But so is he. My chains are Silent Stone. His is the crown.”

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 2 stars
Content Warnings: Contains violence and is extremely boring.

“King’s Cage” is the third installment in the Red Queen series. It follows Mare Barrow as she is kept as a war prisoner by the Silver royalty, a.k.a. by her ex-fiancé, now-boy-king Maven, and brother of her ex-love-interest Cal.

I guess this one is supposed to be about Stockholm syndrome—but is it? Mare is a “prisoner” in a palace, treated like no other normal prisoner would be treated. She literally gets everything she wants, except access to her powers… the powers she didn’t even know she had not too long ago. Her wining was excruciating and repetitive. There was no character development on any fronts and honestly all “different” points of view just sounded like the same narrators, they just happened to have different names and were supposed to be different characters.

Sadly, I won’t be embarking on the last book of this series. I tried, I really did, but it’s just really not worth the time.

I will not be recommending this series to pretty much anyone. The first book was the best one in my opinion, and it wasn’t even that good.

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Red Queen — Victoria Aveyard — Red Queen #1

“Anyone can betray anyone.”

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses death, war, and discrimination. Mentions suicide.

“Red Queen” takes place in a dystopian future where everyone is defined by the color of their blood. Red versus Silvers, powerless versus powerful. Silver blood gives you superhero powers, while red blood confines you to a live of servitude… or does it? Mare Barrow is a 17-year-old red girl that discovers she actually does have a power of her own. This book follows her story, as she infiltrates the world of the Silvers and is set to be betrothed to one of the Silver princes.

The reason why I gave this book such a low rating is kind of ridiculous. I liked the story, I liked the plot twists, I liked the characters, but for some reason I wasn’t passionately invested in them. It’s like I was a witness to their story while having absolutely no sympathy for them. And for that I gave this book 3 stars. It’s a good story, but the characters feel distant at this point. I can’t wait to read the second installment in this series and see if it’s any better.

I would recommend this book to fans of dystopian novels, like The Hunger Games. But when thinking about dystopian novels, this wouldn’t be the first one I recommend.

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The Crown — Kiera Cass — The Selection #5

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 2 stars
Content Warning: Mentions of abuse.

“The Crown” is the last installment I’ll read from The Selection series. Having a radically different arc from the first three books, I must say the last two books have been my least favorite… And considering I did not like the first three all that much, it means a lot. This last book follows Eadlynas she comes to choose who’ll be her prince consort and as she becomes queen. There’s no other way to put this: it sucked.

Eadlyn’s faults were worse than the first time around. The only redeeming quality of this book was that the writing wasn’t terrible—but what’s good writing without a good story? Well, it’s a waste of your time, that’s what it is.

I would not recommend the second arc of The Selection at all. Maybe read The Selection #1-3, if you like reality TV shows like The Bachelor, but other than that, I wouldn’t even recommend those books that much either. Reading this series has been the worst decision I’ve made this year. What a shame.

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The Heir — Kiera Cass — The Selection #4

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 1.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

“The Heir”, although included within “The Selection” series, has basically nothing to do with the first three books of this series. This books follows Eadlyn, the eldest daughter of Maxon and America, as she goes through her own Selection, the first ever Selection where it’s a princess not a prince doing the choosing.

I understand the need to make Eadlyn’s personality as distant from America’s personality as you could, to differentiate the narrators… but really? So different? Eadlyn does not seem like someone who was raised by Maxon and America. She was so stubborn for the sake of being stubborn, so unpleasant for the sake of being unpleasant. The was almost nothing I liked about this book. I am giving it 1.5 stars only because of Kile and Erik, the only two characters I could tolerate.

I would not recommend this book at all. But I’ll be reading the next and last book in “The Selection” because if I’ve made it this far, I can’t give up now.

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The One — Kiera Cass — The Selection #3

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

If you’re looking at this review, I’ll assume you’ve read the other two books or at least know the premise to the series. But, essentially, America is a girl in a dystopian future who’s competing to get her country’s prince’s heart.

In my personal opinion, this third installment of The Selection series was so much better than the second one. The characters in “The One” resembled the ones we met in “The Selection” so much more. America was back to being her confident self.

To be honest, I was not happy with the ending. I feel like it was extremely rushed and slightly unnecessary. Oh, and let’s not even mention the epilogue. Is that really all we’re going to get from this book?

I guess I would recommend this book more than I would recommend the second book in this trilogy. There’s more suspense in this once, but honestly this series as a whole as a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting 3 5-star reads, when really the only one I truly enjoyed was the first book.

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The Elite — Kiera Cass — The Selection #2

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Content Warnings: Beatings and cheating.

In “The Elite”, the second book in The Selection series, America is still stuck fighting for love—she just isn’t sure whose love she’s fighting for. Following the exact same pace as the first book, just with less contestants and more rebel attacks, there is really nothing new to this series.

I think this is the definition of a filler book. I mean, honestly a filler series. It seems like The Selection, The Elite, and The One could have easily been condensed into a single book, tops two books.

And suddenly everything that I loved about America in the first book is completely lost this time around. Maxon and Aspen were both horrible, but America was even worse. Where is her independence? Compassion? Understanding? She seemed like an entirely different character. I’m hoping we get her back for the next book in the series, The One.

I would recommend this series to dystopian fiction and YA lovers. I described the first book in this series to The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, but I don’t even think that description is accurate anymore. I’ll be reading “The One” because I’ve already committed too much time to this series only to leave it halfway through.

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The Selection — Kiera Cass — The Selection #1

“No, I’m not choosing him or you. I’m choosing me.”

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Actual Rating: 4 stars

Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

Are you a fan of The Hunger Games and/or tv shows like The Bachelor/The Bachelorette? Well, this book is for you. The Selection follows a girl named America Singer, in a dystopian reality where the United States has a monarchy and people are divided into castes that define their job prospects and future. In a much anticipated tradition, America is selected, along with 34 others girls, to participate in a competition of sorts where the price to win is the prince’s heart (and crown).

The thing about this book is that it’s greatly predictable and there is some character development, but not as much as I expected. None the less, I love this series already. By the time you’ll be reading this, I might’ve even finished The Elite (The Selection #2). It’s that good. I loved how fast-paced this book was, there were no dull moments.

Would it be wrong if I said I fell in love with America? Like, I understand that the main focus is supposed to be loving Prince Maxon versus loving Aspen, but I was just completely blown away my America as a character. Her compassion, her originality, her dreams. I was moved by her greatly.

I guess I already set up the parameters for my recommendation in the introduction, but yeah. If you’ve liked series like The Hunger Games or Divergent, and if you enjoy dating shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, then it seems like this series might be for you. This is a fun, young adult read, I would certainly recommend it as a gift for young, teenaged readers.

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Yes No Maybe So — Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

“I would freeze history if I could. Right here, this exact moment, this is my favorite point on the timeline.”

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: Touches the subjects of racism and discrimination.

“Yes No Maybe So” follows Maya and Jamie as they rekindle their childhood friendship, become active in their local government issues, and maybe, just maybe, fall in love. Directly showcasing the reality of racism and discrimination, and how we’re able to fight them with even the smallest of actions, this book could be a great resource for teachers and librarians who’d like to empower young readers.

This was my first time reading Aisha Saeed’s writing, but I can’t wait to read some more of her books. I assume her chapters were the Maya chapters, and I must say these were some of my favorites. Then there’s Becky Albertalli, who is easily one of my favorite authors. I know her books aren’t aimed to my age group, but I still thoroughly enjoy them.

“Yes No Maybe So” is a perfect example of why teenage advocacy is both valid and necessary. Because, yes, even if they can’t vote, their opinions matter.

But you want to know what “Yes No Maybe So” was not? It was not a fair representation of any of the religions and cultural backgrounds (and sexual identities) that were supposed to be included. It felt like these backgrounds were written in just for the sake of being inclusive.

I would recommend this book to high schoolers (and some middle schoolers) who are interested in making a change. And really, I would recommend it to just about anyone who likes YA fiction too. It’s a good book. It’s witty, funny, well-paced, and entertaining. It’s just not as representative as it pans out to be.

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A Woman Is No Man — Etaf Rum

“To want what you can’t have in this life is the greatest pain of all.”

Genre: Cultural heritage fiction
Actual Rating: 5+ stars
Trigger Warnings: Death, domestic violence, r*pe

It took me a long time to finish this book, but only because it carried such a heavy message. It has absolutely no reflection on the masterpiece of a debut this book was.

“A Woman Is No Man” follows three generations of Palestinian women; all in different stages of their lives, all trying to do their best within their possibilities, all linked by the tragedy of being alive in a society that wants to silence them.

Every time the title of the book was mentioned within its chapters it just absolutely tore me apart. My heart broke for Deya, Isra, Fareeda, Sarah, and every woman that’s ever felt like they have no voice and no choice.

This book is an absolute must-read. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s so well written and it shares a story that isn’t showcased enough in mainstream writing. If you’re able to get a hold of this book, do it. I tried listening to an audiobook but it wasn’t the same. Reading the words to this book is absolutely necessary.

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You Had Me at Hola — Alexis Daria

Genre: Steamy, red-hot romance
Actual Rating: 5+ stars
Content Warnings: None I can think of right now

This book follows Jasmine, a latinx actress, as she starts filming a series with her grandmother’s favorite telenovela star, Ashton.

You Had Me at Hola gave me LIFE. As I type up this review, I already have A Lot Like Adios waiting for me at home. The storyline was pretty straightforward; it was not really a slow-burn but it wasn’t instant-love either. It was just right. And oh, did this book bang.

With her honest narrative, Jasmine wins over your heart in the first few chapters. I can’t wait to see where the sequel will take us.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance books (and who isn’t afraid of a book getting real spicy, real quick).

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