The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The much anticipated sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn, which I could not wait to read after having raced through the first book. Sadly, I was disappointed with the entire story.
The strength and reserve we saw in the protagonist in the first installment turned into plain emo behaviour, isolation from people trying to help her and a sense of inflated self-worth. Her counterpart and love interest came across as a mere shell of his former self and not with respect and within the context of the story, but because of a lack commitment to the character.
With regards to the plot it felt like the real objective was kept from the reader in order to create anticipation and mystery. It was forced and added a sense of annoyance instead of the magic the author was able to create in the first installment.
The writing lacked the passion the reader fell in love with the first time around. It made me very sleepy and I lost my interest in the story.
Overall, I am being generous with a three-star rating because of the loveliness of the first installment. Popular opinion will probably speak against me, but if asked if I would recommend this book, I can only shrug my shoulders.

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Unspeakable by Caroline Pignat

Unspeakable by Caroline Pignat
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was excited to read a story half set in Canada and half in the UK and on top of that it was written by a Canadian author, what was not to like? How about the fact that it was one step short of completely plagiarizing the story of Titanic? Or the inclusion of every Victorian literary cliché ever to exist? Or its complete and utter predictability? Well, I was so disappointed that I got angry. Angry that I spent time reading this story; a complete knockoff from a very popular movie that came out in 1997, which by the way I saw in the theatre. As a writer, one should come up with their own ideas.
I guess, I should talk about the characters, although I would much rather move on. The characters are all very typical of the role they are supposed to play: the female lead, emo, entitled and ungrateful; the friend, always happy and better than the protagonist; the main squeeze, a typical McDreamy type, brooding and really never a good choice, but always the one to get the girl; and of course a whole bunch of other characters nobody really cares about.
The plot is, as I said, straight from the Titanic screenplay and just when the reader thinks the writer has gone too far in “borrowing” from the movie, she puts her own little spin on it to avoid full on plagiarism.
The writing is boring, tedious and empty. Most chapters contained more fluff that added nothing to the progression of the story and only round about and repeated insight into the protagonist’s feelings.
Overall, I was just glad I got this book from the library and didn’t spend any money on it. My time wasted on it, I will never get back, but I can advise against reading this book.

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Starflight by Melissa Landers

Starflight by Melissa Landers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been dying to read this book since last September. After having read two out of the three books in the Starbound series, I began searching for other stories of the same genre to get my fix of galactic travel, adventure and romance. I was not disappointed with Starflight.
I liked the main character tremendously, rough around the edges, fighting to survive and make a life for herself. Logical, but with heart and a knack for machines, she was a joy to get to know. The secondary characters added great depth to a story that takes the reader across the universe.
The plot was straightforward, but with many obstacles the characters had to face and overcome. Halfway through the book I knew I would love to read a second installment of this story.
The writing was effortless and helped move this very eventful story along at a constant and good pace.
Overall, this was a very good read, although sometimes so much happens that it was getting difficult for me to remember everything. I would have loved to read a sequel to the story of Solara and Doran. I recommend it to anyone, who enjoys YA fantasy with a hint of romance set in space.

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Jim Kay (Illustrator), Siobhan Dowd (Conception)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautiful story. I never thought I would say this about a “horror” story, but it truly is a story that reaches into the depths of the reader’s soul and remain there for a very long time.
The characters were all as realistic as they could possibly be; presenting human traits that most people would not want to admit to or write about in such detail. The main character especially was so intricately portrayed it felt like the reader was feeling, living, breathing and hurting with him.
The plot. Well, to be honest I forgot what the synopsis said about this story, but I know I had read it. Regardless of my failing memory, it was not what I expected from a story with the title A Monster Calls. A boy’s experience of a very painful period in his life told with interchanging stories of moral and differing point of view that has even the reader re-evaluate past experiences with a fresh set of eyes.
The writing flowed nicely. I did; however, need a few lines to fully immerse into the story after each break. Nevertheless, it was very good writing, full-bodied and engaging.
There are a handful of graphics/sketches that underline the storyline, which deserves special mentioning. Drawn as it appears to be in pencil without any colour except for black, they are dark and ominous and provide lovely visual cues of the darkness within the story.
Overall, I loved this story. It was dark, engaging, scary at times and showed the author’s understanding of the human psychology. It is not what one expects of a typical horror story, but very much worth anyone’s time. I would definitely recommend this story to everyone.

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Scarecrow's Dream by Flo Fitzpatrick

Scarecrow's Dream by Flo Fitzpatrick
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I don’t think I am having much luck finding good stories to read this year. I was very much interested to read a murder/mystery/ghost/romance story, but this story soon took a nosedive in the most spectacular and annoying way possible. I began text-ranting my husband at around chapter 2 and did not care one penny’s worth for anyone by chapter 4. As can be imagined, I was greatly disappointed and actually started downloading all the British classic I haven’t read yet onto my Kindle in a desperate attempt to read something of substance and quality.
As I said before, I was very interested in the protagonist on her journey through the story as a ghost, but what the reader gets instead is a self-congratulating, self-glorifying, self-proclaimed superwoman, who thinks she deserves the best at all times. The secondary characters are equally self-glorifying and annoying. There was not one trait in any of the characters that afforded at least some form of connection between the story and the reader.
The plot has a few great points of potential, yet it gets lost in the avalanche of verbal diarrhea that wanders too far from the focus of the story. Various issues of importance are addressed, such as racism, the monopoly of film productions in Hollywood and war, but they all get lost in the forced righteousness of the protagonist.
I don’t want to say the writing is awful, it does flow quite nicely, it is the author’s decision of the topics on which she focuses and how she does so: providing endless social commentary with a very biased point of view infused with insufferable righteousness and a better-than-everyone-else attitude. The story is almost entirely dialogue-driven, creating long, drawn out conversations that seem forced, staged and unnatural, amplifying the self-congratulating personality traits that made me want to throw the book across the room in the first place. On top, it feels like the author imagines the reader to be slightly stupid from the way she keeps repeating various points and wording particular sentences.
Overall, I appreciate the addressing of very important issues, if the reader can find them amongst the self-proclaiming greatness of the characters. I looked for entertainment and substance I could not find in this story. Others may have a different opinion, but unfortunately I cannot recommend this book.

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The History Major by Michael Phillip Cash

The History Major by Michael Phillip Cash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
The first half of this novella was probably the best written manifestation of a recurring nightmare I had during my very long university career and it felt strangely therapeutic to see it on the page before me. It provided a sense of comfort, knowing that I might not be the only one with such an imagination. I have to give the author great credit for being able to create such a strong eerie setting right from the start.
I could not stand the main character, though. Spoiled, in need of constant attention and way too focused on what other people think, she did not strike me as a character in need of my sympathy. Having said that, it added a valuable element to the story, which worked much better than had she been a likeable character.
The plot was very interesting, took its time to unfold and provided much to ponder long after finishing the story.
The writing was smooth, the dialogue between characters flowed nicely, while constantly keeping a sense of mystery while the plot slowly came to a conclusion.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable novella that included elements of horror, science fiction, mystery and a hint of fantasy. A quick read with an intriguing “aha” moment, I would recommend this story for anyone, who enjoys stories of the aforementioned genres. I only wished it was a bit longer to satisfy my curiosity of the philosophical points mentioned.

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The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished this book late last night and I have to admit it has been a while since I was too scared to leave my bed to get a glass of water. It was haunting, it was terrifying, it made me question the reality we call our own.
The unconventional way the author chose to tell the story of Kaitlyn and her descent into madness or maybe her sad story as she falls victim to something sinister added to the mystery and anticipation to reach the conclusion. A collection of diary entries, video clips and audio clips of interviews and treatment sessions help paint a greater picture of the characters and the situation they are in without any sense of bias.
It is impossible to comment much more on the story without giving something away that would diminish the skin crawling entertainment of reading this story. With twists and turns at every corner of this story the reader is plunged deeper into the web of Kaitlyn’s mind as it is entangled between reality and that which lurks in the dark just outside every person’s grasp of consciousness.
A bit gory, a bit gothic and a whole lot of haunting images that will stick with the reader long after finishing this story, it is one worthy of the Horror genre category. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in search for a spine-tingling and richly developed story.

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