BOOK REVIEW | Plague Land by Alex Scarrow

Title: Plague Land
Author: Alex Scarrow
Series? Yes, a duology (I think!)
Pages: 384
Publication Date: December 1, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: I received a galley of Plague Land via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Leon and his younger sister Grace have just moved to London from New York when news of an unidentified plague begins to fill the news.

Within a week the virus hits London. People in the streets turn to liquid before their eyes, and what follows is a frantic hunt for a safety which may no longer exist.

A new gripping series from Alex Scarrow.

Author's Website | Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW | Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

Title: Mask of Shadows
Author: Linsey Miller
Series? Yes, a duology
Pages: 384
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: I received Mask of Shadows via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts/opinions are my own. Thank you!

Perfect for fantasy fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, the first book in this new duology features a compelling gender fluid main character, impressive worldbuilding, and fast-paced action.

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class―and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand―the Queen's personal assassins, named after the rings she wears―Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.

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Book Review: Hell Bent by Karen Crompton

Hell Bent didn't meet my expectations. 

Unfortunately, I didn't like Hell Bent as much as I wanted to. If I had to put my thoughts in simplest form, I would say that it was just okay. I didn't necessarily like it, but I didn't dislike it either. The characters and plot just didn't speak to me. 

The characters of Hell Bent besides Beau weren't as fleshed as I wanted them to be. There's a sizable cast of characters that are always present in the book, and I would've liked to have seen more of them. Rake really intrigued me and there was only one part of the book where I felt as if  he wasn't one dimensional. The non-complexity of the characters was my main problem. They didn't feel as if they were real people.

However, there were moments where I was really enjoying myself reading Hell Bent. The rising actions were really fun to read and I loved seeing Corrie and Beau's relationship develop. My favorite scene of the whole book is when the couple goes to an art class. It was light and funny. My issue with the plot is that there wasn't enough balance between light and dark. I understand that heavy topics are at play in the novel, but the book was consistently dark for a good 30 percent and it started to drag on. My least favorite part has to be right after the climax of the novel. Beau has some real problems, but his narration became repetitive to the point of annoying. 

Just because I had a lot of issues does not mean that this is a BAD book. Hell Bent just wasn't for me and I wish it was. Crompton has a lot of promise as an author. There were times where she handled plot points really well, like the grief and alcoholism. The characters were the real problem for me. I just couldn't like Beau, no matter how hard I tried.  I'll probably be reading more of her in the future, but it just won't be part of this series. 

Those are my thoughts on Hell Bent. Just because I didn't love the book doesn't mean that you won't! Crompton holds a lot of promise as an author and I'm looking forward to what is in store in the future. 

With that, I give this book 

2 out of 5 Stars!

Thanks guys for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Book Review: Switched (Trylle #1) by Amanda Hocking

I'm tired of disappointments. I'm tired of reading books where the main characters whine and don't think of anything but themselves. I'm especially tired of insta-love.

Switched had all of this and more, including a storyline that didn't live up to it's unique plot. I didn't have extremely high hopes when I started this book, but I expected more than I received. Switched, which is a self-published phenomenon in YA, just fell short. The story is about our main character, Wendy, and her journey after she finds out that not only is she a troll, but royalty as well.

Throughout the novel I could not connect with Wendy. She's supposed to be 15, which is just a year younger than I am. Maybe I'm mature or Wendy is immature, but I could not stand her. She only thought of herself. Most of the time she was just complaining, and I couldn't handle it after a while. However, there is one thing got me even more frustrated than the personality of the main character.

And that is the insta love. Oh my god. This has to be the worst insta-love I have ever seen. I might have thought that the love interest (I forgot his name he's so one dimensional!) was swoon-worthy when I was about twelve, but he has no depth. He's just this honorable soldier that would do anything for our main character because he fell in love with her the moment he saw her. UGH.

Even with all the negative things I have to say about this book, it still entertained me. Sure, there were times where I was so annoyed with the book I had to put it down, but I still kept thinking about it (no matter how painfully obvious the story was going to turn out). This series has promise, and for that reason I will be continuing on. Plus, I'm interested to see if Hocking's writing improves with time.

I wouldn't necessarily say that I liked this book, but I didn't hate it either. It was a combination of my frustration and it's promise of good to come that let to my feeling of mediocrity. I am interested to see what will occur in the next novels. At least now I'll now to get a couple at a time because nothing actually happened in the first book.

I wish I read this four years ago, because I would've loved it back then. I guess it's better late than never??

With that, I give this book
2 out of 5 Stars!

Have you guys read anything by Amanda Hocking? What did you think?

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Review: The Fill in Boyfriend by Kasie West

*ALERT: MAJOR RANT AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!*

I'm sad to say, but I was completely disappointed by The Fill in Boyfriend.

Here I am, feeling myself getting into a major reading slump. My mom just had surgery, and my schoolwork just sky rocketed because the first quarter is ending. I wanted to pick up something quick and fun that all my friends seem to have enjoyed. I stumble upon The Fill in Boyfriend on my library's Overdrive and think, "Perfect." The average of my friend's reviews is 4.11, and the average rating of everyone who has rated it is 3.91, which is relatively high. So I go in and start reading.

Right from the get go I had a "meh" type of feeling about this, but I thought it might just be me, so I kept at it. Unfortunately, Gia is still as annoying as she is in the end as she was in the beginning. Yes, she has definitely matured, but I hate how she never fully developed to ever come clean about what she did. She kept putting up excuse over excuse of why she couldn't. In the end, she's still worrying about a longtime friendship that has dissolved because of her. I'm sorry, but if you didn't have faith that your best friend would believe you over another, than you obviously don't trust her enough. I just hate how the friendships were portrayed in this novel. Why aren't there more healthy friendship dynamics in young adult literature? Why must girls ALWAYS be pitted against each other?

This leads me to another point - Gia's "frenemy"Jules. The portrayal of Jules is horrendous. I get that we're seeing this from Gia's perspective, but when is someone that ignorant of another person's problems? Gia is all "woe is me" because she lied to her friends and is worried Jules will figure it all out, while Jules herself is going through a lot more serious of issues. Jules is made out to be this horrible person that is almost devilish, and I hate that Kasie West never took that turn in the story where Gia actually realized she was in the wrong for all of it and that she was being immature. Yes, she kind of does in the end, but she also blames it on Jules. In the end of the novel, she does realize that her best friend deserved a better friend than her at the time, but doesn't think that Jules is the better alternative. Instead, she says that she is the better alternative than Jules because she changed. If you are still comparing yourself to another girl and putting her down just like you did in the beginning, you haven't changed that much! I just wanted a scene where Jules and Gia had a big confrontation and they both realized that they were being immature brats, but no. We get the most disappointing ending EVER.

There's literally nothing resolved in the end besides the relationship aspect of the novel. Yay, the two main characters are together. But you know what is more important than boyfriends? You got it, FRIENDSHIPS. All we see at the end is a glimmer of hope that Gia and her best friend will work it out. That's it. There are no questions answered about what is actually going to happen.

Another thing that literally pissed me off so much were the side characters. Gia's friends are fine, except for Jules, but they all lack depth. Every single one of her friends are those one dimensional happy go lucky girls that have no care in the world. Her brother is the grade A protective yet douche older sibling and her parents are the stereotypical distant mom and dad that just "don't understand." Ugh.

The one thing I kind of liked about this novel is the relationship between Gia and Hayden. Yes, they were cute, but god, their communication skills are horrendous. I seriously wanted to tear my hair out sometimes. Gia made so many problems and made everything so much more dramatic than it needed to be. Hayden did the same thing because he is this artsy fartsy hipster that is misunderstood and tortured. Yeah, right. You have a great family and friends that might not be the best of people, but still support you. Can he just stop sending so many mixed freaking messages? Bec was also pretty cool. She was the only side character I didn't have an issue with and she was by far my favorite.

However, the story was interesting. I'll give it that. I wouldn't really recommend this book though. At first when I finished it, I gave it around 3.5 stars, but the more I think about it, the more I find more problems and get more angry. West's writing style was really capturing, and it is what made me keep reading to be quite honest. I will probably read something other of hers, I just hope that I get different results.

With that, I give this book

2 Stars, and I'm being generous.

Have you read anything by Kasie West? If so, what did you think? What are some contemporaries that got your blood boiling or your heart singing? Comment down below, I'd love to hear what you think!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Side Note: Maybe I just don't like characters with three letter names? Tia also bugged the crap out of me in Biggest Flirts.