Book Review: The Crystal Key (Starjumper Legacy #1) by Christopher Bailey

The Crystal Key fell right in the middle for me.

The Crystal Key is the first in a series that follows the story of Allie Bennett. She receives this mysterious gift from her adoptive mother. Her best friend (who also is her secret crush), Dav, and his brother seem to also know more than they let on. Unbeknownst to Allie, she holds the gift that will introduce her to a whole other world more intricate and complex than she could ever imagine.

This beginning novel of Bailey's series wasn't amazing, but not bad either. For me, the pros and cons equaled each other out. The main character, Allie, was only thirteen in this novel, so she came out more juvenile than I normally read. She complained about a lot more trivial things than I anticipated and focused more on her issues than the whole entire galaxy. There was this one scene where Allie puts her needs before literally everyone else's in the galaxy, and I just couldn't believe that she would do that. I guess her self preservation instinct is more prevalent than mine?

However, there were some scenes that made me want to keep on reading! The last half of the novel was much more stronger than the first half. There were some major battle like scenes that took place that kept me on the edge of my seat. One of my favorite things about the novel was the diversity in character personalities and types of being.

Being in astronomy class right now, there were several times where I was just geeking out about stuff. Vehicles moving faster than the speed of light? Wormholes? Other planets that humans could live on? Other sentient life? My inner (it's not so inner) geek was freaking out. I just kept thinking, "This would be so amazing if we had this!"

My biggest complaint is that I just didn't connect to the characters that much. I found them to be a bit 'blah' most of the time and the only thing I was semi-passionate about was the budding realtionship between Dev and Allie. I don't necessarily know if it was just me as a reader, or the book in general.

I'm still on the fence with continuing this series. I am interested in seeing where the plot goes, but the question that remains is how am I going to get the book.

With that, I give this book

3 out of 5 Stars!

Favorite Quote

"He promptly decided that humans had no right to judge another person based on skin coloring until they had seen someone walk by with infrared skin and ultraviolet hair so bright that it was physically painful to directly look at."

Have you guys heard of this book? What are some of your favorite books set in space?

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

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Want to read a little bit of The Crystal Key? Check out the little blurb I featured in my Friday 56 post a week or so back! 

November Wrap Up!

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! Today I am going to be wrapping up my reading month of November. I read a total of 7 books and one short story. I fell into a bit of a reading slump where I just wasn't really reading for a span of a week or so. Though I normally read more than seven books a month, I am still pretty happy that I read that much considering I got into my first reading slump since the year, really!

One thing that I noticed is that all of these books are part of a series or a companion series! I really want to read some standalone novels, so hopefully I'll pick some up in December. In November, I also finished four series! I always love finishing series because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. 

1.) Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry
Rating: 3 Stars
It was really hard for me to like Nowhere But Here. Nothing really clicked for me, and the novel didn't really stand out either. Katie McGarry's novels are blending together. Her writing style is very synonymous in all of her books, and I just got really frusturated. It was a good book and I understand why some people love it, but it just didn't do anything for me. Do I recommend it? I would, for fans of Katie McGarry or contemporary in general. Find more of my thoughts here in my review!

2.) Collide (The Taking #3) by Melissa West
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Collide was the final book in The Taking trilogy by Melissa West. The series is focused on the immenent war between the human race and an alien species. A lot went down at the end of Hover, the second book, and even more happened in this conclusion! I really loved how everything went down and it was a really solid ending to a great series. I did have small issues with it, but it didn't necessarily affect my reading experience. Find my review here!

3.) Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
Rating: 5 Stars
Winter was the most anticipated book of this year for me, and it did not disappoint. My mind was blown. Right after I finished the book,  I couldn't see no fault, but now I do. Still, I think it deserves all five stars. If you haven't picked the series up, give it a try! I know I'm happy that I did! Read my fangirl review here!

4.) Sweet Temptation (Sweet #4)  by Wendy Higgins
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Sweet Temptation is another series I finished this month! I was on a roll here wasn't I? Reading this and Winter right after each other gave me a major book hangover and is the reason for the quasi slump. This novel was so much fun to read and it took me by surprise how much I liked it. I had issues with the first book in the series and did with the second as well, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a great book that exceeded my expectations. Here is my review!

5.) Dawn of the Dreamer by L.J. Higgins
Rating: 3 Stars
Dawn of the Dreamer is the opening novel of a dystopian series by L.J. Higgins. I read this with one of my goodreads groups I am a member in, and had a lot of fun! While I definiltey had some issues with the book, it had a solid story. The ending was tied up really well and I was overall really pleased with it. The characters and the plot were run of the mill, but it was an okay book overall. Read more of my thoughts here in my review.

6.) The Wedding by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 3.75 Stars
The Wedding is probably the shortest shorty story I have read so far. It takes place after the events of Opposition, the last book in the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, which I finished earlier this year. The short story captures, you guessed it, a wedding between two vital characters in the series. This story was just really cutesy and gave me shipper feels, and I'm glad I stumbled upon it while scrolling through goodreads. It didn't necessarily add anything to the story for me, but I'm glad I read it.

7.) A Mad Zombie Party (White Rabbit Chronicles #4) by Gena Showalter
Rating: 4.5 Stars
A Mad Zombie is the last series that I completed this month. It centered around two different main characters than the first three books, but it was really fun! The plot was a little predictable for me in the physical conflict aspect, but that is my only major complaint. The White Rabbit Chronicles is always so much fun to read and I laugh out loud every time I read a book in this series! If you're looking for a series that is fun, sassy, and light hearted (most of the time), I would say to pick this one up! You can find my review of this book here! 

8.) The Crystal Key (Starjumper Legacy #1) by Christopher Bailey
Rating: 3.25 Stars
The Crystal Key started out a lot better than I expected, but then had some low point about half of the way through. This book is a science fiction adventure that follows Allie as she is thrust into a world she never new existed. Yes, it follows the common trope but it was a fun story! 

That's a wrap! While it wasn't my best reading month, I had some pretty amazing reads in November and can't wait to see what December brings! What books did you read in November? Have you read any of the books above?

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

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings) No. 2

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! Today I am going to be participating in the weekly meme the Friday 56. The rules are pretty simlple, pick a book, go to page 56 or 56% of your ebook, and highlight a portion of that page here!  Book Beginnings is another weekly meme where you highlight a book as well where you feature the first couple sentences!

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda over at Freda's Voice. Rose City reader hosts Book Beginnings over at her blog! Be sure to check both of these lovely ladies out! :)

Friday 56 - The Crystal Key (Starjumper Legacy #1) by Christopher Bailey

"Allie took a moment to wonder why he was so curious, but decided he just wanted to help her reconnect with her own mother, maybe in some way to connect with his own through hers. They had no idea where his mother was either, but he had always firmly refused to talk about it so she had stopped asking a long time ago."

Okay, so The Crystal Key is my current read. By current read, I mean I opened it on my phone and read one page before deciding to go to sleep instead. I wasn't in the reading mood at the time, but the plot seems interesting enough. Both this and Illuminae are science fiction reads, and I want to finish both my the time the month ends! I have high hopes, but who knows? I'm on break right now from school! This passage gives me insight to both characters. Obviously, they have both lost their mothers, but the 'he' in the passage makes me cautious. Why is he so curious? Or maybe this is my paranoia setting in... haha! 

Book Beginnings - Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

"So here's the file that almost killed me, Director.

I won't bore you with the tally of databases plundered, light years jumped, or cute, sniffling orphans created in its compilation - our fee already reflects Level of Difficulty. But this dirt is out there, if you know where to look. Seems your clean up crews weren't quite as thorough as you'd like, and your little corporate war isn't quite as secret as you hoped."

Talk about an intriguing opening! I haven't started this book yet, but it is the next one I am going to after finishing my current read! Just reading that part of the book makes me want to pick up Illuminae. I completely love the intrigue of this story and the first two paragraphs keep me intrigued. Corporate war? Count me in! Also, this passage has me riddled with questions already. Who was this sent to and who is the Director? Why is there a corporate war and why must it be kept hidden? All answers I'm looking forward to getting when I read this novel!


That's it for my post today guys! Have you read any of these two books? If so, what did you think of them?

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

Happy Reading! 

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!