Review: Allies and Assassins by Justin Somper

goodreads | 496 pages | medieval fantasy,

realistic fantasy, mystery | published

may 27, 2014 | little, brown

Prince Anders, the ruler of Archenfield, has been murdered, leaving his younger brother, Jared, to ascend the throne. Sixteen-year-old Jared feels unprepared to rule the kingdom and its powerful and dangerous court, yet he knows he can rely on the twelve officers of the court to advise him. He also knows he can just as easily be at their mercy-especially when it appears that one of them may be responsible for his brother's death. Unable to trust anyone, Jared takes it upon himself to hunt down his brother's killer-but the killer may be hunting him, as well. Murder, betrayal, and intrigue abound in Justin Somper's thrilling YA series debut. Exploring the political machinations of the medieval court and the lives that hang in the balance, Allies & Assassins is a gripping tale of a teen torn between duty and revenge.

spoiler-free review: ★★★

Allies & Assassins was good, but not the Game of Thrones type novel it is being hailed as. While the writing can be quite dry and repetitive sometimes, the plot manages to carry it along. The characters are all very well-written and fully fleshed out. The world can seem a bit too modern sometimes, but it's an interesting change from realistic medieval Europe. 

diversity: ★

I wasn't expecting much from a medieval fantasy, but surprisingly, sexuality (and asexuality) was brought up.

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon Update Post

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10TH

I didn't read today because the study course took up all my time and I decided to go see Into the Woods instead of reading. Great movie, by the way. 

Bout of Books 12

I'm really jumping in headfirst this year and I'm going to participate in a read-a-thon for the first time.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Three things:

• I've never done a read-a-thon before. 
• I start school this week, and since I'm in 12th grade and missed most of the last week of school before the break, this week is SUPER important. All my university entrance grades depend on this, actually - and I have diploma exams this month. Woe is me. 
• But I'm getting eleven books I put on hold at the library very, very soon. (This week it seems to be taking forever to come in - usually when I'm first in line it takes less than a day. Maybe it's because, you know, eleven books.)

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm trying to make time for me to read - to prove that it's something I can do. I just hope I'm not going to use this as an excuse to procrastinate my homework. 

So I suppose that's my goal: make time for me to read when I otherwise wouldn't. I'm putting my goal at five books. Let's see how this goes. 

Review: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

goodreads | 383 pages | contemporary romance,

coming of age | pub jan 6, 2015 | knopf books

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.  

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. 

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. 

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

spoiler-free review: ★★★★
If you're looking for a funny yet sad read, this is what you're looking for. All the Bright Places manages to be both entertaining yet heartbreaking. What is discussed in this book is dark but never manages to be too overwhelming, and I can see this being a book that people will hail as important.

diversity: ★

I don't know if it's bad reading comprehension or not, but as far as I noticed all the characters in this book were white and straight. Finch, however, was vaguely implied to have bipolar disorder, so that's something. 

Spoilers under the cut.

Here we go!

Welcome to my blog!

As you might have guessed from the name, I'll be primarily writing about books. I've been trying to write down my thoughts about books on private Tumblr blogs from time to time, but I decided to take the leap and create a blog. I want to share the love of reading. I thought about doing BookTube, but I decided against it because I'm best with words.

I've never done anything like this before. I mean, I've had Tumblr, but Tumblr isn't, you know, an actual blog. So bear with me. I am not sure of how to do themes on this website.

I'll be posting book reviews and lists until I can get this blog on its feet and think of other things to write. I think I'll be posting about the diversity discussions as well; I've been following those since early last year.

So, hi! I'm excited to start blogging!