Asylum by Madeleine Roux REVIEW

 Summary:

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm--formerly a psychiatric hospital. As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because it turns out Brookline was no ordinary psych ward. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this book. I read it all in one sitting.

Dan is an interesting character to choose to focus on. Reading the book made me think that Abby was more of main character material then he was. He shares the name of the notoriously terrible warden that experimented on and sacrificed patients, which makes asking people who live in the area freak out. Hopefully in the sequel we get to find out if they are actually related. Also, he has a mild dissociative disorder, which is cool because it's usually the killer who has it, not one of their targets.

Jordan was also interesting, but he had less of a part in the search for answers, which didn't go well for his character development; he wasn't included in a lot of important scenes and revelations. He is a gay teen who escaped from being sent to a conversion camp. I hope we find out more about him in the sequel as well.

Abby's character was arguably the most interesting. She had an aunt who was sent to the asylum back when it was open. And it turns out that the aunt is still alive, living in the town. Her dad gets angry whenever she tries to ask him about her.

READ! THIS! BOOK! I know I'm like eight years late to this, but it was so good.

My Rating: 5 stars

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas REVIEW

 Summary:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal but Tamlin--one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As Feyre dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility to a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it...or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever. 

My Thoughts:

I had intended to read this back when it first came out, but never did until my girlfriend basically forced me to read it. And I am so glad that I did.

It starts out with Feyre hunting to help her family survive. They used to be rich, but fell on hard times sometime after her mother died. She has two sisters, one who is sweet and the other who is, well, a bitch. Her father is crippled and can't do anything to make money to provide for his daughters.

The wolf she kills turns out to be some kind of Fae, which comes with the consequence of either death or being brought back to their land. The latter is what happens.

There she meets Tamlin, a High Lord, who is a bit of an asshole for about half of the book, and Lucien, who is also an asshole, but for good reason: the Fae she killed was his friend.

Feyre ends up falling for Tamlin, and then things go to shit. He and his people are kidnapped by another being, and she is the only one who can save them. Spoiler alert: she does.

While it was originally hard to get into, the more I read, the more I got invested in the characters, the land, and the story. I will definitely continue reading this series.

My Rating: 5 stars

The Descent of the Drowned by Ana Lal Din REVIEW

 Summary:

As the sacred slave of a goddess, Roma is of a lower caste that serves patrons to sustain the balance between gods and men. What she wants is her freedom, but deserters are hunted and hanged, and Roma only knows how to survive in her village where women are vessels without a voice. When her younger brother is condemned to the same wretched fate as hers, Roma must choose between silence and rebellion.

Leviathan is the bastard son of an immortal tyrant. Raised in a military city where everyone knows of his blood relation to the persecuted clans, Leviathan is considered casteless. Lowest of the low. Graduating as one of the deadliest soldiers, he executes in his father's name, displaying his worth. When he faces judgement from his mother's people--the clans--Leviathan must confront his demons and forge his own path, if he ever hopes to reclaim his soul.

But in the struggle to protect the people they love and rebuild their identities, Roma's and Leviathan's desires interlock as the immortal tyrant hunts an ancient treasure that will doom humankind should it come into his possession--a living treasure to which Roma and Leviathan are the ultimate key.

My Thoughts:

I LOVED this book! It's so well written too, for it being the author's first novel.

Roma is such a strong character. She endures so much suffering under the caste system as a slave. Despite being considered not human and closer to goddess, they aren't treated very well. Not to mention the fact that they are sold off to men as a kind of higher prostitute. When Roma realizes the truth of this, she, understandably, gets angry. And it sets her off in the direction of possibly running away. (Spoiler Alert) she turns out to be the sort of vessel of the treasure, hinted throughout as she sometimes unknowingly releases her powers. I wish we got to know more about her powers.

Leviathan is well developed as well. In some ways, you sympathize with him. He hates seeing wardens beat up, rape, and kill people of the lower caste. He wants to turn the system around, whether from the inside or outside. But he has flaws. He will do anything for the cause, even if it hurts other innocent people, like Roma. We got to learn about his past, which is nice.

The ending seemed very rushed. I hope that maybe the author would consider writing a sequel or something, because it left me wanting more.

My Rating: 5 stars

The Edge of Forever by Melissa E. Hurst REVIEW

 Summary:

In 2013, sixteen-year-old Alora is having blackouts. Each time she wakes up in a different place with no idea how she got there. The one thing she is certain of? Someone is following her.

In 2146, seventeen-year-old Bridger is one of a small number of people born with the ability to travel to the past. While on a routine school time trip, he sees the last person he expected--his dead father. The strangest part is that, according to the Department of Temporal Affairs, his father was never assigned to be in that time. Bridger's even more stunned when he learns that his by-the-book father was there to break the most important rule of time travel--to prevent someone's murder.

And that someone is named Alora.

Determined to discover why his father wanted to help a "ghost", Bridger illegally shifts to 2013 and, along with Alora, races to solve the mystery surrounding her past and her connection to his father before the DTA finds him. If he can stop Alora's death without altering the timeline, maybe he can save his father too.

My Thoughts:

It started out really slow but picked up and I am so glad that I kept going through it, despite being in a bit of a reader's slump.

Alora's character is a bit, well, cliché. But she's still likeable and interesting. Her unknown history is probably the most interesting thing about her, and we get to find out quite a bit, although it is set up to have a sequel, so we'll see if it is a satisfying conclusion. Her being so similar to Vika was also kind of cliché but the twist on why was a nice surprise.

Bridger is a bit more interesting. His beloved father is dead, leaving him with his brother and his incredibly selfish mother. The set-up of the future was something I hoped to learn more of, but this book mostly takes place in 2013, so don't expect too much. A lot of things, I hope, will be explained and more clearly developed in the sequel.

If you can push yourself through the first third of the book, you won't regret it.

My Rating: 4 stars

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins REVIEW

 Summary:

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and out maneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined-every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute...and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

My Thoughts:

It started off nicely, and then was a slump for a bit before going back to being interesting. I do really wish that how Snow got the presidency was included, as we barely know anything about that.

Snow is originally a character to sympathize with. His family, though famous and from the Capitol, is very poor and they worry about losing their home daily. I don't really see how choosing to follow the rules over love made him the cruel president we see during Katniss's time though. I honestly wish we got more of Sejanus (a brief friend of Snow's before he is betrayed and hung). He seemed like a more interesting character to me. I now know why Snow hates District 12 though. I wish we knew more about the rivalry between the headmaster, Dr. Gaul, and Snow's father. 

I don't understand why the tributes were basically starved before the games. If you want someone to fight to the death and be entertained by it...they kind of have to be at full strength. 

It was good to read, but if you're just a casual fan, you might not want to. While some parts were great, others were extremely boring.

My Rating: 2 stars