Unravel Me is the second book in the amazing and unique Shatter Me-series. I was so blown away by the first book and couldn’t wait to dive into this one. But to start with, I felt a bit let down. 

The start of this book was quite slow, and I didn’t really like Juliette and how she whined and just moped around and didn’t even try to get the others in Omega Point at first. She came across as quite childish and selfish, to be honest. But then halfway in the book it all changed and all that I loved from the first book was back again; the intensity, the feelings, the action, the unique writing style! I don’t want to say too much to spoil anything but the book got so much better once Warner was in it again.
 
The second half of the book was pure perfection, so mind-blowing and with so many twists I hadn’t expected at all. And now the writing style worked its magic again. Once again, Tahereh Mafi’s unique writing felt beautiful and fluid and so full of emotions, drawing you into the dark world and troublesome minds of both Juliette and Warner. 
 
I loved that we got to know Kenji a bit more and how he and Juliette grew closer as friends. But I’m hoping for even more of Kenji in the third book, he’s got such a potential to be a favorite character. I also missed Adam’s connection with James, and hope we get to see more of that too. And I can’t wait for Juliette to really start kicking some ass and getting her revenge!

So even though I had some issues with the start, it nevertheless ended up being a five star-read.

Rating:
5 stars

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​Author info:
Tahereh Mafi

Ready Player One is a wonderful mix of 1980s nostalgia and a dystopian story set in a near future where mankind has basically ruined earth. With almost all resources depleted, people live in trailer homes stacked upon each other and struggle to survive. The only escape humans have is the OASIS, a virtual reality created by James Halliday. When Halliday suddenly dies without heirs a treasure hunt starts to find his hidden keys in the OASIS and gain the power over the game. The book is set five years after his death, when the player Wade Watts suddenly finds the first key. The entire rest of the book follows Wade and his fellow contestants through the game in their attempts to reach the goal first.

Since Halliday’s obsession was the 1980s, the keys all have references to 1980s pop culture – everything from fashion to music to games to computers. Being born in this decade myself, I enjoyed these references immensely!

I also really liked the main character Wade, and his squad with the sassy Art3mis (who is also his long-time crush) and the lovely Aech. They were all so relatable and loveable, and with distinct personalities.

The only complaint I have, is that I saw the movie a few months ago and actually felt that the movie was better than the book. Or rather, that they were two different stories. Well yes, they were both based on VR and the OASIS and Wade was still the main character and his squad was there, but all the important scenes had been changed. Like how they entered the competition, how Wade found the first key, how he and Art3mis and the others met, even how they won the competition and the entire ending, everything was different!

A thing that bothered me in the movie adaption though was the way they changed the characters appearance. I think a really important message in the book was the inner beauty and that they fell in love with each other’s persons not the looks. But most other things were better in the movie. For example, I liked Wade’s character so much better in the movie. In the book his and Aech’s friendship was not at all as strong and easy-going as in the movie. And the part in the book where Wade was hiding out alone in his apartment and turning from chubby to super-fit just felt out of place for the story line, so I’m glad that was left out completely in the movie.

But overall, this was such a fun and original story! Both the movie and the book were such a wonderful trip down memory lane. There were so many amazing details that went in to creating this story and the world building was so well done. And the characters were adorable. If you grew up in the 1980s, or if you enjoy video games and pop quizzes, you will absolutely devour this book!

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
Ernest Cline

Dark, twisted and addictive! The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is a delightful read, with a fresh twist of a small mortal girl in faerie land as the main character.

The main character, Jude, was such a favorite of mine. She’s a complete bad ass, strong and fearless and never whining or feeling sorry for herself no matter what ill treatments and injustice she suffers. And she always tried to protect her twin sister Taryn. (Who I did not like at all, by the way, she is Jude’s complete opposite - selfish, weak and insincere.)

I also loved Prince Cardan from the start. You could really tell that there was a good heart in there somewhere, and that he was having a lot to deal with in his own life. I cannot wait to continue read more about him and learn more about his complex personality. He has so many more layers that I hope will be revealed as the series continues!

There is also a lot of fey politics, betrayal and deception going on… The story is very dark and twisted, with so much bad treatment of Jude that I sometimes had problems to distance myself from the bullying that it in fact was. But once you started to understand everything that Cardan was going through, it felt easier to see through the maliciousness.

Even though it’s a fantasy novel taking place in faerie land, that’s not really the main drive of the story. The big spark here is the sparring personalities and enemies-to-(potential)-lovers fighting between Jude and Cardan. I cannot wait to see how their strange relationship will evolve!
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Some parts of the story and some characters were a bit too predictable, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and I absolutely look forward to reading what comes next.

Rating:
​4 stars

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Holly Black

The Demon World is the sequel to the wonderful, adorable and adventurous The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green. Just like in the first book there are five main POV characters: Catherine, Ambrose, Tash, Edyon and March. In the first book I thought all of the POVs were a little too much at first, but now that you know all the characters better it was no problem at all.

The writing, the characters and the plot was really good this time around as well and there was a lot of action going on. Nevertheless, it did feel like not as much happened in this book as in The Smoke Thieves and I didn’t connect as much to the romance between Princess Catherine and Ambrose this time. To be honest, I didn’t like the way Catherine treated him at times, and I also think there might be another way Catherine could go relationship-wise in the next book, if we get to see more of Prince Tzsayn there... I really missed his character in this book!

All in all, this was a good read, but it suffered a bit from the typical second book syndrome. It felt a lot like Sally Green was moving her characters into position for the grand finale in the third book. But that said, I’m definitely eagerly awaiting the third book to find out what will happen in the end!

Rating:
4 stars

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The plot is very unique and interesting. It’s set in the fictional world of Orléans, where a small number of girls called Belles are able to use magic to create beautiful looks to the paying customer’s desire. It reminded me a lot of the Capitol in the Hunger Games and their obsession for beauty and gossip. But here, it takes things one step further. The story is filled with twists and turns, and Camellia is a wonderful main character. Her and many of the others character development was impressive (but make sure to trust no one…)!
 
At first the beauty aspect and the world building were a bit difficult to get into, but once I rooted for Camellia and the mystery part took off, I was hooked. My only reservation is that the pacing was a bit slow, and that the book felt a bit too lengthy in some parts, whereas other exciting parts of the plot went by too quickly. But all in all, this is a thrilling dystopian story and an intriguing twisted commentary to the price of beauty and objectification, revealing the hidden ugliness beneath the pretty façade.

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
Dhonielle Clayton

The story at its core is a fantasy retelling of Little Mermaid. But to be honest, I didn’t even realize that at first since it is so much darker, and with Princess Lira being so much more powerful and vicious than in the original story. I really loved that it was such a dark and sinister version, and that it put Princess Lira and Prince Elian on an equal footing. Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all, known as “The Prince’s Bane”, until she disobeys her mother, the Sea Queen, who punish her by transforming her into the one thing they loathe most-a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. Prince Elian on the other hand is a pirate and a siren-hunter, something of an anti-prince who would happily give away his crown for a life on the ocean. When his friend is killed by the Prince’s Bane, Elian sets out on a journey to revenge him and save the world by killing all sirens once and for all.

So, basically it's a story about a siren who murders princes and a prince who murders sirens, who are determined to hunt each other down, no matter what. But ripped of her powers and turned into a human, Lira end up at Elian’s ship, looking for an opportunity to take his heart. Only that spending time with each other makes them go from deadly enemies, to distrusting co-habitants, to reluctant admirers who accidentally save each other’s lives instead of killing each other when opportunity arises, and finally to lovers. The romance was so wonderful and slow, one of the best enemies-to-lovers stories ever!

I loved the dual narration, it really added to the suspense and made it so much fun with the snarky comments from both Elian and Lira.
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I also really loved the amazing world building and the whole magical world and the amazing creatures that Alexandra Christo created. There are sirens, pirates, mermaids, mermen, a beautiful, honorable and unselfish prince, and a save-the-world-adventure. What more can you possibly ask for?!

I must admit that enemies-to-lovers is my favorite trope and Alexandra Christo used this trope in the best possible way to create a masterpiece!

Rating:
5 stars

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​Author info:
Alexandra Christo