Chuyển đến nội dung chính

review: rooftops of tehran

book info: on sale: now copy from: public library pages: 348 review written: 21.12.17 originally published: 2009 edition read: Penguin NAL 2009 title: Rooftops of Tehran author: Mahbod Seraji In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran's sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari's stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah's secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice... my thoughts: This book was first published in 2009 and I remember adding it to my list around that time but never actually reading it since I preferred checking out library books to ...

The Secret

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha #1
Source: Kindle Edition
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 5th 2012
Age Genre: Young Adult
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.
“I'm sorry it took me so long to see you, Alina. But I see you now.”
Look who's really really late to join the bandwagon! Me! I've been itching to read this book for a really long while, but something was holding me back. The right mood finally came upon me and I started it. 

From page one, I was in love with the writing style of this book. There is just something so... beautiful about it. I can't really put my finger on it (plus it took me so long to write this review that it's not as fresh in my head as I'd like), but I was addicted to it. 

We're already off to a good start, aren't we? Then there's Alina, the main character of the story. I loved her voice. I loved her character. I loved that she was brave yet scared. Toughed yet so weak. That she had such a good heart in a world that doesn't often appreciated it. That she was human enough to sometimes break her own heart with the actions she had to take. 

Now we have the supporting characters. All were great in my opinion, all added something--whether if to the story or the layers of the world or whatever.

But, can we just say-- I FEEL SO BETRAYED RIGHT NOW. Seriously, I did not see that twist coming. I was having fun, strolling down the plot when BAM I AM UNDER ATTACK MAYDAY MAYDAY *explosion*. 
Seriously, what? why? who thought this was okay? I don't know how to deal with this! My shipper heart is flailing around in distress. 

I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING.

Which, I guess, is what makes this book interesting. It's what makes it different than the rest of the books in the genre that work on the same vibe. It surprises you and makes you want to continue with the books so you could see where does it go--and what surprise does Bardugo has prepared for you next?

But... still. I was not prepared to hate a character that I've learned to love! 

Nitzan

Nhận xét

Bài đăng phổ biến từ blog này

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff Series:   The Lotus War #1 Source:  gifted hardcover Publisher:  Thomas Dunne Books Publication Date: Sep 18, 2012 Age Group: Young Adult A DYING LAND The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever. AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death. A HIDDEN GIFT Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun...

Thursday Oldie: The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

So as you guys know, I just moved here. And that means my old blog now lies abandoned... alongside all my old reviews. But because I feel like some of them don't deserve such an awful treatment, I'm going to slowly move my favorite reviews here,  especially  if my opinion differs than Megs. (though some editing may occur, as I'm a little OCD about my reviews, and the older they originally are, the more likely I am to have things I want to rephrase).  The Avery Shaw Experiment   by  Kelly Oram Source:  own paperback & Kindle version Publisher:  Bluefields Publication Date:  May 4th 2013 Age Genre:  Young Adult Originally published:  June 8, 2013 When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes...

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker - a Gifed Up Review

The Emperor's Edge by  Lindsay Buroker Series:   The Emperor's Edge #1 Source:  Free Kindle Copy (still free at the time of writing this review!) Publisher:  Indie Publication Date:  Jan 1st, 2010 Age Genre: Adult (no sex) Check out my reading process here! Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed. Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead. You guys, let me tell you of this little hidden gem ...

Free $100