Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Title: Kill the Boy Band
Author: Goldy Moldavsky
Pages: 320 pages
Published: February 23rd, 2016
Source: Hardcover from Books of Wonder
Genre: Dark Contemporary
Rating: 3.75/5

Okay, so just know from the start that it wasn't supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near The Ruperts, our favorite boy band.

We didn't mean to kidnap one of the guys. It kind of, sort of happened that way. But now he's tied up in our hotel room. And the worst part of all, it's Rupert P. All four members of The Ruperts might have the same first name, but they couldn't be more different. And Rupert P. is the biggest flop out of the whole group.

We didn't mean to hold hostage a member of The Ruperts, I swear. At least, I didn't. We are fans. Okay, superfans who spend all of our free time tweeting about the boys and updating our fan tumblrs. But so what, that's what you do when you love a group so much it hurts.

How did it get this far? Who knows. I mean midterms are coming up. I really do not have time to go to hell.

Buy it now!

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No, I don't love One Direction. I don't listen to their music on loop and stalk their social media accounts. I don't have a serious infatuation with any of the members of any boy band. No, I don't stare at a computer screen waiting for tickets to be released. I don't do anything fangirl worthy of the sorts, but for some reason I adored this book.

There is something so enjoyable about scary and evil humor. It's a hybrid of something totally sarcastic and sadistic. 

The only qualm I had with this book was the lack of originality. I knew the history behind the boy band in the story would be based off of One Direction. I didn't expect it to be the exact same thing as One Direction! The backstory was exactly the same. A group of boys who meet on a singing competition show and are all grouped together because the judges thought they'd work better as a group. And they're British! I don't know about you but that sounds exactly like One Direction... What really kills me is that she didn't even try to be original. She could have said they were Australian or Asian, but British? Really? 

Moldavsky really thought the entire story through. Although it follows 4 fangirls and their plot to get near their favorite boy band, we only hear the from the voice of one of the characters. This was an interesting spin on what could have been a story told from 4 point of views. But now that I think about it, 4 would have been way too confusing and hectic. Especially choosing to tell the story from the weakest link in the group was ingenious.

There were actions of the characters that seriously irked me but were understandable, considering the circumstances they were put under. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I resented the characters because they, in more than one way, reflected me and my actions. If my friend kidnapped a member of a famous boy band, I would react just as Samantha (the protagonist). 

Not over the top or offensive to the species of fangirls/fanboys in any way. If anything, this book will make you question why you're a fangirl in the first place. In fact, she brings up some great philsophical points . It almost makes me proud to be a crazed human-being. 

"I don't know how it was in the days of yesteryear, but the fangirls of today are a way more sophisticated bunch. Loving someone so fiercely gave us permission to also be critical of them." 

- pg. 46, Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky 

Finally a YA book that doesn't think romance is the only think keeping the genre afloat. No more pretentious romances and god-awful plot twists. We need more dark and sadistic contemporaries!

 I guess there's an inner boy-band lover in me after all. 

Meeting Goldy at the NYC Teen Author Festival @ Books of Wonder

The Secret Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes [NON-SPOILER]

Title: The Secret Lies of Minnow Bly
Author: Stephanie Oakes
Pages: 400 pages
Published: June 9th, 2015
Genre: Dark, YA
Source: Barnes & Noble Hard Copy
Rating:

With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Julie Berry's All The Truth That's in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins. 

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. 

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too. 

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something- but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she has always dreamed of- if she's willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past. 

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is a hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith- and the power of having faith in oneself. 

Buy it now! 

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A creepy cult-related book rocks right up my alley so it wasn't to anyone's surprise that I picked this one up. I was lucky enough to buddy read this with my great friends Sofia and Isabelle from the book blogging and Youtube community. This story didn't surprise me up until the middle where I could clearly feel the complexity and plot of the story getting stronger and more prominent. But anyways, let's get into my thoughts and feels.

Plot

The beginning of the story is slow and it takes some time to realize that the book switches between past and present in the form of flashbacks. Minnow speaks from the present when she doesn't have any hands and she's in juvie for assaulting someone but, at the same time, there are flashbacks into the past, the time before she got her hands cut off and what led her into juvie. The whole aspect of information before explanation didn't bode well with me. I guess it's just common sense that I need to know the events that lea up to something extremely dramatic, but I guess that's just me because I know some people who worship this book for its plot and non-linear timing. 

Like I've mentioned before, this book starts with a bang where Minnow is sitting on top of someone's body all covered in blood. I felt like she took the rest of the book to explain how she got in that situation and it just took too damn long for me to find an answer in the midst. Overall, however, the author gives you a little mystery you've got to solve and the answer is revealed at the end of the book: Who killed the Prophet? The Prophet is dead and some people are looking more suspicious than others but only Minnow knows who it is. She doesn't tell you till the end of course and even though the answer seems so obvious, it's not at all what you're thinking. So Stephanie Oakes, I give you credit for that fantastic ending! 

Characters

The book is told from the eyes of seventeen-year-old Minnow Bly who is put into a juvenile detention center. She's got no hands, no family, and no religion as of present time in the book. The fact that she's in this juvenile detention center and she's the only narrator of this book seems kind of sketchy and makes me believe she is an unreliable narrator. I don't quite know if I can trust her or not but throughout the book I made sure to keep in mind that she was never 100% trust-worthy. 

Minnow is a cryptic character, even from the beginning. She doesn't fully stretch out her sentences to tell you everything that went down. She is mysterious, but I loved how open she was to new possibilities and trying to escape her past. Minnow wasn't a perfect character. She did some bad things that got her where she is today but I think the whole aspect of her trying to find herself again was so invigorating. 

Romance

More like relationships...

Just because you're in juvie doesn't mean you can't make friends with someone who has committed murder! Minnow befriends her cellmate, Angel, who was put in there for actual murder. I felt like even though Angel has that reputation of the biggest and baddest of the entire jail, she's really protective and caring over Minnow. You really couldn't ask for a better friend in jail, and that's probably the best it gets! 

Minnow meets a boy named Jude who is basically an intruder to her society because her cult doesn't accept nonbelievers. It felt like Jude only liked Minnow because she was the only other girl around to like! I mean how many other girls do you see strolling around the woods singing country music?? Not much, exactly. Their relationship was overrated.

Minnow also befriends this cop, Dr. Wilson, who strikes a deal with her. He says he will help Minnow get out by recommending her for parole if she just tells him who killed the Prophet. And he wants to know since he's on the case for his murder. They were like a dog and a cat kind of chasing each other's tails and messing around, speaking in intricate sentences trying to hide the true meaning of their words, when really they could have both said what they needed to say right then and there. Dr. Wilson does something genuine and kind in the end for Minnow, which I won't spoil because this is a non-spoilery review! Great characters. I loved them!

I'm not ready to give this book its golden five stars because I did find problems with it. It was a so-so book that I didn't find revolutionizing and like my last breath of air. But is it a book that I'd recommend to anyone for enjoyment and mind-blowing twists? Yes, it's a powerful and compelling book that had a satisfying ending for a standalone dark read (or at least I think it's stand alone). 

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it? 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Shadow and Bone 

Author: Leigh Bardugo 

Pages: 368 pages 

Published: June 5th, 2012

Genre: Fantasy, YA 

Rating: 

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.

Buy it now! 

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Many blogger friends and booktubers have fallen in love with this series and it was only a matter of time before I would pick it up and read it. On a bargain sale I was able to snatch up the first book and quickly get started on it, with my summer vacation approaching. My bar of expectations was super high for this book, all things considered, and I was basically expecting this book to be the fast-paced fantasy read that everyone was talking about, in the level of Throne of Glass. But let's jump into the review before I give too much away. 

The book follows Alina, an orphaned teenage girl who's only grown up beside her best friend Mal. The two of them are inseparable and Alina knows she has more than just friendly feelings for him. It's obvious because she gets jealous every time a gorgeous Grisha dwells on Mal's face for too long. It's not until their group is attacked by hungry volcra does Alina discover her true and untapped power inside of her-- she is a Sun Summoner, one that could bring light to dark days and destroy the Shadow Fold forever. But with this great power, she's got a lot of people out for her head or to control her. You never know who you could trust with that kind of power even if you think you know. 

Overall, this plot reminded me of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and some version of Rebel Belle remix by Rachel Hawkins. It just wasn't so unoriginal and awkward at times, but it was still a great story. I think the way Leigh Bardugo started the book was an interesting take and decided to infused some tones and elements of true friendship and romance before things got too serious. 

You'll like this book if you're a fast-paced reader that wants your plot to get straight to the point right away. I can recall that being one of my favorite parts-- that there was always action at every corner. But in all honesty, this book just didn't live up to all its hype and didn't impress me much (and it doesn't take much to impress me, at all). 

I have mixed thoughts on Alina. It was either I loved her or I really didn't at some parts of the book. She was a bit of a whiner, but then again I could definitely see her brave and tenacious characteristics sticking out on the sides. I didn't think of Alina as a strong character, but more of a weak one with not much of a development, but since this is a three book series, there is no doubt in my mind that the author will try to change Alina's mannerisms. 

I felt that in this certain book, the protagonist was the most interesting character. The Darkling was our protagonist and I felt like he was so wonderfully crafted. Devious, controlling, manipulative-- these are all the traits I look for in an enthralling character. And he did stir up some heavy emotions. I really really enjoyed his place in the book. 

No slut-shaming here but if my crush that I'd grew alongside by was at home while I was living in a palace, I wouldn't kiss the hottest guy there like. Like c'mon Alina, seriously? Did you really just kiss him? The romance in here was weak, to say the least, but I do like myself a juicy love triangle between two conflicting characters. 

Alina went back and forth between Mal and the Darkling, and I kind of hated that! Romance does not get serious in this book but it is something that stirs up the conflict. My words and thoughts for this book are just really sparse and I find that I can't have a full length discussion about it. Oh wells, I really hope I like the rest of the series! 

Going into this series with high expectations was probably not the best way to proceed, and I ended up being disappointed since it wasn't as fantastic as most readers have claimed. I will be continuing with the series as I've already purchased the second book (good going, Alex!!) and to see if this series gets any better. Thanks for sticking around for this review! 

The Cellar by Natasha Preston

Title: The Cellar 

Author: Natasha Preston 

Pages: 356 pages 

Published: March 1st, 2014 

Genre: Mysterious, Thriller 

Source: Paperback from Barnes & Noble
Rating: 

When sixteen-year-old Summer Robinson goes missing one night, her family, friends and boyfriend are devastated. Nothing ever happens in Long Thorpe, so the disappearance of a school girl shocks the whole community. The police waste no time in launching a search and investigation, but with nothing to go on and no trace of Summer, hopes of finding her quickly fade. 

Colin Brown, is a thirty-year-old solicitor living alone after the death of his mother. He suffered a traumatic and abusive childhood, and is left with no sense of right and wrong. Desperate for the perfect family, Colin, referring to himself as Clover, turns to drastic measures to get what he wants. 

Get it now!

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This summer I've been venturing down a long path of contemporary and mystery/thrillers. I love the suspense and excitement that these types of books take me on. I'm that type of girl that stays up late marathoning the last season of any criminal detective show. Also this book follows a realistic topic in society that is never really portrayed in books-- kidnapping and rape. I hope after the end of this review, I've convinced you all to read this twisted and mind-blowing book

I liked how in one moment Summer was living a normal life and the next, she was being thrown into the back of a van and down a hidden cellar. The author makes it to be so easy to kidnap someone and get away with it-- not only one but many many times. Colin Brown, in search for the perfect family, kidnaps girls that have run away or are homeless. But Summer has a family, friends, and a boyfriend that is worried sick about her at home. And Summer finds out that she's not alone in the tiny, dark cellar. Later renamed Lily, Summer finds out that there are three other girls who have been stripped of their names and have been down here for a while. 

This book is told from three point of views-- the captor, the captive, and the people looking for Summer (i.e. her boyfriend Lewis and her dear family). The changes in POV is not terribly confusing as it is stated on the top of every new page of every new chapter. These POV changes kept the story fresh and more interesting, as we got to see inside the twisted mind of these girl's captor. We also saw from Summer's POV, which was the best because she was our inside view into what Colin was actually doing with these girls. 

I was thinking that this book was kind of like a HOW TO ESCAPE A KIDNAPPING SITUATION kind of thing since we were bombarded with all these POV and ideas from the characters. We learned from Summer that you can never give up on hope that people are out there looking for you and one day your captor will slip up and you can escape. I definitely learned that you shouldn't be walking on the streets alone at night. 

This book discovers just so many aspects of this real life situation and it's terribly scary to be in the eyes of the captive, while the captor and kidnapper is doing whatever he pleases to you. 

The characterization that the author sets up is impressive and I found myself gawking at some of the most foul and dirty scum of this story. Colin is seriously twisted and we can see from his actions that he has no sense, whatsoever, of what is wrong and what is right. He kills postitutes, kidnaps girls to preserve their innocence and smacks these girls when a flower dies. From the beginning, the author has made it clear that he is obsessed with innocence and cleanliness by making the girls take a shower 2 times a day and they should be fully dressed with makeup and everything by the time he comes down. What I thought was most disturbing was how he took a girl individually into this separate room and he basically did whatever he wanted with you in there, WHICH WAS TOTALLY GROSS! AND WRONG because no one should be having their hands on your body without permission, it's called rape. Preston does a fantastic job at making Colin seem terrifying and gave me chills throughout the book when the girls got scared.

Summer, the main girl that was kidnapped, was  a kind of all-talk-but-never-do kind of girl. She constantly called Colin a psychotic freak but she never really did anything about it. When two girls attempted to escape by means of hurting Colin, she just watched them and didn't do anything. I guess you could say she was as bad as Rose and Poppy, the two girls who have been there the longest and has no sense of escaping whatsoever. 

There is a sick romance in this book. Well I thought it was sick. You see, Colin thought that the girls he kidnapped belonged to him and were his to control or do whatever he wanted. He loved them as a family and took care of them, yes, but in a sick and demented way. In the end, he was even willing to kill all the girls and himself so they could be together, which by the way the girls were not okay with.The romance was supposed to be symbolic for something else as it was kind of abusive and dirty.

The Cellar  is a very dark, yet realistic novel about what happens when you're kidnapped and when your kidnapping is not all sane. The story follows many POV's and is not confusing in any way. Preston's ability to characterize her characters and make them seem 10x scarier is phenomenal and she can run chills down your spine with just words. Don't read this book at night, ladies and gentlemen, but it's definitely a book that needs to be on your TBR this summer! Be prepared to be terrified and put on the edge of a cliff! 

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater

Title: The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle #2) 

Author: Maggie Stiefvater 

Pages: 439 pages 

Published: September 17th, 2013 

Genre: Urban Fantasy series, YA

Rating: 

If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself. 

One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams. 

And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things. 

Ronan is one of the raven boys- a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface- changing everything in its wake. 

Of The Raven Boys, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Maggie Steifvater's can't-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two." Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Steifvater can conjure. 

Buy it now! 

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I haven't been a good girl in keeping up with this series considering I read the first book a good few months. It comes a surprise to me that I didn't automatically jump into the second book after reading the first one, since I absolutely loved the first one! My review can be found here. Lately these past few weeks, I've been in a reading slump because of ACOTAR, but I'm ready to get back into the game with a book I knew would leave me wanting more.

For non-spoiler purposes, I will not reveal anything that happened in book 1, but the events of this book follow where book 1 left off. The plot entails our main raven boy, Ronan, who can pull things our of his dreams. Ronan, being my least favorite out of the group of boys, was like the main focus of the book. His power was everything to the key to finding Glendower.

Nothing more can be revealed other than saying that Maggie Steifvater knows how to weave an exciting and spine-chilling story. Her writing style is a mix of creepy, haunting, and beautiful. It's sometimes very ominous but can be romantic when the time comes. 

The pacing of this series is super fast, as I would have expected from reading the first book. I wasn't a fan of the first book, and I think that's mainly because I spent 70% reading it and was confused. The world building and characterization was very mehhh in the first book. Finally the second book, which didn't include as many info dumps and world-building, was already nicely set up and told a great story.

Okay, so there were like mini-cliffhangers after every chapter and I was like what the hell! I HAVE A LIFE YA KNOW. I had to do chores and stop reading and eat dinner and go to the bathroom.... ughhh it was killing me when I couldn't find out immediately what happened next. 

The Raven Boys are one of my favorite group of characters in any novel. They have an unwavering bond that aids them throughout the story and proves to be a force to be reckoned with. Each boy in the group has their own personality that greatly differs from each other. I found it particularly interesting how Maggie Steifvater was able to come up with 4 different sets of character traits for our Raven Boys and make them contrast in such ways that made the story interesting. 

You know an author is truly special when they can create a character that annoys you, scares you, makes you anxious, and one that lures you in with his charms. When she gives her characters supernatural abilities, her choices are sensible and she gives power to the right hands. As the book progresses, so does everyone's abilities and their strong characterization. 

I like when YA books tend to stray away from the lovey dovey romances. The Raven Boys series is more about the mystery and intrigue of the twists, not much about teenagers falling in love. Yes, that are pros and cons to this kind of romance, but I believe the pros outweigh the cons. One pro is that you can never go wrong with something different. This book didn't need any romance because of all the hectic events happening in the book.

I would describe the romance to be slow-burning. Throughout the series, I've been questioning the book, asking about who Blue is going to end up with! Well guys, this isn't revealed until a longgggg time after, which was something that itched at me.

[SPOILERS SECTION]

I whole-heartedly ship Blue and Gansey. They are the power couple of the book. In the Raven Boys, Adam and Blue were dating, and I knew something wasn't right with this relationship. I'm glad my hunch wasn't wrong, and she was actually meant to be with someone else. 

Can we just talk about The Gray Man and Maura for a second? I did not see that coming and at first I thought he was bad, but I guess love always prevails in the end and she was able to sway him to the good side. I absolutely loved TGM. He was all mysterious and evil in the beginning, but in the end he realized that there were more important things!

That's the end of this review and sorry that it's so short. I'm actually writing this as I'm reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the third book in the series so I'm getting confused between what happens in each book! Nonetheless, read this series if you've been yearning for a dark, urban fantasy that will leave you on a cliff after every chapter.