Archenemies

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer

This is the sequel to RENEGADES. If you don't want the first or second book (of the trilogy) spoiled, then I would recommend not reading this review.

Because it's about to get REAL. REAL wild with speculation from me because book three is coming out this year and I just found this trilogy and now I have needs. What. Don't act like you didn't see this coming.

An amazon summary, "Time is running out.

Together, they can save the world.

But they each other’s worst nightmare.Nova’s double life is about to get a lot more complicated:

As Insomnia, she is a full-fledged member of the Renegades, a syndicate of powerful and beloved superheroes. She works with Adrian’s patrol unit to protect the weak and maintain order in Gatlon City.

As Nightmare, she is an Anarchist - a group of of villains who are determined to destroy the Renegades. Nova wants vengeance against the so-called heroes who once failed her when she needed them most.

But as Nova, her feelings for Adrian are deepening, despite the fact that he is the son of her sworn enemies and, unbeknownst to Nova, he has some dangerous secrets of his own.

In this second installment of the Renegades trilogy, Nova, Adrian, and the rest of their crew – Ruby, Oscar, and Danna -- are faced with escalating crime in Gatlon City, while covert weapons and conflicting missions have Nova and Adrian questioning not only their beliefs about justice, but also the feelings they have for each other.

The line between good and evil has been blurred, but what's clear to them both is that too much power could mean the end of their city – and the world – as they know it." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE AND WEIRD SPACING

Can we take a moment to make fun of the phrasing, "But they each other's worth nightmare." ...maybe it should have been, "But they're each other's worst nightmare." Too real? Anywho.

At the end of Renegades, it turns out that Ace is still alive, which, I may have just screamed at the book a little with indignation before I realized I already had the sequel ready to read... then I just promptly read it. ALSO, MIGHT BE A SPOILER, but I'm pretty damn sure that we're supposed to believe that Phobia killed Adrian's Mom. The reader in me is like, CLEARLY, THIS MUST BE THE ANSWER. The writer in me is like, "Noooo, he's just being set up. It was probably someone else all along. but WHO." 

Anyways.

So, Nova is still part of the Anarchists and the Renegades. She's slowly becoming torn between her attraction to Adrian (Sketch) and the true meaning of being an Anarchist. She starts to question some aspects of each side, which kind of really lead me to believe that she'll eventually just pave her own path and ditch both factions in the third book.

Adrian is still fighting crime as Sketch when he's with the Renegades, but also as The Sentinel. The more he's the Sentinel, the more he sees some of the errors within the Renegades way. Especially when he comes across a team of Renegades who torture a villain before outright killing her. This leads to a deadly chase where the Sentinel ultimately appears to have drowned/died, but in reality, Adrian was able to make a quick change back into Sketch.

Adrian and Nova's relationship seems to become more meaningful and deeper, but neither of them have trusted each other with their secrets. Plus, Nova has started to help in the artifacts department in the hopes of rescuing Ace's helmet. Adrian discovers a talisman that can protect people from the Bandit so he can actually touch Max.

That's enough summary and sorry if there were spoilers. I got problems yo.

I'm pretty much rabidly curious as to where this story goes, but I'm totally disinterested in the romance aspect of these books. It feels like an obligatory addition/calculated on some parts rather than anything remotely natural about it.

I also want to know more about the anarchists. It seems like the last bracelet Nova's Dad was putting together was going to do something monumental, especially with the way the bracelet reacted to the different artifacts, but I have no idea what it does or will do in the end. I'm wildly curious about that.

I'm also kind of annoyed with Adrian since he doesn't seem as emotionally relate-able as he did in the last book. It seems like he's doing kind of dumb things to get in Nova's good graces, only trying to skate by his Dad's attentions, and he's being kind of willfully neglecting the rules of his world. But, to be fair, we did see a bit of this in the last book. I guess I just don't see the rebellious attitude/anger anywhere. It seems too cool, calm, and collected rather than crazy hormone driven teen antics. It's fine if his motivations are different than the average teenager, but I wish he would do something to shed his public image a little bit. A little bit less Mr. Nice Guy and Everyone Loves Him and a little more of the Sentinel without the suit (if that makes sense).

Still, I'm eager to read book 3, I want to know more about Ace, and I want to know how this is all going to resolve in one final book. My biggest suspicion is that somehow Nova will weaponize agent N and turn everyone with powers into normal people... but I don't know if she has enough resources to pull something like that off. We'll see.

Happy reading!

Renegades

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Superheroes? Villains? People with weird powers? Future dystopia? SIGN. ME. UP!

An amazon summary, "From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.

Secret Identities.

Extraordinary Powers.She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies―humans with extraordinary abilities―who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice―and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Do you remember in early writing classes when they discussed atention grabbers to make sure your readers are hooked?

Literally, we get Nova's origin of her power story immediately when her parents and sister are shot dead. When her Uncle Ace shows up, he takes out the guy who murdered her family, and brings her to live with the Anarchists. The Anarchists have fought the current system and made it so prodigies had a chance at life, rather than being hunted down and killed for their extra abilities.

All of that changed when the Renegades attacked the Anarchists, won the battle, and started to establish some form of governing to replace what the Anarchists had torn down to fight for the freedom of the prodigies.

Today, Nova and the remaining team members of the Anarchists try to take out the leader of the Renegades at their celebratory parade. When her mission fails, she regroups with the Anarchists to discuss a new plan, a plan in which Nova may join the Renegades to try to learn everything from inside the group so they can better take them down.

Adrian on the other hand, was born and raised within the Renegades. His mother was murdered when he was about six, and his murder has haunted him ever since. The two leaders of the Renegades adopted him and he's been raised as a renegade every since. He's been dabbling with a different way to apply his power, and he's trying to work a little outside the constraints of the Renegades rules to bring justice about.

That's enough summary.

I love the concept of this book. I've come across similar ideas in different places before, but this feels like a breath of fresh air within the story sphere. However, the book also alternated between Adrian and Nova for third person points of view, and a few times I literally forgot who I was reading the perspective of because their voices sounded very similar for numerous reactions.

But, I also like the showcase of different powers, of kind of explaining how the new world works, and what the Renegades and Anarchists hope to accomplish.

There was also a crazy reveal at the end of the book that I definitely had a SHUT THE FRONT DOOR moment at. It was madness.

This book did take me a while to read, but I'm hoping the series pans out overall so this wasn't a mistake read. I did enjoy most of it, except for the parts previously mentioned, haha.

Happy reading!

The Everlasting Rose

The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton

This is the sequel to The Belles which I reviewed HERE. If you don't want anything spoiled for book 1, I suggest not reading this review. Seriously. I'm about to drop some mad truths.

I'm also having a horrendously difficult time writing this review. Some of the reasons include: book 2 was half as long as book 1. Book 1 felt like it was a fully realized world and really built itself to lead to something more in book 2, but book 2 seemed to just kind of wave some weird parlor tricks around before trying to distract with a love plot. Book 1 made it seem like Sophia was wickedly smart, scheming, and deceitful; a mastermind of sorts. Book 2 made Sophia seem like she was only obsessed with the Belles...but remotely. She had much less of a presence even though she was the main threat.

...I digress.

An amazon summary so you can think about your life choices, "In this sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The Belles, Camellia Beaureguard, the former favorite Belle, must race against time to find the ailing Princess Charlotte, who has disappeared without a trace. The evil queen Sophia's imperial forces will stop at nothing to keep Camille, her sister Edel, and her loyal guard, Rémy, from returning Charlotte to the palace and her rightful place as queen. With the help of an underground resistance movement called the Iron Ladies--a society that rejects beauty treatments entirely--and the backing of alternative newspaper the Spider's Web, Camille uses her powers, her connections, and her cunning to outwit her greatest nemesis, Sophia, and attempt to restore peace to Orléans. But enemies lurk in the most unexpected places, forcing Camille to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice to save her people." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Where we left off after book 1; Princess Charlotte was awakened and hopefully escaped the castle, Camellia escaped with two of her sister Belles and Remy, and Princess Sophia is a freaking monster that must be stopped. Also, the Queen is dead. With the Queen dead, Sophia has chosen the traitorous Auguste as her prince, and is trying to move her coronation up. Sophia also revealed that Belles can be grown in jars and plans to make Belles for everyone.

Book 2 begins with Camellia, Edel, Remy, and Amber hiding out. They're communicating with a couple people inside the palace still, but they're mostly desperately trying to stay undercover. Edel reveals to Camellia a way to alter her own appearance but wants to keep the secret from Amber. Amber is off on an errand, but when she returns, the guards have suddenly been able to find them, forcing them to flee elsewhere.

And whatever, that's enough summary because book 2 makes me so mad.

I said some stuff earlier about why book 2 makes me mad, but like seriously, once they're out of the palace and away from all the wealth/opulence of the Belles regular life, it's almost like the author lost interest in telling the story. Even though Camellia is exposed to so much more of the kingdom, and really starts to learn about the country in a way that she never could as a Belle..... it's like she still doesn't care. It honestly comes across as almost having an unremarkable conversation about unremarkable weather. It's only when they're getting into thwarting Sophia mode that the book feels more like book 1.

Plus. There's a whole secret society of Iron Ladies that they strike a deal with. BUT, they were never really brought up in book 1, and in book 2 they seem to be a SUPER convenient way to just drive a couple plot points.

Book 2 really feels like a panic to wrap the story up somehow, rather than giving a complete ending. I highly suspect there may be a book 3, but with a different character as the main focus.

I don't plan on reading it.

I didn't like how book 2 came together, I didn't like how there seemed to be things that just conveniently worked (see teacup dragons), and I didn't like how the story tried to resolve itself. It didn't feel like the true ending book 1 seemed to promise.

I'm just grumpy. I enjoyed book 1 enough that I was looking forward to book 2 a lot. But this, this didn't feel like the complete story and I'm pretty sure I don't want any more.

Happy reading!

Low Sodium Beef Stroganoff

Low Sodium Beef Stroganoff

So, there's a few people in my life that are concerned with how much sodium they eat because it negatively affects their blood pressure. There's a lot of sodium packed into a lot of pre-packaged foods, and together, we kind of have explored different recipes to try out to still have "real food" without sacrificing taste. I think this is one of the better ones. I also will save some substitute options until the end, and also a giant nutrition label calculator thing I found. This has roughly 193 mg of sodium per serving (this recipe makes 6 servings).

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of trimmed beef
• 8 ounces of light sour cream
• 1/2 large red onion
• 8 ounces of baby carrots (or 2 large carrots, peeled)
• 16 ounces of portabella mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
• 2 cups of unsalted beef broth
• 12 ounces no yolk egg noodles
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of ground mustard

Directions:

1. Cook noodles per package directions. Set aside.
2. Cut up trimmed beef into bite size pieces. Cook until meat is done.
   Note: I cooked my beef in the crock pot on low, in about 2 cups of beef broth for 8-9 hours to make it all shredded and delicious. I would highly recommend that cooking method if you've got time, but if you don't, cooking it in a frying pan also works.
3. Dice onion, baby carrots, and mushrooms.
4. Add onion, baby carrots, and mushrooms to skillet on medium heat. Cook vegetables until they're soft (about 5-8 minutes).
5. Add red wine vinegar and beef broth to skillet. Cook vegetables and liquids until liquid starts to reduce. Mix in black pepper and ground mustard. Stir well.
6. Add beef to skillet.
7. Once liquid has reduced, shut off heat and combine all ingredients (skillet mixture, sour cream, and noodles).
8. Serve warm, makes about 6, 2 cup servings.

Here's the nutrition facts thing I put together online through a website. The nutrition facts will vary depending on what brands you use, or if you substitute anything. If you want less carbs but still want those noodles, I'd recommend using 6 oz of the yolk free egg noodles instead.

Happy cooking!

The Belles

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

This book is a little out of my comfort zone. It's got a huge emphasis on beauty, and that's not usually something I'm up for. But, I made an exception, and I think it panned out? I found some things to be a bit problematic, but I was expecting that.

Anywho, here's the amazon summary, "Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it's not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite, the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land.
But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie, that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.
With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles, or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever. " AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

People born in this world are gray. They have gray skin, gray hair, and red eyes. With their grayness, there comes a madness and depression. Thus, the Belles come in. The Belles are believed to be a gift from the goddess of beauty, and they are able to manipulate people's features to become beautiful, to be rid of the gray. Their beauty treatments last for about a month, and can be quite costly. The Belles have three arcanas (kind of like magic) that they use to give people different talents, improve their manners, and alter their physical appearance. They also have to restore their arcanas, which involve these things kind of like leeches that cycle their blood and restore different aspects of it that the arcanas deplete. Belles are also always beautiful, but they cannot use their powers on themselves or other Belles.

Camellia is a Belle from the latest generation of Belles. They compete in front of the royal family to become the favorite. The favorite Belle gets to serve the royal family directly, live in the palace, and are sought out by everyone for beauty treatments. They are the best of the Belles. There are six Belles in this generation, and they compete to be the favorite by transforming gray children to become beautiful per a pre-determined template of sorts. Camellia's child becomes a little unruly, so Camellia ends up wrapping her in a giant flower to control, comfort, and let Camellia finish the beauty treatment. But, one of her sister Belle's is still chosen as the favorite. Camellia is taken to one of the tea houses to serve the rest of the country. Camellia hears crying in the middle of the night, and goes sleuthing one night to see another Belle with a deformed face, crying, and going to give a beauty treatment while Camellia is supposed to be asleep for the night.

Then, before she can uncover more, her sister is shunned from the spot of favorite, and Camellia is brought to court to replace her. This is unheard of, and Camellia is very curious as to why her sister was replaced. The princess Sophia, seems to be more of a menace rather than a beloved monarch. Her older sister has been asleep for a few years, and the reigning Queen is looking for a way to wake her up so Sophia will not take the throne. Sophia has suitors to see who will be prince (eventually king) but one of them has taken a liking to Camellia and seeks out her company.

That's enough summary.

I think this story was very meticulous. It was fun to read and to get the different perspective of the characters, but it was also very concise about what was happening. The details of the palace, the tea house, the house where they were raised were all seemed to be kind of slotted into a grand puzzle slowly forming throughout the book.

Then there was kind of the mystery to the older sister to princess Sophia. There was a lot of like I hope I solve this mystery from Camellia trying to break out of this rigid sheltered life she's always led to get to the bottom of what Princess Sophia was all about, and then what the Queen wanted. I kind of wanted the story to concentrate on the mystery of the older sister, but there was kind of lot going on that it almost seemed like Camellia wasn't sure on what to concentrate on either.

ALSO, I was so, so curious about the older Belle generation, but there was just some little hints of it here or there, with some clues... but I just wanted more. I was also pretty grossed out by the whole restoring arcanas bit with the leech like things... BUT I also thought it was kind of cool that there was such a vivid cost to the arcanas. It made it feel a lot more balanced and also kind of realistic.

There was some weird things that seemed kind of off in this book, but I'm hoping it's resolved in book 2, since there will obviously be a book 2. I know there is one, I found it on amazon. Mwahahahaha!

Happy reading!

For Black Girls Like Me

For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington

This book discusses racial tensions, adoption, mental health, and growing up. It's packed full of coming of age stories, with tons of the general confusion of figuring out why the older people do what they do. That being said, if you're uncomfortable with any of those topics, this book might not be for you, buttttt, you may deeply want to consider reading it anyways. Broaden your horizons.

I think this book is important. It's from a perspective that I haven't encountered before (but maybe I just haven't been looking???), so it was a real treat for me to read. More on this below.

An amazon summary, "In this lyrical coming-of-age story about family, sisterhood, music, race, and identity, Mariama J. Lockington draws on some of the emotional truths from her own experiences growing up with an adoptive white family.

I am a girl but most days I feel like a question mark.

Makeda June Kirkland is eleven years old, adopted, and black. Her parents and big sister are white, and even though she loves her family very much, Makeda often feels left out. When Makeda's family moves from Maryland to New Mexico, she leaves behind her best friend, Lena― the only other adopted black girl she knows― for a new life. In New Mexico, everything is different. At home, Makeda’s sister is too cool to hang out with her anymore and at school, she can’t seem to find one real friend.

Through it all, Makeda can’t help but wonder: What would it feel like to grow up with a family that looks like me?

Through singing, dreaming, and writing secret messages back and forth with Lena, Makeda might just carve a small place for herself in the world.

For Black Girls Like Me is for anyone who has ever asked themselves: How do you figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you came from?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Makeda is eleven years old, adopted by a white family, and is black. Their family moves from Maryland to New Mexico for her Dad's job; she leaves behind her best friend, Lena, who also happens to be another black girl adopted by a white family. They had a deep friendship as the world treats them the same way, and they have the same set of awkward circumstances half the time (or so it seems). To keep in contact with each other, the best friends agree to keep diary entries in a notebook and mail it to each other to make sure they don't miss anything.

In New Mexico, Makeda is at odds with the school as there aren't very many black people. She's kind of singled out at first for being the new kid, then she's singled out for being nice to the other kind of outsider kid. Then the outsider kid joins with the main pack of mean girls, and Makeda resigns herself to being an outsider. The other kids in school have a hard time understanding her family, and her older sister isn't as helpful as she could be. They're family dynamics weren't really an issue back home, but after a school kid calls her the N-word, Makeda's mom pulls them out of school entirely. Makeda's mom only finds out because she's been reading the journal Makeda shares with Lena.

That's enough summary. I'm literally going to muck up explaining any of the complexity of this story if I try to go any further.

A few things; this story is told as a regular story, but there are also bits of diary entries (the notebook entries between Makeda and Lena), and then also tumblr posts which sometimes have poems in them. The multiple platforms used to tell the story feels like a much more authentic way of experiencing all the confusion that goes along with growing up.

ALSO. I'm a grown white woman. I will never, ever, understand truly what it is to be discriminated against due to the color of my skin. I just won't. I don't think there's any way for me to experience something that happens for someone's entire life. I just don't think it's possible. BUT, I do have a lot of sympathy and I try really hard to understand as best as I can. With all that being said, it was really refreshing to read this story that had such a pointed way of talking about race without letting it become a central part of the story; it was just a part of the story. It was built as another piece of Makeda's identity. I also cried a little at the hair salon scene (if you read it, you may get it) due to the sense of Makeda feeling seen and respected while also being taught.

Anywho.

There was also a whole other aspect of the story of the mother's mental health state, watching the adults kind of deal with it, but also witnessing the effect on the sisters. It was very intense, and gave the gravitas to the situation that I think it garners.

There was SO much to unpack from this book, but, I'm sure there was more I didn't cover or even understand. A lot of these topics are very tricky to have a good discussion about, and my hats off to the author for incorporating so much in one coherent story.

The one thing I'm a little miffed about, is that I don't know for sure whether or not there's going to be a sequel. I would love a sequel.

Happy reading!

Hawking

Hawking by Jim Ottaviani (Author) and Leland Myrick (Illustrator)

This is a graphic novel, and I'm just going to blog about it. I know I'm really justifying it to myself at this point rather than anyone else, but like... I just want to do it.

Anyways, here's an amazon summary, "Following their New York Times-bestselling graphic novel Feynman, Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick deliver a gripping biography of Stephen Hawking, one of the most important scientists of our time.

From his early days at the St Albans School and Oxford, Stephen Hawking’s brilliance and good humor were obvious to everyone he met. A lively and popular young man, it’s no surprise that he would later rise to celebrity status.

At twenty-one he was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative neuromuscular disease. Though the disease weakened his muscles and limited his ability to move and speak, it did nothing to limit his mind. He went on to do groundbreaking work in cosmology and theoretical physics for decades after being told he had only a few years to live. He brought his intimate understanding of the universe to the public in his 1988 bestseller, A Brief History of Time. Soon after, he added pop-culture icon to his accomplishments by playing himself on shows like Star Trek, The Simpsons, and The Big Bang Theory, and becoming an outspoken advocate for disability rights.

In Hawking, writer Jim Ottaviani and artist Leland Myrick have crafted an intricate portrait of the great thinker, the public figure, and the man behind both identities." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Basically, this felt like a more easy to digest biography with really hard scientific concepts. Meaning, science was never my strong suit and sometimes I just really had to push through the involved scientific explanations of theories, who invented them, what era, and kind of what impact they had on science. I was mostly there for more insight on how Stephen Hawking grew up, what were the different things he accomplished in life, and also kind of what he filled his life with.

I don't know too much about Stephen Hawking before this, and I feel like I have better understanding afterwards. The art was gorgeous. Gorgeous! 

Anyways, I think this was a nice way to kind of pay homage to Stephen Hawking while making sure that his legacy is accessible to everyone in a graphic novel format.

Happy reading!

Vow of Thieves

Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

This is the sequel to Dance of Thieves which I reviewed HERE. This is also a sequel duology to The Remnant Chronicles, which I haven't blogged about even though it is literally once of my favorite series of all times. Blogging struggles. Anyways. The first three books are amazing, so here's some amazon links: BOOK 1 - THE KISS OF DECEPTION, BOOK 2 - THE HEART OF BETRAYAL, and BOOK 3 - THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS. I would highly recommend reading those three books before reading this book. Oh, and also read Dance of Thieves before reading this book.

...so yeah. Here's an amazon summary, "Vow of Thieves is the thrilling sequel to Dance of Thieves, set in the same world as Mary E. Pearson's New York Times-bestselling Remnant Chronicles.

Kazi and Jase have survived, stronger and more in love than ever. Their new life now lies before them―the Ballengers will be outlaws no longer, Tor's Watch will be a kingdom, and Kazi and Jase will meet all challenges side by side, together at last.

But an ominous warning mars their journey back, and they soon find themselves captured in a tangled web of deceit woven by their greatest enemies and unlikeliest allies, a place where betrayals run deeper and more deadly than either had thought possible, and where timeless ambitions threaten to destroy them both." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Kazi and Jase are returning to Tor's Watch only to immediately come under siege. As they approach, arrows are shot at Jase. Five of them land before Kazi manages to make Jase's horse escape into the nearby woods. Kazi is captured by the forces that took over Tor's Watch, and she's forced to tell the people of Tor's Watch that Jase is dead, executed by the other kingdoms. Kazi hopes that Jase is alright, and she fights to save the Ballengers from what's befallen Tor's Watch.

Meanwhile, Jase was rescued and spirited away to the settlement to recover from someone working on the inside, but who?

Jase and Kazi don't know each other is alive, but they're both fighting for Tor's Watch. But what exactly happened to get the kingdom to such a place?

dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn

I don't want to say too much because I feel like it gives away the big finale of the last book... but then again, the last book does kind of let the pieces fall into place for how Tor's Watch was overtaken. ....you'll know what's going on if you read the last book.

Anyways.

I loved Kazi in this book, so so so so much. Not only was she a badass in the last book, she continues to be a badass in this book, and steps it up even further. Kazi also seems to come into her own even more so. She takes these vulnerable aspects of herself and seems to make them her greatest strenghts. It's amazing.

Jase, is, well Jase. They really play into the love aspect this book between them, which is exciting, but I kind of feel like Jase didn't get to grow nearly as much as  Kazi did, but I feel like he was already showcased a lot in the previous book, so it was more breathtaking for him to be resilient with who he is in the face of everything that happens.

The plot unfolded well, the situation of Tor's Watch really set the tone for the story (kind of like gritty hope), and it wrapped up really well with giving us more hints as to how the ancients destroyed the world in the first place.

It was so good. Loved it to bits.

Happy reading!

Mayhem and Madness: Chronicles of a Teenaged Supervillain

Mayhem and Madness: Chronicles of a Teenaged Supervillain by J.A. Dauber

Almost anything with a superhero/supervillain theme and I'm there. This should surprise no one at this point.

But I also hate diary format books.

...so guess what this is. It's a diary format style book, sort of. The narrator is recording his story. Which. Embarrassingly, it took me a little while to figure it out. Then I was already in it to finish it. So now here we are.

An amazon summary, "Bailey never meant to be the bad guy in the bulletproof robotic suit, but with every mission he gets closer to finding his father . . . and he can't stop now. 

Bailey is a pretty average teenager in a pretty average town. He runs track, gets decent grades, and has an unrequited crush. So what is a super-powered flying suit of computerized armor doing twenty feet under his boring suburban home? Bailey needs to know where it came from, if it belonged to his long-missing father, and most importantly, if it can be used to bring his dad back. 
This lightning-fast adventure inspired by classic comic book tales pushes a good kid to his limits and questions the difference between a hero and a villain. One day he's getting beat up by the captain of the football team, the next day he's robbing banks on Fifth Avenue, stealing diamonds from Tiffany's, and zooming through aerial dogfights. But how much bad is Bailey willing to do to bring his dad home safely? " AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Bailey's dad has been missing for a few years. It's just been him and his mom for a while, and his mom is kind of checked out from his life. Bailey is also lovestruck with the girlfriend to the star of the football team. His best friend is a little quirky, but they're very best friends and tell each other everything.

...except when Bailey discovers a hidden door in his Dad's office that leads to a lair under their house which contains the Mayhem suit. Mayhem is a notorious supervillain who used to be active years ago... right around the time his Dad went missing. He hasn't been active since then. Plus, there's also a violent gang that runs around the country and makes spectacles of violence to terrorize people for unclear reasons. ...is Bailey's Dad Mayhem? Is the violent gang the ones that captured him? And who is Mr. Jones and why does he know everything about the Mayhem suit?

That's enough summary.

I really enjoyed parts of this book. Bailey was a fairly decent narrator, but in the later half of the book, it's really made a point that he's doing a voice recording. Then towards the end of the narration, it gets a little more tricky, and I extremely disliked that for reasons I cannot share because no spoilers.

There were also a few moments where it seemed just like Bailey became Shaggy (Scooby Doo reference, what's upppp) and was stating in the obvious in a reactionary manner to other characters stating the facts/figuring out the clues.

PLUS. THERE WAS KIND OF A CRITICAL DEATH THAT BAILEY BASICALLY JUST BRUSHES ASIDE AND I AM IRATE ABOUT THIS. IRATE. Based on the depth of the relationship Bailey had with this individual, said death should have been like soul crushing to some extent and he's just like, I'm sad, better not tell anyone else about their death. *bumbles on with life*

I also found the world building to be super disappointing. I think it's supposed to take place somewhere in the united states. They probably told me where at some point, but like dudes, I don't remember because it wasn't well described. It did the simple like, "House, they're in a house now' but they didn't tell me if the house was blue, big, spacious, full of furniture, belonged to a hoarder, whatever. They gave me no unique characteristics. In the sense of the storytelling, it really wouldn't make sense for a kid who is doing a voice recording of the series of incidences to explain these things, but that is a huge flaw with diary formats. Especially when they're set in alternate Earth of any variety. DETAILS.

....so yeah. I was pretty vexed with this book. The Mayhem suit was the most interesting part, how women were portrayed was interesting (but filtered/watered down through Bailey's narrative), but the format seem horribly suited for the premise of the story. But I greatly detest diary format, so there's that. But, I enjoyed the first chunk of the book before I realized it was a diary and not just like time jumps.

...I don't know. There's going to be a sequel and I won't read it.

Happy reading!

Grimoire Noir

Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch

This is a graphic novel, but I'm going to do a brief book review on it. Because I can.

An amazon summary, "Beautiful, spooky, and utterly enchanting, Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch's Grimoire Noir is a charming graphic novel about coming to terms with your own flaws and working past them to protect those dear to you.

Bucky Orson is a bit gloomy, but who isn’t at fifteen?

His best friend left him to hang out with way cooler friends, his dad is the town sheriff, and wait for it―he lives in Blackwell, a town where all the girls are witches. But when his little sister is kidnapped because of her extraordinary power, Bucky has to get out of his own head and go on a strange journey to investigate the small town that gives him so much grief. And in the process he uncovers the town’s painful history and a conspiracy that will change it forever." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

In a small town where women are witches with powers referred to as a charm, Bucky's little sister has gone missing. This causes his mother to cry while she's missing, but when she cries, it rains. The town becomes flooded with water. To not only find his little sister, but to also save the town from his mother's grief, Bucky, son of the sheriff, sets off to find clues as to where his sister has gone in places where his Dad might not be able to look.

This leads him on a wandering search through the ways of the witches and a few things about his town that he never knew. Things about his town that may come to pass that shouldn't.

Dun dun dunnnn That's enough summary.

I liked this book. I think it's the beginning of a series. The art is gorgeous, the storytelling lives up to it's title (very noir), but it's also done in an engaging manner. Where, some noir things I've encountered can be a bit off putting with how much they engage the noir sense of the story. Anyways.

The world building was also interesting, and only leaves me with more questions, which I hope are explained in the next book. It also makes me wonder about the world at large and what else could be out there.

But for now, this book was a very solid start to the series, with some spooky elements and some self discovery elements; it was a nice mix.

Happy reading!