My Rating System

Over the past few months I have been considering how I have been rating books and what system I want to officially use. I've decided to use the 5 Star system. I am only using whole stars and decided not to use half stars. I find that half stars complicates things in my mind and I want to keep it simple as possible. I rate mostly on my own enjoyment, that's what I feel qualified to provide so that's what I give.

5 Stars

I absolutely fell in love with this story. It's almost perfect and I will think back to this book often. This book likely will be added to my favourites shelf. This is a very hard rating to get from me, I really need to be wowed to have a 5 Star rating. I have to be entertained the entire time and not want to put the book down.

4 Stars

This is an awesome book and I was very much entertained. This book is very good but I wasn't completely blown away. I often call these 2 thumbs up book. I had fun but I was looking for a little bit more from it.

3 Stars

This is still a good book in my mind but it's pretty mediocre. This is my middle of the road rating, I had fun but it wasn't very memorable. There may have been some problems but I was entertained most of the time. I often call this one the "not too shabby" rating.

2 Stars

I didn't like this one. I had some serious problems with it and had a hard time picking it up. It's readable but I just didn't have a lot of fun during the reading process.

1 Stars

I very much didn't enjoy this one. There wasn't anything in it for me and I might use some strong words to describe my feelings. It's probably one of my least given ratings. A book really has to displease me to get this rating. 

Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Genre: YA, Dystopian
Publication: 09/02/2014 by HarperTeen
Series: The Lone City #1
Pages: 358 Pages
Source: eBook
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary
The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

My Thoughts
This book took work to read, and I can't say it was very good. It was readable, but while reading it you just knew that it isn't very good. You can kind of enjoy it, in a very guilty pleasure way but you still know that it's not greatness.  I have a lot of problems with this book but not everything was terrible.

One of the biggest problems I had with the book was the romance. It was extremely "insta-love". Violet immediately is head over heals in love with Ash but rarely stops to consider the consequences of this relationship. There is way more to lose than to gain from this relationship. In addition, Ash is an extremely flat character. All that we really know about him is that he loves Violet and that's about it. I had a lot of eye rolls during their scenes together. 

Besides the romance, the rest of the book also fell flat for me. The concept was interesting, the idea of using surrogates could have been done really well and been very intriguing. For the most part, it just was kind of boring. There was no action during the book and you can only read so much about the same thing before you get tired. 

Lastly, the magic that the surrogates possessed was pretty confusing. I didn't find that it was well flushed out. I think Ewing should have put some more focus on this aspect because it does play a big role in the book and likely an even bigger role in the sequels. I understand that you want to keep some secrets for later but it's also necessary to understand some things early on. 

In conclusion, The Jewel wasn't the worst book I ever read but it wasn't great. I wouldn't recommend it, but I can see how some people might enjoy it. I probably won't continue the series, because there are better ones out there. I am kind of half interested in what happens but I know it's not great so I shouldn't spend more time on something I am not enjoying. 

March 2015 Wrap Up | & March in Review

Firewalker by Josephine Angelini {3 Stars}

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling {5 Stars}

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix {5 Stars}

Ms. Marvel Vol 4: Last Days {5 Stars}

The Jewel by Amy Ewing {2 Stars}

Star Wars Lando {3 Stars}

Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot {3 Stars}

Favourite of the Month: Harry Potter (duh!)

Least Favourite of the Month: The Jewel

  

This is what I am currently reading. Just started listening to A Darker Shade of Magic and it's super interesting, very much enjoying it so far. I am about half way through Truthwitch and it's pretty good as well. Not my favourite but very entertaining. I still haven't decided if I am going to finish Movie Game, it's not bad but I am just losing interest. 

Let me know what you read in March and if you have read anything I mentioned. Have an awesome April! 

Review: Firewalker by Josephine Angelini

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication: 09/01/2015 by Feiwel & Friends
Series: The Worldwalker Trilogy #2
Pages: 352 Pages
Source: Library Hardback
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary:
Lily Proctor has made it back to her own universe, and she’s ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the pyre that fueled their escape, and they must hide her new magic or risk endangering the world, but compared to fighting the monstrous Woven and leading armies in the alternate Salem, life is looking good.

“You think I’m a monster, but…my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified.”

Unfortunately, Lillian, malevolent ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. Lily is the closest version of herself she’s ever seen in all her worldwalking, and Lillian’s running out of time. If she can’t persuade Lily and Rowan to return to her world, she’ll have to find a way to make them come back.

My Thoughts:
This series is kind of addictive. It's not great but I enjoy it while I'm reading it. I think the concept is unique and I haven't read anything else like it. However, I also find the world somewhat confusing. Especially, since the book jumped right back into the story right from where Trial by Fire left off. It took me some time to remember what happened in the first book but once I did I was good to go. 

These books are fast paced and they are pretty quick to get through. What I don't really enjoy as much about the story is that Lily is essentially helpless without her coven with her. I prefer my leading ladies to be strong in their own right. To make up for it, at least Lily is smart and can make logical decisions. I also have a weird love/hate relationship with the romance at this point. Rowan made some seriously harsh decisions and that hurt my ship. But I did like that this book approached sex, and didn't hold back because it was "young adult". 

I am excited to see how this series ends, the story ended on an emotional cliff hanger and it's time to get some closure. This is a fun series but not going to make any of my top lists. I would recommend this to people who are into witch books because this is an interesting take on a witch story. 

Review: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Genre: Non-Fiction
Publication: 04/05/2011 by Reagan Arthur Books
Pages: 277 Pages
Source: Overdrive Audiobook
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary:
Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.


Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

My Thoughts
Why haven't I read this sooner? I listened to this on a road trip and I laughed my butt off the whole way. I watched Tina Fey when she was on SNL and now in whatever else she does. She is hilarious and relatable. I laughed out loud so many times. Some of my favourite parts were when she was talking about being Sarah Palin on SNL. I remember those sketches so well it was awesome to hear some of the behind the scenes action.

Tina has some good insights into the world, and I can really relate to what she says. I love listening to hilarious book from other strong women. Being a comedian and being a women can be hard and Tina is really inspiring. If you like memoirs, especially funny ones, check this one out. It's awesome and I will always highly recommend.

Book Haul #1 - YouTube

I bought myself some more books. Should I read the ones I already have, definitely but Kobo had a sale on best sellers so how could I hold back. I also included some library books in this haul. Let me know if you have read any of these books and which ones I should pick up first. 

Review: Sharp Objects

Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Publication: 2006 by Broadway Paperbacks
Pages: 254 Pages
Source: Overdrive eBook
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary
WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart 
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg 
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle 
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

My Thoughts:
Gillian Flynn is easily becoming one of my auto buy authors. This many not have been my favourite book, but it was masterfully written which kept me going. I found Sharp Objects to be a very slow moving story, everything was relieved at the very end which kept you guessing the whole way through. I do wish that we got to the resolution quicker, and then got more insight into that end. Now speaking of the ending, my mouth fell to the floor during the ending and I laid on the couch after for at least 20 minutes after finishing this book just soaking in what I had just read. I was disturbed, but in a way that made the book memorable. 

The subplots in this book were strong and interesting in their own right. I loved the mystery behind Camille's mother and how you slowly got Camille's history growing up in that town. Sharp Objects was a good book, not the best but certainly a compelling suspenseful mystery. If you loved Gillian Flynn's other book, definitely check this one out.