minireview – Page 3 – Dee’s Reading Tree

Geekerella Mini Review

August 22, 2019February 8, 2022 Dee’s Reading Tree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

geekerella book by Ashley poston — Picture from Goodreads

She wears life like Elvis wore sequins, with no apology laced into the seams.”
Elle

Geekerella (Once Upon a Con, #1) by Ashley Poston was a fun and entertaining take on Cinderella. I personally love fairy tale retellings, and this modern take on it was no exception. Darien and Elle are two lonely teenagers trying to figure out who they really are in a world set on sticking a label on them. This story was fast paced, and once I started reading it was hard for me to stop. Sage was one of my favorite characters, she was strong and confident and lived life with no apologies. (the quote above was about her) I liked the character growth for both Darien and Elle. I especially liked that they were both eventually able to speak up and stand up for themselves.

I’m strapped to the pilot chair of my life, and my hands are tied.”
Darien

I took off one star from my rating for two reasons. First, the relationship between Elle and Sage felt forced at first. Suddenly this girl (Sage) that has never crossed two words with Elle wants to talk to her? AND she happens to have amazing sewing skills? Second, I don’t like it when girls fall in love with guys they barely know. Elle and Darien just shared a few texts and all of a sudden they were in love, but I guess it wouldn’t be a fairy tale if they weren’t. Overall, I loved this whole geeky world and how the author shines a light on the fact that just because you “cosplay” or dress up as one of your favorite characters, doesn’t mean pieces of your true self can’t shine through. Sometimes pretending to be someone else can help you figure out who you truly are.

Starlight, star bright, you can be anyone you want to be tonight.”
Elle’s Dad

I love Poston’s writing, and I will definitely be reading the next book in this series. Did you read the book? What did you think? Let me know in the comments 🙂

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Gemina and Obsidio Mini Reviews

August 17, 2019February 8, 2022 Dee’s Reading Tree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

obsidio by amy kaufman and jay kristoff book — Picture taken by me

Obsidio and Gemina are the last two books in the Illuminae Files series by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. These books were both amazing, though not as great as the first Illuminae book in my opinion. I think what I really missed fromthe first book was the killer infected people. I found them absolutely terriffying. Also, AIDAN (the artificial intelligence in charge of the ships in the first book) was still super creepy in these last two books, but its abilities were diminished and he/it became a bit predictable.

Every story needs its hero. And its villain. And its monster.”
Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Gemina had the mind-sucking alien like creatures which were interesting. Here we were introduced to Hanna, the daughter of the man in charge of Jump Station Heimdall, and to Nik, her drug dealer. These two end up holding the fate of the whole universe in their hands after a wormhole malfunction. Hanna became one of my favorite characters, because she could be a badass and look good doing it at the same time. I also loved Nik’s little cousin Ella, she was hilarious.

Live a life worth dying for.”
Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Obsidio was about bringing the whole story together. I liked seeing all the main characters working for the same team and fighting for their survival on the last book. We are also introduced to the last two characters: Asha and Rhys. What I really liked about Asha was that she was just a regular person, she didn’t have super computer abilities like Kady, or crazy fighting skills like Hanna, but she still managed to make a difference.

Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.”
Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

These last two books were fast paced, but there was enough character development to make me fall in love with all the characters and become invested in their survival. The story dealt with the possibility that not everything is black or white, and the plot was full of gray areas. The “bad guys” thought they were doing the right thing. The “good guys” were forced to cross lines they would otherwise never cross before. I would recommend this whole series to everyone. Before Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman’s books I was never a big fan of space settings, but they made me change my mind.

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Mini Reviews

July 17, 2019February 8, 2022 Dee’s Reading Tree

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

⭐️⭐️/5

I really enjoyed Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, and I wanted to like this sequel, unfortunately that was not the case. This story takes place ten years after the events of Sky in the Deep. I thought Halvard was a great side character before, but he fell short as a main character in this book. Both him and Tova just had really bland personalities. Frankly, I found Tova to be a pushover with a lot of power in her hands.

The plot was slow going and I did not see any real action until I was halfway through the book. The back and forth between two years ago, ten years ago, and the present became really bothersome. I felt like just some explanation about what happened those years ago would have been sufficient, we did not need to be going back and forth in time every single time something about the past needed to be explained. Overall, I believe my expectations going into this book were set really high and maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but I would not recommend this one.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I have said before that I will read whatever Bardugo writes forever and ever, and I will say it again. Her characters are always so unique, she can write scary scenes like no other, and the dialogue is amazing. Only bad thing, and this was totally my fault for not researching it first, but I didn’t know this book would ruin the rest of the Shadow and Bones series for me. Just a warning there are a lot of spoilers in this book for Shadow and Bones and for Crooked Saints. I bought this audio book on sale on the Audible app, and did not realize my mistake.

I loved Nikolai’s humor and how full of himself he is. He’s like the male version of Aelin from Throne of Glass. I also fell in love with Zoya, and I found it hilarious how terrified everyone is of her. I really missed Nina, from the Six of Crows series, and we also get a lot of her here. The plot is fast paced and there is constant action. The dialogue is full of humor, and I liked the playful banter between the members of Nokolai’s court. This book was really enjoyable and I cannot wait for the next one. I would totally recommend it if you have read all the other grishaverse books.

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Daughter of the Siren Queen

July 5, 2019February 8, 2022 Dee’s Reading Tree

⭐️⭐️⭐️

daughter of the siren queen by Tricia Levenseller — My bookstagram

I read Daughter of the Siren Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King, #2) by Tricia Levenseller with such high expectations mainly because I had heard that it was much better than the first book, but I found it to be just the same rating.

I’m going to start with the things I did not like. The story got a bit repetitive and tiresome at times, with the characters just doing the same thing over and eliciting almost the same results each time. The characters were also a bit inconsistent and changed their minds quite a lot; things that were an issue one day, did not matter the next. Even Alosa, our main female character had issues with Riden changing his mind over and over, one second he was hot and the next he was cold.

I did enjoy the sense of adventure this story conveyed, and the world building was great. The humor and dialogue were entertaining enough to keep me reading. Even though the story became a bit predictable, it was able to keep me engaged enough to want to know what would happen in the end. I liked that Alosa was a strong female character, and so were the other females on her crew. Little Rosalind was one of my favorite side characters, a child among pirates with a bit of spunk. I would recommend this book to any YA/Fantasy fans looking for a light entertaining read.

Have you read this book? What was your opinion?

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Mini Reviews

July 1, 2019February 8, 2022 Dee’s Reading Tree

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – Mini Review

The problem with wanting…is that it makes us weak”
The Darkling

Since this book is part of a trilogy there was a lot of world building that I really appreciated. This was the difference between this book and the Six of Crows books. There was a lot more explaining in this one about the different Grisha and what their powers entailed. We as the readers got to learn it all right along with Alina. By the way, I loved Alina. She was a very strong likeable female character who said whatever was on her mind most of the time which was great. She reminds me of a prickly easily riled cat.

I also had a thing for the Darkling, he reminds me a lot of Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows books. One of my favorite side characters was Botkin, the combat trainer, he was hilarious: “Should not hit girl in the face when she is going to party…Botkin will be fairer tomorrow.”

This was one of those books where I did not understand what the cover meant until I read it, I don’t come across those very often. Sometimes I had trouble believing this world wasn’t real, especially during the scary parts in the Fold. I’m pretty sure Bardugo travels to alternate universes and then comes back to write about them.

Aurora rising by amie kaufman and jay kristoff book — My bookstagram

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff -Audio Mini Review

The whole place seems like it’s being held together by spit and good luck.”
aurora rising

This was such a great audio book. The full cast really made the difference for me, and I always wonder why more audio books don’t do this. This book had seven different points of views, and each one is voiced by a different person. There are sound effects in the audio book which really makes the whole story come alive, and it becomes almost like listening to a really good descriptive movie.

I loved the humor throughout this book and the play on words. I did roll my eyes sometimes at some of the dialogue and internal dialogue, which is why I took off one star. A few of the characters were full of themselves, but I thought that it made them very entertaining if maybe a bit annoying at times. Tyler reminded me of Captain Thorne from Cinder, except with killer dimples.

The plot is action packed as the characters are thrown from one predicament into another. I really loved this unique group of characters, they reminded me of the gang from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, a bunch of misfits who have really special talents.

Have you read these? What did you think?

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Mini Reviews

May 29, 2019February 8, 2022 Dee’s Reading Tree

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.” ~Synopsis from Goodreads

There are different kinds of fathers. Those who love unconditionally, those who love on condition, and those who never love at all.”
Riden

I found this adventure very entertaining. The banter between Alosa and Riden was fun to read. I quite enjoyed how full of herself Alosa was, she reminded me of Celaena from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I docked a few stars because I found the story became a bit repetitive after a while. Also, I really disliked how Riden kept calling Alosa “lass” when he is only one year older than her. Overall, it was a good story but not life changing. I’m told the next one in the series is much better, Daughter of the Siren Queen, and I will definitely give that one a try.

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

⭐️⭐️

“The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.” ~Synopsis from Goodreads

I really wanted to like this book. I started reading the actual paperback, and about four chapters in I couldn’t take how dry it was any longer so I stopped. A few weeks later I downloaded the audio book, and it was better but still not good enough. I kept telling myself it would get better, like the first book in the series which only got better towards the end, but it never did. I felt like the story was too slow at times and then too rushed in others. Honestly, the only reason I kept reading was because I love Arisinoe and I really wanted to see what happened to her. I don’t think I will continue with this series.

Have you guys read these? What did you think?