Immortal

Hey ya witchy witch,

Guess who ended up with four out of five A's as of now? This chick. And guess who couldn't finish the last book in that series? Also me. Dude. Shelly somehow managed to write an entire book about nothing. Literally, nothing happened. Half the book is about a wedding. And then the wedding happens. That's two-thirds of the book right there. It was agonizing. And this one? Not much better. Let me spill the tea.

I finished Immortal by Gillian Shields. It's a book about a girl who gets sent to an exclusive, private, all-girls school after her grandma is hospitalized. There on scholarship and arriving after a tragedy, she's isolated and alone. Then she breaks the rules to go swimming and meets some boy. They hang out at night, it's a thing. And while this is happening, Evie sometimes sees this ghost that looks a lot like her. She thinks it is her. This is really all.

So, when I got this book, I was excited to see if my younger self chose out a good book, as some of the books I'm reading are books I put on my list years ago. This was one of them from 2014 or 2013. It started okay, and then nothing was happening. She was ordered to do chores as a scholarship student, and then it was never explained. Then she saw this ghost chick, which might not be a ghost(??), and then just ignores it. She meets this random boy that everyone, including what she thinks is her unconscious, tells her to stay away from him, and she continues to see him. Then somehow they fall in love? I can't tell you how, because I didn't witness it. All I saw was a couple of bro's hanging out outside after dark. And then she was like, "I love him," and I'm like, "What? Hello?" It was weird. And then she hated this girl, Helen, for a good two-thirds of the book, and then all of a sudden she's "sweet Helen" and "my friend Helen" and I was like, "????" Literally, nothing happens in the book until the last third or fourth of the book. There is no moving, nothing pushing the plot forward except journal entries from the past that she doesn't even read until the last third of the book. And those are inconsistent at best. How can there be a book with nothing happening? Ask Shelly Crane and Gillian Shields. I was going to read the second one, to see if it got interesting, but that's not bound to happen, so I'll be finding blog summaries. Also, they mention this sweet stable boy, who is probs gonna become a love triangle interest later, but my intrigue about him isn't going to make me read those books. Not when I have other books and the Throne of Glass series coming in the future. No, sir. I've had it.

Ship: nope
Snakes: eh, everyone

3/10
~Book Panda

Defiance

Hey guys,

It's ya boi. Me. Guess who finished her finals? Me. Guess who probs got B's? Me. Guess who drew a picture of a bee on her Spanish final because she didn't know the Spanish word? Me. I'm free, I'm ready to party, and after this post, I'm sleeping for eight hours, because I deserve it.

I finished Defiance today, the third book in the Significance series, and I have to say, I wasn't really impressed. But I'm curious as to what happens next? Basically, squad's at reunification, which is a squad conglomeration "party" with way too many rules. Because Maggie is the Visionary, the Council is all, noooo, you can't do that. You can't do this. You can't do aaaaanything. It's very annoying. And so Maggie and her OG squad have to figure out all these issues that are basically being made up as they go. Also, freaking Marla is still here, being a dick. She's really just a pain in the bum-bum. No one asked for her.

So. The writing still isn't good. I read this books and want to just rewrite everything for Shelly. And yet, I want to see them get married and stuff. To be honest, I don't have a lot to say about this book. I might have found time to finish this book during hell week if I was motivated, but alas, Riverdale is so much better. The Council is unnecessarily corrupt. The Watson's are unnecessarily corrupt. And everyone is a sheep. It's annoying. But my ships have sailed. Honestly, if I thought I would find anything, I'd just find a summary of the next book. I have 10 books waiting for me at the library. I know that the next won't hold my interest, but I'll try. For continuities sake. Oh no. I just realized I'm reading subpar books again. *sigh* I just can't win. Nevertheless, I have 10 books. Those can't/won't be subpar. I'll be really upset if they are.

Thanks for hanging out with me. It's been nice. Also, you're welcome for not going off on a tangent about Riverdale. I'm rewatching season one before watching season two with my sister, and I won't even share my feelings with you. Because this is a book blog. And we follow the rules here. Bye, love you.

Ship: Bish and Jen, Caleb and Maggie, Rachel and Peter
Snake: Donald, Marla, Watson's

5.5/10
~Book Panda

Accordance

Hey Visionaries,

Let me tell you about my day yesterday because it was a lot for me. So. I went to the Credit Union, because my English major self somehow works there, and found out that I don't have to do the training thing yet. So I sat in the office and listened to this kid scream for an hour and a half. I then went to a literary magazine meeting and somehow became in charge of copyediting the whole thing. Me. In charge of stuff. Not the best idea, but they don't know that. Then, my mom found me and we searched for other people that fit the diverse qualifications in this group we're in. All we needed was a white guy, but when you need them, you can't find them. Then I took like so long to do my hair. Then I went to a freaking party. That was the most uncomfortable two hours of my life. Hated it. I don't drink and I don't socialize so that was a mistake, but I was trying new things. My therapist is gonna be hella shook. I left two hours later, the same way I showed up—sober and alone—and called my dad because I was stressed out. It was cold out so I was sniffing, but he thought I was crying so he started encouraging me, which then made me sad. So I went to the 24-hour diner on campus and got a cream soda float and stress ate it at 11:00 p.m. in a state of non-feeling, but not the dissociative state I was in earlier in the week. And to top it all off, my friend broke up with her boyfriend. So I'll never see him again and I'm pretty sad. Anyway. You came here for books, so here they are.

Accordance, the second book in the Significance series is pretty okay. Her brother and stupid Kyle show up to "chaperone" our people, Maggie and Caleb. As they try and hide their "Ace" stuff, Kyle's a pain in that ass, Bish is hella rude, and Maggie is evolving or whatever. It's wild. I'm not really sure what else I can say without spoiling anything. I'd link the Goodreads summary, but it's not any better.

So. Kyle is a dick. Even though he "gets better" or whatever, I don't forgive him. There's a line between snark and dick and it's intent. Kyle's a dick. I don't care how much Shelly tries to give him a redemption arc or whatever, I can't get past one and two-thirds books of assholery. Sorry, not sorry. Bish. . . I kind of understand Bish. Though he's sort of a dick as well, I get it. He had a bad life and now he's insecure about his entire existence. Does this give him an excuse, no. Do I understand, yes. Kyle? Inexcusable. He knows how this stuff works  Bish isn't allowed to know. Also, I ship Jen and Bish so much and I don't understand why we can't have nice things. But alas, Shelly with her overabundance of typos doesn't want us to be happy. ALSO. She had Maggie not know what Jen was short for. Like, hello? There aren't that many J-E-N names in the first place. It was either Jennifer or Jenna and she was so freaking shook that it was Jenna. Did you not assume that? Because I did. God. Dumb. But aside from that, there was a lot of crying and stuff. Wasn't necessary in some places, but where there most definitely should have been crying there wasn't. I'm confused about Shelly's concept of emotional reactions. She who's been kidnapped and dumped in a well should have a bit of PTSD. Those around her should realize she's triggered by scary movies. He who killed someone should feel something at some point. She who also killed someone should also feel something. The only one with real reactions is Bish. We have long-term trauma down packed apparently. And. Can we not think of any word other than amazing, Caleb? If he keeps this up, I'm going to go through all my writing and take that word out. I think that's all my feelings. Book isn't like, amazing, but it's fluffy and I'm interested enough to continue. Catch you later.

Ship: Caleb and Maggie, Bish and Jen
Snake: Marla

6.5/10
~Book Panda

Significance

Hey Virtuoso,

I could have called you an Ace but. . . that's me and. . . I have a rant about that later. Anyway. I'm sure you weren't expecting me back so soon. Me neither. This is putting a dent in my next week stalling plans, but it's okay. I fell again and I now have a bruise. I've never bruised before, so I don't really know what to do. I think I should have iced my knee, but what college student has ice? Not me.

Anyway, today, I finished rereading Significance by Shelly Crane. This book is about a young girl, just graduated, whose life is changed with a single touch. You think I'm being dramatic, but alas, I am not. Maggie is sad, because her life kind of imploded on her. No boyfriend, no mom, no dad. Then she sees this dude, who almost get's himself killed, and saves him. And then. They have a M O M E N T. A magical moment, where they are now soulmates with a hilariously incorrect name. But they are the first soulmates in a hot minute, so there aren't a bunch of warm feelings outside of the family. I think I covered my bases? Who knows anymore.

I read this years ago, and even though the writing isn't great and there are so so so many spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors, I wanted to know what happened next, so I spammed my local library until they got them. And they got most of them. Now, I'm here, talking to you about it. So. Our magical soulmates are called Virtuosos. That's, like, they're proper name, but they also call themselves Aces, which is a no from me. For the uncultured swine, or the people who don't know we exist, ace is the nickname for asexuals. the true A in that long gay acronym. the LGBTQAIE whatever. I have weird feelings about this, because we don't feel sexual desire, like at all, but these Ace's clearly do for their soulmates and stuff. So I'm like, maybe the term ace for us was not a thing when the book was written, but this is not true. I don't know how I feel about it, but I'm not in a good feeling space right now.

Anyway. The book. Maggie is a sweetheart. Kind of reminds me of me, but white with family issues and a soulmate. And Caleb is so attentive and lovely I can't. Kyle? His entire existence is being a cockblock and needs to just leave as soon as possible. The writing isn't the best (like I said, so many errors. It hurts because I am the grammar police) but the story is interesting. I really hope it stays interesting, because these are all the books I have and I have to stay in this place until next Thursday. Wish me luck. Not really,  I don't believe in luck. But be proud of me for not losing my entire personality like yesterday. I'm really trying my best.

Ship: Maggie and Caleb, Bish and Jen, Bish and Kyle (they're both dicks so)
Snek: Watson's

6.75/10
~Book Panda

A Sorrow Fierce and Falling

Hey y'all,

The end is nigh. Finals are next week. My motivation is quickly dissipating. I want to go home. This week is feeling like the longest week. But, it's fine. I bought some brownies from the bruhs, and they slap. I also finally finished this book I should have finished two days ago. But you can't judge me, because I'm a struggling college student.

So. A Sorrow Fierce and Falling. Once again, the end is nigh. The final battle is coming to a height, all the segments of our love rectangle are back. There's like conflicts and resolutions and subplots and stuff. It's crazy.
Here you go. I'm sorry I'm bad.

So. Thoughts. Blackwood. Why, darling? Why must you destroy me this way? Rook, we all knew your time was coming. Magnus, love of my life. Apparently, I was too suspicious, originally, this held weight, but he's changed. Lilly and Dee is just a wonderful thing. So sweet, so pure. I knew deep in my heart that Maria was lovely. I knew it. I just remembered something that happened in this book, and Eliza is a dumbass.

Bucky Barnes from Marvel

There are some other things that I could talk about and other feelings I have, but I don't feel them right now. I'm stuck in I want to leave town, population me, all the books I have/want to read, and Once Upon a Time. I did not realize until Saturday that these people were the same. I was like, bruh's crazy, why can't I hate him? And then it hit me. It's the love of my life. I adore Bucky, and my love for him transferred to Jefferson, who isn't completely bat crazy, it's just that silly Emma doesn't believe him. I feel for him. Love, if you will. Also, Mary Margaret is my mom. I love her. And I'm just waiting for Hook to come to town because he is the love of my life. There is no way in hell I can ship Emma and Henry's dad, whatever his name even is, because Hook. Like, Hello? He's gorgeous. He's a smart aleck. He has a British accent. Nah, dude.

Jefferson/The Hatter from Once Upon a Time

Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time

Anyway. The book was good. Go read it for a comprehensive understanding of the happenings. See you next time. Hopefully, I'll be able to use my brain.

Ship: Dee and Lilly, Magnus and Henrietta, Maria and Fiona, Wolff and Lambe

8/10
Series: 7.7/10
~Book Panda

A Poison Dark and Drowning

Hey whassup, you guys,

I couldn't think of a name. Also, that should be singular. But you know, for the future readers, analysists, and government officials. That's for you. I've rediscovered VeggieTales bops and I'm having such a good time. "No comprendo? I'll show you no comprendo." Classic. Anyway.

So, I finished A Poison Dark and Drowning, the second in the Kindom on Fire trilogy by Jessica Cluess. In this one, Henrietta is living with the love of my life, Blackwood and his sister while trying to keep sorcerer appearances. Also, Rook is fading to the dark side, which we all knew was going to happen, and Rh'elm or whatever the h*ck his name is still wants her by his side. Of course, Henrietta doesn't listen to or trust anyone, so she's still being a magician. Then she finds secrets and stuff.

How do I feel about this book? Well, it was good, just not as good as the first. This has nothing to do with writing, and everything to do with content, as always. Henrietta is out here being dumb. Really dumb. You are going to bring the infected "love of your life" into the home of people who trust you because you stupidly believe he can get better when literally all your magic people say he won't get better and risk everyone's life. On a love that I'm a hundred percent sure wasn't planned, because there were a whole zero signs. Jessica or Jessica's editor or whoever was like, no we don't need a strong independent woman. Saddle her with a mistake, a bomb, unnecessary weight. Which will later give her unnecessary problems. That's a good idea. Then when my ship finally started to sail, it had to be pulled back to the docks because of him. Like, if Blackwood had waited a day it would have worked out. But Henrietta was "in love with Rook." I'd have preferred Magnus to Rook. I like Magnus, Rook is just bad news. And now Jessica is turning the love of my life into a bit of a crazy person, which means that Magnus is going to be the love. . . maybe. But he's my second choice. And no one should be anyone's second choice. Anyway. Maria? She a bad one. I looked at her credentials, and I knew. I knew and I laughed. Lowkey wanted Henrietta to swear off all men and just get with Maria. It would save me the stress of choosing a male. Lambe and Wolff? You've had my blessing since the beginning.

Here's what I think is going to go down in the next book. Henrietta's gonna warp further, because why can't she be a normal magician sorcerer. Integration will happen. We gonna find some witches. Dee and Lilly will live happily ever after. Rook is going to find one last ounce of humanity before he's brutally slaughtered. Mickmelas might finally be our dad. Or he'll be killed. Blackwood is either going to go be a driverless cart or he's getting married and my ship will sail. Magnus is either going to die at war, find another girl/boy, or marry Henrietta, in which I will contemplate whether I even want said ship to sail. That's all I have. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

Ship: Wolff and Lambe, Blackwood and Henrietta
Why aren't you dead?: Rook, Rhelm
Ugh. Her mind. So powerful: Maria

7/10
~Book Panda

A Shadow Bright and Burning

Hey sorcerers,

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! If you aren't American, Happy Wednesday! Hope you're having a nice time. I'm in a place where I'm stressed but calm at the same time. It's pretty wild.

As you may have guessed, I've finished A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess. Now you may be wondering, bro, what is this book about. Well. It's about my girl Henrietta Howel (of no relation to Daniel Howel) being a fire torch. They all believe her to be the prophesied lady sorcerer that will save England because she can set herself ablaze and not be harmed. Unfortunately, they're wrong. Then there are the men. She is living with a bunch of other sorcerer trainees, all of which are male because "women are too fragile to wield magic" and she begins to feel things whilst trying to keep up the jig.

When the legit book summary said three men will entice her or whatever, I was like. Bruh. Are y'all really out here trying to create the love square? The love quadrilateral? No. Not acceptable. Then I read it, and everything was okay. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out which boy was who. The summary reads, "One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her." This is all in reference to her heart I think? Or her as a person. Either way, I know who challenged, but I'm not quite sure who betrayed her, because the one who betrayed her was not part of the group I don't think. You see how I avoided that spoiler? Masterful.

Let me talk about some people. Rook? Terrifying. He is literally going to kill people in the future books. On my mama. George? A prick. Then a sweetheart. I love him, but earlier he could suck my left dick. Do like how he developed as a character. Julian, I wanted to love, but I knew he was bad for my heart. He's a lot. Wolff and Lambe? I knew it. That's all I have to say. Arthur was sweet. I liked him. Henrietta was bad, like in the black way, not in the negative way. She was just trying to protect and do right by her friend. That's all she wanted and I respect that loyalty. The ending? I have mixed feelings. Between the loyalty and desperation and how I know he will kill people. But anyway.

I didn't read another subpar book! It wasn't as heart-wrenchingly beautiful as Strange the Dreamer, but it wasn't bad. I enjoyed it. Ready to read the next one. On time this time.

Ship:. . . ummmm, Wolff and Lambe
Snake: shhhh spoilers

8/10
~Book Panda

Muse of Nightmares

Hiya muses,

Listen. Did I say I was super excited to read this book? Yes, and I was. Was I still afraid it wouldn't be as good, even though it had, like, 4.5 stars on Goodreads? Yes. So I did what I do best and procrastinated. I finished New Girl, which is pretty good if you're into comedy stuff. In reality, I finished this book in three days, despite the timing of this post.

Muse of Nightmares is the second magical book in the duology. Assuming you read Strange the Dreamer, you know Lazlo, my husband, is now a god, and Sarai is a ghost. Minya is dead set on revenge, using Sarai as a hostage, the humans down below the citadel are trying to figure out how to go on functioning in light of recent events, and something else ominous I can't tell you about because that's one h*ck of a spoiler. It's all going down and I was not ready, even though I should have been.

Okay. There's so much. So many feelings, you don't understand. I read 300 pages yesterday. It's been a very long time since I read books that made my heart squeeze and beat fast and make me want to cradle the book in my lap instead of putting it back in my bag during class. A very long time. God, I've been reading crappy books lately. I shouldn't put up with this. But I will. I'm such a pushover, someone save me.

By lesya blackbird ink

Anyway, this book is so good. All the good things in the last book? Still relevant. People got better. Character arcs were created. Character development occurred. Thyon? I have so many questions. So many questions that I'd like answered by one Laini Taylor. I'd also like a world question answered by the madam, but alas, I don't have access. All in all, I think I'm going to buy these books. I'm going to reread Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and hopefully, I'll read better books. Here's some art of Sarai, because I couldn't find a picture I liked of Lazlo. Have a nice day. Go read some good books.

I forgive you: all the snakes (anyone can be anyone else's monster)
Ship: Lazlo and Sarai, Thyon and Ruza, Eril-Fane and Azareen,

10/10
Series: 10/10(!)
~Book Panda

Strange the Dreamer

Hello dreamers,

I've found love. Some say love doesn't exist. Some say soulmates do not exist. Well, I am here to tell you that they're all wrong. But maybe they're right, for the love of my life is Lazlo Strange, and he is the protagonist of this glorious book I just finished.

Strange the Dreamer is a tale of men and gods. Lazlo Strange is an orphan. He lived for stories, especially the story of a long forgotten story. His heart broke when the name of the city was forgotten, but its mysteries lived on in his head. As he grew older, he was freed from the oppressive orphanage of the monks and lived with the librarians. His passion for Weep, or the Unseen City, flourished even as his peers looked down on him and his fascination as foolish. Then the Godslayer came to town, and his questions and his hope grew. How does a forgotten create a Godslayer? What gods needed slaying for him to warrant the name? And how does a name disappear out of all minds and books? Who knows, but the citizens of the Unseen City.

This book. Ugh. Laini Taylor's mind is so powerful. I can not explain to you all the warm and fuzzy feelings I had while reading this book. They say the perfect man doesn't exist, but they haven't met Lazlo. This pure innocent man. I can't. He reads everything, but not the scholarly texts like the others, no. He's out here reading fairytales and legends and I'm over here, sobbing. He has no bad intentions. He's just trying to help and has enough hope to practically will the Unseen City into being. I love him. And now I'll never love again.

I also love Sarai, who we meet later, She's like a secondary main character, but still a main. I like her transformation from vengeful goddess to unsure girl to empathetic queen. Her mind? Also powerful. Her siblings? Minya can suck my left dick. She's clearly an antagonist (I don't think that's spoiling) and I despise her with all fibers of my being. No one likes a grudge. Ruby is really annoying. I can't quite put my finger on why she bothers me so much, but she does and I can't deal with her. Feral was cool, then he was boring. He was just drifting along, letting stuff happen. Not caring one way or another. This story could not have him and the only change would be lesbians, which is always good. Sparrow is a sweetheart, and I wanted nothing but good things for her.

Laini is out here just creating beautiful things. The writing? Gorgeous. I want to go read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series again because this was beautiful. Between Lazlo and the writing, I loved it so much. Even though it took me a minute to get through it, every time I picked it up, my heart was squeezing with good feelings. I think I might buy this, which is saying so much. AND! There's another. I'm ready to be swept away.

I could go on for days about this book because I loved everything about it. Buuttt, I'm trying to read the next one. So get ready, for some hot fire content. . . later.

Also, I knew. Not everything, but I knew Lazlo was more than what they made him out to be. Stupid monks. ALSO! Laini, how dare you. But I should have known.

Ship: Sarai and Lazlo, Lazlo and me :p, Eril-Fane and Azareen, Tzara and Calixte
You're cool: Ruza, Calixte, Eril-Fane (my dad)
I don't like you?????: Thyron Nero
Die: Minya

10/10
~Book Panda

All the Wind in the World

Hey whassup you guys,

Have I gone off the radar for like a couple weeks? Maybe. I tried to read this book, then I just gave up (sorry, Octavia Butler, I tried), and then I had to get through this one. Now a hot rage is burning inside me. I have words.

The book I finished today is All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry. I picked this up because it had a pretty cover and I thought it sounded interesting. It's about this girl, Sarah Jac and her boyfriend James trying to make it in what sounds like a post-apocalyptic world. The world seems to be drying out and the most stable work to find is cutting the hearts out of maguey, or agave plants. They don't broadcast the fact that they love each other, instead choosing to manipulate the people in the fields they work at until they move on.

I almost stopped reading this book, because they were calling themselves cousins. That's kind of a nope for me, despite the love I cherish for Magnus of Falling Kingdoms. He was lonely. But, that was cleared up, though not fast enough. If I was more impulsive, I would have never finished it. Then I got bored. This book isn't that long, and yet I struggled to get through it. This read a lot like a slow-burn fanfic to me or a fluff piece but without the cuddling and soft feelings. None of the things that happened to them while they were working was all that shocking, or I didn't care much. The stakes weren't that high.

Then. And then. He is a snake, and I banish him to whatever hole he crawled out of. The ending? Based off what he did? Ridiculous. Unrealistic. No one should settle for that baby back bullcrap. Livid. I am livid. And I can't even explain because it's the end of the book. That's the whole plot twist/climax of the story. Ugh.

I wasn't a big fan of this book. It kind of dragged on for me and I wasn't really interested. The writing was pretty good, but that was it. I wanted fluff, and I didn't get it, for obvious reasons. I also didn't really care about the characters. Like. . . spoilers. Some spoilers are too big for even me to spill. This was a pretty eh book. Pretty cover though.

5/10
~Book Panda

War Storm

Hiya wardog,

Guess who took over a week to finish a 662-page book like a weakling? This chick. In my defense, I had to do work. School work. It was awful and I never wanna do it again. The work, not the reading. I'll always read. Always.

I finally finished the final book of the Red Queen series: War Storm. This book was a roller coaster of events. There are two sides to the upcoming war, but everyone is making side plans and ready to betray everyone at the soonest sign of trouble. The Cal's Norta/The Rift/Scarlet Guard/Montfort side is one side. Half of this alliance doesn't want another king in Norta. The other part still wants Red's to be slaves. The other side is Maven's Norta/Lakeland/Piedmont. Maven's entirely insane, the Lakelander's are power hungry, and Piedmont just wants revenge against Montfort. This book is basically about like war strategy with also learning about "new" characters and how not black and white this war is.

All right, first of all, I completely forgot Iris, Maven's Lakelander queen, was a factor. Like, when she started having chapters, I was like, oh wow. I forgot you existed dude. And she was out here scheming and stuff. It was wild. This book was so. . . much. So much happened, like I don't even know how to summarize it without completely spoiling everything. Not like I usually do, that's just character points, not plot points. It's just. . . idk, dude. That was a lot, I'm tired. I woke up today at nine. Today is Sunday, by the way. If I'm not home, Sunday is a stay in bed till 1pm day. I'm supposed to have this big here's how I felt, and this is my view of the series as a whole, but alas, I do not. Book was great, series was great. Wow. I wish there was a bit more fluff at the end, but that's all you're getting out of me.

By: Ioweana

 Here's Mare, being great.

Ship: Evangeline and Elane, Cal and Mare, Kilorn and Cam

Heart: Kilorn, Cal, Mare, Barrow squad, Julian, Farley

Why are you alive: Ptolemus

8.5/10

Series: 8.4/10

~Book Panda

King's Cage (revisited)

Hey rewrites,

I've reviewed this book before, but "review" is a very strong word for what I wrote. I'm not sure why I even published it, but whatever. Here's some good ole fashioned ranting.

Today I finished. . . King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard. Mare has been given herself up as a prisoner to save her people. Maven, the little bastard, has her locked up but is puppeting her around. The Scarlet Guard, God bless them, are. . . I kind of forget. I guess they were making military moves and surveilling everyone. Preparing for war and all that jazz. So much happens in this book, I'm not really sure how to sum it up. You can smash that link if vague and confusing summaries don't cut it for you.

I have so many questions for Victoria. First being: why did it take a whole 200 pages for someone to rescue Mare? How dare you. My second question is, why did we see from Cameron's perspective instead of, oh, I don't know, Cal's? I mean, did it show me Mare's faults? Yes. Did I see the storming of Corvium even though I quickly forgot that the action was taking over Corvium? Yes. But I didn't see Cal being a bit of a snake, despite my love for him. I wouldn't have fallen back in love with him if I knew he was going to be a snake. Maybe. I'd have liked to see Cal's perspective regardless I think. Then the dramatic irony would have been extreme. I'm a sucker for dramatic irony.

To my character reviews, because that's what me "reviewing" books really is. Mare. Oh, Mare. I was hoping and praying someone would get you out or you would escape before any Stockholm syndrome kicked in. And now you have PTSD, but still want to fight for the cause. And now your heart is shattered because power is a potent drug. I believe in your ability to thrive, with or without a man. Kilorn may have moved on, but there are a couple of lightning boys available. The one I liked winked at you. Maven. Suck my left dick. Cameron, you kind of annoy me but I understand you. Cal. You break my heart. I'll never love again (ha!). You're a strong boy, but you're a weak boy. You should've been raised by black parents. Evangeline, you gay dick. I fully support you in all of your gayness, but why must you be horrible in all ways? If you weren't so entitled and awful, I would like you. I suggest you and Elane run off to broken England or something and live in a cottage.

The final book is coming up, so I've decided to make a few predictions. I read something that insinuated something terrible, and refuse to think of that. Maven is either going to be rehabilitated or die horribly. Evangeline is going to switch sides in order to stay with her girl. I think Cal is going to regret his decision and try and find a way out of it but be manipulated. Heartbroken, Mare is either going to be a strong independent woman or be scooped up by someone else. Preferably a white-haired lightning boy. Or maybe she'll find herself a girlfriend too. Kilorn is going to move on, probably with a newblood girl. Maybe Ada? Maybe Gisa. Farley will be a badass general and mom. Clara is going to be so spoiled, even during a war. She will also call the Colenol either dad or grandpa. The "Kingdom of the Rift" is clearly going to fall. That's all I can think of for now.

I rant a lot about these books, but I do truly enjoy them. I wouldn't care if I didn't. See you in 4-6 business days.

Ship: Cal and Mare, Evangeline and Elane
Snakes: who isn't a snake TBH

8/10
~Book Panda

Glass Sword

Newblood,

Say you want me, say you want me, to teach you your skill. But I'm just a dead girl walking all day. And I need Cal, and I need Cal, back in my life. Cause I'm just a dead girl walking all day. (The Youngblood album by 5 Seconds of Summer is probably 2018's greatest masterpiece. We are not worthy). So. What's good? What song have you listened to repeatedly until you knew all the words in less than an hour?

What have I finished today? Glass Sword, the second book in Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series. In this book, Mare is fully immersed in the Scarlet Guard, as fully as is possible for someone no one really trusts. This book is so intricate, I'm not sure what to tell you that isn't a major spoiler. Then again, I don't really know how to talk about books without spoilers so here we go. There are some sneaky sneky brothers that pop up. Mare is trying to save those like her from the likes of Maven, the worst person alive. She's trying her best, but she makes a lot of bad decisions. I don't fully blame her, because no one checked up on her mental health before they decided she should be in charge of something.

Wow. I think that might have been worse than how I usually do. I'm going to blame stress. Anyway. Mare. My baby. Someone needs to help her. Like, she doesn't want to be helped, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need help. Mare's so freaking stubborn, she won't ever admit she needs anything from anybody, not even a hug. Like, go hug your mom, darling. It's okay. After the ordeal she went through, it makes sense that she isn't thinking with all her brain cells. I'm trying to figure out why no one was like, oh. Maybe we shouldn't let her go through this after she just had to kill a bunch of people out of self-defense? No? Okay, whatever.

The relations are really messy in this one, except the one between Farley and Shade. We all knew they were an item, even before I reread this. Kilorn and Mare break my heart. Kilorn desperately loves her, and yet she pushes him away out of fear. And Mare realizes what she's doing, but she can't stop herself. Kilorn is kind of the GOAT. He tries to give her what she thinks she wants, and then she still gets mad. That doesn't matter, I still love him. Cal and Mare make me sad. They're clearly both using each other. I believe this is what the masses refer to as a toxic relationship. They are both using each other for comfort, to chase their demons away. I honestly can't get a read on why Cal stays, because he doesn't believe in the cause, he and Mare rarely get along, and people don't like him on general principle. I don't know if I'd stay with a group of people doing things I don't like for someone I only like some of the time. But what do I know of relationships, toxic or otherwise? I'm a whole ace.

This book really shook me several times over. Like, I knew what was going to happen at the end, but the whole middle part was like reading a new book. Victoria wildin' out here with them plot twists and secrets and stuff. Now, excuse me as I experience physical pain while reading King's Cage. It'll be great.

Ship: Farley and Shade

Snake: still Maven, you little bastard, Elara

Send them help: Mare

S'Love: Kilorn

9/10

~Book Panda

Red Queen

Rise red as the dawn, my dudes,

Here are some things I've learned over the past however many days:

• my self-sabotage knows no bounds
• my procrastination also knows no bounds
• I need to study before bio exams
• I'm not sad, just apathetic
• my sister and I are the same, but not
• I can't put aside past feelings when rereading books

What are some things you've learned about yourself? Tell me in the comment section and make sure you smash that subscribe button.

Today, I finished rereading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. Here, we have a world divided by the literal color of your blood. The Reds have red blood and, under normal circumstances, are like normal people. The Silvers have silver blood, and have special magical powers that they think makes them superior to the Reds. All Reds live in poverty, Silvers get to have nice things like food and electricity. Mare Barrow is from the Stilts, an exceptionally poor Red town. She steals for her family, though they are very unappreciative, and is soon to be conscripted to the war just like all her brothers. Chance gets her a job at the palace, while she's trying to help her bff get out of going to the war. Then it turns out Mare has those super powers I was talking about it, and they're broadcasted on live TV. Mare is then forced to "be Silver" and she has to try and navigate a world of snakes.

In all honesty, I could have finished this book yesterday, but like I said, the procrastination. So. Wow. I feel like this book was better the second time around. My sixteen-year-old self didn't know content when she saw it, because I only gave it three out of five stars on Goodreads. Now, I'm a whole adult and I've seen the light. We're going to bump that up to four stars because I can.  

Mare's great. She's brash and pretends like she doesn't care, but she was going to scrounge up two thousand [currency] so Kilorn wouldn't be conscripted. She does the best she knows how to provide for her family. Her family is kind of a snake because she's trying her best, but they clearly favor their other daughter, Gisa. I get the feeling Mare is no one's favorite, though I might be wrong and she could be Shade's favorite. This not good enough complex hurts her later but, like, spoilers? Eh, I do what I want. Maven's a dick. Because I knew what was going to happen, I the dramatic irony was so real for me. She was told so many times not to trust anyone, and that anyone can betray anyone. Why did she think she was an exception? But it's fine. Even though she saw his true colors too late, she now has three books to make up for it.

Art by allarica.tumblr.com

Maven. The whiney boy. I couldn't find it in myself to fall for his tricks again. I felt like his personality flipped a little too much to be genuine. I don't know if I was just reading too much into every little thing he said, but it all sounded fake and I never started to trust him. Ever. Because he's a whole entire snake pit. I liked Cal a lot. I couldn't figure out why Mare got so mad at him. Like, he was doing his job? It's not like he hit the gas line on purpose. He's trying to figure out how to run his country and it's not his fault that he was a bunch of propaganda or whatever it's called when the government spreads lies. At least he was trying to understand. Plus, it always baffles me when stubborn people get mad at other stubborn people for being stubborn. Like, Mare. Really, dude? Love him. Or not. Because I kind of also love Kilorn. We don't really see a lot of Kilorn, but he's sweet. He's just trying to find where he fits in the world and who he is, like every other college student. Of course, I don't believe they have college in this world, but still. He's just an eighteen-year-old boy, trying his best. Just like the rest of us. Also, the fact that when she was being dragged away to "become Silver", she thought about having babies with him means something. If y'all were undisturbed, you would've been a beautiful couple. All that fighting was hidden passion or whatever. Wow. Love.

Honestly, though, I'm glad Mare didn't choose any of the love triangle characters. That would have been super forced, and we all know how much I hate forced relations. ALSO. Evangeline at the end was yelling, "You were supposed to be mine!" Really, dude? Because. . . last time I checked. . . you didn't ride that bus. But okay.

Ship: no one, because Mare don't need no man

Snakes: you know, you know who the snakes are
Love of my life: Cal, Kilorn

8/10

~Book Panda

Facts

Girl of Nightmares—DNF

Hey blah blah blah,

Here's a summary of Girl of Nightmares so you can check it out and not get mad at me for only ranting about things you don't understand. Go read it if you want. I don't care. Do your thing. I just read a summary of what happens, so I know how it ends. Ha! Should I give you access to the spoilers? I don't know. Doesn't sound right.

So. There are a few reasons I didn't finish this, despite being 65% finished with it. One: I'm on my way to rereading the Red Queen series, so I can read War Storm in all of its glory. I like to have my knowledge of characters and events fresh when I read conclusion stories. That's why I've started waiting until series are over before I read them. It's easier for me to process. Anyway, Mare is. . . that bitch so I am very eager to see what's up again. Another reason is that all the characters except for Cas and Thomas were annoying me. The last one is that there was no ghost hunting. Like, Cas, I love you, but all that's happening is pining. If I wanted pining, I would have read a book where the two meet, have ONE DAY together and then can't get into relationships with anyone else because they're "in love". That's nothing I want to read. So I stopped.

Now. It's time. It's time for my character rant. Are you ready? Of course you are, you made it this far.

Carmel, Carmel, Carmel. I knew you were a snake. She gave me bad vibes in the last book, and now she's finally shown her true colors. I didn't like how the first thing she was trying to do was to get Cas to go out with this girl he clearly has no interest in. Like, that's not cool. If you're really his friend, you'll let him at least try and make his own decisions. When Cas first started having visions, her first reaction wasn't, "oh, what could be causing this, you're pretty normal besides the ghost stuff." No, her first thought is, "you should see a psychologist, you could be developing schizophrenia." Girl. What in the actual h*ck are you on? Schizophrenia is so extreme, and you just assume your supposed friend is mentally unwell, even with all the ghost crap you've seen? That just shows how much faith you have in him. Then, THEN, instead of having a discussion with your friends about how all the ghost stuff might be too much for you, you ghost them? And then you don't even have the decency to talk to them away from you're little popular group, you're just like, lol, I'm going on a date WITH THIS OTHER GUY. That's messed up, especially because she and Thomas were more than friends. Whole entire snake. Then, instead of talking to Thomas, she goes to Cas' house. Like, what? And then she has the further audacity to show up in London with them and be like, "why didn't you tell me you were going to London?" Like, bitch, you broke up with them. Why should they tell you anything? God. Entitled people annoy my last nerve. Insufferable. Hate her. I'm also mad because apparently Thomas and Carmel get back together. My little, wrinkled witch boy deserves much better than her. She just threw him away because she couldn't handle some ghosts. No one invited you to come hunt ghosts anyway. You're useless.

There were more characters that bothered me, but talking about Carmel has riled me up, and I don't need these feelings. I'll make it quick. Jestine and all the adults in Cas' life=snakes.

4/10

Series: 5.5/10

~Book Panda

Anna Dressed in Blood

Hey Buffy the Ghostbuster,

What's good? How's life? School? Employment? I'm not sure which one fits best. You a wild creature I most likely made up. And that's okay. Talking to yourself is cathartic or something like that.

I finished Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, and I'm not quite sure how I feel. I'll explain later. In this book, my boy Cas is a ghost hunter, just like his dad. He and his mom travel where people send tips and he goes and takes out them ghosts. It's very Supernatural season 1. Normally Cas has no problems taking out ghosts, and he always works alone. Unfortunately for him and us loners, that changes in Canada. Even the lone wolves need assistance.

So, before I read this book, I was hesitant. Why? Because I tried to read a Kendare Blake book before, Antigoddess, and I hated it. I couldn't finish it. She completely messed up the mythology and my Percy Jackson loving self couldn't take it. Then, as I began reading this, I thought Cas was a female. That was entirely my fault because I neglected to read the summary before getting into this book. I'm kind of a mess, if you couldn't tell.

Anyway, Cas is dope. A brooding charming type. Then he, like, fell in love with the ghost he was supposed to kill? Like, when he initially sees her, he calls her a goddess, and I'm like. . . sir? Sir. Sam and Dean would never. He's a little wild, but that's okay. I forgive him. Carmel is a snake. There's something fishy about her and I don't like her. Thomas is great, I like him. He's the eager witchy puppy we all need. Will. *sigh* Will could've been great. I thought Will was going to be our friend. Then he was a snake. What the h*ck Will.

Anyway, this book is out of my comfort zone. I don't do ghost stories. I do faeries and angels and space and werewolves. This was still cool though. I think I may have been desensitized to spooks, because all the creepy/spooky parts I was just like, eh. But it was good.

Ship: Thomas and Carmel
Snake: Will, Malvania

7/10
~Book Panda

The Black Key

Hey dad killers,

Guess what? I think I'm getting sad again. Anyway, here's the content.

The Black Key is the finale to The Lone City trilogy. Violet and squad are getting ready to take down the Royals. Then they find out that Violet's sister, Hazel may be in danger at the Duchess's palace and she loses her mind. Why she thought she would be okay there in the first place is beyond me. She wild.

I feel like this is the book where Violet just loses her freaking mind. First, she out here running revolutions or whatever, which is fine, but then she doesn't want anyone else to do anything. Ash, who I actually like though it might not seem like it, wants to help somehow. He and his colleagues have also been victims of the Royals and yet she wants him to just play with the animals while literally, everyone else at The White Rose is out there being useful. And she's like, it's not safe. And yet as soon as her sister is in danger, she changes HER ENTIRE FACE so she can go make sure she's okay. If you're only concern is him being recognized and caught, why didn't you change his face? Why are you stupid? And then she goes to be a lady-in-waiting like she knows anything about how to do that. Stupid. And then. And. Then. She destroyed a wall of mirrors. In the Auction House. WITH THE SECRET SOCIETY SYMBOL. And she thought no one was going to see that? You really thought you would get away with that crap, Violet? Do you have the memory of a goldfish? Do you not remember when you changed a little picture of the Duchess so had green skin and you got caught? How do you think you'll get away with destroying a room when you couldn't get away with defacing a picture. Not even a big picture. This was probably a wallet-sized photograph. Violet. You're stupid. God. And instead of getting your precious cello smashed YOU GOT LUCIEN KILLED. Your little friends might tell you that it wasn't your fault, but it was. You killed Lucien, my whole dad and your whole dad because you were being an arrogant brat. Congratulations. Now you've lost two dads. Do you understand how hard it was not to cry in a dining hall because of your dumbass? No, because you're selfish.

Anyway. This book was. . . something. I'm glad Ash left on his on and helped. And I'm glad Garnet is out there being great. I really don't have positive things to say about Violet. I kind of hoped she died so she could repay Lucien. Eye for an eye and all that. But whatever. Saw the ocean and stuff. Book's okay.

Art by ivy11

Here's a sneak peek of what I'm reading next. Sorry I just ranted a bunch about this series. :)

Ship: Raven and Garnet
Love: Dad Lucien, Indi
Bruh: Violet
Get out: Olive

6/10
Series: 6.5/10
~Book Panda

The White Rose

Hi people,

You get two reviews in two days. How does it feel? You know, I considered updating like once a week of all the books I had finished, but that would be me rambling for years and years. No one wants to read that.

(I just realized the cover has a bunch of shadowy girls on the skirts. . . it's not Halloween yet, Amy)

The White Rose is the second book in The Lone City trilogy. Violet is trying to escape the Jewel, out of necessity, with her boyfriend of five seconds and her bffl Raven. A big portion of the book is them trying to get out of the Jewel without being caught. Then there's some revolution stuff.

In terms of learning about human cruelty, this one wasn't as extensive but still pretty bad. We learn that not only the girls are treated poorly, but the guys too. It infuriates me to no end, but I didn't almost rage quit like last time.

I liked that this book wasn't super relationship-centered, especially because Amy did a horrendous job of making there be a relationship in the first book. This one, they were just out there supporting each other. It was cute.

I also enjoyed Garnet's character development. He out here, living his life, caring about stuff. It's inspiring. Wow. The excellence. Glad Violet is learning her true heritage, becoming the Last Airbender and all that jazz. I don't know. That's all I have to say really.

I had to be in an arena with way too many people for a whole hour and I still haven't fully recovered. #introvertsbewild Anyway, good book. Not great, just good.

Ship: Garnet and Raven
Snek: Ash's dad

6.5/10
~Book Panda

The Jewel

Hey dudes,

Guess who's not sick anymore? Guess who finished a book? Guess who's a little shook? It's me. Wow.

The Jewel is basically about the workings of the slave trade. But not really? In this land, the daughters of the poorest people in this city occasionally have the ability to be surrogates for Royalty. They get taken from their families and are prepped to manipulate the world around them, and inside them. Then, when they come of age, they're auctioned off based off desirability. It's real wild. The main character, Violet, is auctioned off like everyone else, but she has a chance for freedom. And love. And whatever.

I'm gonna be honest, I almost didn't finish this book. First of all, some ignorant person on Goodreads asked if the book was like The Selection, which is almost forgivable. But then. Then some moron said yes. They thought this had some semblance to The Selection. If you don't know what The Selection is, the most basic explanation is futuristic Bachelor for royals. Common girls VOLUNTARILY get put in a lottery and then a bunch of girls go to the palace and compete for the prince's affections. This is about poor girls getting taken away from their families because of some test they have to take when they get their period, being put in a holding place/prison for years until they're of age and being auctioned off so they can have babies for cruel stuck up royals. Then, when they get to the home of whoever bought them, they're basically treated like animals. They drag them around on leashes. In public. In what sense of the word did this idiot think that The Jewel is similar to The Selection? It's quite mindboggling.

The other reason I almost stopped reading this book was because of the whole slavery thing. That doesn't vibe well with me. It rubs me the wrong way and I wasn't about to read a book that romanticized human slavery and treating people like less than people. That's disgusting and I wasn't going to read something like that. Fortunately, that died off quick enough so I could get in the book without feeling sick to my stomach.

After those issues, I got into it. I liked how Violet didn't cave to Stockholm syndrome or whatever. Even though the Duchess gave her nice things and gave her something resembling freedom, she didn't cave and start obeying and thinking she belonged there. I also liked how she found ways to rebel against the system. When the system's jank, you gotta screw it up.

I thought the relationship between Ash and Violet was really forced. Originally, I thought it was going to be between Violet and Garnet. Then Ash showed up, and I was like, okay, cool. Then they kissed the second time they ever met up and I thought it was all kind of rushed. Like, they hadn't known each other for a month and they were like, lol I love you. No. No, you don't. You just found someone that didn't look at you as an object and lost your mind. Honestly, a romantic relationship between Violet and her maid, Annabelle, would've been more believable to me. I actually ship that more. But I digress.

This was a good book. It wasn't great. If I wrote it, I'd have done things differently (like make her gay, and screw the system) but it was okay. I'll read the next one because it ended with me quaking. I accidentally read the first part of the summary to the next one, so I knew something was going to happen, but I didn't expect bruh to not be that bitch. I'm still quaking, shaking and baking.

Ship: Violet and Annabelle
Snake: Dr. Blythe, Stone lady, Duchess, Carnelian, royals in general
Sweet: Lucien, Ash, Dahlia
Shook: Garnet

7/10
~Book Panda

DNF

Hey dude,

So. I don't remember if I did this before, because it's literally been an entire year, but I'm going to start reviewing the books I don't finish. Why not, you know? It's not like you're going to tell me not to.

Today, I stopped trying to read The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld. This book is about this chick moving to a new town and discovering that there's this entire other world during the night. Everyone's frozen in time except for a select few. These "midnighters" don't fit in during the day and have special powers at night. Except for the chick, Jessica Day.

That's all the real summary had, so that's all I'm giving you. Sucker.

I read this book because it had been on my list for a while and I was like, you know what, I liked the Uglies series, let me try this out. Shouldn't have done this. I was so bored. It's been three days and I've only read 103 pages in a 300-page book. That's not normal for me. I should be done with this.

I didn't like or didn't care about the characters. The only one that seemed to be somewhat okay was Jonathan and he's not a main character. So far, he's shown up for maybe three pages. The main main character, Jessica, I don't give a rat's left butt cheek about. She's not funny, she's not angsty, she's not snarky. She's nothing. She has the personality of blank copy paper, and at least you can make copy paper look good. Dess is annoying. Like, she's mean for no reason and she's just annoying. I could have liked Rex, but then I don't know him. Like, what's his schtick? I don't know.

As I couldn't get invested in the characters, I tried to trek on for the plot. But the plot just mosied its way on. I mean, dude. There are only 300 pages. Do you really need three chapters of her running away from darklings or whatever? And everyone knows how new people adapt in small towns. Don't need 60 pages about that. I am a little curious about what Jessica's power is, but not enough to finish the book. I just looked it up, and apparently, she's something called a flame-bringer? She can use technology during the blue hour or whatever. Good on her. I also just read that his girl is a red-haired, green-eyed beauty? This was nowhere in the first hundred pages. Shouldn't that have been in the intro? I'm a little mad, but whatever. I'm sure she saves the world.

I'm a little peeved now, so I'm gonna go write about my own red-haired, green-eyed beauty. See you later, hopefully with a better series.

DNF @ 118
2/10
~Book Panda

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Hi Will Grayson,

It's me, Will Grayson. I'm excited because I get to go home in three days. Was I just home for Labor Day? Yes. Stop judging me. Also, I'm getting sick, which pisses me off but also comforts me in that when everyone is sick later, I will be unperturbed. I will look on as they sniffle and wheeze, unaffected as I sip my drink. I will—What? You want me to get on with the post? Fine, whatever. It's not like this is my blog or anything.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan is about two guys named Will Grayson meet. It's under weird circumstances and their lives entangle a bit in the way people with the same name who meet happen to become entangled. Indifferent Will is trying to figure out what his truth is and how he wants to live it. Sullen Will is trying to see if he can be. . . happy? Maybe happy isn't the word. I don't know, he's trying to figure himself out.

Of the two Will's, Sullen Will was my favorite. His part of the book is told with no uppercase letters, and that was a bit disorienting in the beginning, but I quickly got over it. I was a little worried about him at first, because the first sentence of his part is, "i am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me" (22) and I was like, sir. Sir, are you okay? Then I was like, I love you, you deserve all the happiness and love. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I like the sullen ones. Just because he's gay, doesn't mean I can't love him and want him protected.

Art by D4ncingD4wn

Indifferent Will was really relatable to me. He wasn't trying to draw attention to himself and he felt like his friends didn't appreciate him enough or care. It was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotion. Then I stopped thinking about myself because that's selfish. His plight with indecisiveness was also a mood. Of course, my indecisiveness errs more towards the food issues than relationship issues.

I will say, I was very wary of reading this book. The first John Green book I ever read was The Fault in Our Stars and I was deceased. Then I tried to read his past books and I was very disappointed. I didn't want John to disappoint me again, so I put off reading this for a while. This book was good. Not Fault In Our Stars kill-me-now-because-I'm-already-dead good, but that-was-so-cute-and-good-and-I'm-glad-I-read-it good. I like that they didn't immediately become best friends and I'm also glad nobody died. It was a finding yourself story that had some complexities while keeping other cliches. Cliches only bother me when they're annoying. All in all, solid book. Thanks, John. For the content.

Ship: Indifferent Will and Jane, Sullen Will and Gideon

Team Too Much: Tiny Cooper

Eat Dirt, Heathen: Maura

8/10

~Book Panda

The Death Code

Hey. . . people,

How's it hanging? Guess what happened? I read a whole book. I finished a book. Wanna know what's it's called? You'll never get it.

Wow, you're so good at this game. That's right, I read The Death Code, the second book in the series The Murder Complex. In this one, Meadow has given herself up to the Initiative so her family has a chance of being found. Zephyr escaped with Lark, Meadow's mom. Now Lark is MIA and Zephyr is doing everything he can to free Meadow before it's too late.

Now, this was the second book. Sometimes the second one isn't as good as the first. This was not the case. The Death Code was just as fast paced and just as wild as the first. There was a lot going on in this one, but it still worked. I got through this one much faster and I was kept on the edge of my seat, just like before.

I think dear Lindsay could have played up Meadow's insanity more. After going through intense torture or whatever for a month as a whole sixteen-year-old combined with the knowledge of her fate would make anyone crazy, no matter how strong. I know Meadow is supposed to be this hard, unfeeling chick, but just saying "I am my mother" over and over didn't really show the crazy. I don't know, that might just be me. We love an insane queen.

I did like that Zephyr showed reservations about following Meadow to find her family. He knows she isn't mentally stable and that she isn't the same girl he fell in love with. Despite all this, he's willing to fight for her and believe in her an help her remember who she is. It's cute. Then again, what can you expect from a boy who fell in love with a girl because she straight threw him after he snuck up on her? Nothing but devotion.

Ship: Zephyr and Meadow
You're annoying: Sketch
Please turn in your life certificate: Lark, the Initiative, former American gov't

7.5/10
Series: 7.25/10
~Book Panda

The Murder Complex

Hey Wards,

Hows it hanging? What? Did you think I was gonna leave you hanging again? I understand. I'm kind of unreliable, but it's okay. I'm back and probably the same.

Today I finished The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings (stop laughing, you child). It's about this future dystopian society (don't quote me on that) where natural death has been cured after a plague, known as the Plague, wiped everyone out. Of course, unnatural death is still a factor and there are hundreds of murders every day. Meadow Woodson and her family have been trained to survive. It's what she does best, no matter what the cost. Zephyr is an orphan, a Ward, but he has a nasty little secret. The two meet under weird circumstances and go fight crime together.

Don't you feel enlightened? Wow.

So. This was a pretty solid book. I'm not going to lie, the whole barcode, Pin in your arm thing kind of freaked me out. It's a little too real in this day and age. But I like how Meadow wasn't an oh-there's-a-boy-I-can-swoon-now type. I also love Zephyr with all my heart. He needs to be protected from everything, big and small. Koi, her brother, is kind of a dick. So's her dad. But it's fine. Go family.

Wait, you want content. For some reason, it took me a hot second to finish this book. I think that was more my fault than the books. The writing was pretty good and the storyline was really interesting. The short chapters kept me on my toes and I was kind of freaking out during this little chase scene that happened because it kept flipping. It was pretty wild. I was shook. Anyway. Good book.

Ship: Zephyr and Meadow

Snake: Lark, Initiative

7/10

~Book Panda

Replica and Ringer

Hey its,

How's life? I'm listening to Eminem's "Kamikaze" album right now, so that's a thing. I was gonna say something else, but I fell into the rap flow. . . is that a thing? Heck, if I know.  Oh. Oh wait, did you come for. . . content? Sorry, dude. We don't have that here. We have something some may call trash.

Well, if you're still here for book stuff. I'll give you book stuff. It might not be good book stuff, but you didn't come for that, did you? No, you came because you're bored in France and you're wondering how the silly American is doing today (Marshall is out here wilding). I'm not spiraling, so that's a plus.

Boom: Content. I finished Replica on the 28th, and it was kind of a lot. So Replica's a story of two girls, Lyra and Gemma. In Lyra's story, she's a replica, a clone. She's lived in a lab her whole life until she doesn't. Lyra and a boy, who is known by the number 72, escape the lab and try to learn how to live in the world when they weren't allowed to live until then. Gemma lives with overprotective parents--like she can't participate in PE because they're "worried about her health". Despite they're helicoptering, she goes to Florida and discovers Haven and a couple of its occupants. She tries to assist them any way she can while trying to hatch Haven's secrets.

Wow, that was rough. In my defense, it's been a while and I'm writing this a few days after I finished it, whilst reading another book. Here, have a real summary. (Marshall just went after some guy on Twitter because he's dumb. Sir. S-sir. Sir, please.)

So, I really enjoyed this book. The sci-fi/contemporary/drama thing worked for me, and I loved the two-books-in-one format. I alternated between the two stories, starring with Lyra's. Lyra 72/bae were my favorites. They needed to be protected from everything. Gemma was cool too, but I didn't like how she talked about herself. It was clear that she didn't like how her body was because she was thiccc, but I felt like Lauren Oliver didn't have to go so hard on that. It made me sad and I wasn't really sure where it came from. I don't recall the girls at her school ever bothering her about her weight, but maybe my memory is bad.

I could probably write this better, but it isn't fresh. Oh well, what can you do? Don't answer that, you smart-alecky Frenchman. I don't need that today.

Ship: Lyra and 72, Pete and Gemma
Screw you: Dr. Sapdfifjefwehe, Dad

8/10

What? You thought I was gonna talk about only one book when two are in the title? What are you on? No, we got two reviews, if you can call them that. Gotta keep that content fresh, exciting, and unpredictable.

*If you haven't read Replica, stop reading, as there'll probs be spoilers*

This is Ringer, again by Lauren Oliver. It's the second and final book in the Replica duology. We got two stories again, so get ready. Gemma is trying to live a normal life after finding out Haven's dark secrets. She finally figured out how to, but then she realized her dad was a dick and had sold out Lyra and Caelum. She goes to warn them. Lyra and Caelum are living with Lyra's OG dad. The both of them are trying to acclimate to normal life, but then Caelum up and disappears. As they are one, Lyra follows him despite her advancing sickness. They go on their adventure and realize that the world is so much bigger than they could have ever imagined.

This time, I started with Gemma's story, but I still alternated chapters. This book didn't disappoint, despite it being a second. Sometimes second installments flop, but it was just as good as the one before. It's very raw and real and so many other things I don't know how to describe.

Pete is kind of a dick, but I guess her dad's a dick, so she's used to it. I love Lyra with all my heart. I wish she would survive, but alas, it isn't written in the stars. Having the insights from the other stories was very nerve-wracking. Knowing people are snakes when the characters don't know they're with snakes gives me a lot of nervousness. . . sure.

All in all, good series. Good books. Would recommend.

Ship: Lyra and Caelum
Stress shows you're a dick: Pete
Snake: Dr. O'Donnell. Dr. Sapenstein, Dad, Calliope

8/10
Series: 8/10

~Book Panda

See What Had Happened Was. . . .

Umm. 

So. It's been a while. How's France? Don't-don't look at me like that. Listen. Has it been a year. . . over a year, yes. But I like, went to college, I thought I was gonna be super busy because everyone was like, "Ooh, college is so hard!" and, "I have no time to read!" and all that crap. And I believed them. And then I was adjusting, and I might have gotten seasonal depression when my only friend decided she was going to abandon me. Or I was just sad. I was probably just sad.

Anyway, I'm back now! New year, new me. But instead, new year, same me, slightly different but the same blog. We out here, trying to be great, but being average instead. And that's okay. No judgments. I've had a pretty crappy year so far, but here's to new friends, new experiences, new stuff.

So, yeah. I'm back, ready to do some blogging and rambling. I know that's your favorite, that's why you stick around and deal with my baby back bullcrap. That's why you smashed that subscribe button and hit the bell to get notifications for when I publish crap. I know. I know you, dog. You committed. You smart. You kind. You important.


All right, I'm gonna go take a nap and finish this book so I can give you some hot content. Later, dude.

1/10
~Book Panda