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