Book Review: Wonder Woman: Warbringer

Release Date: August 28th, 2017
Read: October 16th-18th, 2017
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Series: DC Icons, #1
Format: Hardcover, 375 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   Daughter of immortals.

   Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.

   Daughter of death.

   Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

   Together.

   Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war. 

Review:

   Let them hear me wail at the top of my lungs.

   I borrowed Leigh Bardugo's first novel, Shadow and Bone, years ago from my local library, before the final book in the series was even released. I used to always take out the whole series at a time when reading books from the library, this was almost the case with the Grisha Series. But I could not get into Leigh Bardugo's writing, and so I never finished the series or picked up any of her other books, no matter how big of a hype. It wasn't until Wonder Woman: Warbringer came to be that I decided to give Leigh another chance. 

   I've loved the DC Universe since I was a kid, you could always find me watching the Justice League on Saturday mornings. It wasn't until I saw the 2017 Wonder Woman movie that I was finally convinced to read the book. In the end I really wish I hadn't picked it up.

  Leigh Bardugo did nothing special with the plot, she brought nothing new to the story nor did she do the plot justice. Wonder Woman has been around longer than I have, thus the story of hers is basically set in stone. All the little things that were added to Diana's story, or the changes that Leigh made just infuriated me. The only thing I enjoyed about Leigh's Diana was the way she reacted to our 2017 society. 

   To add to the infuriatingness of the book, the plot itself was just terrible. It wasn't thought out and just resulted in a bunch of randomness. The solution to the plot was just whatever, and the evil villain in the end was just predictable and lazy. Not to mention it was oh so slow to get through.

   Not only was Wonder Woman: Warbringer not a read that was in anyway enjoyable, it also put me off from wanting to read any of the other DC Icon novels that are going to join Wonder Woman: Warbringer as a series. But because Batman: Nightwalker is written by someone besides Leigh Bardugo, I might give it a chance, I just haven't decided yet. 

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"Sisters in battle, I am shield and blade to you. As I breathe, your enemies will know no sanctuary. While I live, your cause is mine.”

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Comics, Superheroes, Wonder Woman, 

Book Review: The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson

Release Date: June 6th, 2017
Read: June 2nd-14th, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: N/A
Format: ARC, 464 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   When all hope is gone, how do you survive? 

   Before the war, Eden’s life was easy—air conditioning, ice cream, long days at the beach. Then the revolution happened, and everything changed.

   Now a powerful group called the Wolfpack controls the earth and its resources. Eden has lost everything to them. They killed her family and her friends, destroyed her home, and imprisoned her. But Eden refuses to die by their hands. She knows the coordinates to the only neutral ground left in the world, a place called Sanctuary Island, and she is desperate to escape to its shores.

   Eden finally reaches the island and meets others resistant to the Wolves—but the solace is short-lived when one of Eden’s new friends goes missing. Braving the jungle in search of their lost ally, they quickly discover Sanctuary is filled with lethal traps and an enemy they never expected. 

   This island might be deadlier than the world Eden left behind, but surviving it is the only thing that stands between her and freedom.

Review:

   I've never been good at letting go.
   I haven't read a Dystopian YA book in forever, after Divergent and the Hunger Games, the trend ended for a good while. Come 2017, it's slowly making a comeback with The Sandcastle Empire.

   The Sandcastle Empire was a disappointment from the moment I started it. It took me way too long just to read 142 pages of the book. The beginning was slow, and it felt like more plot was needed for the book to be more interesting. In the end, I DNF'd the book at 31%.

   In a way I wanted The Sandcastle Empire to have had more of an Indiana Jones feel to it.  With the wolf pack being similar to the Nazi, and the book taking place in a jungle, some comparisons could be made, but not enough so that my Indiana Jones expectations were met.

   What I did like about the book was the odd short chapter where the protagonist would reflect on her backstory before the main story takes place. Eden, the protagonist, would show us her favourite memories, and I just couldn't help but find some of them cute.

   I did not enjoy The Sandcastle Empire, and unless I see raving reviews about Olson's next book, I probably won't be picking up that one either. The book was just not for me.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"It was our last hope in this broken/ chaotic world. Where is there to go from here?" 

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Dystopian, Survival, World Wars, Indiana Jones

DNF Review: The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

Release Date: September 20th, 2016
Read: September 11th- 26th, 2016
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Series: Prisoners of Peace, #2
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   Greta Stuart has become AI. New transmitters have silvered her fingerprints. New receptors have transformed her vision. And the whole of her memory has become one book in a vast library of instant knowledge. Greta is ready to rule the world.

   But the new technology is also killing her.

   Greta is only sixteen years old, but her new enhancements are burning through her mortal body at an alarming rate. Of course the leader of the AIs, an ancient and compelling artificial intelligence named Talis, has a plan. Greta can simply do what he’s done when the time comes, and take over the body of one of the Swan Riders, the utterly loyal humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult.

   First though, Greta will have to find a way to stay sane inside her new self. Talis’s plan for that involves a road trip. Escorted by Swan Riders, Greta and Talis set out on a horseback journey across the strange and not-quite-deserted landscape of Saskatchewan. But there are other people interested in Greta, people who want to change the world…and the Swan Riders might not be as loyal as they appear…

Review:

   Piece by piece..
   I had received The Scorpion Rules from the publisher as a surprise, last year before it's release. Before I started it, I thought the premise to be a new and exciting idea. Then there was also the promise of it taking place in Canada, stories that take place in Canada don't happen quite often, so I was really excited to read it. In the end The Scorpion Rules ended up being a little too political for my taste. There are sometimes cases where the second book outshines the first, I had hoped that that would be the case with The Swan Riders. I can't always be right.
   I DNF'd The Swan Riders when I was perhaps 100 pages in, it took me 15 days to get to that point. Nothing about the story was grabbing my attention, and after 15 days I knew it was time to finally put  it down and pick something else up.
   I had gone into The Swan Riders hoping for a bit of a change, considering our main character was now an AI. It felt like the little times I got to see her embrace her new form, Talis would interrupt.
   This series has turned out to just not be for me, I'm glad that I tried to give the series another try, but I probably won't be picking up the rest of the series in the future.(If it does continue, with a third book.)

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"He was losing her. He was losing them all."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian, LGBTQ, Robots, Canada

Ohana Talks: Books Read in 2015 but Didn't Get Review.

   Throughout most of the year you see and hear about the books that I've read and reviewed, but you never hear about the book I read and didn't review. So for today, I wanted to highlight some of the other fabulous books that just never got a review! And I must say, there are a lot of them.

The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore 4/5 

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill 4/5

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder 5/5

Shutter by Courtney Alameda 4/5

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead 5/5

Macbeth by William Shakespeare 3/5

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare 5/5

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 2/5

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 3/5

Alienated by Melissa Landers 4/5 

Captive by Aimee Carter 3/5

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake 2/5

Sister's Fate by Jessica Spotswood 3/5

Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre  3/5

Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little  4/5

The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine 3/5

Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong 4/5

The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore 5/5

The Jewel by Amy Ewing 5/5

The White Rose by Amy Ewing 4/5

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin 2/5

   What about the rest of you bloggers or reviewers? Were there any books that you read but didn't review? How long is your list? I'd love to know!

Book Review: UnSouled by Neal Shusterman

Release Date: October 15th, 2013

Read: February 16th-23rd, 2014

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Series: The Unwind Dystology #3

Format: Hardcover, 416 pages

Source: Winnipeg Public Library

Description from GoodReads:

   The story that began with Unwind continues.

   Connor and Lev are on the run after the destruction of the Graveyard, the last safe haven for AWOL Unwinds. But for the first time, they're not just running away from something. This time, they're running toward answers, in the form of a woman Proactive Citizenry has tried to erase from history itself. If they can find her, and learn why the shadowy figures behind unwinding are so afraid of her, they may discover the key to bringing down unwinding forever.

   Cam, the rewound boy, is plotting to take down the organization that created him. Because he knows that if he can bring Proactive Citizenry to its knees, it will show Risa how he truly feels about her. And without Risa, Cam is having trouble remembering what it feels like to be human.

   With the Juvenile Authority and vindictive parts pirates hunting them, the paths of Connor, Lev, Cam, and Risa will converge explosively and everyone will be changed.

Review:

   I'm just going to straight up say, this book did not meet my expectations. When I picked up Unwind about a year ago I was blown away by how different the concept was, cutting up people and being able to use every part of the body is practically a miracle! Another part was what would happen to children if they misbehaved... they would be unwound as punishment. This plot creates nightmares!
  The first novel pulled me in with it's nightmares and horror, with that I just couldn't wait for the sequel UnWholly. My goodness it had me frightened just to be in my skin! But this book UnSouled made me feel like it lost it's magic. The storyline was still there with  Conner, Risa and Lev but the main idea of Unwinding was gone. Yes it was always brought up about how they needed to stop it with a rebellion and all but there was no unwinding. I was very disappointed, but I kept on reading. Normally when I get to the point where I've been reading the book for more then 5 days I leave it and give up if there was no spark of interest, but I just didn't want that happen with this book. In the end that was exactly what happened. I promise I will try to reread this novel one day but for now it's just a book I couldn't finish. 

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

“No true hero ever believes that they are one.” ~ Elina

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Science Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Dystopian, Post Apocalypse