Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (Precious Stone Trilogy #1)

Picture from Amazon

 Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Time Traveling

Format: Paperback (352 pages)

Publisher: Square Fish

Publication Date:  May 22, 2012

Rating: 2/5

Source: Bought
Get a Copy at: Chapters | Amazon  | Barnes & Nobles












Summary from Goodreads:

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

What I Think:

I really don't know how to begin reviewing this story. The prologue was super interesting, yet however, it was not told by main protagonist herself which is strange and made the reader wants to find out why. 

I can see this book, or triology has a good potential, however, it was really disapointing. The whole book seemed like a long, long introduction to the story. There weren't much interesting event that capture my attention. In addition, I felt that it was super slow pace. Nothing was described in detail and the author just switch her point of focus every so often.

There were not much character development and I have no idea what are the motives and purposes behind each character. I felt that there way too many dialogues which act as filler of the story. Normally, in other books, dialogues serve to help reader understand the personalities of the characters, however, I found the characters, including the protagonist are just big whiny brats. 

It was not only till I got through 3/4 of the book, the intriguing feeling came back, unfortunately, it only lasted 2 pages. There was a snippet of the second book which seemed interesting, HOWEVER, I am not sure if I want to continue with the trilogy because there were many moments it gave me some hope that finally, an interesting scene was coming up, but nope.

Before reading this book, there were so many good reviews on it (rated 4.5/5 everywhere - goodreads, amazon, etc). So I decided to give it a try. After reading it, I cannot but help to wonder if all the online reviews are fake. Absolute waste of time.

I really don't know guys.. Should I give the next book a chance????? Sigh

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 Quotes:

"The first pair Opal and Amber are,
Agate sings in B flat, the wolf avatar,
A duet-solutio! - with Aquamarine.
Mighty Emerald next, with the lovely Citrine.
Number Eight is digestio, her stand is Jade fine.
E major's the key of the Black Tourmaline,
Sapphire sings in F major, and bright is her sheen.
Then almost at once comes Diamond alone,
Whose sign of the lion as Leo is known.
Projectio! Time flows on, both present and past.
Ruby red is the first and is also the last.”

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About Kerstin Gier
Website | Goodreads

 

Review - Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles #1)

Picture from Chapters. ca

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi

Format: Hardcover (387 pages)

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: January 3rd 2012

Rating: 5/5

Source: Library Loan
Get a Copy at: Chapters | Amazon  | Barnes & Nobles












Summary from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

What I think:

When I started this book, I was a bit skeptical about the quality of writing. However, after a few chapters, I was hooked! The beginning was slow, I have to admit, but with a lot of twists in events, this story is very captivating.

The character development was fascinating with the main character, Cinder. However, I wish the author goes more in depth with Peony. Although Peony is such a dreamer, that she is annoying at times, you can't help be love her. As for Andri and Pearl, I dislike them but in a way like how they make Cinder's characters. However, the main issue I have with this story is that the name given to certain character is not very original or matched the character background. Prince Kaito (Kai), really?! This is such as Japanese origin name and not anything of "New Beijing".

Anyways, the end of the story was a big cliffhanger that is making me want to read the next installment. 

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Quotes:

• “Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. It would completely ruin your life. What would you do?”  

• “Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.” 

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About Marissa Meyer

Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Review - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #1)

Picture from Chapters.ca

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction
Format: Trade Paperback (338 pages)

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: November 15th 2011
Rating: 4/5
Source: Bought at Chapters
Get it at: Chapters | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summary from Amazon:
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

What I think

This book clearly have its ups and downs. The first 50 pages pulled me in the story as they are full of mystery and I wanted to know more about Juliette. However, when the romance kicked in, I thought it was plot from then on is a bit predictable and cliché. Thanks to the twists, they motivated me to continue reading and no judge the story until I have completely done with it.

So the story follows Juliette, a mysterious girl with powers to fear. She was locked up in the beginning due to the potential danger normal people associate her with. One day, she got a cell mate, a boy around her age who is not what he seemed to be.

  

Nonetheless, Shatter Me was a great fast-pace book that I enjoyed. I really like the ending because it was all happy. 

The whole story sorta reminds me of the show Smallville.... 


Side Notes

For people living in Vancouver area (in Canada), the Chapters at Robson is selling signed copies of Shatter Me at the book regular in-store price. Last time I went there (yesterday), only 7 copies were left.