August 2016 – Page 2 – Zakiya N. Jamal

Five Books That Actually Live Up To The Hype (Guest Post)

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog, Guest Post

*This is a guest post written by Darian Duckworth and she runs her own book blog, The Novel Millennial, and a BookTube channel of the same name . If you would like to do a guest post for To Borrow or Buy, please email me at toborroworbuy@gmail.com*

If you’re anything like me, you tend to get turned off by really popular or hyped up books and series. But I’m here to tell you that there are actually some popular books that actually live up to the pedestal they’re put on. Proof: I didn’t read Harry Potter until a friend forced me to read Prisoner of Azkaban in the third grade. (PS: it’s still my favorite book in the series). Recently, I caved and picked up some seriously popular books that I was extremely turned off from because of their popularity. Here are five books that I think actually live up to their hype:

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

ACOTAR is a retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. If you’re looking for a strong female protagonist, don’t let the fantasy genre of this series deter you. Even if you don’t typically like fantasy, ACOTAR has something for literally every reader. There’s adventure, fantasy, romance, and lots of action, especially towards the end.

2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Okay, if you don’t like fantasy then you probably don’t like sci-fi with cyborgs and all that jazz either. Well, here’s the series that’s going to change that. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella but the similarities between the two stories are few and far between. There’s cyborgs, a different race that lives on the Moon called Lunars, and a plague threatening Earth. It’s pretty intense.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

You’re probably sitting there like “Who hasn’t read THG?” but I know y’all are out there. If you haven’t read this series, do it now! I can’t say that enough. The political atmosphere alone is enough to make this book live up to the hype. Pro Tip: The rest of the series is pretty good too, and Catching Fire is the best one.

4. It’s Not Okay by Andi Dorfman

I’m not one for self help books and I’m definitely not one for self help books about breakups but I am a fan of all things The Bachelor. Andi Dorfman made waves on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and people were legitimately shocked when she and her fiancé called it quits nine months after the finale. It’s Not Okay is Dorfman’s raw and emotional journey at coping with the aftermath of that very public breakup and it is every bit worthy of you clicking “Buy Now” on Amazon.

5. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I hate poetry, mostly because it takes too much effort to interpret, usually. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur is the exception to that first statement. The poems are raw and real and powerful and I damn near read the entire thing in the bookstore. I simply could not put it down!

Book Review: How to Lose a Bachelor

Posted on August 4, 2016August 2, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis:

Revenge has never been so fun…

Rochelle Ransom has big plans for winning the prize money on a dating show to help her favorite charity–and if she wins the hot bachelor’s heart, even better. But at the last minute she finds out the bachelor is her ex-boyfriend, Grant Drake.

Now she’s determined to get herself voted off as quickly as possible–even if she has to embarrass herself on national television. But Grant has a different plan for the woman who stole his heart.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Review

After finishing the Harry Potter series it was nice to read a quick and fun romance novel. How to Lose a Bachelor was cute, funny, and kind of cheesy but in the best way. Rochelle and Grant have amazing chemistry and the lengths they go to get “revenge” against each other are hilarious and outrageous. If they were my friends I would tell them to get it together because their relationship issues could’ve been easily solved.

Still, their antics and hijinks are what made this book fun to read. I also really like Maya, another contestant on the game show Rochelle participates in. Maya is sweet, a great listener, and honestly if I didn’t want Grant to end up with Rochelle I would’ve rooted for Maya to win the game. I would love to see a sequel/companion novel about Maya. I think that would be so fun.

Overall, I read this book in a day and I loved it. I didn’t think the epilogue was necessary but otherwise the book was really good. I’d definitely recommend if you’re looking for a quick, easy read. Still, I probably won’t be reading it again, which is why it’s a borrow for me.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“I seem to have forgotten my name. Maybe we could both get in the shower and you could scream it for me.”

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"The Cursed Child" Review (No Spoilers!)

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (No Spoilers!)

Posted on August 2, 2016August 2, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

I went into this book with low expectations because a) this is a script of a play not an actual book and b) this isn’t really J. K. Rowling’s writing. Yes I’m sure she contributed but Jack Thorne really came up with this play so I didn’t expect it to be like the books and it wasn’t but it was still really good.

The play mainly follows Albus, the son of Harry, and Scorpius, the son of Draco, who were great characters. I truly loved Scorpius and I didn’t think I would, so that was a great surprise. He’s definitely my favorite character from this whole play. I also found it interesting how Albus and Scorpius friendship reflected both the relationships they had with their fathers as well as Harry and Draco’s interesting relationship.

I thought the Golden Trio were a bit different from what I remembered but I also took into account that they’re adults now with kids and that obviously changes a person. The changes I saw in them weren’t so drastic that it was unbelievable and I found Ron to be the most similar to what I would expect from an adult Ron. Ginny is still my fave and that hasn’t changed with this play. I thought she was fantastic and such a good mom and wife.

I found the story itself much different than what I would expect from a Harry Potter book but like I said this isn’t really J. K. Rowling’s writing so I didn’t expect it to be like previous books. As I’ve seen some other people say this story did feel a bit like fanfiction but a well written fanfiction. I do think the major plot point of the story is a bit far fetched and unbelievable to me but in choosing to just go with it I really enjoyed this story. I think if you take this story as something seperate from the Harry Potter stories and just as a fun piece of work that includes some of your favorite characters than you’ll really enjoy.

This one is a buy for me because I can actually see myself reading it again and also because nostalgia. Let me know if you’ve read The Cursed Child yet and tell me your thoughts (no spoilers!) in the comments below.

Stars:

Favorite Line: