Book Reviews – Page 26 – Zakiya N. Jamal

Book Review: The Darkest Minds

Posted on January 19, 2015May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

I’ve had this book on my book shelf for so long and I’m so glad I finally got the chance to read it. Dystopian fiction has become one of the hottest genres right now so you’re hard pressed to find a dystopian novel that really stands out but The Darkest Minds does just that.

Alexandra Bracken has crafted a novel that weaves together a rag tag group of characters that in a normal world probably wouldn’t make sense but works perfectly in this dystopian world where children are either dead or outcast. There is Liam, the hopelessly hopeful hero, who just wants to save and protect everyone. He cares for everyone and always looks for the good in people even when it’s not there. He’s optimistic but not in an annoying way.

Of course in a dystopian world where children are being hunted down by the government, bounty hunters (also know as skip tracers) and an anti-government terrorist group, being optimistic isn’t always helpful. That’s where Charlie “Chubs” Meriweather steps in. He’s a realist that’s untrusting of strangers and always guarded. He doesn’t like taking risks and prefers calculated plans. He’s the kind of kid that knows how to cross stitch in case someone needs stitches, which is handy but isn’t something you expect from a kid.

Rounding out the group is little Zu, the youngest and smallest of the group, that everyone wants to protect and keep safe. What’s great about Zu, though, is she doesn’t actually need the group’s protection. If anything they need her. She’s got the strongest ability out of the group, right after Ruby, and can handle her own when need be. The fact that she is mute and afraid of her powers makes her the perfect mirror image for Ruby who has been running scared from her abilities since the age of 10.

Ruby, herself, is the type of heroine that you want to root for. She makes mistakes but they’re mistakes that can be expected of a sixteen year old girl that’s been locked up for almost half her life. What I loved about Ruby is even though she can’t see it herself she is one of the most, if not the most, selfless character in the novel. All she wants to do is protect the people she cares about and she does that in any way she can. Although I didn’t always agree with her choices I respected her for them. I cheered with her when her plans worked and cried when they fell apart.

Following these four on their journey as they tried to find East River, the Promised Land for “freaks”, and everything that happened after I laughed, screamed, had butterflies, went back to reread, and cried. There are so many elements in this novel that you have to be paying attention to keep up. No one can be trusted and nothing is ever as it seems and just when you think you have it all figured out Bracken hits you with another curve ball and you’re floored. It’s brilliant!

If you haven’t checked out The Darkest Minds yet you really need to. Meanwhile, I’m going to get started on the next book.

Favorite Line:

‘The darkest minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces.’

Stars: 5 out of 5. No doubt about it.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!!! I’m so glad I own this book!

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Book Review: Bossypants

Posted on January 13, 2015May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon — from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

Although this took me long to finish (mostly because I forgot I had it) this was great. I listened to the audio version because I’m now in this phase of letting female comedians inspire me. Seriously though, Tina Fey was great. Listening to her autobiography made me cry with laughter, nod in agreement, and shake my head at her sass.

Starting with her life in her hometown and her participation in a drama troupe filled with a lot of gays all the way to her success with 30 Rock, Fey documents her struggles with boys, her weight, body image, and being a female writer in a male dominated field.

What made this audio book so great was Fey’s bold honesty. She would talk about bodily fluids in a way that made me cringe and talk about her marriage, daughter, and thoughts about having more kids in a way that made me feel like we were friends. She discussed the world’s infatuation with butts and her confusion about the new obsession. She also debunked any glamorous ideas I had about magazine photoshoots (although Mindy Kaling kind of already did that for me but still).

Overall, I highly recommend this book, specifically the Audible version. It was great listening to Tina while I worked out at the gym (it made it go by faster) and whenever I was doing mundane things. I would hire Tina to be my life coach if she didn’t, you know, already have a job and such. Anyway, definitely a good book to pick up if you’re looking for a new read.

Favorite Line:

If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?

Stars: 5 out of 5. Definitely a must read.

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Book Review: Stolen

Posted on January 3, 2015May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Who is Eliza Wesson?

Months after Nat and Wes said good-bye on the shores of the Blue, Nat is learning how to control and use her new power. She and her drakon are the last of their kind—and she’s risked her life for their reunion. When she receives a mysterious distress call, she races to help, soliciting the guidance of her new friend, the beautiful and aloof Faix Lazaved of the Blue.

Still heartbroken over losing Nat, Wes is racing cars on a New Vegas racetrack while his team is scattered and lost. When he finds out that his sister, Eliza, is being held in the golden domes of El Dorado, he does what he’s best at—running to her side—and gambles on luck to see him through one more time.

Magic, romance, and danger collide as Nat and Wes become entangled in a dark new adventure that leads right to the heart of the mystery of their frozen, broken world. They soon discover that the answer to both their quests lies in the same question: Who is Eliza Wesson—what is she capable of, and why was she stolen from her family so long ago?

*This review will contain spoilers*

The fact that it took me a year to read the sequel to the first book in this trilogy, Frozen, should indicate how much I wasn’t really interested in this trilogy. However, because I was trying to get one more book in for my Dystopia Book Challenge before the end of the year I decided to give the second book a shot.

It was worse than the first one. I didn’t really get into this book until half way through the novel when Wes and Nat are finally reunited. Also the whole “icehole” and “freezing” as replacements for curse words seriously annoyed me. Just say what you mean. I can’t imagine in a dystopia world they change their curse words to words that include the fact that their world is not covered in ice. I just can’t.

The only thing I really liked about this book was the Eliza Wesson plot twist. I knew she was probably going to be evil but I wasn’t expecting her to be the high priestess. Also I was surprised to find out Faix was actually a good guy. I thought he’d turn on everyone and Wes would be proven right. Although he did some shady things he was always on Nat’s side and that was cool.

The ending was also pretty good. It was a nice cliffhanger that almost makes me want to read the last book just so I can know how it all ends. I’m not sure I will (I have a bunch of other books to read) but we’ll see. Overall, I was not a fan of this book and it took me way longer than it should’ve to finish. The beginning was very slow and then things started to pick up around the 50 percent mark. However, once you work past the build up in the beginning it is a bit better.

Favorite Line:

Love does not make you weak; it is the absence of it that does.

Stars: 2 out of 5. The boring parts outweighed the action.

Borrow or Buy: Borrow!! Not worth being on your bookshelf.

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Book Review: The Eternity Cure

Posted on December 24, 2014May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

*This book is part of my Dystopia Book Challenge*

Synopsis from Amazon:

In Allison Sekemoto’s world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood

She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie’s birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever—and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There’s a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago—and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.

*This review will contain spoilers. You’ve been warned!*

For some reason (probably school) it took me way to long to read this book. I loved The Immortal Rules but somehow I think I loved this sequel even more. There was no annoying Jeb or that girl that was in love with Zeke. It was just Allie, Zeke, and Jackal most of the book. And then Kanin who I love. The most annoying character was Stick and I was not at all upset when he finally died.

The book began with Allie looking for her sire, Kanin, but instead of finding Kanin she friends her vamp brother Jackal, the jerk face that killed Zeke’s adopted father and most of his friends/family. Despite her better judgment Allie decides to team up with her brother and they go forward to find and save Kanin from the crazy vamp, Sarren.

Allie gets way more than she bargained for, however, when she discovers:

A) She has to go back to her hometown, New Covington.

B) She finds Zeke, the human she’s in love with but knows she can’t be with, also in New Covington.

C) Sarren has unleashed some crazy new virus that makes humans crazy and makes vamps decay.

Yeah, talk about a hot mess. Despite mutual animosity Zeke joins the Allie/Jackal team and they’re off to save the world. There’s of course some tension between Allie and Zeke (both sexual and just the regular kind) but thankfully they push through it and become the cutest vamp/human couple known to man. Although I have no idea how this could possibly work out I ship it.

The trio work together to find Kanin only to discover Prince Salazar’s holding him captive and working with Sarren. Oh, and Stick is working for Salazar. Talk about a hot mess. Thankfully, Sarren quickly shows his true colors when he attempts to kill Salazar and the Prince joins team Allie. Well, sort of. He then agrees to give them Kanin but not before he sticks him with the virus. No better way to make sure he gets the cure than to make Kanin sick, am I right?

With that motivation Allie is more than ready to do whatever it takes to get the cure. Even so, she’s given even more unneeded motivation when a rabid human bites Zeke, giving him the virus. Julie Kagawa, pull my heart out why don’t you?

With all the odds stacked against them Jackal, in typical Jackal fashion, bails, leaving Kanin, Allie, and Zeke on their own. Too bad Allie’s the only left that’s still remotely healthy. Looks like she’s taking Sarren on all on her own.

After having to leave a too sick to fight Zeke behind it’s just Allie and Kanin, who’s in real bad shape, against crazy Sarren. Well until they get to Sarren’s lab and discover … Jackal!

Yep. Classic Jackal. Sarren deciding he’s done with Kanin goes after Allie and just when I think I’m going to have stop reading because things are going to get real gross Jackal steps up and helps Allie. Though he ends up not being that helpful Zeke suddenly appears and saves the day. Turns out he took an experimental cure while at Eden and he’s all good. Hooray! Using Zeke’s blood they’re also able to cure Kanin. And the day is saved. Except not quite.

Although they all give Sarren a good beating he’s still able to escape and of course it’s not the last we see of him. Thanks to Stick, Sarren is able to kidnap Zeke and get the location of Eden out of him. Sarren seemingly kills Zeke but in the epilogue Kagawa saves me from a heart attack by revealing Zeke isn’t dead just yet. But what will happen next?

Kagawa put me on an emotional roller coaster this entire novel. I fell more in love with Zeke and Allie’s relationship in this novel and I was heartbroken when the novel ended with them being separated yet again. If they don’t end up together by the end of this trilogy I will be outraged. I can’t wait to read what happens next.

Favorite Line:

“For the rest of my existence, if I lived to see the end of this world, there would never be another Ezekiel Crosse. There would never be another soul as bright as his. And that both terrified me and made me savagely – and maybe selfishly – determined to keep him. Zeke was mine now. Forever.”

Stars: 5 out of 5. I want to reread this book many times. Or just the scenes of Allie and Zeke. Although Jackal’s hilarious so I also want to read those parts. And I love Kanin. Okay so I’m going to need to read this whole book again. Yeah, it’s that good.

Borrow or Buy: Buy! I may have to buy this book just so I can reread it all the time. For reals, you’ll want this on your shelf.

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Book Review: Fifty Shades Freed

Posted on December 13, 2014May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees.

Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.

Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.

After reading Fifty Shades Darker I decided to take a break from the crazy Fifty Shades world and read some lighter fiction. But now I’m back.

The last book left off with Ana and Christian being engaged and celebratory while Ana’s ex-boss, Jack Hyde, was planning how he was going to kill Christian. This book kind of began where they left off but not really. For some reason rather than just continue where she left off, Ms. James decided to start the novel when Ana and Christian are on their honey moon but have flashbacks to the time when they were planning their wedding and got married. That was annoying.

Once we got past the flashbacks phase, however, the book was okay. There was a lot of drama, as to be expected when one marries someone as crazy as Christian and has someone equally as crazy trying to kill you/your husband. Christian and Ana had some cute scenes but Christian’s controlling behavior still bothered me. What bothered me more was Ms. James attempt to make it look like Ana actual had some control over Christian and Christian wasn’t as controlling as he was. Yeah, okay.

That aside I didn’t hate the book. I didn’t like it as much as the second one but it wasn’t completely terrible. There was a small plot twist that I wish was bigger and I think Ms. James could’ve done better. The action in the story though was great and towards the end of the novel Ana and Christian got into this big fight and it was the first time I actually felt Ana had some kind of a back bone and I applauded her for standing up for herself and (SPOILER!!) her future kid.

Ms. James kind of ruined the ending for me however, when she went back to that flashback type of writing. She made up for it, however, by giving us some scenes from the first book in Christian’s point of view, which surprisingly I liked way better than Ana’s. I would be interested to read the whole series in Christian’s point of view. That would be cray.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this series. It’s too crazy for me and it just made me angry most of the time. There were some cute love scenes but they didn’t make up for Christian being way too controlling and Ana being submissive. Glad I finally read it so I can say I did but I’ll never read it again.

Favorite Line:

From: Christian Grey
Subject: My Life’s Mission…
Date: September 5, 2011 09:25
To: Anastasia Grey

Is to spoil you, Mrs. Grey.
And keep you safe because I love you.

Christian Grey
Smitten CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc.

Stars: 2 out of 5. It had some good scenes but overall I wasn’t a fan.

Borrow or Buy: Definitely borrow.

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Book Review: Complete Nothing

Posted on October 31, 2014June 17, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

True’s matchmaking skills are the stuff of legend! The second novel in Kieran Scott’s delightful teen romance series that TeenVogue.com called “the next Twilight.”

True is not exactly loving New Jersey. Banished from Mount Olympus and tasked with helping couples find love without using her powers, the goddess-formerly-known-as-Cupid is having a tough time. Especially now that True’s immortal love, Orion, has also appeared at her New Jersey high school—but with no memory of their relationship.

To distract herself from seeing Orion flirt with another girl, True focuses her efforts on making a match: Peter and Claudia. Peter is the star quarterback and the most popular guy in school. But he’s insecure about his future, so he preemptively dumps Claudia, his girlfriend. (If she won’t want to be with him later, why stay together now?) Claudia doesn’t take the breakup too well, and she’s ready to show the quarterback of their rival school just how ready she is to get over it.

But True sees something in these two seniors. She believes they should be together—but can she help them find their way back to each other (and get herself closer to home)? Or have things already spun too far out of control?

Complete Nothing is the second book in Kieran Scott’s True Love trilogy and I really liked this one. When Only Everything left off Orion, True’s love, showed up but had no recollection of who True is or even who he really is.

I liked the added factor of Orion in the story and also learning more about Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Ares. As someone who minors in the Classics I thought the back stories and how Scott used them was perfect. Additionally what made this book so interesting was the added conflict in True’s life. She begins to question who she can really trust and struggles to juggle seeing Orion on a daily basis, trying to make another true love match, worrying about oncoming threats, and questioning who her real friends really are.

I also really liked the human love story between Peter and Claudia. It was cute, realistic, and again demonstrated that True still has a lot to learn when it comes to love. Also, I enjoyed seeing True adapt more to the human world in this novel. Although watching her struggle in the first book was hilarious I was happy to see True adjusting and actually making friends and even enjoying her human life.

Scott again left us with a cliffhanger and it was brilliant. I clicked next page on Kindle and was so disappointed when I realized it was really over. I won’t spoil it but it’s a great ending and even though you kind of expect it I was still a little shocked.

Overall, this novel was a cute, romantic story that will take only about a day to read. Definitely a nice refresher after reading something as intense as Fifty Shades of Grey.

Favorite Line:

Here I was, with my friends and the boy I loved, eating lunch, playing with my new cell phone. For five whole seconds, I felt like a normal teenage girl. And I kind of liked it.

Stars: 3 out of 5. This is a cute love story but there’s nothing that makes it crazy memorable. Still an enjoyable read though.

Borrow or Buy: Borrow. Again, there’s nothing that memorable about it. Definitely not one you’ll be rereading over and over.

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Book Review: Fifty Shades Darker

Posted on October 18, 2014May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

*WARNING: This review will be filled with spoilers*

First if you haven’t read my review of the first book, Fifty Shades of ~~Cray~~ Grey, definitely go do that then come back.

As I was reading this book I felt multiple types of ways and had to tell my friend who got me sucked into these books all about it. Here’s some highlights:

The Beginning

The freaking hair salon

Pay my tuition!

FINALLY!!!

Leave Mrs. Robinson

Christian = Submissive???

“The richter scale”?

*faints*

I was right! Sort of.

Overall I did enjoy this book. There were a lot of ups and downs and plot twists I just wasn’t ready for. If I wasn’t in school I probably would’ve finished this in a day, I was that hooked.

What I loved most about this book was it wasn’t focused on all the “kinky” freaky stuff that these books are known for. Instead Christian actually stops being so possessive and crazy and becomes a pretty loving guy. Plus we finally got to learn more about his scary childhood and it did make me sympathize with him a little bit more.

I still hate Ana’s inner goddess versus her subconscious thing. If they don’t put that in the movie I’ll be a very happy camper. Also Ana’s insecurities got a little annoying as well. Her struggles to believe Christian could really love her were incessant. I was like girl he’s changing his whole way of being for you. Just let him love you.

Besides that I was really concerned with how E L James was going to write a third book when this one seemed so finished. But then she went and made Ana’s former boss, Jack, a psycho who’s now trying to kill Christian. Well that will definitely keep the story going. Crazy. But also I love it because now it’s Ana and Christian against this other force and it really reemphasizes their strong relationship now. I’m excited to see how this will all end.

Also, I’m so glad Mrs. Robinson is finally out of the picture and Christian finally recognized how crazy she is. And also that his mother now knows the truth (some of it anyway). That was driving me crazy. More accurately, Mrs. Robinson was crazy.

There was definitely still a few parts I didn’t understand or like. For example, when Christian gave his ex-submissive, Leila, a bath. I didn’t get that nor understand why that needed to happen and it just seemed like E L James was trying to make Christian more messed up than he needed to be. Or the fact that he brought Ana to the hair dresser Mrs. Robinson owned. It seemed like a huge misstep in character development. Shouldn’t Mr. Cray be smarter than that by then?

Even so, I really enjoyed this novel which is very hard for me to admit because I thoroughly wanted to hate it. But now I’m hooked up so I might as well go pick up the third book now because I won’t be able to resist for long.

Favorite Line:

‘I love you, Anastasia. I will do everything in my power to protect you. I cannot imagine my life without you.’

Stars: 4 out of 5. I enjoyed it but there were still a lot of things I didn’t like and a few parts that I just skimmed.

Borrow or Buy: Buy. This is a tough call but I could see myself rereading this book. Maybe not the whole book but definitely certain parts are worth a second read. For example the house or the “hearts and flowers” scene. Totally worth a second glance.

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Book Review: A Hard’s Day Night

Posted on October 11, 2014May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Penny Lane Bloom, founder of The Lonely Hearts Club, has never loved Halloween. Her dad’s a dentist, so she’s never been allowed much in the way of candy. And forget being a witch or a ghost or a superhero–Penny is always one of the Beatles, along with the rest of her family.

But this year, she’s got the Club, and the support of an amazing group of girls who all have each other’s backs. So when someone tries to ruin Halloween for one member, the Club sets out to prove revenge is a dish best served en masse.

It pains me to write this review because I love Elizabeth Eulberg but honestly I did not enjoy this short story.

I’m not sure if it’s because I read The Lonely Hearts Club so long ago but to me this book just seemed very childish to me which I found strange because I love young adult fiction and believe I always will. This book just didn’t do it for me though.

If worried about spoilers stop here but honestly if you’ve read The Lonely Hearts Club I don’t think you’ll really be upset by any of these spoilers. Nothing that happens in this story really changes anything for the future because it happens during the first novel.

The story is very centered around the club getting back at these boys who pranked one of the members. That’s about it. Ryan makes an appearance but he and Penny don’t speak so nothing exciting there.

Really the most exciting part of this book was the sneak peak of the sequel, We Can Work It Out. Otherwise this story was just really annoying to me. I was annoyed by Penny and the club because the whole revenge scheme just seemed very childish to me. First of all it seems the ringleader of the group of bandits was one of the members little brother so it could’ve easily been handled by a call to her parents but then there really wouldn’t be much of a story.

I think it was well written I just did not enjoy this short story as much as I thought I would.

Stars: 1 out of 5. Well written but the characters drove me crazy.

Borrow or Buy: Buy. It’s free so you wouldn’t be wasting anything if you don’t like it.

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

Posted on October 4, 2014May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

First, if you haven’t read this book and don’t want to be spoiled don’t read this review.

Overall, I kind of hated this book. Actually hated it. Or rather I hated the characters (except Kate who’s the real MVP). Let’s begin with Mr. Christian Grey who likes to be referred to as sir and if you don’t comply you may get punished. Wait, what?

Going into this novel I knew it was for “mature audiences” and there was going to be some freaky stuff going on. What I wasn’t prepared for was an absolute control freak who is for all intent and purposes is abusive. I’ll allow it to be said that he’s not physically abusive since Ana voluntarily signs up to be abused but he’s verbally abusive. First of all, if Ana doesn’t want to eat he makes her and he tracks down her address, her work address, and her mother’s address because he can. He also likes to know where she is at all times and gets angry when she doesn’t inform him of her whereabouts.

Of course we do get some insight into where his controlling tendencies and weird sex fetishes come from but sorry that’s not enough for me. First of all he neglects to see that this Mrs. Robinson person sexually abused him (at the age of 15) and what she did was wrong. I personally would like to have a chat with his psychologist, Dr. Flynn who has yet to make it evident to Christian that this was unacceptable.

Instead Christian is still friends with this woman and more than that they’re apparently business partners. Huh?

Yeah. Also he honestly doesn’t get why Ana’s so hesitant about his “playroom” and spankings. Sorry, Christian but this isn’t really a normal lifestyle. Like at all. Instead Mr. Fifty Shades wishes Ana would enjoy in the fun he feels of causing her pain. Yeah, no.

But our very innocent protagonist goes along with this all the way to the end of the book. She willing goes along with his BDSM and let’s him speak to her any which way and does make sure she keeps in contact with him on a regular and feels both fearful and very apologetic when she doesn’t. The whole book I wanted to knock Ana upside her head and ask her what’s wrong with you? Thankfully, her best friend Kate was there to do that. Though I’ll admit Kate crossed the line sometimes she was looking out for her friend, as she should.

However, despite all this, what kept me going in this book was Christian and Ana’s emails to each other which were actually cute. They had funny, witty banter that made me smile and laugh and think:

If the book focused more on that relationship and didn’t make Christian so messed up I definitely would’ve enjoyed it more. I understand that Christian has a messed up past and Ana’s here to change all that and blah blah blah they’re in love, etc but I don’t believe in the idea of changing someone. Both Christian and Ana are attempting to change the other to become what they desire in a relationship which causing friction and absurdity.

I constantly found myself angry at both characters: Christian for his behavior and Ana for putting up with it. Overall I don’t recommend this book. It’s not well-written (although the author does use big words so congrats on that) at all. For example, this whole thing that Ana does with her subconscious versus her “inner goddess” was so stupid. Anytime she referred to them I started skimming. It added nothing to the story. And the rolling of the eyes bit was so annoying. If you know Mr. Cray is going to spank you every time you roll your eyes and you don’t want to get spanked stop rolling your eyes and especially stop talking about it. It was like every five pages someone was rolling their eyes. I’m surprised they didn’t get stuck up there.

Also, it seems like E. L. James is trying to make it seem like Ana isn’t actually all that submissive but that’s crap. First of all if she wasn’t that submissive she wouldn’t have ended up in the situation she was in with Christian in the first place. Ana stands her ground occasionally in the most minuscule ways. For example, maybe twice in the book she said no to sex and it isn’t until the end of the book that she resists a spanking but even then she gives the Christian the go ahead to do his worst to her. I had trouble believing Ana was anything but a weak woman who saw a hot guy, immediately thought he was the love of her life, and was too chicken to stand up to his crazy ways and too wrapped in her first sexual relationship to leave him.

And the idea that Christian is some kind of loving guy with a tortured soul? Yeah, okay. It was so far fetched and it seemed like there was two different Christian Greys. There was no need for fifty shades, there’s only two: nice, sweet emails Christian and Christian in real life. When he was nice in real life he quickly switched it off and refused to let himself really love Ana in any healthy kind of way. I found it very hard to sympathize with him and his bad childhood wasn’t enough to convince me he needed saving.

Even so, and I hate myself for it, I’m so curious to find out what happens next I’ll probably read the next book because that’s what makes E.L. James such a successful author. She writes terrible books that hooks you in and you can’t help but wonder what happens next. She literally ended the book with Ana in a car going back to her place. The ending is just so abrupt I feel like it’s missing a last chapter. Therefore I’ll probably read the next one because it’s at the library so why not?

Don’t let yourself fall into this trap however. It’s not worth it. Believe me.

Favorite Line:

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”

Stars: 1 out of 5. I only give this a one because it’s just good enough to make me keep reading. E. L. James does a good job of making me want to know what happens next even though both of the main characters infuriated me.

Borrow or Buy: BORROW! Do not pay for this book. Just don’t.

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Book Review: Cursed

Posted on October 3, 2014May 21, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

Dying sucks–and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things–including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden’s adopted father, a man she’s sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister’s hand again. And hell, she’d also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn’t? But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not’ve been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

I got this book for two reasons: one, it’s written by the same author of the Lux series that I’m obsessed with and two, it was free.

That being said I didn’t love this as much as I loved Armentrout’s other books. It was okay but it wasn’t exactly thrilling and the main character, Emma, annoyed me a little bit.

The story centers around Emma and her sister Olivia who has the ability to bring the dead back to life which comes in handy when their family gets in a car accident and Emma dies. However, bringing Emma back from the dead has it’s consequences. Everything Emma touches dies. Talk about a superpower.

This of course makes life especially difficult for Emma who’s treated as an outcast by her classmates and is only left with her one best friend, Adam, and her little sister, Olivia. She can’t even talk to her mother because ever since the accident her mother believes Emma is dead and has gone into a comatose like state only leaving her room for food and to use the restroom occasionally. Emma is thereby left to take care of herself and her little sister.

Emma’s life is thrown into even more upheaval when she meets Hayden Cromwell who tells her she’s gifted and so is her little sister. Emma has trouble believing her “death curse” is a gift but is thrown into a new world where she’s offered the chance to learn how to control her ability and have a chance a relatively normal life while also living amongst other gifted kids and people she doesn’t trust.

Unfortunately for Emma nothing comes easy and while learning to control her abilities she also has to deal with dead animals popping up in her locker and someone trying to kill her. Again.

This book had a lot of mystery going on although I was very suspicious of the culprit from the beginning and wasn’t exactly surprised by the ending. Of course there’s romance between Emma and Hayden that’s forbidden as all romances are. It found it interesting the twists and turns the book took including the mystery of what really caused the car accident that killed Emma’s father and herself and also what exactly Cromwell (Hayden’s adoptive father) wants with all these kids with special gifts.

Additionally, there’s a lot of typical drama and teenage angst as Emma, Olivia, and their mother (mainly Emma) adjust to their new life.

Overall I didn’t think this novel was fantastic but the love story between Emma and Hayden is cute. I found myself constantly frustrated with Emma however but in her defense she’s definitely goes through a lot and I can understand why she has trouble trusting anyone.

Although the novel seems to have some finality to it I think there could also be a sequel as the novel does leave us with a few unanswered questions. Even so this book came out years ago and is listed as an individual book on Armentrout’s website so a sequel probably won’t be coming, at least not anytime soon. We shall see.

Favorite Line: