tlc – Zakiya N. Jamal

Book Review: Fairest

Posted on September 6, 2016September 4, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis:

Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her “glamour” to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story―a story that has never been told . . . until now. New York Times –bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in Fairest, an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

I finally read Fairest and I didn’t love it. It took me forever to read because I hated Levana. I was hoping Fairest would open my eyes to another side of Levana that I couldn’t see or understand in The Lunar Chronicles but that wasn’t the case. This book just made me like Levana even less. However, it was awesome to see Cinder’s mom, Channary, even though she wasn’t a great person either, and Winter’s dad who deserved so much better.

I pretty much liked all the characters in this book except Levana and although I’m happy I read it because now I can officially say I’ve read all the books in The Lunar Chronicles series, I definitely wouldn’t read it again. It was well written and the plot was fine but I didn’t enjoy reading it at all. Levana was just too infuriating and any sympathy I had for her at the start of the novella was gone by the end.

If you love The Lunar Chronicles I think you should read Fairest just because it does provide some interesting background but you don’t have too. It wasn’t as good as the other books in the series and nothing absolutely crazy happened that you must read. Overall, Fairest is definitely a borrow for me.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Maybe the princess could save herself.”
“That sounds like a pretty good story too.”

Other Reviews

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Fantasy Book Critic

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!

‘Lady Midnight,’ ‘The Haters,’ And Other Books I Read This Month (March Wrap-Up)

Posted on March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Unfortunately I did not read as much as I wanted to this month and now I’m behind on my Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge. However, all the books I read this month I loved so this will be a pretty tough wrap-up because it’ll be hard to choose a favorite. But I’ll try!

Number Of Books I Read This Month: 4

1. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. I was so excited to get back into the Shadowhunters world and I loved the new characters. Emma and Julian were great and I’m a sucker for forbidden love. I also really liked all the Blackthorns and Mark was really funny. The plot was perfectly paced and I couldn’t put this book down. I can’t wait until I buy my own copy so I can reread it again and again.

2. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

I wasn’t a big fan of Red Queen but I really loved Glass Sword. I know a lot of people didn’t like how much Mare changed but I loved it. She was fierce, ruthless, and a little scary. I was 100 percent in support of the new Mare. And the ending? Crazy! I can’t wait until the next book. I need to know what happens!

3. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

It was great to jump back into The Lunar Chronicles world again. I missed all these characters and I really enjoyed learning more about Winter and Jacin since we don’t get to see a lot of them in the first four books. I like Jacin way more now than I did by the end of Winter. And of course that second epilogue with the wedding was everything I wanted and more. I can’t wait until Iko’s graphic novel comes out. I need more!

BOOKS I RECEIVED THIS MONTH

Unfortunately I didn’t receive any books this month but I did buy some books for the first time in a while. I ordered eight books from Book Outlet that I’ll hopefully get this weekend and I also won a giveaway so I should be getting Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell soon. I hope! I can’t wait to finally get some new books to add to my shelf.

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Book Review: Stars Above

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

The enchantment continues. . . .
The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories – and secrets – that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?
With six stories – two of which have never before been published – and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

I was so happy when I finally got a copy of Stars Above. I desperately needed more Lunar Chronicles in my life and I loved all these short stories, some more than others.

My favorite has to be the extra epilogue, “Something Old, Something New”. I won’t spoil it if you haven’t read it yet but one of the four couples is getting married and it’s absolutely adorable. Seeing all my favorite characters together again and all of them happy made me so happy. Also, I think Iko might have a love interest in her new graphic novel, at least based on this short story. That should be interesting since she’s an android but I support it.

My second favorite was definitely “The Princess and the Guard”. To be perfectly honestly, I wasn’t really a big fan of Jacin in the series. I don’t know why but I didn’t really like him. However, after reading this short story I like him way more now. It was so cute reading how he and Winter’s friendship slowly developed into something more. It also reminded me why I hate Levana.

The story I probably liked the least was “The Little Android” mainly because it didn’t really have anything to do with the central characters of The Lunar Chronicles. Cinder appears in it briefly but that’s about it. I knd of skimmed this one because I found it difficult to care about an android I’d never met before.

Overall, I really loved this short story collection and hopefully I’ll be able to purchase a copy to keep on my shelf forever. Until then, I’ll probably read Fairest soon since I still haven’t read it. I highly recommend reading Stars Above though. It will give you all the feels.

Borrow or Buy: Buy! I want to reread these stories over and over again so I never have to leave these characters behind.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“I will accept any amount of monsters my mind wants to give me, but I will not become a monster myself.”

Other Reviews

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Woman Crush Wednesday: Crescent “Cress” Moon Darnel

Posted on January 20, 2016January 18, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Cress is so incredibly sweet and definitely naive when we first meet her in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. She’s hopelessly in love with Thorne before she even meets him and doesn’t know anything about Earth because she’s been trapped on a satellite that orbits Earth most of her life.

If you haven’t read The Lunar Chronicles yet here’s a little backstory that I don’t think will really spoil anything for you. Cress is what’s called a shell, which means she doesn’t have the ability to control people like most people from Luna (the moon) do and she also can’t be controlled.

However, what Cress can do is hack and she’s pretty damn good at it. Hence why she was forced to live on this satellite where she had to do the bidding of the queen of Luna, Levana.

What I love most about Cress is that she’s so genuine and kind and she just wants to help people. But, also, she wants to destroy Levana just like every other main character in this series and she does everything in her power to take Levana down, including making some serious sacrifices.

Her hacking skills are out of this world (pun intended) and some of my favorite scenes were when she’d amaze everyone with her skills. I think sometimes Cress would be underestimated because she’s so sweet and cute when in actuality Cress can kick a** and take names with the best of them. Tech wise, anyway.

Honestly, I could talk about Cress for days but I’ll end here so I don’t give away too much. Basically, she’s one of my favorite characters in the series and if you can read these books and not fall in love with Cress I’m concerned for you.

Favorite Moment:

“My life is an adventure,” [Cress] said, growing confident as she opened her eyes again. “I will not be shackled to this satellite anymore.”

Dreamcast: AnnaSophia Robb

Tag: tlc