Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite (The Selection #2)

By Kiera Cass

Released: April 23, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Hardcover, 323 pages

Source: Library

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending. --Goodreads

Purchase The Elite here: Amazon/ Barnes & Nobles/ The Book Depository

1.5 Stars

There may be spoilers, but nothing too excessive. 

Review/Rant:

There are books, then there are books that you start to regret reading after finishing them; The Elite is one of those sorts of books. Knowing that this book, or series as a whole, has no merit plot-wise or writing-wise just makes it even more depressing. My only reason for giving this a rating slightly more than 1 star is because this book is like a drug. It is dumb and idiotic to read it, yet everyone is reading and loving it. The question is really why this series is a New York Times Bestseller?

After reading The Elite, it has come to my conclusion that America Singer is either suffering from severe hormonal imbalance or is a psycho. This book consists of an extremely distorted love triangle, unfortunately. While America goes all mooney-eyed over Maxon and promises to marry him, she makes out with Aspen in her spare time. I don't buy the whole 'I'm so conflicted over whom I love' excuse because America totally told Maxon that she likes him. In conclusion, the only reason that explains why America is such a yucky cheater is that Aspen is secretly an alien who releases pheromones that makes people with low IQs even dumber. And that just makes no sense, but it's the only thing that is somewhat logical...

America definitely sucked and was puke-worthy, but the worst thing about The Elite is the repetitiveness of the plot. 

Here's a list of the top 6 scenes (paraphrased) that are supposedly noteworthy (not in any particular order):

1. WTH was I thinking? Maxon was the wrong guy for me. He doesn't shave enough! (OK, fine, get rid of the shaving part). I ran to Aspen, kissing him and hugging him we fell to the ground. Aspen was my home. This happens at least 3 or 4 times. Now, I just pity Maxon and hope that America ends up dead.
2. I heard gunshots. The rebels from Oz (way more creative than the "realistic" terms given for the rebels) were attacking the castle again. I ran toward the underground shelter below the castle, but then something got in the way, so I decided letting the rebels capture me was a better idea. OK, maybe this exact moment happened once. Still, rebels attacking the castle happened at least 4 or 5 times, but nothing really happens. Poor rebels are being taken out of the picture in favor of love spats. Once again, THE BLURB WAS ALL A LIE!!!
3. Major argument between America and Maxon. Imagine a grand debate over whether Maxon is in the wrong for flirting or America is in wrong for pushing and pulling Maxon back and forth. Then comes America's favorite question: You're going to send me home now, right? Spoiler: Still waiting for her to go home... 
4. You must prepare to be queen. Then you're going to have tons of princess lessons in politics and diplomacy... When I heard this, I looked at Celeste who smirked and Kriss who looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. Then I knew that I would fight tooth and nail to be better than Celeste. I'm sorry, if these are your priorities, then clearly you have no purpose in life... Yeah Celeste is a mean girl, but shouldn't you try to be better than all of the other girls, than just one? I thought you wanted to be queen, girl!
5. You haven't changed America. In spite of all of the fancy stuff they stuff you with, you haven't turned into a zombie yet. Well, yeah! The stuff they've been poisoning her with has been turning her into an unstable person who lacks any brains. Not just her, everyone in the castle is a moron.
6. I don't want to be in the spotlight! The crown isn't right for me. ______ would be way more qualified than me! She totally can handle the press better than me! Well, I don't know about you, but if you were a performer wouldn't you enjoy the spotlight? After all, America's mom did say that she loved performing in front of people.... America, you need a better excuse than spotlight. It doesn't add up. Anyway, you suck at talking to the press because you have no filter. Maybe that should be fixed too, in addition to your brain.

In conclusion, there isn't much substance in the plot. Well, that was already pretty obvious, but reading the same scenes repeat over and over again with slightly different details sucks for a reader. Now, I don't have much faith for the last book in this trilogy, The One. Kiera Cass is treating her readers like fools which isn't right. Readers deserve books that are fun to read, yes, but also make sense. I won't say any character deserves better than what they were left with at the end of The Elite, but I definitely hope that Cass ends this series with a bang. This bang should probably include the rebels doing something, as a word of advice.

Although The Elite was a cute, fluffy read, there were just way too many issues with the characters and plot for it to be an enjoyable read. Hopefully the romance can settled with some blood involved because that would just rock the reality dating show world.

Review: Once by Anna Carey

Once (Eve #2)

By Anna Carey

Published: July 3, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Hardcover, 368 pages

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.

But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.

Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.

In this breathless sequel to "Eve," Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar. --Goodreads

1.5 Stars

Review

After reading Eve, I was at a sort of a loss. Eve ended with such a perfect ending to keep the reader dying for Once, I remember reading an excerpt of this book and thinking "Meh...." There was nothing truly spectacular about Eve. After all, many of its themes and plot devices were ones already used in dystopians for years, and all of the characters bugged me. So now I really wonder why I read Once because honestly, it was worse than I expected.

Once begins a few months after the epic cliffhanger we were left off on. Eve is kind of off on her own in the women's haven, Califia, and suddenly, she discovers that the women there are willing to betray her for the safety of the rest of the women. OMG! Big shocker, isn't it? I mean, sacrificing one girl is an awfully cheap price for the safety of at least 100 women, so anyone with common sense can understand. The girl's new, doesn't really contribute much to Califia society, but Eve treats this news like it's the end of the world. Like, 'WHO DOESN'T LOVE ME ENOUGH TO KEEP ME?' Everyone, Eve, everyone. Basically, I just hate the protagonist of this series with a burning passion, which kind of causes my hatred of the series. 

I know I'm being a little harsh (OK, extremely) harsh on Eve. For most characters, I'm willing by bypass the sudden case of selfishness. However, for Eve, this has been a ongoing issue from Day 0. By now, I've been hoping for some form of her maturing, to make her seem relatable. Unfortunately, this just never happens. Throughout Once  as well, Eve is still the same bratty girl who ran away from school the previous year. Not thinking anything through and believing that she's faultless when she causes tragedy to strike others.

Additionally, the plot of this book sort of fell flat as well. We find out the secret behind Eve's past, and it's not that shocking. Many plot devices overused and repeatedly used in YA are used in Once. While I was reading this book, I felt like the plot was flowing similarly to how Torn by Amanda Hocking did. (Kind of a spoiler). Although there genres were different, Torn and Once are similar in plot and building up momentum for a sort of deadpan climax. The plot is almost identical to Torn, yet I loved Torn way more than Once, surprisingly. The thing is, Wendy in the Trylle trilogy matures and becomes a competent ruler over her people. Good luck with Eve managing to lead anyone, let along to not lead them into a trap, which she does repeatedly. 

There was just something crucial missing in Once that didn't allow me to appreciate anything. The writing was decent, but just couldn't hook me to this book. Many times, I nearly gave up on reading this because I was so frustrated with Eve, as you probably have guessed. Now, I'm just really disappointed with this series and the author, and really just can't imagine myself trying to finish the series with Rise.

Purchase this book: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

The Gathering Storm (Katerina #1)

By Robin Bridges

Published: January 10, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, 386 pages

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart? --GoodReads

One and a Half Stars

Review

Honestly, this book didn't do it for me. I've never really been a fan of books that involve a bajillion different characters. I also didn't know that there were a gazillion different ways to call royalty's attention. This book, mainly the plot and characters, did not pique my interest one bit, and I was quite annoyed with many of the characters.

A book can catch my attention with either the cover art, the summary, the title, a famous author or the style a book is written in. My favorite style is reading a book in 1st person with a conversational, friendly tone. Which, by the way, is why I really, really like Julie Kagawa's works. At a first glance, The Gathering Storm looks pretty good.

Eye-catching Cover art - Check!

Interesting Plot - Check!

Come on, you have to admit, the cover ain't so bad. Compared to other covers, sure, this one might be a little cheesy, but it's not half bad. When reading the summary of the book, I was really drawn to the idea of a Russian princess being a necromancer! I mean, who wouldn't be? It sounded cool. 

Unfortunately, when I actually got to reading this book, all I felt was a total let-down. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of YA books including European-historical-politic-mumbo-jumbo-what-not, but if it ties in nicely with the plot, I'll think about it. Gathering Storm tries to tie Russian politics and historical facts so much so that it becomes more like a list of facts rather than a story about a girl. I felt that the author wanted to tell us so much in the first book that she crammed it full of random characters and side plots that just didn't make much sense. 

By the end, I was so tired of reading about "-drovich"s and "-drovna"s and duchesses and dukes and princesses and princes and kings and queens and imperial highnesses and majesties and... so much more. There were so many different titles for everyone that I got many, many, many characters confused. It was very confusing and annoying to have to go flip back to the beginning or see when the character was introduced to remember who was who. I know if I dropped this book half way and picked it up a year later, I would be SO lost. I know I'm not a historical fanatic, but there's a point where you need to explain which titles match up with who. A character chart would be nice, or something of the like.

The plot was okay, but Katerina really bugged me. She thinks she's so special, being the princess and wanted by two hunky dudes, but when she finds out she's a necromancer she has a really hard time believing in the supernatural. She's one of THOSE CHARACTERS. The ones who believe in "science" as opposed to "the mumbo jumbo." I know it's a lot to take in, but, seriously. Look honey, if you've raising your dead cat and a bunch of dead soldiers that chase after you screaming "master," obviously there's something going on that even science can't explain. Not only that, but she also decides RUNS AWAY FROM ALL THE DEAD ZOMBIE PEOPLE SHE RAISES. 

Exactly.

Honest to God, I tried to tell myself that she'd improve; she'd make the RIGHT decisions. Nope. As the magic eight ball says, "Try Again."

LOL BRAH

Yup, my sediments exactly. Katerina is a smart, smart girl. One of the top in her class, actually. It's just that she makes stupid, stupid decisions. You know that bad feeling you get when your favorite tv show character makes a really, really, bad decision and you're screaming at the tv at the top of your lungs trying to tell him/her not to do it? Well, that's how I felt throughout this whole book.

AHHHHHHH!!!! NOOOOOOOOO.

As for the romance, it was there. I think. It was kinda hard to see and decipher through all the POLITICKING. I'm pretty sure there was a love triangle, but I'm not sure. 

maybe, just maybe, something is there

Just maybe, there was romance. Joking aside, the romance was slow and boring. The book was way too long than it should have been. I felt that the book was pumped full of Russian-historical-fact-steroids and Katerina made the stupidest choices ever. I don't think there's a change that I'll be reading the sequel.

So, for all of those who decide to take on the monstrous challenge of reading The Gathering Storm, I wish you good luck, and I truly hope you will enjoy it more than I did.

Happy Reading, 

Buy The Gathering Storm at: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3)

By Rick Riordan

Published: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH

Hardcover, 608 pages

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she’s about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo’s fantastical creation doesn’t appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that’s only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close— the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth’s biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he’s now attached to Roman ways? Does he need he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare. . . . --Goodreads

1.5 Stars

Review

Let’s just get it out there: Rick Riordan cannot write. It’s true. I’m not denying that he can come up with a great, exciting and ridiculously addicting plot; he just is unable to turn this plot into a good piece of writing. His choppy, cheesy style worked when he wrote in the first person because the reader was able to attribute it to the main character’s personality. When converted into the third person, his novels begin to fall apart.

The book is told from the “perspectives” of all the Greek demigods, switching characters every chapter. However, there is just about no variation whatsoever in writing style or thoughts between characters. In fact, I went through half the book before realizing the point of view was changing.

While Mark of Athena does have a central plot, it gets sidetracked by a multitude of central characters, relationships, battles and adventures. The gist of the story is that seven demigods, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Jason and Piper, are trying to get to Rome to stop Gaia from awakening. If you’ve read the other two books, the general plot is basically the same here. Now for the problems. There are seven main characters and all of these characters have different relationships with the remaining six. Keeping track of who’s on good terms with whom and who hates whom is confusing and annoying. Also, there are three couples and then poor Leo is cast off to the side. Rick Riordan obviously feels sorry for him and therefore casts him in an annoying love triangle with Hazel and Frank. Another thing Riordan can’t write is romance, and I pray that he will stop trying to put mushy love scenes where they really don’t belong.

There are also way too many battles and adventures crammed into the book. Imagine Harry Potter, except this time Harry gets attacked by Death Eaters every time he exits the Gryffindor common room. The book would go pretty slowly, wouldn’t it? That is essentially Mark of Athena. Every time, and I mean every time, anyone leaves the ship, they are attacked by dead spirits or gods or Gaia or a zombie army. Rick Riordan manages to take a fun and interesting idea and turn it into the longest, worst written, most boring book anyone has ever written.

And then he gives it a horrible ending just to induce to buy the sequel. This time, I don’t think I will.

Purchase this book: Amazon/ Barnes&Nobles/ The Book Depository