~Mairéad's Reading List~

The ever elusive Magpie. An English Major University Student that has forever dreamt of becoming an author. The road has been long and hard but this little Magpie remains ever hopeful that one day a story of her own shall join the greats. Reads all sorts and she's forever up for the challenge and never backs down from one either. 

Chasing the Prophecy

Chasing the Prophecy - Brandon Mull {December 15th, 2014} MINI-REVIEW

2.5 stars.

“Wow! I can hardly believe I finished Beyonders."

This was my exact thoughts upon finishing yikes.

I'm not exactly too impressed with this overall series. I thought the ending would help cement something better and positive but it didn't unfortunately. It feels like it got to a point, then climax--erm, my apologises anti-climax before it just halted and said 'welp that's the end of this story, see you in the next one!' kind of feeling.

Besides the large cast we're introduced to and expanded upon in the first and second books, they get cut down so fast that you have to struggle to remember who's who. Some are memorable, others not so much. Sure there were a few that made me go "NOOOOOO" but other than that, it just felt flat and undeserving for most parts.

But at the end there's a hint for something more but I don't know nor will I comment on it other than this Jason's daughter, if there is a series centered around her, I might read it but it is very iffy at the moment and will only if I'm given or borrowed it from someone like this trilogy.

But I think Mull was trying to do too much with this series that his characters suffered for it, becoming 2D or 1D rather than the beautifully complex 3D they had the potential to become. It's unfortunate. Only 3 really did show growth out of the cast of 20 or something (I lost count), but they had that aspect to them all along so idk anymore. x:

Little Knife

Little Knife - Leigh Bardugo {December 11th, 2014} MINI-REVIEW

4 stars.

A very spooky fairytale that truly paints an important moral (or morals). Truly something to read to keep the Grishaverse alive for you. Wish I could say more but kind of hard without spoiling anything. x:

Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion

Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion - Brandon Mull {December 11th, 2014} FINALLY

“Do us all a favor and toss your mouth overboard.”

2.5 Stars not really that sorry.

When I finally finished reading this I was wheezing, I hadn't noticed I had held my breath as I just blasted through these pages like mad because it was just that painful of a read. How is this STILL flat? Already had low expecations set by the first book but this just maintained and dragged it into the we're-gotta-need-a-goddamn-miracle-here-boys-and-gals kind of pinch for me. I just...I don't know where this has gone wrong. I mean it's written well as far as I can see (except for those few instances where I found editing mistakes, like how did you seriously miss those?!).

All in all, it builds on from the first book, but again--like many others before it--this book suffers from second-book syndrome. It's awful to get infected with. Honestly, I think this could have been basically a duology for most part. There's so many characters now that you just have to go back and reread after you noticed something vital happened to them--at that point I wasn't really caring and just sped-read to insanity, just trying to find a point I could care and liked. Unfortunately there weren't too many of those. x:

It's a shame, but I now embark on the final book--before I dive back into the Fablehaven books (I just noticed they arrived today).

“Sometimes the best offense was avoiding self-destruction.”

A World Without Heroes

A World Without Heroes - Brandon Mull {December 8th, 2014} MINI-REVIEW

“In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.”

2.5 stars (ouch much?).

Apparently I never did the review or update for this one, my bad. Been so scatterbrained lately with all the preparations for Christmas and my trip that will beginning on December 21st. It has been absolutely insane as of late! And I think another reason why I hadn't done anything about this book was because it felt so meh. And here it started out so promising...

The characters, especially main character #1 Jason Walker, felt smarter and improved from Mull's other series I had been reading Fablehaven, unfortunately I found out in the next few chapters that I favoured the main characters of Fablehaven much more. It's an ironic twist of fate in my opinion, especially with how I had such a problem with them (if you've read my review of the first Fablehaven book, and my updates of the next two books, you'd see why).

But perhaps my main problem with this book was that it felt so flat, and lifeless compared to its precursor. Looki, I know he had been working on this book for so long, years and years of drafting--but maybe that's where it felt short? I mean, the writing has really improved and you can tell how much work was put into it. However that might be what resulted in this sort of flat and lifeless overall story and its characters. Like I was reading along but it just felt so meh that it just broke my heart. Probably why I was neglecting this book over the 3rd book of the Fablehaven series.

However, since I have have the entire series to read, it would be a shame to merely stop here. Especially when it is interesting to see how this turns out. I still hold out that I'll find some life in these pages that will draw me into the story rather than merely acting as an observer. x:

“For each of us destiny is a blend of potential, circumstances, and choices.”

Amulet, Vol. 4: The Last Council

Amulet, Vol. 4: The Last Council - Kazu Kibuishi {December 2nd, 2014} NOTE

This series is really popular at the school I'm volunteering at for the library. We were wondering what had happened to all the Amulet books so when this one came back (before the first 2 volumes) I read this in case I could not find this one later. Then again that was before I realized it was only the 4th volume in the series lmao. Very cute and whimsical read for sure.

Grip of the Shadow Plague

Grip of the Shadow Plague - Brandon Mull “Don't let the brownies bite.”

4.5 (almost 5 gaaaaah!) stars.

This happens to be my favourite out of the 3 I've read thus far. There's so much life and love that went into these pages and story here (this is really noticeable since I'm reading another series by Mull that just recently finished). The characters and story really accumulate here. I'm impatiently awaiting for the 4th book, hopefully I'll have it by Thursday.

Sorry for the mini reviews lately, I'm just not really up for long winded ones where I ramble nonstop nonsense lol. :P

Also, I leave you with this:

“I guess Smart Seth is glad, he said reluctantly. But be careful. Idiot Seth is the guy to watch out for.”

Rise of the Evening Star

Rise of the Evening Star - Brandon Mull “Sometimes the most preposterous lies are the most believable.”

4 stars.

Certainly an improvement from the first book, but Seth is still an idiot. Kendra has become the most capable out of the both of them, but I can see Seth learning somewhat. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Sorry this is such a short review. :P

The Fairy-Tale Detectives

The Fairy-Tale Detectives - Peter Ferguson, Michael Buckley “The night is young, and by the grace of magic, so are we.”

2 stars, even 2.5 stars at best.

Unfortunately this didn't make me feel as young as I should be. In fact, I felt bored and felt like reading this was a bit of a chore, which is sad. Again it might have something to do with reading my previous book at the same time so I pretty much could say, out of the both of them--this one was the lesser. :/

Daphne and several characters were the saving graces for me, whereas Sabrina merely dominated the narrative and killed a far bit of the enjoyment for me. Therefore I've dubbed her Sabrina the Joy Killer, much to my distaste. But both sisters were extreme opposites--either one is too engrossed with everything (Daphne <3) or they're so darn septic that they ruin the fun for others (this was Sabrina for me).<br/>
Other than that the fairytale aspect was really interesting, especially the twist at the end made me smile and laugh a bit. I just wish there was more for me there to enjoy--namely if Sabrina hadn't seemed so negative and whiny throughout the story. Again, I can understand Sabrina's character, it's just how she was presented to us, the readers, was a major turn-off for me on several grounds. x:

“You can't judge the many by the actions of the few.”

Fablehaven

Fablehaven - Brandon Mull “Drink the milk.”

2.5 to 3 stars.

This was certainly a long read for me, which tends to either mean I really loved it or it just dragged nonstop painfully for me. Unfortunately, I'm the later with this book. I really wanted to love and adore this book like the librarian I'm helping did, but while I did like it, I had a few issues with some things, which took away some enjoyment for me. :/

Mainly the main characters--Seth and Kendra, but mostly Seth in general.

Seth, Seth, Seth, his constant stupidity that is repeatedly mistaken as curiosity is the proverbial portrait of "curiosity killed the cat". Still makes me wonder how he didn't get everyone downright killed in this entire mess, most could have been easily avoided too if he just listened. *facepalms*

Kendra, while is questionable with her treatment towards Seth as a big sister especially when using him as a guinea pig, was definitely slightly better than the both of them. It only showed in various parts over the course of the novel though. I'm hoping she'll continue to improve over the course of the series.

Then there's their grandfather.... *sighs* A lot of things could have been prevented if he had been more smart about his ways around both grandkids. Then of course there's the other characters, which definitely improved the story for me.

Will be continuing this series since all five books are at the library I'm volunteering at.

“Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.”

The World Rose

The World Rose - Richard Brittain

No One Else Can Have You

No One Else Can Have You - Kathleen  Hale This entire matter in a nutshell, more or less...



Icicles Like Kindling

Icicles Like Kindling - Sara Raasch 4 stars.

It's a good enough taste to leave me wanting more. I'm curious to see the world building, and the story unfold further. I've seen some reviews from people I know for the book and they've been rather good ones from the looks of it. I look forward to grabbing Snow Like Ashes.

Corset ni Tsubasa (Vol. 1)

Corset ni Tsubasa (Vol. 1) - Moto Naoko {October 1st, 2014} UPDATE

4.5 stars thus far.

This series has 5 volumes possibly more from what I've found, but there's only the first volume on record here. This is an interesting Victorian mystery that really does channel such classics from the Victorian Era such as Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, among others. The designs are simply gorgeous, and the tale is intriguing. At the moment it is on hold until the remaining chapters are translated and the likes.

Unmade (the Lynburn Legacy Book 3)

Unmade (the Lynburn Legacy Book 3) - Sarah Rees Brennan {September 29th, 2014} THE REVIEW

“You existing in the world is all I need.”

2.5 stars.

Seeing the page, I think out of everyone I know and am following, I'm the first to actually review this. no pressure lol It's an odd sensation for me. But anyways to my thoughts on this ending to this series.

Going into this I was kind of hoping this would break the whole "the last book wasn't what I expected and hoped for and felt meh". It doesn't break it completely. Had a moment that it could have but just fell flat to me. I'm rather conflicted, seeing that I was fiddling with my rating for a while and settled on that rating. I can't go higher because it didn't...exceed my expectations, I also can't lower it because I'd read worse endings to series than this. Not that it was worse or bad, because it came up as a "...huh?" for me. Mostly because it fell flat and made me almost go meh.

And I was seriously hoping I wouldn't have to be groaning and feeling so conflicted about this as I write this review, but ugh I have to sadly.



When I began reading this, I kind of had a different picture how this would end. Somehow I thnik I felt more robbed of the creepy dark ending I had imagine, especially from the blurb. Yes there were a few moments where I was like "okay, my heart is seriously breaking" but for most part I just shrugged and moved on. Maybe my heart has hardened a bit. Maybe I am being more critical or whatnot. But I do know I was expecting more, especially from how the first two book set it up.

Okay, seriously I have spoilers in this for a REASON.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.



There's several things why I felt rather robbed and conflicted about this book. I seriously expected more. I felt like I got a mediocre ending where surprise! happy ending for nearly everyone. For most part the whole gamble didn't feel as life-threatening as it should have, in fact I pretty much expected x characters to survive, and they did..

And the jokes, I felt they were trying REALLY hard to be funny more so this time than the other books. Sometimes it felt unnecessary. But other times, it did save me. I swear Kami's father's jokes were probably the best ones.

And the relationships, oh my goodness... I was kind of like cringing for a good part of the book as it just flickered back and forth, back and forth and was headdesking a fair bit. I was happy with some, but the main romance department just had me rolling my eyes. Just not what I expected. And Kami, staph with the weird pet names, they just rubbed me the wrong way, like wowza.

BUT THE ONE THING THAT REALLY MADE ME GO NOOOOOOOOO WAS THIS:
seriously I am warning you, these are MAJOR spoilers aheadlast chance to turn backokay if you click again, please don't regret this and blame me, I gave you plenty of chances to turn backHenry Thornton and Rusty, I mean gah it gutted me but I expected more for them. FYI: I did cry for them, Rusty more than Thornton unfortunately...

All and all, for a 'final' battle type of book, it felt a bit lacklustre and totally different from what I was expecting...kind of like as I neared, I was getting my hopes up only to get this response instead:



Quite frankly, I'm a bit sad and slightly disappointed okay maybe more disappointed than sad but still... ^^;

“You are the greatest achievement of your own life.”

The Ghosts of Bourbon Street

The Ghosts of Bourbon Street - Seanan McGuire {September 29th, 2014} THE REVIEW

2 stars. >.<<br/>
Compared to the other story stories, this one felt like the weakest of the bunch so far in terms of characters and plot...this makes me sad... :/

Uso Kano

Uso Kano - Mikase Hiyashi {September 28th, 2014} UPDATE

2.5 stars.

I have finished this volume, but GR doesn't list the remaining volume(s) at the moment. I have no idea if there's only 2 volumes in all or 3. Just to forewarn future readers.

Also the plot felt a bit weak (okay, it was). Probably because it was a very generic plotline. I dunno. Just rubbed me the wrong way a bit...it was making better progression towards the second volume by the way.

UPDATE: It does progress better in volume 2.