Glitter Never Gold

I didn't think I'd actually like this book, but I did. Forest has come such a long way as an author. The previous three books were about a spoiled, racist girl and her journey towards being a little less racist. This book is... amazing. It's an exploration of hatred and fear towards people who are different from us and how easy it is for pretty much anyone to succumb to that. One of its most powerful moments is when Forest draws parallels between the Gardnerians' (the original racists) hate speech and the Vu Trins' (the country that's supposed to be the good guys) racist behavior towards refugees who look Gardnerian. I love how Forest doesn't just say, here are the racist people and here are the non-racist people, but shows that people of all cultures and religions (even those who seem like the 'good guys' or 'bad guys) are capable of both hatred and kindness.  Honestly, it feels like a breath of fresh air reading a book about race (and yes, it i...

  It's been - what, nine months? - since I've posted. Honestly, those nine months feel like a lifetime. I've had little time to spare, not getting enough sleep, and going through a lot with my mental health, so I haven't really had much of a chance to work on this blog. The writing style and content of this post isn't what like I used to, but I hope you like it.

The first thing I noticed about this book was a case of Special Snowflake Syndrome. Does the main character, Ilona, HAVE to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous without even knowing it (cough, cough, Bella, cough, cough Twillight)? And, on top of that, the author HAD to make her Not Like Other Girls.  I mean, seriously. Apparently, every single one of the other girls are completely shallow mean girls. And, of course, every single male has the hots for Ilona, which makes all the girls into jealous bitches. Can you get even more anti-feminist? This book is basically saying that girls are either gorgeous Special Snowflakes who catch male attention without even trying, or they are jealous, shallow bitches who don't matter. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being a physically attractive female. I'm just saying that other girls shouldn't be shamed if they aren't. One of the first scenes in this book is where a girl is portrayed as a shallow bitch and then shamed for no...

Me before reading this: Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me after reading this: That ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so, here's a little context. A Deadly Education was one of the funniest books I've ever read. It was just so addictive, with its witty banter, sarcasm galore, and stream-of-consciousness narration. I was so hooked that every few days, I would compulsively check NetGalley for an arc of The Last Graduate (I know this makes me sound like an obsessive fangirl, but sorry not sorry). So when I went into this book, I had sky-high expectations. And oh, did it deliver! I loved Orion's character development, mostly centered in the last, action-filled chapters of the book. I really got to learn what made him tick. But as much as he was a hero and saved all those lives, I couldn't help but get Anakin-Skywalker-just-about-to-turn-Darth-Vader vibes. I mean, seriously. Orion wa...

This series was such a guilty pleasure. Urban fantasy usually doesn't have that much depth, and the romances are usually horrible. And when I say horrible, I mean cringe-worthy romances with extremely violent, nauseatingly attractive, possessive, and controlling Alpha males (who may or may not also be complete assholes, violators of consent, or male chauvinists). And of course, all those qualities would be considered attractive to the female protagonist (perhaps not initially, as many such romances begin with the protagonist resisting, and then falling victim to the charms of the Alpha Male). So what I really loved about this series was that FINALLY the female protagonist DID NOT end up with the Alpha Male. Yes, Grier was infatuated with Boaz (the sexually promiscuous, bad-boy type Alpha male in question) for the first three books, but eventually, the truth came out and Boaz was exposed as a lying, two-faced asshole. And then she ended up with the guy who actually cared about her a...

This book is... it's... honestly, it's hard to even find the words to describe it. Funny how that often happens with the books I really love. When you look at the synopsis, you immediately dismiss it as just another apocalyptic novel. Wrong. Yes, it does involve a plague. Yes, it does involve survival. But this... it takes those elements and combines them into true art. I don't think I've ever seen what it means to be human summed up so completely. Yes, I know the whole "what it means to be human" thing is overused as a description, but this book does not disappoint. Last One At The Party is beautiful and gorgeous and heart-breaking. It's a tale of love and loss and finding yourself, of what it means to truly be happy. It doesn't gloss over the harsh details or dark realities of life; it artfully weaves them into words and story. When you're reading it, you don't even realize what you're feeling until it just hits you at the end with all th...