Liked Harry Potter? Try These Books!

You know when you finish a really good book? You close the cover, reopen the book, read the last paragraph again, close the book again. You feel slightly disoriented, coming back to the real world after being so engrossed in the storyworld for so long. And then you get up, go about your day, and, eventually, try to find another book to read.
Maybe you're like me, where as soon as you read an excellent book, you scramble trying to find a book that's similar to it in terms of characterization, conflict, and content. You want to feel the same way you did when you put down that last book.
Well, this post is going to be the first in an ongoing series where I'll take one popular movie, book, or TV show, and give reading recommendations based on that movie, book, or TV show.
You might notice that some of these books don't seem to be very similar to the books I'm comparing them to. And that's the point. I don't want to recommend that, after you read The Hunger Games, to go and read Divergent. First, because they're really not that similar. And second, because most of us aren't looking for carbon copies of the book we loved anyway. We want something unique, but something that gives us the same feeling that that one book did.

Alright. With that very long introduction out of the way, let me get into today's topic -- books you should read if you like the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.


Middle Grade 

These are books that may appeal to Harry Potter fans who read (or are willing to read) within the Middle Grade age group.

1. Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard [Peter Nimble, #2] by Jonathan Auxier

About the book:  Sophie Quire's whole life could be contained within the four walls of her father's bookshop. But when two strangers show up at the door looking for a rare (and dangerous) book, Sophie is thrust headfirst into an adventure of the kind she has only ever read about.

A combination of quirky characters, engaging writing, and a magical storyline, Sophie Quire is a wonderful book for anyone who loves the atmosphere of Hogwarts and the wonder of the Hogwarts Library (because yes, like the title suggests, this book is also about books.)
And you don't need to read the first book in order to read this one! Out of the two, Sophie Quire was my favourite, and I highly recommend it.


2. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

About the book: The Problem - ghosts now walk the streets of England's towns and cities. The solution - hunters to fight them. The catch? Only children can see the ghosts.

If you loved the darker side of Hogwarts Castle -- ghosts, poltergeists, and Death Day Parties alike -- this book might be just your cup of tea. With creepy worldbuilding, a death-defying group of teenage ghosthunters, and a haunted mansion, this is definitely the sort of story Harry Potter fans might love. Check out my review for more of my thoughts.




3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

About the book: Artemis Fowl - twelve-year-old millionaire, genius, criminal mastermind - quickly gets pulled in over his head when he kidnaps a fairy and finds out just how dangerous the Fair Folk can be.

A quick disclaimer that I read this book four and a half years ago, and that my opinions on it may have (probably have) changed since then. However, this book does have a lot of Harry Potter-esque vibes, from what I remember. An underground magical world, stolen magical artifacts, and an evil mastermind of a protagonist make this book a fun ride all around.



Young Adult


4. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

About the book: Five teens seek out the grave of a Welsh king rumored to be sleeping somewhere in the Virginia mountains.

I'm working through the last book in this series right now, but I love it so much that I'm very confident in recommending it now anyway. This series has some similarities to Harry Potter, while being a little darker and more than a little creepier.
Maggie Stiefvater's characters and writing style make this book what it is. She's a master of writing engaging, intricate books with loveable characters and a lyrical writing voice that keeps you hooked from page one and doesn't let you go until the last sentence. Keep a lookout for my spoiler-free series review, which should be up within the next week or so.


5. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

About the book: Joel has always dreamed of being a Rithmatist. But when a string of murders sweeps through the city - killing Rithmatist students - things become a lot more complicated.

Chalk drawings and geometry combine to create a unique and thoroughly engaging magic system in The Rithmatist. The mystery in this book was excellent and intriguing, as was the worldbuilding. Be warned, however -- this book ends with loose ends and somewhat of a cliffhanger, and so far there has been no news about whether Sanderson intends to release a sequel or not. With that being said, The Rithmatist is a compelling story in its own right, and definitely deserves a place on this list.


6. The Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey

About the book: Mellony's father didn't share her dream of Mellony's becoming a Harper, and tried to crush her love of music. With no choice but to flee, Mellony discovers a group of wild fire lizards, and teaches nine of them to sing. Now, she's no longer alone.

Full disclaimer: I have not yet read these books. But my brother has, and I trust him when he says it's got a lot of similarities to Harry Potter. He also loved them (all but the third book, actually) and he's almost never wrong about what books are good.




7. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

About the book: A family tragedy sends sixteen-year-old Jacob to a remote island off the coast of Wales. There, he investigates the ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and discovers that they may have isolated themselves on the island for a reason. Something lurks in the shadows.

It's been a long time since I read this book, but as I recall, it did have a few similarities to Harry Potter. A school for magically talented children, for a start. This book is much darker than Harry Potter, though, venturing towards horror. It's also (as should be clear from the title) weird. But if weird's up your alley, definitely put this book on your tbr!



That about wraps it up for now! I hope you've found at least one book on this list that appeals to you!

Bookworms, let's talk! What books have you read that are similar to Harry Potter? Have you read any of the books on this list, and what did you think of them? Let me know in the comments! I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

Some Rambly Thoughts on Clean Fiction (In My Honest Opinion)

I've been thinking about the concept of "clean fiction", especially in the last couple months. More recently, Kasey Giard, who runs the awesome YA/MG book blog The Story Sanctuary, wrote this post about how clean fiction has apparently become a dirty word in the book review world. And that got me thinking about clean fiction again.
And you know what happens when I start thinking: I start writing about it.

So, first off, let's get definitions out of the way. Which means I need to define what clean fiction is. And just like that, there's my first obstacle.

Everyone's got a different definition of what makes a book "clean". To one person, it might be a book without any graphic violence, zero profanity, and squeaky-clean, not-even-kissing romance. To another, a few swear words might be okay. To yet another, "clean" might be anything and everything without graphic sexual content.

Books I define as clean are books that contain some violence, but nothing overly gory. A few swear words are okay, as well as kissing and a few vague sexual references. Your definition is probably different. That's okay. That's not the purpose of this post.

A few years ago, finding clean books to read was really important to me. I don't like reading sexual content in books (it makes me feel gross), so I try to avoid books that contain a lot of sexual situations. When I was first exploring the YA genre, looking for clean books seemed like a great idea. And it was. The "clean book lists" and "clean YA recommendations" helped me muster enough courage to break into a genre I knew nothing about. Those recommendations made me way more comfortable than just picking a book off the shelf at random and hoping for the best.

So there's a point in the favor of clean fiction. It helped my reading tastes grow.

These days, however, I'm more likely to do exactly what my younger self wouldn't. I'm more likely to pick up a book that might not be considered "clean". I'm more likely to grab a book off the shelf just because it looks interesting. Because I came to a pretty obvious conclusion -- not all books that aren't labeled as clean are full of content that will make me uncomfortable. In fact, most of them don't! I'm okay with profanity and violence in the books I read, as well as implied sexual content (but nothing on-page and graphic, please!) So while the term "clean" helped me a lot with finding books to read when I was younger, it actually ended up limiting some of my reading choices as I got older.

That's not to say the term "clean" is bad! It really isn't. In fact, it's really helpful. I view it almost like a movie rating category, but for books. A "clean" book would most likely fall under the "G" or "PG" rating, in my opinion. Having a term that can be easily searched is helpful for parents, teachers, and readers who are trying to find books that are age-appropriate.

But I do believe that the term "clean" can be vague. As I said before, everyone has their own definition of what makes a book clean. Some people would not consider The Lunar Chronicles a clean read because it includes profanity and violence. Some people would be absolutely fine with labeling The Lunar Chronicles as clean (myself included!) So I do feel that it helps to be more specific about what exactly makes a book clean or not, with notes about violence, language, and sexual content. Reviews that use the word "clean" do need to go into more content specifics instead of just generically labeling a book "clean" without giving an explanation.

Alright, now I want to quickly address the controversy surrounding the use of the word "clean" in book reviews.

When I looked it up, I was shocked to see just how much of a controversy it was. Before I read Kasey's post, I had no idea that the issue even existed. But apparently, it is a big deal, and as such, I have to address it (because I'm like that.)

The complaints I've seen vary from concerns about the vagueness of the term (which we've already discussed) to heated comments about how labeling some books "clean" makes an assumption that other books are "dirty" and that the people who read those books are also "dirty". I don't really agree with the position that labeling a book "clean" is offensive, and here's why.

To start with, I don't think that most book reviewers automatically consider books that aren't clean "dirty". In fact, I've never used the word "dirty" to describe any book I've ever read, and I don't think I ever will. I'm pretty sure a lot of book bloggers are in the same boat. A lot of my favorite books (The Book Thief, Vicious, and Mistborn: The Final Empire among others) aren't books I would consider to be "clean", but I definitely don't consider them to be "dirty"! They're wonderful stories, and I enjoyed reading them, and I encourage other readers to read them all the time. But I'm also not going to shove a copy of The Final Empire at an eleven year old child and tell them to read it. Basically, it's about age-appropriateness.

I also quickly want to touch on the idea that the label 'clean' assumes other books to be dirty, and assumes the people who read these books are, too. This is so, so wrong. I'm not going to speak for everyone who has ever used the term clean, because I'm sure there are people out there who use the term in a snobby, judgemental way. In fact, I know there are. But the vast majority of people using the term aren't like that. They just want to find books or help other people find books that they can read without getting uncomfortable with the amount of profanity, violence, or sex. They want to find books they can safely give to their kids without having to worry about sketchy scenes and gore.
But people who read books that aren't labeled "clean" aren't "dirty" people!
I don't think there should be any judgement about what you like to read. I may not want to read the books you do, but that doesn't mean I don't respect your right to read those books. Just because I won't read them doesn't mean I'm judging you for reading them.

Man, that got long. And rambly. Really, really rambly.

I hope that this post was informative and made at least some sense. :P I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!
What do you think about the term "clean"? What do you think about clean books in general? Let me know in comments! (And please, keep your comments polite. We are allowed to have differing opinions, but that doesn't mean we need to be mean about it.)

[Mini-Review] Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray
by Ruta Sepetys

Genre: YA historical

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: A young girl and her family are forced from their homes during Stalin's occupation of Lithuania. She draws what she sees, in the hope that someday, the tragedies that occurred in the labor camps of Siberia will not go unremembered.






My Review

I've put off reviewing this book for a long time, and I don't even know why, because I loved it so much! It's definitely not a light, easy read -- the things that the characters endure in this novel are horrifying and not sugarcoated, for which I was grateful. I'm glad that Sepetys used this novel to give readers an honest look at a period of history that has, for the most part, been forgotten.

I'm glad I read this book, because though I had heard of Stalin's labor camps before picking up this book, Between Shades of Gray showed me up close and personal the atrocities that were committed against the Lithuanian people during World War 2.

I would highly recommend this book to ages 15 and up.
TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual assault and rape.

Be aware going in to the book that there is a lot of heavy content. People are treated worse than animals, starved, beaten, and sold. Many characters die. Descriptions of dead bodies and blood. Nudity. A young girl is sexually assaulted by a soldier. Another female character is forced to have sex with her captors under threat (no actual scenes, but it is discussed.)
Depictions of tobacco use.

Over-Hyped and/or Overrated Books (In My Honest Opinion)

We all know those books. You know, the ones that have a 4+ average star rating on Goodreads, are hyped up on Bookstagram, Booktube, Goodreads, blogs, and pretty much everywhere where people talk about books.
Everyone raves about them.
Everyone seems to love them.
And they just aren't that good, or at least, they aren't as good as everyone's making them out to be.

So that's the topic of this post. Books that I believe are over-hyped and/or overrated.
Just as a quick disclaimer: I am not trying to be offensive when I say that a book is over-hyped. If a book I mention is one of your favorites, and you 100% disagree, that's okay! Differing opinions are absolutely fine. These are just my own personal opinions. 

Alrighty. Let's get started!

1. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

This book was super disappointing for me. I wanted to read a cool story about faeries and magic, and what I got was an achingly slow plot, combined with horrible and unlikeable characters. When I learned that many of the fans ship Jude and Cardan, I threw up my hands and walked away.

I only learned after I read the book that it's really popular (shows how out of the loop I was back when I first started this blog!) but it's definitely over-hyped. There are much better books out there. This wasn't one I would recommend.

2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I read this book for the hype. I'd seen all three movies before I even tried to pick up the book. I thought the movies were pretty "meh", and the last one was weird, but many people were telling me that the book was much better and put the movies to shame.
So I read the book... and ended up liking it less than the movie. I didn't like the characters. They felt very two dimensional and unrealistic. The writing felt juvenile and the humor was immature and annoying. The "plot twist" at the end left a lot to be desired (as well as a few plot holes!) So overall, I didn't end up enjoying the book, and won't be continuing the series. (I ended up looking up the spoilers for how it ended. I know. I'm sorry. But I know I couldn't force myself to read another two books written like this one.)

3. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

I was so excited to read this book! I'd read a lot of reviews, and heard only good things about it, and the idea of a dystopian superhero book was really interesting.
This wasn't what I signed up for. Instead of being a super-cool dystopian with a solid plot, it ended up being one long road trip with a bunch of superpowered kids being pursued by no less than four different villains throughout the course of the book. It actually got ridiculous at times, because it seemed like half the villains were only there to add conflict to keep the characters from reaching their goal.
I don't understand the hype for this book. It definitely wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but it definitely wasn't nearly as good as it was hyped up to be.

4. Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

I bought Keeper of the Lost Cities almost solely for the hype. Everyone was talking about how good it was, and it sounded interesting to me, so I picked it up. I read about a quarter of the book before I started to wonder what the big deal was. And by the time I got to the end, I was majorly disappointed. That's not to say I hated the book. I rated Keeper of the Lost Cities three stars on Goodreads, and it was a fun, engaging story. It just wasn't amazing, like it kept getting hyped up to be.
(On a funny sidenote, my little sister read and loved the first book, and then continued the series. I came home from work after she finished the second book, and the first thing she said to me was "This was the worst fantasy book I've ever read." - 9-year-olds can be very melodramatic. She then proceeded to let me know about one of the plot twists that apparently went in a cliche direction, and all I could think was "I have taught you well." End sidenote.)

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I'm preparing to run from hordes of angry fans, but please hear me out first. Divergent is a super hyped up series, and... I don't really understand why? I read them years ago, back before I really followed along with the new hyped releases, and way back before I had a Goodreads account or this blog. At the time I read them, I found them to be just... meh. The plot for book one was excellent, the plot for Insurgent lagged (I honestly don't even remember what happened in the book apart from two random scenes... one where the characters take truth serum, and one that made me decidedly uncomfortable.) And I had a lot of problems with Allegiant, partly because I was crazily obsessed with learning about genetics a few years ago, and the science in Allegiant didn't really add up.
All in all, I'm glad I read them, if only to have on opinion on them, but I don't think they deserve all the hype they've gotten and are getting.

6. The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan

The Ranger's Apprentice series is not one I have very strong opinions about, but it is definitely overhyped. These books are fun middle grade stories (at least the ones I read, I didn't continue the series after book 6) but I don't feel that they deserve quite the amount of praise and hype that they have gotten.
All in all, the characters are fairly generic and the plots, while engaging, are nothing special.
I apologize if you like these books, they just weren't for me.

7. Renegades by Marissa Meyer

I liked Renegades, okay? I genuinely enjoyed reading it. But at the same time, I'm not sure that it deserves the heaps of hype that it received, especially when the first book released in 2017.
It's a fun, somewhat cheesy superhero story, with more focus on the romance than the main plot. But I was fine with it. I just don't think it deserves so much hype.
This is not the next The Lunar Chronicles. 
And it definitely won't appeal to Batman fans.


And as a bonus, #8! Quick disclaimer: This book is not overrated. It's definitely an awesome book, but I wanted to include it here, because I do feel like it's been overhyped quite a bit. 

And that book is...

Wait for it...

This is me building up the suspense...

And likely being annoying...

Okay, here it is...

8. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

If I didn't make every last one of you guys mad reading my opinions about Divergent, I'm pretty sure I just made the rest of you mad as well. And for that, I'm sorry. Genuinely sorry.
Don't get me wrong, I love Six of Crows. It's one of my favorite books. I love the characters. The heist element is incredibly well executed. The storyworld is interesting and unique (like, come on, Victorian inspired fantasy? What's not to love?)
But this book also gets hype. Like, an insane amount of hype, people! And honestly, I do feel like it's been overhyped. It's been hyped to the point where it's become, in a lot of circles, the biggest, best, and brightest YA fantasy (or actually YA book in general) ever published. And... it's... not? I feel so bad saying that, especially since I do genuinely love the book, but while it is incredibly good, I don't think it deserves quite the amount of hype that it's gotten and still getting.
But let me stress again that I genuinely loved this book. I'm not hating on Six of Crows. I'm just making an observation.

Alright, that about wraps things up! If any of you guys are left after my unpopular opinions about these popular books, please let me know in the comments what you think! Do you disagree with any of the points I've made? Are there any books you've read that you think are overhyped? 
Let me know in the comments! (But please, keep your comments polite.)

Havenfall [Havenfall, #1] by Sara Holland

**I received a free digital copy of Havenfall from Bloomsbury YA via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for providing this review copy.**

Havenfall [Havenfall, #1]
by Sara Holland

Genre: YA portal fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★

Description:

The Inn at Havenfall has stood for decades in the mountain village of Haven, a place where three worlds intersect. Every summer, delegations from each of the realms meets in the safe place at Havenfall in celebration of centuries long peace.
Havenfall is the only place Maddie Morrow really feels like herself. It's her home, not only a place to experience the magic she has loved since her childhood, but an escape, a place where she can forget, for a time, her life beyond the valley, where her mother sits on death row, accused of murdering her brother.
But this year, the longstanding peace between worlds is shaken when a body is found, and the Innkeeper -- Maddie's uncle -- is gravely injured. With a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie is forced to take up the role of Innkeeper to keep the peace. But there are dangerous secrets brewing in Havenfall -- secrets about the Inn itself.
And soon, no one will be safe.

Overall Thoughts

3.8/5 stars.

This book is more than just a pretty cover.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Havenfall. I've had mixed feelings about Sara Holland's books in the past -- I enjoyed Everless, then didn't like Evermore at all. But Havenfall ended up being a fun, original story with an engaging writing style, and I genuinely had a good time reading it.

The Characters

The characters were fun and likeable. Maddie was a fairly typical main character archetype, with a personality that could fit any number of main characters, but she wasn't annoying and she did have some great moments. Taya, the other major character, is awesome, honestly. I really liked her. She's really smart, and I liked that she actually figured out things for herself instead of just being 'there'. I don't really have much of an opinion about Brekken -- I feel like he didn't get quite enough page time for me to really 'get' his personality and motivations.
However, out of all the characters, I think the Heiress was one of the best. She's a very minor character overall, but she endeared herself to me after that one scene where she's pretending her scone is too sweet.

Plot/Pacing

The plot was interesting, though I feel that some of the individual plot elements could have fit together better. Maddie seemed somewhat clueless for a good portion of the book, and seemed to stumble on a lot of the clues to the puzzle more on accident than design. That being said, I did think that the direction the plot ended up going was interesting, and some of the twists were good. I feel that they could have been better if there was more buildup to them, however, as some seemed to come from nowhere with no real foreshadowing to them. I also felt like there was at least one leap of logic in the book where there were just one too many coincidences to suspend my disbelief.
There were a few places where I was confused, mostly by the fact that some minor characters seemed to know more about what Maddie had discovered than what she'd told them. It wasn't a huge thing, but it's something I did notice and did bother me slightly.
I do like how chilled out the romance was. The plot didn't stray too much from the focus, and that pleased me, since so much of YA nowadays seems to focus on the romance aspect instead of the actual plot.

Worldbuilding/Writing

I liked the writing a lot as well. Sara Holland has a really pleasing style, and her writing voice is excellent. I find that the style a novel is written in can really make or break a book for me, and the writing in Havenfall was definitely a point (or several points) in its favor.

The setting of Havenfall is very 'classic fantasy', but in a way that almost feels nostalgic. There's magic, there's monsters, there's otherworldly peoples, and everything has this almost fairy tale feeling to it. I'm not sure how to describe it, only that I really loved it. It reminded me (in a good way!) of some of the contemporary fantasy stories I read when I was younger. The political element was something I really liked, and I wish it had gotten a little more focus in the plot -- I'm hoping there will be a further exploration of this in the sequel.

Overall, I had a great time reading Havenfall, and I'll definitely be reading the sequel.

Havenfall is the first in a new contemporary fantasy series from New York Times' bestselling author Sara Holland (Everless.) The book will be released on March 3, 2020.

Content

Recommended for ages 15 and up.

TRIGGER WARNING: Two girls are kidnapped and locked in a basement. A character is shut in the trunk of a car. A character tries to drown another character. A mother is alleged to have murdered her son and is on death row as a result.

Moderate amounts of profanity, including at least five uses of the f-bomb.
Violence isn't very heavy, but there are several scenes where wounds and blood are described, semi-detailed. This could be disturbing for sensitive readers.  A few fight scenes.
Sexual content is limited to kissing, as well as one or two vague references to sex. A female character is naked in one scene. A female character mentions having an ex-girlfriend. Another female character is bisexual, and flirts with both a female character and a male character. Two minor characters are gay and married. There is a forehead kiss between them, but nothing more than that.
Characters drink alcohol.

This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info.

YA Romance Tropes That Need to Stop [Part 2]

This post is a continuation from a previous installment. Check out the first part: YA Romance Tropes That Need to Stop [Part 1]

You guys knew I'd come back to this eventually, right? I mean, what can I say? I love complaining. :P
I hope you all love complaining, too, or you might want to exit this tab right now, because we are about to get into a lot of complaining. Specifically, I'm going to be complaining about romance. And even more specifically, romance in fiction. And what better time to do it than Valentine's Day?

Hey, I have nothing against romance in real life. Or Valentine's Day. But so often, in fiction, it's done wrong. Badly wrong. It's cheesy at best, and toxic at worst. And it's everywhere.
Since my last post, I've come up with a few more annoying tropes (or not tropes, but just Annoying Things™) in fictional romances that need to stop. 

Sound like fun? Good.
Let's get into it.

1. Everyone's a Couple Syndrome

My brother actually pointed this out to me at first, and now I can't stop noticing it in everything I read. Thanks for that. But literally so many YA books do this.
You know what I mean: there's a group of kids. And those kids all end up pairing up by the end of the series just because. Books that I can think of off the top of my head that do this: The Lunar Chronicles, Six of Crows, Renegades. 
It's annoying. And it's also unrealistic. In a large friend group, it's likely that a few people will find a significant other among them. But all of them? And all of them have their love requited? Very unrealistic. Instead, maybe leave some characters single? Because, you know, being single is actually okay. I'm single. I'm fine with it. Have at least some of the characters be fine with it, too.

2. No Chemistry, No Nothing, No Anything at All

They're in love. They're happy. They're meant to be. They literally have nothing at all between them, and the reason for their mutual affection is lost upon everyone reading their story.
I hate it when characters get together for seemingly no reason other than the fact that "they have to". There's no reason that every single novel ever written needs a romantic subplot, and if it works better with the characters to not have a romantic subplot, please just let them be friends!

3. Forbidden *dramatic gasp* Romance

Forbidden romance can be really annoying at best, and creepy at worst. Sometimes, it's just the classic trope of "my father doesn't approve of him!" Which, granted, can be creepy, too, but the most weird take on this trope involves the (usually male) love interest telling the girl who's involved with him that "he's dangerous" and that she should stay away from him. But she's obsessed, so she gets involved with him anyway. Which is not okay and very creepy.
I don't know about you, but if some weirdo told me he was dangerous to be around, the first thing I'd do would be to call the police. Or at least get out of that situation as fast as I possibly could.
I'm not saying forbidden romance can't work as a plot device, but please think twice before wildly throwing into books.

4. No Friends Allowed Past This Point

This kind of ties in with Everyone's a Couple Syndrome. I hate it when everyone has to pair up, and can't just stay friends. The amount of times I've ground my teeth with frustration as yet another awesome friendship goes down in the flames of a badly conceived romance is way too often.
Friendships are allowed. Friendships can be awesome. Friendships make me happy. (And sidenote: just because two major characters of opposite genders happen to run into each other someplace does not mean that they have to become romantically involved down the road. There's no need for that.)

5. Her Boyfriend is Her Brother? What the Heck?

I don't think this needs much explanation. But here's one anyway. I think it's so weird and disturbing when two people in a story fall in love and then find out they're siblings. What point does it add to the story? Is there any reason for it apart from drama?
Please, this needs to stop. For real, guys.

6. Will You be My Valentine Disease

AKA gushy, long, cheesy speeches about the characters' undying and eternal love for each other. Everything feels fake, because everything is fake. The characters are constantly making eyes at the other person, thinking about them, telling them they love them, kissing, and otherwise being a "happy couple" -- but they're both flat as pancakes, and so is their supposed relationship. No one wants to read about gushy, cheesy, cringey romance -- at least, no one I know does.

7. Let's Not Talk About Our Problems

This is super common in fiction, especially YA. This is the trope where the two people involved in a relationship, and yet manage never to have a mature conversation throughout the whole book. This is the couple that's always having falling-outs and getting angry with each other because they can't communicate.
I also hate any scene in a book where one person is trying to communicate (usually frustration) with their love interest, and instead of actually listening and understanding, the love interest just kisses the other person until they stop talking. Which is awful, and not a healthy behavior in a relationship whatsoever.
I think we've all read at least one book that includes this trope. And I think we can all agree that it's just plain annoying.

8. Baby-Faced Romance

This might be just a personal preference thing, but I'm always weirded out by romance subplots in middle grade fiction. The age group for MG is 8-12, which means the characters are usually anywhere from eight to fourteen years old. (Sidenote: I'm not calling anyone in this age range babies. I just needed a catchy title for the section. :P) And having romance subplots between characters this young... I don't know, it just doesn't sit right with me. That's one of the reasons Keeper of the Lost Cities didn't work for me. The fact that Sophie is involved in a love square at age twelve... like, what? At twelve, I was fencing with sticks in the yard and playing in haylofts, not getting involved in complicated romantic drama. What happened to good old friendships in middle grade fiction?


In conclusion, I guess it's pretty obvious that I have a lot of problems with romance in YA. But that doesn't mean that authors should stop writing romance! I'm not against having romance in stories. But please, let it be developed, let it be interesting, let it be relevant to the actual plot, and let the characters be genuine and developed before getting involved with each other. Please and thank you.

So, now it's time for your opinion! Do you have any pet peeves with YA romances? Do you agree with any of my complaints? Are there any books you've read with really awesome, non-stereotypical romances? Let me know in the comments! I'd love to chat with you! 

Fictional Couples I Actually Ship

In honor of Valentine's Day (and partially because I wanted to do this anyway and Valentine's was a perfect excuse) let's talk about fictional couples.

You guys already know that I generally have problems with fictional romances. So many of them are
a) contrived b) pointless and c) annoying, and I have little to no patience for it.

That being said, I do have a few fictional couples that I actually ship, and fictional romances I'm actually on board with. And that's what I'm going to talk about today! So prepare for fangirliness.

1. Vin and Elend Venture from The Mistborn Trilogy

These two are probably my favorite fictional couple I've ever read about. Hands down, no questions asked. I loved the way their relationship progressed throughout the trilogy, and I love their interactions, and how they support each other and genuinely care about each other and respect each other and just everything about their relationship is so perfect. Wow, that was like three sentences all stuck together. I'm going to leave it, though, because my thoughts about Elend and Vin are very much just a collection of run-ons and sentence fragments.





2. Shallan Davar and Adolin Kholin from The Stormlight Archive

I know that some Stormlight fans ship Shallan and Kaladin, but I'm sorry -- I 100% support Shallan and Adolin's relationship. I think I got sold with that one scene in Oathbringer when Adolin is teaching Shallan how to use her Shardblade... I just loved that scene so much.
Also, this is an example of an arranged engagement/marriage/whatever-you-want-to-call-it done well.
To be completely honest, I ship 90% of all the couples Brandon Sanderson creates, because honestly, he knows how to write romance so well.




3. Winter Blackburn and Jacin Clay from The Lunar Chronicles

I think Jacin and Winter are the most awesome couple from the Lunar Chronicles series. I know it's not the most popular opinion, but the way I see it, Jacin and Winter are perfect together. They've got great chemistry, plus I think their relationship is the most realistic of the four main "ships" in the TLC universe. Why? Because they've known each other since they were kids. They were friends before they fell in love. And that's something I really like.







4. Scarlet Benoit and Ze'ev Kelsey from The Lunar Chronicles

I'm kind of cheating by including two couples from the same series, but this is my blog and I can do what I want. (Just kidding, but not really. :P)
I know how I was just saying that Jacin and Winter were my favorite couple in the Lunar Chronicles. I would say that Scarlet and Wolf are a close second. I love the way their relationship develops through the series, and I also love their interactions.
Also, my brother (who hates fictional romances as a general rule) thinks they're a great couple, so I think that that's a pretty good indicator that they're awesome.




5. Puck Connolley and Sean Kendrick from The Scorpio Races

I love these two so much. Their relationship is a really slow build from friends to slightly-more-than friends, and I loved watching it develop and grow! Both Puck and Sean have deep and complex personalities, and their interactions -- as well as the way they fueled each other's growth -- made me very happy. Makes me very happy.
Man, I need to read this book again soon.






That about wraps it up! Obviously there are a few more fictional couples that I ship (only a few), but those are my top five favorites. 
Do you have a favorite fictional romance that you've read about? Have you read any of the books I talked about here, and if so, do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments! And happy Valentine's Day!

(Stay tuned for part two of my Romance Tropes That Need to Stop post, which I'm planning on putting up on the 14th. It's going to be great. :P)

Vicious [Villains, #1] by V.E. Schwab

Vicious [Villains, #1]
by V.E. Schwab

Genre: Adult superhero horror

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

10 years ago - A pair of ambitious university students set out to prove their thesis that ExtraOrdinary people are a scientific possibility -- but things go badly wrong.

Now - Victor Vale has just escaped prison, and he has vengeance on his mind. The target? His former friend, Eli Ever.


Overall Thoughts

The only word I can think of to describe this book is WHOA. It's a really quick read, just over 300 pages, and it feels even quicker because the chapters are so short, but WHOA. This book didn't need to be any longer to pack a real punch.

The Characters

The characterization is excellent. (I feel like I say this quite a lot, and I'm sorry. But that just means I'm reading a lot of excellent books, right?) We get to see the character development in a really interesting way. There are several different timelines running at the same time, with chapters alternating between ten years ago, last night, last fall, one hour until midnight, etc. and so we get to see the characters "before" and "after" before we understand exactly what happened to change them in that way. Throughout the book, you keep asking the question: what happened??? And it's really cool.
The characters are all morally grey, and it's impossible really to love or hate any of them. (With the exception of Eli Ever. I'm sorry, I did hate him.) (And yes, okay, I did love Sydney and Mitch.)
But Victor Vale is the prime example of a morally grey character that you can't quite love and you can't quite hate.

Plot/Pacing

The plot is engaging and original, definitely not your average superhero novel. The jumps back and forth between different timelines could easily have been confusing, but Victoria Schwab handled it masterfully.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was also excellent. I found the concept of the EO's very interesting, and the powers, instead of being cheesy (like pretty much every superhero story ever conceived), just added to the overall storyline, theme, and tone of the book. The character's powers were actually really creepy/scary and make the book feel like a horror story. In a good way. ;)

My brother told me after he finished this book that it's "The Dark Knight of superhero novels" and I have to agree. It's really that good.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Potential triggers for self-harm (not a result of depression, but it could be disturbing). A character overdoses on painkillers on purpose (not exactly a suicide attempt, but it could be triggering to some readers), and then tries to overdose again. A character electrocutes themselves on purpose.

Violence is definitely heavy in this book. Several on-page deaths, including several murders with details that could be disturbing. Descriptions of blood and wounds. Characters use guns, and the gunshot wounds are described. One character tries to kill a child. The characters' powers are not very "comic book", and scenes where the characters use their powers can be very disturbing.
In terms of sexual content, there are several kissing scenes, and two scenes that vaguely hint at sex. In one, two characters are lying on a bed kissing each other. In another, the same two characters lie in bed together, after a suggestive comment by the girl implying sex. Neither character is married. There is a couple in the book with a rather large age gap between them -- one character is college-age (maybe 19), and the other is close to thirty two. A female character manipulates another character into being intimate with her (being vague to avoid spoilers.)
Swearing includes several uses of the f-bomb, as well as other profanities. This is an adult book, and the language used definitely is more adult, as well as more frequent, than the majority of YA.
A character is known to deal drugs. A character uses painkillers to overdose (see triggers above.) A character attempts to use cocaine to overdose. Characters drink alcohol.

Crooked Kingdom [Six of Crows, #2] by Leigh Bardugo

This review contains spoilers for Six of Crows. Read my review for Six of Crows by following the link here.

Crooked Kingdom [Six of Crows, #2]
by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: YA high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

In the aftermath of the Ice Court heist and Van Eck's betrayal, Kaz Brekker and his crew of outcasts are fighting for their lives.
World powers are descending on Ketterdam in search of the secret to the drug jurda parem, and with enemies on every side, a war is about to be waged on the streets of the city.


Overall Thoughts

Did I like Crooked Kingdom better than Six of Crows? Maaayyybbbbeeee. While I did have a few major issues with this book (as opposed to Six of Crows, which I had almost no issues with), I feel like the overall plot of Crooked Kingdom was... ooh, dare I say it?... better than Six of Crows. Since this specifically has to do with the plot, I'm going to talk about this first.

Plot/Pacing

I realize I have probably made quite a few fans very angry at me. I'm sorry. But please, hear me out. There were a few places in Six of Crows where my suspension of disbelief was stretched. It wasn't enough to make me hate the book -- far from it. But there were a few key places where I felt like the author had written her characters into a corner, and had to come up with a very random event to save them. In Crooked Kingdom, I never had that problem. Everything seemed to progress in a logical fashion, and the major plot points and twists didn't ever seem to come out of nowhere. The overall plot was engaging and well paced.

I will say that I wasn't a big fan of one of the subplots... this particular subplot never really impacted the rest of the plot in a significant way, and never really impacted any of the character's arcs, either. So I didn't see much point in it even being there.

The Characters

The characterization is definitely good, as it was in Six of Crows. A few new characters were introduced, and several that were briefly mentioned or introduced in Six of Crows get more development and characterization on page. I did feel like some of the villains weren't as smart as they should have been... more than one of the villains monologues in the book (and the other characters note the monologues as well.) I would have been fine with one villain being naturally prone to monologue, but more than one felt strange.

Worldbuilding

I liked the continued exploration of the magic system in this book. Nina's powers, in particular, were explored in a new way in this book, in a way that was both original and intriguing. A few other aspects of the magic system were also explored in interesting ways, but Nina's powers were the most interesting to me.

Content

Recommended for ages 15 and up.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: References and brief flashbacks to sexual and physical abuse, another character is addicted to a drug. Reference to a child having his throat cut and being buried alive.

Violence in this book is similar to the violence levels in the first book. Descriptions of blood, numerous instances of hand to hand combat, and knife and gun use, resulting in injury and death. Descriptions of wounds. Explosions. An unnamed character is shot through the eye, and the gore is described, semi-detailed. Acid is used to fatally injure another character, and this is described in a way that could be disturbing. Descriptions of dead bodies, some in states of decay.
Multiple instances of sexual references and innuendo. A character recalls past sexual abuse. Mentions of pleasure-houses and prostitution. Several instances of kissing between a boy and a girl, as well as two kissing scenes between two boys. Two characters are heavily implied to be gay, and another is implied to be bisexual.
Profanity includes use of the f-bomb at least twice, as well as other coarse language.
Characters drink alcohol. References to drug use and addiction.