Book Review: The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra

Book: The Tsar of Love and Techno

Author: Anthony Marra

Genre: Historical Fiction, short stories, fiction

Rating: 4/5

Format: Hardcover

Favorite Character: Kolya

I had my eye on this book for a while because the cover and the title are totally awesome. I finally picked it up with no idea what it was actually about. Recently I have started getting into collections of short stories, and this was an awesome place to start. I really enjoyed the entire premise of this book. I was a little slow to get into it in the beginning, but once it got towards the end of the first story it really kicked off for me. I love how everyones lives are so intertwined in such a strange way, all coming back to the same painting. There were even a few stories where I thought to myself "How is this in any way related to anything.." then BAM it would all come full circle. 

The main reason this book gets four stars is because the beginning and the end. I found the start of the book to be a little slow and did not grab my attention like I wanted it to. I also did not like the last chapter. I understood tying it back to Kolya nd Alexei and their childhood in the museum, but I thought it was unnecessary. I think if the book would have ended with Vladimir and the museum it would have been more powerful. 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Book: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Genre: Young Adult, romance, fiction, drama, mystery

Rating: 4/5

Format: Audio Book

Favorite Character: Clay, I suppose. Hard to have one in this book

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Well this book was incredibly depressing. It was also incredibly difficult to listen to due to the content. I'm not sure why I feel that it would have been easier to read. I think that It made me feel like I was listening to the tapes along with Clay. I don't have much to say about this book aside from I think everyone should read it. The only reason it got a 4/5 from me is that I found the character frustrating at times. Mostly Clay, but also Hannah. It brings up some important points about bullying and how some people can be terrible.

Book review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Book: Attachments

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Romance, fiction, contemporary

Rating: 4.5/5

Format: Paperback

Favorite Character: Beth
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This book had been sitting on my TBR for a while. I had read Fangirl, Eleanor & Park, and Carry On. I was excited to branch off into Rainbow's ealier books aimed at adults.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I think it was made better that I read most of it in my cubicle at the bank I work for. There is a team of Lincolns somewhere that go through out emails and report to HR if anything is inaapropriate. And just like Beth and Jennifer my friends spend a lot of time saying things we shouldn't be....shh... I found the characters to be realistic and I liked that it took place on the eve of the millennium. I feel like the story would not have been the same if it took place today. 

My only complaint and the reason it didn't get a five star rating from me is the ending. I really didn't like the ending. I felt like the entire book was build up and then at the end it felt rushed and like suddenly everything was perfect and happily ever after. But I found it to be awkward and unrealistic. Other than that I was pleased with this book and look forward to reading Landline as well.

Book Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andews

 

Book:Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Author: Jesse Andrews

Genre: Young Adult, fiction, humor

Rating: 4.5/5

Format: Paperback

Where I got the book: B&N

Favorite Character: None.


I had been meaning to read this book for a while. I kept seeing it everywhere and would pick it up, then for some reason set it down. Finally I bought it and ended up reading it one day. I then watched the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think it was humorous and I enjoyed Greg as a narrator. I appreciated that it didn't focus on some grand romantic teenage journey and seemed more realistic than most books like this.

However, I did like the ending to the movie better than the ending to the book. The ending in the book just seemed haphazard and all over the place, where as the movie was able to get the same point across in a cleaner way.

Good, quick read. Managed to not cry in the book, but did cry during the movie.

Book Review: Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Book: Peeps

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: YA, fiction, fantasy

Rating: 2.5/5

Format: Paperback

Where I got the book: Grabbed it at HPB one day shortly after finishing Uglies. 

Favorite Character: Lace


So I absolutely love the Uglies series. and I thought Afterworlds was pretty good. So that set me up for a lot. I know this is one of his earlier books (Right?) but I thought it was kind of 'meh.'. To be fair, the sequel is in the mail on it's way to me right now (Not a single book store in town had it, including the used store. :( ) so there was still a part of me that enjoyed it. I guess it just seemed...kind of juvenile? At least compared to what else I've read by Westerfeld. And I know, it's a YA book. But even for a YA book...

I didn't really like the ending, I thought it could have been better if it turned the other way. I'm going to still read 'The Last Days' because I have a problem and I have to. But overall, disappointed in this one. 

Book Review: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Book: Afterworlds

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: YA, fiction, fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5

Format: Hardcover

Where I got the book: I really loved his Uglies series and had the picked up the chapter preview from B&N one day. Then bought the book when I saw it after it came out.

Favorite Character: Darcy/Yama


So I kind of broke the rules of this book I feel. I started reading it like normal, alternating stories with each chapter, but it was so jarring and I had trouble getting into it. So I ended up reading all the Darcy chapters then going back and reading all the Afterworlds chapters. Once I started this I got super into it, especially Darcy's story, because I wasn't pulled away ever chapter. I had a little more trouble getting through the AW chapters, but I can't complain much since I read the book wrong.

Overall I enjoyed this book, despite the strange layout. I'm not sure if I would have read it so quickly if I read it in order, as it loses some of the pull. I don't think it was quite as good as Uglies, though that is a whole series and this is a single (double?) novel. I would suggest trying to read it as suggested and deciding which way works for you. <3 p="">

Book Review: Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan

Book: Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story

Author: David Levithan

Genre: Musical, YA, LGBT, fiction

Rating: 5/5

Format: Hardcover

Where I got the book: Companion book to a book I love, "Will Grayson, will grayson" by David Levithan and John Green. 

Favorite Character: Not a big character development book, haha. But we'll go with Will, or lower case will from WGwg.


I read Will Grayson, will Grayson a long time ago but I really loved it. I didn't realize this was coming out until John Green talked about it in a video and I immediately ordered it off of Amazon. It was a super fast read and it was fun. I more in depth at Tiny's past with the end referencing to some of the events of WGwg. It made me want to go back and reread the book.

Overall a fun, light, short read by an author i have really enjoyed. It was interesting to read a musical as you end up singing to random notes in your head, haha.