Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik 
N/A
Source: Gifted Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan
Publication Date: Published May 21st 2015
Age Group: Mature YA

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, ambitious wizard, known only as the Dragon, to keep the wood's powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman must be handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as being lost to the wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia - all the things Agnieszka isn't - and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But no one can predict how or why the Dragon chooses a girl. And when he comes, it is not Kasia he will take with him.
From the author of the Temeraire series comes this hugely imaginative, engrossing and vivid fantasy novel, inspired by folk and fairy tales. It is perfect reading for fans of Robin Hobb and Trudi Canavan.

Let me tell you something - this book is huge. It's only 438 pages but the size of this gorgeous hardcover? MASSIVE. So you'll understand just how excited I was for this book that I started it without hesitation the day after I got it, and it only took me that long because I had a prior book to finish.

I wasn't even two pages in when I knew I would adore this book. I was absolutely right.

The main character and narrator is Agnieszka, and even though I'm pretty sure I've never once pronounced her name right, I knew from the second she opened her mouth that I would love her.

She is a Dragon-Born girl, which is the term for a girl born on a Dragon year - every ten years, the valley's wizard the Dragon takes one seventeen year old girl to live with him in his tower. But Agnieszka and her family aren't really worried, because the Dragon always seems to take the best girl, and Agnieszka's best friend Kasia is a the sure choice that year.

But, surprise, Nieshka is chosen and now she has to deal with being uprooted (see what I did there??) and living with a surly, neat-freak, perfectionist wizard who won't try even a little bit to make the transition bearable.  

From that point on, things get real interesting.

First of all, let me say this - the bromance (is there a female term for bromance??) between Nieshka and Kasia is life. I was worried that Uprooted will follow in Cruel Beauty's steps with more hate than friendship, but it totally didn't. Nieshka and Kasia are real, honest to god, best friends. They're practically sisters. It was beautiful, seriously. 

Then there is the Dragon. The Dragon is not an actual Dragon and I was shipping him and Nieshka from pretty much the first time they met. They just clashed so beautifully - she with her spontaneous, outdoorsy, clumsy manner and him with his straight laced, dignified order. It made from some hilarious interactions, and you could see from the get-go that those interaction rattled both of them.

In the best way possible.

I mean, it's sort of a hate to love relationship, and it is executed perfectly. You fall in love together with these two characters, and the best part is that neither of them need to voice their feelings to know they are there. 

Oh, and they are hot. Sometimes in an explicit sort of way--but don't worry, that content is not overboard and it's very tasteful. Novik isn't scared to go past PG-13 and it fits the mood, the story and the characters to a boot. 

Now lets talk a little about the world because it was beautiful and horrifying and magical. Novik did a wonderful job flashing out the world without info-dumping it on you, letting you learn the ins and outs through the characters and their experiences. In this world, some rare people have magic. And the biggest threat to all the kingdom's people is not the war always brewing on the horizon, it is the Wood.

Yes. When was the last time you read a book where a Wood was the main antagonist? And not just any antagonist - a manipulative, cruel, mind controlling one who will do anything in his power to devour all the land and kill everyone in it. 

What, you're scared now? You should be. 

Alongside Nieshka, Dragon and Kasia, there are many side characters, such as the other magicians, the (kind of hateful) prince, the king, and the villagers. They were all, even when they were kind of awful, charming in their own ways. Mostly because no one in this book is really evil. 

Oh, and you should know - this book doesn't pull any punches. There are deaths. From a certain point there is a death almost every page. And some of it is hella gory. But even so, it's still so damn charming.

GAh, I don't know. This book does stuff to me. 

Uprooted is everything. The only reason it's not a full five star is that I just want more of this world and characters so damned much that I can't deal with this being the end.

  Nitzan★

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The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

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The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Series: Hamilton High #1
Source: Bought kindle
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Publication Date: April 5th 2012
Age Genre: YA/NA crossover

Beauty really does lie in the eye of the beholder...
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is smart, cynical, loyal - and well aware that she's not the hot one in her group of friends. But when high-school jock and all round moron Wesley Rush tells her she's a DUFF - a Designated, Ugly Fat Friend - Bianca does not the see funny side. She may not be a beauty but she'd never stoop so low as to go anywhere near the likes of Wesley ... Or would she? Bianca is about to find out that attraction defies looks and that sometimes your sworn enemies can become your best friends ... With a wry and tell-it-like-it-is voice, The Duff is a witty and poignant story of a teenager struggling with the rules of high school attraction, along with the breaking down of her relationships with family and friends. It is a novel about what it means to be sexy, in a world where we feel we have to be perfect!

I am so glad I gave this book a shot! It's been on my "maybe" list ever since I heard of it, my hesitation steaming from a rumored jerk of a love interest and the whole enemies with benefits plot-line. But, the movie with Stephan Amell came out and it just looked so entertaining that I had to give the book a chance.

And honestly, it's just been so much fun! 

Let's start by saying that the book explores a lot of deep themes. First of all, it explores slut shaming. It explores the idea of beauty. It explores facades. It explores friendships and family. And all the underlying messages are so positive it's heartening.

And it's pretty much all done through our main character, Bianca. A sassy, sarcastic, kind of judgmental girl whom I honestly loved. She's our DUFF - Designated ugly fat friend. Or is she? She's definitely a fun character to explore, and while I didn't agree with all she did (especially toward the end with Toby...) I always loved her. 

Her love interest and the coined douche above is Wesley. Now, I'm going to apologize in advance for the upcoming section- because I absolutely adored Wesley to pieces. I'm sorry, but anyone who finds this guy to be a jerk is wrong. He acted like a douche, sure. But he was not actually a douche.

In fact, out of all the characters in the book, he never once disrespected or shamed anyone. Especially not slut shaming. Even the making of the DUFF is something he doesn't do to be insulting, and later on really regrets.

He treats all the girl with him (Bianca especially) so well it was weird. He makes them feel beautiful and never once tries to make them feel dirty, unlike many of his counterparts in other books. And you can see this by how many times he asks Bianca "are you okay?". All jokes aside, it's always the first question on his mind. He always worries over her, even after the sex is over. He's careful to ask her if it helped and trying to figure out what makes her come to him in the first place so he could help.

And underneath all his "come get a piece of this" attitude, he's just a lonely person looking for human contact, too afraid to be abandoned to create any lasting relationships. His entire "jerkness" is just a persona. A facade. Is he still going to be a cocky, sure of himself bastard without it? Probably. But he's a very likable, considerate bastard lol

And together? I really liked them. I loved how she made Wesley think and break out of his pattern. I loved that he got her to think better of herself at the end, that he showed her she doesn't have to do it all on her own. And I wanted them together so bad it hurt!

Then there is the concept of friendships - I loved the friendships in this book. I loved seeing beautiful, popular girls who do not abuse and use anyone. Who don't act all cocky and superior and are the main antagonists of the story. Who valued friendship above all else and were always there for one another--even when one of them was shutting down on them and hurt them by doing so.

Then there is the concept of family. The book deals with alcoholism, with separation, with the effects it has on the children. This is the moving force behind all of Bianca's decisions, more or less, and it was so interesting. It kept me at the edge of my seat, wondering when the bad was going to hit full force.

And finally, I love the idea of the DUFF. Is it awful, that there is an "ugly fat friend"? sure. But in the title itself, Keplinger teases the real meaning of the DUFF. We are all the DUFF. It's a designated title, much like a designated driver. One evening it's going to be you, the next it's going to be your friend. One night you're going to look the best out of the group and another one you're... not. And it's okay, and it's real, and we all feel like the DUFF next to some of our friends and they do next to theirs. #TRUTH

   Nitzan★

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Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Series: Perfect Chemistry #2
Source: gifted paperback
Publisher: Walker
Publication Date: April 19, 2010
Age Genre: Mature YA (includes sex)
Challenges: TBR / Cleaning my Shelves
Challenges: Prequel-Sequel
Challenges: Contemporary
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Carlos Fuentes felt betrayed when the big brother he idolized, Alex, chose to get jumped out of the Latino Blood for a chance at a future with his gringa girlfriend, Brittany. Even worse, Alex has forced Carlos to come back from Mexico to join him on the straight and narrow path. Trouble is, Carlos just wants to keep living on the edge. And ties to his Mexican gang aren't easy to break, even when Carlos is living with one of Alex's college professors in Colorado. Carlos feels completely out of place in the suburbs. He's even more thrown by his feelings for the professor's daughter, Kiara, who is nothing like the wild girls he's usually drawn to. But Carlos and Kiara soon discover that in matters of the heart, the rules of attraction overpower the social differences and dangers that conspire to keep them apart.

This book has been up on my TBR list for a while now, since I read the first book approximately two and a half years ago. And since it was a birthday gift from Megs, I thought it was high-time I read it!

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I'm not disappointed in it, if that's what you might be wondering. I think it was about as good as the first in the series, which raises an awkward question - how can that possibly be true if you gave the first 5 stars and this one 3.5?!

Well, here's the deal. Perfect Chemistry was one of the first contemporaries I read, and maybe the first Mature YA I did. I didn't have much to compare it to, so it suitably impressed me. Truth is, I don't remember much of the book, aside for the whole sex scene, and I only remember that because I wasn't used to seeing that in YA. Today, I'll probably give Perfect Chemistry about 3.5 stars as well.

But enough about it's predecessor, let's talk about Rules of Attraction. Rules of Attraction is one of these books I think are perfect when you're in need of a story to suck you in and separate you from reality. While I wasn't head over heels in love with it, I definitely kept reading. And reading. And reading. In that aspect, it was perfect.

In this installment of the series, we follow Carlos and Kiara.

I didn't love Carlos, at first. By the end of the first chapter, I thought him a stupid brat that needs to grow up, and I just hoped he gets better as the story goes. He did, but a bit too quickly for my taste. Elkeles rushed a bit to the "relax, he's not really like that" part, for example by letting Carlos tell us almost immediately the real reason he was fired. I feel like if you already made him seem like a total jerk, let us work a bit to get to the true him.

Still, I guess I can't really complain because I liked that Carlos a lot more than the one we met at first.

Then we have Kiara. Her, I loved. She really stood up for herself, all the time. She wasn't afraid to take shots. Well, she was, but she didn't let fear stop her. She wasn't scared of challenging Carlos - or standing up to him. All of which is in complete contrast to the shy girl everyone thinks she is because of the stutter she's been born with.

The part I felt the book lacked in was actually the romance. Yes, I just said that. I was actually on board until half way through. I thought it was decently building, and I liked them together. But if it was a steady climb the first half, it became a race in the second. Suddenly, there were declarations of love, and sappy words, and inability to be without one another, etc. It was too... rushed, to me.

I saw no reason they should be there so soon. This is something I find lacking in many books. Few actually execute the romance in a way I find perfect.

But, as House says above, this book is cute. Carlos and Kiara together are adorable, even if I thought they needed more time to get to the love stage. And it was fun, and it sucked me in, and I do think it's a good book. I just don't think it's A-mazing.

Nitzan★

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