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April Books
Rogue Untouched by Alisa Kwitney
Since rewatching X-Men Evolution and Wovlerine and the X-Men for the first time in years, I find that it is better than I remembered and Rogue is the best. So of course, I had to read this novel from a new series showcasing origin stories and original adventures of Marvel heroes. From what I can tell when I checked wikipedia afterwards, this pretty faithfull follows the comic origins of Rogue and Gambit albeit with its own twists.
First off, Kwitney settles the readers into Anne-Marie’s life in a small southern town during the 21st century. There’s talk of those crazy mutant heroes over in the northern states like New York but that world seems pretty far away from Anne-Marie. She doesn’t see them as the menace that others in her town do. Actually, she sort of wishes she could have powers too. It might make her life easier after dropping out of school with little money for college. Being a waitress in a town that blames her for her ex’s football career-ending coma is just the worst.
But then this down on her luck waitress meets a drifter and when she saves him from two drunken bullies, she goes against her common sense and invites him back to her house. Leading to a crazy world and epiphanies of who she really is.
Just as with any good X-Men property, Kwitney goes full-speed in drawing the mutant prejudice parallel with other real-world issues like racism and classism. The latter particularly related to Anne Marie who struggles against the low potential others assigned to her because of her work as a waitress and her label as a high school dropout as if that makes her less deserving of opportunties to show her capabilities. It also means men somehow believes that makes her a easy target to hit on as if her lack of money is a sign that she’s up for anything.
Her aunt treats her the same. An old-school Catholic, she had kicked Anne Marie out of the house and checks up on her to remind her that going to Church may clense her of her sinful self.
Kwitney hinted at some intriguing family drama that in total constrast to her self-righteous aunt, Anne-Marie’s mom was part of a personality cult before she died leaving Anne-Marie navigating a world that hates the sinner no matter how small the sin and her own worries of losing herself to a manipulative charlatan. Unfortunately, there is little exploration into how these women inform Anne-Marie’s worldview as it jumps right into the mutant action readers are waiting for.
But I can forgive the lack of family exploration as Anne-Marie’s partner in crime is Gambit. Remy is the best flirty rogue and yes, I’m totally biased but Kwitney wrote him with such charm that I have also fallen for his silver-tongue despite his vast criminal ties. It’s part of the attraction.
From there, the book is split into two other parts with Part 2 delving into Anne-Marie discovering her mutant powers and realizing the signs of it had been with her all her life. Unfortunate she doesn’t have time to explore them as Remy’s associates/enemies kidnap them for a mutant trafficking ring. Comic fans will appreciate the presence of Gorgona and Spiral who believe themselves to be good-slavers because it’s better that mutant get profit from other mutants rather than humans. . . Whatever helps them sleep at night.
Anyway, the tone shifts from realistic albeit mundane life in Southern town to a very action movie-esque complete with awesome fight scenes and Oceans 8 escape that allows all the captive mutants a chance to shine. It also helps that Kwitney continually ups the ante as more and more suspenseful villains join the mutant auction, making the escape that more difficult.
And Part 3. . . Part 3 brings in the Brotherhood and a found family dynamic with sinister undertones that made me wish the book would get a sequel even though it’s part of a series of standalones. Just the action balanced with the fire-forged romance and self-discovery was a great ride.
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The Mirror: Shattered Midnight Review
While the last book arguably had shades of Sleeping Beauty entwined in its tale of magic, friendship and broken promises, this is the Cinderella story of Zora Broussand who is thrust in the care of her aspiring-upper class family in New Orleans when all she wants to do is become a musician and singer of jazz ballads. But that is not what a good Christian black girl does nor a future debutante so she has to make do with sneaking out at night to perform at the Petit Sapphire where she falls in love with the wrong man. Zora is tangling with deadly magic, the same that forced her to flee her family in New York and she must gain control or else she’ll have to flee the Mardi Gras ball too.
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The Mirror: Broken Wish Review
We all know the basic premise of a fairytale is the longing for a beloved child. Agnes and Oskar have been trying for over ten years and when they move to a new village, Agnes goes against her husband’s wishes and befriends their neighbor. It’s not that Oskar is an unsociable fellow, but the whole town suspcts that Mathilda is a witch, letting her live isolated in her house for years for fear of her wrath. But Agnes can’t reconcile the kind, loving woman as being the same vicious witch the town rumors she is. They form a friendship and then Mathilda offers an herbal remedy that will guarentee Agnes will be with child. The only price Mathilda offers for this magic, is that they remain friends.
As you may guess from the ominous title, Agnes doesn’t keep her part in the bargain, swayed by her husband who worries for their precarious position as newcomers in town. They can’t continue associating with Mathilda and Agnes lets the friendship grow cold.
But Mathilda warned Agnes that a promise is a powerful thing. We all understand the emotional stakes connected with promises that are made with trust and friendship and can bring pain when broken. Dao heightens the fraught nature of promises with the presence of magic where the refrain is that a broken promise leads to unforseen consequences, uncontrollable and unknowable until it strikes.
What with the insulted witch, and a family curse, the story has shades of Sleeping Beauty that immediately hooked me in, and then Dao speeds forward to the year 1858 with Elva, the child born of a broken promise with the power of prophecy.
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Four Review
“How is it possible to live the same story twice from different vantage points?” Four asks himself when he talks to Tris after her first fear simulation, and it is fascinating how similar Tobias and Tris’ upbringings are, encouraging a connection that will come to change their lives admist the revolution.
This collection by Veronica Roth reveals that she originally centered the trilogy around Tobias but the voice wasn’t working until she found Tris, and relegated Four to an intriguing supporting character. These four novellas (plus three bonus scenes) give insight to Four’s past and his mindset leading up to the events in Divergent.
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New Moon Review
This was a pleasant surprise for me. While Twilight was a bit of a slog to get through as I already knew the basics of the series and Meyer was utterly committed to showing the mundanities of Bella’s life, I managed to finish this book in one day even though it was double the length.
Though it might have been the werewolves that were the biggest draw for me.
Yep, this is the book that has Edward leaving Bella for her own safety and turning her into an utter zombie as she believes the ease that he was able to remove all bits of him from her life proves her insecurity that she would never be able to keep his attention as she’s an average human and he’s a marble, dazzling, statuesque god-being-vampire.
Which is something I agree with. Not just of Bella but any human that gets with a supernatural creature. I always found it hard to suspend disbelief that these awesome creatures with above-average skills, looks and other supernatural powers would be attracted to someone who is basically a fragile load to carry. It makes perfect sense that Bella would want to become a vampire so she can stop being a burdan and also get that sweet vampire epicness for herself. Which is a little digression but I’m glad that Meyer is realistic in how supernatural monsters and plain humans have a huge gap between them that would surely affect their relationship and its future.
Anyway, thanks to Edward’s convincing performance, Bella goes into a depression and finds only slivers of joy when she throws herself into danger so she can hallucinate the sound of Edward’s voice. Once more, it’s overdramatic and angsty as a teenager point of view would make it but I’m glad Meyer still depicts Bella as self-aware enough to realize that it’s kinda sick even as she does it anyway, falling from depression to addiction. I don’t get why people say Bella is uninteresting and boring, she throws herself into a lot of action. Stupidly but still, she makes her own decisions.
And in that race for adreneline and hallucinations, she uncovers another secret of Forks, werewolves! I’ll admit, I’m biased, I like werewolves. They’re my favorite monster so I was excited to see how Bella finds out and I believe Meyer forshadows it decently even though Bella takes awhile to figure it out. But the girl is in a major-depressive state so I’ll give her a pass.
Anyway, Bella and Jacob’s friendship is the best part of the book with Jacob providing an earnest, little brother sweetness that brings some lightness to Bella and I just feel for her as she realizes she loves him in a way that is just as strong as her love for Edward, but it’s not the same. She doesn’t recipocate his feelings and yet as she knows she’s using him to fill the hole and distract from her depression and nightmares, one cannot deny how much she cares for him as she actually listens to him and care for his family and for his life when he’s upset and in danger.
That’s why the ending and the climax where Jacob’s new form/pack comes between them, are the most moving parts. Yes, Bella may love Edward in a star-crossed lover sense, but Bella and Jacob are ‘soul mates” if you will in that they will always try to have each other’s backs, they care for each other as friends/brothers in arms if you want to be dramatic and that’s a difficult bond to lose. Without a doubt, they are the emotional core of this book.
It probably helps that it is very Romeo and Juliet-esque which appears throughout the novel from the prelude to Bella’s English class to her musings of the supposed love triangle between Romeo, Juliet and Paris that emphasizes the angsty lovelorn feelings and tragedy of the situation. It also provided a very interesting new perspective to Paris before returning things to the status quo. . almost.
Another big plus is that there is a lot more history and lore revealed in this book for the werewolf Quileute tribe and the vampires’ ultra-powerful commanders, the Volterra which certainly lay the groundwork for the next novel as the threat of Victoria still hangs in the background and now the uneasy truce between werewolves and vampires seem to be unraveling.
Once more there is a big vampire-action climax (with a surprise trip to Italy!) that is exciting but also feels shoe-horned in as a final bit of excitment compared to the more looming suspense built up in Forks. But at the same time, I want more of that big vampire action and I wish it wasn’t relegated to the last few chapters of the book like it was here and in Twilight.
Another little nitpick is that Edward got a bit on my nerves as well as the general exaggerated love declarations from Edward and Bella but they are teenagers. I do enjoy how the other characters point it out with Alice saying they might have some time to save Edward from himself because he’ll want to commit suicide in the most overdramatic way possible.
Nonetheless, I have found reading this popular series to be very enlightening and engaging and I can’t wait to get to the next one which seems like it will have an actually vampire on vampire battle on the page.
4 stars.
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Ranking Love by Numbers
- Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake: Maclean wrote in her author’s note that this was her favorite book to write, chock full of her favorite romance tropes and that love spills into the pages, it’s so much fun. Here, Calpurnia-Callie is her preferance- is a firmly shelved spinster at the age of twenty eight and she is tired of being passive, being forgotten on the sidelines when her beloved younger sister and others are having the romantic dreams she always fantasized. So she sets out to complete a list of things she always wanted to do, all very scandalous for a well-bred lady of good breeding and the first one is to get a kiss from the rake of her dreams, the Marquess of Ralston. From there, it’s filled with light-hearted banter, cross-dressing and sizzling sexual tension. The Marquess is a classic rake with a hidden heart of gold but Callie’s transformation from plain spinster to someone seizing life with her two hands, finding her own worth and beauty is just spectacular.
- Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart: Juliana Fiori is the Marquess’ wild half-sister. Well, wild is an overstatement, a legacy handed down from her mother who abandoned all her children, leaving the scandal to haunt them all. Juliana suffers the most from the ton’s double standards with her low upbringing by her Italian merchant father and no matter what how she tries to fit in, the ton will always wait for her to slip up to prove their views. It’s a no-win situation made worse that she has fallen for the Duke of Disdain aka Simon Leighton whose commitment to duty is held above all else in his life. Maclean created an exciting ticking clock when Juliana bets Simon that she will bring him to his knees with passion. It doesn’t quite go as plan but Leighton does come to realize life without love is not worth the pristine reputation he used to prize. Juliana was the best heroine yet in my opinion as she was independent, blunt in cutting through the ton’s English nonsense and intensely loyal. In fact, I think she deserved better than Leighton even though Maclean gives him a suitable backstory that makes it okay when they get together. I still feel like he was obtused with how much he cared about his reputation, so concerned about how it would be awful it would be for him if he was caught with her when the women is the one who most often suffers when caught en flagrant.
- Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord: Unfortunately this one comes at the bottom despite it’s interesting premise. Lady Isabel has been a hermit from ton society since she was young because of her father’s wasteful habits, often gambling her away in wagers. Now, with the earl’s death, the Towsend estate is in a precarious situation riddled with leaking roofs, debts, no school for her little brother and a dozen females. For Towsend is also known as the Minerva House where women escaping harsh circumstances can find healing and community including the runaway sister of a duke. That leads Nicholas St. John, the Marquess’ twin aka the hunter to come to her door in search for the runaway duchess. While, Isabel and Nicholas were interesting characters on their own, their romance was less intriguing not to mention fast as it occurs over three days. I found Nicholas’ immediate overprotectiveness annoying as he yells at Isabel not to fix the roof even though she’s been doing it for years before he came. I know it came from a place that he saw how much she was shouldering and wanted her to share the burden, but some of it came across as it’s a man’s job machoness. Then Isabel was fine until she realizes her feelings for Nicholas where she turns into over-insecure, overthinking love interest. Also the story went on too long, seriously at least 50 pages could have been omitted as it seemed to wrap up but Maclean added a few more pointless obstacles before they officially got together, dragging it out. Plus the sex scenes were too similar to Nine Rules to Break. I know Nicholas and the Marquess are twins but it was too identical with both men lounging on their backs so the woman can touch them, the women having no idea what blowjobs are and the men assuring them they can explore later, the men teaching them how sex works, the same encouraging them to open their eyes as they orgasm and assuring them they’ll be there when they fall apart. It was fine the first time, but too noticable in this book and took me out of it.
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Princess Diaries #10-11 ReRead
Can you believe it’s been 4 years since Mia found out she was a princess? I can’t, but it’s lovely to see how much Mia has grown by the time of Forever Princess. Probably with the help of a lot of therapy but she seems much more calm and in control of herself, knowing what she wants. Which is fitting as senior year is wrapping up. She’s been accepted to every school, J.P. is amazing and she finished her senior project.
But of course, things can’t stay even-kneeled for long. Mia has been lying to everyone around her and it’s starting to stress her out. It comes from a good place after all, who wants to be the girl bragging about getting into all Ivy Leagues?
Especially as she suspects that her title was a big draw. Which might explain why her senior project (a historical romance novel. Not a dissertation about the many techniques in Genovia’s vinegar) hasn’t been accepted by any publishers since she’s using a nom de plume. Add the fact that her father is losing the PM election to her detestable cousin and J.P. paying more attention to his magnum opus of a play instead of prom, she feels like a big fraud.
Then Michael returns and Grandmere puts aside her disdain for That Boy to pressure Mia to talk to him (after two years btw!) to donate his new invention to Genovian hospitals!
I love it all! Especially as this feels like a fitting full circle book with Mia’s graduation. She’s no longer the dorky, hyperexcited freshman we met. I mean, yes, still can be overdramatic and lost in her own world, but she has more of an appreciation for her life and the people around her. It’s cool to see where the other characters are ending up and I appreciate the drama that comes when Mia realizes that even though J.P. seems perfect on paper for her, he doesn’t give her the same spark as the one she feels for Michael. Of course, there’s additional smarmy reasons for Mia to break up with J.P. that nicely forshadowed his true nature but I liked the previous thread too before Mia realized what a jerk J.P. is.
I really enjoyed how they cleared the air when they reunite and made me hopeful for how their relationship will continue from this book forward.
All the other characters are also given suitable endings like Lilly who is still not friends with Mia again, but has gained success with her show in Korea and finds enough maturity to move on from her anger. Lena is still hilariously brash, Tina is a sweetheart and a big support of Mia’s book and so on. Also really enjoyed the girl talk between them when Mia is slightly offended of how they’re more impressed that she wrote a book than the fact that she’s not a virgin.
Also the prom scene, the prom scene is perfect!
Finally, my favorite part was the ending when Mia lists the lessons she has learned from being a princess. And no it’s not just about how to walk in high heels. But how to stand up for herself and be her own person, good friendships vs toxic friendships, and losing the things you wanted but didn’t need, and getting things you never realized you wanted.
And so the story ends. . . Until Cabot returned years later with a Royal Wedding!
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Rise of the School for Good and Evil Review
In exchange for immortality
In exchange for eternal youth
I choose you.
Two brothers.
One for Good.
One for Evil.
Your loyalty to your blood greater than the loyalty
to your side.
As long as you love each other, the world stays in
balance.
Good and Evil.
Brother and brother.
But every School Master faces a test.
Yours is love.
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The School for Good and Evil: The Last Ever After Review
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Allegiant Review
As the series intones, one choice can change everything and six weeks after the reveal of the Edith Prior interview, it’s clear that the city will descend into war thanks to Evelyn’s shortsighted controlling tyranny. So Tris and her friends have to make a choice when they are recruited by the shadowy Allegient group that seeks to overthrow Evelyn whose idea of freedom without factions is no freedom at all.
It’s an easy choice for most of them, even Tobias who gets an unexpected amount of spotlight with half of the book from his POV as he realizes Evelyn’s sort of controlling selfishness can be just as bad as his father, Marcus.
Allegient seeks to fulfill the original goal of the society, send some outside of the wall and the other half stay within to overthrow the factionless. And what Tris and her friends find on the other side completely changes their world.
The group is brought under the wing of the Bureau of Genetics that reveal Chicago had been a societal experiement this whole time, trying to weed out and heal the genetical damaged after the Purity Wars with behavioral modification in the form of factions. They had been observed this whole time, and the factions that made them special highlight their inherited damage and the divergents that were so feared, they’re actually genetically pure. Everything’s flipped and some are taking the news harder than others.
Tobias is drawn into the political mess within the Bureau that seems like a technological haven from the mess they left behind in Chicago. Apparently, they’ve traded one corrupt government for another and with the new revelations of his true genes, Tobias feels obligated to take up the fight against the corruption.
Tris finds herself against the Bureau for different reasons when she realizes her parents’ pasts are entangled in this experiment, they hid more than she realized and the Bureau’s uncaring nature towards its experimental subjects fuels her feelings of vengence.
Roth creates a compelling end to the trilogy as she prods deeper into the idea of nature vs nurture, experiments vs humanity, and the true nature of sacrifice. While the discussions are compelling sometimes they’re so abstract that it feels vague even though the themes are universal. Luckily, the conflict it springs between Tobias and Tris allows for readers to get invested as the two’s different perspective on radicalism and acceptable losses lead to them truly questioning their relationship and what they mean to each other.
As for the Bureau, the fringe and other sights of postapocolyptic America, Roth does a grand job in depicting its unique terrain, jargon and the confusion of the faction group finding a world so full of choices. It’s a combination of Mad Max and Big Brother adding to the sense of dirty secrets behind stainless steel. However, it also feels a bit boring compared to the action inside Chicago with the warring factions which the group sees from the cameras. That’s exciting but it feels as disconnected as the group does from the former home as they get more settled in this place.
Now spoilers for the ending under the cut.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 