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Ranking Secrets of My Hollywood Life
Family Affair: This is number one to me, not only in that we get more insight to Kaitlin’s day to day tv show life. But also for the biggest surprise so far in the book series. Kaitlin and Skylar team up against a bigger enemy. The young upstart, Alexis Holdon who’s sweetheart next door personality hides a scheming diva. What’s more, Calonita does a great job in realistically bringing the tow together, drawing their commonalities as well as peeling away some of Skylar’s pricklier layers. Plus it touches on Kaitlin’s “normal girl” desires as she works on SATs and attempts to get her license, maintaining that thread which will pay off later on in the sixth book.
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Grishaverse: Crooked Kingdom Review
The Crows had been left in dire straits but just a few weeks later, new plans are in place and Kaz is sure that not only will be able to get the original windfall that Van Eck had promised them, but retrieve Inej from his Van Eck’s hiding place, save Grisha refugees and get Kuwei the hell out of Ketterdam. I enjoyed how Bardugo quickly dispenses an overdrawn save Inej mission instead having Inej try to save herself alongside the Crows devising their own plan.
Which is a good thing, with the whole gang together again the bigger guns can start rolling. What are those bigger guns? There is more than one player in this game and that player is able to outsmart Kaz just as easily as Kaz outwits Jan Van Eck. Yes, I’m talking about the man who ruined Kaz’s life-Pekka Rollins.
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Grishaverse: Six of Crows Review
I know Six of Crows is highly-regarded and I’m pleased to see that it lived up to its hype. After all the premise is centered around a Oceans 8-esque heist that seems impossible to accomplish but will yield so many rewards if they succeed. And certain death if they fail.
The goal is to retrieve Shu scientist, Bo Yul-Bayur from the impentrable Frjerda palace and prison, White Island. Preferably alive as he is the creator of jurda parem formula-a drug that amplifies Grisha’s powers to do the impossible, making them even more powerful weapons hopelessly addicted after the first taste.
The crew consists of six as you might guess from the title. Kaz, the merciless, confident con man, the Bastard of the Barrell whose expertise is on impossible heist. Inej, a spider and holder of secrets and blackmail hoping to accumulate enough to leave her debts. Mattias, a witch-hunter who is torn between duty to his country and the promise of a pardon. Nina, a grisha yearning to return back to Ravka to help the Second Army. Jesper, one of Kaz’s right hands and handy with a pistol but a loser at the card tables. Finally, Wylan, former rich boy, willing hostage and demolitions expert.
Before I get into the plot, let’s talk about the main city full of dirt underneath its surface that these characters call home or hell.
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Top 5 Little House books
Flashback time! My mom may have bought me the entire Little House series before I was born (I think? It’s just been in my room for a very loooong time) but this summer I finally read them. Read read them, not skimmed. So now I’m sharing the top 5.
1. Little House on the Prarie: When I think of Little House on the Prarie, I think of this. Not just the cover though that’s a big part but just the adventures they go on as well as the trials from flooding to wild animals to the difficulties of creating their own log cabin. It’s rustic and really a whole different lifestyle from now and Wilder really brings you back to the time period.
2. The Long Winter: This felt like a more action-oriented plot rather than just a series of stories from the location they are settled in at the moment. The story takes a section of time, just one winter, aka the long winter where the harsh weather keeps the town inside for months to near starvation. Though you know it will end with them all living, Wilder does keep you on the edge of your seat as things get more dire. Plus seeing Alamazo save the day is just awesome.
3. On the Banks of Plum Creek: This was just fun as it has some of Wilder’s more memorable memories like Pa getting lost in the blizzard, the introduction of boastful Nellie Olsen and Laura’s revenge and Laura going to school for the first time.
4. These Happy Golden Years: This one is the most romantic. . . Well not really. It’s sort of a historical time capsule showing the differences in courting between Laura and Alamazo which seems to be filled with silent communication and carriage rides. Really, Laura doesn’t even realize her feelings of jealousy towards Nellie and then the marriage proposal just happens. I don’t know, I guess that’s just how things were back then. But it’s interesting to see the differences in time.
5. Farmer Boy: I’ll admit some parts of this are boring. So much farming information but it gives a comprehensive overview of all the work that goes toward farming, raising cattle, and ice-block transportation. It shows how boys were raised back then and the expectations for them which Wilder makes clear that working from the land is the best, more honest work than getting educated for banking. Plus it had a patriotic country-fair Fourth of July that sounded such fun to be there. Truly a forgotten time period.
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Grishaverse: Ruin and Rising Review
Ah the final book in the Grisha trilogy. This one I cannot keep my thoughts on the ending spoiler free but that will be under the cut. What I will say is that the book starts off strong.
Since the climax of Seige and Storm, Alina has been weak and her power faltering. A position that lets Apparet control most of her moves in the underground White Catherdral. He wants her to be a living Saint so he ccan grow his faithful army but Alina is desperate to find the last amplifier, the pheonix so they van save Ravka. The Apparet gave me such Rasputin vibes as he’s not an ally but also not an enemy but a rat waiting for the dust to settle before he makes his move and cement his own position.
Luckily, Alina’s true allies are able to get her out of their along with some faith on her part as returning to the light brings her more strength as Sun Summoner, so far that she manages to utilize the Darkling’s trick to get into his head. Unfortunately, the Darkling ha those centuries of experiences on his side and manages to unsettle her more than him.
Bardugo manages to keep things off-kilter with the plans of Nikolai and the others being quickly disrupted so they’re forced to regroup and come with new battle plans to defeat the Darkling before he enlargens the Fold.
Plot-wise, Bardugo delivers pathos and plot with the revelation of Baghara’s connection to the Darkling and thre greater heritage of Saint Mos. Character-wise, lots of great moments. Nikolai standing up against the king in regards to Genya’s treatment, Genya embracing herself as ruination, David showing his steel, Zoya being the sassy voice of reason, Nikolai fighting his volcra self and so on. For the last two I can’t wait to see them take center stage in the Nikolai duology!
Alina soon realizes that she may be one of a kind like the Darkling but she isn’t alone. All her allies have their own hurts, traumas and demons yet their ragtag group were also made of steel, they became sort of a family to her. It’s a meaningful revelarion that’s bolstered by the mini-group of Alina, Zoya, Tamar and Nadia bonding. Plus Toyla calling Alina his sister too. The character dynamics have really been solidified amidst the danger and war.
The Darkling has his fair share of development. While he may have shown some of his most heinous atrocities yet, he also shows some real vulnerability in his conversation with Alina and in his final moments. But even though he showed some humanity at those last moments, its clear that he could never be the ruler Ravka needed. While his original cause to help Grisha was just, his ego to be ruler of all through fear or death even striking down fellow Grisha just show how far gone he is after all these decades.
Meanwhile, Alina shows the greatest strength of all. It’s been theme that she wants to belong, she wants the destiny of the Sun Summoner because it will give her thatbelonging and sense of greatness that she never had as a scrawny orphan. Yet she also fears how that power will change her, possibly for the worst like the Darkling. Or maybe it’s all part of destiny. Just does she have the strength to do this?
We have seen Alina power-hungry but readers have also glimpsed that she is uncomfortable with being put on a pedestal as saint or queen so while I admire she has gained a backbone and more focused on priorities and doing what is needed but not at the cost of her humanity. That’s what makes her stronger than the Darkling, emotion-wise at least.
That leaves Mal. . .
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Grishaverse: Seige and Storm
While the first book had the weighty duty of introducing the world and magic systems Bardugo wanted to tell, it ultimately fell prey to some classic YA cliches that made it somewhat generic. The sophmore book shows grand improvements as it presents its cards straight up.
Set a few weeks after Alina and Mal’s frantic run from the Fold and the Darkling, they are hiding out in a small town, hoping to be able to get enough money to find a ride out to West Craftan where they’d be safe. The immediate problem is clear as even though she’s safe in hiding, not using her powers is making Alina weak, and moreover, she misses that rush. The Sun Summoner powers, being a Grisha is part of who she is. If they go into hiding forever, she’ll always be a liability as she spends most of her strength tamping down her powers.
Worse still is that Mal doesn’t seem to understand that and Alina somewhat resents how they’re back to their old roles with perfect, atheltic Mal and the less impressive, unatheltic Alina. Though Mal still clearly loves her even though she doesn’t look her best, looks so ordinary, it stings.
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Grishaverse: Shadow and Bone
I read this long long ago back when it first came out for one of those school read 5 books over the summer thing. But as it was homework, I sort of skimmed it. However, since it has expanded and grown to a hit tv show, I’d thought I’d actually read it this time around so here are my thoughts.
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Grishaverse: The Language of Thorns Review
These Midnight Tales by Leigh Bardugo collect stories from Ravka, Kerch, Fjerda and more showcasing her talent of taking that grim undercurrent of the original tales and delivering some universal truths about humanity and their desires for love, happiness and family.
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Ranking The Rajes
Dev brings a new spin to Austen’s famous works with her Rajes series, focusing on a formerly royal family settled in California as the hard-working new generation navigate social class nuances, chasing their dreams amid family pressures and expectations and of course, find love. For as Dev wrote in her author’s note for The Emma Project, Austen’s themes are still so relevant today:
Social class and prejudice is still important, being persuaded to give up dreams because they’re not ambitious enough, getting stuck between family expectation and your own dreams. All these are relevant in the modern day as she takes these subjects that Austen touched centuries ago and forges her own path to answer these questions. It’s a really wonderful series that not only delivers the happily ever afters but intergenerational family bonds and backstories too.
1. The Emma Project: This may just be my favorite because I enjoyed the personal baggage both Vanesh and Naina had to work through to realize what they have together is real, and mor eimportantly, that they bring out the best in each other.
The last Raje, Vansh also called Baby Prince has earned his nickname. He is a problem-solver, andoptimist. He has the Raje trait of trying to make things better for people, working on various organizations to help those without. He is upright in that he is willing to take responsibility even for things that aren’t his fault. But because of his status as the youngest and because sof his more social skills than book skills (possibly dysxlexia), he feels that he has been coddled by his family. He fears that he is babied because they secretly or at least unconsciously see him as “stupid”. So he thinks his new project, one meant to help the homeless will help prove to them and himself that he is capable.
Now, Knightlina or “Naina” as she prefers to be called is extremely copetent. She has to be to head up organization in Nepal and other places to help underserved women. Also to make up for her father’s disbelief in her capabailities. Though after all these years, she has realized that will never happen. He thinks she’s only worth something if she can get married well, a sentiment echoed by her mother who wants Naina to get back with Yash. Naina can’t do that obviously as their relationship had been a sham arrangement all along but she most certainly can’t get with Vanesh either. He’s Yash’s brother, he’s twelve years younger, she has literally seen him in diapers!
But now they’re working closely together as millionaire Jiggy will only fund her organization with Vanesh’s name at the helm. She is a bit rankled that Vanesh doesn’t realize how easily he got the job without any qualifications to back him up or that his initial optimism makes him oblivious to that he’s being used for his name. Vanesh is more than insulted that she calls his choice to help the homeless a “Emma project,” something idealistic and unfeasible and aims to prove her wrong.
That’s where the book gets very interesting balancing real concerns and policies about helping the homeless with steamy workplace tension as both struggle to ignore their feelings. Their time spent together also forces them to confront their personal flaws with Vanesh learning adminstrative side to creating a foundation. Also his personal projection, feeling that those who have been coddled just need a push to prove themselve doesn’t always work as with the case of the really talented, yet anxious Hari.
Naina is dealing with her own issues as she longs for the family closeness of the Rajes but also feels uncomfortable with it. It doesn’t help that they’ve been given her a wide berth since her break up with Yash. But more that that, she has to get root of the issue with her estranged adultification relationship with her mother that makes her feel unbearably guilty yet degraded her self esteem everytime they talk. Together, they help challemge those conceptions of themselves.
Plus, the Rajes’ eldest cousin Esha finds her own romance with Sid giving more backstory to the family’s clairvoyant and a true full circle feeling as everyone finds someone they love.
The only thing I wish was explored more was the rajes’ hypocrisy regarding naina and Vanesh. They claim they felt it was wrong because of the twelve year age difference but I feel like there were some leftover baggage from the Yash/Naina split that didn’t get to be explored.
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Cursed Review
Cursed starts right where the action left on, the stakes high as Serilda submitted to the Erlking’s proposal, become his wife, pretend her unborn child is his and obey almost all his wishes until Percheta returns. Then he could gift his evil huntress Serilda’s baby and dispose of Serilda herself. It will all be worth it to save the five ghost children she had unwittingly led to Erlking’s sights.
But Serilda is more than a mortal, she is the godchild of Wyrdith and with Gild by her side, they are determined to find their original bodies and break the curse before Erlking can wreck havoc on the world with his dark ones and his queen.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 