Explanation + Exams are Evil

Hey!! So, I haven't posted in just over a week. But I do have a reasonable excuse, since I'm taking exams rn and they're Evil Villains Who I'd Love To Kill. I'll be back in a few days hopefully :)

[REVIEW] Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series by Laini Taylor

Summary: Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

The books in order are: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

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Rating: ★★★★½

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General Thoughts: Daughter of Smoke and Bone was truly amazing. It was the series that kickstarted me back into reading basically every day again and restarted my passion for YA. It's a very enjoyable series that will get you totally absorbed for days.

Plot: The plot was very wild and intriguing. The first book starts off in Prague but then we get transported all over the world and then mostly in whole other kingdoms in the later books. At a few points, it was difficult to follow and some things didn't seem to make sense but everything would then fit together and you would have many aha! moments. I loved all the twists and turns.

Writing: Laini Taylor's writing is AMAZING. Like, wow. I have no words to express how perfect it was. As well, the worldbuilding was so well done and intricate and compelling. In the third book, things dragged occasionally because it was so long, but not as much in the other books.

Characters and Romance: I love every single one of the characters, both main and supporting. Karou was so awesome and I want to be her, and I also adored Akiva, Zuzana, Mik, Liraz, Eliza,

 and everyone else. Except for that evil chief guy and Kaz (not from Six of Crows, lol). 

The romance was really well done as well. Akiva and Karou had a ton of chemistry, and I also loved Zuzana and Mik together. I grew to like Liraz and Ziri by the end, too.

Diversity: DoSaB actually had quite a lot of diversity, most notably Liraz being asexual which I haven't seen before in mainstream YA. Akiva and his whole family are POCs as well. Eliza in the third book is an amazing WOC.

Do I Recommend?: Yes, if you're into high fantasy! :)

[REVIEW] The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Summary: Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

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Rating: ★★½

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General Thoughts: I have so many mixed thoughts about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it and I liked Charlie, but I also have beef with it, especially about how unrealistic it was.

Plot: The plot was an extreme mess. I guess it was supposed to be snapshots of time with Charlie's letters, but not much got resolved. There were so many important issues brought up and then gone again in three pages. Highlight to view spoilers: Charlie's sister got pregnant so they both just went to get an abortion and then they both forgot about it in three pages. Also, Charlie took LSD and there were no consequences afterwards, like with withdrawal? I'm a freshman in highschool myself and the events in this book were just extremely unrealistic and unlikely. Everyone knows that having senior friends is the worst decision you can have, especially if they're shady af. But the thing that most ticked me off was Charlie getting straight As even though he was never stressed, never did his work, and goofed around so much and got high all the time??? And the ending chapter was unnecessary and frustrating. Chbosky could have easily ended the book at the previous chapter, especially since this is a standalone.

Writing: I actually did like the writing, and Charlie's voice was unique and enjoyable. He's so brutally honest about things without realizing it. The formatting as a letter to an unknown friend was cool.

Characters and Romance: I liked Charlie but he kept making really stupid decisions. I also liked Patrick but his arc was barely resolved. I honestly couldn't stand most anybody else. The romance was also weird, since there was that big age gap, and the characters never had any chemistry, in my opinion.

Diversity: The diversity was meh with this one. It was published in the previous century, so I wasn't really expecting it to be super diverse. Everyone was white, but Patrick was gay. He dealt with a lot of homophobia and there was the trope of him dating a guy who would bully him in front of others. So, meh.

Do I Recommend?: I guess if you're one for reading classics, you shouldn't miss this one. But it's not really one for everyone. Pick it up if you want but it's not a priority read.