The Sub-Domain

 wow this really has turned into a book review blog hasn't it? lol idk what else to say Anyway, this book went from pretty safe espionage for middle grade to a full blown thriller in like, five chapters. Character dynamics were explored, and done well so - I think I just need more of Brooklyn and Rio + Sydney and Kat. Shining more light on Sydney's character was a good move. Her...angsty problems were perfectly believable. On a lighter note, I'd decided before reading this that Sydney had a skateboard and I WAS RIGHTTTTTTT  I think I just need more Rio? I mean he's the only character whose background yet hasn't been shed light on. Hopefully it will be done in the next book. I also kind of wanted Charlotte to make an appearance but she wasn't even mentioned. I wanted a bit more of Kinlock Abbey too. Yeah, that's all I can say without spoiling anything, so INCOHERENT SPOILERY RANT AHEAD SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS k, now that we've got tha...

 I promised myself I'd return to this blog when I had this book in my posession, and here I am in 2021, five months later :') I think my pillow's been my best friend during this book. It tolerated me screaming into it, me reprimanding our main characters, me rolling around on the bed in agony, me sobbing into it. The last sentence may or may not have been a hyperbole. I have come to the conclusion that authors are evil. Wait, I'm an author too- Anyways, this book was brilliant. Katherine Applegate never disappoints. A few of my theories were proved in this book, and yet a zillion others were disproved. This book was shorter than the others, so tbh I'd have liked a little more time with our beloved five-person-band before it ended, and I do feel that some characters were conveniently done away with (I will elaborate more on this in the spoilery rant below). We finally get Gambler's backstory. I might have been laughing that entire chapter, even through the seriou...

 Hey! For some reason lately I've really been into espionage fiction - and when my Audible credit came up I chose this book. This is also, coincidentally, the first not-fantasy book I've read for a while, and it was nice to take a break from the genre. The cover looked pretty cool and who can miss out on such a diverse cast of main characters? I was not let down by any of it. City Spies was so fun and thrilling that I made up a joke to describe the ride to my friends. Joke below. Me: I should really get some sleep. Ten hours at least. Also me at three in the morning: OMG THIS BOOK IS SO EXCITING SLEEP IS OVERRATED Yeah. That pretty much sums up the awesomeness of this book. City Spies has characters from all around the world (France, Nepal, Brazil, Australia, and America) and I could not NOT read it. They all range in age as well - twelve to fifteen years old. The stakes are high - although not you're-dead-if-you-don't-do-this-right high - and I was absolutely thrilled ...

 Oh, look, Gambler's not purple after all. Lol, if you're a newcomer to my blog and this is the first post you see, don't worry, I'm not crazy. *maniac smile* I'm book-crazy. Anyway, The First continues the trail that The Last left off, starting with our five main characters on their sort-of-road-trip. I say road trip because that's the only way I can describe this. The First is just as good as its predecessor. We finally get some big, epic revelations *dramatic music builds up*, a dIsCoVeRy, and explanations to things that I had thought plot holes in the first book. Khara finally gets some backstory (EEEEEEEEEEE YAY AND IT IS SOME REAL AWESOME BACKSTORY TRUST ME) and I finally receive the reason why Renzo has joined them. For some reason I burst into hysterical laughter when I realized why, and my brother was just staring at me like o.O Tobble is still as cute as ever, but like Gambler says, he asks some big questions that need to be answered. Those questions a...

 OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH a new fantasy series to LOVE YAY! I've actually had this book for a few months (the signed first edition) and have loved it. I got the second one on Audible, and the third...well, it's coming out in March, which is so far away *sobs*. Buuuuut I have to review this one because I can't wait to go crazy over it. I had already heard of Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan, so I decided to give this book a chance (anyway, who can pass up a signed first edition? Have I already mentioned this?) and I was not disappointed. The Last, despite being a first book in a series, is brilliant. The worldbuilding is just *dramatic flourish* and so are the characters. Byx was a very interesting perspective, as I had expected a human's. It was enlightening to see the world from someone whose species is endangered, possibly extinct. The fact that the book opens with a quote from Silent Spring pretty much conveys the message it is trying to give - what are w...

Hello! I am now twelve years old and have been reading books for nine years *grins*. Aaaand of course I got this book for my birthday. I knew the author was getting better. And I was right. Serafina and the Splintered Heart is a wild, unexpected, exciting journey. This series probably isn't up there with The Green Ember and A Series of Unfortunate Events in my eyes, but it's still better than certain other books I've read. And I suppose that's all it needs. Seriously, just look at that gorgeous cover. It's the prettiest in the whole series. This isn't quite a Grand Finale, but it's definitely a finale. It's pretty hard to review this book because there's an author's note at the end, which says not to reveal certain elements of the stories, and those elements are central to the plot. All I want to say is that the story starts right where the other book stopped...and it doesn't. In Serafina's mind, it does, but in the real world, it doesn...

Hi! Some of you may remember my admittedly raging review about Serafina and the Black Cloak. It was a bit furious, I know. But I picked up the sequel, just to see if the writing would get better. I mean, I reasoned the author must be a newbie. Maybe he would improve in his next book. And Serafina and the Twisted Staff doesn't disappoint. It picks up two straight weeks later after Serafina defeats the Black Cloak, and takes us on another adventure with another object. Serafina and the Twisted Staff is infinitely better than its predecessor. The pacing of the plot is perfect, and I actually began to like Serafina as a character. I mean, she's still a bit special-snowflake-y, and sort of terrible when it comes to making decisions, but she grew as a character. I cared about her, which in the other book I didn't. She had actual development and a journey, and I really loved that. I wish the Twisted Staff had more story, because it's actually in the title. It just seemed to be...