DNF Review: The Architect of Song

The Architect of Song by A. G. Howard
Haunted Hearts Legacy #1
Publisher: Golden Orb Press
Release Date: August 15th, 2016
Source: Amazon
Date Read: 12/28/16 to 1/12/16
425 pages

Rating: DNF

A lady imprisoned by deafness, an architect imprisoned by his past, and a ghost imprisoned within the petals of a flower - intertwine in this love story that transcends life and death.

For most of her life, nineteen-year-old Juliet Emerline has subsisted – isolated by deafness – making hats in the solitude of her home. Now, she’s at risk to lose her sanctuary to Lord Nicolas Thornton, a twenty-seven-year-old mysterious and eccentric architect with designs on her humble estate. When she secretly witnesses him raging beside a grave, Juliet investigates, finding the name “Hawk” on the headstone and an unusual flower at the base. The moment Juliet touches the petals, a young English nobleman appears in ghostly form, singing a song only her deaf ears can hear. The ghost remembers nothing of his identity or death, other than the one name that haunts his afterlife: Thornton.

To avenge her ghostly companion and save her estate, Juliet pushes aside her fear of society and travels to Lord Thornton’s secluded holiday resort, posing as a hat maker in one of his boutiques. There, she finds herself questioning who to trust: the architect of flesh and bones who can relate to her through romantic gestures, heartfelt notes, and sensual touches … or the specter who serenades her with beautiful songs and ardent words, touching her mind and soul like no other man ever can. As sinister truths behind Lord Thornton’s interest in her estate and his tie to Hawk come to light, Juliet is lured into a web of secrets. But it’s too late for escape, and the tragic love taking seed in her heart will alter her silent world forever.

International and NYT bestselling author, A.G. Howard, brings her darkly magical and visual/visceral storytelling to Victorian England. The Architect of Song is the first installment in her lush and romantic Haunted Hearts Legacy series, a four book gothic saga following the generations of one family as - haunted by both literal and figurative ghosts - they search for self-acceptance, love, and happiness.

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Hello friends. Long time no see.

I'm starting 2017 with a book I did not finish, a book I had immense feelings over. Angry feelings. I just wish this book turned out differently, but sadly it just didn't end up working out.

You know how much I love The Mediator series by Meg Cabot? And see how this isn't YA, but rather shelved as NA? I was 100% looking forward to a NA version of my favorite series of all time. But like all naive readers, I shouldn't expect such things. As someone who loves reading about ghosts and the paranormal, this book just rubbed me the wrong way.

The book immediately starts off with Juliet's mother passing away. We then learn that not only is Juliet heartbroken, but she also is being pressured to sell her estate. To this guy called Thornton. Juliet is also deaf, and relies on reading lips in order to fit in with society. She can't hear anything until she encounters a handsome ghost named Hawke that only she can see, when she is in contact with this magical flower. Once this flower wilts (think Beauty and the Beast here), then she'll lose Hawke forever.

It really is set up to be great. Sigh.

Let’s be honest here, I was getting into this in the beginning. For someone who loved The Mediator, this is making me question whether I still do.

WARNING. Prepare yourself for some serious ranting. Which may or may not be grammatically correct. I do not care.

For one, there is a ghost. Two, only Juliet can see him. I was totally on board with it. Heck yeah I love ghosts and all things supernatural! But the romance took an overbearing turn, leading to a “I’m dead but you belong to me and I’m super jealous that you’re getting closer to this other guy”. DUDE, Hawk or whatever your name is, YOU ARE DEAD. DEAD. Unless by some miracle, by the end of this book, you live again, this is NOT okay! I really don’t blame Juliet here, for not holding on to your flower at times because she wants some peace and quiet.

I get it, you’re dead. This one woman means a lot to you because she can see you. But you (and really both of you) have to let it go. It won’t happen. LET HER GO. That’s true love okay?

Accurate gif of how I felt. Also, this is a great anime

I’m not sure why I have such strong feelings about it. I think it just hurt my head to see the main character tied down to someone who is dead. Someone who will be brooding in the background if she chooses another man over him. It just annoyed me to see how overprotected he was over her, even starting fights (with his somewhat ghostly powers) against others. I just don’t think I’m happy with the idea of this ghost having a say in Juliet's love life. And this makes me wonder whether this happened in The Mediator Series. A part of me doubts it, but I won’t know for sure until I reread the series.

I honestly have nothing else to say at the moment. This started out really strongly, until I became sick of the romance. I might change my mind about the book depending on whether I decide to pick it up again.

If I may ask, have you read this? Does it get better? How exactly does this "love" triangle play out, and did I decide too soon to DNF?

Double Reviews: *Insert Frustrated Noises Here*

Guess who finally read some 2016 releases that weren't, great? Me. Yes, it was bound to happen, but I guess I was hoping to avoid all the books I wouldn't like? But nope. It happened. And am I sad? Yes I am. But maybe I shouldn't have expected such a thing. Womp womp.

Enjoy my fun, ranty, negative reviews! Yay!

Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: February 9th, 2016
Source: Edelweiss
Date Read: 2/15/16 to 2/17/16
304 pages

Rating: ✰✰

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I am really surprised I finished Reign of Shadows. Honestly, I feel like it paled in comparison to all the other books I was reading, plus it mainly focused on the romance, which sure, was fine, but I am not a romantic person!

This was based off of Rapunzel, except Luna does not have super long hair that she uses to tie people up or swing onto things (haha). Actually, Luna is blind. Yet, she can still...do things like anyone else. She just uses her other senses a ton more. It was great to see a strong female main character who was blind, yet still held her own. However, though saying this, I found her ability to do things extremely unbelievable. Like, picking up a knife and chopping vegetables. I don't know HOW you can use your other senses to know where an inanimate object is, and use it to STAB other inanimate objects. There must be some sort of magic involved, because this is just so unbelievable.

And then. The romance. It was...a lot. And not for me. I just really didn't connect with any of the characters, I wasn't invested in the story much. This whole book was sadly "meh" for me, and other than above, I don't really have much to say.

Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: February 2nd, 2016

Source: Edelweiss

Date Read: DNF

420 pages

Rating: --

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I think all I can say about Assassin's Heart was that the writing was way too dense for me, and I couldn't handle it. I think I was expecting something like Assassin's Creed, but maybe this is a story that for me, only works in video games, where you are actually controlling the character. Because I do have to admit, your whole family being killed because of a sort of rivalry is the plot of Assassin's Creed II.

I didn't read enough to get into either Lea or Val, the whole reason why I requested the book in the first place (haha). Apparently, Val is a huge douchebag, or so I've heard (the character, not me!), and he's not great for Lea at all. But I don't think I got to that part.

I DNFed because at that point, Lea was hiding out in a church or whatever, and she was escaping with one of the Brothers to...somewhere. At that point, I was being hugely info-dumped, and I could not care less.

I do know that Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight liked this, so maybe you'll want to read her review!

DNF Review: Legacy of Kings

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: August 18th, 2015
Source: Book Expo America
Date Read: DNF
384 pages

Rating: --

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

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I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

For a historical fiction book that promised "fascinating details of real history", I got none of it. By 150 pages, which is about a quarter way through the book, I could no longer take it anymore. I was bored by the dry writing that was "tell and not show", and the characters failed to affect me in anyway.

Upon first hearing about Legacy of Kings, I became excited for the take on Ancient Macedonia and Ancient Mesopotamia. I was expecting a tale filled with action and politics. Unfortunately, what I got was a bunch of relationships, and perspectives of characters I didn't necessarily care about.

Jacob didn't need to be in this novel, I'm sure. Also, who is Zofia? Do I even remember reading about her? No.

Nevertheless, this is still a DNF, which kind of means that my opinion isn't entirely valid since I don't know what happens after page 150. Though I have read multiple reviews stating that it really doesn't get any better, which is why I'll be holding this off indefinitely.

DNF Review: The Witch Hunter

The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release Date: June 2nd, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Date Read: DNF
368 pages

Rating: --

Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

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Sigh. So apparently this is another one of those books that you either loathe entirely, or absolutely love. Sadly, I'm in the former group.

There are a lot of things that stopped me from continuing, the first being my expectations haha. No but seriously, here's the rundown.

The main character is, contradicting. In other words she doesn't live up to her description. In the beginning, she's described as the best witch hunter, yet the number of mistakes she makes is larger than I would have expected. Wouldn't an experienced hunter not have many of these problems? Also, how did she get so good in the first place? I know she was trained, but I'm just not convinced.

Everything happens in the first 15%. Let me tell you what happened in the first...what, 10 minutes of reading the novel (Ok maybe not 10 minutes but same thing). The MC, Elizabeth, kills a necromancer by accident, drowns her sorrows in ale and absinthe, gets questioned by two random, sketchy guys looking for someone (*cough* her *cough*), has witches herbs in her pocket which causes the Inquistor, her employer for YEARS, to accuse her of being a witch without a doubt...even though she's a witch hunter. Oh, and this happens because she assumes the King wants to sleep with her.

There are way too many generic characters, and I can't keep track of them all. And I also don't care about them. There's a lot of guy characters, and from what I've heard (not that I read this far), most of them are attracted to Elizabeth. Or at least like her a lot. So yeah, I'm just going to avoid all that. Nope.

I really wanted to LOVE The Witch Hunter, because I've seen SO MANY awesome reviews for it! But I don't know, I just ended up not liking the way it was going. It was way too unbelievable (Elizabeth gains MORE wanted status than the Most Wanted Man in the land. By having witch herbs. And escaping. I think that's A LITTLE too much there).

To be honest, I think I'm just going to leave the reading of this to someone else, and spoil myself later. BECAUSE THIS IS A RANT DNF REVIEW, please take my review as a grain of salt. Because I know this is a well loved book and plus I didn't even finish this. I'm a little black sheep here :)

DNF Review: Hold Me Like A Breath

Hold Me Like A Breath by Tiffany Schmidt
Publisher: Bloomsbury 
Release Date: May 19th, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Date Read: DNF
400 pages

Rating: --

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.

All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

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Look at that cover. Do you see that cover? Do you?

Now look at my face. Does it look like a happy face? No.

I tried reading this book, I tried. I ended up at around 35%, which is a lot to get through before finally deciding to just stop. I really needed to stop before I literally died of boredom.

Let's see here. Do you know what this book should actually be called? This should be renamed "Penelope's Platelet Counts". Want to know what that is? Well I'll give you the description so that you don't have to read this book. Basically, our MC here, Penelope, has a condition where her "platelets" are much, much lower than everyone else, so much that she bruises so easily and is very fragile and can't do anything for herself because a freakin' car door can bruise her hand. 

So what do we get here. Looking for an intense, thriller featuring THE BLACK MARKET and ORGANS? Then run far, far away from this book. What you'll get instead is Penelope's determination to always bring up her platelet counts, worrying about her platelet counts, and whether she can actually go places. And she can't. She's stuck with her posh family. 

Oh and yeah her brother dies in like the first 15%, and she still only cares about her platelet counts. IS THIS ALL YOU CARE ABOUT. 

I'm sure if I stuck around for longer I would've encountered something else other than platelet counts, but I highly doubt it. So I'm done. Done done done. Read this at your risk. I'm sorry for offending anyone for this review.

DNF Reviews: The Memory Key & At The Water's Edge

The Memory Key by Liana Liu
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 3rd, 2015
Source: Edelweiss
Date Read: DNF
368 pages

Rating: --

In a five-minutes-into-the-future world, a bereaved daughter must choose between losing memories of her mother to the haze of time and the reality-distorting, visceral pain of complete, perfect recall.


Lora Mint is determined not to forget.

Though her mother’s been dead for five years, Lora struggles to remember every detail about her—most importantly, the specific events that occurred the night she sped off in her car, never to return.

But in a world ravaged by Vergets disease, a viral form of Alzheimer’s, that isn’t easy. Usually Lora is aided by her memory key, a standard-issue chip embedded in her brain that preserves memories just the way a human brain would. Then a minor accident damages Lora’s key, and her memories go haywire. Suddenly Lora remembers a moment from the night of her mother’s disappearance that indicates her death was no accident. Can she trust these formerly forgotten memories? Or is her ability to remember every painful part of her past driving her slowly mad—burying the truth forever?

Lora’s longing for her lost mother and journey to patch up her broken memories is filled with authentic and poignant emotion. Her race to uncover the truth is a twisty ride. In the end, Liana Liu’s story will spark topical conversations about memory and privacy in a world that is reliant on increasingly invasive forms of technology

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DNFed at 30%

I wasn't going to review this at first, but then I thought, eh why not, I have another book to review so I might as well lump both of them together. This is also my third DNF since the start of my Goodreads account.

I requested this book because it had to do with memory. And Alzheimer's, but a viral disease. And I thought I would really like it, but no. I think the first warning sign was the typical community/futuristic setting. I'm sick and tired of that setting because there's never any world-building. And you have to assume everything.

Second, the writing style is tell not show, and imitates diary form. It's basically "This is what I did today and this is what I found out". Boring. 

Lastly, the mystery itself isn't intriguing. Main character Lora wants to find out what REALLY happened to her mother, especially since her memory key keeps bringing up memories of her. (Also what kind of name is Lora Mint hahaha). And I just wasn't invested in the story, the characters, and what's-his-name romantic interest, so a DNF it was.

At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

Publisher: Spiegel $ Grau

Release Date: March 31st, 2015

Source: Netgalley

Date Read: DNF

368 pages

Rating: --

In this new novel from the author of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding period pieces. At the Water’s Edge is a gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman’s personal awakening as she experiences the devastations of World War II in a Scottish Highlands village.

Madeline Hyde, a young socialite from Philadelphia, reluctantly follows her husband and their best friend to the tiny village of Drumnadrochit in search of a mythical monster—at the same time that a very real monster, Hitler, wages war against the Allied Forces. What Maddie discovers—about the larger world and about herself—through the unlikely friendships she develops with the villagers, opens her eyes not only to the dark forces that exist around her but to the beauty and surprising possibilities.

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There must be a coincidence because this is also 368 pages hahaha. 

DNFed at 25%.

The only reason I picked this up is because 1) It's Sara Gruen and I read her other book Water for Elephants, and I liked it. So I thought, hey this could be good! And 2) It takes place during WWII and you know how much of a sucker I am about those books.

And not only that, this is about the Loch Ness Monster. That is just cool on its own, and when I found that out in the book, I was more excited.

It could also be A SWIMMING ELEPHANT

Unfortunately, I was bored. BORED. 

Everything proceeded at a very slow pace, and I wasn't interested in the topic of parties, social events, and especially the little village they stayed in Scotland. I wanted more exciting events like finding Nessie, or at least trying to. I mean maybe it happened in the last 3/4's of the book, but I have a feeling that it doesn't because we're in the POV of Madeline. And she doesn't do anything. 

To be honest, I might pick this up again later in the year. It's just that right now I don't want to deal with it. I care about nothing.

DNF Review: The Winter People

The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Release Date: September 2nd, 2014
Source: e-book
Date Read: 8/14/14 to 8/25/14 (DNF)
320 Pages

Rating: --

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn't forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she'll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

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I'm just going to say this right off the bat; I honestly did not like this book. It was torture to get through half of it, and by 60%, I had enough. 

This is my first DNF review, so I have no idea how I will go about this. It'll most likely just be a rant of what made me stop reading.

Basically, this beautiful cover is a lie. It's misleading, and I have yet again fallen into the trap of requesting just based on cover. I know, I know, but hey! That blurb was really interesting too. And I was really excited to read this ARC, truth be told.

The story centers around a high school, Salome, who is deathly afraid of winter because she constantly hears voices. It also doesn't help that she almost drowned in a frozen lake when she was much, much younger. Though the truth is, which no one is willing to tell her for some unknown reason, is that her family line is cursed. By someone, or something.

I will try to keep this short. I promise.

There are two things about this book that wanted me to tear my hair out.

1. Everyone refuses to tell Salome about the curse. This means her grandmother, her mother, and her "boyfriends", who are probably not human. And the worse part is, they all make her believe that she is crazy. They make her see a psychiatrist, and they make her take drugs for it.

• AND NOT ONLY THAT. We later find out that the curse is responsible for the DEATHS OF OTHER 18 YEAR OLDS. Oh but no, no one will tell her this will happen. So she goes off wandering ON HER OWN into places she's not supposed to go into.
• THIS ISN'T EVEN HER FAULT, surprisingly. SHE NEVER KNEW

2. Her "boyfriends" are basically all the same person. I literally could not tell them apart. And apparently they all have beef with each other, and are all pinning or "protecting" Salome, but yet again, don't tell her what's going on. Or when it happens right in front of their eyes, they just come up with an excuse, and tell her she's mistaken.

This is why I did not finish the book. Even though I was already at 60%. I just couldn't go through with it because I was tired of seeing this poor girl being told over and over again that she's seeing and hearing things.

And the guys are annoying. And I don't care about them.

So that's enough from me. If I were to rate this book it would probably be a 1 star, but I'm leaving it N/A on my blog for now. 

Sorry about my rant! On another note, I hope you've been having an awesome day! Haha!