reviews – Page 5 – The Constellation of Moon

Warcross Review

Posted on November 19, 2017

Before I go into this review, I want to give some background which will help you understand my opinions. I have been gaming since Where is Carmen San Diego (insert 8-bit music) and programming/coding for around 15-20 years. And as part of my job I look at code and logs and software and find the problems so they can be fixed (and also apply fixes, depending on how it will take to fix it and how familiar I am with the system). So you can see where this is going and how the review will pan out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I love the hardcover with it’s colours (the Funko’s are lead ladies of two game franchises, Emily from Bioshock Infinite and Emily from Dishonored).

Warcross by Marie Lu

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

Rating:

I really found very interesting the concept of Warcross (the game). I am not sure how popular it’d be and how it’d pan out (as I know that VR is considered to be just a niche market and not to go as much as expected), but I’d totally give it a go and play and enjoy it. This appealed to my gamer side very very much.

Another thing I found interesting was the way poverty and being on the brink was described, it felt real (as I have been in struggles like that) and it was well done. And if we’re on well done bits, the team work and the diversity of the characters was good. I love the fact that the cast is diverse but it is subtle, they don’t stick out (for me, diversity has always been around and no one has ever stuck out so this is the best portrayal, were it is normal to be from wherever and look however you do).

And now the side I wasn’t too keen on. When Emika finds the first error with Hideo, I totally get it, the whole search for something out of the pattern. I do that, see things from afar and then zoom in. However, my problem is that unless Hideo coded every single bit of code for Warcross (which I doubt, as he has a company and he mentions having programmers or something of the kind), the code would not be smooth. Software is made by several programmers each with a different style of programming and as such, the code becomes a mash of different patterns and sometimes a pattern is broken by a fix added by a different person to someone else’s code. [Please excuse the teacher mode here]. So impressing Hideo with finding the errors so easily felt like a snowflake moment (and this was made even more snowflake after you realise there are other bounty hunters doing the same thing, why isn’t Hideo impressed as much by them, from Emika’s point of view the other bounty hunters totally hide from her and she doesn’t realise they are in the same boat until later).

The romance was also probably not my favourite part. It felt forced and I wasn’t really buying it. Which probably led me to figure out a lot of the plot twists and to have the Chekhov gun feeling for the “biggest twist”. I did guess easily who Zero was.

In the end, I did like the book but not enough to be super crazy about it. I read it expecting it to fail a little on the coding/hacking side, but that is normal after you’ve been involved in things too long.

I’d still read the next books as I am intrigued by “Zero” and the choices made and I’d recommend it for a relatively easy read. The writing was easy to read and it flowed so I didn’t feel like it was chopped or struggled with it.

Moon Recommends

As expected, I’d recommend Ready Player One because it is good. I’d also recommend watching Summer Wars, somehow it reminds me of this and probably reading Paprika (and watching the film) as they all have this interesting flavour on technology. Each one has a unique point of view of it, though probably Summer Wars is the closest to Warcross in a way.

If you’d like to read the book, you can find it here.

Disclaimer: There is an Amazon Associates link, but if you choose to use them and buy from them, know that you’re just helping me buy more books and feed my reading needs. Book synopsis is from Good Reads.

Book Review, Books

All The Crooked Saints

Posted on November 15, 2017

I came upon Maggie Stiefvater with the books Lament and Ballad, they were interesting and I decided to try Scorpio Races when it first came out, it didn’t have the same effect that the first two had had, so I didn’t go crazy about her books.

However, All The Crooked Saints popped up on my radar as it touches on Mexico and the culture of saints and miracles and a few other things, and as a Mexican I was curious to see how it would be portrayed.

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Here is a thing everyone wants: a miracle.
Here is a thing everyone fears: what it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

Rating:

Let me start with saying that this does not bother me about how Mexican culture is displayed. I did object to a “grammatical error” Daniel makes that was artistic license so that it could sound to what the author wanted. And in all honesty at times it was tiring to read the description of food and everything that made them very Mexican rather than American. It felt like it was necessary to make it stand out and I think the story didn’t need extra information to make it work.

On the other hand I was absolutely pleased with the central message of the book, even if it took some digging to get to it. It was interesting to see the Sorias and the pilgrims figure out how to get to their second miracle and get out of that stuck phase. And the family dynamics were also interesting to read, it felt very familiar to me, with all the hidden drama and just the way they were.

However, the pace was a little slow for me and I struggled for the first few chapters, until I finally got to where things start happening. So that’s why it has a 3 fox rating, it lacked the something to make it amazing but I liked it despite some issues.

Moon recommends

I don’t have any books in English I can recommend that are similar to this, but reading any good hispanic author works. Carlos Luis Zafón, Isabel Allende, Gabriel García Márquez, etc. Also, if you’re a fan of Maggie’s writing, do read this, it will be interesting. And if you are curious about this aspect of life and her writing, you can also read this, just don’t expect a fast paced story. This is a slow book with a lot of internal struggles rather than external action (there is some of that too).

If you’d like to read the book, you can find it here.

Book Review

The Last Namsara Review

Posted on November 11, 2017

This will be funny once you see the next post.

I went to one of Gollancz events about Fantasy in YA and managed to get my book signed which was really great and the talk was fun and it was awesome so I left wanting to read the book and I did.

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

Rating:

I enjoyed this more than I expected, I guess partly because I wasn’t sure what to expect. Usually I love books with dragons, except for Paolini’s books for reasons I won’t go into in this review, so I knew I would probably like this one.

I am also really into heroines that seem to have a life purpose that distances from others but they also long for a life, and with Asha, it broke my heart that she had to marry someone she didn’t want to marry (and it just was she didn’t want to marry, not that she had a secret love somewhere). It felt powerful.

The tiwsts of the story and how Asha clings to her previous beliefs then slowly the blinds are taken from her eyes and she starts seeing things in a different light, correcting the wrongs becomes so much more important. This was beautifully achieved and the character growth in this particular aspect was a delight to read.

I wasn’t too much into the romance mostly because it feels like it still has to grow but I assume it’ll be taken on on the book since it is only somewhat starting at the end of this book.

The way the slaves aren’t meant to even look at the draksor and can’t touch them was chilling and I just hope it is delved deepr into why it was chosen this way and what had driven the dragon queen to do such atrocities.

And I really liked the secondary/side characters, Asha’s brother, her cousin, the rest of the cast were very well developed (and also the villains, I love well developed villains with layers and motives and wow).

All in all a good fantasy book with dragons, stories and interesting characters. Definitely looking forward to the second one.

Moon recommends

If you like dragons and heroines, read The Last Namsara. As I read it, I couldn’t help but find a lot of similarities with The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, which actually at first put me off since it is such a beloved book for me, but the similarities are good and they are different enough that they are each a strong book on their own so my love for them doesn’t conflict.

PS. The book beneath The Last Namsara is Dragonology, I am also taking advantage of Krakow props like the dragon and the coaster because they have their own fire breathing dragon outside the castle.

Book Review

A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars Review

Posted on November 7, 2017

This gorgeous book (*swoon over the cover*) was part of Book Box Club’s Outlaws box, and it was actually signed by the author (no bookplate) plus it had a lovely yellow ribbon bookmark as part of the book (why won’t all books have one?).

A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars by Yaba Badoe

Fourteen-year-old Sante isn’t sure where she comes from, but she has a recurring dream of escaping a shipwreck in a sea chest as a baby with her lifelong companion, golden eagle Priss. In the chest was an African bamboo flute, a drum and a dagger inlaid with diamonds. Sante was found and raised by Mama Rose, leader of a nomadic group of misfits and gypsies. They travel around contemporary southern Europe, living off-grid and performing circus tricks for money. Sante grows up alongside two twins, knife-thrower Cat and snake-charmer Cobra, whom she is in love with. During a performance in Cadiz, Sante recognises two men from her dream. They come after her to retrieve the treasures from the sea chest. Sante finds out that she is an Ashanti princess, whose parents probably perished in the shipwreck. After Cat rescues a beautiful red-haired girl called Scarlett from a gang, Mama Rose’s band are forced to flee the city. But Sante and Cobra stay behind, determined to find out more about her family and where she came from.

Rating:

This book was really hard to review. The premise of the story is very interesting and it touches on prostitution, human trafficking and it is written by an author from Ghana/Britain, which gives it even more richness. And come on, it has a travelling circus and even a hawk! (Find the hawk in the picture)

However, the pacing was strange, it was very character driven but it wanted to be a plot driven book and with the plot it has, it should’ve moved faster than it actually did. Instead there is a lot of flashbacks, dreams, magic and a lot of musings that don’t move much, and they also don’t change the characters much.

I can say the book has a lot of potential and it required a bit of a tidy up regarding how the plot and writing flowed through the book.

I found the plot intriguing but didn’t particularly enjoy the writing or the book (but I loved listening to Yaba read the first chapter, it was so amazing! She should totally read audiobooks because that voice is a treasure).

Moon recommends

I don’t have many African reads that come to mind right now, though this was actually set in Spain, and I can’t think of many books I have read dealing with the topics in this one. The closest I can relate to is the game Alice Madness Returns which is technically a retelling of Alice in Wonderland+Through the Looking Glass. I guess this means I should go read more books, of course I shall comply!

If you’d like to buy this gorgeous book, you can find it here.

Book Review

Everless (Proof) Review

Posted on October 30, 2017

During YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention), I managed to get a proof copy of Everless (not the fancy one they are recently sending out and which I wish I had a copy of) by Sara Holland.

Everless
Picture by the delightful Nikki, idea by me.

Everless by Sara Holland

In the land of Sempera, time is extracted from blood and used as payment. Jules Ember and her father were once servants at Everless, the wealthy Gerling family’s estate, but were cast out after of a fateful accident a decade ago. Now, Jules’s father is reaching his last hour, and she will do anything to save him. Desperate to earn time, she arrives at the palace as it prepares for a royal wedding, ready to begin her search into childhood secrets that she once believed to be no more than myths. As she uncovers lost truths, Jules spirals deeper into a past she hardly recognizes, and faces an ancient and dangerous foe who threatens her future and the future of time itself.

Rating:

I should’ve posted this review sooner, but after I finished reading Everless, I was in a slump. I couldn’t make myself read another fantasy book that had anything similar to it because I’d compare it, and it was a struggle tofind a book to read.

When I got the copy of Everless, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, it sounded fun but light and I didn’t expect it to be a wow book. As seems to be the case, books I underestimate, blow me away.

The first few chapters introduce you to the world of Sempera, the Gerlings, blood iron, the myth of the Sorceress and the Alchemist, and of course Jules and her own world. It is a slightly slow introduction but it doesn’t feel too much like an info dump and I was glad for that.

Without spoiling anyone, I was quite pleased with all the sudden plot twists (the only one I could see miles away was the one regarding Liam) since they weren’t that predictable but they also weren’t illogical. I didn’t feel like the plot had been useless now that the twist was revealed. Instead it slowly fit like a good puzzle.

One other thing I really loved about this is that there is no insta romance, no crazy love triangles and any hints of romance are just that, hints. Romance doesn’t take main stage and it doesn’t fill in plot gaps (and if you take it away you don’t really loose anything plot wise).

So all in all, a good fantasy, with interesting concepts, refreshing story and ideas, no insta romance and love triangles, good plot twists. Worth the read. (The sad part is that the book hasn’t even come out yet and then add to that that I already want to read the next one!).

Moon recommends

You read this book then curl up in bed until the next one comes out because you need to know what happens next. Go watch In Time film with Justin Timberlake, it’s like it but also totally not like it, but somehow my mind linked them and it is a fun link. Read some high fantasy, or something unrelated. I started Warcross to cure my book hangover, but you can also read some Trudi Canavan (like Thief’s Magic) or Robin Hobb (like Assasin’s Apprentice)and you’d be in great magical territory.

If you’d like to pre-order/buy Everless, you can find it here.

Book Review

Six Of Crows Review

Posted on October 26, 2017

I had been reluctant to read this book after having read the Grisha trilogy. I did not like that. And I am still confused as to why they are called little Gregory, but that is just me knowing cultural bits of Russia (my little sister dreamed of marrying a Russian and moving there -don’t ask me why, we never really understood why- so she made sure we knew about the culture and the language, and you know, stuff… She does seem to have desisted of this venture, by the way).

Anyway, less family tales and more review, here it is.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

Rating:

I gave this book a chance because Nikki suggested I should and she loved it. So I did. I can thankfully say I don’t regret it.

The book is a big jump from the Grisha trilogy and it is better written and the plot is more refreshing, it is more unique and there are less cliches. The characters are quite varied and it is all in all interesting. Of course, I have a soft spot for Inej (the rest are okay).

Story wise, I was a little annoyed that most of the book is them getting ready or looking back and making the journey to the actual heist, which feels like a filler and I wanted more of the actual action. And then we get to the heist and there is so little of it, it feels rushed.

It gets three foxes because I felt for the characters and I found this “world” better than her previous trilogy (I know this is a duology). I did enjoy it but it didn’t leave such a mark on me that I’d give it the extra foxes, so 3 it is.

Moon recommends

To give this book a chance if you, like me, didn’t swoon (or anywhere near that) for the Grisha trilogy. It is not a bad book and that is a good thing. I am not entirely sure which other book to recommend alongside this one. I don’t have many heist books in my repertoire that come to mind and the only books that came to mind as I read this was the previous trilogy. However, now I need to read Crooked Kingdom and maybe then I may suggest something else.

In all fairness, I can think of Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell as an interesting read if you liked Six of Crows, or maybe if you are into grim dark (caution because this is grim and dark), Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (or anything by Mark Lawrence, you may enjoy Red Sister more, as it is a little less dark and grim). This second book is definitely all about anti-heroes, so make sure you know what you are getting into when you decide to read it.

~~Side Note: I did draw Inej for Inktober this year, so that tells you at least character wise there was a win for this book.~~

Book Review

Everything, Everything Review

Posted on October 18, 2017

I borrowed this book from a friend because the film was coming out and I had to have read the book before, but then didn’t give it much thought. I grabbed it because I felt I should read it and that was that.

Want to guess who finished it in one sitting?

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Rating:

At first glance and after finishing this, I was pretty happy with the book. It is an easy read with a lot of space and is basically a love story. It also filled me because I had just been mentioning a day before reading it that I wished there was a book that talked about living with photophobia/light sensitivity (which is not the same as being allergic to the world). So I was in a good point to read this at the time.

However, I saw the plot twist early on and part of me feels bad about how the illness was handled. I admit I struggled to understand why the mother had to be a doctor, and how they managed to have the airlock, and then why they had a nurse coming and going, all those comings and goings, and all the food Maddie was having.

Either way, I’d say that it could’ve done better representing illness but as a light read it was good and a little bit different than usual.

Moon recommends

This book is the light and fluffy version of Lies like Love by Louisa Reid. Somehow I managed to read Lies Like Love first which is why I probably guessed pretty much all the plot here (the one in Lies Like Love is a bit more dark and slightly different). If you are in it for the romance then stick to Everything, Everything.

Wrap-ups and Tags

Moon’s September Round-up

Posted on October 1, 2017

This is my first round-up but it is not the kind to summarise what I posted, but rather what didn’t make it into a post of their own but is still worth mentioning.

Thank you gift

Someone posted on Facebook about her mug being broken (a mug that had a Sarah J. Maas quote, exclusive to FairyLoot) and I said she could have mine. Thankfully for all her fans I am not a fan. I asked if she could pay shipping but gave the mug away for free. I am a weirdo that likes sending care packages to people so I ended up adding another exclusive Feyre mug and a book and I can’t remember what else. The box took a detour to Canada and finally arrived.

I did this without expecting anything in return so it was a lovely surprise to get this lovely gift. (Also, those Chocolade Kanjers are awesome).

Ninja Book Box giveaway

I don’t usually win things, but somehow I managed to win a set of bookmarks from Ninja Book Box. They are gorgeous.

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Booklepuff giveaway

Since I became so lucky I also won a small instagram giveaway done by Booklepuff.

Twitter giveaways

I ended opening a Twitter account to join #BooksBindUs (it’s Maja’s fault, entirely) and ended up winning a copy of Warcross from one of the giveaways. The funny bit is I also got that in a book box and then Marie Lu asked to donate to Puerto Rico and she was sending signed books to donators so I also got one of those. I wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something about Warcross… (it helps I am a gamer and a programmer/engineer).

I also started my own giveaway for a copy of After The Fire by Will Hill (what else would I giveaway, right?). I loved doing this so will probably do more giveaways soon enough.

Book Buddle

Book sleeves are awesome, but I had been quite unlucky in snagging the prints from the shops I wanted and always missed out. So I decided to find all possible ones, see prices and shipping and choose one. Book Buddle had a fox print I wanted so I asked if she (Jules) could make me one in the right size, and ended up being unable to choose between two fabrics and ordering 3 book sleeves.

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Of course, they are so gorgeous and perfect (those moons glow in the dark) that I checked if she could make a ‘book’ sleeve for Petunia. [Caveat: Petunia is my Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet I use for digital artwork, she is a bit petulant so the name came from that and she gives me heart attacks by deciding not to work, or the drivers aren’t right even if they actually are.] The sleeve for Petunia is also delightful and it has a little button to stop her from trying to escape. I cannot recommend Book Buddle enough.

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Other things to note

Merake Candles resupply, because Heather makes some of the best candles I know about.

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I managed to find a fox mug that was a cuteness overload and I had to buy it.

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I also got my hair dyed by Nikki and a different day she helped me learn how to make Yorkshire puddings and a good gravy. Being non British I am slowly mastering the art of a Sunday Roast. I can carve a chicken easily and my veggies are to die for, same as good roast potatoes, but I still forget to make gravy and had never made Yorkies. This was a huge success.

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Clipboard have been a part of my drawing life for quite long. I used to have a very battered very decorated one that had been with me since 2004-2005 but it got lost in one of my many moves. Finally I decided to find a replacement and decorate it. It has been loads of fun, experimenting around and I found out temporary tattoos work well on wood… who knew?

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Last but not least, if you have been following me before this blog was born, you will know who Knit Anele is (if you haven’t, just keep an eye out for the next edition of Meet the Character).

Anyway, when I created her, I always intended to make her superhero dress something in real life to be worn by myself. This had been put in the back burner for ages until this month when I got in contact with a dressmaker (I tried several but only one worked out). It was a lot of fun and we have chosen fabrics so I am very excited about this.

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Subscription Box Tally

So this month I got:

Book Box Club
FairyLoot
LeaferBox x2 in one box
Page Habit YA
Page Habit Fantasy
Spearcraft
LitCube
YumeTwins

I think this is all for the month of September. I am looking forward to October starting and the lovely things to come.

How was your month?