Books – Page 29 – The Bookish Mutant

Goodreads Monday (9/2/19)-Starswept

Posted on September 2, 2019September 23, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Oooh, a new thing! Surprise, surprise!

Goodreads Monday is a fun, weekly meme created by Lauren’s Page Turners . I learned about it through A Little Haze Book Blog , so thank you to both of you! (Wonderful blogs, by the way, please check them both out)

It’s pretty simple: if you want to do this as well, just go through your Goodreads TBR list, pick a book, and explain why you want to read it. I figured it’d be a fun thing to try out, and a chance to…y’know…make the book-related portion of my blog more than just reviews. 😉

Without further ado, madelinetodd.com’s first Goodreads Monday!

GOODREADS MONDAY (9/2/19)–STARSWEPT by Mary Fan

Blurb from Goodreads:

Some melodies reach across the stars.

In 2157, the Adryil—an advanced race of telepathic humanoids—contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.

A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.

When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.

But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows.

So why do I want to read this?

Those who know me fairly well know that I’m eternally itching for a good sci-fi novel. At this point, I’ve had to let go of the fact that a good 80% of sci-fi aliens in YA are almost completely humanoid, so I’m willing to see if the execution of the Adryil is good or not. Hopefully the factor of their telepathy will make it better; that, at least, seems somewhat original.

What I’m really intrigued about, however, is the music aspect of this story. As both a sci-fi and music nerd, I’m excited to see both of these components woven together. It seems like it’ll be an atmospheric novel full of flowery prose, but you never know. Anyway, I haven’t been able to get my hands on it (I almost bought in on my Kindle a few months back, but along with everything else I had, it ended up being a bit too expensive with the others), I look forward to reading Starswept. 😉

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and stay tuned for another Book Review Tuesday tomorrow!

Books, Geeky Stuff, Holidays, Movies, Music

2018

Posted on December 31, 2018December 31, 2018 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Whew.

The past 2 or so years have both been dumpster fires, and that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Mostly 2016, but you know what I mean.

And this year?

Weeeell…I wouldn’t quite go so far to say that it was good, but it was less of a dumpster fire. You get my drift?

I’d be lying if I said that 2018 was easy. I had to face many daunting obstacles, make some difficult transitions, and come to terms with some truths about myself. But you know what? I managed to overcome those challenges, and I bet that you were able to do the same with yours. But if we look past all that we’d like to forget about this year, parts have been pretty awesome. I got to have so many new and wonderful experiences (Chicago, Sequoia National Park), discovered LOADS of new and spectacular books (some notable 2018 releases included Heart of Iron, Thunderhead, Honor Among Thieves, A Conspiracy of Stars, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik, and a few others), some amazing films (Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, The Crimes of Grindelwald, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Antman and the Wasp, and I haven’t seen Aquaman but I’ve heard that it’s great), incredible music (Lush, Twin Fantasy, etc.) and much more. Of course, we’ve had some not-so-great moments in those respects (The Light Between Worlds, Venom, etc.), but overall, it’s been alright. And regardless of what kind of year we had in 2018, we’ve got a lot to look forward to in 2019.

I saw a meme the other day that was kind of hopeful, however silly it was.

2019-will-be-a-great-year-because-2016-sucked-and-38762436.png — Fingers crossed.

And I’m really hoping that this will be the way things are. If it gets too bad, I’ll just remember that Dark Phoenix, Avengers: Endgame, Soul of Stars, Honor Bound, King of Scars, and An Anatomy of Beasts are in our futures. So let’s try to make 2019 the inverse of 2016, everyone. Make it good. 🙂

Books, Movies

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Movie review)

Posted on September 4, 2018 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey, everyone, and happy Labor Day!

Let me just start off by saying that I didn’t have the highest expectations for this movie. I read all three of the books in Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series earlier this year (not review, but well loved by yours truly), and I didn’t want the movie to drastically change from the book, as all too many YA adaptations have in recent years. (Looking at you, Love, Simon…fantastic book, but way too much changed between the book and the movie…😬) The trailer really didn’t do anything to ease my suspicions.

Then it came out a few weeks ago, and it seemed to be getting some positive reviews. About two weeks after its initial release, my mom and I decided to watch it on Netflix. And I’m happy to say that the movie adaptation of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before exceeded my expectations!

For the most part, I felt like they did a great job of staying true to the book. No unexplained characters that didn’t exist in the books, hardly any deviation from the plot, all the good things. They nailed all of the characters. No kidding. Nailed them.

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Let’s start off with Lara Jean. Her portrayal was spot-on, down to the little details. Not to mention, I loved all of those perfect lil outfits she put together. Absolutely adorable. A+, Netflix. Thank you.

Also, kind of unrelated but kind of not, throughout the movie, I had this feeling at the back of my head that I recognized her from somewhere else. It wasn’t until the end of the movie that I realized…

…JUBILEE!

She was so adorable! I wish we’d gotten more of her and all of her wonderful, neon 80’s-ness. Maybe we’ll see more of her in Dark Phoenix. Or maybe not. But I kinda want to see more of her. I mean, the only time we got to see her powers was in the deleted mall scene (which, by the way, is totally worth it to watch).

Now, back on topic.

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They TOTALLY NAILED Kitty. I mean, they captured all of her hysterical sass and charm. Oh, my goodness. I missed lil Kitty.

Overall, I liked Margot, though I felt like she was slightly more of a jerk than she was in the books. Also, I imaged her with a bob and straight-ish bangs. Kind of like a younger version of Jenny Han’s original author photo, come to think of it. Weird, I know, but that’s just my brain. Don’t judge me.

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I felt that Josh and Peter were also pretty spot-on, mostly how I imagined them in the books. Peter had always gotten on my nerves in the books (Really, Lara Jean? You chose him? Out of everyone? God…), and he got on my nerves in the movie, so…I guess that was a good sign? Kinda? 🤷‍♀️

Also, this might have just been me, but…did Peter and Josh look eerily alike? For the first twenty minutes, I had a bit of trouble distinguishing between the two of them…

Aaaaanyway, they pretty much nailed most everything. My only major problem was the ending.

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I…just don’t remember if it even happened in the book. And even if it was, it felt really forced. Like, no, this is not Lara Jean and Peter. This is over-the-top, corny, Hollywood chick-flick material. No. Stop. Just act normally. Please. Oog.

But as I said, overall, a great movie. I was happy to see that they’d done just enough justice to the original series, and it was an all-around, cute and feel-good movie. Perfect for Saturday afternoons and whatnot.

I hope you’ve had a good long weekend, and enjoy the rest of your day! I’ve got the first BRT of September 2018 coming up tomorrow, and I’ve got a couple more posts planned out for the near future. So stay tuned, everyone!

Books

Book Review Tuesday (6/12/18)-Honor Among Thieves

Posted on June 12, 2018 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey, everyone, and welcome to this week’s Book Review Tuesday!

I discovered this book (and a few other noteworthy ones which I might review later) on an article about YA book to read after watching Solo: A Star Wars Story. I later picked it up at the library, and…

MAN, THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST BOOK I’VE READ SINCE THUNDERHEAD. THUNDERHEAD. (If you want to see my review for that wonderful book, check out 2/20/18). Nearly solid 5 star rating. I rated it at about a 4.75 on Goodreads, which would probably end up at a 9.5 on my personal book-rating scale. Such a wonderful, clever, and original sci-fi book. *sniffles and further regrets getting this book at the library* Okay, here’s your review!

Honor Among Thieves

Over 100 years in the future, mankind has discovered that it is not alone in the universe. Many have come face to face with the Leviathan, but Zara Cole never thought she would. After her latest misconduct, Zara, a runaway and a criminal, thinks she has landed in rehab for the last time. But unexpectedly, she is chosen to become an Honor-a human chosen by the Leviathan to join them on their expeditions to travel to the farthest corners of the known universe. Glorified and glossed over by the media, Zara is initially supsicious of the program. She joins up with Beatriz, her fellow Honor, and Nadim, their partner Leviathan. But once their journey begins, they discover secrets about the Honor program that are best kept hidden…

OH MY GOD.

I absolutely adored Honor Among Thieves. I can completely understand why this was picked for the Solo article-not only is this partially reminiscent of Star Wars, but Zara Cole is very Han Solo-ish herself. Her development, along with that of the other main characters, was what I most enjoyed about this book. On top of that, the intricate world-building, the banter and connection between the three main characters, and much more (including a BEAUTIFUL illustration at the front of the book *swoons*) made for a spectacular book.

On Goodreads it says that this is #1 in a series, but I’ve found no information about the sequel and when it comes out. This book came out in February 2018, so that means I’ll have to wait a year or two for the next installment to come out…

That, and the sequel to Defy the Worlds, the next Arc of a Scythe book…

Ah, such is the tragic life of a bibliophile.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the review! Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Books

The Madeline Todd Book-Rating Method

Posted on October 9, 2015 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Yes…this was necessary….

Here are some examples for each number on the scale:

Luckily, I haven’t read any books that were THIS bad
I haven’t read any books this bad either (not to worry, I have examples for all of the other ones!)
I’m pretty sure it was either The Pembertons or The Pembrooks or something like that. Basically, the part I read (I stopped reading because of the sheer boringness of it all) was just stuff like “oh, the dog puked”, “we’re on a really long car trip” or “oh, we’ve just arrived at an old, dusty house. Wheee.”
This one was a book I read recently. It was called Crystal Doors. It seemed really cool, but it was NOT! The characters had virtually no personality WHATSOEVER. (And don’t get me started on those cheesy “magic” names…)
We had to read this book for school. It was called The Ancient One. Like Crystal Doors, it seemed really promising. But it just lacked excitement. Even in the supposedly “intense” climax, I just heard *cricket chirp* *cricket chirp* . But at least it had an interesting plot. I like the author’s connection to nature.
There are SO many books that fall in this category, but I’ll just choose one. How about…The Time Cat? It was certainly not the best book, but I liked it enough to keep it and display it on my bookshelf.
A lot of books fall into this category (same with #8) but I’ll go with the Unwanteds series. Really good! (Alex, I can hear you saying SQUEE!) It was just amazing, and I can’t wait to read the new one
For this, I’ll choose Harry Potter. Yes, Max, I actually did this. Super good. I mean it. Super good.
For me, there are only two books (series) that fall in this category. The one I chose to show was the Search for WondLa series. SO GOOD with a capital S (and G, for that matter) The moment I laid eyes on it (it was at the back of Sunwing, which I’ll rate a 7. Thanks, Sunwing!) I just thought, I have to read this! I do not regret my decision. At all.
Only one series falls into this category…I bet you can guess what it is…Drumroll, please…THE FAMILIARS!!!!!! BEST SERIES EVER! LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE!

Hehe…this post just goes to show how much of a bookworm I am. 😋