Month: May 2018

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi (Book Review)

Kat Impossible16 Comments

Publisher: Electric Monkey
Page Count: 448

CW: anxiety, panic attacks, transphobia, recollections of abuse, depression, mention of suicide

Restore Me is the continuation of the Shatter Me series (I once talked about it way, way back in the day and you can read that post here) and I got to read it with my very good friend Marie @Drizzle and Hurricane Books. Definitely stay on the lookout for her review in the near future!

When I first heard the announcement for the new additions to the series, I was both super excited and dreaded their release at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adored the original Shatter Me trilogy, but they were tied up nice enough for me. Obviously there was room for more to tell, but I was a little worried about whether the things to come were really necessary and afraid that they might change my feelings towards characters I love. I think Tahereh Mafi managed to truly create another plot element that made sense to the history of the characters and at least I wasn’t disappointed in that area.

I wish I could say this book was everything I had dreamed of, but that would be the overstatement of the year. It took me quite a while until I was really back in that world. Something about the writing style has changed and didn’t feel as enchanting and unique as it used to. I think that’s really a shame, because the writing style is what made the original trilogy so special to me and made me want to revisit it time and time again. Also, I felt myself being far more impatient with the characters than I used to be, annoyed at their utter lack of communication. They kept tiptoeing around each other, assuming things that sometimes weren’t even true or just plain exaggerating for … drama? I don’t even know.

As much as I just complained, it was nice to have the old gang back. Obviously, Kenji is still my most favourite person in the entire series (and I honestly don’t think that will ever change). At first, I struggled with Warner’s perspective a little bit, feeling quite detached from his narration style, but by the end, I think I often felt more with him than with Juliette. There are a lot of things that surface from his past and I just think that he was judged unfairly sometimes. Do I condone everything he did and feel like he shouldn’t suffer any repercussions? No. But the way he was brought up and plain had to survive sometimes, I just don’t think most of what he did was really news to anyone (except J apparently).

This book also introduced some new characters and I love, love, love one of them especially and am intrigued, to say the least, about the others. I don’t really want to talk about anyone by name just so you get to meet them all by yourself and can form your own opinion, but I have a weird trust for that person and hope they’ll continue to play an important role.

Overall, Restore Me was mostly an introduction of what these new books would be about. It was an incredibly fast read and interesting to see alternating chapters from Warner and Juliette’s POV. I didn’t find much of the plot surprising, but … maybe that’s just me? There was definitely A LOT happening without much happening at all at the same time. Again, it felt like a set-up for the future the majority of the time. There’s also a cruel cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned!

On a final side rant, I am really sad that the font for the paperback was changed. I do realise that they rereleased the entire series with Electric Monkey and changed the font for all the books, but why wasn’t it also available from the same publisher as the hardcover, that had the previously established font still? I will never understand certain decisions …

Fazit: 4/5 stars! Interesting continuation of one of my favourite series.

Have you read Restore Me? Do you want to? Have you read the original books in the Shatter Me series?

The Social Media Tag

Kat Impossible42 Comments

I hope you all know the different social media platforms I use for my blog and some of them also privately, but I am far from being an expert on those things. At times, I even find the whole thing extremely tiring, but when the lovely Beth @Reading Every Night tagged me to do the Social Media Tag, I was immediately intrigued. It’s such a great way to shine a light on some special bloggers out there. So, here we go!

RULES

  • Thank the person who tagged you.
  • Choose a blog or blogger per category and explain why you chose them.
  • Tag others to do this (up to you how many)

Instagram: A blog with a design you love

Aurora @Aurora Libralis has one of the softest and most beautiful designs for a blog I know. I always adore the aesthetics she chooses for her posts and that just makes them so pleasing to read! Not just that, but Aurora is also a lovely person and has really creative ideas, like character libraries and such.

Facebook: A blog with a friendly blogger

I kind of doubt that anyone would not pick Marie @Drizzle and Hurricane Books for this particular category!? She is one of the most dedicated people I know. She isn’t just active, responsive and engaging on her own blog, but she is EVERYWHERE on the blogosphere as a whole. I adore her not just as a blogger, but as a friend and confidant. I couldn’t even imagine life without her anymore and am so happy we were able to schedule some buddy reads this year.

Twitter: A blogger who could just write 140 characters and you would still love them

There’s a lot of people this description actually fits, because I love so many of the blogs that I read (even though I should probably be more engaged on some of them to show that love). However, my dear friend Marta @The Cursed Books has lately been on a semi-hiatus because of busy life and school work, so I am just happy to read whatever she is able to put out into the world.

YouTube: A blog that keeps you entertained

This is without a doubt Trang and Lashaan @BOOKIDOTE! I don’t know if there was ever a better blogging duo out there, but somehow they manage to keep creating amazing posts on different topics and because of that always have me coming back for more. They just really compliment each other in what they write about and a visit to their blog never gets dull!

Snapchat: A blogger who’s updates you can’t wait for

I always love checking out whatever review, tag or life update Michelle @The Writing Hufflepuff has in store for me. She has such an engaging way of being and writing that I just cannot wait to hear what she’s been up to. No matter what the topic is, I keep finding new things we have in common or at least feel inspired to check out afterwards. (Also, I kind of appreciate that she endures my constant Hogwarts Mystery updates/questions! haha)

Tumblr: A blog which is very diverse and has variety

Avery @Red Rocket Panda fits this category perfectly! He’s a diverse book blogger who doesn’t just post reviews, but writes posts on diversity and inclusion as well as about topics outside of the bookish world. I have to say I felt extremely honored to have played a tiny role in getting the idea for the “What’s on the Box” feature started and I hope there are more shows and the likes talked about soon.

Pinterest: A blog which is full of creativity and inspiration

The Orang-utan Librarian has been a blogging inspiration, and quite frankly idol, of mine for a while and I don’t think I need to explain for anyone who has been on their blog. They are not afraid to talk about controversial topics and keep going in depth with their reviews on books and shows, while also providing amazing insight in differences in style and such. I can never get enough of their posts and I feel emboldened to try different things as well.

I TAG THEE

I am going to follow into Beth’s footsteps and hereby tag all the people I’ve mentioned in the post. But if you feel like this is the right tag for you, CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED!

Did you agree with my choice of bloggers? Do you know them? (If not, what are you waiting for!? They are awesome!!!) Let’s chat in the comments below!

Sweetbitter: Book vs. TV Show

Kat Impossible19 Comments

As I’ve previously done comparisons of book-to-screen-adaptations for the likes of Still Star-Crossed and Famous in Love, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to talk about the book I just finished – Sweetbitter. The way this goes is pretty self-explanatory. I will talk about the shared plot and then compare the two. Here goes nothing!

General Plot

Tess was not happy with her life and ventures to New York City to pursue life. She doesn’t have a plan, she doesn’t have any kind of aspiration of what or who she wants to be, she simply wants experiences. Soon she finds herself in the midst of the tumultuos life as a backwaiter in a prestigious restaurant and all the drama that comes with being part of the staff.

Book

Sweetbitter

CW: excessive drug and alcohol consumption, sexism, racism, verbal/physical abuse, sexual harassment

I was first drawn to this book and story because when I was younger I used to be a server as well. Granted, I didn’t work in fancy restaurants but upscale hotels instead, still, the overall gist of things seemed similar enough to me. I had my first real job in that line of work when I was 15 and up to about 20% into the story (and aside from the heavy drugs), it really felt like an accurate representation of my daily life back then.

A lot of critics (for both the book and the show) didn’t understand that not everyone is looking for something bigger and better at all times. I get really defensive whenever I read stuff like that, because we need to get rid of the notion that there is anything wrong with working a job like that on the long run. Yes, it wasn’t the right thing for me personally. The plates were too hot, I couldn’t even relax when I was asleep because I constantly dreamed about messing up orders and running back and forth between the floor and kitchen, but overall I loved chatting with the guests. I loved making that connection with strangers and through that making their experience at our hotel a better one. Some people are content and actually happy to work as a server and consequently their way up the food chain in a restaurant or similar establishment and that is perfectly fine.

Having said that and really having appreciated that look behind the curtains of what life as a server (especially in training) can be like, that is where my love for this book ends. Tess is your typically lost 20-something pretty girl and that’s not to say that we don’t need stories like that either, but the way she went through life was infuriating. I am really not someone who gets judgy about whether people drink or don’t drink alcohol, but drugs … it was tough reading about that topic so nonchalantly. While Tess definitely has her low moments, the part of drugs or even so much as a consideration of stopping to take drugs is never addressed.

What bothered me the utmost about the book were all the toxic relationships though! I don’t think a single person ever said a tender thing to anyone aloud ever. They “joked” about how women were only good for cleaning and men were foolish if they ever believed a word a woman said. Bosses slept with employees for favours and even led them to mental breakdowns. But worst of all was Tess and Jake’s “relationship”. It was one of those where the girl obsesses over the super pretentious guy and he ignores her unless it suits him. He treated her terribly, brought her to tears on several occasions and even roughed her up during sex to a point where she had bruises all over her body. It was revealed that he was damaged by some events in the past, but that doesn’t excuse his behaviour!? And still, after everything, Tess just wanted to save him.

I got more and more furious as I read on and then there was this clear lack of structure or cohesion to the story overall. Again, I wouldn’t mind reading about someone wanting to make it in the service industry, but this was just a manic depiction of manipulative people and a young girl making the same mistakes over and over. Did she learn from them? I don’t even know.

Fazit: 1.5/5 stars! (click on the cover to get re-directed to Goodreads!)

TV Show

 

Usually when Starz has a new show, I get really excited. I hadn’t yet finished the book and thought this could be a really interesting show. Was it lacking in diversity from the looks of it? Definitely, but I was willing to give it a shot nonetheless.

It turned out that maybe I was a bit too overzealous? The running time for the episodes is barely half an hour and there are only 6 (?) episodes planned for the first season. With a slow paced story like this one, that seems a fairly odd choice. You barely get to tell anything or start a thought before the episode is already over again. If I were to make a mini-series of six episodes only, I would definitely make them longer. That is not to say that they don’t plan on more seasons in the future, but critics haven’t had too many good things to say and I don’t think ratings were all that great either so far …

Stephanie Danler, who wrote the book, was involved in the adaptation. She tried to make it accessible to non-readers and wasn’t afraid to change the narrative here and there, but I am not sure how much she really succeeded. I think an issue with the show is that she makes references to more or less important parts of the story that the viewer simply cannot understand, because it’s only mentioned in passing while it was fully described in the book.

To me there is just no time to explore the more sensual parts of the story because we are rushed through the experience with food and people and events all packed into such a short running time. Maybe it would work better if you binged the episodes, since it wouldn’t rip you out of the atmosphere every single time you just got used to what was happening?

Conclusion

I cannot really advocate for either of those two? I am sure there are people out there who appreciate the relatable and quite frankly mostly accurate portrayal of work as a server and just starting out in that industry. Whereas other shows and books mostly focus on what’s going on in the kitchen, it is nice to know there is content for what’s happening in the front of the house as well. If only they refined the show a little more …

Have you read or watched Sweetbitter? Do you have any thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments below!

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman/Jay Kristoff (Book Review)

Kat Impossible22 Comments

Publisher: Knopf Books
Page Count: 615

I may not always be up to date with all the latest book releases, but I really was looking forward to the finale to the Illuminae Files. I previously reviewed Illuminae (review here) and Gemina (review here) on the blog and even though I really struggle with talking about sequels, I could not pass up the chance to rave a little about this one. While there won’t be any spoilers for Obsidio, I do think it’s better if you have read the previous books in the series before continuing on.

I should probably start by saying that I was not one of the many people who hyped Illuminae. I enjoyed reading it, but it was really only during Gemina that I came fully on board with this series. Obviously the format is a lot of fun and the characters definitely grow on you over time, which makes Obsidio such an enjoyable conclusion to it all. Whereas the previous books mostly focused on one couple during the story and only lent cameo roles to the others, Obsidio truly brings it all together. In my opinion, it took away the spotlight from Asha and Rhys a little bit, but not enough to really make me mind since I was already invested in what the other characters were up to.

What I enjoyed most about reading Obsidio was the fact that you really get answers for all your questions. It adds another layer of depth to the characters (AIDAN is still my fave and I won’t back down on that – I have a soft spot for AIs), provides a lot of action, gives you the necessary conclusion, but still doesn’t close the door on this universe forever. It really was a wild roller coaster to read this book and I devoured it in one day, but sometimes I almost wished the stakes were higher or that the consequences were more devastating and lasting. That’s not to say that you won’t have a wide array of emotions coming your way while reading, but that tiny evil voice in the back of my mind just maybe expected even more cruelty (at least targeted towards the main characters). But if I ignore that tiny detail, and that’s really all it is, then it ended absolutely beautifully. I love when my series end as if they were tied up with a neat little bow, making sure I won’t have to worry about the people in it, even if I will always love reading more about their lives.

I realise this is a super short review, but books like this are always best experienced first hand. Just get ready for some hard hitting moral questions and a final adventure that really does the Illuminae Files justice.

Fazit: 4.5/5 stars! A very satisfying conclusion to the Illuminae Files!

Have you read Obsidio or other books in the series? Do you plan to? What are your thoughts?

The Milestones Write Tag

Kat Impossible37 Comments

I haven’t done one of my infamous Write Tags in while and I know that at least some of my fellow writers on the blogosphere like doing them quite a bit. So this is your opportunity to explore your characters a bit more in depth, as I will do with my current WIP by answering the questions about Milestones as well. I miss talking about Arcadia (in case you are new to the blog – welcome! All the infos on Arcadia can be found here), because it’s my baby and I still have so much story to tell, but I know that the updates have been scarce. I just want you to know that you have all been amazingly helpful with your lovely feedback and reactions on Twitter and Wattpad. It’s such a motivation for me and seeing the number of views go up to 700 made my heart sing. There’s more coming soon – I promise!

RULES

  • Thank the person who tagged you but also link back to the original post! (I want to see all your lovely answers, people!)
  • Provide a short description of your WIP/story!
    Kasia and Dyson have known each other their entire lives, their paths intertwining at every crossroad. So forgetting he ever existed doesn’t make any sense to Kasia and neither does finding out about the magical beings that took him away from her. Now, with the help of some allies with motives of their own, she will do everything she can to get him back, not knowing if either one of them will ever be the same after all is said and done.
    You can check out this post to find out more about Arcadia!
  • Don’t use just one character for all answers if possible! (We want to get to know as many of your characters as possible)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Can your Main Character (MC) remember their first day of school? Who was with them?

Kasia remembers her first day of school as if it had been yesterday. She was nervous as heck, because despite being an inquisitive child who loved to learn, she didn’t know what to expect of all the new people who were about to enter her life. Having been neighbors with Dyson’s family all her life, they went to school together and all her worries evaporated when Dyson confidently took her hand and walked right into school with her without even taking a look back at his parents or brothers.

Which one of your characters would be the first to buy a house or property? (because that’s part of adulting??)

Georgie? She kind of already has a house. Not sure if she paid money for it or if it there was some other kind of transaction though … because magic?

Does someone in your WIP own a pet?

NOT YET! Someone needs a dog. (And no, I am not counting the Claven as Dyson’s “pets” because they are a herd of calm yet mind-controlling beasts …)

What was your MCs first job and how did they feel about it?

While Kasia volunteered at her local library for years during school, her first paying job was a summer internship at her mother’s work. It was a very forgettable experience that mostly involved distributing mail, operating the copy machine and getting coffee for meetings.

Dyson’s first job was at the summer camp he and both his brothers visited each year. He was pretty pumped because he loved being around people and planning activities outdoors. To no one’s surprise at all, he soon became a favourite among the staff and kids.

Does your MC or another character want kids?

That conversation has definitely happened between my main couple and they would love to have kids someday in the future, with Kasia being especially in favour of adoption or fostering kids as well.

Name a song that reminds one of your characters of heartbreak in their life!

 

This song is one Robyn listens to a lot after Chapter 9 wishing things were different … (shout out to anyone who understands what I am referencing here!)

Has one of your characters lost someone close to them? How did they deal with it?

Findlay had to grow up without his parents, but being from the world he was from, he never quite knew if he lost them for good or if he might be able to see them again one day some way. He was a quiet kid until he got taken in by Georgie’s family and he felt at home with them. (There’s more to that story that I just don’t want to spoil.)

What is an achievement your MC is proud of?

Dyson is especially proud of graduating from university with a major in Archaeology because his family didn’t really think he would truly stick to that field or be able to make a living with it. Nonetheless, they all beamed at him with pride when he showed them his diploma and he never regretted following his passion since.

BONUS: Make an aesthetic for a special or memorable day in one of your character’s lives! (It’s up to you if you want to explain it or not!)

This probably won’t be in the book like ever, but if I ever write a companion novella or something like that for Arcadia, this would probably be the story. Although it might end differently than you think!

I TAG THEE

I hope you liked the tag and if you did, please, spread the word!!! People have so many amazing stories to tell and I hope this is a burst of motivation for all fellow writers.