Tag Archives: 3-stars

Review: Julie Anne Peters – Grl2Grl

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Grl2Grl
Julie Anne Peters

This is a collection of 10 short stories by Julie Anne Peters, one of my favourite queer authors. It covers a range of ‘first-date’ situations and getting over breakups of young lesbians.

Normally for a book of short stories I would be reviewing each one individually. But I don’t have the book here, and all of the stories are by the same author, so I’d pretty much be just giving you a synopsis of each one, and you can do that elsewhere on the internet.

I gave this book to my partner to read while we were on vacation. She didn’t get past the first story! And she suggested that since I hadn’t reviewed it yet, I should reread it. When I finally got down to reading it, one night when I just wanted something light to read, I opened it and was instantly disappointed.

The writing seemed stilted, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and there seemed to be too many extremes. Teen drama novels often go that way, but this wasn’t what I had expected from Peters. The first time I read it, I might have been a bit forgiving, but now that I’ve read a wider variety of queer fiction, this one isn’t anything special.

Am I just up to reading big girl lesbian fiction now? Will I never find another queer teenage fiction book to fall in love with? I don’t think so. I just think that the combination of short stories which I don’t like in the first place, and unfinished endings, which I like even less. Line me up for more ‘proper’ fiction please!

I’ll give this 3 stars, because it’s not awful, but it’s not anything particularly special either. Well worth stocking in a public or high school library.

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Review: Aimee Carter – Pawn

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Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1)
Aimee Carter

Kitty Doe has just been tested and found wanting. In a society where worth is dependant on one test, the number of stars you have makes a huge difference to your quality of like. Kitty has been given a three, and rather than resign herself to cleaning sewers, she chooses prostitution instead. Little does she know that she is going to become the next Lila Hart.

I picked this novel out to listen to, because the idea of complete face-lifts fascinated me. Then I kept listening because Kitty wanted to make me like her because she was ‘spunky’. Then I was half-way through the novel, and I’d become invested in her. But then the novel neared the end and the author lost me for the sheer repetitiveness of Kitty’s actions and issues.

I didn’t understand the picture on the front of the novel. Not that I spent too much time looking at it since it was an audio book. For a long while, until Kitty discovers that someone else has been masked, I didn’t even realise that the three marks on the back of her neck were Roman Numerals (there we go, I gave you a heads-up).

The exposure of the class system seems obvious to me, even as Kitty protests that ‘everyone is equal’. Breaking down the system that holds everyone in place seems dangerous, and it is dangerous. But Kitty is always consoled by the fact that she just has to protect Benji.

Oh Benji. You are so one-dimensional. And your relationship with Kitty is just as simple. You love her, she loves you, we kiss, we never do anything wrong. Ugh. Sickening. It’s all about them! Not anything else. Kitty seems selfish and entirely too self-reliant to ‘deserve’ someone as ‘pure’ as Benji.

At the beginning when I realised this was a series, I was quite excited that the adventures would continue after this novel. But at the conclusion, I was quite set on the idea that I didn’t want to read the next ones. Three stars – it’s readable, but you need to be tolerant of Romeo and Juliet love stories combined with a somewhat repetitive inner dialogue.

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Review: Kristin Cashore – Fire

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Fire
Kristin Cashore
Fire has an irresistible power against men. And some women. Her beauty attracts them, even as she controls their minds. Despite this power having been used negatively in the past, Fire is determined not to use it for evil – except that she needs to, to protect a royal family she is gradually getting attached to.
I felt like there could have been more ‘meat’ in this novel. Yes, it’s only a teenage fiction read, but still, it felt like there were superfluous things that could have been better filled with more of an epilogue and detailing other things (such as what Fire actually did in regards to pregnancy).
The end for Archer was too simple. I thought Fire’s reaction was completely overstated, and also inappropriate. She didn’t finish the job she had started! Not to mention she continued to act stupidly after escaping.
Fire’s philosophy of not wanting to hurt people is admirable. In fact, for me, I find it hard that she made the turning point so quickly and was able to use it to indirectly harm others. It’s strange thinking of her power as a muscle. It gets stronger as she practices with it, and she becomes more adept at carefully holding things.
There are some things that don’t become clear until later in the novel, although the truth of them are hinted during the novel. For me, this could have had more in it. Each thing wasn’t totally hinted at, and I felt some frustration that it took the characters so long to get to the point. I’m not sure whether I enjoyed the flash-back type text or not. It was important for Fire’s progression as a character, but its inclusion was not entirely seamless.
I didn’t make the connection between the ‘Leck’ in this book to the ‘Leck’ in Graceling. It makes sense, but I only got it because I had a quick look at other reviews to remind myself of character names.
I have read Graceling, and I believe I considered it a light read, and although I was enthused about it, obviously I wasn’t that entraced. I picked up Fire at the same time, but just never got around to reading it. At the time that I bought them, Bitterblue had just come out, and it was all the rage with other YA bloggers.

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Review: Shauna Reid – The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl

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The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl
Shauna Reid
Diet girl is too fat for the scales. No, really, so fat that even if she loses weight, she can’t see it on the bathroom scales at home. Instead she joins Weight Watchers, watches what she eats, begins to try exercise more, and get herself out into the wide world.
I read the blog on which this novel was based years ago, in 2012/13. I loved the blog, and I believe I may have reread it once or twice. When I saw that Shauna had a couple of copies to send away, that ignited my curiosity to read the actual novel. I found myself let-down by the novel. Yes, it was formatted more nicely, yes, it followed a neat, linear plot line, but no, it didn’t have the same immediacy and drive of the blog.
On to the story. Simply, this is a self-discovery novel about what you can gain from losing weight, but also understanding what triggers you have. For Shauna, it is depression that can derail her weightloss, and it’s not even her fault.
The funny anecdotes, such as those involving the Mothership and the early courting with Gareth, were the highlights as always. Everything I say is going to be comparing it to the blog, so there isn’t much I can actually say about this novel as a stand-alone.
Is this just another success story, which pretends to give sage advice about losing weight in a ploy to get you to buy it? No, it’s a true story that is inspiring all in its own way, while not actually dieting, only being more careful with your lifestyle.
If you love the allure of a paperback novel, and you don’t have the drive to read through the blogging archives, this would suit you to a T. If you don’t want the paperback copy though, I don’t think you need to buy a Kindle version – you might as well read the blog.

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Review: Leisa Rayven – Bad Romeo

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Bad Romeo
Leisa Rayven
Cassie Taylor and Ethan Holt met in acting school. Hit by blinding chemistry from the moment go, their romance is set to spark up!
I think I rooted for Ethan more than I did for Cassie. Cassie seemed like a total idiot. Ok, so I understand chemistry ok, but being a doormat? Just letting him up and away when he felt like it? And then at the end, letting him in?
The perspective flicks back and forth from the present to the past, which gives you a bit more insight into the characters. For me, I would have been happier with either the colledge part or the real life part in two chunks. It didn’t seem like every memory was relevant at the specific moment it was presented.
I think this is sort of piggybacking off the fame of Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey still. Dark menacing, mysterious guy ready to get a mess happening in the romantic, beautiful naive girl. Nothing new to see here folks, just move right along.
There were some sex scenes in this, and while some of them were laugh out loud stupid, others were more smokin’. For this, I’ll put it in the adult category, although the rest of the drama could happen anywhere. Oh! With that in mind, Cassie writes the weirdest diary entries. Going on and on about Ethan’s ‘manhood’, the orgasms she has with him? Come on man! Give me some proper action!
Finally, I felt so frustrated at the ending. I didn’t learn anything new, all I did was put up with the characters’ angst, which got old a long time back in reading it. At the end of the novel, there is an advertisement for ‘Broken Juliet’, which even the completionist in me doesn’t want to read.
Apparently this novel is fan fiction. I’m not sure what of? Of Shakespeare’s original works? It’s pretty hard not to plagiarise a romance like that in any novel! I received this novel as a surprise from a publisher in the mail! I sat down to read it almost immediately, but didn’t review it, as I was still recovering from the shock of disappointment. Unless you’re really really desperate to read something in this area, I’d tell you to keep looking until you find something more satisfying.

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Review: T. S. Chaudhry – The Queen of Sparta

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The Queen of Sparta
T.S. Chaudhry
This semi-historical novel attempts to capture the last times of the Spartans, and their Queen, Gorgo. The title is active in suggesting that Queen Gorgo is the guiding force and whispering spirit that causes all events to play out.
Was I enthralled and enraptured by this novel? No, I couldn’t say so. Did I enjoy it? To an extent yes. Anyone interested in history and the politics of ancient time would benefit from reading this novel. I think this novel failed in a way for me because I am only familiar in a roundabout manner of the roles of Romans, Spartans, Persians and Greeks in that time period.
Something that constantly bugged me about this novel was that I couldn’t keep the names straight. As my memory is pretty faulty when it comes to names in the first case, giving two characters a long name beginning with ‘P’ isn’t great. That being said, I happily read along, not really knowing which character was which, and just absorbing what was happening,
I would have liked some of the characters to be more fully realised. If I don’t have a clear image of someone in my head, I have difficulty emoting with them. That being said, I’m not sure that this novel was asking for a highly emotive response. Mostly it felt like a recantation of facts, partially obscured by the inclusion of a narrative guide.
What I enjoyed the most was the descriptions of how wars took place. The different approaches of each side, the particular weapons and the active trading of times were great.
3 stars from me. I don’t think I was enough of a target audience, as I feel that more preexisting knowledge would have helped in understanding the implications of each battle and interaction.

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Review: Shamim Sarif – I Can’t Think Straight

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I Can’t Think Straight
Shamim Sarif
Layla and Tala have nothing in common, except that neither woman knows what to do with her sexuality. In exploring each other, they find themselves alienating everyone else, especially their families.
This is a culture that I am not familiar with. There are certain communities and religions that do not accept homosexual behaviour, and an insight into it like this novel is valuable under any circumstances.
I can’t say that this was my most favourite book to read. I felt even like I was rereading a story I had seen before, and that I wasn’t getting much new out of it. I didn’t empathise with the protagonists, so that was where I was let down.
As it’s a queer novel, I can’t completely discount that it might be useful to someone else. I would suggest that people in a similar situation would benefit from the hindsight and limited retrospection of this novel to be able to take a step back.
Did I enjoy the novel? Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. The text itself wasn’t bad, it was all me – I couldn’t ‘get’ the characters in an intimate enough way to connect with this novel.
One final note, I find it hard to believe that they are soul mates. How do people know that? If you’re able to move on, talk to other lesbians, then maybe you weren’t meant to be in such a volatile environment when friends have to set you up!
This is a movie – which I haven’t seen, and I’m not sure I will aim to, unless it accidentally crosses my path.

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Review: Robin Murarka – Akin

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Akin
Robin Murarka
Aydan has dreams that are proscribed by his tribe. He is sentenced to torture for this, but is set to witnessing his ‘brother’ suffer instead, and so he is filled with conviction that he must escape. What follows is a long distance trip that witnesses the fall of an empire.
This novel is aimed at exploring the extremities of the human condition. While Ayden is living these things, the reader struggles to understand what is going on, and that is part of the appeal for some.
This is totally literary fiction. I think perhaps I had forgotten exactly what that meant. It means high flaunting ideas in a not that logical order, for this novel at least. The text is not accessible in my opinion, and I had difficulty getting through it.
However, this novel did awaken questions in me. Those kind of deep questions that only bother you at night after you’ve finished reading. And that haunt you for days afterwards. In that respect it could potentially be very valuable.
Can I recommend this novel? I don’t think I can, to people who like similar things to me. But if you want a piece of fiction that is going to take you WAY out of your comfort zone, then this could be a novel for you.If you’ve enjoyed the reviews of novels I have studied during my university career, I have no hesitation in recommending it for you.
I received this novel free in time for a review before the Book Expo Australia event, but didn’t get around to reviewing it until very recently. Although I am somewhat excited that this event is happening (happened), their website is really poorly laid out and appears devoid of content.

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Review: James Dashner – The Maze Runner

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James Dashner
The Maze Runner
Thomas wakes up with no memory to a place with it’s own language, it’s own hierarchy, and a puzzle that no one can work out.
The maze runner is really action packed and even a bit gruesome. The action particularly at the end reminds me of Lord of the Flies and Piggy’s death. The amount of cruelty in this society. I wonder why they only used males, plus I wondered about the fact a little community could come out of it. Also there’s the crude sexual humour that Teresa brings.
I don’t know how they would have made a screen version of this with the amount of violence. Also the Grievers sound horrific. That that said, this novel doesn’t have any character development at all, so I think its perfect for a movie and I can’t wait to see it. September 19th 2014 apparently is the release day for The Maze Runner.

I really didn’t get the thing of them being the smartest if they couldn’t work it out! They were just going to wait and die! No change of anything over two years seems stupid.

It didn’t click for me the names of some if the characters. That is a nice touch on the novel, suggesting it’s actually a dystopian fantasy. That said, it is a very unique world. It takes what seems to be a really specific concept and plays with it to its conclusion.
You want to know more about Tommy and Teresa. Tommy being the main character works, but there really isn’t any explanations of telepathy or anything else strange, which I’m hoping for in the next novel.
I was so frustrated when I was speeding towards the end, knew not enough had happened and flipped to the back cover, and low and behold, there was a sequel. NOOOOOOO! But this is a trilogy, which means there is so much more good reading for me.
I did actually really enjoy reading this and I was glad I was sent a review copy for free. It’s one of the more decent novels that teenage boys will be interested in.

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Review: Brian Caswell – Cruisin’

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Cruisin’
Brian Caswell
Jules and Suzi are stuck on a cruise ship for the old and almost-deceased. While Jules is chasing after the pretty girl, and Suzi is putting up with him, they develop a friendship that is going to change their lives in unexpected ways.
This is a very light read, in the lines of many Judy Blume novels.
Jules says at the very beginning of the novel that it’s likely to end up a love story. And in a perverse kind of way it is.
I liked Suzi, she was spunky, but had her own issues that meant that she wasn’t just the boring side kick. I could have heard more from her perceptive to be honest.
I had trouble getting into this story. The drama felt manufactured, and the bullying seemed extreme. Jules felt like a push over! Adrian didn’t seem so bad, but all of the characters were rather one dimensional much to my dismay.
It’s a nice idea, going on a cruise. I’ve never been on one. I wish there had been more details of the places they visited so that I could have lived vicariously through them.
I picked it up for a literal song at the local library as they were going out of stock. I’d heard good things about Brian Caswell. It’s not a reread for me, but it’s worth it for younger teens who want to get into reading (particularly guys).

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