This year I was invited to be a part of the Random Magic Tour. Celebrating and spreading the word about this very magical and very random book. I did 2 videos about the book. The first was a Book Review and the second was a Mystery Feature. Both of these videos are on my youtube channel bookswithdylan, and are shown below.
I was sent these books by the author Sasha Soren, and was thankful to receive them. However my review and my opinion on the book is completely honest and my own.
It was so awesome to be involved in this, and I hope you enjoy my videos!
Book Review: Random Magic by Sasha Soren
Mystery Feature: Christmas Cupcakes and Random Magic Reading
For more information about the tour, and to see the other booktubers on the December tour, watch the video below!
Written by Veronica Roth
Pages: 487
Published: May 2011
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopian, Romance
Goodreads Synopsis... In Beatrice Prior's
dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated
to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest),
Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful),
and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all
sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the
rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with
her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she
makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During
the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames
herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and
where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes
infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a
secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it
can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens
to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her
secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy
her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene
with the first book in the Divergent series--dystopian thrillers filled
with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning
consequences, and unexpected romance.
My Review...
Divergent is one of the most action packed, and fast paced books, Ive read in a long time. Things happen so quickly, you wont even have time to get to the edge of your seat.
The characters are described very well, and let you easily imagine what they would look like. The setting is very dystopian, and very dangerous. It adds to the pace, and makes strolls in the book, a little bit nerve racking. There are some world building holes, but theres 2 more books in the trilogy to fix that.
Some other problems I had with the book, was that it was really hard to like the main character sometimes. The writer made her into a very distinct and unusual person. And so it took some time to get to like her. However, this distinctness was sometimes lost, and the main character took on the usual, dystopian tough girl persona.
There were also some characters who were only skimmed over, and who we didnt get to see in depth, but have no fear, more books are near!
This was just such a fun and engaging book, it was so easy to read. And it was SO fast paced! I definitely recommend it to you.
5 out of 5!
If you have
read this book and want to discuss it with me, then watch the video below and
head to my YouTube page:bookswithdylan
Written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Pages: 563
Published: December 2009
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Goodreads Synopsis... There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything
My Review... Lets be simple about this. This book is so entertaining, its fun to read, and I finished it really quickly. However thats just because I love paranormal romance. I would suggest that if you dont love that genre, that you could skip this book if it pleases you. There is going to be a movie adaptation though, so that might sway you to read it.
First off, the things I didnt like: Ethan, the main male character, and narrator of the book. Was not really a male narrator. There was nothing about him, and his thoughts that distinguished him from other female narrators. He was too nice, too politically correct, too perfect. Plus he sometimes thought like a lil old granny.
Another thing I didnt like was that the story line was not really original. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl face challenge that could brake them up, but we all know it never will. I was expecting something different, or at least something with a new twist on the same story, and I didnt get it.
Those were the things I didnt like, the romance was a bit over the top at times, but I expected it because it is paranormal romance people.
The things I liked was the way the book just sucked me in, it was entertaining and captivating. I just really love me some paranormal romance!
So for that reason, Im giving this book a 4 out of 5. If you dont love the genre I would say take a point off my rating, and see it as 3 out of 5.
This book was fun, and interesting, but it lacked something new and different. I enjoyed reading it, but I doubt Ill pick it up again. However, I will be reading the next books in the series, maybe once this whole familiar plotline is done in teh first book, the authors will do something different in the next ones. I will be sure to let you know!
Written by
Stephenie Meyer Pages: 619 Published: May
2008 Genres:
Fantasy, Sci-fi, Romance, Paranormal
Goodreads
Synopsis… Melanie
Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy.
Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their
bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of
humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured,
she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has
been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a
human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories.
But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her
body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the
remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions
of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to
separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man
she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and
Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for
the man they both love.
My Review...
If you don’t
know what the Host is, then you will soon. The Host is written by the same
author as the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer. And it is being turned into a
blockbuster movie, set to come out worldwide in march next year.
Now before
you Twilight haters close this page angrily, asking why someone would dare
mention the word Twilight. The Host is so very different to Twilight. It is
first of all a Sci-fi, and not just any sci-fi. It has been labelled Sci-fi for
people who don’t really like Sci-fi.
The other
difference to Twilight is that the writing is SO much better. The messages
discussed are deep, and important for the world today. Many people, who said
they hated Twilight, also say that they love The Host. This might also be
because the target audience for the novel has changed, it is an adult novel.
Although the
novel is big with 600 pages, the content is unique and interesting. It was so
easy for me to read, and I couldn’t stop! But it wasn’t simply a light read, it
made me think, with themes sown effortlessly into the story. The Love triangle
was also very unique, and made it impossible for there to be instant love, or a
simple romance.
Get ready to
be surprised and delighted, if you decide to read this amazing book.
5 out of 5!
If you have
read this book and want to discuss it with me, then watch the video below and
head to my YouTube page: bookswithdylan
Book Talk: The Host
In the
Discussion video, I also talk about possible sequels to this book, and more
about the movie!
.jpg)
