About Fabiola: Update

I am extremely excited to inform you all that little sister, Fabiola, has finally begun to read chapter books! She told me about this just the other day and she was over the moon. She has always been a fast learner, always eager to go to school and do work (which seems like a difficult thing for me to wrap my head around because who would ever want to go to school and learn). She was so excited at the prospect of finally being able to read books like me that she begged to start a review immediately after finishing her first book. 

Unsurprisingly, I was so glad to have her review books, and longer ones, too, because as you all know I am constantly falling behind on my reviews and, hopefully, with Fabiola's help I should be able to catch up quickly and maybe even get ahead. I can't wait for you all to see her first proper review, which will be published next week. Hopefully you guys think its as amazing as I think it is – she really did work incredibly hard and I am so proud. 

Stay positive and keep reading! (And maybe try to encourage your little siblings – or older ones – to read more too!)

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi

“‘I have a curse. I have a gift. I’m a monster. I’m more than human. My touch is lethal. My touch is power. I am their weapon.’ A fragile teenage girl is held captive. Locked in a cell by The Reestablishment, a harsh dictatorship in charge of a crumbling world. But Juliette is no ordinary teenager – one touch from her can kill. The Reestablishment wants to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has other plans. After a lifetime without freedom, she’s finally discovered the strength to fight back – and to find a future with the one person she thought she’d lost forever…”

What is the book about?

Juliette has been held captive for a little less than a year. She has been trapped in a mental asylum by The Reestablishment, a terrible dictatorship given the power to take charge of the world. The people elected them because they believed that The Reestablishment would help their crumbling world and stop them from starving to death. However, they soon realised that The Reestablishment was just full of empty promises and life today is just bad, if not worse. Now, The Reestablishment wants to use Juliette, for she is not an ordinary teenager – one touch from her can kill. Juliette will never allow herself to become a weapon and, after a lifetime without any freedom or chance at a happy normal life, she has finally decided to fight back and she is never going to allow herself to succumb to those empty feelings ever again. She now has the strength to fight her battle and she is not going to allow anyone to take away the future that she may have with the one person she thought she had lost forever. She is ready to take back her life and save herself from destruction. 

What were your initial thoughts on the book?

I spotted the Shatter Me books a long time ago as I was scrolling through Pinterest and I was so captivated by the gorgeous matching covers and titles that I knew that I needed to read them. As soon as I read the blurb of the first book, I fell in love with them and so I bought them all as quickly as I could. However, I kept them on my shelf for almost a year, just staring at me, begging me to read them. Finally, I picked up Shatter Me and started to read and I soon realised that I made a huge mistake by waiting so long to read them. The first sentence of the first page was more than enough to make me the most curious person in existence and, after reading only a few chapters, I became so desperate to read and read and read in order to gather all the answers I could. Soon, I was reaching the end, but I still had tons of questions that needed to be answered and I was already reaching for the second book as soon as I closed the cover of Shatter Me. I am so glad that I bought the books and I was right from the very beginning – this was definitely the book for me. 

Who was your favourite character and why? 

My favourite character was definitely Juliette because of many reasons. Firstly, she was smart, sweet and a little stubborn, which combined made her incredibly perseverant and determined. She was not going to let Warner convince her to let go of her last bit of humanity and join him because she was so good and kind that she would never want that for herself and she wasn’t going to change her mind ever. Secondly, she had the power to kill anyone she wanted with just the slightest touched, but she determined to never use it to her advantage, even though anyone else in her position would have used it. She tried so hard to not use it and to resist the temptation and I admired her so much for this. She accepted the fact that she was never going to feel human touch ever again, but she didn’t mind because that meant that she would never hurt anyone ever again. Lastly, I really liked Juliette because, although she believed herself worthless and that she was a monster, she never let those thoughts possess her and she never allowed herself to go mad. She resisted the temptation to give in to those thoughts that plagued her day and night and because of that she was able to flourish outside the mental asylum, while anyone else in there wouldn’t have. Juliette was an inspiring character and I really liked her. 

What was your favourite part of the book and why?

My favourite part of the book was the ending where Juliette found out that maybe she wasn't a monster and there was hope for her. I can't say exactly what happened because I don't want to ruin the book for anyone who would like to read it, but I can explain roughly what it was that I loved. Throughout the whole book, Juliette her believe that she was worthless and that she was a monster and there was no place for her in the human world because no one would ever want her or want to be with her. But, at this part, she saw that maybe there was something worth living for and that maybe her curse could be a gift used for good. She believed that maybe she didn't have to live in constant fear of causing someone pain because there could be a chance that maybe she could live with her power; that she could live happily. For once, in the whole book, she had hope that something good could happen for her and that maybe she wasn't what she always believe she was. I absolutely loved this part because I saw that Juliette had hope, which is one of the strongest feelings anyone can ever have, and I was so excited to be able to see what would happen for her in the next book. 

What was your overall impression of the book?

Overall, Shatter Me was the perfect book. One thing that I absolutely loved about the book was the intentional strikethroughs and repetition.  I thought that the use of them was absolutely incredible and that it showed how amazing the writer was as she managed to think up this incredible idea to illustrate Juliette scrambled mind.  I loved how this all changed as Juliette evolved and how it showed that the story was changing and that her life was changing – it was truly amazing. Another thing that I loved about the book was the plot because it was just like all the books that I have come to love. It was exactly my type:  romance, adventure, strong heroines and life or death situations.  I felt so at home reading it as it was a safe, comfortable and interesting book; I loved reading it. One last thing I loved about the book was the character development in Juliette, which was clearly shown in the decrease of strikethroughs and the slowed repetition.  I barely noticed this gradual change until I was reaching the end and suddenly Juliette was claiming that maybe there was hope. Then, I realised that she had changed and that she had become a better person with more hope than she had had before.  It was incredible how I had barely noticed change and it showed me just have incredible her character development have been. Shatter Me was an incredible book and I am so excited to continue my adventure with Unravel Me, the second book in the series. 

Would you recommend this book?  

I would definitely recommend reading Shatter Me, especially if you are over 15 and are looking for a book filled with action, romance and fantasy. I believe this is a perfect book for any teen hoping for an interesting read. 

Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)  

An incredible, action-packed novel about a girl with the power to destroy lives using only her bare hands.

Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego

OUR VIOLENT ENDS by Chloe Gong (My True Thoughts)

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS OR OUR VIOLENT ENDS - IT CONTAINS SPOILERS. (Please read them - you won't regret it!)

I know that a lot of you have probably already seen that I have reviewed his book already and are confused to see the title coming up again, but if you were truly paying attention to my review Our Violent Ends, then you probably know what this is going to be about. I wasn't truly honest to you guys when writing the review because I avoided mention the one thing that is most important in a book: the ending. 

I didn't write my thoughts on the ending in the real review because of two reasons: one, I didn't want to spoil it for you guys because the series is a truly incredible read, and two, I wasn't ready. Now that I have processed what happened, after a literal week of not being able to read or think about anything else, I am ready to talk. 

The closest I got to the end, the more I filled with dread. I knew it was coming but I wasn't ready. I was filled with so much hope that Roma and Juliette would defy their fate, a face which was written in the stars (or literally written by Shakespeare). I tried so hard to convince myself that the ending wasn't going to be the same as the real Romeo and Juliet because it was a retelling and and this author wasn't going to want to write the same story. However, after talking to my sister about the book, she told me to snap back into reality and face the facts: Our Violent Ends was going to end exactly the same way as the play written by Shakespeare, which it was undeniably based on. 

As I read the last few pages, it felt like those last two chapters were longer than the whole two books put together. I was gripping the book so tightly, that I had it imprinted on my hands when I finally let it go. I was staring at the words so hard, that my eyes hurt when I finished reading. It was not the ending that I wanted. I wanted Roma and Juliette to be able to have a proper life, a happy life with children, a family and I wanted to have them living in a city where there was no longer a rivalry dividing them. It didn't matter what I wanted, for the ending with out of my hands. I just had to sit there and read, completely powerless, as the two characters were taken from me. 

The worst part was that I didn't get the other character's immediate reaction to what had happened and I simply got an epilogue a year later with only Alisa's view. And all they got was a grave with the wrong names engraved. 

I hated it so much and when I finished I just wanted to scream and throw the book across the room. Roma and Juliette were worth so much more than that and they defied so many things to get to where they were and they had to be defeated at their own hands. I know that they died together and they died happy, knowing that they were able to defeat one last monster before they left, but Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov were supposed to be powerful and undefeatable, especially together, and they shouldn't have died. They should have gotten their happy ending after everything they went through. 

The epilogue was also completely pointless. I know that its purpose was to give the readers closure, but for me everything was wrong. Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai were supposed to be unstoppable and eternal, but they were dead. Something else that felt completely out of place was that Benedikt and Marshall just left the city, after everything Roma and Juliette did to try and save the city. They just abandoned it, leaving behind Benedikt's only remaining relative. I know that they went to pursue their own happy ending, but I felt like they wouldn't actually leave and it just felt completely out of place and not all like them. I know that their plan was to leave, but that was with Roma and Juliette, not without them.

I am so glad that I finally got these feelings off my chest and I think it's finally time for me to set aside the book and move on with my life. At least, until I can get someone to read the book so that they can listen to my endless ranting about it. 

If you have read the book and you feel the same way, then please leave a comment so at least I know that someone out there agrees with me. And if you have a different opinion then I'm also glad to have someone to argue with because I have kept this bottled up for far too long.

Keep reading and stay strong for there are a lot more unhappy endings to look forward to.

OUR VIOLENT ENDS by Chloe Gong

“The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution. Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to protect Roma, and herself, is to let the boy she loves believe she murdered his best friend in cold blood. Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma blames himself for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right – even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure. Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city. Shanghai is at boiling point: the Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war are brewing, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.”

What is the book about?

It is now 1927 and Shanghai is not only being torn apart by a blood feud between two rival gangs, but also so by an inevitable revolution. Juliette has always been a girl going down one straight path – a warpath, obliterating anything and everything that gets in her way, determined to do everything she possibly could to continue to be in her father's good gracious. This is because if she makes one wrong move her cousin will take her place as a Scarlet Gang’s games heir and she will die before she lets that happen. So now, the only way to continue down that path is to let the boy she loves believe that she murdered by one of his best friends and that she never loved him. Roma is still fuming from watching Juliette kill Marshall, but he has no one to blame but himself. It doesn't help that his cousin Benedikt is barely speaking to him and also blames him for what happened. Roma is determined to set things right, even if that means killing the girl he loves and hates equally, but that is easier said than done because, even now, he still cannot pick up a gun and shoot her. On top of all this romance and personal drama, there are five new monsters and their puppeteer is not going to stop terrorising Roma and Juliette's people. And if that was enough, Shanghai is on the brink of a revolution: the Nationalists are marching in, aiming to take over and the Communists are leading the workers to do the same. Once again, Roma and Juliette must join forces destroy their common enemy. But monsters and politics are not all that they face; they must also protect themselves from their hearts and they're undeniable feelings for each other, which no matter what they do to each other they can't seem to shake away.

What were your initial thoughts on the book?

After finishing the first book in the duology (These Violent Delights), I was left on a cliff-hanger and so I immediately wanted to grab the next book and pick up where I left off. I really wanted to find out what was going to happen next and I had no doubt that Our Violent Ends was going to be as beautifully well written as the previous book. I read the blurb and was even more intrigued and was ready to dive right in; except for the one thought that kept circling through my mind; that Our Violent Ends would end exactly like the real story of Romeo and Juliet. I was terrified to start reading, but I just couldn't leave it alone and had to pick up the book and begin. It started off really quickly, which was much better than These Violent Delights, which had been quite slow, and so soon was racing through the book reaching the dreaded ending not wanting to turn the next page, but also not being able to resist.

Who was your favourite character and why? 

My favourite character has probably got to be once again Kathleen, or Celia, however you want to call her. There was a change in her in this book, which didn't surprise me at all because I knew from the very beginning of the very first book that there was something about her that wasn't quite right and that if she ever decided to leave the comforts of the Scarlet Gang, she would probably end up doing something incredible. She was so brave and smart and she wasn't afraid to stand up for the people in her city. Even though Juliette was also brave and smart and wasn't going to stand down from her cause, even if the whole world was against it, she was also stubborn and prone to running straight into danger without thinking about her safety. However, Celia was different – she would be calm and calculate a good plan before running into danger, because she was kind-hearted and didn't want to harm anyone unless it was truly necessary, including the enemy. She was probably too kind-hearted for the world she was born into, probably even for our world because we all know that the world we live in is a place where, unless you are prepared to do absolutely anything for your cause, to be ruthless, mean and dishonourable, then there is no place for you up top. However, Celia did not let that get to her and she was determined to do everything she could to make her city safe and happy again because she did not want to see anyone in pain. She was a true inspiration and it's quite disappointing that I'm never going to be able to read another story about her, unless I re-read the duology. 

What was your favourite part of the book and why?

This was also an easy decision to make and I think that my favourite part of Our Violent Ends was when Roma and Juliette were at the safe house and finally had a conversation that they should have had ages before. I really enjoyed this part because it kind of made me feel like hope was not lost, and it raised my spirits a lot, because it showed me that even after everything that they had been through, Roma and Juliette never lost sight of their feelings for each other and what was most important – keeping each other, and those they loved, safe. I know it didn't change anything and the situation was still as complicated as ever, but it showed me that, even though there's little hope of them ever being able to be together without someone or something trying to kill them, they still had to try and not give up even the tiniest hope they had for a better future. The parts that followed this were a mix of happy scenes that give me hope and scenes where I just wanted to throw the book out the window and not pick it up again in the hopes that things wouldn’t get any worse than they already were. But every time things got bad, I just thought this one part and the part that I really enjoyed in These Violent Delights and they made me realise that even if things ended as I dreaded, at least, deep down, they both knew that they cared for each other and nothing was going to change that.

What was your overall impression of the book?

Overall, Our Violent Ends was an incredibly written novel, and I found that I really enjoyed reading it. One thing that I absolutely loved was the enemies to lovers romance and, to be honest, any book that includes this will probably (if it's well written) become one of my favourites. It is just so entertaining and intriguing to watch how two people can go from feeling absolute hatred for each other and then they can have such a passionate love that you don't even think that something like that could be possible. I know that technically it's all just a story, so it's not possible, but try telling a reader that a story she reads isn't possible and isn't true because to me every single book that I have read lives within me and is so real that no one could possibly make me believe that the book I read was just words on paper and not real. Another thing that I really loved was the character development of Kathleen (AKA Celia). Kathleen was my favourite character in the first book, but there was something about her that just made me think that she was going to play an important role in the next book, and I was right. I loved seeing how she finally accepted that the role that she had been playing as Kathleen was not the real her and, when she took the step into becoming her true self, then she truly became my absolute favourite character. This character development was incredibly well-written and, now that I think about it, the transition was just so well written that I barely realised she had changed until she changed her name and fit it so nicely. It wasn't directly written, but it was clearly implied, and at one point in the story she's just switched and I loved it. Our Violent Ends was a great book and, although it is sad to see the characters go, I just can't wait to see if Chloe Gong writes anything else and I will definitely be ready to pre-order it.  

Which is your favourite book in the These Violent Delights series? (1 or 2)

Even after strong consideration of both books and writing a pros and cons list for each of them, I still cannot decide whether or not I like These Violent Delights or Our Violent Ends more. One thing that made Our Violent Ends stand out to me more was how it started much quicker and there wasn't even a single moment where I felt bored or like I wasn't going to enjoy it; I was hooked from the very first word that I read. In contrast, These Violent Delights was very slow to start and, at one point, I felt like there is no point in reading the book because I was going to find it boring and clearly wasn't going to enjoy it, though now I am glad I gave it a chance. One thing, however, that made me think These Violent Delights was the better book was the fact that the plot felt a lot better. There wasn't anything specifically wrong with the plot of Our Violent Ends but one thing that just made me feel like something was just not exactly how it should be was that it almost felt like the author has just come up with a bunch of different new ideas and shove them into a second book just to make the second book longer and better, whereas I actually now feel at the first book was better. There wasn't much sequel syndrome, which was really good and I do think that the author did write an incredibly amazing sequel; however so much happened in the second book that it almost overshadowed the most important parts, which to me were Roma and Juliette’s romance. One last thing that I feel both books did incredibly well was enhance the enemies to lovers romance. Absolutely loved how they didn't just go enemies to lovers in the first book they went enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers (you get the idea) throughout both books and that bouncing back and forth made the whole series so much more interesting and every time Roma and Juliette were together it was truly incredible. I don’t know which of the two books I liked the best, but, either way, this series has been an absolute delight to read and I am just sad that I still feel like I need more.

Would you recommend this book?  

I would definitely recommend reading this book, but I suggest reading the first book in the duology first. It is a great read for anyone over 15 who loves some romance, adventure, action and some murder.

Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)  

A tragic and terrifyingly thrilling romance based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. 

Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego