A Reader's Diary: May 2018

Sunday, May 13, 2018

The Glass Forest

So I was lucky enough to win a contest through PageHabit (in January/February, whoops).

I chose the mystery box which included The Glass Forest!

The story begins with the suicide and disappearance of Ruby's parents. When her Uncle Paul gets the news that his brother is dead and his niece is now an orphan, he knows he has to drop everything and go help her. So he packs up his wife and kid and treks from Wisconsin to New York at the drop of a hat. Paul's wife, Angie, isn't much older than Ruby herself. But she knows that Ruby needs a mother and she's more than prepared to step into that role.

The book is told through a variety a viewpoints: Ruby, Angie, and my favorite, Silja. Silja is Ruby's missing mothers but what I find most interesting about her perspective is that it's told over the course of 16+ years. The alternating views and time frames really help shape the story. With all the information given by these women, it's not hard to see where the story is going. I caught on fairly early on in the book, but there were a few twists that I wasn't expecting.

I fear that if I keep writing, I may start giving things away.

But overall this was a fairly decent read that I'd definitely recommend to my friends!

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

The Fates Divide

Okay, it took me W A Y too long to read this book.

My review for Carve the Mark was mostly opinion. Actually, I don't think I even gave you guys a plot, just what the planets were called and the main gist of the premise. So I kind of think I'm going to write another review like that for The Fates Divide.

It's not that I don't love being in this little galaxy that Veronica Roth has created, because I absolutely love it and she definitely develops the planets even more in this book. It's just not a series I would sit down and devour. I mean, it is only a duology and I think that's good for this type of book. However, I wish that the soujourn was the basis of the books instead of the currentgifts. Sure the currentgifts are super interesting and when you tie them in with the fated families, it makes for some interesting reading. But I think the soujourn would be more interesting. We'd get to see the main characters visiting all the planets and finding a way to combine or trade resources (kind of like in Divergent where each faction is responsible for one aspect).

Now that being said, there's not near as much action in this book as there was in the first, BUT the scenes with action are written so much better. Not to mention character development!! Oh boy, in Carve the Mark we only got to read from Cyra and Akos point of view, whereas in The Fates Divide we get to read from Cyra, Akos, Cisi, A N D Eijah! The dynamic of switching from each character made the story so well rounded and honestly may be the only reason I kept reading.

All in all, this book wasn't great but it also wasn't terrible.

If you made it through the first one, you'll like this one better.

Looking for the rest of the series?

Carve the Mark (CTM #1)

Looking for other books by Veronica Roth?

Divergent (Divergent #1)

Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Allegiant (Divergent #3)

Four (Divergent #4)
The End and Other Beginnings

Chosen Ones