Short Reviews of the Books I Missed in 2018 - Part 1
Procrastination is evil. How I have been a victim of it for quite a while is something I cannot express. This has even spilled down on my book reviews some of it which were pending since February last year. So, to pile down a few of my reviews, I have decided to consolidate some of the book reviews into a single post and make it easier for even readers to chose.
Wonder Woman : Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo (🌟🌟🌟 out of 5)
The first in DC Icons series, this book revolves around Diana AKA Wonder Woman and her struggles to accept herself as a hero. This origin story teams up Diana and Alia, who is termed as a Warbringer a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Together, along with few other characters, they face their enemies and rescue the Amazonians.
I was pretty much excited about this book as I had been on a Leigh Bardugo marathon and especially loved her Language of Thorns and Six of Crows. Alas, this book just did not work for me as it did with her previous books as the characters pretty much seemed pretty plastic and lacked the depth that was expected. With Wonder Woman being a sensation in DC Movies, this book had a lot of potential which were pretty much untapped and did not bring up that excitement as a superhero book does.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (🌟🌟🌟 out of 5)
In a dystopian future, people are addicted to a Virtuality Reality game called as OASIS. The story revolves around Wade Watts who finds himself in the centre of a bounty hunt when the creator of the game passes away and the winner gets to grab the ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
The book brings a lot of nostalgia when it comes to reminsing your memories of 80s and pop culture. Although at times, when one is not much aware of the lives at those times, the book does tend to seem pretty difficult to grasp and leads to a lot of confusion. When compared to the movie, the movie does do a pretty decent job when it changes the entire backstory of the second puzzle (Shining, anyone), this book is an excellent page turner and does deserve the accolades of taking us back to those era.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (🌟🌟 1/2 out of 5)
The second book in Six of Crows duology, this novel explores the story of how Kaz, Nina, Inej, Jasper, Matthias and Wylan who find themselves in another adventure that leads to a Grishaverse war. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties.
To be blunt, this book bored me. On one hand, the first book was an exciting rollercoaster ride for me, the second one seemed so blunt that it was a pain moving on to every new chapter. Although the book has received amazing reviews across the globe, my opinion is pretty much polarised. Though I'm not completely putting down this book as the plot still has its high points and especially the end did seem rather promising. So, I would still recommend this book to people who have invested their time in Grishaverse.
Silent Companion by Laura Purcell (🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5)
Set in a crumbling country mansion, The Silent Companions is an unsettling gothic ghost story about the newly widowed Elsie who is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge.
With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. But inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself
In a dystopian future, people are addicted to a Virtuality Reality game called as OASIS. The story revolves around Wade Watts who finds himself in the centre of a bounty hunt when the creator of the game passes away and the winner gets to grab the ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
The book brings a lot of nostalgia when it comes to reminsing your memories of 80s and pop culture. Although at times, when one is not much aware of the lives at those times, the book does tend to seem pretty difficult to grasp and leads to a lot of confusion. When compared to the movie, the movie does do a pretty decent job when it changes the entire backstory of the second puzzle (Shining, anyone), this book is an excellent page turner and does deserve the accolades of taking us back to those era.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (🌟🌟 1/2 out of 5)
The second book in Six of Crows duology, this novel explores the story of how Kaz, Nina, Inej, Jasper, Matthias and Wylan who find themselves in another adventure that leads to a Grishaverse war. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties.
To be blunt, this book bored me. On one hand, the first book was an exciting rollercoaster ride for me, the second one seemed so blunt that it was a pain moving on to every new chapter. Although the book has received amazing reviews across the globe, my opinion is pretty much polarised. Though I'm not completely putting down this book as the plot still has its high points and especially the end did seem rather promising. So, I would still recommend this book to people who have invested their time in Grishaverse.
Silent Companion by Laura Purcell (🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5)
Set in a crumbling country mansion, The Silent Companions is an unsettling gothic ghost story about the newly widowed Elsie who is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge.
With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. But inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself
One of the best books that I have read last year, this book just had it going from Page 1. The story moved quite seamlessly even when it had to switch between the past and present. With the characters so highly detailed, the book hardly had any low points that might put you off. I literally had chills while reading the book and the climax just left me sleepless for the entire night I had finished the book.
I’ll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson (🌟🌟1/2 out of 5)
This book charts the lives and relationship of Noah and twin Jude, how the once happy and loveable brother - sister duo are torn apart from each other due to tragic circumstances. Jude, then, meets a beautiful boy and a captivating mentor—both of whom need her as much as she needs them. On the other hand, Noah has his own story to follow. But what they fail to understand is that both of them just have half of the story each. And, once (and, if) they get back together, they may just change the world for the better of all.
I’ll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson (🌟🌟1/2 out of 5)
As much as the blurb seems confusing, the book is equally disappointing. Though the author may have very well gripped the nerves of her YA audience, the book isn't for all ages unfortunately. The story seemed quite predictable once you have finished the first half of the book and it just keeps going down from there. Some of the characters also seemed to have been introduced just for the sake of the novel to reach a certain size and kept appearing and disappearing at their own will.
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5 ) by Jonas Jonasson
After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health. A big celebration is in the works for his 100th birthday, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption), so he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey. It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: he has not only witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, but actually played a key role in them.
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5 ) by Jonas Jonasson
After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health. A big celebration is in the works for his 100th birthday, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption), so he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey. It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: he has not only witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, but actually played a key role in them.
The book is just amazing. It's one of those books that I have been recommending people since I have read it (even gifted to a few of them). The adventures of Allan Karlsson has been so unique that it impresses even the ones who do not appreciate humor. The book has subtle references to a lot of historical events that has taken place in the last century but is not a preachy history lesson that many books tend to. Pick it up, read it now and start your adventure to an hilarious roller coaster ride of the century.
The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred Year Old Man (🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5) by Jonas Jonasson
It all begins with a hot air balloon trip and three bottles of champagne. Allan and Julius are ready for some spectacular views, but they’re not expecting to land in the sea and be rescued by a North Korean ship, and they could never have imagined that the captain of the ship would be harbouring a suitcase full of contraband uranium, on a nuclear weapons mission for Kim Jong-un. Soon Allan and Julius are at the centre of a complex diplomatic crisis involving world figures from the Swedish foreign minister to Angela Merkel and President Trump. Things are about to get very complicated.
It all begins with a hot air balloon trip and three bottles of champagne. Allan and Julius are ready for some spectacular views, but they’re not expecting to land in the sea and be rescued by a North Korean ship, and they could never have imagined that the captain of the ship would be harbouring a suitcase full of contraband uranium, on a nuclear weapons mission for Kim Jong-un. Soon Allan and Julius are at the centre of a complex diplomatic crisis involving world figures from the Swedish foreign minister to Angela Merkel and President Trump. Things are about to get very complicated.
Okay, I was still on a high from the previous book when I started reading this one. Though it did not touch upon the high standards that the previous book had set, this one is equally unputdownable. The book starts on a pretty slow note but it keeps increasing its standards as you move along the book. If you read the first book, do pick up this one. If you haven't read the first one, finish off the first and pick up this one. These two books are just hard to skip.
Great. But I remember your review of Wonder Woman.
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