BRT: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Number of Pages: 338

My Rating: 3/5

Released: November 15, 2011

Summary (also hyperlink to GR page)

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I've actually read Shatter Me a number of times, but never got around to reviewing it. I reread the entire trilogy recently, so I figured to review all three over the next three weeks. 

Shatter Me has both strong and weak points. One strong point is its own self-awareness. The heroine, Juliette, is - in a word - unstable. Her thoughts read off like rambling, similar to the way words are struck out in the summary. Now, when I say the book has self-awareness, I mean that Juliette is very much a Mary Sue, but the book doesn't deny this. She knows she's ridiculous at points and has an understanding that her thought process is wrong. I do like that about Juliette's character, other flaws aside.

The strikeouts are an abundant stylistic choice in the book, one that I found irksome at first but came to admire. It's a rather neat way to see what she's thinking while denying those thoughts. They do become weak points at times due to the writing. If you want a book that DEFINES "purple prose," this is your book. Sooo much purple prose. Regardless, the writing remains interesting enough. I do think that the writing will be a hit-or-miss with a lot of readers, however, so it's best to get this from a library this before buying it.

Another strong point goes to plot pace. Nothing is too rushed and nothing is too slow. Everything happens when it feels like it should; nothing feels forced. While I'm at it, I'll also give a strong point to description. The descriptions alone make this world seem believable and immersive.

Two weak points go to characterization and world building. 

-Just because the book is aware that Juliette is a Mary Sue doesn't make it okay. She spends most of the book whining, crying, and drooling over the boys. ...All the boys. Her main love interest (it isn't even love, this is lust), and...the villain?! Yeah. Even this villain, who's maaaaybe the most developed of all the characters, is one of the smexiest people in the book, and therefore it's okay she drools over him. Because he's bee-a-you-tee-ful. 

-The world building could have worked so much better. Here's what we know: The Reestablishment claimed they could fix the world and went back on that and everything went to hell. Oh, and it's ruled by this faceless dude. ...That's the only backstory we get. It's a very "Big Bad" cop out. Somehow the world got so polluted that everything's wrong and people are suffering. How? Why? Humanity never got their act together? The [Shatter Me] world may never know.

Now for the plot itself:

I liked it. From a lot of reviews I've seen, people found it tired or convenient or annoying. I can see where all these people come from. For example, like I've mentioned, the writing can be agitating. I honestly didn't notice some of the more awkward metaphors within the prose, mostly because this book is a very fast read. The plot kept me moving.

The idea of this girl with a lethal touch being recruited against her will by a man who wants to use her power as a weapon enticed me. The coincidence that one of her 'guards' was a childhood friend was convenient, but I didn't mind it. I enjoyed the trials Juliette had to face with Warner (the antagonist) and her thoughts trying to develop from cornered-Mary-Sue to something more. The twist at the end regarding Juliette's power remains one of my favorite parts.

Shatter Me, despite its claims, contains very little action. About the most involved action scene occurs after a low-key attempted rape.  One bullet and it's over. This book is mainly about the emotions and the romance with some paranormal add-ins and a lot of mental abuse on the antagonist's part. 

Judging by this review, it doesn't seem like I liked it as much as I did. It is true that I recommend getting it from a library before deciding to buy it. I got it for $3 as a clearance deal. I enjoyed the strikeout stylistic choice, the pacing - the stuff I listed above. The book is problematic, relies heavily on love-at-first-sight ("It's the bird from my dream so we are MEANT to be!!"), and there is a lot of whining. I...just happened to enjoy reading it. For some reason.

...I do wish I hadn't bought the two sequels at full price though. More to come on that next week. Have a good weekend, everyone!

BRT: The Sky-Child and Other Stories by Danielle E. Shipley

Title: The Sky-Child and Other Stories

Author: Danielle E. Shipley

Number of Pages: e-book

Rating: 5/5

Released: July 7, 2015

Summary

Born into a world his heart knows as beneath him, an extraordinary boy becomes a man of music, hopeful that someday he’ll find a way higher.

As the first day dawns, a world comes awake, order and disorder striking a dangerous balance.

Under the stars, a princess and tailor trade age-old lore, little dreaming of the future that could trap them in the past.

All of it in, around, and far above the timeless trees of Wilderhark, the forest whose secrets reveal themselves slowly, if ever at all.

Tales of beginnings. Tales of quests for belonging. Most of all, tales of true love.

Once upon a time, you knew something of Wilderhark’s tales. Now for the stories that fall in between.

W O R L D    B U I L D I N G.

I'm one of those people who has trouble with creating lore in a fantasy/futuristic world. So, whenever I see a world that's very much had its homework done, I take heed. The moment I knew this work's title, the world building is what I was anticipating and very much looking forward to.

Gant-o-the-Lute's background is much more heavily explored in this addition to the Wilderhark Tales. For any who might have been confused about him or wondered about his past, or just want more content with him, this is your read! As far as origin stories go, Lute's is fantastic. It explains how he came to be minstrel, his gifts from the beginning, his parents, and how he came to meet Viralei. On an off note, I thought I noticed a lack of continuity regarding that, but I'm sure it's how long it's been since I read The Seventh Spell because I know Danielle wouldn't have missed something like that.

(That should tell you something about the faith you can put in this author.)

After The Sky-Child's conclusion, the Other Stories that take place regard different characters. We see some flash fiction between Sula and Villem (Fluff! <3) and a piece with Sigmund, delving more into the characters than the world around them. But then - then comes the story of the Sun and Moon.

As far as creation tales go for a fictional world, this instantly ranks one of my top favorites. I had to read this story twice just to absorb and enjoy it all properly. Another story somewhat branches off of this later into the installment as well, regarding some of the rougher times the world has gone through due to troublesome winds and a difficult Sun (and son). 

After that, the installment Starheart includes some more world-building and fluff regarding Edgwyn and Rosalba. (For anyone who doesn't know what fluff is - I just refer to it as a rather cute scene between two characters being romantic). The differentiation between what the world thinks of the Stone Kingdom legend versus the reality of it is explored here. 

Two more stories fill the pages - Affected and A Gallivanting Soul. The former takes place during The Seventh Spell and the latter finishes Gant-o'-the-Lute's backstory.

You will cry. If you don't cry, you will at least tear up.

As usual, the writing and pacing are flawless. You never get bored reading this book and there's always more to learn about the world of the Wilderhark Tales. Danielle Shipley will always give you just enough to satisfy you, but the moment you know there's going to be more - well, you're probably pre-ordering it, or waiting to have that option. 

The characters remain as investing and lively as always, leaping out of the pages and into the reader's soul. Not many writers have the ability to connect to their characters and let their characters connect to readers the way this writer does. We may cringe at some of the attitudes the characters have or ponder on why some characters act the way they do, but in the end, we relate, and we understand.

The Sky-Child and Other Stories has, once again, proven itself a worthy successor to the series, even as an in-between book. It does read a bit like a stand-alone, not too heavily requiring the knowledge of prior books to understand it, but for the full enjoyment I would highly recommend you read the others. You never know, though. Maybe this will be the book that captures you for this series!

{This review is quite late! I unfortunately had to open at work today and then attend a Tae Kwon Do meeting this evening, so I had been stretched on time. I hadn't had time to write it last night. Either way, it's still Thursday, and the review is still true. Enjoy your night and your upcoming Friday!)

BRT: ARC The Surrogate Sea by Danielle E. Shipley

Title: The Surrogate Sea

Author: Danielle E. Shipley

Number of Pages: e-book

Rating: 4/5

Release Date: MARCH 24, 2015 - NEXT TUESDAY!

Add it on Goodreads!

(An ARC was provided by the author for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)

My Goodreads review states that this novella, for me, can be described in one word: "unexpected." This still holds true. It isn't unexpected in a bad way. Another phrase I used was "benefit of the doubt."

Being completely honest, I didn't like this novella's conclusion. For all of the tales of true love that we've read in The Wilderhark Tales up until now, how this book ends does not feel like true love. That's why I'm sincerely hoping this turns out to be a Part-One-of-Two ordeal.

Everything else remains just as amazing as has come to be expected though. Each character has their own motivations, feelings, and methods of addressing conflict. Reading The Wilderhark Tales can be like reading a pop-up book: the characters are still leaping off the pages! 

The progression of the plot was steady and never felt too rushed or too slow. Especially considering Shipley's transitions from Liliavaine to Muirigan to Ionquin to Vesparya (and more at times), she did a beautiful job of keeping their stories separated and at the same time joined together, all the while keeping the perception of time well in place.

As for the plot's twists and turns, there are no shortage of twists throughout this novella! Unexpected, indeed. "Whoa," "Huh?," and "What!" were all uttered at least once during my reading. The Surrogate Sea's got it all - sibling rivalry and love, scorned love, playful banter, conflict and resolution. Not to mention we get to see all of the awesome cast introduced in The Sun's Rival! (*Gasp!* More Lumónd and Laraspur!)

Though, as I said before, the resolution didn't satisfy me. It might satisfy others, but it didn't work for me. The final pairing that much of the book focused on (not Muirigan's) doesn't settle well with me, and I'm sincerely hoping that I'm right that the tale of The Surrogate Sea isn't quite over.

Yet, even if it is, that doesn't change the fact that this was a deeply enjoyable read and inspired a myriad of feelings. This book is especially a good novella for moral debates. This is indeed one of the most investing books of the series.

In conclusion, Danielle Shipley's fantastic writing has struck again! 

Read The Surrogate Sea next Tuesday, and prepare for the blog tour starting on its release! Stop by Jodi L. Milner's blog (click!) for the beginning of the tour on the 24th. My own blog tour stop will be the following Saturday, so check back here then too!

By the way, have the link to Danielle's blog as well. She's got all of the other details! 

Lastly, The Sun's Rival is on sale for 99 cents for a limited time! Hurry!