This is a fascinating look at the culture, psychology, and physiology of introvert-ism.
Culturally, American culture (and other countries) is biased against introverts. This part of the book made me want to rise up with a pitchfork against those oppressive extraverts. Shake off the shackles! (Forced team projects in school is hell for introverts. I still have rage for that.)
The book also describes how introverts and extraverts have different levels of stimulation that are comfortable; how they socialize differently; how much people can change their dispositions; and how introverts and extraverts need each other and relate to each other.
Ultimately, it shows how boring the world would be without both introverts and extraverts. Extraverts should definitely read this, as well as anyone interested in personality psychology. It’s well written and well edited.
***
I’m not crazy about the covers for this series; they look very childish. This series is great for that neglected age group between Middle Grade books and Young Adult books, but any age will like it fine.
There are some great characters here, and Miri is finally kissing Peder. But they are separated when Miri gets sent to a swamp land to educate three royal sisters in a mini princess academy. There is a lot of deception surrounding these sisters, and with war coming, there is soon plenty of action and adventure.
Very enjoyable overall, and appropriate for all ages.
***
Morning Star (Red Rising #3) by Pierce Brown
I liked this whole series just fine — it’s very well written and thought out. I’m just not totally in love with it.
In this volume, Darrow decides that his mission is not to defeat Gold; it’s to unite good people of all colors to defeat bad people of any color. Color shouldn’t matter. Book 2 ended with him in quite a pickle. It takes a little while for him to get out of that. There are several big battles and loss and sacrifice and betrayals and double-dealings. The action is balanced with introspection and personal consequences. There a couple places that may make readers throw the book across the room. At one point, I yelled, “Bastard!” out loud to the author.
***
King Sized Beds and Happy Trails (Beds #1) by, Cassie Mae, Theresa Paolo
This is a best-friends-to-lovers story, alternating viewpoints between the hero and heroine. The heroine is interested in another guy while her best guy friend has long been in love with her. Through some rather convoluted circumstances, they end up sharing a king bed on a weeklong vacation.
What was good
I’m not a big romance fan, but the story gripped me and kept me involved the whole time. The pacing was good, the plot flowed well, and the length was just right.
What was not good
I had to wonder if this was edited at all, but there was an editor in the acknowledgments. There are some misspelled words and a few grammar issues, but the punctuation is nonexistent. It’s like someone imposed a ban on commas and decided quote marks didn’t need a partner. It was jarring and meant I had to re-read a lot of sentences. If this hadn’t been an e-book, I would have penciled in hundreds of corrections.
It’s in first-person present tense. I can’t wait for this fad to end.
Advisory
While the characters in this story are high school seniors, it’s more appropriate for New Adult than Young Adult. There is some swearing and sexual innuendo.
***
Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence
It’s a very creative idea. What I can glean is that humans settled some planet ages ago. The planet is cold with a dying sun, so everyone lives on the equator, where an artificial satellite reflects sunlight across this strip of land. Whatever happened at that time has become mythology, legend, and religion.
In convents centered around ancient ships, girls are taught martial arts and how to tap into magic. Very few are able to use magic, and the magic system was a little confusing. Nine-year-old Nona is rescued from the noose at the last minute and taken to a convent for education and training. The family that sent her to be executed never gives up their desire for revenge, and that danger always shadows Nona.
Nona is a surprisingly relatable character. She keeps to herself a lot but is not completely anti-social. She is not perfect at things and has friends as well as enemies. It takes a lot of effort to accomplish things. The story mostly covers her life at the convent, occasionally revealing her further past. These details are not entirely known until the end. There is occasional danger and fights with a big action-filled climax.
The writing is superb, even if the author uses sentence fragments for dramatic effect and seems to despise commas. The scenes are easy to visualize; characters are well developed. This is not the typical Chosen One Trained As An Assassin trope.
***
Twenty-Four Potential Children of Prophecy by Emily Sorensen
This is a fun, light indie novella with a fairy tale vibe.
What if you couldn’t help saying all the sarcastic, snarky things that pop in your head during a conversation? (Or is it just me who thinks like that?) Henina and twenty-three other girls of varying ages get rounded up as “potential children of prophecy” after a prophecy declares one of them will end the war. Henina doesn’t want to be the ultimate chosen one and tries to sabotage her chances. But she also wants the war to end, so she’s conflicted in her actions.
Although the story is a little silly and full of sarcasm and insults, there’s a full storyline that’s well plotted and well paced. The writing is smooth and competent. The story is easy to follow and will be enjoyed by all ages.
I received a free copy for review.
***
Steelheart (The Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson
This was just so much fun. Everything was done right, even the editing!
What if the world had super villains but no super heroes?
It starts with a great hook. The pacing and buildup are perfect. The world-building and characters are excellent. There are heart-racing moments and funny moments and poignant moments. I’ve seen lots of comments about David’s bad metaphors, but technically they’re similes, not metaphors. But they were the perfect little something that made the book special.
***
Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
3.75 stars: pretty good, and definitely creative and visually striking.
I could sell this story as a B-movie plot: Two teenagers struggle for survival against zombies on a spaceship! But it was executed well. The dialogue is plenty funny and sarcastic, and there are good characters. There are puzzles and mysteries and hopeless situations and plot twists. Realistically, I think the ending should have been more tragic. But that’s okay.
The audiobook includes a full cast and sound effects. The physical book has a lot of interesting visuals. So try both out, I guess.
***
Dawn Study (Soulfinders #3) by Maria V. Snyder
This is kind of hard to review. It was good enough, just not groundbreaking.
The tone and action was incredibly even all the way through. Generally, you get a cycle of high-action-suspense followed by reaction-regroup-character-development and repeat. Not here. The suspense level remains f l a t all the way through. A lot of it feels like killing time, like it was a real chore to write. There’s a surprising amount of modern-day lingo here.
Being the ninth book, a lot of characters come and go. As long as you’ve enjoyed all the characters so far, you should like it fine. Everything ties up pretty neatly.
***
Trials of a Teenage Werevulture (Trilogy of a Teenage Werevulture #1) by Emily Martha Sorensen
In an alternate version of the world, everybody is a vampire or were-animal or some other paranormal creature. You start off as a mere human and take on a supernatural persona in your teens. Lisette has been looking forward to joining her family as a were-hawk. But things don’t quite go as planned, and she ends up as a were-vulture instead.
The tone is light, humorous and often tongue-in-cheek. There’s a good buildup to a big climax. Despite the urban fantasy surroundings, Lisette is a normal teenager trying to fit in and act more grownup than she is. She actually likes her family and talks to them. There is some sneaking around, but much less than you usually see with typical high school characters. It’s really cute and a fun read.
I received a free copy for review.
***
Beast Charming by Jenniffer Wardell
Jenniffer writes romance for people who hate romance — none of the secret-keeping or stupid misunderstandings or childish insecurities that keep couples apart in most romances.
In this take on “Beauty and the Beast,” Beauty is a temp who gets hired to assist Beast’s butler to help with his brooding. She wins his affections after chasing off airheads trying to to break his curse and win themselves a happily-ever-after. That just leaves Beauty’s scheming father and Beast’s ex-fiancee to deal with.
The writing is intelligent and distinct. The dialogue is clever and engaging. The story is light and sweet and really cute but not sappy or cheesey.
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