Rebel Wing » Book Review

After reading Imitation (see review here) a couple of days ago, I was loathe to pick up another title by Alloy Entertainment. But I pushed through, knowing that I needed to get my Netgalley feedback ratio up, and I am glad I did! For one, because I've finally hit 50% (thank you, Netgalley Gods), and another, because I actually liked Rebel Wing.

This is essentially a well-told Mulan retelling that links back to our own military's (ex) policy of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'.

Ramble Review Time

For a book that I enjoyed, I'm having a surprisingly difficult time reviewing it. I wish I could give it a higher rating, I really do. But I can't because it took me longer than expected to actually get through it. I just kept putting it down. I don't know why!

The book uses alternating chapters to follow two different perspectives which represent the micro and macro view of the political world. Genre wise, I wasn't sure where the book fit. It could have been a Science-Fiction, pre-Dystopian kind of an era. In this world, there are Five Dominions, with the Dominion of Safara waging war on the Dominion of Atalanta. In our first perspective, we follow Aris who is a love-struck pilot from a small village called Lux in the Dominion of Atalanta. Our second perspective follows Pyralis Nekos (Ward of Atalanta) and Galena Vadim (Ward of Ruslana).

I enjoyed Aris's perspective more and more as the novel progressed. She starts off as a forelorn love-sick girl (with a wonderful talent for flying) who misses Calix dearly when he departs to work in the military. She chooses to become a military pilot in the hopes that she can be close to her beloved by disguising herself (via technology) as a male, since women aren't allowed to be a part of the military. Throughout the basic training process, she is pushed to her limit but she refuses to give in. As she sees the horror of war, she discovers her role in life separate from Calix. I felt extremely proud of Aris as I was reading her story.

The second perspective dragged for me a little. Even though it was relevant to the story, I found myself getting bored and skimming my way through them.

Last Thoughts

Nothing in this novel surprised me, which I didn't take as a bad thing. I had a decent idea of what was going on, and even figured out who the villain of the story would be. I did wish the author went into a little more detail with the flying scenes. I fly single-engine planes as a hobby, so I would have appreciated seeing what an amazing flyer Aris was instead of being told so.

All in all, once I finish my backlog of other Netgalley books, I will definitely be giving the second book in the trilogy a try. This experience has taught me that small/indie publishers are definitely worth a shot! They do have some amazing titles out there.

Have a relaxing Sunday, everyone! *starts obsessing about which book to read next*

Imitation » Book Review

I hereby make a pledge to myself. I WILL allow myself to 'DNF' books.

This novel was an utter disaster, all the way from its sub-par plot to its incompetent main character. And the romance made me want to claw someone's eyes out. Preferably those of Ven, our protagonist.

The Good

I learnt that I have a surprisingly high threshold of drivel. Apparently, I enjoy having a taste of true suffering.

The God-Awful

Where do I even begin...

Let me start with Ven, our Imitation (aka clone). She has spent her whole life living with other Imitations, training for the day when she might be called to serve her Authentic, Raven. Raven has been attacked and Ven is to take her place and draw out Raven's attackers while living under the thumb of Titus, who is Raven's father and also the creator of the Imitations. A significant portion of Ven's training was spent on learning about Raven and her social circle, and imitating her behavior. And oh boy, is she absolutely INCOMPETENT at that.

I don't get it. If you've spent YOUR WHOLE LIFE (in this case, 5 years) learning to be someone else, why on earth are you so terrible at it?? Not only that, Ven frequently mentions the daily challenging physical routine that she experienced with the other Imitations but she is SO USELESS at taking care of herself it makes me want to throw something.

I abhor incompetency in my main characters.

The only reason she barely makes it through this book is because of her bodyguard/love interest, Linc. He is always saving her, and getting her out of tricky situations because Ven is the most incapable character ever to exist. It takes until we get to 37% of the book for her to realize, hmmm, maybe I should save myself?

REALLY!?! Whatever gave you such an idea that YOU had to take care of yourself?! What a disgrace!!

"Linc always manages to show up when I need him most. I'm so overwhelmed by the sight of him - saving me, once again - that I can barely breathe."

Hmm, that whole taking care of yourself plan went straight to hell, I see.

The romance was nauseating. Within a meeting or two, Ven already can 'feel Linc's disapproval'. In fact, it's really clear that Linc had the hots for Raven, but figured she was too shallow or slutty for him. Which is just creepy.

"You've never turned down a boy," he says quietly. My eyes fall quickly to the floor. "Oh." Suddenly, I'm ashamed for something I've never done."

SLUT SHAMING IS NOT OKAY.

Another thing that irritated me to no end was how obtuse the villainous characters remained about Linc's true loyalties. Everything Raven does is monitored, including where in the house she goes, and her phone calls. She doesn't know this of course, and it's only because it was Linc who observed her (instead of one of the other bodyguards, which is pure dumb luck) that she remained safe. Not only that, Linc has been found in Ven's bedroom SEVERAL TIMES, and still no suspicion falls on him. I refuse to read the rest of the trilogy, but I sincerely hope that Linc is a traitor because all that was too easy.

Let me pepper you guys with some more wonderful quotes in case you need a dose of Ipecac. This will do the job.

"How can I give myself over to defeat now that I've finally found someone else [Linc] to believe in my victory?"

"My world cracks, crumbles, and reassembles itself - with Linc at the center."

"But it's Linc. And I won't refuse him.

*gags*

The blurb promised to keep me guessing till the very end. Do you want to know what the big reveal was at the end?? I figure you guys won't care, I highly doubt my review has convinced anyone to do so, but I shall add spoiler tags just in case.

[spoiler]That even clones are people with feelings![/spoiler]

No shit.

Linc leans in and kisses me lightly. "Thank you for having hope when I didn't," he says. I kiss him back, lingering longer than he did. "You are my hope."

I'm glad one of them has hope. My hope withered and died about 20 pages in.

Every Ugly Word » Book Review

This review is my attempt to finally get through some of my Netgalley backlogs in the hopes that I can pull up my dismal feedback ratio to a reasonable level. I was supposed to review this more than a YEAR ago.

Let that sink in guys... and let the walk/write of shame, begin.

Every Ugly Word

This is a difficult book for me to describe, let alone review. I was just so surprised by how much it moved me. I thought it would be like many of the other contemporary YA books out there. Compelling enough, but lacking some fundamental depth. However, Every Ugly Word didn't pull any punches.

The novel starts off with Ashley, the main character, sitting in a psychiatrist's office at an inpatient mental facility. She is desperate to leave that day, and the only way to do so, is by recounting the events that led to her commitment in the hopes that the doctor would believe that she has recovered enough to go home. Every chapter begins with conversation and analysis with the doctor, followed by an episodic account of her life. This served the dual purpose of building tension within and across chapters while giving us information and background on our protagonist.

There is an element of magical realism within the story. Ashley can see an older version of herself in the mirror and has frequent conversations with her. Older Ashley tries to be a source of support for current Ashley, in the hopes that the younger Ashley would choose a different path and have a healthier outcome.

I was very intrigued by the author's choice to use that element in her story. I have been in outpatient therapy for several years for a variety of issues, one of them being trauma. In therapy, I have been frequently encouraged to 'talk to the little girl inside me'. It sounds wonky, I know. But it's done in an effort to help you be there for yourself through those past traumatic memories without having to rely on others, especially those who have been unsupportive in the past. I found the parallels between the aforementioned therapy technique and Ashley communicating with her older/younger self quite surprising. I wonder if the author had made that connection on purpose, or if it just happened to be a coincidence.

The romance in the book is also very realistic. Most contemporary YAs make the fatal mistake of introducing the concept that love conquers all, even trauma and mental illness. And nothing could be farther from the truth. In the beginning of the book, Ashley views Matt with love-blind glasses. But as the novel progresses, we see Ashley realizing that Matt is just as flawed as everyone else. She realizes that Matt can't fix her, and that sometimes there is nothing to fix. There is nothing to do but to just get through those terrible moments with whatever willpower there is left, and have hope for a better future.

There is a wonderful quote towards the end of the book that sums up what it's like to go through a horrific event and feel how different you are. How empty, yet hopeful.

"I was afraid because, even after everything I'd overcome, I still had holes. My dreams were coming true - but they weren't filling the gaps. I still felt... less than. I'd decided to keep fighting, keep searching for answers. Because as long as I did that, there would always be a chance my holes would heal. I could have hope. My gaps only became inevitable when I stopped believing they could be filled."

Every Ugly Word is free through Kindle Unlimited.