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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Our Wayward Fate in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.</i></b>
I adored <a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/american-panda-by-gloria-chao/"><em>American Panda</em></a> back in 2018, so when I heard Gloria Chao was releasing a new book, I pretty much slid <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> onto my TBR with no questions asked. (I enjoyed <em>American Panda</em> enough that I got my own copy... only to have my mom "borrow" it. She still hasn't returned it.)
<h2><strong>Gloria Chao is a Queen of Writing Relatable Characters and it continues with her second novel, <em>Our Wayward Fate</em>.</strong></h2>
Chao's latest novel follows Ali Chu, a high school senior living in Indiana and is the only Asian kid in her school; for years, she operates in survival mode in order to blend in with the rest of her classmates, even if she hates dealing with the constant racist stereotypes that are automatically associated with her simply because she's Asian. But she continues to remain silent until she finds out the new kid in school, Chase Yu, is also Taiwanese like her.
<strong>Let me take a moment to talk about their relationship!!!</strong>
❤ Puns, puns, so many puns
❤ Jokes and wordplay in Mandarin (also I really loved how Chao didn't incorporate a glossary so readers can get what it's like to be someone learning a language through conversation and context)
❤ They're just so cute and competitive together; ugh, my heart can't
<h3><strong>Friends, I saw myself in <em>American Panda</em>, but I also really saw myself in <em>Our Wayward Fate</em>.</strong></h3>
Chao touches on a lot of experiences that I personally went through - it's a book that I would have loved to read back in middle and high school when I occasionally felt like I was alone in my experiences. Much of the experiences Ali goes through hit hardcore emotionally and I really, <em>really</em> wanted to reach through the book just to give Ali a hug. (Here I thought I related to Mei a lot and Ali Chu comes in and knocks it out of the park.)
<h2><strong>Chao's latest novel deals with darker topics while also incorporating her signature humor.</strong></h2>
I love puns, so I'm a little biased toward them. While <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> is chock full of puns (I love them) and incorporates Chao's signature humor from her debut, it also has a darker feel. <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> is a book with family and identity with a retelling of <em>The Butterfly Lovers; </em>it also focuses a lot about miscommunication when we struggle or are unsure when communicating with others.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/our-wayward-fate-by-gloria-chao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
I adored <a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/american-panda-by-gloria-chao/"><em>American Panda</em></a> back in 2018, so when I heard Gloria Chao was releasing a new book, I pretty much slid <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> onto my TBR with no questions asked. (I enjoyed <em>American Panda</em> enough that I got my own copy... only to have my mom "borrow" it. She still hasn't returned it.)
<h2><strong>Gloria Chao is a Queen of Writing Relatable Characters and it continues with her second novel, <em>Our Wayward Fate</em>.</strong></h2>
Chao's latest novel follows Ali Chu, a high school senior living in Indiana and is the only Asian kid in her school; for years, she operates in survival mode in order to blend in with the rest of her classmates, even if she hates dealing with the constant racist stereotypes that are automatically associated with her simply because she's Asian. But she continues to remain silent until she finds out the new kid in school, Chase Yu, is also Taiwanese like her.
<strong>Let me take a moment to talk about their relationship!!!</strong>
❤ Puns, puns, so many puns
❤ Jokes and wordplay in Mandarin (also I really loved how Chao didn't incorporate a glossary so readers can get what it's like to be someone learning a language through conversation and context)
❤ They're just so cute and competitive together; ugh, my heart can't
<h3><strong>Friends, I saw myself in <em>American Panda</em>, but I also really saw myself in <em>Our Wayward Fate</em>.</strong></h3>
Chao touches on a lot of experiences that I personally went through - it's a book that I would have loved to read back in middle and high school when I occasionally felt like I was alone in my experiences. Much of the experiences Ali goes through hit hardcore emotionally and I really, <em>really</em> wanted to reach through the book just to give Ali a hug. (Here I thought I related to Mei a lot and Ali Chu comes in and knocks it out of the park.)
<h2><strong>Chao's latest novel deals with darker topics while also incorporating her signature humor.</strong></h2>
I love puns, so I'm a little biased toward them. While <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> is chock full of puns (I love them) and incorporates Chao's signature humor from her debut, it also has a darker feel. <em>Our Wayward Fate</em> is a book with family and identity with a retelling of <em>The Butterfly Lovers; </em>it also focuses a lot about miscommunication when we struggle or are unsure when communicating with others.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/our-wayward-fate-by-gloria-chao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
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postapocalypticplayground (27 KP) rated Six of Crows in Books
Jan 9, 2018
Every so often a book will come along which will make you re-evaluate all the 5 star reviews you have given in the past. Six of Crows for me is that book. Set in Leigh Bardugo's "Grishaverse" it is the tale of an impossible heist where the rewards far outweigh the risk. Our main protagonist Kaz Brekker is fast becoming a legend in the bowels of the Barrel, the criminal underworld of Ketterdam. He is young, but a driven and ruthless trickster, with a team to match. They are tasked with breaching the heavily fortified Ice Court to rescue a scientist held hostage. It's a feat which has never been achieved, but with the promise of a reward that will take Kaz and his team out of the bottom of the Barrel it's risk he's willing to take, after all, just how many things could go wrong?
Six of Crows is told in multiple points of view, which can sometimes be confusing for me but there were only a couple of occasions that I found myself flipping back to the start of the chapter to remind myself who in the limelight. I felt that this was a style that worked really well with this story as the main six often found themselves in different places with different tasks and this way of storytelling allowed it all to come seamlessly together. Whilst it does majorly involve the Grisha, I found it was a world that I easily fell into pace with, without having read the Grisha Trilogy first. I'm told there are a number of nods which are present but I never felt lost or like I was missing out.
The characters are fantastic, my favourite by far was Inej, the wraith. Rescued from the oldest profession by Kaz, she is a force to be reckoned with, a silent assassin. There are no walls she can't climb or secrets she can't glean. I felt most for her, what she had been through before joining with Kaz and how it had driven her to become who she now was. I loved the sense of purpose that grew within her throughout the story. The others too though all have their stories to tell, a proper band of misfits all with their secrets and terrible histories that have shaped them. It's hard to remember that they are all teenagers, but then that makes them easier to underestimate.
The audacity behind Kaz's plan is immeasurable and it is through this that I am just in awe of the writing. At just shy of 500 pages there was not a single moment of rest for the reader, I felt on edge every step of the way. I felt fear for these characters, trepidation but also the good humour that only a rag tag bunch of forgotten teenagers could have in the circumstances they faced. I simply did not want to put this down, at all. The last of the six sections I tried to slow down as I knew it was coming to an end but it pulled me in and wouldn't let go. It's rare for a book to leave me breathless, but this one really did. It's the first of a duology and I can't wait for pay day to roll round so I can pick up Crooked Kingdom. If I could give this six stars I would, It's a truly amazing read and If you're a YA fantasy fan you will not be disappointed!
Six of Crows is told in multiple points of view, which can sometimes be confusing for me but there were only a couple of occasions that I found myself flipping back to the start of the chapter to remind myself who in the limelight. I felt that this was a style that worked really well with this story as the main six often found themselves in different places with different tasks and this way of storytelling allowed it all to come seamlessly together. Whilst it does majorly involve the Grisha, I found it was a world that I easily fell into pace with, without having read the Grisha Trilogy first. I'm told there are a number of nods which are present but I never felt lost or like I was missing out.
The characters are fantastic, my favourite by far was Inej, the wraith. Rescued from the oldest profession by Kaz, she is a force to be reckoned with, a silent assassin. There are no walls she can't climb or secrets she can't glean. I felt most for her, what she had been through before joining with Kaz and how it had driven her to become who she now was. I loved the sense of purpose that grew within her throughout the story. The others too though all have their stories to tell, a proper band of misfits all with their secrets and terrible histories that have shaped them. It's hard to remember that they are all teenagers, but then that makes them easier to underestimate.
The audacity behind Kaz's plan is immeasurable and it is through this that I am just in awe of the writing. At just shy of 500 pages there was not a single moment of rest for the reader, I felt on edge every step of the way. I felt fear for these characters, trepidation but also the good humour that only a rag tag bunch of forgotten teenagers could have in the circumstances they faced. I simply did not want to put this down, at all. The last of the six sections I tried to slow down as I knew it was coming to an end but it pulled me in and wouldn't let go. It's rare for a book to leave me breathless, but this one really did. It's the first of a duology and I can't wait for pay day to roll round so I can pick up Crooked Kingdom. If I could give this six stars I would, It's a truly amazing read and If you're a YA fantasy fan you will not be disappointed!
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Pandora's Box (1929) in Movies
Feb 18, 2019
Pandora’s Box was one of the last films of the silent era, a period of transition to sound which I believe set the art of cinematography back a decade.
In short. Pandora’s Box looks stunning! Using the frame to its fullest, with a combination of wide framing and exploiting the art of the close up as Lulu herself, would the men around her, as well as driven by brilliant performances by most of the cast. But kudos needs to go to the star, Louise Brooks, as she portrays Lulu, the alluring flapper girl who can work her innocent, secutive magic on anyone, men and women alike.
But this is not limited to the narrative’s characters as her performance is subtle and underplayed, oozing out the silver screen and seducing the audience with same allure. If looks could kill, then this movie has them all.
With a sparse use of inter-titles, the film relies on both the physicality of the cast and imaginative cinematography to convey the seductive and danger of the events as they unfold over the two and bit hour runtime. Fritz Korner in particular rivals Brooks with the intensity of his performance as the ill fated husband of the girl about town.
And then there’s Alice Roberts, the Countess, who is widely thought to have the first lesbian to be seen on screen. Only Belgian actress’s second film in her short career, is played very Germanic, yet sympathetic as she too, has been drawn under Lulu’s spell.
This was made during the period in which German cinema was ruling, driving the art form from the nickelodeon to the theatre, but this was about to change in the 1930’s with advent of the sound and the golden age of American cinema. But as this film proves, you do not need sound to tell or show a good story.
Granted, the central story is pretty mediocre; a simple tale of a damaged woman who instinctively uses her allure to get her own way yet not as a diva, just an instinctive manipulator, casting her spell far and wide until that spell leads her into the hands London serial killer, Jack The Ripper (Gustav Diessl). But she is never portrayed as evil or scheming, just as herself as those around her are drawn to her aide.
There is little of the pantamine action or motives that you can expect from this genre even now, 90 years on.
But German director G.W. Pabst manages to create a multi-layered tale, deepened by psychological and social subtext, achieved as much because of the relationship he garnered with the star, Brookes, as he played on her natural talents to bring one of cinemas most defining roles to the screen. This would be the first of two collaborations between the director and the wayward starlet that year.
Pandora’s Box is yet another example of how German Cinema was leading the world back in the 1920’s; and even though the second world war may have brought this golden era to an abrupt end, it’s legacy lives on today with the styles, both in front and behind the camera, still being honoured by entire film industry now and hopefully for decades to come.
In short. Pandora’s Box looks stunning! Using the frame to its fullest, with a combination of wide framing and exploiting the art of the close up as Lulu herself, would the men around her, as well as driven by brilliant performances by most of the cast. But kudos needs to go to the star, Louise Brooks, as she portrays Lulu, the alluring flapper girl who can work her innocent, secutive magic on anyone, men and women alike.
But this is not limited to the narrative’s characters as her performance is subtle and underplayed, oozing out the silver screen and seducing the audience with same allure. If looks could kill, then this movie has them all.
With a sparse use of inter-titles, the film relies on both the physicality of the cast and imaginative cinematography to convey the seductive and danger of the events as they unfold over the two and bit hour runtime. Fritz Korner in particular rivals Brooks with the intensity of his performance as the ill fated husband of the girl about town.
And then there’s Alice Roberts, the Countess, who is widely thought to have the first lesbian to be seen on screen. Only Belgian actress’s second film in her short career, is played very Germanic, yet sympathetic as she too, has been drawn under Lulu’s spell.
This was made during the period in which German cinema was ruling, driving the art form from the nickelodeon to the theatre, but this was about to change in the 1930’s with advent of the sound and the golden age of American cinema. But as this film proves, you do not need sound to tell or show a good story.
Granted, the central story is pretty mediocre; a simple tale of a damaged woman who instinctively uses her allure to get her own way yet not as a diva, just an instinctive manipulator, casting her spell far and wide until that spell leads her into the hands London serial killer, Jack The Ripper (Gustav Diessl). But she is never portrayed as evil or scheming, just as herself as those around her are drawn to her aide.
There is little of the pantamine action or motives that you can expect from this genre even now, 90 years on.
But German director G.W. Pabst manages to create a multi-layered tale, deepened by psychological and social subtext, achieved as much because of the relationship he garnered with the star, Brookes, as he played on her natural talents to bring one of cinemas most defining roles to the screen. This would be the first of two collaborations between the director and the wayward starlet that year.
Pandora’s Box is yet another example of how German Cinema was leading the world back in the 1920’s; and even though the second world war may have brought this golden era to an abrupt end, it’s legacy lives on today with the styles, both in front and behind the camera, still being honoured by entire film industry now and hopefully for decades to come.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Breakdown in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Read my review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/review-the-breakdown-by-b-a-paris/
<i><b>Synopsis:</b> On a stormy night, Cass decides to go against the wishes of her husband and take a dangerous shortcut home. Passing through the rural wooded road, she notices a car pulled up with a woman sat inside. After pulling over to help, Cass gets a weird feeling - why hasn’t the woman in the car shown relief at someone pulling over? Why has she not moved from her spot in the seat, just staring blankly out of the windscreen? Feeling spooked, Cass decides to drive off. The next morning she finds out that the woman is dead, “brutally murdered”, as the police say.
Cass can’t shake the guilt she feels at leaving the woman alone, and soon, the guilt is all she can focus on. She’s started to forget things, like when she bought an alarm system or inviting her friends over, but what she can’t forget is leaving the woman on her own, on a stormy night, to be murdered. She also can’t forget the silent phones calls she’s receiving and the horrible feeling that she’s being watched.</i>
---
After the huge success of <i>Behind Closed Doors</i>, B A Paris had a lot to live up to with this second novel, and for me, it wasn’t anywhere near as good. It didn’t grab me as well as the last. The tension was built just as well in this, steady and slowly, but it was the actual plot that I wasn’t connecting with. It seemed a bit outlandish and didn’t keep me on my toes quite as much. Annoyingly, someone hadn’t marked the spoilers in their review of this, so about halfway through reading the novel, the twist was “ruined”, but, to be honest, the ending was very predictable and I had already sussed it by the time I read that person’s review, so it wasn't that big of a deal.
Another problem with this book was the lack of character development. While we felt so attached to Grace and eager for her to be rid of the troubles in her life, I didn’t find myself thinking the same for Cass. In all honesty, she was a bit of a drip and was so overly hysterical that she just became annoying to read about. Our other, more side characters, Matthew and Rachel, were flat, soppy and unrealistic.
<spoiler>The texts between Matthew and Rachel, at the end of the novel, were really irritating that I ended up skipping over them. Why would we need to see what they said to each other when we already know what they had done? It was just rehashing parts of the plot that we could have sussed was them…</spoiler>
I hate to say such negative things about this novel, but I just don’t get the hype. The story has been done a million times before, and in better ways, too. Maybe I think so badly of this novel because Paris’ last was so great, but there is no comparison between the two.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin UK Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
<i><b>Synopsis:</b> On a stormy night, Cass decides to go against the wishes of her husband and take a dangerous shortcut home. Passing through the rural wooded road, she notices a car pulled up with a woman sat inside. After pulling over to help, Cass gets a weird feeling - why hasn’t the woman in the car shown relief at someone pulling over? Why has she not moved from her spot in the seat, just staring blankly out of the windscreen? Feeling spooked, Cass decides to drive off. The next morning she finds out that the woman is dead, “brutally murdered”, as the police say.
Cass can’t shake the guilt she feels at leaving the woman alone, and soon, the guilt is all she can focus on. She’s started to forget things, like when she bought an alarm system or inviting her friends over, but what she can’t forget is leaving the woman on her own, on a stormy night, to be murdered. She also can’t forget the silent phones calls she’s receiving and the horrible feeling that she’s being watched.</i>
---
After the huge success of <i>Behind Closed Doors</i>, B A Paris had a lot to live up to with this second novel, and for me, it wasn’t anywhere near as good. It didn’t grab me as well as the last. The tension was built just as well in this, steady and slowly, but it was the actual plot that I wasn’t connecting with. It seemed a bit outlandish and didn’t keep me on my toes quite as much. Annoyingly, someone hadn’t marked the spoilers in their review of this, so about halfway through reading the novel, the twist was “ruined”, but, to be honest, the ending was very predictable and I had already sussed it by the time I read that person’s review, so it wasn't that big of a deal.
Another problem with this book was the lack of character development. While we felt so attached to Grace and eager for her to be rid of the troubles in her life, I didn’t find myself thinking the same for Cass. In all honesty, she was a bit of a drip and was so overly hysterical that she just became annoying to read about. Our other, more side characters, Matthew and Rachel, were flat, soppy and unrealistic.
<spoiler>The texts between Matthew and Rachel, at the end of the novel, were really irritating that I ended up skipping over them. Why would we need to see what they said to each other when we already know what they had done? It was just rehashing parts of the plot that we could have sussed was them…</spoiler>
I hate to say such negative things about this novel, but I just don’t get the hype. The story has been done a million times before, and in better ways, too. Maybe I think so badly of this novel because Paris’ last was so great, but there is no comparison between the two.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin UK Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>