Laia and her family have simple rules. Do good work, be on time, and hail the Martial Empire. Usually, they’re pretty easy rules to abide by. Everything changes when Laia’s brother gets arrested for treason, and her parents are killed trying to save him. Laia escapes, but barely. With vengeance in her heart and a vindication for saving her only family left, Laia goes undercover as a slave. As she gathers intel for the rebel cell, she meets Elias, a soldier in training at the top of his class, and who secretly hates the Empire.
Lena Wise is a high school senior with a lot on her plate. From college applications to friend drama, she has a stereotypical teenage life. Except for the fact that she’s been in love with her best friend for years. Sebastian has been there for Lena since they were kids, although nothing has gone past good friends. The new year for Lena is one of taking chances, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll tell Sebastian how she feels. Until one stupid decision ruins everything, and she doesn’t think Sebastian will ever forgive her. Not for what happened, not for what was entirely her fault.
Crescent City is the first in the newest series of critically acclaimed Sarah J. Maas’s works. It’s arguably the most confusing series of Maas’s to start, purely because you don’t really know what’s going on for a hot second. Bryce Quinlan is a young woman who is half-Fae, and is quite the party-goer. One thing unfortunately leads to another, and Bryce finds her friend, Danika, dead in their apartment. A couple years later, Bryce is investigating the murder.
The book’s good, with slight plot holes that aren’t detrimental to the enjoyment of reading it. I would give the novel 5 out of 5 stars. If the synopsis even just slightly interests you, please do give it a read and stick with it for around 10 chapters.
LONGER REVIEW
Ready Player One was an absolutely fantastic dystopian Sci-Fi read filled with countless references to old school videogames, movies, books, and media in general.
The Lightning Thief is a must-read. It is full of adventure, suspense, and excitement. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a fantasy book about a teenage boy named Percy Jackson. After Percy Jackson gets thrown out of boarding school for the 6th time, he is sent to Camp Half-Blood where he finds out that he is a demigod. Lately, he has been seeing monsters and other mythical creatures in his life.
Patrick Rothfuss’s book, The Name of the Wind, is a wonderful book that takes you through the path of the maturing Kvothe. Although the book starts slow, the pacing after the first fifty pages is wonderful. The whole setting of the book, and the story within the story makes for an extra layer that is very welcomed. Having Kvothe tell his story of his past, begins a great dynamic of switching between the present time in the inn, and his past story.
Stick Dog Craves Candy by Tom Watson, is the seventh book of the Stick Dog book series. The book starts out with Karen, Stripes, Mutt, and Poo-poo getting lost looking for the giant pipe that Stick Dog lived in, even though it wasn’t very hard to find. When they got there, they started discussing finding food again, and Poo-poo tried to scent any food that they could look for. He found nothing, so the dogs decided to venture into a nearby neighborhood up to a house.
Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti by Tom Watson, is the sixth book of the Stuck Dog book series. The book starts off with the dogs being hungry again, and Mutt feeling bad about eating rope, even though no one else eats it. They then decide to play tug-of-war, and try to look for a rope. They instead find a carton with noodles in it, and it is delicious. They decide to look for the restaurant listed on the carton to get more. It turns out to be on the top of a steep hill, so each dog thinks of a plan to get to the top.
Dogman: Grime and Punishment is a graphic novel by Dav Pilkey, the ninth book of the Dogman book series. At the end of the last book, only one tadpole had her powers left and the Fair Fairy lost any leverage. Big Jim fell on Grampa and the fairy and stopped them. Flippy decided to take care of the tadpoles, and Petey was released from jail. Now, in this book, the Mayor visits the police and sees how naughty Dogman is, so he takes his badge away and fires him.
“This had been a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose.” But in 17th century Boston, Massachusetts, a sin of any type had no excuse, especially not adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, Each chapter reveals something new about the protagonist. To me, the story almost feels like a puzzle. Whoever he is, he is very good at hiding his identity. After so many years, no one has found out yet. It makes sense in the context of how the story is written because Hawthrone uses A LOT of juxtaposition in this book.
