Cress – Marissa Meyer

So I finally finished it! Having started Cress about two months ago, and only having made it a third of the way through by the end of last week, I was determined to finish it before I came home. Partly because I only had room for one book in my suitcase, and partly because two and a half months to finish it was getting ridiculous. And can I just say, the length of time had absolutely nothing to do with the book itself, but rather my complete lack of free reading time at university. But I’ve ranted about that before.

Cress however, was fab. I’m not sure whether I necessarily liked it better than the over two, but it was still pretty great. I’m not going to put in a blurb for it, as it would basically give away the entirety of the first two books. And while I have no issue with spoilers, as you’ll know if you read anything I’ve ever written, I think that might be taking it a bit far. So just accept that I’m right when I say it was fab.

It was fast paced, a bunch of questions got answered, and a bunch more got asked. The Lunars remain terrifying. I think that’s one of the best bits about the book, that the bad guys, with the exception of Levana, aren’t 100% bad, but they’re still terrifying. And it’s because it’s something you see over and over when you study history. Not the mind control powers, granted, but to an extent I feel that it’s just an over-exaggerated form of propaganda and fear. Propoganda and fear do much the same, making people feel like they don’t have a choice but to conform, or act in a certain way, and I saw a lot of that in the way the Lunars are portrayed. I mean, the bit with Scarlett on Lunar really made my skin crawl. On the other hand, the all accepting pocket of people in Farafrah made me happy 🙂

I was also really impressed with Thorne’s character development. Looking back on the past books, which to be fair I read a while ago, I feel like we never really got to know Thorne. He was stuck behind his arrogant bravado, and Cinder and Scarlett were far more interesting characters to explore. Meaning he kinda got left behind as a side-character who was necessary to progress the plot. But I feel that Cress was Thorne’s book. Even though it was called Cress. He really came into his own, not only taking on responsibility, and showing his true maturity, but also how visible the chinks in his armour became. Throughout the book Cress was breaking them down and you saw him become vulnerable, and caring, and just altogether sweet. I mean, the escort droid. ❤ And I think we needed this from Thorne, we needed to see him as a real person, not just a facade, and I think Meyer did a smashing job through his time with Cress.

Bravo. It was great. I want Winter.

~ Becca x

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When in Oxford: A Bookshelf Switch and Termly TBR

So this is what Oxford looks like today:

Still as beautiful as ever, if very very wet. And yes, I am finally back. I spent my morning today training to be a consent workshop facilitator, which basically involves leading discussions on consent and the culture surrounding it. Discourse surrounding sexual abuse and consent is incredibly important if we want to break the culture of victim shaming and ‘Blurred Lines’ to quote the incredibly awful Robin Thicke song. Without talking about these subjects, the bad becomes normalised, and incidents get brushed under the carpet; we act as if, by not talking about them, they cease to exist. And that got me to thinking about the role consent plays in books. *Spoilers* In Anna and the French Kiss for instance, she asks Etienne to kiss her – clear consent, even if I have other issues with that particular scene. In Crown of Midnight, Celaena is clearly consenting to her escapades with Chaol. All of which is great. But I think that there is more to be said on how consent is explored and portrayed in books. This post is not where I want to do this – it’s far too big and important a discussion and so I want the chance to go home to my bookshelves and do a bit more research before plunging into the topic headfirst. If I’m going to talk about it then I think it’s important to do it properly, and I don’t feel in a position to do that yet. But I did still want to mention it here to start to get people thinking, especially with the huge importance the conversation on sexual abuse is currently playing within the YouTube community. If you don’t know hat I’m talking about, go and look it up, as a lot of people have great things to say. So this may be just barely touch on the idea, but I do want to come back to it so watch this space, and if you know of any books in which consent is a particularly big theme, or for that matter, a minor one, please do send them my way.

What I did want to do with this post is actually far more trivial, so sorry to disappoint anyone who was hoping for an in depth discussion of what I learnt this morning. You’ll have to wait. Moving back to Oxford means that I had to leave my bookshelves behind. *cries* For the next eight weeks of so, I will be swapping fantasy and dystopia, for these:

And for anyone whose ever actually read Arrian back to back, you’ll know that a ten page description of troop layout and battle tactics is far less enticing than it is in YA fiction. I did, however, allow myself a few escapist reading books. So without further ado, here is my termly TBR:

The Programme: Suzanne Young

I’m already a fair few chapters into this and it seems okay so far, I’m not completely enthused by it, but it still has time to woo me. It’s set in a dystopian-esque world in which teen depression, leading to suicide, has become an epidemic. In an attempt to cure it, the government instrumented a therapy known as ‘The Program’, but those who go through The Program don’t come out the same. Oooooh dramatic. Tbh, I’m just waiting for the main character, Sloane, to get thrown in already.

The First Book of Calamity Leek: Paula Lichtarowicz

I think this is about cults? I don’t know. I’ve heard it’s weird but the cover is pretty.

Cress: Marissa Meyer

I loved Cinder, I loved Scarlett. I hope I love Cress. The entire Lunar chronicles are retellings of classic fairytales in a futuristic society. Cinderella is a cyborg. Red Riding Hood is in love with a mutant wolf man. And now we get Rapunzel – I can’t wait.

Shadow and Bone: Leigh Bardugo

I bought this book because I kept hearing so many good things about it. I bought it without actually reading the blurb though… So I’ve just gone and read the blurb and apparently it’s about an orphan who gets thrown into the world of the elite and has to save the kingdom. There also appears to be a love triangle between her childhood friend, and a potentially evil guy called the Darkling. Because god knows we all need more love triangles. But yeah, I’ve heard good things about it, so maybe there isn’t a love triangle after all… I’ll let you know.

What are you all reading this Autumn?

~ Becca x

Cinder – Marissa Meyer

Well this was fun. I had been waiting a while to read this book, and it was way up there on the *congratulations you’ve finished exams do all of the reading* list. I’d heard good things about this book, and just from the premise alone you can tell that fun is the best way to describe it. Cinder is not so much a retelling as a reworking of Cinderella set in a futuristic city, which appears to be some sort of weird-Firefly-remeniscent fusion of American and Chinese culture. And Cinderella is a cyborg. Need I say more?

I will admit that this book was fairly predictable – I had inklings of the final revelation pretty much from the start, and had solidified my theory by the whole burning dream thing that happens a few chapters in. Like seriously, how did no one else see it? It’s so bleedin’ obvious. Come on people. I have to say though that it really didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book. The world is fascinating, and the characters are well thought through. Cinder and Prince Kai may have been a teeny bit irritating at times, but no more so than their versions in the original fairytale, and you have to feel rather sorry for Kai being thrown in at the deep end. The Lunars were a concept that I wasn’t expecting when I picked it up. I know they’re in the blurb but I wasn’t expecting them to be such a central part of the plot and so, I don’t know, annoyingly kniving? JUST GO AWAY ALREADY. Yes I know it’s the title of the series, but that is not the point. It was still cool. Oh, and Iko. Iko is priceless.

Once again I say this book was fun. A darn sight more fun than Cinderella ever was if you ask me.

~ Becca x

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Where to buy the book:   UK   US