Review: Defy

Defy by L.J. Shen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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“In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: Big mistake. Big. Huge.”

You said it, Melody.

Would you believe I've never actually read or better yet even tried to finish a teacher-student romance novel?

Well I've done the deed.

And it's not the one which Melody did with Jamie.

Moving on.

We start with the main heroine of this novel Melody Greene, her unfortunate day of having to teach at the Hot Heads's school (cannot remember the name of the school at the top of my head right now as I write this) and having to crash straight into another car.

But that's not where the unfortunate event really starts. The unfortunate event starts when she crashes into the school's principal's privileged, cocky jerk, spoiled brat son Jamie's car after having to handle the most crappiest and clingy date's text (who's mom still doesn't let him have a car at 26, that really cracked me up, anyhow).

But the entire book really catches on when Jamie blackmails Melody basically to sleep with him otherwise she would lose her job (I swear that principal was always looking for opportunities to fire the poor gal).

And so this arrangement starts, but not without a few plot twists here and there, and of course an introduction to the other hotheads and their gals.

Soon enough however, the arrangement is public and everything is about to hit the fan and in the most terrible way possible.

What I liked: Well, the romance was super steamy and intriguing to read, literally glued to reading every word, the frustrations of being a teacher was also felt deeply (real life feelings finally being communicated, yay), the plot is super fast (gotta admit, I felt like I was riding an express train through it all), the writing is clear, the messages and feelings are communicated crystal clear and the characters are built in a way which they can be viewed from all angles.

What I disliked: Well to be honest, I am never in favor of these romances no matter how intriguing, enjoyable and fun they are. And especially with the way the teachers behave with students (if you've seen the news lately, you know what I am talking about) makes it seem like it's okay to go outside your boundaries and not act professionally and maturely. Kinda wished Melody had someone to go out her own age and Jamie had more sense to go after girls his age, it's not like people their age have vanished entirely.

As much as I enjoyed this novel, I just could not attach myself to it in a more personal way as my heart was divided on this.

Overall: This novel was a good read but if you want to enjoy and actually love this novel, you have to put aside the morally right and wrong rules and let loose for a story like this.

So hope you guys have a better time than me when reading...

-J.B

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Review: Wildcard

Wildcard by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"When the world is murky, guide yourself with your own steady light."

And that is completely and absolutely true as you should never give up, no matter what happens in the world.

Sigh I will definitely miss Hideo and Emika after this....

But continuing on, this book was no better than the last one, I must say. Usually sequels suck and don't have as much energy neither the same enthusiasm that was running in the first book, but this book nailed it if I do say so myself.

So again we have our heroine Emika now discovering exactly who is behind the hack in the game itself and tries to save the world again this time with the help of her new and former Phoenix Rider team.

Getting into this was already hard what with the gaming world at the most vulnerable from the consequences of being saved or not before, but now it threatens more than just the gamers, it threatens the world and the conscious mind, knowing not what to do especially when the whole world is not in control of themselves anymore and you're the only one who's able enough to stop the destruction for the future.

That is a serious gamble, but Emika and her team have no choice if she has to save the whole world's back once again.

What I liked: I liked the action more this time as I was able to understand more clearly what was exactly happening unlike the last time. The dynamics between Emika and the rest of her team is much stronger, more united and I enjoyed that, it being the crucial thing to take down Zero and his team for ruining the game and of course the mind. We finally get more insight into Tremaine's troubled relationship with the Riders and Roshan himself, also the team's lives more closely and Hideo's own troubles are more clearly explained, which makes it more favorable towards a very intriguing plot set out. The fourth thing was that they showed that even with the removal of technology, the world wasn't in complete despair, although a bit distraught, they still moved on, and being able to communicate thoroughly that technology can have it's flaws and advantages but PEOPLE DO NOT DIE WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY (Parents were right on that), so a good message as well.

Things I didn't like: Well, there was one teeny tiny thing that I am sure other reviewers also talked about while writing their own reviews, that Hideo I thought had a much shorter role in this book comparing to the other book before. Considering he had a huge crucial role in dealing with Zero and the overall ruining of the game later on, it's unfair to be honest to almost reduce him to short cameos in the book throughout. Kinda wish she had given more fame time in the book, would have made the book more tolerant to read in that sense.

Overall: I think this book did an absolute fantastic job in delivering a sci-fi teen, romantic, suspense and a thoughtful message in a plot set like this.

So definitely a strong recommendation of 4/5 stars for this duology overall.

I hope y'all enjoy this series.

-J.B

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Review: Warcross

Warcross by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Every locked door has a key and every problem has a solution."

And that's what I get, from the first time I open my library copy of Warcross. Mystery, romance, sci-fi almost fantasy-like worlds and diverse characters come into play as I try to summarize my feelings in regards to this novel, first in the duo-logy.

First of all, whew what a high I've ridden from this novel, it's literally everything yet everything unexpected and keeping me on my feet at all times, but we'll get into that a bit later.

We first get a glimpse of Emika Chen, our main heroine, in a rough and tight spot as a bounty hunter struggling to pay bills for basic necessities to survive on. The one thing that keeps her going are her dad's words to her about every problem having a solution, and you know to be honest, most of us would probably relate to Emika's situation at one time or another as we grow or are already working adults, and struggle with juggling everything in our lives.

Also the other things that keep Emika going are her friend Kiera and Warcross, the game played by millions worldwide and an escape from their everyday mundane life.

Think Harrypotter and divergent mixed and you get the baby which is a futuristic 21st century Tokyo, Japan where said world exists.

Anyway, after being harassed by her landlord to pay up her bills, desperate Emika seeks to do something to do in order to gain cash by trying to steal a powerup from the game, and illegally selling for some quick dough.

Unfortunately, even the best of the plans go awry such as getting glitched into the game and trying to desperately get out of it, but alas.

After that happy little incident, nothing is the same again for Emika and the rest of the world as she tries to discover the hack in the game, and save the gaming world.

What I Liked: I liked the sci-fi futuristic setting, it gives the reader more of a glimpse towards what could happen in the coming future and the pros and cons of online gaming. Loved the characters and their 3-dimensional build overall in the book, talking about their lives, their goals and ambitions, them actually being human as well and not just solely talking about what their connection in their game was and their overall support for Emika and Emika also being more than one-dimensional and having no feelings, she's a complete person who feels and understands the reality and illusions of her setting. The mystery and romance were also things that I liked, what with who hacked into the game itself and having such intricate but unexpected plot-twists that at times made me say like woah and the budding romance between Emika and Hideo, although thank the lord that the romance wasn't the main focus here as much, I feel this novel did a lot better because it focused on the key objective which was to show Emika and the others stop the gaming world from going into it's own downfall.

What I disliked: Well to be honest, there aren't a lot of things I disliked. One thing was that even if it was easy falling into the futuristic world, it could be hard to understand it at times and just be like: "What are they even saying, is it gibberish?" and "Damn, I feel ancient." to their technology and futuristic ideas, as I was feeling sometimes during the book which I must say, did slow my progress a bit in finishing this book.

Overall: I think I can give this book proudly 4/5 stars for everything it portrayed and with it's own interesting, intriguing plot twists. Such a book is hard to find nowadays, that will keep your mind whirling for days on end.

So PICK THIS BOOK UP RIGHT NOW, I do not kid. Otherwise... What are you doing with your life?

-J.B

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