Discussion #10: False Flattery

Well, as an aspiring writer, I show my work to my friends (and, to my sister, who happens to give me the most criticizing comments EVER, which I am frankly grateful for), and sometimes I can't help but think that they're giving me false flattery because

a) I'm their friend
b) They don't want to hurt my feelings

Well, basically, those two reasons could be merged together into 'they don't want to hurt my feelings because I'm their friend.' I do accuse those people of false flattery, LOL. And I'm sort of scared to go out there and get in a critic group or something like that because I don't know if I can stand all the criticism. Fine, in my speculation, I guess you're right, Cynthia, if you ever read this post..

So my friend Cynthia, who is the YA author of Transcendence and Dirty Little Secrets, apparently continues to advise me to NOT get published until I'm twenty years old. Okay, I'm impatient. Especially when I see all those authors out there under twenty..

Whenever I give people my writing to read I just hope that they'll give me both positive feedback and negative feedback. This is why, as a reviewer, I'm not afraid to criticize..

So, my sister. (Yeah yeah I know you're reading this because you're such a blog stalker, meimei)

When I give her my writing to read, she just shouts out her thoughts like there's no tomorrow.

-They talk too much!!
-She's so annoying!! Like I wanna kick her in the face and ugh she's sooo like you
-Oh my God!!
-You're so not original!
-This makes no sense!!
-He smirks too much!!
-He's so mean!!

Yep, and I just laugh but I keep these things in mind.

I can't really look over my own writing and suddenly discover something wrong with it, well, because, for example, if I want to know whether or not my guy character is considered hot, I can't really read over what I wrote and see if I start to swoon. I can't, because he's my character and I created him, I can't really just say OHH MY GOD YAHHH THIS IS SO SEXY as I type because that would sort of be calling my own brother hot.

So I do need other people to help me discover things, and maybe their flattery is real, but I'd like to hear something that would help me improve. I don't want something discouraging or negative..

Being a writer is so much harder than I had originally thought.

Book Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. (Shatter Me #2)

 Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi.
(Shatter Me #2)
Book Summary: 
tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Liana's Summary: Juliette anticipates war. So does everyone else at Omega Point. She's grown closer to those at Omega Point, the one place that she can call home where everyone is like her, with abilities.. 'gifts'. She's finally free from Warner's grasp, but that doesn't mean he won't come back and try to find her. Still, she is cursed with her lethal touch, not being able to touch anyone-- except for Adam and Warner-- the boy she loves and the boy that tried to kill the boy she loves. Even if she can touch both of them, it doesn't mean that there won't be consequences. Consequences that, no matter how much she doesn't want to hear it, she will find out about.

Rate(1-10): 9

Alas, I finally got my hands on this book. Wow. Just wow. Woooooow. Well, if you haven't read the first book, go ahead and read this review, but I promise that most of it won't make sense at all. SO GO READ THE FIRST BOOK. JUST READ IT. JUST STOP DOING WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING AND FIND THE EBOOK ONLINE OR GO ON AMAZON AND ORDER IT OR RUN TO YOUR NEARBY BOOKSTORE AND JUST DEMAND THAT YOU BUY IT IMMEDIATELY AND CUT THAT LONG LINE OF PEOPLE AND GET TO THE VERY VERY FRONT AND PAY (OR NOT) AND RUN HOME AND READ IT So just read the first book.

So, first of all, the novella Destroy Me was really helpful. It let me look into Warner's soul and see that he wasn't such a bad guy after all. You don't have to read it, but it just gives you a sense of anticipation if you do.

Even if Warner didn't come in until the middle of the book, I still feel as if he's the most important character in the book (besides Juliette, of course). He has so much depth to him, it's just-- wow. If there's any reason to read this book, it'd be him. He's a character with DEPTH, like I said.

Warner basically makes the love triangle interesting. I'm sort of torn now, between Adam and Warner. I opened this book knowing that some people have already converted to Team Warner, and maybe that's influenced my thoughts the whole entire time. But nope, I definitely do NOT hate Warner anymore. Adam is a nice guy, except it's just that he's a reckless shithead sometimes. LOL. They're just both so HOTTTTT

I just need to dedicate a paragraph to Kenji. Even though he's not THAT much of an important character, I JUST LOVE KENJI. Best. Character. Ever. In the first book, I thought he was just some annoying perv, but now that I get to know him, he's AWESOME. Ohmygosh.

Juliette is a broken soul. There, I had to say it. The months in the asylum broke her, I think. And she's just..

Well, I have to say that it was partly because of Tahereh Mafi's writing style. It's just absolutely amazing I can't even. It has a ridiculously AWESOME voice that is a lot like that of Patrick Ness.. I swear, one of the BEST WRITERS EVER. Her writing is what gives Juliette her voice.

I don't know if it's a coincidence but this is the third book that I've read in a ROW where the dude is secretly whipped by his abusive father/caretaker. And then the girl just marvels over his scars blah blah blah. It's a little overused. Yep, just had to point that out..

I enjoyed this book greatly, but I have to say that the first book was much more interesting, since the plot developed very quickly at great amounts. Usually, the second books of series are just the 'preparing-for-war' books, and yes, Unravel Me was like that. There was tension on every single page and I loved it. But I wish that the plot had developed just a teeny bit more. There were a few twists, though, and those were just shocking.(Pretend I said that in Anderson's voice.)

The ending was totally unexpected-- it was sort of a cliffhanger, but then not really. I just can't wait for the next book! I'm eager for the next novella. CAN THE COVER AND TITLE REVEALS HAPPEN ALREADY GOSH

This series has so far been wonderful and I can't wait to see what happens next! Definitely a recommendation!

Quotes!

"Warner is standing not 20 feet away from me."

"He has dimples."

"Hey!"

"Someone closes a hand over my mouth."

"You came back for me,"

“I'm not blind, okay? On a purely physical level? Yeah, you're pretty sexy-- and that suit you have to wear all the time doesn't hurt. But even if you didn't have that 'I kill you if I touch you' thing going on, you are definitely not my type. And more importantly, I'm not some perverted asshole," he says. "I take my job seriously. I get real shit done in this world, and I like to think people respect me for it.”


And this is why I love Kenji

"And I'd really appreciate it if you'd grow the hell up and stop walking around like the world crapped on your only roll of toilet paper. Because it's stupid,”


No one needs to remind me how much I love Kenji

"Hey--good luck,"

"Aaron."

"You," he says to me, his hands gripping me tighter now, "are one of the bravest, strongest people I've ever met. You have the best heart, the best intentions--"

"Kill. Or be killed."

I can't be the only one who thought of Hunger Games
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That's it! What did you think of this review?(:

Follow Friday #22!

Follow Friday! This is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. This week's features are Pretty Deadly Reviews and Boarding With Books.

Q: Give us a sneak! What are you reading? Tell us about a fun or fail scene in your current read.

Well, I'm just starting Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. I've heard a lot of great things about this book and I can't wait to get further into it! Well,  the first few pages is just this drunk guy trying to get the main character to strip... not very fun. Well, stay tuned for my review! I'll be sure to tell everyone what I think.

If you follow me, comment below and I'll be more than glad to follow back!

Happy Friday!

Book Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass. (The Selection #2)

The Elite by Kiera Cass. 
(The Selection #2)
Book Summary: The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Liana's Summary: There are six of them left-- the Elite. But only one will be the one, who will marry Prince Maxon. America Singer is torn between Maxon and Aspen, between the prince of Illea and her longtime love. Who will she choose? Just as indecisiveness is getting the best of her, she discovers something. That she isn't the only one that Maxon likes.

Rate(1-10): 9.5

Ah, another one of my highly anticipated reads, finally devoured by me. (That rhymes! Sort of..)

Anyways, after I finished The Selection, after that ending left me open-mouthed, I knew I had to get The Elite. And alas.. my hands have gotten themselves on this beautiful, beautiful book.

As usual, Kiera Cass wrote with grace and captivated me in her writing and plot organization. There were a handful of twists that shocked me greatly and had my mouth hanging open.

The main character, America, is absolutely FEISTY. Not to mention stubborn, and just absolutely awesome. I know I loved her in the first book for her strength and stubbornness, but now her indecision has driven me to a point in which I'm not so sure anymore. 

This love triangle has gotten to a point of tension, where it just leaves me somewhere in the middle.. I just need the next book now to help me decide. This indecision is unacceptable! I should have seen this coming, LOL, with Kiera Cass writing a blog post about shipping Asperica.. I mean, Maxon is a nice guy, but very, very indecisive. I just don't know what to think anymore.

The covers are gorgeous, and I can't wait to see book 3's cover! I just can't believe I have to wait some more for the next book, ugh. Can't wait.

This was a great read.

Quotes!

"And you know.. you know.."

no she does not know

in order for her to know you must say it out loud!!!

"Listen, you have to promise not to say anything about this."

And Maxon told her that same exact thing -facepalm-

"Somebody's jealous,"

Is it just me or is Aspen being flirtatious

"...and slapped her as hard as I could across her face."

SLAP DAT BITCH TO DEATH

"I thought you were mine,"

Nope, just go away omg.

"..but it's the same way I felt when you broke up with me."

You tell him, girl!

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That's it! What did you think of this review?(: