Topian Reviews on This Shattered World

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So after finishing These Broken Stars, I quickly jumped into reading the sequel This Shattered World.

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should have never met. “Lee” is the captain of the army assigned the job of crushing the rebellion on Avon. Flynn is one of the rebels fighting for his freedom. But when Flynn captures Lee and brings her back to the rebel’s secret camp as a prisoner, the rebels are all in favor of slaying Lee. But before the can kill her, Flynn makes the decision that changes his life, he
leaves, fleeing the camp with Lee in tow.

Even those Tarver and Lilac are not the main characters in the story; we do cross paths with them and find them living life magnificently. However much like in These Broken Stars; Spooner and Kauman team up once again bring to life another round of fantastic world building and character detailing. The scenes are elaborate and well described. While Flynn and Jubilee’s story doesn’t take place on the same planet as Lilac and Tarver, it does take place in the same world; and the mystery of the Whisperers and the dubious thoughts towards the LaRoux industry is only elevated in this installment. The character detailing is very lifelike and realistic. They have complex personalities and the emotions makes you feel like you know who they true are.

Not only are Lee and Flynn phenomenal individually but they are spectacular as a couple as well. The urgency, the desperation, all of it is absolutely wonderful and you can’t help but to root for Lee and Flynn. However once again much like their debut team Spooner and Kauman took their sweet time getting to the good parts but the forbidden love is so worth the wait.

As a sequel, This Shattered World was a perfect match for These Broken Stars. I can’t wait to see what happens in the finale and recommend this great love story to all.




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Topian Reviews on These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A reincarnation of the titanic, These Broken Stars put a new sci-fi twist of the story of romance and tragedy. Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman, team up to spark new light on this magnificent; stunning adventure of courage, fear, survival, and love be on hope.

The Icarus is deemed to be the best, safest spaceship flying through space. But then...catastrophe strikes.

“The Icarus is falling. She’s like a great beast up in the sky, and I imagine her groaning as she wallows and turns, some part of her still fighting, engines still firing in an attempt to escape gravity.”

Two people manage to reach escape pods - Lilac LaRoux, the daughter of the richest man in the universe; and Tarver Merendson, a dedicated war hero. Crash landing on a mysterious, supposedly uninhabited planet, Tarver and Lilac have to accept their differences if they want to stay alive and be rescued.

The style of writing was unbelievably amazing full of detail and emotion. The chaos and beauty intertwined throughout this story makes it vivid and real in the reader’s mind.

Much like the titanic the main woman role is a rich, pampered, and misunderstood brat. Lilac’s character is not the most likeable but she doesn’t have her moments through the book. The way she stand up for the things she believes and the way she take risks, show how strong she truly is. Her transformation is visible as the story progresses. As for the man role of this story, choosing a war decorated soldier was a nice unaccepted delight on this soon titanic retelling. Tarver, the boy next door type, home grown is just amazing and he makes you fall for him automatically. How anyone would or even could hate him is totally unbelievable but Lilac found a way and for good reason. Their social class pin them into the animosity and hatred. But being stranded alone can make a person change their mind or at least let them truly show how they felt but couldn’t say. Tarver and Lilac make an epic team and the spark between them is enchanting.

However all the excitement of this book takes a while to accumulate and so the beginning of the whirl wind adventure doesn’t start till the ship starts to fall. At this point there is a lot of scene building and character detailing. Also the romance was kind of slow build as well, just kiss her already.

I did find myself enjoying this incredible read despite the slow progress. I recommend this book to all hopeless lover romance types, if you loved the titanic then this story is for you.




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The Coffee Book Tag

The Coffee Book Tag is a series of short questions present originally by Youtube blogger Bangady Bangs (link) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og7yB...

We have decided to join the fun after getting tag by a good friend on the blog channel.

QUESTIONS:

1. Black: Name a series that's tough to get into but has hardcore fans.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) By George RR Martin

2. Peppermint mocha: Name a book that gets more popular during the winter or a festive time of year.

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) By Maggie Stiefvater

3. Hot chocolate: What is your favorite children's book?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone By J.K. Rowling

4. Double shot of espresso: Name a book that kept you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Golden Son (Red Rising #2) By Pierce Brown

5. Starbucks: Name a book you see everywhere.

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

6. That hipster coffee shop: Give a book by an indie author a shoutout.

Blood Warrior By HD Gordon

7. Oops! I accidentally got decaf: Name a book you were expecting more from.

A Thousand Pieces Of You by Claudia Gray

8. The perfect blend: Name a book or series that was both bitter and sweet but ultimately satisfying.

Cinder By Marissa Meyer

Shop TopianBooks

Have you check out the Topian Books Shop yet? Find these cute mini book bookmark to match your newest books. Just follow the link below or click on the star on the right side of the page. https://www.etsy.com/listing/222400981/mini-book-bookmark-red-rising-golden-son?ref=shop_home_active_6

Topian Reviews on The Walled City By Ryan Graudin

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Walled City had a brilliant and extraordinary plot. The tagline, "There are three rules to the Walled City. Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Right now, my life depends completely on the first. Run, run, run", is what got my attention and made me want to read the book that much more.

Told from three different perspectives it follows a girl, Jin, disguising herself as a boy in order to find her lost sister, Mei Yee, the lost sister that was sold to a brother by her own father, and Jin, the boy who is trying to redeem himself. They are in a place known The Walled City, a filthy, dirty, and dangerous world. I really liked how different each character was even though I am not the biggest fan of multiple POVs.

I have to admit though… the book slightly bored me. There wasn't enough romance (more like the book hinted the romance but really didn’t show it) and character depth was quite bland, they explained their situations but I could not feel the feeling behind the stories. I know all three have it tough, but I felt that an emotional connection between the reader and the characters was lacking, and at time non-exist. I do love how Graudin created this Chinese inspired dystopian world after hearing about the real walled city. I'm all for diverse cultural characters and settings. I wish we got to know more people outside of these three, for example hearing Kuan’s story would have been interesting being a small gang leader. I also love the gender bender theme in The Walled City, with Jin disguising herself as a guy, but I wish Graudin played more with the idea, used it to better the book. It just seemed as a convenient placement in the book to allow Jin to search for her sister and keep herself out of a bad situation; I wish it had more of a purpose.

The action scenes though, especially the fight, were fantastic, especially Jin and her quick thinking and smart execution. I really did like Jin and wished she led the show. I would look forward to her chapters as opposed to Mei Yee… who I somehow didn't really like or care for. One thing to note is that Graudin painted a harsh world, but it was very realistic. I dislike how sometimes YA books gloss horrific events and situations in our world and I appreciated Graudin for not shying away from giving us as realistic of a picture as possible. I did end up liking The Walled City; I just wish I liked it more. My emotional disconnection with the characters was the main reason why I didn't enjoy it. So if you think you could connect with these characters, then I suggest you pick up The Walled City.




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