Book Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Book: The 5th Wave (Book #1 in the 5th Wave series)
Author: Rick Yancey
Rating: 4.5/5 stars- I think I'm rating it higher than I enjoyed it but I DON'T CARE KIND OF

Synopsis (as found on Goodreads):

The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Review:

After the much craze about this book, I finally hopped onto the bandwagon and decided to see what this book was about. I had heard sci-fi dystopian tagged along with it and I was excited.

Stupidly enough, I didn't expect aliens.

OK I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

"CARMEN IT SOUNDS PRETTY DAMN OBVIOUS FROM THE SYNOPSIS IT'S ALIENS."

I'm kinda dense sometimes ok oops.

For the first quarter/third or so of this book, I was mega confused. Literally I was like




I was like wait the waves the plot the characters WHAT.

But then the way the author unfolded Cassie's backstory, what had happened to create this apocalypse world, and how it melded with the current plotline was well structured and it gave a sense of urgency and mystery, as the reader rushes to find out more about what happened.

Then it all starts clicking together around maybe 60-70% of the book or something and I'm like AHAHAHAHAH I KNOW NOW

And then the action really starts clicking in and I'm like YEAH DIE ALIEN SCUM HAHAHAHAH

I was a little excited as you can see.

I liked Cassie, although the romance with Evan? Meh. I thought that could've been done better. I liked how Ben, Sammy, and Cassie's story all came together, but if you had to call Ben a love interest I would be like...
Meh.

Honestly, I kinda of knew beforehand that he was a possible love interest, but I totally thought (and still think!) he was going to be with Ringer.  (Is that spoilery? I don't think so but if you did SORRY) I liked him as a character, but I didn't care for him as a love interest.

Evan Walker. Hm. Well, I didn't like him all that much in the beginning, I just thought he was... kinda of cliche. Around the end though, I started feeling that he really was a decent guy, and there was some sympathy, and I was starting to like where the romance was going, but I liked how Cassie gritted her teeth and was focused on her one goal- her brother Sammy.

My solo issue with the book: POV SWITCH.
Look, multiple POVs are not my favourite to begin with, but my biggest irritation with this novel is that it switches point of view with almost no notices and I have to try and figure it out as I'm reading who it is. When they first switched POVs I was like:


Normally, I would only give this book maybe 4 stars or so, but I gave it .5 higher, really due to the writing and world development- I really enjoyed how they came together and clicked and became a whole big storyline.

I suggest that you give The 5th Wave a try if you're one those sci-fi movie geeks or maybe you just want some aliens in your life.

K-Drama Review: I Hear Your Voice

Drama: I Hear Your Voice
Network: SBS
# of episodes: 18
Rating: 4.5/5 stars- I just adopted a new puppy or something

Synopsis (as found on Wikipedia):

The series is a combination of courtroom drama and romantic comedy with elements of fantasy. After overcoming poverty and a difficult childhood, Jang Hye-sung becomes a lawyer, specifically a public defender, but she is pragmatic, self-preserving and jaded. Her life changes when she encounters Park Soo-ha , a high school boy with the supernatural ability to read other people's thoughts by looking into their eyes, and cop-turned-lawyer Cha Gwan-woo who is cheerful and idealistic, though a bit of a dork. Soo-ha gained his mind-reading ability after witnessing his father getting murdered ten years ago. His father's death had initially been dismissed as a car accident until Hye-sung, then a high school girl , gave decisive testimony in court despite the killer's threats, and Soo-ha has been searching for her ever since. As Hye-sung works with Soo-ha and Gwan-woo, she gradually lets go of her pursuit of money and glory. Together, this unlikely team use unconventional methods on their cases, proving that while sometimes justice is blind to a fault, she can still hear your voice.

Review:

After hearing the raving reviews on the movie and how cute it looked and sounded, I decided to give I Hear Your Voice a try.

Even though it took me like three months to finish it (due to me taking like a 2 month break) it was an enjoyable ride through and through. The main character is a character with immense character growth, from an annoying, jaded, unreasonable woman to someone who really see things deeper than the surface with a strong sense of justice. It's incredible to watch, along side with her co-star, WHO IS EFFING ADORABLE.

Seriously guys, I was wondering if he was like half puppy or something cause you cannot say no to this guy when he makes that face. Literally.



At the same time, he managed to portray a wide wide spectrum of emotions- everything from revengeful, to deeply, madly, in love, to completely irrationally insane. It was exciting to watch, as the emotions were splayed onto the screen so honestly and raw.

Although I wasn't totally sold on their romance, they had chemistry together as characters together on screen and just wow. The moments that were meant to be deep and heart moving sold me completely.


The cast worked together in a perfect symphony and harmony, bringing the story to life and carrying their roles through.

Lawyer Cha was almost equally adorable, although I almost wish he didn't become so serious midway...

As for our villain... a villain worthy of hate. Yet he wasn't evil for the sake of being evil. The plot actually explains and gives you reason, and almost sympathy for his past, and what has shaped him this way. It's not a crappy OMG YOU DROWNED MY HAMSTER reason, it's deep and it's personal and it's melds into the plot, giving it complexity and depth.

I was impressed with the plot, although sometimes a bit slow in terms of certain cases they were dealing with, brought tension in the right pacing, and gave good character development, while balancing the cute, funny moments with the scary, tense moments.

The soundtrack was also brought in beautifully to enhance the drama, not to heavy, but just as background.

Honestly, I'm just really impressed with the writing and the acting of this drama- poignant yet tense, something hard to do at the same time. It was kept clean with one simple plotline, without thirty thousand complex added subplots to mess up, yet the plotline was deep, complex, and had so much tensity, adorableness, and just all around awesomeness. I can't.
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Leave me a comment telling me what Kdrama to watch next guys... I'm still in withdrawal slightly. I need a new drama. 

April 2014

Monthly Wish List for this month and what I've read and seen this past month.

*(What I want to buy but probably only end up buying like 2)
Contemporary heavy month this time! 

Book List: 

*synopses may be spoilery if you have not read the previous books in the series. All synopses were found on Goodreads.

Book: Stolen Songbird (Book #1 in the Malediction Trilogy)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Released Date: April 1st
Synopsis:

For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy...

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

Book: Burn Out (Book #1 in the Burn Out series)
Author: Kristi Helvig
Released Date: April 8th
Synopsis:

A futuristic blend of Beth Revis's Across the Universe and Lenore Appelhans's Level 2, Burn Out will satisfy the growing desire for science fiction with a thrilling story of survival, intrigue, and adventure. 

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth's final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns "red giant," but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.


Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone--her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun--one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in.

When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora's fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.

Book: What I Thought Was True
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Release Date: April 15th
Synopsis:

From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-me-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.

Note from Carmen: I WANT THIS OMG IT'S SO PRETTY *heavy breathing

Book: The Geography of You and Me
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: April 15th
Synopsis:

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

Note from Carmen: I AM SO PUMPED FOR THIS AHHH

Book: The Forever Song
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 15th
Synopsis:

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS 

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? 

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer. 

MONSTER 

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie. 

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

Note from Carmen: AFTER THAT CLIFFHANGER GUYS SOMEONE PLEASE

Book: To All the Boys I've Loved Before (Book #1 in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series)
Author: Jenny Han
Release Date: April 15th
Synopsis:
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

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March Obsessions

Books:

Cruel Beauty (MY LIIIIIIIIFE. Review can be found here.)

Other Stuff:

Sad Song (Song by We the Kings. I blame my friend for getting me addicted to the song.)
Divergent (Movie,  Mini Review can be found here.)

Things I Read/Saw in March and Didn't Review:

Romeo and Juliet

Valkyrie Rising
Between the Lines

Angelfall (Book #1 in the Penryn & the End of Days series)
The Son of Neptune (Book #2 in The Heroes of Olympus series)
World After (Book #2 in the Penryn & the End of Days series)
Storm (Book #1 in the Elemental series)
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

Away We Happened (Web Series)