Category: YA

YA

Review: This is My Brain on Boys by Sarah Strohmeyer

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

this is my brain on boys -sarah strohmeyerAddie Emerson doesn’t believe in love, at least for herself. A straightlaced, brilliant girl, she’s more interested in getting an A than falling in love. But Addie is determined to prove the science of love—because Addie Emerson does believe in science.

Science tells her that “love” is nothing more than the brain’s state under the influence of certain chemicals. And by artificially stimulating those chemicals, the brain can totally be tricked into falling in love. So Addie decides to apply that knowledge—and make her classmates fall in love—to win the coveted Athenian Award for Science in her elite private school. One way to speed up the process—adrenaline—she’ll put her classmates in dangerous, high-risk situations . . . and research the fallout.

But a mysterious new guy keeps messing with her plans. And she kind of can’t stop thinking about his gorgeous brown eyes. With backstabbing competitors—including her former lab partner, the preppy, wealthier-than-thou Dex—and more than one pair of star-crossed lovers—can Addie manage to salvage her experiment and win the Athenian? And what happens if she does the unthinkable—and falls in love?

4 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

**This is My Brain on Boys comes out on May 10, 2016**

Funny, smart (mostly), and intriguing, this is not just any regular summer read from Strohmeyer. This is a book that both drew me in with its premise as well as kept me entertained.

Addie Emerson is a brilliant girl. And very socially awkward. She loves neuroscience and anything related to the brain. As a science student myself, I could appreciate her random use of neuro-related terminology. It may get a tad bit overwhelming for those who don’t necessarily appreciate such huge words and don’t really understand what all these different neurohormones are, but for me, it was absolutely perfect.

The science was mostly okay, though a couple of places I swear the terminology was mixed up. However, even for science parts that were more fantastical than real, I’m not the kind of person who gets pissed at that. It’s not meant to be a realistic science paper. This is a fun novel that focuses on a protagonist who uniquely loves science, and with a project on love . What more can you hope for? So the rest of my review focuses on all the things this book does right. If you’re one of those people who DO get annoyed at “less-than-realistic science” in a fictional book meant for teenagers, then I think you should go elsewhere right now. Like, right now.

That’s right. Don’t read further if that’s you. Just keep moving along.

Okay, now where were we? Ah, Addie Emerson. She’s naive in social attitudes and pleasantries, as well as takes every word literally (even slang and common phrases) but she has a good heart. Right off the bat, you enter her POV and see how she sees the world. It’s different. It’s fascinating. And it’s very much hilarious.

“They didn’t reject me because I’m socially awkward, did they? I’ve read plenty of books on the social behavioural patterns of adolescents. I know to keep at least forty-six centimeters between myself and others to ensure enough personal space.”


She’s a protagonist that you can stand behind. Over the span of the book, you figure out what her project is that she needs to work on to win a scholarship for college. And the fact that she’s been victimized in the past.

And hence, bringing in our second POV in the book, Kris, made the story even more fun. He’s the total opposite of Addie. They meet right at the beginning of the book and he brings freshness and worldly passions to balance out the colder, scientific end of the plot. He only wishes to make amends for what he’s done in the past, and he finds that this summer of “punishment” may have been the best thing that’s ever happened to him. His presence makes everything more complicated for Addie, and this is one chemical reaction – I mean, relationship – that I can appreciate.

The other secondary characters were maybe a bit cliche and stereotypical but that doesn’t mean they don’t bring out the fun and goodness of this story. From Dexter, the other extremely awkward scientist in this book, to Tess as a Drama Queen and actors’ daughter, these people jump out and make you wanna laugh with them or just give them a good punch in the face.

All in all, I’ve never been a huge fan of Sarah Strohmeyer’s past works but I do believe This is My Brain on Boys is one piece of work I can stand behind. It’s truly a hilarious and marvelous read.

Overall Recommendation:
Strohmeyer has outdone herself with this smart and entertaining book on science and love. Addie Emerson is a brilliant neuroscientist who fancies herself an expert on the chemistry of falling in love. With her quirky mannerisms and naivety, it’s very hard not to like our spunky protagonist. However, a chance meeting with Kris turns everything upside down for Addie and her experiment. I enjoyed the ups and downs of their relationship, especially when Addie tries to explain physical attraction with science. With pieces of hilarious prose and fun use of neuro-related terminology, This is My Brain on Boys is a perfect read for this summer, in particular for those with a tiny penchant for “less-than-real science” thrown into their novel.

YA

Review: The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Winner’s Trilogy #3

the winner's kiss -marie rutkoskiSome kisses come at a price.

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

I honestly may have expected too much from this book. The Winner’s Kiss is the dramatic conclusion of the Winner’s Trilogy, filled with battles and Kestrel’s cunning wit to outsmart her homeland’s emperor and entire kingdom. Including her father, the general.

It picks up right where the previous book left off, thank goodness. What with all the incessant misunderstandings in the previous novel, I was starting to think that nothing could ever get rid of that underlying frustration I get whenever Arin and Kestrel are near each other.

So with abated breath, the story continues with Kestrel hauled off to the Middle of Nowhere as a prisoner of war. Shocker. Her father betrayed her.

I have always loved Rutkoski for her ability to still weave a great story without the unnecessary drama of a love triangle. Yes, the amount of misunderstandings was overwhelming but in a different way. However, the obstacle that keeps our two favourite people apart this time was unexpected and kind of brilliant in its own rights. I had wished that, as the title states, Kestrel better get that darn kiss she so deserves, and Rutkoski doesn’t disappoint in that either. I won’t ruin any of the romantic nuisances of it, but I think it can be satisfactory even for the harshest critics out there. It satisfied me, after all, and I most definitely criticized this.

Along with the much awaited reunion and final understanding between them, the story also spiked up in action. With allies from another kingdom come to help, they may actually stand a chance against the forces of Valoria. I wouldn’t say the book lacked in any suspense, but at times, it just felt a little slow to me when the army’s moving from this place to that while assessing the dangers from all fronts. Sure, that’s Kestrel’s thing, but it didn’t help pick up the pace any more.

What could have possibly added to this bit of slowness was the way Rutkoski writes. I do enjoy the way she can poetically describe a scene. It’s not all that colloquial or conversational. It’s great. To an extent. This kind of writing also makes me feel, as the reader, a little more detached emotionally from everything that’s going on. We move from what Kestrel’s feeling, and then to Arin, and back. All in a couple of sentences. My heart just wasn’t as invested into it as I could have been, I suppose. This may just be something up with me though.

All in all, this conclusion was satisfactory, in particular the ending. It ended off with a twist right up Kestrel’s alley and I was left hooting for joy at the way it all was splendidly handled.

Overall Recommendation:
Written in the beautifully poetic prose that’s come to be expected by Rutkoski, The Winner’s Kiss somewhat lives up to its name and provides a resounding conclusion both in battle and in love for our protagonists Kestrel and Arin. I wanted to love it more, but the occasional slowness to the plot and emotional detachment made it hard. Overall, the story provides everything that Rutkoski promised: retribution for the Herrani and an epic adventure that Kestrel and Arin lead us through.

YA

Review: The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Winner’s Trilogy #2

the winner's crime -marie rutkoski

Book two of the dazzling Winner’s Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement… if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

 

2.5 Drink Me Potions

Kestrel’s adventures continue with The Winner’s Crime. Unfortunately, this one didn’t sit as well with me.

As you might come to expect of our dear protagonist, Kestrel’s cunning and oh so very smart. Where we left off from the previous novel, she’s in a dire predicament and her love, Arin, has no idea of what she’s done for him and his people’s sakes. Oh how I wanted to tear down a building in my frustration at that.

Here they were. Just about to really figure out that they loved each other, or that they could believe in each others’ feelings, but things tore them apart and now there are just HEAPS of misunderstanding.

This whole NOVEL is based on misunderstandings galore . From one encounter to the next, it’s like realizing the potential and strength of their love for one another is just on the tip of one of their tongues but SOMETHING, oh my goodness there’s always something, keeps them from confessing it or explaining their noble actions.

I won’t say that The Winner’s Crime suffers from Middle Book Syndrome. It doesn’t. There’s plenty of under-the-table kind of suspense building as kingdoms teeter on the brink of war. Alliances are made and broken. Where Kestrel and Arin stand as their worlds are about to fall apart may determine the outcome of their survival and their love’s survival.

But none of that CLOSURE happens in here. It’s like, so near the end, and I thought, YES, they’ve finally come to their senses about each other , only to have that dream dashed on the rocks. Kestrel’s got things up her sleeves that only her brain can really truly understand, but Arin, in his hurt, may ruin them all. So the kind of action and suspense in this middle book isn’t all-out fighting like its predecessor, yet it was still fascinating to see the heart of Valoria and the dark plots being hatched there.

I will end with this. The Winner’s Kiss better have a TON of making up between Aren and Kestrel. ‘Cause I’ve just about HAD it with their endless misunderstandings. I guess it’s one way of keeping up the romantic suspense without adding in a love triangle. I will, grumbling aside, acknowledge my thanks to Rutkoski for that fact.

Overall Recommendation:
The Winner’s Crime began where the previous book left off with our favourite cunning Kestrel trying to manipulate things from the heart of Valoria. However, she’s playing a dangerous game and the suspense racks up as we see how the dominoes may tumble from her actions. Meanwhile, the romantic suspense is just about killing me as Arin is bitter and has no idea of what Kestrel’s done for him. Where there seems to be moments and chances for reconciliation between the two, it never quite reaches that point in this book, thereby dashing away a higher rating and making me wanna hit my head against a brick wall. I will say you gotta read this (or at least skim this) as there’s essential plot twists here, but otherwise, I would save my breath for the final conclusion.