Winter | Marissa Meyer

96/100

It's two days into my winter break and I just finished reading Winter (see what I did there) and again I remembered the feeling of just falling back into a book, the feeling of becoming invested and even attached to the characters and actually caring about what happens to them. If you haven't picked up the Lunar Chronicles or heard of them I highly recommend you do. It's essentially a fairytale-retelling in a science-fiction dystopian world, definitely something worth checking out. There will be some spoilers ahead, since this is the fourth and final book, so if you haven't read the books, read them and come back. In the meantime I'll link my reviews to the three other books in the series.

Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Fairest

+5 Cover Design

All of the covers have been styles of classic fairytales and this one just continues the trend. I really like the trend of revamping the main focus of classic fairytales into this science-fictiony theme, so I give this cover a 5/5. 

+5 Writing Style

The writing style was fantastic, just as all the other books have been. It was so easy to start reading and begin to lose myself in the world of Luna. 

+5 Plot Development

Since Winter was the finale book to the series, it was crucial that it include everything that happens.  Usually one of two things happen: the first being that the author simply shortens the book without including any of these details (*cough* Blood of Olympus *cough*) or they decide to divide it into two books because "everything won't fit" (*cough* UnDivided *cough*). But Marissa Meyer wrote and published 800 pages of beautiful conclusion, and it worked. 

I thought the plot itself was developed perfectly. There were a perfect amount of twists and turns for it to be believable and still work out, and early on in the book we were on the edge of our seat towards the build up of the conclusion. 

+4 Character Relations

If there was anything I had a problem with, it was character relations, mostly because I really didn't enjoy the sets of couples we had. Multiple couples working together to overthrow the dictator just sounds unrealistic, I mean, there's got to be at least one single person in the group. It just seems too convenient that every couple ends with a 'happily ever after'. 

While Wolf and Scarlet are my least favorite couple, my biggest issue was with Cress and Thorne. There was one scene in particular when they're sneaking into the coronation and Thorne ends up kissing some random Lunar, which makes Cress go ballistic. Now if this were real life, Cress would admit she likes him and he would slowly break it to her that he's not interested in the same way, creating awkward tension between them for the rest of the book. But of course, books don't reflect the disappointment of reality so instead he passionately kisses and admits that he loves her too. Classic. 

While I didn't have any major, specific issues with Wolf and Scarlet or Winter and Jacin, something about them just irked me. Their bond was too forced. Wolf and Jacin were both too dominating males, risking everything for their partner. It kept getting in the way of the logical approach of the revolution. 

The only couple I had respect for was Kai and Cinder. For a majority of the book they weren't together, but when they were apart they wouldn't mindlessly worry about one another. Sure, it was in the back of their minds but they knew they had a responsibility to their people first. Kai understands that Cinder is a strong, independent woman (though I guess the same can't be said about the rest of the female characters) and is able to let her go without too much of a fight. I respect the fact that they don't necessarily need to be around each other, they just want to be around each other. 

+5 Character Development

So we could talk about the character development of Cinder finally becoming a queen, but we all know how that turns out. I want to take a moment to talk about Levana. We saw a bit of her side in Fairest and a bit more of her perspective in Winter. 

I think Levana is one of the best villains I've read in a while. There's something so interesting about her character since she truly believes she's in the right. I think it's so easy to take Levana as the bad side and Cinder as the good, but I was able to really see where Levana was coming from. She was raised in an environment where killing and torturing were accepted, even encouraged as methods of rule. So it's no surprise that her rule mimics this. 

Her hate for Winter also mimics this. She's been raised to know beauty and manipulation, but Winter's world only consists of beauty, one of the reasons the public likes her so much. Levana does feel some amount of jealousy for Winter, but I genuinely think she doesn't understand why people like her so much. She doesn't understand the concept of not controlling someone, because the idea of letting someone have control of their emotions means that they can easily turn against her, something that has happened so often in the past. 

Most villains in other books have understood their evil position, and the fact that Levana doesn't understand she's on the "bad" side is an interesting perspective, especially when you attempt to get to the root of her problems. 

+4 Likability of Protagonist

Cinder is fantastic and I love her, but since the book is named after Winter I'm going to consider her as the protagonist. I understand she had the Lunar sickness, but she lacked some crucial common sense throughout the book. One example is the initial spread of the mutated letumosis. She runs off because she thinks she's seen Jacin and some old woman intercepts her and tells her that Jacin left her a piece of candy to proclaim his love for her. Winter, you've known Jacin since you guys were toddlers, does this sound like something he would do? But of course, she doesn't take notice of the inconsistencies and brings about yet another subplot of the letumosis. 

+5 Necessity of Minor Characters

I really don't think I even need to touch on this, but everyone was crucial to the plot. Each character had his/her skill set that contributed to the plot. The only character that seemed mildly unnecessary was Winter, she didn't really do much except coax the wolf soldiers to their side.

+5 Setting Description

Like I mentioned before, it was so easy to get lost within the pages and that was partly due to how well the scene was set out. The visual imagery of Luna and the castle, especially when Cinder was looking up at the palace from the lake was stunning and so easy to picture.

+5 Interesting Storyline

Of course the storyline was interesting, otherwise there's no way I would have gotten through an 800 page book in two days.

+3  Predictability

There wasn't some big reveal or any element of surprise really. We knew that Levana would be overthrown and Cinder would step in her place. We knew all the couples would get together and stay together. All we were reading for was how it happened, and in this case that was satisfying enough.

+50 Finished

Final Total: 96/100 ; A

Overall this was such a great book to get me back into reading. It's been less than 24 hours since I've finished the book and yet the feeling of book depression still hangs over me. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend, and if you have read it, let me know in the comments below what you thought! 

Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between | Jennifer E. Smith

88/100

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

+3 Cover Design 

While this isn't the best cover I've seen, I absolutely love the font of the title. Any title with this font automatically gets some points. I also really like the color scheme of the cover, but the actual image of the cover seems a bit cliché.

+5 Writing Style

Smith does a fantastic job of weaving all the parts of the story together in a way that's interesting and deep.

+3 Plot Development

While the entirety of the book was more of an emotional journey over a physical one, a majority of the book had good plot development. I particularly loved the flashbacks where we got to see the development of their relationship. While I understood the indecision our protagonist was struggling through, near the end the problem less significant than it started.

+5 Character Relationships 

This entire book focused on relationships. Boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, father-son relationships, best friend-best friend relationships. And they were fleshed out so perfectly. Every interaction had some sort of significance, no dialogue seemed unnecessary and out of place. 

+3 Character Development

Since the span of the book is over the course of one night, we don't really see much development in the characters individually. But we do see a lot of development in their relationships with one another, which compensates for the lack of individuality of the characters.

+3 Likability of Protagonist

I have no complains about Clare or Aiden. I related a little more to Clare in her practicality of thinking, but I wasn't in love with her. I could see how Aiden is a fantastic boyfriend and individual, but again I didn't love him as much as I have with other characters.

+4 Necessity of Minor Characters

While the minor characters weren't necessary to the plot itself, they were extremely important in the development of different character relationships. These minor characters shaped the situation that set up the book, but didn't do as much for the storyline during the book. 

+5 Setting Description

A good chunk of this book focused on the setting since each particular place they stopped had a significant impact on their relationship. I really think that Smith did a fantastic job with giving us enough detail so we could realistically picture the scenes in our minds without being overloaded with unnecessary detail.

+4 Interesting Storyline

Personally I really enjoyed this book and I think a lot of it had to do with how close the scenes in this book hit home. While I'm not saying goodbye to a first love or anything like that, I am leaving for college soon and in the same way I have to say goodbye to all my friends. Like in the book I have friends staying right here and I have friends going as far as California.

+3 Predictability

I wasn't really looking towards whether or not Clare and Aiden would stay together. While I was reading it, I was more living in the moment of their relationship, not really worrying whether or not they were going to stay together.

+50 Finished

Final Total: 88/100; B+ 

This is more of an emotional book than an action-packed one. But it's a fantastic summer read and I definitely recommend it as a good way to feel nostalgic, especially if you're like me and about to start college.

The Heir | Kiera Cass

Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.

Continuing the Selection Series, the Heir proved to be yet another cute, light read. Set more than eighteen years in the future, we get to meet America and Maxon's daughter Eadlyn, a woman close to taking the throne as the first woman leader. The caste system has been officially disbanded however there's still unrest in the public, and in order to distract them from the rebellion beginning to brew, Eadlyn is forced into a Selection of her own. 

While this new series seems like a repeat of the original, I'm excited to see the different perspectives, one of the selector as opposed to the selectees, and I am especially excited to see more of a development of the characters and the world. 

I had mentioned in my review of The One that I felt the world was only briefly introduced and I'm hoping we get to see more. Perhaps in the later books we'll be able to step outside the castle and get a first hand view of the riots and rebellions. 

One character I am particularly looking forward to is Princess Eadlyn. In just the first book, we began seeing a dramatic difference in her personality. She begins as a stubborn girl, someone who has spent their entire life training for the crown. She knows how she should look and act; prim and proper, but she refuses to acknowledge any part of her that is vulnerable. Her heart and her personality is blocked by a thick brick wall, masked by a picture of perfection. By the end of the book we begin making small dents and I'm hoping it's completely torn down by the end of the series.

It's definitely worth continuing if you've read the other Selection books. And if you haven't read those, I definitely recommend them if you're looking for a cute, light read. I'll link my previous reviews down below if you want to read more about the other books. 
The Selection
The Elite

P.S. I Still Love You | Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

As a companion novel to To All the Boys I've Loved Before, I had high expectations going into this book. All of them were met until the end, which I'll talk more about in the Spoiler-Filled Discussion. We get to see more of Lara Jean and Peter, both struggling through this relationship of theirs, dodging different obstacles like Genevieve and John Ambrose. 

I think my favorite part of this book, besides the cute, cheesy romance, was the interactions between the characters. The relationship between Lara Jean and her sister, Peter and Genevieve, and Lara Jean and John all played significant roles in the arc of the story. 

All in all, I think it was a very well-written conclusion to the story, even though I did have some specific problems with it. 

It's a cute contemporary read, perfect for the summer weather. I'll link my review to To All the Boys I've Loved Before in case you want to learn a bit more about the storyline and characters. 

Spoiler-Filled Review

While the story was cute and adorable, there were bits and pieces that I just didn't love. 

My first issue was with Peter. I'm not going to lie, I never really liked Peter. In the first book I was Team Josh and in the second book I was Team John. Peter never seemed like the ideal boyfriend for Lara Jean and this book confirmed just confirmed my beliefs. 

Genevieve constantly disrupted their relationship both intentionally and unintentionally. Throughout the entire book Lara Jean felt insecure about Genevieve and Peter's relationship and while some people might say she's being unnecessarily jealous, I completely understand the place she's coming from. It's not the fact that Peter is talking to a girl. It's the fact that he's missing games and secretly talking and meeting up with his ex-girlfriend, who is secretly plotting to get him back. Peter wasn't in wrong, but I just think he should have been more open and honest about it with Lara Jean, especially if his relationship with her was in trouble. 

Near the end Lara Jean had told him that she deserves someone who'll put her first and I completely agree with that. I don't think Peter was the one to do that. He and Genevieve have too much history and too many ties to cut off. But I do think John would have been able to do that for her, which is why I liked him more than Peter.

At least in the first book there was some secret behind Josh and Margot's relationship that made me feel weird about Josh and Lara Jean. But in this book, nothing got between John and Lara Jean, leaving me wondering why John wasn't a viable candidate. 

I'm happy for Lara Jean but I still wonder what could have happened if she pursued something with John. I understand this was Peter and Lara Jean's love story, but I still preferred John. The ending is really what brought the book down for me, but I'm sure all you Peter fans loved it. 

Were you guys Team Peter or Team John? Let me know in the comments below! 

Kissing in America | Margo Rabb

In the two years since her father died, sixteen-year-old Eva has found comfort in reading romance novels—118 of them, to be exact—to dull the pain of her loss that’s still so present. Her romantic fantasies become a reality when she meets Will, who seems to truly understand Eva’s grief. Unfortunately, after Eva falls head-over-heels for him, he picks up and moves to California without any warning. Not wanting to lose the only person who has been able to pull her out of sadness—and, perhaps, her shot at real love—Eva and her best friend, Annie, concoct a plan to travel to the west coast to see Will again. As they road trip across America, Eva and Annie confront the complex truth about love. 

In this honest and emotional journey that National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr calls “gorgeous, funny, and joyous,” readers will experience the highs of infatuation and the lows of heartache as Eva contends with love in all of its forms.

BEA was incredible. Not only because of all the free books but because of the wonderful authors I got to meet, and Margo Rabb was no different. We began talking and I found out that she'll be coming to a Barnes and Noble near me and I'd have the chance to meet her again. So of course, before then I wanted to read her book so we could talk about it. 

I will say that this book did not disappoint. Just by looking at the cover and the title, I honestly though this book was about two immigrants falling in love, but soon into the book I realized I was wrong. 

Rabb did a fantastic job of intertwining a different type of love story within this book. I will admit that there were a few side plots that seemed mildly unnecessary even though I understood the purpose of them, but overall I think it did a good job of depicting a different type of love story. 

While Eva wasn't an unlikable character, I didn't particularly love her dependance on Will. She spent most of the beginning pining over him and thinking about him, which I didn't particularly love but I understand that it was crucial to the storyline. 

Overall I loved the way the story ended up progressing. It's a nice, light read and if you've enjoyed Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid and Papertowns by John Green, this is something you might enjoy.

The Darkest Minds | Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

Over the past year, I've seen mentions of this book and this author everywhere: on BookTube, on other blogs, at BEA, from my friends. When I hear about a book more than three times, I have to pick it up and give it a read, even if it is just to see what all the hype is about. 

I have to say, I'm still conflicted on this book. While the plot is intriguing and fascinating, I'm not sure it had the "I LOVE IT" feel that a lot of other books have for me, however that may have been due to the reading slump I was in while I read this book. 

If I'm being completely honest, this book was just like your typical dystopian. You have the badass female protagonist who's stronger than she look, the hot male love-interest who would be the perfect real-life boyfriend, the organization who's original intentions have been compromised and the opposing organization who's goal is to fight everything that has gone wrong in society. The concept and actual plot was interesting and innovative, however the template was very generic. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, it just wasn't what I was looking for when I read it. 

It definitely has a Hunger Games-esque feel to it, so while it wasn't something I loved, I don't want to discourage anyone else from reading it. 

Pandemic | Yvonne Ventresca

Even under the most normal circumstances, high school can be a painful and confusing time. Unfortunately, Lilianna's circumstances are anything but normal. Only a few people know what caused her sudden change from model student to the withdrawn pessimist she has become, but her situation isn't about to get any better. When people begin coming down with a quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat, Lil's worst fears are realized. With her parents called away on business before the contagious outbreak-her father in Delaware covering the early stages of the disease and her mother in Hong Kong and unable to get a flight back to New Jersey-Lil's town is hit by what soon becomes a widespread illness and fatal disaster. Now, she's more alone than she's been since the "incident" at her school months ago.

With friends and neighbors dying all around her, Lil does everything she can just to survive. But as the disease rages on, so does an unexpected tension as Lil is torn between an old ex and a new romantic interest. Just when it all seems too much, the cause of her original trauma shows up at her door. In this thrilling debut from author Yvonne Ventresca, Lil must find a way to survive not only the outbreak and its real-life consequences, but also her own personal demons.

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Yvonne Ventresca in December during the YABookFest in Princeton. I got her book personally signed, and I finally got the chance to pick it up and read it. I will say that this book picked me up out of my reading slump. It was the first book I read in a long time that reminded me why I enjoy reading.

Personally I really enjoyed Lilianna's and Jay's character and how they developed throughout the novel, Lilianna in particular. While Lilanna's past incidents may seem irrelevant, I think it was crucial in changing her character and developing it further. It's what made her so paranoid and probably what saved her life in this crisis. But we also got the chance to see Lilianna finally open up to the people around her.

While this book wasn't action-packed, I think more of the action is in the character development and the relationships between them. I love dystopians and this is yet another book to add to the list.

The premise of this book closely resembled that of Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, so if you enjoyed that, I definitely recommend this book. 

Falls the Shadow | Stefanie Gaither

When Cate Benson was a kid, her sister, Violet, died. Two hours after the funeral, Cate’s family picked up Violet’s replacement. Like nothing had happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to give their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth—which means this new Violet has the same smile. The same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all of the same memories as the girl she replaced.

She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.

At least, that’s what the paparazzi and the anti-cloning protestors want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that. She’s used to defending her sister, too. But Violet has vanished, and when Cate sets out to find her, she ends up in the line of fire instead. Because Cate is getting dangerously close to secrets that will rock the foundation of everything she thought was true.

In a thrilling debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?

I had received this book as a Christmas gift after my friend was enticed by the summary. Excited, I picked it up and brought it one of my fencing meets. My friend and I, both without headphones, decided to read the book out loud which may have been either the worst decision of the best decision we've made.

It took us little over a month to finish the book, and by the end we both agreed that we kind of really hated it. I don't know how much of it had to do with the fact that we were reading it out loud, highlighting the flaws, but there were several aspects of this book that irritated us endlessly. 

1. Characters 

These characters were boring and dull. This may seem a bit harsh but my friend and I had to give the characters different accents in order to prevent them from becoming completely two-dimensional. Jaxon magically became an immigrant from India looking for marriage while Cate took up an Australian accent. But not only were the characters dull, but they were also fairly stupid. They could have easily gotten out of the mess they were in, but continued to dive into a dangerous situation without any thought. On top of that, every interaction between the characters seemed unnecessary. Two characters would have a conversation for pages and pages that would essentially result to nothing. It was very very obvious what role each character played in the plot. For example, Seth was meant for comic relief, while Jaxon presented the "complicated" romance. 

There was even a point in the novel when the author simply forgot about certain characters. In one particular scene the authors forgets the presence of a small, yet dangerous side character and then proceeds to write several pages of pointless conversation between two completely different characters.

2. Plot

The plot had an interesting concept, but a poor execution. As a stand alone book I don't think it did a good job of introducing and resolving the issues it brings up. I'm not saying I want a sequel, but I just don't think the plot was resolved at all. 

3. Writing

There were simple grammatical mistakes in the book. I'm not a grammar Nazi or anything, and I've made several grammatical errors. But in something as revised and edited as a book, there definitely shouldn't be any. The manuscript has passed through the eyes of editors, authors, publishers, and not one of them was able to catch a simple grammar mistake. There is nothing that bothers me more than a hardcover published book having grammar mistakes and typos. There was more than one occasion where Gaither used "Violet and me" instead of "Violet and I", which is mildly ridiculous. There's something wrong if after several rounds of editing nobody notices this mistake. 

Another thing was that the writing was overly dramatized. To the point where it didn't follow simple laws of physics. Not like magic where people fly through the air because of superhuman powers, but people would "fly across the room" after being hit by a small teenage girl. I'm not saying she was weak, but unless this is some paranormal book she's definitely not hulk. 

All in all, I really didn't like this book. There seemed to be little action and way too much soliloquy from Cate. I may have liked it more if I had read it in my head, but reading it out loud highlighted the glaring problems and gaps in this book. Though I really enjoyed the experience of reading out loud, I did not enjoy the actual book. While it seems I'm being a bit harsh, this was my honest opinion of the book. My expectations were set too high by the synopsis, and the actual book fell very low below the bar. I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book, but I do recommend taking the synopsis with a grain of salt. 

Aftermath | Tom Lewis

The end of the world came fast. Between the time the warning had sounded on the TV, till when 16-year-old Paige O’Connor awakened sometime later, civilization had been crushed. 

The attacks had come by “them” – those things in the ships in the sky that had appeared suddenly, and without warning. 

And as Paige would soon discover, the attacks had only been the beginning. 

Aftermath is the first book in the new After the Fall dystopian action series, which follows a young girl’s struggle for survival in the wake of civilization’s collapse, and humanity’s domination by an alien race of beings. 

While the concept of this book was interesting, I personally didn't feel as though it was executed as well as it could have been.

My main issue was the lack of interaction the story had with the reader. The audience should have some part in the story. We should be given the opportunity to like characters and dislike characters without outright being told who is good and who is bad. Personally I felt as though this story lacked depth, in the characters, the plot, the setting, etc.

While this book was science fiction and, of course, completely unreal, I still feel like every book should have aspects with some semblance to real life, whether it be manifested in the character personalities, character relations, the events of the book, etc. And I genuinely feel as though this story didn't have any, at least none that I could relate to.

On the same note, I feel as though the dialogue could have been more interesting. It did serve to answer some of the questions we had, but I felt as though most of it was characters asking and answering questions. We got no heartfelt moments between characters that really solidified their relationship, which is why the proclaimed love was hard to believe.

The first book in the series generally sets the foundation and predicts the trajectory for the rest of the series. From The Hunger Games, we knew there would be some efforts put to overthrow the Capitol and from The Fifth Wave Series we can predict that there is some sort of human-alien conspiracy that must be solved. But with this book I really saw no trajectory. I assume they're going to try and overthrow the "hosts", but as the protagonists of the story, they haven't really solidified a plan.

Generally I think the execution of the idea could have been better done. It's an interesting concept told in a very simple way, one I didn't prefer. I like getting as into my books as I can so I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wish I could have, but I don't want to discourage anyone who may be interested in this type of writing.

Four: A Divergent Collection | Veronica Roth

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

I love seeing similar events from different perspectives. For Divergent and Insurgent we got to see primarily from Tris's point of view; only in Allegiant did we get the chance to see even a glimpse of Tobias. These short stories do a great job of condensing some important milestones in Tobias's life. We got to see the scrawny boy before transferring to Dauntless, his journey through Dauntless and even the origins of his rivalry with Eric. 

I will admit though, that Tris and Tobias have very similar stories as they go through Initation. Eric is essentially Tobias's "Peter", Amar is essentially his "Tobias." There were just a lot of parallels, and I'm not sure whether they were intentional or not. 

One scene that was particularly striking was the jumper section of Initiation for both Tris and Tobias. When Tobias was an Initiate, he was the last jumper, which somewhat explains his respect and awe at Tris for being the first jumper. I honestly will say that I loved seeing these similarities and differences between Tris and Tobias. 

I will admit though, I like Tris's voice a lot more than Tobias's. In terms of writing style, they are very similar, but Tris is more about the action, she doesn't seem to spend as much time as Tobias does thinking about everything, which is both good and bad. It felt like Tobias spent a whole lot of time just thinking about what the Erudite were doing and what Dauntless should be doing, and a whole lot less doing. 

This may have been intentional but Tobias's takes on certain events seemed to go by much faster than Tris. For him, it seemed as though Initiation lasted a week or so, when in Divergent it lasted a couple months. This was probably done in order to keep the short stories short, but I still wish we had gotten a bit more detail on some events. 

Did you guys read these short stories? Which one was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below! Mine was definitely the super short chapter at the very end that had events of him and Tris interacting. 

Miss Mayhem | Rachel Hawkins

Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and best friend Bee has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can return her focus to the important things in life: school, canoodling with David, her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie, and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant.

Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or connect her to David for life.

A year ago, when Rebel Belle, came out I raved on and on about the perfection within it. Needless to say, the standards were set pretty high and, as a result, Miss Mayhem didn't match my predictions. More than anything, this felt like a filler book, but I most likely will be continuing the series to find out how it ends. I really recommend Rebel Belle, though I honestly think it would have been fantastic as a stand-alone rather than a trilogy.