Evening to y’all.
Happy February! It’s the month I hate the most because here in South America it means that the weather is hot as a fuck with summer rain, and heavily sweeting people. Anyways, I’m feeling between conserned and OK and displeased, it’s weird as hell. I mean I’m giving my first oral test for French Grammar class on Monday and I haven’t even started practicing, then I also must clean my bedroom and make it habitable cuz my uncle is arriving home with his family that same Monday, so yeah I’m a bit stressed out. However, I couldn’t forget about my dear old blog and the books I surprisingly managed to read during this week.
The first book I read was the second book in the Engelsfors trilogy by Swedish authors Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren, I’m talking about Fire.
After the events and reveals of the first book, the Chosen Ones are somehow trying to get to their old calm and mundane lives back but 
soon enough they realise it’s impossible since their powers and knowledge take over the secrets hidden in their simple suburban families. Like with Minoo who begins to suspect her little family is definitely separating when her parents fight and argue about almost everything not caring that their only daughter constantly watches over them; she also has to deal with her wrong feelings about her recently deseased best friend’s boyfriend Gustaf, as well as with her desperation to keep the group together and find out what her powers truly are (might them be as dark as the demons haunting the crew?). There’s also 
Linnéa’s current situation of being secretly in love with Vanessa and hating herself for it, wanting Elias back, besides she’s avoiding her social worker and her father just came back sober as she refuse to believe he can be clean for good this time; also dealing with the weirdest cult taunting Engelsfors nowadays threatening her life and stability as she knows it today. Then we have Vanessa who after seeing some terrible scene 
conserning her mom’s fake happiness begins to question whether her life is like that too, that her love story is not real and that she ultimately tries to force herself to live her idea of a happily ever after without recognising that just like her old friend the oracle said: her true love is closer than she thinks. But let’s not forget about Ida who hasn’t change mostly 
at least that’s what she tells herself everyday while she goes through with her vain and shallow life, faking for her forced and violent boyfriend, for her uncaring family, for her vengeful and cruel friends, and for the crew that seems to accept her more than she does; now it’ll be up to her to see that silver lining at the end of such a bad lifetime. Finally there’s Anna-Karin and her coming trial for all the mistakes she made last year, for abusing her powers she could face 
the most painful death at the hands of the Counsel; as she tries to once again help her mother give up on her depression and stop feeling guilty about her grandpa’s state after the fire. Their problems are too different but together they must become one large force to try stoping the demons sorrounding their small town and it’s inhabitants as the apocalypse gets closer.
THAT IS WHAT I CALL AN IMPRESSIVE SEQUEL.
This had a rough start for me because as usual I couldn’t remember how the Chosen Ones looked so I was oblivious and confused, I mean I only remembered Vanessa was the hot girl with the lazy ass fiancé and Linnéa was the goth chic friend of Elias. So yeah. Thank god I did my research in Google images and got their looks so I could invest myself in this thrilling read some more, anyways, was this better than The Circle? Hate to admit it cuz I always go for the first book but Fire was so much better! The character development, the struggle of each girl whether they realised of it or not, the ambiguity of the newcomers, the shocking twist and angsty heroic turn outs. This was everything I wanted when I first read the lovely previous book: “an edgy sisterhood of mixed feelings and intentions”. I just couldn’t stop reading it, to the point where I had read already half and a bit in nine hours plus a stop of two to have dinner. It was addictive and I literally can’t wait to put my hands on the next one.!
FEW SPOILERS.
* The injustice and unfairness was real. How this girls managed to cope with the anxiety and depression this abuse that the treatment they received causes, is still a mistery to me. First we have Linnéa trying to fight her feelings for Nessa, her dad joining Engelsfors’ hottest new cult by going sober, the shitty things Erik (I just want to punch him in the nuts forever) and his two wing men did to her, and her social worker not being nice and respectful anymore. Then there is Vanessa struggling with the sight of her stepfather disgustingly cheating on her mom, the fear of having to tell her, the fear of the possibility of her mom not believing her, also realising Wille is a cheating dick as well, her secret attraction for Linnéa and her own inner insecurities in the relationship department. After that we have Minoo dealing with her parents probable divorce, then her being scared of her own powers and responsibilities with the Chosen Ones and her feelings for Gustaf, then was her dad risking his life and her mom leaving to follow her dream, besides feeling a bit lonely. Fourth there’s Anna-Karin dealing with the serious consequences of her scandalous use of manipulative magic in her classmates/tormentors, the chance of her being burned alive, that fox who bit her and then became her apirit animal or something, her grandad loosing his memory at times, her mom’s chronical depression and her own secret desire to succumb to the new cult. Finally but not less important: Ida, she not only fights her obvious feelings for Gustaf but with her own life, how all her life seems not longer attractive and correct but disgraceful and unbearable like with the brutal sadistic that is Erik, the fake bitchea her “friends” really are, the irresponsible parents she own and realising that her own actions were just as gross. How she’s drowning in that poisoned sea until she changes for the good and dies still.
* Overall the book was sickening! The Ida vs (that crazy bitch) Olivia fight with the electricity, discovering needy Olivia was a born witch as well, even the persecution of Linnéa by the moron crew after destroying her apartment, the whole changing bodies and the trial were treated. All the occult that we still don’t know like does the Counsel really could think Olivia is the actual Chosen One? Does Alexander really cares about his sister or is just playing his traitor card? Are Linnéa and Nessa going to break the obvious sexual tension between them? Is Minoo going to finally admit to herself that she fell in love with Gustaf? Could Ida return from the death? Will Anna-Karin send her mom to a psychologist or something? Many questions and only a book left to find the answers.
The next book was the third book of the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, I’m talking about Blue Lily, lily blue.
After her mother’s disappearance, Blue has to deal with the fear of loosing her forever as well as facing the truth of her forbidden
feelings for Gansey. So her life couldn’t go worst when a recently dead mummy rises from its tombstone to tell her she could have powers on her own that she never thought she could harvor. Now he clock is ticking and Blue and he raven boys must find a way in a cursed cave from which nightmare creatures come out to find Maura before it’s too late: they must remember that there are three sleepers but just two must be wakened or there’ll be chaos.
I’M SHOCKED.
For the first time in my life I feel in such a state of shock that it feels weird and exciting at the same time, all because I was able to read a Maggie Stiefvater book without complaining about the passing! Omfg! I still can’t believe it. I found myself enjoying the characters even more, even the ambiguous ones as well. It gave a reader like me what I wanted which was not much explanation of the surroundings/background/realisation feelings and instead it gave the story some more gruesome details, it focused in characters I used to hate with a passion, it had some twists that I still didn’t see coming at all. So claps for you, miss Stiefvater or perhaps it was my brain that gave a slow shot to this compelling story.?.
Some not so spoilery SPOILERS.
* Everything was exciting! Funny! Amazing! And romancy! With the clear sweet tension of forbidden love between Gamsey and Blue. The hilarious mocks made about her height. The discovery that maybe her dad had no idea he had a kid! The fact the crew found that crazy King’s illegitimate daughter, god she’s wickedly nuts! Adam’s redemption and his awesome power, besides he totally won the case against his shit of a father. Ronna singing that annoying as hell song. Lol. Gamsey being a true human hero, somehow.
* Overall, this felt fantastic and surreal. Loved it. But one thing I loved the most was the tiny resemblance this underworld sort of caves had with Julius Verne’s book, such a feeling! And now that homicidal cray cray of Piper just woke up one of the dreamers and it’s totally going to be the one that should not be disturbed. Fucked up, but somehow I can’t wait to read the final book. Seriously, it feels strange.
The next one I read was the final book in the previous’ series, The Raven King by the same author.
Maura has been rescued but she didn’t come alone, so Blue has to deal with seeing her strange Inmortal father hiding in a cabinet and 
avoiding all contact with her least favorite king’s bastard child as her deadly feelings for Gansey, who is suffering some serious changes on his own. His fears increase as he tries to figure out what’s his part in all of this madness looking for the favour of a dead ancient king before his unstoppable death. Also Adam and Ronan are facing difficult situations with their own powers and choices that could drive them to isolation forever before they all even realise they are currently in more danger than they think after Piper woke up the third sleeper.
SO WE’RE BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED. (Sight)
I’m not complaining or saying the story wasn’t good because as an ending it was satisfying and pretty cool but still my problem with the storytelling and passing came back taunting me with headaches. I literally was falling asleep but that didn’t stop me from finishing this. I needed to know if Blue and Gansey were gonna have their happy ending, if Adam wasn’t a complete pain in the ass or if he was interested in Ronan in a romantic way, what would happen to Ronan’s dream creations, would the crew find the dead king, and what damage would Piper bring to this already messed up picture?. All those questions in my mind were answered, some I understood its responses and others’ I just couldn’t cope with them. But in the end this book was all about finding who you are, good or bad? Dreamy or a visionary? A victim or a victimiser? For this guy’s everything seemed so blurry until they understood their friendship, themselves and the fact they couldn’t change their past or how people view them but they can choose their future and how they see themselves for good. Good fucking message.
The last book I read was a sequel I had been expecting for quite a while to own, I’m talking about Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins.
Harper Price has changed a lot since last year, she’s still is a fashionable beauty with some harsh and funny comments with a hot boyfriend and a great future ahead of her expectations, but now 
she can kick some serious ass and her hot boyfriend is not a football player but the newspaper editor who also happens to be an Oracle that she must protect as his paladin. Also her best friend has been missing after becoming a paladin by force, her ex has become the personal wizard of her current boyfriend and she has just met the leading man of the Eforos community who’s btw a pain in her athletic ass. Now Harper must face the fact that her bff might be getting her job as David’s paladin, her ex blames her of his recent break up, and her love wants some distance after the lies between them get to hard to maintain.
I MAINTAIN MY WTF FACE BECAUSE OF THAT ENDING.
I was so excited to read this because the jokes are marvellous and Harper’s personality is on fire, and overall it was good until the last 3 or 4 last episodes which was remarkably tragic for a fan like me. I was so annoyed by most of the characters, but it was ok I guess since I still want to read the next installment.
SPOILERS.
* Everyone should start accepting that Harper’s always right and they all must listen to her commands, that includes Bee and Ryan and fucking David. Nobody should choose on their own because they are incapable of it. I seriously wanted hwe to kick them all until they passed out for choosing her future. Those fuckers!
* Wtf happened with that ending, there was no hope, no silver lining but to move on?! Give me a break.
Wish me luck with my oral presentation. Btw have you seen Shadowhunters recently? It’s not getting better for book fans, just an statement. I’ll better hurry to watch some Riverdale.
Coffee and books,
Alex.
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