Pocket Book Reviews {January 2016} + Giveaway

Well, 2016 got off to a great start reading-wise! I read seven books this month: four novels, two graphic novels, and one audiobook. According to Goodreads, I'm at 12% of my goal and four books ahead of schedule. I like how that sounds.

Also, how cute is this unicorn that lights up?!

A Frozen Heart

♥♥♥♥ (4 out of 5)

By Elizabeth Rudnick; Told in alternating chapters from both Anna's and Hans' perspectives, A Frozen Heart takes a sophisticated look at events of Frozen, exploring the couple's backstories, motivations, and doomed relationship.

If you love the Disney movie, Frozen, and want to know more about what was going on in Anna and Han's heads and what happened in Arendelle while Elsa and Anna were away, then this is the book for you. Anna's side was really a rehash of the movie, but it was nice getting more into her thoughts. The part that I really enjoyed was getting to know the baddie Hans, to see his motivations and learn about his past.

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The Marvels

♥♥♥♥ (4 out of 5)

By Brian Selznick; Two seemingly unrelated stories--one in words, the other in pictures--come together. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations.

The illustrations in this book are amazing! I'm in awe of the detail in these illustrations and the emotions that pencil drawings can evoke! The first half of this book (the illustrated part) is where this book really shines; it's historical and about family and Shakespeare plays and it's delightful. The second half (the written part) isn't as gripping and lacks the emotional punch of the first half, but towards the very end I started to enjoy it. If you like

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Redshirts

♥♥♥♥♥ (5 out of 5)

By John Scalzi; Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid in the year 2456. Andrew is thrilled until he realizes that on every away mission at least one low-ranked crew member is always killed. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is.

Absolutely loved it! Low-ranking crew members on the starship Intrepid discover that something really weird is going on and that people in red shirts tend to die for no reason whatsoever. What they discover about the ship and their own lives is so meta and hilarious and such geeky fun! I laughed out loud so much while reading this! Any fan of Star Trek, or science fiction in general, will love this!

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The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson #3)

♥♥♥♥ (4 out of 5)

By Rick Riordan; Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains, and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster. Oh, and guess what? The Oracle has predicted that not all of them will survive.

I listened to the first two books last year and now I'm continuing my read of this series for the first time. The third in the series is great and I enjoyed meeting all of these new characters, like Zoe, Bianca, Nico, which made up for the fact that Annabeth was missing for most of the story. I found a few things in the story kind of dumb and Percy took too long to figure out obvious things, but then again it is a middle-grade book. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

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Just Ella

♥♥♥ (3 out of 5)

By Margaret Peterson Haddix; Ella dreams of going to the royal ball and marrying Prince Charming, but after she is chosen to marry the prince life with the royal family is not the happily ever after that Ella imagined. The royals try to mold her into their vision of a princess. Ella's life becomes a meaningless schedule of protocol and Prince Charming's beautiful face hides a vacant soul.

A fast and fun read about how life as Prince Charming's betrothed isn't all it's cracked up to be. I liked Ella because of her spunk that she wants more than to just be a princess, she wants love and freedom. Her tutor Jed is kind and smart and not your typical hero because he's more concerned with strategy than with heroics. However, I did have a problem with how none of these characters (except for Ella and Jed) seem to have a mind of their own; they all felt like caricatures, which in a way is supposed to be the point, but it made the story dull in parts.

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Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Crushed

♥♥♥♥♥ (5 out of 5)

By G. Willow Wilson; Love is in the air in Jersey City as Valentine’s Day arrives! Kamala Khan may not be allowed to go to the school dance, but Ms. Marvel is by crashing it in an attempt to capture Asgard’s most annoying trickster, Loki!

Ms. Marvel never fails to entertain! Kamala is witty and real and a bit of a nerd (a superhero who plays video games!), which makes following her adventures that much more fun. I loved hipster Loki in this and that Kamala gets a crush on a boy. Some of the story felt disjointed and underdeveloped, but I loved this volume nonetheless.

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Suicide Squad, Vol. 1: Kick in the Teeth

♥♥♥♥ (4 out of 5)

By Adam Glass and Ryan Benjamin; The story begins with the Suicide Squad defeated, imprisoned and being interrogated about their newest mission. Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot and company must make it out alive without revealing who's pulling the strings behind their illegal operations.

In preparation for the new Suicide Squad movie, I decided to take a stab at this series. Following wise-cracking villains parading as heroes who don't care about anything, except themselves and completing the mission, is a hell of a lot of fun. Reasons I liked this: the members of the Squad all have distinct personalities (crazy Harley Quinn is the best), the fun dialogue, and the plot is interesting, though at times cliche.

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What did you read this month?