Mini-Reviews (15): Maid-Sama! Vol 3 & 4, Underneath Everything, The Immortal Heights

So sometimes I fail at writing reviews for the books I've read, and 2016 has me failing spectacularly (as did 2015). And because it's been AGES since I read these, I'm just gonna do mini-reviews of them, so as to clear my need-review shelf (cause it's humungous, it's not even funny).

Title/Author: Maid-Sama! Vol 3 & 4 by Hiro Fujiwara
Publisher/Date published: VIZ Media LLC, November 3rd 2015
How I got this book: bought a pretty finished copy

So I've been slowly seeing what the world of manga has to offer and Maid-Sama! is just so much fun! I really enjoyed the 3rd and 4th volume, seeing more of Misaki and USUI and exploring their world and getting into all the funny moments with the whole class. And the tension between Misaki and Usui! YES! I totally ship it and if you're looking for a fun gateway into manga, you should definitely pick this up!

My rating: 4 stars

Title/Author: Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul
Publisher/Date published: Balzer + Bray, October 27th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Man, I did not love this book. While reading it and now thinking back on it, I'm seriously wondering why I even finished this. And it's probably due to the fact that I was just waiting for things to get amazing and for the big reveal to make my head spin and that just failed to happen. Basically nothing really happened in this novel and I have this vague sense of what it was about and that's also what I felt while reading it, so it's not just the time that's passed that made it so in my head.
I could for the life of me not feel much sympathy for Mattie, I mean, at first I was feeling sorry for her for what happened with her friend and her love interest, but well, then she makes some seriously weird decisions and I'm like, yeah, nope.
I've seen people raving about this, and maybe it's just me and I'm just missing the point of it all, but I could not get into this.

My rating: 1 star

Title/Author: The Immortal Heights (The Elemental Trilogy #3) by Sherry Thomas
Publisher/Date published: Balzer + Bray, October 13th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

I have all the love for this series and the last book in the trilogy definitely did not fail me! I do think that one day I need to go back and reread the whole thing in one go, because there are some subtle things that get a bit lost when there's a year between reading each book.
But The Immortal Height was amazing and mostly everything I wanted and I was constantly on the edge of my seat because there was all this impending DOOM and OMG I just needed to know how it would end and if everyone would still be alright at the end and if my ship would make it through! I get all feelsy again just thinking about it right now.
Sherry Thomas has some amazing storytelling skills and you should just go read this for yourself. Like right now.

My rating: 5 stars

Review of Forbidden by Eve Bunting

Title/Author: Forbidden by Eve Bunting
Publisher/Date published: Clarion Books, December 1st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: In early-nineteenth century Scotland, sixteen-year-old Josie, an orphan, is sent to live with an aunt and uncle on the rocky, stormy northwest coast. Everything and everyone in her new surroundings, including her relatives, is sinister, threatening, and mysterious. She's told that Eli, the young man she's attracted to, is forbidden to her, but not why. Spirited, curious, and determined, Josie sets out to learn the village's secrets and discovers evil, fueled by heartless greed, as well as a ghostly presence eager for revenge. An author's note gives the historical inspiration for this story.

Forbidden should have been something that I could fall in love with in theory. I mean: it has a historical setting with a mystery and a forbidden boy, what's not to like? Well, it kinda didn't turn out as enjoyable as I'd hoped.

I never really connected to Josie. I mean, she's obviously been through a lot and then she arrives at her aunt and uncle's house and it's AWFUl, and I did like that she's curious to find out what exactly is going on, but other than that, I was just a little 'meh' about her. And maybe it's the fact that the story doesn't span a very long time, but I never really felt like we got to know her very well, I'm still not sure what kind of person she really is.

I had really big issues with the romance. I mean, Josie is really rude to Eli for no reason, while he's only trying to help, which bothered me. And then all of a sudden she's in love with him?? And she wants him to come with her when she leaves the town after only having known him for what? Two days?? I mean SERIOUSLY??? WTF?? This was such a huge intsa-love happening and I could not for the life of me figure out what they liked about each other and UGH! I mean, she was basically ready to die for him, WHERE IS YOUR BRAIN??

I was also pretty annoyed by Josie's aunt and uncle, they were cruel and the only reason we get is that the uncle was disfigured as a kid and he didn't like his brother, Josie's dad. I mean, what? So your ears are weird and that's the reason your a nasty person? I just cannot. And I'm still not sure what her aunt's deal was. And their dog, SO CREEPY! That thing was nasty and then it attacks a human and you don't take care of the wound an discipline the dog? WHAT THE WHAT??

I was horrified by the thing that goes on on the island that is the big mystery and I am even more horrified by the fact that this is actually something that used to happen way back when. But everything gets resolved so quickly and there was no real build-up for me, so the whole mystery isn't much of a mystery after all.

Basically this just didn't work for me, there were too many issues and WTF moments in a bad way and I don't think I would have finished this if I hadn't been stuck in a car for 7 hours driving back home from Berlin.

My rating: 1 star

Review of The Duke of Dark Desires by Miranda Neville

Title/Author: The Duke of Dark Desires (The Wild Quartet #4) by Miranda Neville
Publisher/Date published: Avon, December 30th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Wanted: Governess able to keep all hours...
Rebellious Julian Fortescue never expected to inherit a dukedom, nor to find himself guardian to three young half-sisters. Now in the market for a governess, he lays eyes on Jane Grey and knows immediately she is qualified — to become his mistress. Yet the alluring woman appears impervious to him. Somehow Julian must find a way to make her succumb to temptation... without losing his heart and revealing the haunting mistakes of his past.

Desired: Duke skilled in the seductive art of conversation...
Lady Jeanne de Falleron didn't seek a position as a governess simply to fall into bed with the Duke of Denford. Under the alias of Jane Grey, she must learn which of the duke's relatives is responsible for the death of her family — and take her revenge. She certainly can't afford the distraction of her darkly irresistible employer, or the smoldering desire he ignites within her.

But as Jane discovers more clues about the villain she seeks, she's faced with a possibility more disturbing than her growing feelings for Julian: What will she do if the man she loves is also the man she's sworn to kill?

I actually have absolutely no idea why I finished this book. I didn't enjoy it and I just kept struggling on and it took me FOREVER to read it (8 days, it's only 384 pages, I mean, I was busy, but are you freaking kidding me self?). I'm just going to make a list of the things I didn't like, because I don't know how else to be coherent about it at this point.

-Julian and Jane had zero chemistry. I mean, it just seemed like he wanted to seduce her because she was beautiful and she was there and that's it. And basically I didn't understand this couple. I didn't feel it, I was just not into it.

-Except for the moments with one of Julian's sisters, I didn't really like Jane. She was supposed to be this strong person, her hardships having made her strong and I just couldn't see it. She was looking for revenge and I didn't feel that she was looking for the truth of what happened, but just wanted someone to pay with his life. I mean, what happened was horrible, but how about a little investigation into the matter instead of just plotting to kill a man? Also, she has a bit of a too stupid to live moment towards the end, which was highly annoying.

-I really very much disliked Julian's mother. She was one of the worst mom's in fictional history without actually physically abusing her children. Instead, she just abandons them once she's found a new husband. And nobody does anything about this. WTF?

-Julian kinda grew on me in the end, but then Jane doesn't seem to appreciate it and I was like: OMG YOU CAN DO BETTER OK?

-Basically, I was expecting a little more happiness inducing romance and I didn't get it.

I'm sad to say this book wasn't a me-book and I didn't like it. I think I was too brain-dead from the course I was following at the time to make the decision to DNF it, but looking back, I don't really know why I stuck with it.
If you're interested in trying the historical romance genre, I'd recommend anything by Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan or Julia Quinn, you can't go wrong with books by these ladies.

My rating: 1 star

Review of The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

Title/Author: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
Publisher/Date published: Balzer + Bray, December 31st 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to — only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future — until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are — and falling in love.

I so wanted to love this book. Because the cover looks so cute and the story sounded sweet and I had comitted to being on a tour for it. The last reason is quite possibly also the only reason I actually finished it instead of DNF-ing, which I frequently considered.

I could actually identify with Wren quite a bit because she's also tired of being called 'quiet'. Do people realise how annoying that is? Because it's seen as a bad thing generally and being told that you could 'show a little more of yourself' again and again is tiring. And quiet people don't always have quiet feelings, ok? But enough about my frustrations. I was secretly cheering that Wren was running into some of the same obstacles I was when I was in high school because of this being quiet thing. So we were off to a pretty good start, I liked her family and the catering hall, holla Arthurian themed things!

But then Grayson entered the scene and everything just sorta fell apart. I really, REALLY did not like Grayson with the poor little rich kid thing he had going on and just plain old being a douche. Also, the moment he lays eyes on Wren, he's convinced that they'll share something special. WTF??? I mean, seriously, that is just a big load of crap. And coming from the guy I just didn't believe all this lovey-dovey stuff. I mean, obviously guys have feelings, but this was just ridiculous.

And Wren, who I liked before, just forgave him for every crappy thing he pulled! Something is not working for me when I'm actually rooting for the two main characters to NOT end up with each other. I probably wouldn't have forgiven Grayson and especially not with the lame excuses he gives for his behaviour. I mean, come on, he just bullshits her and she's like ok, I love you. WTF??? But maybe I'm just not a very nice, forgiving kind of person.

I was also kinda annoyed by Wren's claiming to love Grayson, but then kissing another guy and being confused by the sparks between her and that other guy. While the other was a douche as well, he was actually more interesting than Grayson and I could have gotten behind that ship. Maybe.

There was just a whole lot of insta-love and douche-baggery and too little growing of a spine for the female MC. And I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit throughout reading The Promise of Amazing. The whole thing just wasn't working for me.

My rating: 1 star

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title/Author: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Fire, December 1st 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate."

Do you ever read a book that's been so hyped up and everyone's been telling you you'll absolutely love it because it's awesome? And then you don't?
Yeah, that's basically what happened for me with Catching Jordan.

I'd been reading raving reviews about this novel and I love a cute contemporary romance, so I was really excited to read this one. But it didn't really work for me, and I knew it wasn't going to pretty much from the start. I only finished it because I thought it would get better, but for me it didn't.

In the first 12 pages or so Jordan's dad managed to really piss me off by being an obnoxious ass (sorry for the wording, but he really made me see red a bit) and just a really lousy father. And there didn't seem to be a good reason for this. I mean, it's explained eventually, but really, that is a douchebag reason for not supporting your kid. Seriously.

And I'm sorry to say Jordan as a main character didn't work for me either. I thought she and the whole story of her being a girl in a men's sports was just kind of bland and the whole time it had me thinking 'wait, this is the 21st century, not the 50s!'
Also, her guy friends from the football team were so stereotypical! I mean, really, all they talk about is screwing around. With cheerleaders. And I'm not a prude, but at my high school there wasn't that much actual sleeping together going around as there is in this novel and I felt like it was handled a bit too casually.

Also, the love interest Tyler felt wrong. He and Jordan didn't seem to have a connection and he was just too overbearing for my taste. But then there's Henry, Jordan's best friend, EVERYONE and their aunt he's in love with Jordan, except for Jordan herself. I just didn't believe it. I also thought he was a bit of a jerk and making things complicated for no good reason.

And then there was the medical mistake that annoyed me: you do not make an X-ray to see if there's damage done to the ligaments or meniscus of a knee. You can't see those on them, so when they said they didn't see any damage that was probably because they didn't see ANYTHING on that. Ok, rant over.

Anyway, probably by now needless to say I was very much disappointed by Catching Jordan, because I had expected a cute contemporary romance with a kickass heroine and it just wasn't the book for me.

My rating: 1 star

Bloodspell by Amalie Howard

Title/Author: Bloodspell (Bloodspell #1) by Amalie Howard
Publisher/Date published: Langdon Street Press, May 27th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: "The spell was simple...
Cruentus Protectum (Defend the Blood)
But what do you do if your blood is your enemy?
Victoria Warrick has always known she was different. An outcast at school, she is no stranger to adversity. But when she receives an old journal for her seventeenth birthday, nothing prepares her for the dark secrets it holds -- much less one that reveals she's a witch with unimaginable power.
What's more, when she meets the dazzling but enigmatic Christian Devereux, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Enemies will hunt her. Friends will turn on her. The terrible curse that makes her blood run black will stop at nothing to control her. And Christian has a sinister secret of his own...
Without knowing whom to trust, can Victoria survive her blood's deadly desires? Or will she lose everything, including herself?"

Ok, so this book and I struggled with each other. And I mean, we REALLY struggled. Complete with hissing and raising of fur and all that. I'd been looking forward to reading this one and I regret saying it turned out not to be my kind of book.

The concept is absolutely fascinating, I mean, the magic being infused in your blood and actually turning it black instead of the more natural red color and it having a will of its own, FASCINATING! I'm just disappointed at the actual story.

I know you can be a natural at something, I do, but when generations and generations of witches before you have failed to control this dangerous magic in your blood, you can't tell me you learn to master it in a heartbeat. And almost killing and then saving your immortal boyfriend doesn't count as losing control. And I know Victoria had her familiar help her a bit with the training and all, but there's not a lot going on there or it's not shown in the book at least. And I like it when it's shown.

Also, I had a hard time getting into the Twilight-esque romance. I really don't like comparing anything to Twilight, cause it leaves a bad taste, but a 180 year old vampire falling in love with a 17 year old girl and her blood being almost irresistible to him and all? Yeah, kinda reminded me of it.

And all the teenagers in this book be CRAZY! Seriously. Victoria turns a boy down, he decides to try and kill her. And **SPOILER** he turns out to be a warlock as well****. And there's the whole thing with the girl who's in love with said boy and also goes psycho. Sometimes I didn't know if I was reading about a high school or a mental institution.

I did really like the whole history of Victoria's powers and it would have been really interesting to find out more about what exactly happened to her great-great-great-great grandmother.

But in the end the characters annoyed me too much and I was going WTF??? a bit too often, this book just wasn't for me.
My rating: 1 star

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Title/Author: Love Story by Jennifer Echols
Publisher/Date published: Gallery Books, July 19th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: "For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions - it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter... so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?
Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter... except this story could come true."

Okay, so from the cover and from this summary I was expecting a sweet read. So there would be family drama, I can handle that. What I could not handle was the abusive relationship Hunter and Erin had going on. Yes I said it: abusive!

After the first two stories we get to read by them, I thought they'd work it out. Instead, they write stories for their class aimed at hurting the other person. How is this romantic??? And how is it ok for Hunter to be hurtful to Erin? Even if he's hot and smart, that doesn't make the other stuff go away.

And there's the whole Hunter plotting with Erin's grandmother, who we never actually meet. I mean, she's the villain of the book and we never meet her face-to-face?? Erin's grandmother seems cold and not grandmotherly at all. I would have like them to talk things through and find out what her grandmother's reasons were for cutting Erin off, but the story never got to that point.

Erin and Hunter are NOT good for eachother. They hurt eachother and are just generally worse version of themselves when they're around eachother. And then suddenly they're in love? I mean, Hunter is only nice for two seconds when they're alone and Erin makes a lot of bad decisions as well. I didn't feel the romance. I saw two people with unresolved issues that in the end were still unresolved and I felt slightly cheated by the ending.

I didn't really care for the secondary characters either, one guy was a romance-discriminating, annoying jerk, but conveniently a match for one of Erin's roommates.

All in all, I'm not impressed. I think the only reason I finished it was that I couldn't help but think: 'But it should be getting good soon'. Only it didn't really, it got worse. I did like that it was about college-aged kids and how they're dealing with classes and being away from home for the first time.

My rating: 1 star

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

Title/Author: Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
Publisher/Date published: Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), November 15th 2010
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Why I read this book: it sounded interesting.

Goodreads summary: "Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.
Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming."

I thought the summary sounded really interesting and after reading raving reviews about it on more than one blog, I had high hopes for this one. Sadly, this book wasn't for me.

I couldn't warm up to any of the characters, the only one I could relate to somewhat was Finn, the only reason I kept reading was that I expected it to get better, that the story would suck me in somehow. And that never happened.

The story revolves around Teagan and her family: little brother, mom and dad; Finn, who's the incarnation of a legend: the Mac Cumhaill; Abby, who's Teagan's best friend and has family connections to the maffia. Abby dreamt that globins were after Teagan and is convinced her life is in danger. Which is pretty weird, because later on she doesn't seem to believe goblins are real. Abby was a bit weird overall, she's constantly mentioning her connection to the maffia and threathening Finn, thinking he's some kind of criminal for reasons unknown. I'm all for being protective of your friends, but I didn't really understand this.

Teagan is a very serious girl, she plans to get into a good college and doesn't have time for boys, why she's so convinced the two can't be combined, I'm not entirely sure, but she is. Which is why her instant attraction to Finn is a problem for her and she doesn't know how to handle this.

Combine that with goblins attacking and weird family relations and you've got yourself one stressed out girl. And still I found it hard to relate to her angst. I was so disconnected from the storyline and the characters that I didn't even really feel antyhing when one of Teagan's family members died, which is rare for me. To me it also didn't come across as if Teagan was that devastated by it and that made me even less sympathetic.

The story dragged, there wasn't a lot of action and the way the characters reacted to the things that happened were unrealistic in my opinion. I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. The only character that felt a bit more real to me was Finn, his emotions were more relatable and I was hoping he'd kiss Teagan already (sadly, the romance didn't go further than them feeling sparks and him asking to kiss her once).

My rating: 1 star

Twice the Temptation by Rochelle Alers

Title/Author: Twice the Temptation by Rochelle Alers
Publisher/Date published: Harlequin, Kimani Romance, October 1st 2010
How I got this book: got it from the publisher through NetGalley
Why I read this book: I'd requested it and felt like reading a romance novel (I seem to be on a romance spree lately)

Goodreads summary: "Denise Eaton is proud of the day-care business she built from scratch. But now the scion of this Philadelphia family dynasty could lose everything. The man who holds the key to her future? None other than Rhett Ferrell, the man she passionately loved in college… and who broke her heart.
Rhett has waited six years to take his sweet revenge. Now the legendary corporate raider is about to have Denise right where he wants her — at his mercy and in his bed. He's never forgiven her for walking out and taking up with his most hated enemy. But he's also never forgotten the desire that still burns so hotly, so irresistibly between them. That's when Rhett plots one final conquest: to take over Denise's heart. And he's a man who plays to win…"

I really like a good romance and the summary promised a lot of tension, heartbreak and just plain conflict, which always makes me cry and I love those kinds of books. But(yes there's a huge but), I was hugely disappointed. Let me explain:

They were a great couple for 4 years, then Denise thought Rhett was cheating on her and he thinks that after breaking if off she proceeded to jump into bed with his best friend. Both weren't rational enough to try and talk it over back then, but that part is understandable.
They both go on to have careers and meet again when Rhett is trying to get revenge on Denise for having sex with said former best friend and arranges for them to meet to discuss the rent for Denise's daycare centre, he owns the building. He devices a plan in which she can either choose to pay an enormous amount of rent or become his hostess/date for the summer. I found the reasoning for this a bit hard to believe, but still, I thought, let's see what happens from this.

I expected lots of devious plotting and Denise finding out and being heartbroken all over again and him discovering he still loved her after all in the end, after which revalation they kiss and make up and proceed to have lots of babies. Or something like that.

But none of this happened, or at least not in this context. They never really talked the misunderstandings from their previous relationship over, they just discovered what happened because someone told them. There's this huge mystery about Rhett's father, which didn't really seem that important to me and was a bit of a blah moment when he finally found out.

What I also couldn't figure out is the immediate switch from Rhett's need to get revenge to him loving her like he did before in just one date. And then deciding to get married after the second or third. There really was no conflict in this! And I love conflict! I expect and want it. This is somewhere at the beginning of the book and I couldn't figure out where the story was going exactly. What the book seemed to tell me is that they loved eachother, didn't talk about their problems and had sex whenever possible. And I don't mind sex in romance books, but there has to be a relevant plot somewhere too!

I thought the author definitely had a nice plot for an enjoyable romance novel, but then she didn't stick to it. I was really disappointed and found myself going 'huh??' more than once while reading it. Also, I didn't understand how he went from being named Garrett to Rhett (I mean, where does that H come from all of a sudden, but maybe that's just me being nitpickerish).

My rating: 1 star, I really want to give it more, but I can't in all honesty.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

About the book:
Title/Author: The Magicans by Lev Grossman
Publisher/Year Published: the Penguin Group 2009
How I got it: I bought it
Why I read this book: it's about a boy studying to become a magician at a school for magicians, aka: I thought I would love it.

High school senior Quentin Coldwater is just like everyone trying to get into college. When he goes to the house of a Princeton alumni for an interview he gets the scare of his life when upon entering the house he finds the dead body of said alumni. It all gets even a bit more weird when one of the paramedics hands him a package containing the sixth book in the Fillory series, books which Quentin has read over and over again, and because of that he know there only ever were five of them. When he tries to read it, the wind blows it away and following it, he ends up at Brakebills school for magicians.
After this we follow Quentin throughout his carreer at Brakebills, the people he meets and the girl who becomes his friend and later on his lover. Quentin can't forget about Fillory, a world he knows from the books he read about it. They're about the Chatwin children, of which every time Fillory is in trouble 2 or more of them get sent there to fix things and be the kings and queens (2 each) of Fillory. The oldest one, Martin Chatwin, disappears in one of the books and when Quentin and his friends find a way to travel to that world (which does exist after all) they decide to go look for him.

Does Fillory sound familiar at all to any of you? Cause I couldn't stop thinking Narnia, Narnia, NARNIA the whole time I was reading about it. Which was incredibly annoying, cause it seemed like such a rip off of those books (which I loved). They even had two wise rams (the Gods of Fillory) who sent the Chatwin children home when they were no longer needed there. Aslan anyone?
But this was not the only issue I had with the book. Quentin is just not a likeable character. He whines, he's never happy with anything, even though he gets what he wants every time, he's arrogant and just plain lazy and ungrateful. And the author made it seem like this was standard attitude for all of the magic community. I couldn't sympathize with him and I was extremely annoyed by the selfish, stupid things he did. Half the time he's drunk out of his mind, they all are actually. I so wanted to kick his butt and tell him to do something with his life!
The only one I liked was Quentin's girlfriend Alice, who was the only one that showed a caring and mature side.

Probably the only reason I finished this book is because I bought it and I have a hard time not finishing a book and was really waiting for it to get good, which for me didn't happen.
My rating: 1 star

If any of you have read this one and liked it: PLEASE TELL ME! I always feel horrible not liking a book and maybe you can make me see the good sides of it.