Arena by Holly Jennings

A fast-paced and gripping near-future science fiction debut about the gritty world of competitive gaming...
 
Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. 
She’s died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier...
 
The RAGE tournaments—the Virtual Gaming League’s elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a no-holds-barred fight to the digital death. Every bloody kill is broadcast to millions. Every player is a modern gladiator—leading a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.
 
And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.
 
Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world—until one of her teammates overdoses. Now, she must confront the truth about the tournament. Because it is much more than a game—and even in the real world, not everything is as it seems.
 
The VGL hides dark secrets. And the only way to change the rules is to fight from the inside...

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★★★1/2☆

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"People are stupid. But not being yourself because of their ignorance is worse."

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would rate this about 3.8 stars but GOODREADS DON'T LIKE THAT SO :))))) Arena by Holly Jennings doesn't really focus on the video game competitions, but more the struggles the main group of characters face. Meaning, the action of the bloody games isn't as focused on as the behind the scenes. That being said, this book focuses on a lot of issues and themes such as addiction, teamwork, and society's views.

The main character, Kali, is a strong female lead who is a genuine role model. She's thrown into this leadership position, not quite sure knowing what to do, but tries her best with what she has. Kali works hard, is an amazing gamer, and has a strategic mind that won't conform to what society wants. I admired her because her strength was shown in a unique way, one that I actually haven't read in any other young adult main character.

Jennings really created a great outline for interesting and three-dimensional characters, but she didn't follow through. The other characters were definitely there to help, but they all fell flat (including Kali). While they did have different personalities and looks, none of this was really elaborated upon. The story really just focused on Kali so you never got to learn more about the others. I really wish we had been able to get backgrounds and internal demons of the other characters also. 

Though the plot didn't focus on the action of the games, the great fighting scenes were still there. If you were looking for a really action-packed book though, I don't think this would be it. Most of the plot was focusing on inner demons of the characters, and how these problems were dealt with. Nonetheless though, I found the mixture of intense gaming and universal themes to be very interesting.

The world of virtual gaming and 2053 is expanded on very little. The main focus of the novel was the characters' hardships, so the reader sees very little of the outside world. The society does play a large role, and is very similar to the real world's. Nothing matters except money and looks, and I am excited to see how Kali deals with this is the second novel. Honestly, there's just so many life lessons mixed into this that I think could help a lot of people.

"If you hate, you become exactly like them. When you face your enemies with compassion, you realize there's still a person behind that hate."

I sped through this novel. I don't know if I would say the pacing is fast because if you're expecting tons of action and kick-buttery then... it's not. But, if you just want a quick and interesting sci-fi read, then I'd suggest this novel. There's just enough super cool fighting that I think you'll be satisfied.

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A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Catalia "Cat" Fisa is a powerful clairvoyant known as the Kingmaker. This smart-mouthed soothsayer has no interest in her powers and would much rather fly under the radar, far from the clutches of her homicidal mother. But when an ambitious warlord captures her, she may not have a choice…

Griffin is intent on bringing peace to his newly conquered realm in the magic-deprived south. When he discovers Cat is the Kingmaker, he abducts her. But Cat will do everything in her power to avoid her dangerous destiny and battle her captor at every turn. Although up for the battle, Griffin would prefer for Cat to help his people willingly, and he's ready to do whatever it takes to coax her…even if that means falling in love with her.

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★★★☆☆

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"You're rash, willful, and hostile. You have no self-control. Do you even think before you act?

Warning: A Promise of Fire is a New Adult (not YA lol oops) so it does include some mature scenes that may not be suited for some readers.

If you enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, then you'd probably also like this novel. Both have alpha-male characters with a strong and stubborn female leader. The worlds in both series are unique in the way that while Maas's revolves around fairies, Bouchet's mentions the Olympic gods, leading to very interesting magic systems. Both have the New Adult vibe with a very prevalent romance, but both do have growing plots.

I had been fairly excited to read A Promise of Fire, but was sadly disappointed over the fact that I found several problems that irked me throughout the entire novel. I think I still overall enjoyed this book because I wasn't pulling my hair out in frustration over these minor problems I had. I still had an overall okay time with after completing everything. There was still a very interesting fantasy-esque feel about the entire novel that made me want to keep reading. Surprisingly though, I don't really think it was the world itself that pushed me on.

This magic system and world follows the Olympian Gods. Pretty much, there are people called Magois who are given magic and live in the north. The South is filled with Hoi Polloi, who are non-magical people. And for the first time in forever, a Hoi Polloi takes control of the Southern crown. I thought this sounded really interesting, but I feel like Amanda Bouchet just didn't really delve into the magic system and world as much as she could have. Readers didn't learn as much about everything and it's obvious this is only the tip of the iceberg. Though this can lead to readers wanting to continue reading the series because of their curiosity, I just thought of it as incomplete.

The characters really didn't have a lot of depth, and as the book continues, the side characters are lsot in the crowd. The story really starts revolving around Griffin and Cat, making everyone else pale in comparison. Then, with the two mains. You're not given a lot of information about Cat other than the fact that she's very powerful and comes from a very bad background. Besides that, nothing is truly revealed and you kind of infer everything. Then Griffin... he followed such an alpha male stereotype that I couldn't take it.

The alpha male stereotype was so prevalent in this novel that it genuinely irked me. Usually, I'm fine with a this cliche in New Adult novels because there's still a strong bout of feminism in the novels. But, I just didn't like what Griffin and the Southern men stood for with their 

"Intelligent brow. Strong jaw. Wide mouth. Hawkish nose. Black hair brushes a corded neck atop broad shoulders that have no doubt been swinging a sword since before he could walk. Body toned to perfection, skin darkened by a lifetime in the sun, he's battle-chiseled and hard, the type of man who can cleave an enemy in two with little effort and even less consequences to his conscience."

That was a direct quote from the book. Okay, so usually descriptions like that don't seriously bug me (I only slightly shake my head a little) but then it was the actions of Griffin that made me JASODAJSJAD.

1. He never listened to Cat when it was a matter of her life. She was always just supposed to listen and obey.
2. He apparently knew everything, including the fact that she was in love with him. In fact, he knew this before she knew it. That made it okay for him to solicitously kiss her. Yeah. That makes sense.
3. He was always telling Cat what to do, like his word was law. Sure, she fought back, but he still always ended up getting what he wanted EVEN WHEN CAT WAS UNSURE IF SHE WANTED IT TOO.

The romance between the two seriously was just a lot of sexual tension. It was insta-love on one end and not truly the other so... was it truly instalove? I think, the two seriously were opposites and were the only ones who were able to challenge eachother. Each character is just so strong that it makes others near insignificant. The problem is with their personalities, they would constantly have different opinions. In real relationships, I don't know how well that'd work. But hey it's Ficiton.

The pacing and plot were pretty slow for me. I was still interested in what was happening, but looking back at it, not much was truly occurring. The plot was fairly weak and never had me on the edge of my seat. I think this first book truly was just to establish the world and situation of everything, and then the second book will delve deeper into it all.

Will I be picking up the next book? Probably not. I enjoyed reading this novel enough, but I just don't find myself really invested in seeing what will happen next because I feel like even though a lot of information was withheld from the reader, I can still guess what's coming next. (The foreshadowing was about as discreet as a brick) 

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The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy

16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms—including killing anyone who stands in her way.

Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever. 

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3 stars

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"How will you ever know the magnitude of courage you are capable of if you have never experienced the hopelessness of fear?"

I received this book from LovingDemBooks Booktube Tours in exchange for an honest review.

The Last of the Firedrakes was a fun, fantasy read with many quirky fantasy aspects people who love this genre would enjoy. But, I did have a lot problems with individual aspects of this novel, even though I thought it was okay all together.

First, the main character. I didn't really like the main character that much. Aurora played the role of a naive, selfish teenage girl who didn't think at all before acting. I was constantly getting frustrated with her because not only did she get herself in situations she wouldn't be in if she had listened to others, but she also constantly dragged other people with her. She would never fullt accept the blame of her actions, instead forcing others to go along with her in these idiotic quests. Also, I felt like she was constantly havign to be saved by someone/something else. YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO BE SAVED IF YOU HAD JUST LISTENED GAH. But, I did love her work ethic and though she was a very overpowered MC, I appreciated the fact that she did have to somewhat learn. 

There were also a bunch of cliches mixed throughout the novel. We had the abused orphan, insta-love, lost royalty, and almost every steretypical story device ever. This aspect caused the book to be very unsurprising when it came to "big plot twists." Nothing was truly "foreshadowed," but more "thrown at you with a brick."

The other characters and the world were very fun and likeable. I think a big reason why I read parts of this book so fast were because I was just so interested in learning about the world. Though it wasn't the most original of kingdoms, there were still super cool magic systems and unique aspects. The other characters did follow a few stereotypes, but it wasn't nearly as bad at the MC. I enjoyed reading about all of the others' different personalities and their specialties.

The romance was the strongest dose of insta-love I've experienced in a long time and that's saying something since I've been reading a lot of contemporaries recently. I was fairly aggrivated with it because it was like all over insta-loves, I felt that these characters didn't truly know each other before they were falling for the other. And the problem was, this romance played a huge part in the novel. Aurora's decisions and thoughts were constantly based on this insta-love, which made it even more prevalent and irritating.

The writing felt fairly juvenile which I feel weird talking about, but it was a big part of reading for me. I felt that some of the words characters would say would feel unnatural (imagine Star Wars) and awkward. I am aware that the author was attempting a medieval/olden-times vibe, but it just still felt very weird to me. It wasn't only the dialogue, but also the fact that there were tons of cliches in the writing that I just... ARGHH

"He's the most popular boy in school!"

I rest my case.

I wanted to address this more specifically, but the many cliches that this book had irked me. First, we had the fact that they were always eavesdropping? Is there no other way to get information? Really? Then, we have the fact that Aurora would literally butt her head into everyone else's business and get herself into a bunch of unnecessary trouble. Honestly, I just wanted to yell, "STAY IN YOUR LANE!!" throughout the entire novel. Also, even when in the midst of a super serious and important situation, the MC would STILL be thinking about the person she "loves" which made me want to legitimately shake her shoulders and yell at her to listen.

Okay but honestly, I feel like I would've enjoyed this book a lot more if tHE MAIN CHARACTER DIDN'T IRK ME SO

Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn

Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided…by your future self.

It’s Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she’s eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.

Or in Callie’s case, a criminal.

In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes the hellish prison.

But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all.

Callie herself.

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4 stars

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I was given a free copy of this book from LovingDemBooks Booktube Tours in exchange for an honest review In all honesty, I haven't read a Dystopian book is sooo long because they all seemed very generic and followed the same outline of a story line. Though this novel did show some Dystopian cliches, it also brought its own creative twists and differences "They're so paralyzed by a future that hasn't happened, that they can't even allow love into their lives." Let's talk about the general gist of this novel. People are given a memory of the future, and that defines their entire life. I really enjoyed the overlying theme of "you are in charge of your own fate." These citizens in this novel are confined to this box that they're put in once their 17th birthday arrives, and I think that stands true to real life also. People confine themselves into a box of what they can or can't do, or what they are and what they're not. People in the real world think they're confined to these labels of "artist" or "loner," when in all reality, other people can't label them. We're the only ones in charge of our lives, and no one should be able to take that away. The characters aren't super radical like all other Dystopian MCs. Callie and Logan are literally everyday students, and that's really refreshing Of course, there are things that set them apart from others. But, it really does feel like these two students were thrust into this world and they didn't really ask for it like Tris from Divergent (who was literally always looking for trouble). Callie and Logan have a goal they want to achieve, and it's a reasonable goal. Of course, events do spiral into madness, but I think seeing these average teens thrown into this situation and not freaking revolutionaries was great. The characters aren't that deep, but there's a reasoning for that. I'm going to quickly talk about some of my spoiler-y thoughts about that. I LOVED HOW YOU COULD TELL THIS SERIES DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND CALLIE. Not only is she not the "chosen one," but even when she walks into the Underground, she finds that she is literally nothing special. I loved the normal-ness of Callie and Logan, but the amount of uniquity that was still in the both of them. AHHHH THE NEXT BOOK IS FOLLOWING THE ACTUAL SISTER WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?!?!?JKASJD But anyways, I truly think these characters had just about 60% average teenager and 30% dystopian main character. I'm really excited to see where she goes with the series after the events in this novel and the character development! The romance wasn't really a main plot point in the book. Literally, it happened... And it was very prevalent that it was happening... But that's it. If you don't like romance though, be aware that that being said, THERE IS STILL A SOLID ROMANCE RELATIONSHIP GOOEY THING HERE. And honestly, I don't even know if it was truly insta-love because they were childhood best friends, but it was like 40% insta-love. Though the romance between the two causes them to help each other when they wouldn't have before wards, I just can't see this romance as a huge plot device like it was in ACOMF. (ACOMF ACOMF ACOMF ACOMFASJDOAJDI) I thought the beginning was kind of slow. Callie was of course acting the way a sheltered teenager does in her society, brainwashed by the government. But, her character does quickly change and develop. I really enjoyed the first part of the middle (where I can't say what happens because spoilers) and I reallllly enjoyed the last 10-20 pages. Like, those last pages have me wanting the second book RIGHT NOW. I'm still kind of mind-boggled by the events that occurred. Do I recommend this book? If you're one to like Dystopian, THEN YES! If you hate Dystopian, then you probably shouldn't read this book. Though it is different from other books in the genre, there are some cliches that might irk you. Am I picking up the second book? When I have time, yes!

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Andie had it all planned out. When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

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4 STARS

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I don't really understand why this is people's least favorite Morgan Matson book. I liked this one a lot better than Since You've Been Gone. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson was such a feel-good contemporary (which I really needed after this awful week) with adorable characters, antics, and relationships. Of course though, I did have problems with aspects such as the pacing and some obvious character/plot decisions. But, nonetheless, I enjoyed the underlying meanings of the importance of family and friendship.

This group of best friends truly was honestly just so much fun to read about. All of them were just so hilarious and quirky together. Their summer activities were so much fun to read about whether it be a super cool scavenger hunt or chilling by the pool. All of these friends were just so tight-knit and it was a blast because it felt like you as the reader were also included in these events.

The main character was someone who wasn't really that dimensional of a character. But, I wouldn't go as far as to say that she's boring. I liked the fact that she genuinely tried to fix her problems instead of just complaining about everything. She took initiative of her life and got a job and made sure she was happy with how her summer was going. I feel like the only decision of hers that I didn't like was one that was in the end when consulting a friend. It was just such an obvious bad contemporary novel cliche. But, I still do support a lot of her decisions and truly admire her for being sensible and looking at the silver linings rather than moping around all day.

Andi's relationship with Clark was honestly so freaking cute.First of all, Clark is a nerdy author so that is 29380 levels of awesome. Then, these two characters really do talk a lot and learn about each other before really starting their relationship. Like, wow that first date was something else. >.> And, they both just compliment each other so well. When Andi needs support, Clark is for sure to be there. Their little story they make in their freetime, dog walking, stealing of keys, and everything aRE JUST SO GOSH DARN CUTE. 

The beginning was really slow for me, to a point where I was skimming pages. I really started getting interested in the book at around pages 80 - 100. From there on out, I was devouring all of the fun summer-y vibes and scenes. Then, near the end, I did have some more problems. It wasn't that it was slow, but the writing took a pretty obvious and cliched turn. I was just not interested in reading about some aspects of what was going on because I knew how they were going to end. I did end up skimming those parts too.

In conclusion, I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a cute summer-y read. Everything from the characters to the events of the novel were just super cute. Though I did have some issues with pacing and cliches, I feel like those are minor problems. If you enjoyed Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell then I feel like you would also enjoy this novel. I know I related to Andi in some of her traits like how I related to Cath. Also, nerdy characters that write? Heck yeah.

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