Dorothy Must Die: Danielle Paige - FTM

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

 - Goodreads Synopsis

Ever since I found out that this book was going to be released I already knew that I would have to buy it. I have always been a big fan of The Wizard of Oz ever since I was seven years old when I first saw the musical live at one of my local theatres. I have only read the first book in the series, but I do plan on reading the rest and I`m really excited to see Wicked live for the very first time!

The Wizard of Oz is a timeless tale and Danielle took a big risk writing this book because The Wizard of Oz is very well known and so many people love it. I always admire authors who take that leap and make it their own and I always love a good retelling or a continuation of classic tales. 

So this book follows the character Amy Gumm, she has pink hair and I don`t know why but that was one of my favourite things about her. Whenever I read a book, one thing that I always look for is character growth. We get to see so much character growth in Amy. In the beginning of the book, she already is a strong character in general but we still got to see her grow, emotionally, physically and also with her magic.

In this book, we learn that Amy has been suffering for mostly all of her life. Her father left her, a girl named Madison Pendleton was always bullying and her mother started drinking and taking pills. I haven't really read many books with a character who has an addict for a mother, I found it interesting to read about how their relationship was in the past and how it is in the present. It was very bittersweet to read about her past with her mother knowing how her mother turned out. One of the quotes that really stuck out to me was something that her mother said to Amy when she was young while they were watching The Wizard of Oz.

"You don't need wheels on your house to get somewhere better. All you need is something to give you that extra push." 

To me, that quote showed how much Amy's mother believed in Amy and how much she cared and loved her. Now, she is an alcoholic who blamed Amy for ruining her life, left her in the tornado and

stopped caring for Amy at all. Danielle did a wonderful job writing and describing how Amy felt in those sad moments.

For a few pages of this novel Amy is being taunted by Madison. I really wasn't a fan of Madison, I don't think anyone is. I honestly found her very, very annoying. I don't think she was a very well written character to be honest. Her lines were childish and immature even when she was older and in high school. I don't know if that was how she was supposed to act but I really don't think she was well written.

There is another character who appears later on in the story, named Melindra. I didn't like her very much either, to me she seemed quite similar to Madison so I couldn't stand her.

Amy gets to Oz the same way as Dorothy did, by a cyclone/tornado. I love how Danielle incorporated her story with the original story by Frank Baum especially in the beginning. Dorothy wanted to run away, so does Amy and they both have a trusty animal companion that travels with them to the land of Oz.

As soon as Amy gets to Oz we are introduced to some new characters. Some of these characters are only there for what seemed like a short period of time, yet I grew very attached to those characters in that tiny span of time. *cough* *cough* Indigo *cough* In the beginning this book is actually quite light from what I expected but it takes a dark turn very fast. I quite like dark and creepy stories so I found it very enjoyable to read. 

This Oz that we read about is the opposite of the Oz that we saw and knew. Everything has taken a dark turn, even the characters that we thought would always stay the same. The Tin Woodman, the lion, the scarecrow have all grown very dark and it was sometimes disturbing to read about. I am again going to compliment Danielle's writing, she describes everything so well and you will always have a detailed and vivid image in your head which makes the reading experience even more enjoyable then it already was.

One of the characters that is also different from the original is the one and only Dorothy Gale. In the synopsis, it is said that the power went to her head and let me tell you it did. Some of things that are mentioned throughout the novel sometimes seemed comedic. Such as the bacon inspection because she doesn't like it too crispy or she only eats the tops of the muffins and gives the bottoms to her servants. There is a particular scene which was probably one of favourites...

"What do you think of my hair?" she demanded. She ran a long red nail through one of her curls. She had to be kidding. "Well?" She asked. She wasn't kidding. My life was about to be judged by how sincerely I delivered a trivial compliment. Luckily, I had a lot of practise with humouring popular girls. Madison Pendleton taught me well. "It's so pretty," I said sweetly. "And so shiny." I added for good measure when she looked unconvinced. 

Dorothy smiled and clapped her hands together and leaned over to Ozma with an expression of deep confidentiality. "Ozma likes my hair, too," she said in a stage whisper. Ozma just started straight ahead with an unchanging expression.

I absolutely loved that scene, it was probably one of my favourites. As I said before, Oz has taken a very dark turn. So dark that the flying monkeys are cutting off their wings and are being punished for showing "sass," the scarecrow is experimenting on innocent civilians, the tin man is melting people with acid like bubbles with his metal human army, Glinda is helping Dorothy move all of the magic to her in the Emerald City and Dorothy is kind of just a lunatic.

"It's not magic that makes you who you are. It's the choices that you make. Look at Dorothy."

Whenever I read a book, I do picture people in my head but it's really just a body with the colour hair that the character has and their face is just a blur. Dororthy Must Die was one of the only novels that I actually pictured someone as, and the only character that I pictured in my head was Dorothy. The person I pictured as was Jennifer De Gouw who portrayed Helena in Arrow and Mina Harker in Dracula the television series.

"Down is up, up is down. Good is wicked, wicked is good. The times are changing. This is what Oz has come to."

All of the wicked witches have come together and formed a group called the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and their main mission is to kill Dorothy Gale. Most of the witches in this group were lovable, some I hated but I could easily get pass that. These witches start training Amy, and that journey was really incredible to read about and experience. 

There is also the relationship between Amy and Nox. I honestly was not expecting any romance in this book. There wasn't much of it anyway but I still wasn't expecting to read about considering it wasn't mentioned in the synopsis. Their relationship was very well spaced out in the book, it actually had growth and was more realistic from other novels I have read.

This book is one of the only books that I have let myself get carried away with, to not really care how long it is. This book was absolute perfection and I couldn't get enough of it. Danielle went into so much detail and she took the time to write about the little things. She took the classic tale and twisted into this dark, twisted and creepy story which was so interesting to read about. There is probably so much more that I want to write about but I don't want people to get bored. This book was so fantastic and I am so happy that it exists! I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars, I loved this book so much and it certainly didn't disappoint me and whoever is a fan of wicked or wizard of oz or both, I highly recommend it, if you're not really into those things you may not really enjoy the book because there are going to be  things that you may no understand. This book isn't for everyone but I'm certain that you will enjoy it if you have a love for The Wizard Of Oz like I am. This book has it's own unique story while it still does have things from the original book.

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Clockwork Princess: Cassandra Clare - FTM

Tessa Gray should be happy—aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

- Goodreads Synopsis

This is the third and final book in The Infernal Devices trilogy which is the prequel to The Mortal Instruments series. Clockwork Princess is possibly my favourite out of the whole series next to Clockwork Prince. (You can read my Clockwork Prince review HERE) I love Cassandra Clares books, she is definitely one of my favourite authors. Her series can have something tragic happen in the middle of the series and it will break your heart into pieces but the final result will be the happiest saddest ever.

Cassandra resolves things so beautifully, so far I have never disliked a book that she has written. She always leaves things on a happy note yet she doesn't take away the sad parts. Even though none of us like sad endings or sad books, things wouldn't be the same if they didn't have a big tragedy occur. I love that Cassandra wrote these books, they have such strong lovable characters and I admire how she made Tessa have two loves and not just one, that she loved both of them equally and she always will. 

The love triangle in this series is very unique, I have never read a book that had a love triangle with three people who loved each other, as brothers, as lovers and as friends. The three of them loved each other, I loved how Will and Jem put each others happiness before their own. Most love triangles wouldn't have that kind of friendship and love between the three. (I also found it so cute that Will and Tessa named their son James Herondale.)

As I have said before, I love the characters that Cassandra writes. Characters like Gabriel and Gideon, whenever there was a scene with them I couldn't help but picture Fred and George from one of my favourite series Harry Potter. Their wittiness and their personalities reminded me so much of them. The relationship between Gabriel and Cecily was very amusing, considering how he kept rating her on her skills. One of my favourite parts that was near the end was when she was saying that her and Gabriel were going to be married someday and Gabriel turned purple.

So in this book we are introduced to Will's sister, it was really interesting to see the brotherly version of Will even though we only saw a little of it. For some reason I was getting a little annoyed of her asking Will to come home to Wales but then we get to see her fall in love with shadowhunting. Throughout this book we begin to notice that she has traits of Isabelle Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments series. I look on the dust jacket which has the family tree on it and I spoil myself by seeing that she marries Gabriel Lightwood. I have mentioned this in my other reviews and I will say it again, I love how Cassandra makes all of her characters connect. An example would be the red pendant, which is the demon sensor, it seems that it had been past down from Magnus, to Will, to Cecily and to further generations of the Lightwoods.

In the last book, Clockwork Prince there are little hints about a relationship happening between Gideon and Sophie. Their relationship was actually one the cutest things that I have read, and I found it funny that she made him do an actual proposal while Cecily and Gideon were listening through the door.

Charlotte is pregnant in Clockwork Princess and Henry couldn't be any sweeter about it. It was so sweet how he created a rocking cradle but then it exploded... He is a genius because he created so many things that were/are being used in The Mortal Instruments. Again, I love all of the connections.

A running theme in Cassandra's books is creepy villans wanting to marry or be with someone they shouldn't. A.K.A Mortmain, he wanted Tessa to marry him willingly and have his children... What a creep.

To finish this review off, I would like to say that this book was perfect. It had everything that a reader could want, a good plot, a great writer and a happy ending. I couldn't ask for more, well maybe The Dark Artifices but we all have to wait. I would rate this fantastic book a 5 out of 5 stars. If you haven't read any of Cassandra Clare's books, go and read them. They are all so amazing and entertaining.

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Nobody by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes (2013) RQK

"FTM IS THE BEST PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! EVERYBODY KNOWS IT! 

IT'S TIME TO, LET IT GO, LET IT GO, IN SUMMMMEERRRR!!!"

-FTM's message to people reading my review

"I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?" - Emily Dickinson

Like some of the other books I have read lately I just randomly chose this book from the library. I didn't expect much from this book I pretty much only chose it because the cover looks like the cover of pawn and I thought why not? I was surprised to find that this book was actually amazing and nothing like what I expected. Whether the writer Jennifer realized it or not she actually brought in some interesting modern day issues and perspectives which I hadn't expected.

This book tells you a story about two people nobodies Nix and Claire who have lived their lives being unnoticed, blending into everything and everyone else around them as if they aren't even there. The story goes on with Nix and Claire both just living their lives when for the first time in Claire's life she was noticed. Little did she know that this one incident would change her whole life. Soon after we learn about the affect Claire has on Nix and before long the truth comes out. Claire and Nix learn much from each other before they embark on their mission to not only rescue others like them, but to take the first step in bringing the people hunting them down.

I think the idea of there being nobodies is very unique. She takes the basic characteristics of being unnoticed, invisible, an outsider, and creates a whole new species of super people. Many people especially teens now feel like they are invisible or like that they don't fit in. They feel unwanted, they do everything they can for attention, but in the end only end up feeling worse. Though in our world this is usually a bad thing and has bad results Jennifer puts more of a happier twist on it while keeping some of the struggles these people nobodies face.

For my English Language exam this year we were given the quote above by Emily Dickinson. I really wish I had read this book before that exam because at the time I was really stumped by the meaning of this quote. I think I finally really understand what the meaning of it is. Of course everyone interpret's it slightly different and I would in no way want to influence somebody else's interpretation. If like me you fail to find the true meaning behind this quote I highly suggest reading this book.

There was just so much that I liked from this book and the way it was structured. One of the many that really stood out was her incorporation of the laws of physics, matter and anti-matter. I am very into science so this definitely intrigued my interest. I personally like when authors take realistic concepts and principles and applies them to their books. It makes the story seem so much more real and less impossible.

As far as the characters in the book, the back and forth love story of Nix and Claire had some realistic elements to it. However I don't know how easy somebody would be to give everything up, even parents who don't acknowledge them for somebody they just met. Though I do realize its a story and overall their love story was pretty good and did compliment the story very well.

Overall I'd say this book was fantastic! It had many great elements in it and I just loved the whole idea of the story. Anybody who is looking to read a Dystopian/Science Fiction & Fantasy book I would highly suggest this. As it is about the whole idea of nobodies there is a limited amount of characters, but it is still a unique story. I wouldn't say it is a book with a lot of constant action, but there wasn't really any time when I was bored or I wanted to put the book down. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It  bring to light what its like to feel invisible or to feel like an outsider and it tells a story which shows you that you might not be liked or noticed by everyone, but there are others who will accept you, who will like you for who you are.

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Grave Mercy: Robin Lafevers - FTM

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

- Goodreads Synopsis

This book follows a girl named Ismae, she has lived a horrible life. She was being abused by everyone around her, and she was being abused long before she came out of her mothers womb. Her mother tried to poison her while she was still in the womb which left a scar on her. I honestly thought that, that was such a sick thing to do to their own child. No one was ever kind to Ismae, it is mentioned in the book that her Father was always upset when Ismae was happy or showed any signs of happiness. 

The poison that was used on Ismae was Herbwich poison which was used to try to expel Ismae out of her mothers womb. Somehow Ismae survived which they say is a miracle as most children who have been poisoned never survived. I believe her mother died after the birth, her father actually beat her while she was on the bed. It was never mentioned if she died but there are hints that she did. That topic wasn't really touched on. I wish we did get to read more about her mother.

When you first start reading,one of the first things mentioned is the arranged marriage with a man named Gullio. Gullio payed her parents three silver coins for her, not to save her or because he loves her. I am sure most of knows that in Medieval times, the only thing that most men wanted was sex from women, causing them to rape and abuse them. That is one of the first things that we see in the first few chapters. Ismae is sold to this man she doesn't know and the first thing he asks her to do is to take off her clothes. As Iread this scene, I was so disgusted at this man. Ismae was abused her whole life, and this man was continuing the abuse, he could at least treat her with a little respect which is impossible for a man who only wants pleasure from a woman.

As this scene goes on, Ismae tries to escape Gullio but he ends up ripping her clothes off and seeing the giant scar that was left on her shoulder. I already had so much hate for this man and he had to make it worse. He is so turned off by this scar that he throws her into a shed and locks her in it. Not to mention he is also angry over being scammed by her father.

After all of that drama, someone actually comes to rescue her. It is a priest, he takes her to the convent where she will be trained to become an assasin. This was one of the few things that got really interested in this book. When she first gets there they poison her wine, and we find out that she is imune to poison which is why she survived being poisoned in the womb. 

At this convent, they train death's daughters, the ones who are sired by death. They worship a god named Mortain. I started having doubts about these women who worshiped this god. I was beginning to think that they were crazy and that being at the convent wasn't a good thing. An interesting thing about Ismae is that she has gifts, being immune to poisons which is rare and she has the ability to tell when somebody is going to die. When I read that she had that ability, I thought of Lydia being the Banshee in Teen Wolf.

So one of the problems that I had with this book is that I felt that it lacked character growth. I personally love getting to see a character grow from a very weak character to a very strong character. We didn't really get to see any character growth in Ismae. It seemed that she was sent to convent as a weak helpless girl and then after a few pages she is a skilled assassin who could seduce a man and then kill him. We never got to see her struggle with the tests or her training, in my opinion that's what makes character growth so special is that you get to follow a characters journey throughout the book.

Another problem I had with this book is that it was very slow paced in the beginning but so much stuff happened. I found it a little hard to read this book because it was slow paced but there is also so much world building and there is so much that you need to know, there is so much detail. It is a little hard to keep track of, so I found myself getting a little confused at some places.

This book is actually incredibly unique and whenever there is a unique book it has a unique world and background. The only consequence of having something unique is that it can sometimes get complicated and difficult to understand. If you get past all of those things, this book will be very enjoyable and I know that I enjoyed this book. 

I highly recommend that you read this book if you haven't already. If you haven't, I may have just spoiled you on a lot of things but those things shouldn't get in the way of you reading this book. It is so unique and original and I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.

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Clockwork Prince: Cassandra Clare - FTM

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

- Goodreads Synopsis

First off, I would like to point out that this book made me cry like a baby! I was sitting in my room around midnight, and I finished it and I couldn't help myself so I jut cried. My mom was laughing and mocking me... Anyway, let's start off with this "curse" from a demon that was put on Will as a young child. I honestly didn't believe that the curse was actually real, considering that he loved Tessa and she loved him and she didn't die... but later on we find out that the curse wasn't actually a curse and that the demon that put it on him was just really mad. I was so happy when we found out that news, and I love his reaction after that, he was a completely different person and everyone was like "Is that Will?"

One of the things that I am really curious about is why Wills parents had a demon box in their house... Clearly it is a danger to have a demon in your household along with your children who are helpless of defending themselves.

In Clockwork Prince, Jem and Tessa start becoming much closer as friends. Then later on, they start being more involved romantically. For me, their relationship went really fast. Yes, they were spending a lot of time together but maybe five chapters later he's confessing that he has feelings towards her. I just felt that it was a little fast for my taste because by the end of the book he proposes to her, confessing all of his love towards her. In my opinion, we didn't really get to see their relationship grow as much as we got to see their friendship grow. It seemed like the romantic parts of their relationship were a little forced...as in pushing the love triangle to cause more conflict in the next book. I do believe that Jem really does love Tessa, and I think Tessa loves Jem but she doesn't really love him. Their entire, romantic relationship was pushed together into one book, as for Tessa and Will it had more growth and was more well paced than Jem and Tessa's.

Speaking of Will and Jem, I don't get how they didn't see that they both had strong feelings for Tessa. When Jem was proposing to Tessa, I was really worried that Will was going to jump in being happy that the curse wasn't real and see Jem confessing his love towards Tessa, but it was so much WORSE! It was such an emotional scene and I was getting emotional... Will was saying all these things towards Tessa, explaining the curse, why he said things to hurt her and how everything will work out if she takes him back. One of my favourite parts of this book was this particular part....

"I imagined you wanted an apology! You saved my life at the tea warehouse, and I am grateful, Will. I thought you wanted me to tell you that-"

Will looked as if she had slapped him. "I didn't save your life so you'd be grateful!" 

"Then, what?" Her voice rose. "You did it because it's your mandate? Because the law says-"

"I did it because I love you!" He Half-Shouted, and then, as if registering the shocked look on her face, he said in a more subdued voice, "I love you Tessa, and I have loved you, almost since the moment I met you." 

- Clockwork Prince: Cassandra Clare

I am not big on romance, but this scene really got to me. The entire scene did, and it was so sad how Will was saying that if they told Jem, that he would understand but then he changed his mind because he loves Jem, he's his parabati. So frustrating! Now that Jem and Tessa are engaged, their relationship just seems so awkward, Jem is in love and theres Tessa who is confused. I really hate how Jem thought that Will saved Tessa for him....

I really want to know what the heck Tessa is and who her parents are, there are little hints in the book on who it might be or who knows who they are.I love how all of the characters that Cassandra Clare writes, all relate somehow. There is always some sort of connection that always has a big impact in the her other series. 

This book was so good! It is one of the only books that have made me cry, and I am excited yet nervous to read the third one, Clockwork Princess. I really want to find out what happens with all of the characters, and how everything will resolve itself. Unfortunately I already know what happens to Jem and Will but I am sure that what ever happens I'm probably still going to be as shocked and as surprised as I was the first time I found out. I want to read more about the Infernal Devices in particular, and I want to see Charlottes baby and how the new relationships are going to turn out.

I am also really exicited for Will's sister who has come to the Institute to learn and become a shadowhuner, I think it will be really interesting to see how Will reacts with actual family members from his past and how it will impact the story.

I am trying so hard not to ramble about this book, because I have so much more to write and say. This book caused me to go through so many emotions. I loved this book so much! I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars! If you enjoyed this review, you can check out my City of Heavenly Fire review HERE

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