Red Queen// A (SPOILER-FREE) Review!

Hello rad readers!

We have begun a new series here and I am officially in it for the long haul! Boy oh boy do I have a lot to say about this. It is action packed, exciting, deep, and intenseee! All fan favorite qualities here in the Rad Reader Universe (The RRU). This amounted a whopping 5/5 whole stars on Goodreads from me and it deserved it. In reality I would have given it around 4.4 stars but Goodreads doesn't have that option and I felt it was far better than just a regular 4 star book so I really just had to round it up... Anywayssss let us begin.

In this world, people are divided by their blood type. By blood type, I mean red blood and silver blood. Silvers have powers, gifts. There are strongarms, people that have super strength (real creative name...). There are whisperers, (people who can manipulate people's thoughts... more creative), and just about everything and anything in between. Reds on the other hand are powerless and oppressed becuase of that. They are the commoners where the Silvers are the royalty, the Silvers call the shots, and there is no question about that. Mare Barrow, our main character is a Red and a thief. In a world where most Reds are impoverished and hungry, Mare and her family fall in line with the rest, Mare developing a skill in pick pocketing to provide. It seems like this will always be the case until one day on her trip into town, she accidentally ends up with a job in the Silver Palace. This is no blessing. Here, surrounded by the people she hates most, Mare discovers that despite the color of her blood she too has these god like powers. If this gets out it will obviously be world shattering, threatening to throw off the balance of power, the familiar. To keep her her gift a secret, the Silvers hide her in plain sight, claiming that she is a long lost Silver princess. An idea that Mare can barely stomach. Knowing full well it could cost her a head, she begins to work with the Scarlet Guard, a secret rebel group that has been waiting for a moment like this to bring down the blood divide and start a revolution.

...And that doesn't even cover the half of it... not remotely.

I know a lot of people said that this is not the most original idea, but I disagree. A simple analysis may make you think that, the idea of royals with powers and commoners that don't have powers has --admittedly-- been done before, but certainly not to the same degree that Red Queen has. I think the world is perfectly unique and well thought out. I felt like I could picture it the entire time and that Victoria Aveyard clearly had a strong vision while she was writing it. I think that comes across very strongly throughout the story and I really loved that. The way the book is written is immersive and fast paced. It is certainly not the type of book you can easily put down. In the first couple chapters it was a bit slow, but when things started picking up (which did not take long) they never let down.

The characters are complex and here at Rad Reads we appreciate that beyond belief. There is nothing more boring than a character that exists solely for the convenience of the plot. So, let's talk characters. Mare, our main character, is unpredictable and volatile and acts in a totally realistic way. The way you or I would act if you just became a princess when you wanted nothing less than that, and if you were surrounded by people that have oppressed you and you have loathed for all your life. She is resistant, quick, and smart. (I am certainly the Oxford comma enthusiast in this post so far). I appreciate this because in many books the main character just falls in line until one chapter everything that we thought we knew about shifts and suddenly she becomes this headstrong leader. No, Mare is headstrong from the get-go. She makes the tough decisions, knowing and helping The Guard kill the Silvers in power. "He's a father." This is what Mare realizes soon after she puts a hit on his head, letting The Guard know how and when to take him out. Hell ya he is, and guess how long Mare ponders on that. About an hour. She is swiftly over it once she remembers that the Silvers are the reasons her brother is dead and her father is missing a leg.

I read books like these with this in mind, and largely the degree at which I like it depends on the degree at which the characters follow this rule: If you are going to be an assassin you have to own it.

Mare certainly owns it, and that is what makes it an exciting read. No long lasting complaining about the people risking their lives or the goddddd awfullll "They died for me," ughhhhh that dreaded sentence that pops up in just about every exciting book ever, turning the hype from a 10 to a negative 12... If you are leading a revolution... let me amend that, IF YOU ARE THE FACE OF A REVOLUTION, BE DECISIVE ABOUT IT. Mare is ruthless when it comes to the efforts of personal revenge and that right there is an extreme win for the plot and for the Raddest of Readers. I have heard people criticize the fact that Mare doesn't necessarily follow the main character vibe, that being that when she makes a mistake she never takes a deep look at herself to learn from it, she keeps going and going and going. I don't understand how this is a bad thing? I think this makes her unique and threateningly exciting. She is unpredictable! Do you want to read pages and pages of re-thinking over one decision? Because I sure don't and I also know that you don't really want that either because if Victoria Aveyard did write Mare like this people would complain about how she is too sensitive or compassionate. I like the unique numbness and mystery that surround Mare. As for the supporting characters, Cal I find not to be as exciting as Mare thinks he is. Maven on the other hand I knew he'd be an interesting dude and I was right. Unpopular opinion, but isn't that what you are here for? The king and the queen? I loathe them just like Mare. Queen Elara would not pass the vibe check. She could never.

In terms of the betrayal in the end... oh yes, there is one of those, did I forget to mention that? This book really does have everything... JAW DROPPING! I reread it many MANY times to make sure that my eyes weren't deceiving me. Rad Readers, you are going to love it.

Okay homies, that is all I can say without blowing your mind with the crazy twists and 180-- no, 360 degree flips of this book that will throw you off with every turn of the page. This book is so exciting and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!!

As the Scarlet Guard would say... Rise, red as dawn! (lol book jokes)

- C8 ;)

Shatter Me// A Review (READ THIS BOOK!!)

Prepare to be overwhelmed with the amount of love I have for this book Rad Readers (all love is duly deserved though)... because this is a C8's Rad Reads certified banger of a book!

Let's start with the plot, shall we?

So, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a dystopian thriller and quit the one at that. It is narrated by Juliette, a girl who with the lightest touch can transfer excruciating pain and even death. Sounds familiar to another book I have raved about huhhh... *cough cough* Carve the Mark *cough cough.* Anyways, because of her touch and an incident that happened because of it she has been locked away in an asylum by the Reestablishment, the new form of government that controls the people in a not very great way to say the least. Most of the population is living in slums and starving. Anyone who questions the Reestablishment is done away with in one way or another. I got some strong hunger games vibes from the government system in the book. Anyways, it is pretty clear that Juliette is a little insane, or at least just a bit crazy. Something very cool about the writing that demonstrates Juliette's instability and in a sense non-reliability as a narrator is how there are certain parts that are written that are crossed out, poorly crossed out so that they are readable and it is clear that they are meant to show what she is really thinking and what she is really thinking is, well, kind of just a tiny little bit insane! She is a nice girl though. It is pretty obvious that it is not her touch that has driven her insane, or her disposition, it's been the isolation both literally and figuratively. She was never liked in school or at home before and then ultimately she was shipped off to an asylum where she hasn't been with human contact for a year or so. Something odd then happens. She gets a cellmate, Adam Kent who interestingly is unaffected by her touch. *cough cough* Carve the Mark vibes *cough cough.* Then, as it always does with books like these, all hell breaks loose! Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Tough to tell so far, honestly as the series continues I see it going either way. Not soon after Adam arrives they are both removed from the cell and one of the leaders of the Reestablishment tells Juliette that they plan on using her as a weapon for the Reestablishment. Obviously that is not going to fly so Juliette and Adam run away and thus ensues a wild goose chase with Warener, (the man from the Reestablishment) and that mad lad is on a mission for destruction and Juliette. Personally, not a fan of him.

Obviously you can tell this is a pretty deep and layered plot. That is definitely a massively important part of the book, but what I also loved was the character development.

At first I was a little iffy with Juliette because she kind of seemed like a damsel in distress and it is pretty apparent in my other reviews that I AM NOT a fan of that trope. Eventually however she settles into her boss lady-ness, recognizing that she literally could kill someone with her bare hands, is straight lethal, and grows into it. It is super gnarly to read about.

I don't like however that the first person in the her life that ever just shows her simple common courtesy, the only person that doesn't just trash on her physically or verbally, she just falls in love with. That is just not how that works and I'm also not sure why it was so important for the author to write about how they knew not each other but knew of each other when they were much younger. I think that makes it all even weirder and if she was going for the instant love cliche then this diminished it a bit. I know it isn't a major aspect of the story, it is just something that while I was reading it I was just like... so... we're at the slow part of the book now I guess... nice... I felt like I was waiting for things to get more interesting at that point, which obviously they eventually did because as you can tell I do love this book a lot and intend on continuing with the series.

As for Adam, he is a great person... I think. Right now, I'm just going to say it, I don't think he is a bad guy. I know I have been fooled one too many times with characters like these who seem too good to be true, but I do not think he is going to turn on the crew, or at least I hope he doesn't... I might be projecting, who knows!?

Anyways even though, like I said prior, I think it's rather odd that just because he is the first person that essentially just holds a conversation with Juliette they are suddenly "in love," I don't have any complaints about him.

I like characters that have more depth than just the cliche trying-to-conquer-a-government-with-no-backup-plan. He has a lot to lose with his brother and his house that he has worked hard to keep safe and he knows that and he isn't willing to do much to risk this. If his brother dies (which I feel like he will because why else would an author want me to be so emotionally attactched to a character am I righttttt #bookishprobs) I will guarantee you that I will be crying. I digress, I liked Adam a lot is what I am trying to get to.

My favorite character by a country mile was Kenji! He reminded me of Simon from the Mortal Instruments series and YOU KNOW how much I love-- nay, live for that series and Simon specifically. He was so funny and I care a lot about dialogue in stories which I don't think I have mentioned prior. I'm not sure why it is so important to me, I think it is either more interesting or it could just be how the way dialogue is structured is more eye-catching so it just resonates more? I'm not sure, but what I'm trying to get at is that Kenji's dialogue really made me laugh. He is whimsical and the comedic timing of this book is spectacular!

Sometimes authors think teenagers talk in a certain way and frequently they are so wrong that it is painful and then other times you have teenagers in these dystopian societies that need to, for the sake of the story, be extremely mature so they don't read like normal kids. In this book however, I believe something that made it so great, was the fact that yes, they are in a crazy world and under ridiculous tyranny and Juliette has been independent for her entire life and isolated but they talk in a way that makes sense for both where they are in their lives and their age. Juliette is anxious all the time and isn't used to talking to people because everyone is scared of her, and that comes across clearly in her dialogue. Adam is hiding a lot about his life, he is careful with his words. Kenji is also hiding something but in a different way, but he also has a lot figured out, is more confident. All this is so ingeniously expressed in the dialogue. Some really strong writing going on right there!

I could go on forever, probably longer that the book itself, so you might as well just read it! I would recommend it a thousand times over!

Keep on reading readers (especially this book),

-C8 :)

Everything About 'The Infernal Devices' Is Spectacular! (Trilogy Book Review)

Hello Rad Readers!

So, before we begin, I feel like I should explain a little about how I recommend reading this since there are a lot of opinions on the order you should read these books in comparison the the Shadowhunter Chronicles as a whole.

I am kinda of reviewing these assuming that you have already read the Mortal Instruments series, and while I do know that it certainly isn't required that you read TMI first, I think that it is the best way to go about reading the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I have heard people saying that they regretted reading the last book of The Mortal Instruments before they finished the last book of The Infernal Devices series because apparently there was a spoiler in there, but I read all of TMI before I even started TID and I didn't feel spoiled at all. Once I finished Clockwork Princess I actually reread the ending of City of Heavenly Fire to find out if there was a blatant spoiler that I just missed, and in my opinion it wasn't really a spoiler at all, because it was such a tiny detail at the time. There was so much else going on in that story that it didn't matter or stick out to the reader. It was more so an Easter egg, if you will, for the people that had already read TID. I actually remember the first time I read City of Heavenly Fire I was so confused why this seemingly irrelevant detail was getting so much attention, but like I said, after reading Clockwork Princess I understood.

The last thing I would like to say about the reading experience rather than the actual books is that, unlike many readers, I did not read these immediately after I finished The Mortal Instruments series and I don't think you should either. Although they are set in the same universe and have very parallel plots, the two series are very different and if you are reading TID expecting to get TMI volume 2, you are going to be surely disappointed. TID is a phenomenal series on its own account, but if you are looking for the wrong things you will not enjoy it.

Okay, to summarize: read TMI before TID, but don't read TID immediately after finishing TMI.

Now into the actual content of the story!

The Infernal Devices is the prequel to The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare and includes Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess. It begins in the late 1800s when Tessa Gray's aunt dies and she must travel from New York to London to stay with her brother. This is where the rest of the story takes place, giving the novels a very Victorian era kinda vibe. However, instead of meeting her older brother when she steps off the docks, she is kidnapped by who she calls 'the Dark sisters' (the most pretentious name known to man, but I went along with it), and they demand that she help them using her ability that she didn't even know she had. They intend to train Tessa and then deliver her to their boss, 'the Magister' (we love the extra names going on here...). However, before she is able to be handed over, a group of Shadowhunters accidentally stumble upon her and help her escape, taking her with them back to the London Institue, similar to the NY Institute in TMI. She stays there while she tries to figure out where her brother is, what this new world around her is, who the magister is, and most importantly, what she is, and why is she able to wield these unexplainable powers?

While she is trying to figure everything out she finds herself grow close to the Shadowhunters that she has sought refuge with, despite not being a Shadowhunter herself. It is mainly her, Jem Carstairs, and Will Herondale working together to find out who the Magister is, what he is up to, and how to stop him... and thus, the madness ensues!

Okay, now the you know what it is about, let me tell you what was so so so very wonderful about it. The lowest review I gave one of these books was 4/5 stars, so needless to say, I loved it.

Starting off with the world, the setting of the story in 19th century London was a bold move because sometimes the old fashioned writing can get capital B Boring, but I actually loved it. It made the tone and the mood of the story very different from books I normally read, and as it is written as a sort of period piece, I thought that it was all very accurate, sometimes even frustratingly accurate... you will know what I mean once you read the books.

The Shadowhunter world, just like in TMI is beautifully developed and there are a lot of new details brought up this time around that hadn't been prior, and we also get a deeper understanding and history of everything we fell in love with while reading The Mortal Instruments. Also, in these books you can really see a progression in the strengthening of Cassandra Clare's story telling. It was positively beautiful, the way these books were written. It was suspenseful and exciting and the characters were phenomenal. Ugh! I don't know if there are enough positive adjectives in the English language to even do it justice.

Like I said, these characters are great. I will not lie, there were certainly (many) parts of these books that weren't entirely interesting, but I couldn't stop reading because of how much I cared about the characters and just what was going on in their personal lives aside from the plot, and that is super rare for me. Usually I am all plot or nothing, but, I don't know, I just really loved these characters?

We have Tessa Gray who is out main character, and let me just say, that this is the best most satisfying character development ever. If you recall earlier I said that sometimes the accuracy of the time period in the writing is painful, and by that I mean that the main character is a female in a 19th century novel... homie doesn't have equality and her mindset is wack in the begining. She is all like "women shouldn't be fighting demons," or "I can't wear pants! I am a woman!" However, in the world of Shadowhunters, sexism and misogony is not a thing! They are warriors through and through and they teach Tessa that her mindset needs to change, that she is a woman, not "just" a woman, and I absolutely love that. Andddd I absolutely love that we see the subtle changes in her as she comes to this realization that she really can do anything and that she is extremely strong, extremely smart, and extremely powerful. Also, the homie loves to read, and anyone who loves to read is someone that I love, so how can I say one bad thing about her? Overall, through the course of the three books, she was phenomenal to read about.

Jem Carstairs is a king. Will Herondale is a homie and a half through and through. Though Tessa is the main character and ultimately it is her story that we are hearing, all of these other characters have incredibly developed history, and a story all to themselves as well. I think this is huge evidence of Cassandra Clare's amazing writing becuase she clearly has this entire world so thought out and well understood in her head and that really translates to the reader in my opinion. Jem's story was tragic and fascinating, and when I found out about it, honestly that is what got me so roped in. I am also down for a defeat-the-bad-guy book, but I think you really get to know a story when you find out that the bad guy is not the only problem these characters face. Will's character is beyond intriguing. There is so much about him that is such a mystery and you wonder why he is the way that he is. We get a third person narrative so we get to see what is behind the mask of these characters and it just does so much for the story and their development. They deal with the real world, they deal with their own personal hardships, and it just makes the story so real. I had some beef with Jem in the beginning of the series because I thought he was a little too boring and predictable, I got over the beef because I realized that he wasn't boring he was just a good person, something you so rarely see in these books. Will was frustrating, it all made sense in the end why he had to do some of the things he did, and can I just say woah woah woah oh my god to that really quickly!!

Everything is woven together so well, the characters, the main plot, the relationships, it is such a cohesive story and you get everything you could want all in one book. You want emotional and high stakes and angsty-- this is the book for you! You want supernatural thriller-- this is the book for you! You want action and adventure-- THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! You would think 800 pages of Clockwork Princess would be difficult to get through, but when you finish it you're like "what! that's it??"

I loved this story... in case you haven't notice already.

I loved how it built and built and built, Clockwork Princess was an absolute master piece of a finale. It was non-stop action and every time a chapter ended I was left in shock and I had to know what happened next. From beginning to end it was spectacular. Reading Clockwork Princess was like running a marathon for my brain. It was like just when you thought you knew what was about to happen, your entire world was flipped over and reversed and thrown out a window. Absolute madness and I loved all of it. Clockwork Princess is by far my favorite book I have read from Cassandra Clare (okay, maybe still tied with City of Heavenly Fire) which is saying a lot because I have read so so so many of her books!

You have to read this series. Stop what you are doing right now and pick it up.

The ending is incredible, insane, heart wrenching, you will never see it coming, and you will want it to never end.

Read. These. Books!

- C8 ;)