Review: The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer

3.5 stars

If I have to describe this book in one work, I’d say that it is strange.

The Demon Catchers of Milan has one of the most original storylines I’ve ever encountered. I really like the fact that the story is set in Italy too because it’s such a beautiful place. Because of the phrases and the different culture, sometimes I feel like reading a historical story. Given that the characters in the story lead a traditional, peaceful life, it’s easy to think that the story is set in different period. Another thing that makes it easy to forget about 21st century is the main character of this story, Mia, who doesn’t go to school anymore after living with her grandparents.

Mia, the main character of this story, is possessed by a very powerful demon. She is then saved by her grandfather from her father’s side and her distant cousin, Emilio. It turns out that the demon has been haunting the family since a very long time. It’s very dangerous for Mia to stay in the US, so she moves in to Italy to live with her father’s family. The rest of the story takes place in Italy, and Mia’s struggle to fight her demon.

I personally think that the chapters in this book seem dragged. I feel like we are given a chunk of Mia’s life and we have to be satisfied with it. As much as I adore the details about Italian culture, I would have liked to have my questions answered too. The character development is too slow for my taste, but I really how genuine it is. It would be great if the pace of this book can be quicker.

Mia is a character I can’t help but sympathize with. Away in a foreign land with family she has never met, it’s not hard to understand her loneliness. Mia is innocent in such a way that somehow doesn’t bug me. As for Emilio, the kind-of love interest in this story, I don’t feel very much attached to him. He’s too beautiful, too perfect. His perfection makes him feel distanced and I can’t work out any strong emotion toward him. I’d like to see more flaws and secrets about Emilio, because it seems like he’s good in everything. I’m sure no one, not even fictional character, is supposed to be that perfect.

Although The Demon Catchers of Milan can’t be said as one of my favorite reads this year, I still hope that there would be a sequel because there are too many loose ties in the story. This is a very strange story and I’d recommend you to read this while curling up in a blanket in cool, windy autumn night. The demon part of the story can be a bit scary, so it’s best to have warm fireplace near you and a hot chocolate to calm down the nerves!

Eventually we started bouncing over cobblestones, and I will always remember the first time I heard that sound, the sound of a foreign street. Then I was led up into a dark apartment walled with books. Somebody steered me into a small room, filled with more books, and pointed me to a soft, white bed.

I tried to remember what to say. At last it came. “Grazie mille,” I said to the blurry face, and fell down and went to sleep.

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I rate this book:

 Three cups of tea. I like it.  Recommended to read in spare time.

Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

This is the end of the world.

Zombies are everywhere. Parents are dead. Minors are left to take care of themselves. Help from government never comes.

This is the end of the world, but to Slone, her world has already ended.

Six months ago is the day her sister ran away from their house, leaving Sloane alone to deal with their abusive father. Lily is the center of Sloane’s world. She is her sister, her best friend, her protector, her everything. Without Lily, she is nothing. Sloane is dead inside the moment Lily leaves her.

But now, Sloane is stuck in her school with five other kids. This is crazy. In the perfect world, she’s supposed to have died in the moment. But in the perfect world, Lily would have never left her either. She’s biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment to leave the kids and kill herself…

The first few hours after reading this, I couldn’t even form a simple sentence. My mind is a whirring jumble of thoughts, and I felt so emotional, shocked, and hopeful in the same time. The characters in this book are very real. They’re three-dimensional characters for me. When I close my eyes, I can see them playing scenes after scenes in this book in my mind.

It’s almost ironic that Sloane is one of the survivals when everyone else is dead. Sloane might be the last person in the city who wants to survive. She is broken, almost beyond repair. Sloane is apathetic to everything because she doesn’t see the reason to fight. The world she knows has always been cruel to her. Sloane is a very complex character. My heart felt wrenched every time I read the way she describes Trace and Grace, the twins in their group. I can see how much she longs to have relationship like Trace and Grace, how lonely and shattered she is.

It’s sad how selfish people can be when it comes to survival. Everyone is egoistic. Everyone wants to live whatever it takes. Characters in this book do horrible thing to survive, yet I can’t easily judge them. When it’s the end of the world, the line between bad and good is blurry. This book explores the darker side of human, and I love it for that.

Reading This is Not a Test is like reading nightmare. I was emotionally attached to almost every character in the book. It’s gripping. Awesome. Dreadful. Nightmarish. Devastating. This is Not a Test is a must-read because you have to determine yourself which adjective you would use to describe this book.

I turn myself over, slowly, painfully, and stare into milky white irises, all the capillaries around them busted and red. I lose focus. I see one of her, two of her, three of her. Calm settles over me. She licks her lips. I close my eyes.

This is it. Finally.

 

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I rate this book:

Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.

Review: Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr

3.5 stars

Melissa Marr’s writing is one of the main reasons I decided to read this book. I always love the way she builds the world in her books. So vivid, enchanting, and beautiful. Even though the story is too dark for my taste, her way of creating details in her story never fails to enchant me. There are twelve dark yet beautiful short stories in this book.

My favorite story in this book is Winter’s Kiss. The moment I read the story, I’m completely hooked up. It’s a story about a princess who has frost breath. When she laughs too freely, she will freeze her surroundings. She is lonely because no one enjoys her gift, and she decides to take a journey to find a place where her gift can be useful. Then she meets an ice-bear and they instantly become friend.

Winter’s Kiss is such a lovely story. It’s romantic and very fairytale-like. I really like ice-bear, they seem so cute, warm, and fluffy so it’s no question that this short story is my favorite. Other stories don’t captivate me as much as Winter’s Kiss, but there is one story that made me cringe in horror. Its title is Transition and it is a vampire story. The story is inspired by a party which Melissa Marr attended when she was in a dead-end town. This is really dark and full of gory details. While Winter’s Kiss is like the representation of fairytale in this book, for me Transition is what you’re going to call a nightmare. The story is absolutely awesome, but the darkness in the story is too much for me.

I think you’re going to enjoy this book even if you’re no fan of Wicked Lovely. Like I said before, Melissa Marr has a gift of telling stories. This is fairly recommended for fans of Wicked Lovely series, but I guess this book is really one for people who seek enchanting and eerie tales. 

Well over half of these pages are taken up by Wicked Lovely world stories; the rest of the pages are reserved for other worlds. These are stories pulled from lore and nightmares, set in places I’ve visited and places I’ve imagined. I hope you enjoy them. 

–taken from the introduction page in the book– 

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 I rate this book:

Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.