DNF REVIEW: THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN BY ROSHANI CHOKSHI.

Title: The Star-Touched Queen
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Series: Standalone
Edition: Kindle
Publication: April 26, 2016 by St. Martin's Griffin
Source: eARC provided by the publisher
Pages: 352
Genre: High-Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...

But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.

A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology. The Star-Touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

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Marked as Did Not Finish at eighty percent.

I know, right? I only have twenty percent left so why not push through it? Believe me, I tried. For weeks. I kept giving myself one more push to finish reading this but I. Just. Cannot. Anymore. I don't want to punish myself, there's just nothing in this story that makes me stay.

I was so excited when I was sent an eARC of this one because The Star-Touched Queen is one of my most sought titles this year. However, I was already gagging at page five. I thoroughly enjoyed the Mythology aspect of The Star-Touched Queen but the writing style just didn't work for me. It was all too freaking (borrowing Nushrika's term) flowery and it honestly felt so pretentious to me.

"I want to lie beside you and know the weight of your dreams," he said, brushing his lips against my knuckles. "I want to share whole worlds with you and write your name in the stars." He moved closed and a chorus of songbirds twittered silver melodies. "I want to measure eternity with your laughter."

"The woman whom Amar had looked at, as though she held the universe in her gaze, as if galaxies lined her smile, as though she were myths and love and song contained in one body."

CAN YOU LIKE, STOP RIGHT THERE? Gaaaad. I just can't with the writing style. Ninety-five percent of the time, this is the reason why I just couldn't go through this. Maybe this lyrical kind of writing would work best for a contemporary novel than fantasy? I mean, it could still work but not this heavy? I tried but there is just no way I can fake that I enjoyed it. Don't even let me talk about the crappy insta-romance because ugh no, I can't.

What I also hate about the book is the part where our Queen was tricked by Nritti. And when I say tricked, she was tricked THAT easily! Oh gods of bookish universe, why do we have to suffer for the stupidity of our heroines?

The mythology part of it though is one thing I absolutely enjoyed. It was the highlight of this story and I want to immerse myself in it. It was rich, colorful and intriguing. I have Indian friends and let me tell you this, their culture (and food) is amazing! Oh, and Kamala is the best horse ever!

The Star-Touched Queen didn't capture my taste at all. I wish there were more to it than just fancy wordings. I would have loved the concept it if was kept simple but striking.

Thank you so much St. Martin's Griffin for the electronic ARC!

"I loved the feeling of discovery, of not knowing how much I wanted something until I had discovered its absence."

"There is no romance in real grief. Only longing and fury."

SPOTLIGHT: CARRY ON BY RAINBOW ROWELL x #CARRYONPHLAUNCH x GIVEAWAY.

Happiest book birthday to Rainbow Rowell's CARRY ON last October 6!

Carry On as you probably know already, is Baz and Simon's story. Have you read Fangirl yet? YES, these characters are from the fanfiction from Fangirl! It was released two days ago and yes, we have copies available locally! Now, why am I posting about this? St. Martin's sent this gorgeous Carry On Emergency Survival kit that I want to share them with you. And *drumrolls*, we - Pinoy Book Tours, in cooperation with Powerbooks - are hosting our very first book launch this Saturday! What else are we going to launch? You guessed right!! CARRY ON!

If you are Rainbow-holic and bookish, then this event is definitely for you. All you have to do is to:

1. Let us know that you are attending the event (Facebook Event Page)
2. Go to Powerbooks, Greenbelt at around 3PM this Saturday, October 10.
3. Register!! (THIS IS FREE)
4. Mingle with your bookish friends and favorite book bloggers.
5. Join the fun activities and games.
6. Win cool prizes sponsored by Powerbooks and us.
7. Take photos.
8. Have fun!
9. Have fun!!
10. And have fun!!!

To start off this exciting event, Kai of Amaterasu Reads and I collaborated and we are giving away a Carry On Tshirt! I might also pop in a surprise book and swag! PH Only, Ends October 14!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you, Press Me Shirts and Designs!

This event is going to be epic so what are you waiting for? RSVP now!! SEE YOUUUUUUU THERE!

Banner by Hazel of Stay Bookish!

REVIEW: FANGIRL BY RAINBOW ROWELL.

Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Edition: Hardbound
Published: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen
Pages: 438
Source: Gifted
Category: Romance, Contemporary
Trailer: Not applicable.

Amazon ▲ Book Depository ▲ Goodreads ▲ Barnes and Noble ▲ National Bookstore ▲ Fullybooked

Synopsis:

A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.... But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she's really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words...and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

After reading Eleanor & Park (which I absolutely loved), I became a Rowell fan. Following it up with Attachments, Rowell proved that she deserves to be included in my Auto-Buy Authors list. Attachment may have been an adult novel but I reviewed it and fell deeply in love with Rowell’s writing. She wrote it fantastically and her books always tickle my love for Contemporary. Until Fangirl.

I received my shiny hardbound copy of Fangirl last year (on its release week, yay!) on my birthday. I basically forced my ever loving brother to buy me one and used my birthday as the best excuse so he wouldn’t say no. Imagine how long it took me to read it (7 months) because as always, I was waiting for the right time for it to nudge me. I don't know about you guys but I have this weird book calling. I feel like there's always the right time for a certain title to be read (like what happened with TFiOS). Hearing so much raving about it made me proud that I am a Rowell fan (and I will always be). But after trying so hard for two weeks to finish Fangirl, I knew something in me changed. Just me, though. Sad to say that I didn’t like Fangirl. Rowell’s writing is still crisp, refreshing and fun. However, the characters and plot of this novel just didn’t entwine with what I expected. Like holding someone’s hand but the person keeps pulling back. You can reach it and hold it again but the person wouldn't let you hold it so long. I was so disconnected the whole time. Aside from the slow pacing that irritated me, I whole-heartedly couldn’t understand why I feel like I was reading two books at the same time: one contemporary/coming of age and one middle grade/fantasy.

I hated 80 percent of the book. The fanfiction, Cather’s character and I believe I am missing something in the plot. But mostly the fanfiction. This book was so uniquely written but maybe I just wasn’t made for this kind of story. I skipped 80 percent of the fanfiction specifically when Cather’s reading it to Levi. I couldn’t completely connect to it. I hated how a fanfic writer can refuse an opportunity to write an original story. Like, really? REALLY? I hated how awkward Cath was thinking she’s 18 and should be more open-minded to things, like to Wren’s urge for freedom. Seriously, I’ve been to that phase and have seen a lot of people who are socially awkward but not to Cath’s level. She’s like the awkwardest awkward ever. Weird doesn’t even do her justice. At some point, I felt like her weirdness is bordering in mental disorder and that she has to really see a shrink. The fact that a person can live on energy bars alone can be acceptable but trying to suppress hunger to avoid people and to not go to the cafeteria? Absolutely bonkers. No. Unacceptable for normal people. I knew in the pit of my stomach that she isn’t normal. She just isn’t.

Cather’s too clingy also. Not only to her twin but to almost everything. I totally get how hard it is to let go of the things that matter to you most, but at one point in this life, you just really have to. Wren made the right decision to be separated to her. That part I agree on. It would make them have their own identity (only Wren took it too far). However, Cath chose to remain the same. I didn’t see her character progress at all. Like she’s the same old Cath from page one till the end. I was expecting her to at least try to open up but she’s focused only on her fanfiction and almost shuts everyone out. What in the world is normal with that? Ugh. This review is starting to be ranty, I know. I apologize but Cath is probably one of the weakest protagonists I’ve encountered. And I don’t want to ever repeat this hair-pulling experience again. Ever.

I thank the goddess of literature for balancing this novel with Reagan. She’s straight to the point, would have been a little strong at first but definitely knows herself. I wanted to know more about her but since she’s just a supporting character, I know I wouldn’t. I knew that Reagan is going to be a good influence in her own way to Cath and how I wish they spent time together. In short, I enjoyed reading Reagan’s normality in amid of their awkward situation and differences.

Another thing to be thankful for is Levi. Rowell made his character the only character PERFECT for Cath. Imaging a different one for Cath makes my brain hurt. Good thing Levi liked her in spite of her weakness. Levi’s very likeable and I adored how much he’s willing to go for the people/things he like the best. His efforts made me awww the whole time especially at the last 100 pages. He’s respectful and cute and funny and honest. Without Levi and Reagan, this novel would have received a one star rating. Seriously, I couldn’t wrap my mind about THE other things.

I said this a few times but Fangirl is my first Rowell let down book. My giddy expectations of it was because of Eleanor & Park and Attachments, confidently knowing it would knock me off my feet once more but this just didn’t do me any good. It was so weird I kept questioning where this would lead to. I am just glad Cath and Levi worked out for the best in the end. Fangirl and I are seemed to be like oil mixed in water. We wouldn’t mix at all, no matter how you do it, no matter how to try.

Thank you brother Arman for gifting me this one!

"I miss you."
"That's stupid," she said. "I saw you this morning."
"It's not the time," Levi said, and she could hear that he was smiling." It's the distance."

"How do you feel about Gravioli?"
"I like it. Is that what we're having for dinner?"
"No. That's the client I'm on."

"That's the ultimate kind of broken. The kind of damage you never recover from."