Quick Book Reviews & Opinions~ Part 1

I will not make this a habit. These are the books that I couldn't make a proper review because I was too busy and distracted with my works when I've finished reading them. I will try not to do this in the future; making brief reviews of every book I've read, since... well, let's just say it's not really proper if you want to do a book review and ended up doing it halfheartedly. I've finished all these long before November so some details might have been lost to me. Hence, this blog post. Anyhow, let's get to it.

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The thing that sort of attract me to this book was the cover and the old pictures inside. The pictures gave the ideas about the "peculiarity" of the children living under Miss Peregrine's care; they're probably supposed to give the readers goosebumps or something. I had to say the pictures peaked my curiosity so I bought this without much thought. Believe it or not, the premise was not exactly original, and the story-telling, while it was full of suspense at first, came to a halt soon after the main character Jacob met the first peculiar child. The story involved mainly of kids and teens who had- wait, I couldn't possibly tell you without completely ruining the "mysteriousness" of the story. I'll put a big SPOILER here so you're free to click the back button if you so wish.

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Alright, the kids had superpowers. Miss Peregrine was their caretaker who was also a time traveling shapeshifter. Jacob was trying to understand something about his dead grandfather who was murdered and found out that his grandfather used to be a peculiar too. And there were creatures who were endangering the entire peculiar communities for something sinister. You see, there was not much going on with Jacob and his peculiar friends. I think there's a sequel to this story so this book involved mainly in introducing the peculiar family and the background story for all the epic things to come. Right now, the story of the peculiar children wasn't a very exciting read. [2.5/5]

2. Summerkin (Winterling #2)

This is the second book of the Winterling series. Sadly, I haven't read the first one, and haven't had the luck of finding it either. 

Summerkin tells the trial and tribulations of Fer in proving her worth as the Lady of the Land. She was called to a test by the High Ones who wanted to see whether she was worthy of the Summerlands crown, and along the way she met some serious competitors who wished to change Summerlands into something that's unfamiliar. Fearing for her subjects' well being and also her land's fate, Fer had to make some hard choices in the competition set up by the High Ones. She also had to have her trust put to the test especially when it comes to Rook, a puck everyone warned her to be disloyal and a cheater. 

What I like about Summerland the most was how Fer struggled between doing what was seemed necessary but was entirely against her nature. For instance, she had to put on a commanding atmosphere despite her wish to not be seen as a cold ruler. Fer was adamant about saving her land from falling into other rulers' hands, but she could not be as ruthless and calculative as them, resulting in many instances where she might just lose her chance on winning the crown. The whole thing was made much more interesting when she had to deal with Rook who seemed to have his loyalty split between her and his pack. Anyone who read Winterling must know how treacherous a puck was so it was a big gamble on Fer's side for trusting one in the name of friendship. 

Summerkin was a simple book, but thoroughly enjoyable. I recommend this to anyone who loved a fantasy story especially when it involved preserving the essence of nature. In a way, I really loved the whole nature vs modern practicality here. It reminded me of the anime Arjuna wherein a seemingly flat, green man-made pasture was considered abnormal and poisonous compared to how it was when nature grew wild and untamed. Really, give this book a try. You'll love it. [4/5]

Two more books on the next post~

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