an anticlimactic end

Title: Wildcard

Author: Marie Lu

Published: September 18, 2018

Pages: 352

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Goodreads Description: Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo’s new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she’s always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.
Determined to put a stop to Hideo’s grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone’s put a bounty on Emika’s head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn’t all that he seems–and his protection comes at a price.
Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

Let’s get right into it: this book was disappointing.

Wildcard was the much-anticipated, second book in the Warcross duology by Marie Lu. It bums me out that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would because I was so blown away by the first book, Warcross. The technology, asian american representation, and eventual shocking plot twist in Warcross had me itching for Wildcard’s release. Needless to say, I had high expectations—and that’s my fault.

Honestly, I didn’t learn anything after reading Warcross though. Like, ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴs. (Specifically, don’t expect that a book is a standalone—but you can read more about that particular frustration in my book review for Warcross.)

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My Favorite Booktubers

I like to procrastinate reading by watching videos about people who are reading.

It’s truly a strange world we’re living in.

I’m sure some of you have also caught yourself in the same loop. You’re searching for a new book to read, watch some book recommendation videos, find a book to read (!!), and… continue to watch booktube videos.

The cycle is inevitable.

(Lol. Okay, Thanos.)

Anyways, here are some of my favorite booktubers to watch while I procrastinate 🎉:

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Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel // an unsettling reflection on civilization

Title: Station Eleven

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Published: September 9, 2014

Pages: 336

Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia

Amazon / Barnes & Nobles / Goodreads

Goodreads Description:An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.
Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.

After putting this book on the back-burner for over two years, it has officially made it to my all-time favorites list.

First off, it was not what I was expecting at all. I committed the age-old crime of judging Station Eleven by its cover and, based off the (truly minimal) stars on the front, I assumed the story would take place in space. That, plus the fact that Station Eleven sounded like a space station (which I technically wasn’t wrong to believe), the book gave me the impression of being a space opera. While that wasn’t the case, I was pleasantly surprised that the book was so much better than my initial estimation of it.

I know some of you are thinking, “But, the book is clearly not about space in the synopsis,” and, I agree. Buuuut, 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩. We’ve already established that I’m a sheep.

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5 Bookish Things I’ve Changed My Mind About

My bookish habits have gone through a fair amount of change these past few years, largely due to the blogosphere.

Sometime between scrolling through all the book blogs and seeing many similar-themed posts, my brain reached a tipping point and was rewired to think more like the rest of the blogging community (🐑 <— me, a sheep). There were some bookish things that I refused to accept until you all, without meaning to, knocked some sense into me. Here are five bookish things I’ve changed my mind about (thanks to you all 🥂!):

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