Review: Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch

Title : Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1)

Author: Sara Raasch

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 416

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own. (More from Goodreads)

Since the sequel is coming out this month, I figured it would be a good time to review this book! This is the first book in a trilogy, the third of which is slated for release in 2016.

Mini Review: 1984 by George Orwell

Title: 1984
Author: George Orwell
Genre: Adult, Classics, Dystopian
Publisher: Signet Classics
Pages: 328

The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of "negative utopia" -a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny the novel's hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions -a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time. (More from Goodreads)

This book gets a mini review from me, nothing more. Partly due to the fact that it is a very well-known classic and trying to review and/or analyze it would be rather redundant when there are better material out there for that reason, but mostly because a lazy reviewer has to ease back into reviewing books after a seven-month hiatus. Okay, mostly because I'm lazy.

This is a good book. It's not an outstanding novel as novels go, but it is a good... document. Something heavier and more factual than novels, kind of like... An essay. Yes, it is an excellent essay. In fact, if you go to the Goodreads page, you can find one of the top reviewers saying almost exactly the same thing. It is clever and rather prophetic, and this is the reason why this book continues to be relevant many years after its inception.

Although this particular copy seems small and relatively unremarkable next to most of the books on my shelves, it is a highly daunting book and feels like a giant tome in the reading. Often times I had to take a break from the heavy, morose tones of the narration. When something does happen to the main character, it picks up speed- only to fall flat again after a few pages. I took my time with this book because- as almost all classics are to me- it requires a lot of patience.

Thus, a warning: Do not read this when you need a pick-me-up; when things in your life seem rather bleak. Or do, if you feel reading about a highly realistic dystopian novel with little action perks you up and makes your predicament feel like a trifle.

Of course, in the end, you feel rather enlightened. 

Your effort pays off.

Your patience is rewarded.

To what extent? That is entirely up to you.

This is the very definition of a classic book. I wish I had more time and patience for more of them.

~My Rating~

4 out of 5 stars

★★★★☆

A Little Note

Wanting to update the blog even slightly more regularly in my final semester, with the Final Professional Exams (Part 2) coming up is, to put it mildly, hubris.

I am sorry for the absence of posts for the past few months. Clinical posting after clinical posting, I find myself too tired or hot by the end of the day to even engage in the normal acts of diary-writing, much less reviewing of books. My exams are in less than 30 days. And then graduation. And everything else that follows after graduation, which thankfully will include a rather long break before getting a post for a job.

All that said, I can't wait until I can begin reviewing books more regularly again.

For those out there who believe in the power of prayer, do pray that I pass the exams. With or without flying colours is not a concern for me. I just want a definite pass, thank you. ^^

If you're reading this, thanks for spending some minutes here. I'll be back in a month or so with reviews of books, services and pictures!


Edit on October 2nd 2015: I did indeed pass the exams without much incident! I am now officially NOT an undergrad student, which feels very weird, in a liberating but daunting manner- I guess everyone feels this way at this particular stage in their lives. However, I've been lazing around for the better part of 2 months. I have been reading, but not as much as I would hope to, although my Goodreads challenge has been completed by now. Yay! :)

Hello! Greetings! Was I Missed?

To all you readers (yes, all 2 of you) I am SO SORRY for being MIA. 

My final semester of medical school (let that sink in: Final. Semester. Medical. School.) is well on its way, and I started with the most difficult posting which is Internal Medicine- only second to being as busy as Obstetrics & Gynaecology, but with 500 times the reading material. It's been a blast with new group mates, and I am way more enthused about the posting than last semester so hurrah! 

I also met a very nice gentleman in his golden years last week, who writes poetry. I was in charge of his bed, and he's such a darling. He's writing a poem about me (and he says it's encouraging)! While I am unbound by medicolegal issues as a mere student, I am pretty excited about fostering good relationships with my patients. Some of my friends told me not to get too attached to patients, but that's not how I work. Probably will be, once I get too busy to listen to patients' life stories, but now not so much.

Probably the reason why I don't want to specialize in fields with higher mortality *cough* Onco! *cough*

Anyway, he's inspired me to write again. And by that I mean in the blog.

I HAVE been reading. In the month of March, I finished 14 books. For April, I have so far finished 7 books, all of which do not exceed 400 pages and some of which are graphic novels. My aim in the coming months until two weeks before my final exams is to continue reading, but only lighter material that does not require days of reading for immersion (i.e. books with 400+ pages), if I can help it.

And I'm glad to say my favourite book so far this year has got to be:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline!

This is one of the books and part of my birthday package from my boyfriend, And it is AMAZING. I can't wait for Armada by Ernest Cline, his next standalone book coming out later this year!

I love this book to pieces! I am so elated to have it in hardcover; it's such a beautiful book, filled with nerdy goodness.

As for reviews, I'm sorry I have been way delayed with them. I do not dare to promise any set amount of reviews in the coming months but I will try to make more time after this, at least for mini reviews. It's about consistency after all. ;)

I wish all of you great times ahead no matter what you do, and until then, keep on reading!

Review: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Title: The Magicians (The Magicians #1)
Author: Lev Grossman
Genre: Fantasy, Adult
Publisher: Plume
Pages: 516

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery... But his childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren’t black and white, love and sex aren’t simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price. (More from Goodreads)

Warning: Unless the summary isn't clear, this is NOT children's book. I repeat, this is NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK. It has been marketed as 'Harry Potter for grown-ups', 'Harry Potter goes to Narnia', and other things along those lines; and perhaps some elements are so reminiscent of these books that they may seem plagiarised (gasp) but no. Comparing The Magicians to Harry Potter is like comparing tomatoes to carrots. They both belong in a salad, but that's about as much as they have in common.

If I had to summarize the book in one sentence, it would be thus: an R-rated parody of Harry Potter and Narnia with 30 times the angst and misery.

Which doesn't necessarily mean it's not a good book.

Mini Review: Sever (The Chemical Garden #3) by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Sever (The Chemical Garden #3)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 371

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered. (More from Goodreads)

The Chemical Garden trilogy ends its run with this book.

I tried so hard to like the trilogy. But like the previous books, Rhine's character irritated me, and the people around her are still mere stepping stones to advance her story. The 'science' elements nonsense behind the age cap and subsequent experiments to attempt to cure it still frustrated me. And the 'lyrical prose' everyone so loved still eluded me, and led to my eventual discovery of the term 'purple prose'. 

Yay for teaching me something new!

It deserves a mini-review because I am at a loss on what to say. The points that made me dislike the book can probably be found in my reviews of the first and second books; suffice to say there is not much I will say about this book that has not been said before, since I don't go through the story progression much more than what the summary has given. I just feel the characters haven't progressed all that much

And I ended up liking this book less than its predecessors.

Again, I tried, but not everybody can heap praise on any author's writing. :(

~My Rating~

2 out of 5 Stars

★★☆☆☆

Review: The Cry of the Icemark (The Icemark Chronicles #1) by Stuart Hill

Title: The Cry of the Icemark (The Icemark Chronicles #1)
Author: Stuart Hill
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, War
Publisher: Chicken House
Pages: 494

When her father dies in battle, 14-year-old Thirrin becomes Queen of the Icemark. Not only must she win the respect of her people, but also raise an army to protect them from the most formidable threat of invasion her nation has ever known - and do so before the end of the winter snows. (More from Goodreads)

The Cry of the Icemark is perhaps one of the most unknown books in my bookshelves. It is also one of the books that took me the longest time to finish (apart from OSC's Pathfinder probably, which is still in the pipes) and while that speaks volumes, it is a surprisingly good book- if you can get through certain elements. The Icemark Chronicles is a completed trilogy.