wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window - a figure with a gold crown, pink dress, red Chucks and a long katana sword... Princess X? Suddenly, May sees the princess everywhere: stickers, patches, graffiti - an entire underground world built around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the comic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means only one person could have started this phenomenon - her best friend, Libby, who lives. My Thoughts: Wow. Just wow. Okay, so I haven't read a book in a while (for school or for pleasure), and I decided to read this one. I had gotten this book from my library's summer program and I was really excited to read it. So when I started it, I was hooked. But it didn't exactly draw me back. Don't get me wrong, the beginning was a hooker, and the writing was lively, but I might've just been out of it or something, but I wasn't thinking about, "Hey, I really want to read that book. I should go and do that." Since that was the case, I didn't really read it at the beginning. Only while I was on the bus one day, reading the book because my iPod needed to be charged, did I give my full attention to this absolute masterpiece. I instantly loved May, our main character. She had such a unique personality. She wasn't that girl who'd just sit around doing nothing (though that was a portion of her summer before she found that Princess X sticker), but she wasn't that girl who was super crazy defiant who'd go and wreck havoc across the town. She was a girl who missed her best friend and defended her even when she was dead. She's got such a strong will, but when her friend died it broke. I don't really know how to explain it, but she was kind of in this limbo state with her life. I super loved Patrick. He. Was. Great. Though his book description didn't match with what I was thinking, it didn't matter! His personality fit and that's what mattered. He was such a troublemaker, but not, if that makes any sense. He did the wrong thing for.. the wrong.. reaso- OKAY. WELP. He's just a troublemaker! We're just going to stick with that But he was a good one. 'Cause he was a hacker. I already loved hackers (because of their skill, not what they do with that skill), and he wasn't the best hacker, but MAN! Was he serious about it and that was nice! There was a fabulous cast that were engaging, real, and had their own voice, which is really important to me. I like to be able to identify who is who and that book did it perfectly. There are other characters I'd like to spotlight, but that might be WAAAY too much of a spoiler because the guy in question doesn't come in until later. But when he does come in, that's where some of the young adult themes are presented. Nothing bad, at all! He's just queer and likes guys. It's kind of a statement that is there, is slightly referred back to and that's it. There is also some cursing and bad language, which is a slight turn off for me. They didn't curse a lot, maybe a max of 4 or 5 times throughout the whole book. There isn't much I have to say about the setting. They were in Seattle. I might've thought it was a bit too bright, but that's my mind's own fault. There were something that I didn't know about Seattle, like the Underground, which is, after googling it, is some tour about old Seattle...? I don't know, but you don't particularly need to know about it. I read it just fine. The antagonist is whHOOOAA!! H-He's something, he really is. He's smart, which I really, really, really appreciate. That is the one thing that I want from all antagonists. They need to be smart and ALWAYS 1 to 2 steps ahead of the protagonist. (And I also want them to be good looking with a good and innocent back story so that I can sympathize more, but that's not exactly a requirement...) And when he said he was going to do something, HE DID IT. LIKE WHO DOES THAT! IT'S PERFECT!!! I-I mean, that's not particularly good, but it's been a while since I've read someone committed to doing something and that commitment is so strong that their willing to TOW DOWN THE WHOLE WORLD to get what they want. So yeah. Good job for all dedicated antagonists. (That should be a celebrated day and featured on Google or something...) The plot was intense, I didn't know what was going to happen and because I didn't know, I was stressing, but that's good because that means the book has successfully sucked me in. After those few chapters on the bus, I was entranced. I wanted to finish so badly! And when I did, it was perfect. It ended wonderfully. Not exactly the way I had wanted (because I wanted Patrick and May to be a thing, but they're okay as friends), but it was fabulous nonetheless. It was fulfilling and wrapped it all up. All-in-all, this was a wonderful read. I would reread this book in a heartbeat! So I give this book 4 and 1/2 stars! Have you read this book? If so, did you like it? If you didn't read the book, would you want to? Tell me in the comments! 
1 Comment
And that is what I got. The first sentence is generally where many of the authors captivate their readers into the unique world in which they are about to present and share. Ben not only did that, but he decided to add more emotion and heart into this single sentence. When I read this sentence, I looked up to Charisma and said, "What even is this sentence?? I am so moved?". I was incredibly surprised because my heart began to pound with such anticipation and yearning for the next few sentence and I've never felt this before. But he didn't stop. He kept going, slowly adding more and more feeling to each word he chose with care. At the beginning of the story, we have officially met two characters: Prince Hadrian and his mother. Oh. My. Goodness. Who. Are. These. People. Who. Have. Stolen. My. Heart. I was impressed with the way he delicately wrote about Prince Hadrian's mother. She sounded graceful as the season Spring, she was portrayed as a delicate woman, and yet, her actions showed that she was fierce and strong. I have read plenty of stories where this type of woman existed but they always fell into two categories: they either became way too delicate or way too OP. There just wasn't a good balance of the two. Yet here I am, applauding Ben, as he was able to make her perfect. She was able to stay in the middle of being a delicately strong warrior whose attitude was brave, though soft. Prince Hadrian was also brilliant. We begin to know him about being interested in his mother's beauty, how her voice sounds like bells, and how she lights the world with her aura. He wants to be with her all the time and the time that he sends with her, he cherishes every. single. moment. The story was in his perspective and I felt as though I could easily relate to all that he's gone through. In terms of description of the world, there wasn't much. But his word choice was so powerful that it made up for it. He used such descriptively beautiful words that not only was I able to picture the castle and the rooms within, but I was able to have room to create my own version of what everything looked like. I always appreciate that type of freedom when reading. The plot definitely had the intentions of setting up for the first book, which was nice, but what was better was the fact that we got the prequel in the eyes of the other main character. I was happily surprised. The secondary characters, especially the good friend to Prince Hadrian, were full of life and each of them had such important parts to play in the story. But, as with all books, there was one part of this book that I didn't like. This was the scene where Prince Hadrian was met with his father. From the way he narrated the story too when he actually spoke to his father (and it's only his father that he speaks this way, no one else), it was a drastic change. When narrating and talking to his good friend, he sounds like a gentleman that carried pride and honor. Now, when he speaks with his father, he seems almost childish. Of course, there are parts of the conversation where he resumes his 'gentlemen narrative voice', but that was close to the end of the conversation. It was just a bit disappointing. Now, with all of that being said, my overall rating for this book would be a 4 ½ out of 5.  |
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Reading Goal 2018Bianca &
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