Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson – Book Review

January 12, 2017 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 1 Comment

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics…nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart — the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning — and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

“I hadn’t been fighting because of my father’s death. I fought because of his dreams.”

Boy, oh boy, this book was a really good one. I just wish that I had more time to dedicate to it than I actually had. With a lot of real life, heart-breaking situations that I had to deal with, reading this book really helped me calm down and reassure myself that things would be okay. Yes, even though David’s dad was killed in this book and there was so much death and destruction, reading this book really did make me feel like things would be okay.

So coming into this book after reading the sequel almost two years ago, it was nice to go back to where it all began. I was curious as to how Steelheart ended up succumbing to his fate and why David ended up leaving Newcago with the Reckoners. I was also curious as to how he ended up joining them, and whatever happened to the infamous Megan that he kept talking about. What was it about her that made him so… boyish?

I really don’t know how to explain his mentality sometimes. He’s 18 years old and yet I can still hear some of that immaturity in him when it comes to Megan. She’s like his first crush, and I get to see that develop in this book, so I’m really glad I got to.

Plus, finding out that the infamous Prof’s true nature was fun too, even though you only get to find out at the very very end of the book. At least it explains to me why it felt like David was so betrayed. Maybe reading this book will encourage me to reread Firefight and finally finish the trilogy with Calamity.

I’m glad for the backstory on David, and how he became one of the best members of the Reckoners. I am really hoping that the rest of the Reckoners get their chance to shine. We will definitely see.

Rated: 5/5 ★

Tuesday Talks: Favorite Books of 2016 (January 10, 2017)

January 10, 2017June 4, 2019 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another segment of Tuesday Talks. As usual, if you’d like to learn more about this group, or start participating in the weekly discussions, be sure to check them out on GoodReads. So, here we go!

Your favorite books for 2016

2016 had a lot of amazing books for me, even though I didn’t get to read as many as I wanted to. There were also so many books that I didn’t get a chance to read as well. I’ll at least list a few of the ones that really stuck with me throughout the year. Maybe you have read a couple of them as well?

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Siren by Kiera Cass
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Heartless by Marissa Meyer

I feel like that’s pretty much my entire reading list from last year! But don’t worry, it’s not. Those are just my all time favorite ones. There are some that come at a close second but these are the ones that I absolutely could not put down no matter what. Have you read any of these books? What were your favorites of 2016? Let me know in the comments below.

See you guys next week!

The 100 by Kass Morgan – Book Review

January 5, 2017 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 1 Comment

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries — until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth’s radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents — considered expendable by society — are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life…or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she’s haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor’s son, came to Earth for the girl he loves — but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind’s last hope.

“That was the thing about secrets-you had to carry them with you forever, no matter what the cost.”

Yay for finishing my first book of the year. It’s been five days since the new year began, and only now am I getting the chance to catch up on my reading. I have to say that I’m pretty proud of myself for not taking too long, although at the rate that I took to finish this, I did take longer than I really wanted. So at least I got that out of the way.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through this book. I thought that since I like the TV show I would at least enjoy the book somewhat, but then I remember how I felt when I was reading The Vampire Diaries after falling in love with the show years before.

Yeah… same situation.

Really the only reason why I finished this book was because I just wanted it to be over. There were very few parts of the book that I actually enjoyed, but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested or read the rest of the series. Granted, the plot twist at the end was exactly what I was expecting, and had I liked the book, I would have been very quick to pick up the next book or at least finish it.

The premise of the book was great. To think that people have been living in space for the past 300 years or so after humans end up destroying Earth in a nuclear war is something that could easily happen with the way things are going right now. This book would have been the perfect way to delve deeper into that world and see what would happen if humans found a way to go back to Earth after all those years.

Honestly, I really wanted to see that play out, and I was really hoping that it would be a really good book. But unfortunately, it just didn’t catch my interest as much as it should have. Keep in mind, this is only the first book of the series, and maybe it was Morgan’s intention to keep it that way so as not to give too much away in the first book. But if the first book isn’t enough to keep me interested, then what would make me want to go on to the rest of the series?

Watch the TV show. The action is better, the story is more exciting, the characters are people you actually want to root for. Well, except for Clarke. For some reason, I just don’t like her in either outlet. Sorry.

Rated: 3/5 ★