Review: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson [Spoiler Free!]

I don’t even know where to start with this book. Obviously, I should start with what the book is about. But I’m not really sure that I can do it justice. Or explain it in a way that makes sense. But I’m going to try.

Warbreaker is a high fantasy novel following a slew of characters as two kingdoms, Idris and Hallandren, are on the brink of war with each other. There are way too many to explain here, but here are the highlights:

- A princess from Idris who is betrothed to the God King in Hallandren.

- Her sister, set on saving her sister and seeing her returned safely to Idris.

- A lesser god named Lightsong the Brave who isn’t quite sure how he received that title.

- Vasher. A bit of an enigma, and would prefer to keep it that way.  

The first thing that really drew me to this book was its prologue. A couple months back, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to read and I was half trying to pick something just based on what I was in the mood for, but I also was trying to read something fast-paced that I could get through quickly. I pulled 5 books from my shelves and read the first few pages just to see what would grab me, and this one grabbed me so much that I ended up reading the entirety of the prologue. Unfortunately, I wanted to be done with whatever book I chose within a few days, and I wasn’t sure that I could do that with a book that was 600+ pages, especially since I was still in classes. So I set it aside, waiting for the right time to pick it up again. And at the end of May, that’s exactly what I did. And full disclosure, I freakin’ loved it. But I’m going to try to be accurate and critical in my review so it’s not just me gushing about how much I loved everything.

This is my 7^th Brandon Sanderson book. Before this, I’d read his Mistborn trilogy, the first book in his Rithmatist series, and the first two books in his Reckoners trilogy (which I’ll be finishing ASAP—I’ve been waiting for my physical copy of Calamity to reach me). So far, I have yet to be disappointed by a book that he’s written, so he’s rather quickly climbing to the top of my favorite authors list.

As with all of Sanderson’s adult work, Warbreaker takes place within the Cosmere. If you’re unfamiliar with the Cosmere, it would take me far too long to explain, so I won’t go too in-depth. Basically, it’s a universe with several different worlds. So far, none of the stories from separate worlds have overlapped (AKA you won’t be spoiled for Mistborn if you read Warbreaker or vice versa) but eventually, once more Cosmere books are published, I believe that many things should come together at some point. I don’t know the full scope or breadth of this, because I haven’t even gotten through all of the Cosmere books that have been published so far, but it’s a pretty large-scale endeavor.

OK, so now let’s talk about the world that Warbreaker takes place upon. As always, Sanderson’s world-build is impressive. Both of the kingdoms within this world are rather distinct, with completely different religions and beliefs, which are constantly prominent and discussed throughout. Both are well fleshed-out, intricate, and rather interesting. In this world, there is a magic system called Breath or BioChroma. I don’t want to ruin anything for you (part of the fun is learning all of the intricacies of the magic system) so I won’t go into too much detail here. Essentially, this magic system is based around color. Breath can be used in various ways when used in combination with color. And that’s about all I’m willing to say about the magic system, because it’s just really interesting to learn about throughout the book. It’s just really intricate and really intriguing to learn about.

The characters in this book are also a major strong point. There are a lot of really interesting characters, and they all have really strong character arcs. My personal favorite character to follow was Lightsong, a lesser god. He's really funny and sarcastic, and I found myself always wanting to delve deeper into his character and learn more about his backstory. Another character who was a highlight for me was Vasher. The prologue is from his POV, and that's initially what drew me in, and I immediately wanted to learn more and more about this really mysterious individual. And then there are the two princesses- Siri, who's very happy-go-lucky, and Vivenna, who's very disciplined. When the book begins, they're presented as polar opposites, but as they begin to develop as characters, you realize that they might be a bit more similar than expected. And in addition to those, there are numerous other side characters who constantly keep you on your toes and guessing as to who you can and can't trust. 

Because there are so many interesting characters, we also get a really interesting plot. Each character has their own interesting motivation and storyline, and all of those plots are woven together in extremely interesting ways. Sanderson is an amazing writer and knows just when to cut out from a scene and leave you wanting more so that you'll be invested to keep reading. I'd say that this is more of a slower paced book-- a fantasy driven by political maneuvering and intrigue rather than constant battles-- but that's one of the things that I really loved about it. As you continue through the book, you uncover new mysteries to be solved while simultaneously slowly unraveling other mysteries. It's just an intricate, well-crafted plot that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

So, as you can tell from the above ramblings, I thought pretty much every aspect of this book was a strong point. The characters, the plot, the world, and the magic system were all incredibly intriguing and I found myself getting incredibly invested into everything going on. I ended up giving Warbreaker 10 stars out of 10, which of course translates to 5 out of 5 on Goodreads. Seriously, Brandon Sanderson is a master of his craft and has me believing that he can do no wrong.

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The Leveller by Julia Durango [SPOILER FREE REVIEW]

Hey, y'all! I recently read The Leveller by Julia Durango, and despite having a lot of feelings about the book, I didn't want to devote an entire video to reviewing it. So, I decided to do a full written review on here instead. Despite the fact that I'm reviewing it quite soon after its 6/23 release date, I did NOT receive this for review, it's a book I purchased for myself.

Nixy Bauer is a leveller, a pseudo bounty hunter inside of the virtual reality game called MEEP. Because MEEP is a fairly new technology, the government limits how much time people can spend within it per day. When a kid is spending too much time in MEEP, their parents call on Nixy to pull them out, and she's known for being able to pull kids out of MEEP extremely efficiently.

One day, however, she gets a job from the game's creator. His son, Wyn, has blocked himself into MEEP and has left behind a suicide note. It's now Nixy's job to go in after him and retrieve him. However, when Nixy reaches Wyn, she discovers that things are not quite as they seem, because he reveals that he has actually been trapped inside MEEP. Nixy and Wyn must fight their way out if they ever want to get back to the real world.


That concept sounds really intriguing, right? Doesn't it give you Ready Player One vibes? I'll be honest, that's the biggest reason that I picked this up. I've been in the mood to re-read Ready Player One for quite a while, but can't really justify the re-read when I have a reading challenge going on. And I hoped that this would at least be a decent stand-in for Ready Player One. Unfortunately, though, this was just overall disappointing.

My first major problem with the book was the writing. This may sound strange, but I don't typically notice how good or bad the writing is unless I really enjoy it or really dislike it. And in this case, I really disliked it. Everything came across as very juvenile and sometimes reminded me of the way that I worded things when attempting to write stories at the age of 13. Nixy and Wyn were supposed to be 16, but they often spoke and acted like 13 year olds. On top of this, there were some words that were just extremely over-used. Specifically, the word 'truly.' It got to the point where I was going to throw the book if a character said 'truly' ONE. MORE. TIME.

Unfortunately, the problems don't stop there. Overall, I didn't find the plot that intriguing. In fact, it was only vaguely there. After Nixy got into MEEP to rescue Wyn, nothing really happened until the very end, apart from some instalove and some aimless wandering around. Speaking of which, the instalove in this book was really painful and cringe-worthy for me. I don't know how else to describe it except that I was physically cringing at some of the dialogue between Nixy and Wyn within approximately 10 minutes of meeting each other.

I also kind of expected some of the things that I think were supposed to be a surprise. This is generally to be expected, because I've mentioned many times that I can usually guess twists. Durango tried to surprise the reader with the villain reveal, but the foreshadowing was too heavy pretty early on, and she practically blatantly revealed it a while before the official reveal.

However, despite the many problems I had with it, I didn't hate it. I do see potential in the story and the world based on the way that the story ended. I think it will be really interesting to see the real-world implications of the things that happened within the game. I'm assuming that this will be a trilogy (because series apparently just means trilogy in YA anymore), and I hope that the next two books are a little longer and better written so that we can dive a little deeper into this game.

I found it very hard to come up with a rating for this one. Based just on my criticisms alone, it would seem that this book should get an abysmal rating. But for some reason, I somewhat enjoyed it. I would say that my dislike of the book didn't outweigh my like of the book. There's something oddly intriguing and charming about it, and enough loose threads left that I'm curious about what will happen next. I think I would have given this a slightly lower rating if not for the potential that I see in this series. Durango definitely has room to delve deeper into some of the issues that were raised very late on in this first installment, and I hope for everyone's sake that she does, or else the rest of the series will be as bland as this book was.

In the end, I gave The Leveller 6 stars out of 10. I think I would've gone with a 5.5 if not for the potential that I see, but I can only hope that Durango takes this series in a slightly better direction than she took this first book.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl [SPOILER FREE REVIEW]

Hey, y'all! So, I recently read Night Film by Marisha Pessl. Normally, I would film a video review and would eventually get around to writing a review. HOWEVER, given the nature of this book and my opinions on it, I realized that it would be really difficult to articulate my feelings in video form.
But because it was such an interesting read, I had to at least do some sort of review, and decided to just do a written review. So let's jump into it!

Stanislas Cordova is an enigma. This cult horror director hasn't made a public appearance in over 30 years, but maintains a rabid, obsessive fanbase. 

Scott McGrath is a once-revered journalist whose life fell apart when he dug too deep into Cordova's life a few years back. Disgraced and drug through the mud by the media and Cordova's lawyers, his career became irreparable. But, when Cordova's daughter, Ashley, dies in an apparent suicide, McGrath's curiosity and desire for revenge drives him to dig once again into the life and career of Stanislas Cordova. 

This book... the best way that I can describe it is a mindfreak. After finishing the book, I went back and re-watched some of Regan's (PeruseProject on YouTube) videos where she talked about the book, and she said several times that this was one of the most immersive books that she's ever read, and that perfectly hits the nail on the head for me as well. Everything about the world and the characters feels so real and well developed that it felt real. I've made it no secret on here and my YouTube channel that I don't get scared/ freaked out easily. I watched Saw for the first time while chowing down on popcorn and see horror movies in the theater almost solely to see my friends freak out. 

However, this book FREAKED. ME. OUT. (Granted, I'd also just discovered that my hallway is "haunted," but given the fact that I don't believe ghosts exist and that I've been perfectly fine since finishing the book, I think I'm going to chalk it up to Night Film.) Anyway, the best way I can describe my emotional state while reading this is paranoia. While walking down the hall in my dorm, I found myself constantly double-checking to make sure the nonexistent ghost wasn't behind me, and when I went to sleep, I was convinced that every single sound was someone (or that freaking ghost) in my room. Seriously. And I knew it was possibly my most illogical and idiotic reaction to anything ever, but that's just the state of mind that this book put me into. 

As well as messing with my emotions, Night Film also messed with my mind. I found myself constantly questioning what was really going on. One second I would believe one thing, the next second I had completely changed my mind. It felt like the further I got into the book and the more that was uncovered, it just felt like I had less and less of an idea as to what was really going on. That, for me, is the sign of a really great mystery. 

One of the coolest aspects of this book, for me, was that there were visual aspects strewn throughout the book that just added to the immersive experience. If Scott was on a website researching something, there would be a screenshot of the website shown in the book. Images of the case files are also shown several times, and this just added a wonderful visual element to the reading experience.

That doesn't mean that the book is without its flaws, however. While I really liked the characters, I did think that one or two seemed a little stereotypical. Personally, this did not bother me because (as I said), I did really like the characters. However, I know that this might bother some people, so I figured I should at least mention it. 

Per usual, I did think that at least a few aspects of the book were pretty easy to figure out. I do think that these were probably purposeful, however, which is a nice change from just figuring out the twist because it's accidentally obvious. Aside from those few moments, though, I did think that the book was pretty unpredictable. Like I said, it messed with my mind. I found myself chasing different ideas that I was certain were the twists that would ultimately be unsurprisingly thrown in... just to learn a new piece of information 10 pages later which made my idea impossible. So while a couple things were pretty easy to predict, I thought that the book overall was very surprising.

The plot was very engrossing as well. I found myself constantly either thinking about the book or wanting to read the book, and that's always a really great sign. I've found that people are torn half and half between liking and disliking the ending. I'm kind of torn on this. I think that it was a really great ending, but I'm not totally sure how much I liked the ending. I think my opinion on the end sums up my opinion on the book in general. 

It comes down to the dichotomy of appreciation versus liking. I can absolutely appreciate this book, and enjoyed the experience of reading it thoroughly and liked it, but I definitely like some books more than this one even if I would say that Night Film is a better book overall. The best explanation/example that I can use for this is that I gave both Night Film and The Body Electric by Beth Revis the same rating and ranked Night Film higher on my 2015 rankings list because I feel like its slightly better overall than The Body Electric, but I ranked The Body Electric higher on my top 20 standalones because I like it slightly more than I like Night Film. 

So, in the end, I gave Night Film 9.5 stars out of 10. It was a really excellent read, but the appreciation/like dichotomy kept me from giving it a full 10/10.

So, that's it for my review of Night Film by Marisha Pessl! Let me know down in the comments if you have any questions about the book, because I can absolutely answer them for you. Also, if you've read Night Film, tell me what you thought of it! It's such an interesting experience that I feel like there will be many varying opinions on it, so I'd love to hear what everyone else thought.

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Whodunnit? PREMIERE!

So, my plan was to not post on this blog anymore... but I don't think that's going to happen, at least not right now. I think that this blog is going to end up just being me kinda just reviewing things, and not JUST Project Runway. I'm also gonna take a second to promo my blog, The CD's On My Shelf, where each post is about a random CD on my shelf. Click HERE to check it out!

OK, on to the main event. I was really excited to see this show, because it seemed like Clue meets And Then There Were None. And that's exactly what the show gave me! I expected it to be really cheesy, but they really kept the cheese to a minimum, although it wasn't entirely left out. I'll talk about my suspicions later, but for now, I'll just walk you through the show a bit. I will caution you with a *SPOILER ALERT* because I'm about to talk about the first death.

The contestants all meet each other and mingle a bit. They all know that they are going to compete in some sort of mystery competition, but have no details. Giles, the butler, introduces himself, and tells them that when the bell rings at half past the hour, they will all re-convene and the contestants will learn what the game is. For now, they are shown to their rooms and are allowed to explore a bit. Suddenly, they all hear a crash, and run into the living room to find the large fish tank broken, and Sheri lying beside it in a pool of water, being electrocuted from frayed lamp cords. (Quick note, in case you're unaware, this is NOT real. The people do not actually die, and the crimes are just staged to appear that they have). Giles runs in and shuffles them into another room and explains that a killer is among the contestants, pretending to be one of them, and that one by one they will die, and the remaining contestants will have to solve the mystery. The contestants will then get the opportunity to investigate either the scene of the crime, the morgue, or the person's last known whereabouts.

They break up into fairly even groups for each place. The 3 who go to the morgue discover an old-fashioned bullet in the back of Sheri's neck. The 5 at the scene of the crime discover that the fish tank's front side was the one that shattered first, and see a large round bloodstain on the rug. The 4 at the last known whereabouts, Sheri's bedroom and bathroom, discover a message written on the mirror in the bathroom (written so that it can be seen with steam, but disappears when the mirror clears). The message tells Sheri to go to the fish tank because the person had vital information for her. This is the part I found the cheesiest, since it's an old trick and no one would ever really fall for it.

The contestants all regroup to share information, and tensions begin to surface. After their lunch, they have another challenge to discover more information. They're each given a key. They notice the 13:17 on it, and start looking at clocks. Lindsey goes for the bible. They think they find the correct verse, and go searching, but Ronnie then notices the 2 crowns on the other side of the key, and looks for 2nd Kings 13:17, which gives them a clue about the east window. Ronnie looks out the window and sees that a panel is missing and that there's a plastic chest outside. When they run and unlock it, they find a crowbar and a slingshot inside. However, not everyone is there to see this, and the contestants who see it keep it to themselves.

It's now time for the contestants to go and make their predictions as to what happened, and who the killer is. They go into a room by themselves and talk to a camera, explaining how they think the murder happened, and who did it. Afterward, they all sit down to dinner, and Jiles comes in to deliver their fate. Sasha is told that she came closest to discovering the correct answer, which is this: The murderer snuck into Sheri's room while she was showering and wrote the message on the mirror. Upon getting out of the shower, Sheri saw the message, put on a robe, and ran downstairs. The murderer was outside, having taken out the window panel already. The murderer shoots the bullet into Sheri's neck with the slingshot, and it hits her spinal cord, killing her instantly. As she falls, her head hits the fish tank, cracking it. As the pressure builds up, the murderer stashes the slingshot and the crow bar used to break into her room, and then returns to his or her room, or whatever location they were "exploring". The pressure inside the fish tank finally causes the glass to shatter, making everyone run to see what has happened.

Many contestants are now worried that they will be the next to be killed, because being the most incorrect and being eliminated from the competition means being the next person to "die". The contestants are now all told their fate by opening envelopes. The card inside says either spared or scared. Only Don and Dontae receive scared cards, meaning that they are the bottom two and did the worst at solving the mystery. The guests all go to bed. They are awakened at around 4:30 AM to the sound of the mansion's alarms blaring. They all run outside and Jiles does a head count. *SPOILER ALERT* They discover that Dontae is the one who is missing. Suddenly, Dontae runs out of the house, his pajamas on fire! He jumps into the pool, but it is too late, as his body is seen floating 'lifeless' in the pool, and the promo for next week confirms that he is, in fact, 'dead'.

Okay, time for me to get into the contestants and what I think about them!

First off, a general note about the contestants in general: I'm definitely more suspicious of the ones whose jobs are not related at all to crime/ police/ investigating/etc. It makes sense to me that Adrianna, Don, Dana, Dontae, Kam, Ronnie, Sasha, and Ulysses are there. The others, I'm not so sure about. I feel like since some contestants are telling us that they're hiding the fact that they work in crime (like Don, Dontae, and Ronnie), that those who DON'T claim to work in that field may be hiding something too.

Adrianna: Like many of the contestants, I don't like her. And I want her to be the killer. But my gut tells me she's not. I think that if she was the killer, she wouldn't have tried running things from the get-go, or shoved herself into conversations. The killer would be more subtle. Unless she knew someone would think that. However, the fact that she was convinced that the corner of that chest was involved, and convinced that Dontae was the killer, and that both were wrong... that's kinda suspicious.

Cris: I'm not sure what to think of her. I'm automatically more suspicious of her because her because she's an ex-beauty queen. Ex? What does she do now? I guess she gains a bit more credibility since her dad was a cop.

Dana: The fact that she's a cardiac nurse gives her a bit more credibility for me, but I'm just not sure yet whether I trust her.

Don: For me, the fact that he's hiding that he's an ex-cop makes him seem more credible and causes me to trust him more. I think he's definitely not the killer, but who knows, I may be totally wrong!

Geno: I don't know why, but I just don't trust him. It seems a bit suspicious to me that he would push away the alliance that Kam and Ulysses offer. It seems like he's trying to do it all on his own, and so far, that seems like a stupid thing to do... unless you're the killer.

Kam: I really like Kam! But he's also one of the ones I'm most suspicious of. The fact that he immediately jumps to ally with someone suggests that maybe he knows that everyone else is trustworthy. Or, that he just thinks quickly, which seems more likely. But it may be part of the act for the killer to come off really likable!

Lindsey: I'm actually pretty suspicious of Lindsey! My main suspicion is because of the key challenge. She didn't think of the bible until after everyone had thoroughly investigated the clocks, and other things. I know a lot of preachers' kids, and whether they believe the same as their parents or not, that bible is going to be their first thought, WAY before checking a clock.

Melina: She seems like a really genuine and trustworthy person. Her reactions to things seemed really legit, but it could just be really good acting. My only suspicions come from how entirely convinced she was that Don was a cop, even before he used a lot of cop lingo. Most people would just drop it after a while, but she's convinced even though he failed epicly!

Ronnie: IMO, one of the most trustworthy in the competition. I'm almost 100% sure he's not the killer. But he has good analytical skills and I definitely think he's going to go far.

Sasha: I'm not sure what to think of Sasha. At first, she didn't believe Dana about the bullet, but then later, she includes it and gets closest to what actually happened? I'm not so sure about that. But if she's not the killer, she's definitely a good ally to have.

Ulysses: I'm not sure what to think of him. I think I trust him, but is there really any way of being sure? As of right now, he's high on the list of people I like, and low on suspicion. But I really don't know. And seriously, who names their child Ulysses?



The other suspicions: I've seen Clue way too many times and read And Then There Were None way too many times to just believe that everything is as it seems. I still think that it's very possible that we have an And Then There Were None situation, where a death is a red herring, and someone who dies is actually the murderer, and the last two alive each think the other is the murderer. I also think it's very possible that we have a Clue/ every other mystery ending, where the butler did it. I'm not sure how much I trust Giles!

That's it for this episode! Hope you enjoyed my review. Let me know what you thought of the show, the people, and my suspicions. See you next week, mortals!