Thursday, October 15, 2015

October Hiatus


I haven't been posting much in the last few weeks and I thought I should let you all know the reason behind that. 

First of all, I went back to college at the end of September, after four months of my school being in some kind of shutdown related to students' protests and political causes. So I had lots of catching up to do, tests to take, assignments and papers to write in order to finish the semester in a somewhat decent academic shape which in time was the cause of lots of sleepless nights and a complete disorganization of my regular schedule. And now I'm starting a new semester which will be shorter and weirder since all the dates and breaks are kind of all over the place after the shutdown and it's all kind of a mess. 

So, for that I need some time to adjust and get my crap together so I can go back to functioning like a normal human being. 

Also, a second, less pressing but still important reason behind my hiatus, is that I've been wanting to re-design and re-structure my blog for quite a while, but I don't have the time to read and review, do my college stuff and also re-design the blog, it's just not possible for me if I want to go through life as something more than a zombie. 

So, I'm taking this break so I can get my life in order and work on the design of the blog. Hopefully by the time I'm done with it, I will have turned Pause Time Reviews into something I'm proud of calling mine. 

I really hope you can understand and that you'll still be here when I get back. 

With all of that being said, I'm officially announcing the hiatus of the blog:

Pause Time Reviews will be on hiatus until November 1st. 

Until then!

Love,


Sunday, October 4, 2015

[Review] Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Goddess by Josephine Angelini
Starcrossed #3
Published May 28th, 2013
HarperTeen
Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy


Premise:After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.


Get your copy!


Review


My thoughts:

Warning: This is the third and last installment in the Starcrossed trilogy. If you haven't read the previous books in this series, I strongly advice you to go read them first before reading this review, because you might get spoiled. 

This is a decent conclusion to the amazing world of Starcrossed. And that is precisely what I always loved most about this series, the world and the mythology element surrounding the story which is predominant in this last book to my delight.

This installment focuses primarily in figuring out the ancient prophecy that's been repeating itself for several Scion generations. So, our characters are trying to find out who the hell is the Tyrant and which of the other roles the rest of them have to play. The other roles available besides the Tyrant are: The Hero, the Lover, The Shield, and The Warrior.

This series was always kind of different for me, because I think this is the first time that I really enjoy a trilogy where I find the main characters kind of unappealing and unintentionally funny. The thing is that every plot line surrounding the mythology and the prophecies was great, but every time the plot took a turn for the development of a character and such I found it absurd. 

For example, how in the world is it possible that no one in the whole Delos family is capable of doing math! Lucas and Helen could've been together at least since the middle of book 2, but oh no! They're all too busy to do math and figure out that it's impossible for them to be cousins. If you have time to brush your teeth, you have time to do simple math, no excuses! 

Then, there's Jason, who used to be one of my favorite characters in book one, now he HAS to be bipolar, because I can't find any other explanation for his behavior. In book one, he was the nicest, in book two he wanted nothing to do with Helen for no apparent reason, and now he's pissed because other people are pulling apart from Helen and can't understand how they can call themselves their friends. REALLY? Make up your mind, goddammit!

And what is it with Lucas and Helen that they absolutely love each other, but can't spare a freaking minute to actually talk about what they're going to do, and both have to rush to do something incredible stupid without listening to the other first. It's ridiculous! Half of their problems would've been solved in like book one if they just talked to each other.

And of course, the insta-love justified by the prophecies is everywhere. Now Hector and Cassandra fall in love after a few glances with their respective "significant other", because that's totally how love works...

And the parenting... good God! I don't think you could make one decent parent even if you combine Daphne, Castor, Palas and Deadalus together. They all suck.

But whatever, I didn't even care about the messed up dynamics between them, I only cared about the big battle and the fulfillment of the big prophecy. But even then it wasn't really that amazing. The solution was way too easy for my liking and Helen grew to be nearly invincible without her doing anything which didn't help her at all as a character, because she already had that "Mary Sue" quality to begin with.

Normally I would rate this lower, because there's only so much the world building can do for you when you hate the characters, but in this case I just found everything kind of funny, the things the characters did and say were so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh. I know this is not supposed to be a "funny book" but I enjoyed it that way nonetheless, and that's what's important, right?

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About the author

Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. She graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.