Book Review: The Sun Trail

The Sun Trail by Erin Hunter


Released: April 10th, 2014
Read: February 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Series: Warriors: Dawn of the Clans (#1)

Source: Purchased

Description from GoodReads: Before Rusty left his kittypet home...

   Before Bluestar ruled ThunderClan...
   Before Crookedstar made his fateful promise...
   The warrior Clans were born.
   Find out how it all came to be in this brand-new arc that reveals the origins of the four Clans. Featuring a new cast of characters, a richly developed world, and a never-before-seen look at the history of the warrior cats, this prologue arc is perfect for existing fans and for those new to the Warriors world. With over thirteen million copies sold and each new title hitting the New York Times bestseller list, the Warriors series is a true phenomenon that will continue to take readers by storm.

Review: First things first, these are not children's novels. They're much too gory and heart-breaking to be. Even if they were, they are amazing.

   The new set of characters in this book is so refreshing. After 4 arcs worth of the same 40 characters (an estimation, but yes, that is a lot), it was so nice to get to know new cats, with new issues and different relationships.

   One thing that never changes, or, always changes, are sibling relationships. They always fail. Someone dies, or leaves, or betrays the other. Grey Wing and Clear Sky are no different (spoiler? not really, though), and although Grey Wing gives up so many things for his brothers happiness, he gets nothing in return. It was a sad story that almost seems familiar. Hopefully in the end, Grey Wing gets his own happiness, and doesn't die a martyr, like other siblings have.

   It was also really weird to see the original forest from the point of view of newcomers. When we were introduced to it in the original series, it was already well worn and working, whereas here it's untouched and intimidating. 

   I liked the storyline and issues that the characters face, and the deaths were sad, as the ones who died were probably more memorable than the ones who survived.

Quotable Quotes:

“I love you too much for that. For my sake, go.”

“Dreams? What’s the point of that?”

Rating: 7/10

Read if You Liked: Narnia, Lord of the Rings, cats, adventures, failing sibling relationships

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

What About Wednesday: Favourite OTP's

Hello all, we're back with another installment of What About Wednesday! We wanted to mix it up for today, so we'll rattle off our top three OTP's in our favorite series!

Ola:
1. Simon Snow and Baz Pitch (SnowBaz)

2. Maxon Schreave and America Singer

3. Alina Starkov and Nikolai Lantsov (Alai? Nikolina?)

Lauren:
1. Kat and Frosty (from Alice in Zombieland)
2. Nico de Angelo and Will Solace
3. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase (Percabeth)

Mari:
1. Damon Slavatore and Elena Gilbert (Delena)
2. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (Ramonie, also my very first OTP!)
3. Mr. Darcy and Lizzie Bennet (Dizzie? Not sure, but they are the original OTP!)

That's everything for today!
Your friends at the Autumn Bookshelf

Book Review: Stonefield

Taken from Goodreads
(how pretty is this cover??)

Stonefield by Christy Lenzi

Released: March 29th, 2016
Read: February 2016
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Format: Paperback ARC, 320 pages
Series: N/A
Source: McNally Robinson Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from Goodreads:
In a small town on the brink of the Civil War, Catrina finds a man making strange patterns in her family’s sorghum crop. He’s mad with fever, naked, and strikingly beautiful. He has no memory of who he is or what he’s done before Catrina found him in Stone Field. But that doesn’t bother Catrina because she doesn’t like thinking about the things she’s done before either.
Catrina and Stonefield fall passionately, dangerously, in love. All they want is to live with each other, in harmony with the land and away from Cat’s protective brother, the new fanatical preacher, and the neighbors who are scandalized by their relationship. But Stonefield can’t escape the truth about who he is, and the conflict tearing apart the country demands that everyone take a side before the bloodbath reaches their doorstep.

Review:

I chose this book because I absolutely love retellings of classic novels. This one is a retelling of Wuthering Heights, but not in the here and now (as most retellings are), but during the Civil War. I was excited, and so eager to read the result. But I was disappointed. Although the plot was sort of already written, it felt mish-mashed, and a little overwhelming. You could tell that the author was trying to emulate the writing style of Bronte, but it came across as forced, and almost sarcastic. It was a struggle trying to interpret what was actually being said. Another thing, was that the characters had very little development, (especially the main character)  so you never really connected with Cat. I wasn’t rooting for her to be happy in the end. I also had a problem with the romance in it. I love reading books where the main characters fall slowly in love. But SLOWLY! They literally were totally in love by page 50. Not even kidding. It was so fast! It was way too quick, and then Bible verses were added to make it sound as if it was less promiscuous. It was weird.  I also didn’t like the fact that they were able to somehow speak telepathically. That was never really explained. It was a weird book, all in all and unfortunately, not my favorite.  

Rating: 4.5/10

Reccomended for people who enjoy: retellings, romance, lots of descriptive language

Happy Reading,

Mari