theengineerisreading's reviews
780 reviews

The most awaited sequel to the well-love sci-fi debut of Marie Lu that is Warcross, Wildcard finally hit the shelves last year and since I had the chance to re-read Warcross early this month, I decided to sift through the entire duology at once and here's my review!

I have high expectations for this book since Warcross definitely hit all the right angles and with that explosive ending, the bar was set high for Wildcard hence a lot of negative reviews were written for, imo, the expectation was never met. And same goes with my experience.

I won't elaborate much on the negativities or where this book went wrong but I'll just leave it here: the action-packed Warcross novel's not embodied on Wildcard for it gave a different approach to Hideo-Emika-Zero triangle.

But anyway, Wildcard still manage to nab a three-star rating for the following reasons:

First, Marie Lu's writing remains topnotch. It is evident in all of her books and though Wildcard did not connect with me and with that *oof* ending, I am still amazed with the way she narrated the scenes in this book. Queen Marie Lu still.

Second, I love how she included a whole different kind of darkness for the Warcross universe in the introduction of Jax and Dana Taylor and the Blackcoats. Though the ending was really anticlimactic, I still love that Jax revelation before Emika decided which side to jump on.

Lastly, that Tremaine-Roshan scene is what really stood out in this book for me! I KNOW! I feel that this duo needs more book time when I finished Warcross and thank God Marie Lu delivered the goods in Wildcard.

Anyway, this is my lowest rating for a Marie Lu book but I still enjoyed the book except for the final chapters! This year, I'm hoping for more Marie Lu books and some Netflix adaptations please!

RATING: 3stars!

Dear Matthew Quick,

Synchronicity.

If I would describe your book, The Good Luck of Right Now, in one word, the perfect word is Synchronicity. And the world will know why once they read this novel.

I was hooked at this book because it offers a whole lot of everything I did not expect except when I read the gist. Featuring the struggles of middle-aged Bartolomew Neil and how he tried to cope up with fast-paced life after his mother passed away due to brain cancer, your book is a highly recommendable read for people from all walks of life especially those who are sad or down, those who suffer from depression, and those who are grieving for their lost love ones.

I think what made this book stood out is how abundant the representation each character embodied in this novel. From an alcoholic retired priest with bipolar to a battered girlfriend who continue choosing her cruel partner for financial reason to a passionate library volunteer who indulge in the vicinity of paperbacks and hardbacks to a dead-cat-grieving, profane movie ticket attendant and to a movie-star-dependent loner, each character made their way to my heart in one way or another.

Also, I liked how spontaneous the mood of this book is. Like every chapter, that is a different letter from Bartolomew to Richard Gere, gives a new wisdom about family, friendship, love, and life in general. Actually, I was not expecting to highkey adore this book and I picked it from my TBR shelf out of the blue but in the end, I'm glad that this is the book I chose for it accompanies me during this sad moment of my life.

I'm glad that I met Richard Gere, and Bartolomew, and Elizabeth the Girlbrarian, and Max and Alice, and Wendy, and Father McNamee. I'm glad that God allowed me to travel with them from The City of Brotherly Love to Ottawa and to Cat Parliament. I'm glad that I learned the theory of The Good Luck of Right Now.

I'm glad that this book enabled me to appreciate the beauty of bad happenings and good fortunes. I'm glad that this book enlightened me in the reality of life. I'm glad that fate worked its way for my hands to finally lift the pages of this book and help me appreciate the beauty of life.

Anyway, I'm running out of time to finish this review and I don't want to oversell but I'll shout this once and for all...
READ THE GOOD LUCK OF RIGHT NOW!!!
Thanks for the journey, Matthew! See you again soon. For now, ciao.

Your admiring fan,
Saimon Perez

A masterpiece.

I know I'm way too late to the party but I'm let me just tell you that THE HATE U GIVE is a masterpiece and yes, Teen Vogue's right because THUG is an essential read for everyone.

Revolving on the story of Starr Carter, a black teen who lives in the 'busy' streets of Garden Heights and goes to white-dominated Williamson High, The Hate U Give is the eye-opening novel by Angie Thomas that will seep under your skin if you are a person who categorizes people by color, social status, or appearance. This up-and-coming novel wonderfully narrates the reality of being a black teen in this modern world where racial discrimination remains rampant and unresolved amidst various protests and movements.

In THUG, Starr got involved in a murder crime after she witnessed the gunning of his childhood bestfriend, Khalil Harris, by a white police officer. What followed after the incident is a series of investigation that greatly reflected today's society's unjust law system, media washout, and oppression of the minority.

I loved everything about this book. The rawness of the story and the character, the impact it gives (I really want to be with Starr and comfort her all the time and be one with the Just Us for Justice for the mass demonstration), and the importance of the novel's moral that is to let young people know that they are not alone in their frustration, anger, fear, and sadness.

And for Starr, thank you for inspiring everyone around the globe in fighting for what is right and in being vocal doing the right things. I'll end this with Angie Thomas' author note quote, 'We must also provide glimmers of light in the midst of the darkness.' And Starr did that. Ciao.

I have a lot of queries about this book and most of the premise is highly questionable and really cringy.

I was thisclose to DNF-ing this book but some characters interested me to finish the storyline. Anyway, I hope Violet Lasting will have a happy ending at the end of this trilogy because she deserves it. Sadly, I wouldn't know about that because I'd rather read good books that spark joy. For now, ciao.

RATING: 2 stars!

Okay, let's talk about great reads this time and yes, I'm pointing out Roshani Chokshi's recently released The Gilded Wolves.

Set in the captivating city of Paris in the late 18th century where grandeur and civilization are just making its way into eminence, The Gilded Wolves is a historical fiction that introduced the idea of Forging, a special ability that allows human to bend and reshape object (matter affinity) or someone else's thinking (mind affinity).

The first think that I noticed and loved about this book is how well-researched the story and it reflected in the book's information-rich narration and backstories. The Gilded Wolves shows us the real picture of Paris, France in 1889 and how imbalanced the world was before civilization gradually took off in the 19th century. From the inclusion of biblical reference via the Tower of Babel up to addition of diverse history such as India's myth and our very own Philippines' suffering from the Spaniards, The Gilded Wolves set an example on how to write an excellent historical novel.

I also liked the characters in this story especially the protagonists or how I call them, The Underdogs. Severin, an outcasted heir to one of the France's Order's original Four Houses, together with his broken, beaten, and damned squad of engineer, historian, baker, landscape artist, and House Patriarch, searched the busy streets of 1889 Paris in a quest to find the Horus Eye that will be his key to reclaim his glory of being his House's ruler. Through the quest, I fell in love with all the characters but I have a favoritism issue with Enrique because he is witty, cute, funny, and ofc, a Filipino who wants to join the elite circle who aims to bring down the Spanish colony that slaves the Philippines for about 300 years. And who would not love Zofia, another fictional crush to add on my list! Zofia is the engineer who loves numbers and calculations and puzzles but is too shy to converse what she really feels and I feel her because we all have been a Zofia in our life.

Lastly, the story structure is epic! I love how it never oversold on the first half only to have a saggy denouement because the explosion happened in the middle of the book until the end, (I mean, it literally did not stop blowing up and just kept throwing fireballs especially that one scene at Palais where I certainly cried!!!) I felt like riding a roller coaster but The Gilded Wolves ride is the kind that has a steady pace at the first few minutes then it goes into a series of loops then a heart-dropping, accelerating fall on a downward track for a good two hours. And that final chapter! Beware, my friend, because the next boom is set to come out next year.

For now, ciao.

Before I give my honest review for this book, I just want to thank Christy Hayes herself, the publisher, and NetGalley for approving my request to have a copy of this eARC.

Actually, this ia my first Christian x contemporary reads that features story of two young adults who are in the middle of finding themselves. Dash, a Christian rock band lead who had a catastrophic past, and Reagan, a skeptic-slash-academic-focused woman who questions everything that has no concrete proof including her early interaction with the bible-reading community.

I love how this story unravelled the kind of struggle most of us forgets, the spiritual struggle many people are afraid to admit. I love how this book carefully laid out the two sides of religion and faith and how it greatly impacts our life from the littlest things we do up to the biggest changes we tend to plan.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and I hope books like this will have wider audience and greater reach as it is the kind of book that will help us grow in more than one aspect of life.

It's my first March read and I'm glad that I prioritized picking this one from my towering TBR because this is the neutralizer book I need after a six-swoon-reads long for the month of February.

Written by bestselling author Jason Reynolds, this novel features the story of our friendly neighborhood superhero in the character of Miles Morales, a black teen who live in the busy town of Brooklyn.

Caught in the middle of the two worlds he is living in, Miles Morales is introduced as a teen who is a bit confused between doing his responsibility as the protector of the community and listening to what the cruel society instills in bis mind that he will grow as a hustler since he came from the roots of some of the most notorious hustlers in the history of Brooklyn.

What I loved about this book is how it focuses on the story of Miles Morales himself, on his being a superhero, and how he still struggle to promote equality and dismantle racism. The last one being the main highlight of this novel reflects the reality of this modern world where, sadly, most of us still judge a person by its physical appearance, color in particular. I like how Jason Reynolds incorporates diversity in this book by including a Korean bestfriend Ganke (Peter Parker's Ned somehow resembles him) and a black lead girl in the character of Alicia.

Moving forward, this could have been an easy five-star read for me if it's not for the fact that this book lacks in action scenes it ahould have. I expected a pack of villains that will obstruct Miles' venture in safeguarding his community but, honestly, I was underwhelmed by how the antagonist's development in this book.

Still, it's an enjoyable read perfect to Spiderman lovers be it teens or those like me who are still teen-at-hearts. Highly recommended for those who believed that with great power, comes great responsibility. For now, ciao.

Three things.

1. This is one hell of a feel-good book that will make you believe in the power of self-confidence and love and fate whatsoever

2. I did not expect to love this one but all these Jessie-Ethan feels is reaching a wuthering heights and passed all my great expectations (see some literary puns there? you need to read this book)

3. Though some parts of this read has that problematuv main character effect, the outcome-slash-finale is still perfect.


More so, I love everything about this book. Waffles. Secret IM-ing. Dealing with bullies. Believing in the power of fate. And understanding that you are more than what you think you are.

Julie Buxbaum, I need to meet you soon so I can telk you my three things. I adore you post notes and how you incorporates your backstory with the story of Jessie Holmes. I love this book. I love this book. I love this book. Ciao.

Rating: 5⭐

It's March but why am I such in a mood to read swoonworthy contemporary books and The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter-Hapgood is my second YA romance novel out of the four books I read this month and honestly, this book is YA perfection.

When I picked this book from the recent BBW here in Manila, I do not have any idea about its story and I'll admit, I super adore the cover. 1 star for that. And when I read the gist of the book, goodness gracious. Another automatic 1star. Who wouldn't love a good love story with a whole lot of blackholes, wormholes, time travels, and all other universe mystery that even the geniuses can not explain.

To make it more simple, The Square Root of Summer revolves on the story of Gottie H. Oppenheimer, a teenage German girl, who has been in a streak when it comes to experiencing heartbreak. First is when her childhood bestfriend Thomas suddenly left their hometown Holksea five years ago. Then when her closest person in the world in the name of her grandpa Grey passed away last year. And days after that, when her first secret boyfriend Jayson broke up with her unexpectedly.

And then this NOW summer happened. Suddenly, Thomas is coming back to Holksea after being caught in the middle of his parents fight and will be staying at Gottie's house, in Grey's room particularly. Bombarded with thoughts on how will she be able to face Thomas after all the years they spent apart, Gottie came across an unexpected occurence that blew her entire life away, experiencing wormhole and time warp. This led to a series of unfortunate events where Gottie came back and forth to various timelines lying somewhere from the past to future scale. Having no idea how to stop these out-of-this-world occurences, Gottie embarked on a personal quest to come up with the answers to the universe's biggest questions only to found out that the key to unraveling the mystery of fabric and time lies within her own mind.

I gave another star for Harriet's succesful attempt to blend romance and sci-fi-esque flavor in this novel. With all the time travels and universe-related studies that Gottie explored, I was hooked in every pages and had a hard time putting this book down.

I also like to commend how the resolve in this story is established. The ending chapters somehow appealed to me like from a self-help book which makes the readers feel empowered and boosting with confidence.

Lastly, if you are in search of a good novel set in Germany, or a story with time-travels and other interesting universe-y stuff, then you should definitely add The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter-Hapgood on your TBR. Ciao.

Rating: 4.5 stars

For my 20th read this year, I picked Marie Lu's Batman: Nightwalker up from my towering TBR because 1. It's the last unread Marie Lu book, 2. I'm in a sort of comic retelling mood after finishing Miles Morales: Spiderman las week, and 3. I'm still in a hangover, a good kind, after seeing Captain Marvel in cinema two days ago and I need some good kind of superhero adventures to let my mind wander into a different world before jumping into the MCU in time of Avengers: Endgame next month.

Enough with Marvel talks and let's focus on the resident nostalgic cape crusader from the Gotham City, in this novel Marie Lu did a fun universe of a teenage Bruce Wayne who, days after turning 18 and inheriting his parents' wealth, got caught in series of unfortunate events that led to him doing community service in the Arkham Asylum. And from there enters Madeleine Wallace, a notorious teen bandit-slash-murderer who is known for her connection with the elite Gotham terrorist group Nightwalker and for slitting the throats of her three victims. Knowing how cruel fate is, Bruce and Madeleine crossed path in the dark alleys of the asylum and became involved in each other's lives not knowing how hellish the consequences of their present actions are. After days of interaction with the most-wanted teen girl criminal of Gotham City, Btuce found himself wanting more and more time to talk to Madeleine ignoring the fact that she is a walking murderer with blood of three dead people in her hands. Aiming to find the truth behind Madeleine's backstory, Bruce found himself tangled in a web of lies, deceptions, and manipulations only to end questioning the reality of his connection with Madeleine.

In this riveting Batman retelling as part of the DC Icons Book serie, Marie Lu did a good job of displaying a different version of Bruce Wayne. The book presents the Marie Lu brand, with her action-packed scene and heart-rending love story between the main characters, and it still amazes me.

I love how Batman: Nightwalker includes the Legend and Warcross blend especially in that scene when Bruce and Richard had a virtual reality-based sparring session. That goggle scene screams Hideo Tanaka's NeuroLinka and I wonder if it happens in the same universe though that is a cracked up Q to ask.

Also, I like how unexpected the antagonist's character in this book. Like I had a moment when I thought it's Richard Price or it's Det. Draccon and I even suspected Lucius Fox of WayneTech. That's one heck of a good book revelation and it totally lived up to my expectation.

Lastly, the fact I love the most in this book is that we have a Filipina character in the name of Dianne Garcia. Though it was not explicitly iterted in the storyline, hidden clues suggest that Dianne is indeed a Filipina with her Lola beliefs and her Tagalog cursings. Happy to say that there's another Filipina character in the international book scene. Ciao.

Rating: 5 stars