Book review : The abyss surrounds us by Emily Skrutskie

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested Neo Pacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water. 
There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea. But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.

*****

If you enjoy reading about pirates, sea monsters and lesbians, than this is the book for you! 

This book was about a sea monsters' trainer named Cassandra who was abducted by a group of pirates led by the pirate Queen Santa Elena. She was ordered to raise and trained an unhatched sea monster on the pirate ship or her life will be at stake. Santa Elena assigned one of her crew named Swift to keep an eye on Cassandra and if Cassandra failed or tried to flee, she will kill Swift as well. Reluctantly, Cassandra must obey Santa Elena and gradually befriended and attracted to Swift as their life depended on each other.

I supposed the event in this book happened in an alternative real world (or the future) where sea monsters roamed the high sees and trained to guard ships from pirates. The idea was fresh and I really like it. The characters were interesting; Santa Elena was a real badass, Swift was really cool and Cassandra wasn't that bad either. I like how Cassandra and Swift's relationship deepened. I like how they have this love-hate relationship and how much they would do to save each other. 

The author was quite knowledgeable about ships and mechanical device and it felt like I was watching an action movie or something. I like Cassandra's character development and how she tried to get along with the pirates and thinking about killing them at the same time. The thing that I don't like about this book is how thin it is and I finished reading it in less than a day. But I think there should be a sequel to this book as the ending was a cliffhanger. 

I like this book. I give this book 4.5 stars.

Book Review : Huntress by Malinda Lo

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls' destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

The exciting adventure prequel to Malinda Lo's highly acclaimed novel Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching, and is filled with action and romance.

*****

I've been wanting to read this book ever since the first time I heard about it. I love LGBT theme and to find it in a young adult fantasy book was super amazing because it is very rare. Maybe my knowledge is limited but please recommend to me if you come across or happen to know any LGBT young adult fantasy / sci-fi books, ya.

This book was about an interesting relationship between two girls on a dangerous journey to escort the prince to meet the Fairy Queen. The land was divided by two kingdom : the land of human and the land of fairies and supernatural creatures. The story began when the king in the human land received an invitation from the Fairy Queen so he sent his son, three guards and two 17 years old girls from the Academy named Kaede and Taisin as his representatives. Both of them were classmates but barely spoken to each other. Taisin was a gifted student and good with magic and sorcery and she wished to be a mage after graduating. However, Kaede was only good with daggers and weapons and had no interest in sorcery at all. The relationship between Taisin and Kaede deepened as they have to rely on each other to complete their mission. 

I love the chemistry between Kaede and Taisin. They were shy and awkward at first (as they barely spoke to each other in class) but once they realized how much they attracted to each other, their relationship deepened.  They talked and giggled like best friends and they find hope to survive the mission in each other. They needed and relied on each other so much. I can only think of good things about their relationship because I ship them a lot. I cried at the end of this book because I think their relationship was very honest  and innocent BUT I hate their ending.

This book was not thick 300++ pages. The plot was okay and fast paced. This book was enjoyable to read especially the romance between Kaede and Taisin. However, I dislike the ending and I wish I could rewrite them based on my own liking. Haha.. I think the writer did not elaborate much on the characters in this book but I like how she wrote about feelings and how Kaede and Taisin fall in love. The description was very deep and poetic and I felt like Kaede and Taisin were very real.

I love the story but I hate the ending. So I give this book 4 stars.