Review: The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

From Goodreads: Dai, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible ... Jin hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister ... Mei Yee has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window ... 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Ryan Graudin’s The Walled City was a book that I picked up because I was in the mood for something action-packed. It certainly delivered in that regard because there were plenty of action scenes and Graudin’s setting was inspired by Kowloon Walled City, a densely populated, walled city in Hong Kong that was famous for crime. I think the book would have been even more exciting, however, if the danger aspect in the climax had panned out so that the book remained realistic. Imagine my disappointment to find out that Graudin didn’t take the gutsy route and kill a character that would have most likely died in real life!

Another reason that I lowered my rating of The Walled City was that the characters could have used more depth. I also wasn’t a fan of the romance because it seemed like the romantic interest was only attracted to Dai due to his physical features. Realistically, there was no reason for her to trust Dai and risk putting her life in jeopardy. 

The Walled City was released by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in November 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: It doesn’t really reveal much about the content of the book. I do like the tagline though.

Review: All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

From Goodreads: Emrys - a fiery, red-headed Fae - always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment - she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure - Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test. When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love. 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although I haven’t had much luck with faerie novels in the past, I was hoping that All That Glows by Ryan Graudin would break that trend. Unfortunately, while it wasn’t a bad read, All That Glows could have been better with some changes. I therefore thought a pros and cons list would best highlight what I enjoyed about the novel and what I didn’t. 

Pros:

• I liked the mix of fantasy with contemporary elements. 
• I always love reading books that have foreign settings – in this case, London. 
• I thought the plot was decent, and remained curious throughout the novel about who could be behind the attacks on Richard. 

Cons:

• For a faery who is supposed to be centuries old, Emrys acted very much like a teenage girl.
• The romance was an insta-love romance.
• Richard wasn’t a very memorable character so I didn’t really understand what made him stand out in Emrys’ mind from all the other mortals she has ever seen.
• I hate when couples give each other cutesy nicknames! Repeatedly having to read Emrys be called Embers by Prince Richard was very annoying!

All That Glows will be released by HarperTeen on February 11, 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s so pretty! I love the colour scheme and the font that was used for the title. I also think whoever was responsible for makeup did a good job of making the model’s face kind of look fae-like.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.