The Moment Before - Suzy Vitello

Source: Netgalley
Pages: 216

Synopsis: Sisters, Brady and Sabine Wilson are sisters born eleven months apart. However, despite their closeness in age, they are entirely different to one another. Sabine is popular, the head cheerleader with a popular boyfriend. Brady is alternatively artsy, quieter and fades frequently into the shadows of her older sister.
All is turned upside down when Sabine dies in a horrific cheerleading accident and Brady's life is suddenly full of heartbreak and grief. The only person she finds who can help her find out exactly what happened around Sabine's death is the guy, Connor, everyone blames for her death.

Review: My first thought after I read the first few pages was 'Oh, well this has been done before'. With a synopsis similar to that of Undone by Cat Clarke, Saving June by Hannah Harrington and The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher, I was expected a tale of grief, anger, infidelity and ultimately, revenge.

However, I was at once drawn into the story particularly to Brady and her quest to find out the back story in the wake of her sister's death ending in suddenly finishing this book within a couple of days. While many of these kind of novels focus on suicide and revenge, this account was largely far more accurate in Brady's curiousity of the circumstances of the death as well as illustrating a family that is entirely broken yet haven't given up on the hope that they can get over this all.

I loved the way THE MOMENT BEFORE was written with this harsh, unemotional and critical narrative from Brady that truly describes one way in which people can deal with grief. While her fellow school friends are celebrating her sister's life and achievements, she is critical of the memorials they set up which ultimately perhaps will not be lasting. I just loved how real the narrative sounded. While the characters are typical characters in this genre, Brady's negativity and cynicism just brought another touch of realness and enjoyment for me.

I was loving this book, until I reached the end. For me, the ending was a real let down. I got to about 95% through the book and started to wonder how on earth this was going to end in that last 5%. Once I reached the last page, I realised how. The ending is entirely too melodramatic, too quick and rushed. It felt like Vitello felt there needed to be this massive conclusion, that seemed completely out of character to me, to complete the whole circle of the narrative yet this needed to be done quickly and not describing entirely that well in comparison to the whole novel. Considering I liked the book because of its touch of reality shed over this situation, I felt so disappointed and confused that she chose to have an ending that contrasted so drastically to the rest of the novel. If the book was largely dramatic, this ending would have fitted but this book was far from that and that's what made it so brilliant in my eyes. As I read in a review in Goodreads, there were so many questions suddenly and it seemed that most of actions in the ending were out of character for the characters involved. This may have been done on purpose, but I don't think it was needed.

Overall, THE MOMENT BEFORE is largely enjoyable despite the fact its the kind of narrative done frequently before. I didn't find it repetitive. It wasn't all about suicide, death and grief. While that was a small element of the story, this book is so much more and a nice addition to this genre.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Meant To Be - Lauren Morrill

Source: Own
Pages: 304
Publisher: Delacorte Books

Synopsis: Straight-A student and geek, Julia knows she is accident prone, she knows how to follow rules and being organised and prepared. She knows how to write essays and that she needs to have her pocket Shakespeare and pencil sharpener on her at all times. That's also why she knows Mark, her crush since childhood, is her MTB (Meant to Be).
However, everything Julia knows is about to be turned upside down on her spring break as she goes on a school trip to London where she is partnered by her personal tormentor and the class-clown, Jason. After Julia is dragged to a wild party, she keeps receiving texts from an unknown number. Jason promises to help find out the suitor if she agrees to live a little and break some rules along the way. Julia will find out the meaning of rules and true love all in the backdrop of the city of London.

Review: 
Although I may be bordering on the last six months of being a teenager as my 20th birthday looms closer and closer, I still love to slink back to the days in my mid-teens when I loved a good romance novel. While I'm far more cynical about them, I don't think any female can resist a dash of romance in their reading as long as its done right. MEANT TO BE was a book I got given about a year ago, mostly because Julia sounded like a version of myself but also, because it seemed like a fun, easy read.

Upon starting this novel, I could immediately see the conclusion and started to think maybe this book wouldn't be as good as I hoped. However, I struggled on and found myself suddenly really enjoying this book. The book becomes addictive with all these questions lying underneath that made me want to read and read to find out at the end. This is a cheesy romantic comedy for sure, but I was left with this appreciation for any love in my life at the time - be it for family or friends.

The main character, Jules, goes through London, seeing both the unknown places of the city and the tourist attractions we all know and love. It was brilliant seeing a modern perspective of the city, especially for myself as a Londoner, which isn't too rife in books. London isn't considered 'romantic' with that title calling to places like Paris or Rome, so it was good to have this setting instead of something more stereotypical.

Anyone that is a reader will appreciate Jules, a nerdy girl who follows the rules and consumes literature. I loved Jules mostly because it was like reading about myself and I entirely felt for her and related to her as she negotiated the confusing and exciting world of love.

MEANT TO BE is the perfect, summer easy read or even as a light break between books with the continual theme of death, war and grief (which is a lot of books these days). This is predictable and cheesy, but sometimes we all need a bit of that as a break. I liked this a lot, especially as it made me appreciate those around me and any book that has that kind of emotional response, well, the author's doing pretty well.

I give a 4 out of 5

Geek Girl: Model Misfit - Holly Smale (#2)

*This is the second book in the Geek Girl series so there may be some spoilers for the first book, Geek Girl*

Source: Netgalley

Pages: 356

Publisher: HarperCollins

Synopsis: With a new baby on the way and her summer plans ruined suddenly Harriet decides to take up a modelling job in Japan to get away from home. She knows that she won't ever probably fit into the modelling world but she tries nonetheless to be a 'model'. In Japan, she faces the craziness of Tokyo with some interesting model flatmates, bizarre photo shoots as well as the problem of seeing Nick everywhere she goes. Harriet needs to find herself halfway across the world or maybe she needs to become more like a model. 

Review: About this time last year, I read the first book in this series, Geek Girl. I thought it was brilliant, but most importantly, I thought it was the type of book that is needed for young girls growing up with so many brilliant messages that fulfilled some self-confidence in myself. Following the success of the first book, this is the next book in the series for Harriet Manners - the unlikely geek model.

When I read books, I don't really get very emotionally invested. I don't laugh or cry or get excited when the character's do. However, the GEEK GIRL series are probably the only books that actually make me laugh out loud. I find Harriet hilarious at times and her humour is a lot like mine. This books humour, characters, writing and plot makes me keep reading on and on. I finished this book within two days, which is a record for me and just illustrates how much I liked this book.

Harriet is so unique and real. I can see a lot of myself in her actually. She's this geek that is trying to fit in with a world that both she will never fit in with, but also they don't want to let her try. Although we're not all models, we can all relate to feeling like we can't fit in with a certain world, or group, or stereotype - I know I did when I was younger and at times currently. Reading about Harriet overcoming her issues with her family, with Nick and with her job was great to see and quite inspirational in some ways.

This book is also host to some brilliant, vibrant and creative characters that really shine throughout. Sometimes the humour in books can make the prose and the characters within a plot be placed in the background. However, this book thankfully doesn't do that and I think in some ways the characters make the humour from their brilliantly constructed personalities that are all so unique and different from one another.

Overall, the second book in the GEEK GIRL series was thoroughly enjoyable and I am looking forward to finding out what else is going to happen to Harriet as well as meeting Holly Smale at YALC! GEEK GIRL is such a brilliant series which is just what the world of YA literature needs right now.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

Cress - Marissa Meyer (#3)

**This is the third book in a series so there will be spoilers for the first two books in the series. Have a look at my reviews for Cinder and Scarlet - totally recommend this series!**

Source: Own
Pages: 550
Publisher: Penguin
Series: #3 in The Lunar Chronicles

Synopsis: Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet and Wolf are now fugitives on the run with most of Earth and Lunar hunting them down. Meanwhile, they are plotting to overthrow Levana and replace the Queen of Lunar.
Their best hope is with Cress, a girl that has been imprisoned alone on a satellite to hack and spy Earth for Levana. After attempting to rescue Cress, the group is separated. Cress has her freedom but is also stuck in the middle of the Sahara desert with Thorne. Meanwhile, Cinder must prevent the marriage between Levana and Emperor Kai when he could be killed. Cinder, Scarlet and Cress need to unite to try and save Earth from Levana's power.

Review: As soon as I heard about the release of CRESS, I was eagerly anticipating it, willing it to come sooner, pre-ordering the book and then, waiting for the right time to read it and know I would enjoy it. Cinder and Scarlet are two of the best books I have read and I knew that this book would not let me down in the hugely brilliant Lunar Chronicles.

The thing with Marissa Meyer's books is that they are all quite long, mostly about 500 pages. While this probably fazes some people, I like it - I feel I get a real depth to the story, development of the characters and SO MUCH HAPPENS that it just makes me get sucked more into the novel. I thought this would take me longer to read than most 200-odd paged books. However, it took me about about 5 days to read (which is like a record for me), I rushed through it wanting desperately to know what happened to the crew of the Rampion, to find if the wedding goes ahead, what would happen with Cress, the different romances - it makes it an incredibly engaging and brilliant read. There are so many twists in the narrative with many of the questions and secrets I wanted answers for being answered from the last two books, but soon being replaced with even more questions to be discovered in the last book.

Continuing on the theme of fairy tales, CRESS is based around Rapunzel. I didn't see as many similarities to the well-known fairytale as in Cinder and Scarlet, although that was never a big fairytale for me, but I ended up seeing similarities to Tangled. It was brilliant to see more of the characters of Thorne, Cinder, Iko, Kai, Dr Erland, Scarlet and Wolf from the previous books and it felt very familiar in the setting and plot to me. One of my only complaints would be the character of Cress. I found her a little pathetic at times, it's clear she is not as brave and strong a character as Cinder and Scarlet, with her strength being her intelligence. She was a nice addition to the story but I just disliked her shyness at times latterly.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time full of romance, action, thrillers, humour, friendships and brilliant writing. CRESS I think is my favourite of the series so far with Cinder a close second. I finished this book while on a train and was sitting there for about half an hour trying to contain my feelings just like 'WHAT JUST HAPPENED THEN?!', the ending was just...amazing. I cannot wait for Winter next year and I'm sad to see the series end with Winter too. This is going to be a long but rewarding wait.

If you've read this entire review and haven't read Cinder, Scarlet or Cress - I would recommend these to be read soon, they are utterly brilliant and I'm so glad I discovered this series.

I give this 5 out of 5

Related Reviews:
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

WINTER IS PUBLISHED IN EARLY 2015

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Source: Own
Pages: 183
Publisher: Knopf

Synopsis: The night begins when Nick asks Norah to be his five minute girlfriend to avoid his ex, who has just walked in to see his band play with her new guy. After one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure across New York City with the confusion, excitement and anticipation of a first date.

Review: I'm not sure where to start this review for this book. I guess I have too many emotions and thoughts in my head for this book that I can't quite gather them together and put into a logical review process.

Initially, I thought I wasn't going to make it through. The first few chapters aren't the best part of this book but they are truly needed. I found Cohn's writing style quite hard to read, the same thoughts as when I read Levithan and Cohn's Dash and Lily's Book of Dares.
However, I did get into it eventually and loved it. This is a book that brings the beauty of being young, of being in a city and puts that all together into a story and puts in the shadow of most teenager's love for music. The experiences and thoughts of the two leads are very accurate to someone who is 17 now, these are characters that I believed and made me reminisce slightly of when I was 16/17 (although that was only a couple of years ago but still).

Nick and Norah are great characters, with a host of other brilliant characters in the background. I liked Norah's powerful lead as well as laughing at her sarcasm and humour that is incredibly similar to my own. She's had some bad experiences with boys in the past and through this, she become cynical and afraid almost I guess. I also loved Nick, he is a genuine, honest character and I liked to see his reactions of the events they go through.

I get why some people don't like this book. But the reason for that is all down to this book's originality. The voices of Nick and Norah are very individual and at times I got annoyed at Norah's parts as she has an interesting, cynical, sarcastic voice that can be quite hard to read at some points. This book is very different to what I was expecting. I was expecting a love story, sure, but I was expecting it over a long period, not just a night. But I liked that, it made it immediate and quick and although perhaps in some ways unrealistic, I couldn't care less.

This book is modern, current and a true voice for teenagers. It's not a serious book by far, but I loved that. It's quirky, original and something I will remember for a long time afterwards. NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST is a book that is about young people and for young people and has some of the most individual characters I have read about in a while. This isn't the best book I've ever read but I still really enjoyed it and hopefully watch the movie (on Netflix) very, very soon.

I give it a 4 out of 5


Related Reviews:
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan
Love Is The Higher Law - David Levithan

Champion - Marie Lu (#3)

*There may be spoilers in this review for those that have not read the first two in the series, Legend (review) and Prodigy (review)*

Source: Own Book
Pages: 369
Publisher: Penguin
Series: #3 in the Legend series
Challenges: None

I am a massive fan of Marie Lu and her amazing Legend series. Her books are entirely unappreciated for how good they are. So much so that when a customer at work asked for Legend specifically, I got a little bit excited, raced over the section to get him the book and told him how brilliant it was on the way. I think my reaction scared him a little bit.
Anyway, I have been waiting and waiting for the third and final book in the series since THAT ending in Prodigy, I literally had no clue what would take place in the next book. So I was pretty excited for this one to say the least!

Synopsis: June and Day have given up so much for helping the Republic and now the country is on the brink of evolving into something good. June is now in a elite government position as one of the Princeps-Elect while Day is in a high military position. However, just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak threatens the Colonies and war seems to be inevitable. This plague is powerful and deadlier than ever and it is up to June and Day once again to try and save their country.

Review: This series, and this book alone, have done things that many other series have not succeeded in. The first book was like your typical dystopian - horrible divided America, divided poor and rich sectors, two people meet and fall in love and work together to make things better blah-blah-blah (for the record I love dystopia so the whole sameness thing doesn't bother me too much). However, I liked the fact it was military based, that there was an equal share of June and Day - not one dominating in the narration. I loved how political this series is - I just really enjoyed and loved this series. The second book blew the first out of the water, it was just so good. In all honesty, I don't think anything could match up to that second book. But the third book made a pretty good stab at it.

This book takes the reader in a number of different directions, making you try and predict the ending without having much success until the ending finally hits. As by all Marie Lu's books, I was constantly kept on my toes and for a book that I took me a while to read with lots of university work mingling into my reading time, that really helped to make me absorbed into the action when I did return to this book.
There is just something so BRILLIANT about this book, something I can't put my finger on. I think it is the plot and the premise, but mostly I have to credit Marie Lu's way of writing, which is incredible. This series of books are quite short, particularly as I reflect now on what happens within them. Yet she does this marvellous thing where we have all this intense action, chaos and emotion and then it all slows down, quieten down for a moment when there are scenes of intense emotion or sadness or love. It's something I admire quite a lot, her ability to pace a book - such as an action packed dystopia - like that.

Readers are returned to the ups and downs of the amazing characters of June and Day in the beautifully handled duel narrative. Normally, I prefer one or the other when there are two protagonists, but I can't help but loving both of these characters (although I see a lot of myself in June). The addition of Auden and Eden was great too and I loved both of these characters. It was nice to finally have them in the spotlight of the narrative as they've both been in the background for the series. There is a bit of love triangle lingering in the background of the narrative, which normally I would roll my eyes at...but somehow it works. Not entirely sure how, but it just does.

I cannot finish this review without talking about the ending. Oh my. Lu's endings are brutal for the frequent use of cliff hangers, adding to my love-hate relationship with them. I know many don't particularly like the ending to this book and the series, but I think it's perfect, particularly for the relationship of June and Day. It's ambiguous, almost annoyingly so. But there are many hints for the reader to make up their own mind of the overall solution. In my mind, I have a pretty good idea of what happens after the pages end, my own piece of imagination, my own interpretation. I love books like that.

This review doesn't really justify the beauty of this book. It was a book I thoroughly enjoyed and a great end to one of the best series I have encountered. This series is so unappreciated and I wish I could get lots more people reading this series and giving it the recognition it deserves. CHAMPION had the perfect ending in my opinion, as well as a decent beginning and middle! It's sad to say goodbye to the Republic, to June and Day. But at least Lu has done it in a way that shows the best parts of this series.

I give it a 5 out of 5

Other Books by this author:
Legend (#1)
Prodigy (#2)

Dare You To - Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry was a surprise author for me when I read her first book Pushing The Limits (review) last year. I thought it would be full to the brim on eye rolling moments at the cheesiness and corniness of the narrative. I was completely wrong. It was an immersing read that had both that lovely bit of romance I love to read about as a guilty pleasure but not too much that I wanted to throw the book across the room.
This is the second book in this 'series'. Reading this doesn't particularly ruin anything for readers who haven't read Pushing The Limits - just gives a bit of context for the characters of Echo and Noah in this book.

Synopsis: Beth has had a tough life but if anyone knew the truth about her family, her mother would surely go to prison so she protects her no matter what. Until the day her uncle - thinking he's saving her - swoops Beth away from her hometown to live in a place to different from what she is used to and with an aunt who hates her. No-one understands her except one person.
Ryan is the perfect teenager. A baseball player, he has hopes of being the next big thing in the sporting world as well as being clever and popular. In what begins as a dare becomes something else completely between Beth and Ryan despite their different personalities and backgrounds.

Review: I started this book thinking that I wouldn't be a huge fan by the time I finished. It just seemed like it would confirm what I was predicting in Pushing the Limits in the cheesiness of the romance and the obvious 'bad girl-good guy' relationship between Ryan and Beth. I could almost see how this was going to end.

However, I was completely wrong. So there is still some elements of cheesiness when it comes to the romance and at times particularly in the middle, the cynical side of me wanted to throw up but it was far better than I think I, the cover and the reviews I had read made it out to be.
There is a certain depth behind Katie McGarry's writing that makes this not ALL about the love story at the heart. And books that do that make me want to give the authors a hug.
Beth and Ryan are very different people when we meet them at the beginning of the book and I could completely and utterly not see them together. Beth has had a difficult upbringing with no father around and a selfish, carefree mother who has basically left Beth to grow up alone. So when she goes to live with her uncle, a man who left her alone with her complicated family to pursue his own dreams, things aren't going to go well. It was interesting to see her relationship develop under the guidance of her uncle and aunt who are so far removed from her.
Ryan also doesn't have the perfect life however it may seem on the surface with a father who is all about appearances - the reason behind his brother deserting them when he announced he was gay. Again, it was good to see this issue throughout the book and put a more human side to Ryan in showing the imperfections of his character.

Beth and Ryan are such likable characters and I found myself really rooting for both of them, particularly Ryan. Beth is quite a hard character to understand compared to Ryan yet the way McGarry portrays them is very realistic. They have their moments - Ryan can be a bit of an arrogant jerk at times and Beth can be such a meanie too - but McGarry shows that isn't ALL they are. Like I read in one review, she shows now to trust the stereotypes through Ryan and Beth.

I thought Pushing the Limits was pretty good but this just proves that McGarry is not a one hit wonder so to speak. This second brilliant book by her shows she is the queen of character development. She's made a romance that once again ticks all the boxes. This is the perfect book to keep you up until 3am or to read on a windy and rainy Sunday afternoon or on a long journey. Whether you liked or disliked Pushing the Limits or even haven't read that book, I'm sure this book will be enjoyable.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

Author's Website: http://www.katielmcgarry.com/
Pages: 456
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Challenges: None

Related Reviews: 
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Teen Idol by Meg Cabot
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More - Sarah Dessen

For those that perhaps don't know I am a HUGE fan of Sarah Dessen. She is a writer that keeps performing for me, keeps giving me books that I devour and love for multiple reasons. If you haven't tried any books by her, I highly suggest you do especially my favourites The Truth About Forever, Just Listen or Along for the Ride (because this is Sarah Dessen, you can never have just one favourite). So when I heard about this book, I was beyond excited and knew it would be a book I would enjoy a lot regardless of how good it was compared to her other novels. So this was a guaranteed buy for me when I spotted it.

Synopsis: Emaline has lived in the beach town of Colby her whole life. She knows where to go and not to go, where the tourists in the summer visit and most of all the people. Including Luke, her all American perfect boyfriend who she has grown up with. But as it is the summer before going to college, Emaline wonders whether this life is what she really wants.
Enter Theo, an outsider from New York visiting the town to work as an assistant to a renowned filmmaker. He's confident, exciting and thinks Emaline is holding herself back. Emaline's father also thinks she could do better. Emaline likes the sound of this glittering, bright future they promise but would they suit Emaline, someone whose whole family and life is in a small beach town.

Review: This was the kind of book I needed. Right at that moment, right now on the verge of something sad, exciting and just plain scary.
The thing is that Emaline during the course of this book is in exactly the same situation as I am right this moment. I read this pre-results day when there was that trepdiation of whether I would get into university, whether I would enjoy it. The thing is I'm moving two hours away from the place I've always lived to a new town, a new way of living and new friends without anything I can hold onto as familiar. I sometimes wonder now maybe I should have applied to somewhere in London nearer home but then I wouldn't be going to Bournemouth. Emaline got into an Ivy League school (think Oxford or Cambridge for those in the UK) but turned it down after her father - now separated from her mother -  let her down. So she is going to a college that is an hour away from Colby, where most of the people she knows and has grown up with are going. Yet when her father arrives again in the picture as well as her new found friend of Theo telling her something vastly different from her friends and family, it's enough to make her a little confused about what she TRULY wants.

Throughout the novel, she tries to discover that, to see which life suits her and despite the ending she chooses, the novel showed me that I'm not the only one who is going to be freaking scared when they're moving to university but also how ever far or not far you move to go to university, it's still a scary and unreal situation whatever happens. I just needed Sarah Dessen to reassure me.

Now onto the proper review. While this isn't the strongest and the best novel of Dessen's, it certainly was pretty good. As always, her characters are just so rich and realistic. You can clearly see the characters she is is picturing as well as there being some kind of element you are assured to love about every single character. I read in one review that the blogger loved Sarah Dessen for her good character development. It's so true, it makes it that much more realistic, making me feel like I truly get to know her protagonists. Emaline is the perfect main character with a distinct voice and something about her that made her so likeable, so real. The setting and the characters add to this feel of something so familiar about the story and it's hard to get that in a lot of books, especially as I'm a UK reader reading about an American town. It's just so refreshing to see some equally great secondary characters.

No-one can say that Dessen writes the perfect summer reads. Although, I was a little apprehensive to start this as it features a love triangle. So yeah, it's not the most scariest thing in the world but as a disliker of the typical, cliched love triangles (there is a reason I didn't read Twilight) and having my favourite author include one, I was just hoping it worked. And it did! It's not your cliched love triangle in my eyes (THANK YOU) and the ending is rather different to both her other books and other books featuring the dreaded triangle. Luke is someone I kind of instantly didn't like, the kind of guy that oozes self-confidence that I stay well clear of, but throughout the novel, even though he isn't in the book THAT much, he still has an element of character development for me and I loved to see that even from a character that didn't have much page time. Theo, I kind of loved at the beginning. He was sweet and way too confident but somehow that made me like him (I don't know). But again, much like Luke, he develops throughout the book especially in relation to his relationship with Emaline and then at the end, I just wanted him to leave. It's weird how Dessen made me feel these different things about the characters.

While some readers hate the similarity between Dessen's novels, it's what makes me love them. I know what I'm getting from Sarah Dessen, I know also that I'll enjoy the book whatever happens or however it is shaped. There's also this whole world that she's created that after reading all of her books, I feel like I know the world pretty well. It was great to return to the Launderette, Tallyho and Clementines in this book alone seeing Auden, Tracey and Owen from Along For the Ride, Colie from Last Chance/Keeping the Moon - it just makes you enjoy a book more I think when you know that world already, you're not being introduced to something completely new.

In all honesty, I'm bias about any Sarah Dessen book because she is a favourite of mine. She writes literature that I enjoy, I think about and just I relax while reading. I agree, this isn't the best of her books and it isn't a favourite, but it's still pretty darn good and I'm so glad that Dessen still has her writing mojo. For a brilliant summer read with some rather surprising twists, I would recommend THE MOON AND MORE. If you're a newbie to Dessen, I would direct you to my favourites - Just Listen and The Truth About Forever. Nothing can beat those books.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://sarahdessen.com/
Pages: 435
Publisher: Penguin
Challenges: None

Related Reviews:
What Happened to Goodbye - Sarah Dessen
Teen Idol - Meg Cabot
Confessions of an Angry Girl - Louise Rozett

Smuggler's Kiss - Marie-Louise Jensen

Marie-Louise Jensen has been a favourite historical author of mine for a few years after I was blown away by The Lady in the Tower and The Girl in the Mask. She's also lovely on Twitter (although that does not interrupt my opinion of this book). A friend of mine in the blogging world read this and told me I needed to read it. I find good historical fiction can be quite hard to come by now (I guess I'm more critical) but I know I'll always find a brilliant, absorbing historical novel in Jensen.

Synopsis: Isabelle is rescued from drowning in the sea by a group of men who she finds out are smugglers. To Isabelle - a lady from a wealthy family - smugglers are dangerous and deadly. However, without escape on the ship, she soon finds excitement in deceiving the king's men and her loyalties changing as she becomes friends with the smugglers, especially one in particular. Isabelle doesn't want to return to her old life but she has to keep the truth from the smugglers in order to stay aboard.

Review: I'm a great lover of historical fiction especially if the author is British and even more when it's this writer. I find historical fiction can either be the kind that draws you in, keeps you wondering and then spits you out at the end - much like Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle (review) was. Or they can be the fun kind that is just a lovely, relaxing read. Which is where this book falls.

Isabelle is a character which it is incredibly hard to like on the first page and I think that's why it took me a while to get into the story. She's so spoilt and selfish and SO WHINY. I was thinking at the beginning that I wouldn't like this book is she was going to be like this THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH but gladly, the book also shows her journey into learning about what it is like to live in poverty. This made her so much more likeable as the novel continues until the conclusion where I felt so much for Isabelle's situation. It's great to see this feisty and strong side to her personality flourish throughout as she adjusts.

One thing I really liked about this book was that the romance didn't dominate. I'm one that admits that I love a to dabble in a bit of historical romance but sometimes it can be too much, sometimes too unrealistic. This book is about the romance that evolves but it's also about status, class and the friendships and rivalries that form out of them. It's clear early on that she has a soft spot for Will, a younger smuggler who is a little different from the rest and keeps disappearing for a day or so. It was the mysteries behind Will and Isabelle's past that kept me reading, wanting to know the events that happened to lead both these characters to the smuggler's ship. 

I did really enjoy reading this book, it's not the best from Marie-Louise Jensen but still shows how great an author she is in the YA historical genre. It is full of details from the period as well as moments of high tension mixed with a few moments to make you smile.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Author's Website: http://marie-louisejensen.co.uk/wordpress/
Pages: 304
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Challenges: Historical Fiction, BBC

Related Reviews:
The Lady in the Tower - Marie-Louise Jensen
The Disgrace of Kitty Grey - Mary Hooper
Vice & Virtue - Veronica Bennett

Mini Reviews: Legend, All These Things I've Done, Scarlet

So while I was away, I went on a bit of a dystopian rampage. Literally. This has to be one of my favourite genres and while some dislike the amount of books on offer in this genre out there, I like the variety you can choose from, getting more and more interesting each time I read them.
While I can't do a full out review for all of these (especially as one of them I read months ago), I am going to do some mini-reviews. Bottom line is though: all of these are great books!

LEGEND - Marie Lu (#1)

Synopsis: The Western states of America are now home to the Republic. Born into an elite American family, June is Republic's prodigy training to one of the Republic's best military officers. Born in the slums, Day is the Republic's most wanted criminal although his motives for his crimes aren't as bad as they seem to the public. There is no reason for these two teenagers to cross path until June's brother, Metias, is murdered and the Republic name Day as the prime suspect. June vows to avenge Metias' death and catch Day once and for all while Day tries to help his family survival the vicious plague. As they both chase each other, they uncover the secrets the country has been hidden and the lengths they will go to make sure the public never find out.

Review: There was always something about this novel that made me hesitate when I saw it in the library or bookshop. I'm not entirely sure what it was but it may have something to do with the proud declaration on the front cover that should I like The Hunger Games, it's a given that I'll love LEGEND (like a lot of dystopians now). I finally picked it up during my blogging break, I guess because I wasn't reading to review intentionally.
However, when I started reading, I suddenly became absorbed in this startlingly different world where the military was key to the government but there was all this suspicion and secrets lying underneath the cold exteriors of the officers. June was a great protagonist, strong yet had that hint of sensitivity that comes through ever so often. I also liked Day throughout and as there wasn't much of a relationship between these two characters in this book, I hope this will develop in the next book in the series, Prodigy. The ending, oh my THE ENDING, was just...it's just happens to fast, so quick yet you're still involved and absorbed in the action and the emotions of the characters. It was incredibly well-written and clever. This book is short, unsatisfactorily short even, yet so much happens in the short amount of pages which left me finishing the book wanting the sequel immediately. This is a different kind of dystopian, one I haven't seen around which I think makes it all the more enjoyable and interesting.
I give it a 5 out of 5

ALL THESE THINGS I'VE DONE - Gabrielle Zevin (#1)

Synopsis: 2083, New York. In a society where coffee and chocolate is banned, water is rationed and New York is the centre of crime and corruption, as the daughter of the city's most notorious crime boss, now dead, and a part of the city's famous chocolate maker, Anya's life is rather normal. She goes to school, hangs out with her best friend, Scarlet, looks after her brother and sister as well as her dying grandmother. Meanwhile, she is also trying not to fall for the charming son of the DA's assistant. However, soon her ex-boyfriend is poisoned by chocolate that Anya's family manufactures and she finds herself as the prime suspect. Anya is thrust into the spotlight at school, publicly and most importantly within her mafia family after years of staying hidden away.

Review: Gabrielle Zevin is an author I would normally associate with contemporary writing with a twist after reading Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, which I enjoyed both. This book was good, and I liked it a lot especially the way it felt like the Prohibition era, with guns, gangsters, family loyalties  - but with chocolate and modern technology. I think the problem is the blurb and I guess the whole damn narrative of the book. The blurb made me think this would be a book about the conflict between her and her family and the impact of that on her life and in a way it is with her romance with Win central to it all. And it is and it isn't. There is a lack of action until the very end and with these expectations I had from the blurb, I ended the book feeling a little bit cheated. I did like the book, and I did find it interesting and enjoyable mostly because of the superb characters but really, I think that's as far as it goes (doing this several months after reading however). I liked most of the book's narrative up until the last quarter where I started to *gasp* dislike Anya. There was just nothing there, no emotion, no sympathy, just nothing and although that may be done on purpose, it made it incredibly boring and slow to read with this nothingness. So it was a good attempt at this dystopian/crime/contemporary/something else genre, but I do think there were flaws. I'll probably read the next book, Because It Is My Blood, but only because I want to know what's next for Win and Anya.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5

SCARLET - Marissa Meyer (#2)

*May contain spoilers for those who have not read the first book, Cinder. Here's my review for that*

Synopsis: Cinder's story continues as she tries to break out of prison although it will make her the most wanted fugitive on Earth. Meanwhile, in Europe, Scarlet's grandmother has gone missing and the police have ruled her as dead. Scarlet meets Wolf, a streetfighter hiding his own secrets and intentions, who is Scarlet's only link and evidence that will lead to her grandmother. They start to unravel one mystery together, including the secrets Scarlet's grandmother kept from her all the years she grew up. They also encounter another mystery as the stories of Cinder and Scarlet collide as they try to defeat the vicious Queen Levana and stop her plan to make Prince Kai her husband, whatever the cost. 

Review: I knew this would be good. I just knew it. This is the sequel to Meyer's debut last year, Cinder, a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. SCARLET is a retelling of Red Riding Hood, with some different interpretations of the story, one I particularly like was how they incorporated the idea of the wolf being Red Riding Hood's grandmother - very clever. I loved this second installment, especially the spilt narratives between Scarlet, Cinder and Prince Kai (yep, he's still there!) which made the story more well-rounded and gave the idea that the problems throughout the book with Queen Levana are impacting the whole world, not just in the Eastern Commonwealth.
It was well-written considering the amount of action that could overwhelm a reader. I especially loved finding out more about Cinder's past continuing from Cinder, and there are LOTS of surprise discoveries.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone that has read and loved Cinder as I did. I don't think it's quite as good compared to Cinder but there are so many things in this book that take the narrative of Cinder in a completely different direction. I am eagerly awaiting the new book, Cress, a retelling of Rapunzel coming out next year (AH NEXT YEAR?!)
I give it a 5 out of 5

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Do you agree with what I thought - let me know below!

Dante's Girl - Courtney Cole

I requested this e-book on Netgalley quite a while ago yet even though I was approved straight away, it's taken me a while to finally read this. I'm not sure why I was so unsure about this, I really disliked the cover yet I'd seen a couple of great reviews for it and it sounded like the kind of book I would enjoy. Yet I was looking at all the galleys I've requested and haven't read yet the other day and this title caught my eye so I thought I'd finally give it a go. My reaction? Why did I wait this long?!

Synopsis: When Reece bumps quite literally into Dante at Amsterdam airport, she doesn't expect to see him again. However, after a freak volcanic eruption that has grounded all flights, Reece is taken to Caberra, an island just off Greece, with Dante who happens to be the son of the Prime Minster of Caberra. And lives in a palace. And happens to also be drop-dead handsome. Reece is a farm girl from Kansas, in a totally different league from Dante yet is that enough to keep them apart from one another. As Reece gets to know Dante and spend an amazing summer in the beautiful Caberra, she starts to discover if love is all that matters in a relationship.

Review: Oh my. Just, oh wow. There are times when you are so surprised that you love a book that you can't really explain why you like it...anyone understand me here? Anyone at all?
Okay. Let me attempt to explain myself. So we have this cover. I judge books by their covers, I know I shouldn't but when a book IS RIGHT THERE STARING AT ME, I'm more inclined to look at it if it has a pretty cover. It's like judging people on their appearance. We don't want to do it but we still do.
The cover, for me, is not a great selling point. It tells me this is a cheesy, 'omgdoeshelovemeomgwhatshouldido' kind of book. Which in some ways it is, but it's definitely, DEFINITELY much more than that. I also feel a bit weirded out by the whole close-up of a couple kissing, and of the fact there's a snap of his hand of her behind, I don't know I feel like I'm intruding on a personal moment. It works now I've read the book, everything is relevant but yeah. I still don't like it.

So I entered this book judging from the cover, as I do a lot. But then, I was suddenly sucked in to this - although perhaps a little unrealistic but exciting and beautiful world. There are moments where the fluffy romance seeps through but mostly, I found this a book that portrays the ups and downs of love, it showed a portrayal that felt real to me and, although not everyone is the Prime Minister's son, through Dante we see that conflict between your love and duty to your family and country mixed with your love for someone you deeply cared about. This book is mostly about the romance between Dante and Reece and that natural progression from strangers to friends to good friends to something more, but it also shows the need for friendship and the misunderstandings that come along with being that close to someone. There's also, like I said, the relationships with family as well as the relationships between those you dislike too. And I liked that mix there which made it not feel like a fluffy, cheesy, cliche romance.

Some reviews have criticised the writing, saying it makes Reece sound really selfish and stuck-up but I would have to disagree entirely. There are these lovely, vivid descriptions of a setting or scenery thrown in with the witty, sharp dialogue from the likeable Reece. She was a lovely protagonist and I loved her sense of humour and comments on things that made this read much more enjoyable. Like I've said, the romance is at the heart of the story but it's not all the story covers, otherwise I think I would not be writing such a positive review. There a a few sub-plots as well that become more prominent as the novel progresses. If I was in a perfect world, I would have liked the darker sub-plots to have had more page time but I still liked the way it was written entirely! There's all this tension throughout 60% of the novel where you can see the potential for Reece and Dante but there's something not quite letting it happen. Simply, for half of the book I was shouting KISS ALREADY at them.

AH THE CHARACTERS.
DANTE'S GIRL holds a lovely cast of original and both annoying and hilarious characters. I loved the characters perhaps the most because they all felt familiar somehow to me, like I could relate my own (albeit small) cast of friends to them. There's the lovely, down-to-earth Reece. And Dante. OH DANTE. Well, he's quite a catch in all honesty, he's lovely in appearance. He's lovely as a person. He's lovely to everyone. HE'S JUST SO LOVELY. AND HANDSOME. And exotic too..hmmm. He reminded me a lot of Etienne St Clair in Anna and the French Kiss. There's also Mia, a typical rebelling teenager, who I loved and I liked the friendship that forms between her and Reece, it's really nice to read. And Gavin, who just added so much humour to the novel. Urgh, not Nate. Too creepy.

This book is one of the best sweet romances I have read in a while that would be perfect as a beach read or on a lazy afternoon. It really shows the romance of travelling, something I think that is quite hard to put across especially in a book when EVERYONE has had bad experiences on aeroplanes (I hate plane toilets so much that I have to stick my fingers in my ears when I flush or run out quickly). This probably isn't the perfect book for every reader but for me, this was the kind of book I needed that really sucked me into the story and threw me out at the end with a smiling, lovesick puppy expression. I cannot wait for the next installment of this book, Mia's Heart, to find out what will happen next in Caberra.
In a sentence, I loved this book utterly.

I give it a 5 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book in exchange for a review

Author's Website: http://courtneycolewrites.com/
Pages: 356
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Challenges: None

Perfect for readers who loved:
Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E Smith
13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
Saving June - Hannah Harrington

The Secret of Ella and Micha - Jessica Sorensen

When I was contacted by the publisher to review this, I jumped at the chance to have the opportunity to review a book in one of the new most popular genres, New Adult. Although I'm still getting to grips about what that actually means, I've gathered that it's literature that's in between Young Adult and Adult fiction where the protagonists are normally between 18-24, normally set at university. The themes are normally quite serious - sexuality, bullying, alcohol, drugs, identity, serious relationships, marriage, college.
The fact that I am 18 myself, I was quite looking forward to seeing how I would take to this genre (I also had an idea it would be a bit like a toned down Fifty Shades of Grey which I would not enjoy...). So I had literally no idea what to expect from THE SECRET OF ELLA AND MICHA.

Synopsis: Ella and Micha have been best friends throughout their childhood. Until one night where a tragic event splits them apart. Ella was a feisty rule-breaker who told people truly what she thought. However, after that night, she goes to college without telling anyone. There, she changes herself to become someone who hides their problems and follows the rules. Fast forward eight months, Ella is forced to go home for the summer break. However, Ella is afraid that everything she has worked hard to cover up will resurface and shatter especially the the presence of Micha, her next door neighbour. Micha is used to getting the girls he wants - confident, charismatic, charming. He can see through Ella like no-one else can and wants, whatever the consequences, to get the girl he fell for back.

Review: What I liked about this book was that, although at the centre there is this love story, that isn't all the book is about. The book also looks at identity, what happens when you hide your past or cannot face it, following your dreams, the effects of leaving behind someone or something. There's lots of different themes packed in, mostly shown through Ella as she tries to find herself.

The novel starts with the night that changed the relationship between Ella and Micha. They had grown up next door neighbours and best friends since they were seven but when they turned sixteen, Micha realised he had more than friendly love for Ella. Both have been through a LOT with themselves and in their families so when the next day, Ella disappears, it's a little shocking and surprising for Micha that she just left without telling anyone. The novel then switches to eight months later where Ella is getting ready to head home for the summer with her room mate, Lila. Ella's had changed into this prim, proper, polite girl who doesn't want to go a foot wrong. She's so different from the girl she grew up as. On the same say, Micha finally finds out where she's been all this time, phoning her which completely freaks Ella out as she knows Micha will see straight through this facade she's adopted for herself. So things aren't fantastic when she arrives home. Micha wants to see her. She doesn't want to see him. And Lila has no idea what is going on.

I have to say I really liked Ella as a protagonist. It was realistic that she hid herself away not wanting everyone to be concerned by her problems and I can understand her reasoning for doing so. She has been through so much both outside the book and within the book, it made me want so much for her to have the ending she deserved and be happy be it with Micha or without. I guess I just really liked her level headiness, she was a strong, independent and practical character.
I also loved Lila, mostly for some of the comical moments she provided. She is a great friend to Ella and I think I would have been a little hurt to find out that the Ella she'd got to know well wasn't her true self. But Lila was a lovely additional character and I loved having the side thing with Ethan. Ah, love them two!
Within the different characters, I think the problem I had the most was with Micha. Sorry, but for me he seemed like an utter creep. He has his way with the ladies and uses that to tease and entice Ella even if he thinks she doesn't reciprocate but OH MY GOSH HIS 'PRETTY GIRL' NICKNAME IS SO CREEPY. I just...I liked him as a character and how he cares for Ella...there was just something about him that I found a little distracting from appreciating him. Just his way seemed a little forced I guess. But seriously, if it was me he was calling 'pretty girl', I would have slapped him in the face by now.

Overall, I think this novel is a enjoyable, a lovely easy read when you're on the train or on the beach in the summer.This is a book, in the form of a sweet romance, full to the brim of everything you could possibly look for in a novel allowing you to witness the growth of the two protagonists, full of chemistry and lovely moments between the pair. I really liked the journey that Micha and Ella take from friends, to not seeing each other to better than friends. The writing flowed well and I loved the dual narratives between the pair that made this novel a great read. For me, it was perfect, but I loved my insight into the interesting world of Ella and Micha's as well as my first taste of New Adult fiction.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Author's Website: http://jessicasorensensblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Pages: 316
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Challenges: None

Speechless - Hannah Harrington

This was a book I requested as a galley months ago as soon as I saw it. I've read Hannah Harrington's debut, Saving June (review), which was incredible so knew I would enjoy this one too. For some reason though, it's taken me so long to finally choose to read this one despite the many raving reviews I've seen in that time (I don't understand either). So needless to say I was going into this novel with high expectations for the great dynamic of characters, the vivid settings and the interesting plot that I found in Saving June.

Synopsis: Chelsea Knot has everything - best friend to the most popular girl in high school, pretty, sociable. But she can't keep a secret. Which hasn't been a problem having so much power and influence at school, until she shares a secret that nearly gets someone killed and turns her into a social outcast.
Chelsea takes a vow of silence, forbidding herself to speak or even sing, in order to learn the true power of words and stop harming everyone else. Keeping quiet is hard especially when your own secrets are spilled out to everyone and there is no way to fight back. But soon Chelsea sees the strength in silence and the whole host of friends and understandings that come along with it.

Review: Boy. Hannah Harrington can WRITE.
I started this book, like many people I'm assuming, absolutely hating Chelsea. Thankfully, the type of Chelsea is at the beginning of the novel is someone I was able to avoid in my adolescence  However, the popular person with ridiculous amounts of influence and power were present at my secondary school and soon became the fake people I avoided entirely.
I think we can all imagine the type of mean person Chelsea is at the beginning. Although I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her despite her meanness and spite. It's very clear that she's been led to this bad place where she feels its acceptable to spill everyone's secrets, not considering the consequences. She knows deeply, and realises it throughout the novel that what she is doing is totally wrong but it is something that has been drummed into her by those above her so she can't stop. Which makes it a bit ironic that those who turn against her first are those that make her spread rumours and reveal other's secrets.

I have to say the story became much more engaging and interesting once Chelsea chose to take the vow of silence and I liked seeing the journey she embarks upon in doing so from turning from this hateful, mean girl to someone with more dignity and empathy. I thought it would become rather tedious or boring having a protagonist that can't speak, but honestly, I think I got a great insight into her thoughts and emotions than many other acclaimed novel's protagonists which helps when you hate the girl at the beginning.
I've no way a fast reader and would much rather take my time over books, appreciate them, than read like 10 books in a week and not completely engage entirely with them all. However, Harrington has this ability to MAKE me read faster. Saving June I finished in a couple of days, this one was within 2 days. I'm not sure why but it's something I've come to realise.

The characters in SPEECHLESS, and indeed in Saving June, are the icing on the cake in Harrington's books. They have this Sarah Dessen-esque feel about them that makes them diverse yet so great, I guess. There is Kristen, the ultimate Regina George mean girl who I detested throughout, thought her taunting was totally unnecessary, but I'm glad about the ending for her with Chelsea. I also loved that Harrington chose Chelsea to make friends with a completely opposite group to what she is used to, that also won't necessarily accept her straight away. There's the ever so lovely Asha who I literally want as my own best friend now. And of course, SAM. Ah, Sam. Well, I did not see HIM coming as a love interest but boy, is he a sweet guy! So sweet, even when he seems to dislike Chelsea. I just loved the ability to create such amazing characters especially in the dimensions of friend and then 'more of a friend' that made it so real to read.

Harrington successfully covers a range of issues - friendship, the impact of rumours, fights, first impressions, bullying - that I think all resonated with me. However, coming away from this novel, the novel essentially made me think about the repercussions and impact of things I have said and done towards people. While I've never bullied someone and would never even think of doing so, sometimes something that you may not think would hurt someone in any way, does just that. I know I've had that happen to me before. People can be weird. One minute friendly and lovely, the next horrible and rude which Kristen shows off nicely in this novel. The main thing if anything happens, like what Noah or Chelsea go through in this as victims, to appreciate those that are around you still, like friends or family. I thought Chelsea's reaction with the vow of silence was rather...unrealistic but I think her reaction to not react outwardly is definitely the right decision in any cases be it fiction or real life.
If this is better than Saving June, I'm not sure. But Hannah Harrington can sure write some incredibly, thought-provoking contemporary.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and HarlequinTeen for letting me read and review this book!

Author's Website: http://www.hannahharrington.com/
Pages: 288
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Challenges: None

Related Posts:
Review: Saving June

Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver (#2)

*There may be some spoilers for the first book in the series, Delirium (here's my review for that)*

I started this a little apprehensiveness to say the least. While I liked Delirium and definitely wanted to find out what would happen next for Lena after THAT ending, it wasn't the best or memorable book I had ever read. So I thought PANDEMONIUM would be the same, honestly.
I found out a couple of months ago about the Lauren Oliver signing (more about that next week!) and having not read this, yet been given a copy by a friend, I thought it would be time to read this as the signing was for the third and final book in the series.
BOY THIS MADE UP FOR WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE IN DELIRIUM. (Get used to the CAPS by the way...)

Synopsis: After escaping Portland with Alex, Lena, alone, finds her way through the Wilds to a group of people, just like her. Fighting against the society she is forced to live within, escaping the cure that will prevent her from love. While she joins the resistance against the enforced regime, without Alex, she finds herself drifting towards a new love - someone that represents everything she is against.

Review: PANDEMONIUM is quite something. Since I started the Delirium series, I have read Lauren Oliver's other novel, Before I Fall (review) and it is now being made into a TV show with Emma Roberts playing Lena. So starting PANDEMONIUM with that already hinted to me there must be something spectacular about this book that has sparked so much interest.

PANDEMONIUM is narrated through Lena's eyes again but this time, in two different time zones, Now and Then. Then begins immediately after the ending of Delirum and shows an interesting side to Lena in coping with the loss of Alex while fitting in with her tough surroundings. It's fair to say she sticks out a bit at first. Now, which were my favourite parts of the book, details Lena's life as she goes to live in New York City undercover for the resistance along with new characters, Raven and Tack. I loved seeing a new and stronger Lena which let me know that despite the narration in Then, I knew she would be okay in the end. It was interesting having the contrast in characters actually that I think made it much more interesting than if it had been a linear structure.

In the Now parts, we are introduced to Julian. Julian is probably the epiphany of what Lena is against. Being a symbol of the younger generation, he is a part of the DFA (deliria-free America) who fight to cure the whole country of love. He isn't exactly your typical hero, I felt like he was a character I shouldn't like at the beginning but as the narrative progresses, you realise that he is merely following orders from a threatening father, it's something to hide his true beliefs. I actually preferred Julian to Alex. He seemed much more natural and I liked the slow progression of feeling between Lena and Julian who are kind of thrown together unwillingly. Their relationship is unique in that sense and the way everything just kind of happens felt much more realistic in my eyes.


Although normally I'm not a huge fan of poetry or lyrical language, I actually liked the way Oliver does this in PANDEMONIUM. I came to love the mixture of prose, speech and lyrical language that made this a lovely and enjoyable read. It makes it much more imaginative in my head, I feel like I am there, with Lena, among protesters or free in the Wilds. It was done so much better than in Delirium for me.
The concept was really the thing that got me to read this series. And while that is still there and developed further slightly, it isn't as 'Wow this is such a good idea!' than previously. However, I think that kind of suits where Lauren Oliver wanted PANDEMONIUM to go. While she doesn't explore the basics in this society with the whole love cure thing, she replaces it by exploring the intricate network of organisations making up the society that both oppose and support the cure for love. I loved this political aspect of the novel and made it much more tense and surprising, I thought.
The aspect I think that made me not like Delirium as much is that for me, it was unrealistic. In most dystopians, like Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (review), there is always the deep feeling that the situation could happen in modern society. And in Delirium I didn't get that. I could not see love being thought as a sickness. Or the governable able to force a cure upon us. However, with a look at the different worlds within and outside the city walls, I'm not sure why but for me it made the narrative that much more believable.

On a last note, OH MY FRICKING GOD THE ENDING. I have to admit I'm one of these readers who looks at the last page as they're reading (Sorry Lauren Oliver...), normally not really understanding the context of it. But OH MY. Advice? DON'T READ THE LAST PAGE because that just ruins everything! Seriously, the biggest surprise (for me anyway). I'm not sure whether I would have seen it coming had I not known but even though I did know I was still left like 'AHHH. WHAT? LIKE...WHAT?!' To say the least, I have no idea what's going to kick off in Requiem, hopefully I approve.

Overall, PANDEMONIUM is a far cry from my opinion on Delirium, making this series really stand up and be noticed in my eyes. I loved the way Oliver chose to narrate it, the settings, the new characters and what it focuses on which makes this book as good as my favourite dystopian novels. I loved PANDEMONIUM, bring on Requiem!

I give it a 5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/
Pages: 375
Publisher: Hodder
Challenges: None

Related Posts:
Review: Before I Fall
Review: Delirium #1

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin (#1)

I've seen this book around the blogosphere often but I don't think I had ever seen it in a bookshop nor in a library. Until the other week when I discovered the Young Adult section of my local library and then, discovered this on the shelf.
I've heard lots and lots of incredible things about this book, scratch that, about this series and with THAT cover, it was a little too good to resist picking this up despite the works paranormal and supernatural being on the blurb.

Synopsis: Mara wakes up in hospital after being in a coma for 3 days with no idea how she got there. The last thing she remembers is being in an old, closed asylum with her best friend, a girl she disliked and her boyfriend. Now, her friends are dead after the building fell on top of them, yet Mara is the only one that lived. Her family move to Florida to try and get over the accident that Mara thinks was her fault. On her first day at her new school, Mara sees her dead friends, the classroom ceiling seems to fall in and she starts to see deaths before they actually happen. There's also Noah Shaw, a guy that seems very interested in Mara from their first meeting. But is that just him being interested or is there something deeper? Are the people she sees imagined or real?

Review: I'm not a supernatural/paranormal kind of gal at all. And then when Twilight came along and all those vampire love triangle spin-offs, I was put off my the genre even more.
So I started this book with that thought, which is a little judgemental I know, and I expected myself to dislike this book A LOT. But, I do not see how they can describe this as a paranormal/supernatural genre book. Okay, the whole thing at the end happens but for me, this book was more of a psychological thriller with a dash of romance.

Soon into the novel, you find out that Mara has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder with some of the symptoms are hallucinations, flashbacks and nightmares, all of which feature for Mara. There's this deep undertone at the back of my mind throughout whether the experiences Mara faces are merely the PSD or something more sinister - even by the end, I wasn't entirely sure what was reality or dreamt by Mara. It really makes the novel stand out with this unreliable narrator. Combined with the sarcasm Mara's voice has, she is a likable character that makes a reader really feel for what she is going through.

One of the things that made me annoyed by this novel is that throughout you have this great 'is it real or not?' question for every event that Mara goes through but then, suddenly that all stops at the end and I guess the sinister undertones become more prominent  For me, the whole psychological thriller was kind of forgotten to display a novel that is essentially supernatural. Then, it got even more confusing because more is implied rather than clearly shown (if that makes ANY sense). In a perfect world, I would have liked the thriller part to be a bit longer - like the whole novel...

I don't think Michelle Hodkin can be faulted for her characters and their relationships with Mara that she builds upon. There is every type of relationship shown - friend, enemy, brotherly, boyfriend and that's what makes this book seem more real, more believable, in my eyes. My favourite moments were the ones featuring Mara and her brothers, David and Joseph for the banter, teasing and just plain sibling love. Her friendship with Jamie, although doesn't end superbly (anyone else think he was kind of forgotten about halfway through?), is so lovely and so real that I thought HE would be love interest rather than Noah, hell, I thought there would be another love triangle rocking out. I certainly believe that the relationships felt real, felt genuine and it made this novel even more haunting.

As I mentioned boyfriend in that previous paragraph, I think it's time to talk about Noah. Ah, Noah. I wrote on a status update on Goodreads while I was reading this novel 'I think I'm falling a little bit in love with Noah' which 2 people liked it instantly. It says it all. Wow, he is quite a lovely protagonist - good-looking, bad reputation, slightly mysterious and yet the loveliest human being. It was interesting to see Mara and Noah's relationship evolve from hatred and annoyance to something really lovely and endearing. Some reviewers have commented on the focus of the relationship only really being brought to the surface halfway through, but I liked this. It made the relationship and the mental stability of Mara both focused on particularly at crucial parts.

There's something I think most people dislike about this novel, be it a character, the writing, the pace or the plot. But it's clear that what makes this novel just so great is the fact that most of the time you literally have no idea what is right or wrong. There is something extremely addictive about this series, especially with the cliffhanger ending and the humour running throughout. This isn't a five star book, but it's darn close. I absolutely loved this book.
Book Two will certainly be appearing at some point this year on Rebecca-Books.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.michellehodkin.com/
Pages: 452
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Challenges: None

Bringing the Summer - Julia Green

After the craziness of Divergent and Insurgent, I decided to go with something more contemporary next, something I thought would make a nice relaxing and easy read.
I saw this book a couple of times at the library but was never sure about it, it looks too frivolous and the whole love triangle, something my friend would define as typical teen literature. But for some reason, when I was at the library the other day, I picked this up because I was interested in what the outcome would be reading the blurb. To say the least, this was completely different from what I was expecting.

Synopsis: On returning from a summer at the beautiful island of St Allia where her brother died two years previously, the train Freya is on hits a young girl killing her instantly.
Soon, she is brought into contact with a handsome and friendly Gabe who comes with a family that Freya could only dream of having herself. She visits their rural house often and embarks on a friendship with Gabe. His older brother, Theo, starts showing an interest in Freya after their initial meeting. But he is different to Gabe - dark, moody and unpredictable - forcing Freya to make difficult choices about what she really wants.

Review: A few days before I started this book, I was watching an old episode of Heartbeat (it was this soap from the 1990's set in 1960's Yorkshire about this police station in Yorkshire). In the episode, this girl had been kidnapped. Until the last few minutes, I had no idea who the kidnapper was but it turned out to be his young guy who worked at the baker that one of the policemen had talked to earlier in the episode. The guy has been a little obsessed with this girl since they were 12 years-old and she sent him a Valentines Card, he thought she was in love with him like he was with her, and she was just waiting for the right moment to tell him. He took her to this derelict house and said it would be their house to live in forever and no-one would break them apart etc until the police found them. He was pretty obsessed with her.

I started this novel with the assumption from the blurb and cover that this would be the typical, easy beach read to calm me after Insurgent and before I started The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. The novel starts with Freya on the island taking one last swim before leaving her grandfather and his wife to go home before college starts. I was thinking 'Oh love triangle set at an English college, I can deal with this'. And for the most part, the novel is true to that as we're introduced to the host of characters and Gabe' family, wondering whether Gabe does like Freya in that way...all until Theo comes into the story. Theo was an unusual character, he is troubled to say the least having been close to the girl that killed herself, he is quiet and emotionless at times while also extremely passionate about things be it literature, a place or in this case, a person - and it's here my Heartbeat anecdote comes into play. Theo reminded me of the disillusioned, obsessed guy who desperately wanted this companionship despite what the female thought or the consequences and for that, I ended up disliking Theo because of how scary he becomes.
Despite my dislike for Theo, the rest of the cast of characters were well-written and engaging especially Gabe (although I still cringe at the name).

The only other book I've read by Julia Green was Drawing With Light which I thought was okay but the writing was a little rushed and predictable. In BRINGING THE SUMMER, the writing was so vivid and imaginative that I could imagine in my head Freya hiding in a bush when they play a game, the amazing Christmas dinner scene that portrays a heart-warming and traditional Christmas lunch that I wanted to join in with. I especially loved the scenes at the Fielding house with the descriptions of the nature around Freya, the homely, old feeling of the cottage and the way Green shows the house bursting with life and actions that comes across on the page. There are a whole host of characters but thankfully, it never got confusing.
The only thing I would say about the writing was that the relationships for me didn't feel realist, they were formed too fast for my liking especially with Theo. However, considering this is a short book, the relationships did become likable by the end but initially, they didn't seem genuine or real for me as a reader.

This is a good read and I did enjoy this book by the end. It took a while for the narrative to really get going and there were many times where I was like 'No don't do that Freya!' but I was left a little stunned by the ending. The book is powerful especially in highlighting the issue that isn't seen much in literature of obsession be it romantically or not. I had to read a book, Enduring Love by Ian McEwan, last year for English about two guys that are involved in a ballooning accident and one of them becomes obsessed with the other, starts stalking him and threatening the guy's girlfriend (for the record, this would be the last book I would recommend to anyone, it's that bad) but the way obsession is shown is terribly scary but thrilling in a way. That is like BRINGING THE SUMMER where I was both annoyed and scared by Theo and the extent of which he could ruin Freya's formed life after the death of her brother. As I said earlier, this book deceives you to think it will be a light read, one of those pink and fluffy time books, but actually there is a dark and threatening undertone running throughout that dissolves way too quickly than I would have liked at the end.

This is a part sequel to Julia Green's Breathing Underwater but having not read that, I perfectly understood what was happening as I'm guessing what happened in that book is summarised throughout this one. So don't let that put you off this book. Although I sound negative, I did enjoy this book despite my surprise at finding this dark tone to the novel. It's a lovely book for amazing characters and a twisted plot line topped off with a wonderful protagonist.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.julia-green.co.uk/
Pages: 272
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Challenges: BBC

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Review: Drawing With Light by Julia Green