(Review) Darkness Watching (Darkworld, #1) - Emma L. Adams

Title: Darkness Watching (Darkworld, #1)
Author: Emma L. Adams
Genre: New Adult (Urban, Fantasy)
Format: ebook
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date Published: October 10, 2013

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

Summary (from Goodreads)

Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.
Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.
All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons never give up, and their focus on Ash has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.
In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...

Review:

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Darkness Watching is the first book in the Darkworld series, a story about a girl who is haunted by spirits and demons who are after something that's important to her. She feels eyes staring back at her, communicating with her at times.

Being a freshman, Ash is determined to start anew with her new independent life at Blackstone but the demons continue to haunt her. She encounters people who have a similarity to her which leads to the revelation of the existence of the Darkworld to her. I love how she maintains the realism in the story by not violently and completely discounting the paranormal aspect of her life, especially since the truth is literally staring her in the eyes. She remains level-headed throughout the whole ordeal which for me makes her a really good story heroine. There were a lot of twists and bumps in the story, but not too much that it would've felt suffocating. I'm not sure if the university life portrayed in the book is consistent with reality, but the point is that it worked for the story and helped it progress.

The story began a little sluggishly for me, although afterwards i was rewarded with really good world-building.  The story dipped a little bit on the romance, although not completely, which is something that I really liked. Not everything has to have romance for a story to be this engaging.

The Venantium got me a little confused in some parts but I think the world-building that was necessary for the story to move was done really well and I'm actually glad that most of the Venantium is kept vague. It would've been too much too early if that part of the plot wasn't kept behind a veil of smoke.

To finish off, the story was very engaging and the mid-fantasy aspect of it was done really well. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm really looking forward to the next instalment of the series.

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

About The Author (Official Website | Twitter | Goodreads Author Page)

Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy and paranormal novels for young adults.
She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also wrote various novels and short stories. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).
Now a reluctant graduate, Emma can usually be found in front of her writing desk. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes urban fantasy/supernatural novels for older teens and adults. She is currently working on several projects, including the planned 5-book upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series. The first novel, Darkness Watching, was published in 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.

(Review) Perfect Opposite - Zoya Tessi

Title: Perfect Opposite
Author: Zoya Tessi
Format: finished copy, epub
Genre: New Adult (Contemporary, Romance)
Pages: 263 pages
Date Published: January 1, 2014
Amazon 

Summary (from Goodreads)

Their wishes were simple and modest. Fate had other things in store though, and she can be a real bitch sometimes.

All he wanted was to get the job done and somehow to endure those long months playing nanny to a spoiled little rich girl. Without strangling her with his bare hands in the process. Well, it is going to be much easier said than done.

- All she wanted was to escape the past and live like any other nineteen-year-old girl. Her plan definitely didn’t include the arrogant, tattooed savage, with his awful mohawk hair and lack of social graces, whose only mission was to stick real close and mess up her life.

But, people aren't always what they seem to be, are they?

Review: 

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The moment I read through the first chapter I had my doubts whether I would like the story or not. Sasha came off as a little brat to me at first, but that was before I really understood the gravity of her situation. At a young age, Sasha has been exposed to the dark underbelly of the arms and weapons world all thanks to his father who happens to be a big arms dealer. Let's not even go to the reason why she gets panic attacks during thunderstorms. After learning of this, I really started to get attached to her. I can only imagine how difficult it was to just desperately get away from it all and still try to keep as much sanity and normality as possible. 

Then in comes Alex, an enigmatic personality who was tasked to be Sasha's bodyguard/nanny after some complications with her father's job happened. At this point, i thought "Wow this would be incredibly cliche if they started to hate each other to the bone" and then I realized, so what if it was cliche? If I was enjoying what was left of my freedom one day and then all of a sudden my absentee father tells me I have to walk around with a stranger, i'd be fuming mad too. 

Overall, the story had it's ups and downs but I thoroughly enjoyed the story so much I overlooked and forgot so many things that I wanted to nitpick. It had everything a good chick lit had. I loved the humor, especially the match of wits between Sasha and Alex. Some of their matches had me in fits! It had the appropriate amount of drama and romance to really reel you in to the story.

One thing I cannot overlook though is the somewhat broken moral compass that Sasha seems to have when it came to dating. For some reason, it was easier for her to forgive what Alex has done but cannot even give Tyler a break? Cheating of course is completely unforgivable and perhaps it's more on the line of Tyler's approach towards the issue but I figured lying about your identity and hiding out for months and making people think you are dead is also up on the scale of "unforgivable" things. I guess in the end, Sasha really did love Alex. Love makes you do things you never expected of yourself. I really love the anecdotes the characters express in the story. It gave them more depth and personality, another dimension to them rather than just two dimensional characters. 

Another thing is that as much as I loved the world-building, I couldn't tell where the story is set. Other than that, I really loved the story. It's a fun, romantic read to dip your feet into and I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from Zoya Tessi. 

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Happiness: The Art of Living with Peace, Confidence and Joy - Douglas A. Smith

Title: Happiness: The Art of Living with Peace, Confidence and Joy
Author: Douglas A. Smith
Format: finished copy, ebook
Publisher: White Pine Mountain
Date Published: January 2, 2014
Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

In the midst of a successful business career, Doug Smith received life-altering news that set him on an entirely new journey to understand what leads to truly joyful, meaningful living—in other words, what leads to happiness. Through research and study, he began to understand that what the most joyful among us have in common is that they remember the past with peace, anticipate the future with confidence, and live in the present with joy and exuberance. Additionally, he discovered that what gives them this perspective is a set of skills that they consistently, even if subconsciously, practice. He also realized that he is not particularly good at several of these skills. In Happiness: The Art of Living With Peace, Confidence and Joy, the author recounts, with insight and humor, his journey to better understand and practice the skills of happiness with the goal of helping others on their own path to joyful, meaningful living.

Review:

I received this book for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

To be quite honest, this isn't the kind of book that I would read on a regular day but it arrived at such an opportune time in my life that I saw it as a gift to just read it. Having just recently found out that I have chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (a blood disorder, although not as deadly), I easily connected with the author's situation. I found myself somehow headed towards an emotional downward spiral that has started to affect my relationships with people. 

Dealing with unhappiness has always been a struggle for me, and this book has superbly outlines the things I needed to know about how to be content with what I have. There really is a big difference with having things outlined, the way the author has done so exquisitely, eloquently and personally.

Suffice to say I learned a lot, not just with ways on how to pursue happiness but also in taking care of other aspects of my life. What I love most about the book was the way the skills set were summarized at the end. It is a clear way of understanding and accepting which areas I am immensely lacking at and areas that need a little working with. The sketches also complement the words really well and provide a more personal feel of the book. I can already tell that the book has made a positive impact on my thinking.

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Dissever - Tracey Ward

Title: Dissever
Author: Tracey Ward
Format: ebook

Pages: 276 pages
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy, Romance)
Date of Publication: February 8, 2014

Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

I have ever and always been perfectly and soundly in love with Ro.

Annabel Lee is growing up in the court of a hidden kingdom, one shrouded from the wars that ravish the outside world. Her father is cruel, her mother is kind and her heart now and always belongs to her greatest friend, Roarke. But he's an Outsider, an unwanted on the island, his people's existence the product of a horrible night over a hundred years ago. A night when an age old treaty was broken. When the sky rained fire and the sea raged deadly.

When tragedy strikes and a horrible accident leaves her friend broken and scarred, Anna begins to wonder if the "safety" of this hidden island is worth the price they pay. A price she herself is now expected to pay in full.

Can she save herself and an island that doesn't want saving? To even try, she'll have to fight fate, defy the gods and seek the help of an Outsider. Of the love she cannot have. The one she will not live without.

Review: 

I received this book from the author for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

Dissever is a story derived from a famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe called Annabel Lee. There's countless YA being based around actual myths and other fairy tales so it was a little refreshing to read something so detailed that's based from a poem. Anna, was to be an unwilling victim to a sacrifice that would either make or break her land. Anna's father sees her as nothing more than a commodity, a piece he intends to play with as much as he wants if it could get him anything. It's because of this sort of treatment from her very own father that Anna has grown to be a feisty woman who learned to stand on her own two feet. She quickly learns how to play the game that her father is forcing her to play in. 

Her story really begins upon her meeting with an Outsider, a boy named Roarke who she would fall in love with even if it meant going against everything she believed she must do. Despite their differences I loved how well-rounded the cast of characters were, and the way they have matured as the story progressed shows a lot of skill in a writer - to be able to show a human side in a highly fantasy setting.

Despite being based on a poem, Dissever has it's own set of culture and religion that is richly documented in the story, an aspect of it that I love. Towards the end, we see how the pieces of information that are given interact with each other and once again it left me in awe at how one can accomplish such depth in just a couple of pages. 

I loved the rather intimate wedding ceremony with Roarke and Anna. It was a symbol of Anna's independence from her duties as a sacrifice, something she did entirely for herself and the fact that it was so intimate really brought it closer to my heart. The other characters played equal parts of the story for me, no one really was above the other, perhaps with the exception of Anna's father who I will forever see as the epitome of greed and selfishness, 

All in all, this book was particularly moving I couldn't help but read at a much slower pace than I normally would. This book, its richly-coloured culture, religion, ideologies all expertly intertwined in the story, is more than just Roarke and Anna's love story. To me, it almost represented something very real in the world, which is the occasional human incapacity for tolerance and understanding when a complex situation is right in front of us. Everything that I read in the book demanded to be felt and I loved every second of it. It is a good book to dip your fit into an non-conventional magical romance, and it certainly made me look forward to reading more of Tracey Wards works. 

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Anything To Have You - Paige Harbison

Title: Anything To Have You
Author: Paige Harbison
Format: ebook, finished copy
Pages: 304 pages
Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary, Romance)
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Date Published: January 28th, 2014

Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads)

Nothing should come between best friends, not even boys. ESPECIALLY not boys.

Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie--the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be. Then it happens--one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.

Review: 

This is my first time reading a book by Paige Harbison, and I must say I really liked the path that Anything To Have You has taken. I can't really tell for certain if the issues presented in the story itself is anywhere a realistic representative of reality but it was nonetheless engaging.

Natalie, one of our protagonists, is a goody-two-shoes who hasn't quite figured out what she wants after high school. This I find almost completely unrealistic since she has quite a solid taste in dress and music. As far as I know, those kind of people have an inkling of what they want to do in life. Then there's Brooke, our resident IT Girl. I really rooted for her in the beginning but as the story progressed, I felt myself detach from her. She started to feel and look very selfish, and perhaps that's what the author intended to do and in a really unpretentious, unhinged way. 

Aiden and Eric, as commendable as these characters are (as far as boys in contemporary young adult go), I really didn't feel any emotional impact from them towards our female leads. Aiden was the cool, almost detached guy while Eric was reserved to be almost like the backup guy which was left me a bit disappointed. 

I think the most admirable character of all was Natalie's dad. His composure could only be the fruit of years of going over whatever happened with Natalie's mother. His maturity over Natalie's pregnancy was outstanding, almost unrealistic but I have to say it is what I would've hoped would happen in reality. 

Natalie's pregnancy and Brooke's downward spiral was a good method to show their character's degeneration. I still can't believe how Brooke tried to justify her actions. It was despicable and really low, considering how low and unimportant Aiden seemed to her and still acted like the world owed her everything she thought she deserved. Her relationship with Reed in the end wasn't healthy for her, and as much as his speech towards the end seemed very heartfelt, I didn;t think it gave enough impact. It seemed like a sad excuse for Brooke. But hey at least it worked.

In the end, they all got their happy end, or almost, and I certainly loved every second of it. 

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) The Selection (The Selection, #1) - Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection (The Selection, #1)

Author: Kiera Cass

Format: ebook

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: Young Adult (Dystopia)

Publisher: HarperTeen

Date Published: April 24th, 2012

Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads)

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Review:

When I first read the summary to this book, I expected it to be something similar to The Hunger Games but more into cattiness instead of actual brutality...and I wasn't wrong. The Selection began a little slow for me, but for some reason that took fed the girly girl in me and I started to like America the more she interacts with Maxon.

The whole concept does seem a little weak compared to other book series' but that's what I find charming about it. It's not pretentious in it being a princess competition, with an added layer of political turmoil on top. I like the fact that the book focuses on the inner issues that the Selection girls are going through instead of the general political issues. We see two sides of the coin, with America championing the "poor" and Maxon representing the privileged. It was nice to see them interact with each other with very few hitches. The whole "we're two different so we can't be decent with each other and get along at all" is starting to get old with these young adult romances. 

It's set in a fantasy world, an alternate reality where China invaded the US, but it's still somehow realistic in the issues that the characters tackle. There's the castes, pageantry hoopla, the complexities of "reality shows", all presented in a realistic plate. 

The characters represent different personalities that one might encounter in an actual pageant, but what struck me the most was Prince Maxon. His personality was genuine and regal, almost too perfect except for certain times when he loses his cool and that just adds more to his realism. Aspen and America breaking up seemed a little underwhelming, and then having to hear that America's suspicions were wrong was a little frustrating but I stand by her decision in the end. She's not just doing this for her family, but also for herself and the best thing she can do is to see herself through it. 

I'm really excited to read the second book, and i'm hyping myself up for The One. The whole concept seems a little unconventional as far as dytopic/fantasy Young Adult books go but I guess that's what I like about this series. 

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚ 

(Review) Fine-Tuning Hanna - Tiina Walsh

Title: Fine-Tuning Hanna
Author: Tiina Walsh
Format: Finished Copy
Pages: 377 pages
Source: Author / Smashwords

Genre: Chick Lit (Romance)
Publisher: Createspace

Date Published: Oct. 30, 2013

Amazon | Smashwords

Summary (from Goodreads)

Would saying the magic words 'I love you' in time have stopped it all going so wrong for Hanna? Or was some other power at play? Finnish piano-tuner Hanna Suvanto loves her new life and friends in Dublin. And the icing on the cake is meeting Ireland's premium bachelor, the personal development guru, Sebastian O'Reilly. But their whirlwind romance hits a serious obstacle when Hanna's stay is unexpectedly cut short. Sebastian seems strangely unconcerned about her departure - and then Hanna makes a shocking discovery about the man she thought she knew. Heartbroken and disillusioned with love, she returns to Finland, resolving to rebuild her life. Back in Ireland, Sebastian can't get Hanna out of his mind. Surely there is more to her abrupt departure than meets the eye?

Review:

I ran out of luck with winning this book as a giveaway, but the author was super kind to give me a copy as a Valentines gift of sorts. I didn't receive any compensation for this book, I'm really glad for this opportunity because I rarely read outside of Young Adult and this book did not disappoint me.  

I'll just dive straight into the things that I'm crazy about this book. First off, it's not your run of the mill romance chick lit. Our main character, Hanna, is a successful piano-tuner of Finnish descent who's life path somehow crosses with the dashing Sebastian O'Reilly. When I say it's not your run of the mill chick lit, I really do mean it. The dimensions of the characters, their conversations and thought processes aren't in any way predictable or traditional. Even some of the issues that the book delves into weren't just highly-glossed realities but actual cases that people go through. I am really impressed with the multitude of issues I have been subjected to while reading this book, and to think that these are all possible realities many women go through every day is a feeling that I rarely encounter. 

Speaking of writing, the emotions were captured really well with carefully-crafted words that I couldn't help but just feel for Hanna and her plight. The considerable about of jargon used (both for the piano-tuning and the motivational aspects) were enough to let me know this is one author who knows what she's writing about. The use of Finnish and Celtic language and culture in some parts were spot-on, and did not give off any cloud of pretentiousness. If anything, it added a new layer of authenticity to the book. 

Lastly, what attracted me the most was the cover. It's not tacky as I would've expected many chick lit titles to have, and really captured Hanna's personality to the tee. All in all, this is one great book I wouldn't mind keeping at the top of the re-read stack. 

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Alienated (Alienated, #1) - Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated (Alienated #1)
Author: Melissa Landers
Format: kindle
Pages: 352 pages
ASIN: B00GSZHYIW
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Date Published: Feb. 4, 2014

Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads)

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Review:

When i read that Jennifer L. Armentrout had some nice things to say about Alienated, I knew I had to check it out. I've been hearing about similar it is to her Lux series, but to be quite honest the similarities end with the aliens. 

Alienated is a debut novel by Melissa Landers, which follows the story of Cara who is poised to be the student host of an alien (L’eihr) exchange student named Aelyx (A-licks, as Cara states). Aelyx and 2 others are going to be attending high school on earth for some months to study the earth's biology and to hopefully foster an alliance between the two species. Things start to turn bad when we finally get hints of their true intentions. 

All in all, it was still a fun read but the emotional investment wasn't there, or at least it wasn't that deep enough for me. I like being able to relate to the heroine. Aelyx' character was beyond fun, though, and the way he interacted with humans in the beginning was quite interesting. 

Then we get to the point where Aelyx and Cara get pretty deep into each other and that was an intense and rather non-traditionally intimate scene. I like how they didn't hate each other in the beginning, because that is starting to get annoyingly cliche with alien novels. They were just decent with each other and both were more or less open with each other and that fostered a good relationship. It didn't just show one aspect of the human paranoia that makes us shun things we don't understand, but it also shows that in a non-human ways. 

In the end, the book ends in a rather good but also sad note. It's a big cliffhanger and I'm already really excited to read what happens next. 

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe) - Rosamund Hodge

Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Format: ebook
Pages: 352 pages

ISBN: 9780062224750
Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Date Published: January 28, 2014
Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads)

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Review:

In a word, Cruel Beauty can be described as beautiful. It was a wonderful read. I have enjoyed every word in this book. Beautifully crafted and imagined, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is one of my favourite debuts.

It follows the story of Nyx Triskelion and her mission to save her world of Arcadia from a Gentle Lord that has managed to put it in a state of darkness. What I expected to be straightforward fighting and thrill in her quest turned out to be an inward look in not only Nyx' but pretty much everyone in the book. We see her as an obedient daughter who was thrust into this mission at a young age, trying very hard to quell her heart's own malice for the sake of a bigger purpose. Her descent into her own mind was quite entertaining. Trying to juggle her own interests against the interests of the people in general until she must chose one to serve. While I do not think she is full of hatred, I feel like all the responsibility was inappropriate put on her by people who didn't care about what she wanted for herself.

As a retelling, Cruel Beauty is a pearl among the oysters. It mixes so many aspects of well known fairytales and myths and somehow it all worked for me. It's rich in detail and I think that's one aspect of the book that drew me in. The dynamics of the relationship between Nyx and Ignifex was fantastic. They both like to play with each other's wits without completely damaging each other.

Character-wise, Astraia was a huge disappointment. Her involvement was next to none, other than managing to tick me off with her "perfectness" all while Nyx has to suffer for her. And she has the gall to tell Nyx that she won't be forgiven if she didn't kill the one person that has shown her an ounce of affection and love and worth. I'm glad Nyx found her own happiness through her own way in the end.

I didn't want to think this book is a stand alone. It's too beautiful and I feel very attached to it. I'm very sure it'll find it's way back into my rereading stack.

Rating:  ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) The Fault In Our Starts - John Green

Title: The Fault In Our Starts
Author: - John Green
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 316 pages
ISBN: 9780525426004
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: January 23rd 2012

Summary (from Goodreads)

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Review:

There was a point wherein every other post I saw on my Tumblr dashboard was how amazing and great John Green is, and how the tumblr world revelled in the release of his book The Fault In Our Stars. At this point, I was still very much into Paranormal Fantasy and wouldn't dare pick up a contemporary YA title but I gave in. Peer pressure? Perhaps. Curiosity? You bet. 

I read the book in one sitting, mainly because I knew that I wouldn't dare crack it open again unless some miraculous push happened to me. What I thought, initially, was that it gave an unrealistic portrayal of teenagers suffering with cancer. Hazel was thirteen when she knew she was not going to be living her life like the rest of the teens her age, but instead John Green chose to write her down as a mature and somewhat fearless and calm teenage girl who, aside from that one bout of fight with her mother, was somewhat passive and calm throughout the story. I still think it's highly unlikely that that would be the case with actual cancer patients. Cancer is scary, and scary things make teenagers feel fear. 

I think Augustus came off closer to human nature than Hazel did. He showed and shared his fear of oblivion to people, and faced his issues the best way he could've. For this reason, I think Augustus was the better character. His numerous flaws made him lovable. In a way, he opened up Hazel's shell and showed her that there was more to her life than her college classes to make her feel normal, TV show marathons, dragging her breathing equipment and showing up at support group meetings. 

There were also numerous really tacky scenes in the book that I thought were a little silly. For example, the kiss at the Anne Frank house. Even my boyfriend thought it was a little silly but I guess if it goes, it goes. 

I've recommended this book to my boyfriend, who, as far as I know, also enjoyed this book as much as I did. We are going to watch the movie that is coming out soon. Here's the link to the trailer if anyone is interested.

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Bang (Visions, #2) - Lisa McMann

Title: Bang (Visions, #2)

Author: Lisa McMann

Format: ebook

Pages: 256 pages

ISBN:9781442466258

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Date Published: October 8, 2013

Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads)

Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent.

Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. All he can tell her is there’s a gun, and eleven ear-splitting shots. Bang.

Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…

Review:

Let me just start off by saying that I am totally in love with Lisa McMann and the Visions series. It's perfect. I love how the book is full of thrills, action, romance and comedy. Not one aspect outshine the other, they all mix in this perfect goo of Young Adult goodness. 

The book starts off right where the first book of the series, Crash, left. Jules and Sawyer are in love and are in trouble because right after Jules managed to save all those people in Sawyer's family restaurant, Sawyer is now the one getting the odd visions. Now she has to help him save all those people in his vision, keep his paranoid father out their trail while juggling school and relationship! WOW. That's a lot of things to do for someone who just broke their arm. 

The character dynamics have changed a bit this time, mainly I don't see much talk of the Angotti's aside from the occasional outbursts from Sawyer and when his grandfather beats him up. But just like he said, he's not afraid anymore and it's about time he stops being passive about something as serious as this. Honestly, I don't think it's just some stupid sauce that caused this giant family feud that crosses generational lines. I bet it has a lot to do with the visions Jules and Sawyer are getting. I'm glad Jules finally confronted her dad about him being paranoid and hypocritical talk about loyalty and trust when he had an affair with "the other side". I'm really glad she got that out of the system. 

So when they finally figure out what's going to happen, they had to act pretty quick. In the end, nobody died (which is a great, awesome thing!) but Trey and some others got injured in the process. Sawyer seems to think he didn't do enough but seriously, the kid just saved 12 lives and I think that's a great feat. The whole reason why the school shooting even happened in the first place made my stomach hurt. Even Rowan got to meet her boyfriend in New York and it didn't seem like she got into much trouble, what with Trey getting all the attention. I hope we'd hear more about her in the next book....which comes out in June. Oh the wait is going to be torture!

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) - Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Format: Paper Back, International Edition

Pages: 455 pages

ISBN: 978-0-06-222386-9

Publisher: HarperTeen

Date Published: February 28th 2012 

Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads)

I’m pushing aside
the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

Review:

Pandemonium was everything I expected after Delirium. It was a really enjoyable read and now I just felt like I got drunk in the wonderful story that Lauren Oliver has weaved for this series. There was something exquisite in her writing, something simplistic and full emotion that I feel really suits the theme of the story. The whole book is told in split timelines, alternating between the then and now which I think was a really cool way to juxtapose the old Lena who was afraid and in pain for her loss of Alex and the new Lena who is determined to set things right. I like reading how much she has improved. 

The events in Pandemonium follows shortly after Lena's escape into the wilds, after being found and saved by Raven and joining the resistance of Invalids. I love how the book opens up a bigger chapter in the story, and not just two teenagers fighting for their love against a love-oppressive organization that's hellbent to turning everyone into machines that feel nothing. The addition of characters such as Raven and Julian also provided more room for exploration. 

There was a point where I disliked Raven's character, especially the way she hid their intentions towards Lena when she had every right to know. I didn't see the point in hiding the plan from her, especially when she had to fend off for herself and take care of Julian.

Speaking of Julian, i felt like the romance between him and Lena was a little forced. It was a little sudden but I'm just gonna bandwagon that into Lena trying to shove something inside the emptiness that Alex left her with. I can't blame her. Deliria is a debilitating disease after all. 

I never really doubted that Alex was dead, and his abrupt appearance towards the end came as a non-shocker to me but I enjoyed it nonetheless. What i do not enjoy is the cliffhanger that this book has put me now.

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Delirium (Delirium, #1) - Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium (Delirium, #1)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780061726835
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: February 7th 2012

Summary (from Goodreads)

Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

Review:

Interesting concept but I felt like the whole "love is a disease" immediately just jumped to "love is a crime" and there wasn't any back story in the whole novel that provided any insight. Aside from snippets of fictional references to books that talk about the deliria, there wasn't anything concrete explanation on how did this kind of thinking escalate?

I think the use of such medium (fictional references to explain more things) was very good, but many of them fell empty and flat for me. Lauren Oliver does have a knack for putting the right words together to create a good atmosphere and I definitely enjoyed the rich detail she provided. It worked really well with the whole story, considering what they're trying to kill here is the ability to feel love and affection to anything. 

Character-wise, I am particularly happy at Lena's growth from being very scared and dependent to what she's been fed to someone who can finally see the other side of the story. There's a good enough pool of characters that provided really good momentum to the story, and i feel like her friendship with Hana is purposely dragged out for use in the next installment. I can just feel it. She has a lot more room for improvement as a main character but it's been good so far. I only wish it didn't end so abruptly for Alex. I'm dying to read what happens next.

I'm reading Pandemonium as soon as I can and I only wish Lauren Oliver would provide more background to it. As i've said, it's very very interesting and has a lot of potential.

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Enders (Starters, #2) - Lissa Price

Title: Enders
Author: Lissa Price
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780385742498
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Date Published: January 7th 2014

Summary (from Goodreads)

With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters".

Review:

ASDFLGHKSAKJ I am so glad I bought Starters and Enders together so I wouldn't have to sit and wait in anticipation until I can grab my hands on it. This book was so exciting the lack of proper lighting didn't even stop me from reading! Lissa Price is a genius and Starters has to be one of my favourite dystopia book in recent history.

The second book, Enders, starts a couple of weeks after the end of Starters and that's when things start to get more messy. The chip in Callie's neck somehow allows some bad guy to infiltrate her own body. It's a little creepy, and many parts of the book made me want to throw it to the opposite side of the room in frustration but it was just so good and so suspenseful to put down. I think the most frustrating part was the ones where the people who you root for are being pushed to the edge and there's nothing you can do but watch the bad guys be at the top. Lissa Price has a knack for writing in a way that would push you to the edge of your seat and take you on a rollercoaster ride. I can't wait to read what's next in this series!

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Starters (Starters, #1) - Lissa Price

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780385742375
Publisher: Ember
Date Published: July 23rd 2013

Summary (from Goodreads)

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER
Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.
He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Review:

I am sooooo glad I picked up this series. It's so exciting and such a page turner! Starters is an action-packed book that's a great mix of Maximum Ride and The Hunger Games. The world painted by Lissa Price is vividly futuristic. The beginning of the story was a bit of a drag for me, but I guess it was just a catapult to all the action that happened in the future pages.

The main character, Callie, joins a body bank that uses some very futuristic technology that allows rich Enders to rent a young Starter body. The whole process at first seemed a little light but as the story progressed I could feel it starting to become bigger than just Callie and her gang. The more chapters I've read, the more questions popped up. The whole array of characters were adequately described and used throughout the story and the whole "possession" thing wasn't so confusing. It was actually fun to guess who might be inside a Starter's body.

There wasn't so much background to the Spore Wars in the first book, but it was enough to keep the story anchored to the ground. I was very excited that I ripped open the second book in the series and start reading immediately. Lissa Price is a talented and imaginative storyteller. The quote from Dean Koontz was enough to draw me in and I wasn't wrong. This series is a must-watch.

Rating: ♚♚♚♚♚

(Review) Crash (Visions, #1) - Lisa McMann

Title: Crash
Author: Lisa McMann
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0591-2
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Date Published: January 8, 2013

Summary (from Goodreads)

If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first in a series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.
Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.
What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode…and nine body bags in the snow.
The vision is everywhere; on billboards, television screens, windows; and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

Review:

The cover initially drew me in to purchasing this book. To be completely honest, I couldn’t completely immerse myself in the story at first. How Jules seemed to just admit that she was in love with the son of her family rival happened so suddenly to me, perhaps it was because of the directness of the writing. It took me a while to get past it and I’m glad I didn’t put this book down. It’s got to be one of my favourite first books in a series. Sawyer and Jules were adorable together, and I got very excited towards the end when Sawyer and Jules finally got together.

The action was engaging but not over the top and the style was befitting of Jules’ personality. Even her siblings are so fun to read about. Rowan is a lovely sibling while Trey was funny and very loving. Her parents….not so much. Her dad may not feel like he’s hurting anyone but his hoarding and the complete lack of explanation about his odd behaviour in the beginning of the story confused me a lot. I’m glad it was explained towards the end but that just opened up even more questions in my head. Sawyer getting the visions is giving the thrills! I can’t wait to get the second book and hopefully learn more answers.

Lisa McMann is a fabulous writer, that I can say much.

Rating:♚♚♚♚♚