Review: Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Title: Half a King
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Published Date: July 3rd 2014
My Rating: 5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads:

“I swore an oath to be avenged on the killers of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath”

Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.

The deceived will become the deceiver

Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.

The betrayed will become the betrayer

Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.

Will the usurped become the usurper?

But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy...
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Having been stuck in a reading slump for over 2 weeks I was starting to get really frustrated, constantly picking up and putting down books, none of which enticing me back into the world of reading. Then this beauty appeared on my doorstep (courtesy of my amazing friend Kat! you are the best <3) and everything changed. I couldn't decide between 4.5 and 5 stars so I just went with the higher one because really it deserves it. Let me try and explain why without giving away any spoilers.

The world created by Abercrombie in this book is of the low fantasy variety I would say, in that there is no magic and there are no dragons or supernatural beings and the world itself is relatively straight forward. Put that way, this book is more adventure than fantasy but the Kings and Gods etc mean it’s classed as a fantasy. It might seem simple, but one thing I can really really appreciate is simple done well. Sure, it wasn't a high epic fantasy, but it was so addictive, so captivating that I couldn't bring myself to put it down. There are a couple of different countries and lands but it’s all relatively easy to understand and remember, and the map at the beginning helps a lot. This makes me feel that this book would be the perfect place for people to start with fantasy, because it’s amazing but not confusing in the slightest. A total beginners dream!

The plot of this book was one I found myself deeply invested in. When Yarvi hears of his father and brother's murder, he vows to have his vengeance and make those responsible pay. It seems a ridiculous vow to make in the beginning and an impossible one for our MC, but the road this story takes makes you really route for him, and as we follow him to the various corners of this world and we meet new characters and face new threats, you can't help but really want to see him succeed! There were all sorts of twists you didn't see coming and the action is excellent. Not to mention the gore!

The writing in this book is quite possibly my favourite thing. The writing flows so well, and is so poetical it's practically entrancing. The tone and speed weren't jarring and really submerged you into the story, and the way it comes full circle with the same sentence and a different meaning is just beautiful. I am genuinely in love with Abercrombie's writing and I'm adding his other series to my TBR just for that reason. I can't get enough of that writing!

Finally I want to talk about the characters. Yarvi himself is such an interesting, unique main character. Having a half deformed hand he is shunned and denied by his father who finds him an embarrassment (much like Tyrion Lannister!). This makes him hate himself in the beginning, and the levels of self pity could drown me but thankfully he grows with the story. In fact, having finished, I can now appreciate his lowest level of self esteem at the beginning and admire him more for his growth. For someone who wanted nothing to do with monarchy politics and just wanted to study and be a minister, he was remarkable in his adventure, and yet true to his little academic heart. During Yarvi's travel and search for vengeance, we meet a variety of characters, some more vital than others. And even though the seemingly less important characters only stay with us briefly, they're written so well that you don't forget about them. There are 5 main characters that Yarvi meets on his adventure and they are without a doubt my favourite characters. They are each so unique and different from one another, and yet they're all equally brilliant and memorable. I loved reading about each and every one of them. I won't tell you any more about them because I feel it would be best you learnt about them yourself. Yarvi’s mother is also a very interesting character and just reminds me of Cersei Lannister, all be it a slightly less insane/evil version.

All in all, this book was pretty amazing and I absolutely can't wait for the next book in the trilogy to come out. February feels so far away! Far enough that you have no excuse not to pick this up and read it before then, because trust me when I say you want to be with this series from the beginning.

Where Have I Been?!

Hey Friends!

As you may have realized I've been away for a while. Life kind of just happened and I couldn't find the time to review books properly. I was barely finding the time to read them! Thankfully life is much calmer now though and I am back on this blogging band wagon! I have missed it more than I realized I would. Look out for more posts to come! And thanks to those of yo who've stuck around :D

Your friend,
Sara Book Lover x

Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Title: Red Rising
Author: Pierce Brown
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published Date: September 25th 2014
My Rating: 5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads:

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow-- and Reds like him-- are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity' s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society' s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
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Before I start gushing about all the positives this book has to offer, let me start by explaining what it's about in as simple a way as I can;

Kick ass guy + shit circumstances + an awesome chance = amazing action + death + deceit + and... you get the picture already.

Darrow is a Red. The Reds live beneath the surface of Mars, where they work the incredibly tough and dangerous job of mining, for the sake of making Mars' surface habitable for the rest of humanity back on the dying planet of Earth. They do so under the rule of the Golds, who oversee their work and maintain the discipline. Under some terrible circumstances, Darrow discovers that his whole life he has been lied to; that the Golds have already inhabited Mars and live above them in an abundance of wealth and comfort whilst he and his people are essentially exploited for slave labour. Given a crazy opportunity,  Darrow goes under cover and disguises himself as a Gold, and he is hell bent on making them pay.

There are so many amazing positives about this book that I'm not sure where to start.  There is also just one piece of constructive criticism that I'd like to share too. Since the writing was so fundamental in making this book as great as it is, let's talk about that first. If you've looked up Red Rising on goodreads, then chances are you'll have seen plenty of people gushing about the writing, and for good reason. The writing in this book is so beyond the standard YA writing. It is clever, beautiful, and purposeful. There is not a single line that is written without thought and purpose. Each sentence seems to have double meaning, and reading between the lines is par for the course in this book. If you like that kind of writing, the kind that is generally only found in fantasy books (high fantasy specifically) then you will most definitely love this book.

The second brilliant thing I want to talk about is the world building. Whilst most dystopians require some level of world building, they usually take place on Earth where the bare bones of the world are essentially the same. In this case however, we've travelled across the solar system and landed on Mars. This world needs so badly to be built well, and Brown does not disappoint. It may feel a little overwhelming at first, what with all the new terminology, but it doesn't take long for the reader to become accustomed to it, and that is when the world building really shines. There is SO much detail crammed into this tiny book, it just blows my mind. I loved the image Brown paints in the readers mind; the actual planet, what it looks like beneath the surface, on the surface and what the surface looks like for those beneath. The different 'coloured' people and their place in society. The Reds in their slave position actually have red hair and red eyes, the Golds with their gold hair and gold eyes sit atop the social pyramid and look down on the rest of society. I love how even within these colours, there are those who think themselves- or are thought to be- better though than others. I love how this echoes our own society and gives the book a sense of humanity, since it's difficult to think of them as humans at all with what is now achievable in this strange new world.

That brings me on to characters. Looking back on it, there were so many characters that we were introduced that's it's a wonder I remember them all. But remember them all I do, because Brown weaves each and every single one of them into the story seamlessly and in such a way that even the most minor of characters is memorable. There are character to love, characters to hate, characters you hate to love and characters you love to hate. There are your main characters, your secondary characters, and your seemingly insignificant characters who really add more depth and feeling to the book than you realise at the time. Every single one of these characters is important to the story and really adds to the book. The main character Darrow is a pretty average guy to begin with and seemingly not all that impressive. Over the course of the book however he grows exponentially, both in age and character. He becomes a hero, and yet he's vulnerable and insecure about the path he has to take as he worries about what he has to become to achieve the dream. We love him all the more for it.

The only less than shinning (but still positively glowing) thing I have to say about this book is this; it felt to me as if I could split this book into two halves. The first 100-150 pages felt like an almost completely different plot to the rest of the book. Of course it makes sense since it sets up the rest of story but I definitely felt like the second half was better. This is probably because whilst the first half was great and the writing was beautiful, it was solemn and sad without any real uplifting parts to balance out the tone, making it a tad heavy. The second half definitely was better and blew my mind with its amazingness. It was sad, solemn and serious but also passionate, action packed, and heart warming, all whilst being blood curdlingly gory. it was so enjoyable and definitely unputdownable, as cliché as that may sound.

I cannot describe just how much I love it any more for fear of spoiling it for you. Seriously, if you haven't already and you consider yourself a dystopian/fantasy/roman history fan, you need to pick this up. If you don't you'll be kicking yourself for years to come when you realise what you missed being a part of. I'm not usually a fan of comparing books by saying it's the next this or the next that, but I will say this; reading Red Rising is like reading a concoction of The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson and The Final Empire whilst watching 300, but better.

The wait for Golden Son will be agonising but well worth it. I'm so excited! If you have read this already, then head over to my instagram (@booksareforadasses) and join in our giant, spoilery discussion/ fangirling session!

*this book was kindly offered to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Review/Discussion: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published Date: May 23rd 2013
My Rating: 4 stars

Blurb on Goodreads:

It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain. 

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. 

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...

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This book. Oh, this book. I have heard so many contradictory opinions, and I can see why. It had so many brilliant factors, but it had me rolling my eyes a few times too. It played on my emotions and made a mess of me in the end!

Firstly, let's talk about the writing. I don't particularly care what genre it is I'm reading so long as the writing is good, and Susan Ee certainly has a good writing style. She had me hooked from the very first line if I'm being honest,with the right level of description to add depth but not detract from the plot. The plot itself was great. I liked the setting, the story, the kickass heroine and her determination to save her sister. I liked how we were constantly reminded that this was about Penryn trying to save her sister an not some cheesy romance. 

An agnostic angel. That had me laughing so damn hard. what a joke. This is why I don't take these books seriously but rather with a pinch of salt. When Raffe started looking like a human and dropping his sarcastic one-liners I decided to no longer think of him as an angel but rather a generic other worldly being, otherwise I would drive myself crazy and it would ruin the book for me. Also, technicalities when ignored bother me so damn much. Like th fact that he has super hearing but misses (more than once) the sound of people coming to get him with damn guns. But that aside, this book was completely enthralling and I found myself unable to put it aside for even a minute. 4 awesome stars from me!

Now for the discussion part.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED!

Okay I need to whine about that ending. Raffe waits until he thinks she's dead before finally admitting feelings for her? In front of the very people he needs to convince he's not fallen?? AND, (back to the super hearing thing) he can hear everything and he can't hear her breathing? because if she's conscious, even though she's paralysed, surely she's breathing and surely he can hear her?! wow that frustrated me and made me want to scream. This book seriously wreaked havock on my emotions! The aerie was really cool though and my favourite part. I like how (for the most part) the angels who came to cause destruction actually did come across as terrifying to the humans and not just lust-inducing hotties (although there was a little of that but not nearly as poorly done as in other books).

The creepy, gorey parts positively cringed me out, which I loved, and when she finally found her sister I kind of wanted to cry for her. It was seriously disgusting. And her interactions with her schizophrenic mother were kind of sweet in their own weird way. These were the main characters I cared for (as well as Josiah). When Ee writes good characters, theyre btilliant. Obidah , the twins etc were neither here nor there. They didn't particularly feel developed enough for me to create any kind of attachment.

All in all, this book was a pretty great start to what I believe is going to be a 5 part series and I can see that this has the potential to become amazing! Definitely looking forward to reading World After whenever I get my hands on it.

Review: Now You See Me by Emma Haughton

Title: Now You See Me

Author: Emma Haughton

Publisher: Usborne

Release Date: May 1st 2014

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads:

Three years ago, thirteen-year-old Danny Geller vanished without trace.

His family and friends are still hanging on to every last shred of hope. Not knowing if he's alive or dead, their world is shrouded in shadows, secrets and suspicions.

This is the story of what happens when hope comes back to haunt you. When your desperation is used against you. When you search for the truth – but are too scared to accept the reality staring you in the face...

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This book is from a genre I haven't read very much of. It's a YA psychological thriller about a 16 year old girl whose best friend disappeared 3 years ago when they were just 13. This is the story of those who have to deal with a missing loved one, and how it affects them all. It's a story of how those who cling to hope can be extremely vulnerable.

Being one of the few psychological thrillers I've ever read, it was pretty enthralling and reiterated in my mind that I really do need to read more from this genre. Now You See Me switches between the past, present and future, showing us the cause of this sombre story and the consequences. It was really enjoyable, if a little predictable. Some of the twists I saw coming a mile off but there was one or two things that I didn't expect. The main character was very likeable, if a little too comfortable with denial. It was frustrating to see her question things that didn't add up, only to then convince herself she couldn't be right. I was empathetic and could understand why she wouldn't want to face the reality she could see but that didn't make me want to scream at her any less!

The pace of the book worked well, as I wasn't left in the dust, nor was I itching to skip parts (as can sometimes happen!). It was the right pace to accompany the jump in times and kept me reading pretty much nonstop! It was a quick read that I finished fairly quickly in two sittings.

The epilogue was so frustrating for me. I need an extension to that epilogue so badly! The event that comes to pass in the epilogue is what I was most looking forward to the whole time I was reading, so to have it just briefly visited and cut off abruptly was extremely annoying. However having stewed on it for a few days I can understand why she ended it where she did.

Overall I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars, definitely enjoyable and worth the read!

(I won this book in a goodreads firstreads giveaway)

Review: Eversea by Natasha Boyd

Title: Eversea
Author: Natasha Boyd
Publisher: Headline Eternal
Release date: May 1st 2014
My rating: 4 stars

Blurb on Goodreads:
An orphaned, small-town, southern girl, held hostage by responsibility and self-doubt.

A Hollywood A-list mega-star, on the run from his latest scandal and with everything to lose.

A chance encounter that leads to an unlikely arrangement and epic love affair that will change them both for ever.

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This is a book for all you ladies out there who have ever fantasised about running into your celebrity crush in your local town of all places and and living that romantic dream. Funnily enough I'm not the kind of girl who has celebrity crushes or cares about celebrities at all really, but this book kind of made me want to!

Jack Eversea is the movie star that every girl is in love with. He's living it up in LA with his perfect job and the perfect girlfriend and the perfect life. That is until said girlfriend's true colours are shown and she's discovered doing naughty things with someone other than Jack. This isn't Jack's story though. This is the story of Keri Ann Butler, your relatively ordinary woman just trying to keep up with her work and restore the Butler House which is the pride of the town. She's patiently waiting for her brother to finish up his studies and come back to house sit so she can finally start her life, and has sworn off men as well as any other distraction that could risk tying her down to her little old town. The last thing she ever expected was the face of her film and book hero, world famous actor Jack Eversea, to walk into her life and jazz things up.

This book was such an easy, quick read that was just the right amount of emotional turmoil and sappy, and I mean that in the best way. I loved the two main characters and the way in which their story was told. I really enjoyed how controversial Jack's character came across and the way it made me question whether what he was doing was okay or not. I really loved Keri Ann's character and personality. She was fun to read about and was written in a way that everybody would find something about her to relate to. The setting was beautiful and I loved the tidbits of information that were put in, including and especially the turtles. I was surprised to find I genuinely enjoyed and appreciated the writing style that Boyd has. Since NA can be a very hit or miss genre, I tend to find that the writing of the majority is extremely poor.  Here however that isn't the case. It was captivating and emotional far better than I could have expected. 

The pace of the novel was excellent.  It didn't feel like the story was developing too quickly or too slowly and there was no instalove thank goodness. The secondary characters were great in that they were vivid and enjoyable and added to the story of the two main characters, without taking over the novel or being shoved too far in the background.

Overall this was a great romantic read which didn't necessarily give the typical ending and has me itching to pick up where things left off and find out what happens next. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book, Forever Jack. 4 awesome stars!

Review: Tease by Amanda Maciel

Title: Tease

Author: Amanda Maciel

Release date: May 1st 2014

My rating: 5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads: 

Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault.

At least, that's what everyone seems to think when Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking suicide. But Sara is sure she hasn't done anything wrong, because Emma brought it on herself. Sara is adamant that she was the victim - not Emma.

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This book has been appearing pretty frequently in my various feeds, and I've been super intrigued to find out just why so many people couldn't even bring themselves to finish it.

As you may already know, this book begins after the death of a high school girl, Emma, who has committed suicide after being bullied and such. We get to see what happens after her death and what effects it has on everyone involved, as well as the sequence of events that led up to her death. However, this isn't told from Emma's perspective, or her family's or friends'. It's told from the perspective of Sara, one of the girls accused of bullying Emma and making her hate her life so much she'd rather end it than carry on living. And the worst part? Sara isn't even sorry. In her mind, Emma is a selfish girl who's ruined her life in taking her own.

This book was so so powerful. It packs a serious punch and makes you feel just a little bit sick inside. I found Sara to be such a complex, troubled character,  and I switched between feeling for her and being disgusted by her throughout the novel. This just shows how brilliant Maciel's writing is, and I truly feel that it's because of her outstanding writing that the book is as powerful as it is.

There is no particular plot development or twists, as it's mostly character driven and the 'plot' so to speak has already occurred.  I love reading these kind of books but only when they are done well because they heavily rely upon the author's writing skills to keep the reader engaged.  In that sense I feel Amanda Maciel has done brilliantly, because despite it not being an 'enjoyable' book per say, it was definitely gripping and I couldn't put it down. She made me desperate to understand why. Why did Sara bully Emma? Why was she so adamant that was not sorry for what had happened? And the more I read, the more I understood.

In my opinion, Sara is just as much a victim in this story as Emma is, albeit in a different kind of way. People seem to allocate the term 'victim' to those who are unable to fight back or tough it out. Just because Sara is a bitch, doesn't mean to say she is not also a victim. She is the victim of an extremely toxic relationship with her one and only friend Brielle.  Brielle has used Sara's friendship and manipulated her in horrible ways, making Sara depend on her as her only friend, messing with her emotions and bringing her into situations that put Sara at risk. It was horrible to read about, and even worse to think that on a subconscious level,  Sara knew what Brielle was doing but felt powerless to stop it. That doesn't mean to say Sara is innocent and not at fault, because she has her own brain and she should use it to make her own choices. However she is still just an impressionable kid at the end of the day. She looked up to her one and only friend, who was her role model in a way when her own parents had stopped being good examples and left her to herself whilst giving her big responsibilities to handle such as her brothers.

I really think that Sara was sorry from the very beginning and regretted what she had done from the moment she found out Emma had killed herself, but didn't allow herself to aknowledge that remorse. She's the kind of girl that toughs these things out, and the only way she could handle all the people out there with their accusing stares was to convince herself they were wrong. I absolutely loved how she developed throughout the book, and was able to finally accept what had happened and what her role in Emma's death had been.

Emma is a girl I will never understand. She was quiet and mysterious and Sara never truly knew her which means we as the reader didn't either. It is sad but true that people often glorify the dead and ignore the bad qualities that that person may have had, and this shows in Amanda's brilliant novel too. Whilst everyone accuses Sara of bullying a sweet innocent girl, Emma was no angel by any means. She never seemed to try and make friends or explain herself to anyone and she did hurtful things to Sara such as taking her boyfriend. It may seem childish and minor, but that had a big impact on Sara. If we think about it, besides Brielle and her brothers, Sara's boyfriend was the only other person she really had, who she felt cared about what happened to her (even though he didn't really and he was as bad as Brielle in my opinion). When Emma took him away, she practically took away 50% of the people Sara had, which undoubtedly hurt. This doesn't justify Sara's bullying, but it makes me understand her a little.

All in all, this novel was amazing; from the way that it was written, to the issues it tackles and the way that it allows the reader to decide who's really guilty of bullying and who can be blamed for what happened. I can see why some people didn't finish it, but character development is a thing people! You have to give it a chance  and remember that no one is truly innocent. There is so much more I could say about this book, but I'll stop gushing now and end by saying that I will most likely be getting myself a physical copy of this book because it's one that really made me think and that I will most likely be revisiting.

*this book was kindly given to me for review via netgalley*

Review: The Annihilation of Foreverland by Tony Bertauski

Title: The Annihilation of Foreverland

Author: Tony Bertauski

Release Date: December 31st 2011

My Rating: 3/5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads:

When kids awake on an island, they’re told there was an accident. Before they can go home, they will visit Foreverland, an alternate reality that will heal their minds.

Reed dreams of a girl that tells him to resist Foreverland. He doesn’t remember her name, but knows he once loved her. He’ll have to endure great suffering and trust his dream. And trust he’s not insane.

Danny Boy, the new arrival, meets Reed’s dream girl inside Foreverland. She’s stuck in the fantasy land that no kid can resist. Where every heart’s desire is satisfied. Why should anyone care how Foreverland works?

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After receiving the box set What Tomorrow May Bring, I was overwhelmed by the number of enticing plots and didn't know where to start. When I read up on this one however, I new I had to find out more. The blurb was enough to intrigue me, as well as the fact that (I assume) it was loosely related to Peter Pan and Neverland.  This book took me longer to read than anticipated, not for lack of plot but rather because it was amazing in some parts but not so much in others.  There were a number of brilliant of factors that made this story gripping, but at the same time I had some issues that made me hesitant and- truth be told- less inclined to finish. 

Let me start with the plot line. Oh my goodness, this book was creepy as hell. It literally made my skin crawl in parts, what with it's insane story line and nutty grandpa characters. I think I may have developed a slight fear of old men thanks to this book! But the plot was truly unique in my opinion. I loved the idea of the remote island with children who appeared to be the luckiest in the world with their free reign to do as they pleased, but all the while had you questioning what was really going on. The setting was admittedly not the best developed and a little generic but i feel like the actual plot made up for that. I enjoyed following the main character as he made his discoveries and slowly uncovered the truth about Foreverland. 

This brings me on to my next point; the characters. Danny Boy was pretty controversial in my mind. I felt like the author couldn't decide on how old he was, even though we're told he's 13. At times he acts his age, and does what can only be expected from a new teenager, what with his love of gaming and what not. At the same time, I found it difficult to wrap my mind around how at 6 years old he was hacking into computer systems and doing things even an adult would find challenging.  At 6 years old that didn't make him a Prodigy, but more an alien or a robot!  It was just a tad unrealistic is what I'm trying to say. I couldn't particularly connect with him because he felt just a little bit flat in my opinion, and would have benefited from a little more character development. 

Zin was such a brilliant secondary character. I absolutely loved his attitude and his funny lines, and couldn't get enough of him. Where Danny was lacking that thing which made us remember he was just a kid and therefore empathize with him, Zin couldn't be viewed as anything but the brilliant kid he was. He was my favourite character I think. 

I really enjoyed the way that the subplots we started with, such as Reed, the black sheep of the herd, the mysterious redhead and Danny all came together in the end to reveal the bigger picture. 

One other thing that did throw me for a loop a little was the writing. I found myself occasionally getting stuck on a sentence because it seemed out of place or ill-phrased, particularly in the news reportings at the start of the rounds. The constant variation in complexity of language made it feel like the author couldn't decide whether this book fitted into the higher end of children's genre or YA.

Overall, this book didn't quite meet my expectations which were admittedly high due to the beautiful cover and promising blurb, but was still intriguing nonetheless. If the plot sounds like something you would enjoy, and you can ignore discrepancies in language and don't mind a little less complexity,  then I would recommend it to you because the plot was honestly brilliant.


*The box set What Tomorrow May Bring was kindly sent to me in exchange for an honest review*

Review: Nebula by L.A. Sees

Title: Nebula

Author: L.A Sees
Release Date: March 25th 2014
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads: Ree Lindbergh’s dream since she was a little girl is a simple one: to one day travel to Earth. Instead, she’s stuck aboard the Omega Centauri, a spacecraft used to patrol the borders of the Milky Way. Having spent her entire seventeen-year existence on board, Ree is a bit restless. But her mission is important: help keep Earth’s newly discovered alien species, the Bufoanthroid, under control.

By day, Ree enjoys spending time with her best friend, Zac Walker. But when night falls, she is continually tormented by memories of her mother, killed by a Bufoanthroid the day Ree was born.

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I was so so SO happy when this beauty arrived in the post. Let's just take a minute to appreciate the awesomeness that is the cover. Like seriously, it is beyond beautiful. I could just sit and stare at it all day!

As the blurb tells, this book is told from the perspective of our MC,  Marie aka Ree. Ree is a sweet, naive and totally adorable girl who had grown up on a space ship on the edge of the galaxy, where they protect the Earth from the threat extra terrestrial life forms that are called Bufoanthroids. Her best friend is Zachary, and they are the only two on board to have never set foot on earth, having been born on the ship. This affects them in completely opposite ways, with Ree living for the dream of one day returning to Earth, whilst Zachary is more than happy to spend the rest of his days manning H12 ships and protecting the Earth from threats in space.

To me, this book covered 3 main themes:family, friendship, and coming of age. It was done in a way that was sweet and innocent, showing simply the beautiful side of love. It was a warm read and even the villains you couldn't help but just feel bad for.

Ree is a sweet girl of 17 that has to deal with the fact that her mother was murdered the day she was born. It affects her in many ways but she is still so innocent, and doesn't harbour that much hate to be honest. The most important thing in her life is her best friend Zac, and she has to learn to figure out just why she feels jealous when he turns his eyes to the hot girl in their class.

The first half was a little slow for my taste, but it really picked up when Ree started to question what she had, or rather hadn't,  been told and goes in search of answers. The mystery behind her mother's murder and the cloudiness surrounding the day that leaves it unclear as to what exactly happened had me intrigued and reading on and on just wanting to find out what had happened. She acts slightly too immature for my taste, in terms of coming across much younger due to her childishness,  but then that's to be expected when she's the baby of the entire ship.

The plot itself wasn't overly complicated but very captivating,  and the writing kept you hooked and wanting to read on. My only disappointment was the rather quick ending, as I found it slightly anti climatic.

The secondary characters such as Blaire and Zac's brothers were so entertaining, and it was so refreshing seeing these adults from a lone teenagers perspective. They definitely added to the story and gave it a lot of its funny scenes!

In terms of the Sci - Fi elements,  I don't happen to be much of a Sci Fi reader and have only just started getting in to this genre, but this book was perfect for me in that sense because it didn't bog me down with two much sci Fi terminology or elements,  but was still futuristic and awesome!

All in all I adored this book, and found it to be a quick, entertaining read. My actual rating would probably be around 3.75 maybe? But what the heck I just rounded up! Especially considering its only the first in the series. So 4 awesome space stars it is!

*This book was kindly sent to me in exchange for an honest review*

Review: Wake For Me by Isobel Irons

Title: Wake For Me
Author: Isobel Irons

Release Date:  15th December 2013

My Rating: 4/5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads: When Viola Bellerose breaks up with her “up and coming” Irish rock star boyfriend, the feisty winery heiress takes it in stride—by making out with a hot stranger and accidentally crashing her Mercedes into the East River. Whoops.

Somewhat unfairly, in her opinion, Viola now spends her days in a coma, trapped inside the prison of her own body. With each passing day, she finds herself becoming more lost in a world of vivid and terrifying dreams, in which a tall and tortured doctor often appears in a romantic role.

First year intern Sam Philips is barely surviving his complicated life, dealing with his older brother’s death, avoiding scary charge nurses and working endless hours--all while competing against his fellow interns. His solace is the time he spends with his favorite patient, the girl he’s nicknamed Sleeping Beauty. Convinced that her coma can’t last forever, Sam spends hours at her bedside, spilling his secrets to the unconscious girl.

But what the outwardly shy Sam could never guess, is that his Sleeping Beauty is actually aware. That she's secretly hanging on his every word, and falling head over heels in love with him. That even as Sam tries to save her, someone else might be trying to kill her.
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When I received this, I just knew I was in for a great read. After reading Isobel Irons' Promiscuous and now Wake For Me, she is undecidedly one of my new favourite contemporary authors. Irons is just so good at writing not only attention grabbing plot lines that aren’t all fluffy and overly lovey-dovey, but also wonderful characters that pull on the heart strings with their compelling back stories and the way they act and think and develop. You can’t help but grow attached to them all! And the plot, well let’s just say I felt like I was watching a hit drama on the telly! I just couldn’t put it down.

Speaking of the plot, let me just explain that to you a little. The story revolves around our two main characters, Viola and Sam, with the chapters alternating between their POVs. Viola is a rich heiress of her father’s very successful wine company. Sam is just your average guy facing his troubles and trying to survive his first year of internship. As fate would have it, they meet one night, just for a moment, and the next day Viola winds up a patient at the place Sam is working, trapped in a coma. Unbeknown to everyone, Viola is actually rather aware during her coma, and can hear everything Sam says as he tells his Sleeping Beauty all about his childhood, his fears, and his life in general. They are surely falling for each other without really realising it and without even having spoken to one another (I don’t count the couple of sentences from the bar haha!). That just a brief summary of what happens in life the first half of the book. Thereafter things become 50 kinds of crazy and…well, you’ll have to read it to find out!

In terms of writing style, Irons has not disappointed me. Whilst reading from the POV of Viola whilst she is in her comma, I genuinely felt like I was struggling to differentiate between reality and dream (or nightmare). The images her writing conjured up in my mind were equally glorious and terrifying. I felt Viola’s frustration and battle with the horrific images her mind managed to conjure up, which just shows how brilliant Irons’ writing is! The pace was pretty good, and I loved how the events flowed well, without the feeling of being pulled from one scene and thrown into the next. The only issue I had was the ending, as I felt it was a bit abrupt, like it was cut short. I felt it could have been written in a little more detail as a couple of things weren’t too clear and could have been concluded a little better.

Character wise, Sam had to be my favourite. He was so sweet and innocent, and his constant timidity and need to apologise was adorable (in that annoying kind of way). He was just so kind and caring that you couldn’t help but love him. Viola was a great character, and was definitely one I alternated between loving and hating. I loved her strength and perseverance, her unwillingness to let her coma affect her future and her decided determination to get better, find out what was happening to her and who (if anyone) was after her. Equally, I hated her prissy stuck up attitude which is a result of her rich background, her rudeness towards Sam at times and her using him to her benefit. She became a bit childish at times which bugged me but is kind of to be expected after everything she goes through. Either way she was just written so well. The secondary characters are all extremely likable but aren’t so central to the plot. Sam’s best friend and fellow intern is probably my favourite of the secondary characters and I cannot wait to hear his story!

All in all, this book was a definitely brilliant contemporary read with enough drama and suspense to take it to the next level.  Brilliant addition to the NA genre and I’m just so pleased I got to read this! I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a good contemporary with more to the plot than just the romance. A well-deserved 4 stars!

 

*This book was kindly offered to me in exchange for an honest review*

Review: Third Degree by Julie Cross

Title: Third Degree
Author: Julie Cross

Release Date:  25th March 2014

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Blurb on Goodreads: I used to be “Isabel Jenkins, child prodigy.” As lame as that sounds, at least it was an identity. But now I’m not sure what I am. I just failed the most important exam of my life—the emotional readiness test required to get into a medical residency program—and it turns out my parents can’t stand each other. Now I’m trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my life, and that means re-enrolling as a college freshman, but this time I’m shutting the books and majoring in being eighteen.But so far, my roommate hates me and I’m not into the party scene. The only good thing about school has been getting to know my insanely hot RA. Marshall Collins makes me wonder about everything I missed while I was growing up too fast. Pretty soon we’re hanging out constantly, but for the first time, I find myself wanting more than a no-strings-attached physical relationship. And the lesson I really need is one Marsh definitely can’t teach me: love. Because I’m going to be alone forever if I don’t learn fast.

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My actual rating was 3.5 stars. This is what I think of as a rare breed of NA fiction. The story doesn't depend on steamy scenes to sell it, the story sells itself. It was far deeper and written so much better than I had expected it to be based on the (terrible) cover! I absolutely loved this contemporary for that reason; because it deals with college-aged people and the scenarios and dilemmas they face.

Being a child genius and having been treated as such ever since she was adopted at a young age, Isabel Jenkins aka Izzy has never really been 'normal' and doesn't even know what that word really means. She's been on the fast track to following in her fathers footsteps and becoming a surgeon since she was first admitted to college at just 12 years of age, and has never stopped to think what she's missing out on. That is until she is stopped dead in her tracks, and refused passage to the final steps to becoming a surgeon when she fails a psych test. According to the shrink, she needs to experience life as a normal teen to reconnect her emotions and be a better surgeon, and the best way to do this is to head back to college and see what she missed out. Here she meets Marshall Collins aka Marsh, who takes it upon himself to ease her back into society and keep her social mishaps to a minimum. But things are never as straight forward as that!

This book was actually a cute, quick, fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The setting was essentially your average college setting, but the story was pretty different. I loved Izzy and her wacky sense of normal. Her high level of intelligence matched with her equally high level of social awkwardness had me smiling, smirking and even cringing on her behalf. As much as her thought process sometimes baffled me and her IQ intimidated others, she was quite relatable in her fear of being alone, her sense of being adrift and not knowing where exactly she belonged. She was easy to like and her development throughout the novel was clear and well done.

Marsh was so super cute! He's one of the sweetest fictional guys, and so far from the standard badboy, tatted up tough guy found in most NA novels. I absolutely adored his devotion to his family, his loyalty to his friends and his selflessness towards just about everybody. I loved how he took Izzy under his wing and made it his job to help her and understand her, and how he learnt to trust her as she learnt to trust him. Together they made it a gorgeous tale of love, belonging and learning to trust. Cross's writing is engaging and entertaining. I really liked the pace set in the book and the way in which all the dilemmas were resolved/saw through. It felt real, and yet happy. As much as these two main characters were well developed and easy to become fond of, I just wish we had seen a little more of the background characters such as Jesse and 'Shirtless Carson'. 

All in all, this book is a great addition to the NA genre and is a super cute, well written contemporary with a substantial plot that was engaging, entertaining and adorable. I definitely recommend it to all you contemporary/NA lovers!

*This book was kindly offered to me in exchange for an honest review*

Review: Half-Bad by Sally Green

Title: Half-Bad
Author: Sally Green

Release Date: 3rd March 2014

My Rating: 3/5 stars

 

Blurb on Goodreads: Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

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I gave this book a 3 star rating. That doesn’t mean to say that it isn’t any good because it is, it’s really good. I just feel like there are some issues with this book that prevented it from reaching it’s full potential.

The book isn’t particularly ‘supernatural’ focused, despite being largely about witches. It is more like a life story of the main character, Nathan. Nathan, being the spawn of both a White Witch- the ‘good’ kind- and a Black Witch-the ‘bad’ kind- is a Half Code. He is as far as we know and are told the only one of his kind. Living with his White Witch grandmother and full White siblings, Nathan is under constant scrutiny and mental harassment, with everyone bar his grandmother, his brother Arran and his sister Deborah seeing his Black Witch exterior and failing to look at him as a person to see what he truly is like. He is taught to never mention his father, the most feared Black Witch and that he is to do everything he can to fit in with the White Witches, despite their despising him. As the story follows his journey and we watch him grow, however, we see him start to question what he has been taught, struggle to understand himself and fight for his life as he tries to find a way to receive his 3 gifts and become a fully-fledged Witch on his 17^th birthday.

The plot concept and characters were really interesting and helped differentiate this book from others that may be considered similar. The idea of two opposing sides of witches and its parallels to modern day racism was a fresh take of the whole ‘good vs. evil’ idea. There were plenty of characters and growth for the plot, so it didn’t feel particularly rushed or crammed which was great. I loved the concept of the White Witch council and the portrayal of their questionable values and less than angelic methods. It irritated me that the Black Witches were largely unexplored and that we only had what the White Witches told us to go on, however I’m guessing this was purposeful and that we’ll learn more in time as Nathan does.

Reading through Nathan’s point of view was intriguing. He isn’t particularly intelligent which shows in his thoughts and actions, however he is brave, strong-willed and a little bit desperate which really show in Green’s writing. His relationships are so straight forward in that he is very honest with himself. The people he cares for he cares for a lot, and the people he doesn’t he simply isn’t concerned about. Her writing is something that may not appeal to everyone (it definitely won’t appeal to everyone) and it takes a little getting used to for some I guess, but I personally enjoyed it, although some parts could have used some editing.

The pace of the books was pretty good. It felt a little slow at times which I’m assuming was meant to reflect how the days dragged for Nathan, but for the most part I wanted to read faster and faster, maddeningly curious as to what the hell was going to happen next! I liked how the book starts in the middle of the story, and then takes us back to how it started before we catch up and then continue with the plot. It made the first half a mystery which made it go by a lot quicker for me at least. In terms of characters I felt like there were alot of characters that werent developed rather than fewer characters but with bigger growth. there were charcaters like Arran and Nikita whom i would have loved to know more about and seen a developed a little more.  

My two biggest issues with this book though are the magic and the romance. For a book about witches and Gifts and all the rest of that wonderful stuff, you would think the magical aspect would be greatly developed. This however was not the case. I felt like Green barely skimmed the subject as was necessary when it rose to the surface, but other than that she left it largely untouched. I would have liked to have seen more about the Gifts that the Witches had, how they worked, what they used them for, how they categorised them,  anything that would have shown a little more thought. Instead the only thing I gleamed was the fact that women’s gifts were stronger, potions were popular and Nathan’s dad Marcus ate hearts to steal the gifts of others. That was about as detailed as it got. Even when we met characters like Celia, Mercury and Rose, the most we got was a brief explanation as to what they could do, and a couple of demonstrations. It was a big let-down in that department and had the potential to have been so much better.

The second issue was the romance. Annalise was a character that, on the brief occasions when she was there, aggravated me beyond belief. She was just so unnecessary. She was incredibly flat for a character, with no depth beyond the fact that she saw Nathan for the better person he was. She was so far from what I expected Nathan to be interested in, and was part of the story so briefly that I can’t understand why she was in there at all. This was the kind of book that would have worked perfectly fine without the romance element, probably even better.

Overall, Half-Bad is a book with a great concept and plot, a lot of varying characters (some developed better than others) and for the most part kept me intrigued and wanting to read on. I will most likely be picking up the sequel because I definitely want to know what happens next and I feel like the next book, Half-Wild, will be infinitely better.

Review: Thirteen by Tom Hoyle

Title: Thirteen
Author: Tom Hoyle

Release Date: February 13th January 2014 (I see what you did there!)

My Rating: 3/5 stars


*This book was kindly given to me by Macmillian Children's Books*


Blurb on Goodreads: "Born at midnight in London, on the stroke of the new millennium, Adam is the target of a cult that believes boys born on this date must die before the end of their thirteenth year. Twelve boys have been killed so far. Coron, the crazy cult leader, will stop at nothing to bring in his new kingdom. And now he is planning a bombing spectacular across London to celebrate the sacrifice of his final victim: Adam."

This book first caught my eye as I was perusing the YA section of my local Waterstones. The paperback is an attractively done bright yellow with yellow edges depicting a countdown to thirteen. There is no blurb on the outside, just one single line, creating an air of mystery and piquing my interest. I added it to my Goodreads To-Read List then and there! Naturally I was beyond pleased when I had the opportunity to read this on my Kindle and write a review for it.

This book had plenty of positives and just a couple of negatives for me. The very first thing that hit me as I started reading this book was that it was not at all ‘YA’ material, or if it is then the very young YA readers. The main character Adam and all his friends are thirteen years old or there about. A lot of the issues he deals with (asides from a crazy cult hunting him down of course) are therefore very innocent. I found it almost cute with the way he looked at life and how he felt about bullying as well as his best friend (kind of sort of turned girlfriend) Megan aka Meg. In that sense it was very much a younger children’s book. However, on the flip side, about half way through this book becomes really rather dark and sinister, a lot more so than would be expected in a younger child’s book which is why its YA I guess. This dark, twisted side was actually my favourite half of the book, as the story really picked up and started to live up to it's scary potential that was portrayed in the blurb.

The writing was really great in this book. Hoyle manages to put us into a thirteen year old’s mind set really well, paying attention to the smaller details that allowed us to see Adams horror and fear at the situations he was placed in and the strength he had in getting past that and being extremely brave for a kid. It was a little bit basic in some parts and I felt the descriptions could have been a little more detailed at times but on the whole it kept you reading and even depicted a little of the good old British slang!

The story is set in England, London and I felt that the writer was true to his location and didn’t just skim over the details of the setting. He describes London and weaves iconic buildings and tube stations into the story well, really giving it an authentic feel. The characters were great, both the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’. Coron was a brilliant crazy cult leader. I loved how Hoyle showed us just how whacky he was, and how he believed everything he said to be true, but at the same time put just enough emphasis on the fact that Coron was in fact crazy and hallucinating. Adam was a really likeable character, and the way he fantasised about being a hero before talking sense into himself was really cute. He was very well rounded and definitely made me feel for him. Also, the recurrence of the number 13 and it's link to just about everything in this book was a great concept and added a feel of superstition to it.

Overall, this book was definitely not what I was expecting, however it was still an enjoyable read with a great plot and characters to match. It is definitely something I would recommend for a younger, male reader who enjoys books such as The Recruit by Robert Muchamore. I’ll probably have to pick this up in it's beautiful paperback form for my little brother!

Come and discuss this book with me at my Bookstagram!

Review:Naked Edge by Charli Webb

Title: Naked Edge

Author: Charli Webb

Release Date: 1st December 2013
My Rating: 2/5 stars

 

*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review*

Skylar's family was forced into the witness protection program when she was only seventeen. After her mother died years later, Sky moved back in with the only family she had left. She knew she'd run into her high school sweetheart but she didn't expect the changes she found in Rowdy. He wasn't the sweet boy she left so many years ago. He'd turned into a womanizing jerk but that didn't stop her heart from wanting him.

I had such high expectations for this book. The premise sounded amazing and alot like the new adult novels I thoroughly enjoy. It was even pitched towards those who enjoyed Jay Crownover’s Marked Men series. I would love to say that I was blown away by this book, or even that I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sadly that wasn’t the case.

The characters I found to be rather bland and cliché, but not in the good cliché way. Skylar was just too bratty for my liking. She would take little things way too seriously and get overly emotional, only to then act blasé and nonchalant when serious stuff went down. She irritated me massively. Rowdy isn’t any better. He switches between running hot and cold faster than anyone. Ione minute he’s purposely trying to hurt Sky and the next he comforts her over mundane occurrings.  The supporting characters were just that, fillers to give the book some bulk but didn’t add anything of value to the actual plot unfortunately.

The writing of this book wasn’t particularly enjoyable for me personally. I found it choppy and mixed paced, dragging in some parts and skipping what I considered important details in others. The climber’s vocabulary was rather heavy for something that was supposed to be romantic new adult fiction, and I found myself getting increasingly annoyed at the frequent use of terms I didn’t know. I knew there was a glossary at the end of the ebook but I didn’t want to keep scrolling through to the end of the novel and then trying to find my page again, as its pretty time consuming on an e-reader. I feel like the premise for this book had so much potential, it could’ve been something amazing, but it fell majorly short. 2 stars for a great concept though.

Review:Promiscuous by Isobel Irons

 

Title: Promiscuous

Author: Isobel Irons

Release Date: 10th January 2014

My Rating: 4/5 stars


*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review*

"It’s like a fucking Cinderella story up in here. Only, it’s high school. So there aren’t any happy endings."

^ That line right there sold it for me. I read that, and new it was something I had to check out. And boy let me tell you, there was no false packaging with this one. What you see is what you get, and then some.

This is the story of 18 year old Natasha “Tash” Bohner. And I know, her last name was made for taking the piss out of but honestly, that’s the least of her fricking problems. This is a story of shitty life situations, labels of society, and real life problems that don’t get swept under the rug or even given a directed spotlight (you know, the kind where the author shows you just enough about said life problem to make you all happy and crap when they 'resolve' it in their story). No. None of that BS here. Being dealt possibly the worst hand life could have given her; this is about Tasha's journey of self-discovery and how real people deal with things in every day real life. Realistic fiction in its rawest yet finest form. Have I mentioned how real it is? (Okay okay I'll stop). So, that being said, if stories with traumatic experiences such as bullying, sexual abuse, suicide and eating disorders as well as no particularly happy endings aren't your thing, then this definitely isn't for you. Go pick up the original Cinderella or something.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Isobel Irons' writing style is pretty damn captivating. The whole time I felt like I was actually listening to Tash as she told me her story, and not like I was reading a novel. The writing feels very personal, which makes sense as Isobel mentions that this is her story for the most part too. That raw edge made this book all the more powerful and unforgiving. The moment you open this book and start the first page you're thrown into the deep end. There is no warm up, no shallow easy beginning to dip your toes in to grow accustomed to its feel. Nope. Hold your breath and swim biatch or prepare to drown. Straight away it feels like Natasha is attacking, almost willing you to put the book down and walk away. For me that was practically a sign that she had something to hide, and made me push on all the more harder. Her dry wit and cynicism were actually right up my alley and made her all the more relatable to me as I could just feel how she was using them as well as her 'slut' label as a front, to throw people off what she was really like inside. The story itself was the perfect length. It didn’t take forever to build up or get to the point, and it didn’t drag on forever after.

There were a variety of characters present in this story, each adding their own dimension to the plot and giving this story far more depth than the dreadful cover allows us to believe (I'm sorry, I hate it). Tash's best friend Margot was the sweet to her sour. She was strong in ways that Tash was lacking and vulnerable in ways Tash wouldn't dream of being. They balanced each other perfectly and through their own little perfect pact kept each other (and me) sane through the shit storm that is their life. I loved how the issue of bullying as well as anorexia was tackled in this relationship. I like how Tash (and by default Isobel Irons) was honest enough to admit that actually, the fact that Margot's bones stand out so badly is kind of gross. That doesn't make Tash a horrible person, it makes her honest. Anorexia is terrible and gross and real, and should be faced, not cowered from or tip-toed around. I like how she knew when to leave Margot be, but supported her when she needed it and helped her get better. I adored Margot's family and their easy going nature, their big hearts and funny as hell personalities. They brought out the better side of Tash. I found it particularly sad that Tasha found it so hard to believe that her teacher as well as The Perfect Boy aka Grant Blue could actually think she deserved better. It just went to show that people that have confidence issues, particularly those traumatically induced such as Tasha's, don't even realise just how badly they have been affected. It was beautiful when she realised actually, what had happened to her was terrible, but was in no way her fault and she didn't deserved the shit she was dealing with. She is better than that, better than all those who sought to destroy her and had just as much right to want better for herself as everyone else. Grant Blue's character was key in Tasha's story. I loved how he was perceived as some perfect kid when in reality, he was just as flawed as the next person. It was great to see him open up to Tash in the way that he did, as it was essential to making her realise not everyone is what society labels them as and that flaws don't make imperfection. As cheesy as it sounds, they are both imperfectly perfect in their own way.

In short, this is a powerful, moving book of realistic fiction that cuts the crap and exposes just how bad high school can be, but how the simple things like friends and self believe can make all the difference, and that change starts with your own perception of yourself. I would most definitely recommend this book if you're looking for something moving and honest to read and aren't so easily offended. And even if you are, you should still read this book because I'm sure Tash would be more than happy to knock you off that high horse of yours and give you a much needed reality check.

Review: Ready to Fall by Daisy Prescott

Title: Ready To Fall

Author: Daisy Prescott

Release Date: 17th December 2013

My Rating: 4/5 stars

 

Told from the (alpha)male perspective of the drool-worthy John Day, this is an adorably cute, funny, adult contemporary romance that will have you sighing in satisfaction.

 

Living on an island away from the craziness that is the mainland, John Day is the heart-throb of all heart-throbs; tall, with rugged bearded good looks and never seen without his plaid shirt and dog named Babe, this self-sufficient lumberjack weakens knees. When his neighbour rents out her beach cabin for the winter months to a Diane Watson, John finds himself playing saviour and tour guide to the beautiful brunette. Being both in the middle of crappy love life situations, they agree to be the ultimate friends. As the time goes by and they get to know each other, they soon realise that friendship might just not be the kind of relationship they really desire. This is a spin-off from Daisy Prescott's debut novel, Geoducks Are for Lovers, however it is not necessary to read that book before picking up this one, as I didn't and I still loved and understood every second of it.

 

This was such a cute read! Well, cute might not be the right word. It was romantic and steamy but without being overly so. The characters were so loveable, with their realistic life problems and sweetness. They were especially intriguing as we got to see them all through the eyes of our male main character, John (yes, feel free to take a moment to swoon over him yet again!). His no-nonsense alpha-male attitude and outlook made for a refreshing take on the contemporary romance genre, as its only one of a handful of male POV contemporary romances I've read. Diane made for the perfect love interest, with her less than stellar background and sad reasoning for moving to the island making her vulnerable but without being helpless and annoying. There was no case of insta-love here, as the romance was drawn out at a good pace and built steadily. The supporting characters of Maggie, Quinn, 'Tom Cat', Olaf and even Diane's work friends added a necessary depth to the story that added dimension to the novel. The only slight downside to this story that I could find was that I felt that these supporting characters could have maybe played a slightly bigger role in the story or made more of an appearance just to change the tone of the novel every once in a while. We did get to see John's Aunt and Uncle though and that really helped in building John's character in my mind. 

 

This may be an adult book, but I feel as if any young adult or new adult reader could just as happily enjoy this book. It's a light, quick, easy read that is so very enjoyable and sweet enough in nature that any and all lovers of contemporary romance will adore it. People always seem to think that summery reads are the best contemporary romances, but this is a book that puts that statement to shame. Set in winter months, published in winter; this book is a stellar example of how awesome winter romances can be and how to do them well.

 

The writing was beautiful and flowed so effortlessly, with an enjoyable pace and great plot development. Some may argue that it is rather predictable, but to be honest aren't all contemporary romances? I mean isn't that what we love about them, and why we can't seem to get enough? For me, this book was perfect. It had the right balance od sweet moments, steamy moments, dramatic moments, sad moments and euphoric moments. It kept me absolutely hooked and was impossible to put down.

 

I read the whole thing in one sitting, with a smile on my face through it's entirety and long after I put it down and went to sleep. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am a little sad that I only have the ebook because I loved it so much, I feel a physical copy deserves to be housed on my bookshelf. If you're on the fence about getting this book, let this review the nudge that helps you with your decision. I cannot possibly recommend it enough!

Welcome to my little corner!

Well hello there. How you doing? You're probably thinking 'oh here we go, another one of these new bloggers that think it'll make a good new years resolution'. Well, let me just stop you right there kind sirs and madames. I personally hate NYRs and so never bother setting any.

I do however have a ridiculous love for books, often refered to as my (yes you guessed it) addiction. I just cant help myself! They are my biggest passion/hobby/purpose in life (okay okay maybe not the last one but you get the picture). In the past month or so, simply reading and feeling the feels hasn't been quite enough for me. I've been feeling the need to rant; to purge my soul and ease the crazy levels of emotions these books invoke within me. Considering my small circle of friends contains all of ONE fellow book lover (and a begginer at that) , I've realised I'm going to have to resort to our good old best friend, Google. Or rather a blog.

I'm hoping to use this blog as a place to share my thoughts in greater depth than I would on say goodreads.  This will be the home of all rants; a true account of how I feel about the books I read, what I look forward to reading, reading pet peeves and basically any and all things book related.

If you plan to tag along on my train of thougts that is this blog, then I welcome you with open arms and reserve a seat for you! I hope you find this blog to be worth your time, whether I introduce you to new books you haven't heard of, have those necessary discussions dissecting our favourite stories or even just make you giggle a little!