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*