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*