Book review 29 - The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Pages: 372

Publisher: Speak
Publication date: September 1, 2011
Summary: 
Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

My thoughts:

Just a fun fact about me: I don't read book blurbs. Whether I've been anticipating the book for a long time, or it's a book I've never heard of, I don't read blurbs. I find they give away too many little spoilers that I would much rather find out. Therefore I am a judge a book by it's cover type of person.
That being said, I chose to read this entirely because I loved Maureen Johnson's story in Let It Snow. That was my entire reason and therefore I had no idea what this book was about.
To put it mildly, I was extremely ecstatic when I realized that this was a Jack the Ripper story. I love to study Serial Killers, I read biographies and true crime books constantly and I study them in school so when I started this I was extremely excited. It did not disappoint.
Johnson managed to include this really unique idea and plot point into a story that I already liked. I would have loved to just read about a Jack the Ripper copycat, but the extra plots and storylines she included were amazing.
Her character building is so well done, I can see how talented Maureen Johnson is just from this one book. Rory is a strong character, and on top of that, she had about 10 minor characters who all managed to have their own personality, which is often times rare to see. 
I will say, one thing that I found refreshing was the lack of love story. Yes there's a minor love interest, nothing major, but it doesn't dominate the storyline. Not even close, and I like that. Not that I don't love some good fluff once in a while, but I really wanted to read a book about something else with no romance and this definitely delivered.
Overall, a really really unique book that was well done. 

Book review 27 - The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Pages: 380

Publisher: Athenuem
Publication date: 2002
Summary: 
Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium. Can a boy who was bred to guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can he ever be free?

My thoughts:

I'm so happy that I've been reading such unique books lately! Before now I had heard of this book, as is normal since it's quite old, but I had no idea what it was about. I saw it recently at the library and read the blurb and it interested me so when I found it really cheap at a used bookstore I decided to buy it.
I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed it.
The setting is probably my favourite part. I love that it's pretty much in Mexico. I feel like there are a lack of books that are set in Mexico and it was refreshing to read a little bit about their culture and urban legends and things. 
This book is such a great fantasy book. I love the eejits, the idea of clones and everything else. It's futuristic but doesn't feel that way at all. It felt like it could have been modern day. 
The characters were also great. Matt was such a precious child and I felt so bad for him so much throughout the book. His life was so tragic and sad. Celia is another character I love because she was so loving and Tam Lin was probably my favourite minor character. The antagonists in this book are so well written because I was so frustrated with them the entire time I read the book!

My one and only problem was Ton Ton's dialogue. The author kept including random "uh" in the middle of every sentence and I didn't understand what they were meant to be? Maybe a stutter or something but either way it would lose the flow of the book for me. Thankfully he was not in a lot of the book but I am hoping that by the second book this will be easier to read or less of an issue for Ton Ton.

Such a creative and unique book!

Book review 25 - Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Pages: 404

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: August 7, 2012
Summary: 
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

My thoughts:

This book was AMAZING. 

Celaena is definitely my favourite fictional woman. She is this high class crazy assassin that essentially passes off as a normal girl. She is so sassy and sweet and kick ass and just omg I love her to death. THIS is what I want in a strong female heroine.
The characters are so well written in this book. Chaol and Dorian are entirely different characters, each having aspects that appeal to Celaena. The author was able to create these two men and make this less of a love triangle and more of a love line. 
The world they live in is also so interesting. There is the appropriate amount of background and world building to make this book interesting, but not excessive. The plot is really interesting and I kind of love the competition aspect of the story. It has a lot of different plot points that can get complicated, but they are easy to follow and instead of confusing you they just leave you wanting more.

Book review 24 - Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout

Pages: 335
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication date: May 8, 2012
Summary: 
Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

My thoughts:

24 hours, it took me all of 24 hours to read this book and fall in love with this series.
And holy mother eff I am in love.
Listen, I had really high expectations going into this book. It has an extremely high rating given the fact that it also has nearly 100,000 ratings. I read some bad reviews of the book, but those didn't phase me. I had expectations and I went in ready to be let down.
I was so so NOT let down. This book delivered everything I wanted.
The writing: basic but still super enjoyable. Katy has an amazing voice. 
The plot: There are a few Twilight crossovers but I truly believe they are accidents. The plot is so unique. I honestly loved the story line and let me tell you Aliens are not my thing at all. Like ever.
But the characters. Oh my god the characters. Daemon Black is the hottest sassiest most infuriating male character I've ever witnessed. He is a class A asshole and I fell in love with him the moment we met him. The worlds biggest asshole I don't even think you can fully understand how much of a dick he is until you read this book and still he is actually a gift from god himself. The sass he produces could actually fuel the world enough for the rest of eternity. Put him and Celaena Sardothien in a room together for a few hours and give me some popcorn and we have ourselves some entertainment. 
Katy has a really nice voice. She's not very exciting if I am being honest, a book reviewer, but she's not a super amazing character. She is however highly relatable. A boring standard girl who spends all her time inside reading and on her blog.... hmmmm I've heard that before.. I can tell that she will eventually be a really kickass character that will far surpass anything I could ever be. She is too nice to Daemon considering the shit he has put her through. I honestly think she should have been much meaner to him but she's feisty and I like that. Dee is great, you can see the vulnerability in her but she's such a sweet bubbly character. Exact opposite of Mr. Asshole himself. Everyone else I vaguely care about but not really. Although I will say Kat's mom reminds me of Mama McCall from Teen Wolf.
Seriously though this book delivered in every way I wanted. Sassy, funny, action, great paranormal, and even steamy in a way that didn't piss me off like YA steamy scenes usually do. The sexual tension between Kat and Daemon was beautiful like it was so real I could feel it through my book.
I will say though, I am not 100% sure what the hell happened at the end of the book. There was a bit of confusion happening but I am hoping that something clears it all up in book 2... which I am starting right now.
I definitely recommend this book. Definitely.

Book review 23 - Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Pages: 337
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication date: August 5, 2014
Summary: 
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly. 

My thoughts:

Colleen Hoover has done it again! After Hopeless, I was worried that Slammed was just a fluke and that maybe her books weren't going to be as good as everyone says, but Ugly Love fixed that real fast! I loved the book, and honestly when I think about everything I'm about to say in my review, I don't know why.

Tate is a great narrator. I loved her. Such a great character and I just ADORED the writing in this book. But lord help me if she doesn't make the dumbest decisions. She gets into this "friends with benefits" (except they arent friends) thing knowing she would fall for him and she did it anyways. There are so many instances in this book where she should have left to protect herself but she didn't. Love her but god Tate PLEASE love yourself. 
MILES THOUGH. I disliked him. I didn't hate him in the way I normally do (like violently) but there was no sympathy for him. I am normally the kind of person who cries when male characters cry and broken people are the most important people in books but this book had both and nothing happened. He treated Tate like crap. I mean I KNOW that their arrangement was what it was, but he just like gave her hope and I know why but damn boy 6 years over a useless girl? For real?? Whatever okay I'm over it. 

I just love the writing. Colleen Hoover was born to write and tbh if she wasn't an author it would be a shame because the literary world is better with her in it. She makes characters that make you feel. Whether it's angry or sad or happy or upset or disappointed, you always feel something when you read one of her books. The stories she builds are never extravagant, the one in Ugly Love was cute and basic, but the way she executes the stories make them amazing. 

Whether you choose to read Ugly Love or not, read one of her books. I didn't realize what my life was missing before I read her books and I'm on track to have them all read in the next month. 

Book review 22 - Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Pages: 344
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publication date: March 22, 2011
Summary: 
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

My thoughts:

I’m in my last year of University studying The Holocaust, and in particular I like to focus on the relationships between people in the concentration camps. Now, for whatever reason, that has made me really dislike reading any sort of historical fiction that has anything to do with work/concentration/death camps. I always feel like they are portrayed wrong or have unrealistic aspects and I don’t always think they do the real stories any justice. Now while this wasn’t about the Holocaust, the Siberian prison camps were very similar.
That being said, this book was nothing like I usually read. It was so real. The relationships between people were real and everything was incredibly believable. It is clear that the author did her research and met with many survivors. There is so much love between the people living in these camps. They helped each other any way they could; whether it was giving food up so your children could eat, or helping out someone who maybe wasn’t as greatful as he should have been, they always helped out one another. You get the sense of community between the prisoners in this book that you just don’t see often in the real world. We are selfish beings and often think about ourselves first, while in this story this is not the case. It just shows that even in the worst conditions, humanity can present itself in people.
I don’t really want to go into an in depth review about all the characters and the plot, I think that you should read this book regardless of what I think about the characters and plot. The plot was amazing, the characters were so incredibly dynamic. It was all perfect.
I really wish this book was more popular. I feel like it’s such an important story because this part of history has been so forgotten. Everyone knows about the Holocaust but many people forget what Stalin was doing in the Soviet Union at the same time. At the end of the audiobook (I’m not sure if this is in the real book) there is an afterword by the author and it was really beautiful because she explains what brought her to write this story and a part of it is that it’s something so forgotten, and she even touches upon that in her novel at the end. 

My one and only complaint is (and this may be because I listened to the book, rather than read it) but I didn’t like the jump from present to the past. It was abrupt and I couldn’t tell when it had happened. The end of chapters were also a bit abrupt sometimes. But this in no way took anything away from the story.

Such a beautiful book. This story will stay with me for a long time and I hope I can find myself a used copy of this somewhere because I would love to own the book and read it again eventually.

Book review 19 - Dream a Little Dream - Kerstin Gier

Pages: 319
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication date: April 14, 2015
Summary: 
Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv's dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially the one where she's in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.

The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They're classmates from her new school in London, the school where she's starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what's really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn't possibly know--unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv never could resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute....

My thoughts:

This book was unexpectedly good! I am not going to lie, from the blurb, I was picturing a sort of The Raven Boys knock off story and the only similarities is that there are dreams, and 4 boys and a girl. Otherwise, they are nothing alike!

Dream a Little Dream follows a hilarious girl named Olivia who moves to London and meets 4 boys in a dream one night, and these same four boys go to her school. What ensues next is Liv, using her love for solving problems, trying to figure out what the boys are up to, and how she fits in to everything. 

The best part of the book is by far the characters. Liv and her sister Mia are hilarious. They had me laughing out loud several times with their hilarious sarcasm and commentary throughout the book. They remind me a bit of me and my sister and they were refreshing to read. 
The four boys as well I love. At first I had a difficult time deciphering between them. Grayson is the easiest one to remember. He is a sort of mysterious character but he's so protective of Liv. Then there's Jackson who is the party boy and class clown of their group. Not the smartest, but he likes to make everything less serious. Arthur is the mysterious and somewhat more closed off guy, who also happens to be the hottest boy and then there's Henry. The cute and also protective character who's sweet and caring of Liv in a way the other 3 are not (Grayson a bit).

I will say, the romance in the book is cute. It starts a bit typical because you do know she will fall for one of the four boys, but who it is was a bit surprising.  There was a character I expected her to like, even though it would have been a bit weird, but the one she ends up liking is the one I like the most. The romance is well placed and well dealt with. Never too excessive or too little. Really cute and I look forward to seeing if it works out.

Plot wise this book was great! I love the creativity of the story. I love the pacing. Never too fast or too slow. I felt like every scene was necessary and helped further the plot in some way. I also love the ending because it has a bit of an open ending, but if this was a stand alone I wouldn't mind.

I truly adored this book and I hope that book 2 and 3 get translated to English soon because I worry that someone who has read them all in German will spoil them for me!

I definitely recommend this book, and probably the entire trilogy, to everyone who like a bit of a light fantasy read with nothing overly complicated.