Book review 14 - Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius

Pages: 340
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication date: May 12, 2015
Summary: 
Love is real in the town of Grimbaud, and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Duprees have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love.
Fortunately, Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian.
Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?

My thoughts:

Not going to lie I knew nothing about this book before I bought it. This book was featured in a cover contest in May and I voted for it because it was the cutest cover. Then later that same day I went to the bookstore and saw the book and bought it on a whim. So glad I did because the cover is GORGEOUS and the book is SO CUTE!!

Anyone who knows me, or who has read my reviews, knows that YA contemporary isn't always my favorite. I like a few, especially the cuter romantic ones, but I have a difficult time reading some contemporary because there is no action. But for some reason this book was a total hit with me! The more I think about it, the more I realize that because in its own way, this is like a dystopian book. A girl sets out, with help, to change the fate of her city. It's such a cute idea.

I can't even begin to explain how unique this book is. In the town of Grimbaud, everyone gets a love fortune that tells them how their love life will turn out. So this town is centred around love. The main girl, Fallon, gets a love fortune with horrible news, and she's not the only one, so she decides to do something about it with them. Love runs this town, and I think it's such a cute idea. It reminds me of a Valentine's Day story, but where every day is Valentine's Day.

The world that this author has created is just so cute and fluffy. A little town where everything is like Valentine's Day all the time and everyone is happy and in love. 

I had one problem with the book, and not going to lie it was a big problem.. I didn't like the main girl. She was such a pretentious materialistic judgmental character. At times I found her intolerable with her better than everyone else stuck up attitude. I grew to like her, but she never seemed to grow out of that little phase and she just bothered me to be honest. Not enough to ruin the story, thank god, but enough that I was rolling my eyes at her. Her character development was there, she did grow as a character, but she never lost those qualities about her. 
Another problem I had were the very weirdly placed time jumps. Moments where she was doing something and thinking something and the next moment she would be somewhere else doing something else and there was no page break to indicate that so I was a bit confused at times.

This book reminded me of a cheesy tv movie. I don't mean that in a really bad way either. Like a really cute TV movie that everyone loves even though it's a little far fetched. You just can't help loving it because it's just so darn cute!! 

Well, I've used up my quota for the amount of times I can say cute in a review, so yeah, read this!

Book review 13 - Confess by Colleen Hoover

Pages: 306
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication date: March 10, 2015
Summary: 
Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.
For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.
The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

My thoughts:

There are so many words. More words than I will ever know, and yet there are none that can accurately tell you how much this book was beautiful. Colleen Hoover has overtaken Jodi Picoult and become my favourite author. It's so hard to review her books because how many times can I tell you that I love her, that her writing and characters are flawless, and that everything is perfect. She writes heartbreaking, stunningly beautiful stories that make me sad for days. I honestly have never cried as hard during a book as I cried during this one.
The concept of this book was amazing. I loved Owen's art and how he uses Confessions as inspiration. Auburn's story was so good and I just love the little twists Hoover likes to throw in the middle of all her books to make everything that much more heartbreaking. These two were such perfectly flawed and beautiful characters.
I sobbed the entire last chapter of the book I really don't know what else to tell you other than this book heart my hurt, made me feel EVERYTHING, and made me forget where I was at times. 
The book hangover on this one is really strong and I hurt. It's been a long time since I read a book in one day, let alone one sitting.
Read it. Please. Seriously though read this book.

Book review 12 - This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meghan Spooner

Pages: 390
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication date: December 23rd, 2014
Summary: 
Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.
Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.
Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.
Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

My thoughts:

This is no where near as good as book one was. Not even a little bit close.
I will say, the plot is much better and more interesting. The civilians vs soldiers on this really run down planet. All interesting, but the book just isn't as good.
Jubilee and Flynn in my opinion have no chemistry. I didn't see, nor will I see, the progression of their romantic storyline. Not sure really when they went from enemies to like romance partners but clearly I missed that section. Their romance got old after a while because it was always the same scene. They would want to touch one another, they would finally do it and then they would stop because it was wrong. It was also hardly developed. I don't really see their romance and I don't feel for it like I did for Tarver and Lilac's.
It was nice to see Lilac and Tarver again, even though they had a very very small and minor storyline.
That being said. I think I liked Flynn and Jubilee more than Tarver and Lilac. 

Also, in book one every chapter started with an interview between Tarver and some sort of LaRoux guy which made sense because it told us that yes eventually Lilac and Tarver would make it off that planet. But this one had the weirdest scenes at the beginning of every chapter and I had absolutely no idea what they meant or represented and I think they were mishandled and too confusing to aid in the storyline. 

They also introduced a lot of political and social problems I don't feel were really concluded at the end of the book. Sure there was an attempt at concluding things but there was a lot of easy way out moments. Like the ending with McBride was just too easy. A lot of those.

I know I complained about the book a lot. I really did like it but I just didn't feel anything nearly as strong towards it as I did to the first one and they are hard not to compare. I only hope that I like the conclusion as much as these and that I enjoy the new characters just as much as I did these. 

Book review 9 - Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Pages: 310
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: August 20th, 2013
Summary: 
For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.
As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

My thoughts:

This book definitely got better as it went along. It started out with a really underdeveloped storyline and really juvenile characters and I was a bit unsure if I would enjoy where the story was heading. The writing was weird and awkward at times but not hard to read. The romance was introduced really rapidly and had no build up so it didn't really make sense.  All of this, however, was solved by the end and improved throughout the story. The writing got less juvenile and immature as the story went on and I think this is due to the fact that the three main characters seem to grow up as the story progressed. I saw great character building in this novel that I don't usually notice that vividly in other books. The romance plot ended up lessening to the point where it was more of a background story, and I also see why it was included so rapidly. Overall a really huge improvement as it went on and I really enjoyed reading it.

That being said, the setting of the story is definitely the best part. I can picture this old asylum on a college campus, I can picture everything so vividly and I applaud the author for being able to do that. I really enjoy that she made the setting a character itself and did a very good job of that. The creepy pictures that remind me of a Miss Peregrine's style were such a great inclusion. It helps build this creepy vibe that left me feeling like I was there in some moments! It also gave me a great desire to go find and explore old abandoned asylums; which probably isn't a very good idea. 

I recommend this book, definitely, to anyone who likes a good creepy mystery story!

I'm going to continue on with this series because I really look forward to seeing where book 2 goes with the story and hopefully to see how book 3 concludes their story!

Book review 8 - Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Pages: 471
Publisher: Graphia
Publication date: October 1, 2008
Summary: 
Deadly Grace
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight--she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graces as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.
She never expects to become Po's friend.
She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

My thoughts:

*4.5 books*

I really enjoyed this book. I attempted to listen to the audiobook but I wasn’t enjoying the audiobook narrator voices so when I found Graceling for 1$ at a used book store I knew it was destined to be. 

This book has everything I love. Nothing complicated. A strong female lead. Amazing secondary characters. A really interesting world and really interesting “powers” called Graces. The world was plain and nothing too unusual but very good. I love love the idea of Gracelings. I love that it’s not something everyone has, and I love how complex they are. Katsa’s grace was so amazing. I love how it began as something terrifying and dangerous and turned into something beautiful. Learning about the many different graces was nice, but I would have loved to learn about even more of them.

Now characters: I loved Katsa. I actually at the beginning found her a touch unlikable but that went away. Her sarcasm and her humour were everything I like in people and I love her interactions with Po. They were both such strong characters, as was Bitterblue. It’s clear that Cashore is not interested in weak useless characters and I love that. Everyone had a place, a purpose and a point.

I’m just going to give an entire section here for Po though. What can I say about Po. What a precious little child. Willing to get beat up constantly just to fight Katsa. So protective of Katsa and Bitterblue. Protective of Katsa but also realizes that he will never be able to protect Katsa better than she protects herself. He teases her in such a loving way, but he’s just so loving in general. Like with the horses. He constantly cares about their wellbeing because he knows that Katsa is rough on them and he just sometimes reminds her to care for her horse because not everything is as tough as her. He is gentle in all the ways that she is rough and they are the perfect match because they compliment each other where the other lacks. And essentially their entire relationship can be summed up in:

Po: Katsa no
Katsa: KATSA YES!!

My reasons for a 4.5 rating, instead of a 5 star, are two fold. It was the plot and the ending.

I really did enjoy the plot. But there were some definite slow moments. A lot of kind of mountain travelling that doesn’t really further the plot a lot. Same with their very long stay in the cabin and their boat journey. So while I did like it. I found it lacking and a bit slow. Also, the fact that this is a companion series rather than a trilogy is a bit disappointing because I feel like there wasn’t much that happened and I don’t feel ready to be finished with Katsa and Po.

Another little thing is the book is so clearly about killing that one king but in the end that scene was also a little underwhelming.

My problem with the end, to me, seems quite obvious. It’s just not enough and it’s not an ending. Again, it feels like a story that continues to another book because it was such an open ending. There was no character development for Katsa. She had the oppurtunity to grow after taking care of Bitterblue and maybe see that she could be a mother and a wife. The fact that Po and Katsa kind of ended the book apart with no intention of ever being married really disappointed me. I don’t see the purpose of including a romance plot when you leave it like that at the end. I am sure in Bitterblue we might get an update about them but I am really really underwhelmed with the ending.

I will say that the Po thing at the end really made me sad for him.

Overall, I really adored this book. I’m going to read Bitterblue soon and then read Fire after that. I am looking forward to really seeing if there is any sort of Po/Katsa development that will make this less of a disappointment to me. 

Book review 6 - Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Pages: 512
Publisher: Hachette Books
Publication date: December 1, 2001
Summary: 
Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. 

She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex. 

Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.

My thoughts:

I have decided that I am actually going to leave this unrated. I feel like a 3 star rating does not do it justice, my reasons for disliking the book do not permit me to give it a 4/5 star and I didn't hate it enough for a 1/2 star.

I adored this book. Truly. From the first page I knew that I would love this story. I will admit, the letter format took me some time to get used to, but only about 30 pages and I was used to it and hooked.
Rosie and Alex are the most complex and irritatingly loveable characters I've ever read. Alex and his constant inability to tell anyone how he feels and to play everything off, as well as being unreliable.
Rosie and her inability to listen to everyone's advice, to be a negative whiny person and to never do anything for herself.
I admit, I never have wanted kids, infact I am violently against having children and this book just further reminded me why I don't want kids. Rosie is a great mother in that she sacrifices LITERALLY her entire life for her daughter, but I don't have it in me for that.
The side characters were so cute and I loved them all. I loved Ruby and her siblings and his siblings and Katie and Josh as well. 
The length of the book though had me skipping a lot of the side stuff near the end. I lost interest in the brothers and sisters and even the children because I was so anxious to finish this 550 page book. It was so good but it really didn't need to be that long. 
The length was also a little weird in terms of timing. The book spans 45 years of their lives. You have entire decades that pass in the span of 3 pages, and then you stay on one year of their life for 100 pages. It was a little hard to follow the time at points but it didn't seem to take away from the story.

Where I have a hard time rating the book is the love story. I didn't actually like it in the end. I loved them, I truly wanted them together. Until they were about 35. Then I stopped. I really DID want them to be together at first. They loved each other, that much was clear, but they just got sidetracked, babies happened, wives and husbands and then they couldn't be together. But then Sally and Alex got divorced and Alex was ready. Then Rosie and Greg got divorced and they were ready. I was extremely happy with that and I wanted it to stay like that. But then there was a new complication that prevented them from being together, once again, and that's where I lost interest. It went from being a really believable heartbreaking story of people who couldn't be together, to a story where a lot of stuff happened just to add drama. I think that 10 or so years of waiting was enough. I don't really think that the author needed to start adding more complications. I lost interest almost in the book entirely by that point. Not to mention that it's kind of bittersweet that they finally end up together on the last page, where we can't read any of it, and when they are 50. They have lived almost their entire lives by then. It's not a romantic storyline anymore, it's just sad. 

So the reason I am refraining from rating the book is NOT because I didn't like it, it's because I don't think it's fair to rate a book 1 star because of a romance plot (even though that's the whole book), but I'm not rating the book 5 stars when I didn't like the main storyline. So if you're looking for a decision whether to read this or not, I leave you with all of that information and you can decide what to do with it.

Book review 4 - Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Pages: 383
Publisher: Orion
Publication date:  February 10, 2015
Summary: 
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

My thoughts:

I tried to love this book. I really expected to, the plot was great, it had everything I love in dystopian YA books.. but that’s the problem.
I think maybe the positive attitudes for this book got me so excited and pumped that by the time I set out to read it that I just had expectations that couldn’t be met..
To start, and this is my MAIN problem with Red Queen, is that this book used every single YA trope that I am sick and tired of, and used them all at once. It ended up being a combination of so many other books that there was nothing unique about it. 
Some books that came to mind when reading this: The Selection because there was a competition to marry the prince.  The Hunger Games with the mandatory shows they have to watch. Red Rising because of the Silvers vs. Reds. And not to forget The Girl of Fire and Thorns because she’s married/getting married to the King/future King to protect herself. I just, in the end, couldn’t find a single thing about this book that was unique.  
My second problem was the love triangle star? She’s engaged to the future King prince dude. She’s obviously having a thing with his brother. There’s her best friend that will probably be a problem in the future, and then that really rude girl who is jealous of her. It is 2015 and there is no one in the world who likes love triangles anymore. I have officially decided that love triangles are dead to me. I am over it and I can’t bring myself to care for them anymore. Plus brothers? Really? That’s just a no no. I didn’t really get far enough in the book to figure out if this had a purpose to the plot (doubt it) but I just don’t care for it. 
I also found her a really flat character with no personality and I just couldn’t bring myself to care for any of the characters.

At the end of the day, it just wasn’t for me. It’s just too overused. The plot, the storyline of the characters, the characters themselves, I’ve just seen it all before and unfortunately I couldn’t connect to a thing.