Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

The thing that I love about this book series is the fact that Marissa Meyer manages to write different characters and different romances with her own style without it feeling like all of the characters are some variation on the same. Scarlet felt different to Cinder and Cress, dear Cress with her idealistic views and childish ways, is different to them both. 

I feel like I'm betraying Cress and Thorne if I say this here, after all this is their book, but Scarlet and Wolf are my fave Lunar Chronicles couple and I felt so heartbroken for the two of them in this book, I also loved the fact that we get to revisit Cinder and Kai in this book - Cress and Thorne are cute, but their romance doesn't develop in the same way as the first two couples and I didn't feel as invested into them.

Maybe the reason for that is that Cress felt to me like a weaker character than Cinder and Scarlet and as much as I liked her - she was so cute - she wasn't as kick ass as the other girls. She is lonely, and totally has a crush on Carswell Thorne even before he comes into her life, but this made me wonder whether her feelings were really developing from that at all.

I also feel like the plot in Cress slowed down a bit - I was still absolutely gripped but not as much as I had been for Cinder or Scarlet. Marissa Meyer's writing was as amazing as before, but the plot slowed down a bit, which unfortunately dampered my enjoyment a teenie bit.

That being said, Cress was a thoroughly enjoyable read, with great characters both new and old. Whilst the pace drooped a little, I know it will pick up in Winter and I cannot wait to get started on that!

Book released 4th February 2014 by Feiwel and Friends

Review: Dead Ringer by Jessie Rosen

From the moment Laura Rivers steps foot into Englewood High, she notices the stares—and they aren’t the typical once-overs every pretty new girl endures. The students seem confused and…spooked. Whispers echoing through the halls confirm that something is seriously off. “That new girl looks just like her,” they say.

It turns out Laura has a doppelgänger, and it isn't just anyone—it's Sarah Castro-Tanner, the girl who killed herself by jumping into the Navasink River one year ago.

Laura is determined not to let the gossip ruin her chances of making a fresh start. Thanks to her charming personality and California tan, she catches the eye of Englewood’s undisputed golden boy, Charlie Sanders, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their relationship official.

But something is making Charlie and his friends paranoid—and Laura soon discovers it has to do with Sarah Castro-Tanner.

What really happened to Sarah? Why is Charlie unraveling? And how does Laura Rivers fit into it all?

After all, she’s the dead ringer for a dead girl.

No... No... No!

Do you know what I hate? When a book is set up really well, and I'm getting really invested into the plot, then all of a sudden this big twist that the whole narrative has been leading up to hits and it completely blows everything that I have started to enjoy about the story out of the water and I'm left staring at the left over pieces of a story that could have been so much more.

When I first started Dead Ringer I struggled, I felt that the writing style was overly simplistic and I struggled to be absorbed into the storytelling. Still, I persevered, because that blurb promised me brilliant things so I wanted to see where it was going. We meet Laura, a relateable girl who moves to a new school and meets the most popular guy in town - the only thing is that she sort of looks like someone who died two years ago. I say sort of because even some of the characters say that Laura only slightly resembles Sarah (dead girl), so by this point I'm getting a bit interested but also not getting connected.

Then the proper story begins, and we realise that Laura's new boyfriend and his best buds had something to do with Sarah's death, and somebody knows... 

So the story starts to get interesting, then Rosen throws in this totally crazy twist that is supposed to be unexpected and really shock you into reading more but all it did was made me roll my eyes and sigh because it suddenly created hundreds of massive plot holes. After that, the book was ruined, the story became completely out there and not at all enjoyable and I was just waiting for the climax to happen  so that it was over... then it ends on a crappy cliffhanger and I was not a happy Jade!

This book had so much potential - and Rosen as a writer for YA readers does too, if she learns to show and not tell all the time - but it was just such a let down. If the twist had been something semi-believable that had me reeling, I would have really enjoyed this book... but it wasn't, so I didn't, and that is all I can say.

Book released 11th November 2015 by Full Fathom FiveBook received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: NEED by Joelle Charbonneau

"No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better."

Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes.

This book is just Joelle Charbonneau all over, and I love it.

Fr once, I appreciate the fact that an author has managed to take the point of view of a lot of characters and tie them together in a way that is both fluid and non-convoluted. I loved how well Joelle managed to create this confusion and resolve it all towards the end. Okay, so the ;big' reveal actually was a bit anticlimatic to me and took an edge off this book, but what happened in the 95% up to then was so much better and I would definitely need to read the sequel. I can't believe how much I was gripped by NEED.

I felt so sorry for Kaylee in this book, it seemed like everyone and everything was against her. She's ostracised for wanting her brother to survive, things are just going right between her and the guy she loves but is he really all he seems? There is a whole lot going against the girl and I loved how she stood against it even in the worst of times.

The story was nail-biting, heart-pounding mystery, suspense and action. These characters have their interactions caused needlessly by NEED and from start to finish I was gasping, guessing and clenching my fists in surprise and fear..

Overall, NEED was a fantastic book by an author that is solidifying herself as a favourite for me. Fantastic writing, dimensional characters and a gripping storyline. NEED will probably one of my favourites of 2015.

Book released 3rd November by HMH Books for Young Readers

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas

A prince.

A ball.

A glass slipper left behind at the stroke of midnight.

The tale is told and retold, twisted and tweaked, snipped and stretched, as it leads to happily ever after.

But it is not the true Story.

A dark fortress.

A past forgotten.

A life of servitude.

No one has ever broken free of the Godmother’s terrible stone prison until a girl named Pin attempts a breathless, daring escape. But she discovers that what seems to be freedom is a prison of another kind, one that entangles her in a story that leads to a prince, a kiss, and a clock striking midnight. To unravel herself from this new life, Pin must choose between a prince and another—the one who helped her before and who would give his life for her. Torn, the only thing for her to do is trade in the glass slipper for a sword and find her own destiny.

Oh my gosh, I can't stop thinking about this book. Not because it was flawless and the best book I've ever read - that's not true - but because it takes fairytale retellings and turns them on their head in a way reminiscent of Cinder, just without the sci-fi. In Ash & Bramble, the fairytale is the dark force our protagonist is running from - the story that has been decided for her, and that makes for a fantastic read.

I nearly gave up on Ash & Bramble near the beginning. The start was brilliant and had me hooked, but the run away sequence and Pin waking up as Penelope slowed the pace down and I nearly gave up at that point. I pushed through though, because I so desperately wanted to love this book and thankfully Prineas didn't let me down. The pace doesn't pick up massively until later in the book, but the storyline itself built up so I was interested again, then I was hooked again, then I had to go to sleep because I was at work at 6am and couldn't stop thinking about this book until I got home. It was brilliant - it just crept up on me.

Now I'm not saying that the book was perfect, flawless  or any of those things. It was lacking in some areas and there were some things which I didn't find necessary. The love triangle? I get why it was there, but it seemed not needed. I knew what the only outcome could be. Also things that annoyed me throughout the book, like why didn't Pin just restore her own memories instead of being torn between Cor and Shoe, that would have resolved the situation pretty quickly. I also feel like the end felt a little rushed which I didn't appreciate after all the time waiting for action to happen.

That being said, Ash & Bramble was still a brilliant book, and I am so torn because I don't know what to rate it. I'm going middle of the range. This was an engaging, interesting, gripping read which had it's flaws but still stands out to me as a book in the YA-fantasy-fairytale subgenre. If you like books that turn a genre on it's head, read this. It's great.

Book released 15th September 2015 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Gilded by Christina Farley

Sixteen-year-old Jae Hwa Lee is a Korean-American girl with a black belt, a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows, and a chip on her shoulder the size of Korea itself. When her widowed dad uproots her to Seoul from her home in L.A., Jae thinks her biggest challenges will be fitting in to a new school and dealing with her dismissive Korean grandfather. Then she discovers that a Korean demi-god, Haemosu, has been stealing the soul of the oldest daughter of each generation in her family for centuries. And she's next.

But that’s not Jae’s only problem.

There's also Marc. Irresistible and charming, Marc threatens to break the barriers around Jae's heart. As the two grow closer, Jae must decide if she can trust him. But Marc has a secret of his own—one that could help Jae overturn the curse on her family for good. It turns out that Jae's been wrong about a lot of things: her grandfather is her greatest ally, even the tough girl can fall in love, and Korea might just be the home she's always been looking for.

I am what may be called a koreaboo - one of those annoying white westerners with an unhealthy obsession with Korean culture. It starts with K-pop, but doesn't end there because I now love korean mythology and history and all of that. Therefore, it seemed only right that I snatch up the chance to review Gilded. It's weird, because as a reader I really enjoyed this book. As a reviewer, I found some flaws in it that I can't quite get over.

Let me talk about the good first: I loved the plot of this book, and the action never stops. Despite a few flaws with Jae Hwa (and the way she treated people at times), she actually got off her feet and did stuff and I did as a whole like her character. I think the interpretation of Korean myths was well done and Farley had clearly done some research because the execution was well done and well explained. I enjoyed the book as a reader, but when you start to look deeper there are some problems.

Farley is a good author; the writing flowed and the dialogue felt natural for the most part. However there are some similes and phrases that she uses that make me think she was trying to always remind us that Jae Hwa is korean. The constant references to kimchi - at points Jae Hwa compares herself to Kimchi - and the fact that Jae Hwa is a black belt at Tae Kwon Do are just a few of these things, but they are always there. That being said, there is a lack of Korean people in the book. The love interest is called Mark, her best friend is another American-born Korean called Michelle... where is the culture immersion!? Not to mention the fact that Jae mentions missing her friends back in the US... does she once call them or skype them or email them? No.

 

I guess overall, Gilded was a good, fast paced read on the surface, so controversially it's getting a higher rating then I should give it, but if you're picking it up solely for the setting and the culture, I'd say give it a miss. Gilded is not much more than a pretty average YA fantasy read.

Book released 1st March 2014 by Skyscape

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Emmy and Oliver by Robyn Benway

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Look. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway was indisputably one of the best book of my mid-teen years. It was entertaining and sarcastic and meaningful in all the right ways. If there was anyone in the world who thought that I was not going to be devouring Emmy & Oliver like a rabid fangirl zombie then they are sadly wrong. Robin Benway has the x-factor and the rest of us are just slaves to her awesomeness.

This book had all of the things that made Audrey, Wait! so darned fantastic and some added bits. It has the boy-next-door romance, some typical best friend drama mixed in with the fact that the main character and her love interest have a very interesting back story. I just loved the way that this story is set up where Oliver has been kidnapped, everyone is worrying about his well-being, it's been like a decade but he is still a big name in the small town. Then he comes back, but he isn't traumatised or anything, he had a good upbringing and everyone is telling him he should be angry but he never knew anything was wrong! It makes for some difficult familial relationships. I love how Benway added the dynamic that Oliver wasn't mentally scarred or anything  yeah he's troubled, but he isn't an abused mess.

Emmy was a perfect character. She was so caring, a great friend and genuinely a good person without coming across as too good. Her friends - Caro and Drew, have their own plotlines that fit well into the book and make them more relatable as well. There was just a very unique cast of characters that worked together and develop through the book and this felt just as much about that as it did about the developing romance.

Overall, I'm not saying that Emmy & Oliver was without it's flaws and it doesn't stand out as much as Audrey Wait! did, but Benway's signature sarcastic, entertaining voice was there and the characters were brilliant. I would recommend this book to fans or Sarah Dessen or Jennifer E. Smith, or anyone looking for a contemp read with that little bit extra.

Book released 23rd June by Harper Teen 

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

Sometimes I believe the baby will never stop crying. Sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner fears she is losing her mind. When her family move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, Amanda hopes she can leave her haunting memories behind: of her sickly Ma giving birth to a terribly afflicted baby; of the cabin fever that claimed Amanda's sanity; of the boy who she has been meeting in secret...But the Verners arrive on the prairie to find their new home soaked in blood. So much blood. And Amanda has heard stories - about men becoming unhinged and killing their families, about the land being tainted by wickedness. With guilty secrets weighing down on her, Amanda can't be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or within her soul ...

I am a complete and utter wimp. I hate anything vaguely scary, yet I still subject myself to scary books - I have absolutely no idea why though. Daughters Unto Devils was actually an extremely good read, it was also rather terrifying.

Let me set a scene: Me, 22 years old, reading this book. I started it when it was light out, but days in England are getting short again, by the time I finished it the sky was dark. I'm home alone and feel strangely exposed and vulnerable, I look at the clock - 9pm, but it's a Saturday night, my boyfriend works in hospitality! He won't be home for like four hours. I want a bath, but I'm scared of leaving my bedroom. I need to pee, but I'm terrified. All because I read a freaking horror book! Thanks a lot Amy Lukavics, not like I wanted to sleep this year anyway... 

Yes, this book was scary. I digress though, because Daughters Unto Devils was a well written read. It's historical, and sort of had the feel of a suspense horror by Stephen King or the Paranormal Activity movies - you know something terrifying is going to happen, but it builds up until it reaches it's peak in the absolutely terrifying final part of the book. Horrifying, I tell you! I have to give it to this author - she really knows how to build the atmosphere. This was a tense read!

I also really like that historical aspect that I mentioned before I went off on one - the setting at the start of the book read a little like an old Virginia Andrews book (I love those books), back before everything went a little of hilter - I also liked the things that Lukavics threw in - Amanda's pregnancy and the alienation from her sister. It was brilliant.

If there is one - one - problem that I had with book (aside from the fact that I am now living without sleep), it's that Lukavics mentions Amanda's history and how she went a little but insane the previous winter but doesn't elaborate much. I think it would have really helped to set a scene if there was more of that, but maybe that is just me.

Overall though, I think we can say that Daughters Unto Devils is one of the best horror books I have ever read. It had the atmosphere, the suspense, the isolation and the terrifying climax that really worked together, and I would read anything from this author again - though maybe making sure I stock up on sleep before I do so!

Book released 1st October by Simon and Schuster UK

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review