Mini Reviews: Out of Control by Sarah Alderson and The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West

From Goodreads: When seventeen-year-old Liva came to New York City, all she wanted was to escape the painful memories of her past and finally find a fresh start. Her hopes for a new future were dashed the moment she became the sole witness to a brutal murder. When she's taken into police custody - supposedly for her own protection - she realizes something isn't right, but it's too late. Soon, bullets start flying, and Liva realizes that she is not just a witness, but the target - and she needs to escape before it's too late. With the help of a sexy car thief that she met at the station, Liva manages to get away from the massacre unharmed, but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit the two killers who will stop at nothing to find them. Liva and Jay are living on the edge, but when you're on the edge, there's a long way to fall. 

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although I enjoyed Sarah Alderson’s Lila series, I haven’t read any of her books since. So, I had some high expectations for her newest novel, Out of Control. Unfortunately, Out of Control turned out to be a rather disappointing read for a few reasons. Firstly, its fast pacing made it hard to learn much about the characters or care about them. Secondly, I found myself getting annoyed by Liva because of her priorities, – I wouldn’t be focused on a guy if there were people trying to kidnap me, – and complaints about her looks (but really, she’s pretty). Lastly, it drove me crazy that the Hispanic characters in Out of Control were portrayed so stereotypically. 

Out of Control was released in May 2015 by Simon Pulse. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from Xpresso Book Tours.
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From Goodreads: When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend - two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley. The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party - three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: While I loved Kasie West’s Pivot Point series, I haven’t found her contemporary novels quite as appealing. Sadly, The Fill-in Boyfriend was no exception. I had a tough time connecting with Gia because I found her to be very shallow. As well, the way the romance started off wasn’t very convincing, and it then veered into drama territory. I think in the future, I’ll just have to pass on any Kasie West contemporaries. 

The Fill-in Boyfriend was released by HarperTeen in May 2015.    

Review: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

From Goodreads: If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling. Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off. Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist. Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd ... until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Recently, there seems to be an increasing number of YA books dealing with mental health – a trend that I’m not only enjoying, but one that I think is very important. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone can be added to this list.

Knowing someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and having researched the topic for a few undergraduate psychology courses, I was curious to see how Sam’s disorder would be portrayed. From reading Every Last Word, it’s clear that Stone did her research. For example, I really liked that she demonstrated the importance of both medication and therapy in the treatment of OCD.

I also liked Every Last Word in terms of its characters and plot. I found it very easy to empathize with Sam, and enjoyed seeing her slowly stand up for herself and surround herself with people that she could open up to. There’s a cute romance and a very unexpected plot twist as well. 

Every Last Word will be released on June 16, 2015 by Disney-Hyperion. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s simple, and relates nicely to the contents of the book. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Disney Book Group) for free via NetGalley. 

Author Interview: Sarah Alderson (and Giveaway)

When seventeen-year-old Liva came to New York City, all she wanted was to escape the painful memories of her past and finally find a fresh start. Her hopes for a new future were dashed the moment she became the sole witness to a brutal murder. When she’s taken into police custody - supposedly for her own protection - she realizes something isn’t right, but it’s too late. Soon, bullets start flying, and Liva realizes that she is not just a witness, but the target - and she needs to escape before it’s too late. With the help of a sexy car thief that she met at the station, Liva manages to get away from the massacre unharmed, but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit the two killers who will stop at nothing to find them. Liva and Jay are living on the edge, but when you’re on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.

As part of the blog tour for Out of Control, I'd like to welcome author Sarah Alderson to my blog. 

A bit about Sarah (as found on Goodreads): Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where Sarah now spends her days writing by the pool and trying to machete open coconuts without severing a limb. 

How did you come up with the idea for Out of Control? 
Someone I knew came up to me at a party and told me she had an idea for a book, which is usually my cue to find the bathroom. I listened while she told me that I should write a book about Human Trafficking and smiled politely and told her that I didn’t really have the qualifications. But then I started thinking about how important the issue was and wondered if I should. I spoke to my agent who advised against it (it’s a fairly heavy topic after all) but then I figured out that I could find a way to write about the issue without making it a heavy, issue-based novel. The story was very much inspired though by my time in New York. I went there to research and also researched online. The organisation that Liva’s dad works for is a real organisation. I also did a lot of research into private security companies and human trafficking rings. 

In Out of Control, Liva has to go on the run with Jay. If you had to go on the run with one fictional character, who would it be and why? 
Buffy. She was such an inspiration to me as a teenager. I love Joss Whedon who wrote the Buffy TV shows. She’s so kickass you’d definitely survive on the run whether you were fleeing vampires, zombies or plain old hit men. 

Having grown up under men who are ex-military, Lila knows how to shoot and defend herself. How would you do if there were some killers after you (i.e. do you have any secret survival skills)? 
I would be totally hopeless. I always thought I’d be like Buffy, able to fight like a pro while throwing out brilliant quips, but the reality is that I freeze and panic when faced with danger. I know this because not so long ago there was a snake in my bedroom and I totally freaked out and became paralysed. I couldn’t even scream. Also, recently I was staying in a house by myself and at 4am I heard footsteps walking around and rather than staying in my LOCKED bedroom and calling the police, I got up and walked around the house, in a T-shirt and underwear, not even taking a baseball bat for protection. I was that girl from a horror film who you scream at for being stupid as the serial killer walks behind her. That was me (hangs head in shame). It turned out that it wasn’t a burglar it was actually a ghost (NO JOKE). 

Another one of Liva’s talents is that she’s a good dancer. What are some of your talents (besides writing, of course)?
Oh goodness, that’s hilarious. I don’t have any talent other than an ability to type really fast - like 80 or 90 words a minute. Yep, that’s about it. I can’t sing, I can’t dance, I can’t cook, I can’t play any sport very well. I’m pretty useless at most things in fact. I’m pretty talented at eating chocolate. Does that count? 

I actually interviewed you way back when Hunting Lila came out. Since then, you’ve written some more books. How has your writing changed and/or stayed the same during these past few years? 
I have written about ten books since then, maybe more, and I would say that with each book you do get better. Your writing becomes more fluent and you become much better at editing as you go. I have been writing screenplays for the last six months and that’s been a different experience altogether. With books every word is your own, with screenplays your words are owned by other people. You can’t afford to be precious at all. Not if you want the script to get made into a movie. So you’re constantly having to craft and redraft and then redraft some more taking on board notes from producers and directors and actors. It’s endless and you have to learn to let go. I think writing screenplays has really helped with my novels because I’ve worked with some amazing directors - Oscar and Bafta winners and it’s allowed me to see stories in a much more visual way. I can’t wait to feed what I’ve learned back into my books. 

A big thanks to Sarah for taking the time to answer my questions!

Sarah can be found on: [her website] [her blog] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Goodreads]

Out of Control can be bought from: [Amazon] [Barnes and Noble] [The Book Depository]

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Mini Reviews: Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat and Dead to Me by Mary McCoy

From Goodreads: When Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house - complete with her beloved piano - the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life. And it isn’t pretty. Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks.” Hiding the truth from her friends - and the cute new guy in school, who may have secrets of his own - seems like a good idea at first. But when a bad boy next door threatens to ruin everything, Ivy’s carefully crafted lies begin to unravel ... and there is no way to stop them. As things get to the breaking point, Ivy turns to her music, some unlikely new friends, and the trusting heart of her disabled little brother. She may be surprised that not everyone is who she thought they were ... including herself.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: I’m not sure what I was expecting from Sharon Huss Roat’s Between the Notes, but it wasn’t what I got - a story where a formerly rich girl spends the majority of the book pretending to still be rich and looking down at her new neighbours. As a result, I had a tough time connecting with Ivy.

Another aspect of Between the Notes that I struggled with was the unnecessary love triangle. It was clear from the beginning of the novel who Ivy would actually end up with; so, I didn’t see why Roat chose to have Ivy be conflicted over two boys, neither of who were really fleshed out. It also made Ivy’s change of heart at the end with regards to her love life not very believable.  

Between the Notes will be released on June 16, 2015 by HarperTeen.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss. 
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From Goodreads: "Don't believe anything they say." Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her - and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away. When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn't a kid anymore, and this time she won't let anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets - and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie's attacker behind bars - if Alice can find her first. And she isn't the only one looking. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although it had murder, mystery, and blackmail; Dead to Me by Mary McCoy was a book that never felt suspenseful enough to me for several reasons. Firstly, I failed to connect with Alice and didn’t really care much about her sister, Annie. Secondly, I felt the plot was very sequential, and knew things were going to work out for Alice and Annie. Seriously, when was the last time you read a book where the protagonist died or was seriously injured? Finally, the bad guys were revealed much earlier than I anticipated, and so I was simply waiting to see whether the bad guys would be caught in the latter portion of the book. 

Dead to Me was released by Disney-Hyperion in March 2015.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Disney Book Group) for free via NetGalley.

Review: Rogue by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can't forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her - Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he'd signed his own death warrant. Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order's headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember's own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George. A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day ... or start an all-out war?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: More action-packed and less-focused on romance, Julie Kagawa’s Rogue is a much stronger novel than its predecessor, Talon. What I really liked about Rogue though was that I no longer had to suffer through Ember exploring what it means to be a human.

While Garret was pretty much relegated to the background and Ember remained as impulsive as ever, I came to like Riley in Rogue because we’re given his backstory and get to see him be a bit more vulnerable. I also liked having Dante’s perspective in Rogue because we can contrast his view of Talon with Ember’s, and get a better picture of what’s going on than either twin.

With Rogue’s cliffhanger ending, I’m looking forward to reading Soldier and seeing what Talon’s plans are for the future. 

Rogue was released in April 2015 by Harlequin Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: I like its simplicity, but I don’t think that it’s as pretty as Talon’s cover. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harlequin Teen) for free via NetGalley.

Review: Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp

From Goodreads: Ivy Pocket is a twelve-year-old maid of no importance, with a very lofty opinion of herself. Dumped in Paris by the Countess Carbunkle, who would rather run away to South America than continue in Ivy's companionship, our young heroine (of sorts) finds herself with no money and no home to go to ... until she is summoned to the bedside of the dying Duchess of Trinity. For the princely sum of £500 (enough to buy a carriage, and possibly a monkey), Ivy agrees to courier the Duchess's most precious possession – the Clock Diamond – to England, and to put it around the neck of the revolting Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday. It's not long before Ivy finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, mayhem and murder.

My Rating: Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp is one of those books where I alternated between liking it and being annoyed by it. On the one hand, Ivy was so ridiculous and made me laugh; and on the other, had she been someone real, I probably would have strangled her. 

As a character, Ivy kind of reminded me of Amelia Bedelia. For those of you unfamiliar with Amelia Bedelia, she’s a housekeeper who gets into all kinds of shenanigans because she’s constantly misinterpreting things, yet you can’t help but love her because she has the best intentions at heart. Well, that’s Ivy – except her personality is insufferable, and so you don’t love her like you do Amelia Bedelia.

Put it simply, Ivy has a massive ego and absolutely no manners. I get that she’s a compulsive liar with a flair for the dramatic because she’s an orphan who’s trying to forget how lonely she is, but not being tactful tends to make people dislike you. I also kept forgetting that she was only twelve years old because the way she talked (e.g. she called everyone, “dear”) and acted was like someone much older – that is, until she would reveal how naïve she actually was.

Ultimately, I’d have to say that Ivy’s character was probably both the greatest strength and weakness of Anyone But Ivy Pocket. In any case, Ivy Pocket is a protagonist that’s hard to forget!

Anyone But Ivy Pocket was released in April 2015 by Greenwillow Books. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the gothic illustrations on the cover and within the book. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Review: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

From Goodreads: When Rachelle was fifteen, she was good - apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless - straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat. Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand - the man she hates most - Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

My Rating: Wavering between 2.5 and 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After enjoying Rosamund Hodge’s debut novel, Cruel Beauty, last year, I was looking forward to seeing what she would do with a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with Hodge’s sophomore novel because the issues that I had with Cruel Beauty were present in Crimson Bound as well. 

Like Cruel Beauty, Crimson Bound, for example, contained both instant love and a love triangle, neither of which I usually find appealing or necessary. Similarly, although Crimson Bound had some very interesting mythology and worldbuilding, it was confusing as hell to understand it. For instance, I’m still trying to figure out whether the Devourer is supposed to be a god, the devil, or something else altogether. Due to the worldbuilding and the way things were resolved, I also found the ending quite unsatisfying.

On top of all that, I didn’t really like Rachelle since all she seemed to do was have a pity party for herself about how she wanted to save the world and not be a murderer. Meanwhile, I just wanted to tell her, “It was your choice to take off your charms in the presence of a forestborn; if you’re going to be stupid, please don’t expect me to sympathize!”

If you plan on reading a novel by Hodge, I’d recommend Cruel Beauty over Crimson Bound. 

Crimson Bound was released by Balzer + Bray on May 5, 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: Although it’s nice that it looks similar to Cruel Beauty’s, I think it can make people mistakenly assume that the books are sequels – or at least, companion novels. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Mini Reviews: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini

From Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out - without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is one of those books that I wouldn’t have read if it wasn’t for the blogosphere. I kept hearing how adorable the story was … and after reading it, I’d have to agree. I loved trying to figure out who Blue was! More importantly, this book deals with issues like identity, acceptance, and questioning what's normal - and does so using characters that feel real. Considering this is Albertalli’s debut, I’m looking forward to seeing what she writes next! 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was released by Balzer + Bray in April 2015.

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From Goodreads: Eve's time as a fashion model nearly destroyed her-now she's determined to build a career behind the camera lens. But landing a coveted photography internship brings her face to face with her dark past-and her ex. While Eve is snapping pictures, up-and-coming male model Alex is launching his career-which, for him, involves maintaining a fake relationship with his (secretly) underage co-star, Elana. But Alex is falling for Eve, and Eve won't let herself get hurt again. If Alex can pull off a fake love with Elana, can he convince Eve to risk a secret affair with him? 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: I normally avoid reading New Adult books because I find that the plot usually involves a lot of drama and/or is sacrificed in favour of romance – or sex scenes. Imagine my surprise then when Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini, a book I requested for review, turned out to be a NA novel.

Thankfully, Halfway Perfect doesn’t have too much drama because Eve and Alex were pretty open with each other and knew right from the start that if they decided to have a relationship, it would have to be a secret so that Alex’s modeling career wouldn’t be jeopardized. I also really liked that the romance didn’t overshadow the plot, which shows the not-so glamorous aspects of being a model.

Halfway Perfect was released on May 5, 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Sourcebooks) for free via NetGalley.

Review: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

From Goodreads: Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Francesca Zappia’s Made You Up is probably one of the most interestingly written stories I’ve ever read. It begins with Alex, the protagonist, describing freeing some lobsters from their tank at a store with the help of a blue-eyed boy she meets … only to find out that this event is a hallucination. Years after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic though, Alex once again meets this boy. Thus begins the reader’s dilemma: How much of what Alex narrates can we believe?

I really liked Alex’s voice. Despite constantly trying to discern what’s real and what’s not, Alex still remained upbeat and did her best to move forward to live a normal life. She was just fantastically written!

The romance also didn’t seem like your typical romance. Miles was often unlikeable – it sounds like he’s on the autism spectrum – but he and Alex worked as friends, and later, as a couple. I liked seeing them struggle to overcome the symptoms of their individual disorders so that they could care for someone, and then really appreciated that falling in love didn’t cure them of their problems.

I think my only issue with Made You Up was that it ended up having a small paranormal element because what I thought was a hallucination turned out to be something real - or at least, otherworldly. Otherwise, I loved how this book blurred the line between imagination and reality. 

Made You Up will be released on May 19, 2015 by Greenwillow Books. 

Comments About the Cover: The cover is a little weird, but I also think it’s very unique and eye-catching.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.  

Review: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

From Goodreads: The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common - they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together ...

My Rating: 1 heart 

Thoughts on the Novel: Have you ever looked at a book, and despite the great reviews for it, known instinctively that it wasn’t for you; but you read it anyway because so many other people liked it … and you end up wishing you hadn’t? Well, that was my experience with A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall.

One of the reasons I was so resistant to reading A Little Something Different was because I thought the concept sounded gimmicky. And I was right! The book just had too many unnecessary narrators. For example, I could have done without the POVs of the bench that thought Gabe’s derriere was perfect and could tell what he was doing or how he was feeling based on the way he was sitting, or the squirrel that claimed to not understand human but could still somehow recap exactly what Gabe and Lea were saying. As well, I found it hard to care about any of the narrators, and thought some of the guys sounded a bit like they were written by a female trying to get into the mindset of a guy.

The romance – it took Gabe and Lea almost a whole school year to get together! (Seriously, grow a pair, and stop wasting my time!) – also got annoying after a while because it involved so much telling. I really have no idea why all these characters kept talking about how much chemistry Gabe and Lea had when in reality, the two were barely even talking to each other and were pretty much strangers. Here’s what I wanted to say to some of them:

• Inga (Gabe and Lea’s professor) – Just because you think Gabe and Lea belong together in your head, it is not okay to belittle another female student (Hillary, who is portrayed as a ditz) for having a conversation with Gabe. Please act like a professional! (Inga is not the only female character in the book to call Hillary names.)
• Frank (a Chinese delivery guy) – You deliver to college students living in dorms. Why is it such a big deal for you if two people living in the same building have the same order? How could this not have happened to you numerous times before?
• Bob (a bus driver) – Yawn, moving on!
• Charlotte and Victor (a Starbucks barista and a classmate) – I liked you guys until you had a personality transplant (and started shipping Gabe and Lea). (Also, I worked for a year in a coffee shop during high school, and never stood around making up stories or wondering about the people that I served.) 

I considered DNF’ing A Little Something Different before reaching its midpoint, but then kept on reading it because I wanted to know why Gabe was – as Lea says – so weird. Once I found out, I figured I might as well finish the book because there was only a little more left to read. 

A Little Something Different was released in August 2014 by Swoon Reads. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s cute, and all the red can be associated with love.

Review: We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

From Goodreads: Thirteen-year-old Stewart is academically brilliant but socially clueless. Fourteen-year-old Ashley is the undisputed “It” girl in her class, but her grades stink. Their worlds are about to collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is trying to be 89.9 percent happy about it, but Ashley is 110 percent horrified. She already has to hide the real reason her dad moved out; “Spewart” could further threaten her position at the top of the social ladder. They are complete opposites. And yet, they have one thing in common: they - like everyone else - are made of molecules.

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Using the themes of death and divorce, Susin Nielsen’s We Are All Made of Molecules explores how families can change and adapt. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was tempered by: 1) the character of Ashley and 2) the use of rape as a plot device.

Told from the alternating points of Stewart and Ashley, We Are All Made of Molecules chronicles what happens when two families decide to merge. Although I thought both Stewart and Ashley seemed very stereotypical, Stewart was at least a pretty decent character. Ashley, on the other hand, was not only mean and constantly putting others down, but Nielsen chose to highlight that Ashley wasn’t as smart as Stewart by having Ashley continually mix up words (e.g. using unconstipated instead of emancipated, etc.). This drove me crazy!

Another issue that I had with We Are All Made of Molecules was that Ashley wasn’t almost raped once but twice in the book - just so that she could experience some character growth! Also, nobody experienced any major consequences in the aftermath of either situation. It’s just too bad that a topic like rape was used as a plot device, and wasn’t handled more sensitively.

We Are All Made of Molecules will be released by Tundra Books on May 12, 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: Though I like its colourfulness, I don’t think it really matches the title of the novel.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Random House of Canada Limited) for free via NetGalley.

Review: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep

From Goodreads: It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power. I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick. But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call - get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her ...

My Rating: Wavering between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After enjoying the Mythos Academy series, I was looking forward to reading Cold Burn of Magic, the first book in Jennifer Estep's newest series. Cold Burn of Magic, however, was kind of not what I was expecting.

Firstly, the pacing was very uneven (but that may have been because this is the first book in the Black Blade series). See, Cold Burn of Magic starts off quite excitingly with Lila stealing a necklace from a house and getting chased by guards after she's caught, and ends on a solid, noncliffhanger note; but sort of stalls in the middle as it introduces the reader to an urban fantasy city where regular humans, humans with talents (i.e. superpowers), and monsters coexist. Unfortunately, a lot of this introduction came via telling rather than showing. For example, although there's a lot of talk about monsters, we don't really see any until the end when one conveniently appears to save Lila and Devon, the romantic interest. 

Secondly, though I liked the characters, Devon pales in comparison to Logan, the romantic interest from the Mythos Academy series. In fact, I liked Felix, Devon's best friend, better than Devon! As well, Lila reminded me a bit of Gwen because they both have powers that enable them to peek into other people’s minds. (Speaking of powers, the talents that people could have in Cold Burn of Magic weren't very well explained. For example, I still don’t understand how it’s possible for people to steal each other’s talents.)

Cold Burn of Magic will be released on April 28, 2015 by K-Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: It doesn’t really look very memorable. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Kensington) for free via NetGalley. 

Review: Shutter by Courtney Alameda

From Goodreads: Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat - a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever. When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before ... or die trying.

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With its creepy cover, Courtney Alameda’s Shutter was a book that I had no plans on reading … until I got a copy of it for review. So, I decided to give it a try, hoping that it wouldn’t be too terrifying.

Surprisingly, I ended up really enjoying Shutter. I don’t generally read horror novels so I don’t know how effective mirrors and cameras are in actually capturing and trapping violent ghosts, but Alameda’s explanations seemed pretty believable to me. I also liked how Alameda incorporated references to Dracula throughout Shutter.

Furthermore, I liked Micheline and all her friends, and thought they had a great group dynamic. In particular, the relationship between Micheline and Ryder as they transitioned from friends to something more was pretty cute and believable. I would have preferred it though if Micheline’s relationship with her dad had been less clichéd and if there had been more females in the novel.

Ultimately, if you loved Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood, you’ll probably enjoy Shutter as well. It’s just as violent and gory, but has a slightly more predictable plot.

Shutter was released by Feiwel & Friends in February 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s so dark and scary-looking! 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free.

Mini Reviews: A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin and Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake

From Goodreads: It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies - plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war. After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible - until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads - or their hearts ...

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin had the potential to be a decent read. Unfortunately, its emphasis on romance came at the expense of characterization and plot development. Whereas I felt like I barely got to know the secondary characters, the main character, Georgiana, came across as pretty immature and impulsive. She also kept complaining about her red hair and feeling unloved, which became annoying because she wasn't Anne Shirley! 

As well, the short time span that the book covered made nothing feel believable. For example, Georgiana develops an invisible ink within six days, yet tons of people had tried to do something similar, with limited success. She also meets and falls for Sebastian during this time, and then is later involved in an extremely quick rescue of someone.

A School for Unusual Girls will be released by Tor Teen on May 19, 2015. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free. 
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From Goodreads: Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace. Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite. The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed. The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.  

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake was what I wanted the previous book in the Goddess War series, Antigoddess, to be more like. Though there were still parts where the pacing lagged, Mortal Gods had more action, and finally explained why the Greek gods and goddesses were dying. It also made Odysseus – one of my favourite Greek heroes; Perseus is the other – more like his reincarnation in that he's shown to still be wily (polymechanos, according to Homer) because he appears to have been keeping some secrets. As well, I like that Blake continues to have the gods remain prideful and not care too much about the effects on the humans involved in their affairs.

Mortal Gods was released by Tor Teen in October 2014.

Mini Reviews: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake and Omega City by Diana Peterfreund

From Goodreads: Old Gods never die … Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health. Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra - an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods - in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath. The Goddess War is about to begin.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: While I liked the writing and the premise – the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology are somehow dying, and have, in order to survive, resorted to fighting each other and trying to find the reincarnation of the Trojan princess Cassandra for answers – of Kendare Blake’s Antigoddess, it felt very much like a prequel. Nothing really happened for the majority of the book, and the question of why the Greek gods and goddesses were dying remained unanswered. Furthermore, the ending felt a bit rushed, with one of the immortal characters dying way too easily. Despite these flaws, I’m going to give Antigoddess’ sequel, Mortal Gods, a try. Having read her Anna series, I know Blake is capable of doing better!

Antigoddess was released by Tor Teen in September 2013. 
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From Goodreads: Gillian Seagret doesn't listen to people who say her father's a crackpot. His conspiracy theories about the lost technology of Cold War–era rocket scientist Dr. Aloysius Underberg may have cost him his job and forced them to move to the middle of nowhere, but Gillian knows he's right and plans to prove it. When she discovers a missing page from Dr. Underberg's diary in her father's mess of an office, she thinks she's found a big piece of the puzzle - a space-themed riddle promising to lead to Dr. Underberg's greatest invention. Enlisting the help of her skeptical younger brother, Eric, her best friend, Savannah, and Howard, their NASA-obsessed schoolmate, Gillian sets off on a journey into the ruins of Omega City, a vast doomsday bunker deep inside the earth. But they aren't alone inside its dark and flooded halls. For while Gillian wants to save her dad's reputation by bringing Dr. Underberg's secrets to light, there are others who will stop at nothing to make sure they stay buried ... forever. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars series, I was curious to see what she could do with a MG novel. Perhaps it's a bit unfair, but I guess I wasn’t expecting Omega City to feel like a MG book … and was a bit disappointed as a result. For example, the villain lacked complexity, and I knew the characters were never really in any danger. I also had to really suspend my disbelief with regards to the plot because it involved four kids and a teen discovering an underground city and running around unsupervised, chased by three adults who were the ‘bad’ guys. That being said, I’m not the target audience for Omega City; MG readers who enjoy action and adventure should easily find the story captivating.

Omega City will be released on April 28, 2015 by Balzer + Bray.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.   

Review: None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

From Goodreads: What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant? When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him. But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned - something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts." Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although its plot wasn’t really that remarkable, None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio was a book that I think YA needs more of due to its frank discussion about gender diversity. Since I’ve kind of been in a review slump lately though, I’m just going to list what I liked and disliked about None of the Above:

Pros:

• Kristin was very easy to relate to, and the range of emotions she experienced once she learned about her diagnosis were all very understandable. 
• I really liked how Gregorio used her own experiences as a surgeon as well as the situation of Caster Semenya to show what it means, in reality, to not fall neatly into the gender binary.
• I also liked how informative None of the Above was. Despite knowing the difference between sex and gender, for example, I still learned quite a lot from the book. 

Cons:

• I thought that Kristin was a bit too hasty in getting gonadectomy. It felt more like an emotional decision than a calculated decision to me, and I would have preferred it if she had thought a little more about the risks associated with surgery.
• I didn’t really see a process to self-acceptance; Kristin just seemed to become okay about her body quite suddenly. 
• I wasn’t really a fan of the romance. It felt like Gregorio needed a reason for the guy Kristin became interested in to dump his girlfriend so that he could get together with Kristin, and so Gregorio came up with a lame excuse for why things weren’t working out between them. I don’t understand why authors think a girl in a YA novel must have a boyfriend!  

None of the Above will be released tomorrow by Balzer + Bray! 

Comments About the Cover: It’s cute, and I like the use of blue and pink because they're the colours that society has come to think of as for a 'boy' and a 'girl'.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.