Review: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand

From Goodreads: Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster - lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does too.) But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out … different. Or they don’t come out at all. If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria - even if it means getting a little messy. 

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand was a delightfully creepy read (with great illustrations) that’s sure to appeal to MG and older readers alike!

Beginning innocently enough by introducing the reader to its protagonist, Victoria, a girl who strives for order and perfection, the plot takes a turn for the worse when Victoria’s friend – or as she would say, project – Lawrence disappears. Though his parents claim that Lawrence is at his grandmother’s house, Victoria believes differently and begins to seek answers. Her investigation leads her to Nine Silldie Place (aka The Cavendish Home) where ordinary things like a house and candies just aren’t what they seem, and the extraordinary appears to be all too possible.

As a villain, I loved Mrs. Cavendish! Her black and white thinking about what’s appropriate can easily be contrasted with Victoria’s; but unlike Victoria, she’s willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that everybody conforms to her ideals. Her coaching methods are actually kind of reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge’s.

I also loved Victoria because she knows exactly who she is and dares you to try and mould her to be different. Her no-nonsense attitude, stubbornness, and lack of apology about her personality made her the perfect match for Mrs. Cavendish.

A story that’s perfectly paced to maximize tension and keep readers guessing about all the secrets harboured at The Cavendish Home, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls was released in August 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s a bit misleading because Victoria only gets curious about The Cavendish Home once Lawrence disappears. Lawrence – at least I’m assuming that it’s him – should therefore not really be on the cover.

Review: Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein

From Goodreads: A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists. Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why. Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan. Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair. Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage. Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire. By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead. 

My Rating: Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With an emphasis on revenge, Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein promised to be an entertaining read, an aspect it delivered upon. However, it would have gotten a higher rating from me had I been able to support the protagonist’s actions.

Although I admired Dinah’s loyalty and commitment to exact revenge, she was just so oblivious to reality and made little effort to see past her assumptions! I saw the twist coming from a mile away, and so rather than wanting Brooks to get what he deserved, I spent most of the book feeling sorry for him.

The synopsis also makes it seem like Dinah has a brilliant scheme in mind, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, she pretty much plays dress up and tries not to develop a connection with Brooks while her best friends – one of whom is conveniently an amazing hacker – come up with devious ways to ruin Brooks’ life.

Despite all the focus on getting revenge for Dinah's younger cousin, Claire, I didn’t think I got to know Claire very well because the way that Dinah portrays her is very idealized. It would have been nice to get a more layered depiction of Claire, perhaps through some flashbacks.

Another change that I would have liked would have been for the ending to be more realistic. There’s just no way that a parent would offer a lawyer for someone who deliberately set out to destroy their child’s life or for a person to fall for someone that had done their best to make them wish they were dead!

Premeditated was released in October 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers. 

Comments About the Cover: I love how the glass has cracked but not shattered, letting you only glimpse some of the girl’s features so that you’re not exactly sure who’s coming for you or when she’ll put the final nail in the coffin.

Review: The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by M.G. Buehrlen

From Goodreads: For as long as 17-year-old Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past. Visions that make her feel like she’s really on a ship bound for America, living in Jamestown during the Starving Time, or riding the original Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair. But these brushes with history pull her from her daily life without warning, sometimes leaving her with strange lasting effects and wounds she can’t explain. Trying to excuse away the aftereffects has booked her more time in the principal’s office than in any of her classes and a permanent place at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Alex is desperate to find out what her visions mean and get rid of them. It isn’t until she meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about her, that she learns the truth: Her visions aren’t really visions. Alex is a Descender – capable of traveling back in time by accessing Limbo, the space between Life and Afterlife. Alex is one soul with fifty-six past lives, fifty-six histories. Fifty-six lifetimes to explore: the prospect is irresistible to Alex, especially when the same mysterious boy with soulful blue eyes keeps showing up in each of them. But the more she descends, the more it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Alex to travel again. Ever. And will stop at nothing to make this life her last. 

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by M.G. Buehrlen was a book that began with a compelling first chapter. However, as I further delved into the novel, the main character began to annoy me and the premise that the book was built upon became confusing.

Despite the mean pranks that Alex pulls, I initially liked Alex because her confusion about her visions and desire to be normal felt very realistic. Over time though, it became clear that Alex is very much ruled by her emotions, which makes her prone to not making wise choices. For example, during one of her visions, she goes against her mentor’s wishes – which she does constantly – to come back to her Base Life in order to spend more time with a guy. It drove me crazy to see how attached she becomes to a guy after knowing him for less than a day!

Another issue I had with Alex was that she made generalizations about all girls based on her experience with just one girl. This quote, for example, really irritated me: “Jensen, if you haven't figured out by now that most girls are shallow, shallow creatures, then there's no hope for you” (97% in my Kindle).

Furthermore, the meandering plot relied very much on Alex being kept in the dark. As such, when explanations were provided, they were given in info dumps and made little sense in the grand scheme of things. In spite of all the terminology thrown around, I’m still very fuzzy on how time travel works in this book and remain clueless as to how Porter, Alex’s mentor, knew in which body Alex would be reincarnated in in Base Life. 

The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare was released by Strange Chemistry in March 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I think it looks mysterious. 

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

Mini Reviews: Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore and On the Fence by Kasie West

From Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules. Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own. Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too. 

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although I haven’t read any of Cassandra Clare’s novels, the fact that Jaclyn Dolamore’s Dark Metropolis was compared to her books meant that I had pretty high expectations for it. For a multitude of reasons however, I ended up being disappointed by Dark Metropolis. Firstly, while reading the book, it was hard for me to get into a rhythm because it kept switching perspectives between different characters, all of whom I found rather dull. On top of that, Dark Metropolis then featured two bland romances, – one heterosexual, one homosexual, – both of which were insta-loves. Finally, I found the worldbuilding to be pretty vague as many things were either explained only briefly or alluded to.

Dark Metropolis was released by Disney-Hyperion in June 2014. 

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

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From Goodreads: She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door … Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets - she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high. 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although a cute read, I think I was expecting Kasie West's On the Fence to be a bit more emotionally involving. For example, even though the way that Charlie's mom dies is a mystery, I didn't find this aspect of the book to be particularly intriguing. The romance also wasn’t quite as adorable as I hoped because I found Charlie’s realization that she loved Braden to be very sudden and unexpected. The focus on family, however, was what I found appealing about On the Fence.

On The Fence was released on July 1, 2014 by HarperTeen.  

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

Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

From Goodreads: It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live - not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with. Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong ... these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears. Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Basically, if Kendare Blake's Girl of Nightmares had featured more of Cas hunting ghosts and less of him obsessing over Anna, I'd have given it a higher rating. While a still a solid sequel though, it just lacked the creepiness of Anna Dressed in Blood.

Since I wasn’t keen on the romance between Cas and Anna to begin with, Cas’ constant moping about Anna made me annoyed with him, especially because it affected his ability to kill ghosts. Thank goodness for Thomas’ optimism and Carmel’s levelheadedness! In fact, I really liked Carmel’s characterization in Girl of Nightmares because she wasn’t afraid to take a step back and stop hanging out with Cas and Thomas when she found the situation becoming a bit too much for her to handle. Unlike Cas and Thomas, who are used to not living a normal life, I thought it was a really smart decision on Carmel’s part to try and figure out what she actually wanted.

I also liked the expansion of the world from Anna Dressed in Blood as Girl of Nightmares explores Cas’ father’s past as a ghost hunter and the athame’s connection to The Order of Biodag Dubh, which eventually leads Cas and his friends to visiting London and Scotland. Besides the awesome and scary scene in the Suicide Forest, I enjoyed meeting Jestine, who almost seemed like a female Cas to me. 

Girl of Nightmares was released by Tor Teen in August 2012. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the colours used, that you can see the dead faintly, and how Anna looks like she’s beckoning you to come join her. It’s brilliant!

Review: Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

From Goodreads: Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs. But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent - and darkly attractive - and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull. Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease. When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival - and vengeance - might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With its promise of thieves and assassins and the author mentioning on Goodreads that one of her inspirations is Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness quartet, Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne was a novel that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. Sadly, the writing was simplistic and the characters left little impression.

To me, it felt like there was a lot of telling rather than showing going on in Midnight Thief. As well, more description would definitely have helped to make the setting and characters more vivid. That being said, Midnight Thief was a breezy read, and I can easily see it appeal to older MG readers.

Like the setting, the characters were also pretty flat. The story is narrated through both Kyra and Tristam’s points of view, but I never found the switches in narration to be seamless. In fact, Tristam’s narration was very unexpected and abrupt at the beginning because for the first five chapters, everything was told from Kyra’s perspective. However, I liked Tristam better than Kyra, who joins the Assassins Guild yet objects to killing (uh, so why join the Assassins Guild at all?!), but only by a slight margin because both characters were similar in that they didn’t think too much about the possible consequences of their actions. Since I couldn’t have cared less about the fate of the characters, I also ended up not caring if they would get together or not.

Midnight Thief will be released on July 8, 2014 by Disney-Hyperion. 

Comments About the Cover: I love it! The cat looks fierce, and is just daring you to find out what it’s hiding! 

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

Review: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

From Goodreads: As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury. Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows ... and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating. But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving ... and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death. 

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch was a book that ended up on my radar because of its interesting premise. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking, and more depth was needed from both the characters and the plot. 

It was really hard for me to care about what happened to the characters because they had such little personality. Ella, for example, doesn’t even think about how limiting her life is until she’s told so by an activist ... and then continues to make no attempt to change her way of living. Only when her romance is threatened does Ella decide that she wants out. 

I found the romance to be cheesy and totally insta-love. Spoiler alert: What seventeen-year-old would give up family, money, and security to be with someone who’s illiterate and knows nothing about the real world?! It also needed more clarity because it just seemed that out of nowhere, Penn went from not being able to stand Ella to being in love with her.

The worldbuilding could have been expanded upon as well because there was no context for how and why the United States would pass laws allowing people to own genetically engineered humans as pets. Nor did I think it was a very realistic idea because why would anybody spend so much money to take care of someone who contributes nothing to society! 

A story that ultimately fell short of my expectations, Perfected will be released by Entangled Teen on July 1, 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I would prefer to have a girl inside the gilded cage instead of just a dress. 

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

Review: Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

From Goodreads: Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore - a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although it took a bit of time for me to get into Lauren Miller’s Free to Fall, I eventually ended up sucked into the book because of all the twists that it kept delivering. Initially a story about a girl attempting to discover more about her mother, the plot becomes so much grander and ends up filled with secrets, lies, and conspiracies!

Learning more about her mother really causes Rory grows throughout the novel. At the beginning of Free to Fall, she’s very much dependent on Lux for decision making; but as she learns more about the app, she starts to rely on her own inner voice. (I would have preferred the Doubt to have been more like an intuition rather than an auditory hallucination though.)

I also liked the romance, which I thought was paced nicely. I did think, however, that the misunderstanding between North – who I found very cute – and Rory before they got together wasn’t really necessary. But, the two were rock-solid once they did become a couple.

Finally, I enjoyed the message Miller attempted to convey. Using Milton’s Paradise Lost as inspiration along with a strong dose of neuroscience and psychology, Free to Fall demonstrates the importance of choice and examines how people’s dependence on technology can lead to corporations manipulating their consumers.

A fantastic sci-fi novel, Free to Fall was released by HarperTeen in May 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: It kind of reminds me of Parallel’s cover, even though both of Miller's novels are standalones.

Dark Metropolis Giveaway

Cabaret meets Cassandra Clare-a haunting magical thriller set in a riveting 1930s-esque world.

Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules. Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own.

Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.

Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.

As part of the blog tour for Dark Metropolis, I have a giveaway of the book for US residents:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey - ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Back when I reviewed Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King, I was told by a number of people that I should continue on with the series because it gets better. Perhaps the later books do, but that was not my experience with the sequel, The Iron Daughter. 

I can’t quite remember if I found Meghan annoying in The Iron King, but I really wanted to punch her after reading The Iron Daughter. It just felt like she was either sobbing or obsessing about Ash throughout the entire book. 

I’m still puzzled as to why people have fussed so much over the romance, which continues to feel very forced to me. It’s pretty clear that Ash isn’t over Ariella, but if Meghan’s fine with that, well, there’s another reason that I find her pathetic.

Seriously, if it wasn’t for Puck, Grimalkin (who always seems to conveniently appear to bail Meghan and her friends out of trouble), and Ironhorse, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to finish The Iron Daughter. The question now remains: To read The Iron Queen or not? 

The Iron Daughter was released in August 2010 by Harlequin Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: It's not amazing or anything, but I like it better than The Iron King's.

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

From Back Cover: Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved - five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: In my early days of blogging, I saw quite a few positive reviews for Jenny Han’s Summer series. But since the premise of the series never appealed to me, I haven’t read any of her books until now. Given the synopsis, I was expecting To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to be a very romance-centric novel, but was pleasantly surprised to find out it focused equally on family.

I loved the Covey family and wouldn’t hesitate to be adopted by them! I just felt the family dynamics, particularly the relationship between siblings, was portrayed so realistically. As the eldest child, I have no idea how true to life Lara Jean’s relationship with her older sister, Margot, is; but the relationship she has with her younger sister, Kitty, is definitely very accurate. Like Lara Jean, though I got along with my younger siblings most of the time, we did fight and get great glee out of annoying each other.

Moving on to Lara Jean as a character, I found her to be a bit immature and naïve at times. But at other moments, I could completely relate to her thoughts and experiences. For example, the way Lara Jean describes her driving is pretty much how I feel when I drive, which probably explains why I still only have my G1 license.

The romance was the weakest aspect of the book for me. I just couldn’t support Lara Jean’s feelings for Josh, Margot’s ex, at the beginning of the novel, and later on, thought he acted way too much like a jealous boyfriend. As Lara Jean began to hang out more with Peter to try and get over her feelings for Josh, I ended up slowly liking Peter. The open ending kind of ruined how I felt about him though because when someone – it’s unclear who, but I’m assuming it’s Peter’s ex-girlfriend – spreads rumours about Lara Jean being a slut, Peter doesn’t defend Lara Jean, a fact she somehow forgets. Also, it just seemed like Peter and Lara Jean randomly decided that they had feelings for each other and were over the people they liked, yet their actions suggested otherwise.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was released in April 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 

Comments About the Cover: Since Lara Jean is half-Korean, I’m really glad that the cover features an Asian model. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada) for free.

Mini Reviews: The Hunt by Stacey Kade and Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

From Goodreads: Ariane Tucker has finally escaped GTX, the research facility that created her. While on the run, Zane Bradshaw is the only person she can trust. He knows who-and what-she is and still wants to be part of her life. But accepting Zane's help means putting him in danger. Dr. Jacobs, head of GTX, is not the only one hunting for Ariane. Two rival corporations have their sights set on taking down their competition. Permanently. To protect Zane and herself, Ariane needs allies. She needs the other hybrids. The hybrids who are way more alien and a lot less human. Can Ariane win them over before they turn on her? Or will she be forced to choose sides, to decide who lives and who dies? 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Hunt by Stacey Kade is a sequel that really relies on readers remembering what happened in the previous book because it doesn’t provide much recap of the events that occurred in The Rules. Much more action-oriented than The Rules, I liked that The Hunt expanded the scope of the plot to show what GTX’s competitors are up to and how their hybrids differ from Ariane. The drawback to Ariane and Zane being on the run, however, was that the arguments they kept having became sort of repetitive after a while. But, overall, I found The Hunt to be a solid sequel; and its cliffhanger ending pretty much ensures that I’ll be reading the next book in the series.

The Hunt was released in April 2014 by Disney Hyperion. 

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

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From Back Cover: For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart – leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that … Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that … Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Considering that it features two broken characters, I was expecting Boys Like You by Juliana Stone to be a bit more emotionally intense. Instead, I feel like Stone sacrificed a more drawn out healing process in favour of romance. It's not that the characters didn't learn to deal with their issues and understand that life goes on, but they seemed to come to this conclusion in a very simplistic manner and relied a bit too heavily on each other. Also, the romance was very insta-love, and it annoyed me how Monroe and Nathan kept mentioning how hot the other person looked or repeatedly felt that the other person was worth getting to know simply because they could tell they were broken too by gazing into their eyes.

Boys Like You was released by Sourcebooks Fire on May 6, 2014. 

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

 

original image from thegate.ca

Review: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Soleil Le Coeur is a Smudge - a night dweller prohibited by law from going out during the day. When she fakes an injury in order to get access to and kidnap her newborn niece - a day dweller, or Ray - she sets in motion a fast-paced adventure that will bring her into conflict with the powerful lawmakers who order her world, and draw her together with the boy she was destined to fall in love with, but who is also a Ray.

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Elizabeth Fama’s Monstrous Beauty, I had pretty high expectations for her newest novel, Plus One. Unfortunately, Plus One didn’t exactly deliver.

A huge part of that was because its plot was so far-fetched. See, you’re basically thrown into this alternate version of the U.S. where a strict curfew maintains a division between Rays (people who go to school, work, etc. during the day) and Smudges (people who do the same during the night), with no explanation given until 30% in – a bit too far into the story in my opinion – for how and why this division came about. On top of that, you’ve got a protagonist who has decided that she’s going to steal a baby without considering all its implications (e.g. like the fact that she has no diapers, will have to feed the baby every two hours, etc.). Let’s just say that things only got crazier from there, with the plot really revolving around the baby stealing incident.

The character of Sol was another issue I had with Plus One because she was far too thoughtless for my liking. Case in point: her decision to steal a baby, which she does so by hiding the baby under her hoodie and then putting the baby in a drawer! What I did like though about Sol was her loyalty to the people she loves. Unlike Sol, D’Arcy was much more level-headed, which is why I liked him better.  

I also didn’t like the romance as much as I was expecting. It’s funny that while Sol and D’Arcy weren’t together, I kept waiting for them to discover how they were connected and to just kiss; but then as soon as it happened, I wanted the opposite because they quickly moved from kissing to having sex and declaring their love for each other.

A rather disappointing novel, Plus One was released in April 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

Comments About the Cover: I think the cover and synopsis give a false impression that this is a romance-centric novel. It’s not; instead, Plus One attempts to show what people are willing to do for love (of any type). 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group) for free via NetGalley.

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

From Goodreads: As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him - with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.  

My Rating: Definitely higher than 3.5 hearts but not quite 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski was a book that I initially had no plans to read. After seeing all the positive reviews for it though, I changed my mind for two reasons: 1) it was a fantasy and 2) the romance was deemed not to be an insta-love one.

Although I can’t say that The Winner’s Curse blew my mind, I did like it a lot. The worldbuilding was pretty solid; and while I had a bit of trouble visually conceptualizing how Rutkoski’s world would be arranged on a map, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine the setting because Rutkoski takes her time immersing you into her world.

What I didn’t enjoy as much was the romance. Yes, it was slow-paced and set up in such a way that you could logically understand why Arin and Kestrel would fall for each other, but the actual writing of the novel made their feelings sort of appear out of the blue. Also, considering that Kestrel and Arin don’t have a long history with each other, it was mystifying to me how Kestrel could still be attracted to Arin after what he did to her friends and townspeople.

As individual characters, I liked Arin and Kestrel much better. Right from the start, I had a feeling that there was more to Arin than met the eye, but I would have never guessed what he was up to! Kestrel, unfortunately, wasn’t as interesting as Arin because she seemed rather content with her life of attending parties and engaging in gossip. However, she does occasionally show that she isn’t entirely comfortable with the way her society functions. I just wish that she had been more vocal with her opinions. 

The Winner’s Curse was released in March 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

Comments About the Cover: I think it’s pretty and love the dress, but am not a fan of the camera angle or the model’s pose.

Review: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

From Goodreads: Rule One - Nothing is right, nothing is wrong. Rule Two - Be careful. Rule Three - Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest. Rule Four - Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible. Rule Five - The letters are the law. Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life - the only way of life she has ever known. But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

My Rating: 1 heart 

Thoughts on the Novel: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell was a book that I wish I could say something redeeming about. But I can’t. And since letters play an important role in the book, here’s my letter to Dear Killer.

Dear Dear Killer,

Your premise was utterly ridiculous as it features a teen serial killer who receives mail from people wanting her to kill others. Though Kit (aka the Perfect Killer) has killed over fifty people (since the age of nine) and it appears that everybody seems to know where her mailbox is located, the police have somehow not yet discovered her identity.

I thought you would get better at some point and so continued reading on. You didn’t. Instead, you remained unbelievable. As further proof, you decided to have the police not even realize that their serial killer was a teenager until Kit tells them so. The police then continue to remain inept by not considering Kit a suspect when she has access to information that only the murderer would know, inviting her to a crime scene in the hopes of her providing them with a fresh pair of eyes to the case, etc. It’s not just the police who is incompetent though but the public at large as well because apparently in your version of London, office buildings lack security and cameras. And don’t even get me started on the idea of someone not reporting the identity of the Perfect Killer after she attempts to kill them but is unsuccessful!

Another reason I disliked you Dear Killer was because you had a main character who I felt completely disconnected from. I didn’t like her voice, and I didn’t like her arrogance. And to top it off, she was a crappy murderer! Not only does Kit not fit the psychological profile of a serial killer, but there seemed to be no real reason for her to be killing anybody. Yes, you talked quite a bit about moral nihilism but do you seriously expect me to believe that weak argument?! Furthermore, Kit hardly prepares for how she’ll commit the murder – basically, she relies on good luck – and when she does so, it seems way too easy. Oh, and then she returns to the scene of her crime!

Finally, I found it seriously creepy and disturbing that you tried to create a romance between a much older cop and a teenager.

P.S. The conversation with Diana was weird!

A novel I wish I had DNF’ed, Dear Killer was released by Katherine Tegen Books in April 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I like that the background is a letter.  

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

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

From Back Cover: It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just ... disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back? Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she'll find. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After I ended up loving both Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour and Second Chance Summer, Morgan Matson quickly joined my list of contemporary authors I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. So, I was thrilled when I received an ARC of her newest novel, Since You’ve Been Gone, for review because it shortened my need to wait for its release.

In a well-ordered universe, here are five reasons (in no particular order) why you should get your hands on a copy of Since You’ve Been Gone:

1. The realistic depiction of friendship: I thought Matson did a fabulous job of showing a friendship from a variety of different angles. For example, through Emily’s thoughts, you see Sloane portrayed ideally whereas through flashbacks, you come to learn some of Sloane’s faults. When combined with Sloane's list of dares and the ending, the flashbacks also enable the reader to understand how important their friendship is to both girls.
2. The protagonist: I found Emily really easy to relate to because her personality is similar to mine. The way she reacts and the choices she makes are ones that I could see myself making too if I were placed in the same situation.
3. The slow personal growth: Accomplishing Sloane’s list of dares causes Emily to change in a very natural way, and it’s only at the end of the novel that you realize just how much she has grown over the course of the summer.   
4. The secondary characters: I loved that they seemed like real people and were complex. For example, though Collins is Emily’s friend, he is also simultaneously jealous of her friendship with Frank, his best friend, because it means that he gets to spend less time with Frank.
5. The romance: Although I didn’t completely love the romance because Frank still had a girlfriend when he hooked up with Emily, I did like how it developed. I found the transition from the two being acquaintances to friends to something more to be very nicely paced.

Since You’ve Been Gone was released on May 6, 2014 by Simon & Schuster. 

Comments About the Cover: Besides making me want a scoop of ice-cream, I like that the cover has a fun summer feel to it. I also really like that it emphasizes the friendship aspect of the novel by showing two girls hanging out and looking like they’re having a good time.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada) for free.

Mini Reviews: Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

From Goodreads: Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer - which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long? When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it. Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?  

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: When I saw the summary of Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn, I thought it sounded like a fun summer read. Unfortunately, while it was pretty easy to breeze through Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend, I found the plot twist to be very predictable and Gemma to be incredibly naïve! Considering that she had been lying the whole summer, how on Earth could that she think that her apology to Hallie and Josh would be accepted as heartfelt?! I also wasn’t thrilled by the ending because I assumed this was a standalone – and there’s no reason why it couldn’t have been one – and so was surprised to find a cliffhanger ending which promises more petty drama in the future. 

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend was released on May 13, 2014 by Feiwel & Friends. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group) for free via NetGalley.
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From Goodreads: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father. Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and - finally - a reunion in the city where they first met. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having now read three of Jennifer E. Smith’s novels, I’ve come to the conclusion that although her novels have cute premises and are enjoyable in the moment, they’re books that just don’t linger with me. However, though I’ve (apparently) given each book the same rating, I’d have to say that I liked The Geography of You and Me slightly more than The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and This is What Happy Looks Like because it shows how time and distance can affect people’s perceptions of each other and their relationships. While I liked that Smith realistically portrays how hard it can be to maintain a long distance relationship, I was never fully invested in or sold by the romance of Lucy and Owen.

The Geography of You and Me was released by Poppy in April 2014. 

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

From Goodreads: By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz. When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love. But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world. From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: If it wasn’t for the blogging community, I probably would have never read Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. Eventually succumbing to the hype, I read both Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight last year, and have been eagerly waiting since for Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

Since my thoughts about Dreams of Gods and Monsters are pretty scattered and I want to limit the amount of spoilers in my review, I decided to do a pros and cons list. 

Pros:

• Taylor’s writing remains as beautiful as ever.
• While a part of me acknowledges that Karou forgave Akiva a bit too easily, another part of me understands that it was inevitable because peace would only occur between the chimaera and seraphim if their leaders put aside their need for vengeance. The romantic tension between Karou and Akiva was just so good!
• I loved the slow growth of Liraz as a character over the course of the trilogy, but especially over this novel.

Cons: 

• Every time I got to Eliza’s POV during the first two-thirds of the novel, I had to force myself to read it because I knew that she was important. But, I just had an unbelievably difficult time caring about her, and resented her for taking away precious page time from Karou and Akiva. I would have liked to see her importance to the story be revealed earlier.
• The inclusion of the Stelians not only made Jael’s surrender too simple, but also expanded the worldbuilding way too much for my liking. By the end, the focus wasn’t so much on the war between the chimaera and seraphim and its resolution, but on the greater war threatening Eretz. I totally didn’t understand all the talk about the godstars, and was disappointed to not learn, for example, why Akiva is so special, even by Stelian standards.
• Although I thought the person Ziri ended up with was perfect for him, I wasn’t completely sold on the romance because he had been crushing on Karou for pretty much the whole series. It just seemed like he developed feelings for someone else after one interaction with them – an interaction that readers aren't even privy to!

The final book in the trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters provides enough closure so that readers will be satisfied, yet leaves the door open for a possible return to the world of Eretz if Taylor chooses to do so in the future.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters was released by Little, Brown & Company in April 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: It kind of creeps me out, which I guess is okay considering the title.