Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Title: Stolen

Author: Lucy Christopher 

Publisher: Chicken House

Published: May 4th 2009 

Paperback 301 pages.

Gooodreads summary; 

It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him. This is my story. A letter from nowhere. Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

How can I review this book? Its 8.25pm on a cold December night, three days away from Christmas and all I can think about is the story that Lucy Christopher just shared with me. I feel like I was given this precious gift, a part of her soul really. It’s like this with every book I think, especially the very good ones. But this is different, this is a first for me.

Gemma is only sixteen when she is taken away from her family, from her friends and her entire life into the hands of a horrible monster. She is picked up from an airport and plucked into a hot desert where the land wants to kill you, with the fear of what her captor will do to her.

“How long will you keep me?" I asked.
You shrugged. "Forever, of course.” 

There is nothing out there like this story. Nothing. This book captures the true essence of what it’s like to fear somebody and to be scared for your life.

Gemma is a very strong protagonist, she was scared, even ready to die at the hands of her captor but she had hope.

Ty is a troubled man who had a hard life, he’s strong physically but emotionally he’s damaged.

I still can’t believe just how great Gemma’s character was! I can already imagine more than half of the female characters in young adult books now and how they could react in this situation. Gemma was different. She was scared but she willed herself to try and run away. She wanted to escape even if it killed her.

This is a letter from Gemma to her captor; written in detail of everything she experienced and felt throughout her time with Ty and honestly how much can you write about a month or so? How long can you make a letter out of this? I was incredibly sceptical of the format that it was written in, I mean it shows Gemma’s true feelings but how much can really happen in a sunny desert with nobody else around? Apparently a lot, this was a fantastic idea, especially for the beginning and the end of the novel.

My mind couldn’t keep up and my heart never settled on what I thought of Ty, just like Gemma. There was this character who has done wrong but is so hurt and is so delusional that you cannot help but forgive him for his wrong doings.

“and it’s hard to hate someone once you understand them.”

My heart was in my throat until the very last word on the page. What does Gemma think of this and what do I think of this. I was so conflicted because I wanted Gemma to love him. I wanted her to forgive him, to somehow be with him?! I think I was the one suffering through Stockholm syndrome. I was never nervous when Gemma was scared of Ty, I was never scared for her when she was trying to escape him. I always had hope.

Short Review: The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Published: 1998 by Vintage


Goodreads Summary 

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh. Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge.

Ever since I was in year 10, so 13/14? I fell in love with the Victorian horror about a woman dressed in all black causing deaths in families by being seen. I mean the story itself is so brilliant and interesting! 
I first saw the performance with my drama group in year 10, where it chilled me to the bone. I was terrified and amazed at how effective it was. The fact that three actors were able to portray a whole horror play was incredible. I was hooked, I couldn’t get enough. Later I chose to study the play and read everything about it. 
When the movie came out in 2012 I was straight in the cinema clutching my hoodie to my face. The film was nothing compared to the play itself but non the less it was still incredible work and the fact that Daniel Radcliff was the star made it so much greater. 
Obviously the shock wasn’t as bad and the fact that I knew everything that was going to happen it was still interesting how the producers put the whole story together. Although for some reason (cough money cough) there is a second movie and I will get to that on a later note. 
All that was left for me was to read the book by Susan Hill. It took me two days to read all of the 160 pages. CRAZY!!
I don’t know what it was about it but I kept getting weird feelings. I wasn’t scared, I was more or less cautious of anything scary that might happen. I didn’t think that reading the book would make me more scared of the woman in black herself; after all I have read the play. But my heart was beating rapidly. I didn’t want to read it at night and I kept having to reassure myself, I’m not even sure what of. 

So the book itself. Interesting, beautifully written but it’s just okay. I mean I knew the story, and the story in the book wasn’t scary. I was expecting so much more! I know that I said my heart was beating and I was scared a little but I think it was mostly just the fact that I was waiting for something to happen. I was waiting for her to appear and for Arthur to get scared. Also I never realized how stupid Arthur is as a character. You see a ghost you run. YOU RUN!!!! 

Review: Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.

Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and The French Kiss *3
Published: August 14th 2014
Publisher: Dutton

Goodreads Summary

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

What a beautiful way to finish an amazing journey. Did I mention my wonderful boyfriend managed to get me a signed copy of this book for my birthday? I did. Well you can hear about it again!

I didn’t want to read this book, I didn’t want to say goodbye! It wasn’t until I reread Anna and The French Kiss (because my boyfriend got it for me for Christmas after I complained that I didn’t have my copy anymore) a familiar name popped up. Isla. She was in Anna and The French Kiss; which yes I do realise that it’s a really stupid discovery of mine but as soon as I saw her name pop up I knew I needed this with me right away. Hopeless (I would not have called her that) romantic Isla who has been in love with Josh, the moody artist since their first year at the School of America in Paris. After a rather embarrassing encounter back in Manhattan between the pair love is soon to be followed back to the city of love. (I just read what I wrote and I want to puke) Hell why doesn’t Isla deserve to be with her crush? Good for her! You go girl!
I like to hide my lovey dovey side away and pretend like I don’t have a weakness when it comes to cute romantic stories. But to hell with it. I loved this book. It’s a close second to Anna and the French Kiss with Lola and the boy Next Door being shortly behind.

Maybe it’s a Paris thing. I read a review that labelled Isla as the stalker and Josh as a self-centred artist, calling them horny rich kids. I couldn’t agree more. Isla would have been the perfect example to show kids of the dangers of stalkers, and Josh is so far up his own ass that it’s ridiculous. However that doesn’t mean the book was bad. I think these two characters were perfect together. A little bit sad and extremely surprising that Isla actually managed to get with the boy of her dreams that she most likely had wet dreams over every night. Some of the things that girl did were such a red sign that I was cringing in between pages.

They managed to make it long distance! Hooray. Happy endings for everybody involved. It’s in the title. This has been the best thing to up my spirits. There is nothing better than reading a soppily cute story with a happy ending for all the characters, especially Anna (spoiler). Then theres Kurt, he’s annoying and he’s Isla’s best friend. I think that’s all there is to his character. (not saying he wasn’t developed by Stephanie, but his character is seriously
just a backdrop to this story)

I would describe each story as if it were a cute, fluffy puppy. You can’t help but love it

Review:Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Published: 27th May 2010
Publisher: Definition 
Paperback Pages: 432

Goodreads Summary 

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister. Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

What a massive roller coaster. I mean. I have no idea what to think of this book and it has been months since I’ve read it! I am still not over what has happened in this book.

This is a story of two bestfriends who happen to fall in love. Maya and Logan just wanted to be together. They just wanted to be left alone and be able to love each other. But nothing is ever that simple. Their love is more than forbidden. It’s against the law. Maya and Logan are siblings who fall in love with each other and must deal with the wrongness.

I have always been baffled by incest. It’s the main reason why I wanted to read this book in the first place. I have a younger brother and I couldn’t even imagine nor that I want to imagine anything close as to what Maya and Logan went through. There is a line between brothers and sisters. You can be best friends, hate each other, sleep in the same bed or share a bedroom together but crossing that line to become lovers just doesn’t fit in. Maya and Logan have been pushed into a life where they have to grow up fast, where they are looking after their younger siblings, pay the bills and keep the whole house from falling apart. The line between brother and sister gets blurry for the pair and they start to feel things for each other that they know are wrong.

It’s far too easy for authors to create a book with taboo romances that focus on the breathing and the fast paced lives of the characters. What you find in this book is unlike any other book you might come across.  Here, you will find characters that are so deeply written with such compassion and such insight to their lives that they will break your heart.

In the first half of the book I have felt more than cheated. I have read reviews which talked about the relationship, and about the love and how close the characters were getting. But instead I was faced with half a book about Maya and Logan trying to keep their family lives together; while taking care of themselves and their younger siblings. This made me incredibly angry. Angry towards their mother, angry towards the state that they were living, angry by the fact that there are children who are taking care of children right now and I cannot stop that! I will never understand a mother that abandons their children because of a new man or a new drug or alcohol. This will baffle me until the day I die and I will never have sympathy for parents that leave their children to fend for themselves.

Once the first initial contact between the siblings started to play out I was enthusiastic to see how the author would handle this unthinkable relationship. I was, I guess excited to see what both of the characters were thinking and to see where this whole thing began. The fact that Tabitha wrote the book in both of the characters perceptions it was rather interesting to see how they were both dealing with this new relationship and their views.

I was open minded while reading this book. I knew exactly what I was going to read and I made sure that I wouldn’t judge this until I finished the last sentence written. For me I was absolutely torn. I have a brother so for me this absurd relationship was making me want to stop reading. To pretend that it didn’t exist and that it never happens in the real world. But on the other hand, my romantic hand, I felt heartbroken for the pair. I was rooting for the pair. Why should they be denied love just because they share the same DNA?

Of course I am not forgetting that they are brother and sister and that people were not okay with this story. The one thing I am certain that other readers will agree with me; is in fact the amazing writing, I am still dumbstruck as to how Tabitha was able to write this book! The emotion, the raw insight to the story of both of the main characters was purely amazing; and I don’t mean jumping around because you’re just so excited amazing. I mean staring blankly, unable to move because you can’t process what just happened amazing. What better way is there to feel after a book?

I have completely forgotten the ending for this book. Just now as I’m furiously trying to type all of my thoughts in this review that I was hit with the shock of the ending once again. I’m not going to lie and say that I cried. I don’t remember whether or not I did, but I do remember putting the book down while staring at it with my mouth wide open. I remember not being able to sleep because I kept thinking about this book. I was not able to shut my brain off because of that ending. I assume that tonight it’s also going to be the one thing I am thinking about. It was. Just. SO INCREDIBLY HEART BREAKINGLY AMAZINGLY HURTFUL!  

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Second Review)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Published by: Speak
First Publication: 2nd December 2010

Can Anna find love in the City of Light? Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's not too pleased when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new friends, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken--and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's been waiting for?

I read the book back in July 2011, wow. I’m getting so old. The love story was the most incredible thing that I have ever witnessed in a book. Stephanie’s writing was so fresh to me and so unbelievable.

This is actually the first book that I have reread, and I’m glad that it’s this one. I want to just point certain things out that I guess I was too immature to realise before and now having grown up a bit I understand more and my views managed to changed.

The romance in this book is still incredibly cute and I loved it. I more than loved it. I fell head over heels for St. Clair and Anna’s romance once again. However, the younger me seemed to cheer on their romance while St. Clair was still with Ellie. I despised him for even thinking about Anna while he had a long distance girlfriend (while reading the book this time around). I guess for his character in that situation was a bit difficult and he needed both of the girls but I will not forgive him for that. He did however break up with Ellie as soon as he and Anna kissed; but I would have murdered my boyfriend if he did that to me. I guess that I wanted the romance to be so perfect when I first read the book that I didn’t care about the other characters.

Anna is still a great character and the only thing that bothered me were the shenanigans between her and St. Clair. I know that this is a story of friendship and first time love and blah, blah, blah but she fully knew that he was in a relationship! However, once again she did keep telling him to end it and chose (in a harsh way but she pretty much did) and I guess she couldn’t help the fact that she was falling for someone that was taken. Once again I am siding with my younger self on the fact that they are the best couple ever, even though as soon as I read it I was enraged about this situation.

The romance. I wish it was much more realistic! I long for a book by Stephanie that will feature a romance that is not over the top and extremely girly and gushy. Although I do enjoy her over exaggeration in the romance department I think it went far too far. There needs to be a sense of realistic romance, just like she managed to capture the real friendship between all the  characters, she needs to be able to do the same with the romance part. 

My old review...

I wasn't expecting this book to be good, well I wasn't expecting to like it at all. This isn't a type of book I would normally pick up and read, or so I thought. My friend let me borrow this book after she praised it so much I wanted to read it and she was right it was amazing. Also a certain quote from Stephanie Perkins that's in the book made me what to read it even more ;) Anna is a great character, she's just like any girl but she won the heart of Etienne St. Clair the perfect guy. And when I say perfect I mean like pretty much perfect in every way. This was the best book I've read that didn't involve any paranormal characters or anything like that, and it didn't have any attacks, any huge secrets no saving the world all the time. And that's the reason why I wasn't so sure about this book but I was wrong and I wish I came across it sooner, I could read this book every day and not get bored at all. I wish someone like St. Clair would swoop me off my feet, but a girl can dream.

Oh god can we just appreciate how much better I have gotten at punctuation and grammar? This is proving to be a nice little recap to the kind of reviews I used to write. Although I do not remember the quote that I was referring to in my old review I am assuming that it is something rather perverted as I was just that kind of 14/15 year old. How incredibly embarrassing that I have not changed one bit.

Relinquishing Liberty By Maureen Mayer Book Tour

Title: Relinquishing Liberty

Series: Second Chances Book #1

Author: Maureen Mayer

Genre: New Adult

Publication Date: August 26th, 2013 

Goodreads Summary

On the outside, Liberty Davis appeared to have it all…a loving family, a tight knit circle of friends, and a bright future ahead of her. Everything was perfect. That is until her brother tragically took his own life, turning her whole world upside down.

Left to pick up the pieces of her broken family, Liberty is faced with focusing all of her attention on helping her parents cope with the loss of their son, while putting her own life on the back burner. But what no one seems to realize is that she is just as broken inside.

Now, four years later, twenty year old Liberty is taking back the reins of her life. She leaves behind everything she’s ever known, hoping to make a fresh start…one where she isn’t faced with the constant reminder that her brother is nothing more than faded memory. What she didn’t expect to find along the way was Shayne.

Tall, dark and tattooed, Shayne Thompson has developed quite a reputation for being a player. Despite everyone’s negative perception, Liberty still finds herself drawn to him. When she learns that Shayne knows all too well what it feels like to lose someone you love, she finds that they have a lot more in common than just a physical attraction.

When Liberty discovers a secret from Shayne’s past that threatens to tear them apart, she begins to question everything she’s ever felt for him. Will Liberty choose to follow her heart or will she give up the one person who finally made her feel whole again?

**This story contains language and sexual scenes, some of which may be unsuitable for younger readers.**

     Goodreads   Amazon(Ebook)   Amazon(Paperback)   Createspace   Barnes & Noble

The book is neither amazing nor terrible. It is somewhere in the middle. It’s a fun little read but the story line is just so used up.

This book reminded me so much of Promise Me This by Sarah Ashley Jones that I just wanted to shoot myself. The plot is not original and you can guess exactly what is going to happen. Bad whore of a guy meets cute annoying girl who then changes him and makes him better only for her. Yeah every girls dream I get it. But this whole plot line has been used up so much by everyone and I really didn’t want this book to turn out like this.

Anyway. Relinquishing Liberty follows the “trend” of the bad boy meets girl who turns his whole life around and makes him good. Okay fine. I can deal with that. The book swears a lot-, which I don’t really mind I have a bad potty mouth myself but with this book it only worked half of the time. Anyway, awkward on the first page I thought Liberty was actually a guy (by the way she was thinking and talking) very awkward.

The start of the book was good. It was manageable. I only had two problems with it. When Liberty and Shayne shook hands after meeting for the second time apparently that took five minutes, and her friend Maddie pushes her over because she met Shayne and she wanted more details. My friends don’t tend to push me over when I meet a guy and don’t tell them straight away. Maddie’s character does get a little annoying but she’s a sweetheart.

Some of the things that happened during the book made me burst out laughing and look mental in front of my mom. She thinks I need some serious help now. But the style of writing was really good. I really enjoyed Mayer’s story telling in this book. Not to mention the great cover for the book! Oof.

Having said that; I enjoyed reading the book. Despite the plot being used up over and over again, and the characters becoming a little bit annoying and some of the ridiculous things that happened during the book I over looked this because I enjoyed reading the book. It was a fun book to read and even though it took me a few days to finish it I didn’t want to quit. I wanted to find out what happened at the end and I’m glad I stuck around to find out. 

About the Author

Maureen Mayer was born, raised and currently resides in Buffalo, NY with her loving and supportive family and boyfriend of 8+ years. She’s always had a love for the outdoors, and when the city isn’t buried under snow, she can be found hiking, fishing, camping or lying on the beach. She’s a sucker for off-color humor, but holds a sweet spot for sick and twisted horror films.

Thanks to authors like J. K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and E. L. James, Maureen has rediscovered her love for reading. When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up in bed with her kindle, diving into a steamy romance novel. She is currently working on her first new adult novel and hopes to self-publish it late this summer.

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