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.

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: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Published by: Pan Macmillian
First Publication: 10th September 2010

Goodreads summary

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible ... A tale of fanfiction, family, and first love

This seemed like the perfect book for a fellow fangirl, not only is the main character into reading and fanfiction she is also off to college. I thought this would have been the perfect read for me to prepare myself mentally for what I'm about to endure.

This book was a lot of hard work. I mean Cath was such a difficult character! There were specks of her personality that I could relate like wanting to stay in and read, or write a story, but other times I wanted Cath to jump in front of a bus.
Cath is really into writing her fanfiction about Simon and Baz; the characters are real to her and she wants nothing more than to write about them. I understand her obsession but it went a little bit too far I guess. I felt sorry for Cath sometimes. Her relationship with the fictional characters was rather getting out of hand and I really don't think it represented how us readers feel about certain characters.
I have no idea how her fanfiction ended. To tell you the truth I read only the first chapter in the book that Cath wrote. I had no desire to read a characters work. I wanted to, I mean it's such a great idea for Rainbow Rowell to do that! Writing a story about your own character writing a story? Perfect. However it ended up to be a disaster.

The dialog and the relationships in this book were okay. There is no other word to describe it. It was okay to read, there was no amazing chemistry between any of the characters there was nothing special about it. I did like how Cath and Levi interacted but it all seemed to incredibly childish. It was cute, but childish. I kept reading reviews of people falling in love for him, why?! He is like a puppy!

Back to Cath once again, I don't think I've come across a more needy character. I understand that her and her twin Wren did everything together even wrote some of the fanfiction together but as soon as Wren starts to have her own life Cath automatically starts to cling onto the past. It reminded me of 22 Jump Street when Schmit was clinging onto Jenko (yes I did recently rewatch the movie)  

I didn't really want to review this book. I really don't have much to say about this book, am I going to remember the story in a year? No. I had to freaking look up Levi's name because he was lost in my memory.
I am glad I read this book, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't great. It's just a book that is going to fade into the background.

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.

Review: The Ghost and The Goth by Stacey Kade

The Ghost and the Goth Stacey Kade
Published: June 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Amazon

Goodreads Summary

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead. I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot body, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already? Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker. I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?

Note that I read this book over 2 years ago so my review is going to be rather short and vague.

Alona and Will are the complete opposites; she’s the co-captain of the cheerleaders, home coming queen; one of the most popular girls in high school. Will is the outcast of the school, he doesn’t have many friends and he’s often also bullied by other kids. One thing brings these two together and it’s Alona’s death. Will can talk to ghosts so not only is Will trying to survive high school but he’s also the freak that can talk to dead people.

I’m obviously not at all surprised that these two get together and that even though they are the exact opposites to each other there is an attraction to them. Even if one of them is dead. Nothing in this book was a surprise, everything was pretty much laid out by the title and the lovely cover. Saying that, I did enjoy the book in a I would read this if there was nothing better to read way. It’s a fun and loveable book with great characters. Alona is the girl that’s hated but loved and praised by everyone. She’s the one that “has it all” and it’s not until her death that she realises just what people thought about her. I would have most likely gone crazy if the whole book was in her voice. I’m so glad that Will got to have chapters and we could see the clear difference between the two. It worked so well.

However the book didn’t have any sort of spark for me; I didn’t find myself grinning like an idiot at it, I didn’t feel my heart racing away at the thrill of the words; the book was very plain, and plain works for this book and this particular storyline.

This is a great story and it’s fun with lovely characters but don’t expect too much from it. 

Review: Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Before I Die Jenny Downham
Published: May 2007
Publisher: Ember
Amazon

Goodreads Summary

For the many readers who love The Fault in Our Stars, this is the story of a girl who is determined to live, love, and to write her own ending before her time is finally up. Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, and drugs with excruciating side effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of “normal” life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, are all painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time runs out.

Miracles don’t happen. Tess is going to die and there’s no way to stop it, the cancer is eating her up. But she can do all the things she wants before her time runs out.

The title basically gives away 80% of the story. Tess makes a list of things she wants to do before she dies; things like losing her virginity, trying drugs, saying yes to everything for the whole day.

I read reviews of this book and how everyone was sad and heartbroken. I expected this to be heart breaking and for me not to want to leave my house for about a week because I couldn’t deal with the story. But this did exactly the opposite. For those of you who are saying this is the saddest book ever, or how heart breaking the book is; yes it is. Yes it’s heart breaking, yes it makes you want to crawl into a hole and give up with life for a bit. But you’re all missing the point. This wasn’t intended to be a sad book that wants to make everyone depressed because Tess didn’t get to continue her life, and yes it’s super unfair that she had cancer since she was 12, and yes it’s sad that she just got a boyfriend who he loves her and she dies. But she didn’t give up. Hell she made a list of things that could possibly shorten her already short life, a list that her dying body could hardly keep up but she still did it. She did those things to make her feel alive for as long as she could and if this story doesn’t inspire you to get off your ass and grab the life by the throat then you’re missing the whole point of this book.

The characters are developed so well in this book I just want to hold them all and cry. Jenny Downham has a serious gift when it comes to creating life like characters. Her best friend Zoey doesn’t take crap even when it comes to Tess’ cancer. I do think that she takes her whole not caring about the illness too far. I wouldn’t treat my bestfriend any differently but I don’t know… I don’t really liked Zoey until the end. Tessa’s dad and brother were just right. I was so sympathetic towards her dad. I just wanted him to be happy and not have a dying daughter and for his wife to not have left him to deal with it all by myself.

The love story. As much as I like Adam and his also somewhat heart breaking family story I kind of wish that the focus wasn’t so much on the love story. Tessa’s life changed when she met her 18 year old new neighbour and they fell in love. I feel like her list and her life before she met Adam should have been more of a highlight of the novel. Although I did like Adam; he didn’t get scared and he stayed by Tessa’s side the whole time he took so much crap from her. She acted out of order a lot and I don’t think he had a backbone. He should have learned to stand up for himself. Even if it was to his dying girlfriend. 

Review: Love Letters To The Dead by Ava Dellaira

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
Published: April 1st 2014
Publisher: Farrar

Goodreads Summary

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to the dead—to people like Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, and Amy Winehouse—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating the choppy waters of new friendships, learning to live with her splintering family, falling in love for the first time, and, most important, trying to grieve for May. But how do you mourn for someone you haven't forgiven? It's not until Laurel has written the truth about what happened to herself that she can finally accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was—lovely and amazing and deeply flawed—can she truly start to discover her own path.

I was so excited to read this book, it looked really promising and I wasn’t at all disappointed with this one!

Laurel’s sister May dies young and when her English teacher assigns her class to write a letter to a dead person Laurel choses Kurt Cobain as he died young just like her sister May. Quickly her notebook is filled with letters to other dead celebrities which she fails to turn in for her assignment, instead she begins to find herself in the words she writes to those that aren’t with us anymore.

“I know I wrote letters to people with no address on this earth, I know that you are dead. But I hear you. I hear all of you. We were here. Our lives matter.” 

The letters started out as a somewhat diary, Laurel talked about her everyday life, missing her sister and starting high school. Then the letters turn into confessions about what happened to Laurel when she was little, she wrote about the things that she couldn’t speak about to other people. Things that she believes caused her sister’s death.

It’s an amazingly beautiful novella and I was certain before even starting this book that I would love it. Now after finishing it and after writing this review I’m starting to doubt this. Don’t get me wrong it’s a beautiful piece and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single word written by Ava in this book but I can’t help but compare this to The Perks of Being A Wallflower. I don’t think I would have noticed the similarities so much if I haven’t just finished TPOBAW before I started this but there are so many of these similarities I felt as if I was reading the same story just in a females point of view.

Laurel starts in a new high school where she doesn’t know anybody. Where nobody knows her name or what happened to her sister. (pointing out the obvious same thing with Charlie in TPOBAW) it must be hard, I mean I know how hard it is stating a brand new school and not knowing anybody and just feeling so alone!

The letters that Laurel writes, they capture the person that she’s writing about. I learned some things that I didn’t even know about them. In some of these letters I actually got goose bumps while reading; Ava Dellaira managed to bring the people back from the dead even in that short amount of time. But yet again I can’t help it but mention that is exactly what Charlie did; I mean the letters to his friend. This idea to write letters to dead people was clearly a somewhat original idea and I loved it.

“I feel like I am drowning in memories. Everything is too bright.” 

What happened to Laurel when she was younger, when her sister would take her to the cinema and leave her with a guy so she could sneak off with her boyfriend. This is what got me rather mad. At this point I hated May, I hated her character so much! How could she not see what would happen? How could she not even for a second think that something would happen to her younger vulnerable sister in the hands of a strange guy! It’s so unbelievably stupid! I don’t think this revelation caused May’s death, I don’t think that Laurel finally telling her bigger sister what happened in a strangers car when she would leave her there caused her to fall. But I have to bring this back to TPOBAW… Charlie was also molested, his auntie took advantage of him and he never told anyone, he as well managed to get his head around it in his letters. Just like Laurel.

I don’t think I’m the only one that found these similarities to Stephen Chbosky’s novel. They are both rather similar and I read in Ava’s acknowledgments that they are close friends so I’m puzzled as to why both books are alike. I love both Love Letters To The Dead and The Perks Of Being A Wallflower equally but I have to say that I did connect with Laurel’s story more; and I do think that it’s because she’s a female. 

Review: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Published: February 1999
Publisher: MTV books and pockets

Goodreads Summary

"I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day...or wondering who did the heart breaking and wondering why." Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

This is a rather hard book to review. I was putting this review off for as long as I possibly could as I just can’t seem to form any words to describe how much I loved this book!

Having not watched the movie I decided to tackle this book down after I found a cheap copy in my local store! The book addresses just within the first few pages; suicide, domestic abuse, homosexuality, molestation, rape, abortion, drug use and mental illness. Which is basically a jackpot for me as I’ve been trying to find books that more or less address these issues but are also YA.

Charlie is a freshman who is shy, nervous and not at all popular. Not only that but his bestfriend, his only friend committed suicide. Charlie decides to face the world in a different way, he decides to write letters about his many experiences as a social wallflower to his friend. The way the book was written is original and astonishing. Letters are always somewhat personal and private, you can list all of your fears on a piece of paper and either send it to someone or not. Because Stephen decided to write Charlie’s story this way it’s so much easier to connect with him. To know exactly what he is feeling.

I feel as if this book tackled everything along with the pressure and what it feels like to be a teenager in a new school with no friends.

I can’t praise this book enough, no wonder so many people fall in love with it. 

Discussion: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Girl Of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #2
Published: August 7th 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen


Goodreads Review

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.

Last year Rashika and I teamed up on reading the first book in this series Anna Dressed In Blood and we discussed it; you can check it out here.

We both had the second book so we decided to read it together yet again! I'm the purple and Rashika is the blue :-) 

What did you think of the second book then?

Ha, that’s a vague thing to ask. Overall I loved it just as much as I did the first one but there were so many things I missed from the first one. Like did you notice that this one wasn’t nearly as creepy as book 1 without Anna in it? DID YOU?

Hey! I was starting with the same question from our last review… Erm I still don’t quite know how I felt about this one. I loved the first book; but there was something off about this one. I think it was the lack of Anna and her “creepiness”.

Hmph I think that did affect how I felt about the book but at the same time I felt like there were so many other interesting things going on. Like trying to unravel the mystery behind Anna’s disappearance. The trio was fun to read about and I loved how they were willing to help Cas.

I found it kind of boring, them trying to figure out where Anna is… But I did love the three of them, especially the stuff going on between Thomas and Carmel.

Carmel may bother some people with her actions but to be honest, I actually liked that she doubted things. I mean she wasn’t born to that kind of life. She is human and if she weren’t at least the slightest bit doubtful.. I would be worried. Also you didn’t hear me say this but like, I found the first third to be BORING. I was just.. bored but then something changed and I become so emersed. I wanted to know how things would turn out. What the final showdown would be like, who this mysterious brotherhood was… we definitely did get more answers in this one.

I know! I felt a bit bored at the start too, I genuinely couldn’t get into the story. I don’t know why; then something changed and the excitement begun and I wanted all of the questions answered! I didn’t like the whole brotherhood stuff though. I found it so cliche. The showdown was sort of exciting but I wasn’t at all shocked with it. It felt really fake :/

You know what or rather WHO I didn’t like? JESTINE. I just… didn’t like her at all. I am not even sure what her purpose was to be honest. She just bothered me and I spent the whole book once she appeared, hating her. I actually didn’t notice any cliches but then again, I was inhaling the book and which was probably why I didn’t pick up on any. The duology on the whole does have a handful but I actually found the showdown to be interesting… and the resolution *cries*

AHH! That was heartbreaking, I nearly cried! Oh God. Do not get me started on Jestine! I didn’t think I could hate a character so much. I don’t understand why she was in the book? Like seriously. And why did Kendare have to chose that stupid name? Did she watch Tracy Beaker before she chose her name or something (It’s a kids tv show with a girl called Jestine who’s pretty much exactly like the one in the book!)

It was heartbreaking wasn’t it? But at the same time.. it seemed like the best thing to do. Not what I would want, but what would make sense but hey at least someone got an HEA. Going back to Jestine though, I was worried would be like a love interest for Cas with Anna gone and while I am glad that didn’t happen.. I just don’t know what her purpose was… she doesn’t even seem like a plot device. Just another character who was just there.. doing nothing…

At first I was hoping she would be this cool chick who’s kickass and a great character but after I think she was properly introduced I wanted to shoot her. She was so useless even if she did help Cas a little… I’m so glad that there wasn’t a love interest! That would have been horrible!

She was right? I don’t actually know why Cas likes her… it’s a weird friendship they share.

Anyway moving on from HER! One thing that annoyed me the most was the London trip! The whole dark alleys and pubs and everything. London isn’t exactly dark. OH! Then the Suicide Forest bit. I wanted to scream and punch something! That’s not in England! It’s in Japan! God damn it. PLUS THEY DIDN’T EVEN DRINK TEA!

WHATTT REALLLY? The suicide forest isn’t in the UK? O_O That sounds like a case of better research being needed to be done :( No way. I am pretty sure they drank tea at Gideons. HOW COULD THEY HAVE NOT? TEA IS LIFE. LIFE IS TEA.

The forest is called Aokigahara and it is most definitely not here!I mean she did get the suicide thing right, and that the forest is beautiful because the pictures are breath taking; but the wrong damn place! It angered me so much. WELL THEN THEY DID NOT DRINK ENOUGH TEA!!

I don’t think anyone can drink enough tea .-. I’d like to think they magically transported there but I don’t think that was the case because I am pretty sure that all happened in Scotland.

I can drink enough tea. I’m drinking tea right now. There is no such forest in Scotland anyway, I mean there’s a creepy ass bridge in Scotland that I want to visit so badly but apart from that…

Right lets get this show on the road, or at least off the road.

Final thoughts! Go!

Wonderful but it needed a lot more Anna.

I thought it was great and answered all the questions, but not at all close to being as good as Anna Dressed In Blood.

So final verdict??? We have slightly different opinions but in the end we both agree that that ending was heartbreaking.

Rashikas rating-


My rating-

Review: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch
Date Published: 1st July 2014
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Amazon    Book Depository 

Goodreads Summary

Perfection comes at a price. 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. For fans of Keira Cass’s Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.

 A VERY HAPPY RELEASE DATE TO PERFECTED! And a massive thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me this book for a review!

A new legislation is passed where owning a pet is taken to another level. Instead of having a fluffy puppy or a kitten to cuddle you to bed you can own a teenage girl who was bred to be perfect in all physical aspects.

The idea for this book seemed really out of the box and original. I was pleasantly surprised how the idea developed but there was nothing shocking about the plot or where it leads. There were no cliff-hangers, no surprises, nothing that would have actually made this book outstanding.

Number 8 or Ella as she’s later is named is an engineered pet, raised in a kennel to be obedient to her new master. As soon as I read this description of the main character my first thought was obviously these beautiful girls will be used as sex play toys by middle aged guys. I suspect that most of them were brought just for that. However Ella was brought to be a playmate for a bubbly little girl and her family; which doesn’t seem so bad.

“I was bred to be the perfect pet”.

“I was bred to willingly put my owner’s happiness before my own.” 

Taken out of context these two sentences seriously look like the worst starts for a porno. I mean come on! Willingly putting my owners happiness before my own. I get that they were bred to be like that and to think like this but I don’t think I would be able to do that. Not in a million years. I wouldn’t care if my “owner” was happy and none of my pets flipping do! To be fair they are cats and just care about food and where to crap but that is beside the point…

Okay now back to the book.

Ella’s new family already had a pet, a pet that was given away for being “ill”. However it’s not hard to figure out what actually happened to the last pet, with the congressmen’s wife not being particularly happy with Ella being there and with how the congressman acts towards Ella.

After she is brought her world changes, she needs to learn more things and more importantly learn what it really is like to be a pet. But is this the life that Ella can live with?

I don’t think the ending and the love story is at all surprising. This book was a pleasant read but it’s not at all amazing.   

Review: Make You Mine by Macy Beckett

Make You Mine by Macy Beckett
Series: Dumont Bachelors #1
Date Published: May 6th 2014
Publisher: HeadlineEternal
Amazon Book Depository 

Goodreads Summary 

For ninety-nine years, every man in the Dumont family has remained a perpetual bachelor. Residents of Cedar Bayou, Louisiana, whisper about a voodoo hex cast upon the family, sabotaging each man’s chance at marriage. In truth, the Dumont men have their own player personalities to blame, and Marc is no exception. As captain of his family’s riverboat, he’s broken hearts up and down the Mississippi. That is, until his high school crush strolls onboard... Allie Mauvais rocks the boat when she fills in as pastry chef. She hasn’t seen Marc since senior year, when rumors flew that her great-great-grandmother was the one who cursed the Dumonts. After two weeks on the water, neither can deny the attraction that still burns between them. But to truly reach Marc’s heart, Allie must show him that the hex isn’t real, and it’ll take more than her mouthwatering sweets to prove it. Will Allie’s love be enough to finally make Marc hers?

I was very lucky to receive a copy of this from Headline for an honest review.

For 90 years the Dumont men have been afraid of commitment, always having flings and never settling down. All because of one man and one voodoo hex cast on their whole family. Until they break it.

Allie Mauvais the great-great granddaughter of the famous voodoo witch who put the curse on the Dumont men is in love with no one other than Marc who’s in fact one of the men bearing this hex.

I would have most likely hated this book with a passion if it wasn’t for the hex and the whole voodoo deal in this book. But believe me I wasn’t so thrilled about it. I was looking for a fun chick lit to read and I found it. Although the main story of this book is as original as using a pick up line to talk to girls. But I kind of wanted something  like this.

The whole girl meets boy (or in this book they already knew each other and run into each other after a few years) either girl or boy does the chase, they end up together in a night or a week of passion, break up, realise that they are made for each other and end up together forever riding into the sunset.

I did say I wanted something like this but I did hope that there was more to the story and there was. The voodoo and the hex on the men. It was interesting to say the least. But boring. And stupid. I thought it was rather stupid that a whole town believed in this! I still can’t wrap my head around how all of these people believed that the Dumont men were hexed and couldn’t commit and not because they loved their bachelors lives. At least it made the book somewhat original.

There were some things that I loved! For example the strong family bonds in this book. The relationship between Allie and her sister was amazing. It was so refreshing to read a book that’s got this strong family feel to it. Allie is a great character! She’s a strong female role that goes after what she wants and has a really big heart! But she uses the word “baby” a lot… So… She isn’t that great.

This book is a fast read and it’s really pleasant. I enjoyed myself reading this book but I didn’t love it. The ending took me about three days to finish because I couldn’t stomach it. It was just too over the top.