Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

ISBN: 9780316122382
Source: Christmas Gift! :)
Series: No, Stand-alone
Release Date: January 2, 2012
Goodreads  |  Amazon

     SYNOPSIS:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

     REVIEW:

Let me start by saying that I'm obsessed with the cover of this book! Its so unique and not overly flashy. Not to mention the adorable picture of what I believe to be Hadley and Oliver at the airport! I picked up this book in between binge-reading another series because I didn't have the next series book yet. I wanted something light and fluffy, a cute romance to occupy my time and it did not disappoint. I've seen some negative reviews of this book talking about it's lack of depth, but I thought that it did have more depth than what I was expecting, really. And anyway, look at the title - did you really expect something life-changing and earth-shattering? Come on, people.

Anyway, Smith's writing is really great and the third-person, present tense POV was really unique! It was engaging and gave it a more exciting feel, like the reader is right there with Hadley, experiencing all of her emotions along with her. I liked Hadley - she seemed smart and cute and just a bit (well... maybe a lot) damaged. I had some issues with Oliver. I thought he was funny and witty but I didn't quite catch the chemistry between him and Hadley as much as I'd have liked to. It was there... it just didn't quite make me swoon.

As I mentioned before, this book actually had much more emotional depth than I was expecting. Hadley is still reeling from the breaking apart of her family and now having to watch her father remarry before she is ready for him to. Smith touches on tough issues like cheating, divorce, remarriage, etc. and I found myself really connecting and feeling more emotional (and even getting a bit misty) toward those parts of the book rather than the development of a relationship between Hadley and Oliver. Somehow I connected more with the adult in the book than with the teenager... (does that mean I'm too old for YA!? Nooo)

While a bit predictable and with a romance that lacked that something, I really did enjoy this quick and easy read. I was very pleased with the way it all turned out. Maybe a bit too far into the "tidy-bow" department (as I like to refer to endings with too clean of a happy ending), but I expected no more and no less from this book, so I was happy with it.

     RATING: ★★★★

Cute - Fun - Quirky. These are the words I would use to describe most of this book. The chemistry lacked a little but it was made up for in funny one-liners and more emotional depth than you'd expect from a young adult romance novel, so bravo to Smith!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Have any of you read it? What did you think about the romance? The family issues for both Hadley and Oliver? I can't wait to hear what you think!

A.

Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

ISBN: 9780062014535
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 2013
Series: Delirium Trilogy #3
Page Count: 391


GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

IN-DEPTH REVIEW:
**NO SPOILERS, but if you havent read Pandemonium, I wouldn't suggest reading this. You may want to read my review of Pandemonium, though it does contain some small spoilers**
Ever since I finished Pandemonium, I've been dying to read this book as I'm sure many of you have been or were, and we all obviously know why. The return of ALEX **gasp**

I'm not going to lie, at the end of Pandemonium, I was very anxious to see what would happen with Alex, but ever since Julian entered the picture, I was 100% team Julian. I think I mentioned in my review of Pandemonium that I never felt any connection with Lena and Alex. No emotion when he "died" or anything like that. I just had no interest. I instantly connected with the Julian-Lena love story and I think its important for me to add that after reading Requiem where we have both Julian and Alex, I am still team Julian, though only about 90% now, maybe not 100%.

I was 15 pages into this book and I was already pissed off with Lena and the attitude she had taken on once Alex has shown up again. I was quickly understanding why many people didnt like this book. Lena was back to being boring Lena. But then all of a sudden, a few pages later, it all happened for me. I was hooked. I was literally crying at this point because of the emotions Lena was experiencing, and Oliver's writing is just so amazing that, at times, I felt those emotions myself. Those really are the best kinds of books, arent they? The ones that make you feel what the characters feel.

Another reason I felt like I connected with this book was because of the emotions Lena was feeling in her love life. Let us all be honest here, most of us have experienced some sort of romantic heartache, be it a break up in the 8th grade or in your adult life. Either way, you remember being crushed, right? Well I was a particularly dramatic teenager, and havent had the best of luck as of late, so I know what its like, and I think the second best kinds of books are the ones you can relate to. I related to Lena, I felt her pain because of the writing and because of my own memories.
Anyhow... moving on.

Julian grew so much in this final installment of the trilogy. Though I liked him in Pandemonium, he came off as weak to me, and Requiem comes around and no, he isn't all of a sudden tough and strong just because he's left Zombieland to live in the Wilds, like many authors would have made him. He grew. He was still afraid of the changes, of the difference in the quality of life, and of loving or showing affection, but he wanted to try and learn and be strong and be an asset to the resistance to fight for what he believed in and he did all of those things. I just loved Julian in Requiem which made Alex's return that much harder for me to accept. Ugh, imagine how hard it was for Lena!

Now, see - usually, when a dystopian novel like this begins to focus too much on love and romance when the fate of life itself is at stake, I tend to get annoyed by petty teenager things being important when there are obviously more important things to worry about. However, this novel is different in an interesting way. As we all know, this trilogy is about a society that deems love a disease, amor deliria nervosa, that it is the cause of all the world's problems. These books are about fighting for love. I expected to be annoyed by the focus on relationships but I wasnt and I was pleasantly surprised by how invested I was in the relationships in this trilogy.

One thing I do have to say that I also found interesting was that in Pandemonium and Requiem, the characters many times had the same thoughts I did. Are the "cureds" right? Is it really a disease? You find yourself so consumed, not thinking clearly, doing irrational things, etc. Arent they right in some way? It was just clever how Oliver presented this, giving up the ability to see both perspectives, how maybe the "cureds" werent totally wrong with the whole premise of the cure.

Now let's talk about Hana. Many of you should know that this book is told from Lena's view in the Wilds and Hana's view in Portland after her cure. I was so engrossed in Hana's story, as much as I was in Lena's. Even at the times I found myself hating her, I found myself cheering her on and feeling for her too.

I was totally engrossed in this book in its entirety and kind of wonder what some of the reviewers were talking about when they said they didnt even like it. I really cant think of much I didnt like except - oh! The ENDING!! I think many are in an uproar over the way this story ended, and while I am not happy with it, I like that it gives me room to decide how it ends myself. I have some ideas where Oliver wanted it to go with some things, but others, I guess it is kind of left up to the reader, and one day, I suppose I'll say where this one went in my head, but I dont want to give anything away. For now, I'll just replay it in my head whenever I get sad that this trilogy is over.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

I loved this book, and was very happy with the growth of the characters and their depth. I enjoyed all aspects, including the progression of relationships and the progression of the resistance. I am ONE HUNDRED PERCENT TEAM JULIAN and I always will be. As always, the writing is terrific, and frankly this was my favorite in the series. I didnt like Delirium to begin with but continued because I dont like to leave things unfinished, ended up loving Pandemonium, and adored Requiem. I felt every emotion portrayed in this book with fierce intensity which brought me even farther into the world of Delirium.


RATING: ★★★★ 1/2

Four and a half stars for this one. The ONLY thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars one is the ending. I just wasnt happy with it, and though I am trying to look at it in a positive light, I cant help but remember thinking - THIS IS IT? THIS IS HOW IT ENDS!?

Now I'm going to read the three short stories that are a part of Delirium Stories and I will be posting a review on that some time this week, in addition the short story about Alex released in the first printing of Requiem.

So, have you read this one yet? If so, what did you think? If not, do you plan on reading it? Can't wait to hear what you thought of this one.

A.

Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

ISBN: 9781442409088
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: February 2012
Series: Chemical Garden Trilogy #2
Page count: 341 pages

BN.COM SYNOPSIS:

"Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to get to Manhattan and to find Rhine’s twin brother Rowan, the two press forward, amidst threats of being captured again . . . or worse.

The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age 20 and men die at age 25, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price—now that she has more to lose than ever."

 IN-DEPTH REVIEW:

Well... where the heck to I start? I picked up this book a long time after reading Wither, so I didnt remember all of the little details from it. I do recall being a little bored but I did still enjoy the story enough. I didnt have this blog back then, but I would say I would've given it somewhere in the 3-4 star range.
** If you havent read Wither, I would recommend reading it first or reading someone else's review on it before you read this review. Also, please be advised there may be some little tiny spoilers for Fever in this review, if you havent read it already**

I was already pissed off that Rhine had run off with Gabriel at the end of Wither. I was not a fan of Gabriel. I felt like Rhine liked him because he was nice to her and they could relate in their imprisonment, whereas she could not relate with Linden (except much later she realizes he's a prisoner of his own sort and she COULD relate to him, but that is besides the point). I was sort of rooting for Linden from the middle of Wither and either way, I was never rooting for Gabriel. Especially in this second installment, when I felt the entire time that Gabriel was a shallow idiot who resented Rhine for bringing him to freedom, just because the world wasnt beautiful or easy. 

So anyhow, they're running away from the mansion, which is totally fine, because Rhine obv wants to be reunited with her brother, but then not FIVE MINUTES after they get out of whatever body of water they sailed over and swam through, did they make stupid decisions and were thwarted by a mad woman running a CARNIVAL OF PROSTITUES!! Okay, I'm sorry, some people were excited by the carnival aspect, but I was genuinely annoyed and kind of creeped out by the whole weird thing. The carnival part of the story was so slow for me, I just didnt get it, I hated Rhine and Gabriel while they were there and I just wanted it to be over! I actually felt like I connected more with Jared and Lilac in the carnival more than I did with the main characters!!!

Like I said, I found the first half of the book incredibly slow and boring for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events and pick up in the pace as they began getting ready to escape the carnival.

I know it almost sounds crazy, but this book was a little TOO dark for me. I mean, its dystopian, so what do I expect, right? But still - look at Cinder - hysterically funny while still being dark and dystopian-y. I couldnt even connect with Rhine and Gabriel's relationship the way I at least was able to with the other darker dystopian I've read, Pandemonium.

Another problem I had was how GROSS this novel was. I guess its a testament to DeStefano's writing that she can literally make me sick to my stomach with her descriptions of rats and eating old moldy food and what not. I literally found myself skipping brief descriptive portions like these because I thought I was going to puke. So, yay DeStefano, but eh... my stomach is too weak.

On that note - DeStefano is an amazing writer. Her prose.... wow. Just... wow. By the latter third of the book, when she was detailing Rhine's trips in and out of consciousness... it was just beautiful. Dark... and crazy.... but beautiful.

Okay, I ramble. My bad. Anyhow, by the second half of the book, I was much more interested and things were moving slightly faster. I wasnt totally sold on it, because the main characters did nothing for me and the plot hadnt been very great so far.

But then the unthinkable happens... Housemaster Vaughn... Okay I wont say it so this review wont be completely spoiled. Anyhow, after we reach this point in the story, I'm drawn back in. Soon returns the whole cast of the polygamous marriage crew and attendants and I'm back in the game!!

Somehow, I'm still rooting for Linden, and somehow I still hate Cecily. Little bi.... Okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop. Anyway, Rhine and Linden FINALLY come alive for me after a book and three quarters and I was so mad because I was determined not to like this book!! But I think I went into this with the preconceived notion that I didnt like it because I didnt love Wither and I would have rather been reading Requiem but it wasnt out yet. So in all fairness, I hadnt given it a chance. I still didnt love it, but DeStefano TOTALLY redeemed herself and her characters at the end of this book.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

Somehow, the ending redeemed the whole thing for me, and I cant wait to pick up Sever. The writing was absolutely beautiful, the plot was slow moving at first and a little better towards the end, and the characters (until the last 10 pages) were stagnant and boring - almost borderline annoying - for me. I did like this book, however, there were many things about it that I did not like.I would recommend this to anyone who has read Wither already, or those of you who can stand a not so great book to get to something better because something tells me that Sever is going to deliver.

RATING: ★★★ 1/2

I've given this one a total rating of 3 1/2 stars. If I was breaking it down (just to give you a better idea), the first half of this book would get a 2 star rating at best, and the second half would get a 3 1/2, then the last 15-20 pages would get a solid 5, because the book finally came alive here. So with that being said, on average, we fall back to 3 1/2. Also, I did like this book, but I didnt love it. It somehow didnt seem like it deserved a 4 but I didnt want to go as low as a 3.

Have any of you read this one yet? If you have - Do you agree or disagree with the points I made?  If you havent - do you think you will be picking this one up any time soon?

Cant wait to hear what you think!

A.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

ISBN: 9781250007209
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 2012
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Page Count: 448 pages

SYNOPSIS:

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl..."

In this Cinderella retelling, Cinder is a cyborg - formerly human, and has parts of her body replaced with robot parts - sort of like prosthetic limb but with wires and a control panel... I guess you'd have to read it to understand haha. She is also a gifted mechanic living in a future after the fourth world war, living in the Eastern Commonwealth in New Beijing, under the rule of Emperor Rikan and his dreamy son Prince Kaito (Kai for short), where the world has become plagued by an epidemic called the "blue plague".

The heroine, Cinder, lives with her "Stepmother" and two "Stepsisters" (technically her adoptive family). Her stepmom and one of her sisters hate her, and find her disgusting because of her cyborg qualities. As it happens, cyborgs are thought of as less than human and are considered property in New Beijing and have less rights than humans.

Prince Kai asks the gifted mechanic to fix his android and subsequently becomes enchanted by her...awkwardness? Most definitely not her beauty or wealth or family name. He asks her to the BALL! Yes, this book has a ball, and she turns him down because she is a martyr and doesnt want to embarrass him by letting him show up to this ball with a cyborg, especially because he doesnt know she is a cyborg.

With Cinder looking for a cure for the plague to save her sister - and the rest of the world - and trying to save Prince Kai from the evil-doings of the Lunar Queen Levana, who rules the "magical" creatures that inhabit the Earth's moon, now called Luna (which actually means moon in spanish - haha), she finds herself in a few predicaments that lead to her finding out some whopping secrets about her past that by the end of the book, she STILL cant wrap her head around.  There is something about Cinder... something she doesnt even know that will change her life as she knows it.

IN-DEPTH REVIEW:

This book was not just your average fairy tale. I enjoyed this book so much, and had to refrain from going out to purchase the sequel immediately (just because I have so much else to read). I found the world Meyer has built, with all her cyborgs and moon people and blue plague stuff, to somehow be more realistic than many of the popular dystopian novels out there right now. I know it sounds crazy, but I could picture myself as part cyborg more than I could picture myself fighting 20-something other children to the death in a giant arena. Dont get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of The Hunger Games, I'm just saying... I would be more likely to believe in people inhabiting the moon, thats all.

Writing style: superb
Plot: Interesting and moved quickly.
World building: SUPER COOL!

I actually found this to be a light, fun novel, even with all the death going around. The blue plague is the newest generation's version of the Bubonic Plague - the kids were even singing "Ring around the Rosie" at one point. For those of you that don't know the history behind that kid's game... check it out. You'll never want your kids to play it again.... creepy!

I loved the way Meyer worked in the Cinderella fairy tale without being over the top. It was a story that would still be a story if the Cinderella aspects were taken out, which was great for me. I mean who doesnt love fairy tales? But I'm 23, and though I loved to revisit my childhood, I like to think of myself as slightly more of an adult than I was when I was five. I'm glad there was a real story and plot that wasnt solely focused on Cinderella.

I loved the Prince, and Cinder because they were cute but not too much, and Cinder was funny and sarcastic which I always enjoy in my heroines. Meyer created two wonderful villians in Lihn Adri and Levana the Lunar Queen. I hated Levana and somehow despised and pitied Adri at the same time.

**SPOILER**
Its weird because at the end of the book there are some discussion questions and one asks if the reader thinks there was a character representing the "fairy godmother" in this story, and in one instance I will consider Dr. Erland the fairy godmother who gives her the money to escape and get gasoline for her car, which is sort of her "pumpkin carriage" being orange and all, and he champions her and wants to help her. And sort of could be Iko her android who saves her dress and finds her the cyborg foot. Might I just add how much I loved that and how much I loved the touch of Cinder losing her cyborg foot instead of her shoe on the stairs outside of the palace when she left the ball. Anyhow, in the other instance, I think Cinder was her own fair godmother. She paid for the cyborg foot, and repaired the car and got herself to the ball and tried the save the world alone. And I love that aspect that girls can sometimes need saving, but most times they can save themselves. Way to go Meyer! Girl power!!
**END SPOILER**

There wasnt much I didnt like about this book. I found myself a little bored a few times - only for a few pages though, before the action started back up. That was about it, though. I thought I'd be tired of dystopians by now, and wondered if I'd be over this one before I even finished it, but its so different and original and FUN. I loved this story - hats off to Marissa Meyer! Once I find it reasonable to buy another book to add to my pile of 50+ TBR books, I will be picking up the next one, and I cannot wait! Another thing that upsets me, by the way is that the third and fourth installments of this series arent coming out until 2014 and 2015. What if the world ends by then!? I cant die without reading the rest of the series.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

I enjoyed this book very much. The writing was wonderful; it was extremely unique and creative and very different from other dystopians crowding the market; it was fun, light and believable; and I cant wait to read the next in the series!

RATING: ★★★★

This one gets a four star rating! There were some slow parts for me, but never slow enough for me to lose interest. The characters, dialogue, world and plot were believable, even though it was chock full of cyborgs, androids, moon people and monarchies. I liked this book so much and I would recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi/fantasy novels, young adult fiction and dystopian novels - oh, and fairy tale retellings!!

Have you gotten to read this one yet? If you have - what did you think? Do you agree or disagree, and why?

A.

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

ISBN: 9780061978067
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication date: February 28th 2012
Series: Delirium #2
Page count: 375 pages

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

"After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive the "cure" - an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love - but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters. Although she is bereft without the boy she loves, her struggles seem to be leading her toward a new love."

IN-DEPTH REVIEW:

**May contain some small spoilers**
When I started reading this book, the first thing I thought was - "I don't remember anything from Delirium." I was so annoyed, and afraid I wouldnt enjoy Pandemonium because of it. I was three chapters in and I was praying I'd have an a-ha! moment. Thankfully I did, when 1. I read some reviews on Delirium to refresh my memory and 2. I realized the chapters were titled "then" and "now" and didnt have to keep muddling through, hoping for the best. I could finally keep up!

I actually for once don't have much to say about a book. It was so much better than the first in the series. Delirium was so boring for me. I thought Lena fell flat, I thought her love with Alex fell even flatter. I didnt believe any of the story or connect with any of the characters.

THANK GOD Pandemonium was not like that. Lena evolved in the second installment and quickly. In the first few chapters of "then", when she was still just over the border into the Wilds, she was still very flat for me. I couldnt connect with her emotions, but once she began growing stronger, accepting her grief as a part of her and moving on, I felt like I could relate to her better.

I dont know - maybe it was just me but I was even more interested in the world in Pandemonium, in the plot and storyline. I always found the whole premise intriguing, but when I read Delirium I was so disappointed with where Oliver took it. Now I'm happy with Pandemonium and where she took it, and Oliver has redeemed herself for me.

The story progressed quickly, and I felt every single one of Lena's emotions. It annoyed me a little that Julian was so... I don't know. Weak, maybe? I guess I just dislike weak characters. But what would a book be if every character was strong and independent?

I felt SO MUCH more in tune with Lena and Julian's love story, of their tentative reachings-out to each other, etc. Even when Lena didnt want to love him because of Alex, she knew she did and eventually stopped fighting it.

I know many people have been talking about the ending. Unfortunately, I knew what was coming because I had read some reviews containing spoilers, so I wasnt exactly surprised. I was a little surprised at how it happened, and that it happened in the LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE BOOK!! And I desperately want to get my hands on Requiem to find out what the hell happens, but all I can say in this regard is that I am 100% team Julian. That is all.

Oh, a few stray thoughts - to those readers who say Lauren Oliver's writing is awful... What?! She writes beautifully, regardless if Delirium was slow. Slow or not - she's still a great writer.

Also, I'm very intrigued by the way Oliver addresses homosexuality in the story. I love that Lena's take on her friends' relationship is one of tolerance, and that it doesnt focus on their differences. It is ironic though that it still exists in the world that Oliver has created, and gives me little hope for the real world's future of tolerance. I mean the book doesnt tell the future, but thats the whole point of dystopia isnt it? This is where the world is headed if we cant get back on track.

One last stray, this book is slightly reminiscent of one of my favorite books ever, The Giver by Lois Lowry. In the world Lowry creates, feelings, colors, seasons, pain, differentiation, it all doesnt exist, so in my mind it is an extreme version of the Delirium story, where Oliver focuses on love being the root of all evil, not knowledge of feelings and the world in general, but I still see similarities. The spark of this thought process was when I realized that Oliver uses "the procedure" to administer the "cure" and Lowry uses pills to stop the "stirrings" and pretty much turn people into robots - or better yet, ZOMBIES! Like Lena calls the cureds.

Oh and might I add, there was virtually nothing about this book I didnt like.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

I enjoyed this book very much. I love Oliver's writing, and the plot moves much quicker in this book than it did in Delirium. I liked Lena's new love interest and the progression of their love story, and I connected very much with all of characters, especially, finally, with Lena.


RATING: ★★★★

You may be wondering why I loved this so much and only gave it four stars. First, I'd like to say it really should be a 4 1/2 stars but.... I dont know how to make half a star (if anyone has any idea let me know!) so there you go. But the reason this doesnt make five is probably my own fault, because I already knew the ending of the book, so there was no jaw-dropping holy sh*t moment for me. It may be a little unfair because the book didnt do that, I did, but it is what it is. I did like this book a lot, cant wait for Requiem in 12 days, and I recommend this to you YA lovers who havent read this one yet!

For those of you who have read it - what did you think? Do you agree or disagree with the points I made?

A.

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

ISBN-13: 9780316042673
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 2009
Page Count: 563
My Rating: ★★★


Synopsis:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

 In-Depth Review:

I have mixed feelings about this book. Let me start by saying overall - I liked it a lot, and cant wait to read the next one. There were some low points to the book, but not enough that it took away from the story. When I was reading the review before I read this book, I saw some people nit-picking on the writing style. I'll address this by saying: WHAT?! Garcia and Stohl's writing styles are magnificent. I didnt have a single problem with their writing, detail, grammar - the editing was perfectly fine. I did have a few issues with some of the dialogue but this is something that I feel happens in every book, and doesnt bother me much.

When I started this book I decided to take notes, which ended up looking like one big run on sentence in one big running commentary. The first thing I wrote down when I started this book was why I couldnt figure out how Ethan and Lena went from passing eachother in the hall to Ethan running after her in a storm, taking her home and hanging out on the border of Ravenwood. Someone please tell me how this happens? I know they "feel like they know eachother" or whatever, but then further into the story, things get awkward and they act like they DONT know eachother that well. That was something that left me feeling a little weird while reading the story. A couple of things like this bothered me throughout, but I dont want their to be any spoilers, so I wont specify. But what I'm getting at is that I felt like they just jumped into a relationship, a story, a "we're in this together" with barely any time to get to know eachother.

I had a problem with the fact that Ethan seemed almost completely unafraid and eager to find things out, meanwhile Lena was sulking in her room and causing monsoons. What the hell Lena!? Grow up!

I didnt hate the book though, I actually enjoyed it very much. I thought it was really interesting finding out about Wate and Duchannes family trees and taking a few well described trips back to the Civil War. I flew through this book at first actually. It ended up taking me about a week and a half to read it but that was because of my schedule, not because of the slow pace of the book.

I very much enjoyed having this book written from Ethan's point of view. Some reader's didnt love this aspect because it was different. On the contrary, I liked this aspect a lot because it was refreshing, nice to have a different point of view, especially because I dont think I could have dealt with bratty Lena as the narrator. She was too busy being mad about not being a normal kid to grow and be a dynamic character. She was annoying, point blank. A few things were left unexplained that again I wont mention specifically, but I'm really hoping the next book goes more in depth.

I also loved that Lena writes all the time - on her hand, in her notebook, on her ceiling - as a writer, it was something I could relate to.

The last thing I have to address is the ending. I think that the ending could have been way worse and honestly leading up to the very last page, I thought it was going to be. I was expecting it to be anticlimactic, and trust me, it didnt end the way I expected it to and it confused me a lot, but I was pleased with the ending and anxious for what happens next. I just cant imagine being in Lena's shoes and being able to get through it.... I wont elaborate, but for those of you who have read it - I'm sure you agree.

Final thoughts....

Like I said, there were some low points in the book for me, but the authors made me feel Ethan and Lena's inner turmoil, I felt like I was IN the story. The plot and characters were so original and unique and they kept me wanting more every time I had to put the book down.

Rating: ★★★

This one gets four stars (*see edit below) from me. I enjoyed it and cant wait to read the next one, and encourage fans of YA and supernatural novels to pick it up too!

Have any of you read this? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree? I'd love to hear what you think!

A.

EDIT:  After careful consideration of this book after reading this book, I've decided to drop the rating from a four-star to a three-star rating. I did enjoy the book, but shortly after moving on to another book, I realized I had little desire to continue on to the next book and was actually confused and annoyed about some aspects of this book. I did still enjoy the book, as my three star rating shows, but I didnt love it.

Review: Reached by Ally Condie

Publication date: 11/13/2012

Pages: 384

Series:Matched Trilogy Series , #3

My Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads synopsis:

"After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again."

In-depth review:
Its hard for me to say how I truly felt about this book. For starters, I couldnt put it down. So thats definitely a good sign. The first 200-300 pages were non-stop, I couldnt get enough and the story was captivating. I really enjoyed reading this book from three different points of view. It sounds like it would be difficult or confusing but it wasnt. It was very refreshing and interesting reading from three different characters that Condie makes sure she individualizes and gives their own opinions.

I didnt love Cassia in this final book, she wasnt as strong of a character for me as she was in Crossed. I found that in Matched she was a very weak character also, and I didnt like Matched nearly as much as these second and third installments. I was very happy when Crossed came around and she was such a strong character as compared to the last book and I was hoping she'd be even stronger in Reached but she fell short - only by a little - I mean, I didnt hate her.

I enjoyed Xander a lot. He came off as naive to me at first, and it made me pity him, but by the end of the story I realized how dynamic he was and how much he had changed. The story was exciting and kept me guessing the whole time, with little surprises here and there to make my jaw drop in amazement.

The one thing I didnt like about this book was that around the middle, things started going everywhere. I felt like Condie was mentioning things or having scenes that, in my mind, seemed like they were supposed to be significant, but come to find out, it meant nothing. And then I was left scratching my head wondering why she even bothered because it wasnt something that moved the story forward, and sort of just confused me... It was just kind of all over the place.

Also, I dont want to have any spoilers, especially for those of you who havent read ANY of the books in the series, so I'll just say that certain situations in this story requires some complex explanations, but I feel as if Condie didnt do a great job doing so. She used some big words and didnt tell her readers what those big words or phrases meant, and I dont mean big words that nerds like myself use. I mean scientific and medical terminology that even the average nerd cant be expected to know... and after a certain point I would just skim over them and shrug and move on. Thankfully those complex explanations didnt impact the story enough to make it harder to read or less enjoyable. Just annoying.

By the last hundred pages, I'd gotten past being annoyed about those small things and every few pages there was a new revelation that turned on a "light bulb" or made me understand something I hadnt understood before. I found myself with the jaw to the floor, talking to myself or sometimes the characters or the author, begging for a reprieve. This one was a little tough one, emotionally.

Overall, the book was a fantastic ending to the series, though slightly reminiscent of the Hunger Games without the games - just in the sense of the revolutionary aspect. The world Condie created was elaborate and interesting, and frighteningly real, showing the reader what the world could soon look like.

Final Thoughts...

I enjoyed this book very much. Mid-book, Condie started going all over the place with her plot, with her information, with her scenes full of mystery that ended up leading to nowhere, and her scientific explanations that made me wish I had taken that physics class in high school... It was a bit confusing, but overall it was a great read. Suspenseful, interesting, etc. If you havent read this one, or the series, I would recommend it, with allowing the first book some slack, because its not all that great. The second and third books are well worth it though.

Rating:
★★★★
This one gets 4 stars. It was a great read and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA/Dystopian novels.

Have any of you read this one or any in the series? What did you think about it - do you agree or disagree with my rating? I'd love to hear what you think!


Happy Readings!
Manda C.

Review: The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts

Review: The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts
ISBN-13: 9780425246047

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

Publication date: 11/6/2012

Pages: 336

Series:Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy , #3

My Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads synopsis:

"Ryder is the hardest Montgomery brother to figure out—with a tough-as-nails outside and possibly nothing too soft underneath. He’s surly and unsociable, but when he straps on a tool belt, no woman can resist his sexy swagger. Except apparently Hope Beaumont, the innkeeper of his own Inn BoonsBoro. 

As the former manager of a D.C. hotel, Hope is used to excitement and glamour, but that doesn’t mean she can’t appreciate the joys of small-town living. She’s where she wants to be—except for in her love life. Her only interaction with the opposite sex has been sparring with the infuriating Ryder, who always seems to get under her skin. Still, no one can deny the electricity that crackles between them…a spark that ignited with a New Year’s Eve kiss.

While the Inn is running smoothly, thanks to Hope’s experience and unerring instincts, her big-city past is about to make an unwelcome—and embarrassing—appearance. Seeing Hope vulnerable stirs up Ryder’s emotions and makes him realize that while Hope may not be perfect, she just might be perfect for him…"

In-depth review:
I think I've mentioned before that I dont read romance all that often anymore. Its all I used to read, once upon a time. Now I only pick up Nora Roberts - ONLY - and thats only when I have a hankering for a bit more romance that the average YA or adult fiction book. I tend to get bored anymore when a book only focuses on the romance aspect. Nora Roberts brings a whole new meaning to romance, in my opinion. This story comes packed with ghost hauntings, sexy romps in the sheets and a bitch slap or two, and I wasnt hooked so much by the romance in this series but by the backstory of the Ghost of the Inn Boonsboro and her long lost love.

Nora uses each aspect of the story, the ghost of the Inn and the actual couple that is the focus of the book, to move along the other without making the ghost thing silly or unbelieveable. I think there are many people out there who have seen things moving or heard noises that they couldnt explain. What if it was someone who couldnt cross over? Someone who was waiting for something... or someone, who just needed some help? Wouldnt that be awesome... well I guess if you're not afraid of ghosts.

Nora's writing is superb as usual. Her imagery and amazing detail places you in the towns, with the characters, whom by book three in the series, you've come to know and love as your own annoying (and I mean that with the utmost affection) brothers, vulnerable, spunky and OCD-ridden sisters, loving and scary mother, and I could go on for days.

Having been reading Nora Roberts novels for many years and having read, I'd say about 60% of all of her published works, there are some things I've come to know and love about her novels, as well as know and dislike.

The only thing I didnt like in this book, which is generally the same as how I feel about all of her work is that her trilogies tend to be a little predictable. There's always a blonde, a brunette and a red-head. There's always a vulnerable one, a fiery one and a snooty one. I mean, dont get me wrong, when she gets into her characters, you see them as much deeper and not every one is the same. It's just a little predictable with the basis of her trilogies. Like I said, it's usually her back story coupled with the romance that hooks me in, and her back stories are always different, this particular one being set in her home town and featuring the book store her family owns, Turn the Page in real life. (I love the little plug. It makes you feel closer to an author you already love and feel like you know.)

The other thing that sometimes annoys me is that I feel as if her romantic dialogue is a little unrealistic. I fully believe that all of the messages her characters intend to get across are ones that real people would also, but sometimes the wording of a phrase in what should be a particularly touching moment can be a little awkward or cliche; in other words, I dont think a man would say something a certain way, or string together a sentence the way she makes them. People dont speak that perfectly in real life. But I guess thats why this is fiction and not real life - hence why I love reading it so much.

Final Thoughts:

This read was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a few things that made it a little less than five star, such as the same three by three person theme in her trilogies and about 5% of her dialogue being slightly unrealistic (which I'm not trying to say makes it difficult to understand or takes away from the story at all... just saying). I can say that there were some Roberts novels that I enjoyed more, and some I enjoyed less, but I flew through this one with no problems and I did enjoy it.

Rating;

★ ★ ★ ★
This one gets four stars in my book, which means I really liked it, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Nora Roberts or anyone who is into romance.


On another note, I simply cannot figure out what to read next. I went and broke one of my bookish resolutions already and picked up two books at the bookstore yesterday, and I have to force myself not to read one of those instead of one that has been sitting on my shelf for ages. Lets see. I guess you will find out what I picked tomorrow when I post for WWW Wednesday. :)

What are you reading?

Manda C.