ARC Review: Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

As this is a review of an Advanced Reader Copy, I am required to refrain from using quotes from this novel until the finished product is released in stores and published on February 1st, 2015.

I will be honest, as soon as I found out that the extent of this novel was 309 pages, I was a bit hesitant as I began reading this. I could not have been more wrong. Reading the blurb, I was left expecting a depressing, self-reflective experience that would leave me tearing up relentlessly and trying to avoid wetting the pages of this book. However, as I began to really get into this novel, I found myself laughing out loud more than anything. This novel is heart wrenching, no doubt, but as we are able to see the ups and downs of an aggressive form of Stage IV cancer coming back through our protagonist, Daisy's eyes, we are able to get a glimpse of her priorities and witty observations at this time as well. I was amazed at how something so deep and profound could have been told by Daisy in the form of the joke and loved the book more for it.

Reading about marriage really opens your eyes. You never quite expect an author to be so honest about the rocky road that married couples travel after being together for so many years, and it is this brutal honesty that leaves you in awe of how Colleen Oakley is able to speak through this novel in such a realistic way and still grip your attention until the very last page. It was astounding how the simplest of actions, such as buying caulk from the store, could leave me entirely engrossed in this novel. It felt like being led along like an apprehensive and cautious stray dog, hoping against hope that every word in this novel holds meaning and that it will lead to the conclusion you have been so desperately waiting for. Colleen Oakley, you did not disappoint.

The voice in this novel was so confident and shy at the same time. This may seem like it doesn't make a lot of sense if you think about it, however, if you choose to read this novel, you will see that it is the perfect way to describe Daisy's narration throughout this novel. As her cancer progresses, Daisy takes it upon herself to try and find her husband a new wife, knowing that he is certainly not the most reliable and independent person in the world. Her husband, Jack, is not aware of this and finds himself rather confused as to why his wife is pushing him away. This results in a series of misunderstandings told from Daisy's point of view that, as they unfold, make readers feel as though they are riding an emotional roller coaster. As Daisy grew frustrated, I grew frustrated. As Daisy became confused, I, too, became confused. It got the point, three-quarters of the way through the novel, as to where I couldn't put the novel down. I had to solve these issues that Daisy was having, Jack had to graduate and gain his degree, Daisy had to plant hydrangeas in her flower bed.

The dialogue in this novel served as a vessel through which readers were able to gain knowledge about the side characters of which wasn't provided through Daisy's inner thoughts about them. Kayleigh, in particular, was a favourite. She was witty, irresponsible and at times, even infuriating. However, despite all of this, she was a fantastic friend that really added to this novel. Before I Go certainly wouldn't have been the same without her. She is a helping hand to Daisy throughout this journey and an irreplaceable right hand man (or woman) in Daisy's mission to help find a new wife for Jack. The story line was simple, and yet was able to instill such complicated feelings. The characters were endearing, and yet infuriating at the same time. I loved this book. Even when the pace seemed slow, you knew that it was the right pace for this novel. Daisy is only 27 years old, and she is dying. She wants to cherish every moment she can before she passes on. Every moment counts. That is one of the central themes in this book, and one that is very prominent throughout the novel. 

You can never forget that Daisy has a time limit and a seemingly endless to-do list. That is what drives this novel, and is essentially what the main story line is built around. The way this novel is broken up makes you aware of how much time Daisy has left at any given point in the novel. Daisy is aware of it, we are aware of it too. As events get more heated and tensions rise, the urgency of the time limit increases and things seem more and more hopeless for our unfortunate protagonist, Daisy.

Tensions rise, relationships falter and although the road was filled with tears, laughter and frustration, readers are satisfied as Colleen Oakley leaves us with a conclusion that makes us cry and yet still leaves us with an inexplicable feeling of warmth inside. That was what it was like reading this book, and I would not have changed a single thing about it.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: P.A.W.S by Debbie Manber Kupfer

"Pride, love and... fear. There was an undercurrent of deep, deep fear."

The thing that managed to grasp my attention about this book was in the very beginning within the first few words of the prologue. The story begins with Miri's grandmother hiding out in Vienna during the 1940s whilst the Nazis raided the house, looking to capture them. This high tension and historical setting set the scene for a truly spectacular narrative and left me eager for the rest of the book. As I paged through the first couple of chapters though, I found that the repetition of words that worked so well in the prologue began to lose some of their effect. It was unfortunate, as this was a technique that complimented the beginning of the story perfectly and became worn out soon afterward. However, this did not stop me from enjoying this novel.

The prose used for this novel is written in a traditional storytelling style of which I am quite fond of, whilst this simplistic style of writing did seem a bit started towards the beginning of the novel, I found that soon enough I was enveloped in the story line to the point where the narrative was able to flow seamlessly later on. Although this may seem like an issue for readers who have just started the novel, I can assure you that this will pose no problems as you continue reading. It is a minor issue that I can look past in the scheme of things. In fact, as the story progresses, you find that this particular writing prose works perfectly for this kind of novel in which world building is prominent and rules and lore need to be established and instilled rather effectively.

Often in this novel you will come across chapters that refer back to individual characters' pasts, it is these flashbacks that were able to envelop me into the story and the world of this particular book so much. I loved these chapters and found myself delving into them wanting to know more and more about these characters, even the simple side characters of whom I didn't garner much attention to in the beginning can quickly become a couple of my favourites thanks to these chapters. The flashbacks fleshed out the pacing in this novel; something of which I found very unique in this novel. Truly something that Debbie Manber Kupfer should be commended on, especially considering this was both her debut novel and written during NaNoWriMo.

Bringing us back again to the world building in this novel, there is no doubt that the concept of shape shifters and werewolves certainly isn't something new, however, this does not mean that these concepts cannot be revamped. This is exactly what Debbie Manber Kupfer does as she sheds a new light on myths such as vampires and the concept of immortality, instead linking immortality with werewolves and the way in which they gain strength and power over their pack. I feel that this fresh take on old themes brings a new depth to this novel and makes room for some elaborate world building of which is executed well here.

As I was reading this novel, I consistently found that not only Miri's, but other characters such as Mandy, Cynthia and David's thoughts were communicated very clearly throughout this book. This is not so easily accomplished using third person retrospective narrative stance and was used sparingly enough for the reader not to be bombarded with several of the characters' inner thoughts. The romance in this novel was confusing at times, our protagonist not meeting her main love interest until half way through the novel. Once we are introduced to Danny, he is shown as a distant character of which Miri is barely able to approach and is often spoken of as someone of whom Miri wishes to know or is going to become friends with later on. It is for these reasons that Miri's abrupt attraction to Danny bothered me a little for a good portion of this book. I only wish that their relationship could have been developed for a little bit longer, or Danny was introduced to our protagonist earlier, so we are able to clearly see a definitively fleshed out development of this relationship. Otherwise, I found the initial attraction to Danny to be entirely superficial and possibly linked to the fact that they were both feline shape shifters. Nonetheless, their relationship was a bit of a sore spot for me in this novel.

The elaboration of alchemy and ancient magic, whilst seeming to have been written too late in the novel, serves for a fantastic battle near the end of the novel which establishes a good set up for the second novel in the series, Argentum. This epic battle was captivating, and was part of the reason why I found the ending somewhat lacklustre compared to how I initially thought the novel would end. 

Despite this, I would have to say that this novel is definitely worth the read, especially if you are an animal lover.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

"In stories you simply said, 'They lived happily ever after,' and that was it. But in real life people had to keep on living, day after day, year after year."

Having heard so much about this novel, as soon as I opened up the first page, I began devouring it to no end. The two stories of Darcy Patel and Lizzie that spanned over the course of about 600 pages took me less than a day to read, and then it was up to me todecide how I felt about this book exactly. Let me begin by saying this: Scott Westerfeld is a literary mastermind. The book, whilst being rather large and if you choose to read the page count, intimidating, was a book that I was able to breeze through despite its thickness. It was only afterwards that I began to wonder why I was so engrossed in this novel. The answer to that became very clear very quickly. It was informative.

Now, this may seem like a sort of gray area when it comes to novels. Often, you are supposed to be driven to finish the book because of either characters, setting, narrative or a combination of the three, however, upon reading this book, I felt that those three elements took backstage to the insight into the life of a young adult novelist. In fact, Lizzie's section of the novel barely held my attention, and I often found myself anxiously waiting for the next installment of Darcy's story. This novel read more like a documentary to me; Darcy's chapters were more educational than anything, and although I enjoyed them thoroughly, it did bother me a bit that the narrative aspect of the story wasn't encouraging me to finish this book. 

Despite this, Scott Westerfeld manages to capture his audience's attention with this captivating writing style that effectively envelops the reader into the protagonist's thoughts. During each and every scene in this novel, there was no question as to how either Darcy or Lizzie felt about a situation and often readers are given enough information as to understand the reasons behind the characters' actions and reactions. It is an extremely involved experience and a difficult technique that Scott Westerfeld executes masterfully. Truly something to be commended and respected in one of the New York Times #1 best-selling authors. 

The romances in this novel were a contrast for me. Whilst Lizzie's love interest was apparent from the very first chapter, Darcy's love interest took me by surprise. I have to say that Darcy's romance definitely read as something more realistic and heartfelt than Lizzie's; however, as Lizzie's story is subject to several of the young adult fiction tropes, I cannot blame Scott Westerfeld for writing it as such. Darcy's life overall in this novel is realism accelerated. Her novel is published much faster than the average rate at publishing houses and she is able to become comfortable in the world of a debut author quite quickly. Despite this though, readers are able to gain a deep enough understanding of the publishing business to realise that no aspect of publishing a book is easy. Drafts and rewrites will consume a lot of your time and often, you will be criticised on the smallest of things in your novel. This book is essentially a wake-up call for aspiring authors and debut novelists who are struggling to comprehend their new lifestyle. This is particularly true of larger publishing companies that choose to undertake new and upcoming authors for publication.

There is no doubt that this novel certainly served its purpose well. It read well and captivated its readers all the way through, however, there were a few aspects of fiction writing (ironically, mentioned in the book) that this novel fell shy of, which left me slightly disappointed as I see Scott Westerfeld as a wonderful fiction writer. However, if I were to be asked whether or not this book is worth the read, I would definitely say that it is. Especially for any of those who wish to become published one day, or even anyone who is remotely interested in this field of work. For those people, this novel will become an invaluable source of knowledge and inspiration. One thing left to consider, though. 

Is it necessarily a good thing if I am able to compare a young adult fiction novel to a book on writing craft?

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: The Other Inheritance by Rebecca Jaycox

"I pretend things are normal and hide the truth from everyone. But they know."

There are many things that I could say about this novel, but there is something I would like to establish straight away: This novel surprised me. All through out the year of 2014, I unfortunately hadn't had the chance to read very many debut novels. The very few that I had read were lacking and had failed to fully capture my attention. When I began reading this novel though, I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing.

Rebecca Jaycox's writing style reminds me greatly of Cassandra Clare; a critically acclaimed and world-renowned storyteller. Her seamless narration was what urged me to continue flipping the pages of this book. As I read through this novel, I often found myself noting that not a single moment felt wasted. Each and every sentence pushed the story forward and the novel was all the more engaging for it. This was a light, enjoyable read with a surprising story line and well structured world building that does not leave readers confused. Mythology and lore is incorporated skillfully, as you read on, you begin to piece together the 3 intriguing realities that Rebecca Jaycox has set this novel in: The Dream, the Real and the Other. Often with fantasy novels, there will always be lulls in which I feel as if there has been too much information thrown at me at once, or that I have grown exhausted of certain aspects of the fantasy world. However, in this novel, I was able to stay completely engrossed for the entirety of the 309 pages. For me, The Other Inheritance was the definition of 'short and sweet.'

As this was a shorter novel, the romance did develop quickly. This, however, was not an issue for me as Rebecca Jaycox's writing style was able to draw me in; making the romance seem naturally developed, although the entirety of the interactions between Asher and Reggie before they became romantically involved spanned over only 150 pages. Still, this small amount of lead up was enough to make me believe that a relationship between the two of them was plausible. Truly a mark of a writer's craft if they are able to make their readers believe the next to impossible.

If I were to commend Rebecca Jaycox on nothing else, I would certainly have to congratulate the author on her respect for her world building. In the Other, issues such as slavery and cruel and unusual punishment are very prominent and are not sugar-coated. Rebecca Jaycox writes these heavier issues in, making them known instead of trying to cover them up to make for a more child-friendly story. It is this lack of euphemistic language that allowed me to become so engrossed in this world. These were real issues, they were affecting the lives of the main characters deeply and they could not be ignored. In fact, if not for this harsh realism, characters such as Asher would have been severely lacking in terms of a proper back story and emotional baggage. The truth of Asher's struggles were what made him such an interesting character, instead of a mere one-dimensional love interest of which seemed to be manufactured by the thousands in young adult novels today.

Characters such as Asher and Reggie; who are entertaining and lovable in their own right; are accompanied by a cast of entertaining side characters. Brwyn being my overall favourite of the bunch. Near the end of the novel, we are able to gain a more in-depth analysis of this character and if this book is turned into a series, I hope to see more of him. Brwyn really brought light to some of the darker and more serious scenes in this novel. The dialogue and interactions between these characters, making witty observations of their world left me grinning like an idiot at my book. Something I had so wished I was alone for. The only real fault I could find with this novel was that I felt, at the end, that I did not get a sufficient amount of time to spend in this world. 

A brilliant debut novel that left me aching for a sequel. However, if Rocking Horse Publishing can deliver narratives of this calibre, then I certainly wouldn't put it past them to deliver.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

"But isn't it better to be honest about these things before someone else can use them against you? Before someone else can break your heart? Isn't it better to break it yourself?"

Stephanie Perkins has dazzled us with Anna and the French Kiss, blown us away with Lola and the Boy Next Door and unfortunately, left us slightly disappointed with Isla and the Happily Ever After. Now, before I delve any further into this, I want to let you know that this was a fantastic book; amazing, in fact; but nowhere near as much of a must-read as both Anna and Lola were. Isla and the Happily Ever After is the companion novel to these two books, and continues with the story of a shy, redheaded girl named Isla. This may sound perfectly fine for any contemporary romance novel aimed at young adults, however, what is certainly not fine is that Isla was not a shy character; she was a self-loathing character.

I have read many books in which the main protagonist is constantly blaming herself for the simplest of things and often blows situations out of proportion. Isla and the Happily Ever After was a similar case to this, which left me in mourning for the perfectly balanced character dynamics that Stephanie Perkins had written in the first two books. It was truly unfortunate because, other than this, there were next to no aspects of this novel that I could fault. It was truly a masterpiece with a regrettably noticeable flaw.

Normally, one small flaw in any given novel would not be enough to affect the rating I choose to give to the book, however, due to the entire story being written in first person retrospective narrative stance, readers could not avoid attention being drawn to Isla's persistent self-pitying monologues. This was not a small flaw for me, and it took a series of debates with myself as to whether I should have let it slide and give this book a 5 star rating. In the end, I settled for 4.

Despite the admittedly irritating narration, Stephanie Perkins is able to paint a gorgeous picture for readers as she brings us back to Paris, reminding us just why we fell in love with Anna and the French Kiss. As always, Perkins delivers a romantic setting on astounding levels and whilst character interactions were still witty and adorable; reminiscent of her previous novels; they are lacking on Isla's side. Isla is somewhat of a nervous wreck throughout this novel, luckily enough, Josh's charming confidence and fleshed out back story were able to keep me flipping the pages. Even Isla's childhood friend Kurt became intriguing and a good source of drama during several scenes.

The dramatic elements were still present in this novel, Stephanie Perkins taking turning over a new leaf and introducing more parental drama was refreshing and well appreciated. This was a contrast to the other companion novels, creating a fairy tale romance with little tension and establishing the main conflict after both Isla and Josh had become committed to one another. It was this that opened up the door for an incredible amount of new possibilities for the story of which Stephanie Perkins makes use of quite well in her execution of writing this novel.

Fans of this series will find solace in the conclusion, however, as Stephanie Perkins ties everything together quite nicely. It is definitely worth reading Anna and Lola before attempting this novel. If you have picked up this novel and struggled to page through it, the first two books will motivate you to finish this one as well. I did have minor issues with this novel, but I was still very much in love with this book. Stephanie Perkins is an amazing author whose unique style of writing envelops her readers in a reality we all strive for. A reality that at times, seems just out of reach but is a tad sweet enough for us to persevere, aiming for it again and again.

Fantastic author, fantastic book. Definitely worth the read.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: Noughts & Crosses Quartet by Malorie Blackman

"Was that all love did for you? Made you give up and give in? Left you open to pain and hurt?"

It was a bleak October and I had been in search of something that could satisfy my needs for a good, engaging book series. It was during that month that I found the Noughts & Crosses quartet lined up neatly on the shelves of my local library. Ah, to be young and in love. That was how I felt reading this series. Opening the front cover of the book revealed that I was the first to have borrowed the series, and I felt as though my reading experience was even more unique for it. I had been the first person to flip through these pages, and I had been the first person to be left hanging on each and every one of Malorie Blackman's words in those paperbacks.

The story line for these novels takes place over the course of 16-17 years. Readers are exposed to the reality of a young girl growing up and falling love along with all the harshness of the betrayals and pain that result from that love. The first book is not a light read, nor are any of the books in this series. As themes of racism and political corruption are introduced in Noughts & Crosses, you soon begin to realise that the dystopian setting in this novel is far darker than readers are led to believe. However, this book is not dark in the way of ghosts, demons or any other paranormal being. No, none of these books are fantasy by any means. This is real life. This is the world we live in. Malorie Blackman artfully explores the horrid truths of modern society and exposes them for what they are. Themes from this book can be seen in our everyday life, in the news and all over worldwide media. Noughts & Crosses emphasises what most people fail to see is wrong with society, and I commend Malorie Blackman for it. Even without the underlying morals, objectively, this is a fantastic first book in the series. The characters deal with their own personal struggles which is shown through the extensive use of dual and multiple point of views. I will forever remember the ending to this book, as it left me praying for the main characters, and hoping against hope that the next addition to the story would somehow resolve the end that left me hanging by a thread in Noughts & Crosses.

"When did we stop being people, being human?"

That's a good question. By the time readers reach the second book in this series, Knife Edge, they may be asking themselves this exact question. Whilst the first book sets up so many questions about modern society, this second addition to the series delves even further into the dark crevices of a corrupt way of thinking. Finally, we are able to get some further character development for Jude; Callum's older brother. Noughts & Crosses had written Jude as a malicious, selfish man who's clouded views of justice began affecting his judgement. Knife Edge proves every single one of these to be true of Jude, however, due to Malorie Blackman giving us an insight into Jude's mind and his way of thinking, we are also exposed to Jude's weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I was surprised as I was reading this book, half-tempted to call Jude a 'mama's boy'. The story hits us right where it hurts, once again proving Malorie Blackman's uncanny ability to take the aspects of human nature, and twist them in a way that can make us both love and hate a character at the same time. 

"You have the same smile, the same shaped eyes, the same way of tilting your head to listen, the same stubborn streak, the same common sense. Lots of things about you and him are the same."

So much has happened since the first book by this point. The family tree has changed noticeably, both deaths and births have occurred and here we are, left with the remains of two of possibly the most tragic and heartfelt novels I have ever read. At the beginning of Checkmate, Callie Rose is already 16 years old. Along with that 16 years of knowledge, Callie Rose is shown to have a long standing grudge against her mother, Sephy. I'll be honest. For a majority of this book, I could barely stand Callie Rose. This was, of course, because I had grown so attached to Sephy over the course of the first two books. Throughout the course of this novel, Malorie Blackman sprinkles bits and pieces of Callie Rose's life prior to the dramatic series of events that open Checkmate. This does give us a bit of background information in terms of Callie Rose's grudge against Sephy, however, it did not allow me to fully sympathise with Callie Rose as a character until the very end of the book. Sephy, however, is shown trying to piece her life back together and the development of her romantic relationships after Callum's death. Every time I read one of Sephy's point of view chapters I was left just as much of an emotional mess that Sephy was in this book.

"I hadn't realized until this moment how loneliness could eat away at you so much that it actually hurt."

The thrilling conclusion to the highly acclaimed Noughts & Crosses quartet. A thrilling conclusion filled with lies, deceit and all the tragic drama you've come to love from this series? Check, check and check. With Checkmate bringing all the big questions sparked in the first  two books to a close, I was pretty satisfied with this series being a trilogy. But then came the fourth book. Then came Double Cross. This novel was such a win for me. I could not have been happier to revisit characters such as Sephy and Jude in this epic conclusion to an epic tale. This time we are following Tobey; Callie Rose's adoring boyfriend; as he finds himself caught up in the dark and dangerous black market trade in an attempt to make enough money to buy his girlfriend a proper present. Tobey's development as a character can be seen so clearly throughout this book, him being a less prominent character in Checkmate, I was glad that we were finally able to see things from his point of view. 

The drama is present, the conflict is palpable and the fans of this series finally get their happy ending.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: Undone by Cat Clarke

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"It's amazing, the lies you can tell yourself. Even more amazing, the lies you can believe when you're desperate enough."

I wanted so desperately to fall utterly in love with this novel. I wanted to be able to immerse myself in this book and take the heart wrenching trek intended along with these characters. Instead, I found myself left with a pounding headache and a broken heart. I didn't fall in love, I fell out of love. A good thing? Perhaps. But certainly not the best.

Reading this book was like teetering on a seesaw and never knowing exactly which side you will end up on when playtime is over. I knew once I had read the blurb of this novel that I wasn't going to be reading a sweet, feel-good story with a happy ending. No, I knew that this story would end tragically. It was the execution that left me wondering. I was aware that due to the intensity of the themes in this novel, that there was bound to be at least some swearing throughout. Some swearing. Some. However, I was disappointed in discovering that certain characters such as Stuart, couldn't go two sentences without at least swearing once. Luckily, the story was centred around Jem Halliday who only swore on occasion.

I very rarely state that I struggled to get through a book, mainly due to the fact that I may have just been in a reading slump at the time I read that book, however,  I cannot say the same for this novel as the books both preceding and succeeding this novel were a quick and enjoyable read for me. It wasn't me this time, it was the book. Now, I had originally heard about this novel from one of my book-loving friends, stating that it kept her engrossed every step of the way, leaving me rather confused as to why this novel hadn't gripped me in such a way. The book gave me several consecutive headaches, Jem annoyed me so much throughout this book, and was probably the main reason as to why this book was a 3 star one for me, instead of a 4 star book.

The saddest part about reading this book for me is that the novel and concepts held such great potential that I feel was wasted due to a poorly written female protagonist. The book is written in first person retrospective narrative stance, which is fine for most novels, however in this one, the inner monologue very quickly annoyed me. This was mostly due to Jem's constant bouts of depression that whilst necessary at times, often distracted from the actual advancements in the story. In real life, I believe that it would be perfectly normal for a girl to mourn over her best friend's suicide for over 500 pages, however, that is what journals are for. This is a novel. Do not get me wrong, the writing was beautiful and descriptive, but there is only so many pages one can write effectively about a single thought or a single trigger. Congratulations to Cat Clarke for keeping me holding onto those initial thoughts for as long as I did though. This book probably wouldn't have been able to be saved by any other author since Cat Clarke has such experience with writing intense and emotional novels such as this one.

This novel did have its redeeming qualities, and as much as I hate to admit it, it did stick with me. It was an experience I never thought I would enjoy until I read the last pages of the book. It takes a hell of a heartbreaking ending to redeem a novel of which I found so many issues with, but the ending of this book somehow brought it out of the water for me. I am a fan of tragedy, and by the end of the novel, the intensity and the swearing became all worth it. I can't say that this was the best novel ever. Some of the scenes near the end felt rushed and at times, out of place. However I can say that this book certainly does take you on a journey. It's a journey that has its ups and downs (unfortunately, more downs than ups) and leaves you bawling at the end. As much as it seems like I did, I certainly didn't hate this book, but even after reading the ending I couldn't bring myself to give this book more than a 3 star rating.

A struggle of a journey but one hell of an ending.

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Review: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

"I love you more than I hate everything else."

Now I had heard many good things prior to picking up this book, only later on learning that it had been nominated for the Best Fiction Book in the 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards. This only drove me to finish reading the novel before all of the votes were cast and the decision had already been made. A couple of days later, I had discovered that it did in fact win the Best Fiction Award, and may I just say it could not have been more deserved.

This was the first Rainbow Rowell novel I had read. I never thought to pick up Eleanor & Park or Attachments mainly due to the fact that everyone I had spoken to had already read them. Whilst it may seem a bit strange for me to base my TBR on thing such as this, I'll have you know that I absolutely hate being spoiled for books. Already learning the plot and ending for the previously mentioned books, I was admittedly soured towards anything Rainbow Rowell had written, knowing that within the space of a couple of weeks, someone would detail the plot line to me. However, this was not the case with this book. I had purposely avoided a majority of my book-loving friends while reading this one, making my experience with this novel feel unique and all my own. I was able to fully enjoy the characters and story line.

I will be honest, it did not take me long to get involved with this book. Within the first few pages, I had already found myself very much engrossed in the everyday life of our protagonist Georgie McCool. Knowing just how much most contemporary reads were supposed to tug at your heartstrings, I had prepared myself for an intense emotional breakdown while reading this book and was rather surprised when I found that the first 200 pages of the book had me laughing instead of crying. And then it hit me. The first two-thirds of the novel were very much reminiscent of a feel-good novel with minor conflict, and in a sense, the entire book was a feel-good story, but the last third had somehow managed to grasp my attention in a way that I didn't know this particular story could.

Rainbow Rowell allows readers to delve into Georgie's past; a past in which Georgie's long time friendship with her co-worker Seth is already established and her first meeting with her current husband, Neal, takes place. Beginning the novel with what seems like a troubled marriage with Georgie finding Neal less and less reminiscent of his former self, and him growing more and more tired of Georgie, this technique that Rainbow uses leaves readers supporting their marriage, instead of holding onto a grudge formed by the first impression we are given of Neal. As the novel continues, we are seeing more and more of Georgie and Neal's life together, and are wondering desperately what could have gone wrong, when everything seemed to have gone right.

Georgie attempts to call Neal, in an attempt to apologise and gain closure from their most recent fight, however, when Neal answers, he is answering the land line from 15 years ago. Georgie discovers this through clues such as Neal's father still being alive and him telling her the year. The year that Georgie and Neal almost broke up. The year that Neal proposed to her. It is this realisation that sets up the central conflict for the remainder of the novel. Were Georgie and Neal really meant to be together? Would things have ended differently if Neal hadn't picked up that phone that day? Our protagonist is essentially left with the decision to either try and salvage her now close-to-broken marriage, or never begin that marriage in the first place.

This book was such an eye-opener for me. I had recently been reading exclusively fantasy and science fiction until I chanced upon this book. The emotional struggles, coupled with the responsibility of Georgie and Neal having children together only add to the weight of the burden carried by our heroine. 

Let me be frank, this book may not make you cry, but you will most certainly feel something towards these characters. You will be rooting for Georgie and Neal's marriage throughout the course of this novel and I would be truly surprised if you didn't fall in love with this book.

“Fitting together is something you work at. It’s something you make happen—because you love each other."

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: Wings Series by Aprilynne Pike

"If the time comes and your dream doesn't seem worth it, then maybe it was the wrong dream."

Just to be clear. I am reviewing these books as an overall quartet. I am not reviewing each book, so keep in mind that it wasn't just one book that left me with these impressions. It was all of them.

The initial reason I picked up the first book in this series was because I had just gotten another lecture from my most book-obsessed friend, complaining to me and questioning me as to why I never enjoyed the books she recommended to me. My reasons were simply because I didn't enjoy her taste in books; they seemed to follow a singular formula that had been repeated over and over. The themes in the books she would usually recommend to me were tired, to say the least.  Because of this, I was so utterly determined to read something that I knew my friend would most certainly never read, or call 'stupid', that was when I spotted this series, lined up neatly on the shelves at my local library, and decided to read them.

Now I realise that my reasons for reading this series were less than justified, however, I feel that this added to my experience with the book series. I was blown away. Now it did take a while to become fully immersed in this series, the first two thirds of 'Wings' were a trifling mess, leaving me quite irritated at the amount of information being dumped on me. Luckily though, I did finish this book, and could not have been happier for it. The first book is essentially 300 pages worth of setting up the scene for the series and world building. A risk, but if you continue reading this series, it is completely and utterly worthwhile. Motivated solely by the admittedly overly-romantic quotes on the back cover of the second book, Spells, I was able to march through this first book and start the second addition to the series immediately afterwards.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I did not expect a series to take the jump from mediocre to straight up amazing. Spells blew me away with its gorgeous detail to scenery and character development. The romance in this novel was so much more prominent and I loved it all the more for it. Whilst some frustration with Laurel did nudge me the wrong way a couple of times throughout this novel, it was measly in comparison to the sheer beauty of the world elaborated on in the book. I couldn't have asked for a better sequel. I completely fell in love with this book, and the series was no longer something that I had to 'work' my way through. It became something I looked forward to and I could barely sit through any other activity without picking up the book within a few minutes. The book became a sort of escape for me by this point, I had become so suddenly immersed in this magical world and was not too keen on leaving it any time soon. Thankfully, Aprilynne Pike seemed to have noticed this; writing two more fantastic books.

This book had me squealing out of sheer delight more often than not. The book starts off with Tamani making his appearance at Laurel's school. Now let me repeat that, in case you didn't catch that. At Laurel's school. Tamani. At Laurel's School. Ahem, now that that has sunk in, let me get back to the book review. Not only had I been completely enchanted by this series by the second book, but by the time I read Illusions, I was completely in love with the characters. Tamani's loving and intimate nature towards Laurel left me feeling all warm inside; occasionally sitting there like a maniac in the middle of class and saying "Awww." Not my proudest moment, but not my worst moment either. In my head, I was quite literally in Faerie Land, so I didn't mind it too much. Despite the great amount of affection I held for this book, that did not distract from the horrors lurking within. The introduction of Yuki. At first, Yuki's character didn't bother me all that much, it was only when Aprilynne Pike unnecessarily added Yuki's personal dramas into the mix that I began to cringe. To me, Yuki felt like a placeholder. Another element thrown into the book to create enough substance for Aprilynne Pike to get another good 400 pages in. Or, in this case, another 800 pages; continuing on into the fourth and final book.

Destined. Oh, Destined. How could you have pissed me off so much for a good 80 pages and then reel me right back in with the sweet promise of a fantastic conclusion? I'll be honest, the end of Illusions did leave me a little bit sour towards the series, but once I got past the resolution to the main conflict in that book, I was amazed by how much I was reminded of why I first fell in love with this series. Faeries. Tamani. David. Laurel. Chelsea. They all made an astounding comeback, character-development-wise, in this book. All the elements from the first three novels are brought together in this masterpiece, and by the end you are left feeling content with the ending. That is, unless you read the epilogue. Let me tell you something, when Aprilynne Pike writes in her Author's Note that those who want a happy ending shouldn't read the epilogue. She means it.

I'll leave with two thoughts left to think of:

Yes, I did cry at the end of the last book, due to the fact that I had to leave a world I was so in love with, and also due to the epilogue.

The second thought I'll leave you with is that in the end, that friend I was complaining about at the start of this review had read the series. And loved it. It just goes to show that even if you aren't a huge Fae fan, this series can still be a wonderful read.

Overall rating: 5/5 stars

Review: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

"Another dead person, what a shock."

To be honest, I was very tempted to not pick up this book, based purely on the fact that the cover simply didn't appeal to me. At first glance, the book seemed to have an interesting premise: The ghost of the late French queen, Marie Antoinette, haunting the streets of Paris and murdering the gorgeous elites that call the famous city their home. If I weren't such a fan of historical fiction and the paranormal genre, though, the chances are that I would have never read this little gem.

A simple narrative flows seamlessly through this roughly 300-page novel, and whilst not the most unique concept, the execution left me swooning over the streets of Paris and wanting to immediately start planning my next trip to Europe. The descriptions of Versailles and the peasant villages were enchanting and the historical information supplied to the reader throughout the novel proved there to be some extensive research on the author's part. Katie Alender sprinkles hints of the French language through the course of this novel, leaving the reader confused at times, but luckily, being fluent in French wasn't required to grasp the issues introduced in this book. A simple trip to Google Translate would fix any problems a reader might come across if they were to grow anal about the lack of translation in this book. 

Colette Iselin is an ambitious young girl who goes on a class trip to France. Whilst I did have a few issues with Colette, that was immediately dismissed when I came across the gorgeous descriptions of the Parisian city in which they were staying.  The fact that she often chose to bend her will in accordance with peer pressure was a weak point in this novel for me, and one of the main reasons why this book was more of a 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, instead of 4. Her main love interest, Jules, on the other hand, was a total win for me. Charming, sweet and not overly described by the main protagonist. You know those novels where the heroine is constantly referring to her crush's 'gorgeous blue eyes' and 'dazzling golden locks'? Well, luckily, Katie Alender doesn't overuse these adjectives and focuses more on developing Jules' family background and personality. Something I wish was seen a bit more in YA novels nowadays. A reader should be able to fall in love with a character's personality, words and actions; and this book does exactly that. A+ for love interest #1. Love interest #2, however, was a different story. Armand is first introduced to readers as Colette and her friends are inside one of Paris' steamy underground clubs. I was already slightly annoyed by the setting Colette met Armand in, and even more so when he is shown to be a complete jacka#! of a player, toying with Colette's friend and leading her along like a sick puppy. Although, I must admit, since I had absolutely no sympathy towards both of Colette's friends, I did enjoy these parts a little.

The so-called 'scary' scenes were interesting at first, but quickly grew repetitive. The initial chapters of the deaths were intriguing, enticing the reader and giving them a taste of the mystery that was yet to come. Of course, once this mystery had been written and read to fruition, it was messy. Very messy. The initial structure of this mystery was fine enough, quite interesting, in fact, but unfortunately, because it was introduced so late in the novel, readers are barely given the chance to gain a proper understanding of it. Scenes become rushed near the end of the novel, and the story behind Marie Antoinette's ghost returning seemed underdone. I really wished I could have enjoyed the end of this book more, considering the first two-thirds had left me so dazzled. Unfortunately, the end of this book and the resolution of both the romance and the conflict just didn't do it for me.

I picked up this novel during a terrible reading slump that regrettably lasted more than a couple of months, I was in the mood for something that would get me reading, and despite all of its faults, this book did pick me up where I had left off. This is still an enjoyable read, and I do not want to scare any potential readers from picking this up. A word of advice for those planning to purchase this novel though, try borrowing it from the library first...

"She did NOT just say that!"

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars