Review: Picture Perfect (Geek Girl, #3) by Holly Smale

Spoiler warning! This book is the 3rd book in the Geek Girl series and this review may contain spoilers from previous books. If you haven't read previous books, then you can read my review of book 1 Geek Girl here and book 2 Model Misfit here instead.

 Geek Girl: Picture Perfect by Holly Smale

Author: Holly Smale Website|Twitter
Published: 5 June 2014 (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Format: Hardback
Pages:
Buy the book: Amazon|Hive|Waterstone's
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Bought

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
"My name is Harriet Manners, and I'll always be a geek."

It's the hilarious third book in the No.1 bestselling, award winning GEEK GIRL series!

Harriet Manners knows more facts that most. She knows that New York is the most populous city in the United States. She knows that its official motto is "Ever Upward". She knows that 28% of Americans believe we never landed on the moon.

But she knows nothing about modelling in the Big Apple, and how her family will cope with life stateside. Or how to "become a brand", as the models in New York put it. And, even more importantly, what to do when the big romantic gestures aren't coming from your boyfriend...

Does geek girl go too far this time?

The laugh out loud follow-up to award winning GEEK GIRL and MODEL MISFIT will have you in stitches.

My Review:
I absolutely adored the first two Geek Girl books and jumped at the opportunity to buy a gorgeous shiny copy of the third book in hardcover! I was in need of a reading pick-me-up, having been in a bit of a slump lately, and knowing how much I laughed through the previous books, I couldn't wait to get stuck in.

Picture Perfect sees Harriet faced with the opportunity of a lifetime when her family heads stateside to New York. Only Harriet being Harriet, nothing quite goes to plan for her. She's got a new baby sister, a long distance boyfriend and now she's leaving her friends behind. That's a lot to deal with!

For anyone who, like me, loved Geek Girl and Model Misfit, you won't be disappointed. Picture Perfect had me giggling from the beginning and within the first few sentences I was so delighted to be reunited with Harriet. She is just as hilarious as ever, and the opening few pages where she discusses her new role as a girlfriend were fantastic. I think she perfectly encapsulates young love and all the hopes and dreams you have at that age. For a lot of the book we see her inner thoughts about her relationship which I think will be relatable to anybody who has ever liked anyone as a teenager. Scribbling in your diary, dreaming up how conversations will turn out, reliving those prescious moments from over the summer - it was all just spot on.

Seeing Harriet facing the start of sixth form and exam results also brought back a lot of memories! The nerves and anticipation, and not just about the grades themselves, but about how your life will change. I loved seeing how Harriet and Nat tried to plan their friendship, overcoming the barriers of being at different schools come September, and giggled over the effort Harriet is putting into her new school bag and wardrobe for a non-uniform sixth former - giggled because I know it all so well from my own experiences! I was right there with her.

Being the third book in the series, there's a great mix of new and returning characters. I loved seeing the old faces and jet-setting off to a new place gave Harriet the chance to meet some new ones. It kept the story feeling fresh and exciting. Like with Model Misfit (which had scenes that took place in Tokyo), I thought the escapism of the New York scenes made it even more exciting to read. I can see this being a perfect summer holiday read!

Holly Smale has the ability to have me absolutely hooked to the pages and grin like a mad woman. I adore her writing, the humour and her ability to create these characters you wish would come to life so you could hang out with them. The book captures the ups and downs of teenage life so brillianty, dealing with the family dramas and school bullies in a way that makes you really root for the main character, in this case our wonderful Harriet.
 
I can't wait to read more of Harriet's adventures. I demolished this book in one evening and I know I will re-read this series whenever I need that mood boost! These books never fail to disappoint.

Rating: 5*
What to read next: The next Geek Girl book is scheduled for 2015
Books like this: Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb, Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

Review: Trouble by Non Pratt

 Trouble by Non Pratt

Author: Non Pratt Website|Twitter
Published: 6 March 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Buy the book: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Bought

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
A boy. A girl. A bump. Trouble.

Hannah’s smart and funny ... she’s also fifteen and pregnant. Aaron is new at school and doesn’t want to attract attention. So why does he offer to be the pretend dad to Hannah’s unborn baby?

Growing up can be trouble but that’s how you find out what really matters.

My Review:
As 2014 debuts go, I think it's safe to say that Trouble was up there as one of my most anticipated releases. The book tells the story of teenager Hannah who finds herself pregnant and on her own. Luckily the school new boy Aaron is on hand to play father to her unborn child.

I loved this book. Like a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. I love realistic fiction that can take on subjects others may shy away from, and teen pregnancy is something I have not read a lot about, so I was excited to see how it was done. And the result? It was done brilliantly. Trouble doesn't sensationalise teen pregnancy, nor does it come across as judgemental. Hannah's situation is not blown up in to some big drama. It felt real, honest, and had the perfect balance of humour, heart and emotion thrown in. Everything about it was just spot on. It never felt like an issue book, it was a book about a great girl and the ups and downs she goes through in all areas of her life. I'm a huge fan of YA contemporary and would urge everyone else who is to pick up Trouble, because it's a perfect example of why this genre is so great!

Then there's the fantastic characters. Take Hannah. We meet her as this girl who is confident around boys, but not in a way that is anyway frowned upon. She's just a typical teenager. She fights with her mum and drinks at parties, but she's sweet and funny and felt so real and likable. Non Pratt has created some wonderful characters who both reminded me of people I met at school, or made me wish I'd met people like them at school. And Aaron - where do I start with Aaron? I love him, and I'm pretty sure everyone who reads Trouble will too.

Trouble alternates between Aaron and Hanna's POV and what works so well is that they both have separate things going on their lives - their own secrets and pasts - but their two stories intertwine so beautifully. I loved how natural the bond between them was - it never felt forced. I loved that they both had this respect for each other which meant they never pushed the other to tell them anything they weren't happy talking about, and that they could completely relate to each other despite how different their situations are.

Throughout the book there's a lot of focus on family and I adored the relationship Hannah had with her sister and grandmother. I think a lot of young people will relate to Hanna's frustrations with her mother, especially at the beginning of the book where there's these constant fights over homework! One of my favourite parts was the friendship between Hannah and Katie and how it changes over time. I could really relate to a lot of those moments where things are becoming different between them.

I had a huge amount of respect for the writing. The school environment the book takes place in was so spot on and so much of it was recognisable, not just through the brilliant characters but the brilliant pop culture references. I think sometimes reading YA it's easy to start picking apart the scenes that would never happen in real life, but I couldn't find any in Trouble. In fact I couldn't find anything I disliked about it. It's probably as close as it comes to a perfect book!

There is so much more I could say. Basically I will be shouting about this book from the rooftops for a long time to come. When I finished Trouble, I kept turning the pages wanting more and more. I just didn't want to leave those characters whose lives I had become so invested in. At the same time, I loved that it left me feeling like that. I think it's so special to have a book that lives with you long after you've closed the pages.

Rating: 5*
Books like this: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Author: Lauren DeStefano Website|Twitter
Published: 2 May 2011 (Harper Voyager)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Buy the book: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Swapped at the Harry Potter Alliance's Apparating Library

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can't bring herself to hate him as much as she'd like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband's strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom.

My Review:
I picked this book up at the Harry Potter Alliance's Apparating Library at Leakycon last year. It jumped off the shelves at me as I'd heard of it and knew it was a dystopian type book. Just my kind of thing! Wither follows Rhine who is sold off to marry Linden, in a world where women only live to age twenty and men to twenty-five. One of several new wives to Linden, Rhine must learn to adapt to her new life under the watchful eye of Linden's father, Housemaster Vaughn.

I loved the concept of Wither. It had that feel about it where, although it's set in a futuristic world, it still feels like something that could actually happen. Developing a cure for cancer has solved one problem and created another, being that people are now dying young and nobody has discovered a way to stop it. There are still what are known as first generations - people living late into their lives and not dying out - which gave you that connection to the real world that made the idea even more frightening. I think DeStefano has managed to conjur up some quite chilling and terrifying ideas and a really elaborate world that made for a gripping read.

I really liked the world building and how the beginning of the book uses flashbacks to give you a bit of back story of Rhine's life and what has happened to her so far. It meant you avoided tied up in boring exposition and kept the book moving.

One of the highlights of Wither is definitely the strenght of the characters. I loved Rhine who comes across as genuinely caring and nurturing. She's always worrying about her brother or the other girls she ends up living with, referred to as her sister wives, and I loved her relationship with Linden's dying wife Rose. I found her observations of other characters to be very astute, for example how well she can read Cecily, the youngest and most naive of Linden's wives. In fact the relationship between all the girls in the house was a highlight for me. I like how they all have different personalities, backgrounds and priorities.

The book does take on a bit of a love triangle, but it was one of those books where I didn't have any preference. There's Rhine's new husband Linden who is a bit of a mysterious character. At first I didn't like him at all, but over the course of the story as he gets closer to Rhine, I found myself really warming to him as a character and wanting to know more about him. When she moves into Linden's house, Rhine also meets Gabriel, a servant who attends on her. Their relationship is more natural as they haven't been forced together and they get to know each other gradually and willingly. I enjoyed Rhine's relationship with both Linden and Gabriel and think their is potential in each pairing.

The pacing of Wither is quite gentle and I enjoyed the focus on characters and the slow unravelling of secrets. As this is the first in a trilogy I was definitely left wanting more and there is a lot I am hoping is touched upon in more detail in the sequel. At times I was hoping for a few more shocks or a bit more action, but I think it's set a solid foundation for a trilogy I'm really excited to continue with.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Fever by Lauren DeStefano, book two in the Chemical Garden trilogy
Books like this: Pawn by Aimee Carter, What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

[NA Blog Tour] Review and Author Interview: After Math by Denise Grover Swank

Today I'm super excited to be part of the New Adult Blog Tour, hosted by A Daydreamer's Thoughts. Be sure to check out the full schedule and visit the other tour stops! Read on for my review of After Math and an interview with the Denise Grover Swank, plus a giveaway and your scavenger hunt clue!

After Math Review

Author: Denise Grover Swank Website|Twitter
Published: 12 March 2013 (CreateSpace)
Format: Kindle e-book
Pages: 250
Buy the paperback: Amazon
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Received free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review as part of the NA blog tour


Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

My Review:
After Math tells the story of Scarlett, a high flying maths student at Southern University, who is called in to tutor the university's star soccer player Tucker Price.

Firstly, I have to say how much I loved the focus on education in After Math. One of the things I love about NA is that it gives the chance to explore the pressures eighteen to twenty-five-year-old adults face, and college is probably the biggest one. It felt so refreshing to see Scarlett, an academic character, really valuing her studies and seeing her ambitions of where they will take her, as well as juggling the pressures of student life.

I also loved how different the romance felt. Scarlett and Tucker's journey is a slow one, and they spend a lot of time getting to know each other. It was refreshing to see time dedicated to that early part in a relationship and I enjoyed seeing the gradual development of feelings for each other. I think people have perceptions that NA is all about sex, so when I saw that I was 50% into the book and there'd been no steamy sex scene yet I was pleasantly surprised!

I adored Scarlett as a main character because I could relate to her. She's shy and anxious and would rather stay at home studying than go out partying like her friends. Whilst she goes on a journey throughout the book and does push herself out of her comfort zone, she never does anything reckless or out of character, and I loved that she stayed true to herself and proved you don't have to go wild!

I also really fell for Tucker. I think popular guys (and girls for that matter!) get a bad rep in books, and Tucker was just a really nice genuine character. He has a reputation and Scarlett starts out sceptical, but as they get to know each other, his vulnerability comes out and I loved delving into his character more. There's a lot that isn't revealed about him straight away which made for some great plot twists towards the end of the book. What I loved most was how it just seemed to be a healthy, genuine relationship between him and Scarlett. They're two really nice people who fall for each other!

I think my favourite part of the book was the first half where Scarlett is falling for Tucker and deciding what to do about it, but the second half has some really sweet and gripping moments.

This is definitely a book I'll be recommending to NA fans new and old, and especially those new to the category who need a taster! I think captures the trials of being a twenty year old brilliantly, it's a cute love story and it has some fantastic characters.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Redesigned by Denise Grover Swank, book two in the Off the Subject series
Books like this: Suddenly Royal by Nicole Chase, Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Author Interview with Denise Grover Swank

Hi Denise! Thank you for answering my questions. I loved After Math! I thought it was so exciting to read a NA novel that really focused on college and education, as that's such a huge part of life at that age. Scarlett, the main character in After Math, is quite academic. How much research did you have to do to get inside her head and understand the subjects she studies?

I know nothing about advanced math. I barely got a C in high school Algebra 2. (Although that can be attributed to a bad teacher. I got an A in College Algebra.) My family thought it was hilarious that I would attempt to get into the head of a mathematics major. So I interviewed a couple of female math majors. One was a junior and the other was a sophomore. I wanted to know why they chose their majors and what their courses were like. I also studied the UMKC course catalogue to get an idea what other courses Scarlett would take concurrently.

I absolutely loved Tucker! (Scarlett's love interest in After Math). Who was your favourite character to write?

In hindsight, I wish I had included Tucker’s POV in After Math. He’s a very complex character. It never would have worked to write Reed’s in Redesigned because I really liked the reader finding out his secrets along with Caroline. I’m currently writing Business as Usual, the third book in the Off the Subject series and I’m including Ben’s POV, which is so fun to write.

But my favorite character of all time? That’s hard. I guess I’d have to pick Rose from my Rose Gardner series.

I found myself relating a lot to Scarlett as she'd rather stay in and study than go out and party. Are you more of a staying in or going out person?

I like to go out from time to time, but mostly I’m a stay at home girl.

How would you define New Adult as a category?

I classify New Adult as that in between stage between high school when you’re living under your parents’ roof and rules, and full-fledged adulthood. Although I could argue that many of us never reach the later.

For those new to New Adult, what books or authors would you recommend? Who are your favourite NA authors?

I’m a fan of Lyla Payne, Alessandra Thomas, and J. Lynn.

What inspires you when it comes to your writing?

Everything. I literally get ideas from everything and everywhere. Sometimes an off-hand statement can spark an entire series. My Rose Gardner series sprang from me telling my son it would be fun to have a character who worked at a DMV.

What projects are you currently working on? Do you have more NA novels in the pipeline?

I’m working on Business as Usual, the third Off the Subject book. Then I start the third Curse Keepers book, a new adult urban fantasy series.

Thank you so much for answering my questions!

Thank you for having me!

                                      

About the Denise Grover Swank: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at: www.denisegroverswank.com.

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Review: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Author: Lauren Kate Website|Twitter
Published: 24 October 2013 (DoubleDay Children's)
Format: Hardback
Pages: 464
Buy the book: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Bought

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Never, ever cry... Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean. And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense. Can everything you love be washed away?

My Review:
I took a bit of a chance on this book. I've read two books by Lauren Kate, one which I loved (The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove) and one which I loathed (Fallen), but it was half price in Waterstones and that cover drew me in! Teardrop tells the story of Eureka who loses her mother in a freak tidal wave. With the help of the mysterious Ander, who seems to appear wherever she goes, she starts to unravel secrets about herself and her mother.

I fell in love with this book pretty quickly. In fact, I brought it straight home from the shop, read the first couple of pages to see what it was like and then couldn't put it down! The book opens with a prologue from Ander's point of view which gives you a glimpse into his world as a Seedbearer, a race of people with control over water. Straight away this insight gives you the bigger picture to the story, which Eureka herself won't discover til much later. I loved the way it teased you with a glimpse of what's to come.

Because as a reader you know there are secrets to came out, it made for an addictive read. The pacing was brilliant and I was constantly turning the pages, rooting Eureka to discover more. At the same time there was enough mystery that as a reader you didn't know much about to keep you guessing and maintain that intrigue. I thought the world building was fantastic and I was hooked into all the ideas and the history of Eureka's world. I loved all the action sequences which were written so well - the book felt very visual! And my heart was constantly in my mouth with all the times the characters were in danger.

I could really sympathise with Eureka at the beginning of the book. She's in therapy after her mother's death and is living with the stepmother from hell. There are several traumatic moments in her past which have affected how she is, for example she doesn't cry. I liked the friendship between her and her male friend Brooks because the two of them are so natural around each other. I was kind of rooting for them to be something more at the beginning, but the relationship between them becomes a lot more complicated than that as the story goes on. I also adored Eureka's friend Cat who is a complete flirt but also has brains. It was just so nice to see a character who isn't just a bimbo!

As well as the friendship with Brooks, Eureka also has a developing relationship with Ander. This was the only downside for me really as it had a touch of instalove about it. Because Ander holds all of the knowledge about Eureka and her past it sometimes felt like he abused that power. There is some back story between them but because Eureka is unaware of it, her attraction to him comes pretty out of the blue which is where the idea of the romantic bit sort of lost me. The plot was pretty solid when you take away the romance side of things so I could put that to one side and it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Overall I was really impressed with Teardrop. The ideas behind the story like the link to mythology were really interesting, and the plot was gripping. I loved Eureka and how she develops over the book and really comes into her own. I'm definitely excited to continue with the series.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Waterfall by Lauren Kate, the sequel to Teardrop, is set for publication this year
Books like this: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Sarah & Daisy's Review of Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2) by Richelle Mead

Spoiler warning! This is the 2nd book in the Vampire Academy series and so this review will contain spoilers from book one. You can read my review of Vampire Academy here instead.

Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2) by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead Website|Twitter
Published: 1 January 2008
Format: Paperback
Pages: 328
Buy the paperback: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Gifted from Daisy!

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
It’s winter break at St Vladimir’s, and a massive Strigoi vampire attack has put the school on high alert. This year’s trip away from the academy to the wintery peaks of Idaho has suddenly become mandatory.

But Rose’s troubles seem to follow her wherever she goes—dealing with the pain of knowing that her relationship with her tutor Dimitri can never be, things get even more complicated when one her closest friends admits his feelings for her.

The glittering winter landscape may create the illusion of safety but Rose—and her heart—are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...

Review:

Sarah: So this review is a little different because I am reviewing Frostbite with the lovely Daisy from FangirlDaily and AThousandLivesofDais. Daisy very kindly bought me the book for my birthday so that we could read it together and taking part in the readalong was so much fun! So here is our review of the book.

Frostbite is the second book in the Vampire Academy series and I think it’s safe to say we both enjoyed the first! I was a big fan of the prologue which recapped a lot of the first book (because I have a memory like a sieve!). What did you think of the recapping?

Daisy: So much happened in Vampire Academy that it was hard to remember, however the recapping covered all the details that were huge plot points, as well as those little niggly things that slip your mind. The continuation into book two was skillfully done. Plus the action in the first chapters really drew me in!

Sarah: I agree. I was worried going in because I hadn’t had chance to re-read but that prologue got me right up to speed. And things definitely got underway quickly! What I loved was that there was a mystery element pretty early on as well. That had me hooked and wanting to find out what was going to happen!

Daisy: That is something I really enjoy from Richelle’s writing, you glide into the world with ease. It helps that a lot of time hasn’t passed between both books, not only for the action but character development. There didn’t seem to be any moments where you question “hey, what happened between these two?” Both sets of Rose/Dimitri and Lissa/Christian got focal points throughout it. But what would a YA book be without a love triangle?!

Sarah: Oh yes, the relationships were one of my favourite things about Frostbite. I basically shipped everyone! Of course I love the chemistry between Rose and Dimitri, but I also loved the other relationships dotted throughout the book. I love Rose and Lissa (I kind of ship them. A lot) but seeing Rose and Mason together was interesting too. One thing I noticed in Frostbite was all the jealousy! Did you feel that too?   

Daisy: The teenage hormones (minus Dimitri, that man has a hold of his emotions!) were rife in this book. Which is accurate to the situation. For those who are yet to read the book, the academy has had threats made against the moroi race, so take sanctuary in a ski resort over the Christmas period so that the families can spend time together. Hormones on top of scary threats and in close quarters with all sorts of new characters makes for Frostbite having an emotional side to it more so than the first book.

Sarah: Ooh you make a good point about the setting! I get nervous sometimes that sequels will feel repetitive, but because Frostbite transports you somewhere new - in this case the ski resort - it still felt fresh. I definitely preferred this book to the first. I think because the world and characters had been established and you were more involved in the relationships.How about you, did you prefer Vampire Academy or Frostbite?

Daisy: Frostbite has to be my favourite of the series so far. There was growth in the characters, where Rose is starting to grow up a bit. She had a level head at times throughout the first book but was very quick to jump in to action. Seeing through her eyes and genuinely seeing the improvement and how hard she is training made it take the top spot for me. I liked Rose in the first book but loved her in this! Was there characters for you that you felt really changed?

Sarah: I agree about Rose! I loved seeing her take on that extra responsibility but she still stayed her same hilarious, badass self. I also loved seeing her relationship with her mother develop.

Daisy: Bless Rose, she has such a dysfunctional relationship with her mother. We never really got a proper scene between them in VA, yet they get a more page this time around. Along with understandings being met, she gets more of an insight into the guardian world and it really isn’t as easy as it seems.

Sarah: Ooh yes I loved learning more about the role of a guardian and I think there’s even more potential to explore that in later books. Speaking of which, that ending! Obviously no spoilers, but Frostbite kind of broke my heart towards the end of the book. How about you?

Daisy: Oh man, I’m still torn up about that ending. Just when you think you’re on solid ground, Richelle can whip the rug out from beneath your feet. The one thing that Frostbite isn’t lacking in is action. When strigoi are around, there will never be a dull moment! But then she gives all the fluttery feelings in your stomach again. It is hard to know what emotion you should have.

Sarah: I definitely had all of the feels during this book! One thing I forgot to mention already was the foreshadowing. All throughout the book there were these moments that hinted at bigger things to come. Did you feel that too?

Daisy: I do like a bit of foreshadowing. Sometimes having no hints makes a surprise not make sense, as you have no idea what led up to that moment. Otherwise you have to whip out your detective skills! I felt that it was stronger in Frostbite and that bigger things are still to come in the series.

Sarah: I totally agree. I hate it when you get plot twists that make no sense and that you could never have worked out. The writing in these books is so clever and sharp that you don’t have to worry about it! So I have a lot of love for this book. The writing, characters and plot all blew me away and now I’m settled into the series I can’t wait to read more. Rating this book was easy - 5* all the way! What’s your final verdict?

Daisy: 5* for me too. I thought the book was truly fantastic, is miles apart from any other academy novels surrounding vampires, *cough* House of Night *cough*! I really enjoyed this installment and will be picking up the next books promptly so I can see how this world develops. I think our ship of Lissa and Rose - Rissa(?!) is one of the things I’m most excited to read. If our lovely readers have read Frostbite, please let us know what you thought of it! Or if you agreed with any of our points, the discussion can still continue :)

Rating: 5*
What to read next: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Books like this: Evernight by Claudia Gray

Review: Secret Lies by Amy Dunne

Author: Amy Dunne Website
Published: 16 December 2013 (Bold Stroke Books)
Format: Kindle e-book (ARC)
Pages: 264
Buy the paperback: Amazon|BookDepository


Source: Received free copy from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Would you face your biggest fear, to save the one you love?

Nicola Jackson escapes from her abuser, only to realize she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go. In a twist of fate, she accidentally bumps into Jenny O’Connor, the most popular girl at school. They strike up an unlikely friendship. As their trust in each other develops, they share their darkest secrets, and their relationship blossoms into a secret romance.

Jenny loves Nicola, but she is fearful that if their secret relationship is discovered, she might lose her family, friends, and her seemingly perfect life.
Nicola confronts her abuser and blackmails him to leave for good, but things go terrifyingly wrong. Jenny is left with a life-changing dilemma: should she face her fear and accept who she is, or let Nicola take the blame and pretend their relationship never happened? 

My Review:
When the author approached me about reviewing this book I was really excited by the sound of it, and I am always on the lookout for more LBGTQ YA fiction. Secret Lies follows teenagers Jenny and Nicola who develop a close relationship after Nicola moves in with Jenny to escape her mother's abusive boyfriend.

Firstly this book is an intense read. The book deals with self-harm, alcohol and drugs, sex, physical and psychological abuse. Whilst it's not a light and fluffy read I think the author has done an incredible job at tackling these difficult topics. I could really sympathise with Jenny's battle with self-harm and seeing her in therapy was a great way to get inside her head and understand what she's thinking. Nicola's home situation was just heart-breaking and had me incredibly emotional throughout the book. She's been through some much and I really came to fear for her.

Whilst Secret Lies deals with all these traumas, the central relationship is something that is an incredibly positive experience for both girls and that really help lift the mood. I absolutely adored their relationship and the way it develops. They have this amazing chemistry but you get the slow burn as they come to terms with their feelings for each other. There are a few obstacles with Jenny coming from a very catholic family and neither girl having any experience but those hurdles just made you root for them even more. I was jumping up and down when they finally get together.

Both the girls are at a time in their life where they're discovering their sexuality and I liked how you got to explore those fears they have. There's a really touching scene where Nicola starts Googling everything she can about lesbianism and orders books and DVDs just to reach out and find out more about who she is. It makes you realise why books like Secret Lies are so important because this is the reality for so many teens yet it's vastly underrepresented. I hope this book will reach a wide range of audiences because it's a wonderful story, regardless of the sex of the two main characters.

As well as the central relationship, Secret Lies sums up pretty well what it's like to be a teenager living with peer pressure and stress. Jenny particularly goes through a lot of that, feeling the pressure to live up to her older sister's example and trying to live up to this reputation she's developed at school for being experienced and confident with boys, despite the fact she's not at all comfortable with it. The title also brings into play the sneaking around you do at that age and how hiding things about yourself for fear of the repercussions can be a reality.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I think the only thing that let it down for me was that the writing was a bit over-descriptive. I would find myself skimming large chunks of texts just to get past what colour everything was and find the action. The book alternated from Nicola and Jenny's POV which was generally effective, but sometimes I found the voices merging and would have to double check whose perspective I was reading from. I managed to stay engaged with the story, though, and the plot and drama sucked me in enough to put those things aside. Secret Lies is definitely a book I'll be recommending in future for those looking for a really good love story to root for.

Rating: 4*
Books like this: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

Review: Requiem (Delirium, #3) by Lauren Oliver

Spoiler warning! This is the third and final book in the Delirium trilogy and this review will contain spoilers for the previous two books. You can read my review of Delirium here or my review of Pandemonium here instead. You have been warned!

Requeim by Lauren Oliver

Author: Lauren Oliver Website|Twitter
Published: 1 March 2013 (Hodder & Stoughton)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Buy the paperback: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Borrowed from library

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
It is the rule of the Wilds:
You must be bigger, and stronger, and tougher.
A coldness radiates through me, a solid wall that is growing, piece by piece, in my chest. He doesn't love me?
He never loved me.
It was all a lie.

'The old Lena is dead', I say, and then push past him. Each step is more difficult than the last; the heaviness fills me and turns my limbs to stone.

You must hurt, or be hurt.

Lena can build the walls, but what if there's no one left to take them down? The powerful, heartbreaking conclusion to one of the most eagerly awaited, talked-about series is here.

My Review:
Requiem is the last book in the Delirium trilogy and follows Lena as she journeys through the Wilds, and Hana as she prepares to marry one of the most influential men in Portland.

From the moment I read Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver has been a favourite author of mine. Her writing is so beautiful and poetic. I'd been putting off Requiem for a few reasons. Partly because Delirium was one of the first YA dystopian books I read and one that influenced a lot of my reading after that and finishing the trilogy seemed scary. I was a little bit nervous after seeing reactions to this book when it first came out, and I was also waiting for the paperback to become available before requesting it from my library.

Having read the book, I can say it was worth the wait. It was probably my least favourite of the three books, but with writing of this level that isn't really a put down. I'm bound to enjoy some books more than others and I still found Requiem to be an enjoyable book with great writing.

Requiem is told in dual POV from Lena and Hana's POV. I definitely found myself enjoying Hana's chapters more. I think part of that was down to her being in Portland and it having that feeling of the first book, where you're wrapped up in the city and the politics that come with it. I also really enjoyed getting inside her head and this determination she has to find out the truth. There are several mysteries surrounding her and her future husband Fred which really drove the plot forwards and I found myself really feeling for her. I loved her in Delirium because she was so different to Lena, and it was interesting seeing how things have changed and what has happened to her.

The real strength of having the book told from both of the girls' perspectives was the way it addressed their friendship. Both girls find themselves thinking about each other, despite the distance between them. I loved seeing how, despite everything they've gone through, they still care for each other and miss each other.

Lena's chapters tended to drag a little bit for me because of the pacing. There was a lot of travelling around with not a lot of action, and I would find myself getting a bit bored and wanting to get back to Hana's chapters. Where Lena's story did come into its own was exploring the character relationships for example the tension between her and Alex. I also think they did a great job at getting across the bleak nature of the situation of those outside the cities.

I'd heard rumours that the ending was controversial, and whilst I can see why people might not like it, I found it to be moving. It definitely leaves you still thinking about the characters long after you close the pages, and I actually liked that openness which leaves you to decide yourself just what happened. I would maybe have liked a more solid conclusion to Hana's story, having enjoyed her parts of this book so much.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Panic by Lauren Oliver, her next novel coming March 2014
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Review: Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits, #3) by Katie McGarry

Spoiler warning! This is the 3rd book in the Pushing the Limits series and may contain spoilers for the first two books. You can read my review of Pushing the Limits here or my review of Dare You To here instead.

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Author: Katie McGarry Website|Twitter
Published: 6 Deecember 2013 (MiraInk)
Format: Kindle e-book (ARC)
Pages: 352
Buy the paperback: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Received free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks MiraInk!

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
The girl with straight A's, designer clothes, and the perfect life - that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list.

One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker - a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

My Review:
I absolutely adored both Pushing the Limits and Dare You To, so I couldn't wait to get into McGarry's third instalment! Crash Into You tells Isaiah's story as he meets and falls for Rachel, a girl who loves cars just as much as he does.

I loved what I'd seen of Isaiah in previous books and I was excited to dive into his character a little more. The book is written in alternating points of view between him and Rachel, and loved getting inside his head for those chapters. McGarry definitely wins at writing characters. Rarely do I read books where I connect with them so much and where they feel so real to me. What I loved about Isaiah in this book was seeing the slightly softer side to him, not only when it comes to his feelings for Rachel, but in other aspects of his life as well. There's definitely a lot more than meets the surface!

As well as those characters I've already come to know and love, I also fell immediately for Rachel, Isaiah's love interest in the story. She has a really interesting back story that instantly made me feel for her. Her family is haunted by the death of Rachel's sister Colleen, who Rachel herself never met. She's constantly living in the shadow of her older sister and her parents treat her almost like a replacement, not acknowledging her as her own person. Rachel also has the presence of her older brothers and twin brother Ethan to deal with, and they're very protective of her. I could sympathise for her fight to be independent and loved seeing her find her voice throughout the story.

As always, the chemistry the author has conjured up was intense and there were some great passionate scenes between Rachel and Isaiah. Overall I really liked their relationship. The two come from completely different backgrounds so it was really interesting to see the contrast and how that affected things. I think I would have liked a little more build up and the two getting to know each other. Things move pretty quickly and I felt a lot of the early relationship was purely based on looks. I think having read Dare You To earlier this year I was hoping for more of the love/hate kind of thing that Beth and Ryan had going on. By the end of the book, however, I was completely smitten with Rachel and Isaiah.

Speaking of Beth, I was excited to see how the events of Dare You To would impact on Isaiah's story. With Beth taking more of a backseat role, I was happy to see the presence of Abby, another of Isaiah's friends. She really stole the show with her bubbly persona, and I really enjoyed the developing friendship between her and Rachel.

I could probably speak about the characters all day long, because there are so many incredibly strong relationships in this book. I loved the exploration of the relationship between Rachel and her brothers, especially her twin brother Ethan, as well as the tension between Rachel and her mother. I really enjoyed the scenes between Isaiah and his social worker Courtney too, and of course Isaiah and Noah's friendship was another highlight.

The book centres a lot on Rachel and Isaiah's love of cars, and there are plenty of scenes involving things like drag races. I felt these scenes and the exploration of the gritty underworld of illegal street racing really added a sense of danger to Crash Into You. I could really feel the fear of both characters as they get swept up in this dark world, and there were plenty of tense and exciting scenes.

With characters I cared so much about, this was bound to be an emotional read, and there were some really powerful scenes in Crash Into You that tore at my heart a little bit. I loved getting to know Isaiah and discovering Rachel, who had so much about her and has become one of my favourite characters from the series. Excitingly the next book will focus on Rachel's brother West, so I'm super excited to read that one! I think Dare You To has become my favourite book of the series, but Crash Into You was still an enjoyable and powerful read.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Take Me On by Katie McGarry, the next book in the Pushing the Limits series, which will be published in 2014
Books like this: Perfect Chemistry by Simole Elkeles