Book Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Please note: This is the final book in the Delirium series and does contain spoilers.

Check out my review for Delirium (1), Pandemonium (2).

The end is near for Lena and the resistance. Tension is rising and has finally come to its breaking point. Us against Them. To be free and feel, or remain a robot and die slowly. There will never be an in between. Lena has chosen her side and so has Hana.

The end is near and with so much death lost. Is it worth fighting?

The end is near.

With each book Oliver has outdone herself. I must say I am not a big fan of the first book, but the second and third are truly fantastic. What began as a traditional YA book has spawned into a series that is about life as whole instead of a silly romance.

There is heart, there is trial, there is loss and it is all so real.

This finale is heart retching. It’s gripping with tragedy and surprises. I blew through the pages and was distraught at the end. I’m really glad I stuck with the series; it’s totally worth reading and challenges your mind as to what you do. Give up everything for the chance to love freely, or be safe by being a number. The sides will never be even, and which side would you truly wish to be on?

Book Review: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Jul30

Please note: This is the third book in the Hush, Hush series and does contain spoilers.

Check out my review for Hush, Hush (1) and Crescendo (2).

All summer Nora Grey has been missing. When she appears out of nowhere in the middle of the cemetery, she discovers she can’t remember the past five months of her life. It also turns out her mother has been dating the father of her biggest enemy Marcie Millar. Talk about living an nightmare.

Traumatized and feeling alone Nora tries to piece her life back together. Her friends say one thing and other people from her past say another. Nora knows her mother is keeping something from her, but as she muddles through her memories each road comes up empty.

Try as she can to figure things out there are other forces drawing Nora into danger. Each time she lands in perils way, a handsome unknown stranger swoops in to save her. Like a guardian angel. If only Nora could just remember what really happened…

Sigh. It’s been a slow deterioration for this series. Granted, again, Fitzpatrick has made me eager to know what happened to Nora. However the plot is beginning to thin. I found this book to be ‘too easy’. There were many sections where I thought ‘That seriously wouldn’t happen’ to ‘The world doesn’t operate that way’.

Now I understand this is a YA book and sometimes you come across ones that don’t make sense and it’s supposed to be ok. However, the best YA can weave a tale where even if things don’t make sense it’s still believable. This is not one of those series.

My disappointment is growing, but there is only one book left so I feel I’ve invested this much and need to finish. My hopes are not high though.

Book Review: Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe

Jul27

It all started as a practical joke. Cameron Martin is one of the most popular kids in school. At seventeen he’s the star of the basketball team and dating one of the hottest girls at his high school. Life is perfect, his body is perfect and what could make it better? A free piece of birthday cake is always the cherry on top.

But something is wrong is Cameron. Perhaps it was stress of the game or finals of senior year. Everyday he feels…a bit different. Older.

When a visit to the doctor confirms the worst, that Cameron is aging an entire year everyday, it makes one think, how would you spend living the rest of your life?

I LOVED THIS. Seriously. What a fun quick read! Why do male lead characters get all the fun in YA fiction? It’s light-hearted, easy and full of wonder. I mean, could you imagine? Aging a year in an entire DAY? The plot was pretty easy to figure out but that didn’t deter from my enjoyment. I loved Cameron. What a total teenager that bloke is.

It’s a fun story, and I’m so happy to learn it’s an already completed trilogy. The book also helps puts things in perspective. It was a joy to see the progression of Cameron’s character from prick jerkface to an adult male. He makes a lot of mistakes and boy there are some hilarious mishaps that happen. Yet in the end Cameron is still a teenager and Rowe is dead on with his tone of voice.

If you want an easy read that makes you laugh out loud at moment please give this first in a serious a shot. It’s well worth the time and a totally great read!

This book was provided by the publisher, Patchwork Press, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Brian Rowe for such a delightful read and to Patchwork Press for taking a chance on a read self published piece of work!

Book Review: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Jul23

Please note: This is the second book in the Hush, Hush series and does contain spoilers.

Check out my review for Hush, Hush (1).

A few weeks ago Nora Grey almost died. When her life was in danger, the smoky hot mysterious Patch did the unthinkable and saved her life. If she died Patch could have taken her life and become human, but instead he saved her and became her guardian angel.

Yet the angels above are keeping an eye on Patch, Making his relationship with Nora…complicated. When an old childhood friend of Nora’s comes back to town, suddenly there are questions involving her father’s death. In this small town of Maine there are a lot more secrets than Nora could ever imagine. If Patch isn’t by her side to sort them out, will she be able to handle the truth?

I can’t say that this sequel was as good as the first. The habits that Nora had established in the first book were completely absent and she reverted to an unimaginative one-dimensional character obsessed with her love interest.

However, I kept going because the plot was intriguing. What lacked in character development/progression can be slightly overlooked due to the thrilling mystery the story created. Fitzpatrick did a brilliant job of giving the reader just enough hints of information to keep me turning the pages.

Plus, the ending is even more explosive than the first book. I’m going to keep reading the series but I was disappointed that the second seemed to forget everything good it had established in the first.

Book Review: Skin by Donna Jo Napoli

Jul16

Sep, or rather Guiseppia, but don’t call her that, is having a bit of a problem. One morning she wakes up and gets ready for school. As normal high school girls do, they look in the mirror. What does she see? White. Olive skinned, Italian bred Sep, has pure, white, lips.

It’s small thing that makes a huge difference. In short this aspect of young sixteen-year-old Sep, is a metaphor for growing up. Her story pushes further, as she takes to understanding her condition and living her life in ways that teens do. Sep embarks on a journey about her body, about herself and about those around her. True to herself and harsh to others, she must learn how the color white will change her life forever.

This is new adult fiction. If you haven’t yet learned about phrase, my friend over at Pretty Books leads a great discussion on the new genre.

I did feel this piece was a bit long, but once Sep’s condition was well under way I was hooked from chapter to chapter. Sep’s story is honest. True, scary and brave all at the same time. What is hidden as a NA book is a silent protest to the way modern society treats women in this day and age.

Again I do feel the need to state this is new adult fiction. There are adult situations in this book and there is a passage that is very…romance-y…so be aware. It’s not an issue for me, because let’s be honest, it’s something all teenagers do. It’s just no one wants to talk about it.

With understated beauty this book tells the story of a teenager girl unlike most others and her battle against what society perceives of her. My only critics are to stop using repetitive language and vulgar slang (Because I feel that it hinders the message of the book by trying to belittle a word no girl should be called). Other than that, it’s a job well done and needed in this new genre.

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author Donna Jo Napoli and to the publisher for providing book!

Skin is available for purchase on August 6th! Reserve your copy today!

Book Review: Croak by Gina Damico

Jul13

Lex (short for Lexington) Bartleby is one troubled teenage girl. Her twin sister Cordy (short for Concord) is sweet as sugar and works hard at her part time job. When Lex puts another fellow student in hospital, the girl’s parents ship her off to her forgotten Uncle Mort’s farm in upstate New York.

Stuck in the middle of nowhere, Lex attempts to prepare for one long summer of suck. Instead her scarred Uncle on a motorcycle picks her up, with no farms in sight. He’s also the Mayor of Croak, a town full of Grim Reapers. Lex is also a Grim Reaper; gifted with talents of guiding souls to the afterlife. Her summer makes a complete 180.

That is until uncharted deaths start happening around the US. Lex finds herself public enemy number one for reasons she doesn’t understand. As she begins to lose what little comfort fitting in a society of her own kind, she’ll have to make a choice of either joining this masked Killer or ending him or her, herself.

This book is seriously amazing. So worth the wait. (It hasn’t been published in the UK yet.) Finally a YA seriously where the focus isn’t on falling in love, with some real bite to it! Croak is fabulous at dealing with the moral obligations of life and death. Everyone who lives must also die and I love how Damico uses this sad life event to bring comfort to readers, as well as cover the natural order.

When that balance is disrupted all hell breaks loose in the book and you’ll turn every page wondering who’s around the corner! The language of the story is also fantastic. Riddled with new age teenage slang. You’ll be laughing and crying through this brilliant 300 page ride. Talk about using the post-apocalyptic theme in a modern way, Croak is absolutely worth reading. As long as you’re not uberally disturbed by death, I highly suggest checking out this beginning of the Croak series as soon as possible!

The finale book in this series will be published in September, and this review is kicking off to the release date. Next month I’ll include my review on the sequel, Scorch.