Tag Archive | 3 Stars

Book Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

**Although this is a sequel, this second in the Pushing the Limits series doesn’t continue with the same characters, but gives minor characters their own show. Find my review for the first book, Pushing the Limits.

Beth Risk is just as her surname describes. The only one capable of looking after her junkie mother with the abusive boyfriend, Beth risks it all to keep her out of jail. Now she is swept from her home, from Isaiah and Noah to a town filled with Stepford wives. A ward of her uncle, a now famed retired baseball star, Beth is forced to forget herself for her uncle in order to keep her mother’s secrets.

Ryan Stone is the heart throb of the baseball team. A start pitcher, he’s as cocky on the field as he is off, and winning dares is his speciality. Everything is lined up in Ryan’s life – pro ball – a life of athletic fandom, and his parents have worked endlessly to present him with blue collar opportunities. But there’s more to Ryan than just ball. He writes, and writes well, so well that college could be a choice in his future if he dares to take it.

A golden boy and a girl from the wrong side of the street. The two have nothing in common except wanting to be themselves. As they are forced to get to know each other will either dare to deny the chemistry that blooms between them?

I am a huge fan of the first book, and perhaps because I loved the first so much I was left feeling a bit disappointed with the second. Why? Well, in Pushing the Limits I feel that McGarry kind of went and took every extreme for her characters. It’s fantastic but where does that leave this book? Clichéd rich parent expectations and actions.

Beth and Ryan are standout characters. I have no fault with them, McGarry is very talented with writing both male and female teenage voices. My issue is with everyone else around Beth and Ryan that I found lacking.

However, perhaps this needed to be the case to allow for Beth and Ryan to truly shine. Both characters did things I didn’t expect (more or less). I kept reading because Beth has a lot of secrets and I love major jock Ryan being a closeted writing nerd. The chemistry between the two is also really hot, so another major win for this romance publisher. They are talented in finding writers that can tone down adult romance on a teenage level.

I can’t wait to read the third book and Harlequin Teen is proving to me one of the best YA romance publishers out there!

Book Review: Reached by Ally Condie

Sep17

Please note this is the third book in the Matched series and does contain spoilers.

For my review on the first book, Matched.

For my review on the second book, Crossed.

They are all waiting for the Pilot.

The Pilot will be the one to save them.

Xander, Cassia and Ky are tied together, tighter than ever before. When the Rising makes it’s move and the Pilot stands above all else, is this truly what kind of world they are wishing to create?

But when the unsafe need to be saved, the world runs rampant. With no help near and judgement lurking, it’s a race to find a cure.

People start to die and hope dies with them.

When Ky falls ill, will Cassia have the strength to live without him if they don’t find the cure in time? As Xander continues as the bystander, he must make a choice for his future.

Time is running out.

Welcome to the free world.

I’ve been such a fan of this series, but I felt the finale was clichéd and expected. However, the ending didn’t turn out as I expected, which I think is a good thing. I think Condie gave her hardcore fans what they wanted. She stayed true to her characters and the series, but I can’t help but be left wanting more. Not more in the series, but more of an ending. More drama, more explosions, more something. Not a little perfect Tiffany’s wrapped gift.

I’m glad I stuck through until the end. I have seriously loved how paper becomes much more than just an expensive currency. The limited use of words and how the ability to learn how to write being outlawed are bits of the books that people need to be paying attention to now.

They’re the bits that will become our future if we’re not careful. I do love this series, when you stop and think about the small things within the books, there is so much hidden that we need to be aware of for the future. It’s not as far off as we think.

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: MIla 2.0 by Debra Driza

Jun3

Mila was just trying to settle in to her new life in rural Montana. Living with her overly protective mother, the new caretaker of horse ranch, fitting in at the local high school was a challenge.

Especially after discovering she wasn’t just a normal seventeen-year-old girl. Oh no, Mila is actually a robot. She’s not the first either, but version 2.0.

In a span of hours Mila and her mother are thrust from their calm existence to on the run from her creators, the government. What starts as a normal get together with a girlfriend bursts forth with a new sight on truly who and what she is. As secrets tumble, Mila is going to have to choose which she is more of, human or machine if she and mother are going to escape for a future of freedom.

So how do I feel about this book? I did like it but…Long, just way, way too long. The Matched series can get away with 500 pages, but for this premise I felt like it dragged. The focus is primarily on Mila, which as a character is interesting. The story is slow in the beginning, the reader is almost tricked into thinking it’s a clichéd YA book. Then BAM – the story hits sixty and it’s running, running, running and more running until the explosive end.

I wish I could have liked the story more but the length wavered my attention. However, I think it has great potential for a movie or TV series. It just has that feel when you’re reading the story. The author has done a great job of describing the picture and placing the reader right there to witness all the excitement and danger.

Mila 2.0 is great if one wants a break from the soppy, unrealistic romance, but they shouldn’t be afraid to devote time.

The amazing publisher, in exchange for an honest review, provided this book. Many thanks to the publisher and author Debra Driza for letting me review Mila 2.0! I am curious as to what is coming next!

Mila 2.0 was Freshly Publishing in March 2013 – so get your copy now and tell me what you think!

Book Reviews: Black Door by Evans Light

Apr13

Eleven-year-old William, his father and two younger brothers are on their way to a new Summer Camp as their local favourite is out of operation.

What starts as a long car trip turns into a journey through an unknown environment with a starkly painted black door…

What’s behind the door? Why are the campgrounds abandoned? Several questions that might be answered should William take that first step through the black door.

This is a short story perfect for reading to eight-year-olds and above around the campfire. But be warned – there will be a lot of questions!

It’s such a short read that most of my review is really in my rating. I obviously wanted more, but for it’s age range it’s great to kick start imaginations. A good example for kids looking for the next step up in a reading challenge Black Door will keep them turning the pages!

Sneak by Evan Angler

Jan19

Logan has done the impossible: He’s refused his Mark procedure and escaped the facility with a rumour of where his missing sister might be held. Now on the run, Logan attempts to make his way to Acheron, a place that goes bump in the dark. It’s told to be a place that holds everyone that didn’t come back from his or her Mark procedure. No one knows where Acheron is, or if it even exists, but Logan will do anything if it means finding Lily.

Meanwhile, The Dust is on the move, travelling through an underground system for the Markless, they risk discovery and capture to continue their fight against the Government. However, there’s more to the Mark than any of them realise. There’s a secret the Government is keeping that is so big it has the possibility to destroy all that it has created. The holder of this secret is at Acheron

Sneak is at a faster pace than the debut novel, Swipe. I found it much more engaging and as the Government’s practices and how they run the world is further explained, I fell deeper into this world with renewed interested. The book follows along the same lines with it’s characters, making it perfect follow up for it’s reader base.

I was surprised to learn that this series is actually Christian Fiction. I didn’t find any evidence of this in the first book but it’s been made clearly in the second. It’s not overpowering and it certainly doesn’t take away anything from the book. It’s a low undertone that if anything, has made me really curious to check out the third book once it gets published. If you’re eager to get back to Angler’s world, he doesn’t disappoint.

I’ve received this book for free from Netgalley for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and the lovely publisher Thomas Nelson for providing me with this book!