http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3325727-want-to-read-opal
I entered via http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5230419/ to win a copy of Opal! :D
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
The Sea
of Tranquility by Katja Millay
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Five/five stars!
This is
quite possibly one of the best, most confusing, most breathtaking,
heartbreaking, beautiful and most amazing books I have ever read in my entire
life. I’m close to crying. I am crying. I don’t even know. My emotions are in
overdrive. Pretty sure I’m having a breakdown. Yep. This book torn me to
shreds, ate me up, then glued me together. It was perfect. I have no idea where
I’m going to begin with this review.
Nastya Kashnikov has lost everything. She has so much pent up anger and
frustration with the world, she’s given up. She’s stopped caring about
everything. Now she just hates; hates on people, herself and the world. She is
focused on destroying the life of the man who completely broke her. When she
moves from her home town to live with her aunt and hopefully begin a new life
without the whispers and the stares, she is surprised when she meets Josh Bennett.
Josh Bennett. The one person who pisses her off, confuses her and gets under
her skin. She is drawn to him and his “force field”. They are both drawn to
each other and their mysteries. Together, with their secrets and mysterious
backgrounds, they are a glass case of emotion, just waiting to crack.
The Sea
of Tranquility got to me in ways a book had never gotten to me before. I used
to read all the time in class on my laptop, before I realised that, shit, I
actually needed to listen and learn something. I haven’t read in class for a
while, but I needed to when I was reading The Sea of Tranquility. It was
haunting me. It was all I could think about. Stuff you science revision, I
needed to be pulled into the messed up worlds of both Nastya and Josh.
The
characters were everything in this novel. They made the story. The secrets they
were keeping were even kept from the reader. Nastya was an emotionally
unstable, very fragile girl who was seeking – no – hunting for revenge. She was focused on how messed up her life was.
She was blinded by hate and raging emotions and what she had lost. What that
bastard had taken from her. Really, she was a very likable, realistic character
and I loved being inside her crazy mind.
Josh
Bennett. Everyone he has ever loved is dead. He just wants to be left alone in
his frantic world; focused on building things. When Nastya appears in his life,
he isn’t sure what to do. Tell her to piss off, or enjoy her company? He loves
her and he hates her. She gets under his skin like no one else. He kind of
enjoys it. I actually really loved Josh. He was an amazing character that I
fell completely head over heels in love with.
The Sea
of Tranquility was a slow building, exciting, suspenseful, dramatic, heartfelt
read. My mind was racing all throughout the book. I loved this book so much and
would recommend it to anyone (especially someone who feels like a good cry).
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Back To You by Annie Brewer
Back To You by Annie Brewer
★ ★☆☆☆
Two/five stars
I had such high expectations for this book. I’m friends with
Annie on Goodreads and her reviews and updates always make me laugh, so I
really wanted to like Back To You and
give it an awesome, massive review. Unfortunately, I did not like this book, but
it was ok. I really hate to say it, but it was almost cringe-worthy.
Just before I start, I just want to say that I don’t want to
be mean! I’m just being honest. Constructive criticism, perhaps? I’m not being mean!
Ok, so I’ll start with the grammar and the writing. The
writing was cringe worthy. It was forced and awkward. The dialogue was even
worse! I was cringing! The writing started out fine, then the dialogue came in
between Abby and Sarah and from then on, it just went downhill in my opinion.
The other thing that annoyed me was the lack of contractions. Contractions are
allowed. Do you know how frustrating it is to constantly read “I will”, “I do
not”, “I have not”? Please, please, please use contractions! It was so
annoying. Other than that, the writing wasn’t that bad, just really annoying.
Abby was alright. She wasn’t anything special, nor was she
completely horrible. She was meh. She didn’t do anything for me. She was a
weird character, very moody and indecisive. Her moods were really strange, like…
she could get really angry over something small, but could be completely calm
over something massive. *SPOILER* Like her best friend, Brooke and her
boyfriend, Brady.
Brady. One word: asshat. I just… I didn’t like him, at all,
right from the beginning, until the end.
Sarah was bipolar. I don’t mean to be rude or offensive when
I say that, but seriously, she was crazy. Her moods were insane. One moment
she was a loving younger sister…
She was a crazy bitch.
Sarah’s moods were giving me headaches! Honestly. She was
jumping from one mood to the next instantaneously, without any warning what so
ever. In the end she turned out to be alright, but really truly deep down, she
was nuts.
Now… the love interest, Lucas. He was certainly interesting.
Didn’t approve of Abby cheating on Brady, but didn’t really make any moves to
stop her coming onto him. Lucas didn’t do much for me. He didn’t make me lust
after him or anything. He was definitely a “meh” character.
Last but not least in the character department was Abby and
Sarah’s mum. She was… weird; a very, very laid back mum, indeed. She was strict
on some things, but also very lenient on others. She clearly had a favourite
child too, and that was Abby. I have a pretty awesome mum, who I’m super
comfortable with and would tell absolutely everything to, but Abby’s mum’s
character was a little overboard.
There wasn’t really much of a plot. Okay, maybe I lie, there
was one, but it was boring and not at all exciting. There weren’t any “Oh-my-god-edge-of-my-seat”
moments or really depressing moments. The whole “plot” was “bleh”. (To put it
in music terms, it had an unmoving, occasionally jumping melodic contour).
Okay. One thing that super-duper really annoyed me about
this book was the singing. WHAT SINGING?! Abby is in the school choir and her
dream is to be in Broadway musicals, but there was hardly anything about her
singing. She wasn’t completely devoted to it and it didn’t consume her time. I’m
in the Conservatorium of Music and I devote half of my time practicing violin
and my life doesn’t even depend on it! Abby barely did anything singing wise.
She skipped choir. I don’t even skip practice. Singing is Abby’s career choice
and she hardly does anything about it in the book. Violin isn’t even my career
choice (mostly) and my life revolves around it! And I’m 14! Sorry about the
comparisons, but this “singing career” of Abby’s really annoyed the crap out of
me.
The romance was also an issue with me. I wouldn’t even call
it a “romance”. It was forced and ugly. I don’t know how Lucas did it; dating
an already taken girl. That’s just messy. The relationship between the two was
forced and moved very quickly. I understand that they had already dated and
that they’d know each other for years and been through heaps together, but a
relationship is different to a friendship, especially now that they are older.
There are more things to… consider.
Overall, the book was alright. It was confusing and jumpy.
It was definitely clear it was Brewer’s first book. I’ve asked for an ARC of
Brewer’s second book, Choices, which
I’m positive, will be so much better!
Sorry Annie, I really wish I enjoyed this so much more, but
it just didn’t work with me. I hope I love the rest of your books so much more!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2) by Kendare Blake
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Three and a half/ five stars
*Not a proper review because I’m not really sure what to
say*
Hmm, I don’t know if it was me or the book, but we just didn’t
click. It took me like 21 days to finish this book, which is forever in my
reading time. I really wanted to like it, but something stopped me. I was
getting confused easily and I was having trouble following the plot. The
writing was as beautiful as ever, though. Maybe if I just sat down and read the
book in a couple of sittings, I’d like it a lot better. The rating probably
would’ve been a bit lower if it wasn’t for the awesome last 50-100 pages. They
were totally kickass!
Always You by Kirsty Moseley
Always You by Kirsty Moseley
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Four/five stars
Always You was a quick, cute read. I read it on Wattpad, so
before the book was published, which means there were some errors, but
surprisingly not that many! I was impressed with this book, considering I had
such high expectations for it after reading The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window
(which was incredibly awesome and cute!). Always You was an enjoyable read,
that had me laughing and crying.
Riley and Clay have been best friend forever. Although they
are neighbours, Riley goes to a different school, until her mother and
stepfather change their minds and move her to the local public school, which is
where, incidentally, Clay goes too. The two have always had a close
relationship; sleepovers a couple of times a week, no secrets, etc. But after
Riley comes back from a long holiday, she feels a shift in their relationship.
They are still as close as ever, but why is she feeling all fluttery around
Clay? And why, oh why, does she feel like she wants and needs more from their
relationship?
This book was cute, if cheesy. It was occasionally dramatic
and melodramatic, but it was cute. The relationship between Riley and Clay was
cute, although after *spoiler* they got together, their relationship progressed rather quickly. The couple dealt with drama after drama
but I was definitely happy with how the book ended! *Spoiler* HAPPILY
EVER AFTER YAAAY!
I liked Riley. She was very nice and sweet and loving. With
each and every drama that head her way, she dealt with it accordingly, in a
responsible and mature way, which was refreshing.
Clay was alright. He was lovely to Riley, but I had a few
problems with him. The fact that he slept with a thousand girls because he never
thought he would be with Riley. I hate that trend in YA romance at the moment.
Guys, the girls you like aren’t going to notice you or pursue you because you
are a man-whole and you are constantly with a new chick each week. Us chicks
will believe we are a piece of trash that you can easily throw away. Uh, hello?
Not good for our self-esteem! So, Clay if you put a little bit more effect into
showing Riley you like her instead of shying away and screwing heaps of other
girls, you could’ve gotten Riley earlier. And also, Clay kind of had some
anger/possessive issues. He wasn’t too bad, but I was still wary of it.
The book had plenty of unexpected twists and turns! Which
were all very dramatic. It was definitely a page turner!
I actually really liked this book. It was so so so cute and
sweet! I cried at the end because it was so beautiful and so cute!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Entangled by Cat Clarke
Entangled by Cat Clarke
★ ★★☆☆
Three/five stars
I didn’t understand half of this book, especially the end.
Not saying I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, mostly. It was just… very
difficult to follow and rather confusing. I loved the fact that it was set in
England! I love anything to do with England. Entangled was a good book, just
not the book for me.
Grace’s life is falling apart. She’s got alcohol and is going
to finally end all of the pain and the suffering, when she meets a boy. No, not
the usual type of boy, who saves her and they fall in love, just a boy. A boy
who is there, but not really. A boy who listens to Grace’s ramblings. A boy who Grace vomits on. A boy who kidnaps
Grace. He is a mystery and Grace just can’t seem to figure him out. She has a
thousand questions running through her mind, but no answers. Why? How? Can
Grace find a way to get out of this awful mess?
I liked Entangled. I really did. I liked the idea. I enjoyed
the beginning, but somewhere between the middle and the end, the book just lost
me. It became predictable and weird, and it confused me. I really tried to
understand it and love it, but I just couldn’t. There was hope for the book,
then the end happened. I had no idea what was going on. The thought going through
my head was “what just happened”. The end lost me and lost the book stars.
I didn’t really like any of the characters. They were all
meh. Grace was a bit of a bitch and whined heaps. Sal was alright, not a very
good best friend. Nat was meh; didn’t like him much.
This book had so much potential, but it just lost me. Really
wish I enjoyed it a lot more.
The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Boy by Maggie Stiefvater
★ ★★★☆
Four and a half/five stars
The Raven Boys follows the separate, yet interconnecting
stories of Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, Noah.
Blue meets the foursome that is Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah
by chance. They wouldn’t mean anything to her unless she hadn’t had a psychic
encounter involving one of the boys the earlier. Blue is very involved in the
land of all things psychic and spirit thanks to her clairvoyant family. When
Blue is properly introduced into the crazy and wonderful land of Gansey and
friends, she is invited to embark on a spiritual “trip”. Surprisingly enough
for Blue and luckily enough for the boys, Blue turns out to be a big help for
them and their spiritual needs. Even luckier, Blue agrees to help them with their spiritual “trip”.
I can’t really write a proper review for this book because
really it was just wonderful. Perfect.
Stiefvater’s writing, first and third person, could make any
grown man cry. It is so beautiful.
I loved all the characters in the book. They were all so
different and unusual.
This book was so perfect, but I gave it 4.5 stars because
there were some parts that totally confused me. But apart from that, The Raven
Boys was absolutely beautiful.
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