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Friday 31 July 2015

Summer Bingo Update

I had to do some rethinking for my Summer Bookish bingo cards as some of the books I was using for squares had been started in early May and I really can't count those books even if they were technically finished in June 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here's what I have so far

 

Beach Read - Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Out of your Comfort Zone - Black Iris by Leah Raeder

Published over a Year Ago - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jessie Andrews

Young Adult - Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

Cover Has Been Changed - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

POC Writer - The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdier

Title is More Than Three Words - Hello Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E Smith

Magic - Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Fire in Title or on Cover - Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Multi POV - The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson

Face on Cover - Sight (Delta girls 1)  by Juliet Madison

June July August Release - What We Knew by Barbara Stewart

2015 Debut - Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Travel - These Broken Stars by Amie Kauffman and Maggie Spooner

Tearjerker - All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Purple Cover - Sleep No More - by Aprilynne Pike

Award Winner - Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

 

17 squares crossed off, so 8 to go. 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1215679/summer-bingo-update

Review: Lair of Dreams

Review:

Lair of Dreams: A Diviners Novel - Libba Bray

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

I did a little happy dance when I got the email 'read now for first 500 members' and started reading right away. It felt like this book took me forever to get through. So long winded and so so many characters.

 

That being said though, there was some of it I loved, and some of it seemed to drag on and it felt like nothing was happening. It was beautifully written. The writing is just incredible. The scenery and sense of place is just amazing. The descriptions and the atmosphere of New York City in the 20s is purely breath taking.

 

There are certain passages throughout the novel that make it seem almost like the city is a living, breathing entity with thoughts and emotions that will effect what's happening to the characters. At one particular point at the end there's a whole chapter of setting the scene for the next book where the country itself is portrayed so clearly you feel as if you're really there.

Though throughout there is an underlying sense of dread seeping through. Its very atmospheric, and at certain points very uncomfortable and creepy. However, personally, I did not think it was quite as frightening and gory as the first one was.

 

There were SO. MANY. CHARACTERS. So many different plot lines, the characters from the first book, Evie, Theta, Memphis, Sam, Jericho, Mabel, Henry and a few others. And new characters as well, introducing new Diviner Ling and a mysterious girl named Wai-Mae. All the plot lines twist and turn. The Diviner powers are becoming stronger and each character is struggling with it in its own way. At the same time something very creepy is happening with ghosts and dreams and creatures and nightmares. Something terrible is happening in Chinatown. A lot involving dream walking (this is where Ling comes in). Its all over the place. Though when the main characters all come together finally its almost like 90% of the way through the book. There was a big rush of action towards the end.

 

I did find the many many characters and plot lines rather tedious at times, and with such a large cast its hard to keep track of what's going on where. Especially when random people who come into horrible fates keep appearing every now and then. Though to give credit where credit's due, the cast is wonderfully diverse.

 

The mythology is pretty spectacular and each unique Diviner power comes into play more as the mystery of the ghosts and dreamwalking deepens. I don't know why I didn't like this installment very much. Some of it was very good, but I guess this one just didn't work for me. Still looking forward to the next book.

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1215672/review-lair-of-dreams

Tuesday 28 July 2015

Review: Heir of Fire

Review:

Heir of Fire - Sarah J. Maas

This is a really hard review to write. Heir of Fire was my most anticipated book of last year. After 'Crown of Midnight' which is one of the best books I have ever read I was DYING to get my hands on this book. When I finally got it, it took me a month or more to get through. I figured I would savor it because if I rushed to finish I would be whinging because the next one wouldn't be out for a year.

 

Initially, I gave it a five star rating but didn't review it. Manon Blackbeak's storyline alone was worth five stars. Some of it was very moving. This is my favorite fantasy series. I've reread the other books more than twice. I started reading them all again this month. On a re-read of Heir of Fire, I have come to the conclusion, it is just not as good as the other books. Its very long winded.

 

Second time I read it I read it in just under a week. Its certainly better reading it all together and quickly. But it was just...boring. For the most part hardly anything seems to happen.  Celaena is one my favorite fantasy heroines and its her snarky arrogance that I love the most about her. In this installment she drove me up the wall. Yes, she has been through some truly terrible things. Its certainly shaping who she is as a person. But for christ's sake woman, stop bloody whinging! I just wanted to slap her for most of this book.

 

She's been sent across the sea to Wendlyn where the Fae live. She's going to obviously learn about how to control her powers and come to deal with yet more of her tragic past. Though the more terrible things keep happening to her, the less sympathy I'm feeling for her. The other thing I don't get is the fangirling over Rowan, the Fae warrior who's sent to train her. All they do is bitch at each other. Though it was fairly entertaining to see Celaena get knocked off her high horse more than a few times. 

 

Back in Adarlan, Dorian's still struggling with his magic and gets involved with some random healer and has an affair with her. It seemed to be a need to get him over mooning about how he could never make it work with Calaena. The King is still brutal prat. Chaol is dealing with having to go back to Anielle and the fact he sent Calaena away which turns out might have been the stupidest thing he's ever done. He gets involved with the rebellion to return Aelin Galathynius (I don't think I've spelt that correctly) to the throne. But Chaol of course knows who Aelin really is and where she is. 

 

Meanwhile there's a side story about the Iron Teeth witches training beasts called Wyverns. Something to do with the King of Adarlan wanting riders for the Wyverns. Introducing the delightfully wicked Manon Blackbeak. The witches are all just...evil. Brutal. This was the most interesting storyline. Great tension building. And none of the witches were likable in the slightest. They are bad through and through. And I kind of can't wait to see what happens when they come into contact with Calaena and her possy. 

 

Despite the fact that I found Celaena's training story to be very dull, it did pick up towards the end as her relationship with Rowan develops. Its thankfully not a romance, more of a friendship and trust thing, which does become very moving. There was some wonderful emotional build up as Celaena finally gets her head out her ass and stops wallowing in self pity and steps up to the plate. There are some truly horrific things that happen thanks to evil Adarlan King prat, which kick her into gear. 

 

Then a rush of action towards the end which makes me remember why I love Celaena so much. Some of it was bleak, but so well written the emotion moved me to tears. 

 

This was not a particularly brilliant installment, I can see why the things that happened in this novel happened the way they did, even if it was very slow for the most part.  It feels like a filler. Even so, I am still highly anticipating the next book in the series. 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1212128/review-heir-of-fire

Review: Snow Like Ashes

Review:

Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch

This one was a bit of a let down for me. Started off quite good. I started reading on a kindle, then had to get a hardback copy because I needed a map I could refer to easily and its not so easy to do that on a kindle.

 

Unique world building and a reasonably interesting main character. I admired Meira's fierceness. though her pining over the boy who's supposed to be the Winter King (whose name I have already forgotten) did get very irritating very quickly. But the more I read, the more....something was just missing from this one for me. Its like I've seen this before. It reminded me very much of the Throne of Glass series - magic missing, tyrannical king determined to rule everyone and be the most powerful dude ever. The lost princess. The forbidden romance angle. It was all a bit...meh. 

 

There were some pretty fantastic battle scenes towards the end when the plot finally picked up, some very intense and exciting scenes when Meira finds herself face to face with the enemy and the tension really starts to build. But it seemed like it took so long to finally get anywhere! 

 

It wasn't necessarily a bad book really. Apart from the missing magic and tyrannical king the world building was most unique and what I liked most about it, the Seasons kingdoms and the Rhythm kingdoms, and the Winter refugees trying to maintain their shattered kingdom and get their heirloom back was quite a gripping plot line in some points.

 

And Meira's determination to do something to help her people, her fierceness and willingness to do whatever it took to get her people and where they should be (even if she was only some orphan who wanted to help the course but you just know there's going to be more to that story line) made her quite endearing. However, when she was finally given a task to help - she whinged about it. Because it wasn't fighting on the front lines. A political move because she was the only girl who could do it. And this new story line introduced another prince of a Rhythm kingdom  and a love triangle. (Though personally I'm rooting for the Rhythm prince who was a much more likable character than the first one who doesn't seem to do anything much) When Meira was told her true identity and her destiny was revealed it was more eye roll inducing because again - its been done before and didn't feel like a unique twist on the story.  It was missing something. 

 

The whole thing felt like something was missing though the stupid thing is I'm not even sure what. It just felt meh overall. Though it did pick up at the end, and even though this is not one of my favorite YA fantasy series, I'm interested enough at least look forward to see where the next book in the series goes. 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1212106/review-snow-like-ashes

Thursday 23 July 2015

Review: Daughter of Deep Silence

Review:

Daughter of Deep Silence - Carrie Ryan

The fangirl who loved the first three seasons of 'Revenge' had a blast with this book. Despite the different premises, its pretty much a YA version of 'Revenge'.  There's eyen a Greyson in it! As the love interest! 

 

It was very over the top and ridiculously dramatic, but at the same time, it was very enjoyable. In this novel, the main character, Frances survives a cruise ship disaster as a tween. She escapes the ship with her best friend Libby, however, Libby does not survive until their lifeboat is rescued. The only other survivors are Senator Wells and his son, Greyson, same age as Francis and Libby who Frances had started dating on the cruise ship. Senator Wells and his son were the first ones rescued, they tell a completely different story to what Frances remembers as to what happened to the people on the cruise ship and how they were destroyed.

 

Francis's family is killed, Libby's father arrives at the scene, (I think her mother was on the ship with her) and somehow he looks after Francis. And Francis, over the following years has a revenge plan in mind. Become Libby, learn the truth and get her revenge on the Senator and his son, and expose what really happened to the people and crew of the cruise ship.

 

Francis has spent years prepping for this, doing her research to a T, studying the Wells family, Libby's life (which has been given free access too along with Libby's family's wealth and her trust fund) she has a very calculated plan and comes across to start with as icy and determined. Of course, nothing goes according to plan. There's also the added problem of Libby's childhood friend Shepheard who lives at Libby's estate. (There's logical reasons to this again thanks to the kindness of Libby's now deceased father). She manages to insert herself into the lives of Senator Wells and his family. And Greyson, who is now all grown up and super-hot.

 

Which presents a problem. Francis still of course remembers the ever growing twist of emotions and the butterflies and that fourteen year old Francis had for Grey. She knew it wasn't ever going to be straightforward, but you get the impression she wasn't prepared for the rush of feeling to get in the way. She's spent years pushing people away to get to this point for this plan. Emotions aren't supposed to have any part of it.

 

Lots of twisty turny ridiculous drama as Francis (as Libby) struggles to maintain her composure as things happen and people get more involved. A lot of it is eye roll inducing in its ridiculousness. Though the female detective involved is surprisingly competent and intelligent. (Yet another problem for Francis) though it was really nice to see that when law enforcement got involved wasn't something that was easily circumnavigated.

 

 I think quite possibly if I hadn't watched 'Revenge' I might have got very frustrated with this novel and not given it such a high rating. It was all very silly. But at the same time, a lot of fun.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1207517/review-daughter-of-deep-silence

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Review: Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between

Review:

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between - Jennifer E. Smith

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I really loved the first Jennifer E Smith book I read (This is What Happy Looks Like) which put the author on my must buy list. I requested this title not really expecting to be approved, then I was!

I read the first 10% or so, and admittedly it was a while before I picked it up again. When I picked it up again last Sunday I pretty much finished the whole thing in a few hours. Couldn't put it down.

A very enjoyable, sweet and moving story. A couple of high school sweethearts, Clare and Aidan about to go to separate colleges, miles and miles apart, try to decide should they stay together or should they break up and have a clean slate? Its their last night with their friends and classmates as well. Clare has a plan to visit all the memorable places of their relationship before the night is over.

Though you kind of get the impression from the get go that she has already made up her mind what to do. She's the organized one of the pair, while Aidan appears to have a more go with the flow nature. The depth of emotion and feelings the two have for each other is evident as the story progresses. Of course nothing goes according to The List or Clare's plan. There's sweet, romantic bits as you learn from little flashbacks about the relationship and why the places she wants to visit matter. There are twists and turns as unexpected drama occurs and they battle with the answer to the inevitable question - to break up or stay together?

Drama of course thrown in from family members, though mostly on Aidan's side when something about his college applications comes to light. It gets a little silly in the drama thrown in at places, its like if something going to go wrong - its going to majorly wrong. But then again, its balanced out by some funny stuff as well.

The story is quite moving in parts, and a few chapters made my eyes water as Clare and Aidan try to figure out what's important to them and where to go from here. Pleased to say its not predictable in the slightest and had, at least for me, a surprising conclusion.

A quick read, but a very enjoyable one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for approving my request to view this title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1205543/review-hello-goodbye-and-everything-in-between

Monday 20 July 2015

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Review:

Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

I tried reading this one last year during an Anna and the French Kiss reread in preparation for Isla's release. Didn't get much past the first 50 pages or so, just wasn't feeling it. I've reread Anna 3 times now, so I figured I would give Lola another chance.

I'm glad I did because second time round I really liked the book. Don't know what was wrong with me the first time. Second read I read it in two days flat. Couldn't put it down. Lola can be irritating, and her attitude can be grating. I think mostly what annoyed me the first time round was even though for the most part of the book Lola has a much older boyfriend, Max, you know she's going to wind up with Cricket by the end. I almost get the impression you're set up as a reader not to like Max (who is a total jackass but he's in a band and supposed to be cool, blah!) you're meant to root for the sweet sensitive boy next door. While that previously annoyed me, second read I got over it and just let myself get lost in the story.

Its...quieter in a way than Anna's story was. While the emotional turmoil of the OMG what am I doing do I like Cricket or should I stick with Max...it wasn't quite so dramatic as the previous book. I'm not even sure what it was that made it a softer novel. The mix of feelings and character depth was just as good in the end. I think in this one there was a lot more character depth as Lola's story progresses.

Lola's fashion sense is quite original in that she wears lots of outrageous costumes and wigs. And gets teased quite a bit over it. But she's very true to her own sense of self, but called out on it a few times, is she hiding her real self in sparkles, glitz and glamour?

Cricket Bell, the love interest, is one of the quiet types. Science loving, sweet and adorably awkward. He's liked Lola for years but his family mostly focuses their attention on his champion figure skater sister Calliope (who is kind of a bitch and jealous of his friendship with Lola) so he's torn between his loyalty to his sister and his feelings for Lola.

You just know when Lola and Cricket try this we'll be friends cause she has a boyfriend its never going to be that simple (short book if it was!) but it was sweet watching them juggle their emotions and figure out who wants want.

So the plot was predictable, but good characters made the novel enjoyable. So I'm glad a gave it a second chance.

Square crossed off for my Story Sprites challenge - Set in California.
 
 

 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1204997/review-lola-and-the-boy-next-door

Review: Second Chance Summer

Review:

Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson

I took this book on holiday with me expecting some gentle summer fluff.

Started out pretty much that way. Reasonably likable characters. Wasn't overly blown away by the main character, Taylor who seemed like your fairly average teenager forced to spend a summer with her family under some tough circumstances. She admits a few times that they weren't the closest family. Everyone had different schedules and interest and it looked like they didn't spend much time together. I liked the way this changed throughout the novel as things progressed and the characters grew closer together.

There was a side plot of Taylor becoming reacquainted with friends from her childhood summers who lived in the town where their summer house is all year round. Something happened when they were kids and had a big falling out with her two friends Lucy and Henry. There are flashback scenes from the summer the big drama happened and some emotional turmoil as how it affects Taylor currently on top of what's happening with her family. And a romance developing as well between Taylor and Henry.

Summer life in the small lakeside community was enjoyable to read about, in spite of the drama and family hardships. Beautiful setting and easy to picture.

For the most part, the majority of this book was an enjoyable, summer beach read. I was not prepared for the ugly crying at the end!! Given the premise of the book, you know its going to happen. I just wasn't expecting it to be so heart wrenching! Bittersweet, and very moving. Even with the heartache, a very well written, highly recommended read.

Square crossed off for Summer Bookish Bingo - A Beach Read (I did actually read this by the beach - by a pool over looking the beach/sea. Close enough.)

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1204992/review-second-chance-summer

Saturday 18 July 2015

Review: Kissing in America

Review:

Kissing in America - Margo Rabb

This was a bit of coverlust for me. I didn't really give the blurb much more than a glance other than knowing it was something to do with a road trip and a girl who loved romance novels. I was surprised about how thoughtful and moving it was.

 

Eva is struggling with the devastating loss of her father and hides in romance novels. Her mother is a firm feminist who seems to mostly roll her eyes at the romance novels her daughter loves and buries herself in her work. Eva seems very sheltered. Her character growth is pretty incredible. She meets a boy from her high school through a school programme where they are both tutors. They develop a great camaraderie. Eva has a delightful tone of voice, sort of snarky but at the same time, she's nice and very likeable. Her best friend Amy is there for her and at her side throughout pretty much everything as a best friend should be instead of colorful YA windowdressing. Amy is incredibly  smart and Eva writes poetry. Amy not so into romance novels.Despite their differences they are a great team together. 

 

The loss of Eva's father is heart wrenching, especially when you learn more about what happened to him. I've come across so many YA novels with dead or a missing/uninvolved parent which just seem to be more a plot point to gain sympathy for the main character or just to give them more freedom (its almost feels like, let's get rid of one parent the other can bury themselves in work and give the teen heroine the freedom to fall in love or save the world or whatever the plot may be). In this case the grief worked in so deep and profound, its considerate and very moving to learn how Eva and her mother cope so differently and how it affects some of Eva's decisions. 

 

Her budding romance with Will is sweet as she is constantly comparing it to the romance novels she reads whilst trying to work out her own feelings. What happens in romance novels is not really how it works. There's some good funny imaginative parts where she imagines how her relationship with Will would read as if it was happening in a novel. But when Will moves across country to California things change.

 

So...with Amy's help and the help of a reality TV show they apply to be on, they manage to convince their parents to let them travel to Los Angeles to be on the TV show (and Eva thinks she can see Will while she's there). Nothing goes according to plan, they wind up with Eva's over protective Aunt, some relatives of Eva's mother's boyfriend, and some of Amy's relatives. The road trip is a lot of fun as they travel from city to city via the bus and meet an assortment of different people on the way.

 

We learn more about Eva's father, there's a great deal of drama with Eva's mother and her boyfriend.  Of course, when they finally do reach Los Angeles nothing goes according to plan and Eva makes some pretty stupid decisions which have some consequences on her friendship with Amy. 

 

By the end, a realistic, sensible conclusion was reached. Very deep and moving. (It made me cry a little). Some of the drama was a little over the top, but over all the novel was very well written. Great characterization, enjoyable voices, and very moving. 

 

Crosses off a Square for Bookish Bingo Summer 2015 - Young adult

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1204101/review-kissing-in-america

Review: The Kiss of Deception

Review:

The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson

I tried reading this book at some point last year, but didn't get more than five or six chapters in. It wasn't necessarily a bad book or anything, I just wasn't in the mood for it. So when I picked it up again, I started from the beginning, rather than picking up from where i left off. The second time I read much more and absolutely fell in love with the book. 

This fantasy novel has some of the most beautiful and vivid landscaping I have seen in a long time. The world building was incredible and I loved the characters. The characters are each distinct in their own personalities whether they are likeable or not, each one is full of life and captivating in their own unique ways. The writing goes through ups and downs, bringing out different emotions from the vivid descriptions of the landscape to the inner turmoil of its love triangle. 

The love triangle did get rather annoying as the main character, Lia was constantly unable to decide between the two boys, the price or the assassin, of course she has no idea which is which. (Though I will admit I did cheat on this one and read the last few pages so I knew which was which). There were parts of the plot that did drag and become a little tedious towards the middle. Despite the things I found annoying about the love triangle, the characters are so well constructed it was easy to over look and want to know what's going to happen (even if it was slow and dragging in the plot).

The world building is richly developed, its own mythology and languages and religion are so clearly defined its easy to loose yourself in. Lia herself is one of the most memorable heroines I have come across in a long time. Starting off as a spoiled princess selfishly running away from her wedding day (a political match made by her father) she has tremendous character growth as she sheds her princess identify and finds life and work in a small sleepy seaside village with the help of her best friend Pauline. She really was pretty amazing in how she handles everything that's thrown at her. Even if she does get annoying in regards to the love triangle. Her strength and loyalty to Pauline and her the people who help her on her journey made her even more endearing. 

While the plot certainly had its problems, and it did take a long time to get through, i still really loved it. 

Crosses off a square for my Bookish Bingo Summer 2015 square - Multi POV.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1203885/review-the-kiss-of-deception