Review: Our Chemical Hearts

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

This was one of those delightful books that I loved almost as soon as I started reading. A bit of cover lust as well (I loved the big fish on the front) I’ve not come across a lot of YA romantic/drama types from a male point of view before.

 

I was captivated immediately by Henry’s tone of voice and personality. I liked all of the characters in this one, except for Grace Town. I didn’t really like her much at all. But I really enjoyed the narrative and the build of the relationship and how she came into Henry’s world. Henry also had a great support system, some wonderful friends and some likeable parents, an older sister with a bit of a reputation as a troublemaker from when she was at school which had some lingering effects on Henry’s teachers (even though Henry and his sister are nothing alike, and the sister was kind of awesome too).

 

Grace Town comes in dressed in weird boys’ clothes looking very dull and while everyone stares she immediately gets Henry’s attention. They both end up working on the school newspaper with one of Henry’s other friends and develop a sort of tentative friendship, despite the fact that their personalities are very different. Henry is quippy and quirky while Grace is sullen and quiet and seems very brash. Yet Henry’s head over heels for her very quickly.

 

There’s one brilliant scene where Henry and his friend are asking the school gossip queen to dig up some information for them on Grace, and Henry’s friend Murray is looking for gossip on his ex who he’s trying to win back. And Murray actually uses The Simpsons quote “Everything’s coming up Millhouse” quote in the right context and it’s absolutely hilarious. The use of that quote alone was worth five stars.

 

As things progress and Henry learns more about Grace and gets to know her better, there’s parties, drinking, misinterpretation of feelings - do they love me do they not -– the usual things you find in teen romantic drama. A bit of sex as well which was handled very well. Nicely thought out and dealt with from both people involved considerate of each other and where they want to be.

 

It’s exceptionally well written and manages to go from being romantic and sweet to angsty and dramatic without being over the top. When you think things are going smoothly, it twists and becomes deeply emotional and made me sniffle a few times towards the end. It’s got a great cast of diverse characters, each character is fully developed with their own distinct personalities and storylines, interactive parents and family members. And manages to be both funny and hearbreaking and wraps up with a believable conclusion.

 

I loved this so much I purchased a finished copy before I was even half way through. Definitely something I can see myself reading again.

 

Thank you Netgalley and Bonnier Publishing for approving my request to view the title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1474901/review-our-chemical-hearts

Review: The Night Parade

Review:

 

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

It’s been a while since I read a really good horror novel, and this one caught my attention whilst browsing through Netgalley. Viruses that wipe out the world stories kind of leave me apprehensive in that it will either wind up focusing on zombies or be far too like Stephen King’s The Stand. This book stood out on its own merit.

 

I think what was so great about this one was that the main character, David, was just an ordinary guy. He wasn’t trying to save the world or find a cure or save his town. His wife had died under mysterious circumstances, and government doctors looking for a cure for the virus were supposedly involved. His main concern is to save his daughter.

 

David is a likeable guy because he’s a normal guy. A regular family man who works as an English professor with a wife and a smart small child. As the novel progresses and you learn the circumstances of how the virus stared told in flashback chapters, and the where David is now – on the run from the government, trying to debate how much to confess to his daughter.  The daughter Ellie, appears to be quite apathetic about the whole thing. She appears to be very quiet and very intelligent. At eight nearly nine she’s very well spoken, very well behaved and seems remarkably mature as things go from bad to worse as she and her dad try to find somewhere to hide. David has a brother, Tim, who lives “off the grid” who comes in to help at some point.

 

The tension is well written, the scenes are pretty damn creepy as David and Ellie go from town to town meeting a variety of scary people and towns all virus effected. Ellie starts to exhibit strange powers and there’s hints that her mother knew and possibly could have had them too only the government got to the mom first. The flashback chapters tell how everything started – and it’s completely believable which makes it even more tense and uncomfortable in parts.

 

As it goes on, it’s completely unpredictable as well. And as a reader I found myself really caring about David and Ellie and hoping they made it out okay. You get a sort of sense of how on earth is this going to wind up comfortably for everyone? But it’s a realistic horror novel. A happy ending isn’t necessary. The end was again well done and believable in keeping with the tone of the novel. It didn’t go down in a rush of stupid action. It built up to a dramatic conclusion left very open ended.

(It actually made me sniffle a bit).

 

I would really like to see a sequel following on from this one. Definitely an author I would read again.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for approving my request to view the title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1473640/review-the-night-parade

Story Sprites Round 5 Complete

 

Another round of Story Sprites complete. This was a tougher than it looked. 

 

Pink Path

2016 Fantasy- Ruined by Amy Tintera - 3 stars
Gay Female MC - Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler - 3 stars
Character with Physical Deformity - Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto - 4 stars
Novel with Fire and/or Ice Theme - A Frozen Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick - 4 Stars

 

Yellow Path

Fairytale Retelling Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige - 1 star
Villain Turned Good- Girl of Nigtmares by Kendare Blake - 3 stars
Book Cover with a Face - The Reader by Traci Chee - 5 Stars
Book with a Fantasy Land - Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes - 4 stars

 

Green Path

Historical Standalone - Stone Field by Christy Lenz - 2 stars
By an Author or Color - Pasadena by Sherri L Smith - 4 stars
Setting: An American Chinatown - Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee - 5 stars
Female Empowerment as a Theme - Girl Against The Universe by Paula Stokes - 5 stars

 

Blue Path

Classic Horror - The Shining by Stephen King - 5 Stars
Vigilante MC - The Society by Jodie Andrefski - 3 stars
Book with Vampires Betrayed (House of Night #2) PC & Kristen Cast - 3 stars
Classic Rewritten Monsters - Romeo and Juliet and Vampires by Claudia Gabel 2 stars

 

Purple Path

Setting: 19th Century - These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly - 4 stars
Book by Deceased Author I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan - 3 stars
No Romance - The Smaller Evil by Stephanie Kuehn - 5 stars
Book with a Shipwreck - Titanic The Long Night by Diane Hoh - 5 stars

 

Best Books

Girl Against the Universe, Outrun the Moon, Titanic The Long Night, The Shining, Pasadena,  The Smaller Evil, The Reader

 

Worst Books

Stealing Snow, Romeo and Juliet and Vampires, Stone Field

 

Honorable Mentions

Revenge and the Wild, These Shallow Graves, Falling Kingdoms, Read Me Like a Book, Ruined, A Frozen Heart

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1469333/story-sprites-round-5-complete

DNF: Paper and Fire

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

I was really looking forward to this sequel. I had pre ordered a paperback copy, and took a chance when I saw it pop up on Netgalkey thinking I most likely wouldn't get approved but then I did and it was like OMG YES!!!!!!! I was so excited when I got approved for this one. 

 

However, it's a case of I can barely remember anything about the first book, I vaguely remember the world building and remember that I absolutely loved it, but barely anything about the plot. And that is making the second one quite confusing, I like what I read of it,m but it's been over a month since I last picked it up and I'm completely lost with who some of these characters are and where they came in in the first one. 

 

What at I will do at some point in the near future is read the first one again and then follow on immediately with the second one, cause I really do like this series and want to know more about these characters. Just not feeling it at the moment. 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for approving my request to view the title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1469261/dnf-paper-and-fire

DNF: This Savage Song

Review:

Managed 141 pages but I'm bored. This book is not getting my attention at all. The world building is divided territories and monsters and the two factions who are in charge. Kate is the daughter of the baddie and August is the son of the goodie. The setting is bleak and dark, and whole Kate is a reasonably interesting character trying to prove she belongs at her father's side in charge and not shoved away in boarding schools, I'm finding August very dull and a woe is me type. Just not interested in where this is going.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1468710/dnf-this-savage-song

DNF: King Slayer

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

Snagged a copy with auto approval from Hatchette Children's on Netgalley as I remember quite liking the first book and being interested enough to know what happens next. Problem I have is I can't actually remember anything about the plot of the first book and I haven't got a clue what's going on in what I've read of the second one. It's not a bad book by any means, it's just confusing as hell. And at the moment I don't feel like re reading the first one. It's certainly something I may do at a later date, and then pick up the second one as I purchased a paperback copy, but not at the moment. So DNFing.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1466054/dnf-king-slayer

DNF: The Loneliness of Distant Beings

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

Something I snagged with auto approval from Hatchette Children's Books on Netgalley. I'm not that fond of sci-fi books, they're often a hit or a miss for me. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. Unfortunately this title was a miss for me. I gave it 100 pages, but I'm so bored with this book the thought of reading more makes me cringe and my eyes roll.

It's an interesting idea, Seren lives on a spaceship as part of a special mission group of people that's flying out of our solar system to find a new place for people to live, downside is it will take seven hundred plus years to go there. The people who live on the ship follow a set pattern plan and everything is determined for them by a system that's gone on for many many years. Education - two years of manual labour then a speciality. And a computer will tell you who you will marry and procreate with. It's all done by science, no need for romance and no one particularly cares if you don't like the person you're chosen to be with.

Seren hates her life. She's bored out her brains, moody and sulky. Given the circumstances, it's sort of understandable. However, she was so boring, had such a lack of personality and her everything sucks, dismissive of everything and everyone around her got very tiring very quickly. She hates the life partner chosen for her. She thinks her older sister who's happy with her match and her life partner is an idiot. Basically everyone's stupid but her is the impression I got. Then she meets Domingo at the doctor's office one day and he's the best looking thing she has ever seen and just like that she's madly madly in love with him after they spend one afternoon. She's willing to now break every rule she's ever learned to spend time with this guy. Who may have feelings for her but doesn't quite know.

It was a case of insta-love that in this occasion just didn't work for me. I don't like the characters at all, I don't have any desire to know how this all works out. Not for me.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1464859/dnf-the-loneliness-of-distant-beings