Review: How To Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras

Publication Date: November 3^rd 2015
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
Length: 288 pages

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

An emotional contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and having the courage to chase the life you truly want.
Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.

Something about this book just didn’t click with me, so whilst I saw a huge amount of love for it before I started and I was expecting to love it myself, we never really hit it off.

At the start of the novel I was engaged, interested in these characters and their problems and I loved the idea of the living with no fear list – all things combining to set up a truly great novel. But then it starts to drift. Georgia starts to smoke, do drugs, skip school, and all in the name of her mother’s memory and this list of living with no fear. She acts as though what she’s doing is living, when she’s actually just throwing it all away. Whilst she does realise how badly she’s screwed up later in the novel it felt like too little too late after the borderline glorification of taking drugs etc. that occurs throughout.

With the drugs everything seems to spiral and it turns into a very different novel to the one I started out reading. It loses focus, it drifts, Georgia spends a lot of time isolating and feeling sorry for herself and sabotaging her life and it’s frustrating to read. It also serves to make Georgia come across as extremely unlikeable as she blames her dead mother for the fact that she forced her to live without fear – to do this list in the first place. At no point does Georgia’s mother force her to create this list, or to do anything on it. It’s an interpretation of her wishes that Georgia devises and then spends a good portion of the novel being angry about. As a result my empathy for her decreased sharply and by the end I really didn’t care for her at all.

Throw in a love story with a caricature of the hot guy from school who we never really get to know, or get to see and understand the attraction between them for the three scenes they have together, and I was more than a little grumpy by the end of the novel.

It has its good moments, some truly emotional scenes that had me feeling more than a little bit teary, but they aren’t enough to balance out the problematic aspects. Ultimately it’s a quick read that sadly lacks anything to truly make it shine.

Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Publication Date: September 1^st 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Length: 656 pages

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…
She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.
Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world. 

I am CONFLICTED right now, because I genuinely don’t know how to rate this one. On the one hand, I barely slept for the three days I was reading it, I couldn’t physically put the book down. It was tense and incredible and SO STRESSFUL TO READ, but IMENSELY AWESOME. (And yes, all of these caps locks are warranted.)

But then there were parts that didn’t work as well for me that make me feel like it can’t be a full spectacular five star read. So I’m gonna try and reason it all out and see if I have a clearer idea at the end of the review. Ready?

I loved this book. I was caught from the first page and I really couldn’t put it down. There were a couple of (ill-timed) moments where real life intruded and I was forced to leave the book to go out, but whenever I had a spare moment, it was back in my hands. I was in a near constant state of stress and tense panic (seriously, just go look at my Goodreads status updates) and it was GLORIOUS. 

I was so invested, so immersed in the story and it was so wonderful to just fall into it and escape real life for a while. It doesn’t happen with every book where I actually just forget everything else, and the books it does are my favourites, because I love getting lost in a book. I love being so desperate to return that I shove aside all other life and responsibilities and just burrow down with the story in my armchair.

I have loved seeing how Aelin has matured and grown over the course of the series, it’s been such a transformation and so good to watch, and see both her and those around her develop. Nowhere was that more apparent in this book than with her relationship with Lysandra which was pure gold. Their interactions, the friendship, and Lysandra herself. I have a new favourite, and boy is she sassy.

Lysandra heaved a sigh. "Oh, thank the gods. Now I can talk to someone about clothes without being asked how so-and-so would approve of it, or gobble down a box of chocolates without someone telling me I'd better watch my figure -- tell me you like chocolates. You do, right? I remember stealing a box from your room once when you were out killing someone. They were delicious."
Aelin waved a hand toward the boxes of goodies on the table. "You brought chocolate -- as far as I'm concerned, you're my new favourite person."

I also really love Manon. I know her sections have divided people – some love her, some really don’t and begrudge her the time she takes away from Aelin and co. But I happen to fall into the former camp. She’s fascinated me right from the start, so the additional time spent with her in this book made me extremely happy. Admittedly her sections were a lot slower and did drag the pacing down a bit, which was a shame, but I still really enjoyed this fresh perspective from such a different corner of the war and world.

Sure ok there were a few issues with pacing, which I will be addressing more in a moment when I talk about the issues, but on the whole OH WOW. Like I said, this book was tense, I could not put it down. Particularly in several of the really big everything is kicking off and how on earth can anyone survive any of this?! scenes. The writing was like a well oiled machine, flipping from character to character together to create one breath taking whole. I was manically tearing through pages to find out what would happen, and that is a sign of a truly incredible book.

Now let’s talk issues. First off, the one that is making an appearance in a lot of reviews at the moment, Chaol. What even happened?! Did he have a personality transplant between ‘Heir of Fire’ and this book?! The Chaol that appeared within these pages was not the Chaol of the last three books that I fell in love with, and I spent most of the book wanting to either smack him or shake him. He was an absolute arse, awful and horrible and mean and yeah sure he went through some bad things at the end of the last book, but REALLY, could he have been any different and worse?! So anytime he showed up and started snarking at Aelin, the book dropped down to a four star read.

It was also such a shame to see Chaol and Dorian reduced to such bit parts. I could understand it to a certain extent with Dorian, but they were both characters I really love in this series, so to see them reduced and butchered like that was really upsetting. And for what? To try and persuade people that this new shiny romance is the way to go? I was on board with this romance already, I didn’t need this character assassination to persuade me, and in fact I’m grumpier now as a result of that than I was before.

And the boys territorial, over protective attitude towards Aelin?! WHAT EVEN? Boys, she’s done just fine without you before now, and yes ok you’ll be very useful now but stop trying to restrict her and being complete and utter poops in the process. Sit in the corner and think about your attitudes!

My final issue was Elide. She was interesting, yes, but not interesting enough to warrant that much time being spent on her. It really dragged some of the story down and reduced the pace to a snails crawl, which considering how well paced I found the rest of the book was a shame. I think she has potential to be a really interesting player in the next instalment, but her introduction here was handled badly and proved to be a bit of a dead weight on the rest of the story.

So lots of truly brilliant awesome things, but then a handful of giant grumposaurus problems that really threw a spanner in my joy, adoration, and feverish reading. On the one hand, this book was amazing, on the other hand WHAT EVEN HAPPENED IN SOME OF THAT.

You see my problem and conflict?

I think I’m just going to have to put this as a four star read and consider it to be four and a half really.

This is a truly incredible instalment in the series. It won’t be for everyone, and the problems I’ve talked about, whilst grumps for me, will probably be enough to put some people off this series for good. However I still loved the book, it was a fantastic read, brilliantly written on the whole and more than satisfying. My love for this series is alive and well and I cannot wait for the next book – it’s going to be a long year. Now I just need to not spoil anything whilst Husband finishes reading it…

Review: Drowning is Inevitable by Shalanda Stanley

Publication Date: September 8^th 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House
Length: 288 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Olivia has spent her whole life struggling to escape her dead mother’s shadow. But when her father can’t even look at her because Olivia reminds him of her mother, and her grandmother mistakenly calls her “Lillian,” shaking a reputation she didn’t ask for is next to impossible. Olivia is used to leaning on her best friend, Jamie; her handsome but hot-tempered boyfriend, Max; and their wild-child friend, Maggie, for the reality check that her small Louisiana town can’t provide. But when a terrible fight between Jamie and his father turns deadly, all Olivia can think to do is grab her friends and run. 
In a flash, Olivia, Jamie, Max, and Maggie become fugitives on the back roads of Louisiana. They’re headed to New Orleans, where they hope to find a solution to an unfixable problem. But with their faces displayed on all the news stations, their journey becomes a harrowing game of hide-and-seek from the police—and so-called allies, who just might be the real enemy.

This was a heartbreakingly beautiful book. The kind where I had to go back and re-read whole paragraphs because of how lyrically beautiful they were and I knew I hadn’t fully appreciated them the first time. The kind stuffed with lines and quotes that resonate deep inside whilst you’re reading.

It’s a gorgeous book about friendship and family and the ties between all of them. The heart and soul of the book for me, without question, was the relationship between Olivia and Jamie. I loved the descriptions, the way they interacted with each other and the relationship that was both there at the beginning of the novel and evolved throughout.
I also adored the relationship between Olivia and the memory of her mother, and her relationship with her father. They were such interesting concepts and they were explored in such beautiful ways.

Despite everything that happens within the book, it remains a quiet story, one suffused with longing, for the past, for the future, for people both there and not, and for an elusive idea of a life that can never be. In short, it’s beautiful.

However despite how much I loved the relationship between the four of them, and particularly the relationship between Olivia and Jamie, I never really connected with Max and Maggie in the same way. Max particularly just didn’t work for me – probably because he walks the fine line between loving and terrifying and just slightly abusive and I have known Max’s in my life and characters like him just don’t appeal to me anymore as romantic leads. I also felt like we never really got to know him or Maggie in the same way, they felt almost like superfluous padding to the group, which was a shame. I wanted to know them they intrigued me, and I felt cheated that we didn’t get to see more of them.

So whilst this was a haunting and beautiful book, it didn’t quite fully immerse me in the story as I’d been hoping it would. It is still one of the top contemporaries I’ve read this year and if you enjoy quietly lyrical stories suffused with sadness and hope then this is a definite must read.

Review: Monsters by Emerald Fennell

Publication Date: September 3^rd 2015
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Length: 288 pages

Thanks to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

A blackly comic tale about two children you would never want to meet. 
Set in the Cornish town of Fowey, all is not as idyllic as the beautiful seaside town might seem. The body of a young woman is discovered in the nets of a fishing boat. It is established that the woman was murdered. Most are shocked and horrified. But there is somebody who is not - a twelve-year-old girl. She is delighted; she loves murders. Soon she is questioning the inhabitants of the town in her own personal investigation. But it is a bit boring on her own. Then Miles Giffard, a similarly odd twelve-year-old boy, arrives in Fowey with his mother, and they start investigating together. Oh, and also playing games that re-enact the murders. Just for fun, you understand... 
A book about two twelve-year-olds that is definitely not for kids.

The blurb intrigued me, but sadly it seemed to vastly over-estimate the comedy in this book. It wasn’t a dark comic tale, it was just dark. And twisted. And quite frankly horrific in places.

I am obviously not the intended audience, but with characters that have no redeeming qualities and aren’t even remotely likeable I’m struggling to work out who the intended audience might be. It’s most definitely not a story for children, but the voice (despite intended to be a thirteen year old girl) comes across as that of an eight year old, so it’s not quite the right fit for adults either.

As I said the characters have no redeeming qualities. They’re dark and twisted and horrible. The subject matter tackled is at times utterly horrific. Trigger warnings for rape, sexual abuse, paedophilia, emotionally and physically abusive relationships and death. All things that are good to see tackled in fiction, but not in this throwaway fashion. The handling of the subject material was what I objected to most and I ended up feeling physically ill at several points in the book.

Why did I keep reading you ask? Well a) it was a short book, b) I had some vague hope of a good ending (spoiler alert, it’s not satisfying in the slightest) and c) it was kind of like watching a car accident, or when you accidentally start watching a horror movie and you can’t turn it off.

The writing is good though, which is a strange contrast to the subject matter. So if nothing else, it is definitely well written, it just really was not the book for me. It’s not one I would recommend, and I had to scrub my brain clean with another book before even attempting to sleep after finishing this one.

Review: Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

Publication Date: 7^th May 2015
Publisher: Gollancz
Length: 320 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Gollancz for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Welcome to Midnight, Texas.
It's a quiet little town, perched at the junction between Davy Road and Witch Light Road, and it's easy to miss. With its boarded-up windows, single traffic light and sleepy air, there's nothing special about Midnight . . . which is exactly how the residents like it.
So when the news comes that a new owner plans to renovate the run-down, abandoned old hotel in town, it's not met with pleasure. Who would want to come to Midnight, with its handful of shops, the Home Cookin diner, and quiet residents - and why?
But there are bigger problems in the air. When Manfred Bernado, the newest resident in town, is swept up in a deadly investigation suddenly the hotel and its residents are the least of the towns concern. The police, lawyers and journalists are all headed to Midnight, and it's the worst possible moment…

Even though ‘Midnight Crossroad’ and I didn’t get off to the best start, I ended up storming straight through the book in one sitting and came out the other side absolutely loving it and desperate to get back to Midnight to know more. So when I realised the second book in the series was almost upon us I jumped straight back into the sleepy little piece of Texas that is filled with supernatural goings on.

This instalment didn’t flow quite as well for me as the first one. The narrative style is very jarring in places and will put some people off more than others. In the prologues of both books I’ve found it almost too frustrating to get through, but then it eases off into the narrative of the rest of the book and I found myself able to ignore the clunky sections. However the clunky sections were a lot more apparent in this novel, so there where quite a few points where the over complex, telling the reader everything instead of showing them, became more than a little frustrating.

It was also frustrating for this narrative to be less focussed on the characters of Midnight. They were there at the outskirts, but there wasn’t the same concentration as in the first book. Everything was taken up with the murder mystery surrounding Manfred and the actual folk of Midnight are left hanging. The murder mystery was interesting, but it feels like it is tied up far too simply towards the end of the book – almost as though the author became bored. Everything is suddenly poofed into being ok again.
There are so many threads of story and backstory that are picked up, toyed with and then discarded. It felt like a very bitty novel that didn’t really get into the stories that it was trying to at the start.

It’s still a very good and involving story, and I whipped through it in a matter of hours. I loved the time spent at Midnight, I loved finding out a little more about the residents – although it felt as though more questions were raised than answered. I did miss the time spent in the close knit community though – the dinners at Home Cookin’ and the time in Fiji’s shop and the pawnshop. I’m hoping that the next instalment will take us back to the roots of the first book and really get into the mysteries that have been left unsolved from this book and let the characters drive the book again.

If you’re a fan of Charlaine Harris’ other books, or indeed loved the first book then definitely check this one out, although you won’t find quite such a satisfying story it is still a fantastic instalment and sets more up for the third book. If you’re thinking of trying out Charlaine’s books for the first time I definitely recommend starting with the first book ‘Midnight Crossroad’ and be warned that sometimes the writing style can be a little frustrating and awkward, but get past that and you won’t regret it. Midnight is waiting to welcome you in.

Review: The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

Publication Date: 29th January 2015

Huge thanks to Random House UK for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

And these are they. My final moments. They say a warrior must always be mindful of death, but I never imagined that it would find me like this…
Japanese teenager, Sora, is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Lonely and isolated, Sora turns to the ancient wisdom of the samurai for guidance and comfort. But he also finds hope in the present; through the internet he finds friends that see him, not just his illness. This is a story of friendship and acceptance, and testing strength in an uncertain future.

I should probably be upfront that Sarah is in fact a very dear friend of mine, so whilst I would be gushing about this book already simply on its own merit, the fact that it was written by Sarah just makes it even more awesome.

There is a big surge of diverse young adult fiction hitting the shelves which is a welcome breath of fresh air, and Sora’s tale set in modern Japan is no exception. Add to it that the story itself tackles death, euthanasia and features a disabled protagonist and ‘The Last Leaves Falling’ quickly sets itself apart as something other than your average YA fiction. The truth is it is so much more.

Sora is a tragic and compelling protagonist, at times buoyed up by those around him, sometimes sinking underneath the weight of inevitability, but his narrative had me racing through the book. It is a quiet, raw tale full of the tragic sense of time crashing too fast that comes with such a story, but that in no way hinders the storytelling, or makes it feel like a waste of a book. The prose is so beautifully constructed that you are at once struck with the inevitable end, desperate for any way to alleviate it, but knowing that there is nothing that can be done except to be with Sora through his journey and listen to his story.

The cast of characters that surround him really lift the tale up, injecting it with moments of humour and lightness in amongst the dark. I loved watching Sora slowly begin to let his friends in, to allow them to see him and then to form such a strong support system with them. It truly turned the story from a quiet dirge into something filled with quiet beauty. I loved the additional threads of their own separate stories, each of the three trying to tackle their own problems and drawing strength from the others when it all became too much.

Yes it tackles hard issues, but Sarah handles them with a deft grace that leaves the reader enthralled by the story and utterly wrecked by the emotions within. It is tragic but underpinned with lightness and a feeling that all is not lost, no matter how dark things can get. Quiet hope and dignity suffuse the decisions and actions as Sora comes to terms with himself and the legacy that he will leave.

This book stayed with me well beyond turning the last page. I had questions and thoughts and took quite some time to process through all the issues raised and feelings brought into question by Sora’s tale.

Mixed into all of this, Sarah captures the everyday internet culture that almost all teens are used to these days – something that is strangely left untouched in most books. I loved watching with Sora these teens go about their daily lives, the issues and heartaches that all feel as though they are life and death at the time. It’s something that everyone can relate to, either because they themselves are going through it or they’ve been through it in the past. But at the same time the Japanese culture creeps in and it was so wonderful to see those little touches that marked this book out from so many generic UK and US teen stories. It was like looking in a slightly skewed mirror, the same but so many little differences that make it unique – the mythology and culture and little details that really brought this tale into full technicolour.

This book will destroy you. It will creep into your mind and your heart and your soul and it will slowly pull you apart piece by piece until by the time you reach the last page you are an uncontrollable sobbing wreck. I thought this might just be me, but just look at some of the reviews already springing up about Last Leaves and you’ll see that everyone is having this reaction. It is an incredible book, an important book, and the one book that I will be saying to everyone, if you only read one book this year, let it be this one.

You can read my interview with Sarah here

And find her on Twitter here!

Buy your copy from Amazon or The Book Depository now!

Other great reviews for 'The Last Leaves Falling':

Queen of Contemporary

Serendipity Reviews

Fluttering Butterflies

Thirst for Fiction

Review: Now is Good (Formerly 'Before I Die') by Jenny Downham

Huge thanks to Random House for giving me a copy to review

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

With the up-coming release of the film, ‘Before I Die’ has been given a brand new look, and a brand new title to correspond with the film title ‘Now is Good.’
I’m not going to lie, I cried like a small child reading this book. It’s not an easy read, nor is it particularly cheerful, but it is incredible.

There is very little I can say about the book that hasn’t been said before. It’s an incredibly powerful book, emotional and engrossing, and the fact that the ending is known before even starting the book in no way diminishes the impact.

Tessa is an incredible character, she’s strong and feisty and determined, but she’s also incredibly angry at times which could have made her less likeable, but I just found that it made her even more realistic and I warmed to her more – who wouldn’t be angry in her situation?

Her desperate search to cram as much life as possible into the time left to her wraps the reader up and completely immerses them in her impulsive and frenetic struggle to truly feel alive.

It’s a tragically beautiful story that celebrates and mourns the fragility of life, and every important aspect of it – love, family and friendships.

 “I love you. I love you. I send this message through my fingers and into his, up his arm and into his heart. Hear me. I love you. And I'm sorry to leave you.”

The film will be released on September 19^th 2012, and I strongly recommend going to see it. The trailer looks amazing, but I’m certainly going to be taking a box of tissues with me…

Review: Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

Huge thanks to Random House for sending me a copy to review

When does obsession become madness? Tragedy has forced sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein to swear off alchemy forever. He burns the Dark Library. He vows he will never dabble in the dark sciences again—just as he vows he will no longer covet Elizabeth, his brother’s betrothed.
If only these things were not so tempting.
When he and Elizabeth discover a portal into the spirit world, they cannot resist. Together with Victor’s twin, Konrad, and their friend Henry, the four venture into a place of infinite possibilities where power and passion reign. But as they search for the knowledge to raise the dead, they unknowingly unlock a darkness from which they may never return.

One of my favourite books from last year was ‘This Dark Endeavour’ the prequel of Victor Frankenstein’s life,  featuring a brooding young Victor and his twin Konrad, and an insatiable appetite to discover the darker elements of this world.

It was brilliant, a fantastic mix of the real and the fantastical all packaged up with a ton of gothic horror that left me with goose bumps.
And now we’re treated to the sequel! And I was terrified that it wouldn’t live up to the high standard set by the first book, but it really does.

Oppel has taken all the brilliance of the first book and distilled it into an even more thrilling ride for the second instalment. His imagination continues to completely astound me, with some macabre and brilliant ideas all coalescing into a fantastical whole. The plot is absolutely phenomenal. I wasn’t quite sure how he could surpass the genius of the first book, but he truly does. We get to see a darker, grittier and harder edge to the world that seemed so magical in the first book, everything seems a little more desperate and a little wilder and as a result even more unpredictable. Anything could happen, and does.

There is perhaps not as much character development as I would have liked. Although we do get to see some fascinating moments. Henry really starts to come into his own in particular and I loved seeing him stand up and fight for himself like he didn’t in the first book. We saw hints of it, but it was never fully realized.

It was also good to see some of Elizabeth’s darker side start to creep through, although I didn’t feel as though it had been explored as much as it could have been.  I really hope that there is a third book and that we get to see more of this darker side come through in Elizabeth. She’s a character that fascinates me, and yet at the same time isn’t entirely likeable. None of the characters are exactly likeable, they are all incredibly selfish, and yet they are utterly fascinating as we see them try to muddle their way through what in that time period would have been considered abominations of faith.

Victor comes that little bit closer to the adult we know from ‘Frankenstein’ he’s got a sharpness to him and a desperation that were not so evident in the first book – after all now he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. We see him desperately trying to find the secret to resurrection and creating life.
I loved seeing Victor’s development in this book, we saw some of his darker aspects really come out to play this time in a way that we didn’t in the first book. We delved a little deeper into his psyche and see how the events shaped him, to the point that I really felt like that we were starting to see a little more of his humanity and vulnerability by the end of the book.

Oppel has really set himself up as a fantastic gothic fantasy novelist. He’s taken a concept and idea that people are familiar with and completely turned it onto its head. Victor as an adolescent is even more terrifying that Victor as an adult, there is a wildness to him that make this a thrilling ride right from the first page – definitely a book that I had to read with the light on!

For fans of the first book, this will surpass everything you could have imagined or dreamed of, and for fans of dark and twisting tales, this series is definitely one to read.

Review: Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Huge thanks to Mira Ink for sending me a copy to review.

I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...  Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...

Kaylee has grown so much over the course of the series. She smart and strong and desperately loyal to those she cares about. You’d think she’d be irritating with all of these good and selfless qualities, but actually she just remains one of my favourite heroines. It was heart breaking to see her try to come to terms with her death, with the barrier and differences that now separate her from her friends and family, and to deal with the abuse and heart ache from most of those so called friends following her incredibly traumatic death.

My only real complaint was that her death and the trauma that must have induced wasn’t fully explored I didn’t feel. We did get touches of it, particularly at the start of the book and from her Dad and Tod as well, but the lack of emotional response from her friends was shocking. I actually found that really hard to deal with on Kaylee’s behalf. To see how she fights for them and protects them and does everything in her power to save the day/situation/world and to see how she has grown and developed and overcome such horrific adversities (such as her own death) is just amazing to see. It’s turned her into a truly remarkable character, one that I will love coming back to again and again.

Speaking of remarkable characters, can we take a moment to just appreciate the sheer awesomeness of Tod?
He’s funny and sweet and kind and would actually do anything in the world to protect Kaylee. Which is more than we can say for some of the others… It was so good to see him get his chance to shine, and to see more of his character and discover more about him. He’s been such a fascinating character right from the start and I’m so glad we’re finally getting to see him shine.
And to see the hot make out scenes. Those are good to. Oh man Tod is so on my list of fictional boys I’d like to date.
And strangely the relationship and the foreverness doesn’t send me screaming for the hills as some others do. This feels natural – they’ve come to be friends, to care for each other, and to grow beyond that into something more. It was organic and believable and as a result I am well and truly on Team Tod & Kaylee. Taylee? Kod? I think I’m going to go with Team Kod.

It was great to see a new character make an appearance. Luca was a breath of fresh air and I can’t wait to see more of him and his abilities. Of course the added bonus of Luca is that we finally got to see a bit of a different side to Sophie, which has been a long time coming and I am so glad she’s included more now and we might get a chance to see her get a bit kick ass instead of being bitchy.

Nash really still got on my nerves, which is unsurprising given how I’ve felt about him for the last two books. His constant whining that he hated Kaylee for framing him for her murder (when she does manage to sort that and only did it in the first place to save the lives of two friends) was a little irritating to say the least. I am fascinated that Vincent has managed to create a character that I loved so much in the first two books, and then do a complete flip round on him to highlight all the negative elements of his personality. They were always there beneath the yummy exterior, it’s just how they’re coming to light now. It’s an incredible feat, and one I applaud her for – it certainly threw me as I watched him change over the course of the series – but unfortunately it doesn’t make me like him anymore.
I do however hope that there is still time for him to have a little redemption in the final book in the series.

Speaking of characters that make me want to beat my head against a brick wall, Sabine and I are still having a bit of a love hate relationship. I think she’s incredibly strong, and I admire her and really feel for her with some of the more emotional elements of her personality, but at the same time I still find her a little difficult with her constant blame placement on Kaylee, when Kaylee has actually done nothing to Sabine.

With the final book looming you can expect some pretty terrifying stuff to go down, and Vincent more than delivers. We still get the funny and fluffy moments, but they’re mixed in with the horrifying and downright scary ones too. Tough to imagine given how terrifying the whole series has been, but Vincent really ups the ante, and I was left gaping at the book when I reached the end. I was completely in shock, but it sets things up brilliantly for the final book in the series which I am now even more desperate to read.

Release Day: Fracture by Megan Miranda and Tempest by Julie Cross

The day has finally arrived when two very exciting débuts hit the shelves!
'Fracture' by Megan Miranda and 'Tempest' by Julie Cross are both released today, and are the first two books of a host of awesome ones set to release this year.


One involves sensing death, and the other time-travel - what's not to love?!


So go out and buy them now! Available from Amazon and book stores.


And congratulations to both Megan and Julie for writing some of the strongest début novels to kick off 2012! Happy Release Day! 


Fracture by Megan Miranda

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine
-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?
Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?


Tempest by Julie Cross


The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.
But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Review: Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Simon Van Booy brings to the page his unique talent for poetic dialogue and sumptuous imagery in this his remarkable debut novel of love and loss, dependence and independence. Rebecca has come to Athens to paint. Born and raised in the south of France, Rebecca's mother abandoned her and her sister when they were very young, left to be raised by her loving yet distant grandfather. Young and lost, she seeks solace in the heat of Athens. George has come to Athens to translate language. Dropped off at a New England boarding school when he was a child, he has close to no relationships with anyone, except the study of ancient language and alcohol. Henry has come to Athens to dig. An archaeologist, Henry is on-site at Athens during the day, and roams the Agora on the weekend. Three lost and lonely souls whose worlds become inexorable enmeshed with consequences that ripple far among the ruins of ancient Athens.

Simon Van Booy has a beautiful way with prose that left me in tears at some points when reading his two short story collections ‘Love Begins in Winter’ and ‘The Secret Lives of People in Love’. So I was eagerly anticipating his first full novel ‘Everything Beautiful Began After.’

And it does contain a lot of the things that I loved in Booy’s shorter prose. His trademark lyrical beauty and skill with words is present throughout, but unfortunately some of the skill that weaves his stories together isn’t quite as tight when lengthened to encompass an entire novel.

The story is divided into four ‘books’, each dealing with a new phase in the story. Book one covers half of the span of the novel and is exquisite. Told in third person the story details Rebecca, Henry and George in both the present and the events in their past that have shaped them into the people they’ve become. It twines their lives together beautifully and I loved reading this section. I was swept away in the descriptions, the scenes and the use of all the senses to create the world of Athens. It’s melancholy, stunning, a little depressing but utterly gorgeous.

However, books two and three really didn’t do it for me. They’re told in second person perspective although still from Henry’s side. The lyrical beauty of the first book is turned here into an overly obsessive list of things that ‘Henry’ can see, feel and hear. It became overly depressive and as a result I just wanted it to be over. I don’t mind depressive books – book one is depressing, but it couples that with beauty. This was just pressing and heavy and I wanted to finish it as quickly as I could.
That’s not to say it wasn’t still good and well written – it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Book four made me feel a little less like sitting in a corner and crying – it offers hope at the end of grief and darkness, and leaves the reader with a lot to think about long after the last page has been turned.

Van Booy’s first book is a gorgeously melancholy look at love, grief, death and the way that grief can distort our memories and thoughts, and take on a life of its own.