Beautiful Disaster (Jamie McGuire) Review

This book has been really difficult for me to rate and it is even harder for me to review. I enjoyed reading the book but I didn't like it that much, that probably makes no sense so I'll try and explain myself a little better.

For starters the back of the book boasts that this is a love story between 'good girl' Abby Abernathy and 'bad boy' Travis Maddox. This idea fascinates me and I will shamelessy read books about good girls taming the bad guy and settling down because it is every woman's fantasy and I enjoy reading about it. However, Abby was not a good girl which really irritated me, the back of the book goes as far as to say she doesn't drink which is annoying because in one scene she downs 15 shots of patron. The author seems to think Abby is a good girl because in the opening scene she is wearing a cashmere sweater and pearl earrings, so stereotypical it is sickening and not even true to her character. 

As for Travis's character, I started out really liking him and I even got a bit of a crush on him, he seemed too good to be true... and he was!
I found his obsessive behaviour towards Abby downright creepy, if I had of been her I would've run a mile. 

So for about 300 pages of this book the two main characters take part in this really annoying will they / wont they situation. I disliked them both and by the end I thought they were good enough for each other. They are both volatile and obsessive and I didn't like either characters. 

I am not a feminist at all but I hate the way authors glorify these volatile and dangerous relationships, Travis smashes up his apartment and viciously beats up guys that look Abby's way and that is not 'Beautiful' it is just a plain 'Disaster'. Nobody should aspire to be in such an obsessive unhealthy relationship. Perhaps this book did nothing for me because I like my female protagonists to be strong willed and independant and Abby was neither of these things.

1 out of 5 stars.

The Giver (Lois Lowry) Review

This book opens, as many dystopian books do, with a seemingly utopian society. We follow a little boy names Jonas who is about to become a 'Twelve' which means he will be given the title of his new job and become an adult so to speak. 

The society in which Jonas lives appears to be idyllic, there are no wars, no pain or suffering and no body has to think for themselves as every important detail is decided for them by The Elders. It is referred to as 'Sameness'.

When Jonas is selected to take on the roll of 'The Reciever (of memory)' he is both startled and afraid, it is a great honour and responsibilty. During his training he meets daily with 'The Giver' a kind but troubled old man who intends to pass down all of his memories from the past and some of them are quite terrible. Through recieving the memories Jonas begins to change, he experiences things not experienced while living in the 'Sameness' such as seeing colours and feeling sadness.

This book was an interesting look at not only the dystopian society from the novel but a look at society today. It makes you question how far you would go to create the 'perfect' life. Is giving up all feelings in order to not experience pain or hunger really worth it?
Watching Jonas' realisation was both beautiful and sad, I wanted only good things to happen to him and 'The Giver' who both seemed so burdened by the memories of the past. It made me realise how beautiful the world is and how in order to experience the good we must also experience the bad.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I took a lot away from it, it wasn't fast paced but I enjoyed that. This book was a leisurely read and being that it is only 179 pages it wasn't overly long. I did feel a little frustrated at the end but that is only because I wanted to find out more about Jonas and Gabe and their new adventure. 

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars and I look forward to checking out the next book in the series. 

#FridayReads (07.12.2012)

Hey guys, it's that time of the week again where thousands of people over on twitter tweet about what they plan on reading at the weekend. I haven't done it on my blog for a few weeks as I have been so busy but it is back for good now! 

As you can probably tell from the picture above I plan on reading The Giver this weekend by Lois Lowry. This book was gifted to me by a fellow booktuber and a dear friend. She was kind enough to send me over a gift package for Christmas and this book was part of that package. I am have already read 80 of the 179 pages and I am really enjoying it so far.
When I finish this book I will probably go on to read The Shining by Stephen King.

In The Tall Grass (Stephen King & Joe Hill) Review

I have literally just finished this on my kindle and I feel a little shell shocked, my initial thought? 'What the hell did I just read?!'

It's a short story consisting of 60 pages so it's a very quick read. It started out great the whole setting was eerie and I felt a little creeped out. Stephen King and Joe Hill have done a fantastic job of character development in such a short story as I actually cared for brother and sister, Becky and Cal. 

So everything was going well (not for Becky and Cal) and I was enjoying being creeped out but then the story took a turn for the worst.

Now I'm not a squeamish person I've seen a lot of horrors and heard a lot of bad stuff on the news but NOTHING could prepare me for what happened at the end. 

I felt physically sick and disgusted and I think that maybe the authors took things a little too far. 

Would I recommend this book? I'm not entirely sure myself to be honest. This book will most certainly be upsetting to women everywhere, especially mothers. Readers beware!! 

3 out of 5 stars

Warm Bodies (Isaac Marion) Review

From the moment I first heard about this book I was completely intrigued! A Romeo and Juliet re-telling but with zombies, talk about different.

This book was amazing it took everything I thought I knew about zombies and completely changed my mind. I absolutely loved 'R' as a character and I found myself rooting for him, which is total madness as I am a complete zombie-phobe! 

It is so unique and intriguing I just couldn't put it down, Marion did an amazing job of bringing 'R' and his world to life and when the book ended I wanted more. 

Julie as a character was enjoyable to read about although I didn't like her as much as I liked 'R'. She was a spunky and troubled teenager but she was perfectly written as a love interest for 'R'. 

If you're looking for a good zombie book with a hint of romance this is the book for you. It is refreshing and a new take on the genre.

4 out of 5 stars.

Who Could That Be At This Hour (Lemony Snicket) Review

Before I even began this book I knew I was going to like it. I have read the first book in the Series Of Unfortunate Events series and I fell in love with Lemony Snicket's writing style which is just as amazing in this book too.

I love how he exposes adults as not being as smart as they make out and it is humorous to read. At first I was a little bit puzzled as Snicket tends to write scenarios that don't make much sense to begin with but I find that is part of his charm.

I loved the town Stain'd-By-The-Sea it was so unique and original it was exciting to read about, I also loved the characters there and their odd quirks.

This book was not designed to be intellectually challenging it is a quick, fun and easy read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

4 out of 5 stars