Monday 21 January 2013

The Vincent Boys (Abbi Glines) Review




This book follows the friendship/relationships between Ashton Gray, Sawyer Vincent and Beau Vincent who have been friends since childhood. Ashton and Beau were super close as kids getting into all kinds of trouble and Sawyer was always there to bail them out. Fast forward ten years and Ashton is in a relationship with Sawyer, who is seen as the towns golden boy and her friendship with Beau is practically non-existent. Sawyer goes away for the summer leaving behind Ashton who reconnects with Beau.

This book was a little cheesy at times but it was an enjoyable read. I liked the idea of the main characters being flawed as it felt more realistic. Too many YA books portray their characters to be perfect and it was refreshing to see these characters making mistakes and trying to fix them.

I didn't like Ashton a whole lot as a character, she redeemed herself a little towards the end of the book but I felt like she was constantly making selfish decisions. I liked the idea that she wasn't this perfect 'Bella Swan-esque" character but that still wasn't enough to make me like her. Reading this book I was frustrated by how much hurt she caused so many people.

I loved Beau, he was probably my favourite character in the book. Unlike Ashton he didn't seem to have any selfish motives to me, he did what he did because he was deeply in love. I felt heartbroken for him that Ash had snubbed their close bond and dated Sawyer, even I could see how much Beau loved her and how perfect they were for each other.

I felt sorry for Sawyer he is portrayed to be a perfect Prince Charming, Ashton even mocks him in her mind for this but he didn't do anything wrong. Towards the end of the book I felt like the author tried to make him seem "less perfect" to prompt the reader into forgiving Ash and Beau for hurting him but it didn't work on me. I only hope in the next book he finds happiness because he truly deserves it. 

My favourite thing about this book was that Ashton wasn't a typical stroppy bad ass character and she didn't lie about her feelings for Beau. She was pretty honest and didn't fight her feelings which again was refreshing. This book was a quick read, although I felt the beginning was rushed I did enjoy it. I can't wait to read the next book as I'm curious as to how things turn out with Sawyer.

4 out of 5 stars.

Rules of Attraction (Simone Elkeles) Review


This book is a sequel to 'Perfect Chemistry' it follows Carlos Fuentes, Alex's younger brother as he moves from Mexico to Colarado for his senior year in high school. Carlos is a smart mouth know it all that is determined to be bad, he doesn't admire his brother for leaving the Latino Bloods and settling down instead he looks down on him for it. Carlos' character was almost impossible for me to like at the begining but throughout the book he began to redeem himself.

Kiara Westeford is a good girl who comes from a wealthy family who are super supportive of her. She is a bit of a tom boy and enjoys hiking and fixing cars. She is assigned to help Carlos find his way around his new high school and the two immediately but heads.

After Carlos is framed for a crime he didn't commit he moves into Kiara's house and her parents become his temporary guardians. He resists their kindness and continues to do his own thing but as time goes by he begins to appreciate Kiara and her family.

This book was enjoyable but I didn't enjoy it as much as Perfect Chemistry. I wasn't that fond of Carlos but I loved Kiara's character. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

4 out of 5 stars.

Dare You To (Katie McGarry) Review



I absolutely loved Pushing The Limits so I was super excited to receive an arc copy of this book on Netgalley! 

I didn't like Beth in Pushing The Limits, I didn't like how she gave Echo a hard time so I was worried I wouldn't like Dare You To but I needn't have worried it was fantastic and once again McGarry has written another hit! 

Beth is a hard nosed, foul mouthed bitch to put it politely so at times it's very hard to read about her and sympathise with her situation. However as the book continues we get to see other sides to her and find out who she really is which was interesting. By the end of the book I felt like she was a better person and it was as though I had watched her mature, you can't help but feel proud of her.

Ryan is not your typical jock love interest, he too has many things going in in his life which makes for interesting reading. I didn't expect to like him especially as I wanted Beth and Isaiah to be together but he really is perfect for her. He helps her to realise that she deserves a better life and he helps her to rediscover herself.

I loved watching Beth evolve as a character, there would be little moments such as her refusing to smoke pot that would give me hope that she could turn her life around. I also liked the appearances of Noah, Echo and Isaiah. 

Her uncle Scott was a very likeable character too I liked that he took Beth away from her Mother and gave her a better life. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Sunday 13 January 2013

Big Book Challenge 2013

This year I have decided to try and broaden my bookish horizons and one of my goals is to read longer books. I found this group on Goodreads which is called The Big Book Challenge 2013 and here are the rules:

Books over 400 pages.
These can be one novel,
a collection of short stories,
or a bind-up of several novels.
eBooks can count too as long as the total pages on your reader is over 400!


So basically you decide how many books with 400+ pages you want to challenge yourself to read this year. I have set my goal as ten books as I don't want to overwhelm myself but I am really looking forward to getting my teeth sunk into some epic novels. I will place a widget on my blogs main page so you can keep up to date with my progress and if you are interested in joining this group I will leave a link down below.

Emma
xoxo

Link to Goodreads challenge page: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/59600-2013-big-book-challenge

Thursday 10 January 2013

Emma The Author?

Hey everyone I thought I would just post an update blog for anyone who is interested. 
Some of you may or may not know that I am an aspiring author and had big plans to write a novel last year for NaNoWriMo. However, that didn't happen I managed to write around 10,000 words and then I gave up I guess I just didn't have that much faith in my idea. I am constantly conjuring up ideas in my head for potential novels some are good and others not so good. 

I have made it a personal goal to complete a novel this year though and I have finally settled on a plot that I feel really pleased with. It will be a YA Contemporary novel as those are my favourite books to read and to write. I have written a brief synopsis and the first three chapters that I may eventually post on here. I am not 100% sure on the title but at the moment is is named : Scaredy Cat.

So here it goes guys I am going to post the synopsis on here in the hopes of gaining some feedback. I hope you enjoy :)


'My name is Caterina, although my friends call me Cat, Scaredy Cat. They think it’s charming but I hate it. When I was sixteen I realised I was too scared to go outside and by the time I was seventeen I was too frightened to leave my bedroom. That's when Mum admitted me to Thornecliffe, and that's where I met Nate. Mysterious, troubled Nate who just happens to be my opposite. His problem is he isn't afraid of anything, maybe he could save me, or maybe he is living proof of why it's good to be a scaredy cat after all.'




Monday 7 January 2013

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (JK Rowling) Review




I have no idea why I waited so long to finally read these books. I have heard so many good things about this series so I had high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. Having already seen the movies I wished I had read the books first as I alredy knew what was going to happen, another downside of seeing the movies first was that I pictured everything as it is in the film, I wish I had read the book first in order to use my own imagination.

However, that being said I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While reading it I found it pretty obvious that it was geared towards children but that didn't bother me in the slightest. JK Rowling has managed to create such a wonderful and magical world that it was a pleasure to become lost in it. I noted the differences between the movie and the book and I was so pleased that Neville Longbottom plays more of a central role in the book, he is one of my favourite characters so I enjoyed reading more about him.

I read this book in a day and I am absolutely hooked, I will begin reading the second book right away as like most of the people who have read these books I have fallen in love with Harry Potter and his world. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Friday 4 January 2013

A Midsummer's Nightmare (Kody Keplinger) Review



I had recently read The Duff which I adored so I rushed out and bought two more books by Kody, one of them being A Midsummer's Nightmare. I was super excited to read this book as the synopsis had me intrigued.

This book follows Whitley who goes to stay with her Dad for the summer, she discovers he is engaged and his new fiancee has two children Bailey and Nathan. She is horrified when she realises Nathan is a guy she had slept with at a party a couple of nights ago. Naturally they both feel awkward and end up clashing. 

I was so interested to see where Kody would take this story I was hoping it would be really romantic and about forbidden love but it was nothing like that really. I kinda felt like there were elements of instalove.

Whitley's character is hard to like, but I think that was what Kody had intended, she is difficult, parties a lot and hooks up with a lot of guys. She isn't very friendly and pushes people away, there was times in the book when I wanted to slap her for being such a brat. Her parents aren't very likeable either her mother is described as being selfish and absent and her father is just as absent, rejecting Whitley on numerous occassions in favour of his new family.

I enjoyed this book it was a nice light read but I didn't love it. The story felt pretty generic and to be honest I wasn't that bothered about Whitley and Nathan as a couple, when the book ended it felt kind of anti-climatic. Probably not my go to book by Kody but enjoyable none the less.

3.5 stars :)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Michelle Hodkin) Review



My first reaction when I finished this book was 'Oh my god, I need more!' Which is exactly what a good book should make you think. Literally from the get go this book had me hooked, I felt like I had no idea what was going on and I was desperate to know more.

This book follows Mara Dyer a girl who wakes up in a hospital after being in a terrible accident. She was in a building when it collapsed killing her best friend Rachel, her boyfriend Jude and his sister Claire. She has no recollection of that day and has no idea what she was doing at that building in the first place.

I loved uncovering Mara's past along with her I really felt like I was part of the story and it was a thrilling ride. The begininng was fast paced and full of interesting 'happenings' however, I felt the middle slowed down a lot which I think was due to the romance aspect of the novel. Although I did enjoy the romance between Mara and Noah I just really wanted to find out more about Mara's accident and her past.

Mara throughout the book has what she thinks are 'Hallucinations' due to her PTSD and I found these 'hallucinations' really creepy and eerie they brought a little extra something to the book and I loved it. 

This book would make an amazing movie, I loved it so much.

5 out of 5 stars