Category: Book Reviews

Categories
Book Reviews

What Happens in Paris – Book Review

What Happens in Paris - Book Review

Plot:

Four countries.
Three girls.
Three loves.
One adventure abroad they’ll never forget.

Camie can’t figure out what she wants, from college or life . . . until she meets Hunter. But will the magic of a romantic night in Paris last till the morning?

Review:

What Happens in Paris is a perfect book to take along to the beach to read on a nice summer day. It’s a novella, so it can definitely be tacked in one day. Altogether there are four novellas in this series, with Paris being the second one. The others are What Happens in London, What Happens in Berlin, and What Happens Abroad.

I found that I could really relate to the main character of the novella, Camie. She’s had a tough year in college, in part due to falling in and out of love with a boy in one of her classes. In order to help put this out of her mind, she decides to go backpacking all across Europe, starting in Paris, where upon landing she meets someone. Initially the two don’t get along, but it seems as though fate is pushing them together, with the two running into each other all over Paris. One thing leads to another, and eventually Camie decides to give him a shot. Along the way, Camie meets two girls staying in her hostel, who also appear in the other novellas in the series.

I enjoyed this book for what it was: a quick summer read. I would definitely be interested in reading the other three books in the series. Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars, simply because I prefer longer books.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Material Girls – Book Review

Material Girls - Book Review

Plot:

In Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde’s world, teens are the gatekeepers of culture. A top fashion label employs sixteen-year-old Marla to dictate hot new clothing trends, while Ivy, a teen pop star, popularizes the garments that Marla approves. Both girls are pawns in a calculated but seductive system of corporate control, and both begin to question their world’s aggressive levels of consumption. Will their new “eco-chic” trend subversively resist and overturn the industry that controls every part of their lives?

Review:

Material Girls is an enjoyable book that subtly questions the way that our society behaves in regards to things that don’t necessarily matter all that much.

From the time they are born, people work towards getting “tapped” in one of the creative industries—things like the fashion, film, singing and video game industries. Every child creates a Tap page to showcase their creative talents, and then on a specific day when the children are 12-13 years old, they are either “tapped” for a creative industry, or left to work in one of the “Adequate” industries like math or science. Those who aren’t tapped receive lower pay and have a harder time caring for their families. Even those who get tapped can still struggle, depending on their position in the industry they were chosen for.

For those who work in the creative industries, if you aren’t wearing the absolute latest trends, you’re considered an “obsoloser” and are pretty much doomed to fall off of society’s radar. And with the rate that trends change, it is a job in itself just keeping up with what is still “in”.

Once Marla, one of the two main characters, gets demoted from her job at one of the top five fashion houses, she begins to see that perhaps working in a tapped industry isn’t all that it is portrayed to be. Along with some new friends, Marla sets out to reform the way that the fashion industry—and perhaps all creative industries—work.

One thing that I absolutely loved about this book was that the ending wasn’t the predictable, typically happy ending that seems to be everywhere these days. While the book definitely isn’t disappointing in the way it ends, it didn’t end in the way that it is set up for readers to hope that it does.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Material Girls goes on sale May 5. You can purchase it here.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

The Decaying Empire – Book Review

The Decaying Empire - Book Review

Plot:

When eighteen-year-old teleporter Ember Pierce wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, she remembers only the basics: she’s been trained by the government as a spy, she’s sent on dangerous missions, and her last assignment—the one that landed her in the hospital—was a setup.

Caden Hawthorne has spent the past ten months of his life grieving Ember’s death. So when she shows up in his room like an apparition, he can’t believe his eyes. But this Ember is different. Her hair is longer, her skin is paler, her gaze is haunted. She tells him what he’s already begun to suspect: someone he trusted betrayed her.

Now, uncertain who is friend and who is foe, Ember and Caden face the toughest mission of their lives—to stay together and survive, as they run from danger toward an unknown future.

Review:

The Decaying Empire is the sequel to The Vanishing Girl (you can read my review of that here), and it was everything that I was hoping it would be after I loved the first book so much.

After being set up and seriously injured at the end of the first book, Ember Pierce thought she was a dead woman. Teleporters can’t just poof back to their original location unharmed after being injured on a mission—teleporting with a bad wound usually leads to a teleporter being spliced, or torn apart, while trying to get back. Most can’t survive being spliced, but amazingly Ember does. When she wakes up 10 months after her accident, she is keen on seeking revenge against the program that has taken her life and decided to put it in danger.

Ember, along with her pair Caden, wants to escape the facility that has them “imprisoned”, and along with the help of some outsiders, expose the program that has taken their lives and put them in death’s way on a daily basis. But once the program gets wind of this, they ship Ember and Caden off to their other facility—where they send teleporter couples that want to start a family.

The duo decide to go through with their plans to escape and expose the program, but not without many complications along the way, which tests the strength of their relationship.

This book is written in a way that flows well and at a fast pace, which really allowed me to speed through it as I was reading. I love reading books that don’t feel like a chore to get through, and The Decaying Empire definitely qualifies.

Overall, I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Inherit Midnight – Book Review

Inherit Midnight - Book Review

Plot:

The Competition:

Outlandishly wealthy Grandmother VanDemere has decided to leave her vast fortune to the family member who proves him or herself worthiest-by solving puzzles and riddles on a whirlwind race around the globe, from the mines of Venezuela to the castles of Scotland. There will be eight competitors, three continents . . . and a prize worth millions.

The Players:

Seventeen-year-old Avery is the black sheep of the VanDemere clan, the ostracized illegitimate daughter. Finally, she has a chance to prove herself . . . and to discover the truth about her long-lost mother.

Marshall might be Avery’s uncle, but there’s no love lost between the two of them. He’s her main competition, and he’ll do anything to win-including betray his own children.

Riley is the handsome son of Grandmother VanDemere’s lawyer. As the game progresses, Avery falls hard for Riley. Suddenly, losing the game might mean losing him, too.

As the competition takes treacherous turns, it becomes clear there can only be one victor. Who can Avery truly trust? And is winning worth her life?

Review:

When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. The main character, Avery, is attempting a break out from a boarding school that her grandmother sent her to as punishment for breaking out of their family mansion. I think she missed the point of her being there just a little bit. Then, in comes Riley, who unknowingly thwarts Avery’s breakout attempt but at the same time ends up getting her out of there, though he can’t tell her why just yet.

Avery is one of eight heirs to the incredibly well-off VanDemere family, only she is the black sheep of the family. Avery is the child of an affair that her father had with his son’s nanny, and so she is seen as a disgrace to the family name. Grandmother VanDemere realizes that the majority of her heirs are incredibly spoiled and don’t appreciate their heritage, so she invents a competition that will not only test their knowledge of their family’s history but will test their character as well, and the heir that comes out on top will win the majority of the family inheritance.

No one takes Avery very seriously in the competition until she shows that she is a real contender and might just take the top prize. Then everyone is out to get her and make sure that she doesn’t win.

This book kept me interested from the beginning until the end, and I loved the character progressions that were made. I really love this book.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

This Side of Home – Book Review

This Side of Home - Book Review

Plot:

Identical twins Nikki and Maya have been on the same page for everything—friends, school, boys and starting off their adult lives at a historically African-American college. But as their neighborhood goes from rough-and-tumble to up-and-coming, suddenly filled with pretty coffee shops and boutiques, Nikki is thrilled while Maya feels like their home is slipping away. Suddenly, the sisters who had always shared everything must confront their dissenting feelings on the importance of their ethnic and cultural identities and, in the process, learn to separate themselves from the long shadow of their identity as twins.

Review:

While I thought this book was a quick read and got through it pretty quickly, I wasn’t that thrilled with it. It wasn’t even anything wrong with the book itself, it just isn’t the type of book that I would normally pick out to read.

Sisters Maya and Nikki are from a neighborhood that has always been a little run down, but now a lot of new businesses are moving into town and fixing things up a bit, making the neighborhood into an “up and coming” one. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Maya thinks it is, as it starts to draw in more white families as it drives away other families who can’t afford to keep living in the area. Nikki, on the other hand, feels like it is a good step for the neighborhood and has no problem with all of the new changes.

This leads to tensions between the sisters, and they grow farther apart until they are able to understand one another’s perspectives and appreciate both the good and the bad of each of their opinions.

I give the book 4/5 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Soulprint – Book Review

Soulprint - Book Review

Plot:

Seventeen-year-old Alina Chase has spent her entire life imprisoned on a secluded island—not for a crime she committed in this lifetime, but one done by her past self. Her very soul is like a fingerprint, carried from one life to the next—and Alina is sick of being guilty.

Aided by three teens with their own ulterior motives, Alina manages to escape. Although she’s not sure she can trust any of them, she soon finds herself drawn to Cameron, the most enigmatic and alluring of the trio. But when she uncovers clues from her past life, secrets begin to unravel and Alina must figure out whether she’s more than the soul she inherited, or if she’s fated to repeat history.

Review:

This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and I absolutely loved it. Poor, poor Alina Chase has lived her entire life being punished, or as most people like to put it, “protected”, for a crime that she committed in a past life.

In the world of Soulprint, science has discovered a way to keep track of souls and who has “owned” a soul, giving people a way to know who they were in past lives. But for Alina, this comes with unfortunate consequences, as she has the soul of June Calahan, a girl who figured out how to hack into the soul database and started releasing the names of people who had been criminals in their past lives. According to a scientific study, souls who have committed crime before are likely to continue committing crimes in future lives as well, so June feels as though she is doing a service to the people.

A group of three people break Alina out of her confinement with the hopes that Alina will be able to lead them to a copy of the soul database that it is believed June made. Along the way there are many things that get in the way of the mission and peoples’ intentions and motives are made clear as Alina begins to realize who she can really trust.

I thought that the story flowed with a great pace and didn’t feel too rushed or drawn out. I made my way through the book fairly fast, though that might just be because I liked it so much I didn’t want to put it down. I’m definitely going to be checking out some of Megan Miranda’s other books because if they’re half as good as Soulprint I am sure I will enjoy them.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

The Vanishing Girl – Book Review

19395125

Plot:

Each night after Ember Pierce falls asleep, she disappears. She can teleport anywhere in the world: London, Paris, her crush’s bedroom, or wherever her dreams lead her. Ten minutes is all she gets, and once time’s up, she returns to her bed. It’s a secret she’s successfully kept for the last five years. But now someone knows.

A week after her eighteenth birthday, when frustratingly handsome Caden Hawthorne kidnaps her, delivers her to the government, and then disappears before her eyes, Ember realizes two things: One, she is not alone. And two, people like her—teleporters—are being used as weapons.

Forced into a quasi-military training camp for teleporters, Ember discovers she has been paired—perhaps for life—with Caden, the boy who got her into this mess in the first place. Now, she has to work with him on a series of teleporting missions, each one riskier than the last. But Caden just might hold the key to Ember’s escape plan, if she can survive her missions without losing her heart…or her life.

Review:

The Vanishing Girl is the book I never knew I needed in my life until now. Immediately when I started reading it, I felt like Ember was a character that I could relate to. She’s a strong leading character who has no problem questioning what she’s told to do if she doesn’t believe that it’s right.

Ember can teleport in her sleep, but only for 10 minutes before she returns back to her bed. She believed that she was all alone until she is taken by the government. Her parents, who struggled to conceive, were a part off a government fertility program, where the government secretly altered the children’s genes, thus allowing Ember and others like her to teleport.

Then there’s Caden, Ember’s pair. He is the type of guy who’s hot and he knows it, yet Ember still falls for him. He helps teach Ember things she will need to survive like sparring and weapons skills.

This book has a story unlike anything else I’ve read. I really enjoyed reading it and can’t wait to see where the next installment takes Ember and Caden.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

The End of Feeling – Book Review

cover58172-small

Plot:

Eighteen-year-old Benjamin Nefer seems to have it all: great looks, incredible football skills, and smooth moves that have won—and broken—the hearts of countless girls at his high school. But his hellish home life has left him feeling empty inside, unable to experience real feelings. He thinks he’s fine being this way forever…until he meets a beautiful and witty seventeen-year-old girl named Charlotte “Charlie” Austin. She may be new in town, but she’s already been warned about Benjamin’s reputation, so it’s easy for her to shoot down his advances. Like him, she’s happier keeping people at a distance, especially since she, too, has secrets she’s not ready to share with anyone. But as the tentative friendship between the charismatic football captain and the new girl grows, Charlie finds herself feeling closer to Benjamin than she’s ever felt with anyone—and he wonders if he’s really capable of loving after all. Can they drop their guard, or is this so-called romance just another game?

Review:

Let me start this review off by saying that I absolutely loved everything about this book from start to finish. The story, the characters, the flow of the book—for me it all worked together so well.

The two main characters, Benjamin and Charlie, have both had very difficult lives growing up. They both have secrets that they want to keep from becoming public knowledge. But as their friendship grows, it becomes more difficult for them to keep their secrets from one another.

I never knew quite where the story was going to end up, which I loved. Too often I find things to be predictable, and this book was anything but predictable. The End of Feeling not only accurately portrays what the high school experience is like for some, but also shows what it’s like trying to keep up appearances and pretend that everything is just fine when it isn’t.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Since You’ve Been Gone – Book Review

Since You've Been Gone - Book Review

Plot:

Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school — she’s in a different country.

Sydney promises her that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn’t come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them.

Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she’ll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life.

Review:

For the most part, I feel that this book has a very good story going for it. The book starts with some excitement, as Edie and her mother are forced to uproot the lives they are living in Canada and move to London. Edie is less than pleased with the situation, especially because she has to leave her cat, Peaches, behind.

While the majority of the book had me interested in the characters and what was going to happen to them, the last 20 percent of the book felt rushed and forced, compared to the beginning which flowed at a nice pace. This rushed pace left me wanting more from the story than I was going to get.

Despite the rushed ending of the book, I still enjoyed it. This book took me absolutely no time to read at all. It was a fairly small book and I just whizzed right through it.

Overall I give this book 3/5 stars. Since You’ve Been Gone goes on sale January 24. You can click the book cover image above to order your copy.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Reality – Book Review

22619514

Plot:

To be extraordinary was a fate Arie Belle had never imagined. She was comfortable living the simple life on a meadow protected by towering trees just outside of town. Her days were filled with naïve pleasures and promising love until the unexpected and mysterious death of her mom. Instantly, her world became dark and, at times, hopeless. Her only saving grace was her lifetime friendship with the boy next door, River, who was relentless in picking up the pieces of her broken future.

Years of numbness were lifted when a beautiful stranger, Ashe, entered her world and took her soul to places it had never been, across realities trapped in the worlds of fairytales. Would he be her savior, or would she find the strength within to be her own?

Her journey begins on her eighteenth birthday and quickly unravels what she is and who killed her mother. Her uncanny connection with nature and heightened sensations are just one of many secrets that unfold along the way. Will she find answers before the next full moon where her death is painted in the fate of the stars? Will she accept a scripted destiny or let the dark side of life suck her in?

Review:

Overall, I was not a big fan of this book. While I enjoyed the world that the novel was set in, I feel like the execution of how the story was written and pieced together could use some work.

Most notably for me, the main character, Arie, can never seem to make up her mind about who she loves. If there’s one thing that I can’t stand in Young Adult fiction it would have to be the overabundance of love triangles and this book was definitely no exception. Throughout the entire novel, Arie is constantly waffling between loving River, her best friend for as long as she can remember, and Ashe, the mysterious boy who one day appears out of nowhere. Arie will have an encounter with Ashe and think that she has made up her mind and loves him with all of her heart, and then River will come around and Arie changes her mind, thinking she loves River the most. This continues through the whole book.

Other than that messy love triangle, I felt like the story took an overly-long time to explain what kind of world these characters were living in and what sort of fantasy creatures we were dealing with.

I think that this story had a lot of potential to be captivating but in the end it didn’t live up to my expectations for it.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.