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Tag: Reviews (Page 3 of 13)

Book Review: Summer of Supernovas

August 3, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Summer of Supernovas

Summer of Supernovas – Darcy Woods – Crown Books – Published 10 May 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

When zodiac-obsessed teen Wilamena Carlisle discovers a planetary alignment that won’t repeat for a decade, she’s forced to tackle her greatest astrological fear: The Fifth House—relationships and love.

But when Wil falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the astrology chart, she must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her dead mother’s legacy and the very system she’s faithfully followed through a lifetime of unfailing belief.

My thoughts

I usually steer away from books with love triangles and this book is centred around a girl who is torn between two guys. So I’m not sure why I was so excited to read it. Maybe because of that beautiful cover. Or maybe it was the many glowing reviews. Or maybe just because it sounded fantastic. Whichever reason, I am very glad I did because this was a great book., fun, exciting and romantic. Summer of Supernovas has a slightly crazy but loveable protagonist, a supportive and eccentric best friend, a few family secrets and complications, a warm summery setting and two very charming love interests.

Wil, short for Wilamena, has always believed the stars hold the answer to her destiny. By looking at the stars she feels closer to the mother she tragically lost. And a current planetary alignment means she has just one month to find her soul mate. So when she meets two brothers, one who she is irresistibly drawn to and the other who the charts say is perfect for her, she knows chaos is likely to ensue.

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Book Review: The Memory Book

July 25, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Memory Bok

The Memory Book – Lara Avery – Poppy – Published 5 July 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Sammie was always a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as humanly possible. Nothing will stand in her way–not even a rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly start to steal her memories and then her health. What she needs is a new plan.

So the Memory Book is born: Sammie’s notes to her future self, a document of moments great and small. It’s where she’ll record every perfect detail of her first date with longtime crush, Stuart–a brilliant young writer who is home for the summer. And where she’ll admit how much she’s missed her childhood best friend, Cooper, and even take some of the blame for the fight that ended their friendship.

Through a mix of heartfelt journal entries, mementos, and guest posts from friends and family, readers will fall in love with Sammie, a brave and remarkable girl who learns to live and love life fully, even though it’s not the life she planned.

My thoughts

The Memory Book is an incredibly sad and touching story of a girl’s determination to hold onto her future and her memories. Family, friendship, romance and self discovery in the midst of loosing yourself.

Sammie has been diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C, a long and complicated word that means Sammie will slowly lose her memories. In an attempt to hold onto herself she creates a memory book to record all the important things her future self will need to know to continue her life and move on to college.

This whole book is written as journal entries in Sammie’s memory book. But these are no ordinary teen girl diary entries, instead they are fun, touching and confronting retellings of various events, important things she thinks her future self should know. Some entries are simple reminders. Some are written by other characters. Some are letters to others, and some are clear retellings, as if we are right there as it happened.

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Book Review: 738 Days

July 17, 2016 / / 0 Comments

738 Days

738 Days – Stacey Kade – Forge Books – Published 7 June 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

At fifteen, Amanda Grace was abducted on her way home from school. 738 days later, she escaped. Her 20/20 interview is what everyone remembers—Amanda describing the room where she was kept, the torn poster of TV heartthrob Chase Henry on the wall. It reminded her of home and gave her the strength to keep fighting.

Now, years later, Amanda is struggling to live normally. Her friends have gone on to college, while she battles PTSD. She’s not getting any better, and she fears that if something doesn’t change soon she never will.

Six years ago, Chase Henry defied astronomical odds, won a coveted role on a new TV show, and was elevated to super-stardom. With it, came drugs, alcohol, arrests, and crazy spending sprees. Now he’s sober and a Hollywood pariah, washed up at twenty-four.

To revamp his image, Chase’s publicist comes up with a plan: surprise Amanda Grace with the chance to meet her hero, followed by a visit to the set of Chase’s new movie. The meeting is a disaster, but out of mutual desperation, Amanda and Chase strike a deal. What starts as a simple arrangement, though, rapidly becomes more complicated when they realize they need each other in more ways than one. But when the past resurfaces in a new threat, will they stand together or fall apart?

My thoughts

The first half of 738 Days could have been a young adult contemporary/thriller, with plenty of heartbreak and family complications, but the second half was definitely new adult romance. I loved the story, love the characters (really, really loved both Chase and Amanda), and loved the mix of movie-star madness with the total heartbreaking reality of Amanda’s story of survival.

Amanda was kidnapped when she was sixteen and spent 738 horrible days as a prisoner and victim of abuse. Now, two years after her rescue, she is sick of being the shaking, terrified victim hiding in her closet. So when an unexpected visit from actor Chase Henry sends her running (literally) for her wardrobe, she takes up Chase’s offer to work together, to help him with his publicity and to hopefully spark her bravery so she can start living her life again and prevent her family from falling completely apart. Amanda doesn’t expect to fall for Chase, nor to finally feel something good, but can’t help her new-found feelings as she gets to know Chase as more than just an out-of-luck actor.

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Book Review: You Before Anyone Else

July 15, 2016 / / 4 Comments

You Before Anyone Else

You Before Anyone Else – Julie Cross and Mark Perini – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 2 August 2016

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Model Finley needs someone to help her shed her “good girl” persona, so she’ll try Eddie on for size.

New York City model Finley is fed up with hearing the same feedback at castings: she needs to take some serious action to wipe the “good girl” stamp from her resume if she wants to launch to stardom.

Enter Eddie Wells. He’s shallow, predictable…and just as lost as Finley feels. Deep down, Finley is drawn to Eddie’s bravado, his intensity. Except Eddie is hiding something. A big something. And when it surfaces, both loving and leaving Finley will become so much harder.

My thoughts

Consider this a standing ovation. This book was a million times better than I expected. I fell totally in love with the story, with the romance, with all of the characters, but most especially with Eddie and Finley.

Okay, so there is the summary for this book and then there is what I consider to be a whole story underneath that. In the book’s summary, Finley is a model who is trying to break out of her ‘good girl’ shell. And yes, that’s true, but Finley is also the girl who loves and supports her family and who is using modelling to fund her dreams. Eddie is, at the start, portrayed as the ‘bad boy’ with plenty of deep, dark secrets. And yes, Eddie has a shady past and plenty of secrets, but he is one of the most genuine, caring male protagonists I have read. It is hard to say more without giving anything away, and I think it is better to know less about this story, but please don’t take the summary at face value. There is so much more to this story.

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Book Review: Where There’s Smoke

July 12, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Where There's Smoke

Where There’s Smoke – Susan May Warren – Montana Fire #1 – Susan May Warren Fiction – Published 31 May 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

She’s a smokejumper afraid of fire…

Kate Burns is a legendary smoke jumper, known for her courage and willingness to risk everything to get the job done. Only she has a secret, one she won’t admit to anyone.

He can’t forget the love they once shared…

Supervisor Jed Ransom commands the Jude County Smoke Jumpers with a reputation as a calm, level-headed leader. Kate is the only one who’s ever gotten under his skin.

They must face the flames together…

A raging wildfire in the mountains of Montana brings Kate and Jed together to train up a new team of jumpers. Suddenly, they must face the past they’ve been running from and the secrets that keep them apart. When an arsonist goes after their team, Kate and Jed must face their deepest fears—and learn to rely on each other as they fight a blaze that could destroy them all. 

My thoughts

Where There’s Smoke is an exciting and spark-filled romance.

It was stressful reading Where There’s Smoke, but in a good way. I was on edge most of the time with jumping from planes, parachutes that won’t open, tangled chute lines and deadly wildfires. And when all that wasn’t happening the tension from the romance is off the charts.

Kate grew up wanting to be a smokejumper just like her father, fighting the deadly fires that roar through the Montana landscape. But her father never wanted her in such danger, so she chose to walk away from their relationship rather than give up fire fighting. Now, Kate has returned home in the wake of a devastating fire that has left her father and others in his crew dead. She finally has a chance to join the Jude County Smokejumpers, but so too has her old crush, Jed Ransom, leaving Kate once again battling to prove her ability to be a jumper.

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Book Review: Everything We Keep

July 10, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Everything We Keep

Everything We Keep – Kerry Lonsdale – Lake Union – Published 1 August  2016

♥♥♥/♥

Synopsis

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

My thoughts

I have mixed emotions finishing this book. I loved some sections, disliked others, liked the main characters and then wanted to slap them for being so stupid. I had no trouble slipping into this book. I was captivated by Aimee’s story and then intrigued by the mystery. It was a true rollercoaster of emotions.

Aimee’s life is turned upside down when her fiancé is proclaimed dead after being missing for months. Gone are her dreams of marrying her childhood sweetheart, starting a family and maybe even opening a restaurant of her own. But moving on with her life is hard when she has doubts that James is truly dead.

The first two thirds of this book set up the mystery but then focused on the emotion of the story. We get to know Aimee and watch first her heartbreak and then as she slowly begins to recover from James’ death. She opens her cafe. She also wants to start a new relationship but holds herself back as the doubts about James’ disappearance refuse to stay silent. Scattered throughout are chapters from Aimee’s childhood and youth. In these flashbacks, we get to experience her and James’ friendship and their love story. It made the story and Aimee’s loss that much more real.

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Book Review: P.S. I Like You

July 8, 2016 / / 0 Comments

P.S I Like You

P.S. I Like You – Kasie West – Point – Published 26 July 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has written back to her on the desk! Soon enough Lily and the mystery student are exchanging notes, and lyrics, and even sharing secrets. When Lily finds out that her anonymous pen pal is a guy, she’s flustered — and kind of feels like she’s falling for him. She and her best friend set out to unravel the identity of the letter writer — but when the truth is revealed, the guy is the LAST person Lily could have ever imagined it to be. Now that Lily knows the truth, can she untangle her feelings and gather the courage to listen to her heart?

My thoughts

I am a huge fan of Kasie West’s contemporary novels. The way she mixes family drama, romance and self-discovery/realisation is so spot on and totally addictive. P.S. I Like You is all that and more. It is cute, fun, and yet there are heavier tones underneath that take it from light and fluffy to light, romantic and touching. The protagonist Lily is key in this. Lily is smart. To the outside observer she is shy and socially awkward, but put her in a space where she is comfortable and she will have you laughing with her clever lines, quick retorts and humour.

When Lily first started writing song lyrics on her desk in chemistry, she never expected someone to write back, nor to develop a friendship (and maybe something more) with that someone. Her mysterious chemistry pen pal is funny, totally gets her taste in music and seems to be the only person who can accept her quirks and find them charming rather than weird. But Lily isn’t sure that would translate to real life, nor is she certain she wants to know who is behind the letters. 

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New Book Releases July 2016

July 1, 2016 / / 0 Comments

New Book Releases for July 2016

Looking for some new books to add to your to-be-read list this month? July 2016 has a number of exciting books due for release. Here are the ones I’ve got my eye on. Click on the covers for full reviews.

Adult Fiction

Clear To LiftClear To Lift  – Anne A Wilson – Forge Books – Published 12 July 2016

Set amongst the beautiful Sierra Nevada landscape, Clear To Lift is a compelling story of adventure, love, family and self-discovery. The tension, both romantic and life-and-death-danger, leaps off the page, drawing you into this epic story. It is unforgettable, addictive and just so much fun! Very, very highly recommended, this book is my top pick for July 2016. 

Adult fiction: Adventure, contemporary.

Young Adult Fiction

Defending TaylorDefending Taylor – Miranda Kenneally – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 July 2016

Taylor has sworn off boys after taking the fall for her boyfriend. But she never could have predicted just how big the fallout was going to be. Expelled from school, dumped from her soccer team, and the reason her father has dropped in polls during the key time in his political campaign, Taylor is ordered back home where she is to start a new school and hide out until the bad press dies down. But the other girls on Taylor’s new soccer team don’t seem to want her there and bumping into her older brother’s best friend only adds more complications to her already complicated life.

Young adult fiction: Contemporary.

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Book Review: The Things We Knew

June 22, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Things We Knew

The Things We Knew – Catherine West – Thomas Nelson – Published 12 July 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

After her mother’s death twelve years ago, Lynette Carlisle watched her close-knit family unravel. One by one, her four older siblings left their Nantucket home and never returned. All seem to harbor animosity toward their father, silently blaming him for their mother’s death. Nobody will talk about that dreadful day, and Lynette can’t remember a bit of it.

But when next-door neighbor Nicholas Cooper returns to Nantucket, he brings the past with him. Once her brother’s best friend and Lynette’s first crush, Nick seems to hiding things from her. Lynette wonders what he knows about the day her mother died and hopes he might help her remember the things she can’t.

But Nick has no intention of telling Lynette the truth. Besides the damage it might cause his own family, he doesn’t want to risk harming the fragile friendship between him and the woman he once thought of as a kid sister.

As their father’s failing health and financial concerns bring the Carlisle siblings home, secrets begin to surface—secrets that will either restore their shattered relationships or separate the siblings forever. But pulling up anchor on the past propels them into the perfect storm, powerful enough to make them question all they ever believed in.

My thoughts

A mysterious and compelling story, The Things We Knew mixes romance with intrigue in this novel of family secrets.

While I found the start of this story a bit slow, it wasn’t long before I was drawn into Lynette’s story. I quickly came to realise that Lynette has a lot on her plate, working long hours, caring for an ailing father, practically out of money, a huge house to look after after her many siblings have moved away to follow their own dreams and doubts about lost memories that haunt her. We also know that she has some sort of history with Nick, her neighbour who has just moved back home. The first few interactions between Nick and Lynette don’t tell us much about their history or the tourmoil that has sprouted between their families. There are so many mysteries and secrets between these siblings and friends, and it has torn families and friendships apart. But Lynette’s father’s health decline, means the Carlisle siblings will have to return to their family home, where the truth will finally be revealed, relationships mended and hopefully some love stories continued.

I loved the insight we get into so many different characters in Things We Knew. I never found it confusing, despite the many characters as they were all so clearly defined and alive. I know some of the characters are already on their way to happy endings, but I would love to read their stories in their own books and continue the journey with this hurting, healing family.        Continue reading

Book Review: Skyfire

June 20, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Skyfire

Skyfire – Michael Adams – Scholastic Press Australia – Published July 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Seven talented and driven teenagers from around the world have been selected by trillionaire Internet King Felix Scott to form an elite group of young people committed to help make a difference in the world. They meet at the ceremony announcing their selection, then their lives are bound together on a quest as they come to realise that each of them has been sent part of a code that predicts an unknown disaster.

My thoughts

Skyfire begins The Seven Signs series where seven young people are entangled in a dangerous and compelling mystery that puts the whole world in danger. It is fun, fast-paced and full of action.

Seven young people have entered a competition that is set to change their lives. As the winners, they are granted the chance to work with the internet and technology king Felix Scott. They are gifted the latest in phone technology, rides aboard space-skimmers and even one million dollars. But as they are named winners they become targets for a cruel and dangerous plot to destroy the world. They each receive a sign, which together they must decode before terror is unleashed on the world.    

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