Sash from Sash & Em

At first glance, I must admit that this book didn’t jump out at me. A pretty cover and a unique premise just weren’t enough. Add in the lengthy list of awards that were racked up – 2013 William C. Morris YA Debut Award, Cybil Award for Teen Fantasy and Science Fiction, Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year – just to name a few. You’d think I would be ready to tear into this one – but it still wasn’t enough to pique my interest.

Until I was in the mood for DRAGONS. I wanted a good dragon story and, boy, did I get what I wanted.

Seraphina starts out rather slow and I did feel a little like I’d been thrown into the deep-end without any proper explanation of what was what or who was who, but this is just one of those books that immerses you into its world within 50 pages and then you forget how or where it even began. The writing is absolutely stunning – rich descriptions of music and dragons – with politics, philosophy, and religion thrown into the mix to make the reader think.

Questions that I thought to myself while reading this book: What does it feel like to feel? What do I feel like when I’m sad? What about when I’m happy? Could I choose between my family and the one I love? How do people bring peace to times of war? Could (or rather, would) I be willing to put peace and my country in a place of higher priority than my own heart?

This series has the potential to be multiple books – and I would gladly read them all! And there is a sequel, Shadow Scale, but the release date is set for MARCH 2015 (insert sobbing here).

Overall, a magnificent debut that I can’t believe I didn’t read sooner. Exquisite.

I’ll admit that when I first heard about Cinder, I was a bit skeptical. Fine, A LOT skeptical. Not only are fairytale retellings a hard thing to pull off in terms of creativity, but even with the right idea, the execution has got to be there as well. There’s a storyline that everyone knows so well, so how will this plot and story play out in a similar but different kind of way. It’s just not possible – but OH, it is!

I love love love the cyborg/futuristic world that Cinder takes place in; it’s both familiar and alien. Marissa Meyer reworked this classic story into something totally new and fresh and I was so caught up in it that I almost forgot that it was a retelling!

My only question is why didn’t someone force this book down my throat aka MAKE me read it? This series has that special something that makes me read past the first two books (Yes, I’ve already both Scarlet and Cress).

Find Me is a fast-paced game of Whodunit that (if you’re like me) will have you guessing til the very end. Fans of the PERSEFoNE series and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will enjoy this murder mystery for sure.

What I really liked about this book was the snarkiness of the main character, Wick. She definitely was not a vanilla character. She had lots of spunk and brought an edge to the book. Her sarcasm, plus the way that all of the scenes were written – with this crazy amount of tension – made the book enjoyable and though I didn’t want to put it down, I had to because I couldn’t read it late at night! Too scary! Even though I’m not tech-savvy, I still liked reading about her searching for the killer over the internet. And yes, I couldn’t read it at night even though the tracking of the bad guy was done mostly over the web.

I’m sure that mystery novel experts and seasoned sleuths figured this one out WAY before I did – but I’m thankful for my ignorance because it made the book so much more thrilling.

All in all – a good debut from Romily Bernard that I’m HOPING will be turned into a series. I think I can guess what the next book would be about!

Oh, my – how do I begin? Well, first, let me say that I haven’t read a YA book in a while. I’m climbing the bookish equivalent of Mount Everest this year – aka making my way through the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin and it is brutal. So maybe I went into this book not sure what to expect? I don’t know what happened. I had hopes of romance and swooning and first love a la Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, but that’s not what I got. Instead I got this amazing boy whom I adored and a girl that annoyed me.

The description says that you’ll remember your own first love, and while it did have moments that reminded me of what it’s like to fall in love for the first time, I just couldn’t connect with Eleanor. Was she in a bad situation? Yes, but in times like those, you either let it make you or break you and I feel like she let it break her. Again, yes, she’s 16 and “helpless” but all I’m saying is that 16 is old enough to call the police and not give a second thought to “Oh, is my mom going to be mad that I’m doing something that she as 40 something year old can’t?”

The saving grace for me in this book is Park – not only the character but his POV (the book is alternating POVs). Without Park, this book would have probably been a Did Not Finish. Park – my sweet, sweet boy – WHY do you even like Eleanor? She pushes you away, is an emotional rollercoaster and disaster, and has got to be the most self-deprecating  character I’ve read in a while – she puts Edward Cullen from Twilight to shame.

And speaking of favorite characters, I’ve got to say my overall favorite character (and the one I think is most like me) was Park’s mom. She’s an Avon lady who loves makeup, nails, and hair – AND she always wants to make other people over.

I will say that I really enjoyed Rainbow Rowell’s writing style and I’m reading her next book, Fangirl, right now and absolutely loving it. So it’s just this particular book that didn’t do it for me. Also, the narrator for Eleanor on the audiobook was not the best so that probably played into things a bit.

I put this book on my Everyone Loved But Me shelf as there are no less than TWENTY 5 star reviews from my friends. Maybe I’m the misfit in this story.

What those who enjoyed it are saying:

• “I highly recommend Eleanor & Park to anyone who loves contemp YA with a lot of grit and emotion.” – Tara from Fiction Folio
  
• “The recommendations all over the Internet for ELEANOR & PARK are completely warranted.” -Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit
• “I tried to write a review, but it was just so fangirly, I had to calm myself down.” -Anna from Anna Reads

HOLY COW, YOU GUYS. This book was SUCH A RUSH. Looking for YA that would be perfect for fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? HERE IT IS.

Lately I’ve been on a mystery/thriller binge and Don’t Turn Around satisfied my craving for a good thriller. The main character, Noa, is dark but not overly emo/gothic. And while another storyline is thrown in there (Peter’s), I always found myself wondering what was going on with Noa while I was reading about Peter (he was definitely interesting on his own though). This book was extremely fast-paced and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

While I would have liked a little bit more explaining on the PEMA epidemic, I’m willing to wait and see if the other books provide me with the info I want.

Perfect for fans of Variant by Robison Wells and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – if you want thrills, here’s your book.

Hollywood film executives, take note of this book! I would definitely go see Over You if it were at the box office. It’s cute, fluffy, and fun – it’s chick lit that fans of Meg Cabot would definitely enjoy. Did I learn anything about myself from reading this book? No, but that’s okay because it was just plain fun. I really enjoyed the characters – they were relatable teens, and although somewhat cookie cutter, I was okay with it.

Most of all, I loved all of the brands and fashion nods in the book. My favorite quote: “I’m about as tranquil as a Missoni dress.” Missoni is KNOWN for their wild prints.

Then she had a Marni vest! AH – LOVE! Okay, so basically I loved all of the fabulous things she had plus her sassiness was killer. Brokenhearted teenage girls are nothing new but it was fun to read this story. I wish it had been written in first person (I would have liked to connect a little bit more with Max) but I understand why it was written in third person omniscient.

If you’re looking for a fluffy, one-day read – pick this one up!

Find Me is a fast-paced game of Whodunit that (if you’re like me) will have you guessing til the very end. Fans of the PERSEFoNE series and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will enjoy this murder mystery for sure.

What I really liked about this book was the snarkiness of the main character, Wick. She definitely was not a vanilla character. She had lots of spunk and brought an edge to the book. Her sarcasm, plus the way that all of the scenes were written – with this crazy amount of tension – made the book enjoyable and though I didn’t want to put it down, I had to because I couldn’t read it late at night! Too scary! Even though I’m not tech-savvy, I still liked reading about her searching for the killer over the internet. And yes, I couldn’t read it at night even though the tracking of the bad guy was done mostly over the web.

I’m sure that mystery novel experts and seasoned sleuths figured this one out WAY before I did – but I’m thankful for my ignorance because it made the book so much more thrilling.

All in all – a good debut from Romily Bernard that I’m HOPING will be turned into a series. I think I can guess what the next book would be about!