YA review: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Title: Finding Audrey
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Series: N/A
Acquired: Review
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Doubleday Children's
Release date: 4th June 2015

Audrey doesn't leave the house. Not since that day. She only goes out to see her therapist who urges her to take risks and face her fears. That's easier said than done though and Audrey struggles to take off her dark glasses, deal with her anxiety disorder and talk to her brothers best friend who thinks she may just like!

Review
Although Sophie Kinsella is a very well-known name in the book world, this is the first of her novels that I've read and I had no idea what to expect. 

Protagonist Audrey has a anxiety disorder which prevents her from leaving the house apart from to see a therapist. She doesn't go to school and she stays at home with her crazy family instead wearing dark glasses all of the time. Considering everything that Audrey has going on, I would have thought that she would be more down than she was. It was so good to see Audrey's personality right from the beginning. She's a pretty quirky girl and she's funny as well. 

Characters who feature heavily in this book are Audrey's family; her mum, dad, older and younger brothers. I loved the family just as much as I loved Audrey. They're a pretty dysfunctional bunch and are all really different. Audrey's mum is obsessed with The Daily Mail and any article that's published, her older brother is addicted to games and her little brother is a bit mental while her dad just wants to stay out of it all. 

Finding Audrey is a really funny novel and it had me chuckling throughout. I think a lot of this comes from the family and what they get up to more than anything else. Not only is this book funny but it's so heartfelt and real at the same time. I cheered Audrey on the whole time and was routing for her to battle what she was going through and do something amazing for herself. 

Now that I have read a Sophie Kinsella novel I would happily give her adult work a go. I love a book that can make me laugh out loud and this one certainly did that. It was also quite different from other YA novels and even better that it is set in the UK. 

YA review: Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

Title: Nowhere But Here
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Thunder Road #1
Acquired: Review
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Release date: 26th May 2015

Seventeen year old Emily loves her life with great parents, good friends and living in a safe neighbourhood. But, she has a biological dad who she's curious about, even if she doesn't want to admit it. Instead of being her dad he chose life as a member of Reign of Terror, a motorcycle club.

An unexpected visit turns into a stay Emily never thought she would do and nothing is what she thought it was; not her dad, not the club and certainly not Oz, the guy she seems to be stuck with. 

Review
Katie McGarry is one of my go to authors. I have loved every single book in her Pushing the Limits series so I couldn't wait to get my hands on her new series. 

Protagonist Emily comes from a pretty conservative family but she knows that her biological father is a member of a motorcycle club. She's intrigued and curious about him but doesn't want to admit that in case she hurts her mother and father. Honestly, Emily came across as a bit bland to begin with. She has a normal life, normal friends and a normal family if you don't count her absent biological dad. That was the most intriguing thing about her to begin with and I wanted her to have a bit more to her than that. 

Luckily, Emily really comes into her own over the course of this book. Unexpected circumstances force her to spend time with Eli, her biological dad and the club he belongs to. She soon proves that she is someone not to be messed with and she is actually quite feisty... not what I was expecting at all. As the story panned out I found myself liking Emily more and more for proving me wrong. 

The Thunder Road series is very different from Pushing the Limits for many reasons, not that it's a bad thing. In fact, it's a really good thing. Honestly, some of the subject matter in the Pushing the Limits novels is quite depressing and there are many broken families. What I loved about this book was the sense of family and community within Reign of Terror. Emily doesn't really understand what she's told about the club and how they are with one another but Katie McGarry really shows this throughout the whole book. 

Oz was a part of that family and the one made to look after Emily while she was in town. I loved Oz from the beginning. He had that smoking hot bad boy thing going for him but through his narrative, you could also see there was a hell of a lot more to him than that. I think a lot of that came from being so close to the club and knowing what it meant to be a part of it all. When it came to Emily, he knew things he shouldn't about her but was also torn because of everything else he thought he knew about her. Oz was a pretty perfect main male character for me as he had everything I could possibly want. 

In regards to the plot, Nowhere But Here has a hell of a lot going on. Not only do we have to learn of Emily's real story, the truth about her dad and a million other things but there is some serious drama and heartbreak in these pages. I was not expecting to feel so much while reading this one and I just could not put it down. McGarry's writing is utterly addictive and I cannot get enough of her books. This one is absolutely fantastic!

YA review: Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry

Title: Breaking the Rules
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #1.5
Acquired: Bought
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Release date: 1st January 2015

Noah and Echo are having an epic summer road trip before Echo heads off to college. She needs time away from home and she needs to spend time with the one guy who will never judge her. But, the road trip turns into something else entirely and instead of bringing the couple together, it threatens to push them apart. 

Review
Echo and Noah have been one of my favourite couples in a young adult series in such a long time so going into this book was a bit nerve racking!

Echo and Noah are on the road trip of a lifetime and they are enjoying some much needed time away from everything back home and concentrating on each other. Katie McGarry writes some really wonderful and beautiful scenes which really capture how Echo and Noah feel about each other. They are breathtaking together and are put into some pretty amazing situations during the beginning of the book. 

However, their summer is running out and this brings up questions about the couple's future and where they are heading. Each character has some pretty major insecurities because of their pasts and they both have problems talking to each other about what's going on in their heads. While Echo and Noah are a pretty solid couple at times, their lack of trust in one another annoyed me a little bit. After everything they had already been through I was hoping that they could trust each other a bit more instead of keeping things to themselves. 

A large proportion of this book focuses on family and what that can mean to someone. Noah has issues with his family, as does Echo and these things come back to haunt them both. The things that have happened before with family members have a huge effect on how Echo and Noah approach different situations and it was hard to see them act in the ways they did. This book raises a lot of questions about what a family really is and who is part of that family. 

Breaking the Rules is very busy plot wise. As previously mentioned, Echo and Noah have a lot going on and an unsure future ahead of them. They both have dreams that they want to pursue but they are so different. Noah is a musician while Echo is an artist and their dreams are threatening to pull them in different situations. It was heartbreaking to see these two struggle with their feelings for each other and want they wanted out of life, especially when they both thought those things didn't work together. 

Breaking the Rules is a highly emotional read but a must for fans of the series and of Noah and Echo. 

Series wrap up - Bloodlines 4, 5 & 6

My wonderful husband bought me the final three books in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead for my birthday last month. It had been a very long time since I read the first three books though and I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to get back into the series. Boy, was I wrong! After picking up book 3, The Fiery Heart I was hooked once again and I read all three books within a couple of days. 

Protagonists Sydney and Adrian are trying to find their feet in their secret relationship. Adrian is a Vampire and Sydney is an Alchemist which really means that they shouldn't be together, especially in the eyes of the Alchemists. These two characters are the reasons why I started reading this series in the first place. Sydney is so different and the last three books really see her coming into her own and realising that she can be her

own person and not what other people think she should be. Then there's Adrian who is just wonderful. He didn't have the best reputation in the Vampire Academy series but he's so different in these books and he turns into someone I loved!

The romance between Sydney and Adrian was pretty awesome. Each character has so much to overcome before they can finally be happy together and their journey of discovery is such a good one to discover. There are also many more romances in the last three books of this series though. A whole host of other characters are finding their own feet in the relationship department and while some are just a nice back story, some are much more important to the overall plot of the series. Richelle Mead writes fantastic chemistry between her characters and I think that's partially why I love her books so much. 

A lot happens plot wise over the course of these final three books so it's kind of hard to write about. However, I will say that I loved the changes in the dynamics of vampires and Alchemists. The things that happen affect the way a lot of people see the world and the changes are definitely for the better. Another thing I loved was the development of human magic. This added a whole other dimension to the story and it was something that made it stand out to the first three books. 

The Bloodlines series is very different from the Vampire Academy series but equally as enjoyable. I absolutely loved the final half of the series and I really couldn't put each book down once I'd started. 

YA review: No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown

Title: No Place to Fall
Author: Jaye Robin Brown
Series: N/A
Acquired: Bought
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release date: 9th December 2014

People think that Amber Vaughn is a good girl. What they don't know is that she spends her summer evenings being someone else completely. She's not the church going choir singer. She's not sweet and innocent. She has dreams bigger than the small town she grew up in. 

Just when Amber thinks she may have the chance of getting out and making something of herself, her secrets spiral out of control and could ruin everything. 

Review
If I hadn't have been in Foyles one day, I would have never known about this book, let alone pick it up to buy it. Honestly, the cover is what got me but this is a debut novel and I didn't really know what to expect. 

Protagonist Amber is supposedly a good, church going girl who sings in the choir and this is how the synopsis (the official one, not the one above) portrays her. However, right at the beginning of the book we learn that she is spending the evenings during summer break at a local cabin where hikers stay and she ends up hooking up with quite a few of them. This obviously instantly ruins the idea of her being the girl she's made out to be. That bugged me. 

It's not that Amber wasn't likeable though, because she was in a weird way. This book sees her do a lot of pretty silly things and she doesn't think anything through at all. Amber is one of those characters who you really want to hit with a 'get real' stick and make her realise that there's a lot going on around her that she's not even thinking about. I wanted her to sort herself out, to grow a bit more but unfortunately there isn't as much character development as there could be. I really liked Amber's passion for music which ran throughout the story. While she was a bit messed up over a number of things, music was the one thing that stayed clear and that was a nice touch. 

In regards to the plot, No Place to Fall is a bit all over the place. There's so much going on from stealing, cheating and drugs that I didn't really know whether I was coming or going. I do like some twists and turns in a book but this just had too much going on. Characters got lost in multiple plot lines and were never able to reach their full potential. Separate plot lines lacked excitement because they weren't given enough time. It's a shame really because this could have been a really great book. 

I really liked some of the secondary characters even if they were sort of forgotten about at times. Just like the plot, there were too many characters and if there had been a couple less, the others would have been given more time to shine. There were also quite a few stereotypes thrown in like it was for good measure which was a bit of a shame as it was unnecessary. 

Although I haven't written a review full of really nice things about this book, I did like it in a strange kind of way. No Place to Fall is a very easy read and shows potential from the author. I would definitely give this author another try. 

Young Adult review: Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Title: Take Me On  
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing The Limits #4
Acquired: Bought
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Mira Ink
Release date:6th June 2014

Haley Williams was once a champion kickboxer but things changed and now she is putting everything into getting into college instead. 

West Young is everything Haley said she would stay away from but when he accepts a challenge that forces him to fight for her honour she knows he won't last unless she helps him. 

Both Haley and West have secrets from each other but maybe together they'll find something worth fighting for. 

Review
Take Me On is the fourth book in the Pushing The Limits series and while it can be read on its own, it is better to read the series in order as this one is set just after events in other books. 

West and Haley meet in pretty bad circumstances but they soon find themselves forced together when West faces off against Haley's ex-boyfriend. I really loved the idea for the plot as I haven't read anything like this before. The drama builds from the very beginning and leads up to one big fight between West and Haley's ex. There is so much tension between a lot of characters in this book and I really enjoyed watching things play out and to figure out how things would end for everyone. 

Not only is the plot dramatic and exciting but there's also a much softer and emotional side to the story. Katy McGarry explores the idea of what family and home can mean to different people. This aspect of Take Me On was a wonderful contrast to the rest of the story. It also meant being able to really get to know Haley and West and all of the things that make them who they are in this book. 

From page one my heart went out to Haley. It is instantly clear that she and her family are in a pretty bad situation and that she used to fight. Used to being the operative word. She used to hold a national title. Then something happened and she stopped fighting completely. Haley clearly wants something better out of life than what she has but things aren't looking very good for her. She is a fighter through and through even if she isn't doing it in a ring and I loved her strength throughout this book. She really tried to keep things going for everyone around her even if it meant keeping things to herself and trying to sort everything out on her own. 

West on the other hand comes from a privileged background which we discovered in the previous book. I have to say that I wasn't his biggest fan in the last book because of things that he did. However, he was actually a completely different person than I had expected him to be. I imagined him to be really selfish and stuck up but he wasn't that at all. West is such a caring and chivalrous guy and I didn't see it coming at all. What I loved most about him though is his protectiveness over Haley. 

Katy McGarry has the ability to write perfectly broken characters and give them one hell of a story, time after time. I loved Take Me On just as much as the other books in this series. 

YA review: The Death House by Sarah Pinborough

Title: The Death House
Author: Sarah Pinborough
Series: N/A
Acquired: Review
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Gollancz
Release date: 26th February 2015

Blood tests can change everything and Toby knows that all too well. The day his blood test showed him as Defective Toby was taken away from his family and taken to The Death House, where all the Defectives go. 

Toby, along with everyone else in The Death House, don't get to live a normal life. They're monitored by Matron and the nurses, go to classes that mean nothing to them and they wait for the sickness to come. 

Sickness means going to the sanatorium, the place that no one comes back from. 

Review
Sometimes when I get an email from a publicist about a book I get super excited; not because it's about a book I've been dying to read but because they bring something to my attention that I hadn't heard of yet and it's something that sounds amazing. This was how I felt when I got the email about The Death House. Although I do have my preferred genres or books I do still like to try something new and different now and again. 

The Death House is set in a world where some people are classed as Defectives. Well, not people, children. They're forced to have a blood tests which reveals if they have the gene or not and if they do, they're taken away from everything they know and are forced to live in The Death House with the rest of the Defectives. Isolated from the outside world, the Defectives soon give up hope that they'll be able to go home or hear from their families. Days are spent in meaningless classes, cleaning and trying to get through another day without getting sick. 

Protagonist Toby seems to have come to terms with his new life in The Death House. Okay, he isn't happy to be there just like everyone else as he knows what he has coming to him eventually. He is the oldest in his dorm though and that makes him their leader, the guy the others look up to. It isn't until newcomers enter the house that everything changes and Toby begins to change how his time is spent. He actually begins to live instead of waiting to die. 

The Death House has such an eerie and creepy setting. The house itself is on some unknown island, cut off from society and none of the children know where they are. They have no knowledge of what is going on in the outside world or how their families are. All they know is that they are Defectives and at some point they are going to die. The thing about this book is that it never really explains what being a Defective means. I don't see this as a bad thing though and I quite liked not really knowing much about it. The story really isn't about what is wrong with the children but instead, what happens during their time in the house. 

Not only is there the mystery of being Defective but also of the sanatorium which honestly would have scared the crap out of me. Makes me shudder just thinking about it. 

Sarah Pinborough writes a host of extremely likable characters whom you can relate to. Toby is quite the realist. He tells it how it is and doesn't hold any false hope. I loved Toby's honesty with his dorm-mates and he was just the sort of person I'd want to have around because he didn't sugar coat things. Will is a younger boy in dorm 4 who just doesn't really understand what is going on and he just wants to go home to his family. There are also the bullies and the kids who think they can do whatever they want. It's like a secondary school setting with the jealousy and rivalry. 

The Death House is really a journey of self discovery for Toby. There are a few really exciting twists over the course of the book and especially the ending. I didn't see that coming at all. I couldn't put this book down and it really is as exciting as it sounds!

Young Adult Review: What If by Rebecca Donovan

Title: What If
Author: Rebecca Donovan
Series: N/A
Acquired: Review
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin
Release date: 22nd January 2015

Cal Logan moved on since high school. He's no longer the skinny, geeky looking kid but now has a new life away at college. The day he sees Nicole Bentley he cannot believe his eyes. No one has seen or heard from her since graduation. 

The girl is not Nicole though, she's Nyelle Preston; daring, bold and everything that Nicole isn't. Cal can't help but want to get to know Nyelle better seeing as he's had a crush on Nicole since they were both children but she's keeping secrets and Cal can't figure out why. 

Review
I'm sure we've all got those friends we went to school with, were pretty close to and then grew apart from. I know I have and I've often wondered what happened to them. What If is a story about friendship and how things can change whether it be due to moving away or just finding different friends. What If tells the story of four childhood friends who live close to one another. As children they are inseparable but due to various things, they drift apart. 

Cal is the main narrator as the story really does have more to do with him. He's away at college and has stayed best friends with Rae since they were children. Richelle moved away and they didn't keep in touch but Nicole is a bit of a mystery. Cal had a crush on her for a long time and it never really stopped, even though he hasn't spoken to her for years. When he sees someone that looks exactly like her but acts differently, he can't help but wonder if it really is her and something happened between graduation and the present day. The girl goes by Nyelle though and is nothing like the Nicole Cal used to know.  

While a large part of the book is spent with Cal and Nyelle in the present, there are also flashbacks to the group's childhood through chapters narrated by each of the four characters. I really liked both aspects of What If as it was important to learn what happened to everyone over the course of many years. Children change, grow, turn into teenagers and learn different things about life that affects who they are and what they do. Cal, Nicole, Rae and Richelle are all really different people with different personalities so I enjoyed figuring out why they all became friends in the first place. 

Another thing I loved about this book was Cal and Nyelle together. Cal thinks Nyelle is Nicole and he can't get the idea out of his head but he has no way of proving it and Rae thinks he's insane. So, Cal attempts to get to know Nyelle to figure out if he's right or not and she has a completely different personality to Nicole. Nyelle is impulsive, daring, fun and crazy and Cal doesn't know what to make of her at all. Both Cal and Nyelle are really fun characters to read about especially as they get to know one another. They get up to some really silly and crazy things and it gave the story a great feel to it. 

What If is a lot more than the things I have written about in this review but writing about them would really spoil the story for others who want to read it but haven't yet. As a fan of Rebecca Donovan's other books I wasn't disappointed at all with this one. What If is super fun coming of age story but a mystery to try to solve added in. I couldn't have enjoyed this one more!

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Title: Far From You
Author: Tess Sharpe
Acquired: ARC
Genre: YA - Crime/ Thriller
Publisher: Indigo

Sophie almost died... twice. She saw her best friend Mina be shot and killed right in front of her. She's a recovering addict. She's determined to figure out who killed her best friend. 

Everyone thinks that it was a drug deal gone wrong the night that Mina was killed. Afterwards Sophie is forced to go to rehab as everyone thinks it was her that wanted drugs and her fault that Mina was there when she was killed. Sophie had already kicked the habit though even if no one will believe her. Now that she's out of rehab, Sophie has something to prove and she won't stop until everyone knows the truth. 

Review
I have to say that I'm not normally one for thrillers. I don't know why but if I had the choice between that and a romance, I'd pick up the romance 99% of the time. Kirsty (The Overflowing Library) said this one was great though so I gave it a fair shot. 

I was pretty hooked from the beginning. By the end of the second page Sophie has already been in a massive car accident and has also seen her best friend be shot and murdered. That's a pretty intense opening for any book. It also made me really intrigued by Sophie. I mean, who has that kind of life and who has such bad luck?! 

Far From You is told from varying times during Sophie's life. Different things have happened over many years and it is only from this that you get to learn why Sophie is how she is. It also explains her friendship with Mina, her brother Trevor and other characters in the story. Without this distorted way of telling the story, you wouldn't be able to fully grasp the importance of Sophie and Mina's friendship. Although the timelines were a bit confusing at times, it was a fun and different way of learning everything that you needed to know. 

So, Sophie became an addict after the car crash and due to her injuries, took way too many painkillers. Tess Sharpe shows Sophie in very different situations and one minute I thought she was really strong and tough but in another minute she as very weak. I thought that this showed human emotions really well as no one is just one thing all of the time and different situations bring out different things in a person. 

Sophie and Mina's friendship was pretty complicated and there are some good twists thrown in there. Until everything is revealed you would have never seen the big secrets coming and you would never be able to guess who killed Mina or why. The plot was quite slow paced really due to the changing times but it was still exciting and full of suspense. 

I didn't think I would enjoy this one as much as I did! 

Book review: What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

About the book

What I Thought Was True is a young adult book by Huntley Fitzpatrick. The book was published by Dial Books on 15^th April and it is 409 pages long.

Synopsis

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

What I thought

Huntley Fitzpatrick’s debut novel My Life Next Door was one of my favourite books during the summer of 2012 so when I had the chance to read this one, I didn’t wait around for long. I haven’t been reading that much of late due to life getting in the way and generally either being too busy or too tired to concentrate. This was the first book that I’ve read in months.

This book was quite hard to get in to. Protagonist Gwen comes from a pretty confusing family. I didn’t really understand who some of the characters were until a fair way into the book. Nic was one of those characters. It was never made really clear who he was but turns out that he’s Gwen’s cousin rather than a brother like I originally though. However confusing, her family were interesting to say the least. Gwen’s mother is in love with romance novels, her dad is never around and her granddad speaks in a mix of English and Portuguese.

The plot focuses on Gwen and her plans for the summer. Normally she would be working the restaurant for her dad and babysitting but this summer her mum lands her a job looking after an elderly lady and it pays well! Gwen always dreads working in the restaurant and having to serve the rich boys from across the bridge… especially one in particular. Turns out, that one boy in particular will be spending a lot of time on the island this year and everywhere Gwen seems to go, he’s there!

The plot was pretty cute for a summer read and it wasn’t too deep which was nice. Gwen has a past and this is sort of discovered in flashbacks. Again though, this aspect of the book was really confusing. There is no clear timeline for the bits in the past and there is no clear definition between the past and the present. I felt like I never really knew what was going on until after half way through the book which was a shame. Some of Gwen’s past actions are what made her into the girl she is in this book so it would have been nice to have been able to understand her a little better.

The love interest in this book is Cass, a guy from a wealthy family but is working as a yard boy for the summer. Cass was super sweet and you could tell from the very start that he was interested in Gwen but we have to wait a while to see what’s really going on between them. I liked slowly discovering what was happening between them and the chemistry was also pretty great!! During their time together we get to know a lot about both characters rather than them just being a romance or a ‘love at first sight’ kind of thing which I hate!

While I liked this book, I didn’t love it. There was too much confusion and I just wish things had been a bit more straightforward. 

Impossible by Koman Kant

About the book

Impossible is a (mature) young adult book by Koman Kant. It was published by the author on 24^th October 2012 and the book is 254 pages long.

Synopsis

Ashton Summers and Luca Byron used to be best friends. Now, they wouldn’t even look at each other in the school hall let alone talk to each other. They do live next door to one another though which can make things extremely awkward. Ashton has now made new friends and is part of the popular, cheerleading crowd while Luca dyed his hair black and everyone thinks of him as a devil worshipper.

The two old best friends have absolutely nothing in common anymore so falling in love should be impossible, right?!

What I thought

Impossible was one of those Kindle books that I found on Amazon for free at the time I downloaded it. I love getting the free Kindle books sometimes because you can find some real gems that you may not have looked at before.

Ashton Summers is finally where she always wanted to be; popular and a cheerleader. She’s actually quite annoying at the beginning of the book because she thinks that is all that matters in life and I wanted to give her a bit of a slap to knock some sense into her. It’s clear that she’s changed from the person that she used to be in order to climb the social ladder at school which really makes her quite fake. She was also shallow and a bully. Not the kind of character that you love instantly is it?

Then there is Luca who I did feel quite sorry for. He is seemingly happy with who he has become but he is constantly put down by Ashton and her annoying shallow friends. I did quite like him though as he didn’t take any crap from anyone and just got on with what he wanted to do. The thing about Luca for me was that there was actually something about him. He had a passion for music and he was sweet and funny as well.

Impossible’s plot focuses on Ashton and Luca rekindling their friendship but it takes quite a while for them to really get there. Luca certainly doesn’t like the person that Ashton has become. There is a large part of the story that deals with bullying but I can’t say that it was done right. While Ashton bullying others is a large part of the story, she is never really punished for her actions nor does she get how wrong she has been. I really wanted Ashton to learn more from her mistakes but instead she just seemed to change in an instant without ever really having to deal with what she had done.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book but it was still an okay read. The chemistry between Ashton and Luca wasn’t very realistic and their emotions and feelings were never really an important issue. It was more about sexual chemistry than anything else. Also, I don’t feel as though the character development was strong enough for Ashton when it could have been so much better. 

Brooklyn Girls: Angie by Gemma Burgess

About the book

Brooklyn Girls: Angie (Aka Love and Chaos) is a young/ new adult novel by Gemma Burgess. The book was published by Quercus on 6^th March and is 320 pages long. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Angie James lives in Brooklyn, New York and her life is supposed to be amazing. Things didn’t quite turn out as planned though. She doesn’t have a job, she doesn’t have a man and she doesn’t really have much else apart from her friends that she lives with. After a party goes terribly wrong, Angie is forced to look seriously at her life and where she is going. Luckily for her, mysterious boat boy Sam turns up at the right time and helps her figure everything out. But, things aren’t exactly plain sailing and Angie needs to sort her life out for herself and make some really important decisions.

What I thought

When I read the first book in this series, Brooklyn Girls, I wasn’t so sure about the rest of the series. The language in the first book was a little off and it bugged me from time to time. But, when I saw this book come up on NetGalley I figured I would give the series a second chance… and I’m glad I did.

The first book focused on Pia whereas this book focuses on Angie, one of Pia’s friends. Angie is a bit of a wild child and really likes partying hard. Her life is a complete mess and nothing at all like she imagined it to be. She doesn’t have a job, her parents are getting a divorce and she has no idea what she’s doing. Angie knows that she’s unhappy but can’t seem to break out of her usual habits… until one party goes really wrong and everyone has the wrong idea about her.

Angie was a bit of a hard character to figure out. At times I wanted to slap her for being such an idiot and not getting herself out of the mess she got herself into but at other times, I did feel sorry for her. I think she was acting out a lot of the time because she didn’t know what else to do. Angie really puts on a front around other people, acting extremely confident and like she knows exactly what she is doing but it was nice for readers to be able to see a much softer side to her. We are able to see that she really does want to make something of herself and sort herself out.

Even though Angie’s life is spiralling out of control, there is one positive aspect and one that is unexpected. In the middle of a crazy time, Angie meets mysterious boat boy, Sam. They instantly hit it off and become really good friends. Angie feels like she can tell Sam anything and he really does help her get her life sorted a little bit. I think a lot of this was having something solid and constant in her life compared with the craziness that came before. Friendship is a really big theme in this series and it was nice to see that it wasn’t all about the girls’ friendships but Angie’s friendship with Sam as well. There is also a slow burning romance but that isn’t the main point of the story.

As I said earlier, the language used really bugged me throughout the first book as there were Britishisms thrown in all over the place. Luckily, the writing was so much better in this book and I couldn’t pick out anything that was out of place at all. The whole story flowed really well and there were now awkward moments of pages wasted. There is quite a lot going on in this book as Angie has quite a wild lifestyle so it is exciting the whole way through as well.

I am so happy to say that I really enjoyed this book. We get to know more about the girls that Angie lives with as well and it makes me want to read the next book about Coco so much more! 

Anything to Have You by Paige Harbison

About the book

Anything to Have You is a young adult book by Paige Harbison. The book was published by Mira Ink on 7^th February and the book is 368 pages long. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Natalie and Brooke and been friends since they can remember and always have each other’s backs. Although they’re best friends, they have completely different personalities. Natalie is the shy, quiet one who is college bound while Brooke is the life and soul of the party.

Natalie finally gives in and goes with Brooke to a party but she gets drunk, wakes up next to Brooke’s boyfriend and cannot remember what happened. Both girls question what really happened at the party that night and it could ruin everything they’ve ever had.

What I thought

Anything to Have You is told through a dual narrative of best friends Natalie and Brooke. Not only do they both tell the story but the time jumps between their Junior and Senior years of high school. To start with, I didn’t really get on with the way in which the story was told. I would have much preferred to have a background given on Natalie and Brooke’s friendship and then for the plot to run smoothly instead. I didn’t mind both of them telling the story but the time jumps broke everything up too much.

As protagonists go, Natalie was sweet enough, if a bit bland. She was quite straight-laced and didn’t party and get drunk like her best friend did. Natalie’s only vice seemed to be Brooke’s boyfriend, Aiden. It was clear from early on that she had a massive crush on him and wanted him first but never acted on it on account of Brooke. She secretly hates the way that Aiden is treated by Brooke but never says anything.

Brooke was actually really, really annoying. She is the girl who seems to have everything but wants anything else instead. She isn’t happy with her boyfriend most of the time and always complains that she wants more. Honestly, I felt like she deserved the bad hands she was dealt in this book because of the way she acted most of the time. As she tells part of the story, I found myself wanting more of Natalie instead of Brooke.

As plots go, this one isn’t anything special. Anything to Have You tells the done too many times story of friends fighting over a boy and it doesn’t really bring in anything new. Natalie finally gives in and goes to a party, gets wasted and wakes up next to a boy… Aiden. Aiden knows exactly what happened but Natalie can’t remember anything. The problem for me was that she didn’t really seem to care, although she clearly knew that she’d had sex and couldn’t remember it. Her actions didn’t fit with her personality at all.

Although the majority of the book bugged me, Paige Harbison really did try in parts with this one. There are times when the plot goes to darker, scarier places and it goes much deeper than just a broken friendship. However, some of the events didn’t quite fit with the rest of the book and that was extremely unfortunate. This book had promise that it didn’t quite live up to. 

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

About the book

Racing Savannah is the fourth book in the young adult Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally. The book was published by Sourcefire Books on 13^th December 2013 and it is 304 pages long. I received an ebook for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Savannah is forced to move to Tennessee with her father and pregnant stepmother. The only good part of the move is that her father will be working for a wealthy family and looking after their racehorses. Savannah has always loved to ride and quickly dreams of working with the horses herself, maybe even riding them.

When Savannah sets her sights on Jack, she knows he should be out of bounds as he’s the son of the estate. She’s had enough heartbreak in her sixteen years and doesn’t want anymore. Savannah not only wants happiness in her life but she wants a better life and thinks she deserves better than what’s been on offer in the past. Maybe Jack will be the one to help her realise her dreams.

What I thought

I’m going to begin by saying that although this is the fourth in a series of books, each is actually a stand-alone set within the same place. So, Racing Savannah can either be read as a part of the series or on its own.

Miranda Kenneally is an author who writes about girls I have been dying to read about for years. All of her female protagonists are strong, independent and basically fabulous characters. Savannah is no different. She’s a girl who has had heartbreak in the past due to the loss of her mother but she’s determined to make her proud. Savannah was exactly who she said she was which was another thing I liked about her. She didn’t pretend to be anyone else in order to impress them and she stuck to her guns about what she believed in.

Something else Kenneally manages to do in each of her books in this series is to incorporate some kind of sport. I have always liked this about her books because it puts a female characters right in the middle of that sport. I loved the fact that horseracing was used in this one as it was something I have never seen done before in any young adult book, or any other book for that matter. The idea was interesting and fun and made a really nice change to American football or baseball.

As love interests go, Jack wasn’t my favourite out of all of the Kenneally books I have read so far (which is four). At times he was lovely and sweet towards Savannah but then he turned completely at times. There were times were he was like a completely different person and blanked Savannah completely or treat her like dirt which I didn’t like at all. However, there is quite a lot of chemistry between Jack and Savannah which was a redeeming quality for the book overall.

While Racing Savannah isn’t my favourite of the Hundred Oaks books, I still enjoyed it and it was different from the rest. 

Popping The Cherry by Aurelia B. Rowl

About the book

Popping The Cherry is a young adult ebook by Aurelia B. Rowl. It was published by Harlequin UK on 19^th September 2013 and the book is 250 pages long. I received an ebook for review though NetGalley.

Synopsis

Valentina (Lena) Bell thinks she’s a complete failure. She failed her driving test on the first try and she’s never had sex. Being a virgin makes her feel different from all of her friends, like an outsider. To help her out, Lena’s friends come up with Operation: Popping the Cherry. They come up with a list of eligible men and all Lena has to do is work through them to find the perfect guy for her first time.

But Lena has trouble finding the perfect guy. After dates with crazy musicians and in the closet friends, she thinks she is destined to be a virgin for a long time. Luckily for Lena though, she has Jake to lean on through hard times. Problem is, he’s her best friend’s brother and completely out of bounds.

What I thought

Author Aurelia B. Rowl has got British teenagers spot on in this young adult novel. Many young adult novels do not portray realistic teenagers and instead focus on unrealistic experiences and love.

Protagonist Lena Bell is desperate to lose her virginity. None of her friends are virgins anymore and she can’t quite connect with them in the same way anymore because of her not having had sex. I found the conversations and actions between Lena and her friends to be really realistic and I could really picture them all sitting around talking about Lena and her ‘situation’.

Not only does the book deal with the aspect of virginity in teenagers but also peer pressure which I thought was an important thing to address. Rowl shows that teenagers can feel forced to do something they’re unsure of due to their friend’s experiences but she also shows that teenagers should think for themselves rather than following the pack.

While I thought the idea for Popping the Cherry was a fun read, it wasn’t completely realistic. The time span of the book isn’t too long but so much happens to poor Lena. She encounters many situations which I doubt would ever happen in someone’s life let alone in such a short space of time. I also don’t think some of the situations needed to be as dramatic as they were and they could have been toned down a little bit and still worked.

Love interest Jake was a wonderful character. A little older than Lena, he had more experience with relationships and was there to make Lena feel more like herself, rather than feeling like she should be someone else. Jake really was the perfect gentleman, always being there for Lena when she needed him and he was sweet as hell as well. He was definitely one of my favourite aspects of this book.

Overall, Popping the Cherry is a fun, quick read but with a really important subject for teenagers. A great read. 

Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

About the book

Out of Nowhere is a young adult book by Maria Padian. The book was published on 12^th February 2013 (10^th February 2015 in the UK) and is 352 pages long. I received an ebook for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Tom Bouchard thinks he has the perfect life; he’s captain of the soccer team, has a gorgeous and popular girlfriend and is third in his class which means he will probably have the pick of any college he wants. In a small town in Maine that can mean everything but Tom’s life quickly gets turned around when Enniston becomes a “secondary migration” location for Somali refugees.

For the people trying to get a better life after their home was destroyed by war, Enniston is not perfect but it is the best they have. Tom never really paid any attention to the Somali students at his school, much like everyone else but things change when a few of them join the soccer team. One classmate, Saeed, is lightning on the field and even make it so the team finally wins some games. But, Saeed’s eligibility to play is questioned, Tom messes up big time with a culture he doesn’t understand and people unlike himself.

What I thought

Maria Padian is an author I had never heard of before requesting this book from NetGalley. I only did so because the synopsis made the book sound so different from anything I had ever read before and I was in the mood for different at the time.

Set in Enniston, Maine, Tom Bouchard is one of the most popular guys in school… unlike the Somali refugees who don’t even get a second look most days. Some of the Somali students barely know any English which makes getting to class hard enough, let alone having to sit through them without a clue about what is going on. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the idea for this book and it is one that I don’t think has been written about nearly enough.

A large theme throughout this book is racism and how the Somali people are treated by everyone, not just other students at the school. Tom, however, was not racist at all and didn’t care about colour of someone’s skin. When Saeed joins the soccer team, Tom welcomes him to the team with open arms. It was so nice to see Tom stand up for Saeed when people would put him down for being Somali. There were a lot of mean comments and actions towards Saeed and his friends so it was good to see that not everyone was racist.

What I liked most about this book was seeing the struggle that the Somali refugees went through. Not because I’m heartless and mean but because it was interesting to see what people had to deal with when moving to a completely new place and country and what it could be like for someone who barely speaks the language. I know I would struggle if I were put in the same kind of position.

Padian not only tackles the subject from a teenage point of view but also on a larger scale. The whole town has a divided view on what is going on and how Somali refugees should be treated. It was quite appalling to see people with such power be so ignorant and insensitive to other people’s situations. It would be nice to think that racism, especially in educated adults, didn’t exist anymore but it does, which is a massive shame.

Out of Nowhere is a compelling but challenging read and I enjoyed every single page. 

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry and Giveaway!

About the book

Crash Into You is the third book in the Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry. The book was published by Mira Ink on 26^th November and the book is 384 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

Synopsis

Rachel Young does exactly as she’s expected. She gets straight As, wears the designer clothes that she’s supposed to and does whatever her mother says. But, Rachel is keeping secrets from both her parents and her protective brothers. The first secret involves her love of cars and the second involves a seventeen year old boy she has no business even knowing.

Isaiah Walker comes from the foster system and has no idea what a normal family looks like. The only things he knows are his best friends who are always there if he needs them. Isaiah is everything that Rachel’s parents would tell her to stay away from; he has tattoos and is constantly in trouble but he has the most amazing grey eyes that she cannot ignore.

Rachel and Isaiah have more in common than they could have imagined but could being from two different worlds keep them apart?

What I thought

I have absolutely loved the books in the Pushing the Limits series so far and Isaiah has been a character who has made me curious in previous books. I was so happy to see him get his own book and I couldn’t wait to see what he got up to.

The whole series follows a group of young people trying to survive the foster system and families with many problems. Isaiah is no exception. In this book, he isn’t really sure about where he is living but he does know that he wants to be a mechanic. He’s always had a massive love of cars and can’t imagine anything better than working with what he loves. Although Isaiah has a tough exterior with his tattoos, he is such a sweetheart deep down. It is clear that he cares about his friends more than anything and will do anything for those he loves.

Rachel, even though she comes from a wealthy family, has a terrible home life. She’s stuck living in the shadow of her dead sister and can’t seem to escape that. Her mother wants her to be a certain type of person but Rachel actually loves cars and has to keep it a secret mostly. When she takes part in a drag race, she has no idea what she’s getting herself into or who she is going to meet along the way.

Isaiah and Rachel were a fantastic couple. Although both characters come from different backgrounds, they have so much in common with their family problems. Isaiah and Rachel understand each other and they also have such a passion for cars. Isaiah can’t believe his luck when he meets Rachel. However, he knows that she’s way out of his league and should keep away… but he can’t. I really enjoyed watching the chemistry grow between these two characters but also watching them get to know one another better. The romance in this third Pushing the Limits novel was amazing.

I also really loved the plot. You can’t get much better than fast cars, racing and shady deals along the way. I found the plot to be extremely exciting throughout and there was a great mix between the street racing world and Rachel’s rich family and friends. Stereotypes are broken down and the characters surprised me many times.

While Crash Into You is pretty predictable, I didn’t mind one little bit. I quite liked knowing that the guy would get his girl but there is so much going on along the way to make the book more exciting.

The wonderful people at Mira kindly sent me and extra copy of Crash Into You to give away to my lovely readers. All you need to do is enter the form below. Giveaway is open to UK entrants only. Giveaway winner will be picked on 16th January and will have 48 hours to reply or another winner will be picked. 

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Elect by Rachel Van Dyken

About the book

Elect is the second book in the Eagle Elite series by Rachel Van Dyken. The book was published on Kindle on 10^th December. I received an ebook for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Nixon Abandonato made a choice that put him in charge of everything. You see, his family is a mafia family and his friends are all in on it too. After he fell in love with Tracey, it marked her as a target to all of Nixon’s enemies. He swears that he will do everything to protect her but the only way to do it is to convince the world that he isn’t really with her. In doing that, Nixon ends up pushing her towards his best friend but she isn’t quite ready to give everything up just yet.

When family secrets threaten everything that Nixon has been working for, it all comes down to a life for a life but who will it be?

What I thought

Before reading this book, I had no idea that it was the second in a series and I hadn’t even heard of the first, let alone read it. So, it’s safe to say I wasn’t quite with the plot to begin with when reading this one.

The plot for this book, and this series, is pretty unbelievable and not in a good way. The series focuses on mafia families and one that is now being run by a teenager. I’m not sure if protagonist Nixon was put into power in the last book or that was how everything started out. Either way, I just couldn’t get into the plot because of how ridiculous it was. Not only is he running a crazy business but he’s also going to school and trying to show that everything is normal. Say what?! I maybe would have bought into the idea more had it just been plain and simple. Why do mafia bosses need to go to school especially when they have so much money?!

Anyway, the characters were just as silly as the basic plot. Nixon is quite level headed for the most part and does come across as a normal teenager, especially during his scenes with girlfriend Tracey. However, at times he would just completely flip, beat someone up… or worse and act like the mafia boss he was supposed to be. I understand that this is part of the whole mafia world and threats and violence are what gets people into certain positions but his actions and his personality/ character just didn't fit.

Part of the plot focuses on Nixon and Tracey’s relationship and the danger she is put in. As Nixon obviously doesn’t want her to be killed, he puts best friend Chase in charge of looking after her. A teenage boy in charge of protecting someone… okay, that makes lots of sense. What I didn’t understand was how or why Nixon put him in charge of security when he had older, more capable, people working for him. Surely anyone else would have been better than a teenage boy filled with lustful feelings for the girl. Luckily though, Chase was the most likeable character in the book so that helped a little bit.

Another thing that was disappointing was the lack of excitement. While there are plenty of scenes that should have been very intense and thrilling, I didn’t find them to be. I think people who liked this book more than me would disagree but because I really disliked the plot and most of the characters, I just couldn’t connect much with the story. Fights, threats and tense conversations should have been so exciting to read about but I found it all to be too tame. I understand that this is a young adult book but the plot subject should have allowed for more.

As you can see, I did not enjoy this book at all. 

Shadowplay by Laura Lam

About the book

Shadowplay is the second book in the Pantomime series by Laura Lam. The book was published by Strange Chemistry on 2^nd January and it is 400 pages long. I received an ebook for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

The horrors of time spent in the Circus are now behind Micah Grey and he is now on the run with the white clown, Drystan. With very few places to go, they take refuge with the once great magician, Jasper Maske. As they’ll be staying with him for a while, Maske agrees to teach both Micah and Drystan his trade. Maske has his own secrets though and they turn into a dual between Micah and Drystan and his rival.

People are also hunting Micah and who he was before, the daughter of a noble family. Even with the magic he’s learning, Micah is having trouble staying hidden. He’s also learning that there is a lot more out there to learn than fancy card tricks.

What I thought

Pantomime was one of my favourite books of 2013 and I couldn’t wait to read the second instalment. Pantomime was full of interesting ideas and had a pretty magical setting.

Shadowplay begins where Pantomime left off, with Micah and Drystan on the run. They encountered some pretty bad things while being in the circus and they’re being hunted, especially Micah. Something I truly missed in this book was the circus setting, even though it was replaced with something just as exciting and mysterious. Shadowplay enters the world of magic and illusion which I absolutely loved. Laura Lam puts in so much description of events and places and I could feel as though I was really there with Micah experiencing what he was.

New characters in this book help to make it as good as it is. We have magician Maske who is extremely mysterious but also funny in his ways and we have Cyan, a stranger who also seeks refuge at Maske’s house. I really couldn’t get enough of Cyan. From the moment she arrived, it was clear that she too was keeping secrets and I couldn’t wait to find out who she was and why she was staying with Maske. Her character is complex and interesting and I really enjoyed seeing Micah getting to know her more and deciding whether or not she could be trusted.

I felt as though Micah didn’t go through quite as much in this book as he did in Pantomime but instead he grew surer of himself and more aware of the world around him. Now out of the circus and on the run again, Micah has more people knowing about who and what he really is and he has to come to terms with trusting those around him which is hard when he knows he is being hunted. There are times in Shadowplay where I was thinking ‘Go Micah’ and I was hoping for some things to happen for him at a quicker pace. However, the slowness of some events kept the anticipation alive.

Shadowplay isn’t exciting in the way that Pantomime was but there is still so much going on. Not only do we have a dual between Maske and his rival magician but the new characters shed light into the world that Lam has created. Lam also tackles issues such as sexuality, politics and discrimination and they are all written about wonderfully. The plot is incredibly unique and one that had me hooked. I couldn’t stop reading this book and now that I’ve finished it, I want even more.

If you liked Pantomime, you will not be disappointed with the sequel. Micah is one hell of a character and leads such an interesting but dangerous life. I cannot wait to see what happens to him next.