Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

About the book

Twisted Perfection is the first book in the new adult Perfection series by Abbi Glines. It is also part of the Rosemary Beach series too, but a spin off story. The book was published on 29^th August 2013 by Simon and Schuster and the book is 272 pages long.

Synopsis

Della Sloane is desperate to break free from her life at home. She’s desperate for a new life, one where she can be someone completely new and someone who doesn’t share her secrets with anyone. However, she soon learns that she is incapable of even pumping her own gas. Luckily, sexy Woods Kerrington is there to help out. What should have been a brief meeting turned into something much more.

Woods really isn’t into fragile girls but when he meets Della, he can’t keep his eyes off of her. All he wants is one night with her and that’s what he gets. But, Woods can’t stop thinking about Della once they go their separate ways even though he isn’t exactly single. Luckily, or unluckily, Della comes crashing back into his life with a bang!

What I thought

Abbi Glines writes books that I just cannot put down. I had been looking forward to this one for a while. Although part of its own series, it also runs in with Fallen Too Far and the books that goes along with that story. So, it can be read on its own but it goes better with the other books as there are characters running through both series.

At the beginning of the book, Della is about to head off on a road trip after her best friend gets married. She’s never been anywhere on her own and her best friends hands over the keys to her car and tells Della to go and find herself. Unfortunately though, Della doesn’t have much experience in the world and soon finds that she doesn’t even know how to put gas into the car. This is where she meets Woods and as she’s trying to figure out who she is, she decides she can have a wild night with this guy and not worry about it afterwards.

I really liked Della from the very beginning. It’s clear that she’s been through something quite bad in her life but that isn’t expanded upon until later in the book. Snippets of her past are revealed and I couldn’t help but feel for the girl. She’s such a nice character to read about too though as she tries to make the best out of a bad situation and tries not to dwell on things too much.

Woods is a character who I had read about already in another Abbi Glines book so I already had a bit of a soft spot for him. He’s set to take over the country club one day but is ruled by his father’s decisions so feels like he is never really being himself. When he meets Della and is able to help her out, he cannot believe his luck when she openly suggests she wants a wild one night stand with him. He obviously doesn’t refuse. When she leaves though, Woods cannot stop thinking about her, even weeks later.

Woods and Della were an explosive coupling and by far one of my favourite couples in any of Abbi Glines’ books. The chemistry between them is fantastic and I couldn’t get enough of them both. There is a lot of character development for the both of them as they get to know each other properly and begin to learn to trust one another. One of the best parts of this book for me was the fact that they were off limits to one another so they had to find ways around that.

Twisted Perfection also has a great plot, as well as a really good romance. The plot has so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. These twists made reading this book really exciting and the reason that I couldn’t put it down. There is also such an amazing ending to this book as it leaves the story on a massive cliff-hanger. It didn’t take me long to get the second book though so I could find out what happened next.

Twisted Perfection has been one of my favourite Abbi Glines books to date!

 About the book

Twisted Perfection is the first book in the new adult Perfection series by Abbi Glines. It is also part of the Rosemary Beach series too, but a spin off story. The book was published on 29^th August 2013 by Simon and Schuster and the book is 272 pages long.

Synopsis

Della Sloane is desperate to break free from her life at home. She’s desperate for a new life, one where she can be someone completely new and someone who doesn’t share her secrets with anyone. However, she soon learns that she is incapable of even pumping her own gas. Luckily, sexy Woods Kerrington is there to help out. What should have been a brief meeting turned into something much more.

Woods really isn’t into fragile girls but when he meets Della, he can’t keep his eyes off of her. All he wants is one night with her and that’s what he gets. But, Woods can’t stop thinking about Della once they go their separate ways even though he isn’t exactly single. Luckily, or unluckily, Della comes crashing back into his life with a bang!

What I thought

Abbi Glines writes books that I just cannot put down. I had been looking forward to this one for a while. Although part of its own series, it also runs in with Fallen Too Far and the books that goes along with that story. So, it can be read on its own but it goes better with the other books as there are characters running through both series.

At the beginning of the book, Della is about to head off on a road trip after her best friend gets married. She’s never been anywhere on her own and her best friends hands over the keys to her car and tells Della to go and find herself. Unfortunately though, Della doesn’t have much experience in the world and soon finds that she doesn’t even know how to put gas into the car. This is where she meets Woods and as she’s trying to figure out who she is, she decides she can have a wild night with this guy and not worry about it afterwards.

I really liked Della from the very beginning. It’s clear that she’s been through something quite bad in her life but that isn’t expanded upon until later in the book. Snippets of her past are revealed and I couldn’t help but feel for the girl. She’s such a nice character to read about too though as she tries to make the best out of a bad situation and tries not to dwell on things too much.

Woods is a character who I had read about already in another Abbi Glines book so I already had a bit of a soft spot for him. He’s set to take over the country club one day but is ruled by his father’s decisions so feels like he is never really being himself. When he meets Della and is able to help her out, he cannot believe his luck when she openly suggests she wants a wild one night stand with him. He obviously doesn’t refuse. When she leaves though, Woods cannot stop thinking about her, even weeks later.

Woods and Della were an explosive coupling and by far one of my favourite couples in any of Abbi Glines’ books. The chemistry between them is fantastic and I couldn’t get enough of them both. There is a lot of character development for the both of them as they get to know each other properly and begin to learn to trust one another. One of the best parts of this book for me was the fact that they were off limits to one another so they had to find ways around that.

Twisted Perfection also has a great plot, as well as a really good romance. The plot has so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. These twists made reading this book really exciting and the reason that I couldn’t put it down. There is also such an amazing ending to this book as it leaves the story on a massive cliff-hanger. It didn’t take me long to get the second book though so I could find out what happened next.

Twisted Perfection has been one of my favourite Abbi Glines books to date!

Bonjour Cherie by Robin Thomas

About the book

Bonjour Cherie is a new adult novella by Robin Thomas. The novella was published by Escape Publishing on 1^st September 2013 and it is 89 pages long.

Synopsis

Beth Jenkins is fascinated by all things French, especially Andre her French teacher. The first step to getting to her dream destination of Paris is learning the language of love but she also plans on getting Andre to fall in love with her at the same time. Problem is, fellow classmate and born and bred Australian Zach Mills keeps getting in the way. He seems to be everywhere that Beth is and just won’t give up!

Although Beth dreams of France and her teacher, Zach isn’t quite who he seems and neither is Andre.

What I thought

I absolutely love reading books about Paris and I have never actually been there myself (until next month). Paris is such a wonderful place to read about and that’s kind of why I chose to read this novella. I thought it would be set in Paris eventually, but it isn’t at all.

Protagonist Beth has always dreamed of getting to France and more importantly, Paris. She’s even taking French lessons to help her when she finally gets there. Her teacher is dreamy though and she now finds herself daydreaming about him as well and is determined to make him realise that she is the girl for him. The whole teacher aspect was a bit desperate for me and it was clear from the very beginning that he just wasn’t interested. Beth thinks he could be her forever man but he doesn’t even notice her most of the time.

Beth wasn’t really a character I could get on with, mainly because she had her head in the clouds and didn’t realise what was going on around her at all. Andre, her teacher, showed no signs of attraction or even interest so I don’t know where she got the idea that he would fall madly in love with her. I wanted to slap some sense into her right from the very beginning of the book. Not only was she really silly when it came to Andre but she went on about loving all things French and wanting to go there so badly, but she didn’t actually do anything to help her get there.

Part way through her French lessons in week three, Zach Mills walks in, late and cocky. He seems to have an instant attraction to Beth and isn’t afraid to show it. She, however, is a bit of a bitch and is quite rude to him to begin with. She blows him off and stays determined to get Andre. But, circumstances keep on throwing them together in some quite funny situations. Zach was a character that I did actually like. He was funny and different and I really enjoyed getting to know him better.

As Bonjour Cherie is only short at 89 pages long, a lot had to be packed into the pages. Unfortunately, though, I don’t think it was a good thing and this could have easily been a full length book. There are certain things that happen far too quickly and it made a lot of the story unbelievable which was a shame. This one wasn’t really for me. 

It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning

About the book

It Felt Like A Kiss is a contemporary novel by Sarra Manning. The book was published by Corgi on 13^th February and it is 576 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

Plot Synopsis

Ellie Cohen has a pretty good life. She works in a lovely Mayfair art gallery, has great mates and a fantastic family. Problem is, she has a tendency to fall for the totally wrong guy. She believes she can fix their problems but her friends see them for what they really are – losers!

When a vengeful ex sells Ellie’s biggest secret to the press, her whole world turns upside down. Her life falls to pieces around her and she has no idea how to make things better again. David Gold, lawyer, is there to sort it all out for her… but only because he works for her secret, famous father. David immediately thinks that Ellie is a gold-digger, wanting a piece of her father’s fame but she thinks he’s a shark in a nice suit.

With her life in a mess, surely falling in love again is the last thing she Ellie needs.

What I thought

While a fan of Sarra Manning’s young adult novels but this is the first of her adult novels that I have read.

Manning begins by letting the reader really get to know protagonist Ellie. We learn that she is a bit of a party girl, falls for the wrong guys that her flatmates hate but she also has a family that she’s really close to. Immediately, I could imagine the kind of woman that Ellie was and I could picture her doing certain things like going for a night out. Manning has a great way of writing her characters and there is always so much development written into the story as well.

Unfortunately for Ellie, she has picked the wrong man… again and after a break-up, he steals evidence from Ellie and sells her story to the press. Ellie actually has a pretty famous father but she has never spoken to him. While she knows who he is, she has never wanted anything much to do with him. So, when the press come knocking on her door, everyone instantly believes her to be a gold-digger, including her dad’s lawyer. As mean as it may sound, I did enjoy watching Ellie struggle with what was happening around her. Not because I’m cold-hearted, but it really showed how strong she could be at times.

While the majority of the plot was enjoyable, the book does have a long, drawn out beginning. There were a few times where I wanted to give up because I was quickly losing interest. It takes roughly a third of the book before all of the exciting things happen. While I liked getting to know Ellie and her life, I think this aspect of the book could have been shortened a little so that the plot could move on. However, once Ellie and David are forced to spend more time together, I decided that it was worth carrying on to see what happens.

Ellie and David are completely different people and that’s why they were so great together. David is so straight-laced and concentrates only on his job while Ellie knows how to get the most out of working and having a social life. I really enjoyed seeing these two characters together and seeing how they challenged each other. Due to something that happens quite early on in the book, there is a great amount of chemistry between them which was a huge bonus.

What was also nice about this book was that it wasn’t just about the romance. There is a solid, entertaining plot running throughout the book and the romance aspect was really just a nice bonus. Compared with contemporary young adult books, where romance normally takes the forefront, it was nice to have quite a few things going and not to be bombarded with multiple kissing scenes.

Even though it took me a few goes to get into this book, I really did enjoy it in the end.

You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning

About the book

You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me is a contemporary adult novel by Sarra Manning. The book was published by Corgi on 3^rd February 2011 and it is 560 pages long.

Synopsis

Since university, Neve Slater has been in love with William. But, William is in LA and Neve has next to no self-esteem. As a larger lady she believes that she could never get a guy like William so she’s spent the last three years slimming down and changing herself. Now she’s changed, she can’t wait for the day that William returns and falls madly in love with her. Only problem is, she’s never had a boyfriend and needs to learn about having one… fast.

Neve needs someone to show her what being in a relationship is all about and she needs some experience with men in general. Max is a well-known player from Neve’s sister’s office and he’s sexy as hell. Neve knows that she could never fall in love with someone like Max so he should be the perfect person to show her what to do with a man!

What I thought

Sarra Manning, one of my favourite authors of young adult fiction also writes adult novels although I have never really gotten into them until recently.

At the beginning of the book, Neve is getting herself ready for distant love William’s return to the UK. He’s been off in LA for the past three years and she’s been spending that time reinventing herself by slimming down so that he will fall in love with her. Poor Neve has never really had any confidence due to being overweight for the most of her life so she hasn’t gone out there and had any experience with men. I instantly loved Neve. I’m not the slimmest of women and I could connect with her immediately. There have been times where I haven’t felt the most attractive and I have put myself down a lot in the past.

Neve constantly put herself down throughout the whole book and by the way she spoke about herself, you would have thought that she was massive. Maybe she had been at one point but she also works with a personal trainer the whole time and is extremely careful about what she eats. It turns out that Neve is actually a smaller size than she thinks of herself as and this also shows how much pressure society can put on someone. Neve saw herself as something completely different than how other people saw her.

Just like Neve, I also loved the whole premise of the story. Neve needs a man to show her certain things and for her to practise on. Max is someone Neve meets through her sister Celia at a work party. He’s incredibly good looking and he knows it but he shows an interest in Neve and they end up going home together. However, this really doesn’t work out as he had planned and Neve feels so embarrassed. As she tries to apologise, and explains her situation with William, Max becomes even more interested and offers to become her ‘pancake boyfriend’ (you’ll have to read the book to find out what that means).

As the two get to know each other better, the book just gets funnier and funnier. Max lives a completely different lifestyle to Neve and this introduces her to a whole new way of living. Max takes her out to swanky parties and work dos and even a WAG wedding at one point and the situations they get in are hilarious. It was also super sweet watching them get to know each other better. Max doesn’t do girlfriends and Neve hasn’t had a boyfriend so their whole situation is a big learning curve for the both of them.

Not only is this one of my favourite adult books by Sarra Manning but one of my favourite books of hers altogether. It’s sweet, funny and romantic all at the same time. It has everything I could want in a book. 

A big change

Recently, I have made a really big decision about blogging. As a lot of you know, I now work full time as the manager of a children's play area and a bowling alley. I tend to work about 40-50 hours a week and I'm out of the house from 8:15 to 18:00 five days a week. By the time I get home and have dinner etc., it's quite late on and I haven't felt like doing much at all and that includes reading. 

I have all of these review books sitting here in my living room and they are making my feel incredibly guilty at the minute as I'm not reading them. I have had enough reviews written to keep me going recently but I'm quickly running out of reviews to write as I haven't read many books recently. 

So here comes my hard decision. It isn't that I'm quitting blogging completely but I have decided that I will no longer take review copies. I feel so guilty for not having reviewed so many books recently so taking more would be extremely unfair. I am so thankful to the publishers for sending me the review copies and I will still be reviewing them, just at a slower pace. At the minute, blogging and reading feels like something I have to do which has taken a lot of the fun out of things. I haven't been on Twitter for the longest time and I no longer feel a part of the blogging community. 

So, from today onwards, I will still be posting but for as and when, I have no idea really. I will slowly work on the backlog of review books I have and once I get them down to a more manageable level, I may take review books again but I don't think that will be for quite some time. I have no idea how I managed to keep up and read as much as I did while I was at university!

Book to Film Review: Catching Fire

About the film

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the second film in The Hunger Games series. The film was released at cinemas on 21^st November 2013 in the UK. Catching Fire has a run time of 146 minutes and is rated 12A due to language and violence.

Plot

After winning the 74^th Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are trying to get on with their lives after the hell they went through. But, they must also embark on the Victor’s Tour, visiting each and every district and speak to the people there. But, before they can go, President Snow pays Katniss a visit and warns her not to mess up or there could be terrible consequences for her family. Unfortunately, she does mess up though which causes him to bring back the Quarter Quell, a whole different kind of Hunger Games. Instead of two people from each district, this time it will be two victors from each district and Katniss and Peeta know what that means for them. In order to survive again, their best chance is to form an allegiance with other victors but who can keep them safe?

Cast

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark

Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy

Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket

Lenny Kravitz as Cinna

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee

Jeffrey Wright as Beetee Latier

Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman

Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow

Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith

Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair

What I thought

I am such a big fan of The Hunger Games as books and really enjoyed the first film. Catching Fire was one of my most anticipated films of 2013.

In this film, victors Katniss and Peeta are trying to get on with their lives and are getting ready to go on the victors tour. Katniss really doesn’t want to do this as she knows she will have to face the families of those who died in order for her and Peeta to win. After President Snow threatens her family, and then orders a Quarter Quell Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are forced to go back into the nightmare they have already faced. This time though, they’ll be facing others who won their own Hunger Games and know what it takes to come out alive.

Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Lawrence certainly seems to be the actress of the moment and has not done a bad film to date (in my opinion anyway). While Katniss comes across as a tough girl with an attitude, there is also a much softer side to her and Lawrence shows this really well. Although she is a hardened character, Lawrence makes her so likeable at the same time. You route for her, you don’t want her to fail and most importantly, you don’t want her to die. I really can’t imagine anyone else playing this role as Lawrence is pretty damn perfect in it.

Other cast members are just as good though so the show isn’t stolen by Lawrence completely. Josh Hutcherson plays one of the love interests, Peeta. In the first film he came across as too sweet and a bit too nice but Catching Fire sees his character progress quite a lot. He knows more of how the world works now and doesn’t want to be walked all over. I really liked how Hutcherson took Peeta’s character to the next level in this film. Also playing great roles is Donald Sutherland who plays President Snow. Although a pretty quiet character, he is creepy as hell and I would definitely be scared of him. Then there is Lenny Kravitz as Cinna. He is a character who you can’t help but love and to begin with, I was worried about who was playing him but now, I really like the choice.

Catching Fire does start off quite slowly but so does the book. There is quite a lot of catching up to do since Katniss and Peeta won the last Hunger Games. We learn of the beginnings of an uprising, President Snow acting out because of Katniss and the return of the Quarter Quell. There is a lot of story to cover before the film heads back into the Hunger Games again. However, once the action really begins, it doesn’t stop. This Hunger Games is so much worse than the first one and there are a whole load of new scary things going on. As with the first films, there is a lot of violence and a lot of killing so some parts are quite hard to watch but everything fits in to the film perfectly.

For those who haven’t already read the books, there will be a lot of surprises coming for you and I know you won’t be disappointed with the sequel.

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.