Debut Novels | Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey

 

 

 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 

I honestly think that Cassandra Clare is a genius, she can do no wrong for me. City of Bones is her introduction to the incredible Mortal Instruments and I think it's one of her best books. I'd have never gotten into reading if it wasn't for this book. THANK YOU CASSANDRA!

 

 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

 

I love Katie McGarry, but Pushing the Limits is easily my favourite book by her, and it was her debut novel. It's beautifully written, with a deep meaning. I was compelled by it.

 

 

Slated by Teri Terry

 

Slated is mind-blowingly good. It's intense, fast paced and filled with action. I honestly thought that Teri Terry had written and published a few books before this, but she hadn't. I'm still mind blown over this series.

 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

 

I think everyone has read Gayle Forman's first book, If I Stay. It was made into an incredibly stunning movie, but the book is just as good. It's a slow read, but still very haunting. It's glued to the back of my eyelids.

 

 

 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

 

This is a 2015 Debut, and I can easily say it's a great read. The premise is new, fresh in the YA genre and I know it's going to break a lot of hearts. Just stunning!

 

 

 

What are some of your favourite debut books?

Let me know in the comments.

 

ARC Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

"I Was Here,was a beautiful and engaging read. One of my favourite books of the year "

 

Title: I Was Here

Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: Contemporary/Mystery
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens
Published: January 29th 2015
Page Number: 270
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning?

But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open - until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

 

Review:

 

I know very well that as soon as I open up a Gayle Forman book that I will be in the ride of my life and just like If I Stay and Where She Went, I was. I was compelled from page one and couldn't put it down until I had finished the book in it's entirety.

 

This Young Adult contemporary is a lot darker and mysterious than most. Cody has just lost her best friend, Meg to suicide and something seems off. She never told Cody and that's what she never understood. They were best friends and best friends told each other everything, but Cody had to learn how well she truly knew her best friend.

 

Gayle Forman has written an incredible, engaging book with I Was Here. Cody's voice is strong and distinctive, she lives off trying to find out what truly happened to Meg and it drags you in. You become Cody's eyes. What she see's, you see. What she feels, you feel. It's like the book transports your body into the book and you live through everything. Feel everything.

 

Just like any other Gayle Forman book, the romance was pretty much perfect. I had my instincts on who could be her perfect suitor, but whether she ended up with them was a different story. It's a mix of Young Adult and New Adult, but  it's so much more than that.

 

I Was Here is filled with secret messages. It's not another suicide book. It's a book of letting go of the past - not forgetting - but forgiving. Move on and live your life. Through out the book we have little information about Meg and what she went through and I really delved into her life and lived it, because I have lived it.

 

Depression isn't something that can be sorted out with pills. It takes a lot of courage to admit and get help. It's a lot of hard work, but hard work pays off in the end. It's correct that you only live once, but don't live life like it's short because you'll always wonder what you missed out on.

 

I really really loved I Was Here and I'm excited for Forman's future releases after this incredible book. I would recommend this book to everyone who wants a contemporary book that isn't all school and romance.

 

 

I received this book off the publishers for an honest review.

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Book Couples

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. This week's topic is Favourite Book Couples (main or side). I've had a hard time selecting my top 5 because I knew only three couples that were my top 3, but the other two are ones I had to really think about.

Without further a do...

 

 

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick - I absolutely love Samantha and Jase together. Their relationship starts off very awkward and cute, but then it develops into something a lot more deeper. Their connection is great and I love that Jase isn't what Samantha expected him to be.

 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - Mathew and Diana are complete different people - literally - She's a witch and he's a vampire. She's into History and he's into Science. She's in her thirties and he's over 1500 years old. They should never work, but they do.

Slammed by Colleen Hoover - Will and Layken start off with a great connection that gets ruined by the fact that he's her teacher, but that connection is something that cannot - and will not - be broken. They're perfect for each other and every obstacle they went through, they came out together.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman - In If I Stay, I didn't like Adam and Mia so much. They were cute, but had a very immature relationship. However, in Where She Went I felt like everything had been a lot more mature. Plus it showed the awkwardness of the situation, I loved that.

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare - Everyone loves Tessa and Jem or Tessa and Will, but not me. I love Sophie and Gideon. He's a Shadowhunter and high maintenance, she's a maid and mundane. Despite their clear difference they work. Their connection and relationship is both beautiful and awkward. I need more of their relationship.

 

 

Who are your favourite book couples?

Waiting on Wednesday: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Waiting on Wednesday: Episode Two

 

 

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

 

Release Date: 29th January 2015

 

Pages: 270

 

Goodreads Summary:

 

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning?

But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open - until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

 

Thoughts:

 

THAT COVER?! OMG! It's so beautiful and it'll match both my If I Stay and Where She Went covers. Gayle Forman has become one of my favourite authors of all time this year and I need more and more of her writing. What I love most is that her books are never all that long, but they're full of depth and emotion. I'm desperate to get my hands on an ARC copy (Simon and Schuster, if you are seeing this then please consider sending me one. It's my birthday this month.) because I MUST read this book.

 

 

What book are you impatiently waiting for?

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went (If I Stay #2)
Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Definitions (Random House)
Published: April 26th 2012
Page Number: 288

Summary:
It's been three years since Adam's love saved Mia after the accident that annihilated life as she knew it ...and three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other. Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, powerful prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

Review:

 

I must say that I am pretty nervous reviewing this, because this book was amazing and my words will not give it justice, so just pretend I'm a younger, Welsh version of William Shakespeare who uses modern language and we will all be okay.

 

 

Where She Went isn't a sequel as such, it's a companion. It takes place three years after the events of If I Stay, where Mia had to decide where she wanted to live or die. She chose to live. Adam Wilde is a huge celebrity after Shooting Star's first album Collateral Damage went to number one. However, things aren't as they seem, because Shooting Star are no longer friends, well the other three are just not Adam.

 

Adam is completely different from If I Stay, which is what I loved most because in If I Stay he was a little creepy. Look at the scene where he stares at Mia when she's clearly in a world of her own. And damn, those eyes are giving me the chills, not good ones.

 

 

As well as being a bit of a stalker, Adam was also very gentle. I don't even think he flirted with her and that was weird. He likes her, thinks she's cute, but doesn't flirt with her. Why? With Adam though I think that's what makes him likable. Both Mia and Adam have this passion for music that everyone can relate too.

 

In Where She Went there is a clear growth in Adam. He's a man in this one and not because he's older by three years. He acts like he is gods gift and everyone should bow down to him, while wishing that he never had fame in the first place. He's also very depressive, which once again, I related too since I suffer with severe depression.

 

Mia and Adams love story is definitely an unusual one.

 

“And then Adam Wilde shows up at Carnegie Hall on the biggest night of my career, and it felt like more than a coincidence. It felt like a gift. From them. For my first recital ever, they gave me a cello. And for this one, they gave me you.”   

 

I think we all knew that Adam and Mia would meet up again, I agree with what Mia has said. It's like her parents did give her Adam three years later after everything had changed. From this moment where Adam goes into her performance and they see each other, everything changes. The awkwardness between them both is very raw and real. You feel it and kind of feel sorry for them both. You just want to push them into each other. KISS AND MAKE UP PLEASE!

 

 

One of the weird things about Mia is that she hated Adam. We argue with the ones we love most, so does that mean we hate them without reason as well? My answer would be, yes. Mia had no one left and Adam changed around her. What he wanted to say, he couldn't and Mia saw that. She needed some normalcy and she had none, even from her Grandparents.

 

“I needed to hate someone and you’re the one I love the most, so it fell on you.”  

 

 

One of my favourite thing in Where She Went was....actually I'm lying. There wasn't just one thing I loved because I loved everything about this book. From the depression that is Adam to the shit life of the music industry. I even loved the side characters that you never met *Cough* Ernesto *Cough*. Everything was perfect. The songs, the relationship, the feels. I will definitely say that I babbled like a baby. Mia hits you hard with her words and next thing you know you're needing a box of the Feels. Here are some Feels that will hit you hard.

 

 

I mean, who didn't had tears in their eyes at this part. Her life came crashing down around her.

 

 

Too cute. He wrote her a song and begged her to stay, which is kind of the reason why she hated him. She had no one and he made her stay. Adam can you write me a song please? Thanks.

 

If you want to read this book then make sure you're comfortable. Have a cup of tea or coffee, a blanket and a box of tissues because this book will make you laugh, smile and cry. Okay I'm lying. It'll make you cry, cry, cry.

 

Like I said, this is an amazing book. In fact it's my favourite read of 2014 so far and I'm hoping no book can top it. I would compare this book to Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowel (who happened to love both If I Stay and Where She Went). Both books are heartbreakingly beautiful, but at least this one had a happy ending.

 

A MILLION OUT OF FIVE STARS!

 

 

 

Ps, don't forget that If I Stay is in all Cinemas, starring Chloe Grace Moretz.

 

 



 

 

 

Top 5 Wednesday: Author Blurbs

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top Author Blurbs. I have a great selection ranging from Dystopia and Contemporary.

So here are my top 5 picks for Author Blurbs.



FIFTH PLACE: Irish Independent for If I Stay by Gayle Forman

"Sometimes painful, other times funny but always touching, If I Stay is a remarkably fresh and compelling piece of work. It's a book with a real heart, a book that makes you feel truly grateful to be alive."  I chose this one because I agreed with everything that was said. If I Stay is a book that makes you feel grateful to be alive, but not only that, it makes you cherish everything you have.



FOURTH PLACE: James Dashner for Divergent by Veronica Roth

"Divergent is a captivating, fascinating book that kept me in constant suspense and was never short on surprises. It will be long time before I quit thinking about this haunting vision of the future." James Dashner wraps everything I would've said in two sentences. It's been six months since I first read it and it's always on my mind. The world building. The characters. The fact that being separated after a war. It's very realistic. Ps, if it does happen let me be in Dauntless.



THIRD PLACE: Jennifer Echols for Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

"McGarry details the sexy highs, the devastating lows and the real work it takes to build true love." Love is something that needs to be worked on every day. There is always something that challenges you and in this book Echo and Noah defied the odds and showed everyone what a real relationship is. It's not about popularity or sex. It's about overcoming each and every challenge together.




SECOND PLACE: John Green for Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

"Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but what it's like to be young and in love with a book." Everything is perfect with this blurb apart from the girl part - it'd be boy for me - Eleanor and Park is a book you can fall in love over and over again with. It's beautifully written with flawed, diverse characters. It's exactly what the YA community needed. Two people are aren't afraid to stand out.




FIRST PLACE: Lindsay Cummings for Slated by Teri Terry

"Everything I have been looking for in a book: suspense, mind-bending mystery, romance and just the right amount of Science-Fiction." We all know that Lindsay Cummings likes the darker side of books. But I have to completely agree with her on this one. This book had me on the edge of my seat. I was turning the pages faster than I would eating a bar of chocolate. I was addicted.





I'm always asked what my favourite quote is from Divergent and I always reply with that I have too many because the book is so addictive. But I do have a favourite from it and I'm going to show you it in the form of a GIF. A Theo James shirtless GIF. Enjoy!

 

 

Now let me know down below in the comment section what your favourite author blurbs are. They can be blurbs your blog friends have done, one a newspaper have done or ones that an author has done. Any blurb is more or less a good blurb.

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Definitions
Published: September 4th 2014 (Movie Tie-in Edition)
Page Number: 210

Summary:

For seventeen-year-old Mia, surrounded by a wonderful family, friends and a gorgeous boyfriend decisions might seem tough, but they're all about a future full of music and love, a future that's brimming with hope.

But life can change in an instant.

A cold February morning . . . a snowy road . . . and suddenly all of Mia's choices are gone. Except one.

As alone as she'll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all.

Review:

"The quote from The Fault in Our Stars suits my love for this book. I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once. It was that good!" bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk

 

I've read only one other book by Gayle Forman and that was Just One Day, despite the editing issues I fell in love with it. The writing grips you and Allyson was a great protagonist. I admit that I had high expectations for this book and it did not disappoint.

 

This book - turned movie - is nothing that I'd read. An out of body experience makes it almost cynical to believe, but I'm so happy I picked it up! I had just finished reading a high fantasy book and needed something that I could fly through, but also something that captured my attention. From page 1 I was hooked. The writing was full of gorgeous pro's and you really felt every emotion that Mia was feeling. To her family before the accident, her boyfriend, Juilliard and after everything happened.

 

The thing with this book that made me love it all the more was that even though it was quite a serious topic there were still a few jokes or humorous part in there. I did, of course, smile a lot as well which is easy to do when you read one of her books.

 

The ending really didn't end.

 

It ended abruptly, but I liked that because I knew there was a sequel (I need to buy) and I felt that the ended fitted well. Once again the only problem I suffered was the editing. Definitions is one of the worst publishers EVER!!! If I Stay and Just One Day was full of editing issues; grammar mistakes, mixed words and the flow of the sentences were sometimes cut off.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed it. 4.5 STARS!