Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Book Name: Just One Day
Author: Gayle Forman
UK Release Date: 2013
UK Publishers: Definitions (Random House)
Summary:
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Praise for Gayle Forman:

'Read it and weep.' Daily Mail

'Moving and heartwarming.' Guardian

'A book that makes you feel truly grateful to be alive.' Irish Independent

Review:

 

I seriously did not think I was going to enjoy this book because it's based on adventures across Europe, but I actually really did. In fact I didn't even like it. I loved it!

The writing in this book is brilliant! I never felt like there was anything wrong with the writing, it flowed, showed off the emotions of Allyson and the descriptions of each place she went; England, Paris, New York, Boston, Amsterdam was so clear and wonderful that you almost felt that you were there. Until you realise you're not there and then you're left disappointed.

The whole idea of just getting on a train to Paris is crazy, but it worked in this book. It gave me a thrill and seeing Willem and Allyson, or LuLu as he calls her together was like watching Christmas lights being turned on at Christmas, seeing fireworks on bonfire night. It was beautiful and magical. I just kind of wished that they worked it out because they are special when they're together, and I know she see's him at the end, but they need to be together NOW!

My only problem with this book was actually nothing to do with the writing or the characters or anything that included Gayle Forman. The main problem was the editing. You can clearly tell that the editor hadn't done a good job on this book. There were so many mistakes, such as words being the wrong way round, words missing like 'to' and 'the' and there was even an extra " after the person had finished speaking, and it did get on my nerves. But I tried not to think about it too much.

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 Stars! It's definitely one of my favourite contemporaries that I've read, and I was so sure it was going to get the full 5 Stars which is why I wanted it to succeed because only two contemporary books have 5 Stars. I knocked this down by .5 Stars because of the editing. However, I would highly recommend this book. Beautifully written.

Quote:

'Moving and explosive. Your emotions will be all over the place.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk

Book Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

                                                          
Book Name: Maybe Someday
Author: Colleen Hoover
UK Release Date: 2014
UK Publishers: Simon and Schuster
Summary:

Sydney is living in an idyllic bubble - she's a dedicated student with a steady job on the side. She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from the balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life.

But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, her bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they begin the write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope...

Maybe someday...

Praise for Colleen Hoover:

'I can't recommend it highly enough. Read this book. Live it. Love it. Allow it to take over you heart. It's an unforgettable journey that every reader should take. 5++ Star!' aestasbookblog.com

'Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension.  kirkusreviews.com

Review:

I've heard such amazing things about Colleen Hoover and it's only made my desire to read her books grow and grow. And I got paid. Which led to me buying Maybe Someday. It arrived two days late. I read it.

First off I would advise everyone, and I mean EVERYONE to go into this blindly. Don't read reviews, don't even ask your friends what they thought of it because you will get spoiled. Just buy it and read it. And then you can gush with all your feelings and Fangirl all you like.

The prologue starts out with some awesomeness.

I just punched a girl in the face. Not just any girl. My best friend. My roommate.

I mean c'mon. All I could think was 'What has this girl done to get punched in the face?' I came up with many different ideas before I carried on reading.

She called her fat
She ate the last bar of chocolate
She "borrowed" her makeup
She kissed her boyfriend

Yeah, she didn't kiss her friends boyfriend. She slept with him, many times over the two years of Sydney and Hunter had been together. And just having that as a prologue made my stomach flutter with excitement. Who doesn't love a good bitch fight.

However, the story isn't about a girl who found out her boyfriend and friend have been having an affair. It's so much more than that.

It's a story of a girl finding out what exactly love is and how talented she really is when it comes to song writing. It's also a story about not judging everyone and how far you'd really go to not become someone or something you hate.

Colleen warped me into Sydney and Ridges world and I could've stayed there forever. You're met with secrets, friendship and a lot of flirting.

I just could not get enough of this book. And the biggest bombshell for me was when I found out Ridge was deaf. I know no one was expecting it because the back blurb doesn't say that, and it normally would, which is great because it's becoming a normal thing. And, Sydney, just treating him like a normal person meant so much to me because we shouldn't treat people who are unique any different than we would want to be treated ourselves.

Overall, I just absolutely adored this book. There were a few problems, but they were minor and didn't really take away from the book, only added to it! And the way that we could listen to the songs that were written as we went along seriously helped me to get in the mood for the writing and story. I cannot recommend this book enough! 4.5 Stars!

Quote:

'Colleen writes with such elegance that you're warped into the characters world and feelings. Beautiful.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk

Book Review: Breathe by Abbi Glines

    Book Name: Breathe
    Author: Abbi Glines
    UK Release Date: 2013
    UK Publishers: Simon and Schuster
    Summary:

Sadie White doesn't get to spend her summer on the beach like most kids. Her mother can't keep a job, so Sadie is forced to work during the break at one of the mansions nearby instead.

Then Sadie discovers that Jax Stone, the hottest teenage rockstar around, owns the house, and things get a lot more interesting. Jax is adored by teenage girls everywhere - except for Sadie, that is -  but the fact she's not impressed by his reputation is exactly what he finds fascinating about her. As the summer passes, Jax and Sadie find themselves drawn to each other, even though their different worlds want to keep them apart. They're about to discover that love can be suffocating, until you find a way to breathe...

Praise for Abbi Glines:

'Every time I read one of Abbi's books, I declare it my new favourite.' Colleen Hoover, author of Slammed

'Abbi Glines really knows how to write hot male characters; she really does make you swoon.' Serendipity Reviews

Review:

Since being in a reading slump I really needed something that was either A) Set on or around a beach or B) Based around music. And this book was perfect because its both of those things.

Now I've been dying to read an Abbi Glines book for a while, and I finally caved. The outcome: I loved it!

Abbi Glines knows how to write great characters that you just swoon over, male or female, you'll soon find yourself in love with them because they're so elegantly developed. Sadie, the main female protagonist, is too kind. She won't stand up to her mother, she'll do anything for anyone and she'll even go as far as dating a rockstar and getting upset over fake girlfriend publicity. However, for me, Sadie was a bit immature for a seventeen year old. I thought I was reading about a fifteen year old, and then automatically she'd mature. But then again I still liked her character.

Jax Stone really confused me. Through out the book he was a great character: Flirty, cocky and jealous. But with a kind side to him. But there were a few scenes where I felt his character voice completely changed to something new and those were in the sexy scenes. He aged by like ten years and turned into something like Christian Grey. Only younger and a lot less experienced.

However, the story did grip my attention. The premise worked very well and I felt so many different things towards the characters and their personal stories. You can very much tell that this is Abbi's first book, and I know from this that her writing has so much promise and potential. And I really look forward to reading the rest of the Sea Breaze series. As well as her other intertwining series.

Overall, I gave this book a rating of 3.75/5 Stars because I couldn't decide between 4 stars and 3.5 stars, so I went for the middle of them.

Quote:

'Abbi certainly knows how to write great sensual escaping stories.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk

ARC Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

   Book Name: We Were Liars
   Author: E. Lockhart
   UK Release Date: 15th May 2014
   UK Publishers: Hot Key Books
   Summary:

We are liars
We are beautiful and privileged
We are cracked and broken
A tale of love and romance
A tale of tragedy
Which are lies?
Which is the truth?
You decide

Praise for E. Lockhart:

'Thrilling, beautiful and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable.' John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars

'Spectacular.' Lauren Myracle, author of Shine

'We Were Liars may be Emily's best book. And that is saying something, because Emily is without a doubt one of the very best fiction writers writing today.' Maureen Johnson, Author of The Name of the Star

Review:

It's extremely difficult how to tell you what this book is about because it is a YA Contemporary with hints of Mystery, but what I can say is that whatever you do. Lying may just be the best option, well in this case anyway.

Page 5 was without a doubt the best page in that entire book for me. The metaphor was gripping and beautiful and saddening all in one and it's one of my favourite metaphors without a doubt.

Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn and I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood gushed rhythmically from my open wound, then from my eyes,
my ears,
my mouth.

At first I was like 'What. The. Heck?!' but I understood after. It describes how she's feeling about what's happened and how it feels for her in the sense that she may not recover from this. It's beautiful, yet sad. Perfectly described in the situation.

Another thing I loved about the book was that the chapters were short even thought they may focus on the same day. It worked well because another mystery would unfold or Cadence would remember something.

However, there were quite a lot of flaws in this book. The writing is probably one of the major factors that I disliked. At most times it was okay, but it got into the point where it'd be like

and I saw Gat,
and I saw that rose in his hand,
and in that one moment, with the sunlight from the window shining in on him,
etc, etc, etc.

It became too much and sometimes it felt like it was a more important point to the story than it actually was. My biggest hate in this book, however, was the fairy tale re-tellings. They side tracked me away from the actual storyline and if anything they were extremely boring and didn't actually have to be in the book.

Overall, I did enjoy my time taking part in the #WeWereLiars read-a-long. It was great fun and I read a full book something I haven't done in a while due to a reading slump. Anyway, I gave this book a 3/5 Stars! It was good. Could have been a bit less predictable, but other than that and the faults I had with it, it was a fun short read.

My Quote:

'Beautiful and mysterious: one thing something should never be. But works.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk

ARC Review: Make You Mine by Macy Beckett

   Book Name: Make You Mine
   Author: Macy Beckett
   UK Release Date: 6th May 2014
   UK Publishers: Headline Eternal
   Summary:

For ninety-nine years, every man in the Dumont family has remained a perpetual bachelor. Residents of Cedar Bayou, Louisiana, whisper about a voodoo hex cast upon the family, sabotaging each man’s chance at marriage. In truth, the Dumont men have their own player personalities to blame, and Marc is no exception. As captain of his family’s riverboat, he’s broken hearts up and down the Mississippi. That is, until his high school crush strolls on-board…

Allie Mauvais rocks the boat when she fills in as his pastry chef. She hasn’t seen Marc since senior year, when rumors flew that her great-great-grandmother was the one who cursed the Dumonts. After two weeks on the water, neither can deny the attraction that still burns between them. But to truly reach Marc’s heart, Allie must show him that the hex is all in his head and it’ll take more than her mouthwatering sweets to prove it. Will Allie’s love be enough to finally make Marc hers?

 

Praise for Macy Beckett:

 



"Beckett (Sultry with a Twist) begins her Dumont Bachelors series with this pleasant story of a riverboat captain and the pastry chef who captures his heart. Marc Dumont has been attracted to Allie Mauvais since their high school years in tiny Cedar Bayou, La. Trouble is, after a Dumont man left Allie’s voodoo-priestess great-great-grandmother at the altar, she cursed the whole family to be unlucky in love. When Marc’s regular pastry chef gets ill immediately before a scheduled voyage, Marc hurriedly hires Allie to sub in the kitchen. Strange episodes ensue, and everyone thinks it’s Allie’s fault—or the curse’s. Still, Marc can’t stay away from her. While the story gets a bit annoying when everyone’s assuming Allie can fry them with her supposed voodoo magic, overall this is a solid tale that portends a likeable series." Publishers Weekly

Review:

I requested this from Bookbridgr (run by Headline Publishing) this does NOT affect my review!

I absolutely loved this book! The characters were very well written, the storyline was fresh with a hint of cliché in there. The romance was very well developed and I loved that it was fast paced and not over the top with sex. Every little thing that happened between Marc and Allie happened for a reason. To Marc it was because of the curse. For Allie it was because it was supposed to happen.

The book was great and I loved that there was a mini side story intertwined into it; Joy and Ryan who found love after going to Allie for advice. Joy learned to live her life the way she wanted, and not the life her parents wanted her to live. Getting a tattoo led to Joy finding her perfect guy; Ryan.

I'm not always a fan of reading books by authors I've never heard of, but I'm glad I discovered this author. Her writing style is simplistic and natural. It flowed very well and I felt like it was very well researched for the surroundings in the story as it was mostly set on the boat, but also set on different islands and I loved that. I was glad there was room for more than the boat. It allowed the story to expand and a lot more drama for the characters.

Overall, I seriously loved this book. And I cannot wait until the second book in this series because this has become a guilty pleasure read. I would highly recommend buying this book because it is beautiful. I gave this a 4/5 Stars!

Quote:

'Like a great new Adult novel only sexier.' Bookbitchreviews.blogSpot.co.uk

Book Review: Irresistible Enemy by Mary Costello

   Book Name: Irresistible Enemy
   Author: Mary Costello
   UK Release Date: March 17th 2014
   UK Publishers: N/A (Penguin Books Australia)
   Summary:

Cassie Bowtell adores her idyllic life in the bush and after a chance encounter by the roadside, even her love life is looking up. So when a housing estate is planned right next door to Cassie's beautiful rural property, she vows to fight it with everything she has.

Wealthy businessman Hart Huntingdon can't stop thinking about the mystery woman he met in the country. And then he discovers Cassie is the one of the people responsible for holding up his plans and doing her best to turn the locals against him.
With both of them firmly believing they are in the right, Cassie and Hart are soon locked into battle, a battle every bit as fierce and passionate as their growing obsession with each other. But sometimes love has a way of bringing happiness where it's least expected…

Review:

 

I received an E-Arc copy of this book via NetGalley. This does not affect my review in any way!

 

 

I'm a massive lover of Contemporary/New Adult (it's a mix of both) and I've read quite a few of them, but for me, this one was lacking behind any of the ones I have read. We are introduced to both Cassie and Hart out in Diggers Creek where Hart nearly knocks over Cassie, she's stopped because of an animal stepping out onto the road. Cassie thinks Hart is gorgeous and Hart thinks Cassie is just average looking with big eyes. Which is such a cliché. People have been writing these sort of fiction for years, and I've read a few of them.

 

The big thing that off put me in this book was that I felt that there was no connection with any of the characters. I didn't feel for Cassie when she was left in Diggers Creek that was being taken over by a fire. I didn't feel for her when she meets Claudia, Hart's interior designer. I just never had a connection with the characters. Which is unknown to me in these genre books, I get them feelings in Fantasy or Sci Fi, never NA/Contemporary.

 

Another reason why I disliked this book was because  I felt the romance was a bit forced. They were friends which was great! Then in the space of a minute they were lovers, it just didn't flow properly. Maybe if it had happened in another chapter then it might of worked. I also found Hart to be quite stupid for a business man when it came to his feelings. He thought Cassie was average with big eyes that he liked. Then he'd say 'All I need is her, she's beautiful.' and he'd go right back to thinking that she was average. GRRRRR! MAKE. UP. YOUR. MIND!

Lastly I think the writing in this book was very poor. The book didn't flow and I sometimes found words being thrown in for the sake of it! The characters would never use words like that and it got on my nerves. In perspective, the reason why I believe there was no connection to the characters was because of the writing. To describe it in one word: simple.

 

However, I did enjoy the animal part of the book. It was great to have a character that cared for them. But overall, I didn't enjoy this book. 2 Stars!

 



Book Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

   Book Name: Burn for Burn
   Author: Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
   UK Release Date: Published in 2012
   UK Publishers: Simon and Schuster
   Summary:

Lillia used to trust boys, but not after what happened this summer. And she'll do anything to stop the same thing happening to her sister.

Kat's over the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes made at her expense. It all goes back to one person - he ex best friend - and now it's payback time.

Four years ago, Mary left town because of a boy. Now that she's back, she's going to make him pay.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: revenge, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they've each had a taste.

 

Praise for Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian:

'This book has what every girl wants in a summer.' Sarah Dessen, Author of Along for the Ride.

'This book was as beautiful.' Goodreads

 

Review:

I decided to pick this book up after April Brooks stated that she absolutely adored the book. I actually thought that I wouldn't like it that much, but I turned out to absolutely love it! All three girls have completely different personalities, but I do feel like in the first chapter of each girl they all had the same voice. I didn't feel like I had changed to someone else's POV. After that it became more clear.

The writing style is so great and it makes it easy to connect with the characters. The book also had me in tears because I can connect with Mary having been bullied for years about my weight, and like her I always took it on the chin even though on the inside it hurt.

Did I feel like this book was any bit predictable?

Definitely! Of course this book was going to be predictable it's about getting revenge and I think most people knew that it wasn't going to end well. But the way the characters dealt with it was realistic and that's what you want: something that makes your heart flutter, but has that realistic element.

I would highly recommend this book. I gave it a 4/5 Stars and it thoroughly deserved it! I cannot wait for book 2: Fire with Fire.

Quote:

'This book is like a rollercoaster. You're never going to know if you're going up or down.' bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk