Saturday 16 September 2017

"Rules of Persuasion" Book Review


My Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 Stars

I felt like I have read this book already, except the reason for the relationship is different. It wasn't any different from the countless pretend relationship, YA contemporaries populating the literary shelves. 

The secondary characters were props; their presence added zilch to the story. Yes, they listened to Meg complain about kissing the guy she now likes but that was about it. I didn’t connect with any of the friends and I kept forgetting their names. What good are they for except listening to Meg talk about boys and getting dressed up for her hot date? 

Meg was the cliché rebellious chick – rides motorcycle, check; wears black, check; has one main reason for behaving the way she does, check; gets into trouble for no good reason, like at all, check; is portrayed as sexy, check; has colored hair, check; is feisty, check, check and check; need I go on? She was quite forgettable though.

Luke, cliché hot guy – rich, sexy, athletic, good at schoolwork, wants nothing to do with his family’s money, wants to forge his own path in life, is whiny about having money yet uses it (clothes, food etc, car, fucking hypocrite, go live under a bridge if you want NOTHING to do with it). 

Rich does not equate to high-class in terms of behavior. The guy’s parents were rude and had a lack of basic manners. Is this how the author really wanted to portray them? As caring only about appearances instead of the well-being/happiness of their kids. 

The plot was fun, but the execution was lacking. The only kind of romance I can stomach is young love, reading and being taken along on the journey of two humans falling in love, especially those who had no intentions of doing so. 

I think this book’s best audience would be for the novice readers to the pretend relationship category; however, to those who have read countless of this type, steer clear.

Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Friday 11 August 2017

"Zenn Diagram" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

This was one of those cute books with a surprisingly clear writing style and selection of words.

The protagonist stood out to me and I connected with her in a way I haven’t connected with a character in a long time. She was smart, but not to the cliché point of having no social skills. She was a Christian but also a regular teenager with emotions and made bad decisions. I love how the various themes in this book were not overly done for the sake of creating drama/gaining attention. 
The friendships featured were not perfect, some fell flat while others were exciting and intriguing. 


Allow me to expound:
Eva & Zenn: Exciting, intriguing and cute.
Eva & Charlotte: Tolerable, not too many girly squeals.
Charlotte & Josh: Flat, dull, almost too perfect. I didn’t get to experience who they were, instead I got told who they were (if that makes sense). 
Eva & Family: Real

Overall, Zenn Diagram was well-written with a solid plot and likeable characters. 


Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Tuesday 8 August 2017

"The Temptation of Adam" Book Review

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 Stars


Another YA tackling addictions/diseases laced with philosophical dialogue from whiny teenagers who all sound the same. 

Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Sunday 30 July 2017

"The Red" Book Review


My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 Stars

I am not a fan of the genre, but its always good to expand your literary horizon. 

I presume erotic books are meant to transport you into another world and render you completely oblivious to the real world while you’re engaged in reading. I also believe it is written to be so far from reality that you can’t help but forget about your problems and stressors; that being said, someone who loves this genre would absolutely love this book. 

It is “action” packed and not exactly plot-driven. If you’re expecting to read a solid plot filled with rich character development then this isn’t the book. 

The Red is truly an erotic piece written for the sole purpose of transporting its reader into a salacious fantasy. 


Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Sunday 23 July 2017

"Taming the Rebel" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars


Definitely a cute, light read which will entertain you for a few hours. Although full of teenage angst and highly emotional responses, Taming the Rebel is filled with comedy, strong friendships, delightful rapport between characters and charming intimacy. 



Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Thursday 9 March 2017

"Stargazing for beginners" Book Review


My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 Stars


Stargazing For Beginners had a lovable main character you can't help but feel an instant connection to. I felt her troubles like they were my own and I was fully engrossed in her story; however, i hated the situation she was placed in.

I was angry that a grandparent and a parent of two kids, one being an infant, could be so irresponsible and careless. It is something that really hit me hard and simply left me completely in a bad book mood. Just for this I would have given the book 1 star but that would have been unfair since the writing style was superb and so clear; the main character was lovable and the relationships that said main character had with friends were well-written and solid. 

Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

Thursday 2 March 2017

"The Ship" Book Review

My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ 1 Star



Despite being of the post-apocalyptic genre, which is my favorite, I did not finish reading The Ship. I ended at 24% but I could have/would have stopped at about 10% when I realized that I did not fancy the writing style; however, I wanted to finish it, I tried to, but failed.

The book starts off by giving us a glimpse of the present post-apocalyptic world that the narrator, a 16 year old girl, lives in.

The world building was a bit confusing and quite dull; there wasn't much that held my attention. I didn't like that words were thrown in that had no accompanying explanations e.g. Screens, ravens, Dove. The words were integrated into the body of the passages and I guess we're supposed to figure out what they mean by their usage, but as a reader, I like explanations especially when the story is of the dystopian or post-apocalyptic genre since their technology tend to be/may be vastly different from what I currently know.

I saw there were some really great reviews on goodreads already but this book just didn't hold my interest.

I applaud the readers who were able to finish the book, especially those who grew to love the book.



Digital copy received from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Friday 24 February 2017

"Sarah" Book Review



My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars

What a creepy little book!

I'll start with what I liked about Sarah - the creep factor. I applaud the author's imagination and ability to gross me out. This is not an easy task to do especially since I watch lots of gore films and have read many horror books in the past. I cringed more than once during certain scenes. Sadly, those were the only redeeming qualities of the book.

The main character was pretty naive throughout the book, even at the very end. The peripheral characters were irresponsible and naive as well causing me to think that they did not fully understand the severity of the situation.

The main romantic relationship featured was rushed and it felt forced.

Digital copy received from Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

Thursday 16 February 2017

"See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan" Book Review




My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Such an original plot and choice of delivery in terms of the writing. I laughed out loud a few times, chuckled quite a bit and even shed a tear once or twice. If a book can bring all this out of me then I usually consider my time well spent!

I recommend this book to anyone looking for an uncomplicated, easy read that is something quite different from the usual books out there.

One issue I had with the book was that Alex was naïve and seemed more like a six year old but three in responsibility years.


A digital copy was received via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Monday 13 February 2017

"The Upside of Unrequited" Book Review


My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars

Such a quirky, cute cover right?


Now, I know a lot of people reading this book have read the author’s popular title “Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda” and have grown to love the author and her ability to create strong, lovable, diverse, YA characters who tackle personal issues in a socially influenced, modern world. Suffice it to say, this is the first book I have read by the author and I am glad that I have nothing to compare it you. In a way, I am truly unbiased.
My first impressions of this book lay in the premise, which seemed like it would be a fun read filled with character relationships that even I would be envious of. While the relationship between the four main girls who were childhood friends was annoying (too girly and it made me think that I am getting way too old for this genre) I quite enjoyed the relationship between the twins. There was an authenticity to them drifting apart and feeling less important to each other when a significant other enters the picture. It is something I have felt before and the realness of the situation caused the emotions expressed by the characters to feel raw and pure.

The love interests in the story fell a tad bit flat, bordering on no chemistry between characters. Some characters seemed promiscuous to me.

I did not enjoy the parents’ way of speaking to their kids. To me, there were too many profanities used in the presence of the kids. At one point I was irked when the parents got angry when the kids responded with profanity, because, how can you raise kids using this language then expect them to respond differently. Their constant use of profanity felt like they were trying to give off the vibe of “hey, we’re the cool, different, hip parents”. It just felt like there was a lack of respect for the kids. Of course someone else reading the book will disagree with me and that’s okay.
One last thing that I’m not even sure is worth mentioning but I will anyway, is that I didn’t feel a connection at all to Molly. As a bigger girl, I love reading about other pleasantly plump girls falling in love and navigating through life just being their awesome selves. The lack of connection could have been because of the fact that I did not know Molly’s actual size. Maybe it was mentioned in the first few pages and I just hadn’t realized. She mentioned Modcloth, which is a store I love and it’s known for selling plus size clothing and she did mention insecurities but then again she could have been a size 10 who thinks of herself as fat. There was an incident where a classmate told her that she was pretty for a bigger girl but maybe this person was so accustomed to size 0 girls that anyone a tad bit bigger gets called fat. I just didn’t know her size and I would have liked to.

I didn’t love this book, but I also didn’t hate it.

I’ll have a hard time recommending this book since I don’t think the younger audience (high school teens between the ages of 13-16 should read it; and the older audience (like me) may have issues with the details of the book (profanities, highly sexually active kids etc.) 

A digital copy was received via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Sunday 5 February 2017

"Letters to the Lost" Book Review


My Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5 Stars

LETTERS TO THE LOST, despite being full of teenage angst and impulsive kids, was actually a pretty entertaining yet emotional read.

Juliet writes letters to her photojournalist mom who has passed away. She leaves these letters at her mom’s gravestone as a way of communicating with her, but when Declan, the troubled boy doing community service answers one of her letters, a relationship is formed.

Both characters have lost someone they loved dearly and that’s what brings them together in the first place; however, they do not know the true identity of each other so they find solace in anonymity which allows them to truly speak freely.

The relationship between Declan and Juliet far surpassed the relationship between their anonymous personas. I say this because from the start, through their letters, they had pain in common which brought them close pretty quickly; however, in person, they did not get along at first and had nothing really in common, it made it that much harder for them to form a connection, which they ultimately did. And I saw that as more meaningful.

It frustrated me that they misinterpreted each other so much and that they were both judgemental toward each other but I did not remove stars for that because this was simply a reflection of true human behaviour. It annoyed me that they would impulsively say hurtful things to each other and get angry so quickly but this is what happens in real.


It was a great read and I look forward to reading more from this author.



Digital Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Saturday 4 February 2017

"One Of Us Is Lying" Book Review



My Rating:   ★★★★★ 5 Stars

I was highly astounded after finding out that this is a debut novel. 
Debut Novel you say? Why yes!

The author seems to be a well-established writer with a few published novels out there already. But I digress; let’s get into the review of the actual book and not how surprised I am by the quality of the writing.

One of Us Is Lying has a brilliant plot with enough twists to make the ride a dizzy journey. 
The “Bayview Four”, as individuals, were the quintessential, most popular cliques found in any given high school, much like we’ve seen in the Breakfast Club. 
We had the jock, the princess, the straight ‘A’ student and the delinquent; and as the author said, One of Us is Lying was initially inspired by The Breakfast Club. 
The characters were, in no way, superficial. They all had depth and dark secrets which influenced their actions. I appreciated how they weren’t one-dimensional and how the author put time into creating solid characters. 
The peripheral characters were also interesting and had me wondering if they were involved in the death of the victim. I found myself taking notes and trying to solve the mystery before the big reveal, which I kind of did. 

The relationship between the characters genuinely grew. It didn’t feel forced even though the characters were, in a sense, forced to gravitate toward each other because of the situation they were in. 
I could feel when things started changing and when they began getting closer, not just because they were all murder suspects, but because they realized that they did have something else in common. 
Naturally, I felt more of a connection toward Bronwyn, it could be because she was the first character’s POV which showed up, or it could be that I identified with her the most. In turn, I also felt a connection toward Nate, and thus, their relationship and POV held my attention more than the others. I ended up looking forward to reading their stories and seeing their relationship grow. 

There was an underlying theme which I won't mention which becomes quite prominent toward the end. The author was brilliant and creative in the way she presented this theme, yet it was heartbreaking in its truth. Social media plays such a great part in our lives these days and can connect us to others who share our interests, all the good, as well as the destructive interests that we may have; and teenagers are so easily influenced by others, especially when they seek acceptance from others. I was angry at a peripheral character in particular, knowing that she could have prevented something from happening if only she had spoken to someone. 

I know this was just a fictional book but it presented us with a sad reality that needs to be addressed. Some teenagers/Young adults around the world do not seem to fully understand the severity of situations and thus consequences occur which cannot be reversed (in many cases). 
My wish is that if this book is read by a high school student, or a college student who is experiencing something similar to what went on in the book that he/she will do something, speak up, get help.


I really did enjoy this book and I am looking forward to reading more from this author. 

Digital Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Sunday 22 January 2017

"The Impossible Fortress" Book Review



My Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars      


Let me just start by saying I LOVED THIS BOOK FROM THE VERY FIRST PAGE.

This was such a cute, coming-of-age, refreshing and stunningly written love story that I had the pleasure and honor of reading. 

Billy Marvin loves computers more than anything in the world, that is until he meets Mary Zelinsky who equally (if not more) shares a love of computers in this 1987 coming-of-age beauty. 

Billy and his friends are shocked and intrigued when Playboy releases their latest issue featuring the beautiful Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune. The boys are eager to feast their eyes upon her pictures but to do so they conjure up a risky plan to secretly get their hands on a copy for each. Everyone gets to play a part in the heist (which isn't stealing) - Billy's task is to seduce Mary Zelinsky, the daughter of the store's owner and to get access to the security code. 
What starts off as the Vanna White mission turns into so much more for young Billy Marvin. 

I loved how well written the book was. Yes, there were a few errors here and there but overall the writing style was so clear with strong, vivid descriptions. The main characters felt well-rounded even though we didn't have a whopping history on them. 

This was an adventure-filled, fun read that I absolutely adore.

A digital copy was received via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.                                        

Monday 2 January 2017

"Mostly Human" Book Review



My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 Stars

Mostly Human follows the lives of Alex Harris and family while they navigate through their new reality of having a family member who is a werewolf. 
While on a family vacation in Canada, Alex, in his attempts to help an injured wolf, gets bitten. His life, as well as his family’s is forever changed in that moment. 
The characters experience heartbreak, grief, secrets, love and so much more on their journey to normalcy.

I liked the way the book began – the interview. The dialogue seemed so natural, the writing style kept me hooked and I had a feeling that I would love this book; however, the feeling did not last. Once the timeline switched and went back in time to 10 year old Alex, my connection to the story was broken. I think this happened because I got into the story with certain expectations. I was expecting to read about a rock star and his life as a werewolf with only glimpses into his past. I didn’t expect to follow an in depth story of his younger years, and that was solely my fault. I should have read the summary and not concentrate only on the “rock star” bit.
Nevertheless, it was a good story. 

The Good: 

• His family was very supportive and caring, patient and willing to alter their lives to accommodate his new situation. He had a family who loved him beyond words. 
• Usually siblings don’t get along so well but in this book they were so protective of each other. I thought it to be a great relationship and a big step away from the cliché sibling relationship of always wanting to bite each other’s head off. 
• It was a full length book which had the opportunity to really explore his life, from a young age to adult. With that being said, his character development was not rushed, it was slowly yet strategically progressed. 
• My favorite parts were his teenage years and adult life which I found to be most interesting since Alex’s was the main POV at time. 

The Not-So-Good:

• There were a lot of POV's to keep up with which made it a tad bit difficult to truly connect with a character and to really feel the gut-wrenching emotions they were experiencing. I read about loss and anger but I didn’t quite feel the pain nor did the anger resonate in me. I wanted to experience their emotions because I could see that it was a roller-coaster being that there were a lot of themes present. 
• At times I thought the characters were overly emotional/melodramatic – mostly Debra and sometimes Alex’s sister. It could be because I did not connect with the characters and thus could not feel their emotions.
• Organized crime was mentioned in the summary; however it was not fully embedded into the story nor did it feel necessary. It was quite rushed in the last few pages and simply did not help in any way to push the story forward (in my humble opinion, but I may be wrong and failed to see the value of this bit in relation to the progression of the story).
Overall, it was a good story, I like werewolves. More time could have been spent on certain parts while others could have been briefly mentioned; however, I see the necessity of the in-depth look into his life growing up especially if there is a book 2. To truly understand a character and their motivations you would need to know their history.

Digital Copy provided by the author