"Rose Petal Graves" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars

Purchase Link: Amazon
Publication Date: 15 May 2016

Thanks to Net Galley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. There's a hot guy in this one! Despite my 3.5 star rating, Rose Petal Graves was a fun, quick read; however, it did feel a bit rushed as opposed to getting straight into the action of the story. Catori (Cat) returns to her hometown of Rowan  after her mother suddenly dies. Founded by the Gottwa Indian over two centuries ago, the small, quiet town of Rowan is filled with an ancient magic and a century's-old war of good vs evil. An examiner is sent to determine the cause of death but in his place, a hot, 24 year old (in human years) faerie named Cruz shows up, creating sparks in Cat's otherwise boring life. She is convinced that her mom did not die of natural causes and expects Cruz to reach the same conclusion. From Cruz, and a strange package, Cat learns of an ancient tribe buried in her backyard but she is torn between the two sides - which is evil and which is good? Oh Cat, you poor, love sick kitten. I'd want Cruz too I guess, he's hot. But that's about it we know about Cruz. Sure, we do find out he is a Faerie, within the first few pages, and we see how helpful he can be, but that's just not enough. I'm not a fan of Insta-love. And this thing between them was simply insta-love, a relationship too rushed. I love and appreciate a relationship more when the characters take their time to get to know each other and when we get justification for why they fall in love. The writing was simple, clear, no preamble and long drawn out scenes. So I loved that about it. The plot was interesting enough to keep my full attention till the very last page. I liked the mystery regarding which side was truly evil and which was good. Sometimes I'd think the faeries are the evil ones, other times I thought they were the good guys. So clever tactic there to keep me guessing. Overall it was a fun read, not very memorable but entertaining to pass the time.

"The Summer That Melted Everything" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I strongly recommend.

Let it be known by all who read this review and by all wondering if they should read this book that I tried to write a review which would do justice to this masterpiece.

The Summer That Melted Everything was just that- a dark, emotionally-charged masterpiece, as beautifully written as it was beautifully heart-breaking. 

It is the summer of 1984 and an invitation by Autopsy Bliss, posted in the local newspaper, has been extended to the devil. 

“Dear Mr. Devil, Sir Satan, Lord Lucifer, and all other crosses you bear,

I cordially invite you to Breathed, Ohio. Land of hills and hay bales, of sinners and forgivers.

May you come in peace.

With great faith,

Autopsy Bliss”.

The one who answers this invitation is a thirteen year old boy, dressed in dirty, threadbare overalls, accompanied by a raging heat; he is far from the menacing devil that one would expect. Fielding Bliss, the son of Autopsy Bliss, takes him home to his family and introduces him as The Devil. The sheriff believes him to be a runaway from a nearby town and begins his investigation to prove that this is simply a missing person’s case; but when strange things start happening in the small town of Breathed, Ohio, the community believes that the devil, disguised as a thirteen year old boy, truly walks among them. 

Fear, rage and the unbearable heat consume the town’s people and slowly melt away their common sense so much so that Sal is the blame of every mishap that summer and becomes a target.

The writing is of lyrical prose, exquisitely poetic, reminding me of the works of Alice Hoffman with a touch of magic realism in the metaphors used. This is one of those books that almost every line is a memorable quote; it is thought-provoking and is to be savoured because it has such deep meaning. I had to control my highlighting lest I end up highlighting the entire book.

“Gone was the perfect temperature. The breeze. All replaced by an almost violent heat that turned your bones into volcanoes, your blood into the lava that yelled their eruptions.”

“You can tell a lot about a man by what he does with a snake… A snake that could harm you, you don’t have much choice to kill. You wouldn’t be able to leave a cobra in your sock drawer. But a snake that is no threat will greatly define the man who decides to kill it anyways.”

The characters were so strong in their personalities. Each had their unique, necessary stories which would push the plot forward. The Bliss family had an intense, unconditional love for each other that I have not seen in any other book - the love between a husband and wife, especially the one between the two brothers – Grant and Fielding – left me wanting to experience more of their shared loved.

I felt an instant connection to each of the members of the Bliss family, including Sal.

“And I smiled, as in love with my older brother as any young boy would be”

I felt anger when the characters I cared about felt anger; I felt their joy, hope, love. And I cried when they cried, I even cried when there were no sad parts; I simply cried because the writing was just too beautiful to not appreciate, and the only way to truly show appreciation was to shed a tear.

Everyone spoke so philosophical, and while it bothered me for a while that they all spoke the same, my appreciation for the writing style and love for the overall plot and characters overshadowed it. 

I've never liked TFIOS, I still don't, but I hate it a little less because this book reminded me of one quote, "That’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt". 

That's what I kept thinking throughout this book - this pain in the book demands to be felt. Hell, the book demands to be felt. I don't know if anyone can read this and not feel that consuming pain and heartache. 

I didn't want the book to end. I had 1 minute left and I let that minute drag out. I took a water break, bathroom break and then I came back. I almost didn't read the last 2 pages, because if I didn't read it, somehow that meant it didn’t have an ending.  

I certainly didn't want it to have an end because how am I supposed to move on from it? How am I supposed to pick up another book without seeing all its flaws because it isn’t nearly as well-written and memorable as this one?

This book will surely be remembered for the rest of this year and I will recommend it to all my reading friends like my life depended on it. I can’t wait to read it again.

"The Last One" Book Review

   My Rating   ★★★★☆ 4.5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher Penguin UK – Michael Joseph – and Net Galley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.     

  

I promise you - this is a hauntingly superb read once you understand how the book is written/presented.

Let’s start with this cover – a grimy face peering out of the shadows, scoping the area, or at least that’s how I see it. There’s only one thing I love more than oxygen and that’s reading post-apocalyptic books which test the mental, emotional and physical limits of the characters. By simply looking at this cover I somehow knew I was in for some survivalist action.

Zoo, a moniker of the protagonist, is at the point in her life where she is about to have a life changing event. She wants one last adventure before she settles into motherhood; her chosen adventure – take part in a TV reality show which promises to test the endurance of twelve contestants. Challenges are given. The physically, emotionally and mentally strong will persevere while the weak get left behind (quit) but when strange things start happening, Zoo simply thinks the creators are making things harder for the contestants. She continually reminds herself throughout the journey that this is a game, none of it is real and that there’s a finish line. But is the game she’s playing still a game? Or is it her new reality within a game gone wrong?

Remember my previous statement?-The one about the presentation of the book? Well the thing is it might be a bit difficult to follow when you’ve just started reading but keep at it and it becomes tolerable; you’ll be rewarded (with a great plot). The point of view and time alternates between two narrators with each chapter; comments from a thread related to the TV show are thrown in there at the end of a few chapters. Chapter one begins with a general narrator, this unspecified gender gives a sort of play by play commentary of In The Dark challenges, behind the scenes, confessions of characters, camera angles, things that will happen in a few minutes from the now etc.; it basically follows the happenings of every character in the book. I was able to envision this as a real TV show, like I was watching it on a screen.

The second chapter has the narrator was Zoo, a couple of weeks ahead of the first narrator. It follows her present, life after team challenges – on the Solo Challenge. The timelines eventually meet near the end of the book, but don’t worry; you get the full story – past, present and the life of other characters in another part of the world.

So one chapter is general narration, the other is Zoo, the next is back to general narration and the other will be Zoo etc. 

I really got into the book at the 25% mark and I didn’t want it to end. Zoo is so determined that she is oblivious to what’s going on around her. I think it was this cluelessness which brought her this far in her journey. If she only knew how much reality had changed since she left she’d have broken down, been disheartened, maybe she would have died. My heart broke for her so many times; I just wanted her to know the truth. She found meaning and hidden clues in places that were not manipulated by the creators; she followed rules till the near end that were useless.

When she finally realized the truth it was even more heart breaking. I think I teared up a bit. I felt immense pain for her after the realization.

Of all the characters, she was a survivor – not knowing game from reality yet she still made it out alive.

I recommend this 100%.         

"Twisted" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars

And that is what I call a psychological thriller, a mind fuck of epic proportions and I loved every second of it!

Twisted was utterly gripping and entertaining. I was unequivocally hooked from the very first line. 

Andrew Kaufman created a solid story centered around a troubled character (as a result of both his past and present) which claimed my full belief in his present life and struggles.

I felt like I had a 3-D experience of the agonizing torment of a man whose world crumbles, a thing he tried so hard to avoid yet to which he inevitably succumbed. This simply means the writing style and overall story had me completely engrossed.

This is one of those books which is a must-read. 

I want to give this 5-stars, it deserves it but I'm giving it 4.5. I wanted more explanations in the ending; I wanted to know what was real and what wasn't. I wanted.. no needed. I needed the author to make everything clear regarding the two worlds. 
He did give an explanation but I just felt it wasn't enough for me. 

Read this book!

"Pieces (Patchwork #1)" Book Review

My Rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars


e-ARC request approved by publisher and received via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Pieces follows the story of Rebekah Von Stein, a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, and a "prisoner" in her own home because of her mortality. Her father, leader of the Patchwork and head of all the factions in the Works, vows to keep her locked away in their mansion until he can cure her of this flaw.

Rebekah is portrayed as a "badass" throughout the book yet 90% of the times I saw her as no more than a petulant toddler stuck in the body of a sexually-driven nineteen year old (the latter only becoming fitting toward the end of the book).

The book starts off slow and at times the writing style was a bit unclear. I didn't particularly like the writing style - continuous tense was used throughout the book at the beginning of sentences. Not my cup of tea. Many times there were drawn out scenes which could have been kept to 2-3 pages max. 

It wasn't a great read but it was entertaining. I was hooked from mid-way till the end. The only thing which saved this book in my opinion was the romance which pretty much was the prominent theme 50% onward.
It was a good romance story, not so much of the other genre that it's supposed to be.

UPDATE*** Apologies. This genre is pure paranormal romance. So I guess it delivered. This has put things into perspective now and I think it deserves at least 3.5 stars rather than 3. The romance was great come to think of it!

"Last Seen Leaving" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Book received from Publisher via Net Galley. You know something's wrong when civilians do a better job at solving mysteries than the police, and it's even worse when its a teenager solving that mystery. Last Seen Leaving was such a pleasant surprise. At one point (to me) it felt a bit similar to Papertowns, a pretentious book I detest and wasted a few precious hours reading; but that's only because I wasn't sure of the direction the book would take, and I was HOPING it didn't follow suit. This held my interest and I found myself speed reading through scenes, needing to find out what happens next. Some characters were likeable, others tolerable, one was necessary for the progress of the plot while one was trivial. All in all a fast-paced read that I totally recommend

"The Girl With All The Gifts" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars   

Every now and then I stumble upon a book so riveting and so well-written that the highest rating (5 stars) simply seems beneath it. This is one of those books, in a league of its own, demanding respect from readers ranging from young adults to mature audiences and those who aren't even a fan of this genre.

This genre? It isn't even like the others in its genre, that's what amazes me. The Girl with All The Gifts wasn't a survivalist apocalypse book. Not really. It contained a delicious plethora of themes - ranging from survival to love (but not the traditional cliché love), to acceptance of the worst kind of humans out there and an in-depth look at the science behind a world gone to ruin. It was everything and more.

I loved how the synopsis gave nothing away. The cover first reeled me in. There was something about the stance of the girl on the front cover - power. A little girl wielding power is what I first thought. Then the synopsis confirmed that she, named Melanie, was a special little girl who promises that she won't bite. This of course is the one and only hint we get that this is a Zombie book.

Did I mention that this was so much more?
The characters, so sure of themselves, are each driven by their unique, ingrained ambitions, all remaining consistent throughout the entirety of the book.

Melanie has a love so profound for Ms. J and wishes to protect her. Ms. J in return has a sort of motherly love for her and wishes to protect her even though Melanie is what she is.
Sergeant Parks, a protector, a man ruined, tired and haunted by the things he's had to do for the good of the remaining humans at the base and underneath it all he seeks redemption and acceptance, from whom you may ask? Well, from anyone willing to listen to him long enough to grant him his desire I presume.
Private Gallagher, a young man, sworn to protect but still scared shitless. He does what he can when he can. He thinks himself a coward, but I didn't see it that way. He is simply a survivor who has not made the best decisions.
And Dr. Caldwell. Driven by an intense urge to find a cure, she's ruthless in both her methods and her devotion and will not stop at anything to achieve her goal. I loved how I ended up feeling for her toward the end of the book. This was a character who no one should feel any kind of pity for, yet I felt something. At one point I accepted her justifications, that she did what she had to do in order to achieve her goals. I saw things from her point of view and I wanted her to succeed.

This was by far the most mature, well-written, well-researched book I've read in the past 12 months.