Review: The Felix Chronicles: Freshmen

Book Rate: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Publisher: CreateSpace

Date of Publication:  May 20th 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure
Page Count: 494

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis (from goodreads):

Reeling from a terrible accident that claimed the lives of his parents, Felix arrives at Portland College.

Here his reality star roommate shows him there is more to higher education than just classes, shared bathrooms and bad dorm food, and Felix gradually dares to believe he can put his past behind him.

But a fateful storm looms on the horizon: In the nearby woods, two hikers become the latest victims in a series of gruesome murders; a disfigured giant embarks on a vicious cross-country rampage, killing teenagers who fail his 'test'; and an ancient society of assassins tasked with eradicating the wielders of a mysterious source of power awakens after a long silence.

Only one man--the school's groundskeeper--knows that the seemingly unrelated events are connected, and that an eighteen-year-old boy stands in the center of the storm.
Review:

I'm pretty I'll be raving about this book for a little while...

The Felix Chronicles: Freshmen strikes me as a mixture of The Harry Potter Saga, a Stephen King's thriller and a college contemporary. You can relate to it an awful lot since there are a lot of "today's" references like Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, the Kardashians and The Hunger Games, so you really feel like the story happens in the world you live in. Which is great if you ask me.

The characters are great, incredibly realistic and smart and strong. They take precautions before jumping into dangerous situations which a lot of characters in other books don't do and always strikes as unrealistic. Felix, Allison and Lucas (my top favourite, to be honest) are great, though! They could go to my college! (I would be besties with Allison, no doubt!!!).

The plotline is gripping, a page turner really, and I'm praying there are more books coming because I can't leave this saga just yet. It's not the common storyline we are all so used to, it has it's unexpected twists and turns, which made this read so much greater for me.

If you're looking for a good long time bookis companion then this is it. The almost 500 pages and smallish letter will keep you submerged in a hot chocolate drinking and frantic reading delicious environment.

A perfect Autumn read in my opinion!

Review: Caroline Starts Over

Caroline Starts Over

By Randi M. Sherman

book rate: ★★★☆☆ (3/5) 

Publisher: FriesenPress

Date of Publication:  February 12th 2014

Genre: LGBT, Aduul Romance
Page Count: 256

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis provided (adapted):

After eighteen years of feigning contentment in an unfulfilling marriage, forty-eight year old Caroline Matthews is finally liberated when her husband dies suddenly. Caroline is determined to reclaim her life and attempts to turn back the clock to a time when she was carefree. Getting back her life isn’t as easy as Caroline had hoped. She’s two decades older, socially out of practice, and has nineteen-year-old twin daughters who don’t know about her past. Caroline orchestrates a reunion with a former lesbian lover, Rachel, whom she had a devastating break up with before marrying her late husband. Both curious, slightly shop-worn and lonely, the women foolishly rekindle their relationship. Old habits and buried feelings resurface as they attempt to navigate through this misguided romance. 

Is Caroline really as desperate as she seems? And did she play any part in the death of her husband?

Review:

I have such mixed feelings about this book.... Uuuuuuugh....

It stared off as funny and light read and it continued that way until BOOM! You read the last 5 pages.

Everything about Caroline Starts Over is very good: the writting style, the characters, the storyline... I just... Can't formulated a coeherent thought... It's like Veronica Roth's Allegiant all over again!!!

I don't want to spoil you guys so I'll be very vague and mysterious: read this book if you want to be surprised by an incredibly unexpected plot twist. But don't read this book if you're looking for characters to adore after you finish it. Caroline Starts Over will make you trust her and then shatter your trust all over the floor and swipe it under the rugh so you only notice in last second.

Review: Fresh Meat

Fresh Meat

By B. Bentley Summers

book rate: ★★★☆☆ (3/5) 

Publisher: Queer Sense Inc.

Date of Publication:  April 28th 2015

Genre: LGBT, Fantasy, Drama
Page Count: 376

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis provided (adapted):

It’s July 4, 2000, in Comer, Alabama. 

Three individuals with ties to torture, murder, and slavery are about to come together in an unexpected way. Old Soj is an African-American woman with family roots to slavery. Supernatural powers emerge for the umpteenth time in her life, and most interestingly, she has a recurring vision of a white thirteen-year-old boy whom she’s never met, telling her to “save the boy.” Warden E.J. Jones is a sadistic, psychopathic man who cruelly reigns over Arm Liom Prison. He and every inmate become mesmerized by a new young arrival known as Punk. 

On July 4, 2000, a powerful evil is awakening that cannot be stopped except by one force. Darkness and light are about to come face-to-face. 

Review:

I have a lot to say about this book so make sure you're comfortably seated.

Staring off by addressing what I considered to be the positive aspects of Fresh Meat, the wirting style is good good, very gripping, and the subject dealt with in the book was a great choice and I have to admit: it opened my eyes to some realities I wasn't aware of.

But then what were initially little problems became big ones during my reading experience with Fresh Meat.

It started as soon as the characters began being introduced: why the anagrams? I found them unnecessary and annoying since they made the names of most characters sound unrealistic.

Then a lot of scenes were repeated very often. I know they were repeated dreams or someone having the dream and thinking about the dream or the same scene viewed by different characters, but they were always told the same way. This made me want to skip a few pages many times and I would highly suggest shifting or mixing up things every time you repeat something because otherwise the reader will just find it a bit boring.

Then there is the main character Soj who is a 100% good woman and therefore 100% unrealistic too. I do believe it would have been so great it Soj could have a bit of bad or evil in herself and the book explored how she dealt with it!

And then there is E.J.'s redemption. He got to be redempted because he could have been a good man if not for the childhood traumatic experience he went through. But then so could have other inmates! Throughout the book we read everyone's story and all inmates had a traumatic childhood/juvenile experience that caused them to be the evil people they came to be. But if the waren can get redemption I think the other (or some of the other) inmates could have gotten it too, and not just be condemned like they were.

Overall I just believe Fresh Meat could have been a more interesting read if it had taken under consideratioj that every person has a bit of good and bad within themselves and we should be thaught how to deal with this, not aim to an unreachable ideal.

Review: Musical Chairs

Musical Chairs

By Sheila Levin

book rate: ★★★★★ (5/5) 

Publisher: First Edition Design Publishing

Date of Publication:  December 4th 2014

Genre: Adult Romance, Politics, Drama
Page Count: 262

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis provided (adapted):

Politics - Sex - Scandal - Secrets - Money

In a high-stakes game of musical chairs, there can be only one winner. Roberta Palmer, newly widowed supermodel and Marcia Baker, New York congresswoman are getting ready for the fight of their lives: both are running against each other in the primary for the democratic candidate of the NY senate race. Marcia’s ex-lover, Jake Rubin and Roberta’s step-daughter, Joan Palmer both hold secrets that could mean political suicide for both women. As the secrets threaten to surface which woman will be left standing when the music draws to a close?

Review:

Wow, what a surprise!

I tried to keep an  open mind when starting this book but I had this feeling I would be bored to the bones with all the politics talk and so on... I was dead wrong.

Musical Chairs brings us excellent characters, they are incredily realistic, flawed in the right way and with good sense and rational thoughts but they are also giving very moving life stories and, some of them, even inspiring personalities. (I had a few favourite characters but in an effort to not spoil your reading I will keep to myself. If you're interested anyway leave a comment down below and I will discuss it with you!)

Additionaly the storyline  is very consistente and interesting, it's a book that keeps you wanting to reach the final page and unveil all the secrets. Musical Chairs explores politics yes, but not in a boring way, it keeps you interested and also gives you some knowledge on the subject in case, like myself, you didn't have. It also explores the marital life - good and bad sides - and how these relationships can evolve - flourishing or dying.

Musical Chairs was a very different read but very good nonetheless. Reccomend if you would like to try a different reading subject!

ARC Review: Good Intentions

Good Intentions

By Pembroke Sinclair

book rate: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Series: The Road to Salvation

Publisher: Booktrope Editions

Release Date: July 28th 2015

Genre: Young Adult; Paranormal Romace
Page Count: 190

Source: We received a copy of this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

Katie has been through Hell—literally—and discovered that it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, she kind of enjoyed it. She got to be with Josh, found out about her past, and discovered who she wanted to be as a person. Katie didn’t care that her actions went against social norms. She was happy.

But things are changing—again. Wes has come back into her life, and that can only mean trouble. His presence threatens to unravel her new-found happiness. She can’t allow that. She won’t let him back in. Yet, Katie can’t push him away. 

Thrown back into a state of confusion and uncertainty, Katie is once again forced to pick sides, and in the process, she may lose herself.

Review:

Reading a book is an individual experience and therefore two people reading the same book will always have different reading experiences (and the derived feelings and opinions regarding the book). This happened very clearly to me and Isabel while reading Good Itentions.

Isabel points out her discomfort with the writting style, as we have referred in our review of book two, Dealing With Devils, the main character Katie keeps asking questions to herself in her head in a way we didn't consider very natural...

Secondly Isabel was enjoying this series mainly because the main characters weren't the typical type, the female protagonist wasn't a heroine and the male protagonist was a demon capable of loving and worthy of being trusted. Good Intentions disappointed Isabel because in this book Katie choses "the good side" and the demon betrays her showing therefore that he is a typical demon.

I personally only disliked two aspects about this book. Firstly it was slow-paced, there wasn't as much action as I would expect for the conclusion of a triology. Second and lastly, there were a lot of "repetitive thoughts" - as in the characters keeps thinking the same thing and the reader keeps being told that she/he is thinking that - which isn't necessarily bad because it's an excellent way for the reader to accompany the character's development and changes of mind more closely, but I would suggest formulating the thoughts differently so as not to sound so repetitive.

To wrap up we will leave the messages each of us took from reading Good Intentions and also what made us warm up to this story. Isabel enjoyed the "Be careful with who you trust" message and I loved the "You always have a choive; no matter how far you've gone, you can always change paths" message.

Congratulations Pembroke Sinclair on writing this triology, thank you for giving us the opportunity to review it and good luck with future projects!

Review: Prince of Conjurers

Prince of Conjurers

By Laurie L. Bolanos

book rate: ★★★★★ (5/5) 

Publisher: Nicobar Press

Date of Publication: April 2nd 2015

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Page Count: 434

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis provided (shortened):

What if the Phantom of the Opera changed his mind after releasing Christine and Raoul?

What if he staged his own death?

What if he intended to claim Christine as his own?

Review:

What a great great read!

Prince of Conjurers is a sequel to The Phantom of  the Opera imagined and written by Laurie L. Bolanos. I've always loved The Phantom very very much, it's one of those classics you keep close to your heart and therefore I went to The Prince of Connjurers with a few reservations... Which was completely unnecessary, as I concluded!

Laurie creates all sorts of different environments and intrigues that will keep you awake at night thinking about how this story will end. You go through so many worlds and prespectives in Prince of Conjurers that it can literally be said "This book is a journey"! A journey through the things you thought you bellieved and the things you thought you didn't. A journey of reflection but also a journey that will keep you on the edge until you reach the last page.

If you've been reading my reviews you know that a few things I really appreciate in a book (and need to be able to say "this was a good book") are:

• Realistic characters, characters you can connect with and that have a rational way of viewing the events they participate in
• A plot that makes sense, no loose strings and details that just don't connect with the story itself
• An unpredictable storyline, if I'm able to guess the whole story while I'm reading the first 3 chapters then I can already said it'll be a 3-star book at the best

Prince of Conjurers did amazingly in all my "requirements" mentioned above. This was the type of book that kept me thinking "This will happen", "Ok, maybe not... Then this will happen", "Ok it didn't either...", "WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?". All in all, it was amazing and gripping and Laurie just became an auto-buy author for me.

And as if the all the above wasn't enought, I also got to see Erik (the phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, for those who don't know or don't remember) in a different light and to be able to imagine him as more than just the phantom, which was amazing for me!

To sum it all up: 100% recommend. But do read it with an open mind as you'll be signing up for much more than just The Phantom of the Opera, you'll be signing up for a full tour to what you are imagining and what I bet you weren't.

Review: Ninelands by K. E. Boyer

Ninelands

By K. E. Boyer

book rate: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) 

Published by: K. E. Boyer

Date of Publication: April 15th 2015

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Page Count: 220

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis provided (shortened):

One morning, twelve-year-old Jamie Collins hears strange sounds coming from the attic. Being the son of a wizard and capable of magic himself, this doesn’t seem too odd. But when he goes upstairs to explore, he discovers something totally unexpected: Minkel, a delightful, elfish creature, who intends to take him, his sister and his friends to Ninelands, a place Jamie never knew existed.

Meanwhile Zard—the future head of the Ketch clan of wizards, who are at odds with the Council of Elves—wants to get hold of Jamie for his own dark purposes. Suddenly Jamie finds himself caught in a dangerous web of magic and he must choose whether or not he will train to be a wizard and join his father in the fight against evil.

Review:

"Ninelands" is the first book in the Jamie Collins' Mystical Adventures series and I have quite a lot to say about it so keep reading!

Firstly there's something I really want to get out of the way so let me start with that. This is definetely one of my book pet peeves: characters that talk to themselves... a lot... and in an unrealistic way... It just never sounds right to me, like the character is slightly dumb... But I'm aware it may mean nothing to other readers so I want to make clear that this is just my opinion! Now, I took the liberty of picking an excerpt to better demonstrate my point of view:

"He scratched his head and glanced into the hall.

-Maybe Mom dropped something up in the attic.

But the attic door was closed.

He went to the top of the stairs to listen.

-Mom is down in the kitchen with Megan.

He went back to his room and looked up at the ceiling.

-So what made all of the noises?"

I'm hoping you got my point so lets move on to more important aspects of the book, the characters (apart from the talk-to-self thing) are adorable and I found it impossible not to love them instantly. Now take this super fun kids and put them in this amazing world called Ninelands and you have the potential  to tell a pretty fantastic story! But that's the main problem I found in this book... It just has a lot of potential and never really makes use of it. I felt lik 80% of "Ninelands" sounded more like an instruction manual about how a certain world is and how things happen there than actually about living in that world. I know this is the first book in a series and therefore I expected the rest of Jamie Collins' Mystical Adventures to be incredibly captivating and magical and mind-blowing. But "Ninelands" specifically felt more like the novela before the series than the actual first book to me.

On the other hand, I did really enjoy some ideas this book explores. And to be fair and not just quote an excerpt I dislike from "Ninelands", I will also quote my favourite:

"It all starts with a child's imagination. That is why humans are always coming up with new tools. Or new and better ways of doing things. In your world, children's imaginations grow and magically change to become creative. So that they can invent things as grownups. To imagine something and turn it into an invention for all humans to use is pure magic."

A slow-paced book introducing a possibly adictive and really fantastic series, that's how I would describe "Ninelands".

Rebeca's Top 10 Books Of 2014

2014 was a good reading year for me. Couting with the rereads I did of "The Fault in Our Stars" and "If I Stay" I read a total of 58 books (which I think will be 59 by the real end of the year wich only happens in 3 days).

Anyways, I thought I should let you know what books made it to my top 10 favourites of this year, my 100%-recommend-books of 2014.

1.
Just One Day
by Gayle Forman

book rate: ★★★★★




2.
The Darkest Minds
by Alexandra Bracken

book rate: ★★★★★




3.
Clockwork Angel
by Cassandra Clare

book rate: ★★★★☆




4.
City of Glass
by Cassandra Clare
book rate: ★★★★☆




5.
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak

book rate: ★★★★★




6.
Just One Night
by Gayle Forman

book rate: ★★★★★




7.
The Kill Order
by James Dashner

book rate: ★★★★★





8.
We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart

book rate: ★★★★☆




9.

Never Fade
by Alexandra Bracken

book rate: ★★★★★

10.
Just One Year
by Gayle Forman

book rate: ★★★★☆

Review: I Want It That Way

I Want It That Way
by Ann Aguirre


book rate: ★★★☆☆


Brief Introduction:

Nadia Conrad is a 21-year-old with big dreams. Between college and her work at the local day care to be able to support herself, she couldn't be more excited to get out of the college dorms and  moves into a new apartment with her closest friends. That's when Nadia meets the distant yet irresistible guy in 1B…

Daniel Tyler has had his life turned upside down. As he tries to balance his personal life with a full-time job and night classes, all he wants when he gets home is silence. The last thing he needed were four noisy students moving into the apartment upstairs. But one night, these neighbors' paths cross and that encouter pretty much changed their lives.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens.


Review:

"I Want It That Way" was far from being either a great book or a terrible book so this review will be shorter than  usual.

Surprisingly I didn't dislike it as much as I initially thought I would. The storyline was predictable as well as the characters' backstories but there were some elements in this novel that did surprise... Nadia's girl friend and roommate relationship with one of her other friends was very refreshing to read about, the whole development and denouement was totally different from what I expected to read about when I pick "I Want It That Way" up.

Sam, Ty's son was another positive element of this book. HE IS ADORABLE, you don't get it, he's the ultimate embodiment of adorability! Sam was definitly one of the main reasons that kept me hooked on this novel.

I found everything else very predictable, the main characters, the plot, etc, etc. A 3-stars book for me. Would recommend only if you have nothing better to read.

Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn

book rate: ★★★★★


Brief Introduction: (adpated from goodreads)

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears. Passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? 

Review:

It took me a bit to get into Gone Girl. Maybe it was college keeping me busy maybe I just wasn't all that interested. Truth is, halfway through the book my mind was blown and I became physically uncapable of putting it down.
Gone Girl's plot is supernaturally strong and... well, mind blowing. The characters are consistent and stunningly interesting. I was so very happy Gillian Flynn did such a excellent exploration of the inner self of each main character!
I must also add Flynn's writting style is quite captivating. I loved the way Nick's narrative was mixed with Amy's diary entries, it gave the whole storyline a different and more interesting prespective!
I believe the only not-so-strong point I noticed in the whole book was the lack of a better and closer analysis of the parents/child relationship. It was there, I just think it had a lot more of potential... especially Amy's.
Besides this the only other thing that bothered me was... the ending was not enough... I NEED MORE!

All in all, a book I recommend 100% to those looking for a creepy book to keep you awake at night!

Rebeca's November TBR

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Never Too Far by Abbi Glines
• Mr. Penunbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
• In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken (if Isabel finishes it soon)

Review: The Maze Runner triology

The Maze Runner triology

by James Dashner

The Maze Runner                      The Scorch Trials                   The Death Cure

book rate: ★★★★☆       book rate: ★★★★☆        book rate: ★★★☆☆

Brief Introduction (from goodreads):

"If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human."
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
"Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade."
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
"Everything is going to change."
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.

Review:

I marathoned this triology and its prequel and I'm starting to feel that maybe it was a bad idea. The prequel is excellent and so is the first book in triology. The second book is good, maybe not what I was expecting but still a good book. The Death Cure, the third and last book in this triolidy was the death of the triology for me.

The Kill Order (the prequel to this triology and which review you read here) and The Maze Runner were quick paced and action packed books that kept me on the edge trough the entire story.The characters were very good, incredinbly consistent and the plot was sometimes mind blowing. By the time I finished them I was officially in love with James Dashner for being such a realistic dystopian author. You can actually noticed my adoration for him in my The Kill Order's review!

The Schorch Trials were slightly more slow paced but plot was still interesting and the characters still gripped me.

The Death Cure was a disappointment honestly. It was so much more slow paced than I could ever expect a James Dashner's book to be... Some characters disappointed me, the plot didn't even seem like a plot, everything seemed slightly disconnected and the story looked like it was going nowhere. The ending of the book itself was good, I was satisfied with it, but the development of The Death Cure had so much more potential.

Regardless of my opinion of the third book I still think this is a series worth reading and I will not hesitate to reccommend it. Alhtough I will always be careful to give whoever I reccommend it to (including you guys) a heads-up about the third book.