Wednesday 27 June 2012

What i didn't say- Keary Taylor


Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: April 30, 2012
326 pages
Goodreads page
Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat. 

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it.





This book was so great. We start off meeting Jake who is just a normal teenager who is in love with a girl and then he makes one big mistake that changes his life. 
Throughout the book you go through Jake's struggles with him and get to know him as a person, you also get to know Sam the girl he is in love with. They both have hard times and things to get through.
The messages in this book are important ones, it shows that when bad things happen you can grow and move on and that can be an important lesson to learn.
I loved the way the whole story was written and you really got to feel their struggles with them.
I was so hooked throughout this book i could barely put it down. It just really made me understand things and there is also the very important message that drink driving is always a very bad idea. Things can go very wrong.
This was also my first net galley book so i was a little bit excited.
This book is a great read and i think it would open a lot of peoples eyes to some issues a lot of teenagers face. I highly recommend giving this book a go.

*****
Five stars

Friday 22 June 2012

Beastly- Alex Flinn

Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: Oct 2, 2007
304 pages
Goodreads page
I am a beast.


A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.


You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.


Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.


So this book is obviously a retelling of beauty and the beast, which has always been my favorite Disney movie ever. I was unsure if a retelling of this story would be any good and was pleasantly surprised. It was amazing. It kept so close to the real story while being original and modern. I couldn't help but compare everything i read to the Disney movie but that wasn't a bad thing because i loved all the similarities and differences.
The characters where well written and lovable. The love story was everything it should be.
I was just so impressed with this book i cant even think what more to say about it. Its weird how you find it easier to say things about a book you didn't like than a book you did.
I highly recommend this book for fairy tale lovers or Disney lovers it was just great.
This book was made into a movie and i have only seen about half of it but it didn't capture me half as much as the book did but after reading it i may give the movie another go.

*****
Five stars


Tuesday 19 June 2012

Cracked up to be- Courtney Summers



Publisher: St Martins Griffin
Published: Dec 23, 2008
214 pages
Goodreads page

When "Perfect" Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter's High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher's pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?

Parker doesn't want to talk about it. She'd just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her conselors are demanding the truth. Worse, there's a nice guy falling in love with her and he's making her feel things again when she'd really rather not be feeling anything at all.

Nobody would have guessed she'd turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.

Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.



Oh wow i really enjoyed this book! I was pretty much hooked from the start.
Right at the start you meet Parker and you can see she has kind of gone off the rails and its because of something that happened. Throughout the story you get flashbacks of the night this thing happened but you don't find out right until the end.
The main character in this book was very relate-able to me because i had quite an attitude when i was a teenager and she kind of reminded me of myself. You feel that she is going through something but you never know till the end exactly what it is. I love the characters around her, even though you don't get super in depth into their lives its still just so well written.
I loved the writing style it just made the book flow so well and i could just imagine everything in this book like i was seeing it happen. It was really great.
I'm surprised because i didn't really have any expectations going into this book but i was extremely pleased with it. Its been a while since i have read a book that at the end i was just like 'wow'.


*****
Five stars



Friday 15 June 2012

A field guide for heartbreakers- Kristen Tracy


Publisher: Hyperion books
Published: June 1st 2010
352 pages
Goodreads page
Best friends Dessy and Veronica arrive in Europe with wildly different plans. Dessy hopes to heal her newly broken heart by diving into the creative writing workshop that brought the girls to Prague. Veronica’s plan, meanwhile, is to conquer as many hot-dudes as possible in one month—and help Dessy recycle her heart in the process. Her method:
· Dress like you are the party.
· Explore the terrain. (Moderate stalking is totally allowed.)
· Be adventurous. And that means being prepared to hide in your suitcase.
· Ask questions that make your hot-dude feel smart.
· Gloss early, gloss often, and bring gum. Because a kiss can happen when you least expect it!
At first, Veronica’s plan is working so well that Dessy thinks she might be a love genius. But soon it’s clear that Operation Maneater has a few holes. Like its failure to anticipate crazy mixed signals—and worse, its mysterious tendency to plague a friendship with secrets and lies.
Well, no one ever said breaking hearts was a simple craft….


Well to start off i have to say that i did not enjoy this book very much. I found the story line somewhat bland and not a lot really happened. Except for like the last 50 pages where a small event was thrown in, but which seem somewhat over dramatic and didn't really go with the rest of the story in my opinion.
The characters were average, just two regular teenage girls who go on a trip to Prague. They didn't have a lot of depth and i found myself not really caring about them all that much.
I did like the setting of the book and the way all the places where described, it was in a way that i could picture them even though i have never seen or heard of them.
My biggest problem was with the dialogue. I was constantly thinking 'who talks like this?' they talked kind of like robots and i didnt feel any emotion in anything they said. This book would have been a whole lot better if i could have felt what the characters where feeling when they where talking, but unfortunately it just wasn't there. It seemed like the author was trying to make them sound smart but in doing that forgot about emotion.

I'm sure there are people who would enjoy this book but for me it just didn't have enough of the good stuff, like excitement and emotion

**
Two stars

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Buying books?



So i thought i would share my two favourite sites to buy books online. I prefer buying books online because bookstores can get a little overwhelming and its easier to browse from home, and plus its exciting getting a bit box of books in the mail. I should mention though that im from Australia and i believe both these sites are Australian only (although i could be wrong). Because books in Australia can be ridiculous prices here's my favorite places to find a bargain.


Allbooksforless.com.au
The first that i want to talk about is allbooksforless.com.au. This site has a bunch of discounted books the cheapest ranging from $3-$5. Its not the best site if your looking for something specific but if you just feel like a browse your sure to find something that tickles your fancy. They have free shipping for orders over $30 and ive found that it is extremely easy to reach that price. I have actually never made an order under $30 from here but i believe shipping is around $6 for orders under $30.
Shipping takes 1-2 working days to arrive and i have never had any problem with damage or anything.
Overall this site is great if you dont know exactly what your after but want to find cheap books.



Booktopia.com.au
The second site i want to talk about is booktopia.com.au. This site is better if your looking for a more specific book. They have a lot of discounted books and often have deals going. They dont have free shipping all the time but they often have free shipping deals and if you sign up for emails they will send you the free shipping code when its offered. Books are delivered in 1-2 working days and i have also never had a problem with any damage to books from this site.
They have a great range on this site and pretty much anything your looking for they will have, more than likely with a cheaper price than most book stores.
Overall this site is great for the more specific book hunter.


I should probably add too that i was not asked to write about these sites or anything, just thought i would share my favorites.
:)

Friday 8 June 2012

A game of thrones (song of ice and fire #1)- George R.R Martin

Publisher: Spectra
Published: August 16, 2005
835 pages
Goodreads page
Goodreads synopsis:
Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin's stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction. 
A Game of Thrones 
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. 
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.




This book is a beast of a book, it is probably the longest book i have ever read. I started it about two months ago and put it down for a while to read other books so my brain could have a rest from the beast. I feel very accomplished after finally finishing it.
This book is amazing. The world that has been created is so massive and detailed it blew me away.
At first i had a little trouble following it because the chapters are different characters points of view and its a little hard to keep up with whos who but i started watching the HBO tv series and that made it a lot easier to put names to faces and know who was who. ( The HBO series is also amazing).
Once you get into the flow of things it is a lot easier to read and follow.
The characters are all so strong in their own ways and you love some and hate some. A word of warning though, dont get too attached to characters because they can die just like that.
George has an extremely vivid writing style that draws you in and spits you out.
My only fault with this book was the sheer size of it, but i understand why it has to be so long, its so descriptive and has so much depth that it requires such a length.

I'm super excited to read #2 but im not sure when exactly i will get to it because that is also a mammoth of a book and its hard to motivate to read such a huge book. But i will definitely try to make a start very soon.

Overall an extremely amazing epic fantasy, i  love every moment of it.

*****
Five stars



Saturday 2 June 2012

Wither- Lauren DeStefano

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books
Published: March 22, 2011
358 pages
Goodreads page
Goodreads synopsis:
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?



I don't think i really had any expectations going into this book but i did kind of enjoy it. The writing style has a really nice flow to it that makes it easy to read and the characters are really well written, to an extent. My issue with this book was that the story line got very slow in some parts and i ended up just wondering when something was going to happen.
Nothing epic happened in this book like there was no 'wow' moment or 'omg' which was disappointing. It was a book that i would just say eh it was ok but i can think of better.
I will eventually read the second because im interested to see where the story goes and hopefully it will get a bit better in the next book but i guess we shall see.

***
Three stars