Personal Preference

There are some things that I like to come up in books and some things that I don't. In particular, I feel like sex can sometimes ruin a book.

Now, I'm not talking about after a huge build up two characters having sex for the first time because they love each other; I'm all for that. The problem, however, comes after that moment. Just because they can, the characters have sex again and again and again. It makes me want to scratch my eyeballs out.

Of course the characters are entitled to have sex if they want to, but when it starts to detract from the plot it makes me so so angry. I want to hear about you defeating the evil person or saving your best friend, not about how great it made you feel when his hands caressed your inner thigh.

Too much sex can put me right off a book and it's a shame because often the books can be really great.

The message I would give out to authors is just because a book is aimed at a late teen/adult audience doesn't mean it should become filled with sex just because it can be. Focus on the story instead and if it is right for the characters at the time then sex is fine, but just not for five or six chapters in a row. 

Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

This book is a great accompaniment to the main 'Lunar Chronicles' series. It is definitely a book that needs to be read after reading 'Cress', the third book in the series, and before reading 'Winter', the forth book in the series, because that way you understand more about the characters and the story, plus it ends so you can start 'Winter' straight after reading it with a smooth transition. In places it is quite a sad tale and at other moments it makes you want to tear out your hair in annoyance, though that is a good thing. It is really interesting to get a look into the court on Luna and this book manages to build hype and excitement amazingly well for 'Winter'. Though this book isn't as good as the main 'Lunar Chronicles' books, it still manages to stir up emotions within me and even made me want to root for someone I know to be the "bad guy".

(Goodreads parallel)

Review: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

This book appeals to the side of me that likes the sort of happy ending tales that can be found in a lot of YA contemporary fiction. Though this book did deal with issues that are quite heavy in real life, it did it in such a way that gave out the message of 'when you find the right person for you, everything bad that's happened to you no longer matters', which I feel in an incorrect message to be giving out. 'Boy Meets Boy' was also very idealistic in the way it presented Paul's town, so I think this novel is best for someone looking for a light read and those just starting to find out more about the LGBTQ+ community.

***

The blurb of this book describes it as 'slightly surreal' and I have to agree; it doesn't feel like this novel could be real. That, for me, is off-putting with contemporary reads because they're supposed to be realistic books. The reason I feel this way is because of how Paul's town and high school is portrayed; in the life that I'm used to, people aren't so open about their and other's sexuality and/or gender dysphoria. Obviously, I want people to be, but that is unfortunately not the world I know, so that aspect made the novel feel like it was just trying to show idealisms rather than real life.

In addition to that, the author tried to make every main character seem as likeable as possible, which added to the feeling I had that this novel is and never could be real or a representation of real life.

When first introduced, the romance between Paul and Noah seemed promising. However, as it developed and Paul made lots of mistakes, I began to dislike him as a character and by extension their relationship. That is certainly something that starts to ease me off liking the novel and it can actually feel slightly upsetting when you don't like the main character in a book. After that I started to lose interest in the novel because the mistakes that Paul made were rude, idiotic and could have been easily avoided.

Overall, this book was okay. I'm not sure that it sparked my interest enough for me to want to read any more of Levithan's books.

(Goodreads parallel)

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I have mixed emotions regarding this book. I can definitely understand why so many people's hearts have been won over by this book, yet I can also question certain things within it. It lays out before us an amazingly horrible sounding dystopian world, but then we don't really get to explore it. We are introduced to a main character who we sometimes feel we can relate to, but at other times confuses us completely. We get to experience a sizzling romance, yet when we take a step back we notice superficialities. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a great book, but in some aspects it just failed to convince me to keep reading. Also, I was metaphorically drowning in metaphors and when a writing style becomes overwhelming, it then starts to be off-putting.

***

Juliette's world at the start of the novel intrigued me. I quickly became interested in her back-story and how she ended up in such a terrible place. I found myself rooting for her from early on because of her continued belief in good in the world and wanting to be good. I admired her perseverance and liked her as a character. As the book progressed I did start to question, as Warner did, her continual goodness and would have enjoyed it if she let herself be bad, just once, because I feel it would have made her more realistic; we all have those moments.

At first I imagined Juliette would use her time with The Reestablishment to try and figure out a way to bring them down, as she seemed to want rid of them so much, but instead everything became about her romance with Adam and how they were so lucky to have found each other. When it started to draw away from the storyline, I did get mildly annoyed as I feel the book would have been better without constantly being reminded of their yearning for each other.

Their escape from The Reestablishment led to some very high drama and action moments. It was great to see Juliette come and save the day rather than seeing the male lead save the female lead as it is in so many other novels. I hope we see more of that side of Juliette in future.

The power that Juliette has is perhaps the most intriguing thing about this novel. It is certainly different from any powers that I have read about before and the science-loving side of me can't help but wonder how such powers came about (I assume genetic mutation due to radiation - contamination). I can see why people covet it, why Juliette hates it and why Warner is so interested in it. I really hope that it is explored further in the coming novels.

Overall, I'm quite impressed with 'Shatter Me' and am excited to get my hands on the next book in the series.

(Goodreads parallel)

The Annoying Thing About Series

As you scan the shelves of your local library, a book catches your eye. You recognise the author vaguely, but not the title. Your interest is peaked. You pull the book from the shelf and after a quick glance at the cover, you rotate it in your hands so you can read the blurb. This book is just what you've been looking for and you start to get excited at the prospect of reading it. You open it up to scan the first page and as you begin to read, you notice that something feels wrong. Flipping back a few pages you find out that this is actually the second book in the series. With a dejected sigh you put the book back in its place and after realising that the first book is nowhere to be found, you set yourself back on the task of looking, again.

This situation is one that I always find to be annoying. I can really want to read a book, but, as someone who never starts a series with a book other than the first, then have to wait months to read it or, in the worst cases, never get to read it at all.

It is made worse when I do not realise it isn't the first book in the series while looking through the collection of books there. Firstly, I feel like a bit of an idiot for not realising and secondly, when I realise at home it feels more deflating as I have prepared myself to read the book, only to find out after it has been waiting on me for days to start it, that I can't.

All of this makes me a big fan of series that have the number of each book on their spine. Some may call it ugly, but I think of it a useful. That way there can be no doubt about whether I'm picking up the first book in the series or not and then this whole situation can be avoided.

-E

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Note: The copy of 'Legend' I read is an uncorrected book proof.

An amazing start to a promising trilogy. I was quickly intrigued by the dystopian world this book was set in and soon came to love the main characters, Day and June, by their narration and actions. With an intense plot and danger always round the corner, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire novel. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for action, adventure and a splash of romance; basically, if you've read the Divergent series and the Hunger Games and are now ready for something even better.

***

The world that this book puts you in completely sucks you out of reality. It makes you realise how much influence governments can have and to what ends people will go to for power and control. From Day's perspective we also learn that they don't know as much as they would like to and that they would have us believe. The segregation within the Republic between the rich and the poor really brings to the forefront of your mind the issues that living in that type of society brings and gives you all the more reason to support Day's and the Patriot's cause.

The romance between Day and June, though expected, was a good match and the story unfolded in such a way that you could understand them wanting to be together. Also, as the plot unfurled and you found out that they had many similarities, it seemed right for them to be together. I look forward to seeing their relationship progressing.

Overall, this was a gripping tale and I can't wait to get hold of the second book so I can see which characters come into play and how the plot will progress. I'm especially excited to potentially learn more about the plague. 

(Goodreads parallel)

Review: It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

The second book in the 'Summer I Turned Pretty' trilogy is a good continuation from the first novel in the series. Though a long time has passed in between the novels, they flow together as if in continuation. This means that many events are told in the form of flashbacks, but this helps the novel by adding a layer of drama that the reader cannot fully understand until everything has been revealed later on. This book takes us back to the sweet and carefree summer house that we knew in the first book, but everything has changed around the characters and it was interesting to read about how they tried to overcome their struggles which seemed a million miles away from what we would've thought they would have had to deal with in the first instalment of this series. In this book we start to see more depth to the characters we were introduced to in the first book and the development of each individual can clearly be seen throughout. Overall, this is a fairly light summer read that I believe many young teens would enjoy. However, it seemed at certain points that the love triangle was far too forced and predictable.

(Goodreads parallel)

~

A poor end to a series that had the potential to be a lot better than it was. For the main part of the novel, the plot ran dry with the characters continuing with the same mediocre activities in a failed attempt to keep the reader interested. At the beginning of the book, Belly's life seemed to be far too perfect and the only way to fix that in the writer's mind was ruining the trust in her romantic relationship. I started to lose interest in what the eventual outcome would be, but thankfully this book had two saviours which enabled me to give it a not too bad three star rating. The first was the comedy provided by Taylor; I actually laughed out loud at some points because of her. The second was the ending of the book. It seemed to be much more apt and less ridiculous than the main storyline in the book and I actually would have been happier as a reader if the last few pages of the book were made into the whole book. Overall, I'm disappointed. This book could have been so much better.

(Goodreads parallel)