Reviews

December 9, 2018 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Review: DAUGHTER 4254 by Leigh Statham

Title: DAUGHTER 4254

Author/s: Leigh Statham

Publication Date: December 5th, 2017
Publisher: Owl Hollow Press

Pages: 286

Purchase Links: Amazon | iBooks | Booktopia | The Book Depository

Signed Copies are available from King’s English

Synopsis

Daughter4254 used to think life in a community where art, music and names are outlawed would suffocate her creative spirit. Now that she’s rotting in a prison cell, she’s not sure her dying mother made the right choice when she entrusted her with the secrets of rebellion. Prison has given her plenty of time to relive every mistake and lose all hope.

Then she meets Thomas, a fellow inmate, who tells her stories of the mythical mountain colonies where people have names and the arts thrive. Together they plot an escape, knowing if they fail, they will die. Or worse, their consciousness will be taken by the MindWipe, leaving their bodies free for the government to use. When nothing goes as planned, Daughter4254 must choose between using her mother’s secret to better the world she hates, or following Thomas to the quiet life of freedom she has always craved.

So I put my name down for this book after reading the synopsis sent to me via a marketing company – it was about this girl who appreciated the arts in a world that outlawed it, and finds a boy who introduces her to a land where she can express her creative spirit loudly, but must choose between saving herself or saving the entire nation of likeminded (maybe) individuals. Upon first glance, it reminded me of Delirium (by Lauren Oliver) and a little bit of Hunger Games/Divergent.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book.

This happens quite often nowadays, but I rarely post about it, instead giving books and their authors the benefit of the doubt and contacting publishers to let them know that the book didn’t grab my attention and so I won’t be posting anything neutral or negative.

Most of the time, it has more to do with personal circumstances and interests rather than the quality of the story telling and book. Daughter 4254 brought an amazing idea forward, but also one that had been explored in young adult fiction time and time again. I barely started this book, because it just didn’t enchant me.

Today marks many, many months since beginning this post and being contact about this book tour. I’ve forgotten many details from the book, but I do remember having a lot of trouble with the title; it’s just not memorable.
It definitely gets the point across, I love that part, but whilst I write this review I have to go back and check whether the order of the numbers is correct. It’s not nice, and I feel there could be many better alternatives to it.

I felt bad, having this unfinished review sitting in my drafts, but then I remembered that this is my book blog, not simply a marketing platform. It’s a place where I love sharing my opinions, reviews, and loves for books, and the marketing of brand new novels is just an aspect of it.

I don’t enjoy the politics of this community so much. It’s a place where large blogs publishing poor (but positive) reviews are favoured by authors. I understand that’s what is good for business, but allowing smaller, more personal blogs review large titles as well would definitely create a lot of hype.

From now on, I will be publishing reviews that aren’t 3+ stars, and I will be reading more books bought from the book shop so that I enjoy my time here as much as the authors cashing their cheques do.
I’m not opposed to the publishing platform book blogs allow, but it’s not something I want to be a huge part of.

If you’re a basic-kinda-reader, sure, give Leigh Statham’s novel a go. But if you’re after more, maybe check out your local book shop and find something a little more unique. 🙂

[I will not be publishing star-ratings on DNF reviews.]

A little bit about Leigh Statham…

Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho but found her heart in New York City. She worked at many interesting jobs before settling in as a mother and writer.
She now resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, eight chickens, a fluffy dog, and two suspected serial killer cats.
Leigh is currently working on an MFA, has written countless short stories, and is the author of lots of mediocre poetry. She is also the winner of the 2016 Southeast Review Narrative Nonfiction Prize for her short story “The Ditch Bank and the Fenceline.”

Bookalicious is the last stop on DAUGHTER 4254’s book tour, which means you can read amazing excerpts, awesome reviews, and interesting interviews and guest posts from Leigh Statham at the following blogs;

BookHounds YA (interview), Fan-Girl-Tabulous (review), Reese’s Reviews (excerpt), Caffeine and Composition (review), Hooked to Books (guest post), YA Obsessed (review), Maddie.TV (interview), The Desert Bibliophile (review), Wandering Bark Books (excerpt), Kindle and Me (review), Wishful Endings (interview), Jena Brown Writes (review), Stuffed Shelves (review), Life of a Simple Reader (review), Books, Vertigo and Tea (excerpt), Savings in Seconds (review), Two Chicks on Books (interview), Cindy’s Love of Books (review), and Captivated Reading (review).

You’re also able to view the promo post for Leigh Statham’s novel, DAUGHTER 4254, via this link, which features a giveaway (prizes include finished copies of this novel and amazon giftcards)!!

Thank you for supporting my book blog! If you have a book blog of your very own, what’s its URL? I’d love to read it!

I received DAUGHTER 4254 in exchange for an honest review and promo post. In saying this, all opinions, reviews, ratings, and comments are my own and have not been influenced by this.

April 8, 2018 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Review: Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Restore Me

Series: Restore Me Series (following the Shatter Me series)
Book Number: #1
Author/s: Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: March 6th, 2018
Publisher: Harper Collins Teen

Pages: 435

Purchase Link: Book Depository

Synopsis

Juliette Ferrars thought she’d won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander, and now has Warner by her side. But she’s still the girl with the ability to kill with a single touch—and now she’s got the whole world in the palm of her hand. When tragedy hits, who will she become? Will she be able to control the power she wields and use it for good?

Firstly, I’d like to sincerely thank The Book Depository for being so cheap, so fast, and so amazing. I preordered Restore Me in January and finally got it a couple of days ago (I ordered a different edition to the edition published on the 6th of March, so my copy came mere days after it was published, which I highly appreciate).

Today, I hopped on a bus at 9:15am and began reading Tahereh Mafi’s fourth instalment of the Shatter Me universe (it seems this is an entirely new series named the ‘Restore Me’ series, but does indeed lead off from the events of Ignite Me). I feared that I would forget the happenings of Shatter, Unravel, and Ignite Me, as I haven’t read them in *forever*, but I was pleasantly greeted with just the right amount of flashbacks/little pieces of information to spark my memory (although if I could do it again, I would at least read Ignite Me in the days leading up to this one). We begin with a lighthearted scene – that turns into a little more as we dive deeper into Mafi’s pages – which sets the mood. We’re on the other end of Anderson’s death, the other half of freedom, we’re finally getting to see the light at the end of the tunnel because North America is under the control of our new Supreme Commander, Juliette Ferrars.

But wait.

Oh no.

Mafi wouldn’t let that happen. Not so easily.

Within the first couple of chapters (which are now written in two POVs, alternating between Juliette and Warner), our beloved characters are faced with new, even scarier challenges. If the Shatter Me series was microeconomics, this new beginning is macroeconomics. The universe is no longer revolving around Juliette, Warner, Kenji, and the dozen others that made the cut, no no it’s much larger. We’re introduced to characters from outside Sector 45, outside North America even.

“In the steady thrum that accompanies quiet, my mind is unkind to me. I think too much. I feel, perhaps, far more than I should. It would only be a slight exaggeration to say that my goal in life is to outrun my mind, my memories.”

I often find that some authors struggle to create intricate characters by the lot, they all seem to be lacking… life? Tahereh Mafi’s characters aren’t. They’re relatable, flawed, witty, untrustworthy, trustworthy, messed up. They’re so real. Even the development of Juliette, Warner, and Kenji and their respective relationships are so beautifully crafted throughout the four books, they change but not completely; they still carry remnants of their Shatter Me days, and I’m living for it. Also, Mafi introduces one of my favourite all-time characters in Restore Me, and I’m dying to hear more from her (name starts with an ‘N’ but I’m not about to spill all of my thoughts and feelings because it’ll give a lot away – read this masterpiece and find out for yourself 😉 ) – also, if she turns evil, I’m not quite sure how I’ll handle myself.

I did find that there wasn’t quite as much action, per say, in the first ~two thirds of the book. Don’t get me wrong, the plot had me hooked with all of its twists and turns, and stuff did happen, but it felt a little boring in terms of crazy escape scenes, or gun fights, or whatever. I’m not sure how Mafi could have included such scenes without ruining the intricacy of the story line, but it would’ve been cool.
HOWEVER, as we continue to flip pages and reach the final fifth of the book, sh*t gets real. Mafi goes full blown. I’m talking plot twist after plot twist (not massive ones, but big enough to make you gasp a little internally) and something?happens?that?was?huge?i’m?talking?700?people?huge?but?also?not?sure?what?to?think?of?it? because after this Event™ our protagonist wakes up in a mystery location (you’ll find out – it’s very meaningful so I’m not going to spoil it for you) and a bunch of other CRAZY details are revealed that take our mind off of the Event™. Goodness, as much as I say I can’t wait for the next novel, I also don’t think I’ll be able to handle the insanity.

“The destruction of the world didn’t happen overnight, and neither will saving it.”

I’m really proud of Juliette. I’m so happy that she is strong, she acts like she deserves to be in the position she’s in, but she also allows herself a heart. Sure, she makes a few questionable mistakes during this book, but it definitely adds to the reality of her character. A lot of protagonists annoy me these days, they make stupid decisions that have no backbone whatsoever. Ferrars is different; better.

Back to the multiple POV thing I touched on before; I’m usually not a fan. It often means a character dies, or the two lead very different story lines. I absolutely prefer one POV throughout a book, but that is not to say I didn’t enjoy this style of writing. I loved seeing things from Warner’s perspective for a change, it added so much necessary depth to the plot, and created an almost 3-dimensional view of the universe, characters, arguments, and backstories. Mafi executed this style brilliantly, hats off to her.

Little note that I didn’t really know where to put: it would have been really cool to see more of Juliette’s crossed-out thoughts. I understand she’s grown up/matured/changed, but she’s still Shatter-Me-Juliette, and we encountered her haunting past’s influence on Restore-Me-Juliette, so why didn’t we get a bit of that? idk… but I did really enjoy the asylum journal excerpts – they were very, very fitting.

“Loneliness is a bitter, wretched companion. Sometimes it just won’t let go.”

Oh, and on a very superficial note, can we once again talk about how GORGEOUS these covers are? Goddamn, I think I’m in love.

Anyway, I believe this is all I can manage without spoiling the goodness of Tahereh Mafi’s book. I’m going to give it 4.5 stars. Mostly because I love the universe, but also because of the literacy itself. The thoughts, conversation, flashbacks, excerpts, just everything was done so amazingly. To anyone who enjoyed the Shatter Me series, get your hands on this book. It shakes everything up, yes, but it was an incredible, and much needed, addition to Mafi’s universe.

QOTP: Who is your favourite new character, and what are your predictions for their Mafi-futures?

October 16, 2017 by Bianca 1 Comment

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Series: Mara Dyer Trilogy
Book Number: #1
Author/s: Michelle Hodkin

Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books

Pages: 456

Purchase Links: Amazon | iBooks | Booktopia | The Book Depository

Synopsis

Mara Dyer believes life can’t get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

I accidentally posted the draft of this a few days ago, when writing my dot-points, so apologies for any random notifications you may have received.

I picked up The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer on a bit of a whim. Influenced by the social media hype and persuaded by my huge book-drought, Michelle Hodkin’s first instalment to the Mara Dyer trilogy had me flipping through its pages wherever time allowed (and sometimes, when time did not allow).

I have to talk about the universe’s atmosphere first. It was dark and creepy, yet warm and cosy at the same time. It pulled you in, freaked you out, and tied you down – reminding me of the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick. Hodkin’s characters added to this intriguing atmosphere, and whilst you despised a few, and loved a few more, each personality was built with absolute perfection. There was, surprisingly, not one character I was not fond of because of their depth, or lack thereof.

On the subject of characters, the beginning introduced a lot of people, with their fair share of information, all at once. This was a let down, because some of these said people weren’t spoken about all too often and could easily have been forgotten. The format of the beginning chapters were not my favourite, either. I was utterly confused, and just not grabbed by the writing straight away, which was a shame, this isn’t to say I disliked it though, so I’m not sure where I stand on that matter.

“Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.”

Ookay. Here. The romance between the two main characters felt forced, fake, and almost boring. I am a sucker for cute YA romance novels but sometimes I was tempted to skip these parts. I mean, Mara Dyer the girl with PTSD falling head over heels with this boy she barely knew within the first 30% of the book? nah… I would have liked to see more of a lead up and hate part of the ‘hate to love’ romance.

The Unbecoming also featured some amazing dialogue. I enjoyed reading the wit weaved into Dyer’s own words, and the realness of each and every conversation.

The book itself was written from the perspective of Mara Dyer, who suffered from PTSD and was close to being admitted to a psychiatric hospital by her own loving mother. This was both fascinating and incredibly confusing at the same time. I mean, the book ultimately relied on her narrating for a good story, but the biggest problem I had with Hodkin’s novel was that I was confused, like, 90% of the book. I had no idea what was real, what were hallucinations, who was dead, who was alive, and adding scenes from prior to the Big Event™ made this even harder to grasp (however well they were written). If you’re planning on reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer anytime soon, make sure you have the time and effort to read slowly and carefully, and be prepared to re-read entire pages.

Finally, the ending. Expected, yes, but wanted? I don’t know? It felt unfinished, even for book one of a three-part series. Disappointing, even. But good. I just don’t know how I feel about it.

“And just like that, I was completely, utterly, and entirely,
His.”

Overall, this book had an insanely interesting plot, beautifully crafted characters, and great dialogue. It’s format was confusing, and narrator was challenging to understand at times, but it was worth trying harder because Michelle Hodkin nailed the non-cliche, teenage slight-romance-lil’-bit-of-bad-boy, mysterious/dark storyline on the head. This little chicken with definitely be continuing along the Mara Dyer trilogy.

So for all its flaws, I think a 3.5 star rating is the way to go.

What did you think of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? Who was your favourite character, and what do you think of the ending??

October 15, 2017 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Ignite Me

Series: Shatter Me Series
Book Number: #3
Author/s: Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: February 4th, 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins Teen

Pages: 421

Purchase Links: Amazon | iBooks | The Book Depository | Booktopia

Synopsis

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.

So the last time I read this book was in 2015, and I ended up reviewing Shatter Me (book 1) and Unravel Me (book 2) but didn’t get around to Ignite Me (book 3). A year prior to this, I put down the Estelle Maskame’s DIMILY trilogy and didn’t pick up another book until Shatter Me. Thank you, exams.

I’m not quite sure why I chose to read Shatter Me again, whether it was the cover, thought of exploring a fictional universe once again, or pure coincidence that it was the latest series on my iBooks shelf (yes, I read ebooks… cry me a river), but I kept reading every page of the series because Tahereh Mafi is a legendary author.

“And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence. Trapped by lives we did not choose.”

This book takes off from the destruction of Omega Point, the rebel base, and Juliette is ready to fight. The ending chapters of Unravel Me saw Juliette shot in the chest by supreme commander Anderson (dream boy’s father), Warner being dream boy once again, and our star protagonist transforming into the strong warrior she is. Ignite Me saw this same girl team up with people we hated in book 1, to take down some other people we hated. Mafi’s plot had me hooked, for every single one of the 421 pages.

In terms of characters, I’m in awe of how well each person has been created, introduced, and played out. Even the wickedest of villains are the most complicated pieces of perfection… ahhhhhh!
In Ignite Me, we get to meet sides of characters (e.g. Kenji) that we’d never think exist. Our hearts are shattered by certain relationships, romantic and blood, but holy moly they’re great twists.

One of my favourite things about the Shatter Me series is the kinda-love-triangle-that-isn’t-really-a-love-triangle theme throughout the series, and the reality of said romances. Juliette did know Adam for years before the book commenced, but there was not romantic interest. They were pushed into a well of superficial love by their desperation. I mean, if you were in isolation for your entire life, and someone could finally touch you and showed you respect, you’d probably take the same path. It was going to happen, but the way it ended was wonderful. It was real. And the hate-turned-love romance between Aaron and Juliette was even better. They were made for each other. Perfect.
I’m not usually a fan of ya romances, they’re too cheesy, predictable, and boring most of the time, but Mafi played this well.

“Comamandering is not a word.”
“It has letters, doesn’t it? Sounds like a word to me.”

If you remember, Shatter Me and Unravel Me ended with massive cliff-hangers/endings that weren’t really endings. They said “don’t worry, this isn’t the end, you’re going to see a hell of a lot more of these characters” and I loved it. Ignite Me ended with a half-cliff-hanger, as a reader, I ~~wanted~~ needed more of Juliette’s narrating, Warner’s entire character, Mafi’s plot, my questions answered. If it were to be the end of the series, I wouldn’t be a fan. An epilogue would’ve completed it, maybe, but it felt a tad unfinished, which is why I was not surprised when Tahereh Mafi announced that Restore Me (book #4) would be published March of 2018.

All in all, I love these books. I love the plot, characters, writing style, and emotions they evoke. Ignite Me was just another display of how great Tahereh Mafi is at writing, and I can’t wait for the next three books. Bring it on, Restore Me.

Okay so who else is e.x.t.r.e.m.e.l.y. excited for the next three instalments to Mafi’s Shatter Me series?

October 13, 2016 by Bianca Leave a Comment

Review: Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame

dimimy

Title: Did I Mention I Miss You?

Series: DIMILY Trilogy
Book Number: #3
Author/s: Estelle Maskame

Publication Date: December 1st, 2016
Publisher: Black and White Publishing

Pages: 408

Synopsis:

Eden’s on her way back to Santa Monica for the summer, and she hasn’t seen Tyler since the devastating fallout of their forbidden relationship. Eden claims to have moved on—but Tyler wants to rekindle the flame.

He convinces Eden to visit his new home in Portland, Oregon, where he has set up a center for troubled teens. Eden’s proud of what he’s built, but the last time they were together, it nearly destroyed Eden and their family. Then a tragedy draws them together, and Eden must search her heart and decide if Tyler is worth the risk once and for all.

my review contains spoilers for the first and second books (only)

I had to make sure everything was perfect, before sitting down to indulge in this book, after all, it was the final instalment of one of my favourite series and the end of this novel meant the end of Tyler and Eden’s story. Oh God, did I really want to go through this?

I often associate atmospheres (particularly in books) with vision-board-type descriptions. I feel like DIMILY was a palette of pink, orange, and blue, with vintage polaroids of roads lined with palm trees and the Hollywood hills. DIMINY was a view of New York, Central Park in the front-centre, with a selection of happy colours mixed in with dull blues and greys. Did I Mention I Miss You?, however, was black. The mood set from the get go was dark, angry, sad. Fourth of July, rather than being a memorable and happy holiday, was depressing – as if the memory had been coated with a monochrome filter. Whilst I miss the beautiful joy in the first two books, the raw emotions created by Estelle Maskame were extraordinary and rather necessary for creating a flawless plot.

One thing I must comment on is the phrase “I fire him a questioning glance.” It’s one of the very few things negative in this book, but nevertheless, the frequency of this sentence was super annoying.
Probably the only other negative aspect of this book was that I was waiting and waiting for something big to happen. Please, if you’ve read this book, tell me what you think of my judgment?

“That’s the thing about distance: It either gives you time to move on form someone, or it makes you realise just how much you need them.”

I’m kind of in two minds about that, though. Like, on one hand I like the natural vibe but I just wanted a super cheesy romantic SOMETHING!! AHHH!! The ending was perfect though. It kind of screamed “we’ve been through Hell and back again but we sure aren’t going to stop here. Not now, not ever.” It was pure and honest and made you believe it was a true story.

I must say, Estelle Maskame’s DIMILY series was the perfect trio of novels to lift me out of this ridiculously huge book-hiatus. I hadn’t finished a single book in numerous months (I was feeling guilty to the max.) and I pulled the idea to reread Did I Mention I Love You? out of thin air, and boy don’t I regret it. Every sentence I read was poetic and overflowing with elegance, the words danced around in my head like you’d imagine fairies would around a flower patch. Maskame’s characters lept into my mind every waking second, and all I could think was “what are they going to do when I open up the book again”. I’m truly grateful for the literary brilliance I have discovered over the past year, and I always will be.

“Oh, little Eden from the forests of Portland, welcome to the real world.”

This sure is not the greatest review I’ve ever written, but I wasn’t expecting it to be when I began writing it. I wanted this post to be a raw collection of my feelings, penned whilst flipping through the pages. To truly understand the significance of a light hearted romance, with a teaspoon of sass and a cup of darkness, you must seek out Maskame’s DIMILY series; it will make you smile, laugh, cry, and long for more.

Thank you for joining me on this journey! 🙂

Have you read Estelle’s DIMILY series? Who was your favourite character, and which was your favourite book?