With Malice by Eileen Cook

Published by: HMH books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary

Rating: ****

With Malice follows the disjointed narrative of protagonist Jill Charron. She's eighteen, about to go to college, and is currently under investigation for an incident that happened abroad. Something that she doesn't really remember due to amnesia and other injuries.

The worst part, though?

The victim was her best friend.


I found this book absolutely fascinating. These kinds of books either frustrate or fascinate me. Cook writes a thrilling story of one girl's attempt to find out what exactly happened in Italy and whether it was actually Jill's fault. Yet, there was something about the ending, the lack of information for after the events of the book, that made me stop at four stars.

Without actually knowing the aftermath of the events, the book seemed to crumble slightly and feel more and more unfinished. Especially since it's supposed to be a stand-alone. But who knows, maybe Eileen Cook will write a sequel, or just publish a short story about the events. I'll cross my fingers for now.

You can buy With Malice from Amazon now.

Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard

Published by: Tor

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Rating: four star

I absolutely love this book but I felt that there were moments that I wasn't too sure it deserved a five star rating. But I requested this, read it and then ordered the book so that means something right? Alright so I buy almost every book I review in a physical copy because I need to start my library somehow. You didn't come here to read that though so let's get to the review.

Dennard strikes rich in this book. She's created another fantastic series (Dennard wrote the highly successful Something Strange and Deadly Series) that has strong and impressionable female leads who make you laugh, smile and wish you could be them (minus the trouble of course). I was positioned to like both female characters, a rare thing but it was done so cleverly, and from there my life changed.

I was taken by the world in which they live in, their powers and how they came across using them. Safi and Iseult are very down to Earth, even Safi who is an aristocrat (not that you could tell). It was a very real and gritty tale that kept me on the tip of my toes as I tried to guess what the ending might be (a hint is that it is brilliant). But in the end I just went along with these two different women and rejoiced in the friendship they had. It was nice to see a bigger picture than two friends trying to escape the badguys and their futures.

I cannot wait for the next book. A huge thank you to Tor for letting me read this before the release date!!

Truthwitch can be bought from Amazon US and Amazon UK now.

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary, YA Romance

Rating:****

The problem with The Problem with Forever is that it took forever to get to the good part.

Don't get me wrong. I've been a fan of Jennifer Armentrout for ages but this book did not appeal to me as much as her supernatural and fantastical series have. Maybe it's because I cast her into those genres or my love of the Lux series? Either way, I did not appreciate the book for what it was and that was disappointing.

Instead, the book focuses on the female protagonist Mallory, or Mouse as people of her past called her. She has endured a lot in her time on the book's Earth. But most of all, the surprising aspect is the way Armentrout approaches this dark past.

I was pleasantly surprised to read these snippets with emotion. Rarely do I get to read these scenes without feeling bored of them and that is the strange part. This novel made me care about Mallory/Mouse.

Yet Mallory's story takes a turn when she decides to attend high school despite her inability to perform via speech classes. Therefore, when a character from her past, a very important guy named Rider Stark, walks into her classroom, Mallory cannot help but feel trapped and excited at once.
The two characters reunite despite fellow classmates being wary of the relationship. It's a strange predicament. But as a reader, you can understand both sides of the argument.

It's a funny book with funny situations. I cannot fault it too much because it is a well-written novel. However I did knock it down a star due to my lack of interest in the novel.

Apologies Ms Armentrout. I do love your other books though!

The Problem with Forever can be purchased from Amazon UK.

The Taming of the Drew by Stephanie Kate Strohm

The Taming of the Drew by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Published by: Sky Pony Press

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: Four Star

A huge thank you to Sky Pony for letting me read this in advance.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this other than a retelling of Shakespeare in a contemporary way. My expectations were medium to low as I remembered that I'd requested this from Sky Pony. But as I devoured the book, I was impressed.

The Taming of the Drew follows Cass McKay as she plays the character of Kate from the Taming of the Shrew (Remember 10 things I hate about you? That's the same plot there minus Heath Ledger). It follows her ups and downs as a camper and actor and her joining up with fellow campers to cause chaos at the camp. It's quirky and funny. I didn't think it would be as much as it is but the book is genuinely fantastic.

Cass's world is rocked when she meets Drew. He's like the boy we all hate but secretly love. The pair of them literally become modern day versions of their characters and its all a little cliche as it goes along. We all know how it ends but I think the development of Cass as a character is quite good. She's not as annoying in the end. Yes that was my initial view of her but camp changes her. Life changes us all and it's just who we are. Strohm captures how even a summer can change a teenagers life and how the addition of annoying boys can be both good and bad.

The Taming of the Drew will be available to buy from the 5th April 2016.

Lock & Mori (Lock & Mori #1) by Heather W.Petty

Lock & Mori (Lock & Mori #1) by Heather W.Petty

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA, Mystery, Retelling

Rating: ****

Lock and Mori was the type of Sherlock retelling that I think I was dying to read but didn't know. I found the book to be a simple and wonderful reworking of the popular Arthur Conan Doyle tales that I actually hadn't experienced in both print and fanfiction form. 

The book follows the unfortunate life of James Moriarty otherwise known as Mori by our lovely Sherlock, but James is no ordinary human. They're female cursed with a masculine name. However Mori is having a tough time. Her mother just died and her father isn't exactly coping in the best way, add in a few mischievious brothers and then we have a big problem.

Sherlock changes Mori's life though. He adds the sweet to the bitter and they have such a weird but cute relationship. It's something that I wish one day I could have, that easy-going banter and conversations where they just play their deductive games. It's just so cheek squeezingly adorable. 

But the reason I didn't give this a five star rating is just because some parts just didn't add up. I felt that some matters were a little illogical for a pair of high school students to get away with, but if you read the book, and I do reccommend it, then you will see what I mean.

Otherwise the book is available to purchase from Amazon UK and Amazon US now. 

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Published by: Katherine Tegan Books

Genre:Young Adult, Historial, Thriller?
Rating:****

Debating whether to read this book for a few weeks, I finally took the plunge and downloaded it onto my Kindle and here we are. 

Grace Mae is different. She's locked away in an asylum whilst her proud, rich and powerful parents tell their friends and connections that she's abroad. The truth is that Grace is pregnant and that alone is enough to make this  young woman cower away into the dark corners of her very very intelligent but also rather stupid at times, mind. 

But as she's paraded around as the perfect insane patient, a posterchild for the asylum to cover up their secrets, Grace cracks and is thrown into the depths of those secrets. She meets a promising physician by accident. Her voice adding to her mystery but aiding her as she escapes the asylum only to run around Ohio looking for a murderer.

Of course noone suspects that the insane woman is a threat or that because of her previous condition, that she's no longer a lady or rather a human in their eyes. Grace is able to gleam all the information she can from the public whilst shifting into a completely new woman.

The book isn't just a tale of starting over, it's a story about growing as a person and becoming a leader, a strong and intelligent person.

A Madness So Discreet can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Published by: Corgi Childrens.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Tagline: Accidents happen, our bones shatter, our hearts break, we stay alive.

Rating:**** (Literally scraped it)

What could I say about this book?

The protagonist is seventeen year-old Cara whose family have a period every year where something bad happens. It's literally thirty-so days of lots and lots of injuries caused by tumbling bridges, falling off a bed and more. But don't worry, noone thinks they're getting abused or anything which would probably be one of the things school might consider. Yet noone truly knows why their family are targeted and it's up to Cara to try and find some answers. Joined by bestfriend Bea and step-brother Sam, Cara goes on a big dramatic journey involving supernatural themes and a ghost student.

My actual opinion of the book is that it unfortunately got interesting towards the last five or so chapters. I struggled or rather avoided finishing the book because it wasn't that interesting. I know people who have absolutely adored the novel and sing it's praises but I can't.

I think one thing I enjoyed was the twist. But then that didn't do much. It was kinda blah at parts but there was a lot of imagery that made me see their ficticious world. There's so much inside Doyle's mind that I really really want her to write about (there's a lot of fairytales inside the book that are amazing!).

The Accident Season can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Published by: Balzar + Bray

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Rating:****

Dumplin' is the book every teen should read. Heck I think most adults should give it a read! Willowdean Dickson is a self-proclaimed fat girl. She knows she's fat and she's okay with it. (Hurrah for a book about a character who is comfortable with their body). Her mother on the otherhand isn't okay with it. She's an ex pageant winner and now judge of the yearly small-town pagaent. Willow then decides to enter it after lots and lots of debating it.

Add in a lot of general fallouts with the best friend  and boy problems mixed with a large dash of the outsiders grouping together and you've got a fantastic book. I really really loved it and it made me feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin because the characters were truly something.

The book has got to be one of my favourite ones ever. I was amazed by how Murphy created this character who was quirky, funny and overall someone I wish I knew or met during my own awkward high school years. 

Dumplin' can be bought at Amazon UK or Amazon US.

Stay the Distance by Mara Dabrishus

Stay the Distance by Mara Dabrishus

You can tell it's nearly summer because I'm getting all horsey!

So I requested to read this book (look at how beautiful the cover is!) and I was not disappointed!

It was magical and I felt like I was part of the story.

Inspire (The Muse #1) by Cora Carmack

Inspire (The Muse #1) by Cora Carmack

I am still fangirling over this!

Discovering Cora Carmack had a mythology novel coming out was a treat, but after discovering it was a series and a bloody fantastic story was even better! As a keen mythology nerd I was pleasantly surprised to read how accurate and wonderful this story was. I wish I'd written it for christ's sake! However I think there is such a thing as too much sex. Yes I am a prude but at times I did think can they not, I was really enjoying the moment previous to that. But with all that aside I genuinely didn't mind the separating of pov and enjoyed reading most of Wilder (Okay I didn't like a few bits but that happens) and I just can't wait for the sequel to arrive.

Ashbourne (Ashbourne #1) by Kat Lilynette

Ashbourne (Ashbourne #1) by Kat Lilynette

So this book surprised me. It started off so badly that I didn't know what to think. There were moments I wanted to put it down, ignore it for a few months and start anew but I'm glad I persisted with it. It wasn't all that bad, okay so the forbidden romance thing which seems to grow in popularity is getting old but the author didn't portray so boring as many do. It was a bit of fresh air but I can't say for sure that I'll continue the series.

Atlantia by Ally Condie

Atlantia by Ally Condie

The woman who created the Matched trilogy now brings us Atlantia which is a fantastic book. I was drawn into the world of underwater life and shocked that they weren't mermaids as I originally thought. They're just humans living in a bubble in a basic explanation. However the book has a huge sister betrayal, death and a lot of weird stuff going on that makes it worth reading.

Overall however it's a book that keeps you guessing and second guessing what is going on until the end which almost blew my mind (Gone Girl keeping that number one spot) but I was just kinda let down as well. Trust me it's delivered well, the book is fantastically written.  If I had to say more then I think I would give away a hell of a lot of spoilers, therefore I will leave this book in your hands.

Chantress Trilogy (so far) by Amy Butler Greenfield

Chantress (book 1) and Chantress Alchemy (book 2) by Amy Butler Greenfield 

Book 1

Book 2

Chantress is a book that I've wanted to read on and off again for a year now. Goodreads must have known it was meant to be because it kept popping up at me over and over again. The story though could do with some tweaking, it's good. Don't get me wrong but sitting here now after just finishing the sequel I'm kind of looking back and seeing parts where it's a little rushed but as you devour the book, they're not noticable so that's brilliant.

Lucy is a chantress (thick witch but a singing one) and it's set in an alternate 17th century which was quite accurate considering most books of the genre. It's magical (excuse the accidental pun there) to read a book that's a mix of based on real events and one that's written really well. 

There's not much more I can say except read the books because I think that'll speak a lot more than me giving out spoilers and I don't want to ruin this for anyone.

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

As a fan of Brown's novel I was immediately drawn into Jersey and related with her over her sibling issues, family life etc. The tornado was written beautifully, my attention was caught and I almost shed a tear at the way she refused to leave the ruin that was her home. I knew (Spoiler) her sister and mother had died but I thought that Jane her friend had too. I was kept guessing on that and she turns out to be alive (yay!) but Jersey's life doesn't go too well. I felt awful when I read about Clay and his family, I honestly thought Terry would make her feel better by almost being some kind of maternal figure, same with the grandparents but nothing was resolved enough to give them that chance to.

What I didn't understand was why Brown chose to drift over the passsing over of Jersey from paternal grandparents to the maternal grandparents. It was too rushed, the details breezing over my head and in the end I didn't feel satisfied as a reader. As an author I just wanted to rewrite the ending and extend the novel to give it more of a spark but one day maybe I'll write a novel like this.

The Words We Use are Black and White by Simon Holloway

The Words We Use are Black and White by Simon Holloway

'On essaie de trouver les couleurs qu'on a reve.' - Jacques Brel In Evian, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lucy sells tickets at the cinema. In the hills above the water, her brother believes himself happily married to a woman he once tried to find by swimming across the lake. Their childhood friend, Fabrice, is returning from the quiet confusion of Canadian trees and the brief memory of his girlfriend in Toronto. Into this relative stillness comes Alain, escaping Geneva's necessity of human contact. But a budding relationship between Alain and Lucy forces them all to reconsider the ways in which they try to talk to each other. To the songs of Jacques Brel and with the lake as a constant presence, Lucy, her brother Jean-Luc, and Fabrice struggle to make themselves heard among the clamour of failing words and misconceptions, leading to potential crises for them all. This interwoven story of love, family and our inability to make ourselves understood leaves you wondering if language can ever be more than guesswork, and if so whether anyone can ever be heard. And for Alain, tangled somewhere in the middle'

So I have a number of notes on my kindle about this novel and overall I found it a really enjoyable read and that's not because Simon is my lecturer. The book itself is easy to read, to follow and is set in some really beautiful clear places. An example would be 'The lake is clear. At it's edge you can see small catfish and perch flit about in the shallows, praying for bands of well-wishers to cast out yesterday's bread' For me this created a beautiful image in my mind because it captured a side of Lucy that I hadn't yet encountered. Also Lucy has to be my favourite character in the novel! She's so gone with the wind it's just wow.

The whole book has examples that I could gush and gush about, I wasn't expecting this when Simon gave me a copy but I'm really glad I read it, I think I might even buy a paperback of it because it's so good. I can't fathom more words to explain the story except suggest that you should read this book.

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I had mixed feelings whilst reading this book. It was quite good, I enjoyed it mostly but at some parts I was severely confused, lost and felt some aspects were unrealistic. Stupid to say that in a fiction book but it wasn't how I'd see a post-apocalyptic world where we now have powers etc. I don't know, I will probably try to finish the series someday but for now it's a mixed emotion review

The book series that doesn't stop growing!

There's always that one series you and your book bff love to hate and for Louise and I that's the Selection series by Kiera Cass.

My reviews love it, I did love it but now I love to bash it! Yes I am talking about outgrowing that series that you start as a naive teenager and end it as an adult or something like that. Nah the series just makes me tick.

“Which do you fight for?"
"Actually, I'm here by mistake." 
"Mistake?" 
"Yes. Sort of. Well, it's a long story. And now ... I'm here” 
― Kiera Cass, The Selection

Okay so this is a small quote I found to support myself here. America, the protagonist, enters what we know as the bachelorette and the prize is to marry a prince! It already sounds so wonderful and we've all seen a episode of the bachelorette or beauty and the geek right? So you can guess the amount of bitchiness that would go on in such a competition. The girls in this are all set apart by class structures. It's really just Hunger Games in the fight to win and survive except if they get sent home, they're still alive and booted to a higher class so it's a win-win situation. However there's a message in the books that I don't believe in. Since when is it okay for a boy, a man to say I love you to a girl, to make her think she's going ot be his best friend and eventually make her queen of their fictional land and then turn around and treat her like rubbish by leading on another girl all because she used to love another guy. It's a stupid and horrible message for girls everywhere and it makes us girls seem like we're just silly little barbie dolls all ready to be seen and not be heard.

Recently the series just published the supposedly last book in the series which was titled The One. As you can guess, it was meant to be the last of the series where we'd finally discover who will marry the prince and live happily ever after but it still contains trivial parts that made me laugh and regret pre-ordering the book. Now I've just discovered she's publishing not one but two more books in the series and that makes me sad. I just want it to be over and I can't not read these sequels, I need them in order to carry on laughing and joking about the series with my book bff

Unraveling (Unraveling #1) by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling (Unraveling #1) by Elizabeth Norris

Buying a new ereader meant I could start getting through the mountains of arcs I have and this was one of them that I chose. Just so you know this book was first published in 2012 but I was shocked to read in my edition the amount of spelling mistakes, although I may have recieved a bad copy from pre-publish etc. 

The plot is brilliant, I was really invested into it until the last 100 pages, maybe more. Norris had clearly created a book that made the author feel like this could actually happen but the ending just seemed super rushed, almost as if she just wanted it to end and I found that part really boring. I know I'm supposed to read to the end but I ended up skimming it.

Queen of the Tearling (Queen of the Tearling #1) by Erika Johansen

So I recently read a fairly newly published book named The Queen of the Tearling by Eria Johansen. It was a book that Goodreads kept pushing me towards for over a year. All I had from the blurb and some reviews was "Game of Thrones for girls", "An action-packed book for the ladies" but there was a problem.
The book hadn't been completed so how had these people said all these things about it? Well that's the industry for you. From my year of studying media and film pitches in detail, I can reveal that when pitching a story, the writer and production team often say it's blah meets blah and in this case that's what happened.

It's a tragedy though because a reader shouldn't have to be reminded who the main character is throughout the entire book every chapter. I personally couldn't get over the way "I am the queen" or her full title was supposedly dropped every chapter. I already knew who she was and btw this was not a Game of Thrones for girls. Sarah J Maas (Author of Throne of Glass) creates a rivetting world very similar to the Game of Thrones but not completely. Heck why are we even comparing books to George RR Martin's bestselling series? Oh yeah because that's one of the most talked about adaptations of the moment. Eugh. Honestly I hated that they made it sound like GOT is for guys, it's like no. Authors and publicity people should not narrow down the market, that's how one loses sales.

But back to the book I go. The book itself I ended up splitting in half. I got bored easily, maybe because I was on a 3hour train journey and on my last stretch of it or because the lead was fairly naive and rather silly at first, how Emma Watson is signed on for this, I don't know. She's way too badass for this role. But nonetheless I carried on with the book, complaining to my best friend and sending her pictures of the repeated queen quotes/lines. But as a reader of high fantasy (maybe, maybe not) or just someone who enjoys that fantastical world, I found the book rather basic. It just needed a little umph and less about some stuff.

Altogether though it did take me about an hour to read and there were some good moments. Maybe I'll read the sequel, who knows.

Full Measures by Rebecca Yarros

Full Measures by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

quite good, I'm a bit lost on location. Obviously its America but early on they talk about England so I was all huh?

View all my reviews