If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Published by: Flatiron Books

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ****

Meredith Russo is an absolutely wonderful writer who has created such a brilliant and incredible story that is needed in this day and age. Writing about a teen who is struggling with identity, Amanda, the protagonist, was born as Andrew but surgery has allowed her to be who she is supposed to be. However, Amanda has had issues fitting in. Not many people are open to the idea of going to school with her, or even dating her which has left the poor girl scarred. But things are about to change. Amanda is starting anew with her father in a new state and so her life is beginning again.

I found the book promising. One of my friends and fellow students recently wrote on the topic for a creative writing deadline and it was absolutely beautiful and so powerful. Again, for a book of this topic it is so rare for me to actually get past the first few pages, but with this one, I was captivated and could not put it down. I was in book-love with it and wanted to find out what was next in Amanda's life.

If I Was Your Girl can be purchased at Amazon UK now.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Published by: Simon Pulse

Genre: Young Adult, romance

Rating:****

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids follows troubled protagonist Elyse D'abreau after a tragic accident that has left her incapable to speak.

In the seaside resort of Atargis Cove, she writes poems on paper and ships until one day she writes on the wrong person's ship. Meeting the famed summer resident Christian, Elyse slowly begins to exit her shell.

The book itself is quick read. I managed to read it on my way home from Chester which is about an hour max. I was bored though. There was something about this that didn't read as easy as Ocklers other novels. I just wasn't a fan and this is probably why I have so little to say about this.

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows

Published by: Katherine Tegan Books (yay!)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating:****1/2

Wilhelmina is a princess of a fallen kingdom. It fell during an invasion by the Indigo kingdom where Wil lost her parents and ran away to watch and plot from afar, her climb back to the throne. Hiding away in the Indigo kingdom, Wil is leader of a pack of thieves and orphans who she cares for and asks to aid her.

At a chance opportunity, Wil and best friend/fellow thief Melanie hide away in the castle under the guise of migrants seeking aid. Using the time to map out the kingdom and to work out a plan to get her kingdom back, Wil is literally on her own and becomes half the princess she is. Truly in the moment she is dressed as she should have been, she becomes this wise and strong leader that gives the reader faith that the sequel will be strong and amazing.

I'd write more but I'd probably drop more spoilers than describing the book. However one thing I have always stood by is that if  a book was published by Kathering Tegan, then it is amazing. Her imprint is almost always publishing captivating and thrilling books that make readers stop and think a little whilst sending them away to other worlds to be blown away.

The Orphan Queen is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Emancipated by M.G. Reyes

Emancipated by M.G. Reyes

Published by: Katherine Tegen books

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Tagline: No Parents, no limits, no alibis

If you haven't seen the book trailer for this, then you can here.

But be warned. The book and trailer are completely different.

The plot of this book is basically stuffing a bunch of teenagers in one house with the overall theme of emancipation from their parents. Each teen has a deep dark secret, or are just hiding stuff to make them more interesting. However it fails.

Unfortunately I wasn't emotionally invested into any of the characters and couldn't care less if they were in trouble or died. They just weren't there. Maybe it's the length of the book compared to the amount of backstory/story the characters had, or maybe it was just because their problems were painfully obvious.

Our characters are: Candice (actress/wannabe), Grace (letter-writer), Paolo (tennis guy), John-Michael (driver), Myra (coder) and Lucy (musician). Yes I have summed them up with one- two words simply because that's how I could tell the difference between them. I want to point out that Myra was useless. She added nothing to the story in my opinion, in fact they are all irrelevant because it's simply John-Michael's story that we get the most about. Of course there are little tidbits about everyone else, but he is the only reason we read to the end.

A most unimpressive book.

Emancipated can be bought in the UK in a hardback only at Amazon but in the states you can grab a copy from Amazon US

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by Danielle Paige

Published by: Harpercollins

Genre: YA, YA Retellings, Fantasy

A magical return to Oz with a twist.

Amy Gumm is just another trailer park girl from Kansas. She's wears charity shop clothes, her mother steals money from her and she's basically friendless. But a tornado comes and takes her from present day Kansas and into the magical world of Oz that isn't so magical anymore. 

Oz nowadays is very different from the sunshine and rainbows when Dorothy went there. Now Dorothy has become a malevolent force, she's sucking the land dry of it's magic.

So you might ask what Amy has to do with this?

Well the title says it all...

--

I found the book on a first read to be a disaster. I didn't get past the first three chapters and just couldn't bring myself to like it. However I recently reread the book and loved it.

Just goes to show that if you dislike a book at first, you might like it months later because we're constantly shifting our likes and dislikes. I'm a strong believer in giving some books a second read and this was a perfect example of this.

Amy Gumm is a bit annoying at first, you don't pity her which is fantastic. Most authors want you to pity their protag but Paige made Amy stand out more this way. I loved how the story developed and became more and more thrilling. I just ended up devouring the book on my way home, and then rushing out the next day for the sequel.

Dorothy Must Die can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US now.

Jesse's Girl (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally

Jesse's Girl (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Genre: Young Adult romance, contemporary, music

Tagline: One day will change the beat of her heart

Just to let you all know, Hundred Oaks is the universe in which most of Miranda Kenneally's books are set in. She's very similar to Sarah Dessen who writes her book in the fictional town of Colby.

Jesse's Girl is a very short book. I was able to read it within the space of an hour which pleasantly surprised me. The books focuses on the life and aspirations of talented but unknown musicican Maya Henry who's supposedly amazing at guitar. Maya is a very typical musical orientated teen who knows what she wants and works very hard but she needs a little more confidence to go solo.

Her school has a shadowing day where classmates follow a person who practices their dream job and Maya manages to shadow Jesse Scott who is a huge country/rockstar. Oh and I forgot to mention the book is set in Nashville.

So she follows Jesse around who acts like a complete tool and then extremely nice. He's wary but so is she. It's weird how alike the duo can be but we all know where it'll end. 

--

I wasn't too sure about this. I loved other Hundred Oak books because they were quick easy simple summer reads but this felt different. I wasn't too sure she felt authentic enough as a protagonist yet at times she felt just right. It's strange. 

Jesse's Girl can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon USA

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Published by: Delacorte books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult romance, Social issues, YA contemporary

A new read for me especially since I bought a copy months ago. Now I've finally had time to read the book cover to cover, I can say that it's certainly entertaining.

Finding Audrey is about protagonist Audrey who suffers from anxiety, like a severe form of anxiety, and depression. We don't know exactly what happened but the book introduces the reader into the manic world she lives in. It's actually remarkable that her family haven't caused her more stress. But at the same time, you laugh and smile at how insane they are. It's literally like having that weird uncle every family has.

But Audrey's brother is the one whosuffers the most. He's addicted to some computer game similar to World of Warcraft, and their mother isn't a fan of that. A compulsive Daily Mail reader, she takes time to go out of her way and try and cure the poor lad of his addiction and in turn pushes the mysterious Linus into Audrey's life.

Whilst this all happens, Audrey is taking steps to get better and just be able to go back to the person she was before, or at least some version of that.

It's a magical story that I loved. I just wished we were told the full extent of what happened to her.



The book can be bought in the UK from Amazon or Amazon US.

City Love by Susane Colasanti

City Love by Susane Colasanti

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: Young Adult romance, Contemporary

Tagline: Look up. Anything is possible.

First of all I want to say that this book was absolutely breathtaking and captivating. I don't think a book has affected me so much in my life before. It made me feel as if I was in every scene of the books, as if I was part of those girls and experienced everything they did. And as someone considering the future, it definitely made me think about emigrating to New York so thank you Ms Colasanti for a beautiful and magnificent book!

But now back to the book!

City Love is split between the lives of three very different girls from different lives who share an apartment before starting college or university in the city. The reader is introduced to Sadie, Darcy and Rosanna in very different ways but you get to know each girl in how that happens. 

Sadie is the first person we meet. She's that friend we all have, the ready to be completely in love and totally optimistic about everything. I genuinely liked Sadie because of these characteristics. Of course I felt a bit off about how damned happy she could be but she's literally like a puppy. Adorable and one of the best and loyal friends you could have.

Then there's Darcy. Darcy is the opposite of Sadie with her fast attitude and at first, laziness. We discover this is jetlag because she's from Cali. But she's not who we think she is. She's been burned and so this explains everything about her. Yet there's so much more to the complex puzzle that makes her who she is.

Rosanna is the last girl to introduce and probably my favourite. She's the poorest student out of the three, and the one who is very realistic. She so desperately wants to help everyone and anyone but needs to help herself. She has so much weight on her shoulder, so many problems to tackle and solve that when she meets someone who can actually treat her right, she's very uncertain of what to do. 

It's a fantastic book that explores the magical city of New York and it's allure. We all fall more in love with the city through each character and their experiences. We all want to move there and experience almost the same things as the girls do but this is the exciting part about New York. The reason there are so many books and films set in and around the city. We all just want to fall in love and this is the city to do it in.

City Love is available to buy from Amazon UK and Amazon USA now.

Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L Armentrout

Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L Armentrout

Published by: Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy

I absolutely adore Jennifer Armentrout. Since the day I started her Covenant series to the recently ended Lux series of which both series are absolutely amazing and may have made me cry a little (or a lot.)

But Every Last Breath was different.

This time there were no waterworks. Strange you might think? Or perhaps you might think I've become less emotional. The actual reason was simply I had no emotions for the ending. Okay so I did and they were a little negative because I wasn't completely happy. Yes there's a happy ending for our troubled love triangle but at the same time, it just read quite rushed and made me a little mad.

Yes I am aware there was a poll to see which of the two guys out dear Layla would end up with. Yet I didn't want her to be with either. She's a VERY strong female lead with the tendancy to get a little caught up with everything, but in the end she didn't really need to choose one or the other. She's less than eighteen years old. Christ. If I was with someone from that age then compared to my age now, I'd cry and probably wish I'd remained single because we don't have the best taste then, plus we experience new things daily. Off topic slightly there. But Layla didn't need to choose Roth or Zayne in that book. It could have been left open for a possible sequel in that sense. 

Back to the main story though, I thought it was a good storyline, it concludes the series like a gift box wrapped in a wonky but tied bow. Yes visualise such a thing. It was complete and good but there was room for improvement ie more words to be said I think. But this is just my opinion.

I'll forever love Armentrout and her books, the way I'll probably always sing along to swifty. 

Every Last Breath can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US now. 

Royal Wedding (The Princess Diaries #11) by Meg Cabot

Royal Wedding (The Princess Diaries #11) by Meg Cabot

Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre: New adult, romance

One stage of my reaction to the announcement of the book

When I heard there was a new Princess Diaries novel last year, I cried tears of joy, happyness and excitement. I've grown up reading Meg Cabot. I read her adult books through my mother (who probably didn't realise I was reading the Boy series or Queen of Babble whilst she was working or not near me). Nonetheless I grew up reading her. Embarassingly I got into the Princess Diaries later than I should have. I was busy with Jinx, the Mediator series (Jesse <3) and Airhead. But as I cracked open the nnth book (i was a late reader and got them in the wrong order) I found myself reaching out for my library card and ordering the series.

Months later and I managed to get ready for the tenth book which we all assumed to be the last (and thank the lord it wasn't). Oh how I wept over how Michael and Mia got back together, laughed through Lana's neverending dialogues. I just loved the life of the dysfunctional POG (Princess of Genovia). Of course we all knew there was something about JP that didn't add up but still we held faith in our clumsy and awkward princess. 

It worked out though! 

The eleventh book is targetted for a more adult audience as us Princess Diaries readers have matured and grown into young woman who are secretly still wondering what would Mia do. Yes I question my choices through seeing how book characters would choose them. But Cabot hasn't lost her touch. I smiled and cried through the book. *Spoiler* I'm more ashamed that Frank is dead. I LOVED Frank and Helen!! *End Spoiler* 

But Grandmere is still the same. We couldn't have a book without her. And there's more of a realistic theme to the books. Readers will witness firsthand the problems of a couple separated by work but Mia and Michael manage to make it happen. They even have a surprise. But overall, all readers will reminisce about the good old days where we used to be able to read about Mia and we managed to glean information about what it's like to be older. 

Now we're left wanting to go back to those days where everything was brilliant and innocent. But at least this book channels those emotions into making you want that twelfth novel. Especially with the addition of a little sister. But again who knows what will happen to the Genovian royal family or with the Royal Wedding.

Royal Wedding is available from Waterstones here and on Amazon UK here.

US readers can purchase the book here.

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Published by: Viking's Childrens

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Tagline: She didn't ask for a miracle

This was super duper weird. Like when Clary Fray thought Jace Morgenstern was her brother weird. Okay minus a bit of incestuous thoughts but how can a girl be pregnant without having sex?

It simply isn't possible unless we of course turn to Christianity and it's darling son Jesus. Yes Jesus was born to Virgin Mary. The protagonist of this novel is called Mina which is close enough. 

Mina is a fantastic student, she's signed up for classes to further herself for college (university for us Brits) and basically has her life sorted out. She's even got what appears to be a good boyfriend. That is until she meets a creepy old lady named Iris who goes on about Mina being the chosen one and asks Mina to accept something. By this point I wasn't sure what this book was on about or what was going to happen. And so I beared with it, got into the book until yesterday when I finished it. Oh lord was I confused at the ending. 

But it was something different which was what I was after.

It can be found on Amazon UK here, Waterstones here and Amazon US here.

Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

I just love the cover!

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy

I felt as if this book could have been longer or at least expanded into a series.

Following the life of young Wen whose mother recently died, the reader is transported into a factory life where things aren't good for the protagonist. Wen's father is the surgeon of the industrial estate and he's run up quite a big debt for the family of two to try and work off. So much so, that he places Wen in danger unintentionally with the recent arrival of new workers otherwise known as the Noor (think the Huns from Mulam). However one worker Melik, is educated and kind. Wen gets on with him and the two have a connection. Yet there's a catch. A ghost lurks the factory. A rumoured dead worker who haunts and protects Wen from unknown dangers but it gets too Phantom of the Opera for me.

The ghost and Wen have an understanding though Wen really really really wants to know who it is. (Curiousity killed the cat) But with the uprising of accidents involving the new Noors, Wen gets suspicious. Could the ghost have something to do with it? Or is there other elements involved?


Of Metal and Wishes can be purchased in the UK via Amazon here and readers in the USA can buy it here.

Perfect Ruin (The Internment Chronicles #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Perfect Ruin (The Internment Chronicles #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Published by: Simon and Schuster for Young Readers

Genre: YA dystopia, romance, sci-fi/fantasy

As a reader of the Chemical Garden trilogy I immediately thought this book would be alike in theme and style. Don't get me wrong it is but for some reason I didn't feel as if this as good. 

The book follows the life of Morgan Stockhour whose father is a policeman, her brother disabled and her mother who takes time to nap and take pills. However there's a twist. They don't live on the Earth as we know it. Instead they live on Interment which is like Jack and the Beanstalk (A castle in the sky except instead of a castle it's land). Noone goes up nor down. Therefore the few who do decide to go to the edge go a little mad (Morgan's brother was one of them) or get hurt. 

We all know curiousity can get the best of us and Morgan's guilty of doing just that. She constantly thinks about the edge and a life outside of Internment but there's so much at stake here. She's betrothed to fellow classmate Basil (who's a darling but I had a feeling something wasn't right about him) and best friends with artist and lover of Interment Pen. All in all it's a fantastic idea, I do love the concept but maybe I'm not the right audience for it now.

I'll probably reread this in a year or so.

Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog #1) by Anne Blankman

Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog #1) by Anne Blankman

Published by: Balzer + Bray

Genre: Historical Romance, Young Adult

Tagline: To uncover the truth, she must deny her past...

The novel develops as Gretchen matures and realises somethings aren't right but paired with her best friend Eva Braun, she tries to manouver her way through love, family problems and whether her father truly died a hero or was he betrayed by his own people.
The book was absolutely brilliant and if I said anymore, then I think I would ruin the book for everyone. I honestly loved the book and the sequel is on my to-read list.

Prisoner of Night and Fog wasn't the kind of book I would normally pick up. However I loved it. From page one, the reader is hooked into the world of protagonist Gretchen Müller whose "uncle" is Adolf Hitler. Yup. That little fact alone made me want to read it, as not many World War Two based novels make this situation sound interesting but Blankman did and it's fantastic!

Yet there's this boy. One that she rescues from her brother and his vicious ways, and one that pops up every so often as he tries to give her information about her father's death. But Gretchen has a choice to make. Does she want to give up her life as a plaything of Hitler, or would she choose the opposite, to be with a Jewish man?

The book can be found on Goodreads Here and be purchased in the UK here or in the US here

Summer Update #1

Finally. It is Summer!

Yes it is finally June which means University is over until late September and I am able to read and review as much as I can (Whilst working and of course writing). Therefore I will announce my main books of June/July which will be what I consider the A-List books (think the book version of Avengers, Mockingjay part 2 etc) that are books by my favourite authors. Sprinkled with those will be other books, not necessarily B-List but books by authors I haven't discovered just yet or haven't been brave enough to read during term time.

So let the games begin!

Planned Reading:

A Royal Wedding (Princess Diaries book #11) by Meg Cabot Done

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys I Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessan

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh Done

Angel Fall (Penryn and the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee Done

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke (Prisoner of Night and Fog #2) by Anne Blankman

Wide Awake (Wide Awake #1) by Shelly Crane

Wide Awake (Wide Awake #1) by Shelly Crane

So I planned to read this book a long while ago, probably two years but since the submission of all my assignments for uni, I've been able to get through most of my to-read list on Goodreads. 

Well, well, well. What can I say about this book? 

Firstly it's brilliantly written and when I reached the end, there was a note from the author that revealed she had a tumour whilst writing this and how it escaped her deadlines. I was amazed how strong Crane is, I still am having read most of her series to date and loving them. However back to the book. 

It follows the story of Emma who's recently been in accident, losst her memory and is trying to recover memories and pick up the pieces of her life. I found the whole idea and plot fantastic, because you really get a sense of the characters, Emma's pain and turmoil at not knowing who she is anymore and the fact there's this good-lucking guy that's looking after her. But I connected with her and really got to understand all of her pain as if I were Emma.

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.

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

I bought this awhile ago but only just finished it. Wow. Okay so this book has so many brilliant things that its made up of that I can't even think of the words to say why you should read it other than the fact it is amazing!

Okay so the book follows the story of Twylla who comes from a long line of Sin Eaters. However she's got some magical blessing that allows her to get out of her village and live in a palace and eventually marry a prince. Doesn't that sound too good to be true? That's because it is. Read this book and find out what exactly happens to our dear heroine and see how amazing this book is.