Monday 15 June 2015

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Review (NON-SPOILER)

Hi guys, so I just finished this book at 3AM last night. Three in the morning! :O It was just so worth it though, being able to finish reading this book after a month! XD So without further ado, let us get straight into this book!

I gave this book 4/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads) :
Laia is a slave.

Elias is a soldier.

Neither is free.


Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.


Published on: April 28th 2015 by Razorbill

Review:
So this book really live up to all its hype, BUT I have some issues with it. I was loving it a lot at the beginning of this book, but as it slowly moves its way to the ending, I just didn't like it that much anymore. I guess it was the plot, or maybe the characters? Who knows, I just didn't feel as attached to everything in the ending of the book than I was at. the beginning.

What I loved about this book:
So I have always enjoyed reading books that have duo point of views! They are always so interesting to read as I got to know what each of the main characters were doing and thinking and the emotions they felt. It just makes me feel more connected to the main characters so much more than I would have if the book only had one point of view which can be a little boring at some points. 


I love the way the chapters started to end in cliffhangers as it moves to the ending, it makes me want to finish the book faster, wanting to know what happened to the characters and the situation that they were facing, it was just so amazing, kept me wanting to get more of this book, it was just killing me as it just stops there as soon as it got to the good parts of the story, sometimes they were at the climax and the author just decides to change the point of view in the book! Sometimes it was really frustrating, but I think it was because of this that I was even more determined to finish this book than before.

I really love Elias, and also Laia! Ship them so so hard! (Do they have a ship name?)  Their ship has set sailed! It was already so obvious from the start of the book, I was already anticipating them to meet each other in the book! 


What I dislike about the book:
Something about the plot just puts me off so suddenly, it just didn't felt right! The way it ends, it felt like the author was trying to rush things and ending it within a couple more chapters, and that ending is just so abrupt! It is just screaming to me that there's a sequel, because there is no way in hell it's going to end like that! 

I hated Cook, she was just so suspicious with her every move, whenever she talks about the Resistance, she just stutters, why? 
I didn't like Izzi that much as well, and as we get to the ending, she just gets on my nerve, I don't know why, but I just hate her. Especially near the ending, I just couldn't stand her.

I didn't like Helene at all! Not even the slightest bit at the start of the book. She was just so annoying and she just gets on my nerve every time she appeared in the book. She only cares about herself, and Elias, and she look down upon the Scholars! What the hell!? 

And Marcus, I hated him from the start when he was introduced in the book. How could someone be so crazy and messed up in the mind like him? He just kept having those scary and weird aura emitting from him, it was just so crazy and I always cringed whenever he did something cruel. He just seemed so scary and heartless, I just don't get how his mind works and how he could be so determined to do something that is wrong that could harm the people he loved around him as well as himself. 

Also, I hated the way the Commandment treated her slaves. Cruel and twisted and disgusting. Put me off even more than I imagined. If you have read the book, then you will know what I mean.

I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if not for the abrupt ending!

If you guys like Fantasy (high fantasy here) , Dystopian, and a bit of Romance which only appears at the ending, then why not pick this book up? (Besides, the guys are hot *wink wink* )

All right, that is all for my book review on this book! If you guys would like to read more of my thoughts on this book with all the spoilers after you have read this book, then feel free to click this: An Ember in the Ashes Review (SPOILERS) 

I shall now end my post here, I hope you guys enjoyed yourself reading this and hopefully you guys will pick this book up! I will be posting soon so until then, happy reading! MUACKS! XD

Wednesday 10 June 2015

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West! Review (NON-SPOILER)

Hi guys, I'm back with another review! This time, it's another book by Kasie West again. Funny story here, I actually read On the Fence BEFORE this book, and I was so overwhelmed when I saw some of the characters such as Skye in this book! I went to check out the publication date and realized that this book was before On the Fence, which means I should have read this before the other book, On the Fence. I thought they were stand alones so I just randomly took one of the book! Oh gosh! XD

So, I gave this book 3.5/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.


Published on: July 2nd 2013 by Harper Teen

Review:
I really enjoyed Kasie West's writing, all the couples that she has created so far are so cute and they just grows on me as time goes by! I enjoyed myself reading this book, but it has the same issue as On the Fence which I read earlier! Check out my review of On the Fence Review if you haven't yet!

What I liked about this book:
I do like the main characters a lot, I enjoyed their romance and they were just so adorable! This book is a page turner, kept me wanting to read more and I couldn't stop reading it! The first page already got me wanting more, I really liked how Caymen, our main character, was just so sassy and sarcastic, she was just so cool! I also liked how the author introduced Xander into this book, and showed the readers how rich people are not always the same, they can also be kind and how we really need to know them before making a judgement. So amazing! 

What I didn't like about this book:
So for me, I find the ending to be a little abrupt and was quite rushed, it also left a lot of questions that were not answered even until the last page. Compared to On the Fence, I didn't like this book that much, I didn't like how the author suddenly introduced so many characters at the ending and didn't even give these characters a chance for any character development, and even took away some of the characters so suddenly, like they were just cut off  from the life of Caymen's and from the book without any proper explanation, especially Mason! I didn't like the feeling I felt when I finished the book, it made me feel weird and empty and I was just at a lost for words. I just wanted a book with more development of the story and I wanted to know more of the characters, I wanted to see how they were developed, especially those which were suddenly added into the plot at the end of the story. Not a book that just ends there so weirdly, it just didn't felt right... 

I would have given this book a higher rating if not for the ending! Although the book was a fun read and seriously got me wanting to read more, flipping pages after pages, trying to find out more about the whole plot, wanting to read more of Xander and Caymen, that's how good it is!

If you guys like Romance, Contemporary and Chick Lit, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy this book, so why not pick it up? It is definitely worth the read!

All right, that is all for this post! I hope you guys enjoyed this review, and hopefully pick this book up to read! I will post soon, so until then, happy reading! MUACKS! XD

Sunday 7 June 2015

On the Fence by Kasie West! Review (NON-SPOILER)

Hi guys! I finished this book on the last day of May so I felt like writing a review for this book, so here it is!
I gave this book 4/5 stars!

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.


Published on: July 1st 2014 by HarperTeen

Review:

This book was a really nice and cheesy read! I enjoyed myself when I was reading it, and this book was such a page turner! I couldn't even put it down! 

What I liked about this book:
I love the characters, the whole plot, and the romance inside this book. The characters were so real and lively and the brothers were just so cheeky! Sometimes I even wished they were my brothers! XD I was already being pulled into liking this book from the first page already. 


What I didn't like about this book:
I would have given it a 5 stars if not for the loopholes inside the book. Some parts were just really questionable and doesn't really make any sense, especially near the ending. I would liked the book to be a bit more longer, develop the couple's relationship a little more, and just some more information about the characters!


However, the ending was just so cute and it made me go AWH!!, all the way to the last word of the last chapter in the book. 


So overall, this was a fun and easy read! It was nice to finally have a book that I could read within a week after my long and tiring schedule of school term. 


If you guys love Romance and Contemporary, this is the book for you! Definitely go and check it out! 


All right, that is all for this post, I hope you guys will pick this book up and hopefully enjoy the book more than me! I will be posting more soon, so until then, happy reading!! MUAC
KS! XD