Friday 27 June 2014

REVIEW: The Taking by Kimberly Derting

The Taking - Kimberly Derting

Genre: YA Paranormal

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:
A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 
When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 
Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 
Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?


THIS WAS SO INTRIGUING! I honestly couldn't put it down! It follows Kyra, a 16 year old girl who wakes up behind a dumpster and finds that five years have passed and yet she hasn't aged a day. All she remembers is seeing a flash of light before finding herself somehow in the same clothes, with the same bruises she had the day she disappeared, even though five whole years have gone by. DOESN'T THAT INTRIGUE YOU? COZ IT SHOULD. IT'S AN EXCELLENT CONCEPT. OKAY, ENOUGH WITH THE CAPS LOCK. OKAY. 
Wow. This was absolutely excellent! The thing I'm seeing most in people's reviews is that they didn't like the instalove. BUT... If you were in Kyra's shoes and had come home to realise everyone thought you were dead for five years and your old boyfriends brother is helping you figure it all out, wouldn't you want to cling to someone who reminds you of the past? You wouldn't want to go through this alone, and you would have probably done the exact same thing Kyra did. You've just got to put things into perspective here. Her situation is far from normal. So instalove is allowed to happen, in my opinion. 
I really don't want to say much, except that the writing was beautiful and the story was so unique and gripping that it will keep you up all night just wanting to know how the heck this whole situation happened. Such an excellent start to an amazing new trilogy!

VIDEO REVIEW | ELEANOR & PARK


Tuesday 24 June 2014

CURRENTLY READING | 24/06/14

I've been in a reading slump ever since finishing the amazing Selection trilogy by Kiera Cass and now I'm just feeling so... meh. So here are the books I'm currently reading.

Of course I'm still in the middle of a few books that I have no idea if I'm ever going to actually finish! These include: A Clash of Kings by George RR. Martin; Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon; The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins; Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor and Grim by various YA authors.

But there are 3 books that I am currently actively reading at the moment! (if you click the book title it will take you to that books goodreads page).

The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
This book is centred around a girl who has Panic Disorder and Anxiety, something that I suffer from and am currently going through a really rough patch with, so I wanted to pick this one up. I'm not too far in, but I'm enjoying it even if it isn't really gripping me or getting me out of my slump.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
I received an advance readers copy of this book through work (I work in a bookstore) and I am currently on page 81 and to be honest, this isn't gripping me either. *sad face* I am excited to read it though and see whether it lives up to her other books!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
I am currently rereading this for like the fourth time because I absolutely love this series to death. I feel like I can really relate to the main character and a lot of the characters actually have mental illnesses and I just think this book has EVERYTHING you could possibly want in a YA book. Brilliant.

What are you guys currently reading?

April :)

Wednesday 18 June 2014

TOP 6 BOOK BOYFRIENDS

I was trying to narrow my list down to 5 and it was WAY too hard, so here's my top 6!

NUMBER SIX:
RONALD WEASLEY from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Ron Weasley was my childhood book crush! I don't know what it is about him, but I was just in love with him (and maybe possibly definitely still am!) because he's just so adorable!

NUMBER FIVE:
JON SNOW from A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George RR. Martin
Okay, so let's be honest here, Jon Snow probably wouldn't make the list based solely on the books (I've only read the first one) BUT DAMN KIT HARRINGTON IS SO FINE I DON'T THINK I NEED TO EXPLAIN.

NUMBER FOUR:
DAEMON BLACK from The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I have no idea who this man is but HE LOOKS LIKE DAEMON TO ME! Okay, let's get this straight, Daemon Black is a sexy alien that radiates BADASSERY. 

NUMBER THREE:
AARON WARNER from the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi
*cant*speak*too*hot*asdffaghgto* IF YOU'VE READ THEM YOU UNDERSTAND.

NUMBER TWO:
WILLIAM HERONDALE from the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare
He is so beautiful I just can't even deal. I SHIP WESSA SO HARD. 

NUMBER ONE:
RUSH FINLAY from the Too Far trilogy by Abbi Glines

Uhhhh... It just got really hot in here. AM I RIGHT? Abbi Glines is an amazing New Adult author and this trilogy is definitely my favourite by her and I have never been more attached to characters in my entire life! Amazing!

So there you have it, my top 6 fictional boyfriends! Who are yours? :D


REVIEW | The Selection Trilogy by Kiera Cass

THE SELECTION TRILOGY by KIERA CASS

Genre: YA Dystopian/Romance

Overall Series Rating★★★★★

Goodreads link for The first book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10507293-the-selection

Review:

The Selection trilogy follows a girl called America as she competes in the Selection, a competition where the winner gets to marry the Prince and become Princess, and later on, the Queen. This is a dystopian in that the people of Illea are put into castes, which are basically numbers from 1-8. The higher your number, the more comfortably you live and the more food you have on the table. The Ones consist of royalty, the Two's are guards, etc. all the way down until the Eight's, the people practically living on the streets. America is a Five, and little does her family know, she is already in love with a Six, a boy called Aspen who can barely afford to feed himself after he works to feed his family. America is ready to marry Aspen and become a Six, when all of a sudden she is chosen as one of the 35 girls to compete for Prince Maxon and the crown. 

All I can say is WOW. I did not expect to absolutely adore this trilogy as much as I did! Judging by the many reviews I have seen on these books, I immediately assumed that it was going to be a frustratingly annoying love triangle with hardly any dystopian elements. I WAS SO WRONG. Yes, America was frustrating sometimes but IT KEPT YOU HOOKED. I honestly disagree with the people who are saying the dystopian aspect isn't done well, I think it's excellent and in my opinion, the series had just the right amount of balance between the romance and the dystopian storyline.
The main thing you need to know before going into this trilogy is PREPARE YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT PUT THESE DOWN. I read the first book in a night and the writing makes them so addictive that you just want to know what's going to happen next. The writing itself was beautiful, but not overdone in trying to be poetic or anything, it was just perfect. Each and every character has such a unique personality and you can tell that Kiera has put SO much thought into each and every single character.
This series also made me feel a lot of emotions that I didn't expect to feel. I was expecting it to be a very light romance book but there were times in this series (particularly in the Elite and the One) where I was on the verge of tears and it felt like my heart was shattering into a million pieces.
Everything about this trilogy is excellently done and the ending will give you the perfect amount of satisfaction and heartbreak. A beautiful, addicting trilogy that I will definitely be reading again in the future. Amazing!