REVIEW; Dearest Clementine, by Lex Martin

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Recommend: Yes 

SPOILER-FREE

Summary:

Clementine Avery has had her heart broken and her trust killed after catching her boyfriend and best friend together. After shutting off from dating and boys, bitch is her go-to mode. Not afraid to be hated, all she's focused on is protecting herself. Meanwhile her world is rocked when the professor who attacked her returns to university and has a vendetta against her. 

Having mistakenly signed up for a Romance Writing class, Clem realises she is inexperienced to produce realistic content. In walks Gavin Murphy; an RA and musician, Clem is under his spell as he helps her relax and experience the romance of a college student she can write about. But is he helping her just as a friend or does he want more? With the mystery of a missing student still unsolved, and Gavin and his ex-girlfriend working together to help to solve it, Clem wonders if she can really fall in love again, or if she's bound for a life-time of hurt.

*** Warning: There is explicit language but also scenes of abuse and other adult/triggering topics in this novel ***

My Thoughts:

Whyyyyyyyyyyy did this book end? Why why why why why?!?!?!

This book grabs your heart, makes you laugh and fall in love with everything and then destroys you along the way.

So it's got nearly 6,000 ratings on GR with an average of 4.19 so clearly this is worth the read. When I managed to get it I was excited to read it as it seemed good and juicy, but I didn't expect it to suckerpunch me and cause a book mourning when finished. 

(Also- ending on 91% ...so not cool #BrokenHearted)

Clementine: Okay, let me start this off by saying I felt like I was reading about me! Clem wrote a best-selling YA novel about her first year at college and had it all written in diary format... I have been converting my diary from my first year into a draft to construct eventually into a novel! And then so many of her mannerisms are exactly like mine. How she closes off from people and her generic mode is bitch to play it safe (okay I'd like to say I'm not a bitch but I am to sleazy guys in clubs). How she lets things slip when comfortable with Gavin and totally unsure about what everything he does/says means. Yep- can totally relate to her. 

"I wasn't opposed to the act itself. I don't think of myself as a prude,but for me it was more about being that vulnerable with someone," ... "I thought it was easier to have faceless sex than to be vulnerable with someone who could hurt me."

This is exactly how I felt about sex in my latter teen years, that no one really understood. I was terrified by that vulnerability and was scared of trusting someone I cared about that could use it against me to cause hurt. Reading Clem's mind about all of this was such a comfort to FINALLY, after so many YA/NA novels, find a character that hit the nail on the head in describing the hesitancy associated with it. 


Gavin: Hrmmmm. Maybe not a popular opinion but he sort of irritated me at times. I'm kind of over the ideal Prince Charming Syndrome that Book Boyfriends have- they're sort of ruining my expectations in real life. I will fully accept that there are men out there that don't pressure the girl the love into doing anything... but... is there really a young guy that doesn't even ask? Or flirt about it? Or jump at the chance when their girl offers it up to them? I'm tired of the whole scenario where girl decides she's ready but the guy is still hesitant. Anyone my age I know literally can't think with their brain when they're excited so I can only roll my eyes at guys being hesitant in books. (Maybe I'm hanging around the wrong people.) 


Young Love: When I was little I thought this was romantic. Now that I'm 20, I don't. A bit of a cynic, I kind of ruin these stories by not buying the love. At this age I don't think you can be sure you're in love with The One and being with someone that serious will hold you back from pursuing where you want to go in life... rant for another day, but I feel like there was too much emphasis on their love being the most perfect thing and being meant for each other that it took away from the spontaneity and fun of their romance.  I wanted more of that rough spur of the moment hunger felt in "The Stacks" over the careful and deliberate certainty at the end. Just a bit corny for me...sorry!


Writing: Lex Martin has the writing of NA down. It was so easy to read, but not necessarily simplistic language. Things weren't spelled out and the Show-Not-Tell aspect was aced. And there was no annoying super hot and better at everything best friend! There was no petty or unwarranted drama and deep down Clem was a tormented character. There was a suitable pace (although an agonising wait for Gavin and Clem to cop on!!) that held my attention and the moments of suspense and mystery were very well placed to keep the story rolling. And of course, there were a number of moments where you wanted to shout at Clem or Gavin to stop being stubborn and say the right thing- but if they did there'd be no story! 

Overall: 

I was flipping between a 4 and 5 star rating, but any issues I may have had are clouded by the mourning I'm in whilst writing this. I read 82% in the one day (finally had to accept that it was late and I had to be up early) and finished it in no time the next morning. Characters were real and authentic, plot was executed beautifully, and there was a gorgeous romance. This a book to remember and a highlight of 2015. Also in love with the cover and colour scheme!

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REVIEW; Death of a Dapper Snowman, by Angela Pepper

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre: New Adult, Mystery

Recommend: Yes

SPOILER-FREE

Summary:

Stormy Day returns to her home-town of Misty Falls after cashing in and leaving her boyfriend. Minding her father's house as he is in hospital, Stormy tries to blend in to avoid being gossiped about. After spotting a "Dapper Snowman" in her neighbour's garden, she opts to take a selfie- but discovers more than she ever imagined. 

Her neighbour is the frozen body acting as the snowman's skeleton, and Stormy is thrown in to the mystery behind the murder. Opting to undertake her own investigations when her father is a suspect, Stormy does her own digging to try and pin the murder on different citizens of the town. 

Soon though, Stormy realises she has gone too far in her questions, and has put herself right in the line of the murderer.

My Thoughts:

When I began this novel, it wasn't looking like I'd complete it. It definitely has a poor start and doesn't really hook you. However, it does improve and I am happy to say I easily finished it and mostly have pleasant things to say. 

Show Not Tell: Right, this annoyed me immensely. The author was insulting to the reader by presuming we could work nothing out for ourselves- so much so we had to be told the main character was sarcastic and witty...

"I wouldn't call myself a snarky person, because I never mean to be cruel, but I do serve up a number of sarcastic quips each day. Whenever people are being ridiculous, my instinct is to make a joke and break the tension."

The reader does not need to be told this- this isn't something you'd say if you were introducing yourself. I know I'm fluent in sarcasm, but I can't help it and often bite my tongue, but it wouldn't be something I'd say on PAGE 2!!!!! of anything about me. Every minor joke or attempt at humour basically had a big luminous arrow with "LOOK- A JOKE! FIND IT FUNNY AND LAUGH!!!!" making me just hate the character and not find it remotely funny. Humour is prime with its subtlety - treat your reader as if they have a half a brain, thanks.

" 'Is your cat broken?' She laughed at her joke, then quickly added, 'Just a little veterinary assistant humour to lighten the mood for kitty.'"

Characters: I didn't think the characters were really thought out or developed much. Stormy was all over the place; didn't feel like I could predict her actions or replies and it seemed like she was just constructed with the flow of the novel rather than properly figured out prior to writing. And Logan? Why was he in the vets when he first met Stormy? He was renting and there was no mention of any pet? And there was no chemistry what-so-ever between them. None. Nada. Zilch. No romance and yet she was oh so overwhelmed by him that she couldn't return to her home in case he saw her but she spied on him through his window... whatever.

Writing: The writing was fine. There were little to no mistakes but it was very bland. There were no fancy pancy high-end word choice. And this was a massive fail - the protagonist is meant to be some great business woman... which would suggest in my mind that she had some sort of ability to construct adult syntax and reactions. The writing did not reflect that of a character with her background and/or age.

The Car: Something that has reallyyyyy bothered me is that her "high end pricey car" was a BMW... Okay- now I'm a car girl, I'm studying automotive engineering and I understand that to many a flashy expensive car may appear as a BMW so often I overlook the many incorrect information included in YA/NA novels about vehicles. But c'mon!!!! BMW's are so common that Logan would not know the only person such an expensive car could belong to was some successful known business woman. At least give a new luxury model of BMW to highlight the difference. Even I, as a student, could afford a second hand BMW so, it's all in the detail although I'll accept that's a petty aspect that probably only bothered me personally...It's just this sort of hazy writing that doesn't make it believable... 



So, as for the redeeming features of this novel? 

I need to judge it for what it actually is and not be too harsh. It's a light-hearted cozy mystery that probably is trying too hard to be humorous. It is an easy read and not really anything that memorable but does a good job of breaking up the reading of heavier novels.

Some people probably prefer these type of books and don't care for details nor do they tear books apart. Although anyone could probably guess who the culprit was, there was a good bit of suspense and suspects that could be plausible murderers. 

Overall: 

I was going to give this two stars but that'd be rather harsh so it reasonably deserves three. I know I can be quite mean at times with certain aspects but only as I have pet peeves about particular things. I'd still recommend this as a good easy read for escape purposes - but not really funny. 

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REVIEW; Sever (The Chemical Garden #3), by Lauren DeStefano

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance

Recommend: Yes

SPOILERS

Summary:

In a future where a virus means women die at 20 and men at 25, researchers are desperate to discover a cure. As young women are bought to marry and reproduce, in the hope of providing a future, Rhine found herself under the evil rule of her Father-in-Law, Vaughn.

After escaping, she now finds herself back under his control, but seeks refuge with his brother, Reed. Ever desperate to reconnect with her twin brother, Rowan, who is leading the rebellion against the experiments, Rhine will stop at no cost. 

But her brother believes she is dead and Vaughn will stop at nothing to have Rhine under his watch to experiment on. As her husband Linden and sister-wife Cecily stand by Rhine's side, all of them are put into danger as this trilogy wraps up. 

My Thoughts:

I have no idea why, but I've owned this book for about a year before getting round to reading it. 

As soon as I started though, I fell back in love with everything; the characters, the story, the writing. I've read some of the negative reviews already posted, and in some ways I agree but I've still been won over.

Rhine: She can be utterly frustrating at times, e.g. when reunited with Rowan and she doesn't tell him about Vaughn immediately. Or just being a sitting duck but yet she's meant to be so desperate to escape Vaughn... but then again, I'm reading this with the mind of a 20y/o so technically I'd already be dead in this world. She's young, inexperienced, thwarted into this world that's fighting against her and against powers she can't battle. So to those reviewing negatively against her character, I have to disagree. All characters have flaws in some way and Rhine's are simply down to her young age- she is only a teenager at the end of the day. With this in mind, I think all of her unwise (idiotic) choices are justified. Heck, I know I wouldn't function if having been through what she had- I'd have long given up.

Rowan: Right, now this guy- me no like. He has been glorified for 2.5 books and when she finally finds him he is a... douchebag? I expected more of a connection between them and that he'd trust her but he moddlecoddles her and tells her that Vaughn can be trusted and all that rubbish. He's frustratingly thick and he really let down Rhine... She would've been better off without him. Again though, maybe it added to the book that he was a disappointment as it was the story... 

Linden: Hrmmm... Strange guy this one. I admired his care for Rhine but like, he clearly loved Rose but then sort of pawned all this caring nature onto her.He doesn't believe what she says about his dad but then helps her go against him... But, I feel he was sort of trapped. He wasn't the bad guy and only had his dad so wanted to believe the best in him and stand by him, but also saw the suffering of his wives which he wanted to help come to an end. It probably would've been more beneficial to write a little more to express this battle rather than having him just flick back and forth.

Story: I'm in love with this whole story. I thought it was a very unique take on a dystopian world and it was easy to read. Whilst it wasn't a happy world, it wasn't robots and a world of darkness and zombies and the like. I would've loved for Gabriel to have returned a little sooner than when he did, just to have more of a romance between them. At times, it did lull a bit as Rhine decided what she was going to do. But I felt overall it was a great culmination of the trilogy and still had adequate suspense and action to warrant being a stand alone book rather than just an ending. 

Overall: 

I'm sad this series has come to an end but it was a thrill to read. It'll always remain one of my favourite series and I hope people pick up the first one and give it a shot. I love unique ideas and this was definitely a trilogy of originality. The books weren't painstakingly long or boring and I wouldn't change anything. Also, bonus points for probably having the nicest book covers ever!! 

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REVIEW; Days of Throbbing Gristle, by Kevin Cole

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: Young Adult, Drama

Recommend: Yes

Summary:

Sam Henry Hay is a 17yr old from Sheffield, who visits Texas in '87 as an exchange student in the hope of furthering his opportunities. Planning to swoon his American "Parents", he hopes to be able to swindle them out of as much money as he can whilst being the perfect addition to their family. 

Sure of who he is and where he is going, he meets people all around who he views as manipulative opportunities. He knows exactly what to say/do to please them, and get what he wants.

Somewhere along his way, he realises he hadn't figured himself out as well as he thought, and everyone he has met has in someway changed/affected him. Now he looks at himself wondering if he classifies as an American, and lost himself in his journey...or has he finally found himself?

My Thoughts:

Ah, where to start! 

Characters: The main character of Sam is an interesting one; he's extremely unlikable but hilarious to read about. His constant wit and sarcasm draws the reader in and one can't help but laugh at his manipulative abilities. He has such a great reading on everyone he meets, but yet can't figure himself out at all- something I enjoyed reading about as I think the majority of teenagers can relate to this. Although Sam documented each character he met in great detail, they all had enough idiosyncrasies to identify them. They all felt real and didn't necessarily have something huge attributed to them, so they could be related to as your everyday group of people. I also liked Heather; crazy in rebellion, I felt her presence helped refresh the heaviness of everything going on. 

Emotion: When reading this I didn't think I'd feel much ups and downs. It all seemed either funny or just interesting but there were moments of sadness intertwined that added another level to Sam. He spends so much time presenting himself as one thing, it was interesting to read the visit he made to Glasgow with his sister to visit his parents' graves. It really helped solidify Sam as a real person who'd suffered trauma before arriving in America and presenting himself as a cold badass.

Plot/Story: I enjoyed reading Sam's journey. At times it lulled but I'll get into that after. I wasn't too sure what the story would actually involve from just reading the blurb but it was Sam documenting nearly his first whole year in America. It was great to see the clash of English/American use of language and slang and subtle cultural differences. There were a lot of apt references to make the 80's setting concrete, such as music and current affairs. Although, I wasn't around until 90's, I'd say a LOT of references went over my head, but from the little I did know, the inclusion was appreciated.

Pacing: This is one slight negative for me. I enjoyed reading a book that was of decent length however at times the story lulled a fair bit. I enjoyed the in-depth nature of Sam's recount, but some of the stories were hard to trudge through when they weren't really relative to the story. There was one chapter that was the one paragraph for pages and reading that many pages of chunk of text is quite trying. That aside, for the most part it was well done, with a gradual incline to the climax rather than rushing through bits. 

Writing: I can't fault Cole's writing in this. Aside from some typos that are to be expected with ebooks, his technique is captivating. He has a sort of modern classic take and I loved reading a book that had words I had to look up!!! Nowadays so many novels are written with basic language whereas this was a challenging read. The ability to write in such a chaotic mindset for over 800 pages has to be congratulated. 

Content: I enjoyed the constant debating in this. Harsh offensive jokes throughout that one has to brush aside, knowing a 17y/o male is not going to be sensitive, and certainly not Sam. The religious, homophobic and general sexual debates reflect similar to what is uttered today. At times, I got a little tired reading the Donna/Eisenhowers religious debacle and Jill preaching to Sam. I suppose religion is an old age argument and as I'm one of a passive nature, my personal patience on the topic has long since expired to read/listen/see religious sides argue when both parties are stubborn in their ways. Aside, the other themes are all relevant to a coming of age story.

Overall: 

This is a thrilling and whirlwind of a coming of age novel. Focusing on current topics although set about 30 years back, one can easily relate to the pressures and chaos of teenage life. One I think should be studied in school instead of dated classics, which hold no relevance to today's youth. Although one needs times to read, it's definitely worth it. 


Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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REVIEW; Savage Run, by E.J. Squires

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: New Adult, Dystopian, Drama

Recommend: Yes

SPOILER FREE

Summary:

Heidi is a 17 year old Laborer, living in Dystopia America. Wanting to escape from her inevitable future of living a life of servitude to an abusive Master, she assumes the identity of a young boy and enters the Savage Run; a range of obstacle courses set to kill where thousands of boys enter in the hopes of surviving and winning freedom. 

Witnessing the murder of her best friend, and her gender being discovered before she enters by the oppressive ruler's son, Heidi realises the gravity of her quest. But she manages to trust him after he indicates traits of rebellion about the whole system, and an unexpected friendship blossoms.

Heidi must battle against obstacles set to kill men, nevermind an undernourished female, and other participants that want to beat her. Heidi finds that no suffering she has endured up to now, has prepared her for her fight for freedom. 

My Thoughts:

I took a break from YA Romance novels and wooooooow! This reminded me why I love Dystopian stories. Although similar to The Hunger Games, it still gripped my attention and was such a good read- completed in the one day!

Characters: Heidi was a great heroine, probably one of my favourites. She's persevered through so many obstacles already in life and still has the courage to attempt to save her friend and risk her life against the odds to make one last fight for freedom. Poor Gemma was clearly run down from her time serving Master Douglas and resigned to her bleak future, exactly what one would imagine the mind would reduce to. Nicholas...ahhhhh. I'd love a side story from his perspective growing up in this new world, living under his father's rule whilst despising it. I loved his subtle actions to help Heidi and give her some tips, without it being too much or over-powering to believe he'd help her. 

Setting: Most futuristic settings written about are depressing and negative, hence it's a dystopian world. I loved how this one was set in America with Europe and Asia as one in the East, as it made it easier to visualise on Earth rather than some fictional land. The classes were well distinguished and interesting to have sectors even within one class. The bits of history all included to give the reader a better concept of how the world became what it is really helped make it believable and realistic. 

Plot: Apart from being furiously upset that the book ended - aaaaagghhhh - the plot was so gripping! One could argue it's relatively predictable but I don't believe overly so. The obstacles were intriguing and how Heidi had to face battling and defeating them and how they did tackle the body and mind. I don't care if people brand this as jumping on the Dystopian band wagon as this still had a lot of originality and deserves its own recognition and praise.

Overall:

I can't recommend this enough to everyone. It's a definite new series favourite that I can't wait to continue. The pacing and plot were so captivating and inviting and to finish a book in less than 12 hours should be reflective of how much it sucks you in!

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