Saturday 29 July 2017

Book Review: Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer

Book: Proof of Forever
Author: Lexa Hillyer
Genres: YA Contemporary (with a slight sci-fi element)

Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends. 
After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories. 
Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed. 
Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again. 
Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.


My Rating: 4/5 STARS

My Review:
I hadn't heard much talk of this book before I read it so I didn't know what to expect from it.  All I knew was the synopsis which had two of my favourite things to read about in it.  Time travel and friendship.  These are the main themes of Proof of Forever, so I knew I had to read it for that alone.

The book is told from the point of view of 4 girls who used to be best friends but have now grown apart.  At a summer camp reunion something happens to them and they find themselves transported two years into the past, to their last week together at summer camp.  

I fell in love with the idea of this book.  Like I said before, this book had two of my favourite things in it so the story really sucked me in and held my attention.

I really liked the writing and the plot of Proof of Forever.  It was very interesting to me and I found the story to be really emotional as well.  I liked that it had all 4 girls povs and I really liked reading about each one and seeing how they were all dealing with different things in their lives.  I think the writing flowed very nicely and a lot of the book was quotable.

Although there is the main focus on the friendship between the girls, there is a lot of the story where they are doing their own things and I would've preferred to see more of them together with each other.  The girls also had some love interests and it felt to me that a lot of the love interests sounded similar to one another.  I also would've preferred less focus on the love interests and more (like I said before) on the girls' friendship.

Overall I really liked this book.  It's a great story about second chances and friendship.  I enjoyed the writing and thought the story was very emotional.  I would really recommend reading it. 

Tuesday 18 July 2017

Book Review: Atlantia by Ally Condie

Book: Atlantia 
Author: Ally Condie
Genres: YA, science fiction/dystopian

Can you hear Atlantia breathing? 
For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all Rio’s hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced—she has nothing left to lose.  
Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the corrupted system constructed to govern the Divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.-Quoted from Goodreads

My Rating: 3/5 STARS
My Review:
Atlantia is a book I've been wanting to read for years now.  Years ago I read the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie and I really enjoyed that series so I decided to pick up her next book even though it has took me years to do that.

In Atlantia people have been living underwater in specialised dome-like cities for years after it became too toxic for people to live Above (on land) and once you reach the age of 16 or so you can choose to leave the underwater city of Atlantia and live Above.  The people of Atlantia are taught that the people who go Above don't live as long as those in Atlantia.  So this story is about Rio who has always wanted to go Above but she promises her twin sister (who doesn't want to live Above) that she'll stay with her and so on the day of the choosing she chooses to stay but she is shocked when her sister decides to suddenly go Above instead.

The choosing ceremony at the beginning of the book had me really reminiscent of Divergent and so I was worried it would be too similar but it wasn't.
I found the world of Atlantia to be really interesting, the way things were described really painted a good impression of the world in my head.

I liked how the story was about Rio trying to find her way back to her sister, I liked how that was the main focus of the book.  I didn't feel much of a connection to any of the characters and I thought some of them were a bit boring.  The plot was good but it was also predictable.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, it was a quick fun read.  The main thing I liked was the world of Atlantia.  And even though none of the characters really stood out to me and I thought the plot was predictable I still found it to be an enjoyable read.  

Sunday 16 July 2017

Book Review: White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2) by Ilona Andrews

Book: White Hot
Series: Hidden Legacy book 2
Author: Ilona Andrews
Genres: adult, urban fantasy, paranormal romance

Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she's used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family's detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan. 
Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada's "talent." But there's no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice . . .


My Rating: 4/5 STARS
My Review: 
White Hot introduces a new investigative case for Nevada when Cornelius (a character introduced in Burn for Me) comes to her for help.  His wife was murdered but no one gave him any answers as to why so he goes to Nevada.

White Hot is a great continuation of this series.  It has the same elements I loved in the first book and more.  It has a great engaging plot with the political feuding behind the Houses and their magic.
I really liked how the romance between Nevada and Rogan developed in this book.  I felt the connection between them and I liked how it grew throughout the book.
We find out more about Nevada's and Rogan's background in this book and I really liked that because it added a lot to my view of them.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and if you liked the first book in the series then you'll most likely love this book too.  The plot and the relationships between the characters are really ramped up in White Hot and I think it's a great continuation to the series.

Saturday 1 July 2017

June 2017 Wrap Up

In June I read five books and DNFed two.  
Here is a list of them and some of my thoughts on them.

Lord of Shadows (book 2 in The Dark Artifices trilogy) by Cassandra Clare - 5/5 STARS
As expected, I loved this book. It was a great sequel to Lady Midnight and I love how real the characters feel.  I am so excited for the third and final book in this trilogy but I can't believe we have to wait so long for it!



Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley - 5/5 STARS
I felt so many different feelings during this book, it's a highly emotionally charged book.  And I think more people should definitely read it as I think this book is a very important book.



Burn for Me (book 1 in the Hidden Legacy series) by Ilona Andrews - 4/5 STARS
I really enjoyed this book.  I liked the characters and thought the world was very interesting.  If you're looking for a new urban fantasy series then I'd really recommend this book. It's one of those 'don't judge by its cover' books. 



White Hot (book 2 in the Hidden Legacy series) by Ilona Andrews - 4/5 STARS
I thought this was a great continuation to the series and I really liked finding out more about the characters in this series.



The Wrath and the Dawn (book 1 in The Wrath and the Dawn series) by Renee Ahdieh - 2/5 STARS
I was really disappointed by this book.  I've wanted to read it since it came out but I really didn't like it.  I didn't like the characters and found the overall storyline to be boring. I won't be reading the next book.




The two books I DNFed were:
The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North
Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne



I'm really happy with my reading in June, I read a lot of great books.  Also in June I watched the anime Yuri On Ice.  I loved it so much, it was so fun to watch (and that intro is so addictive).  Another thing I watched in June was Westworld, the tv series.  I really loved this too, there were a lot of twists and turns and the world was so interesting.  I can't wait for season 2.

What did you read or watch in June?