Guest Review by Amber: The Perfectionists

The Perfectionists
Author: Sara Shepard
Publication Date: October 2nd 2014        
Publisher: Hot Key Books

Pages: 267

Rough estimate of time it took to read: 1 week (it was a slow reading week)

Source: Gifted by Kirsty 

In Beacon Heights High, Nolan Hotchkiss is king. His charm, wealth and good looks are deceptively seductive, and many are the students whose lives and reputations have been ruined by it. All while Nolan continues to reign, unquestioned and undisrupted. Until now, that is.

Mackenzie, Ava, Julie, Caitlin and Parker seemingly don't have much in common. Each has their own friends, dramas and goals. But one thing they do share: they all have a deep hatred of Nolan Hotchkiss. And they all think it's about time he paid for what he's done. They come up with the perfect murder - a hypothetical murder, of course. It's all wishful thinking ... until they wake up one morning to find that their wish has come true. Nolan has been killed - in exactly the way they planned. The thing is, they didn't do it. So who did?

This is the first time I'm reading and reviewing the same book Kirsty has previously reviewed (if you want to check her review out, you can find it here...) and although I didn't entirely hate it as Kirsty did  (or as she puts it, it felt more of a Pretty Little Liars 2.0) I do have mixed feelings for The Perfectionists. Although I did really enjoy the story, maybe more so because I haven't read Pretty Little Liars (I have had a look at how many there are though and whoa) or watched the TV show, I did have a few issues with the book, mainly due to the characters, but I am looking forward to reading more.

My main problem with The Perfectionists are the characters, I found them to be very very superficial and shallow, and at time a bit "run of the mill" teenager/brat, and it was hard to tell the characters apart from the other. The ending also felt rushed, which since there were quite a few filler chapters, I would've preferred a non rushed ending compared to fillers.

 

Then we come to that ending. And it leaves on a cliffhanger, so now of course I want to find out what happens in the next one, curse you book.

Review: The Lie Tree

The Lie Tree
Author: Frances Hardinge
Publication Date: May 7th 2015
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

The leaves were cold and slightly clammy. There was no mistaking them. She had seen their likeness painstakingly sketched in her father's journal. This was his greatest secret, his treasure and his undoing. The Tree of Lies. Now it was hers, and the journey he had never finished stretched out before her.

When Faith's father is found dead under mysterious circumstances, she is determined to untangle the truth from the lies. Searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. A tree that feeds off whispered lies and bears fruit that reveals hidden secrets. The bigger the lie, and the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered.

But as Faith's untruths spread like wildfire across her small island community, she discovers that sometimes a single lie is more potent than any truth.

A beguiling tale of mystery and intrigue from the award-winning author of Fly By Night and Cuckoo Song

There are two words to describe The Lie Tree. Masterfully and Done. I don't say that lightly. What I loved about Cuckoo Song was how vivid the writing was, and how it was skilfully created, and even though the plot and pacing was slow, it's pay's off when subtle connections are made. The Lie Tree is no exception. It is completely different than Cuckoo Song, but at its core, the writing, the descriptions, the lyrical feel and flow, is exactly the same and it's brilliant.

Review: Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words
Author: Katie Alender
Publication Date: September 30th 2014
Publisher: Point

Hollywood history, mystery, murder, mayhem, and delicious romance collide in this unputdownable thriller from master storyteller Katie Alender.

Willa is freaking out. It seems like she's seeing things. Like a dead body in her swimming pool. Frantic messages on her walls. A reflection that is not her own. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- is trying to send her a message.

Meanwhile, a killer is stalking Los Angeles -- a killer who reenacts famous movie murder scenes. Could Willa's strange visions have to do with these unsolved murders? Or is she going crazy? And who can she confide in? There's Marnie, her new friend who may not be totally trustworthy. And there's Reed, who's ridiculously handsome and seems to get Willa. There's also Wyatt, who's super smart but unhealthily obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.

All Willa knows is, she has to confront the possible-ghost in her house, or she just might lose her mind . . . or her life.

Acclaimed author Katie Alender puts an unforgettable twist on this spine-chilling tale of murder, mystery, mayhem -- and the movies.

This is my second Katie Alender book, I read Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer  and while I did enjoy it, I had my issues with it, especially with a certain spineless main character. Famous Last Words, however, was so freaking close to being the absolute perfect read for me. It had everything I wanted in one package. Hollywood, pop culture, a serial killer, murders, a ghost haunting, a character going slightly Ghost Whisperer on us, chilling horror scenes and pathological people. That's a lot to ask for, and you get it.

EARC Review: A Breath of Frost

A Breath of Frost
Author: Alyxandra Harvey

Publication Date: January 2nd 2014 

~~A copy was provided by Bloomsbury Childrens, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.~


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In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft. Beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring new underworld visible only to those with power is now open to the cousins.
But unbeknownst to them, by claiming their power, the three cousins have inadvertently opened the gates to the Underworld.
Now the dead, ghouls, hellhounds-and the most terrifying of all: the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers.
And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders...because she keeps finding the bodies.
Can the cousins unravel the clues and mystery behind their heritage and power before their gifts are stripped away ...or even worse, another witch is killed?
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Firstly, don't let my rating reflect how amazing this book is, it would have been a full five, because it is, amazing, it was quirky and funny and dark and dangerous and the romance electric. Just as all of Alyxandra Harvey's books' are.

The characters are fleshed out, and personality prominent, they're very much real and once you get into it, the voices are definitely distinguishable, but you have to get there first, which brings me to...

Waiting on Wednesday (#17)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

 

 

Killer Instinct by Shannon Greenland

Expected publication: May 6th 2014 by Simon Pulse

 

 

 

She’s not evil, but she has certain... urges.

Lane is a typical teenager. Loving family. Good grades. Afterschool job at the local animal hospital. Martial arts enthusiast. But her secret obsession is studying serial killers. She understands them, knows what makes them tick.

Why?

Because she might be one herself.

Lane channels her dark impulses by hunting criminals—delivering justice when the law fails. The vigilantism stops shy of murder. But with each visceral rush the line of self-control blurs.
And then a young preschool teacher goes missing. Only to return... in parts.
When Lane excitedly gets involved in the hunt for “the Decapitator,” the vicious serial murderer that has come to her hometown, she gets dangerously caught up in a web of lies about her birth dad and her own dark past. And once the Decapitator contacts Lane directly, Lane knows she is no longer invisible or safe. Now she needs to use her unique talents to find the true killer’s identity before she—or someone she loves—becomes the next victim...

 

 

 

Mine. Now. Please? :)

 

What're you waiting on this week?

 

 

Review: Confessions: The Private School Murders

Confessions: The Private School Murders
Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Publication Date: October 24th 2013

~A copy was provided by Arrow (Young) in exchange for an honest review.~



 Tandy Angel may have played the hero when she solved the case of her magnificently wealthy parents' mysterious deaths, but she isn't done yet. Her brother Matthew stands trial for homicide, young girls are found murdered all around New York's Upper West side, and Tandy is determined to use her piercing intellect to get to the bottom of both cases. But the biggest mystery of all may be what actually happened to James Rampling, the handsome son of a family enemy, whom Tandy fell in love and ran away with--though most of her memories of the affair are disturbingly absent...

The confessions keep coming as Tandy delves even deeper into her own tumultuous history and the skeletons in the Angel family closet.




Oh dear everything that's holy, my heart hurts. It freaking hurts.

Ugh, I don't know where to start.

The Private School Murders kicks off three months after Confessions of A Murder Suspect, Matthew's still in jail pending trial on a charge, the mystery of James Rampling is fracturing, and we get to know him and oh my fictional guy. This is the part where I could gush and fangirl, but you know what? James Rampling deserves more, so I'm saying I wish this guy was real. So damn real. Anyway, back to topic, where was I? Right...

Review: Confessions of A Murder Suspect

Confessions of A Murder Suspect
Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Publication Date: September 27th 2012

~A copy was provided by Arrow (Young) in exchange for an honest review.~

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, their daughter, Tandy, knows just three things:

1. She was one of the last people to see her parents alive.

2. She and her brothers are the only suspects.

3. She can't trust anyone - maybe not even herself.

Having grown up under their parents' intense perfectionist demands, none of the Angel children have come away undamaged.

Tandy decides that she will have to solve the crime on her own, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous game. As she uncovers haunting secrets and slowly begins to remember flashes of disturbing past events buried in her memory, Tandy is forced to ask: What is the Angel family truly capable of?

The Angel household is about to be changed, for the worse or better, you pick. Matthew (the oldest) Tandoori "Tandy", her twin Harry, and Hugo (The youngest) are woken up to police threatening to break down their door, and find out that their parents are dead. Not only have their parents been murdered, but there was no break-in, nothing unlocked or out of normal, no sign of a struggle, and they are the main suspects.

Even our Narrator, Tandy, thinks it could be one of them, even herself, thanks to her little black-out tendency and holes in her memory. She even thinks it could be her twin. With little evidence of outside foul play, all evidence points to them, and since she's the most methodical and emotionless one, all fingers point to her. But being all of those things also make her the sharpest and intelligent of them.