Review: At First Sight (AKA Nobody)

At First Sight
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Release Date: 1st January 2015
Publisher: Quercus Childrens
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

A girl no one can see
A boy on a mission
A love story with a difference
What happens when an assassin falls in love with his target?
There are people in this world who are Nobodies. No one sees them.
No one notices them.
They live under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That's why they make perfect assassins.

The institute finds these people when they're young and takes then away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organisation. And threats must be eliminated.

Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute's monitoring.
But now they're ID'ed Claire and sent seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her.
Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can't make the hit...

I'm not ashamed to admit I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Naturals series, I love reading anything to do with serial killers, anything that delves into psychology and criminology, profiling. Anything. And since I love that series, I was pretty optimistic with At First Sight, which is why I'm so disappointed to say that At First Sight is an example of everything I hate in a book, I know it sounds harsh, but it is.

Review: Rogue Wave

Rogue Wave
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Publication Date: January 6th 2015         
Publisher: Hodder Childrens
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

In this exciting sequel to DEEP BLUE, Serafina uncovers more clues about the talismans, Neela ventures into a sea dragon's nest, and Ling learns the identity of their foe.

Serafina, Neela, Ling, Ava, Becca, and Astrid, six mermaids from realms scattered throughout the seas and freshwaters, were summoned by the leader of the river witches to learn an incredible truth: the mermaids are direct descendants of the Six Who Ruled-powerful mages who once governed the lost empire of Atlantis. The ancient evil that destroyed Atlantis is stirring again, and only the mermaids can defeat it. To do so, they need to find magical talismans that belonged to the Six.

Serafina believes her talisman was buried with an old shipwreck. While researching its location, she is almost discovered by a death rider patrol led by someone familiar. . . . The pain of seeing him turned traitor is devastating.

Neela travels to Matali to warn her parents of the grave threat facing their world. But they find her story outlandish; a sign that she needs to be confined to her chamber for rest and recovery. She escapes and travels to Kandina, where her talisman is in the possession of fearsome razormouth dragons.

As they hunt for their talismans, both Serafina and Neela find reserves of courage and cunning they didn't know they possessed. They face down danger and death, only to endure a game-changing betrayal, as shocking as a rogue wave.

What I loved about Deep Blue was the setting of the underwater world, how detailed and different it was, from the different parts of the sea reflect some of our countries right down to the vivid descriptions and even the food. How it wasn't centred around romance and was more about friendship bonds and all the girl  Merl power, and what a good impression that made, the banter, the one liners. And the fish puns. How it reads more to a younger YA audience and the fact  that I still liked it. The only trouble I had with Deep Blue was that I was confused a lot of the time and it was quite overwhelming.

Review: The Here and Now

  
The Here and Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Publication Date: January 1st 2015        
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
 ~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.

From Ann Brashares, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now is thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking—and a must-read novel of the year.  

The Here and Now, I have a question for you. What are you actually about? Because there are so many threads that by the end are still left open and don’t even amount to anything.  I am confused. The characters are confused, which is why I am confused and it's a whole lot of confusion over everything. Literally. Confusion. Are you confused yet?

Waiting on Wednesday (#77)

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

The Uninvited  by Cat Winters

Expected publication: August 11th 2015 by William Morrow



From the award-winning author of In the Shadow of Blackbirds comes a stunning new novel—a masterfully crafted story of love, loss, and second chances. Set during the fear and panic of the Great Influenza of 1918, The Uninvited is part gothic ghost-story, part psychological thriller, perfect for those who loved The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield or The Vanishing by Wendy Webb.

Twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days.

But Ivy’s life-long gift—or curse—remains. For she sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918 she sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother’s chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother Billy in the Great War.

Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold.

The Uninvited is an atmospheric, haunting, and utterly compelling novel.  

I don't usually read Adult, but it's Cat Winters. Enough said.  

What're you waiting on?

Review: All the Bright Places (Just go buy it)

All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Publication Date: 8th January 2015
Publisher: Penguin Random House
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this compelling, exhilarating, and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven

I honestly don't know where to start with this one, so this is more of a feeling and reaction review than a straight up review, the same as I did with We Were Liars. Because, All the Bright Places is another book where whatever you say it's not going to be enough, it'll never be enough to say in a few paragraphs how much you love and got a book so much that you literally stared at it for half an hour just thinking and trying (unsuccessfully) not to cry. Because it affected me in a way no other book has done before, not even The Fault in Our Stars or  Heart-Shaped Bruise (as much as I love them)  or even Speak, that changed everything for me and got me reading in the first place. But, this is why I read. Beautiful, beautiful books like these are what keeps me reading.

Review: Frozen Charlotte

Frozen Charlotte
Author: Alex Bell
Publication Date: January 5th 2015        
Publisher:  Stripes Publishing
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

We're waiting for you to come and play. Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind...Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lilias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be true. And then there's her other cousin. The girl with a room full of antique dolls. The girl that shouldn't be there. The girl that died

Here's a few things you need to know about Frozen Charlotte.

1) It's psychologically disturbing.

2) It's creepy as anything.