Me Before You Review.

A sorrowful tale of love and accidents, Jojo Moyes will make you cry, whether you like it or not.

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

“Push yourself. Don’t Settle. Just live well. Just LIVE.”

Louisa Clarke lives a dull, average life. She’s in her twenties, lives with her parents in their small family home, and ha never traveled farther than beyond the confines of her towns limits.

“I will never, ever regret the things I’ve done. Because most days, all you have are places in your memory that you can go to.”

She suddenly loses her job, and in desperation, takes a caretaker job to a newly quadriplegic man, former Master of the Universe, Will Traynor. An accident has left him paralysed and unhappy with his life. He now lives in an apartment in his parents backyard, and is not speaking to anyone he knew before the accident.

Louisa’s only job is to keep him company and entertained, easy enough, until she meets him, and he wants absolutely nothing to do with her. Her gameplan? Do the bare minimum to keep her new job. Instead, she ends up befriending him, and quickly has feelings for the man who doesn’t want a relationship.

“Some mistakes… Just have greater consequences than others. But you don’t have to let the result of one mistake be the thing that defines you. You, Clark, have the choice not to let that happen.”

I had very high hopes for this book. It seemed great, and then I read it. Don’t get me wrong, it had it’s nice moments, I laughed sometimes. It was just too dreary for me. Both Louisa nor Will are not exciting characters. Their lives were ordinary, and this didn’t feel like the escape that reading should provide. Instead, it felt like a chore, and I believe the only reason I finished this in a timely manner was that I had it on audiobook.

Overall.

Jojo Moyes’s sad novel about the power of love and friendship sadly falls flat, just like the ending of this novel. Will and Louisa are powerful examples of selfish, stubborn, unrelateable characters. I give this book a 2 out of 5 stars and would not recommend unless you like sappy, sad, unfulfilling books.

Anna And The French Kiss Review.

A beautifully written contemporary debut novel from Stephanie Perkins will make you remember why you love the genre.

 

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a
loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris–until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all…including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

 

 

Meet Anna Oliphant, a senior in high school who is American as they come. She works at her local movie theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and has her own movie blog. She aspires to be a move critic, a writer, like her father; and that’s about the only thing she and her father have in common. She has a couple of issues with her father; one being that he is a bestselling romance novelist, and two, he’s sending her to Paris, France, for her senior year of high school.

“For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”

Anna will be attending the SOAP, the School Of America in Paris. Here she will live in a dorm, take french class, and just soak up the french lifestyle while she finishes out her high school career. Sounds good to me, but certainly not to Anna. She is not happy to give up her life in Atlanta.

“The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”

Once Anna arrives, she meets her new roommate, and falls in with her great group of friends. From there, she and her newfound friends have fun in Paris, and Anna even manages to meet the perfect boy, Etienne St. Claire, the only problem? St. Claire has a girlfriend, a serious girlfriend at that. What’s a girl to do?

“I love you as certain dark things are loved, secretly, between the shadow and the soul.”

I loved this book. I wasn’t much for contemporaries before this, but this has completely changed my mind. It was beautifully written, the ending is fantastic, and it gave me all sorts of emotions, but in the best way. If you want a feel good book, or just need a new book to read, pick up this one, it’s amazing, and is now one of my favorites.

Overall

This was an amazing read, I give it a 5 out of 5 stars and would recommend to pretty much anyone. Please do pick this one up and read it, I sorely doubt you’ll regret it.

Snow Like Ashes Review.

Sara Raasch delivers a beautifully written fantasy that’ll have you gripped until the very last word.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

“Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake.”

Meira is just one of the eight people left from her kingdom of Winter, when it was taken from them 16 years ago. She and her best friend Mather were both orphans from the deadly war that took their parents, Mather’s being the King and Queen of Winter. Meira and Mather have been training their entire lives to be able to fight to free their people and take their country back.

“Someday we will be more than words in the dark.”

Meira has always felt like a nobody. She stays at camp and trains, and that’s it. She is not allowed to out on missions, or do anything besides sit around and wait. The only joy she gets from her days are when she gets to spend time with the boy she loves, Mather. Meira doesn’t know it, but she was never meant to be a nobody. When one day, she finally decides to take matters into her own hands, and use the skills she’s spent years honing, she learns that the choice was never hers in the first place.

“They make decisions; they mold your future. The trick is to find a way to still be you through it all.”

This book had an interesting premise, and I just knew that it was something I really wanted to read. I hadn’t heard much about it, but when I read about, it felt really original, which was awesome. I really liked this book. The pacing was great, the world was good, really nice characters, and an unexpected plot. It brings the emotional attachment to the characters, so you really feel everything that happens. Sara Raasch took me to an entirely new world that I thoroughly enjoyed.

“Fear is a seed that, once planted, never stops growing.”

Overall

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend. This series is now complete so you can marathon it if you so choose, which I love to do and would also recommend. Sara Raasch  transports you to a rich new world with her excellent writing and exciting plot.

 

 

Cycle Of Hope Review.

Tricia Downing’s woeful tale reinforces the idea of perseverance and friendship until the very last page.

Strength. Courage. Perseverance. At thirty-one, Tricia Downing was in the best shape of her life. In the summer of 2000, Tricia, an avid cyclist, drove across the country for what amounted to eighteen races in twenty-three days. She returned from her adventure to a fresh start: a new job awaited her, and, determined to make the next summer the year she would make her mark on the world of cycling, she began a rigorous training strategy. But on September 17, 2000, Tricia Downing’s life took a detour. While training on her bicycle one sunny Colorado afternoon, Tricia collides with a car that turns directly in her path, and instantly becomes paralyzed from the chest down. As a competitive road and track cyclist and lifelong athlete, losing the use of her legs is devastating on all accounts. As she re-learns to do everything from sitting straight up to navigating through her house in a wheelchair to returning to work and operating a handcycle, her grueling recovery takes her to the very core of her athletic mettle. This inner strength helps her to not only learn how to live life as a paraplegic-a label that takes time to grow accustomed to-but to have the courage to return to the competitive sport she loves and almost lost. Determined to live life on her terms, Tricia turns her misfortune into opportunity, and is now a wheelchair racer, competing regularly in triathlons around the globe. Cycle of Hope chronicles Tricia’s journey from the first terrifying moments of impact with the car through rehab and her emergence as a world-class athlete.

I received this book from my college as the First Year Common Read, a book that everybody in the Freshman class reads together. We even had Ms. Tricia Downing come and sign our books and give a speech at our college during Welcome Weekend. Ms. Downing seem like a lovely person, but I could not stand this book.

Ms. Downing is an absolutely terrible heroine. If anything, she’s the depressing sidekick to an amazing group of friends. This was a super snoozefest and I wish I had never wasted my time reading it. The entire time, all she ever talked about was how terrible her life was and how she just wanted to quit and never finish anything, ever. She wouldn’t have ever done anything without the help of her awesome, supportive friends and boyfriend.

The writing definitely needs to be developed a fair bit more. Not only was this boring, but it was annoying. The plot was slower than molasses, really dry, and repetitive. It was just constant negativity from her at every turn. I honestly cannot think of anything that I liked about this book.

Overall

I don’t recommend anybody to read this book. It’s a depressing, irritating account of how one competitive cyclists friends saved her from never accomplishing anything as an athlete after her accident. 1 out 0f 5 stars, would not recommend.

A Court Of Thorns And Roses Review.

A beautiful retelling of the beloved Beauty And The Beast, Sarah J. Maas will have you up reading under the covers until late past your bedtime with this fast-paced mix of adventure and romance that’ll have you clamoring for more.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Feyre lives a simple life. She and her family were once wealthy, but after her father lost their fortune, and their mother, they live in a small hut in the forest. Her father is unable to work, so Feyre must do everything for her father and her two sisters. She hunts for all of their food, and one day, when she nears the bordering wall between her country, and the faeries country, she sees a wolf. Only, it’s not a wolf, and she knows it.

“We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

It’s a faerie. She’s been warned about faeries all her life. They’re ruthless killers who can only be stopped by a small number of things, including ash arrows, Feyre’s chosen hunting weapon. If you are spotted by a faerie, you might as well kiss your life goodbye, because you’re dead. There is no escape, your fate is sealed. Feyre knows she shouldn’t shoot the wolf, but something in the wolf’s eyes speaks to her, like he’s almost as desperate as she is. As if the faerie wants her to shoot him, so she does.

The next night, while she is preparing the food she got last night, another faerie bursts into her house, disguised as a wolf, and demands that she must pay the price for killing a faerie, die right now, or leave her family forever and go live with him in his court in Prythian, the faerie country. A place no human has ever been known to survive.

“Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”

Feyre has no idea why she is there, only that she must remain there as his captive. She quickly learns that not everything is as it seems there, and she wants to figure out what’s really going on. She soon finds herself in places she never thought she’d be, for reasons she never thought possible. Will she make it out of this adventure alive? Read and find out.

“Don’t feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy.”

Wow! I’m sorry to say that I hadn’t read a Sarah J. Maas book until this one. I was really missing out. This book is a masterpiece and should be appreciated as such. The word is vivid, the writing amazing, and the characters mesmerizing. This book gave me so many feelings, and I loved every second of it. Maas’ poetic, beautiful writing captured me from the very first page, and I practically devoured this book.

Overall.

I give this a 5 out of 5 stars, and would recommend this to anybody, because this retelling is better than the original. Sarah J Maas weaves a world you want to go to. Maas’ beautiful retelling will have you clamoring for the sequel.

A Court Of Mist And Fury Review.

An incredible follow up to the heart wrenching retelling of The Beauty And The Beast, Sarah J. Maas delivers a novel that’s even better than the first.

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

“He thinks he’ll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.”

Wow. This one was great. I was really surprised by this book, but in the best possible way, as in, I read almost 300 pages of it in one sitting.I never expected any of what I got from this book. It felt new and real and it was stunning. This book has dragged me out of a very long reading slump, and I am so thankful for that.

The book starts out after Feyre is back in the Spring Court with Tamlin, and she is learning how exactly to be the wife of a High Lord. She and the rest of Prythian is still trying to deal with everything that happened with Amarantha and Under The Mountain.

“There are good days and hard days for me—even now. Don’t let the hard days win.”

In dealing with these issues, Tamlin and Company are gone for a majority of the time, and Feyre is left either by herself or with her newfound friend, High Priestess Ianthe. Ianthe is the main one who is helping her step into her new role as Tamlin’s bride. Feyre, of course, does not want to stay behind, so she is constantly trying to go with Tamlin, so he locks her up inside their mansion and never lets her leave, not even for short periods of time. Needless to say, she is not happy. If you don’t remember, Feyre made a deal with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, while she was Under the Mountain. This deal forces her to spend one week a month with Rhys in his home in the Night Court. She made this deal to keep herself alive, but, what does Rhys get out of this little bargain? Maybe he’s not who everybody thinks he is, and maybe Tamlin isn’t either.

“No one was my master— but I might be master of everything, if I wished. If I dared.”

It’s a massive 624 pages, so it seemed a little daunting at first, but once I started, I could not stop. It is beautifully written, mind-blowing wonderfulness. The pace of the plot was perfect, I never got bored, and I absolutely adored all the new characters. The new setting was equally as enchanting as the people who lived there. I wish I lived there. Sarah J. Mass’ meticulous descriptions of Rhy’s world made you feel like you were there, and then some.

“To the stars who listen—and the dreams that are answered.”

I finished it a couple of days ago and I still have all the feels, and I do mean, all the feels. This book was the most incredible emotional roller coaster I have ever experienced. It has everything you could want in a novel. Off the charts everything. Characters, plot, pace, setting, substance.  Maas managed to balance a stunning plot with a beautiful romance, which is really hard to do in my opinion. I find that it is either one or the other, not both, and she did it flawlessly. There is not one single thing that I disliked about this book, at all. I was in the biggest reading slump imaginable, and Sarah J. Maas’ writing has completely pulled me out of it, so, thank you so much Ms. Maas.

Overall

This book was absolutely fantastic and I would sell my soul to get mu hands on the next book right now. It instantly became one of my new all-time favorites, right there next to Outlander and The Mortal Instruments. I recommend this for older teens and up, because it will blow your minds until you can’t even think straight, it was that good. 5 out of 5 stars for sure. If you read one series this year, make it this one.

If you have read this book please let me know what you think down in the comments!

Outlander Review.

Romance, danger, and mystery abound, this book will have you sweating, in more ways than one.

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Claire Randall, the main heroine of the novel, is originally from England, 1945. The story opens with Claire and her husband, Frank, on there second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. One day, they see a group of women dancing inside a circle of stones. The next day, Claire goes back to the stone circle, as she is a budding botanist, to go and pick up some plants she saw there. She is soon transported to the year 1743, and surrounded by men in kilts and red coats fighting. Not just fighting, but old school fighting, with axes and other close range weapons. She is captured by a group of burly men in kilts, and is forced to save one of there young companions, a Mr. James Fraser. She is swept up with this new crowd as their hostage, thus their story begins.

“Don’t be afraid. There’s the two of us now.”

Diana Gabaldon weaves a miraculous tale of chivalry, true love, tough times, and heartwarming moments in her debut novel, Outlander. This book has officially earned a spot as one of my all-time favorite books. It took me very long to read, but I flew through it once I picked it up again last week. I stayed up way to late finishing this bad boy up, and I can’t bring myself to regret the sleep I lost, no way. I loved many things about this book, the world, the plotline, the twists and turns, I pretty much loved the whole thing. What really sealed the deal for me was the characters.

The world, I had never been super interested in Scotland before, but I am now! The story takes place in 1743, in the Scottish Highlands. I always wished that I had been born in an earlier time period, I love how people dress, how people act, how they live, everything about the older time periods, like this one. It’s romantic, it’s beautiful, and Diana did not let me down on this front. She brought the old time-y feel, without reminding me of all the not-so-great aspects of this time period, like the lack of running water, and indoor plumbing. She nailed all the fabulous aspects of this world, this Jacobitism Scotland. The time period is really well written.

“Oh, aye, Sassenach. I am your master . . . and you’re mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.”

The plot is another big point for me. Let me tell you, this book is massive. It’s 623 pages, with small print and thin pages. A lot happened in this novel. I loved how long and drawn out it was. We got to see exciting and fast-paced times, as well as happy and slow times. The pace of the book was really nice as well, it never moved to fast or too slow.

Now, onto my favorite part, the characters. I have a clear favorite here, and if you’ve heard anything about the book, or seen the TV show, I think you know already who my favorite is, a Mr. Jamie Fraser. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Claire is pretty great. She’s a kick-butt combat nurse during World War II, so she really knows her stuff.  Jamie is great for so many reasons, but most of all, he exemplifies chivalry. He tries to do right by Claire at all times. He’s funny, handsome, and he’s willing to duke it out for his friends and family, the man is practically fearless. He is goodness personified, and that is why he is my favorite and really just makes this story, it would not even be close to as good as it is if Jamie wasn’t in it.

Overall

This is a great book, and one of my new all-time favorites. Read it if you want to have an awesome time! I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars, and I will definitely be continuing on in the series.

Endgame: The Calling Review.

I have another book review for you today, and hold on to your seats, because this one is a thrill ride.

Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game that would determine our future.

This is Endgame.

For ten thousand years the lines have existed in secret. The
12 original lines of humanity. Each had to have a Player prepared at all times. They have trained generation after generation after generation. In weapons, languages, history, tactics, disguise assassination. Together the players are everything: strong, kind, ruthless, loyal, smart, stupid, ugly, lustful, mean, fickle, beautiful, calculating, lazy, exuberant, weak. They are good and evil. Like you. Like all.

This is Endgame.

When the game starts, the players will have to find three keys. The keys are somewhere on earth. The only rule of their Endgame is that there are no rules. Whoever finds the keys first wins the game. Endgame: The Calling is about the hunt for the first key. And just as it tells the story of the hunt for a hidden key, written into the book is a puzzle. It invites readers to play their own Endgame and to try to solve the puzzle. Whoever does will open a case filled with gold. Alongside the puzzle will be a revolutionary mobile game built by Google’s Niantic Labs that will allow you to play a real-world version of Endgame where you can join one of the lines and do battle with people around you.

Will exuberance beat strength? Stupidity top kindness? Laziness thwart beauty? Will the winner be good or evil? There is only one way to find out.

Play.
Survive.
Solve.
People of Earth.
Endgame has begun.

I finished this book on Monday, I have been chugging through it for a while now; not because it was bad, in fact, I thought that it was really good. I have only three words to describe this book. Those would be interesting, strange, and simple. I have never, ever read a book quite like this one. They never appealed to me at all, but I saw this one in an unboxing video by Sasha Alsberg(ABookUtopia), and, I just knew that I had to read it. For some reason, this strange book peaked my interest, and I don’t regret a single second of it.

“Hate me if you must, but know that I will never hate you.”

The writing style of this book can only be described as one word: simple. It’s not the deepest book I’ve ever read, it’s about a shallow as a tide pool. The only emotions we see from any of characters are Sarah and Christopher. The vanilla writing style, however, absolutely did not stop this book from being killer, literally. It was action packed for the entirety of the novel, all 461 pages of it; which is really hard to do with such a large novel. I was gripped from page 1 all the way to the very last words. The short chapters and simplicity made the book easy to read and to follow what was happening within the plot. Though i normally don’t like 3rd person point-of-view, as it often doesn’t allow for me to envision myself in the story and become close to the characters, it was absolutely essential for this story to work. The 3rd person point-of-view and simple, short style of writing were crucial to the flow of the book. The story is told from 14 different points-of-view including the 12 players: Marcus Loxias Megalos, Chiyoko Takeda, Sarah Alopay, Alice Ulapala, Aisling Kopp, Baitsakhan, Jago Tlaloc, An Liu, Shari Chopra, Kala Mozami, Maccabee Adlai, Hilal ibn Isa al-Salt, Sarah’s boyfriend: Christopher Vanderkamp, and one God/Alien/Sky Person/Mystical Being: Kepler 22b. This would have been absolute chaos had it not possessed these characteristics.

Overall

I give this book a 4 out of five stars. I loved the simplistic layout and the original plotline. I also love the fact that there is a real puzzle, in the real world with a real prize of gold if you win. I loved the pictures and the hidden messages in the book as well. All the different elements of this book just came together beautifully and made absolute storytelling magic. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series, and I cannot wait.

The Book Of Luke Review

Jenny O’Connell gives us a sweet coming of age novel about the hardships of figuring out love, friendships, right and wrong, and most importantly, yourself.

Emily Abbott has always been considered the Girl Most Likely to Be Nice — but lately being nice hasn’t done her any good. Her parents have decided to move the family from Chicago back to their hometown of Boston in the middle of Emily’s senior year. Only Emily’s first real boyfriend, Sean, is in Chicago, and so is her shot at class valedictorian and early admission to the Ivy League. What’s a nice girl to do?

Then Sean dumps Emily on moving day and her father announces he’s staying behind in Chicago “to tie up loose ends,” and Emily decides that what a nice girl needs to do is to stop being nice.

She reconnects with her best friends in Boston, Josie and Lucy, only to discover that they too have been on the receiving end of some glaring Guy Don’ts. So when the girls have to come up with something to put in the senior class time capsule, they know exactly what to do. They’ll create a not-so-nice reference guide for future generations of guys — an instruction book that teaches them the right way to treat girls.

But when her friends draft Emily to test out their tips on Luke Preston — the hottest, most popular guy in school, who just broke up with Josie by email — Emily soon finds that Luke is the trickiest of test subjects . . . and that even a nice girl like Emily has a few things to learn about love.

“Hiding how you really feel and trying to make everyone happy doesn’t make you nice, it just makes you a liar.”

For Miss Manners Emily Abbott, conning a boy was something that she would never even consider doing… that is, until she meets her BFF Josie’s ex-boyfriend, Luke Preston. Luke Preston is is the epitome of crushworthy, if only his personality matched his looks. He broke up with Josie in an e-mail. Emily’s best friends Josie and Lucy take this opportunity to teach Luke a lesson with their Senior class time capsule. They create, non other than, The Book Of Luke. This is a book full of tips and tricks to corralling even the most devilish, wicked high school boys like Luke.

Emily has always been a wet blanket, having been raised by the country’s top etiquette columnist, Patricia Abbott. Her Senior year of highschool, she decides to change this huge part of herself, it’s ridiculous. She wants to stop being nice, and for once, just do something because it’s what she wants, not what’s polite. Her friends think that trying to change Luke with the guide that they have created is the perfect opportunity. I think that a lot of people feel this way, and that Emily is pretty relatable. She is in a fight with her father for the majority of the book, which makes her feel even more like someone I know. I don’t usually like books where the characters are relatable but I liked this one.

My favorite character was Luke. I liked him because he epitomized the classic high school boy, but what I thought was really nice, was how he and Emily were together. He completely disarmed her, and it felt really endearing. I want a real life Luke. He really pulled Emily out of her shell, he tried to do nice things for her, but he wasn’t extravagant at all, he was very average, in that respect, which, I think, it was made him pretty great. You could tell that he cared about her though, and she felt more comfortable with him, than with her own best friends. He got her to tell her about everything that was bothering him at home, and it just felt very honest and cute.

This book was pretty fun to read. I give it a four out of five stars. Despite the books majority taking place during winter, it is perfect for summer. It has a lighthearted feel, while also having a message about just telling the truth. I also thought that it was a little funny that the time capsule they were preparing for, it would have been for the graduating class of 2016

Red Queen Review.

Secrets, lies, and revenge abundant in this debut novel by Victoria Aveyard.

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

I finished this book on the last day of school, which was Monday. I feel a little late in this book, I mean it came out in February, and absolutely everybody was talking about it.

“Anyone can betray anyone.”

Just, let me pick up the pieces of my brain before I talk about this book, because, yeah, this plot twist was killer.

I first heard about this book when I started doing research for my first Top Ten Tuesday, on March 31st. I was pretty excited about it, and I finally picked this book up. I was not very into this book when I first picked it up, but I still really liked it.

I felt like it was a little slow at the beginning, but it definitely picked up. What I liked about this book so much was the characters, and the character types, like the Silvers and the Reds. The plotline also felt really original, which I think is pretty hard to do, in anything, really. What was kind of strange, though, was that this book was very hard to define as either being dystopian, or fantasy. It felt very much like our world, but it was not our world. There were cars, television, cameras, elevators. It also had strong elements of fantasy, things like the palace, the slums, the Silvers different abilities, things like that. It feels like it could be in the future, what with the new world, the rebellion, and the monarchy. I would definitely say that this would be a fantasy novel, just because the book is based off of the differences between the Silvers and the Reds, and the tensions that it causes.

I give this book a four out of five stars. Can I just talk about the ending? The plot twist was hella dope. It was amazing, I kind of saw it coming, but was unsure. That’s what bumped this book up to a 4 out of 5 stars instead of a 3 out of 5 stars. Why it only got a 4 out of 5 stars was that there was a minimal amount of romance, I mean, I liked that aspect of it, because that allowed for the book to focus a little bit more on the other things going on, and it was there, it just was not as prominent as I would have preferred.

Overall.

This was a really good book and I would definitely recommend that you pick this up! Well, that’s my two cents on Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. This book would be good for anyone who enjoys dystopian, or fantasy, because it has very strong elements of both! You can pick it up in stores today, thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you have a great rest-of-your-day! I’ll see you back here soon.