Claire Stevens's Blog, page 39

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

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​Huntley Fitzpatrick: How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways...
 
Okay, maybe that sounded a bit creepy and weird (and very likely to get me slapped with a restraining order).  Maybe I should amend it to, Huntley Fitzpatrick: How do I love thy books?
 
Because based on the two Huntley Fitzpatrick books I’ve read so far, I LOVE her writing.  Bloomin’ heck, this girl can write a book that I just want to get lost in.  The humour, the angst, the romance; I just find it all completely spot on.
 
So: What I Thought Was True is the story of Gwen Castle, a girl who lives on Seashell, an island near to Stony Bay (yeah, we remember Stony Bay).  Her family are the people who cater for the tourists: her mum cleans, her dad runs a restaurant and it looks like one or other of these professions will be Gwen’s too when she leaves high school.  Her friend Vivie is seeing her cousin Nic and they’ll probably end up living on the island and against a backdrop of family expectations Gwen tries to separate what she thought was true from what actually is.
 
It’s definitely different from My Life Next Door.  Fitzpatrick’s first book was all about the romance narrative (and lawks, what a romance!), whereas What I Thought Was True is more about Gwen trying to figure out her place in the world, how her past is going to define her future and how things don’t always work out the way we planned.  Yes, it has a romance angle, but it concentrates more on Gwen’s internal musings rather than snogging (although there’s plenty of snogging too).
 
When Gwen discovers that her Biggest Mistake Ever, Cass Somers, has got a job as a yard boy on the island and he’ll be working close to her all summer, she tries her best to avoid him.  Does Gwen actually manage to avoid Cass, or do we think they end up kissing?  Well, what do you think?
 
You get a lot of back story about what happened between Gwen and Cass, as well as seeing how they try to work things out between them and figure out where they’re going as people.  There are a lot of flashbacks and memories, which totally fits in with the slightly introspective feel of the book and the plot is a lot less linear than other contemporary YA, but it still works well.
 
I loved Gwen - she was a perfect balance of confused and confident.  She had enough tenacity and wit to stand up for herself and she was sexually confident - yes please, we need more of this in YA lit, along with Fitzpatrick’s spotlighting of the horrific double standards that boys and girls are subject to in this regard.
 
Yeah, I really enjoyed this book.  It’s going to be a couple of months before I can read The Boy Most Likely To, but I’ve got high hopes for it (no pressure, Ms Fitzpatrick).
 
​4.5 stars 
I received a copy of What I Thought Was True in exchange for an honest review.  Many thanks to Egmont and Netgalley.

Waiting On Wednesday - The Crown's Game by Evelyn Sky

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and it's a chance for us all to highlight the upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.  This week, my Waiting On Wednesday pick is Th Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye.  Here's the blurb:

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

This sounds great.  I love a bit of Russian history (although you'll never find me reading war and Peace) and although magic realism isn't usually what I go for, this book has really caught my attention.  Plus, do you see that cover?  I'm getting some major coverly love over here!

​What about you?  What's your Waiting On Wednesday pick?

My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul

 
My Kind Of Crazy is centred around Hank Kirby, a high school senior who just can’t seem to catch a break.  His mum and brother died when he was twelve and his dad has just kind of shut off from the world.  Hank’s kind of a loser and can’t seem to do anything right.  So obviously, when he decides to ask the girl he fancies to the prom by means of a bunch of sparklers in her front garden, it all goes horribly wrong.
 
I really liked this book.  Like, I really liked it.  It spoke to me on so many levels – the humour, the characters, the romance – it was a really brilliant read and one of my favourites so far this year (and okay, so we’re only in March, but I think I’m going to remember this book for a while to come).
 
The thing I probably loved most was the writing.  It was spot on for the story the author was trying to tell and it sounded like she had immense fun writing this novel.  Too often, issues books assume that because they’re dealing with serious subject matter, not one speck of humour or levity is allowed in.  I powered through this book in a day and a half – that was how good the writing was.  It totally made me think and sympathise with the characters, but at the same time it just pulled me along like a freight train.
 
And I loved the characters.  I’d say this book was equal measures plot and character based, which is something you don’t see all that often.  Too often one is sacrificed in favour of the other, and that really didn’t happen here.  I really (like, really) loved Hank, Peyton and Nick and even Monica (so inappropriate, though).  And I also really liked that the object of Hank’s promposal wasn’t like a stereotypical mean girl.  Obviously she wasn’t as awesome as Peyton (because otherwise it would have been a whole other book), but she’s not Regina George, either.  Seriously, these characters just walked off the page.  Loved them.
 
The main plotline was kind of a romance, but there were a whole bunch of other strands as well – the nightmare of having limited opportunities in life, parental neglect, mental health – and all of them felt fleshed-out and dealt with well.  If I had one criticism, it would be that a lot of things got tied off too neatly at the end, but I was glad to see everyone (including nipple-tassle Monica) get an HEA.
 
I will definitely be looking out for future books from Robin Reul.
 
4.5 stars
 
I received a copy of My Kind Of Crazy in exchange for an honest review.  Many thanks to Sourcebook, Robin Reul and Netgalley.

Never Never Part Three by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

It's finished!

And the second hand is back.

I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this trilogy of novellas (novellae?).  I find Colleen Hoover a bit hit-or-miss and I'd never read anything by Tarryn Fisher before, so really it was only the super cool covers that attracted me to these 

After the two cliffhangers we were left with, I was eager to read this and see how everything finished up.  And I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed.

Obviously I'm not going to spoil everything by saying what happens, but suffice to say we do get a resolution to Silas and Charlie's memory-reset problem.  It wasn't really the ending that I thought it would be, but there was a definite line drawn under everything.

One of the things I've loved about this series is the characters.  Charlie and Silas are so lovely together, despite all the crap they're going through.  I loved the way they had to get to  know and fall in love with each other again every two days.

I wouldn't say that all the loose ends are tied up - there were a few plot points that were kind of left dangling, and I was surprised at how quickly (like, head-swimmingly quickly) Charlie's attitude towards her father changed, but overall I was pleased with how things turned out.  We also got a fun epilogue as well, which was unexpected.

If you happen to see this trilogy on sale on Amazon or wherever, I'd recommend them.  For me, the second part was the weakest.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as the other two parts.  The other two parts have definitely made up for it, though.

4 stars

Underwater by Marisa Reichardt

Underwater is the story of Morgan, a seventeen year old girl suffering from PTSD and anxiety after surviving a tragedy at her high school.  All the other survivors seem to be getting their lives back together, but Morgan can’t seem to move on.  She spends her days cooped up in the apartment she shares with her mum and brother until some new neighbours move in next door who might just give her the push she needs to reconnect with the outside world.
 
I have to say, I really loved this book.  It drew me in from the first page and didn’t let me go until the heart-warming ending. 
 
The first thing that struck me about Underwater was the author’s style of writing.  It’s kind of sparse with short sentences, not flowery or purple-prosey at all and the vocabulary is uncomplicated.  And yet the author manages to use exactly the right word in every situation so that the reader gets a fantastic sense of place and really feels what Morgan is going through.
 
Considering Morgan spends the majority of the book shut away in her apartment, there are a surprising number of strands to this story.  On the one hand we have the way she attempts to deal with her current situation and her fears for the future, but the story also delves into the past - both into the events of last year in her high school, and also into her childhood and her relationship with her father.
 
And the characters.  All of them were well-written and well-rounded with plenty of dimensions and flaws and merits.  I loved the relationships between them all and how they all suffered with their guilt
 
There is some romance in this, but it’s not overpowering.  When Evan was initially introduced I offered up a silent prayer to the goddess of YA novels that the author hadn’t included him to ‘fix’ Morgan.  To facilitate her recovery in a way that she wouldn’t have been able to manage by herself.  He doesn’t.  Instead he offers her his support and affection and allows her to grow and recover on her own terms.
 
Plus, he’s super hot.
 
I mean, obviously his hotness is irrelevant, it’s all about the personality, blah blah blah.  But still.  It doesn’t hurt when you’re reading a book and silently perving all over the leading guy.  Adds to a book’s unputdownable factor.
 
5 stars
 
I received a copy of Underwater in exchange for an honest review.  Many thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books and Netgalley.

Waiting On Wednesday - Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and it's a chance for us all to highlight the upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.  This week, my Waiting On Wednesday pick is Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten.  Here's the blurb:

The Haves. The Have Nots.

Kate O'Brien appears to be a Have Not. Her whole life has been a series of setbacks she's had to snake her way out of--some more sinister than others. But she's determined to change that. She's book smart. She's street-smart. And she's also a masterful liar.
     As the scholarship student at the elite Waverly School in NYC, Kate has her work cut out for her: her plan is to climb the social ranks and land a spot at Yale. She's already found her "people" among the senior class "it" girls--specifically in the cosseted, mega-wealthy yet deeply damaged Olivia Sumner. As for Olivia, she considers Kate the best friend she's always needed, the sister she never had. 
     When the handsome and whip-smart Mark Redkin joins the Waverly administration as head of fundraising, he immediately charms his way into the faculty and students' lives--especially Olivia's, although she doesn't share what's going on. It becomes increasingly obvious that Redkin poses a threat to Kate, too, in a way she can't reveal and can't afford to ignore. Mark has his own plan for a bright future and never doubts that he can pull it off. How close can Kate and Olivia get with Mark without having to share their dark pasts?

Wow.  This sounds brilliant.  I love a story with a desperate social climber - someone with everything to lose.  It makes for a really exciting plot and I think this book is going to deliver!

What about you?  What's your Waiting On Wednesday pick?

South Of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf

This was quite a sweet story about a girl finally admitting to herself (and to the fellow residents of her small Tennessee town) that she is gay.  
 
Sadly, in Sunshine, Tennessee, gay isn't an option, so Kaycee tries to fit in by having a boyfriend she detests kissing and not admitting to anyone, least of all herself, that she really likes girls.  Then a new girl starts at her school and everything goes kind of right and then pretty wrong.
 
So I should probably start off by saying that I'm British and as such the only things I see about homophobia and hate crimes in America are filtered through the lens of the media.  God knows, we don't exactly live in an ivory tower here in the UK as far as bigotry is concerned, but it sounds like if you live in Sunshine, Tennessee and you're gay then it must be an absolute bloody nightmare!  Kaycee and her mother attend this church that basically sounds like the Westboro Baptist Church - all God Hates Fags and hellfire and damnation.  Her mother isn't much comfort either - she completely buys into the church's teachings and is terrified that her daughter will show her up.  The kids at Kaycee's school seem to take after their parents with their bigoted attitudes, too.
 
I liked Kaycee and felt genuinely sorry for her and the turmoil she was going through and while there were plenty of times where I wanted her to grow a pair and stand up to her friends and the other townsfolk, I could see why this was difficult.  The relationship between her and Bren was very sweet and the difficulties they faced as Kaycee tried to accept who she was but also hide from everyone else were pretty heartbreaking.
 
There were points where I thought the pacing slowed down quite a lot.  We got a lot of internal monologue, which I get is important because of all the stuff Kaycee is going through, but I wanted there to be some action in there as well.  I thought that there needed to be more tension in the plot.  There were lots of opportunities for tension - the threat of sending Kaycee to gay conversion therapy, the conflict between her faith and her sexuality - and I think they needed to be explored more.
 
The ending was very sweet and I was glad Kaycee got an HEA, but it did seem like many of the previously-bigoted townsfolk and students changed their views pretty darn quick at the end (although I did love the finale with the float - it sounded awesome).
 
3 stars

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Okay, I’ve got to get it off my chest:  this book didn’t work as well for me as Red Rising did.
 
That’s not to say this is a bad book: it’s not.  Dyed-in-the-wool sci-fi fans will adore this book, I think, but personally, it just didn’t push my buttons like the first book did. 
 
The thing I loved so much about Red Rising was the worldbuilding.  Seriously, it was worth reading for that alone.  I have no idea how long Pierce Brown spent constructing the world he set Red Rising in, but it felt like decades.  It was intricate, original and interesting and it lifted what was an okay plot right up to Wowsville.  The trouble was, the worldbuilding in Red Rising was so complete that the author had very few places left to go with it in the second book.  The world was still great, but by and large the descriptions of it were just more of the same.
 
Golden Son picks up a few years after Red Rising left off.  Darrow is now in the Academy, and taking a lot of practical lessons in Warmongering 101.  The opening chapter reminded me a lot of the opening chapter in The Reality Dysfunction (if you haven’t read the Night’s Dawn Trilogy, then believe me, this is a massive, massive compliment) (and you need to go out right now and get The Reality Dysfunction from the library).  But despite the cracking start, the rest of the plot didn’t hold my attention as well as the previous book.  It wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t thrill me.
 
The plot in Red Rising was the kind of YA fodder I’ve seen before - a bit Hunger Games, a bit Maze Runner.  Absolutely not derivative, but it definitely had similar themes.  The plot in Golden Son, however, was a lot more adult.  It’s all about court intrigue and war and those themes don’t tend to do a lot for me.  Obviously the addition of spaceships made it a lot more interesting, but although there were some plot points that I loved it didn’t have me turning the pages terribly quickly.
 
The characterisation was pretty good in this book.  I know we’re supposed to hate the Golds, but Pierce Brown just makes them sound so much fun!  Obviously this adds to Darrow’s internal conflict - his whole raison d’etre is to destroy Gold society - but I still enjoyed the characters immensely.
 
So yeah, while I didn’t warm to this book as much as I did the first book I’d still recommend it to other Red Rising fans.  And I’ll probably check out the final instalment, too.  God knows how he’s going to wrap it all up!
 
 
3 stars
(but probably 4.5 stars for true sci-fi fans)

How To Be Bad by Sarah Mlynowski, E Lockhart and Lauren Myracle

  So after reading Red Rising and having my mind pretty much blown, I felt the need to come back down to earth with a nice contemporary story.  And this was a really nice contemporary story.

How To Be Bad is a road trip book (yay, road trips!) and is the story of three girls, who seemingly have very little in common, and yet decide to embark on a road trip to see one of their boyfriends who is away at university.

One of the things I really liked was that although the whole point of the road trip was to go and see Vicks’ boyfriend, romance didn’t overpower the plot.  It was much more about the three girls, about their hopes and fears and aspirations and the way the three of them interacted with each other.  The three girls all work at the Waffle House in Niceville, Florida (not a part of the world that you see a lot of books set in) and while they don’t initially have much in common (although Vicks and Jesse used to be friends, they’ve grown apart) their friendship grows and strengthens over the course of the novel.

The book was really well paced and kept me entertained throughout.  Sometimes road trip books fall down a bit because there’s not enough going on in a car between two people to sustain a plot.  Luckily, this wasn’t the case here.  The girls encounter a hurricane, crash a house party and go to Disney, so there was plenty going on.

The three characters were so totally different and I think that’s another thing that made this novel really work for me.  You could easily distinguish the three different voices of the authors in the characters they wrote.  I especially liked Vicks, who was super cool and didn’t take crap from anybody.  Mel was very sweet too, but I wasn’t as keen on Jesse.  Wow, she really liked wearing her judgey-pants.  There was not a single thing the other two girls did that she didn’t see fit to comment negatively on, in a *gasp* ‘What would God think??’ way.  She was incredibly moralising, and while I think it’s fine for characters to have strong religious beliefs, I think it works better if, just as in real life, they’re not a dick about it.
​
I really liked other books by EE Lockhart and Sarah Mlyonowski, so I was really excited to read this one.  I definitely delivered and while it didn’t have the bite or tension that some of their other books had, it was still definitely worth reading.
 
4 stars

Waiting On Wednesday - Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and it's a chance for us all to highlight the upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.  This week, my Waiting On Wednesday pick is Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley.  Here's the blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But how can she prove she deserves a spot there? 

Solomon is the answer.

Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa thrusts herself into his life, introducing him to her charming boyfriend Clark and confiding her fears in him. Soon, all three teens are far closer than they thought they’d be, and when their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well.  

A hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age perfect for readers of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and All The Bright Places,Highly Illogical Behavior showcases the different ways in which we hide ourselves from the world—and the ways in which love, tragedy, and the need for connection may be the only things to bring us back into the light.

Aw!  This sounds awesome!  Can't wait to pick a copy up!

What about you?  What's your Waiting On Wednesday pick?