This is the second book in the Small Blue thing trilogy. Still recovering from her earlier brush with death, Alex's source of strength and comfort is Callum, still locked in a sad half-life after drowing in the river Fleet that flows into the Thames. And she needs all the strength and comfort she can someone is out to make her life a misery, and someone is out to get hold of the extraordinary bracelet that enables her to communicate with Callum.
Sue Ransom, the author of the Small Blue Thing series, is based near Chichester in the UK. She used to have a completely different life, but she wrote her first novel as a birthday present for her daughter, and things snowballed from there. Four published books later, she is now a full time writer.
It was actually really fine, 4 gwiazdki bo w niektórych momentach miłość tych dwoch hetero osob mnje ściskała az przesadnie przez to co gadali ale tak to historia ciekawa i taka lekka książka mogłabym przeczytać kolejna część ale obawiam sie ze ciężko będzie ja gdziekolwiek znalesc
<3 <3 Might have to hunt Rob down and hit him at the moment. Not giving it 5 stars as I have to wait for the final book :P
Review: May contain spoilers for Small Blue Thing review here
Perfectly Reflected carries straight on from Small Blue Thing (SBT) dropping the reader into the middle of the action. Although it is easy to pick up the threads of the plot with subtle re-caps placed throughout the narrative I would highly recommend you read SBT first just because it is fab.
Red herrings and misdirection abound I was constantlyquestioning my assumptions about – well everything really – revelations are notat all expected. At points it was quite difficult for me to read (you know mycatch-phrase reading is subjective) with my current situation. Imagine someone knowing your deepest, darkest secrets and using them against you. Horrible isn’t it. Alex has no control over this and I will admit that it took me a little while to understand fully why this was happening, when I did I literally had a #facepalm moment [ : D ] I respected Alex’s ability to remain calm and not retaliate.
Whereas SBT developed Alex and Callum’s relationship while introducing us to the Dirges, Perfectly Reflected develops the darker side of the story – just how powerful is the bracelet? What does Catherine know and why does she hate Alex so much? Just how far will the Dirges go to escape their purgatory?
Balance is achieved by the wonderful, inspiring friendship Alex has with Grace. I adore Grace and loved how her character developed through this book. Alongside the tight knit family and close relationship Alex has with her brother, Josh, made for heart-warming reading. I liked how Alex’s other relationships, outside of her romance with Callum, were developed and the introduction of another ‘nice’ Dirge in the form of Olivia gave the plot an additional element. Although she did annoy me by taking away what would have been a major revelation – arghh the torture. Character development of key players within the story gave substance to the plot and realism to relationships and interactions. Callum is not just the main player in this book, although he is a constant background presence in Alex’s mind, even when he is not directly involved in the plot.
I have to state that I still want to beat Rob with a stick [ :p ] but strangely would like to learn more about Catherine before beating her with a stick *giggles*. Also, personally, I would have had to confront Alex about the little lies she told to her friends when they were just trying to protect her. Especially when 5 minutes later she admits the truth. But that is just me, I don’t handle lying well.
Surprise action at the end of this book (no spoilers) was literally jaw-dropping. I have so many unanswered questions that I am tapping my fingers impatiently for the 3rd and final book. Seriously I cannot wait – I need resolution NOW.
"Hab keine Angst, Callum", sagte ich laut. "Ich hole das Amulett zurück und wir werden wieder zusammen sein." Ich konnte seinen traurigen Blick beinahe spüren, und sein Bild in meinem Kopf war so klar, dass ich sein Gesicht im Spiegel vor mir zu erkennen glaubte. Ich fühlte, wie er sanft mein Haar berührte, und auf meiner Schulter einen hauchzarten Kuss. "Du fehlst mir so, Callum", flüsterte ich. "Ich komme zu dir zurück, ich verspreche es dir. Wenn du mir nur ein Zeichen geben könntest, dass du noch da bist ..." Doch alles, was ich hörte, war Stille.
"Nur ein Blick von dir" ist der zweite Band der "Small Blue Thing"- Trilogie von Sue Ransom. Er setzt nahezu nahtlos an den Geschehnissen des ersten Teils an und führt die Handlungsstränge fort, ist dabei aber auch unabhängig von einander lesbar. Dennoch empfehle ich, "Nur ein Hauch von dir" vorher gelesen zu haben, um ein besseres Verständnis für die Geschichte und die in ihr vorkommenden Personen zu bekommen und die Hintergründe nachvollziehen zu können. Während der Fokus des ersten Bandes "Nur ein Hauch von dir" noch auf der Romantik lag, liegt das Hauptaugenmerk in diesem zweiten Band auf Verwirrspielen und jeder Menge Dramatik. Somit findet sich in "Nur ein Blick von dir" mehr Spannung und Tempo, als es im ersten Teil dieser Trilogie der Fall war. Der etwas klein gehaltene Part der Romantik erschien mir teilweise etwas zu schmalzig und gewollt, sodass in diesem Punkt sich nicht das nötige Gefühl eingestellt hat. Nebenbei lässt die Autorin auch einige Informationen über London einfließen, die mir persönlich sehr gut gefallen haben. Das Ende verspricht einen spannenden Einblick auf kommende Ereignisse und schürt die Vorfreude auf den dritten und finalen Band dieser Trilogie.
Die Personen erhalten in "Nur ein Blick von dir" neue Facetten zugesprochen. Während der Großteil dieser Protagonisten ein wenig erwachsener erscheinen, scheint mir Alex zum Teil sehr in ihren Gefühlen gefangen und lässt daher ein wenig Entwicklung vermissen. Da es so gut wie keine neuen Charaktere in diesem zweiten Teil gibt, kann man sich als Leser wieder gut in die Story einfinden. Dabei werden die Charakterzüge dieser Personen weiter verfeinert und es kristallisieren sich Ecken und Kanten heraus.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin hat sich im Vergleich zu "Ein Hauch von dir" verbessert. Er wirkt weniger holprig und daher angenehm flüssig und durch die Dramatik auch um einiges packender. Die Emotionen wurde, mal von der Romantik abgesehen, klar herausgearbeitet. Vorallem die ngeativen Gefühle kommen klarer zum Ausdruck, sodass die Dramatik und Verzweiflung der Hauptprotagonistin glaubhaft erscheinen. Wie schon in Band eins störte mich auch hier die Übersetzung im Bezug auf ein bestimmtes Wort, denn auch hier heißt es statt "Wange" wieder "Backe", womit ich etwas anderes assoziiere.
I'm not one for love stories - but this series had me hooked very early on...
The sequel to ‘A Small Blue Thing’ – ‘Perfectly Reflected’ picks up the story with Alex’s window being smashed by a golf ball hurled through it. Somebody spreads rumours and emails in her name. When she discovers who the culprits are, she is powerless to stop them. And even when she is attacked and her amulet bracelet stolen from her wrist – she cannot tell the police and is totally bereft without her link to her ghost boyfriend, Callum. She has to find a way to get the amulet back!
The 2nd instalment of the trilogy – ‘Perfectly Reflected’ perfectly portrays Alex’s anger and then grief at losing Callum. But she’s determined not to give in. The conclusion lends itself nicely to the third book.
What would you do when someone you love was taken away from you? Especially from someone who clearly wants to destroy your life, and make it as miserable as theirs? Like, really miserable. Would you wallow in grief and despair? Or will you fight, and keep on fighting with all your might, even you were trapped? S.C Ransom's 'Perfectly Reflected' demonstrates how strong and determined a person can be to fight for the love that was stolen from them. It's a passionate and beautiful story about love, life, and death.
I truly love this book!, for it sowed my mind into the story, unable to cut myself away from it even if I wanted to. A good, no- a great book like this, will truly make a person want to be trapped inside it. Never wanting to go out, drunk on its sweet and addictive flavour.
The sequel to ‘A Small Blue Thing’ – ‘Perfectly Reflected’ picks up the story with Alex’s window being smashed by a golf ball hurled through it. Somebody is spreading rumours about her and even clears her entire bank account. When she discovers who the culprits are, she is powerless to stop them. And then she loses her connection with Callum. She is devastated and needs to get that link back!
my favourite books from when i was a preteen to young teenager! i reread them quite a few times and always loved them - the trilogy always made me happy to read and immersed me in the story and to me that counts as a 5 star book :))
I really love the Small Blue Thing Books. I own them. -That says something as I only buy books I think are amazing.
The author wrote these for her daughter, so they are clean, and beautiful. Don't get me wrong I like dark and twisted and don't mind if things get dirty, but these are just so lovely and refreshingly pure and simple. A sweet love story that is very original and well written.
We get another gloriously sparkly holograph cover too.
I had mixed opinions about this book. From my memory (though it might not be that great) I quite liked the first book. But I was really struggling to like the main character in this book.
The author tried to create a dramatic mystery despite myself and probably most other readers being able to solve it within the first few pages. It was not at all difficult to do so but the protagonist unbelievably remained naive throughout.
What is the book actually about? This book is a sequel to the book Small Blue Thing and is centred around a girl called Alex whose boyfriend, Callum, is a Dirge. Then things 'unexpectedly' go wrong as someone has it in for her and ...breaks her window, steals her money and physically attacks her.
What was quite annoying about this was the dramatic irony. The last chapter of the first book in the series quite obviously revealed who the threat in the current novel was going to be. [Spoiler: It was clear that Catherine was still alive and was going to involve someone who knows Alex to make her life miserable.] However, this is only revealed about halfway through the second book and for half the book we have to frustratingly read about Alex’s endless complaints about how someone hates her and wondering who it could be despite it already being very clear to the audience.
Another great frustration was Alex’s characterisation, particularly her weakness. Having read some other reviews, some reviewers praise her ‘bravery’ but I completely fail to see that in her portrayal and actions. [Spoiler: When Alex’s amulet was taken away from her and she thought she had lost the ability to see Callum, she took no proactive approach trying to solve the problem but instead spent a majority of her time crying and wallowing in grief.]
At several points she would also make very silly arguments and comments that I just couldn't relate to/ were simply not logical, further alienating her character. [Spoiler: At one point Alex was seriously injured but refused to go to the hospital because they would ask questions. (Of course they would. You had a golf club imprint on your body!)]
Overall, the book wasn't that bad and provided some entertainment but I thought the plot was at some points extremely predictable and the protagonist (who frustratingly is also the narrator) extremely unlikable and annoying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was my second time reading the book and I think I may have enjoyed it more this time.
While there were a few parts that were predictable, there were also a lot where you had no idea what was coming next and who the "baddies" were. The suspense this book created was great and caused me to not want to put it down (however it did mean being tired in the morning from reading it all night).
There were still a few scenes that were cheesier than they needed to be but the author did tune down a bit of the cheese which made the romance between Alex and Callum a bit more believable and realistic. Although considering the situations they were put in I guess I might have acted similarly.
The characters were all brilliant again. i loved the character development of Grace and Olivia, also Rob. As much I dislike Rob, I also kind of love him because of how stubborn he is.
All in all this is a great book for lovers of romance and mystery.
The second book in one of my favourite series definitely brought the drama and suspense. I once again got through Perfectly reflected in quick speed completing the book in just two days.
And while a compelling and suspenseful read it did feel a little more like a filler novel than a complete story. Although are we to expect books in a series to be able to be read as a stand alone??
Alex is forced to face many more challenges than just dating a “ghost boy” as her life is made hell by an unknown stranger. But the stranger may be a lot closer than she thinks…
The book provided greater dimensions to characters we met in the first novel and geared up for what I expect to be a great series finale. Not as great as book 1 but all in all still a good read hence the 4 stars.
Favourite quote: “His lips found mine, and I was suddenly dizzy with desire”
Mein Gott, wie kann man sowas denn mögen? Ganz ehrlich es war langweilig bis zum Umfallen, alle Charaktere austauschbar und WO WAR DER PLOT?!
Ganz ehrlich...NEIN! Einfach nein.
Ich glaube nicht, dass ich den letzten Band noch lesen möchte...einfach, weil diese Bücher NICHTS Besonderes an sich haben...es ist eigentlich so traurig, weil die Idee doch ganz ok war, aber meistens habe ich einfach quer gelesen und trotzdem noch alles mitgekriegt...
MEIN GOTT! LIEBE AUTORIN NEHMT EUCH DAS ALS BEISPIEL, WIE MAN KEIN SPANNENDES BUCH SCHREIBT!
First, i find it really amusing that Rob thinks that he and Alex are still together. I wonder how Ashley is going to react.
its been quite some time since i picked out a book or series to be my favourites. and i am choosy. as far as i know, its certsin bks here and there.
i love the suspense and how u would feel Alex's pain when she thought she would lose Callum, and her joy and anger when seeing Callum again and when Catherine tricked her.
I love this series and Perfectly Reflected is a great addition! I loved how the story continued and from page 200 on (my German edition has 440!) I was sitting on the edge of my chair, my heart racing, my lip chewed through and couldn't put it down until I finished. I read all 440 pages in under 24 hours :) So can't wait for the final volume, which doesn't even have a publishing date in Germany yet :(
A million thanks to Fischer Schatzinsel, the German publisher, for sending me an ARC!!!
It was a great book but on e thing that really annoyed me was the fact that all through out the book there were those constance side notes reminding you about the plot in the last book. This is fine in the BEGINNING of a book but not near the end. No offence to the author it is a great book. I just find those side notes really annoying unless I haven't read the last book in a year.
Als Teenager war das einer meiner Lieblingsbücher und bis heute habe ich nur positiver Assoziationen dazu. Diese leichtere romanze, die sich zwischen den Hauptcharakteren aufbaut ist wunderschön und es macht Spaß diesen nach zu verfolgen.
Alle dritten Teile sind grundsätzlich weiter zu empfehlen, besonders für junge Teenager die auf Romanze mit einem leichten Touch von Fantasy suchen.
I did enjoy this book - it was a quick read, and I wanted to keep reading it so it must have been doing some things right! I just got annoyed with the characters in some parts which is probably why it didn't get as high a score as it might have otherwise.