Description from Goodreads:
Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.
When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.
After receiving a Kindle for my birthday, I immediately downloaded quite a few books that I knew I couldn't buy in the UK (English publishers suck). Breaking Beautiful was one of them. It immediately caught my eye on the book blogs and Goodreads, and I couldn't wait for it to come out so I could read it.
Allie was a really great character. She actually felt like a person, and her voice spoke to me. I think I read about twenty chapters in one day, I was that desperate to finish it and find out what happened in the end. The murder mystery really reeled me in, and the ending wasn't what I expected at all. I had all these ideas and clues about what happened and who did it, and then it turned out it didn't happen like that.
Jennifer Shaw Wolf really created some wonderful characters in her debut. Allie and Blake had a fab relationship, and it really moved me to see their feelings change and their personalities grow. Allie's brother Andrew was also fantastic, and my heart ached for him when Allie described what their lives could have been like. Caitlyn, James, Angie, Allie's parents, and Trip's parents were all good secondary characters with different characterisations, but I really hated Trip and everything that he put Allie through.
In conclusion, an amazing debut from a talented new author which kept me on the edge of my seat, and churned my emotions like a whirlpool! I can't wait for Jennifer Shaw Wolf's next novel, Shards of Glass!
Rating: A+
Description from the book:
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper knows she's not the hottest girl at school, but when school jock and resident moron Wesley casually refers to her as a Duff - Designated Ugly Fat Friend - the gloves are off! If there's a thin line between love and hate then Bianca has crossed it. She just never thought she was capable of breaking anyone's heart...
I never thought this one would come out in the UK, but eventually it did and I'm very pleased. The Duff was a great book, full of laughs, hot guys and advice. Bianca was refreshing - I'm not used to reading books with main characters like her in them. She was sassy, realistic, witty, and she wasn't afraid of being herself. Yet, this also hid her insecurities about herself, which loads of girls have, and when Wesley really plays on those insecurities, well, "the gloves are off!".
Her best friends, Jessica and Casey, were nice and likable, but I didn't understand why Bianca felt she had to keep so much from them. She knew she wasn't perfect, but the way she kept secrets from them made me think she thought she had to be...? Anyway, at first I thought Wesley was awful too, but my heart thawed like Bianca's did. I'm glad it wasn't instant either, because that would have been totally unrealistic. Their relationship was weird at first, but then it got better, and then she started going out with another guy, but I don't really understand what she liked about him, or why they were together, really. He was like, the total opposite of Bianca, whereas Wesley really got her sense of humour and she could be herself around him. I really liked the ending - it was really sweet!
Overall, The Duff was a fab read with just the right mix of humour, romance, and realism.
Rating: A-
All her life, Carmen has known she has to be the best. And she's wanted it as much as her family, putting everything aside for her music. But now she's met Jeremy - a fellow competitor for the prestigious Guarneri music prize - and she's beginning to think there might be more to life than playing violin. Jeremy seems to understand her more than anyone else. But does he really care about her, or is he just out to win the competition?
Carmen has a choice to make: between following the path her whole life has steered towards, or taking a step into the unknown with someone she's not sure she can trust. Because trying to win everything, could mean losing it all...
I had heard a lot about Virtuosity before I started reading it, and I was interested in it because I am a musician myself (although not as good as the main characters in this novel!). I really enjoy books about music, and I found that Virtuosity was no exception. Carmen was a great protagonist, with real personality, humour, and 'spunk'. I really felt her emotions when she was playing the violin, and how much she hated taking Inderal, an anti-anxiety performance drug. Her mother Diana was awful, and I really disliked her, especially when I found out the many wrong things she had done...
Jeremy was wonderful. I don't read about a lot of English boys in books by American writers; I'm used to seeing moody, secretive, controlling types who I really don't like. For the first time in a long time of reading contemporary novels, I have found a love interest where I could see why the main character fell for him. I saw Carmen's doubts about his intentions, and also how much she liked him herself, even if he was really arrogant at the beginning!
The prologue really made me ask myself a lot of questions about the plot, and then we get to see the events that lead up to it, and what happened afterwards. The ending was a perfect conclusion to such a good story, and my love of this book went up even more when I discovered that Jessica Martinez plays the violin and was probably in a similar competition situation as Jeremy and Carmen at some point. Being a musician, I understood the musical terms, but I think Jessica Martinez wrote them in in a way that non-musical readers could understand too.
I have one tiny fault, though, which was that there were printing errors in the book. Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and there were words missing. Usually, it wouldn't bother me but it made the book's format a little sloppy.
Rating: A-
MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR
"If we burn you burn with us"
Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But she's still not safe. A revolution is unfolding, and everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans - everyone except Katniss.
And yet she must play the most vital part in the final battle. Katniss must become their Mockingjay - the symbol of rebellion - no matter what the personal cost.
The ending of Catching Fire revealed at lot of secrets and Mockingjay started off where CF ended, with the revelations still fresh in my mind. The first chapter was harrowing, and the first part of the book was a different read to that of the previous two novels, partly due to the different setting and also the absence of Peeta. I really ached for Katniss at times and I could still feel her uncertainty over who she would choose. After reading the whole novel, I can still safely say that Peeta remained my favourite of the two, as he was from when I was first introduced to him in The Hunger Games, and therefore I believe Katniss definitely made the best choice.
In Mockingjay, the stakes were definitely higher than they had been in the whole series, especially in the last part of the book, when Katniss and the Star Squad are sent to the Capitol. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, anticipating what danger would come next, as they made their way through the city towards President Snow's mansion. The deaths of beloved characters made me feel all sorts of emotions, and Suzanne Collins really outdid herself with the deaths, and the new muttations. The rose-scented lizard kind in the tunnels kept me up at night!
The ending of Mockingjay was perfect, but there were definitely some upsetting moments in there. Peeta just got better and better! I still felt quite bitter about Katniss's broken relationship with her mother, although I do understand why it was quite awkward.
Overall, a brilliantly written ending to my favourite series of books. I wish Suzanne Collins would write more of the series, because this series has changed my life.
Rating: A*
P.S. The Hunger Games film is amazing!
MAY THE ODDS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR
KATNISS EVERDEEN HAS SURVIVED THE HUNGER GAMES. NOW THE CAPITOL WANTS REVENGE.
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are still alive. Katniss should be relieved, but now there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. As the nation watches Katniss and Peeta, the stakes are higher than ever. One false move and the consequences will be unimaginable.
After reading The Hunger Games, I delved straight into Catching Fire and was instantly gripped once again. The new characters are brilliantly described: the menacing President Snow, the indecisive, yet brilliant Finnick Odair, geeky yet compelling Beetee and Wiress, and Johanna Mason, sarcastic and spiteful. The tone changed throughout the novel, from the free days Katniss had in District 12, then the Victory Tour, where violence shimmered on the surface, to the shocking twist of the Quarter Quell, and finally to the downright chilling 75th Hunger Games. Yet, I enjoyed every word of it. Katniss was still amazing: strong, loyal but yet conflicted in her motivations and beliefs. Everybody seemed to be hiding something. The enemies were not who I thought they were, and the plot twisted and turned, every chapter leaving me in constant suspense. Peeta kept getting better and better; some of the things he said were heartbreaking, but I could feel Katniss's resolve changing, and her feelings for him slowly emerging. Gale became more relevant in the first part of the book, and I liked and appreciated Katniss's feelings towards his actions. Again, a brilliant novel from Suzanne Collins. I've leapt straight into Mockingjay and I can't wait to read more!
Rating: A*
WINNING WILL MAKE YOU FAMOUS. LOSING MEANS CERTAIN DEATH.
In a dark vision of the near future, twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live TV show called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
This book is definitely the best I have read in a long time. I have always had a thing for dystopia/science fiction, but the Hunger Games blew all the others out of the water! It was so refreshing to read a book where the beautiful girl (who doesn't think she is) falls for the "dark and mysterious" bad boy but there's this whole dystopian plot twist and so she joins the rebellion, but nothing is as bad as it seems blah blah blah.
BUT I was saying, the Hunger Games was amazing; I read it in about 4 days, which is a record for me! The whole thing was electrifying and intense: the characters (loved them all), the setting (brilliant) and the plot. Especially the plot! It had me guessing all the time about was going to happen next, and I was practically always wrong.
Katniss was a great main character; she was focused on what she wanted and her need to survive was very real and believable. She was the kind of girl I'd be friends with! It was refreshing (as I said earlier) to see her not focused on boys, but on more important things (I'm not saying that romance isn't important!). Her relationships with Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, Prim, Effie, Madge, Cinna and her mother were all wonderful, (especially with Peeta, my new favourite male character!) and I especially liked her relationship with Rue, despite Rue's tragic end that left me emotional!
The Capitol's cruelty was horrifying to read about, but it was extremely well written (as was the whole novel) and Suzanne Collins's idea was original and thought-provoking. I'm currently reading Catching Fire and I'm officially a Hunger Games convert! I can't wait for the film!
Look out for reviews of Catching Fire and Mockingjay in the immediate future!
Rating: A* (exceptional!)
Betray your family or your first love... what would you choose?
Evie can't believe her luck when she meets Peter - a handsome, mysterious ex-GI who served with her stepfather in the war. But when she falls for Peter, she finds he has dark secrets, and a strange control over her parents. When a shocking death occurs, Evie's world is shattered. Torn between her family and the man she loves, Evie must betray someone. The question is... who?
This book took me AGES to read. I think it was because I was trying to take in every word and every phrase and every sentence, to try and make it add up in the end, because I found that the littlest things were essential to the plot, and appearances were very deceptive.
This book intrigued me right from the start. The first chapter opens to Evie in a hotel room with her mother. Why are they there? What has happened? What is going on? And then the story bursts right in on Evie's family: Joe, her stepfather, Beverly, her very attractive, glamorous mother, and Grandma Glad, her battleaxe grandmother. They all live in Gladys's house in Queens, New York, and what follows is a startling, yet thrilling story.
Evie was a great character. She is possibly one of my favourite book main characters in a long time. Yes, at first, she was naive, but aren't all fifteen year olds? I fell for Peter just as Evie did; he was charming and wonderful and just so incredibly handsome. Evie kept me at a distance, but purposefully, as Judy Blundell clearly didn't want to give the plot away. The plot twisted and turned and there were many surprises along the way, and the massive plot shock in the middle made me reel. The final pages were emotional, but I loved reading Evie's character development, the way she had to grow up, the realizations that she made about the adults around her, and the way she discovered the truth that had been there all along, but that maybe she'd purposefully overlooked.
I understand why she lied. I understood her motivations and her realizations and her loyalty not only to her family, but to Peter also, and the ending blew me away.
Rating: A+
