Review: Seize Today (Forget Tomorrow #3) by Pintip Dunn

SEIZE TODAY

Author: Pintip Dunn

Series: Forget Tomorrow #3

Pages: 300

Published: Entangled Teen

Release date: 3^rd October 2017

Synopsis: The third book in the New York Times bestselling and RITA®-award-winning Forget Tomorrow series is a thrilling conclusion to an epic trilogy.

Seventeen-year-old precognitive Olivia Dresden is an optimist. Since different versions of people's futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn't have to believe in human decency. She can literally see the path to goodness in each person—if only he or she would make the right decision. No one is more conflicted than her mother, Chairwoman Dresden, and Olivia is fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be. 

But when the Chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, a boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia is forced to reevaluate her notions of love and faith. With Ryder's help, Olivia must come to terms with who her mother is in the present—and stop her before she destroys the world.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

Seize Today is the third book in the Forget Tomorrow series by Pintip Dunn and takes place six months after Remember Yesterday ends. This is a series which needs to be read in order to fully understand and appreciate what has happened.

Seize Today is seventeen year-old precognitive Olivia’s book, she is the daughter of Chairwoman Dresden and can see different pathways a person can take in their future; after being in hiding she has emerged to try to stop her mother from creating mass genocide. Olivia was an interesting character and one who I really felt for, she has been isolated for a majority of her life and hasn’t felt love or had any real friendships until Jessa and Tanner.

In this book, the fast paced plot progresses as we continue to learn about the follow on effects from the first two books and future memories and learn of a new virus causing people to more or less disappear; it is essentially a race for Olivia, Jessa and their team to stop a vision that she had as a small child as well as a more recent memory which saw Ryder Russell from the rebel underground kill her.

Ryder is Jessa’s best friend and someone who doesn’t easily trust, he has felt loss and betrayal and doesn’t let anyone close but after Olivia saves him from her mother he sees something in her and slowly begins to let her into his world. The romance wasn’t at the forefront of this book as it has been in the others but it was one that I enjoyed as it bought Olivia closer to someone and form more than a friendship; she yearned for someone that would love her, I enjoyed their interactions and the way he came to care for her.

I have to admit the sci-fi components of this book were a little lost on me at times and I did find myself skimming; other than this I couldn’t fault it. Pintip Dunn’s writing is engaging, the creative world that she has written is unique and the characters were all amazing! Chairwoman Dresden was crazy but as the villain was perfectly written.

Everything was tied up neatly in the conclusion to this series and I am saddened that it has come to an end; getting to know each of these wonderful characters and delving into this creative world has been an amazing experience and I look forward to reading more books by this fabulous author.

Thank you to Entangled Teen via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Seize Today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. 

Pintip’s novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. It is also a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, the MASL Truman Award, and the Tome Society IT list. In addition, THE DARKEST LIE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. 

Her other books include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, SEIZE TODAY, and GIRL ON THE VERGE.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. 

Review: Trust by Kylie Scott

Trust

Author: Kylie Scott

Publisher: Self

Release date: 18^th July 2017

Genre: YA/NA contemporary

Pages: 382

Synopsis: Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

Trust is a book that took me by surprise, after reading the synopsis I was eager to delve into this book which was raw and real with likeable characters and an interesting story-line.

Our MC’s are John Cole and Edie Millen, complete opposites but bought together by a traumatic event which affected them both. When Edie has enough of her private school life she moves to the local public school and again meets up with John.

These characters share a connection, John understands what Edie is going through emotionally and vice versa; they support one another and get what each are feeling, they are both needing support and rely on one another to get through each day.

Edie wasn’t your typical YA heroine, not stick figure perfect or popular but she was kind-hearted and strong, the way that she dealt with the event was very different to John's response to it all; I really liked John – he had his issues and has made mistakes but he was working through them and trying to be a better person.

The story-line in a nutshell is about Edie and John being held up in a convenience store, their feelings and the way they deal with what happened to them and the aftermath and their growing friendship and feelings towards one another.

What let it down for me was I found the plot to be unclear and inconsistent at times, there was a lot happening. The pacing started off at a rapid pace but throughout the rest of the book it was varied; I also found the ending to be quite rushed.

Overall, I enjoyed Kylie Scott’s writing style and the way she dealt with serious issues, I also liked her interesting characters but the points above did let it down for me.

Thank you to Kylie Scott via Netgalley for the opportunity to read Trust.

Review: Remember Yesterday (Forget Tomorrow #2) by Pintip Dunn

REMEMBER YESTERDAY

Pintip Dunn

Series: Forget Tomorrow #2

Pages: 400

Published: Entangled Teen

Release date: 4^th October 2016

Synopsis: Don't miss the exciting sequel to the New York Times bestselling book Forget Tomorrow!

Sixteen-year-old Jessa Stone is the most valuable citizen in Eden City. Her psychic abilities could lead to significant scientific discoveries—if only she'd let TechRA study her. But after they kidnapped and experimented on her as a child, cooperating with the scientists is the last thing Jessa would do.

But when she discovers the past isn't what she assumed, Jessa must join forces with budding scientist Tanner Callahan to rectify a fatal mistake made ten years ago. She'll do anything to change the past and save her sister—even if it means aligning with the enemy she swore to defeat.

Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Remember Yesterday is the second instalment in author Pintip Dunn's Forget Tomorrow series and I was a little iffy about reading it as it is told from Sixteen-year-old Jessa Stone’s character rather than her twin sister, Callie Stone’s POV and ten years in the future; I don’t tend to enjoy series with character changes but thank goodness this worked out well.

It is hard to review this without giving spoilers for the first book so my apologies for some evasiveness. The first book ending was a huge shock and set the scene; Remember Yesterday follows through with some interesting revelations which are a game changer for TechRa and the citizens of Eden City, we receive answers to questions from the first book and we learn more about Jessa and her interesting ability.

Jessa was TechRa’s study subject when she was just a small child so she holds a huge grudge against them but when a vision shows a glimpse of the future and a rebellion against future memories and a possible genocide she aligns herself with the enemy hurting those closest to her.

Jessa was a strong, noble character and despite not always agreeing with her choices I could understand why. Working with her enemy, scientist Tanner Callahan she’ll do anything in her power to change the past and save Callie.

I thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to more romance between Jessa and Tanner who was the creator of Future memories, they had more in common than they originally thought and ended up working really well as a team. Tanner was a wonderfully fleshed out character and my heart hurt for what he had endured.

Pintip Dunn’s world-building is phenomenal, the plot flowed at a fast pace and the characters are well-developed and likeable except of course for Chairwoman Dresden who was pure evil! There were twists and turns aplenty and many heart tugging moments, I am not usually a fan of time travel but it worked well in this book.

Pintip Dunn’s writing cannot be faulted, I enjoyed every engrossing moment and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Seize Today which is Olivia Dresden and Jessa’s best friend Ryder Russell’s book.

                                                                                              

Thanks to Entangled Teen via Netgalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. 

Pintip’s novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. It is also a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, the MASL Truman Award, and the Tome Society IT list. In addition, THE DARKEST LIE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. 

Her other books include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, SEIZE TODAY, and GIRL ON THE VERGE.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. 

Review: Rikki by Abigail Strom

RIKKI

Author: Abigail Strom

Series: Hart University #1

Pages: 212

Genre: New Adult

Release date: First published September 20^th 2015

Goodreads

Synopsis: Ever since junior high and an ill-fated game of seven minutes in heaven, Rikki Eisendrath and Sam Payne have hated each others’ guts. But when they end up at the same college—and the same dorm—they figure it’s time to declare a truce. 

They even become friends . . . sort of. But when Sam asks Rikki to model for his sculpting project, they start spending more time together—and her feelings for him get more complicated. 

She tries to focus on the guy she’s been crushing on instead. But Sam’s the one she can’t stop thinking about, even though their arguments are starting to heat up as much as the chemistry between them.

With antagonism and attraction this intense, there’s bound to be an explosion. But when the dust settles, will Sam and Rikki be enemies, friends . . . or something more?

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

What a frustrating book! In the most positive way of course; I don’t think I have come across characters that are clearly so perfect for one another but can never seem to communicate their true feelings and prefer to play games with one another’s emotions. If it wasn’t for what happened towards the ending of this book it would have been a 5 star read for me.

Rikki and Sam have always hated one another; it all started out with their academic competitiveness but then it changed with a game of seven minutes in heaven; both characters are extremely strong-willed and not willing to forgive the other until they call a truce when they end up in the same dorm at college.   

Rikki and Sam were both well-developed, fleshed out and likeable characters but boy oh boy did they need to work on their communication skills; it isn’t until Sam asks Rikki to model for his sculpting project that their friendship actually begins to change and Rikki feels differently towards him despite crushing on someone else.

As the book progresses, we learn that Rikki and Sam have a lot in common; they bond over their virgin status, they also have family issues – Rikki with the pending divorce of her lesbian parents and Sam with the recent death of his father and his struggle to leave home and his mum. Their conversations and bonding times strengthened their growing friendship.

I really enjoyed Abigail Strom’s writing style, she wrote some wonderfully diverse characters who all played a role in the overall story and kept the plot entertaining with their ongoing antics; as mentioned above though there was an incident towards the end of the book that left me deeply disappointed; it was a big plot twist that I truly didn’t expect, I won’t divulge what it was to avoid spoilers but be prepared.

Overall, I enjoyed Rikki by Abigail Strom and I look forward to reading more titles by this author.

Thank you to Abigail via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Rikki.

About the author: Abigail Strom started writing stories at the age of seven and has never been able to stop. She lives in New England with her family, who are incredibly supportive of the hours she spends hunched over her computer. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at abigail@abigailstrom.com.

Like all writers I'm a reader, too, and that's why I'm on Goodreads. I read everything, but especially romance, YA, mystery, sci fi, and fantasy.

Review: The Treatment by C.L. Taylor

THE TREATMENT

Author: C.L. Taylor

Pages: 384

Series: -

Publisher: HQ Young Adult

Release date: 19^th October 2017

Goodreads

Synopsis: “You have to help me. We’re not being reformed. We’re being brainwashed.”

All sixteen year old Drew Finch wants is to be left alone. She's not interested in spending time with her mum and stepdad and when her disruptive fifteen year old brother Mason is expelled from school for the third time and sent to a residential reform academy she's almost relieved.

Everything changes when she's followed home from school by the mysterious Dr Cobey, who claims to have a message from Mason. There is something sinister about the ‘treatment’ he is undergoing. The school is changing people.

Determined to help her brother, Drew must infiltrate the Academy and unearth its deepest, darkest secrets.

Before it’s too late.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

The Treatment was almost a DNF for me, I found the start to be quite slow and I couldn’t quite connect with everything that was happening but once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down and needed to know what would happen.

Our MC is sixteen year-old Drew Finch, she lives with her mother and step-father and has a younger brother, Mason who has been sent away to Norton House, a residential reform school to be treated for his bad behaviour. When Drew receives a note from Mason which was passed on by a mysterious doctor asking Drew for help, telling her the school is not what they believe it to be and that the treatment is brainwashing teenagers, Drew’s plan is to infiltrate the facility and break her brother out.

Drew was an interesting character, quite introverted with a love for online gaming which was her escape from bullying; she had her faults but she was determined to find out what was going on with Mason especially considering her mother and step-fathers lack of help in the matter. When it came to Drew, who kept out of trouble, I found it a little strange how quickly the decision was made to send her off to the same reform school as Mason and how fast she succumbed to their ways.

Drew teamed up with her roommate Mouse, to undercover the secrets of the school and to attempt to break them all out. She also encountered the typical mean girls who were quite clichéd, all of the secondary characters were interesting and played a pivotal role in the overall story.

The Treatment I feel would suit the older YA audience, I did find it to be a simplistic read but it did leave us with questions about what could possibly be – mind altering, dysfunctional family relationships and bullying were a few of the subject matters. There was also an absence of any romantic elements so if you are a fan of a love story as I usually am then you will be disappointed.

This book was written well, the plot was fast paced and interesting. My biggest gripe was the simplified ending, I felt like it was too short and rushed, it didn’t live up to the build-up. Despite this, I enjoyed the book overall.

Thanks to Harlequin Australia via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Treatment.

About the author: C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and young son. She started writing fiction in 2005 and her short stories have won several awards and been published by a variety of literary and women’s magazines. Cally has a degree in Psychology, with particular interest in abnormal and criminal Psychology. She also loves knitting, Dr Who, Sherlock, Great British Bake Off and Margaret Atwood and blames Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected for her love of a dark tale.

Her dark psychological thriller THE ACCIDENT was published in the UK by Avon HarperCollins in April 2014 and as BEFORE I WAKE in the US in June 2014 by Sourcebooks.

Her second psychological thriller THE LIE was published in the UK in April 2015. It became a Sunday Times bestseller and hit the #1 slots on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Google Play and Sainsbury ebooks. It will be published in the US in June 2016.

CL's third psychological thriller THE MISSING was published in April 2016 and was another Sunday Times and ebook bestseller. She is currently writing her fourth (to be published in April 2017). 

Her international bestselling romantic comedies (written as Cally Taylor), HEAVEN CAN WAIT and HOME FOR CHRISTMAS were both published by Orion in the UK. They have been translated into 14 different languages, and her debut was voted ‘Debut Novel of the Year’ by chicklitreviews.com and chicklitclub.com. 

In 2014 HOME FOR CHRISTMAS was made into a feature film by JumpStart Productions. For more information visit www.homeforchristmasfilm.com

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