Review: Something I’m Good At by Caroline Andrus

Something I’m Good At

Author: Caroline Andrus

Series: Sol Del Mar High #1

Pages: 240

Publisher: Fire & Ice YA Books

Source: Netgalley

Release date: 18^th June 2019

Amazon

Synopsis:  Summer was the girl who had it all: good grades, a spot on the high school volleyball team, and a best friend since elementary school. Then she was diagnosed with lupus...and her best friend betrayed her. Now she’s cutting ties, because nobody should have to deal with someone as broken as her.

Kane is the guy who never gives up. When he puts his mind to something, he gets it done—no matter how many broken bones it takes. So when a chance encounter at the urgent care throws him in the path of Summer, the girl he’s secretly had a crush on for years, he’s determined to win her heart.

Despite her vow to keep people away, Summer finds herself falling for Kane’s charm. Will the boy who never gives up be able to win—and keep—the heart of the girl who is afraid to let people in?

Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Something I'm Good At focuses on the two main characters Summer and her love interests Kane, alternating between their point of views we get insight into both of their lives and Summer's journey with Lupus.

Something I'm Good At was a sweet, YA romance; Summer was navigating her way through a new diagnosis and Kane was a bit of a klutz who was quite persistent when it came to Summer and starting a relationship with her.

The beginning is what mainly made me reduce my rating, Kane was a little too persistent and infuriating for me, he didn't know the meaning of the word no and came across as quite immature. As the story progressed and their friendship grew I began to enjoy it.

Overall, this book was a quick, easy and well written book.

Review: More than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

More than We Can Tell

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Pages: 304

Release date: 8^th March 2018

Genre: Young adult Contemporary
Amazon

Synopsis (Goodreads) *While this book exists in the same universe as Letters to the Lost, it is a standalone title.*

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay...until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid.

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling. 

Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars

More Than We Can Tell follows the story of Rev and Emma, We first met Rev in ‘Letters to the Lost’ but this can be read as a stand-alone.

Rev and Emma both have personal struggles; Rev is a foster child who was taken in and adopted by amazing parents and continue to help him to move forward after surviving an abusive childhood; when he is contacted by his birth father it triggers past feelings and hurt as well as confusion, his parents have also taken on a new foster child so there are a few changes in his life. On a night out he comes across Emma who is a game designer with a father who is quite absent and a mother who doesn’t understand her passion; they connected despite their differences.

Honestly, I was intrigued by both of these characters and their back stories but I didn’t find any chemistry between them and their dialogue felt stilted, I also felt they were quite reliant on one another despite barely knowing each other; they also spent a majority of the book apart so there wasn’t a lot of face to face interactions.

Brigid Kemmerer covered a lot of subjects in this book such as cyber bullying, physical, sexual and mental abuse, relationship breakdowns and friendship drama but I would have liked more of a resolution to these problems rather than a mention.

What I did enjoy was the mystery of Emma’s troll, I had an inkling of who it was from the onset and I was right! I was also quite intrigued about Matthew, the new foster child and my heart truly broke for him. I thought Rev’s foster parents were wonderful.

Overall, I didn’t love this book; it had its positives but for me there was more negatives and the biggest of all was the morose feel that it had. I couldn’t fault Brigid Kemmerer’s writing but I will have to pass on any more books in this series.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

About the author: BRIGID KEMMERER is author of LETTERS TO THE LOST (Bloomsbury; April 4, 2017), a dark, contemporary Young Adult romance; THICKER THAN WATER (Kensington, December 29, 2015), a New Adult paranormal mystery with elements of romance; and the YALSA-nominated Elemental series of five Young Adult novels and three e-novellas which Kirkus Reviews calls “refreshingly human paranormal romance” and School Library Journal describes as “a new take on the supernatural genre.” She lives in the Baltimore area with her husband and four sons.

Review: Dreamfall by Amy Plum

Dreamfall

Author: Amy Plum

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Young adult / Thrillers and Suspense

Pages: 288

Release date: 2^nd May 2017

Synopsis (Goodreads) Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.

Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

Review: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

To be honest, I expected to like this book a lot more than I did as I have been a big fan of Amy Plum and her books for some time now.

Dreamfall is a book about seven teenagers between the ages of 13-19 years of age who are taking part in an experiment at a world leading sleep disorder clinic to help with their chronic insomnia with the use of electroconvulsive technology which will hopefully cure them all.

Our main narrators are Cata who has severe insomnia and PTSD, Fergus suffers from insomnia stemming from narcolepsy and Jaime is a pre-med student who is observing the experiment, the story is told from each of their POV’s.

Whilst in the experiment, the participants find themselves stuck in a group dream where they are forced to encounter their worst nightmares; this was a result of an earthquake. I found Jaime’s POV to be the most interesting during this time as he/she is witnessing it from the outside in the lab, I enjoyed this aspect more than those within the dream.

I really enjoyed the scientific side but found myself skimming the dream sequences as I found them quite repetitive; the teens were hunted by creatures and tormented by secrets; they were forced to face their worst fears, I didn’t think there would ever be release for them.

What let this book down for me mostly was the lack of characterisation and details we are given about the characters we meet, we don’t truly get to know them as people, it was more as subjects, I also would have liked more of a ‘scary’ plot.

Amy Plums writing style is gripping and engaging and I found the concept to be extremely fascinating and unique but unfortunately it didn’t truly wow me; the twist at the end has left me excited to continue with the series but up until that point I wouldn’t have continued.

The next instalment, Neverwake has an expected May 2018 release date.

Thank you to HarperTeen via Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review Dreamfall.

About the author: Amy Plum is the international bestselling author of the DIE FOR ME series (Indie Next List pick, Romance Times top pick, and recipient of a starred review from School Library Journal). The books have been translated into thirteen foreign languages. The trilogy is accompanied by two eNovellas entitled DIE FOR HER and DIE ONCE MORE and a compendium entitled INSIDE THE WORLD OF DIE FOR ME.

DREAMFALL, the first book of her YA horror duology, will be released by HarperTeen in summer 2017, with the second book, NEVERWAKE publishing in summer 2018. In the new books, a radical experiment to cure chronic insomnia goes wrong, and its seven teenage test subjects are plunged into a shared coma populated by one another’s nightmares; those who die in the dream will also die in real life.

Amy's action/adventure/magic duology, AFTER THE END and UNTIL THE BEGINNING, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, 4 1/2 stars from RT Book Reviews, and enthusiastic reviews from Kirkus, USA Today, ALA Booklist and School Library Journal.

After being raised in Birmingham, Alabama, in a rather restrictive environment, AMY PLUM escaped to Chicago to an even more restrictive environment at a university that expelled people for dancing. (And where she was called to the dean’s office for “wearing too much black”.) After all of that restrictiveness, she was forced to run far far away, specifically to Paris, France, where she only wore black and danced all she wanted.

After five years in Paris, she ventured to London, where she got an M.A. in Medieval Art History, specializing in Early Sienese Painting (1260-1348) mainly because it promised almost no hope of finding a paying job afterward.

Amy managed to find work in the world of art and antiques in New York. But after almost a decade of high-pressure lifestyle in the Big Apple, she swapped her American city for a French village of 1300 inhabitants.

After signing with HarperCollins for the DIE FOR ME series, Amy left her job as an English professor at Tours University to write full-time. She now lives in Paris with her two kids and her black lab, Oberon.

She is a huge fan of Edward Gorey and Maira Kalman (and collects both of their books/art), as well as David Sedaris, Amadeo Modigliani, and Ira Glass.

Check out videos and extras from Amy at Revenant Central. 

Review: Letting Go by Kate L. Mary

Letting Go

Author: Kate L Mary

Series: -

Publisher: Lyrical Shine

Release date: 8^th November 2016

Pages: 304

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Some people like a little chaos. Not Sarah. Growing up in a house of humiliating filth means she has three crystal-clear goals:

1. Get through college, however she can.
2. Keep her three-year-old sister away from her mom's hoarding.
3. Never, never let disorder take over her life.

Of course, studying, working, and taking care of a toddler mean Sarah has no time for fun. Until she meets Zac.

He’s sweet, he’s funny, they have compatible plans for the zombie apocalypse. But Sarah can’t let him in. It’s not just his three drooly, sloppy dogs—with him in her life, the pristine future she’s working for would be shredded before you can say Down, boy!

Sometimes falling in love is really all about letting go

Review: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

Thank you to Lyrical Shine via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Letting Go by Kate L. Mary.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of this book, it interested me but unfortunately the MC and the easy resolution at the end let it down for me.

Sarah’s mother has a problem, she is a hoarder and it made for a difficult childhood for Sarah and now her younger sister, it’s caused her embarrassment and pain so she left home at an early age and now lives with her best friend, trying to get through college, work part-time and be the primary caregiver for her sister.

When Sarah meets Zac, things start to look up but there is a problem; Zac’s life isn’t organised and she is extremely put off by his three dogs.

I found Sarah to be a judgmental, critical character; for someone her age she never really let loose and had any fun and when she did it was always a whingy negative; I couldn’t really take to her personality. Zac on the other hand was a fun, easy going character and was pretty wonderful in the way he was with Sarah; he had the patience of a saint. I suppose they complimented each other well but I wasn’t a fan of her negativity.

I couldn’t fault the authors writing style and she touched on some difficult situations, it was engaging and dealt with realistically. The pace was slow for me up until the ending where the resolution was sorted with little complication, I felt that it was too ‘easy’.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read but my feelings towards the MC let it down for me.

About the author: Award-winning author of WHEN WE WERE HUMAN and the Amazon best-selling BROKEN WORLD series, Kate L. Mary writes everything from post-apocalyptic tales of the undead to new adult contemporary romance. A mother of four and an Air Force wife, her days are divided between keeping her household in order and creating new worlds for readers to get lost in.

Review: All We Left Behind by Ingrid Sundberg

All We Left Behind

Author: Ingrid Sundberg

Series: -

Pages: 432

Publisher/Source: Simon Pulse

Release date: 1^st December 2015

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

For fans of Simone Elkeles and Courtney Summers, this haunting debut novel is about two teenagers battling their inner demons as they fall in love for the first time.

When Marion Taylor, the shy bookworm, meets sexy soccer captain Kurt Medford at a party, what seems like a sure thing quickly turns into a total mess. One moment they’re alone in the middle of a lake, igniting sparks of electricity. The next, they’re on dry land, pretending they’ve never met. But rather than the end, that night is the beginning of something real, terrifying, and completely unforgettable for them both.

As Marion and Kurt struggle to build a relationship from the fractured pieces of their pasts, every kiss they share uncovers memories both would rather keep buried. Marion desperately wants to trust Kurt and share the one secret she’s never told anyone—but some truths aren’t meant to be spoken out loud. Kurt is also still haunted by his mother’s death, by the people he hurt, and by the mistakes he can never take back.

Explosive together and hollow apart, Marion and Kurt seem totally wrong for each other—but could they turn out to be more right than they ever thought possible?

Review: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

This is a book that had me curious because of the Simone Elkeles and Courtney Summers comparison in the blurb but unfortunately for me I couldn’t see the comparisons at all, I was left a little underwhelmed by the end.

Marion Taylor is shy and blends in, she doesn’t like to be the centre of attention, she also has a big secret that she holds close to her chest and fears if it is revealed it would ruin everything for her.

When Marion meets popular soccer captain Kurt Medford at a party, they click but she doesn’t think they would have any interactions after this event. Kurt has problems of his own and also doesn’t like to divulge too much to anyone. I found both characters to be ok but there was nothing that made them stand out; they both had their secrets that I was dying to know but it was dragged out and normally this wouldn’t frustrate me but it did.

The subject matter is raw and gritty and certainly touches on some sensitive issues; I felt the author did a great job with this but the blend of the storyline, romance and too much build up just didn’t work for me.

I couldn’t fault Ingrid Sundberg’s writing, it was detailed and engaging and shows us the complications on teen love but this book at this time didn’t wow me unfortunately.

Thank you to Simon Pulse via Edelweiss for the opportunity to read this book.

Review: Dead Ringer by Jessie Rosen

Dead Ringer

Author: Jessie Rosen

Series: -

Publisher: Full Fathom Five

Pages: 352

Release date: 11^th November 2015

Synopsis (Goodreads)

From the moment Laura Rivers steps foot into Englewood High, she notices the stares—and they aren’t the typical once-overs every pretty new girl endures. The students seem confused and…spooked. Whispers echoing through the halls confirm that something is seriously off. “That new girl looks just like her,” they say.

It turns out Laura has a doppelgänger, and it isn't just anyone—it's Sarah Castro-Tanner, the girl who killed herself by jumping into the Navasink River one year ago.

Laura is determined not to let the gossip ruin her chances of making a fresh start. Thanks to her charming personality and California tan, she catches the eye of Englewood’s undisputed golden boy, Charlie Sanders, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their relationship official.

But something is making Charlie and his friends paranoid—and Laura soon discovers it has to do with Sarah Castro-Tanner.

What really happened to Sarah? Why is Charlie unraveling? And how does Laura Rivers fit into it all?

After all, she’s the dead ringer for a dead girl.

Review: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

I am not quite sure how I am feeling about Dead Ringer at the moment, I am surprised to say the least because it definitely went in a completely different direction to the way I thought it was heading; I was stunned at the huge plot twist.

Laura Rivers is new to Englewood High and is determined to be a different person and to make a fresh start. On her first day at school there are whispers and stares because she seems to be a doppelganger for another student, Sarah Castro-Tanner; a girl who commit suicide a year prior.

Laura soon begins to hang out with the popular crown, Charlie, Miller, Kit and Amber, a paranoid group because of their once association with Sarah. I didn’t feel the characters were developed enough to truly know them, besides Laura but then after a huge plot development we don’t truly know her until the end, I didn’t feel any of the characters showed sympathy.

This book had me baffled, I was confused about what was going on and it still wasn’t made clear until most of the way through – information was trickled out bit by bit, we know the key players in who was involved in Sarah’s demise but it isn’t until the end where we truly know what had really happened and why and it was all pretty horrible.

The storyline is intense but also intriguing, we have deceit, secrets, drama and a strange romance but the ending of this book didn’t seem to fit in with the beginning of the book; I was really lost by the strange changes and things seemed to happen just for convenience.

Told mainly from the POVs of Laura, Charlie and Sascha, it was nice to get input from each of them. This book is twisted and has a dark feel to it. I thought it would be a standalone but from the cliff-hanger ending I am anticipating a sequel. I think this book could have been amazing if it was executed in a different way.

Thank you to Full Fathom Five via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Dead Ringer.

About the author: Jessie Rosen is a writer, producer, and performer. She grew up in New Jersey, attended
Boston College in Massachusetts, and began her writing career in New York. Her live
storytelling series Sunday Night Sex Talk has received national attention. She was
named one of “The 25 Best Bloggers, 2013 Edition” by TIME magazine for her blog 20-
Nothings, which was also named in “The 100 Best Websites for Women” and “The Top
10 Best Websites for Millennial Women” in 2013 by Forbes.
Rosen is the oldest of four girls, which gives her a special window into the minds
of teenagers. She now lives in Los Angeles, where she’s working on film and television
projects, as well as her next novel. 

Review: The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward

The Potion Diaries 

Author: Amy Alward

Series: The Potions Trilogy

Pages: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

Release date: 2^nd July 2015

Goodreads

Synopsis (Goodreads)

When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.

Enter Samantha Kemi - an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam's family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they've fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?

And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news.

No big deal, then. 

Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I hadn’t heard of The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward but I was quite curious about it when I received a copy from Simon & Schuster Australia, described as The Hunger Games meets The Princess Diaries, I was intrigued but I didn’t feel any similarities at all unfortunately.

Told in dual POV’s from Princess Evelyn and an Alchemist apprentice, Samantha Kemi it’s a story about a poisoned princess and the race to find a cure to save her between the alchemist societies.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Princess Evelyn unfortunately; she has poisoned herself by swallowing her own love potion which inadvertently made her fall in love with herself. She came across as self-absorbed and boring, I much preferred Samantha’s POV, she was more entertaining and felt more believable and I liked her reasoning for being involved in the hunt; there was also a small amount of romance between Sam and her competitor Zain Aster.

The Potion Diaries was an odd book for me at times, I never quite understood what was going on and some parts were quite repetitive. The modern day setting with magic still being prevalent felt strange and unusual. What I did enjoy about this book was the element of surprise, I never could quite grasp what was going to happen which I appreciated. I also really liked Sam as a character, she felt genuine and her involvement in the hunt for the ingredients for the antidote was entertaining, she was a resourceful character and talented as an alchemist.

The Potion Diaries is a light-hearted read and despite the few problems I had I still liked the adventure, the unique story-line, the battle with the evil Kings sister and the humour. It was written well and despite the strange setting and not being able to take it seriously it was enjoyable.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to read and review The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward.

About the author: Amy Alward (nee McCulloch) was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, UK, and moved to Ottawa, Canada, when she was 11. She attended Immaculata High School, where she developed a love of geeky things like science fairs, yearbook, RPGs and The Lord of the Rings. After high school she started studying at the University of Toronto, where she graduated with a B.A. (Hons) in English, specializing in Old English and Medieval literature (her love for Geoffrey Chaucer will never die).

After a year out backpacking around Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia (you can read her travel blog here), she moved back to London, UK, to find a job in publishing. After three years at HarperVoyager, where she worked on some of the top SF&F brands in publishing, she moved to Penguin Random House Children’s Books to be editorial director.

At the beginning of 2011, she signed with the amazing Juliet Mushens of The Agency Group for her debut YA fantasy-adventure duology: The Oathbreaker’s Shadow and The Shadow’s Curse.

In 2014, she signed with Simon & Schuster for Mi> Madly (US/Canada)/The Potion Diaries (UK&Comm), which is due out in Summer 2015.

She continues to be addicted to adventure, coffee and really great books.