Book Review: Twist by Karen Akins (5/5)

Title: Twist

Author: Karen Akins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Pages: 336

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Time Travel

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Blurb:
Bree Bennis finally has it all - a non-comatose mother, an uber-hot (albeit anachronistic) boyfriend named Finn, and a new-found mission to protect the timeline from those who would skew it for their own gain. But when she leans over one day to smooch said boyfriend, her lips meet those of her arch-nemesis Wyck instead. The timeline has been altered, and Bree is caught in the crosshairs. But when she goes back to repair the damage, she is stopped by none other than her Future Self, who delivers an urgent message: Someone is kidnapping Shifters from the distant past. It's up to Bree to stop them. But first, she has to figure out who... and why. 

Book Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (5/5)

Title: All the Bright Places

Author: Jennifer Niven

Publisher: Knopf
Pages: 384
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
 
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
 

Book Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga (4/5)

Title: My Heart and Other Black Holes

Author: Jasmine Warga

Publisher: Harper Collins/ Balzer + Bray

Pages: 320

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

Blog Tour: Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout - Excerpt and Review

Title: Hello, I Love You

Author: Katie M. Stout

Pages: 304

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Rating: 5/5
Source: ARC

Hey! You have stumbled upon the blog tour for the book ‘Hello, I Love You’ by Katie M. Stout. I was lucky enough to get an advanced review copy (ARC) from St. Martin’s Press. Here you can find the summary as well as an excerpt from the book and a review.

Book Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (4/5)

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) 

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Pages: 288

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Young Adult

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads Blurb:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

This was a chick-lit, a total light read for the beach: it was all romance. So if you like dystopian books, this might not be the book for you. Just a fair warning. But even though I like books that are dystopian or have fantasy creatures I absolutely enjoyed this book. Of course there were a few small things here and there that I didn’t like, but on the whole, this was a truly enjoyable book.

So, first with the pros of ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’.

One thing that I enjoyed would be the characters, more specifically Lara Jean’s character. She was absolutely adorable. The way she acted made her seem younger than her 16 years would lead you to believe – she was innocent. Lara Jean had never truly fallen in love, and now that the letters were out it was as if her soul was bared to the boys who received the letters. Reading about how she dealt with the love letters was funny – this heroine definitely wasn’t above lying to escape with her honor intact. Besides that, she was kind and smart, definitely not like a typical ditzy high school girl.

But though I liked Lara Jean, she wasn’t the best part of the story. No, it was the romance plot that truly stole the cake. It was sweet, fantastic, and extraordinarily romantic. As mentioned in the Goodreads Blurb, this was the first time Lara Jean had ever dealt with someone she liked face to face. And reading how she fell in love with one of the boys she had written a letter to was interesting, but not as interesting as it was to read about how she dealt with her newfound feelings while being in love with another boy – a boy who’s completely off limits. Talk about a serious love triangle! And the guys she’s in love with? I won’t mention any names, but though they were absolute polar opposites of each other, they shared one thing: they were both absolutely gorgeous.

And then, the final thing that was good about the book: the ending. It was fantastic. There’s that moment when the whole romance plot becomes clear to Lara Jean: she knows who she loves, she knows who she wants. This was the moment when she was supposed to do something daring and get the guy. But instead, guess what happens? A CLIFFHANGER! This was the best and worst place to put a cliffhanger. Best because this was the most strategic place to end the book to leave the reader waiting eagerly for the sequel. But it was the worst because I want, no, I need to know what happens with Lara Jean! Dealing with the awe I have with Ms. Jenny Han for planning this book out perfectly and the frustration of having to wait for the second book are two emotions that I‘m struggling to contain. Just give me the second book. I can’t wait.

Now onto the things that I didn’t really enjoy about this book. First was the language. It just seemed extremely basic. I guess, sure, chick-lit books have basic language that is easily understood, but even then, the language used in this book is incredibly simplistic. The second thing I didn’t really like about this book was that it was so short. Honestly, ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ could have been easily expanded to include more of the things that Lara Jean did before she realized which boy she was in love with. I wasn’t ready for this book to end so soon.

‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ is the epitome of swoon-worthy books. Lara Jean’s life is about to change in a crazy way – her new life would be one she never would have expected. Read this book, a book that proves that love is where you would last look for it. If you’re searching for a light, romantic read this is definitely the book you should take a look at. And don’t miss the sequel to this book, ‘P.S. I Still Love You’ releasing May 26^th, 2015.

Book Review: Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton (2.5/5)

Title: Seeker

Author: Arwen Elys Dayton

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 448

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 2.5/5

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads Blurb:

Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.

Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin’s new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.

This book was disappointing. After reading the Goodreads Blurb (posted above) I had really high hopes. Hopes, that sadly, this book didn’t meet. This book seemed dysfunctional. It had a somewhat strong start – it looked kind of promising. But then as it progressed everything got extremely confusing. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to what was occurring – it was kind of like What in the world is going on ???

This Goodreads Blurb is absolutely and utterly hyped. ‘Seeker’ is focused and told from the points of view of the 4(main) characters Quin, Shinobu, John and Maud. Shinobu and Maud seemed saner than Quin and John, mainly because more insight is provided for these specific characters. Quin and John were just two completely confused entities. To begin with, let’s talk about Quin.  After figuring out what her father was shaping her to be and then escaping, Quin led a normal life. As a healer she helped others – an admirable trait. But as her past starts to catch up with her (in the shape of John) Quin is forced to remember what she wanted to forget – that she was a Seeker. But honestly, in this stage of the book Quin seemed exceedingly stupid. She didn’t remember a single thing about her past – she was absolutely clueless. This was extremely aggravating. Having to see the heroine in such a weak fashion and completely ignorant of her past was just a ridiculous thing to have to read about. Having to read about how utterly clueless Quin was made me feel like there was no point reading about such a lost character. I was really tempted to just DNF the book.

Then there was John. Before Quin escaped, she and John were in a relationship. They were “in love”. And through the a good first half of the book, John just preaches about how much he loves Quin. But wow, do his actions contradict him. After leaving Quin he set out on his goal, a goal he didn’t share with anybody else. John was exceedingly driven – he needed to reach his goal. But the actions he was willing to take made him the villain of this book. And sure, this might have been what Ms. Dayton was trying to get out but she could have done it in a more concise fashion. Throughout the beginning of the book I was just confused – What is John going to do? Is he the antagonist? What in the world is wrong with him? There was just too much about him that was confusing to actually enjoy this book.

On to the romance plot: it was really messed up. It was incredibly difficult to get a read on how Quin, John and Shinobu felt for each other. This was because it seemed as if they could never really make up their mind – one day they were in love, the next they weren’t. But beyond that, this love story was so ordinary. There was nothing special or unique about it.

The part that irked me the most about this book was the writing. It was just so simplistic. The author spelled everything out instead of letting me read between the lines. There were loads of mindless details that were absolutely pointless to the story. The whole book could be a lot shorter if she hadn’t included these unnecessary details.

Thankfully, the ending is much better than the beginning or middle. Things begin to pick up and the characters actually start to act sane.

This book is really not worth anyone’s time. I’ve read so many good things about this book, but after reading it I was incredibly disappointed. The only bright side would be the ending, and that would be just a few pages of good writing after reading a good 440 pages of bad.

Book Review: Save Me by Jenny Elliott

Title: Save Me

Author: Jenny Elliott

Publisher: Swoon Reads - Macmillan

Pages: 309

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: 3/5

Source: Review Copy from Publishers

Goodreads Blurb:

Debut-novelist Jenny Elliott’s thrilling romance, chosen by readers, writers, and publishers for the first list in the new Swoon Reads imprint, pours on the tension and danger in an addictive combination that will keep you turning pages!

Something strange is going on in the tiny coastal town of Liberty, Oregon. Cara has never seen a whale swim close enough for her to touch it—let alone knock her into the freezing water. Fortunately, cute newcomer David is there to save her, and the rescue leads to a bond deeper than Cara ever imagined.

But then she learns something about David that changes everything, and Cara is devastated. She turns to her best friend for support, but Rachel has changed. She’s suddenly into witchcraft, and is becoming dangerously obsessed with her new boyfriend….

Cara has lost her best friend, discovered that her soul mate is off limits, and has attracted the attention of a stalker. But she’s not completely alone. Her mysterious, gorgeous new friend Garren is there to support her. But is Garren possibly too perfect?

Hmmm. This book. To start off with, this book is a book for middle school student getting into young adult novels. And, don’t get me wrong, as a high school student I still liked this book and I could definitely see myself reading it in the future. But I’d have to say that I would have liked it more if I had read it a few years ago.

So, now onto the actual review.

‘Save Me’ is a light, interesting contemporary romance that takes place in the small town of Liberty, Oregon. This book isn’t so deep and intense that I had to actually focus, but it wasn’t light either, so I wasn’t instantly bored. It was more of a beach read - a book you would read if you were looking to fill your time pleasantly.  

This was, overall, an average book. There were good characters and a good plot, but there were quite a few things I didn’t like about this book. Let’s start off with the good things, such as the characters.  I’d have to say that these characters were incredibly cute. Cara was just another ordinary girl, definitely not looking for the love of her life. She was smart, nice, one of those girls who would make a good friend. And David was absolutely handsome. He was like a knight in shining armor, even after his true identity was discovered. But while the characters were adorable and all, I still had a few problems with Cara. For one, while she was book smart, she definitely didn’t seem all that street smart. The way she approached the problems she faced seemed a bit senseless, as if she hadn’t given it a single thought. On the other hand, there was David who was the epitome of rationality and thoughtfulness. The stark difference between the two of them made it extremely easy to see the areas where Cara was lacking that David excelled in.

Then there was the romance plot. There were a few good parts and a few bad parts about this section of the book. One good thing about this book would be how cute it was. The devotion that Cara and David had for each other was adorable to read about. Not only that, but reading about the struggles the two faced to deal with their feelings was incredibly sweet. It was one of those books where you have a good idea of how the book is going to end up but any expected change makes you gasp in shock. Basically, I was hooked. But then, I really didn’t like the fact that the obstacles in the way of Cara and David’s love were very ordinary. There was nothing extremely different about these challenges, which was most definitely a letdown.

I could say the same for the whole “witch” idea. Because there are so many of them, books that have witches have to meet a certain standard. A standard that if they fail to meet, aren’t a good book. And while this book had interesting paranormal creatures, that was the main focus. There wasn’t anything else besides them. And while the paranormal creatures were intriguing, they weren’t good enough to be truly riveting. Quite often I felt that the events occurring were was too popular. There were moments when I couldn’t help but think the events incredibly clichéd.

But, the book began to pick up again in the conclusion. It was towards this part of the book that, even with the over-the-top witch idea, the book began to get more interesting. Cara, Garren and David were finally taking a stand to protect each other and rid the evil spirits that were plaguing them. I’m happy that the book was able to conclude with a fast pace and good ending. And though it was a bit cheesy, it was still a sweet ending that I liked.

‘Save Me’ by Jenny Elliott was an average book that is a decent time-passer. It’s a book that I would reread if I was looking for a quick read. If you’re interested in books that include fantasy creatures this is the book for you.

Looking for other books to check out releasing in January 2015? Click here to check it out!

Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee (3.5/5)

Title: Angelfall

Author: Susan Ee

Publisher: Feral Dream

Pages: 283

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Dystopian, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5

It has been 6 weeks since the angels have taken over. 6 weeks of living in constant danger.

Penryn Young’s whole life has changed. Instead of planning for college years, she’s desperately protecting her family from the dark creatures that have taken over her world. But things haven’t stabilized yet: her life is tossed once again into confusion when she witnesses a fight between angels which results in an injured angel left behind and her sister, Paige, kidnapped. Now the only thing Penryn can do is help the wingless angel in hopes that he’ll be able to help rescue Paige.

Raffe was always the strongest of the angels. But when he finds himself on the verge of death, he can do nothing but accept a strange girl’s help. Now Penryn and Raffe have one thing in mind – attack the angel headquarters. But even though they share the same goal, they both have different motives. With Penryn aching for her sister and Raffe yearning for his wings, the two must fight together if they have any chance of succeeding – or even surviving. 

Even though the whole story was centered on Penryn’s travels, Raffe was my favorite character. For one, he was kind and caring. In the beginning it seemed as if he had a hard outer shell but as the book progressed, I was able to learn more about Raffe. Another thing is, though this might sound cheesy,  Raffe is a hero. Plain and simple. Rescuing Paige and saving her from harm really helped build up his character. I’m all for a girl fighting for herself, but good ol’ fashioned gallantry never gets old and is quite charming. And to top it off, it doesn’t really hurt that Raffe’s gorgeous. He’s tall, handsome and has wings – or is trying to get them back anyways. With all these characteristics and more, Raffe was definitely a character I had fun reading about.  

Then there was Penryn. She did have her moments, but most of the time I was annoyed with her. Some of the decisions she made just seemed so infuriatingly stupid. As in, nobody in their right mind would actually make those decisions. And it isn’t as if it’s only this heroine who makes these stupid mistakes. No, Penryn is just one of those ditzy girls who makes stupid choices. But despite this flaw, she was a well-built character: she had a great backstory, had a (somewhat working) ability to differentiate between the right and wrong thing to do, and her cunning wit, or lack of, was absolutely hilarious to read. But, in the end, Susan Ee could have definitely made Penryn’s character pop a bit more.

Now on to the actual book. So, when I first read the summary I wasn’t that excited. Sure, a bit of me was intrigued, but there was an overwhelming groan of disappointment: there didn’t seem to be anything special about this book!! Yet, as I continued to read, I was continuously surprised by how exceptional the plot and writing was. There was a captivating adventure, romance, and (as described above) interesting characters.

Reading about Raffe and Penryn’s ventures was quite interesting. The 283 pages in this book were chock filled with different activities the two did. Seeing how the two travelled to their final destination and how much they had changed in the short amount of time was astounding. But there was more than one lull in the book where I had to skip a few pages because I was completely and utterly bored. The problem was that the author kept going on and on about the most pointless of details. There was a lot of futile information, which could have been replaced with more relevant details.

But on the other hand, I loved the romance plot. Sure it was more than a bit clichéd, but I thought it worked pretty well that Raffe was unable to get involved with Penryn because she was a “Daughter of Man”. Besides that, the two of them had a great chemistry. One part of the romance plot that I greatly enjoyed was that it never stopped building. In fact the climax of the love story was at the end, which created an amazing cliffhanger for what was to happen in the next book.

All in all, ‘Angelfall’ was a read I won’t regret. Filled with adventure, romance and wings, this book is definitely one of the more interesting ones I’ve read in a while. I recommend this book for teenagers 14+ mainly because of the gore and romance in this book. If you like young adult, romance or any dystopian novels, this is one you will want to try out. Don’t miss the second book ‘World After’ and the third book in this series which is expected to be released in 2015. 

Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (5/5)

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1)

Author:  Claudia Gray

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 368

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Time Travel, Romance, Science Fiction

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

I’m taking the risk of sounding like a ditzy fangirl when I say this, but this book is FANTASTIC. Easily one of the best books of 2014. It had everything: the adventure, the suspense, the romance. And the fact that it has the whole dimension traveling aspect definitely makes it seem better in my eyes.

To begin with, let me first describe the protagonist, Marguerite Caine. She’s one of the most strong-willed, obstinate, talented protagonists I’ve read about. Being born in a family of science geniuses left Marguerite the odd one out when she wanted to pursue arts. She was the only person in this book who had a regular person’s point of view. This was exceedingly helpful in describing the book, as I’ll describe later. Another thing I liked about Marguerite is her character. She’s a kind, nice girl who’s a touch shy. Sure, she sounds like someone who will stand back meekly, but read the book and you’ll figure out how passionate she can get over what she feels strongly about.

Now onto the adventure part of the book. As stated in the Goodreads Blurb, Marguerite has gone back in time to avenge her father. She, along with her friend, Theo, journey back hoping to kill Paul. The best thing I liked about the adventures was that the action was nonstop. The adventures that Marguerite, Theo and Paul go on are back to back to back. There wasn’t an overly large pause where I was bored and had to flip the pages to remain engaged in the book. No, everything was smooth and seamless.

Another thing I really liked about this book was the world building. And I know. It comes to my attention that for a time-travel (or in this case dimension-travel) book to be good the author has to be exemplary at world building. But I still can’t stress enough how phenomenal the world building in this book was. The main reason I liked the multiple dimensions, which was described through the creative words used to describe the world, was because of the details provided: Marguerite is as much of an outsider to these strange new dimensions as we, the readers, are. Because of this (as well as Marguerite’s artistic eye) not a single detail flies by unnoticed and readers will be able to truly appreciate it.

I also liked the suspense in this book. In the beginning of the book, the reader (as well as Marguerite) is lead to believe that Paul is the murderer. But as the book progresses, both parties realize that Paul is not the murderer. Indeed, something much more horrible and atrocious is afoot. And this is where the suspense comes in. Ms. Gray is able to skilfully weave a tale where the reader is left guessing to the very end. No one is sure who’s killed the father, but as the book continues there are quite a few moments when it feels like the mystery is about to end. These delicate moments of intrigue just made the book so much better. These were the pages that I paid the most attention to, the pages that were the most crucial.

And then there was the romance plot. If you’ve been reading lately, you most probably have noticed that love triangles are EVERYWHERE. At first, I didn’t have a problem with it. But as more and more love triangles started to pop up in books read, I got quite fed up. When I figured out that this book had a love triangle, I actually debated whether or not to read. I’m really glad, though, that I didn’t let the love triangle bit stop me, because this love triangle is one of the best I’ve ever read about. It is truly brilliant.

Now, the thing in this book that I loved the most in the book would be the Firebird. When I say Firebird, I mean the actual value of the Firebird, as in, how important it is in the book and how deeply complex it is. First of all, Ms. Gray does a great job describing the Firebird. She truly makes it sound like a piece of technology that is evolved and is immensely important to the future of the human race. But beyond that, I just liked reading about the Firebird. All those tiny, seemingly unimportant things the Firebird could do were fascinating. All the parts of the book that seemed slightly geeky with all the technology and physics – those were some of the moments that caught my attention – the moments of the book that were quite intriguing.

I have no complaints with this book. None. Not one. Great adventure, suspense, and romance. I definitely recommend this to anybody who likes young adult, romance, time travel, science fiction, or suspenseful books. Keep an eye out for the next book in this series which is to release sometime towards the end of the year (late 2015).

Book Review: Loop by Karen Akins

Title: Loop (Loop #1)

Author: Karen Akins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Pages: 336

Genre: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future. 

First off, wow. This book was great. To begin with, the pros of the book. 1, it was incredibly interesting. Just after reading the Goodreads Blurb. And even though I know that my love of time travel influenced this feeling, I would still recommend this book to people who don’t like time travel. It was that good.

One thing that I really liked about the book was how Bree brought Finn back with her (or more accurately, brought him forward, if that makes sense) to the 23^rd century. I know it says she does this in the blurb, but I was still surprised. It was so different from what usually happens in other time travel books (the heroine has to stay back in the past, fix the problem, and then leaves). I was flabbergasted by this twist. But even when you put that aside, when Bree brought Finn forward, watching how amazed he was by the future was hilarious and insightful. When looking through just Bree’s point of view all the high tech gadgets you can’t get a clear insight of how cool they are because she’s used to all of it. But toss in Finn’s questions – some hilarious, some serious – and the reader is provided insight from a person who is a just a stranger to the futuristic world as the reader is. This definitely allowed me to truly appreciate the world that Karen Akins created.

This leads me to the second thing I really liked about this book: how great the world-building was. Everything’s changed, as one might expect buy jumping 200 years into the future. Just figuring out about all the cool techy gadgets and how they worked was mind-blowing. Like the grappling hook that Bree and Finn used– it seems like something totally boring, but the science has evolved to a point that once you read the book it seems so amazing. And this is just one of the neat devices that are used/described. Ms. Akins definitely did a fantastic job of building a new, cool world. And this may sound cheesy, but I definitely hope our future gadgets will match the ones described in the book.

Secondly, the plot. The adventures that Bree and Finn go on – heart stopping. The whole book was filled to the brim with action and adventure. How could it not be? The two of them have to figure out who’s the person who has been pulling the strings, and why. This one person who hurt Bree’s mom, who has every bit of information laid out at their feet, the person who is willing to kill to stop Bree from piecing it altogether – this person will stop at nothing. One thing about the plot that I had a problem with was the speed. Though this only happen a few times there were moments in the book where it was too rushed and the information was being thrown at the reader. Not only was this annoying, but it was extremely inconvenient. I had to go back and reread sections of the book to pick up on information that I hadn’t noticed at first.

A third thing I liked about the book were the emotions. Not the romance plot, I’ll discuss that later, but just the emotions that Bree felt as she was trying to figure out what her future self had to do with this entire mystery. And god, the moments when only Future Bree knew what was going on – the frustration that both Bree and I were feeling. Like, wow. Ms. Akins was playing with my emotions. Everything I felt was so sharp and so real. There were barely any moments when I had to guess at what Bree was feeling – her emotions were my emotions. There’s no simpler way to state it.

Now to the downsides of the book. One thing that I didn’t really like was the romance plot. The romance throughout the beginning and middle of the book was good. There were touching scenes and Bree was falling in love with Finn. It was sweet. But towards the end of the book where the romance plot reaches its climax, Ms. Alkins drops the ball and the romance is practically gone. It was incredibly disappointing. The whole book was extraordinary. It was fantastic, all except for the one part of the romance plot that matters the most – when Bree and Finn discuss how they feel. The romance plot was building up throughout the book – it was really good before the ending - and then it fell flat on its face. That was just a terrible, terrible thing to witness in such a good book. The other problem I had with this book also had to do with the ending. Basically as Ms. Akins wraps up the book her writing was being incredibly rushed. Some of what she said didn’t make sense or didn’t seem relevant – it was like a last minute scramble. She hadn’t drawn out the ending and hadn’t put in the details that were critical to explain how Bree and Finn figured out who was the culprit then the ending.

Basic things to keep in mind: this book is phenomenal in the beginning and middle. Once you get to the ending, the book basically dies. I had really high hopes for “Loop” and the conclusion just didn’t meet them. But besides the sad conclusion, the rest of the book was really good. I definitely recommend it to people who love time-travel or young adult. Keep an eye out for the next book in the series “Twist” which releases March 31^st, 2015.

Book Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated

Author: Melissa Landers

Publisher: Disney Book Group

Pages: 352

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Young Adult

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. 

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class. 

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

‘Alienated’ was a pretty interesting book. It’s a fun ad easy read. It isn’t overly complex to the point where you have to really think about what the author is saying, but it isn’t a light, mindless beach-read.

So let’s start off with all the things I really enjoyed about this book.

First, is the plot. As stated in the Goodreads Blurb, this book takes place in a regular town with a regular high school. And considering the fact that most new YA books all take place in some far off world, reading a book that is centered in a high school is definitely a plus side. Another fresh thing about ‘Alienated’ is the fact that this book isn’t about Cara and Aelyx having to go and fight a bunch of battles in some far off universe. Instead, the plot is mainly focused on the two protagonists of this book getting to really know each other, and in the end falling in love. But that doesn’t mean that this book is all sappy or that it lacks some mysteries. There are quite a few secrets between the two characters. Secrets that are more important than just the two of them: secrets that are important enough to destroy their worlds.

The second thing I really liked about this book was the romance plot. One thing I found quite exceptional about this was how it progressed. It wasn’t too fast and it wasn’t too slow; instead Ms. Landers includes a multitude of details about how Cara and Aelyx fall in love that were exceedingly fun to read and helped build up to the climax (of the romance plot), which was fantastic. I won’t say what happened but I will say this: it more than a little swoon-worthy. But the thing I liked the most about the romance plot was how Cara and Aelyx interacted with each other. In the beginning of the book both characters are more than a bit snooty, but slowly they start to warm up to  each other. In addition, considering that both characters were quick-witted and their banter was fun and entertaining really boosted the romance plot, and book, in my eyes.

Now on to the character analysis of Cara Sweeney, the heroine. She was fantastic. I found it extremely easy to relate to her. This may be for a multitude of reasons, two being that we both debate and we both blog. But besides that, Cara’s a nice, kind hard-working girl who isn’t afraid to play a little dirty. As soon as she accepts the opportunity to have Aelyx come over, she’s bombarded with insults from her own friends. Even the people she thought loved her are quick to turn. The fact that she’s willing to stick with what she believes in truly shows how determined she is.

And then there were the cons. Or really, con, since I had only one problem with this book. ‘Alienated’ was going along perfectly until the conclusion. Up till that point, Ms. Landers was going at a nice pace and was putting in a nice amount of details. For one, the pace at which the conclusion went was a bit too fast for my liking. Because of this, the ending was abrupt and left a lot of questions that the second book will have to answer. Ms. Landers could have definitely slowed down and fleshed out a few more details about the conclusion.

But in the end, ‘Alienated’ was a very satisfying book, and one of the best that released in 2014. It had a fantastic plot, a great romance and very interesting characters. I definitely recommend this book to people who like romances, young adult books or sci-fi. Keep an eye out for the next book in this series ‘Invaded’ which is releasing February 3^rd, 2015.