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Book Review: What Lies Within by James Morris

Jul 1, 2015

What Lies Within by James Morris

Pages: 226
Publish date: June 2nd
Publisher: Kindle Press
ASIN: B00VF6T5C2
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

“You’re going to die”

A single text message and Shelley Marano’s world is upended. A normal high school senior, Shelley discovers she is adopted. She goes on a journey to uncover her past, only to find she was part of a horrific experiment to test the theory of nature versus nurture. In a culture of violence committed by young people, she may be one of these killers. With the lives of her and her friends in the balance, one thing is certain: she will never be the same.

What Lies Within:

I received a copy of What Lies Within by James Morris for review in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my opinion on the book.

I hadn’t heard about What Lies Within before I was contacted. I had no idea what it was about or anything about the author, but I read an excerpt and I was hooked.

What Lies Within follows Shelley Marano as her world is tipped upside down and on its head after she finds out that she is adopted in a not so conventional way. As she goes on a journey trying to uncover her past, she delves into things that anyone wouldn’t want to know. Not only was she adopted, but she was part of a scientific experiment on the theory of nature vs nurture.

I would class What Lies Within somewhere on the thriller spectrum, but then it has mixes of different types of genre’s that make it a real interesting read.

The concept of What Lies Within was intriguing. It was similar to other ideas, nevertheless James Morris made it his own. The plot started right in the thick of all the drama and kept on going up from there. I found What Lies Within fast paced and packed a punch with all its twists and turns.

Her search was over. Matthew Ridge came into her life like a storm and then left, leaving behind a trail of windblown breadcrumbs that had led nowhere.

I also loved the writing style, it was beautiful and pulling. It kept me engaged from the start. How a word flows into another, how sentences fit perfectly together was brilliant.

Shelley is an interesting character. She works with her single father is his auto body shop while not at school and only has one real friend, Winston. Shelley was a strong female lead, which took the reader on a journey. The reader is able to grow with Shelley and feel her emotions. At times she did annoy me with her superficiality, however as the novel went on, the reader is able to see her move away from all this.

I certainly an enjoyable Winston as a character. The reader is able to see that he cares deeply for Shelley and that he would literally do anything for her. I wish we were able to see a little more of his personality.

…she took an art class in school and knew there was something about putting your soul on paper. Sharing yourself in a way that was more personal than mere words.

I also wish we could have gotten more interaction between Shelley and her dad. I understand that her life was all a mess, though he was barley in any scenes and when he was, there wasn’t much interaction between the two. And what he did, I totally understand why he did it because, well if I had a kid and they told me what Shelley did, I would think that they are a little crazy too.

One thing that I didn’t like was the romance, if you could call it that. One moment she was thinking about her crush and then next thing I know BOOM! Like what on earth. I could not believe what I was reading. It took me by shock and, Shelley was all for it.

The ending was explosive and in my opinion unpredictable. I was in such shock, but a good, breathtaking shock. It was a unique way to finish a book and I haven’t read anything like it before. I thought I knew what was going to happen with it all and then bang it was totally different to what I was expecting and it was such so good.

Overall, What Lies Within was a really enjoyable, thrilling read that kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was beautiful and intriguing and although there was a few elements that I didn’t like it was still a fun read that I enjoyed.

Book Review: Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips

Jun 25, 2015

Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips

Pages: 272
Publish date: June 30th
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1617738808
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

When Lexi Shaw seduced Oakfield High’s resident bad boy Tyler Flynn at the beginning of senior year, he seemed perfectly okay with her rules:

1. Avoid her at school.
2. Keep his mouth shut about what they do together.
3. Never tease her about her friend (and unrequited crush) Ben.

Because with his integrity and values and golden boy looks, Ben can never find out about what she’s been doing behind closed doors with Tyler. Or that her mom’s too busy drinking and chasing losers to pay the bills. Or that Lexi’s dad hasn’t been a part of her life for the last thirteen years. But with Tyler suddenly breaking the rules, Ben asking her out, and her dad back in the picture, how long will she be able to go on faking perfect?

Faking Perfect:

I received an e-arc of Faking Perfect from Kensington Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts on the book.

I always love to read about a bad boy. I don’t know what it is, but they always seem to make things interesting. Faking Perfect really intrigued me from the synopsis, it sounded interesting and like there was going to be drama, drama, drama and for that part it did not disappoint me, however I did feel that some of the characters lacked substance and the writing style wasn’t my favourite.

Lexi Shaw is the main protagonist in Faking Perfect and she isn’t the ‘good girl.’ So if you were looking for a good girl/bad boy relationship then it’s not in this book. Lexi annoyed me thought-out most of the book. She wants to be this perfect girl that everyone loves, including Ben but still has her late night extravaganzas with Tyler Flynn, but then keeps on going about how she has to be perfect without really changing everything.

Lexi felt like a hypocrite to me most of the book and it ticked the wrong boxes for me. I wanted to like her so much and when she was with Tyler, most of the time I did really enjoy her. But when she tried to be perfect she was fake.

Tyler – I loved him. He is your typical bad boy: sells weed at parties, drinks and driving around like a hoon. But as the novel goes on we see that his character develop, and he starts to try and be a better person. He follows Lexi’s rules and even though he has all these feelings inside of him he doesn’t let them all out because he knows he will hurt Lexi.

But we don’t see that from Lexi, she didn’t change her thoughts all too much from the start of the novel till the end and I love seeing people grow. Her obsession with Ben, gosh it frustrated me so much. She wants to be his girlfriend, he is treated like this perfect student and person and yet he has girlfriends after girlfriends. Her friends as well. She tries to act perfect in front of them and when she doesn’t do something that they were approve of, they stop being her friend.

Let’s not even go into the family problems, her mother is drunk with boyfriends coming in and out of the house, she can’t pay the bills and really doesn’t care about her daughter. Then the father situation, actually I quite liked her father, but it all worked to fast. One minute Lexi was angry and then she was all smiles.
Overall I don’t know really how I feel about Faking Perfect. I liked most of it, but then there was things that really put me off. If you like a quick contemporary read, then Faking Perfect is perfect for you.

Book Review: The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward

Jun 22, 2015

The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward

Pages: 320
Publish date: 2 July 2015
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978-1-4711-4356-4
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Meet Samantha Kemi – an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. her ability to mis potions is second to none, and makes her the perfect competitor in the Wilde Hunt – a deadly quest to save Nova’s princess, who has been poisoned by her own love potion.

With the nation’s media watching her every move, Sam must overcome incredible danger and impossible dilemmas in order to hunt down the ingredients for a cure. but is she up for the challenge

The Potion Diaries:

I received a copy of The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward from Simon and Schuster in exchange for a review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Firstly the premise of The Potion Diaries was intriguing. A main character that can mix potions, therefore coming the perfect competitor in a deadly quest to save the princess. For anyone that loves fantasy – this is what will pull them and it did pull me.

I have mixed feeling about Samantha; the main protagonist of The Potion Diaries. I loved when she was in her element mixing potions, the way that her mind was working throughout the book. It was different from other young adult books that I have read before. It’s rare that you have a protagonist that is smart the way Samantha is.

But then she was so whiny and annoying. She was trying to save the princess, but she was still longing for ‘love.’ For someone who is so smart, she was blinded and distracted by the thought of love.

Zain…what can I say about him. I didn’t like him too much. He was the person that always got on my nerves, that whatever he did, I just could not like him. Especially at the ending, the way that he was forgiven so easily. I wanted to scream at Sam.

I found the romance lacked. I could not get into it and I felt disappointed.

I truly enjoyed the Kemi family –and that is not saying that I say often. I liked the way that the family worked, how they acted towards each other. It was nice seeing a family unit that worked – most of the time.

I found the world of The Potion Diaries interesting, but I felt that the world building lacked. I was left hanging a lot of the time, asking myself all these questions. We were just pushed into this world that was somewhat high tech but was using potions.

Though I felt disconnected from the world. The Wilde Hunt was interesting. It was exciting, intriguing, and had me on the edge of my seat. What was going to happen next? Are they going to be okay? Those are the types of questions the reader is posed with while the hunt is on. They kept the book going and it was interesting.

I also would have liked The Potion Diaries more if it was only from Sam’s perspective. Princess Evelyn while under the love potion annoyed me so much. I understand that she was poisoned and was going kind of insane, but I felt that it was unnecessary. This could still have been shown this side of the princess through Sam’s eyes.

The Potion Diaries is being said to be a cross with The Hunger Games and The Princess Diaries. And I do have a slight problem with this. I don’t really understand how it was like The Princess Diaries. But I could see how it was like The Hunger Games. A teen girl put into a dangerous game, where people can die with media watching, but then it stops there.

I liked Amy Alward’s writing style, it was intriguing and I didn’t feel that someone older (an adult) was telling the story. I felt that it was a teen girl who was whiny, wanted to be loved but was also smart.

Furthermore, I enjoyed reading The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward. It was different and refreshing. Yes, there were some problems that I had with world building and the characters, but I overall enjoyed this fun and exciting read.

Have you read The Potion Diaries? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it?

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