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Book Review: Perfect by Cecelia Ahern

Mar 19, 2017

Perfect (Flawed #2) by Cecelia Ahern

Pages: 352
Publish date: April 4th, 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 1250074126
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine’s life has completely fractured–all her freedoms gone.

Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with Carrick–the only person she can trust.

But Celestine has a secret–one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground. A secret that has already caused countless people to go missing.

Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, Celestine must make a choice: save just herself or to risk her life to save all Flawed people.

And, most important of all, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed?

Perfect:

This review will have spoilers from book 1 – Flawed.

I receded an earc of Perfect by Cecelia Ahern from Feiwel & Friends via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about a book.

Last year I read book one in this duology and was intrigued. Flawed introduced us into a world that is quite different from ours. Where if you go against their laws you are marked as flawed. And it’s not the usual laws that they have to abide. When protagonist Celestine North helps a flawed she is damned – and marked with not 1, not 2, not even 4 flawed marks, but 6. The most anyone has had. The ending of Flawed saw Celestine on the run and wanting to break this system.

I was really looking forward to reading what was going to happen next. What was Celestine going to find out? Will the system break? However, I was slightly disappointed with the outcome. When I finished reading Perfect, I was left hanging.

Perfect starts off not long after Flawed. Celestine is hiding out at her grandfather’s farm, trying not to be caught and blending in. The connection that I had with Celestine was lost in this book. I don’t know what it was, but I felt that she was different. I loved her honesty, her weakness, her rawness and I felt that she lost that in Perfect.

The romance. I first I loved it. I really did. And then I figure out, the book wasn’t set over a large amount of time and my love for it did lessen. They just saw each other and wanted other. Although I did see a connection between the two, I felt like they didn’t actually know each other. However, I still enjoyed it somewhat and if the books were spaced out over a bigger period of time, it would have totally worked for me.

Family, was a big theme in Perfect and I loved it. There is the good, the bad and the ugly. But, that is what families are. I loved Celestine’s relationship with her mother and sister. It’s rare to get good family bonds in YA, let alone Dystopian. I loved that they cared so much for each other. And even with Celestine on the run, she cared so much for her family.

I felt that Perfect was a lot slower than the first book. At times, I was getting bored and wanting something to happened, but then it didn’t. The last half of the book was pretty good on that part. There was action and every page I turned something was happening. The last 150 or so were probably my favourite. They were intense, I didn’t know what was going to happened next, and there was a twist – which I wasn’t expecting.

Overall, Perfect was an okay read. I enjoyed parts of it and disliked others. What disappointed me most was that I was expecting more. This world intrigued me and I was left hanging. The romance was a hit and miss for me, while I loved the aspects of family. Nevertheless, Perfect explores the notion of standing up and fighting for what you believe.

Have you read this series yet? What did you think? Have you read Perfect? What did you think? Are you planning on reading it?

Book Review: Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Mar 12, 2017

Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Pages: 544
Publish date: 28th March 2017
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1444788973
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around – and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries – including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Strange The Dreamer:

I received an earc of Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor from Hachette Australia via NetGalley for review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Strange the Dreamer was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I wasn’t disappointed. The world is magical and intriguing, the characters are addicting and the writing just pulls you right in. When you start you are in for a ride and it’s breathtaking.

Strange the Dreamer follows Lazlo Strange and Sarai. Both from very different worlds, very different situations. They have been brought up to believe very different things and I was intrigued by both of them.

Lazlo is the guy that wins my heart. I adored his love for books and learning and finding out more. Lazlo is very innocent and I loved seeing that, it’s rare that we see a male character in YA that is obvious to the world and how things work. His lived with monks his whole life, and things like girls and the outside world are way over his head. But, as Strange the Dreamer went on, the reader is able to see Lazlo grow. He doesn’t just start to trust and believe in himself, but others around him. Lazlo character development throughout the novel was excellent and I am hanging to see where his character goes.

Sarai was hard to connect with at first, but as the novel went on and more is revealed, I began to love her. Sarai much like Lazlo is very innocent in a way. Yes, Sarai has witness some horrible events and being brought up without an ‘adult’ it’s hard for her. But, like Lazlo, she lacks human interaction. What I also loved about Sarai is that she isn’t the ‘strong’ protagonist, but she also isn’t the damsel is distress either – she had to hold her ground.

I don’t think that Laini Taylor can ever go wrong with the worlds that she builds. At first, it’s always hard to grasp, but as the novels go on, everything falls into place. With so many layers, I don’t know how she can’t get lost, however as a reader you are dropped in and taken to another place and it doesn’t feel wrong. I love how we don’t find out everything out at once, however, it was ever so slightly info-dumpy in the first couple of chapters – nothing major.

I loved the many aspects of the world and how we didn’t miss out on much because we are with two protagonists in different sides of this world. We meet lots of characters that all have different stories to tell. This was sometimes a little hard to come around – because there were so many characters. However as the novel went on, I figured out who was who most of the time.

One of those characters was Minya – and holy she was crazy. But, so intriguing all at the same time. In saying that, the whole ‘family’ was intriguing all I wanted to do is find out more.

The romance side of Strange the Dreamer wasn’t exactly my favourite as it was a little instalovey, but holy was it good. I didn’t just fall in love with Lazlo and Sarai individually, but together. My heart. I loved that they were innocent but explored at the same time. I loved how they interacted and how beautiful it was.

At first, I found Strange the Dreamer to be a little slow, not heavily, but just enough that I wanted a little jump start. But as soon as things started to pick up, I was absorbed and couldn’t stop myself from reading.

Not only does Strange the Dreamer have a beautiful world and characters, the writing is exquisite. You are not only taking to a different world, with the book, but the writing carries you along the way.

The ending. I don’t want to talk about it. Can I forget that it has happened? Can I believe that everything will be a-okay in the next book? Probably not and I cannot wait.

Overall, Strange the Dreamer was addicting. It explores the notion of family, friendship and finding out who you are. With a world that is built with layer upon layer, you will be begging to find out more. With its beautiful writing and characters that will take you by storm, it’s an adventure you want to be on. Strange the Dreamer is poignant, heart-stopping and you will not be able to put it down.

Trigger Warning: Just a little warning for the book, there is mention of rape and suicide. Nothing overly graphic, but there is some scenes where it is talked about.

Have you read Strange the Dreamer yet? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read other Laini Taylor books before? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Mar 5, 2017

Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Pages: 320
Publish date: 28th February 2017
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
ASIN: B00Z7C1I0M
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

All is fair in love and hockey…

Claire O’Connor is back in Juniper Falls, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be. One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again.

Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s in the spotlight and on his way to becoming just another egotistical varsity hockey player. And Claire’s sworn off Juniper Falls hockey players for good.

It’s the absolute worst time to fall in love.

For Tate and Claire, hockey isn’t just a game. And they both might not survive a body check to the heart.

Off the Ice:

I received an e-arc of Off the Ice by Julie Cross Entangled: Teen via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Off the Ice is one of those books that I wasn’t sure if I was going to like. I asked to review it on a whim because I felt like some romance. But, it just didn’t hit the spot and I was left disappointed.

Off the Ice follows protagonist Claire O’Connor whose return to her hometown in unforeseeable circumstances and Tate Tanley is thrust into the spotlight when he is unexpectedly called to take over as his ice hockey team’s goalie. The last time these two were together, secrets were revealed, but then Claire left for university.

I didn’t really like this book. There I said it. I was expecting more and was left dry. Recently I’ve loved reading about hockey players, I blame Elle Kennedy for that. So I was super excited to start this one, but as Off the Ice went on, I become more and more disappointed.

I’m not too sure how I feel about Claire. I liked her determination and her grit, but there was something that just didn’t sit right with me. I loved that Claire has left her life at university doing what she loved, to come back for her family. To be there for her father. But, then at times all she did was complain that she was there and that her life was ‘ruined.’

Tate again wasn’t a protagonist that I loved. I think I liked him more than Claire, but he again didn’t sit right with me. I felt for Tate, he’s a character that hides all his emotions, wants to help everyone else, but when it comes to helping himself. He didn’t. It was frustrating at times, but overall I understood why.

The reader knows that secret that Claire finds out before she leaves for university, and it’s heartbreaking. One of the things I liked about Off the Ice was that Julie Cross was able to interview the secret and really make it work. However, it was also really angsty at times and was just too much to make a smooth story.

The romance in Off the Ice was okay. Claire and Tate were totally adorable at times, but again the angst really put me off it. I liked that Claire was older than Tate as we don’t see that too much in YA. It’s part of what made me enjoy the romance side. Claire and Tate balanced each other out, and it was great to see how their relationship worked.

The family aspects of Off the Ice were another reason why this book wasn’t my favourite. Both Claire and Tate don’t have great home situations. Claire’s father is very sick and it’s put a damper on how the family works. Claire’s had to leave university, her family doesn’t want her to give it up, but she wants to be there. It’s all a bit of a mess.

Overall, I didn’t like Off the Ice that much. There were parts here and there which I enjoy the romance. However, it was a little too angsty for me. Off the Ice explores the notion of family, friendship, love and finding yourself. It’s about standing up for what you believe and that sometimes you need to look after yourself, before others.