Book Reviews Archives - Page 68 of 115

Book Review: Lisette’s Paris Notebook by Catherine Bateson

Jan 6, 2017

Lisette’s Paris Notebook by Catherine Bateson

Pages: 304
Publish date: January 2017
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760293635
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

What do you wear to Paris? Ami and I discussed it for hours but I still couldn’t think of anything suitable. Ami said a trench coat with nothing underneath but your best underwear. That was only if some boy was meeting you at the airport, I said.

Eighteen-year-old Lisette has just arrived in Paris (France!) – the city of haute couture and all things stylish – to practise her French and see great works of art. Her clairvoyant landlady Madame Christophe forces her to attend language lessons with a bunch of international students but soon Lise discovers she’s more interested in studying boys than art or verbs …

When the undeniably hot Anders jogs into her life it feels too good to be true. Things get even more complicated when she is pursued by Hugo, a charming English antiques dealer.

Can she take a chance and follow her own dreams? How far into the future can Madame Christophe see? And could Lise really be falling in love – in Paris?

Lisette’s Paris Notebook:

I received a copy of Lisette’s Paris Notebook by Catherine Bateson from Allen and Unwin in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

As soon as I started to read Lisette’s Paris Notebook I knew that I wasn’t going to love it. The writing style didn’t sing to, and the protagonist could not stop complaining.

Lisette’s Paris Notebook follows protagonist Lisette as she arrives in Paris where she will be living for the next couple of months. Lisette has just finished High School in Melbourne, Australia. And she decides that instead of going straight to university, she is going to take a gap year.

Lisette was a difficult protagonist to get along with. Throughout the whole book, she could never make up her mind of what she wanted to do. Lisette is only a couple of years younger than me, but she sounded like a fifth-teen year old. However, I did like seeing Lisette grow throughout the novel. At the start, she seems like she is confused about what is going on in her life, but then she starts to find herself and it was great to see.

When Lisette first arrives in France, she thinks that she has it all down pat. She thinks she knows the language, the cultural and what to expect – but some things take her by surprise. I loved this – no matter how much you watch, read and hear. Being and living in a different country can be very hard.

I also loved that Lisette was from Australia. It’s rare that readers see Australian as the protagonist in young adult. The influence of Lisette being Australian had on the book and the way that she interacted with people was interesting and I really enjoyed it.

I didn’t like most of the characters Lisette’s Paris Notebook. I don’t know if it was because they were unlikable or that we as the reader didn’t get to know them. It felt that the author focused too much on Lisette and not anyone else. It was like she had no real connections.

The romance…well. I normally don’t like more than one romance in the books that I read. But, I think the use of more than one romantic interest worked. Lisette’s first love interest is, trying to put it nicely, a dickhead. He’s the guy that you never want to get in a relationship with. Therefore, I was totally okay with Lisette moving on. Maybe not as quickly as she did. But I did enjoy the romance more the second time.

The writing style of Lisette’s Paris Notebook also wasn’t my favourite. I felt that at times I was being talked down upon. It was like the adults in the book were there to tell us the things that teens do are wrong. However, I did keep on reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Another reason why I didn’t like Lisette’s Paris Notebook was that, I felt it was all stereotypes. If I had to read ‘Oh La La’ one more time I was going to lose it. It was like the author just plucked all these sayings and chucked them in. It didn’t feel authentic and I cringe so many time throughout the book. I also felt that some of the remarks about Australia were also stereotypical and the other didn’t say that they were not real.

Overall, Lisette’s Paris Notebook was not for me. It explores family, friendship and romance. It had a protagonist that felt too young to be eighteen and a plot that dragged on. I was expecting and wanting more from Lisette’s Paris Notebook. However, I did keep on reading.

Have you read Lisette’s Paris Notebook? Did you like it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young

Dec 28, 2016

Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young

Pages: 304
Publish date: October 4th, 2016
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1481423010
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Stay tonight. Stay forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between in a place that is so much more than it seems…

And the 13th chapter will only add to the mystery behind the 13th floor of Hotel Ruby…and ultimately, what it means for Audrey.

Welcome to the Ruby.

Hotel for the Lost:

I received a review copy of Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young from Simon and Shuster in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t heard much about Hotel for the Lost before I picked it up. The synopsis intrigued me and it sounded like something that I was going to like – and I did.

Hotel for the Lost follows protagonist Audrey, her brother Daniel and their father when they come to rest at Hotel Ruby as they make their way to their grandmothers. The past couple of months has been hard on their trio. Audrey’s and Daniel’s mother has passed and the whole family is grieving. So when they arrive at Hotel Ruby, Audrey is relieved and wanting to take some time.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Audrey as a protagonist. I wasn’t able to connect with her or feel her raw emotions from losing her mothers. It was like this barrier between Audrey and the reader. Her grief was evident throughout the book, however, I just wasn’t able to feel it. Audrey was also dealing with a recent breakup that she kept on going back to throughout the book. She keeps on referring to the breakup, even though she is adamant that she wasn’t in love with him. It became a drag after a while.

I did, however, love how much she cared for her family. Even though there was a lot of tension with her father. The reader is able to see that she still cares for him. However, I wanted to see a good father/daughter relationship as we don’t see it much in YA. Though, I did understand his grief and the way that he acts is somewhat understandable.

Daniel and Audrey’s relationship was a classic brother/sister one. I loved the banter between the two and even though Daniel acted like a moody teenager, so did Audrey. They both had their differences, but the reader is able to see that they love each other.

I like the friendships that Audrey builds in Hotel for the Lost. Even though most are the staff of Hotel Ruby, they find a connection and bond easily. Though I did feel they bonded a little too quickly. In saying that, Hotel for the Lost is set over a couple of days.

That was one of the reasons the romance in Hotel for the Lost was hard to love. Though I did find both Audrey and Elias adorable. Elias is a charmer, he was an interesting character that did take the spotlight at times.

The storyline of Hotel for the Lost was predictable. I knew what was going to happen before it did, and I wasn’t entirely surprised by the ending. It was like I was having deja vu throughout the whole book, but I didn’t hate it. I wanted to keep on reading and find out if I was right or not.

The writing style of Suzanne Young in Hotel for the Lost was simple, but I also enjoyed it. I didn’t have to stress over what I was reading. It flowed easy and the dialogue was realistic.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Hotel for the Lost. It was a fast-paced, thrilling read that did keep me on the edge of my seat. Hotel for the Lost explores the notion of family, death, grief, friendship and standing up for yourself. If you are in the mood for a thrilling, entertain and emotional read then Hotel for the Lost is for you.

Have you read Hotel for the Lost? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read anything else by Suzanne Young? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

Dec 19, 2016

Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

Pages: 300
Publish date: October 4th, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books
ASIN: B01KIHPZCW
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US

Striker Gryphon has lost his position of honour among the Ram, and is now a hunted man. A traitor.

Zo, the object of his affection, was murdered by members of his former clan. To honour her memory, he journeys to the highly secretive Raven “Nest” to warn strangers of their impending demise—though it could cost him more than just his pride.

He doesn’t know that Zo is very much alive and in another part of the region assisting Nameless refugees over a mountain swarming with wild men known as “Clanless.”

As each struggle to make sense of what their lives have become, they fight and claw to reach the Allied Camp, their last hope in bringing peace to the region.

But the road back to one another is treacherous and uncertain. And freedom will come with a price.

Clanless:

This review of Clanless contains spoilers from book 1 – Nameless.

After reading Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins, I knew that I had to get right onto reading Clanless. The ending was intense and I needed to know what was going to happen next.

Clanless starts off where Nameless left off. The protagonist, Zo on the run with her sister, Joshua and a few more that joins them on the way. Zo and the crew are attempting to find refuge and allies that can help them fight. However, they are on the run from both the Ram’s wrath and the ‘Clanless’ – wild men that hunt in the woods.

Again, I really enjoyed Zo as a protagonist. I loved her strength and her determination, to not only keep her sister alive but others that have joined her. In Clanless we get to see a weakness of Zo, her love. Her love for everyone around her, not only makes her a liability but slows her down. Believing that Gryphon has betrayed her and could be dead – she lets this grief get a hold of her, however, I liked it. In the previous book, Zo didn’t show too much emotion, but that was thrown all out in window in Clanless.

Gryphon is a traitor. Well to his people he is, Gryphon has lost his position and honour amount the Ram and now is on the Run. Through Clanless the reader is able to see a whole different side to Gryphon. One that wasn’t even evident in Nameless and even though there is a stark difference – I think I like this one better.

Gryphon is not only on the run, but believes that Zo is dead and it’s his fault. For her, he goes on a journey to find the Raven people. He wants to warn them what is coming. But, when the world that he thought he knew isn’t the same, it’s a struggle. Gryphon emotions are quite raw throughout Clanless and sometimes it was hard to believe that he could show so much emotion.

A thing that I loved about Clanless was the friendships. Zo and her sister. Oh gosh, my heart could break for them. Both have gone through so much and their bond was beautiful. We see a lot of protagonist/sister bonds in YA – but, I think that Jennifer Jenkins explored it so well.

Zo and Joshua have a very interesting relationship. They grew fond of each other in Nameless, Joshua more than Zo, but they still had this distance. However, with the how the first book ended, the reader is able to see them both grow and share in their grief for Gryphon.

One of my favourite things about this series is the world building. It’s fantastic. In the first book, we are dropped into this world and as the story went on, we found out more. And it carries on into Clanless. I love the layers of the world that Jennifer Jenkins has created. We aren’t thrown into the world and then information is chucked at us, but it’s treaded to us slowly and beautifully.

Clanless is a ‘survive in the wild’ type of book. With everyone on the run trying to get places and not be killed. While finding out more about the world, the plot moves on and the reader is taken on a journey with the characters.

Overall, I enjoyed Clanless. It’s an epic journey of surviving, strength, grief and finding out who you are. It is about joining forces, creating allies and finding out who the real enemy is. It has exceptional world building, intriguing character, a plot that runs wild and friendships that are knotted together. Trust no one, because you don’t know who is going to stab you in the back.