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Book Review: Burning by Danielle Rollins

Aug 3, 2016

Burning by Danielle Rollins

Pages: 343
Publish date: April 16 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
ISBN: 9781408869956
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

After three years in juvie, Angela Davis is now months away from release. She’ll finally get the hell out of Brunesfield Correctional Facility.

And then Jessica arrives… she’s young – only ten years old – so why did she arrive in shackles under the highest security? And why is she being kept in segregation? No one knows what she did to end up there. But there are plenty of rumours.

Pretty soon strange things start happening to Angela and her friends. Could they be down to Jessica?

This little girl might just be more dangerous than anyone expected…

Burning:

I received a review copy of Burning by Danielle Rollins for review from Bloomsbury Australia in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

As soon as I read the synopsis for Burning, I knew that I needed to read it. It sounded like something that was going to take me on an adventure and leave me hanging, page after page and it did do that – just not in the way that I expected it.

Burning follows protagonist Angela Davis a few months before her release from her 3 year juvie sentence. She will finally be free from Brunesfield Correctional Facility and able to be with her young brother again – but then ten year old Jessica arrives and everything seems to turn on its head. Strange things start to happen when Jessica is around, new people arrive and it’s no longer safe…for anyone.

Overall, Angela was an easy protagonist to get along with. There were times where she annoyed me, but that was mainly with her not telling us why she was in Juvie for so long and when the truth came out…it was anticlimactic. I loved Angela’s drive to be there for her brother, which is what kept her going all those years.

I like the friendships that Angela builds over the three years and she is not some loner who keeps to herself. I liked that no one was even that close, but they were still there for each other.

One thing I didn’t like about Angela was how quickly she believed in things. She was told things and bam it was true, I also wasn’t a massive fan of how fast she was manipulated – however, because of the setting – I think it worked.

I loved the setting of Burning. It’s very rare that you see a book set in juvie in young adult and I cannot think of any off the top of my head. So in that aspect it was unique. I was intrigued with how the system works, how they were treated and just how long some of the characters had been there.

I quite liked the romance in Burning. It was sweet and didn’t overtake the story. There were just little hints of it here and there. I wasn’t 100% convinced by how it all worked, however, I liked the slow burn of the romance. Plus the guy was very adorable.

Although I liked a few things in Burning, the pace of the book brought it down. Burning was really slow, and at times I was quite bored. I wanted to skip pages and get to the interesting parts that make my heart skip a beat.

Another thing about Burning that was confusing was the genre, I felt Danielle Rollins was trying to throw so much stuff in that it confused the story. It was a thriller, crime, horror (of sorts), supernatural and I could go on. I hadn’t read a Danielle Rollins book before Burning so I don’t know if she does that with her other books.

The ending of Burning – it was intense. You had no idea what to believe, what was going to happen next. The last 100 pages or so, I kept reading and reading. Turning page after page. I need the second book as soon as I can get it.

Overall, I enjoyed Burning. Was is a bad book? No. Is it my favourite? No. Will I read the next book in this series? Yes. Burning reminds us that not everyone is who they seem on the outside, or even who you think them to be, sometimes you need to trust your instincts and run.

Just a think before I finish – I really don’t like the Australian cover, the US cover just works so well with the book.

Have you read Burning? Did you enjoy it? Are you going to read it? Have you read anything else by Danielle Rollins? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Jul 24, 2016

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Pages: 402
Publish date: April 2016
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
ISBN: 9780008126360
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found Flawed.

Flawed:

I received a review copy of Flawed by Cecelia Ahern from Harper Collins Australia in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I have seen this book around for a while, however I am not the biggest fan of dystopian, and I’ve just not had the best luck with it, so picking it wasn’t high on my list. In saying all this, I quite enjoyed Flawed and cannot wait to read the sequel.

Flawed follows Celestine North as her perfect life turns on its head. An instinctive decision changes everything Celestine knew, and what people thought of her. She breaks a rule of this new world and has to suffer the consequences.

I enjoyed Celestine as a protagonist, but I didn’t love her. She lives in a world where she is seen as perfect, where you are punished for sometimes simple mistakes. She has a notion of how the world works and she cannot see otherwise. However, as the Flawed goes on she witnesses a different side to this world and her opinions change.

I loved seeing Celestine grow, her character development was something that I adored about the book and cannot wait to see where she goes. Like I said at times she could be naïve and all I wanted to do was scream – however I understood why.

What happens to her is horrible and my heart broke. She now lives a very different life and she doesn’t have too many people on her side. I did want to see her a little more vulnerable though, Cecelia Ahern could have taken that a little further.

One of the things that I loved about Flawed was the family relationship. It’s not every day that you see a good family bond, especially in YA, so I loved seeing it. Her parents; if I could hug them, I would – they were brilliant. They stood by her and did as much as they could.

I loved seeing the interactions between them all; at times the younger members of the family were a bit…I don’t even know how to explain it, supportive, but it overall the relationship was okay.

Another thing I loved about Flawed was the world – I was fascinated, intrigued; it was a horrible world where people get published for the most simple of things, but it was done so well.

If you have done wrong, you are tried and if found guilty you are punished by a branding, an F. There are five brand placements and each mean a different thing;

The temple, for bad decisions.

The tongue, for lying.

The right palm, for stealing from society.

Over the heart, for disloyalty to the guide.

And

The sole of the right foot, for stepping out of line with society.

Apart from the branding they are treated like outcasts. They have to follow certain rules, they cannot live a normal life – they are flawed.

The romance in Flawed wasn’t exactly my favourite and we don’t see too much of it. At the start of the novel she is with Art Crevan, it seemed like a stable relationship, however I didn’t feel the spark. I felt like there was something missing.

Then there is Carrick and we don’t see too much of him, but Celestine feels something and she is intrigued and pulled into his direction.

Cecelia writing in Flawed was great, it was easy to read and follow. The world building was done okay, however at times I was confused because there was a lot of characters to follow.

Overall, Flawed was an intriguing read. With a world that marks people for being flawed and follows a system that is flawed itself, a protagonist that needs to hold on, Flawed is a captivating read and I cannot wait for more.

Have you read Flawed yet? Did you enjoy it? Are you going to read it? Have you read read any other Cecelia Ahern books? Let’s Chat.

Book Review: The Industry by Rose Foster

Jul 20, 2016

The Industry by Rose Foster

Pages: 312
Publish date: March 20th 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0732293308
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Kirra Hayward is an ordinary sixteen year old – smarter than most, but otherwise completely anonymous. When she stumbles across an unusual puzzle on the internet and manages to solve it, she has no idea of what she’s letting herself in for. Kidnapped by a shadowy organisation known only as The Industry, Kirra soon discovers how valuable her code-breaking skills are. And when she stubbornly refuses to help them, they decide to break her … by any means at their disposal. Kirra knows that to protect herself, she must trust no one, not even her fellow prisoner, Milo. But as time goes by she realises he might be the only person she can rely on …

The Industry:

I received of The Industry by Rose Foster from the author in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t really heard about the The Industry before I started to look into #LoveOZYA authors. I saw the cover, but it never caught my eye and I don’t know why – as soon as I read the synopsis I knew that I had to pick it up. It sounded like there were things I liked, and overall I did enjoy it.

The Industry follows protagonist Kirra as she cracks a code, is taken captive, tortured and has to fight for her life. We are taken on a journey through pain, heartbreak, and the possibility of dying.

Kirra is an interesting protagonist; I never loved her but, at the same time I never hated her. I admired her for her determination, she wants to stay alive, she will go through pain, she won’t give in.

Kirra almost never wined and I loved that – she was put into a situation that is so horrible and she didn’t act like her life was ending, she stayed strong and tried to stay alive. My heart broke for her at times, I just wanted wrap her up in my arms and hug her.

However, I didn’t feel that she had enough character development; yes there was some, but I wanted more. I was craving more.

I enjoyed the world that Foster builds in The Industry, it’s quite intriguing. At times I was confused with all the names and organisations, but I just slipped over it and it was all good.

I liked this idea of an underground of sorts, but to do with coding and technology. It was quite different from something that I had read before, and to why Kirra is one of the few that can crack this code. I do wish there was some more world building – as I feel it lacked at times.

I truly enjoyed the writing style of Rose Foster in The Industry. The emotions that she evokes through Kirra was spot on. Pulling me into the novel even more because of this. I wanted to know how Kirra was going to survive and not just physically, but mentally as well. I hope that we see more of this in the following novel.

In The Industry we get to see how Kirra is feeling during her captivity, how she reacts, how she curls into herself and now I want more.

Milo…I cannot say too much about this because it will spoil the book, but I knew! I knew and I still let myself fall.

It kept me on my seat throughout the whole book, I had no idea what was going to happen next. Who was going to die, run, survive, and appear. I didn’t know what to expect and I loved that. Feeling like you are going on a ride with the protagonist was pretty awesome.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Industry and cannot wait to read more. The world was intriguing, protagonist interesting and the story pulled me right in. The Industry shows us that we need to try and be strong in hard times, even when you think everything is impossible.

Have you read The Industry? Did you liked it? Are you going to read it? Do you know any books that are similar? Let’s Chat!