Book Reviews Archives - Page 75 of 114

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!

Book Review: Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle

Jul 14, 2016

Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle

Pages: 320
Publish date: July 11 2016
Publisher: Hatchette Australia
ISBN: 9780733634857
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Ben and Grace Walker are twins. Growing up in a sleepy coastal town it was inevitable they’d surf. Always close, they hung out more than most brothers and sisters, surfing together for hours as the sun melted into the sea. At seventeen, Ben is a rising surf star, the golden son and the boy all the girls fall in love with. Beside him, Grace feels like she is a mere reflection of his light. In their last year of school, the world beckons, full of possibility. For Grace, finishing exams and kissing Harley Matthews is just the beginning.

Then, one day, the unthinkable. The sun sets at noon and suddenly everything that was safe and predictable is lost. And everything unravels

Breathing Under Water:

I received an e-arc of Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle from Hatchette via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about this book.

It’s been a couple of weeks since I read Breathing Under Water and I am still now sure how I feel about it. There were parts that I liked and intrigued by, but then there were parts that just got on my nerves. It’s that weird feeling that you get, what you have no idea what you are thinking. The likes don’t override the dislikes, and the dislikes don’t override the likes, I am in the middle.

Breathing Under Water follows protagonist Grace, twin to Ben Walker. They are closer than most brothers and sisters, they would hang out with their friends, they would go surfing together and just being there for each other. But Grace is always a shadow to Ben, but then the unthinkable happens, Grace’s life falls apart.

I don’t know how I feel about Grace, I felt that she just moved along with the rest of the characters and until the unthinkable happens, we don’t really know her as a person and then again, the person that we do get to know is full of grief and doing things that she would never do.

However, I loved seeing Grace grow throughout the novel. We get to see her find out who she is without Ben, it’s a hard road and some people may find it hard to read, but I thought it was done exquisitely.

It’s hard to comment on Grace’s family simply because of the situation that they were put through. They go through a hell of a lot, but grief changes people and sometimes not for the better. In the moment that they should all be there for each other they drift away.

The friendships in Breathing Under Water are hard to explain as well and again it’s because of grief. Everyone deals with it in different ways and sometimes that divides friendships. In saying that, I liked how it all panned out.

A problem that I had with Breathing Under Water was that I didn’t know what age Grace was without reading the synopsis. I felt the writing a little too young to be seventeen and that kind of hinder thoughts I had about the book.

I also felt the writing was a little too flowery at times, and I just wanted to be told in a simpler way. Then at other times it was beautiful and left me heartbroken. The writing and storyline are powerful and I was left in tears quite a couple of times.

Overall, I enjoyed Breathing Under Water. I was on a ride with Grace, I was pulled along with the grief of the family, of everyone in the book. I liked how everyone reacted differently and how it showed, just how hard it is when someone close does die, way before their time.

Breathing Under Water is an emotional rollercoster of a story. You are on a ride of grief and how it affects people differently, family and how at times you have to stick together, and friendship and how it can break when everything falls apart.

Have you read Breathing Under Water? Did you like it? Are you going to read it? Let’s chat!