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Book Review: These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Dec 14, 2015

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Pages: 320
Publish date: November 2015
Publisher: Five Mile Press (Hot Key Books)
ISBN: 9781471405150
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Josephine Montfort is from one of New York’s oldest, most respected, and wealthiest families. Like most well-off girls of the era her future looks set—after a finishing school education, she will be favourably married off to a handsome wealthy gentleman. But Jo wants a more meaningful and exciting life: she wants to be an investigative journalist like her heroine Nellie Bly.

But when Jo’s father dies after an alleged accident, she begins to investigate his death with the help of a young reporter, Eddie Gallagher. It quickly becomes clear he was murdered, and in their race against time to discover the culprit and his motive, Jo and Eddie find themselves not only battling dark characters of the violent and gritty streets of New York, but also their growing feelings for each other.

These Shallow Graves:

Five Mile Press (Hot Key Books) sent me a copy of These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly, in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, I just find it hard to connect with character, how they live, what they believe and so on but when I read the synopsis of These Shallow Graves, I thought it was going to something that I liked and I wasn’t wrong.
These Shallow Graves is a lot of mystery and a lot of historical fiction so I wouldn’t recommend it to the younger side of young adult unless they are familiar with terms used but overall I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
These Shallow Graves follows protagonist, Josephine Montfort, a girl from high class. Jo comes from one of the wealthiest, respected and oldest families of New York and like all girls in her class her life is set out for her. She is set to graduate and then be married off to a wealthy bachelor – but that isn’t what she wants. She wants to become a writer – a news reporter. Then her father shorts himself. Jo knows better than anyone that her father would be more careful. So she sets out to find the truth, even if they are not what she wants to know. With the help of handsome Eddie; a reporter at her father’s newspaper, they uncover things that are buried beyond sight.

As a child, she’d thought all the noise and commotion was the most wild, wonderful game, but as she’d grown older, she understood why everyone rushed around so: they were chasing a story.

These Shallow Graves overarching plot is pretty predictable. Wealthy girl meets not to well of handsome man, they start to fall and all shit breaks loose. But then everything else with the plot is all over the place and you could not truly guess what was coming next.
I love books that keep me on my toes. I like that I don’t know what is going to happen, but I also like that I can put pieces together slowly and start a puzzle. I love crime TV shows and These Shallow Graves is quite similar expect that it’s historical fiction.
Jo is a little naïve and I want to hit her across the head a couple of times, but I like her fire. I like that she passionate and keeps to what she wants to do. She doesn’t let anyone stop her (even though it got her into trouble a couple of times) it was nice to see.
Eddie – oh how I loved Eddie. He was this, awesome reporter who couldn’t help but always be by Jo’s side. I loved that he didn’t stop Jo from doing things like most male protagonist do these days in YA. He told her maybe she shouldn’t do the things she did but hey she did them anyway.

“You, on the other hand, wish to know things. And no one can forgive a girl for that.”

All the characters were quite interesting and it’s wonderful seeing character that are there as people are not as props. Everyone played a part in the novel. If they didn’t have an impact on the story line they had an impact on a character.
I liked the writing style of Jennifer Donnelly. For a historical fiction it was quite easy to read and understand what was happening without getting over my head in words and sayings that I don’t know what they mean. It was engaging and kept on pulling me and pulling me.
Although, I was a little disappointed in the ending, I was expecting more. All the hype from solving the crimes that happened and then the ending just deflated it all.
Overall all I really enjoyed These Shallow Graves, it was an interesting read and something that I would recommend to historical fiction or crime lovers. These Shallow Graves is a fantastic historical fiction packed with crime solving, romance, heartbreak and tears.

Book Review: Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway

Nov 26, 2015

Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway

Pages: 320
Publish date: July 16, 2015
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9781471144134
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Oliver’s absence split us wide open, dividing our neighborhood along a fault line strong enough to cause an earthquake. An earthquake would have been better. At least during an earthquake, you understand why you’re shaking.
Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. But now Oliver is back, and he’s not the skinny boy-next-door that used to be Emmy’s best friend. Now he’s the boy who got kidnapped. A stranger – a totally hot stranger! – with a whole history that Emmy knows nothing about.
But is their story still meant to be? Or are they like the pieces of two different puzzles – impossible to fit together?

Emmy and Oliver:

I received a review copy of Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway from Simon and Schuster in exchange for a review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I heard about this book for a while. It sounded interesting and I was hearing really good things about it. So when it arrived in my PO I couldn’t wait to read it.

Emmy & Oliver follows Emmy as she deals with the return of her best friend Oliver after he was kidnapped all those years ago. They were best friends before he disappeared and as the years went on they could have been something more. But when he returns he is a stranger – a very hot stranger at that.

If you are looking for a not so dramatic contemporary that will put a smile on your face, than this is the book for you.

I first thought that this book would be full of drama, a book full or running from the bad guys, guns, police, but it wasn’t and It’s what I liked about it. It was a fun read that had me smiling way too much and I am going to admit there was some tears shed as well.

“The more you start to love someone, the more you ache when they’re gone, and maybe it’s that middle ground that hurts the most, when you can see them and still not feel like you’re near enough.”

One of the things that I liked about Emmy & Oliver is that it all felt real. I truly liked Emmy as a character, like the story, she felt real. She was fun to read. She had this nature about her that I just loved. She was easy to read.

From the get go we see a strong friendship between Emmy and her two friends. It’s rare that we see such a strong bond in YA, but their friendship is also real. They have their fights but they are also there for each other. But there is something missing. It’s like Oliver is the missing piece of the puzzle.

When he returns everything doesn’t just go back to normal like a snappy romanced novel, it’s real. Everything is awkward, they don’t know how to treat each other, and they don’t really know who the other is. I loved seeing their friendship grow, between both Emmy and Oliver and the group of 4 friends.

The book was honest with everything. The way that the friends interact, the way that Emmy and her family are with each other, how Emmy and Oliver are with each other.

He looked like a stranger, and then he met my glance, and it was like I had never stopped seeing him.

Robin Benway is a brilliant writer. Emmy & Oliver took me away. It was such an easy read that I was able to read it in a day. She was able to capture what it was like for a teenage who both has protective parents and wants to be free. I connected with Emmy in that way; I just wanted to hug her and tell her that everything is going to be alright.

The romance was just so cute. It was the slow burning kind that I love – Emmy and Oliver have known each other for years but when he comes back and they have to start from the start all over again. It’s sweet seeing them interact with each other.

Even though this book seems light hearted most of the time, it’s not. Oliver was kidnapped as a child and he has to come to terms with that most of this life was a lie. There are some pretty heartbreaking scenes that had me chocked up, especially the ending.

That’s when I first learned about true frustration, that wrenching ache when the thing that matters most to you barely makes a ripple in other people’s lives.

Emmy & Oliver is full of feels. It will take you on a journey that makes you laugh and cry. You will want to hold both Emmy and Oliver in your arms and you will want a friendship that they have within their groups of friends. Emmy & Oliver is honest, real and bittersweet. It tells an important story of growing up, friendship and family. This book is for every contemporary lover and those who are not.

Blog Tour – Book Review: Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick + Giveaway

Nov 13, 2015

Welcome to today’s stop of the Dangerous Lies Blog Tour. This is Part 1 of my stop, you can check out part 2 here! It’s very something delicious. So here is my review and an international giveaway for a Dangerous Lies Tote.

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

Pages: 385
Publish date: November 10th 2015
Publisher: Simon and Schuster AU
ISBN: 1471125084
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Stella Gordon’s life is a lie.

She does not belong in Thunder Basin, Nebraska. As the key witness in a murder trial, Stella is under witness protection, living a life she doesn’t want. No one can know who she really is. Not even Chet Falconer, her hot, enigmatic neighbour. But against her better judgement, Stella finds herself falling under Chet’s spell …

A storm is brewing. Is Stella really safe in Thunder Basin? And will Chet be her shelter, or her downfall …?

Dangerous Lies:

I received a copy of Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review as part of the Dangerous Lies blog tour. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
I’m a massive fan of Becca Fitzpatrick’s books, I read the Hush, Hush series when it first came out in 2009 and I have been a fan ever since so when I read the synopsis of Dangerous Lies I just knew I was going to like it and I wasn’t wrong.
Dangerous Lies follows protagonist, Stella Gordan as she lives a life that she doesn’t want, not in the slightest. Stella has witness a murder and consequently she has been placed under witness protection. The thing is; she doesn’t want to be there and she doesn’t like to follow the rules.

Stella. It drove the point home. Chet didn’t know me. He didn;t even know my real name. He sat there looking fustrated and vulnerable, cutting himself open for a girl who didn’t exist.

I have a love hate relationship with Stella. She can act like a 5 year at times but then I understand why. Her life has been ripped apart, all because she saw a murder. She is living in a place where she thinks she doesn’t belong. She doesn’t know anything about where she is living, doesn’t know anyone and she can’t keep in touch with anyone from her pervious life. But has time goes on she realises that she might just belong in Thunder Basin, Nebraska.
I actually like when books are set in what I like to call country America. It’s nice getting away from the city, away from all the chaos. I also love it since it’s different to a lot of other books I have read or even TV shows that I watch.
Chet…Chet…Chet. Move over Patch I have a new Becca Fitzpatrick book boyfriend. Okay no Patch you can stay. But gosh Chet, how can you know love him. Seriously. I just cannot explain. You have to read and find out.

“I can’t think of a day when you haven’t been in my thoughts. there are a hundrend other things i should be thinking about, but I think about you”

Becca Fitzpatrick is pretty good at making book boyfriends, especially ones that make your heart skip a beat.
Then we have Carmina who is the cranky ex-cop that I just could not like at all. She got on my nervous so much and no matter what happens she was just awful to Stella. She never took into account how hard this is for her – she thinks that she acting like a brat but she doesn’t realise why. Although I came to like her a bit at the end. It’s difficult to like people when they are mean for so long.
Dangerous Lies keeps you on the edge of your toes, you think it’s going in one direction and then it flips. It’s like when you watch NCIS and at the start you have no idea what is going on, who killed who? But as the episode goes on; you start to put everything together.
All the lies though – holy – I just didn’t know what was real and what was lie. But that is what made this book awesome.
The thing I like about Becca Fitzpatrick’s writing is that it is easy to read and it flows from one word to another. However, It’s not easy in the way that you feel like you are being talked down to but it’s written so that everyone can read it.
Overall I truly enjoyed Dangerous Lies it kept my brain on its toes and was a quick read. Stella is a difficult character that you come to love, while Chet sweeps you off your feet. If you are a Becca Fitzpatrick fan you are going to like this book and if you are not well you are still going to like it as well. There is so much more I can talk about but I going to leave it like this.

Giveaway Time! To celebrate the relase of Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick, I’m giving away a tote. This Dagerous Lies Tote fits your reading needs inside. This tote and more can be fond on my Etsy store. So if you don’t win and you want one – head that way.

Terms and Conditions

– This contest is open INTERNATIONALLY
– You must be 18 years or older, or have parents’ permission to enter.
– All your entries will be disqualified if you pickup entries for something you haven’t done.
– If you only use ONE account to do all these tasks and enter under different names, they will still only constitute as ONE entry.
– If the winner does not respond to my e-mail within 48 hours, I will have to choose another winner.
– I am not responsible for any items lost in the mail. Sorry.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour stops. Including Part 2 of mine.