3.5 Stars Archives - Page 14 of 16

Book Review: An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

Sep 14, 2015

An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

Pages: 336
Publish date: October 6th 2015
Publisher: Clarion Books
ASIN: B00QPIO73M
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US

The strange war down south—with its rumors of gods and monsters—is over. And while sixteen-year-old Hallie and her sister wait to see who will return from the distant battlefield, they struggle to maintain their family farm.

When Hallie hires a veteran to help them, the war comes home in ways no one could have imagined, and soon Hallie is taking dangerous risks—and keeping desperate secrets. But even as she slowly learns more about the war and the men who fought it, ugly truths about Hallie’s own family are emerging. And while monsters and armies are converging on the small farm, the greatest threat to her home may be Hallie herself.

An Inheritance of Ashes

I received a copy of An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet in exchange for a review from Clarion Books via NetGalley. This has no way influenced what I think of the book.

An Inheritance of Ashes is one of those slow burning books. It takes a while to get to the main action, however I think it worked in its favour. It is such a beautiful book, the writing is captivating and the storyline is quite interesting.

I love my fantasy books, if you didn’t know that by now and An Inheritance of Ashes is a fantasy book that is quite enjoyable.

It’s really hard to explain what An Inheritance of Ashes is about without giving too much away and confusing you. The storyline isn’t that confusing, but trying to explain it might be.

An Inheritance of Ashes follows sixteen-year-old protagonist, Hallie and her sister Marthe who are trying to maintain their family farm while a strange war is ending. Marthe is pregnant and awaiting the return of her husband and as time goes on she is losing hope. Hallie hires a veteran as an extra pair of hands to help with the farm, on the other hand everything isn’t what it seems.

In reality I quite enjoyed Hallie as a character as she was fun to read about, nevertheless I felt like there was this disconnection between her and the story. I don’t know why, I felt that she was somewhat bland in a way. I enjoyed reading her, but I felt that she had no real character arc. She rather stayed the same the entire book.

Marthe, I have a love/hate relationship with her. I understand that she is pregnant and she doesn’t know if the father of her baby will ever be back, but gosh she was mean. I truly hated the way that she treated Hallie, like she was nothing. That she could boss her around and nothing came from it. It was all too much for me. I wanted to give her a slap across the head. And towards the end when she finds out what Hallie is keeping from her – holy moly – like seriously. I couldn’t stand it. But then I realised what she was going through, what she had gone through and it made me sympathise with her a little bit.

I felt that the world building lacked… a lot. I was so confused at times to what was going on. Then there are these ‘Twisted things’ that just pop up and aren’t given any explanation of what they are and what they do. Also the war with the gods was confusing. I was asking all these questions and the answers didn’t come clear. Who are these gods? What are these gods? Why are they fighting these gods? Some answers at the end of the book, but I was still confused about the world.

I really enjoyed the romance. It was the slow burning kind and that is nice to see in a young adult book. Normally everything is all rushed and it’s so unrealistic. But it was really well done.

I overall enjoyed the book, I didn’t love it and I didn’t ate it. I thought that it could have been done better and that would have made it a truly wonderful fantasy read. The characters weren’t very likable but you didn’t hate them all. If you are looking for a quick fantasy read; then you might want to try An Inheritance of Ashes.

Have you read An Inheritance of Ashes? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it?

Book Review: Anya and The Shy Guy by Suze Winegardner

Jul 14, 2015

Anya and the Shy Guy by Suze Winegardner

Pages: 200
Publish date: July 14 2015
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
ASIN: B00ZOGRDD2
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

It’s always the quiet ones…

Anya Anderson doesn’t just need a big break, she needs any break. Living on the streets doesn’t leave a girl many options, so when she scores a gig reporting on the Seconds to Juliet tour, she jumps at the chance to earn enough money to sleep somewhere safe. And the paycheck will get bigger—and keep her off the streets for good—if she can dig up dirt on Will Fray, the irritatingly hot “shy guy” of the band.

Problem is, Will Fray isn’t who everyone thinks he is. In fact, he’s not Will at all. Matt, Will’s identical twin, is actually the guy onstage, reluctantly covering for his brother while he’s in rehab. To make matters worse, Matt’s being shadowed by a cute reporter with troubled eyes determined to get the scoop. On him. And he’s having trouble finding the willpower to keep his distance…

But if the secret gets out, it won’t just be his head on a platter—it’ll be the whole band’s.

Anya and The Shy Guy:

I received an e-arc of Anya and the Shy Guy by Suze Winegardner from Entangled Publishing: Crush via NetGalley in exchange for a review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts on the book in any way.

This is the 4th Book in the Backstage Pass Series from Entangled Publishing: Crush, and the 3rd book I have read in this series. I missed reading the 3rd in the series somehow, but I will get to it hopefully soon. From all the books that I have read in the series, Anya and the Shy Guy is probably my favourite. It may have to do with the fact that I started reading it before I headed to the 5 Seconds of Summer concert and finished it when I was home.

Anya the female protagonist of Anya and the Shy Guy was someone that I really enjoyed reading. I don’t know what it practically was, but I liked being in her perspective on her journey finding more about herself and the people around her. Anya has suffered more than enough; being homeless since she was fifteen and not really have knowledge of the ‘outside’ world, so when she goes on tour with Second to Juliet she struggles.

Anya has been hired by a magazine to dig some dirt on Will Fray the ‘shy guy’ from Seconds and Juliet, but there is a problem. One big problem, Will Fray isn’t, Will Fray it’s his identical twin Matt.

Matt (the male protagonist) is taking Will’s spot in the band while he is in rehab recovering from pain killer abuse. Matt is quite similar to Will except for one thing – his not shy. While Matt struggles to act like Will would, react when he hears ‘Will’ and remember the words of the songs that he has to sing on stage nearly every night, he must also keep his identity not only from his band members, but their manager and now, Anya.

Like Anya, I really enjoyed Matt in Anya and the Shy Guy. He was interesting and mysterious, but also the reader is able to see him break down, as the pressure starts to build.

I enjoyed the writing style of Suze Winegardner in Anya and the Shy Guy, more than the other books in the series. It was more refreshing and didn’t have too many cliché responses like the other books. There were still some here and there, but I found it more toned down from the other books.

Furthermore, I really enjoyed the banter between Anya and Matt. While they tried to shy away from each other because of all the secrets that they both hold, they are drawn to each other and they both have to do their jobs. Anya find some dirt of Will Fray and Matt has to keep his brother being in rehab a secret.

The romance like the other books in the series moves fast. If you don’t like fast moving romance, then Anya and the Shy Guy might annoy you. But If you don’t mind a fast past plot and romance, then I am sure you will love it. I am not the biggest fan of fast moving romances, but occasionally I just need a cliché romance.

I loved seeing the other boys throughout the book and it’s awesome to see the interaction of the boys from different perspectives. What the boys think of each other, how the different girls seem them together. It’s fun and different.
I also like the friendships that build throughout the book. It creates the book into something that isn’t solely focused on the love side of it but Anya and the Shy Guy has a combination of friendship, family and love.

If you like a fun, fast paced, but emotional read that will have you screaming and giggling at times, then Anya and the Shy Guy is the book that you need. Suze Winegarnder’s writing style is clever and entertaining, while her characters and plot keep the reader engaged.

Book Review: What Lies Within by James Morris

Jul 1, 2015

What Lies Within by James Morris

Pages: 226
Publish date: June 2nd
Publisher: Kindle Press
ASIN: B00VF6T5C2
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

“You’re going to die”

A single text message and Shelley Marano’s world is upended. A normal high school senior, Shelley discovers she is adopted. She goes on a journey to uncover her past, only to find she was part of a horrific experiment to test the theory of nature versus nurture. In a culture of violence committed by young people, she may be one of these killers. With the lives of her and her friends in the balance, one thing is certain: she will never be the same.

What Lies Within:

I received a copy of What Lies Within by James Morris for review in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my opinion on the book.

I hadn’t heard about What Lies Within before I was contacted. I had no idea what it was about or anything about the author, but I read an excerpt and I was hooked.

What Lies Within follows Shelley Marano as her world is tipped upside down and on its head after she finds out that she is adopted in a not so conventional way. As she goes on a journey trying to uncover her past, she delves into things that anyone wouldn’t want to know. Not only was she adopted, but she was part of a scientific experiment on the theory of nature vs nurture.

I would class What Lies Within somewhere on the thriller spectrum, but then it has mixes of different types of genre’s that make it a real interesting read.

The concept of What Lies Within was intriguing. It was similar to other ideas, nevertheless James Morris made it his own. The plot started right in the thick of all the drama and kept on going up from there. I found What Lies Within fast paced and packed a punch with all its twists and turns.

Her search was over. Matthew Ridge came into her life like a storm and then left, leaving behind a trail of windblown breadcrumbs that had led nowhere.

I also loved the writing style, it was beautiful and pulling. It kept me engaged from the start. How a word flows into another, how sentences fit perfectly together was brilliant.

Shelley is an interesting character. She works with her single father is his auto body shop while not at school and only has one real friend, Winston. Shelley was a strong female lead, which took the reader on a journey. The reader is able to grow with Shelley and feel her emotions. At times she did annoy me with her superficiality, however as the novel went on, the reader is able to see her move away from all this.

I certainly an enjoyable Winston as a character. The reader is able to see that he cares deeply for Shelley and that he would literally do anything for her. I wish we were able to see a little more of his personality.

…she took an art class in school and knew there was something about putting your soul on paper. Sharing yourself in a way that was more personal than mere words.

I also wish we could have gotten more interaction between Shelley and her dad. I understand that her life was all a mess, though he was barley in any scenes and when he was, there wasn’t much interaction between the two. And what he did, I totally understand why he did it because, well if I had a kid and they told me what Shelley did, I would think that they are a little crazy too.

One thing that I didn’t like was the romance, if you could call it that. One moment she was thinking about her crush and then next thing I know BOOM! Like what on earth. I could not believe what I was reading. It took me by shock and, Shelley was all for it.

The ending was explosive and in my opinion unpredictable. I was in such shock, but a good, breathtaking shock. It was a unique way to finish a book and I haven’t read anything like it before. I thought I knew what was going to happen with it all and then bang it was totally different to what I was expecting and it was such so good.

Overall, What Lies Within was a really enjoyable, thrilling read that kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was beautiful and intriguing and although there was a few elements that I didn’t like it was still a fun read that I enjoyed.