3.5 Stars Archives - Page 5 of 16

Book Review: Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

Feb 1, 2018

Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

Pages: 384
Publish date: February 8th, 2018
Publisher: Pan Macmillian Australia
ISBN: 9781509852864
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.

Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.

As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

Goodbye, Perfect:

I received an arc of Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard from Pan Macmillian in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

There are going to be some spoilers in this book review. It’s really hard to talk about Goodbye, Perfect without spoiling certain themes.

I hadn’t picked up a book from Sara Barnard before I read Goodbye, Perfect but now I am intrigued. I have a love/dislike relationship with this book. For the most part, I really enjoyed the book, but then there were parts that just didn’t sit well with me.

Goodbye, Perfect follows Eden who thought her life was going pretty well and then her best friend runs away. 5 Days before GCSEs Bonnie runs away with a boyfriend that no one knew about – one that shouldn’t be her boyfriend, their music teacher Mr Cohn. And Eden is the only one that knows of Bonnie’s location With the police and Bonnie’s family burning questions down her back – will she tell where Bonnie is or will she kill is a secret.

Eden was a pretty easy character to get along with. While it was hard to know why she hides things about Bonnie’s location, I can understand why. Eden is 15/16 and at that age, your friends are your life. It’s how you survive high school a lot of the time. Throughout Goodbye, Perfect the reader is able to see the struggle that Edge goes through holding in all these secrets. What makes it worse is that Bonnie’s lies keep on piling up and I think that puts a lot of pressure on Eden as well.

Goodbye, Perfect deals with the theme of student/teacher relationship. And it has a very honest outlook on the situation, but also very scary. Throughout the novel, the reader is able to see that Bonnie believes that she loves Mr Cohn. And nevertheless will do anything for him. There is also the fact that Mr Cohn also believes he loves Bonnie. But doesn’t realise what he is doing is wrong. Maybe. If Bonnie was over 18, and Mr Cohn wasn’t her teacher. I wouldn’t give a damn about the age gap – however being in the position of power is a whole new level.

Family was another massive theme of Goodbye, Perfect. Eden has a pretty good support system. Eden and her little sister are adopted, and they have pretty amazing parents. You don’t see that much in the novel, adoptive families that are great, so it was nice to see. Even though Eden has a rocky relationship with her older sisters, it was great to see them bond. It was nice seeing them getting to both know and understand each other. Eden boyfriend was also adorable! Them two together just melted my heart. While their relationship didn’t take over the book. It was there and he not only supported Eden but was just there for her.

Goodbye, Perfect also deals with growing up and trying to find your place in the world. I loved seeing Eden be a normal teenager; struggling with where she fits in. I liked that Eden wasn’t ‘smart,’ I loved seeing her study and not fit into the ‘norm’ of young adult students. I thought it was brilliant that she failed and had to try again – it made her that more real.

Overall, Goodbye, Perfect was a hard read. It explores family, friendship and doing what’s right. Eden struggles with the boundaries of friendship and how secrets can hurt a lot of people around it. Goodbye, Perfect is an emotional read that pushed characters to their limits. If you are looking for an intense and emotional read then this one is for you.

Book Review: The Treatment by C.L. Taylor

Jan 13, 2018

The Treatment by C.L. Taylor

Pages: 299
Publish date: October 22, 2017
Publisher: HQ Australia Teen
ISBN: 9780008240561
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

“You have to help me. We’re not being reformed. We’re being brainwashed.”
All sixteen-year-old Drew Finch wants is to be left alone. She’s not interested in spending time with her mum and stepdad and when her disruptive fifteen-year-old brother Mason is expelled from school for the third time and sent to a residential reform academy she’s almost relieved.Everything changes when she’s followed home from school by the mysterious Dr Cobey, who claims to have a message from Mason. There is something sinister about the ‘treatment’ he is undergoing. The school is changing people.Determined to help her brother, Drew must infiltrate the Academy and unearth its deepest, darkest secrets.Before it’s too late.

The Treatment:

I received an arc of The Treatment by C.L. Taylor from Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I am always up for reading a crime/mystery novel. I love the thrill of reading, not knowing what is going to happen next. Where something new could happen right around the corner. There aren’t many of those types of books in YA. And while The Treatment by C.L. Taylor wasn’t my favourite book out there, I still really enjoyed it.

The Treatment follows sixteen-year-old Drew as she tries to live her life without her younger brother Mason, who’s been sent to a reform school. But when she receives a message from him saying his in trouble, she will stop at nothing to save him. But how could she save Mason, when she can’t even save herself.

Drew was a hard character to get along with. For the main part I enjoyed her, however, throughout the novel, it was hard to like her. Drew wore her emotions on her sleeve and while that not be bad, it did get her into trouble a lot. Because of this attitude and her stubbornest, I felt that she got herself into situations that could have been prevented.

In saying that, I loved that Drew cared so much about her brother – and she would stop at nothing to save him. C.L. Taylor was able to show this love and that Drew would do some crazy things to get Mason back.

One of the things that The Treatment does have is girl on girl hate. I know a lot of people don’t like it in books. And while I don’t love it, I do think it’s necessary at times. Bullying and hate are very much present in this world and to shy away from that in books aren’t right. Readers need to know behaviours that are wrong and how they can hurt others. It also showed how horrible girls can be to one another.

The Treatment was an intense book. I didn’t really know what was going to happen next and it kept me reading on. While there were parts that I did guess, I was shocked by other things that happened. So that was really enjoyable.

It’s really hard to review this book without giving so much away, plot-wise. But it was really interesting to see the inside of a ‘reform school.’ Who was in there, what they did to change these teens? I liked seeing the interaction between these kids. And while they didn’t actually do horrible life threating things, it was interesting to see why they were there.

While I did enjoy the plot of the book, I wasn’t a massive fan of the writing style. I’m not sure what it was. Maybe it was Drew’s voice that didn’t sit with me well. But it did put a damper on the book and my enjoyment of it.

The ending of The Treatment also felt very rushed to me. It was like the reader was getting into the thick of things and then bam it’s the end. And while I don’t mind open endings, because of how rushed the last part of the book was. It didn’t feel complete. There were so many things left unanswered or brushed by.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Treatment by C.L. Taylor. It was an interesting and kept me on edge throughout the novel. The plot was gripping and I wanted to always know what was going to happen next. The Treatment explores family and what you would do for them. Corrupt systems and how not everything is how it seems. If you like intense, mystery novels then The Treatment is for you.

Have you read The Treatment by C.L. Taylor? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What are some of your favourite crime YA novels? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: The Nanny Arrangement by Rachel Harris

May 21, 2017

The Nanny Arrangement by Rachel Harris

Pages: –
Publish date: May 22, 2016
Publisher: Entangled
ASIN: B071NKWD4K
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Soft-spoken and shy Hannah Fisher is determined to make the man she’s loved her entire life finally see her as a woman. With the help of a makeover, a new mission—Operation Find My Happy—and the conveniently forced proximity of a tour bus, she vows to win her best friend Deacon’s heart.

Former bad boy and current fiddle player Deacon Latrell has the world at his fingertips: a new gig with a famous band, plus his best friend on tour as his son’s nanny. Life couldn’t get much sweeter. Now if only he could stop imagining kissing the daylights out of his childhood BFF…

With one friend set on pushing the boundaries and the other afraid to rock the boat, one thing’s for certain—their story would make one heck of a country song.

The Nanny Arrangement:

I received an e-arc of The Nanny Arrangement by Rachel Harris from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This has no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I’ve read a lot of Rachel Harris books before and I have a pretty good idea of how I am going to feel about them and The Nanny Arrangement was no different. This is book 2 in the Country Blues series, but book 3 about Blue’s band.

The Nanny Arrangement follows best friends Hannah and Deacon as they begin their journey with Blue. Deacon as the fiddle player and Hannah as the Nanny for the little ones on the tour. Things have always been effortless for these two. But when feelings start to change, everyone is in for a ride.

Hannah was a fun protagonist to get along with and I was able to really connect with her. Although Hannah no longer has her stutter, the reader is able to see that she is still riddled with anxiety and that haunts her. She let’s past comments take over and when she is feeling down, they consume her. But, I admire her strength. While she does let these comments take over – she also challenges them and faces them head on. The reader is able to see that she has grown before the book has even started. Throughout The Nanny Arrangement, we are able to see Hannah grow even more and it was really fantastic.

Deacon is a hard protagonist to crack. We only know him slightly from the pervious books in the series, but the reader gets to really know him in The Nanny Arrangement. I really enjoyed it because we get to see two sides of him, the first is the side that he shows. Then there is the other that only Hannah can see. It was really nice, seeing that. There were times that Deacon really did hit a nerve and I just wanted to yell at him – but he did make up for it.

What I loved most about The Nanny Arrangement was the aspect of family. I cannot explain how much I loved Deacon and his little boy. I loved their relationship and how much he cared for him. How much he would do for him. His whole life is about making sure his little boy is going to have what he needs and he doesn’t want to let him down. I also loved how much Hannah cared for him – she has loved him since he was born and she like Deacon would do anything for him.

The romance side of The Nanny Arrangement was a hit and miss for me. For the most part, I really enjoyed it. I adored friends to lovers and I think it worked so well in this novel. The reader is able to see that they both care deeply for one another and in reality, they have loved each other for quiet some time. However, I didn’t feel like we got to see Deacon’s feelings enough until the end. I felt there was a barrier between the reader and his feelings. I was able to understand his feelings until the end.

Plot wise The Nanny Arrangement was very cliche at times, but I really didn’t mind it. Sometimes I just want a book that will put a smile on my face. I want to fall into the world and in love with the characters. And that is what The Nanny Arrangement did. I also think because the reader already knows most of the characters – we want to see how they are going on their journey.

Overall, The Nanny Arrangement was a fun read. Yes, it was full of high emotions, heartbreak, and adorableness, but it was a quick read. The Nanny Arrangement explores the notion of what family really is and best friends that are totally something more. It explores friendship and what you would do for your family. If you are a contemporary romance lover, then this is for you.

Have you read The Nanny Arrangement by Rachel Harris? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read any other books her? Let’s Chat!