5 Stars Archives - Page 8 of 9

Book Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

May 17, 2014

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 392 (hardcover)
Publish date: July 31st 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
ISBN: 0373210493
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with freaky scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Pushing the Limits:

Okay, so if you don’t follow me on twitter, you don’t see me spaz a lot of the time about Kaite McGarry, I adore her. Butyou know what? I have only read Pushing the Limits. The only reason I haven’t read the others in the Pushing the Limits series is simply because I own the US paperback edition so I have to wait quite a while for them to be published.

I loved Pushing the Limits there is no doubt about it. Firstly the storyline is very intriguing, it really pulled me in from the start. We as readers are going on the journey with Noah and Echo, as they reveal their past, and find out about it, so do we. Pushing the Limits is confronting and real, it is not some snappy romance.

I really enjoyed Echo, she is different to any other female character I have read before. She doesn’t remember what happen to her or how she got the scars. She is confused about what is really going on, Echo is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and doesn’t understand why people keep her shadowed, which is interesting to see her journey. I felt after finding what really happened, why people didn’t tell her? I also felt that she was too sheltered which made finding out a rough experience. I felt that Echo was a very ‘real’ character.

The worst type of crying wasn’t the kind everyone could see–the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life.

Some might say that Echo is a weak character but I think she is quite the opposite. She is strong enough for staying alive and for not losing herself in the process. She not only has to deal with the not so perfect home life but has to deal with all the kids at school, staring at her, spreading rumours about her and not having any friends anymore. Her feelings are just so raw and painful that they pierced my heart.

Noah, Noah, Noah. When you say bad boy, I think of Noah. Noah has had his own heartache but he hides it within this hard exterior. He’s a rough boy but deep down, you cannot find someone as caring as Noah. He shifts not only his world but Echo’s as well. They are so adorable together, they have become one of my OTP’s. You can understand why he is so distant, such the ‘bad boy.’

I love you enough to never make you choose.

Katie McGarry is so talented when it comes to writing characters that have their walls up and are really fractured on the inside. She knows how to write characters that help break down these walls. That is what she did exactly with Noah and Echo, they are both broken but with the help of each other they start to break down each other’s wall’s. She is also really talented at making the reader cry and the emotions that she makes you feel through both Echo and Noah.

Pushing the Limits is told in dual perspectives both from Echo and Noah and unlike most authors Katie McGarry does it perfectly. You can tell one character from another, their feelings don’t get mixed up and she is able to write from both a girl’s and boy’s perspective.

Overall Pushing the Limits takes you on a journey, and it makes you feel all emotions. You’ll want to laugh, and you’ll want to cry.

Have you read Pushing the Limits? What did you think of it?

Book Review: AngelFall by Susan Ee

Apr 11, 2014

First Published: May 21st 2011
Pages: 283 (Kindle)
Publisher: Feral Dream now Hodder and Stoughton
ISBN: 144477851X
Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Synopsis

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Angelfall

Angelfall has been on my to be read list for before it was even published, but I just never got around to reading it, and I really don’t know why. I really do wish I read it earlier Angelfall is simply amazing.

The writing is just mesmerizing and beautiful. The way that one word flowed into another. Angelfall is such a fast paced novel, I could not put it down. I read it in a few hours just simply because how beautiful it was written. Angelfall captivated me. I cannot explain how much I love Susan Ee’s writing. I think you all just have to read to find out.

The Storyline of Angelfall was really interesting. I have read a fair amount of fallen angel, and angel books in the last few years and Angelfall defiantly stands out from the rest. Susan Ee doesn’t glamourize Angels. She doesn’t make them pretty and loving. She makes them quite damaging and not the most appealing creatures. If you are sick of Angel novels don’t be afraid to pick this one up because man, it’s good. The whole concept on what is happening to the world is interesting, how everything works.

I really enjoy Penryn. Other than having a unique name, she is quite unique herself. I loved that she wasn’t dumb nor annoying. She was an enjoyable character to read and understand. She is so strong especially with what is happening around her. She stands up for herself and doesn’t need her knight in shining armour to save her. One of my favourite scenes in which I think her physical strength is shown is in the camp scene.

What can I say about Raffe… I love him. I felt for him so much throughout the novel and I know I could see how much he actually cares for Penryn, though he does try and hid it. But the ending gave it away, if I say so myself.

I loved the banter between Penryn and Raffe. Not only did it make me smile but just added an extract element to the novel. The characterisation of both Penryn and Raffe was perfect. We see both grow throughout the novel and they come different people. They don’t just get to know each other better, but themselves as well.

Susan Ee’s writing gathered a lot of emotions from me, just from the way she writes. I felt so sorry for Penryn’s little sister. I just want to gather her in my arms and hold her…maybe.

I don’t really know what to think of Penryn’s mum. She kind of was there, but not. She was an interesting character and mum, but she alone didn’t do much for me.

What the Angels are doing while on earth wow. Just I needed to read more and find out what happened next. I also like that Angelfall started off with a bang there wasn’t a dull moment in the whole book, I just turned page after page. Not only did it start with a bang, but definitely ending with one.

Overall, I loved reading Angelfall. It was everything I hope for in a paranormal, fantasy novel. Susan Ee’s writing is amazing and I cannot wait to read World After.

My friends call me Wrath,” says Raffe. “My enemies call me Please Have Mercy. What’s your name, soldier boy?

I’ve never killed anyone before. What frightens me isn’t that I’m killing someone. What frightens me is how easy it is.

Book Review: Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Mar 19, 2014

First Published: 18th of February 2014
Pages: 368 pages
Publisher: MTV Books ( Simon & Schuster)
ISBN: 1439193975
Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Synopsis

Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice? Before and After. That’s how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old–a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived. If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger’s shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother–and herself–from the endless replay of heartache and grief. Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?

Review

I received an e-copy in exchanged for an honest review.

I heard some really great things about Me Since You and I tell you, I wasn’t disappointed at all. Apart from crying for 95% of the book, it was just such an amazing heart wrenching read.

I didn’t know how to prepare myself for this book. I heard it was emotional but I just couldn’t be prepared to any length for how emotional I got reading Me Since You. At the start I was slightly confused but then I got it. I liked that we got to see a rebel side of a girl since we don’t see that too much in YA. I liked that we got to see the dark side of the world. How hateful the world can be.

I found Rowan the main protagonist of Me Since You, very likable. I found what she did very understandable. I just seem to click with her and when I click with the voice of the story, everything else just seems to click as well.

Eli. Oh man I loved Eli. He was sweet, cute and caring. I just want him to be mine. He is so strong but puts this fort up. Then we see Rowan break it down, we see the real Eli who is heartbroken.

After the first incident I let a few tears falls, but the aftermath. They just kept falling and falling. I suggest anyone that reads this to have a bucket and 10 boxes of tissues. I had to put the book down a few times to try and collect my thoughts and calm myself down. As the novel went on it became nearly every chapter I was stoping and recollecting my thoughts. Maybe everyone is different, but as I have said before I am a very emotional person.

Me Since You just broke my heart. The feelings I received, I don’t think, can be explained unless you read it as well.

I have again mixed feelings about Rowan’s mum I understand what she is going through. My heart breaks for her, but I feel that she left her daughter when she need her most. But I am glad things did, to some point, work out.

The Grandparents, arrg yer they didn’t agree with me at all. Especially the grandmother. I know she was trying to help, but just… I really enjoyed how Me Since You was written. It was captivating, heartbreaking and played with my emotions.

The ‘Before’ and ‘After’ separation of the novel really added depth to the story. Some authors don’t use the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ well but I think that Laura used it brilliantly. She gives us an insight on how grief effects not only the family, but those around them. I liked that Laura Wiess included different quotes from others. As well as including the grief journals they gave us, well, me as a reader, more of a real insight into Rowan and how she is affected.

Rowan and Eli’s relationship is just so damn cute. They are perfect for each other in more ways than one. They just fit. They know when they are needed and when they aren’t.

Me Since You is a gripping. heart- wrenching novel that took me on a ride of emotions. Laura Wiess’s writing is beautiful and breathtaking.