ARC Book Review Archives - Page 2 of 9

Book Review: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley – Blog Tour

Sep 11, 2016

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Pages: 352
Publish date: August 30th, 2016
Publisher: Pan Australia
ISBN: 1742612385
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

This is a love story.
It’s the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets.
It’s the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea.
Now, she’s back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal and looking for the future in the books people love, and the words they leave behind

Words in Deep Blue:

I received an ARC of Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley from Pan Macmillan Australia as part of the blog tour, in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Words in Deep Blue is the first Cath Crowley book that I have read and I have no idea why I waited so long. I loved the writing, the plot and how Crowley can capture everything in a small amount of time.

Words in Deep Blue follows protagonist Rachel Sweetie as she returns home, is faced with her best friend, a secret crush and to a place where everything seemed to be better.

It’s about Henry, who doesn’t know what he wants, thinks that he loves his on and off girlfriend and wants things can go back to what they use to be.

It’s about Howling Books, where letters between lovers, friends and strangers are marked forever in the pages of the books that live on its shelves.

Words in Deep Blue is a heartbreaking novel; it’s full of grief, friendship, love, family and finding yourself when you don’t know what to think anymore. It captured me from the first moment, dropped into a world of beautiful words.

I truly enjoyed Rachel as a protagonist, she is one of those characters that I just got along with straight away. Rachel was full of grief and heartache, that she held in from everyone that made her character that more interesting. The grief that Rachel held punched me, and then kept on punching me. It was such a strong element of who she was but, done beautifully.

Henry, now he wasn’t my biggest fan – he could never make up his mind and kept on going back to the girl that didn’t really love him. However, he had this strong sense of family and the love for Howling Books. I always love it when I find a male character that loves books, and that was Henry. At times his attitude was hard to get around, he had this adoration for Amy – that made his life a whole lot worse.

But, one of the main reasons why I loved Words in Deep Blue was that it just wasn’t Rachel and Henry’s story, but a whole bookshop. A library of letters between lovers, friends, strangers, everyone’s stories intertwined into books that just had pen inscribed throughout.

Most of Words in Deep Blue is told through a normal novel structure. However, scattered throughout, there were these letters that have been left on the pages. It was such an interesting concept. I talked with Crowley about this in an interview I had with her in my #LoveOZYA series.

George’s story was one of my favourites – she is this strong girl, but deep down she’s broken and waiting for someone. My heart broke for her, and all I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms.

Family played a somewhat big part of Words in Deep Blue, yet I wanted more. Henry and George’s family had some substance, but I felt quite disconnected from Rachel and her mother. I wanted to be hit with grief over and over again. I wanted it from the family interactions, but it fell a little flat for more.

The writing, though, is poignant and beautiful. I was gripped from the first page and swept up in this contemporary world where nothing much is different, but I felt that I was somewhere else. Cath Crowley is able to capture the reader with beautiful words, I loved being immersed in a story.

Overall, Words in Deep Blue is a poignant, beautiful story with fleshed out characters, gorgeous writing and a concept that is for every book lover. It’s about love, friendship, family and grief. You are taken on a journey through up’s and down’s and pulled into pieces.

Have you read Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it? Have you read other Crowley books? Let’s Chat! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour.

Blog Tour – Book Review: When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Jul 6, 2016

When Micheal Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Pages: 360
Publish date: July 28th 2016
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 1743534973
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Before Mina, my life was like a completed jigsaw puzzle but Mina has pushed the puzzle onto the floor. I have to start all over again, figuring out where the pieces go.

When Michael meets Mina, they are at a rally for refugees – standing on opposite sides.

Mina fled Afghanistan with her mother via a refugee camp, a leaky boat and a detention centre.

Michael’s parents have founded a new political party called Aussie Values.

They want to stop the boats.
Mina wants to stop the hate.

When Mina wins a scholarship to Michael’s private school, their lives crash together blindingly.

A novel for anyone who wants to fight for love, and against injustice.

When Michael Met Mina:

I received When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah from Pan Macmillan for the When Michael Met Mina Blog Tour, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Before I even started to read this book I knew that I was going to like it, I don’t know why, but I did and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m not going to lie When Michael Met Mina is a hard book to read, not because it was bad, but because it deals with such a hard subject.

When Michael Met Mina follows protagonists Michael and Mina as they go on a journey of friendship, love, hardships of being different from everyone else. They learn to stand up for themselves, each other and what they believe in.

Michael and Mina are from two different sides; Michael’s family are the founders of Aussie Values, a political party that wants to make Australia great again – by stopping the boats. Mina a refugee that fled Afghanistan with her mother. They are from two opposite sides and they believe in very different things, but then they meet.

Mina has just received a scholarship to join a private school that Michael just happens to go to. I really enjoyed Mina as a character, she was never afraid to let people know who she is, she’s proud, but because of this you can also see her insecurities. When people around her are contently pulling her down for who she is, what she believes in, it gets tough – and they fact is, they have no idea what she has been through.

I really enjoyed the relationship Mina had with her mother and step-father, it was really nice to see this family care so much about each other, they all tried to stay strong and when one was feeling down and hurt, they tried to pick each other up.

Michael was hard to like at first. His family are racist, his friends are racist and to an extent at times he can be a little racist too – but he is also a product of his environment. We can see from the start the resistance that he has against his family values and what they promote. I adore the character arc of Michael, the reader is able to see him grow and not let the people around him influence his thoughts and feelings.

Michael’s family on the other hand; well I hated them. His father and mother, they are racist bastards (sorry not sorry). I wanted to throw my book across the room with everything that they said, even after his father sees first hand what people go through – he doesn’t change the way that he thinks.

His father’s group of friends are no better, I just cannot comprehend how people can think like this, it’s just so small minded and frustrated.

The romance was adorable though Michael and Mina do not have the best start. It was nice to see them go from dislike to friendship and then into something more. It was slow and great to see that they both learnt things from each other.

I also liked the friendships that Mina finds at the new school, they didn’t care that she believed in different things, they liked her, for her.

Randa Abdel-Fattah writing throughout When Michael Met Mina is captivating, once I started to read I didn’t want to stop. Abdel-Fattah created a story that captures some thinking in Australia today, and showed that you have to think before you speak, because everything is not always what it seems. Michael and Mina’s voices were also very different from each other and both capture the life of teens in Australia.

When Michael Met Mina should be on every high school book list in the country. The younger generations need to know that sometimes the government and media lie and manipulate the sense of asylum seekers. They need to know that most of these people are not illegal or jumping the queue, they are just simply people looking for freedom, safety and peace. It’s an important story to write and share.

Have you read When Michael Met Mina yet? Did you like it? Are you going to? Have you read anything else from Randa Abdel-Fattah? Let’s Chat. Also check out the rest of the blog tour and join the conversations on social media with #Michael4Mina

Book Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White

May 25, 2016

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Pages: 496
Publish date: June 28th 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
ISBN: 0553522310
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

And I Darken:

I received an e-arc of And I Darken by Kiersten White from Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

When I heard And I Darken I knew that I had to read it. A book set in an ancient country is always a plus for me. Then add a gender switch, so that we have a female Vlad the Impaler; yes please.

And I Darken follows siblings Lada and Radu as they try to survive in a cold and brutal world.

Lada was quite interesting, she is very brutal and has little to no remorse. Sometimes it was hard to connect with her nevertheless, I do understand why she was that way. She does have quite a bit of trust issues, but again the world she lives in; explains it all. Lada also doesn’t form relationships well, even with her own brother however, let’s just say that her father wasn’t the best in the world.

Radu on what a special snowflake. I wanted to cuddle him and make him my best friend. He has this nature about this that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone in a world where anyone wants to hurt everyone. He does become stronger throughout the novel, but at what cost?

Mehmend was very into his religion and that contributed to his character and how he saw the world quite a bit. He also has this nature about him, which was intriguing. He wants to be friends with Lada and Radu. However, there were things later in the novel that he did, that I didn’t like at all. It was heartbreaking.

The romance in And I Darken was problematic and quite a mess. There was a love triangle of sorts, with other people jumping in between and I am not the biggest fan of them. So that kind of was a downfall for me

This wasn’t just a romance between three people, but two siblings loving the same person – And I don’t know who deserved it more. They all had their issues and betrayed each other in so many different ways. There was no honesty and it did get on my nerves sometimes. But, like I said there was also so many other people.

The relationship between Lada and Radu was complicated. They never trusted each other, yet they were always there for each other. They never really loved each other, but they still care. Sometimes I wasn’t a big fan of the way that they treated each other. Though I did like it because I haven’t seen it before. It was tense from the get go and that played out throughout And I Darken.

The world of And I Darken is very interesting. It’s complex, but understandable. It’s kinds of base on the Ottoman Empire, but not. It was captivating and very different. The world building well thought out however, if people are not all that familiar with the history it might have been better to explain how everything ‘look’ landscape and city wise.

I loved that the characters were diverse in many ways from ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. It was also fascinating to see Islam in a fantasy/retelling/historical fiction.

And I Darken was also pretty gruesome, there are executions that are described and it’s not one – they are done is some horrible ways. There are some torture scenes, though we don’t ‘see’ these, but we hear them. The world is brutal – very much like the ancient countries.

Nevertheless I did have a problem with the pace of And I Darken. I felt that the plot was quite slow and nothing happened at all for a lot of the book – this could be hard for some people; but, I was immersed into the world that it didn’t bother me too much. This isn’t saying that things don’t happen – because there is a lot of shit that goes down. I felt that And I Darken was an introduction into the world and characters.

And I Darken tells a story of the lengths people would go to for love, approval and just the thought of being forgotten. It was captivating and dropped you into a vivid and brutal world that you might not want to get out off.