ARC Book Review Archives - Page 8 of 9

Book Review: Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

Mar 27, 2015

Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

Pages: 313
Publish date: September 1st 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
ISBN: 0732299330
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother’s country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander’s past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.

To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own…

Ghost House:

I received a copy of Ghost House from Harper Collins Australia in exchange for a review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts on the book. Really I don’t even think about that when I am reading.

To say that I am a fan of Alexandra Adornetto would be an understatement, I read the Halo trio ages ago, and I loved it. And that is no different for Ghost House. There are not too many ghost related novels in the YA section so Ghost House is pretty original in itself.

It is also intriguing, the plot is pulling and when I started to read, it would hard to put the books down. Although it was slow to start, everything started to pick up and man there was some pretty intense moments if is say so myself.

I really enjoyed Chloe as a character, she was interesting and quite intriguing. After losing her mother, she tries and stays strong for her family but it’s hard and when she starts seeing ghosts again after they haunted her as a child. When her father cannot deal with the grief anymore, he sends Chloe and her little brother off to their grandmothers in England, she believed she was getting away from all the grief and ghosts but boy she was mistaken.

In comes Alexander Reade and well he has been dead for 157 years. At first it doesn’t click to Chloe that Alexander is a ghost, after tell it hits her hard. But let me tell you he is amazing. He is sweat and just arrrg. The relationship between him and Chloe is adorable but wired but I love it. It’s very different and I can’t help but love ghosts and human’s *cough cough* Anna Dressed in Blood.

I was so creeped out at times, hell there was some pretty chilling parts. Isobel; Alexander’s past love is creepy as hell, nonetheless she adds so much more the Ghost House. The tension that she brings to the novel is incredible. The reader has no idea what she is going to do next. The reader is made to feel like the need to hold onto every page because they have no idea what is going to happen next. The ghost hunters are also awesome characters that add another dimension to Ghost House.

I enjoyed Adornetto writing it was captivating, drawing and very intriguing. The way that she included flashbacks to Alexander’s past life, before he died really added so much to the storyline of Ghost House. The reader was able to connect Alexander’s living life to events that are happening in the present moments of the book.

Overall Ghost House is charming and different. It evokes different emotions throughout the novel from, sadness to glee to torment. My feelings were all over the place but in a good way. And the ending! Holy S***. It was so good I was not expecting that in any way.

Book Review: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

Jul 28, 2014

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Pages:380 (paperback)
Publish date:29 July 2014
Publisher:Penguin Australia, Puffin, Razorbill
ISBN: 0141350180
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour,

Silver Shadows:

First line: I WOKE TO DARKNESS

I received a copy of Silver Shadows from Penguin Australia. This in no way has influenced my review. This review will contain spoilers from the Vampire Academy series and the previous Bloodlines books. It will NOT contain spoilers from Silver Shadows.

I love Richelle Mead. I cannot explain how much. With each book she writes everything just seems to be getting better and better and I don’t even know how. Silver Shadows is pure brilliance and, in my eyes, a masterpiece.

I cannot control my fangirling at all. But what VA/Bloodlines fan can? There were so many moments in this book that I wanted to scream and dance. I read Silver Shadows in less than 12 hours. As soon as I received it and picked it up I could not put it down. From the first page the story grips you and you cannot put it down. Richelle Mead’s writing is breathtaking and gripping.

Like The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows is told from both Sydney and Adrian’s point of view. And let me tell you, Richelle Mead knows how to write from two perspectives. You can tell who is who even without having each chapter title.

We’ll be together soon. In real life. The center will hold.

At the end of The Fiery Heart we are left with a massive cliff hanger and it doesn’t get better for either Sydney or Adrian. I wanted to hug them both and cry with them. Sydney, as we know, is in rehabilitation and it’s not great, not at all. She suffers in so many ways that I cannot explain. Sydney is so strong throughout the whole series and she becomes so much stronger in Silver Shadows and I admire her so much more.

Adrian, oh my poor Adrian. I wanted to hit him across the head sometimes. I also wanted to hold him in my arms. I just wanted to make everything better. We really got to see a lot more of Adrian, the real Adrian. Richelle Mead captures the true emotions of her characters so much. And we feel those emotions too and it’s heartbreaking. He made some wonderful decisions and some, let’s just say a ‘Really Adrian’ is needed. Why, why why.

The romance. Oh how I feel for both Sydney and Adrian. Not even the universe wants them together. But those times, those times that I could not keep a smile off my face were brilliant. Adrian and Sydney are just so beautiful together.

To be told that was a sham, that all love was a sham, couldn’t have come at a worse time. I didn’t believe it, of course. I knew there was real love out there. I’d experienced it firsthand…

We get to know quite a few new characters in this book. They were all very intriguing. Duncan is one of the new characters that I really enjoyed reading about. He was different, but still quite the same. Even though at times he annoyed me and got on my nerves because of things that he said and did. But I know that his intentions were in the right place.

We also got to see a lot of our old characters as well. I loved seeing Rose and Dimitri. I always love seeing them and we even got to see that playful side of Rose that we haven’t seen in a while. I also loved, like a lot, the scene with Dimitri and Adrian even though it might have not ended the best way, it was still nice to see. Lissa on the other hand. . .

Lissa, I love you girl, but please just stop. I wanted to hit her across the face just so many times I cannot explain. Everything that came out of her mouth just got on my nerves like you wouldn’t believe. But I guess Lissa has always sort of been like this, but something just ticked me off.

We finally get to see some faces that we only know names to and it’s really nice and thrilling at first, but then we see those people that we don’t want to see at all. They made my blood boil and yours will too.

Okay, let me try and say something without giving anything away. Okay I can’t say anything that won’t give it away. But I know that you will know what I am talking about when you get to it and then we can all fangirl like crazy people. Because I was screaming around the house at 9 at night because of this and I just OMG. I love you Richelle Mead so bloody much. Trust me all of you will love it. Well I hope you do. Okay it is just so amazing and I cannot stop fangirling. None of you will not be able to do the same, not after you get to this bit. It’s just so cute and I cannot control myself.

For a moment, there was a part of me that was a little more in love with her than ever.

But, then again, I can hate you as well. Another cliff hanger. Why do you do this to us Richelle? Why hurt us, stitch up our hearts, then rip them out again? But you are the queen of cliff hangers that I can give you.

There were so many times that I was on the edge of my seat. Turning one page after another, wanting to know what was going to happen next. Richelle Mead is unbelievable she grips you from the start and hold you on a leash. She doesn’t let go. You cannot anticipate what is going to happen next because she can pull something out of a hat that will turn it all upside town.

Silver Shadows is utterly breathtaking, heart gripping and sensational. It’s Richelle Mead’s best work yet. It is a magical piece of work that pulls you right in, waiting for more.

Have you read the Bloodlines books yet, what did you think of them? Have you read Silver Shadows? What did you think of it?

Book Review: Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

Jun 17, 2014

Between the Lives

Pages: 336 (paperback)
Publish date: August 7th 2014 (UK)
Publisher: Hachette Children’s Books, Orchard Books
ISBN: 140833173X
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

The perfect life or the perfect love. You choose.

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she shifts to her ‘other’ life – a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she’s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she’s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments that bring her dangerously close to the life she’s always wanted. But if she can only have one life, which is the one she’ll choose?

Between the Lives:

I received an e-copy of Between the Lives from Hachette Children’s Books, Orchard Books on Netgalley for review. This has in no way influenced my review.

I have wanted to read this book for ages, since it came out in Australia quite a while ago. But I never got the chance to get it so as soon as I saw it was available on Netgalley I jumped and I am so glad I did.

This book was just so good. I didn’t know what to expect reading this, as I had never really read anything like it before, and I enjoyed it so much. Like Sabine, I struggled with what world I thought she would live in. There were so many faults in both, that it was hard to decide which world she belonged in.

In one world she was rich, had the ‘perfect’ boyfriend and friends. She was doing pretty okay, but she wasn’t happy. She didn’t have the best family.

You said you wanted someone to know you. Maybe I just want to have someone know me too. Without you in this world, the memories of every moment we’ve shared together will be gone. We only exist because others see us. Part of my existence…an important part, only exists because you are here to see it.

In her other life, her family is just doing the best they can. They are making it work and she have very few friends. But she has a loving sister and, even though she doesn’t have that many, she has good friends.

Going back and forth day by day. Living one day in one world then living the same in the next, was a really interesting concept to read about and defiantly kept me reading.

I really enjoyed Sabine. I found her very interesting. She was strong in a different way than other characters that I read. She was strong mentally and she didn’t even realise it. She had to live these two lives, two very different lives and keep up with everything. After something big happens with one family she feel betrayed by them, and you know what I would do, I would feel angry. I really felt Sabine’s emotions a lot throughout the novel. They just gave me this connect to the book that was really intense of sorts.

I enjoyed Jessica’s writing. It was really emotional, real and just straight to the point. It didn’t go on pages upon pages explaining something. She creates such an interesting storyline that you cannot put the book down.

Falling in love with you only made those choices more complicated and I feared that you might choose to stay for me and then, after I was gone, change your mind. I couldn’t let that happen.

I really enjoyed Ethan. He was mysterious and so charming at the same time. I just couldn’t stop smiling at the things he said, especially towards the end of the book. Ethan and Sabine were just so cute.

Sabine’s rich life in Between the Lives? Yes, she got things, but she wasn’t happy. I didn’t like her so called ‘perfect’ boyfriend from the start. He just got on my nerves so much throughout the book.

The ending of Between the Lives was just so powerful. It definitely left a mark. Between the Lives was bursting a punch with its beautiful characters and moving story that will leave you like it did me: with a permanent impression.

The beautiful writing style of Jessica Shirvington and the characterisation of her characters Between the Lives unravels you in such a compelling way that you will be hanging for more. You will want everyone to read it. It is just simply beautiful and breathtaking.