Tag: Book Review

Reading Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman on a hot summery day might cause severe dehydration and overheat. Read it at your own risk! But read it. As someone who enjoys post-apocalyptic stories like cotton candy, I knew I had to read this book. And I was not disappointed. So if the premise speaks to you, do yourself a favour and take the risk of making your summer even drier. Author: Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman Pages: 390 Genre: YA, Survival, Dystopian Publication: 2018 Synopsis: When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival. The drought – or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it – has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take …

Well, well, well… Here is a review I was expecting to go differently. Back in 2018, I did a joined review of the Ready Player One book and the movie, but since then, I’ve watched the movie I-don’t-know-how-many-times, and my mind started to get blurry about the book. That had to change. It was time to do a reread of what was my past self favourite book EVER! Fast forward last month, it was time to jump back into the OASIS and fall in love once again. Except cupid was taking a vacation. Part of me still doesn’t want to admit that Ready Player One isn’t as amazing as I remember. Maybe because it was the first book I read about video games or, maybe watching the movie right after influenced my opinion on the book. I don’t know. But one thing is for sure, 2018 me was over the …

Neverworld Wake is the best sheet (of paper) I read last year! I’m not going to bit around the bush with this one. I thought it was average, surprised me in the end, changed my whole perspective of the book. And that’s it! And that’s why I loved it so much. Still not convinced? Then, let me try to change your mind. Author: Marisha Pessl Pages: 324 Genre: YA, Mystery, Fantasy Synopsis: Five friends – the beautiful elite at their exclusive prep school – reunite a year after graduation. After a night out, they narrowly avoid a collision with a car on a deserted road. Back at the mansion belonging to one of the girls, a storm rages and a mysterious man knocks on the door, announcing something world-shattering. The friends must make a choice: one of them will live, and the rest will die. And the decision must be …

Since I took a hiatus for a year, now I have some catching up to do. I can’t say I read a lot but don’t worry, I have a few books I need to talk about. And as you have read in the title, today I’m going to tell you – or try to – why I loved What She Found in the Woods by Josephine Angelini, and why you should read it as well! Author: Josephine Angelini Pages: 385 Genre: Mystery, YA, Thriller Synopsis: This is Magda’s last chance. Recovering from a scandal at her elite New York City private school that threw life into a tailspin, she is shipped off to live with her grandparents in the Pacific Northwest for the summer.Medicated and uninspired, Magda spends her days in a fog wandering the forest behind the house. But then she stumbles upon Bo. He’s wild and free, and …

Time to take off with another sci-fi book. Today is time for Fearless by Allen Stroud, where space opera meets murder in zero-g gravity. Many thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to take part in this tour. Author: Allen Stroud Publisher: Flame Tree Press Pages: 368 Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery Publication: 8th September 2020 Synopsis: AD 2118. Humanity has colonised the Moon, Mars, Ceres and Europa. Captain Ellisa Shann commands Khidr, a search and rescue ship with a crew of twenty-five, tasked to assist the vast commercial freighters that supply the different solar system colonies. Shann has no legs and has taken to life in zero-g partly as a result. She is a talented tactician who has a tendency to take too much on her own shoulders. Now, while on a regular six-month patrol through the solar system, Khidr picks up a distress call from …

The book to read this summer is here! The Truants by Kate Weinberg is the mystery book to take to the beach and get lost while laying on the sand. My many thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher, and Kate Weinberg for allowing me to be part of this tour. Author: Kate Weinberg Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Pages: 352 Genre: Mistery, Contemporary Publication: 1st June 2020 Synopsis: Jess Walker, the middle child of a middle-class family, has perfected the art of vanishing in plain sight. But when she arrives at a concrete university campus under flat, grey, East Anglian skies, her world flares with colour. Drawn into a tightly-knit group of rule-breakers – led by their maverick teacher, Lorna Clay – Jess begins to experiment with a new version of herself. But the dynamic between the friends begins to darken as they share secrets, lovers and finally a tragedy. Soon Jess …

Happy book birthday to Goldilocks! A space adventure to find a new planet grand theft spaceship style. In this near-future tale of women taking control over their destiny and the whole world’s fate, many challenges explore how far they are willing to go for the greater good. My many thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher, and Laura Lam for allowing me to be part of this tour. Author: Laura Lam Publisher: Headline Publishing Group, Wildfire Pages: 352 Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopian Publication: 30th April 2020 Synopsis: Ravaged by environmental disaster, greed and oppression, our planet is in crisis. The future of humanity hangs in the balance – and one woman can tip it over. Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, Cavendish, where conditions are just right for human habitation. It’s humanity’s last …

There is nothing like escaping Earth, and a sci-fi book is perfect for that. Vulcan’s Forge by Robert Mitchell Evans takes the reader to Nocturnia, a newly populated world with the last colony after Earth’s destruction. My many thanks to Anne Cater and the author for allowing me to be part of this tour. Author: Robert Mitchell Evans Publisher: Flame Tree Press Pages: 288 Genre: Sci-fi, Romance, Crime Publication: 26th March 2020 Synopsis: Jason Kessler doesn’t fit in the society of Nocturnia, the sole colony that survived the Earth’s destruction. Between the colony’s dedication to a distorted vision of mid-twentieth-century Americana, its sexually repressive culture, and the expectation that his most important duty is marriage and children Jason rebels, throwing himself into an illicit and dangerous affair with Pamela Guest, but Pamela harbours a secret. Soon the lovers are engaged in a lethal game of cat and mouse with the …

Games and books are two of my favourite hobbies. Whenever a book is about a game, I don’t miss a chance to read it. Happy Family by James Ellis wasn’t an exception. My many thanks to Anne Cater, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to be part of this tour. Author: James Ellis Publisher: Unbound Digital Pages: 304 Genre: Fiction, Humour, LGBT Publication: 6th February 2020 Synopsis: Germaine Kiecke was a foundling, an orphan, brought up by the infamous ‘Motherhood’ in a Belgian orphanage. Now she is a successful art academic who defines herself by her profession and prefers to experience the world through art and an augmented reality game called Happy Family. But when the artist Tom Hannah, the creative force behind Happy Family, moves to Spain, surrounds himself with high walls, three large guard dogs called Harpo, Chico and Groucho, and a runaway who teaches him …

Once again is time to explore the universe of lost ships in the second book of the Lost Solace series, Chasing Solace by Karl Drinkwater. My many thanks to Anne Cater and the author for allowing me to be part of this tour. Author: Karl Drinkwater Pages: 314 Genre: Sci-Fi Publication: 15th April 2019 Synopsis: The legendary Lost Ships exist, and they harbour nightmarish horrors. Opal knows. She barely survived her first encounter with one. Despite escaping, she failed to find what she was looking for: her lost sister. Now Opal must board a second derelict Lost Ship to seek answers, and it’s even more monstrous, a sickening place of death and decay. To make things worse, the military government wants her, dead or alive. Considering their reputation, dead may be better. To find her sister, Opal will risk everything: her life, her blood, her sanity. There’s always a price …

Today is Valentine’s Day, and instead of doing something corny and super romantic, I decided to review two questionable romance books. I’m talking about Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James and After by Anna Todd. Truth is I had no idea what to post, and I’ve been meaning to write reviews for both of these books, and Valentine’s Day is as good as any other day to do it. I decided to review both books together not only because both come from fanfictions, but because both have questionable relationship dynamics and belong to the same genre. Even though they are similar, each book still has very different storylines, but I’ll get to that later. First, let me review each one separately. In review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James I’m just gonna put it out there, and I don’t care what people might think. I really really really …