Review of The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik

Title/Author: The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, April 22 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Anna Eliot is tired of worrying about what other people think. After all, that was how she lost the only guy she ever really liked, Finn Westbrook.

Now, three years after she broke his heart, the one who got away is back in her life.

All Anna wants is a chance to relive their last kiss again (and again and again). But Finn obviously hasn’t forgotten how she treated him, and he’s made it clear he has no interest in having anything to do with her.

Anna keeps trying to persuade herself that she doesn’t care about Finn either, but even though they’ve both changed since they first met, deep down she knows he’s the guy for her. Now if only she can get him to believe that, too...

Guys, I like Claire LaZebnik's writing style. I love how she takes the books I love by Jane Austen and turns them into a cute contemporary that makes me smile. And I adore Persuasion, so obviously I needed to read The Last Best Kiss!
Side note: I read this book while I was sick and perhaps still had a fever, but it managed to get my mind of puking and feeling sick, so definite bonus points for that.

I really liked Anna. Obviously she didn't handle things with Finn well (which would have made the whole plot non-existent if she had), but she's been doing some growing up and has learned from her mistakes. I liked that she cares a lot about her friends, even if she cares a bit too much what they think. But let's get real: isn't this SO recognizable? I mean, I remember being a 15-year-old girl and caring about what other people thought of me and maybe doing things not entirely my way because of that. So Anna was pretty easy for me to relate to, I could imagine how things went down even if I cringed while I read the scenes in her and Finn's past. And I really liked the girl she became over the years and how she kept her cool in a crisis. That was awesome.

And obviously Finn triggered all my nerd-crush feelings! I have a thing for smart guys and I loved his passion for all things nature! I even looked up the monkey orchid that was mentioned and it is SO COOL! Seriously, look it up, it is awesome. I didn't know stuff like that existed. I did want to shake him and tell him that there's a difference between not caring what people think and being an obnoxious attention-seeker, because UGH! I just wanted him to snap out of his liking Lily who was hella annoying and irresponsible and just UGH! I really don't like girls like that. They get on my nerves.

And oh man did I love the tension between these two! Chemistry and guilt and anger and SPARKS! YES! It was light and fluffy and just what I needed at a time when my brain was still in sick mode and just wanted a sweet romance to cheer me up. The Last Best Kiss was a great retelling of one my favourite stories and I'm already looking forward to what Claire LaZebnik will do next!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Review of Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Title/Author: Across A Star-Swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2) by Diana Peterfreund
Publisher/Date published: Balzer + Bray, October 15th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction — the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars — is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo... is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.

In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1***

Guys, I ADORED For Darkness Shows the Stars, I think it'll be one of my favourite reads of 2013. So of course I was excited to read this companion novel!! And seriously, I'm now convinced I'm going to need to read Diana Peterfreund's full backlist! Because her writing just makes my heart happy!

And you know what? It was SO interesting to learn more about the science part of the Reduction! The people on Albion and Galatea are eons ahead of the Luddites and Posts as far as technology and science goes and it made the geeky part of me do little happy dances! While I didn't get all the answers I wanted, I'm still pretty satisfied with the things Diana Peterfreund did tell us. One thing I'm really curious about is how exactly the society formed, because they branched off from the Luddites and Posts and that was never fully clarified.

I really liked Persis, she's willing to sacrifice her own reputation for what she believes in and I like that! She doesn't make things easy for herself and even when she knows she's in danger herself, she puts her friends' safety first. I've always been told that it takes a really intelligent person to believably act stupid (you know, like Rowan Atkinson is really smart, but he plays Mr. Bean, who is really not smart) and in this book it's definitely true! And really, being an infamous spy at 16 is just impressive.

I could relate to Justen. I mean, we share the medic-thing and I can remember times where I've forgotten to eat because I was just so busy at work! I get it. While I wanted to shout at him to @#$& OPEN HIS EYES and see Persis for who she really is, it wasn't really his fault. I mean, she had everyone fooled, how does a guy who knows her for only 2 weeks figure it out if other people can't? And I respect that he's devoted to his work and figuring out a cure for Darkening, which is seriously horrible and reminds me to pray that they'll find a cure for dementia in the real world.
I did at times think he was a bit of a snob for thinking Persis was beneath him because he thought she wasn't as smart as he was.

There was a lot going on and at times I could only stare in horror at the cruelty of the Revolution, it kinda reminded me of the French Revolution in a way. It made me wonder how people justify those acts and I was glad this was actually adressed in the novel, because the logic is just faulty! And really, to take someone's mind, I just, I can't even... There are no words to describe how wrong this feels for me.

And through everything, I was just rooting for Persis and Justen to get together. They had moments in which I was just swooning and waiting for Justen to see what was really going on so they could be happy together! And seriously, one of the only things I want to complain about is: at the end, not only Persis wanted a real kiss, I wanted it as well! And the book ended before I got it!
I did love the guest appearance of the crew from For Darkness Shows the Stars!

I can in all honesty say that Diana Peterfreund has made me fall in love with these characters and their world and her storytelling in general! This is me begging for a third book, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, which will hopefully include a cure for Darkening! I have never read The Scarlet Pimpernel before, but I now feel like I should!

My rating: 5 stars

Made me crave: chicken tikka massala with mango

Blog tour, review AND giveaway of Catherine by April Lindner!

I am so excited to be part of this blog tour!! Thanks for having me!
For the full tour schedule, go here.

Title/Author: Catherine by April Lindner
Publisher/Date published: Poppy, January 2nd 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you’ve never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad’s famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?

Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a sudden illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years — a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn’t die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her — starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery.
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK

Ok, confession time: I never much cared for Wuthering Heights. *hides* I can't help it, in Wuthering Heights, Catherine REALLY annoyed me and I could never truly understand what was so great about her or Heathcliff and that kinda ruined the story for me. BUT I am always up for a retelling and I have to say that I enjoyed Catherine a lot more than the original story!

I liked that the POV alternates between Catherine through her diary entries and Chelsea, Catherine's daughter. It's really interesting, cause obviously I knew the general storyline, but I like that April Lindner gave her own spin to it. It definitely had a contemporary feel instead of just feeling like it was forced into a modern jacket and that's something I really appreciate, because it can get that way sometimes.

I really liked Chelsea. Though I thought it wasn't very responsible of her to just go off without telling her dad and start looking for her mother without telling ANYONE where she's going and just putting her complete trust in total strangers, BUT she's a nice girl and I loved that she sometimes just blurted stuff out without first thinking about it. I recognized a little of myself in that quirk, and I know how you can just want to take it back, so I could relate to this part of her. I liked that she doesn't just give up and doesn't really take no for an answer when something is important to her.

I REALLY disliked Wuthering Height's Catherine, but Catherine's Catherine (lol) not so much. She did make me roll my eyes a couple of times with her thinking that 'nobody had ever loved each other as much as she and Hence', I mean SERIOUSLY?? Talk about self-absorbed. But other than that I was rooting for her even though I knew things couldn't end well.

So, SPOILER ALERT: of course Chelsea discovers what happened to her mother. And I was kinda wondering: what kind of incompetent policemen were on this case? Because really, if a 17-year-old can solve it in basically no time at all, WHAT HAVE YOU ALL BEEN DOING??? It was a bit too easy. How did they not suspect this person of killing her? And ugh, Catherine, how could you go to this person and NOT think, gee, maybe I should tell someone I'm going there? HELLO, this is how you get killed. UGH. It's like yelling at the TV and expecting the candidates of a show to hear you and get the answer right...

So rant over.

I very much liked Catherine by April Lindner and am happy to report that I liked it better than the original version. Catherine was more likable, the writing was more engaging and while I did have some minor problems with it, I was very entertained throughout reading it! I'm even more excited to read Jane soon, because that is a retelling of one of my favourite classics :)

My rating: 4 stars

April Lindner is the author of two novels, Catherine, a modernization of Wuthering Heights, and Jane, an update of Jane Eyre. She also has published two poetry collections, Skin and This Bed Our Bodies Shaped. She plays acoustic guitar badly, sees more rock concerts than she’d care to admit, travels whenever she can, cooks Italian food, and lavishes attention on her pets—two Labrador retriever mixes and two excitable guinea pigs. A professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University, April lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.

TWITTER | WEBSITE | BLOG | GOODREADS


GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Up for grabs is a hardcover copy op Catherine by April Lindner to 3 lucky winners!

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Giveaway ends July 4 at 11:59 p.m.
Winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter and contacted by email.

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Review of The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title/Author: The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1) by Megan Shepherd
Publisher/Date published: Balzer & Bray, January 29th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy it at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London — working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward — both of whom she is deeply drawn to — Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius — and madness — in her own blood.

So this book has been ALL OVER the blogosphere the last couple of months and people whose taste in books I trust completely have been RAVING about it. So yes, there were all these expectations. And I have to say that most of them were met!

I've never read The Island of Dr. Moreau and so as not to accidentally read about plotlines/spoilers, I didn't google it before reading The Madman's Daughter (ok, so I know it was there first, but I wanted to experience this story just as it is). And guys, The Madman's Daughter totally makes me want to read The Island of Dr. Moreau!! I love how these retellings make me excited to read the classics!

I really liked Juliet. She's a tough sixteen-year-old and I totally respect her for learning everything she knows about anatomy, because girls were definitely not allowed to know stuff like that back then. I love that she uses this knowledge to defend herself against someone who assaults her. LOVED it. I also loved that she was a little off.

Actually, I loved that there was pretty much something off with ALL of the characters! I never knew who to trust and it was all just SO CREEPY! Oh my gosh, Megan Shepher really brought the chills and shock and sometimes openmouthed horror. And I loved it! It's slightly scary that I can understand what the doctor did on a scientific level, yet it horrifies me at the same time.

The only thing that I didn't really feel was the love triangle. I was firmly fixed on one boy, who turned out to be the right pick after all (am so not telling you who it is though ;) ) and I LOVED the moments between Juliet and this boy.

I was so swept away by the storytelling! I was constantly at the edge of my seat wanting to find out what happens next! And seriously, the ending near broke my heart!! I cannot wait to find out what happens in the sequel, because OMG, how are they all ever going to recover from this??

My rating: 4,5 stars

Review of A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont

Title/Author: A Breath of Eyre (Unbound #1) by Eve Marie Mont
Publisher/Date published: Kensington, March 27th 2012
How I got this book: bought it
Buy it at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Emma Townsend has always believed in stories - the ones she reads voraciously, and the ones she creates. Perhaps it's because she feels like an outsider at her exclusive prep school, or because her stepmother doesn't come close to filling the void left by her mother's death. And her only romantic prospect - apart from a crush on her English teacher - is Gray Newman, a long-time friend who just adds to Emma's confusion. But escape soon arrives in an old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre...

Reading of Jane's isolation sparks a deep sense of kinship. Then fate takes things a leap further when a lightning storm catapults Emma right into Jane's body and her nineteenth-century world. As governess at Thornfield, Emma has a sense of belonging she's never known - and an attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between her two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane's story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own...

I don't think it's a secret that I LOVE Jane Eyre. It has earned a special place on my shelf and I try to re-read it once a year. It's one of the only books I actually enjoyed reading for English class back in high school.
So of course I can't help but be drawn to a retelling, especially one with a pretty cover ;)

And guys, I totally loved it!

I really liked Emma, she's not the most social girl there is, but she does know how to be a good friend and I loved her bookishness. She has a complicated relationship with her father and stepmother and I thought she was sometimes a bit of a brat to her stepmother, but well, the stepmother wasn't always handling having a stepdaughter very well, so I could imagine them butting heads. I really connected to Emma through Eve Marie Mont's writing and that always makes a book more special to me.

Of course there are the boys, I adored Gray! I know he's a bit damaged and isn't the obvious good guy I normally fall for, but really, there's just something about this boy. I got why Emma tried to kiss him when she was 5 years old. So he does this one kinda crappy thing to Emma, but really, do you know any teenage boys who know how to handle their feelings or girls from the start?

I loved the time spent in the 'real world', but I also really loved when Emma got sucked into Jane Eyre's world! It was just so good and it made me want to grab Jane Eyre and just READ IT! I loved how we got to learn more about Mr. Rochester's first wive and that Emma questions Mr. Rochester's behaviour in this particular part of the story. I mean, sure, I support Jane in staying with him and do think they're right for each other, but locking your wive in the attic is not really gentlemanlike. And I love that becoming Jane Eyre for a while made Emma learn something about herself and her own mother.

So yeah, basically I just loved A Breath of Eyre and wished I could be transported to my favourite book for a while, because that would be EPIC! I was right there in the moment with Emma and didn't want to put the book down and I loved falling in love with Gray right along with her! I'm already looking forward to reading A Touch of Scarlet and A Phantom Enchantment!

My rating: 5 stars

Review of New Girl by Paige Harbison

Title/Author: New Girl by Paige Harbison
Publisher/Date published: HarlequinTEEN, January 31st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "A contemporary young-adult retelling inspired by the classic 1938 romantic suspense bestseller Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
They call me 'New Girl'...
Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed — because of her.
Becca Normandy — that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.
Except for Max Holloway — the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend…but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.
And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back."

So I absolutely LOVED Rebecca when I read it a year and a half ago. It was amazing and creepy and just wonderfully suspenseful and everything I could want from such a novel. So when I saw that there was a YA retelling of it, of course I clicked that request button!
And while with Rebecca I felt that I was right there with the main character, in New Girl that never really happened for me.

I liked the way Paige Harbison converted the marriage and living in Manderley to a boarding school and a really awkward teenage non-relationship (and let's face it, haven't you ever been in a relationship that wasn't classified as such? Or is that just me?). I also really liked the main character who, like the main character in Rebecca, remains nameless and is just referred to by everyone as 'new girl'. I especially liked that our main character developed a back bone throughout it all and defended herself against her roommate who's extremely nasty to her and all the others in the school who voiced the opinion that she could never live up to the legacy of Becca Normandy. I had infinitely more respect for her after she decided that she didn't have to be like Becca, she was a person worth knowing in her own right and shouldn't be compared to the girl that went missing.

But really, while I liked Maxwell in Rebecca, the Max Holloway in New Girl by no means lived up to him. Seriously, I would have dumped his ass and not accepted his apologies every freaking time. I really, really didn't like him for most of the novel, in the end he redeems himself somewhat, but he was seriously messed up.

The point of view switches between Becca and our nameless main character, which was pretty interesting, but the chapters narrated by Becca were really hard to read for me, cause well, Becca is a bitch. Seriously. I cannot for the live of me find one thing about her character that I liked. She was manipulative and just kind of crazy.

I did enjoy the story and I loved the character growth the main character went through. I also thought this modern adaptation was incredibly fitting and loved recognizing the elements from the original story as they appeared in New Girl. I didn't really care for New Girl's dream towards the end though, but that's something to just forget about quickly. This was an enjoyable read that has all kinds of human craziness in it!

My rating: 3 stars

Review of When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Title/Author: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
Publisher/Date published: Simon Pulse, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through GalleyGrab

Goodreads summary: "In this intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told, Romeo’s original intended — Juliet’s cousin Rosaline — tells her side of the tale.
What’s in a name, Shakespeare? I’ll tell you: Everything.
Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her — and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy... and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t even stand a chance.
Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends..."

Ok, confession time: I've never actually read Romeo and Juliet. I know, shame on me! But of course I know the story and I actually also knew about Rosaline, the girl who doesn't physically show up in the play. So when I read the summary and found out it would be Rosaline's story in a retelling I went LET ME HAVE IT!! And I'm happy to say that I really, really enjoyed it!

The writing in When You Were Mine is captavating and I immediately felt connected to Rosaline. Score one for Rebecca Serle! I loved how she introduced us into this world and with everything being so wonderful I found myself rooting for the thing that we know is going to happen not to happen. If you follow my drift. But yeah, the wonderful guy that's been Rose's best friend forever and possible boyfriend of late does the douchebag thing and dumps her for her cousin. Seriously, I was SO mad at him! I know you can fall for someone and this was bad timing, but mostly the way he handled it made me call him a douche. Or more of his lack of handling it. I felt Rob owed her more than that with their history.

And this is also where my only problem with When You Were Mine and Rosaline comes in: she was not confronting him about it. I get that it was just her character, but I just wanted to scream at her to slap him or at least ask what the hell he was doing! GAH! I did like that in the end Rose grew a spine, and yay for character growth, but this kinda bugged me. Also, her friends, who were absolutely wonderful in all other things, also failed to confront Rob about it. And I just wasn't feeling Rob as this wonderful guy.

I did really like Rose, she was a wonderful person and was just there for her friends and she loved her family. Also, she cared about her grades and college and that's always something I respect in a person. I also liked that after she got over her prejudice she was willing to learn she was wrong about someone she'd sort of known when she was a kid and who turned out to be an amazing guy and nothing at all like she thought he was. I was definitely rooting for him and I liked the moment when Rose decided she wanted to learn everything there was to know about him!

Sometimes I forgot how this was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet and that of course it has to at least follow the major points in the storyline. So every time I felt comfortably lost in this world something happened to jerk me awake and go NOOOO! and I absolutely love it when that happens. I mean, I'm not easily caught of guard by things happening in a book and with a retelling it's even harder, so that's another point to Rebecca Serle. She made this story so much her own that I sometimes had to take a moment to realise it was in fact a modern version of Romeo and Juliet. And that play was a tragedy. So I should have expected the tragic event, but I didn't and it was horrible and tugged at my heartstrings.

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle was a captivating debut and I read it in no time at all! I just kept turning the pages, wanting to find out what happend, happily lost inside this wonderful story! I'm hoping to see the announcement of another book by Rebecca Serle soon!

My rating: 5 stars