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btwnprintedpgs's Reviews (1.3k)
I have never read any novel about a Amish hero/heroine, or Amish at all. This was totally new to me, and at first I didn't know what to expect. However, I found this novel to be absolutely captivating. This girl, totally innocent and unaware of the issues the rest of the world is facing, she gets chased and hunted down, and yet she keeps her purity, never really straying from who she is, and I admire her for that. I also liked that she wasn't a part of the society, but from outside of it. She never really understand what's at stake, only knows that even though she inexplicably is, she doesn't want to be a part of all the politics and battles.
I loved the two love interests and the different personalities and traits they brought to the table. There's Jeremiah, of course, who's the perfect guy, but then there's Korwin, who's electrifyingly attractive, and is struggling with what he knows as much as Lydia is struggling with who she is.
Something else I admire about this book is that IT'S A STAND ALONE NOVEL. As in THERE IS ONLY ONE BOOK. With every many dystopian books, they always have to come in a trilogy or series. There's very rarely, if ever, just one book on it's own. The author managed to pull this off and finish the novel satisfactorily, leaving room for the potential for a sequel, but also bringing Lydia's story to close.
This book was so different and unique in comparison to all the other dystopian novels I've read. Absolutely captivating, I couldn't put it down. Would definitely recommend you to pick it up and check it out~
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.29/5
A copy was provided by All Night Reads through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
Hoover weaved a realistically tragic story for both Layken and Will, that was captivating and amazingly written. I fell in love with all the characters in this book, and every side of them (even spiteful Lake, and jealous Will). I loved Eddie and Gavin together, and of course Calder and Kel, who are so fantastically weird. But what I loved more than the amazing characters was the breathtaking and, at times, extremely clever, poetry.
Pieces like "Schooled", Will's sacrifice piece ("Lake"?), "Death", and all the other ones, they blew me away. The depth that was conveyed through the poetry written in this novel was jarring. Hoover brought to light lessons and ideas that people often do not want to confront, like death, like moving on from loss, like confronting people who have let you down. I loved how with each piece, we got a peak into every characters mind, their past, and their feelings.
Aside from all of that, there were a lot of realistic life lessons in this book, like Julia's criteria when it comes to men.
"Does he treat you with respect at all times? That's the first question. The second question is, if he is the exact same person twenty years from now that he is today, would you still want to marry him? And finally, does he inspire to be a better person? You find someone you can answer yes to all three, then you've found a good man."
I've never read a book like Slammed, and I am really glad I decided to pick it up. Memorable, heart-breaking, and enthralling, this story will stick with you long after you finished. Amazing.
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads: 4.39/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
"...Like, take the word “butterfly” for example. What if someone decided one day that butterfly is a cussword? People would eventually start using butterfly as an insult, and to emphasize things in a negative way. The actual WORD doesn’t mean anything. It’s the negative association people give these words that make them cusswords. So if we all just decided to keep saying butterfly all the time, eventually people would stop caring. The shock value would subside…and it would just become another word again..."
Point of Retreat was equally as amazing as Slammed, if not more so. As with Slammed, I loved the ideas brought to the table. They were butterflying awesome, especially the butterfly thing. The idea with the stars was absolutely ingenious as well, and I loved that even though Julia was kind of gone, she really wasn't.
“Life’s hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.”
― John Wayne
I sigh. I miss Julia’s sense of humor.
As with the last book, emotions were running high, and if books could exude power, this one would be glowing with it. The doubts, the reassurances, and even the loss of friendship and the forging of new ones were realistic and perfectly placed. Lake doesn't run, not for no reason, and I absolutely love Hoover for completely covering the bases, leaving no stone unturned, because I've been put out with all these books where the girls and guys go all insta-love on us and then it's just happily ever after. We get to see every aspect of Will and Layken's devotion to each other, their insecurities, and their absolute inability to communicate with each other when they're carving pumpkins. It's perfectly dysfunctional and I loved it!
Once again, Hoover's poetry was always perfectly placed, well versed, amazingly written, and positively breathtaking. If anyone ever makes a "Because of You" kind of poem for me, well, you'll have me for life. Until, I'm fine sharing Will with Layken, 'cause MY GOD that was the most romantic thing I've ever read/seen/heard of.
But the best advice she ever gave me?
The best advice she ever gave us?
(I read the quote in my hands)
"Sometimes two people have to fall apart, to realize how much they need to fall back together."
Back to the butterflies, I really liked the new characters introduced in this book. Kiersten and Sherry made the book all the more quirky and fantastic. This book also made me appreciate Eddie and Gavin's relationship too, with each other and with Lake, Will, Caulder, Kel, and now Kiersten and Sherry as well. The totally different family base built in this trilogy of books shows that family reaches way past blood, and can encompass so many people, even the unexpected, fairly odd, grade school girl who's your diagonal neighbour.
Point of Retreat was breathtaking. After reading the Slammed trilogy, as well as Hopeless, I can't help but feel like I'll love anything and everything Colleen Hoover publishes. Absolutely riveting, this book with open your eyes to a totally different perspective on life, love (family, friendship, and relationship alike), and learning that sometimes actions can speak louder than words, but you need both to gain someone's total trust and love.
Plots: 5/5
Character: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.39/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
Sky is seventeen. She has never owned a television, never had a cellphone (or a regular, stuck-on-your-wall, kind of phone either), nor has she ever had a computer or laptop within her possession (i.e. no Facebook or Tumblr). She’s never really questioned it though, since her adoptive mother, Karen, insists that she hates technology more than the devil. But when Sky meets Dean Holder, she begins to remember things about her past that she never knew even happened. But Dean remembers, and it has haunted him for 13 years.
There were so many things I loved about this book, so here’s an (extensive) list of it all:
1. I really liked the fact that Sky liked listing things at the beginning. It made figuring her out easier, as well as her friendship with six. Also, I like lists.
As soon as I lay eyes on him, I immediately notice three things:
1) His amazingly perfect white teeth hidden behind that seductively crooked grin.
2) The dimples that form in the crevices between the corners of his lips and cheeks when he smiles.
3) I’m pretty sure I’m having a hot flash.
Or I have butterflies.
Or maybe I’m coming down with a stomach virus.
2. Sky’s attitude was awesome, and totally kick ass at times. She took most things in stride and never really pulled out the screams or tears at totally inappropriate times. She never went out looking for drama and I definitely respected her for that. She also had normal reactions to things, such as freaking out when a guy you don’t know is following you to your car and demanding to know your name (unlike many female characters these days). Sky was an easy character to love, and Hoover’s ability to make me feel everything Sky did basically left me in tears and a hurting heart for a good portion of the book.
I look down at his hand, then take a step back without shaking it. This whole situation is entirely too awkward for me to trust him with this innocent introduction. Maybe if he hadn’t have pierced me with his intense glare in the store, I would be more susceptible to his physical perfection.
“What do you want?” I’m careful to look at him with suspicion rather than awe.
3. Holder is perfect (once you get past his random/not so random mood swings). AND THAT FIRST KISS THAT WASN’T EVEN A REAL FIRST KISS. That scene probably wins for the best kiss scene ever. Just my opinion. But seriously, Holder is understanding, he cooks, he’s playful and sweet. My newest fictional boyfriend, honestly.
He stops speaking mid sentence and takes a quick step toward me. He grabs my chin and tilts my head back. “Who did this to you?” The same hardness I saw in his eyes at the grocery store returns behind his scowl. “Your eye wasn’t like this earlier.”
I pull my chin away and laugh it off. “It was an accident. Never interrupt a teenage girl’s nap.”
He doesn’t smile. Instead, he takes a step closer and gives me a hard look, then brushes his thumb underneath my eye. “You would tell someone, right? If someone did this to you?
4. The way Hoover structured the book. It was easy to follow and gave readers a sense of what time this or that happened. A lot of book simply jump from present to flashback and that’s fine, but can get confusing. That chance was eliminated in Hopeless. The first part got me hooked, and when we flashed to two months before I had absolutely no issue following the story, and man was it a good story.
5. Hoover’s creativity when it comes to creating things – like “living” and “Dinner Quest”. Right up there with “butterflying” (for all the Slammed series fans). I love that these things help bring a different perspective to the table, and also help develop the stories and the characters.
6. Throughout the entire book, I can honestly tell you that, unless you read a spoilery review, you’ll never guess what’s going to/has happened to the characters. I couldn’t even imagine that kind of ending, but when everything’s brought to light, all the pieces set up fall right into place.
Magnificently constructed and wonderfully written, Hopeless will take you on a whirlwind journey and this amazing story will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading.
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 6/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.54/5
** Losing Hope, Hopeless from Holder’s point of view, will be out July 8, 2013 as an ebook, and will be released as a paperback October 15, 2013 by Atria Books.
If you can’t wait for Losing Hope, Colleen Hoover posted the “best first kiss” scene from Holder’s point of view on her website. Check it out here. (THERE ARE SPOILERS. READ HOPELESS FIRST BEFORE READING THIS)
-review by Between Printed Pages
What I loved about the book:
1. The concept. The overall idea of the Bane was intriguing and reminded me of Iron Man 3. The action scenes were thrilling and I really enjoyed reading about it. The world was so realistic drawn and the imminent danger was almost palpable as the characters found their way through the Bane.
2. I loved Eve's badassery and the fact that she was like the number one soldier type in their small camp. Badass characters are always fun to read about. Her attitude and dedication to her friends-turned-family and those she loved was admirable and at time detrimental on her part.
3. The other characters. They were all very different from each other, no two acting the same as the other. This is always a good thing for novels, because reading about the same people is often irritating and boring. I loved Avian and West, as well as Gabriel, Bill, Sarah, and a number of other characters. They helped pull the novel together and created a makeshift family for Eve that felt real and diverse.
What I wished had worked better:
1. The love triangle. While I'm all for a good love triangle, I hate when the romance overtakes the plot. I loved both West and Avian, and was honestly surprised and yet not surprised when she made her choice in the end. However, the on and off, hot and cold thing got old, fast. Feelings of confusion, jealously, and internal debate blurred the plot and the characters' mission, and that bothered me, and caused a lull part way through the book.
2. Though the writing, overall, was fine, there were a number of grammar and spelling throughout the novel. It wasn't enough for me to throw the book out of the window in annoyance, but it definitely didn't go unnoticed (Note: I am 99.9% sure that I didn't receive an ARC copy, but I could be wrong...).
All in all, The Bane proved to be a thrilling read. Although it wasn't quite a homerun for me, I found that the novel, which promised action, fear, and the discovery of love, delivered on all points (though some more than others). With twists and turns, this book will take you on a journey through a destructive and frightening world, and you'll love every moment of it.
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.83/5
A copy was provided by Keary Taylor through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
http://betweenprintedpages.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/catching-liam-book-blitz/
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Catching Liam was a fun, sexy, new adult contemporary novel about learning to let people in and learning to love. However, as much as I enjoyed reading it, there were things I wish were different about the book, and because I'm really in a listy mood, here's another list.
What I loved:
1. Liam. Because he was sweet, caring, and loved Jillian unconditionally (which at times seemed like a harrowing task). Sexy as hell, he could cook, make a reader swoon, and was Scottish (not like that really makes a difference if you can't hear it but the idea of a sexy Scotsman cooking waffles for you makes Liam pretty darn enticing).
2. Jess. She's probably the best friend you could possibly have. Even though she does judge Jullian (rightfully), she's always willing to back her up no matter what, and has seen Jillian at her absolute worse. My respect for her knows no bounds and I loved her character.
3. Some of the dialogue and internal quips killed me. I was definitely entertained throughout the novel, that's for sure.
4. Jillian was a Game of Thrones fans. Automatic love.
5. The lesson in the end. Acceptance among your peers is a hard thing to come by, but accepting yourself for who you are can sometimes be harder. I was proud of Jillian at the end and loved Liam and Jess for helping her get to that point. Where she ran from everything, she was finally able to face her demons.
What I wish had been different:
1. I wish we hadn't met Liam right off the bat. I would have liked to see her passiveness before him, get to know the heartless character and then see Jillian grow throughout the novel.
2. I wish there had been more growth instead of such a sudden BAM kind of thing at the end. I would have liked to see her settle a few things before the end, like see her stop taking advantage of her friends and her boyfriend, of her doing something nice for them. Jillian was a very hard character to love 'cause she was constantly pushing aside her emotions, her friends, her parents (though I understood her reasoning when it came to her mother), and Liam.
3. Overall, I wish there had been more development of the characters, of the background/secondary stories, of her family situation, of her mother even. I just wish there was something... more. More depth, more emotional descriptions. Even when we see Jillian struggle to do something, we don't really get to see much of what she's feeling, which definitely would've made me feel something MORE for her.
Catching Liam was a fun read, because, honestly, as heart-breaking as the main plot idea should have been, it wasn't really the main plot anymore, and thus wasn't as heart-breaking or even as monumental as it could have been. Even so, it was, all in all, an enjoyable read, and I'll definitely be reading Jess's story Teaching Roman when it's released.
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Writing: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.21/5
Quotes:
"Listen up. You may not tell me anything about clothes. I don't care how phat their pants are."
There was a collective grown at his use of "phat".
"Do you guys say wicked?" he asked.
"Sick!" someone yelled from the back of the room.
"Okay, I don't care how sick their pants are..."
-Markson
Stacey sounded a bit like a drowned cat although she was gyrating her hips like she was Gwen Stefani.
"This is why I don't sing," I told him as I finally turned to face him.
"Because you sound like someone is murdering you?" he asked.
"Definitely."
-Jillian and Liam
"Maybe he could come down with the Plague or something?" Jess suggested.
"Do you have access to the Plague? He'd probably have to be quarantined to keep Tara away."
-Jess and Jillian
"Oh my god, I can go to the bathroom and come back. I'm not going to get lost." I reached for the stack of coasters on the table and held them up. "I can drop these behind me and find my way back to you."
-Jillian
-review by Between Printed Pages
Hopeless was amazing, and yet somehow Colleen Hoover managed to best herself with Losing Hope. While the synopsis describes it as a retelling of Hopeless from Holder's point of view (which I honestly wouldn't have minded if it was simply just that), Losing Hope is so much more. It's true, we do get to live Hopeless again through Holder, but we also get to see what happened before, with Les, what got him in trouble, how he felt when he figured it all out. If you thought you loved Holder before, ladies and gents, wait until you read this. Even when I thought I knew it all, Colleen Hoover still managed to surprise me, wow me, and shatter my heart.
There were many things that contributed to the pure awesomeness of this book: Daniel, that notebook Holder writes in, seeing the before and the after, and Colleen Hoover's perfect, effortless way of telling a story and creating her characters (even though it probably took a whole lot of effort and work).
First off, Daniel. He's Holder's best friend and a total odd-ball. While we had a lot of Six and Breckin in Hopeless, Daniel was the much needed comic relief in Losing Hope. Although he's not the most well-mannered person, he stuck by Holder through it all, so all my props go to him.
A nonverbal conversation in which I give him the go-ahead to release any pent-up frustration he might still be harboring.
He grin mischievously and loudly slaps his palms down on the table. "Holy motherfucking shit!" he yells, climbing up onto his chair. He gestures wildly towards me. "Look everybody! It's Dean Holder!" He proceeds to climb on top of the lunchroom table, pulling all the attention away from me and placing it on himself.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" he yells, motioning with huge, exaggerated gestures towards me. "We have the Dean Holder here! The one and only!" When only a few people look away from him toward me, he throws his hands up in the air like he's disappointed in them. "Come on, guys! We've been anticipating this moment for two weeks now! Now that he's finally here, you all decide to shut the hell up? What's up with that?" He looks down at me and frowns, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "I'm sorry, Holder. I thought today would be a little more interesting for you. I was hoping for a Q&A session to kind of clear the air, but I didn't realize every single person in this school is a spineless dipshit."
So yeah, not the best way around things, but I was entertained by his little (or not so little) outbursts. I also liked how straight up he was with Holder and Breckin when he spoke about his life, or gave his opinion to them about anything and everything. Sometimes, Holder REALLY needed Daniel to snap him out of his own mind.
That notebook. OMFG THAT NOTEBOOK. There's so many things I want to just freak out about with regards to that freaking notebook, but I can't without revealing some epic spoilers, so I'll just stick to the non-spoilery parts. Holder starts writing letters to Les in this notebook to vent, to get angry, to just get everything out in the open. I loved this because we got to see Holder's thoughts even more indepth because this wasn't him talking to someone, or putting on a facade. It was him, the notebook, and his twin sister. We got to see the rawest parts of Holder through this notebook, and throughout this entire book. It was amazing, heart-breaking, and sometimes just adorable, especially when he's frolicking around singing praises about Sky.
With Holder's story we get to see the before, i.e. what happens with Les, what happened to land him in Austin Texas, what the word "devastated" should and shouldn't be used to describe, and how Holder finds that notebook. This back story really helped with Holder's character development. We get to read about childhood memories, why Grayson is such a douche (not that what we learned in Hopeless wasn't enough to prove that fact), and how Holder FEELS. As therapeutic as that sounds, it's a big part in Losing Hope. What came before leads to what happens in Hopeless and I'm so glad we got to read about Holder's feeling, and see everything from his perspective.
But I've learned over the past year what it really means to be able to miss someone. In order to miss someone, that means you were privileged enough to have them in your life to begin with.
I also liked seeing the after. What happens after Sky finally adjusts, and the truth is out in the open. What happens to Holder and what does he do with what he now knows about Les. I think that part of the book, at the very end, gave the readers, and Holder, the closure that we all needed. It was heart-breaking and absolutely perfect and I love Colleen Hoover for including it.
Colleen Hoover has this ability to create a whole world within her books: the places seem real, the characters pop out of the page, the situations present and the feelings and emotions described all made me FEEL. They made me CRY. They made me SMILE and LAUGH. This book was one of those novels that can grab you and suck you in, and then when it's all said and done, you just don't know what to do without yourself, except be happy that you were a part of it, you were in that story as much as Holder, Sky, and Colleen Hoover herself were. And boy am I happy that I decided to read Slammed back in December, and had the chance and the NEED to read all of Hoover's other books, 'cause they have all been adventures (and emotional roller coasters) into her imagination and her stories. Now that both of the series have come to a close (?) I wonder what Ms. Colleen Hoover will come up with next, and I can't wait to read it!
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 6/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.70/5
The book is currently available only as an ebook (as of July 8, 2013). The paperback will be out in stores October 15, 2013.
-review by Between Printed Pages
