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wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)
2.5 stars
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Scottie doesn't know what to do when she discovers the body of a dead homeless woman early one morning while on a photography project. All she does now is that she has to get the woman's crying infant to safety.Soon Scottie finds herself in predicament, does she hand over the baby to the police to be put in a care home, or does she secretly keep the baby for herself?
I'm not sure if I liked this. I felt it jumped into Scottie finding the baby super quickly and all of her decisions were just really stupid to me and they annoyed me. Considering she found a dead body you'd think she would ring the police as soon as she was able.
I did like the family dynamic and how her family came together to support and help her through it. I didn't like how Scottie kept throwing her baby being born in prison into the mix every conversation when things started to get heated. I think she used the phrase about five times in a few pages. Her husband was a piece of work too. Overall, a slightly depressing but not a bad read.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Scottie doesn't know what to do when she discovers the body of a dead homeless woman early one morning while on a photography project. All she does now is that she has to get the woman's crying infant to safety.Soon Scottie finds herself in predicament, does she hand over the baby to the police to be put in a care home, or does she secretly keep the baby for herself?
I'm not sure if I liked this. I felt it jumped into Scottie finding the baby super quickly and all of her decisions were just really stupid to me and they annoyed me. Considering she found a dead body you'd think she would ring the police as soon as she was able.
I did like the family dynamic and how her family came together to support and help her through it. I didn't like how Scottie kept throwing her baby being born in prison into the mix every conversation when things started to get heated. I think she used the phrase about five times in a few pages. Her husband was a piece of work too. Overall, a slightly depressing but not a bad read.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Rhea is 17 years old, only has one arm and is living homeless on the streets of New York. As a way of exploring her feelings and what's happening to her, Rhea begins to write letters to her dead mother.
This one was a hard one to rate for me. There was a lot going on in this book from themes of exploring sexuality and coming to terms with sexuality, living with a disability, homelessness, the young homeless, sexual assault, depression, suicide. It was certainly diverse in a lot of ways and the story was set in the 90s, so there was no mobile phones, email or instant messenger. Everything seemed that little bit more drawn out because Rhea was writing everything down.
I felt like we did get a real sense of Rhea. She didn't seem to know where she was going or even who she really was but I felt close to her during her struggles. I did get frustrated at her now and again as I felt she was a bit slow in accepting things, particularly in her talks with Jean, but overall I do feel like she's a character a lot of people could identify with.
I'm giving this four stars because the book felt just that little bit too long for me. I think the middle could be trimmed down a lot and it would make the story feel a lot less dragged out.
On a side note, I didn't know this story would have an Irish connection so I was so happy when I read that. And you know an author is either Irish or has spent a great deal of time in Ireland when they talk about 'fizzy orange' and 'Hunky Dorys' and also use the phrase 'I'm grand.'
Rhea is 17 years old, only has one arm and is living homeless on the streets of New York. As a way of exploring her feelings and what's happening to her, Rhea begins to write letters to her dead mother.
This one was a hard one to rate for me. There was a lot going on in this book from themes of exploring sexuality and coming to terms with sexuality, living with a disability, homelessness, the young homeless, sexual assault, depression, suicide. It was certainly diverse in a lot of ways and the story was set in the 90s, so there was no mobile phones, email or instant messenger. Everything seemed that little bit more drawn out because Rhea was writing everything down.
I felt like we did get a real sense of Rhea. She didn't seem to know where she was going or even who she really was but I felt close to her during her struggles. I did get frustrated at her now and again as I felt she was a bit slow in accepting things, particularly in her talks with Jean, but overall I do feel like she's a character a lot of people could identify with.
I'm giving this four stars because the book felt just that little bit too long for me. I think the middle could be trimmed down a lot and it would make the story feel a lot less dragged out.
On a side note, I didn't know this story would have an Irish connection so I was so happy when I read that. And you know an author is either Irish or has spent a great deal of time in Ireland when they talk about 'fizzy orange' and 'Hunky Dorys' and also use the phrase 'I'm grand.'
I first read this series when I was between 14-16 years old I believe and I really loved it so when I found out a new novel was coming in February 2016 with a grow-up Suze, I knew I had to reread the series.
I really loved going into this with a fresh pair of eyes and the knowledge I had the whole series to my disposal on my Kindle and wouldn't have to wait for the next one to show up on the library shelf (this was before the days of reserving books online, it was a 'you see it, you take it' kind of thing cause you didn't know when you'd see it again). I had forgotten alot of the series except for the basics - 16-year-old moves to California, she can see ghosts, hot ghost in bedroom, whole load of trouble.
Suze is a great character, She's independent, spunky and confident but also has a degree of warmth and caring. She doesn't let bullies or snobs get away with anything and likes to share her opinions. One of the best things I loved about the book was Suze's family dynamic. I forgot how great it was. Despite the fact she hardly knew her stepbrothers, I always felt they settled down with one another really well and with a lovely level of caring, from David/Doc's fawning over Suze to Jake/Sleepy's role of big brother caring for little sister. There was very little angst between them other than some normal sibling squabbles and her relationship with her stepdad Andy was also lovely. The family life was healthy and great to read.
I'm knocking off a half a star to the book basically because at times I felt uncomfortable with the attitude towards suicide. Suze's first ghost in the book, besides Jesse, killed herself after her boyfriend broke up with her and she became a malevolent spirit, intent on harm.I literally winced at how unfeeling Suze was at times and I'm not sure if the casual way she says "blow your head off" would go down as well in a book written today when society in general has a much better attitude towards mental health and suicide. There was basically nothing done to discover other reasons why Heather felt the need to shoot herself other than her relationship status and it definitely left the impression that she was just a stupid, shallow girl. There was also the use of the words "fag" and "fag hag" at one point which, again, I didn't enjoy at all. Though in fairness, Dopey did get a slap and grounded for saying it.
Overall, I loved revisiting this book and I can't wait to read the rest. I've already fallen in love with Jesse. I hate the new covers though. I much prefer the old ones.
I really loved going into this with a fresh pair of eyes and the knowledge I had the whole series to my disposal on my Kindle and wouldn't have to wait for the next one to show up on the library shelf (this was before the days of reserving books online, it was a 'you see it, you take it' kind of thing cause you didn't know when you'd see it again). I had forgotten alot of the series except for the basics - 16-year-old moves to California, she can see ghosts, hot ghost in bedroom, whole load of trouble.
Suze is a great character, She's independent, spunky and confident but also has a degree of warmth and caring. She doesn't let bullies or snobs get away with anything and likes to share her opinions. One of the best things I loved about the book was Suze's family dynamic. I forgot how great it was. Despite the fact she hardly knew her stepbrothers, I always felt they settled down with one another really well and with a lovely level of caring, from David/Doc's fawning over Suze to Jake/Sleepy's role of big brother caring for little sister. There was very little angst between them other than some normal sibling squabbles and her relationship with her stepdad Andy was also lovely. The family life was healthy and great to read.
I'm knocking off a half a star to the book basically because at times I felt uncomfortable with the attitude towards suicide. Suze's first ghost in the book, besides Jesse, killed herself after her boyfriend broke up with her and she became a malevolent spirit, intent on harm.I literally winced at how unfeeling Suze was at times and I'm not sure if the casual way she says "blow your head off" would go down as well in a book written today when society in general has a much better attitude towards mental health and suicide. There was basically nothing done to discover other reasons why Heather felt the need to shoot herself other than her relationship status and it definitely left the impression that she was just a stupid, shallow girl. There was also the use of the words "fag" and "fag hag" at one point which, again, I didn't enjoy at all. Though in fairness, Dopey did get a slap and grounded for saying it.
Overall, I loved revisiting this book and I can't wait to read the rest. I've already fallen in love with Jesse. I hate the new covers though. I much prefer the old ones.
Maddie has lost her boyfriend, her job and her mother in a short space of time and she's ready for a fresh start. And that's where Lucky Harbor comes in. Maddie travels to the seaside town to check out an inn resort left to her, and her two half-sisters by their mother. Maddie also meets Jax who soon has her reconsidering her oath to stay away from men.
So this book is basically as cheesy and cliché as any other romance novel I've ever read but I have to say I really loved it. There was something so honest and lovely about Maddie, I could really find myself liking her a lot. I loved her growing relationship with her sisters and seeing them bond and become closer to each other throughout the story was really nice to read.
And Jax. Oh..my..god. Can he be my new book boyfriend please? Or more like manfriend because Jax ladies and gentlemen, is all man. He was clever, strong, fit, kind, generous and understanding. Literally perfect. Like PERFECT! And that should annoy me because it's so unrealistic but I couldn't help but fall in love with Jax at the same time as Maddie. There was so many great chemistry-laden scenes between Maddie and Jax that left me feeling a bit breathless. The sex scenes were feisty in a classy way and oh so spicy.
There were definite annoying parts where Maddie and Jax seemed to circle each other around the same problems and repeat their arguments. While Maddie's past was definitely worth her feelings about men, I felt like it was repeated enough to start being irritating which I didn't like feeling about such an issue. I don't think the very dramatic fire scene had to happen either. It felt a bit unnecessary.
Overall I loved the story, the romance and the introduction to the town and its people. I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
So this book is basically as cheesy and cliché as any other romance novel I've ever read but I have to say I really loved it. There was something so honest and lovely about Maddie, I could really find myself liking her a lot. I loved her growing relationship with her sisters and seeing them bond and become closer to each other throughout the story was really nice to read.
And Jax. Oh..my..god. Can he be my new book boyfriend please? Or more like manfriend because Jax ladies and gentlemen, is all man. He was clever, strong, fit, kind, generous and understanding. Literally perfect. Like PERFECT! And that should annoy me because it's so unrealistic but I couldn't help but fall in love with Jax at the same time as Maddie. There was so many great chemistry-laden scenes between Maddie and Jax that left me feeling a bit breathless. The sex scenes were feisty in a classy way and oh so spicy.
There were definite annoying parts where Maddie and Jax seemed to circle each other around the same problems and repeat their arguments. While Maddie's past was definitely worth her feelings about men, I felt like it was repeated enough to start being irritating which I didn't like feeling about such an issue. I don't think the very dramatic fire scene had to happen either. It felt a bit unnecessary.
Overall I loved the story, the romance and the introduction to the town and its people. I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
3.75 stars
Review to come
Rapunzel has upped and left Grimmland with her husband and kids to help run a unicorn sanctuary in Oz. And now Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White are left to figure out what to do without her. Suddenly Zell's leaving sparks the idea of doing more in the other Princesses' heads. CiCi wants to be a chef, which means taking lessons outside in the real world. Snow White suddenly realises her wedding may not be the be all and end all of her life and she could be free to love whoever she wants. And Aurora, well she discovers coffee and that maybe her husband isn't her happily ever after after all. Letters to Zell explores the bumps that come after the happily ever after is sealed and how sometime you have to work pretty hard to get it.
If you liked Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, I think you might like this book. While Chapters to Zell is not quite as satirical as Beauty Queens, it definitely that over-the-topness I associate with Libba Bray's book. The girls are loud and dramatic and they, and the world they live in, have ideals about how they should live and what they should look like and it's a stretch to try and change these. But the more the girls travel through the portal, the more their eyes open to other things and their real dreams. They begin to fight for what they want - CiCi for her cooking classes, Bianca for her freedom and Rory for some magic spell that make her life better than it should be.
I thought it was interesting that we never really got to meet Zell. Just heard about what she was like by the letters the other characters wrote to her. She was definitely some ideal fairy princess until the end when CiCi had a go at her and we discover that Zell isn't actually as perfect as we think. I liked that there was some diversity to the books as well, and there was never any hoo-haa about Bianca's choice of partner Outside. I loved that relationship, though it seemed very rushed. I really enjoyed Cici's relationship dynamic with Edmund who at first I thought a bit snobbish and then turned out to be thoughtful and understanding. I also loved the princesses' reactions to their Disneyland counter-parts.Definite LOL moments.
This book will throw any ideas you have about your fairy princesses out of the water. So stop thinking about the singing Disney versions, and think more along the lines of the kick-butt princesses we see in Once Upon A Time, cause that's what these girls are mixed in with a little bit of LA-grit.
Review to come
Rapunzel has upped and left Grimmland with her husband and kids to help run a unicorn sanctuary in Oz. And now Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White are left to figure out what to do without her. Suddenly Zell's leaving sparks the idea of doing more in the other Princesses' heads. CiCi wants to be a chef, which means taking lessons outside in the real world. Snow White suddenly realises her wedding may not be the be all and end all of her life and she could be free to love whoever she wants. And Aurora, well she discovers coffee and that maybe her husband isn't her happily ever after after all. Letters to Zell explores the bumps that come after the happily ever after is sealed and how sometime you have to work pretty hard to get it.
If you liked Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, I think you might like this book. While Chapters to Zell is not quite as satirical as Beauty Queens, it definitely that over-the-topness I associate with Libba Bray's book. The girls are loud and dramatic and they, and the world they live in, have ideals about how they should live and what they should look like and it's a stretch to try and change these. But the more the girls travel through the portal, the more their eyes open to other things and their real dreams. They begin to fight for what they want - CiCi for her cooking classes, Bianca for her freedom and Rory for some magic spell that make her life better than it should be.
I thought it was interesting that we never really got to meet Zell. Just heard about what she was like by the letters the other characters wrote to her. She was definitely some ideal fairy princess until the end when CiCi had a go at her and we discover that Zell isn't actually as perfect as we think. I liked that there was some diversity to the books as well, and there was never any hoo-haa about Bianca's choice of partner Outside. I loved that relationship, though it seemed very rushed. I really enjoyed Cici's relationship dynamic with Edmund who at first I thought a bit snobbish and then turned out to be thoughtful and understanding. I also loved the princesses' reactions to their Disneyland counter-parts.Definite LOL moments.
This book will throw any ideas you have about your fairy princesses out of the water. So stop thinking about the singing Disney versions, and think more along the lines of the kick-butt princesses we see in Once Upon A Time, cause that's what these girls are mixed in with a little bit of LA-grit.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Things We Keep tells the story of Anna who has early onset Alzheimers. Anna is sent to a care home where she falls in love with Luke, a man in his 40's, also suffering with dementia. A year later, we also meet Eve, a woman trying to rebuild her life who becomes attached to Anna and Luke and can't understand why people won't accept their love and vows to bring them together again.
This is a fantastic book that not only takes a look at what it's like to live with such a progressive and debilitating disease, but how a disease doesn't make a person. For so much of this book, we got to see who Anna, Luke, Gwen, Bert and all the residents in the home were more than just their illness. There was a great insight into each character and their traits and dislikes and likes and we really got to see them as a person rather than a patient.
Anna's progress into her disease was really interesting to read. The way she came up with different names for things - sleeping bench for bed and hole in the wall for window - was great to read and while this story was heartbreaking because the main characters were sick, it was also just a fun, and loving story full of great characters. It was also fast-paced and easy to read and I really recommend it!
The Things We Keep tells the story of Anna who has early onset Alzheimers. Anna is sent to a care home where she falls in love with Luke, a man in his 40's, also suffering with dementia. A year later, we also meet Eve, a woman trying to rebuild her life who becomes attached to Anna and Luke and can't understand why people won't accept their love and vows to bring them together again.
This is a fantastic book that not only takes a look at what it's like to live with such a progressive and debilitating disease, but how a disease doesn't make a person. For so much of this book, we got to see who Anna, Luke, Gwen, Bert and all the residents in the home were more than just their illness. There was a great insight into each character and their traits and dislikes and likes and we really got to see them as a person rather than a patient.
Anna's progress into her disease was really interesting to read. The way she came up with different names for things - sleeping bench for bed and hole in the wall for window - was great to read and while this story was heartbreaking because the main characters were sick, it was also just a fun, and loving story full of great characters. It was also fast-paced and easy to read and I really recommend it!
Omg. How can a short story contain so much of everything you need. That Wizard of Oz scene, come back my broken heart.
This is a pretty nice, albeit depressing, look into life at Thurmond after Ruby leaves it. It took me a few pages to remember who Sam was because for some reason I confused her with Vida. I was never very invested into Ruby's story about Sam so I wasn't overly emotionally attacked to either Sam or Lukas. I definitely liked seeing the Reds come back as 'soldiers' as we had seen would happen in Never Fade and the fact that not all the treatment worked and Lukas was still himself. I also enjoyed the brief connection to Martin, though I wonder how Martin's brother got all the nice genes and Martin left with the shitty ones. All I can hope for now is for Ruby to return to Thurmond and rescue Sam and the others, and somehow use her powers to bring Lukas back. I would definitely be disappointed if they didn't show up at all in In the Afterlight.
The Voyage of the Snake Lady follows Myrina and her gang of Moon Riders after the events of Troy. Seven years later, Myrina has found herself in a precarious situation again and must fight for her life and for the lives of her treasured Moon Riders. The warrior priestesses soon find themselves finding sanctuary in a new place, with new people, but Myrina can't stay long because her old friend Iphigenia is in trouble and she must travel to help her.
While I liked carrying on with Myrina's story as she is a great character to follow with a lot of depth and character growth (especially considering we have been following her since she was 13 and in this book is around 27/28 years old at least), I'm not 100% sure this book was completely needed. There were parts of the book that were slightly draggy and while I did like the Moon Riders getting their happily ever after with the men by the river, I'm not sure a whole book just to make that happy was necessary.
The journey to save Iphigenia proved how much Myrina is able to bond with people who need her help and shy them away from a course that will only mean trouble. I liked Iphigenia finding Orestes and seeing Cassandra and Chrystes again was nice, though again, not really needed. If you liked The Moon Riders for its characters, you would like this book. There's just not as much action in this one and is not as exciting as it's prequel.
While I liked carrying on with Myrina's story as she is a great character to follow with a lot of depth and character growth (especially considering we have been following her since she was 13 and in this book is around 27/28 years old at least), I'm not 100% sure this book was completely needed. There were parts of the book that were slightly draggy and while I did like the Moon Riders getting their happily ever after with the men by the river, I'm not sure a whole book just to make that happy was necessary.
The journey to save Iphigenia proved how much Myrina is able to bond with people who need her help and shy them away from a course that will only mean trouble. I liked Iphigenia finding Orestes and seeing Cassandra and Chrystes again was nice, though again, not really needed. If you liked The Moon Riders for its characters, you would like this book. There's just not as much action in this one and is not as exciting as it's prequel.
3.5 stars
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
I actually didn't know this was a selection of essays discussing different themes in The Hunger Games. For some reason I always thought it was a selection of fan fiction written by other YA authors about THG. While I would have definitely loved some fan fiction, I did mostly enjoy reading other author's thoughts on the trilogy. I loved some more than others, in particular Sarah Rees Brennan's Why So Hungry for The Hunger Games?, Mary Borsellino's Your Heart Is a Weapon the Size of Your Fist which looks at how love is used as a political weapon throughout the series and also Gale: Knight, Cowboy, Badass by Jackson Pearce.
Not So Weird Science by Cara Lockwood and Bent, Shattered and Mended by Blythe Woolston were both interesting in the fact they were more studies into the realities of genetic engineering in our world today and then the real symptoms of PTSD and how it's portrayed in the book and which characters show the classic signs. Others like Ned Vizzini's Reality Hunger didn't click with me because, particularly with this one, the author ended up talking about stuff in their own life and I didn't really care. I think Vizzini could have talked about Katniss's media training without constantly mentioning his own experience of being through it.
Overall, it was an interesting read for the most part. I just felt a bit drawn out in some parts when some of the essays started mirroring each other slightly but it was a fantastic insight into how other authors can look and dissect a trilogy that became a phenomenon.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
I actually didn't know this was a selection of essays discussing different themes in The Hunger Games. For some reason I always thought it was a selection of fan fiction written by other YA authors about THG. While I would have definitely loved some fan fiction, I did mostly enjoy reading other author's thoughts on the trilogy. I loved some more than others, in particular Sarah Rees Brennan's Why So Hungry for The Hunger Games?, Mary Borsellino's Your Heart Is a Weapon the Size of Your Fist which looks at how love is used as a political weapon throughout the series and also Gale: Knight, Cowboy, Badass by Jackson Pearce.
Not So Weird Science by Cara Lockwood and Bent, Shattered and Mended by Blythe Woolston were both interesting in the fact they were more studies into the realities of genetic engineering in our world today and then the real symptoms of PTSD and how it's portrayed in the book and which characters show the classic signs. Others like Ned Vizzini's Reality Hunger didn't click with me because, particularly with this one, the author ended up talking about stuff in their own life and I didn't really care. I think Vizzini could have talked about Katniss's media training without constantly mentioning his own experience of being through it.
Overall, it was an interesting read for the most part. I just felt a bit drawn out in some parts when some of the essays started mirroring each other slightly but it was a fantastic insight into how other authors can look and dissect a trilogy that became a phenomenon.