Review: Beautiful Disaster

Title: Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Publisher: Atria Books
Rating: 5/5

This book is sneaky. It has a cover that’s pretty enough but nothing special; a synopsis that again sounds average. Ratings are for the most part split down the middle: one and two stars versus five stars. All of this had me convinced I wouldn’t like it very much. And what did this book do? Sneer at my lack of faith and shove its brilliance in my face. So before I go any further - Beautiful Disaster, you have my sincerest apologies.

What’s strange for me is that I can see exactly where people would criticise this book. I can see where, in normal circumstances, I would have criticised it – the plot, the characters, the relationship. These were the exact same problems I had with Fifty Shades of Grey. I’m not even talking about the disturbing elements of it, I just mean the huge flaws in the characters, the unhealthiness of the relationship, the way they always came back to each other despite events and intentions. Yet something about Beautiful Disaster kept me turning the pages, had me smiling and laughing and being so thankful I’d bought this book.

A lot of it centres on the relationship between Abby and Travis. Travis is known for his one-night stands, so the consistent familiarity between him and Abby is unprecedented. Abby herself begins resistant to his charms, but after a while she can’t help but accept their friendship. The bet they make at one of Travis’ fights seals her fate: she’s stuck at his apartment for a month and they inevitably grow closer. I have to say, the way they acted towards each other and the scenes where they were getting ready for bed just constantly made me think they were acting like an old married couple (add in the puppy and the family is complete). They were either at each other’s throats or blissfully happy. When it was bad, boy was it bad. But when it was good...you see where this is going. Their relationship was completely all over the place and it would always impact everyone else. It wasn’t particularly healthy, but endearing all the same.

Abby wasn’t the girl I was expecting to meet. The description isn’t entirely accurate because it paints the image of a good girl, but in actuality she doesn’t have many of the traits you’d associate with such a person. I liked Abby for her initial resistance to Travis in comparison to the flirting of almost every other girl that approached him. She did have some measure of strength. When she says she’s going to walk away, she does actually walk away, and I felt sorry for her when I learned the truth about her dad. There were, however, some choices she made that weren’t exactly wise, particularly for someone so young and supposed to be studying, and the thing she had going on with Parker (it wasn’t what I’d call a true relationship) was stupid and pointless.

Travis...Travis. What can I say? I think I fell for him pretty quickly. Everything about him, from the tattoos, to his lack of commitment, to his possessiveness, are not things I exactly appreciate...yet the picture in my head and the way he came across completely got to me. And the thing about Travis is that he changes. Yes, his dependence on Abby is unhealthy (again with that word!), but she makes him into someone who cares and has respect for a girl; she turns him into a complete softie, at least as far as she’s concerned. He is very over-protective, but he learns to give Abby her space and restrain himself (at times) from acting irrationally. He can be really sweet. He...ugh. I just cannot explain how much I love Travis, despite all his ridiculous, fatal flaws. I loved meeting his family – from his description of his childhood I didn’t think I’d like them, but then we see that they changed and so the family we meet are close, warm and welcoming.

There is more to the plot than just the journey of Abby and Travis, but I will admit not much. There’s the truth about Abby’s relationship with her father, but that doesn’t come until late in the book, plus something else that comes even later. It can be quite repetitive – up, down, love, hate, argue, make up. I honestly don’t understand how the author made me fall in love with this book, because all of the flaws in here are ones I usually take issue with. But love it I did and honestly? I’m looking at the book right now and thinking I need to re-read it. I need to get back into that crazy world. I think I will be very soon.

Beautiful Disaster is not for everyone. It’s so obviously good and so obviously bad at the same time. If you do decide to take that step and go for it, I hope you enjoy it. If you decide to give it a miss, that’s definitely understandable. Myself, I read this out of curiosity and was lucky enough to fall in love. And that’s all I can ask for.

Waiting on Wednesday (#s9&10)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.  I realise this post is early, but I'm travelling tonight, will be out tomorrow, and won't be home till after midnight. Since I was away last week, I also have another double. :)

Title: Finale (Hush, Hush #4)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Released: 23rd October 2012

Fates unfurl in the gripping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush saga.

Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean they are fated to be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. Now Nora and Patch must gather their strength to face one last, perilous trial. Old enemies return, new enemies are made, and a friend's ultimate betrayal threatens the peace Patch and Nora so desperately want. The battle lines are drawn—but which sides are they on? And in the end, are there some obstacles even love can't conquer?


Title: Conjure (The Hoodoo Apprentice #1)
Author: Lea Nolan
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Released: 16th October 2012

Be careful what you search for...

Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma’s ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper’s soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.

When a strange girl appears, bent on revenge; demon dogs become a threat; and Jack turns into a walking skeleton; Emma has no choice but to learn hoodoo magic to undo the hex, all before summer—and her friends--are lost forever.

Summaries taken from GoodReads.

OK, so Hush Hush.  I have been aware lately of how quite a few people are getting tired of it, of how they don't like the title, etc etc.  But I am so excited for it!  I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to seeing where Becca Fitzpatrick takes this story and how she wraps up such an amazing series.  Recently I also saw that Conjure has a cover, and it's only peaked my interest.  I love the whole mysterious atmosphere of it.  Plus, the synopsis is just...*shakes head*.  A mention of the 18th century?  A message in a bottle?  Treasure?  Flesh-eating Creeps, demon dogs and walking skeletons?  I think I just died.  I need to see where this goes.

What about you?  What are you waiting for this week?  Link me up and I'll be sure to check out your WoW posts. :)

Review: Blood Red Road

Title: Blood Red Road (Dust Lands #1)
Author: Moira Young
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Released: 7th June 2011
Rating: 5/5

Blood Red Road is not your average dystopia. Saba is not your average heroine. This is not average book.

And that makes is brilliant.

Saba is content with her life. Sure, she doesn’t have a good relationship with her younger sister, and her father is crazy, and they don’t live in the best of conditions – but as long as she has her brother Lugh, everything’s fine. Until one day, Lugh gets taken. Clueless as to why it was him specifically the kidnappers were after, Saba sets off on a journey to get him back to matter what. Along the way she meets both trouble and friends, and learns just how strong she really is an a world both ravaged and harsh.

I was warned that the writing would be something of a shock before I read this. So of course, I opened it and prepared myself for what might come. I was surprised when I found out the cause of all the fuss, but it didn’t hold me back from turning the page. If anything, it kept me going. I loved how it reflected a particular dialect and way of speaking, and how it sort of emphasised how backward society is in the book, as it is in other dystopias. Moira Young has taken an incredibly brave step; I can see how some people might instantly dislike it. Fortunately for me, I loved it, and I adapted to it surprisingly quickly. Then again, I have read A Clockwork Orange. If I can read that, I can read anything. ;)

Saba was a fantastic protag. She is so. Utterly. Focused. When her brother is taken, all she wants is to get him back. Everything she does it meant to help her get him back. No distractions allowed. Sometimes I’m reading a book and I’m shaking my head or raising my eyebrows at how quick the girl is to let the guy get under her skin and distract her. Not Saba. I was surprised at how fiercely she felt about her brother, and it was sweet. Certainly nothing like the relationship between me and my brothers. She’s tough and independent and her character goes through a lot of growth, making reading from her perspective a real pleasure.

Jack was just a treasure. He’s a vivid, lively, dimensional character. Funny, sweet, serious, you get to know exactly what kind of a person he is. There’s very much this push-and-pull sort of relationship between him and Saba. Jack is very unwilling to lay out his feelings for her and forgive her every time she pushes him away until she recognises what she’s done and actively try to do something to reverse it. The dynamics between them were constantly changing and I appreciated the difference between their relationship and a tonne of others I could mention. Initially when I met DeMalo, the King’s second-in-command, I thought there was going to be a love triangle. There wasn’t. There was, however, something. DeMalo has an edge to him that makes me very hopeful of seeing more of him in the second book.

The Hawks were another set of brilliant characters. The King, while dangerous, was also quite comical, to me at least. The way he dressed and something he said in a fight scene just made me smile. I loved the grittiness and the world-building, and just almost everything in this book. I had every scene and image clear in my head. A truly wonderful book that has me excited to see more, Blood Red Road definitely makes one of my favourites I’ve read this year.

*Collapses onto sofa*

Ok, so technically I didn’t collapse.  But I was very tired by the time I got home yesterday.  The week was packed with so.

Much.

Stuff.

I am not even joking.

Can you believe I went for two or three day without even thinking about the internet?  Then on Thursday night in bed I realised with a jolt that that was exactly what had happened.  What does that say?

But the week was amazing.   Annnnnnnnd...check out these pics.



DR&Co walked here

DR&Co passed here

DR&Co were here

For those of you who don’t know, this is the courtyard in Harry Potter.  That’s right.  I went there.  Be jealous.  This is the part where if you’ve seen another part of Hogwarts you don’t say anything.

Anyways.  I did miss you guys!  While it was sad to leave, I’m also happy to be back.  There’s so much to catch up on.  I do have a review for you, though it mostly was written last night.  Apologies if it’s not up to par, I read the book a week-that-feels-longer-than-a-week ago.  So I guess I’ll finish this post here and go on to put the next one up. J

-A

Heads up!

Hello lovelies!  (I’ve wanted to say that for ages ;))

Sooo, as the title says, just a heads up:  I’m going to be gone for a while.

Wow, is it me or did that sound ominous?  But relax, because I’m only going to be away for a week! 

I have a summer school at a university that runs from tomorrow to Friday 24th, where I get to study more about a subject that I love and do other fun stuff, and just generally get a feel for somewhere I’m considering applying to.  At my age, this is the kind of stuff we have to think about and act on.  Cue tears.  The thing is, I have no idea how often I’ll be able to get to a computer.  My guess is, not much, at least not outside of whatever computer time we have for our work.  And that’s OK, because it’ll give me time to (hopefully) sort of get over my internet addiction.  Because let’s face it: ever since I got really into GR, and then started blogging, I started going on the computer all.  The.  Time.  Now by the time I come back, I may be an inch away from the grave as a result of it, but at least I will have been forced to do something else.  Lots of somethings.

I don’t know how much reading time I’ll have.  I’m storing lots of lovely books on my Kindle just in case, plus the train journey there and back is going to be long anyway, so if I do get to read something, I’ll pen a review and put it up when I get back.  Be warned, you may see me pop up in a thread or conversation somewhere, maybe on Twitter, all depending on phone signal.  Or not.



So, assuming I don’t get lost at the train station or get on the wrong train (I’ve never been on a train by myself before.  A tube yes, but a train??  Help!), I’ll see you all in a week!

Missing you guys already ;)

Happy reading

-A

Review: Gone

Title: Gone (Gone #1)
Author: Michael Grant
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Released: 24th June 2008
Rating: 4/5 stars

I actually started this about two years ago and I have to admit, I only got so far before I stopped reading it altogether. I think it was just because I wasn’t really getting into it at the beginning and I was too impatient to stick with it. But this time I did, and honestly? It was so worth it.

Sam Temple is sitting in class with his fellow students, listening to Mr Trentlake teaching them about the Civil War when suddenly, he disappears. No warning. Just poof. Gone. And it’s not just his teacher. It’s every teacher, every parent, everyone, in fact, aged 15 or over. Following this strange and disturbing event is the discovery of a barrier, something the kids come to call the FAYZ. What then begins is a battle – a battle to keep order and structure in a world that suddenly has no rules and, ultimately, a battle to survive.

Michael Grant is a truly brilliant writer. The world he has constructed here is, I think, quite true to what would actually happen if such a thing occurred. There’s always going to be someone who jumps at the chance to exploit a bad situation – in this case, someone who wants power over everyone else. Likewise, there’s always going to be someone to balance it out and fight for what is right. This makes a power struggle inevitable and Grant has really portrayed and developed this idea well. Vivid and realistic, I was able to visualise this world clearly and share in the brutality and peace, the hope and despair. The author does not shy away from the dangers and realities of such circumstances, and so the harshness is reflected here, making it all the more believable. I also liked the fast pace. There were times when I found my interest waning, but it always picked up.

Sam Temple blew me away by how strong he was. He was a compelling mix of strategic fighter, capable leader and regular guy. Sam knew how to step up to a situation. Sure, he didn’t want to be the one everyone looked up to, but when it came to crunch time, he accepted that responsibility. Modesty was his response to people’s claims of his heroism. Mixed in with that were moments of self-doubt and anger that it all came down to him. Mixed in with that was a school crush which then evolved into something deeper. He sounds too good to be true here, but when you read the book, you know what he comes across as? Real. Sam Temple is real.

When I started this, I had misgivings about reading from what is, for me, such a young perspective. But those soon went away, because it struck me that that perspective grew to sound a little older. A lot of the characters sound slightly older than their years. I think that it really worked in this case, because the events these characters go through are gruelling. Tough. Yet Grant doesn’t do this unrealistically. There are still youthful turns of phrases and behaviours that keep these characters true to their ages and all the more real.

One character I took exceptional issue with was Sam’s supposed best friend Quinn. To be honest, I reached a point where I was just sick of hearing his voice. I found him to be such a weak character, personality-wise. I can understand him freaking out, but in light of all the stronger characters around his, I couldn’t understand how consistently pathetic he was. Constantly whining and resentful, he dithered between being the puppet of Caine and Orc (those in favour of power and brutality) and trying to stay in Sam’s good books. He didn’t have the guts to pick one side and stick with it. Any trace of his morality evaporated. And he wasn’t the only one. Jack was another to earn my disdain.

Orc was someone I really didn’t like. Not in that I was scornful of him, like with Quinn, but in the sense that I couldn’t believe what he was doing. His sole focus on becoming someone to be feared disgusted me. The acts that focus drove him to, disgusted me. It’s strange because while Caine was just as evil, if not more so, I didn’t have quite the same reaction to him. I didn’t like him, but Cain was different. Much as I’m less than impressed with these characters, I do think it’s a sign of good writing here, because all of these character types can be found. Plus, it all gets a reaction. Grant wrote in third person, but from different perspectives, and I enjoyed reading from all these different voices.

Overall, Gone was much more impressive that I thought it’d be. I seem to have this thing where I read books after all the hype, so I’m pretty late on this one. Fast-paced, action-packed and less straightforward than this review owns to, Gone is not a book you want to have missed.

Waiting on Wednesday (#s 7 & 8)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine the spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.  I didn't put one up last week so here's a twofer.

Title: Mind Games (Mind Games #1)
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: HarperTeen
Released: 19th February 2013

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.
In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.


Title: Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1)
Author: Lenore Appelhans
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Released: 15th January 2013

In this gripping exploration of a futuristic afterlife, a teen discovers that death is just the beginning.

Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow drones, Felicia passes the endless hours reliving memories of her time on Earth and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and Neil, the boy she loved.

Then a girl in a neighboring chamber is found dead, and nobody but Felicia recalls that she existed in the first place. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, Felicia learns the truth: If she joins the rebellion to overthrow the Morati, the angel guardians of Level 2, she can be with Neil again.

Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself at the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.

I loved Kiersten White's Paranormalcy series, so I'm definitely looking forward to see what else she's come up with, especially as the premise for this is completely different.  Level 2 sounds like an intriguingly different take on the whole story of angels and the battle between Heaven and Hell.

What about you?  What are you looking forward to this week?