Thursday 3 October 2013

STACKING THE SHELVES #1

Stacking the Shelves


Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme created by Tynga's reviews that is a way to share the books that you are adding to your shelves! 

This week I bought:











This is so many books for me for just one week! But most of them were absolute bargains. I got the entire Maze Runner series on eBay for $15 and Before I Fall and The Nanny Diaries both for $1 at Salvos. 
SO EXCITED

Wednesday 2 October 2013

REVIEW: SHATTER ME BY TAHEREH MAFI


Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. (Summary from Goodreads)


Before I picked up this book, I had heard a lot of wonderful things about its 'unique and lyrical' writing style. So, when I finally got around to reading Shatter Me I was feeling pretty optimistic that I was going to enjoy it. However, I was very, very wrong.

The writing style was definitely 'unique'. I'll give it that. I can see why there are so many people that are fond of the writing style, however for me personally, I thought at times the metaphors were ridiculous and just plain disturbing when you actually thought about them. Here are some of my personal favorites:
"My body is a blender and I'm made of mush"
"I melt until I'm a handful of hot butter dripping down his body"
One of the other things that bothered me about this book was that there were parts of the plot that seemed way too convenient for it to be believable.

Also, Shatter Me does have dystopian elements in it, however it is primarily a romance.

The romance between Juliette and Adam had me constantly cringing, and the fact that I have a feeling the villain of the novel, Warner, is actually going to become Juliette's other love interest in future books deeply concerns and disturbs me.

The ending, which actually picked up quite a bit, did leave me intrigued to check out the next book, Unravel Me. Ultimately though, I think my dislike of the writing style and the romance outweighs any interest I have to continue the series.


2 words to describe Shatter Me: cliched, unrealistic


REVIEW: PIVOT POINT BY KASIE WEST


Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1)Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

(Summary from Goodreads)



This book.

This is one of those books where you keep telling yourself "just one more chapter" then next thing you know it's 1:30 in the morning and you're sitting in your bed crying because it's over.

Pivot Point has one of the most original and beautifully crafted plot-lines I've read within the paranormal genre. The way the two potential futures progress and eventually intertwine was so well thought out, and I could literally not stop reading.

Although Pivot Point is a sci-fi/paranormal novel, it is very much character and relationship driven and reads like a contemporary book. The only way I can really describe it is that this book is what I would imagine a contemporary novel would be like if you actually lived within a paranormal world.

The main character, Addie, was realistic and really likable. I absolutely loved her friendship with Laila, especially the hilarious dialogue between the two. The two love interests, Duke and Trevor, both had really well developed relationships with Addie, but in the end it was definitely Trevor that won my heart.

The only complaint I have about this book is the ending. And only because it so cruelly played with my emotions.

The last 50 pages or so really picked up in intensity and had my emotions running wild to the point where I was on the verge of simultaneously crying and squealing. Basically, I need the next book now.

5 words to describe this book: genius, fluffy, romantic, intense, unique

Everyone needs to read this