Review: Brilliant Cut (Diamond in the Rough #3) by Elisa Marie Hopkins

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Brilliant Cut by Elisa Marie Hopkins

*Digital copy was received from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Genre: Romance - Suspense

Pub. Date: November 15, 2016

Get a copy here!

AMAZON| BOOK DEPOSITORY

It’s always such a bittersweet moment when you got the last book of a series in your hands. Like you’re dying to devour the book and find out how it’d turn out but you don’t want to touch it, moreover read it, because if you do and you reach the end, then the whole journey would be over. I found it really hard to pick up my Kindle and touch that cover of Brilliant Cut ARC on my shelf. It’s that kind of undeniable moment when you know deeply inside your heart that once you click on it, there’s no coming back to the feeling you had before you read it. You know that you can’t not read it but you resist because you want to prolong the journey with your favorite characters, even if it meant being stuck in the moment. I needed a couple of minute to breathe and made myself swear that I wouldn’t just devour it all recklessly ―that I would savor every pages.

Diamond in the Rough series started with an engaging first book, continued with a complicatedly heartbreaking sequel, and ended up with a brilliant conclusion of the whole series. As a debut author, Elisa really went all out with her debut series, and I’m not just saying it to sweeten my review and all. Elisa did her research, explored with the ideas, and gave her all to these books like, well, a mother to her babies. This series is what I would call the perfect definition of suspense romance. I've said this on my review of the second book, Black Diamond, and at some points I might have said it on my review of the first book. The suspense part and the romance part are pretty well-balanced in a way that won’t make you think certain part is standing out than the other.

This last installment of Diamond in the Rough series started out a little bit different than the first two books. The first page instantly brought me back to the memories of reading Robert Langdon’s adventure. The prolog had a vibe of Dan Brown in it and it made some thriller-maniac neurons inside of me come back to life. I loved it so much that Elisa put such great twist into the story, developing a whole new level of issues as she revealed practically every single mystery we’ve been dying to find the truth ever since she dropped them each for the first time.

Told from third person perspective, Brilliant Cut fast-forwarded to a few years after Black Diamond ended. Or if we’re going to talk from Sophie’s angle: after Oliver. Yes, our favorite couple went separate ways last time we saw them. And while it broke my heart to pieces, there were so many reasons why the ‘calamity’ had to take place on the first place. But it’s for good that I don’t talk about it all here.

Sophie Cavall, an ex-model, now-writer, tried to live a normal life after all the chaos happened in her life two years ago. Apparently, two years was enough for everything to change completely. Like how Sophie now had two parts of herself crawling and screaming around the apartment creating after-disaster-effect every day. And how, instead of having Oliver to keep her from being crazy, Sophie had a pediatrician who sometimes balanced out her craziness with his. It’s totally unthinkable before that there would be a day when Oliver would be just a name in her history book, but it was what had happened. But in all honesty, Sophie could very much moved to Alaska and dated a seal but Oliver would always be her personal sun that keeps her heart warm all these years and her skins tingling just by hearing his name. Some say true love is hard to forget. Some say it would be forever unforgettable. Some say it would be etched in eternity in your mind. Sophie proved them all right when she very much didn’t want them to be. What had happened between her and Oliver was too perfect, too beautiful, that it felt too painful when it’s over. But was it really over? Sophie was in the edge of a cliff of madness, by recalling and pushing the memories of Oliver every day of her life. If not because of her twin boys who needed her concern above everything, she would pretty much end up in an asylum the second Oliver walked out of their flat. And Sophie wanted to believe that she loved Adam. But could one give her heart out to someone when this other person still got a hold on that very heart? Wouldn’t it be ripped out in the process? No. Because the hold was so strong even Sophie felt herself barely living with that empty hole where her heart used to beat.

“Trying to forget you was like trying to forget my way home. I realized you can’t build homes out of people, because then you feel homesick for a place that no longer exists.” ─Chapter XI

Among the three books, Brilliant Cut had the quickest yet the most emotional plot of all. Elisa didn't play around by bringing up a lot of issues like politics, secret order, and some mind-games to bring our couple back together. It might sound too heavy for some but trust me Elisa is a pro in putting complex words together into a bedtime story without leaving the thrilling part. I seriously wanted to blurt out the whole book scene by scene but then I would be thrown away into the sea for being a spoiler brat. This book is that good that you’d feel like holding a presscon to tell the world how the story goes. I loved that nothing’s changed with either Sophie or Oliver. Sophie with her independency and Oliver with his controlled-possessiveness and sexy brain (I never even think about this phrase before meeting Oliver). I felt a lot of things at once reading this book. There was a lot of emotion in two days I finished it. Sophie’s kids got my full attention instantly. Their ‘normality’ was so Oliver, I felt like crying my eyes out that not many people could actually accept them.

There were so many ups and downs along the way, a lot of mind-blowing revelation that keeps making me question whether this was really Elisa’s first ever series. She wrote cleverly. She explored so many topics, putting a lot of exciting trivia, and the way she wrote Oliver’s character deserved rounds of standing applause. We all know how genius Oliver is. But let’s come to a realization that behind every unique and singular character, there is only one person in charge in creating them: the author, Elisa. I am starting to wonder if Elisa might be an agent or something in real life..

To put it shortly, Brilliant Cut made a fantastic conclusion to the story, thus, making the series a total excellent accomplishment. This series deserves more attention than it’s been getting until today. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND this series to everyone who happened to come across this review of mine. Elisa is a new gem in this writing world that is totally deserving of more recognition. And like a diamond, you might get a little too attached once you get to know her pieces.

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Review: Lionheart by Fran Seen

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Lionheart: a Beauty & the Beast Retelling by Fran Seen

*Digital copy was received from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Genre: New Adult - Contemporary

Pub. Date: August 8, 2016

Get a copy here!

AMAZON| BOOK DEPOSITORY

I have a thing for a fairytale retelling lately, ever since I stumbled upon a kind of book which runs on the same genre a while ago. And ‘a Beauty and the Beast’ retelling? Please, I’ll stop anything to read the book. Including my long-hiatus of reading.

”I believed all this time that, when I finally saw your face, all I would be able to see is what you were trying to hide”

“But all I see is a man made of shields. All I see is you.”

I received a copy of the book two days ago and had read a few pages yesterday. I caught a cold today so I had a day off-work and using it to take a break while finishing the rest of the book. And Holy God… I did expect that this book would be a good read. I just didn’t expect it would be this good. I mean, not just good, it’s a very well-written fairytale retelling while at the same time didn’t seem like repeating the tale itself. Fran Seen had polished it somehow to be a whole new story with the same essential message of loving someone unconditionally yet wrapped them up in a modern way with a lot heavier issue in the background. To bring a topic like a war, especially a middle-east war in Iraq, it took a lot of efforts for a writer to deliver it through a story, moreover a romance one, and engage the readers to actually read it. In Lionheart, Fran even put so much detail about the war as to enlighten us about what the hero actually went through for us to be taken with his persona. For me, it didn’t just enlighten us on Alo, but it also got me thinking deeper about the sad truth of how people live in the other side of the world. Some people might skip the part about the war but I personally felt so much about Alo Rahim through the way Fran introduced him to us for the first time. How she didn’t quite tell us right away about the war he had faced, but the way she pictured him interacting with others and with himself was strangely enough for his character to ingrain. I already felt so much for him without knowing the details behind the awful past. What I liked so much about the hero is the fact that he’s broken but not hateful. I dig broken hero but a tiny part of me always bothered by their mean personality. I didn’t see this in Alo. He’s withdrawn with others and that’s it. He’s lonely, angry, disappointed but he got control. Yet basically he was just sad. And also got mean humor and corny jokes.

Meanwhile Lula is the kind of heroine who’s got a special spot in my heart. Determined, positive-thinking, caring, and so selfless it hurts me to see her so. But I’m those kind of people who’s believing in a good things happen to good people, so I could relate with Lula a lot. It was a good thing too that Lula was introduced to us while she’s already on her fight to standing up for herself. I loved her way of thinking and there’s a line in chapter 3 that instantly made me think that I totally liked her.

‘I mean-think about it-telling a perfect stranger to smile was pretty rude, like saying: “I don’t like the way you look right now. You’re ruining my scenery with your frown. Please change your facial expression for my benefit.” The premise was that I existed for him to look at and admire and appearing unhappy ruined his admiration.’ 

I never felt more connected to a character than now.

Fran Seen wrote beautifully, like really beautiful. She didn’t prolong the drama, didn’t write unnecessary angst scenes just to make the readers cry. She made me cry alright but it was because I felt like I was one with the characters. Like I’m Lula, dying to fix the unfixable within ‘my’ family, yet at the same time I’m Alo, fighting the undefeated bad memories. But Fran also got me laughing more than once through the humor slipped within the convos Alo and Lula had every single time. They exchanged banter like some old friends and it was just so heartwarming to see two people scarred by their pasts to be able to laugh together in the mere present of each other.

The writer obviously knew how to write a romance scene and I’m not just talking about one or two scenes but a whole romance scene in the book. There was this scene in chapter 12 that got me biting my nails in jealousy because I swear I’ve never been more jealous than when Lula and Alo sat together exchanging questions and answers over imaginary chocolates. God.

Besides the romance and the lovely characters, I loved the way Fran put everything up in their own places in the end. Like she resolved every problem in the book without making it seemed like it had to be resolved because the story has come to an end. No, she actually thought about it and gave the best resolution for everything and everyone. Really, this book just got better and better the more I thought about it.

Anyway there’s this saying in the end of the book that conclude the ending of how a romance book should end that I loved so much.

‘And that was the thing- having a significant other didn’t all of sudden make my life more significant, but he sure as hell made it more enjoyable’

Damn right, girl! It’s not all suddenly rainbows everywhere but at least you got someone to dance under the rain with.

I fully recommend this book to those who enjoy fairytale retelling as much as me, but generally though, to all romance readers, Lionheart is the book worth reading if you’re looking for one to cuddle with.

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Review: Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally

*Digital ARC was received from Sourcebooks Fire through Netgalley*

Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary

Pub. Date: July 5, 2016

Get a copy here!
AMAZON| BOOK DEPOSITORY

Taylor was an overachiever whose grades were as bright as her coming future. Targeting Yale as her next step, Taylor meant to add up on the supremacy her whole family has worked on for a long time. Her dad was a successful senator while both her siblings enrolled in aforementioned Ivy League school trying to catch up their father's brilliant path. Following her family's grace was all she knows her whole life. Taylor might have worked so hard to be the next valedictorian as well as the best soccer captain in her current private school, but keeping a good image of being a senator's academically-bright daughter is what challenged Taylor to be better ―not that she needed to get any better, anyway.

Taylor was just one step away from reaching all those dreams... if only she's also 'bright' enough to keep herself from playing hero on backstabbing ex-boyfriend.

Covering her less than charming ex-boyfriend for drugs possession resulted in Taylor getting kicked out of school and mentally out of her family. Not only that she tainted her clean sheet for Yale's early submission, she also put her dad’s campaign for coming election into such fatal risk. What Taylor had been working on practically all her life was blown away by a single mistake (or more like ‘unnecessary heroic act’).

It’s kind of ironic and sad, what happened to Taylor and how her family reacted to the case. It’s even sadder because things like that did happen in real life all the time. Miranda accurately portrayed Taylor’s life as a teenager with all the problems within. Her interaction with her friends, her romantic life, her life as both senator’s daughter and that one haven’t-yet-to-be-succeed kid in family which pressure was pretty high either way, and how her life was slowly crumbling down along with her belief on what was supposed to be her master plan all along. The author brought us to the front row to see how it all changed and affected Taylor with her detailed scenes. I’m sure there would be many teens out there who could pretty much relate to Taylor’s life because being a kid, moreover the last kid in the family, you would be expected to do much better than your siblings or at least do as well as them. I personally could relate with her from this angle. Sometimes it could be easy for parents to compare you with your sister or brother and though they mean well with that, it could be a sensitive issue because no one in this world wants to be compared with other people, not even their siblings. Everyone just wants to be seen as themselves, be it good or bad.

I could feel what Taylor had to go through and it sucked that her parents are such hopeless excuse. The only comfort she could get was only from her brother which is sad considering Taylor also got a sister but the said sister was really awful to her. The chemistry in Taylor’s family was almost non-existent and I was hoping that in the end it would be fixed but the author decided to let Tay made peace with her family in her own way. Like it’s not necessarily be a sweet ending where everyone asked for forgiveness from each other, but it’s simply that since Taylor had found her way in life, she could face her family with stronger backbone.

The appearance of Ezra character in the story seemed to be out of nowhere and I kind of missed the background story at first. But along with his continuous appearance, we learned what had happened in the past between him and Taylor. I grew a deep feeling of sympathy for him that soon turned into affection. I felt really bad for him and at the same time felt amazed by how compared to Taylor, Ezra was much braver to go against his family’s conservative wish. Ezra’s relationship with Taylor was pretty sweet and I like its dynamic between them.

I might not have any serious issues with this book but truthfully speaking, Defending Taylor is what I would call as a good yet barely memorable read. It’s not that it’s badly written or what. There were several scenes that fell flat that I wouldn’t mind if it was removed from the book anyway. Like those when Taylor asked for advice from the friend who less and more was in the same circumstance as her. It might be a good and a little touching even, but it was like it’s written half-heartedly that I couldn’t find the emotional connection that likely supposed to be there. Though, honestly the advice was really good!

”Your advice is to just come clean? Let my family know I’m a big ole mess and have no direction?”

… “Yeah, and the sooner the better. Then you can start figuring out what you want to do instead of worrying about what your parents will say and pretending everything is fine. Just come clean.”

Defending Taylor contained a good amount of life lessons, especially for young reader who’s in the middle of figuring things out in their life after high school. Miranda made a clear picture of teen’s life with all the problems that come along within it. Yet me being too old to be a ‘teen’ found this book simply as good read but not the one that would leave marks. But don’t let me discouraged you to pick this book up, though!

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Review: Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser

*Digital ARC was received from HarperCollins UK through Netgalley*

Genre: Adult Fiction
Pub. Date: Feb 2, 2016

Get a copy here!
AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

It surprised me that it took me so long to write down this review when I’ve finished reading the ARC a few weeks ago and had quite interesting reaction upon finishing it.

I walked into this book thinking that it might not meet my cup of tea despite my attempt to request its ARC on the first place. But the mention of a lost baby and a girl who seems to live longer than her age pulled me to a stop… and I knew that I couldn’t skip this one.

I never considered myself as a reader who would enjoy dark and suspense read. So I was literally having a hard time reading this book at first. It didn’t help that not only this book was so intense; it also brought such disturbing topics like drugs and alcohol addiction and murders. Reading this was so out of my comfort zone but I could somehow bear it because of the characters of the aforementioned girl and baby.

Percy James was only sixteen but we could see how life had shaped her into a much older and wiser person than her years living in the world. For the nth time, Percy had to go out to find her mother who’s disappeared along with her booze addiction. It was snowing and probably going to be a bad storm soon but Percy had no other choice but to keep looking for her mom. It’s like a dead-end circle with her mom’s situation. Percy loved her mom, so deeply she could never forget the good times they used to have together when her mom was still fine. But lately things only got worse, moreover when her sister went to live her new life with their little happy family across the state, leaving Percy to take care of her alcoholic mother. Percy was a good girl; so good that she often lied to her sister that their mother was okay, that everything was as fine as a sunny weather. But it’s actually a snowstorm in Michigan; even a worse one in Percy’s household.

The first time Percy met Jenna, the baby was practically halfway to be buried by the snow blowing from the open window in Shelton Potter’s cabin. It’s like a fate. When Percy went there to find her mom (who last she checked with the neighbor, was on a drunk fight with Shelton), she found Jenna instead. The poor freezing baby seemed to alter her priority as its innocent grip brought Percy to her determination to get the baby out of the hell place. Looking at Jenna neglected in the middle of meth-house with no responsible adult to take care of her, tugged a string inside Percy’s heart. The baby was so much like her. Yet again she’s much older than Jenna when her mother had gotten to her worse condition and left her to fend for herself. Suddenly, Jenna became her priority. Even if saving Jenna meant she had the drugged-angry Shelton and his bunch of criminal friends hot on her heels. Even if saving Jenna made her fight her own beloved bad mother.

I felt so much emotion being played while reading this book. It was quite bothering that I had to see half of scenes on the book from Shelton’s perspective. Yet at the same time I was impressed by Mulhauser’s ability to write that perspective with such details. It was oddly fun and certainly dark but it was also quite heart-breaking when Shelton’s actual feeling sometimes was shown during one of his many weak moments. It surprised me that even in the end I felt a piece of my heart had gone along with Shelton’s character.

Seeing things from Percy’s perspective meanwhile was quite an experience. We could literally see her love for Jenna growing stronger. Her struggle, her hopelessness, her determination, and her faith for Jenna’s better future were all pictured in rich details for us to witness. I felt my love for Percy and Jenna grew as well. The appearance of Portis Dale as Percy’s hopeless savior just added another color to their tragically desperate yet endearing journey of escape. Portis was this skeptical figure who’s as close to a family Percy ever had in her life besides her mother and sister. I found it quite amusing how Portis kinda wanted to just leave Jenna behind because he was worried of Percy’s safety yet with Percy’s persistence (or really just stubborn) to keep Jenna, he let Percy had her way. Their banter often sounded intensely scary to others but we could hear in Portis’s harsh tone how much he cared for Percy and how much Percy needed a father figure in him. Completed with Mulhauser’s extremely detailed description of cold weather in Michigan, Sweetgirl would make you curl under your blanket in your reading couch, with heartbeat running and tears ready to flow any moment.

In the end, I had to give in with my emotion as I put aside my Kindle and hid my tears for the world to see. The tears were mixed of happy ones and sad ones but I’d like it to be a happy one because I knew that what the author decided to write in the end was for the best for all. God, even now when I re-read that last chapter I am tearing up again like a newborn baby I am. The author did write such beautifully heartwarming (with little heartbreaking-spice) ending to such a heavy read. It felt like Mulhauser did not just close the curtain after the show but also wipe the stage and cleaned the aisle from the tissues being left behind by people. It was a very neat ending; near perfect even.

I would like to recommend this book to just everyone who loves to read. Even me who prefers to read sweet, light reads than the heavy ones, Sweetgirl just made an exception for me.

‘I’m the one who found her,…. But I’m not the same person I was before. I am different now because of Jenna and Portis Dale and I believe we all tried to save each other in that storm and that mostly we did.’ ―chapter XXIII

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Review: Anything You Want by Geoff Herbach

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Anything You Want by Geoff Herbach

*Digital ARC was received from Sourcebooks Fire through Netgalley*

Genre: YA (Contemporary)
Pub. Date: May 1, 2016

Get a copy here!
AMAZON| BOOK DEPOSITORY

I had such a long complicated journey with this book during the past two weeks.

The blurb promises a story of how a barely-17 years old boy working on to be a bright student, promising drama actor, and… perfect dad, all at once. It does sound totally unlikely. Except this is Taco Keller we’re talking about. Taco―as he earned the nickname ever since forever―might be the most positive human living ever existed in the entire galaxy. And it is supposed to be a very good thing if Taco isn’t also kind of dumb at times because when those two things collided, it creates something called delusional. I don’t know how to best describe what I felt about Taco because I swear during the first half of the book I wanted so much to kick his character out of the book (when clearly he’s the main character…). I just couldn’t connect with his way of thinking. It’s not helping that the author made Taco the only narrator in the story and decided it’s okay for him to sound very immature and irrational most of the time…

Taco had this belief that partly responsible of his overly-positive attitude. His mom once said before she died, “Today is the best day of your life. So is tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next. No matter what happens, every day you have is the best day of your life.” Unlike his brother or even his father, Taco believed in this saying very much. Even when his home life was a mess, with a father (running) away to work in the Mine leaving him with only his brother whose drinking problem was as hopeless as his job to support their little family of two, Taco still believed in the good in everything. Then he fell in love with this girl named Maggie and I had to bear a few pages of Taco telling me that they kept―and I quote― ‘celebrating love’ until we reached the obvious outcome of all that: unexpected teen pregnancy. With a baby on its way, Taco officially added quite a few messed-up things on the list of his family messed-up life because instead of running away from the responsibility, he embraced his upcoming title of becoming a dad. I felt like reading a big joke of a character with a weird nickname and even weirder mind when Taco with all the train-wreck around him still believed in trying his best of doing impossible things with positive attitude because what? Every day is the best day of your life, no matter how ugly things already were. Kill me.

I blamed the absence of responsible adult was the main cause of Taco character became somehow ‘uncontrollable’. Because as much as I disliked him, Taco was the most genuine character I ever knew. I suspected that Taco had been raised by his mother’s overflowed love. Seeing how her first son grew into an angry boy, she tried to shower Taco with so much love so he could grow into a loving boy. He did though, but before Taco got a chance to step into a real world with real problems his mother had died first. Taco had his lesson on how to act positive anytime but no one left to teach him how to act rational at times.

The things were just getting messier each page and I almost gave up finishing the book. But then again, I’m all against DNFing books. Nothing personal, but I think it seems unfair to stop reading certain books because of some (or most) part pissed you off causing you to judge the whole story negatively without bothering to finish it to prove it yourself.

‘In retrospect, I believe I was overthinking. This overthinking caused larger crisis.’ ―chapter XI

I literally cheered inside when I read the line above. I was like, ‘God, finally this boy has a connection working on his brain cell’. But it’s not until a character named Nussbaum came out that thing starts looking up.
I started to enjoy Geoff’s humor through Taco. Maybe it’s partly because I finally got it why Taco adopted such unbearably uncommon character like that.

‘Never let anyone tell you your butt is not important. Your butt is very, very important to general motility’ ―chapter XVII

I laughed a lot at that silly yet serious statement of Taco!

I also kind of loved it when Taco worked real hard on his impossible dreams. I even ached witnessing how selfless he was.

“So you want to get a job and work here and go to school and be a musical munchkin and be a dad?”
“Yes,” I said. ―chapter XXII

Yes, Taco was dumb, so dumb even but all he knows is how to do the right thing. Even if it was irrational thing to do. Even if it hurt him.

‘How can your muscles feel sad? They can. That’s why I laid so still after Mom died. Because even though I couldn’t cry, my muscles were so sad, they didn’t want to move. Liquid sadness had pooled in them.’ ―chapter XXVII

I started to feel real bad for Taco. I was so mad at his sorry father and his drunken brother and literally everyone who only knows how to tell him to stop his gut rather than explaining why he should stop in the first place.

“I know I can be a dumb kid. But I’m growing up,” I said. ―chapter XXXII

I liked how Geoff wrapped the story up. I liked that in the end it was Taco himself who came to the final decision on how to fix all his messes. I really didn’t expect for this book to make me cry, yet it did. I was teary-eyed and my heart felt like it was broken into pieces reading the letters Taco wrote to Maggie and their kid. His sincere was crystal clear there; you just want to cry no matter how much you said you hate Taco before.

Anything You Want and me clearly had a rough start but we eventually became buddies in the end. I practically had to put my Kindle down several times during the first half of the book because I barely tolerated Taco’s behavior. I’m glad I didn’t give up halfway or else, I might not be able to write down this review.

Just so you know, this barely is a romance piece. More like a story of how a clueless young boy tries to figure out his life –which is a total bundle of mess- when there’s no one to turn to yet there’s people who depends on you. Hopefully there’s more people who’s on board with me to finish this book till the end because trust me, when you’re patient enough you’ll find out what a gem this book actually is.

‘In the end, maybe that is what a best day looks like? Making hard decisions so that the people you love are okay?’ ―chapter XXXI

 

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Review: My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul

*Digital ARC was received from Sourcebooks Fire through Netgalley*

Genre: YA (Contemporary)
Pub. Date: April 5, 2016

Get a copy here!
AMAZON| BOOK DEPOSITORY

This is the book that I’ve been looking for my whole life. Hell, I think it’s the strongest candidate of the best book I’ve read in 2016! It has this perfectly balanced combination of happy, sad, and crazy things all at once. The plot is very well-written, well-built, well-… everything! I couldn’t even explain just how happy I am that I am given the opportunity to read the ARC of this book. One thing I am disappointed at myself is the fact that I put this book on hold until a few days ago.

It didn’t take me long to engross myself into the story with unusually captivating opening. Hank Kirby, a 16 years old nerdy teen just found a supposedly-brilliant idea of asking a popular girl to prom from internet: lit prom-spelled sparklers on her lawn. And he did. Except, the plan went up in flames in seconds. Literally. With Amanda’s lawn on fire and his promposal in memory, Hank chose to run for his life as his instinct told him to. He thought he was saved that night, but surely his lucky charm was not that bright. Hank earned himself a witness when he accidentally left an evident in the place of accident. A witness who could very well ruin his life with one tell but instead, she asked for something so different. Something not much girl wanted from a guy like him: to be a friend and maybe more.

Peyton Breedlove is always that one unique girl who’s both intriguing and creepy at the same time. Or so people thought. The truth is Peyton had her own share of bad histories that had shaped herself into who she was now. Pyromaniac isn’t exactly a favorite kind of personality to most people, especially to those who don’t get where she came from. But seeing―or more accurately―witnessing Hank set her neighbor’s lawn on fire was like finding a long lost other-half. That night, Peyton knew that Hank would be the one who would understand her like no others. Except, he might not be in board with her one-sided feeling. Because after all what he did that night was to impress another girl. A normal girl who gets her things together, whose family life is perfect, and surely who doesn’t play with matches as an escape. A girl who’s not her.

“Everybody needs somebody who gets their kind of crazy, right?” ―chapter XVIII

But what is normal exactly? Hank really thought that Peyton had a serious baggage that he was sure don’t want to get involved with. Everything about her screamed enigma. Strangeness. You name it. But spending a day without seeing Peyton around felt so much like staring on a puzzle board with a piece missing. It might be just one piece, yet you can’t stop glancing at the empty space. You can’t overlook it once you notice it. And for Hank, if normal means pursuing a popular girl like most guys at school, he much preferred stepping outside the line. Peyton might love to do a lot of crazy things unlike others, but sometimes people only need to be understood rather than being judged for their actions. Peyton was no exception. And Hank might be the one who did understand her… if only there were not so much things she hid behind the curtain.

‘Everyone is hiding something though. There’s the story we tell ourselves and the story we tell everyone else’ ―chapter VII

I had soooo much fun reading this. Every emotion all mixed into one, I finished the book in one sitting. It’s been a while since I feel this so much ‘hooked’. With me being busy and all, it was so hard to be engrossed so deeply into a book nowadays. And this book came to me and broke the spell.

My Kind of Crazy is what I’d call a neat read. It has a clear plot, uniquely-made characters, enough issues to be pulled up as leading points, perfect ending, all wrapped up in a very casual yet captivating writing told from a boy’s POV. Robin did a stellar job voicing a teen, slightly nerdy, boy through Hank Kirby. I liked that little natural touch when Hank’s mind was all over the place and unfocused sometimes because that’s how guy’s mind exactly is. And I super loved that the romance was built slowly yet it felt like a very romantic journey every time with them.

And God… Peyton! She’s my best favorite character through and through! I swear, I already fell for her since the first time she was introduced into the story. I loved her bluntness, her ignorance, her unselfish bit, her cheerful and innocent beauty. Simply put, I loved everything about her.

What’s better is how much I laughed reading this book. Robin’s writing is exactly what I needed in this phase of my life when reading is such a luxury for me and she made my moment worth it with such brilliant piece. I’m seriously craving for more Robin’s writing in the future.

I recommend this book to those who’s in need of funny, special, and sweet read to enjoy in such a short time. It’s a quick read and I have no doubt you’ll want a re-run once you reach the last page.

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Book Review: Five Seven Five (The Boy with Words #1) by C.E. Wilson

Five Seven Five (The Boy with Words #1) by C.E. Wilson
Rating: /5

*I received digital copy of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review*

Genre: YA (Fantasy)
Pub. Date: November 18th, 2015

Get a copy here!
AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY
(click title to add on GR!)

Synopsis

Five Seven Five brought us to meet White Frost, a barely nineteen years old girl who lives in a world where colors is limited. She knew white, as in white hair of hers and her cousin’s, Shade. She knew pink, as in pink curtain that divides inside her room to the quarter hallway outside. She knew blue, as in blue curtain on male quarters. But most of all it’s almost always gray and black that she’d seen all her life. Gray-black wall, gray-black ceiling, gray-black road, all practically created a dull gray black world. It’s not helping that the President seemed intent in spreading fearful speeches about the world outside theirs, making everyone to lead a dire life among the boring colors around them. White was no exception.

Only the Chosen Ones got chances to see The Unknown. They would go once a month to collect supplies for the people and had been told to swear an oath not to reveal what they’d seen in The Unknown to the un-chosen. Lucky for White, Shade was one of them that she would often get ‘illegal’ papers of words―which both satisfied and mostly only deepened her hunger of knowledge―from the Unknown; unlucky for White that she had to bear the risk of losing the only family she had every time Shade’s off to one of their trips to the world beyond red Zone Eleven.

But White was tired of theoretical knowledge. Sure the words were amazing, mysteriously so. And Shade had risked so much to collect them all under tight scrutiny of President’s minions. Yet White realized that there should be more to all these, more to the words, more to what scriptures said about the Creators that everyone was oh-so-afraid so much, more to a bunch of ‘terror’ speeches President Copper delivered every single time. She knew Shade knew about the words and the Unknown―being a Chosen One forbid him to tell her anything. So what a girl like White should do in this complicated circumstance? Trying to escape? Go against all the rules she’d listened to all her life?

White’s age might make her not eligible yet to be the Chosen One, but her passion obviously surpassed the other factors. And that’s exactly what the girl would do: chase after her passion even if it would kill her in the end.

A New(-to-me) Fantasy Plot

Well, I originally wanted to just insert Goodreads synopsis here but I would want to give a further insight about the book to others. To be honest, though, the blurb didn’t quite intrigue me at first but strangely the cover did. I am just so tired of pictures of swords or girls in heroic costumes on the cover of fantasy books that this simple cover of Five Seven Five gave me a hope of finding a ‘different’ kind of fantasy plot. It did.

I could not really grasp the story from the beginning since my thought was still trapped among stories of dystopian world. Even the first two chapters reminded me of Red Rising that I had to brave myself to meet yet another full-action dystopian (really, it’s just me who’s not into fantasy books so much, though). But keep reading I did. Then the first twist came which made me feels like I had met the intriguing point. When the scene eventually took place in the Unknown, that’s exactly when I was hooked. I was surprised that this book brought a new-to-me concept of fantasy plot here. I’ve never read this kind before and it surprised me that I actually enjoyed it a lot.

Intriguing Writing

Overall, the writing style is both good and intriguing. I loved the simple poems inserted here and there within the pages. But most importantly I loved how the author seemed to give very little clues from the start that I really could not predict what coming before the (first) mystery was unraveled. I loved how she chose her choice of words carefully, misleading the readers to guess an entirely different plot throughout the way only to be proved wrong in the end.

The Characters

The way she described other characters through their movements or words delineates them very well when the book itself was told in first perspective heroine, White. I could feel the emotions expected in every scene. White herself is not an easily-loved heroine. I, myself, thought sometimes her trait was more annoying than curious. Or maybe it was just a problem with how the dialogues went on between her and other characters, because every time she was arguing with Shade or her friends, Pebble, Pepper or Salt (I know, weird names indeed) she would be so demanding and the convos would always end in frustration. It frustrated me too. But there were also parts when I felt bad for her as well. Shade, in the other hand, was pretty likeable. In fact, he’s my most favorite characters in the book. His protectiveness towards White was really sweet. In a very short introduction of him, I could already feel so much about his character.

There would also be a character named Kestrel who’d bring with him all the important twists in this book. I still could not decide where my personal opinion about him stands, except that he’s kind. But there’s a tiny part of me that wishing so much of him and White to get along tight... *hiding* when there’s another boy that I particularly wanted White to be with as well. *cue (impossible) love-triangle*  

Slightly Comical Dystopian
Despite a little sense of dystopia in the beginning; Five Seven Five actually has a quite light tone. I even laughed so much at some point, such as when White started to ‘think’ about her feeling for Kestrel and when clueless White decided to make a ladybug her pet (goodness…) or asked for Kes to pluck a cloud for her (oh God…).

Mild-Cliffhanger Ending

As the first book of two installment of The Boy with Words series, you could expect a mild cliffhanger in the end. I, myself, was super curious about the continuation of the story! There were still so much unanswered questions and unresolved issues. In fact, this book one is only the beginning that I could bet that the ‘actual’ twists would take place on the next book. But of course you should read this book first to get a full back story.

Final Thought(s)

With an intriguing plot, Five Seven Five delivers a story of deception, undiscovered world, and a girl whose hunger for knowledge both baring all hidden truth and trapping her in between a glimpse of untold conspiracy. Readers who enjoy fantasy books would definitely find this one fit to their tastes. Well, even me who not really into fantasy, enjoyed this a lot!

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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(Netgalley) ARC Review: Thicker than Water by Brigid Kemmerer

Thicker than Water by Brigid Kemmerer
Rating: /5

*I received digital ARC of this book from Kensington Books through Netgalley*

Genre : YA (Paranormal)
Pub. Date: December 29th, 2015

Get a copy here!
AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Synopsis
Thomas Bellweather never once imagined that his life would turn into a total havoc at the age of seventeen. Not that he had a perfect life whatsoever before. Thomas grew up in an incomplete family of two yet it was alright; he was happy, he loved his mom and he got a plan after the graduation. Then his mom decided to drag him all the way to Garrett’s Mill and got him a new father figure―Stan the cop. And who is he to command? Thomas loved his mom so he went along with her plan as long as it made her happy. It obviously didn’t.
Marie Bellweather died―murdered―ten days after her wedding. And as if it wasn’t tragic enough, everyone in town set their eyes on Thomas, silently asking question he didn’t have the answer. Could it get any worse? Being a stranger in a small town was suck, but being a stranger who was suspected as his own mother’s murderer? It was the new reality that Thomas had to shoulder now. Good thing he wasn’t the only one who could not believe his ‘luck’. Stan still hadn’t kicked him out of the house and Charlotte Rooker, sixteen years old of trouble-magnet, somehow believed he was innocent. Contrary to her three cop-brothers who were all eager to capture Thomas on the first command, Charlotte saw something beneath Thomas’ troubled face: anger, frustration, grief, grief so deep it could make an ornament of a relief. Thomas was attracted to Charlotte’s braveness (or really, recklessness) and the way she saw him with curiosity rather than suspicion. Charlotte was drawn to Thomas’ chivalry and the way his eyes clouded with distress. Unspoken attraction was thick in the air between them but no one bothered to romanticize their situation like those in romance movies: suspected murderer and innocent faithful girl, they could make one sweetly tragic couple. Went around everyone’s back was the only way for them to meet as they tried to find any missing clues. What they found, though, was more than that. Could it get any worse? Yes, it could. Because after his mom, it could be his life now in danger. Or worse, it could be the life of the one girl who unconditionally cared for him, Charlotte’s.

Now if all my thoughts could fit in one sentence, I would so steal Jennifer’s testimony about this book from the cover...

"Kemmerer will melt your heart and blow your mind."
-#1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

That’s exactly how I felt about Thicker than Water!

Perfect Delivery of the Story
I dove into this book with a promise of romantic YA with a background of murder mystery. It only took me five chapters before I was completely hooked. Brigid presented a very well-built and unpredictable storyline. The way she slipped little details here and there leaving the readers to bask in their own misguided imagination, immersing them to tag along Thomas’ mishap and Charlotte’s adventure to help him. I kept guessing how the story would play out and ended up all wrong every single time. All characters had various personalities, adding one more factor to the richness of the elements of the story. There were characters that would tug your heartstrings, those who’d make you shake your head in both amusement and slightly awe, those who’d frustrate you and those who’d make you shiver in disbelief. The tensions were perfectly captured and Brigid also succeeded in delivering the emotions of both main characters through their narrations.

Lovely Characters and Sweet Romance
Told in alternating perspectives, which is my favorite, this book offered two different viewpoints of a suspect-murderer and a person who believed him as innocent while they’re also tangled in growing chemistry among complexities. Thomas’ voice was more to poignant side. From his narration, it’s clear how frustrated he was with the circumstance he was in. I ached for him a lot. His character quickly captured my heart. Add chivalry, slightly flirtatious personality, and a bit of bad boy quality, now we have one swoon-worthy hero to fall in love with. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s character was the one to whom you could be in love-hate relationship with, though I personally liked her alright. Her trouble-inducing trait was both frustrating and hilarious. Being in her head was quite an amusing experience. She could be so silly, embarrassing, pretty brave, and sometimes even sharp. The connection these two characters made was somewhere between sweet and dangerous. And who doesn’t like some little dangers in their romance? It happened pretty quick since it had an ‘attraction-on-the-first-sight’ start at first. But I loved that their feelings started to get a hold of its pace and develop steadily along with the plot. Charlotte’s shyness and Thomas’ flirty side made a cute romance which later shifted to the sexier side as the roles reversed at some point.

Surprising Twist (in so many level)
My non existence expectation slowly built up the more pages I read. I couldn’t wait to see how the author would solve the mystery. So imagine my surprise when Brigid decided to drop the p-bomb out of nowhere…
I really enjoyed this book from the start and at some point I was sure that I’d give this one a solid five stars. The paranormal twist―a complex one even, I may add―felt out of place among the whole plot. It didn’t necessarily kill my excitement but it didn’t exactly answer my curiosity either. Readers who’s familiar with Brigid’s previous books might not be as surprised as those who read Thicker than Water as their first book from her. I belong to the latter so this turn of events left me with indescribable feeling I couldn’t comprehend. What I didn’t like was how this ‘too-late’ twist changed a bit of my perspective toward certain character which I tried so hard not to do. Yet the good thing, it made me wants to read Brigid other paranormal books…

Final Thought(s)
The climax in the end I did enjoy but the ending gave an impression of upcoming twist later beyond. With an exception of the ‘surprising twist’, Thicker than Water is written very well. The writing style, the characters, the plot, the romance, the feeling I got from reading this book, I loved them all. Thus, it’s kind of hard for me to give it a low rating despite my issues above. I would let you judge this issue on your own but I personally think that despite everything, Thicker than Water is one interesting read that makes you want to chase the thrill to the end and not put it down before you find the answer you’re looking for.

ADD TO GOODREADS now...

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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