Love, Rosie

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Published- 1st November 2004
Publisher- Harper
Pages- 558 pages (paperback)

Love Rosie is a feel good contemporary romance novel. Rosie and Alex are best friends who have always been in love with each other, but won't tell each other how they feel. This was an easy read because it is told through emails, letters and text messages. Plus, it covers a huge period of the main characters lives, from when they are children to when they are much older. I have yet to watch the film so I do not know how different the film is from the novel. 

Alex is a really likeable character who would do anything for the people he loves. Rosie is also likeable too, but she would complain a bit which did kind of annoy me. For example, she would always say that she likes Alex then get mopey and sad when he got with other girls and got married to someone else. They both tried to be successful in their lives and get good jobs and have good family lives. However, not everything goes the way you want it to go as life isn't that straight forward.

Overall, I rate this book 4/5 stars. If you want a really easy contemporary romance read then this is definitely the book for you. I liked how this novel didn't follow all romance guidelines such as boy meets girl, they fall in love, they get married, have a family, etc. Stories which follow those guidelines get boring and repetitive which is really annoying. Novels need to have their own storylines and not follow every other novel.

                       Rating 4/5
   

Made For You

Made For You by Melissa Marr

RECEIVED FROM HARPER COLLINS FOR REVIEW

Published- 26th March 2015
Publisher- Harper Collins Children's Books
Pages- 336 pages (paperback)

Eva Tilling was almost killed when she was hit by a car. Who would want to try to kill her and why? When she wakes up she starts getting visions of her friends dying, but then people start actually dying. Why are these people being killed, who is killing them and what has it got to do with Eva?

Overall, this was a good novel with lots of action towards the end of the novel. It did start really slowly, but it picked up more a third of the way through the book. However, halfway through the book I did guess who the killer was so I wasn't really that shocked at the end of the novel. To find out who the killer is you have to read the novel. All of the characters were really likeable, but there were some I didn't feel that fondly towards.

One of the girls was not a likeable character because of some of her actions and another was a bit of a gossip. Out of the male characters my favourite was Nate as he would do anything for his family and friends no matter the cost. My favourite female characters were Eva and Grace. I liked them because they were brave, smart, cared about everyone except themselves and wanted to do whatever they could to stop the killer from killing anyone else. 

This is the first Melissa Marr book I have read and I really enjoyed it. My only wish was that there was more action throughout the book as it did drag in places, so reading it was quite slow. When stories are slow I feel like I don't enjoy them as much. However, this was still an enjoyable read even if I do wish it was more fast paced and action packed. The writing was very descriptive throughout and everything was explained so you weren't left with questions which you didn't have the answers to. Following this book I would like to read more Melissa Marr books in the future. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 hearts. A must read if you love Melissa Marr's previous books.


                              Rating 4/5
   

To Die For

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

Published- 9th August 2011
Publisher- Howard Books
Pages- 332 pages (Paperback)

This book is about Anne Boleyn's best friend Meg and their lives from before Anne became Queen up to when she died. I really enjoyed this book and it's the first historical book I've read about Kings and Queens. To Die For gave me an insight in to how Anne, Henry and Meg would have felt during the Tudor times and what it was like for other citizens living in the same area as them.

Meg was a brilliant character as she really cared about Anne. Meg would do anything for her friends and family. It was great to get an insight into her duties and how she felt about her best friend being Queen. Meg was a little shy, bold, said what was on her mind, caring and loved her friends and family. Anne was a brilliant woman who didn't, in my opinion, deserve to die by beheading. However, she was blamed for crimes she didn't commit which was the crime of cheating on the King with lots of men, including her own brother.

I learnt a lot about the duties everyone in the court had to do, such as dressing the royal members, cleaning, preparing their food, etc. It was really sad that Anne's two baby sons died in childbirth, however it was good that she had a daughter called Elizabeth. Henry could be a nice man when he wanted to be, but later in their lives he became mean, nasty and seeked other women to marry so they could produce him a male heir.

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you are a fan of reading historical books about Kings and Queens then this is a definite must read. It doesn't just tell you lots of facts about the time of Henry VIII, it gives you their emotions, feelings and delves deeper into their lives. If you enjoy this book then definitely check out the second novel in the series called The Secret Keeper which is about Katherine Parr.

                                  Rating 4/5
   

The Farm

The Farm by Emily McKay

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 4th December 2012
Publisher- Berkley Trade
Pages- 420 pages (Paperback)

The Farm is about twin sisters called Mel and Lily who live on the Farm. The Farm is where humans are sent to keep them safe, but their blood is also used to feed the vampires who come out at night. Mel is autistic so cannot communicate properly so Lily has to help her with everything and take care of them as there parents sent them to the Farm. Carter is the guy who comes to the farm they are on to try to save the twins, but what is his ulterior motive behind this act?

Normally books which change between characters each chapter annoy me as I tend to find it hard to follow the story and what is happening to each character. However, this book just flowed and I didn't have trouble following it at all as it tended to change perspectives every chapter. The book was filled with suspense, action, a bit of romance and horror. Throughout reading you didn't know if the characters in the book were going to make it to the end of the book. I was shocked by the end of the novel as I wasn't expecting that to happen. To find out what happens you will have to read the book.

Lily and Mel were good main characters as they were really brave and all they wanted was a normal live somewhere which wasn't the farm. Mel was the smart one who, although unable to communicate properly, came up with a plan of how they could get off the farm. Lily was the brave one who would do anything to get off the farm and protect her sister. However, both the twins were brave in their own individual ways. Carter was also a good character because he would do anything to protect Lily and Mel from the vampires.

Overall, I gave this book 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book as it was filled with suspense. I just wanted to keep reading it til I finished it, but obviously couldn't as I had to do other stuff aswell. However, I loved reading this book and would definitely recommend it to people who like vampire novels. It is quite a quick read aswell as a lot of the chapters are really short. A definite must read for supernatural and horror fans. Grab a copy and enjoy book lovers!!!!!!

                       Rating 4/5
   

Sirenz

Sirenz by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 8th June 2011
Publisher- Flux
Pages- 280 pages (Paperback)

The main characters in this novel are Meg and Shar. As an overview of what this novel is about is that Meg and Shar get recruited by Hades (leader of the Underworld) to become his new sirens. They have a mission to lure their celebrity target to the door of the Underworld. Shar is the girly girl who loves anything pink, whereas Meg is the tomboy who loves anything which is black. With this book I received 2 phone charms which are to do with this story. The phone charms were of kitty cats, one was pink (Shar) and the other was black (Meg). They represented each of the characters and you find out why they are a part of this novel if you give it a read.

Meg and Shar are brilliant female characters because they don't get along all the time. They are just like lots of other groups of friends who have their arguments. The girls are always disagreeing about what their plan should be to try and get their target to the door of the Underworld. Nothing ever goes right when there are people who want you to fail your task. What the girls don't know when they agree to work for Hades is that each time they use their siren powers the more they turn into a bird. Meg's power is to lure people by talking to them. Shar's power is to lure people by looking at them. However, their powers only work on men and not women.

Within this novel I would consider the main male characters as Jeremy, Mr Romanov and Hades. Jeremy is the person who starts the whole Surenz cycle. However, Hades is the one who employs the girls to become his new Sirenz. Jeremy is described as a gorgeous guy who has an eye for Meg, but does Meg feel the same way for him? The main way to describe Hades is devious, a trickster and menacing. Jeremy I will describe as the perfect teenage gentleman, good looking and charming.

If you love novels about hell and the underworld then this is definitely the novel for you. Hades is a devil who always has tricks up his sleeve. He is always trying to get one of the girls to be with him. I can't tell you who, however, as this would be considered a spoiler. The characters of the underworld are all really good as they each bring something different to the story line of the novel.

This is a brilliant novel which I believe everyone needs to check out. It is the debut team novel by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman (not each authors first novel, but first team novel). My overall rating for this novel is 4/5 stars. If you love stories about hell, the underworld and supernatural beings then this is a novel for you. Check it out as soon as you lay your hands on a copy.

                   Rating 4/5
   

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 4th August 2011
Publisher- Putnam Juvenille
Pages- 278 pages (Paperback)

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester is filled with teenage rebellion, school proms and teen pregnancy. This novel has, in my opinion, a gorgeous cover as it gives you the prom feel with the sparkly tiara. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel as it is a quick read if you have lots of time to read.

The basic storyline of this novel is basically Aggie having to deal with her best friend Sylvia's problems, wheter she (Aggie) should get back together with her ex-Neil and school prom drama/problems. Aggie is a brilliant female character who a lot of teenagers can relate to. She rebels against her parents quite a lot (by becoming a Goth) and she is very opinionated and just tells things how she sees them.

As the novel progresses you learn more about what kind of people Sylvia and Neil really are. Aggie also finds out who she can really trust with the stuff she knows. The main context of this story is about being a teenager and having to deal with all kinds of school, friendship and relationship problems.

Overall, this was a brilliant novel and I really enjoyed reading it. My rating is 4/5 stars. I would recommend this to everyone to read once it has been released in August. This book is highly recommended to teenagers as it relates very well to teenagers and how to deal with school/prom problems.

              Rating 4/5
   

Wandering Souls

Wandering Souls by Molly Bryant

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

This was a really good supernatural manuscript. The story was really good. However, there were a lot of spelling mistakes, but they will be corrected throughout the editing process. The action commences in the prologue of the story, but it then slows down a lot as you get the lead-up to the rest of the action.

The supernatural action doesn't commence again until over halfway through the story, which was a tiny bit annoying in my opinion. However, I did like reading about Tatum and Dallin's life together and how Lance became involved in their lives. I did guess what was going to happen towards the end of the story though (who Dallin would turn out to be). Overall, I believe this to be a really good supernatural story and I can't wait to read a sequel if Molly decides to write one :)

                      Rating 4/5