Book Review: Lorali

Title: Lorali
Author: Laura Dockrill
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year of Publication: 2015
Summary: Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn't exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place is discovering where she has come from.

Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and become human.

But along with Lorali's arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory's bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collared shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a Tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?


Review:  **Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Lorali, Lorali, Lorali. Whimsical? Definitely. Unique? I've never read anything like it. Touching? You bet tears were shed. Weird? Oh gosh this book was weird.

But you know what? I loved it. I want three hundred copies of this book, in paperback, in hardback, in audiobook, in e-book form. I want this weird little book on my shelves where it belongs.

This book follows Rory, an English boy who is definitely not the charmer that is generally in YA books. He doesn't have a sexy accent, and he uses words like fam and proper. Decidely not so average male love interest. This book also follows Lorali, a mermaid who pretty much acts like one would generally assume a mermaid who has never set foot on land to act. She doesn't know how to use a toilet. She accidentally pees on the floor. Grimy? Yeah. Realistic though.

But the book also had a third narrator. The ocean.

Yeah, that's right, the book had multiple chapters all narrated by the ocean. How cool is that? It's also as weird as you'd expect. Astoundingly, the author made it work, which speaks volumes for her talent.

Another aspect I appreciated about this novel was the lack of heteronormativity. Gay people exist. There is a line somewhere in the beginning about how our main character, Rory, can't grow a beard and when it does it looks like the neighbour's front yard after she pours bleach on it because her wife cheated on her. It's also blatantly said that Mer of the same-sex tesselate, which is to say they bang, and it's fine.

The Mer also could not care less about taboo. They dye their hair, pierce themselves, and generally seem not to care about nudity. Some of them, namely the queen occasionally take part in recreational medicinal use, which was skirted about in the novel until this gem of a line came about;

"The council of the Whirl make some eye contact, as Keppel furiously tokes from her bong."

That right there folks is probably the best line in the book. Do yourselves a favour and pick up this book. You won't regret it.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

Title: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
Author: Stephanie Oakes
Publisher: Dial/Penguin
Expected Publication Date: 9th June, 2015
Summary: The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.


Review: **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Full disclosure: I cried. I cried a lot. I cried so much that I felt dehydrated and woozy afterwards. This book was probably the best book to happen to me so far this year, and it's only June.

I first discovered this book at the beginning of the year and I knew I had to get my hands on it as soon as it came out. I was very fortunate to receive a copy from Netgalley. I opened the book and read the first page as soon as I was approved - and then immediately had to close it because it was three in the morning and I needed to sleep. The first page played on my mind all of the next day before I could finally crack it open for real.

Minnow Bly had a voice that was as real and as raw as anything. I connected with her right off the bat and tore through the pages, devouring the story. The others around her - Angel, Jude, the Prophet, Constance etc - practically sprang off the page. Though most of this story was set in the juvenile detention centre, the story did not feel claustrophobic in the slightest.

I had to keep powering through this story. I needed to... and it never disappointed. The pace, the tone, the execution. This novel was absolutely perfect, and I highly recommend everyone giving it a try. Stephanie Oakes has done an amazing job on her debut novel.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: The Walls Around Us

Title: The Walls Around Us
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Year of Publication: 2015
Summary:  On the outside, there's Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement.

On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there's Amber, locked up for so long she can't imagine freedom.

Tying their two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls' darkest mysteries…

What really happened on the night Orianna stepped between Violet and her tormentors? What really happened on two strange nights at Aurora Hills? Will Amber and Violet and Orianna ever get the justice they deserve—in this life or in another one?

Review: **Copy kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Poignant, beautiful and breathtaking, The Walls Around Us has the power to send the reader reeling. Nova Ren Suma has done it again.

I first picked up one of the author's earlier books, Imaginary Girls back in 2013 and was quickly drawn into that story and intrigued and impressed by Suma's personal blend of magic. The same sort of magic made an appearance in The Walls Around Us, woven into the prose skillfully.

The story follows three girls through the viewpoints of two of them, Amber and Violet. Their voices leapt off the page and were very distinct from one another. I had absolutely no trouble telling the two apart which is what can sometimes happen when you have more than one PoV in a novel. All of the characters were creative, original, and well-formed. There were absolutely no stereotypes in this book.

The plot itself was amazing and well thought out, with more twists and turns than a whole season of Lost, and it kept me hanging on to every page. I read this book in less than five hours in one sitting, it was just that good.

Nova Ren Suma is an amazing author, and I cannot wait for more material from her.

Rating:  5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: Angelfall

Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Year of Publication: 2011
Summary:  It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Review:  Angelfall had me hooked me from the very beginning. Even when I wanted so desperately to put the book down and walk away from it as far as I could, it held me in an iron vice. As much as that sounds like a bad thing, it is the same thing that makes this book so real in my memory a couple of days after the fact.

Simply put, this book was disconcerting as all heck. And it was intended to be this way. Gone are the days of simply being scared of angels because of Doctor Who - nope, now I have a new reason to be absolutely terrified. Ee’s angels are not fluffy do-gooders (though they are hot), they are monsters.

The character of Penryn and her family are blessings of the YA genre. They are not damsels in distress - her mother is schizophrenic, her sister is disabled, and Penryn herself manages to keep her wits about her even in the face of a swoony shirtless potential love interest.

It has been a while since I was desperately in need of a sequel, but now I am desperate to get my hands on a copy of World After (Penryn & The End of Days book #2). It’s actually astounding that even though this book was published in 2011 I had not heard of it until this year. It is a book that I think must be read by everyone. It is a wonder that it has not been made into a film or a mini-series yet - I could see this series becoming as big as say, The Hunger Games.

This book is fully deserving of the five stars I am giving it. Definitely a must-read for everybody, especially those who enjoyed titles such as The Hunger Games, the Maze Runner, Cinder, and The Mortal Instruments.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: All We Had

Title: All We Had
Author: Annie Weatherwax
Year of Publication: 2014

Summary: For Ruthie Carmichael and her mother Rita, life has never been stable. Jobs are hard to find, men come and go. But when a set of unexpected circumstances strands them in Fat River, a small rural town in upstate New York, life takes a turn. Fat River becomes the first place they call home. 

The modest economic security they gain gives them peace and space for friends. The people of Fat River—Hank and Dotty Hanson, the elderly owners of the local hardware store being driven out of business by the new Walmart; Mel, the flawed, but kindhearted owner of the town diner where Rita finds work; and the cross-dressing Peter Pam, the novel’s voice of warmth and reason—become family. Into this quirky utopia comes Vick Ward, a smooth-talking broker who entices Rita with a subprime mortgage and urges her to buy the ramshackle house she and her daughter have been renting.

Tough and quick-witted, thirteen-year-old Ruthie—whose sardonic voice and plain-spoken observations infuse All We Had with disarming honesty and humor—never minded her hardscrabble existence as long as her mother was by her side. Through it all, the two have always been the center of one another’s lives. But when financial crisis hits, their luck takes a different turn. 



Review: **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Beautiful and haunting, All We Had is a novel that is unpretentious and unabashed, and will leave you reeling.

Ruthie's voice gripped me from the very beginning and had me turning pages throughout the story. The beginning to middle was a little slow, but when it picked up it swept me off my feet and into Fat River, the heart of the novel and the place where it is set.

The eclectic characters had me spellbound - from Peter Pam who was by far my favourite, to the strange, but kind Hanson's who owned the carpentry store. The events and characters of the story had me in tears at multiple points, but especially the end.

There is so much of this story that hit home for me - but putting it into words seems impossible. It is truly a novel that you just have to experience for yourself.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: Cinder

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Year of publication: 2012
Summary: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Review: Oh my gosh, this book was a doozy. Completely mind boggling and action packed, and absolutely a blast to read. I almost feel like I have not slept in days even though I read the book in one setting. Wow.

Retellings have been done before, many, many times. What makes this one unique is that it is set in the future, hundreds of years in the future, and our Cinderella is a cyborg. Our heroine is resourceful, independent - and doesn't wait for her prince or her fairy godmother to save her. She takes care of herself, and she gets things done armed with the tools of her trade - she's a mechanic after all.

One thing I absolutely loved about Cinder was the characters - the death of Peony was absolutely heartbreaking, but it had an upside... even though Cinder's other step sister and her stepmother were total monsters they grieved for Peony. In their own ways.

Perhaps Adri had not always been such a horrid person. Perhaps before Cinder's stepfather died, she had been good. Grief does things to people, and it can change them forever. I still don't forgive her for taking Cinder's foot or her android, Iko, though.

A character I found surprisingly pleasant was Kai. I am so used to stupid love interests that it was a breath of fresh air to get one who wasn't so dumb, even if he was a little vanilla.

Though the big reveal in the story was a little obvious, I still had no idea what would happen in the end of the story - and oh man, I was floored. You guys will just have to read it for yourselves to see what I mean.

I only wish there was more information about the Lunar colonies. Okay, yes, there was a lot in there but I want more. Luckily there are two more books in the series so that I may satisfy my cravings in due time.

In the meantime, I will be recovering from this whirlwind book with a cup of hot tea and a nap in the hopes that I can start reading Scarlet, the second book in the series, very soon.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: Fangirl

Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Year of publication: 2013
Summary: Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?


Review:  Reading Fangirl was like peeking into an alternate universe of my life where I lived in Nebraska and had a twin sister. It was like staring in the mirror for too long. It was like being forced underwater mid-breath.

Did I cry? You betcha I did. I cried a lot, probably more than I have in any other book, and I didn’t even like Fangirl at the start. I thought Cather was too like me in all the boring ways and the plot didn’t move fast enough. But that all changed at the halfway point.

Rowell does a fantastic job weaving stories together. She uses foreshadowing just right – in the sort of way that you kind of want to smack yourself in the face with your e-reader because how did you miss that?

The characters were well fleshed out, and so were the relationships between them. Nothing felt contrived there. I liked Levi immediately, with all his smiles and friendliness. I don’t know how anybody could have not.

This book really hit all of my buttons. I worried for Wren, and Cath’s dad. I loathed Laura in the sort of way that hurt a lot, because she reminded me of my own mother. I loved Levi, and the sunshine that radiated off of his character.

This book deserves nothing less than four-and-a-half stars, rounding to five for good measure.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: Salt & Storm

Title: Salt & Storm
Author: Kendall Kulper
Expected publication date: September 23rd, 2014
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island’s whale men safe and prosperous at sea. But before she could learn how to control her power, her mother, the first Roe woman in centuries to turn her back on magic, stole Avery away from her grandmother. Avery must escape from her mother before her grandmother dies, taking with her the secrets of the Roes’ power.

When Avery awakens from a dream foretelling her own murder, she realizes time is running short—for her and for the people of her island, who, without the Roes, will lose their ships and the only life they know.

With the help of Tane, a tattooed harpoon boy from the Pacific Islands, Avery plots her escape from her mother and unravels the mysteries of her mother’s and grandmother’s pasts. Becoming a witch may prevent her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers it will also require a sacrifice she never expected—one she might not be able to make


Review: **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Kulper's debut novel, Salt & Storm, is as smooth as poetry, silk, and Lindt Chocolate. This book is definitely one of the best of 2014 and will stand up strongly on Best-Of lists. I'm not a big fan of Historical Fiction, but this was a dream to read from the very first page.

The Roe family history enticed from the very first paragraph. Avery's memory of tying the winds with her grandmother was a treat to read, drawing me into the story immediately, and making Avery's hatred for her mother's actions believable and cuplable from the get go. It also fueled a sense of urgency in me that Avery get to her grandmother, leaving me whipping through the pages and sending me reeling when she was rejected.

Tane was an interesting twist on the usual love interest, fully fleshed out with a backstory of his own. Sure, he was tall, dark, and mysterious, but for once I am not complaining. I did find myself wanting to know more about the island he was from and the traditions of his people, though Tattoo magic seems intriguing and now that [SPOILER] Tane's dead I really, really, hope it somehow makes an appearance in the next book.

I'd also really like to see more of Avery's mother in the next book, if there will be one. The journey from loathing her to liking her was quite a ride in Salt & Storm, as was the reverse for Avery's grandmother.

Did I mention that this book broke my heart a little? Because it did, even though I saw it coming, even though I knew that Tane would somehow die. I really cannot sing this book's praises enough. Mystery, heartbreak, intrigue, and magic - Kulper's debut has it all, all sewn perfectly together. What more could you ask for?

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: Everything Beautiful

Title: Everything Beautiful
Author: Simmone Howell
Year of Publication: 2008
Summary: I believe in Chloe and chocolate. I believe the best part is always before. I believe that most girls are shifty and most guys are dumb. I believe the more you spill, the less you are. I don't believe in life after death or diuretics or happy endings. I don't believe anything good can come from this.

Riley Rose doesn't want to be at Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp. Riley wants to be partying with her best friend Chloe at the beautiful Ben Sebatini's house. She has a plan to get away from the jumpsuit-wearing counsellors, the feel-good mantras, do-gooder campers and the monotonous schedule of team-building exercises and outdoor activities.

But is everything at the Spirit Ranch as it appears? What secrets are waiting for discovery in the abandoned Fraser house? And why doesn't anyone want to talk about the accident that landed the mysterious Dylan in a wheelchair last year?


Review:  Everything Beautiful kind of snuck up on me. I hadn't really planned on reading it, it was really just a random grab at the library. I don't even know if I can really say what kept me reading this one, there was just some undercurrent of magic in Simmone Howell's writing, I guess.

The characters in this are beautiful, and so is the backdrop. Riley Rose was kind of like biting into a Kinder Surprise for the first time. I knew I would like it, but I just wasn't aware of how much. She was snappy, sassy, and the kind of girl I'd admire from afar in real life.

The book takes place at a Christian camp, but it really isn't about religion. It's more about spirituality, selfishness, being a teenager, and hope. The characters are vivid, the voice of the novel is fresh, funny, and refreshingly honest, and I am so glad that I randomly picked up this book at the library one day. This is definitely one of those books that will stick with me for a long, long time.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: John Dies at the End

Title: John Dies at the End
Author: David Wong
Year of Publication: 2007
Summary: STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.

The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.

Review: John Dies at the End is the type of book that will make you pee your pants laughing, and simultaneously scare the crap out of you. Like with all books, I read it fairly quickly, but it stuck with me for nights afterwards...

It was recommended to me by a friend, one who does not read often, so I knew it had to be good if he went back for seconds or thirds. I was hooked from the first paragraph, and found myself awake into the small hours of the morning, trying to cram as much of it into my mind as possible before sleep.

I can't find any fault with this book, I really can't. It's an intriguing and mesmerizing mix of fear and humor that asks questions that stick with you for months afterward. The prose, the characters, the plot... I am in love, and it is only fitting that I give this book five stars.

Rating: 5/5 stars
★★★★★