Book Review: Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.
Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.
Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

I've had my eye out for this book for awhile before I just decided to put it on hold rather than wait. I'd say it was worth the wait. Different than what I was expecting but good.
It wasn't really a book that I can gush over or say that I can totally relate to the characters; it was just a good book. 
It was written really well and despite being confusing in the beginning, it turned out wonderfully. 
I loved the ending. It made sense and it was really cute. It also made a scene in the beginning make a hell of a lot more sense. I remember reading it in the beginning thinking that maybe she was just crazy or that it was a weird mess-up. It makes sense in the end! I like when books do that.
It was sad, so if you don't like sad, don't read it. Or at least read with caution. It was exactly sad, it deals with hard topics that make the characters sad and because it's written well, it makes the reader sad as well. It's not the whole story but rather an aspect of it. The whole book doesn't revolve around this one event, it revolves around the characters that the event happened to. 
It had sad moments, funny moments, cute moments and everything else. 
I liked the nickname "Sunshine"- that was adorable. Their banter was so much fun to read, the relationship between Nastya and the boys was great and didn't turn into a love triangle (THANK GOD). It was just a nice friendship. Take note: You can have relationships like that without turning romantic. There is a thing called platonic. 
It was a nice read and would recommend to anyone, really. 

Read: February 2015
My Rating: 4.5 stars / 5 stars

Book Review: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

A fresh and fun repackage of Wild Cards, Better Than Perfect launches a romantic new series from NY Times bestselling author Simone Elkeles. 
After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama. 
Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. So when her older sister comes home after abandoning her ten years earlier, with her hot new stepson in tow, Ashtyn wants nothing to do with either of them. Then she comes up with a plan that would finally give her the chance to leave, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and get the future she wants?

I'm a sucker for romance. It's really bad. 
I really enjoy Simone Elkeles books. Especially the Perfect Chemistry series. I also read Leaving Paradise, but I didn't like that very much.
I liked this one. It had my favorite trope/cliche: they hate each other but grow to love each other. I love that one. 
The beginning was kind of frustrating to read. The female protagonist, Ashtyn, had a douche for a boyfriend and I had to read through her being all lovey-dovey. 
Then the actual romance began. It was nice, not exactly swoony, but more bonding and angst. A lot of angst. A lot of "Oh no, I shouldn't... but I want to" kind of stuff. The reasoning was slightly understandable but still frustrating for a hopeless romantic like myself that just wants them to get together. 
Derek, the male protagonist, was an interesting character to read and read from his POV. He was also sweet and a nice book hottie. (What do you call guys in books?)
It wasn't great or as good as Perfect Chemistry but it was cute and a quick read. Simone Elkeles is a great writer. I'd recommend it for those who are looking for a nice quick little romance. 

Read: February 2015
My Rating: 4 stars / 5 stars

Book Review: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning! 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. 
This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

I know, I know, I fell for the trick. The trick that if you label something with "The Fault in Our Stars & Eleanor and Park" it'll be good. I'm sorry I was curious about this so I bought it. 
Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. 
It just every contemporary work done for a young adult audience that deals with hard topics. I've read at least three of the same kind of books in the last year. 
That probably sounds harsh, but it's true. It wasn't a new look on depression and suicide. It was the same one with slightly different characters. 
The thing that bothered me the most about this book was that I was spoon fed. I was told I was supposed to be sad because the characters were sad. That the reason why they were pretending to be happy was to cover up the fact that they weren't. That they fell in love because someone finally understood how it felt to be that low. 
No, do not tell me this. A story should show the sadness and let the characters build the connection to the reader. Then the reader can understand the true sadness behind it. It's like I know they're depressed but having them say it every single page? They wouldn't, they'd show it in their actions. They'd show it in how they talk. They'd show it in how the viewed the world. 
I know it's not just me who felt the same about this book. Please, do not tell us what to feel. Give us a story we can read over and over again, where we find new reasons to cry because what we found. 
Because of this, the ending didn't have a big impact as it should've had. Also really obvious. I wanted to scream at Violet because I knew exactly where Finch was, but did she listen? Nooo. 
Obviously this is just my opinion, so take this however you want. 

Read: February 2015
My Rating: 3 stars / 5 stars

(A.N. It's going to be a movie?? Are you kidding me? Really? Ugh.)

Book Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.
Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?
Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. 
Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

I don't typically read novellas because I usually just want the actual books, rather than something that's already been in them just not in detail. 
I decided to give this a shot. 
First, let me just say the Marissa Meyer is a great writer. Damn. I mean, it's sort of obvious from her other books, but it takes real talent to write from a crazy villain's point of view. 
This was really interesting. It wasn't like I sympathize with Levanna now or anything but it's still cool to know how a character got to where they are. 
Also, everything that happens/what she does, is freaking crazy. I was speechless for most of the time because of what happened and what she did on purpose. It was a wild ride. Also kind of creepy to read. She's a scary character and being in her head kind of intensified it. She's crazy and slightly evil. I kind of get why but she's still crazy. 
It was an interesting read, so I would recommend it if you're curious. It's a quick read anyways. 

Read: February 2015
My Rating: 5 stars / 5 stars

Book Review: Sanctum by Sarah Fine

“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”
A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife. 
As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate

This was just a spur of the moment, "This looks good" kind of read.
Boy, did it pay off. I am so happy I read this, I can not even begin. I'll do my best anyways. 
First, we have a badass heroine that is also a POC (person/people of color) and that's HUGE for a book like this. We need more POCs in literature because representation is very important. It empowers others that there are people like them that can do the same stuff as other characters. Okay, kind of a tangent, but it was really nice to read.
Secondly, she is your typical action hero with all the badassery, snark, and terrible back story. BUT she's real. She's not this way because she wanted to be but it's how she dealt with the hand she was given. She's a great, great character. 
Third, the story is AMAZING. It's a new twist on the whole "afterlife" thing that's been done before. This was unlike anything I've read and written really well. 
Fourth, the character development was really fun to read. We get to see how her thoughts change throughout this journey.
Fifth, her love interest is the perfect yin to her yang. Plus, it was like a bonus to the whole story and not the story itself. Just how it should be. The boy is to die for. (Sorry, it's a terrible pun but we are talking about the afterlife after all.) Not a lot of swoons but a lot of cute moments. 
Finally, the ending was wonderful. I could've seen this as a complete novel had certain things not happened, but it's a trilogy. I already have the whole series and I eagerly await reading them. 
I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good book. Also check out Sarah Fine's other book Of Metal and Wishes, which is also really good. (And a modern take of Phantom of the Opera.)

Read: February 2015

My Rating: 5 stars / 5 stars