Dumplin (ARC Review)

Dumplin | Julie Murphy

Published by: Balzer+Bray, September 15th 2015

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Pages: 375

Format: Ebook

Source: Balzer+Bray, via Netgalley

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

I didn't know precisely what to expect from Dumplin. It sounded like everything I wanted in a contemporary - body positive MC, Dolly, and unlikely ladies competing for a beauty pageant crown. Turned out I loved it.

Bo was a complete surprise of a love interest. I didn't have much expectations for romance but it was lovely and swoony and he's really sweet. I wasn't fussed on Mitch, who's kind of another love interest but not really, since there's literally no spark between them at all. The Mitch/Willowdean thing made the middle of the book pretty flat for me, tbh. But the beginning and end were enough to make up for it and I loved all the other characters. I loved Willowdean and her confidence and insecurity. She was a true, real person, not just a character, and I really connected with her. I loved her misfit band of friends, too. (Hanah's personality is 100% my personality.) The story was great, and a lot more happened in the book than I was prepared for.

Fun and feel good and heartwarming.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★★☆

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Spinning Starlight (ARC Review)

Spinning Starlight | R. C. Lewis

Published by: Disney Hyperion, October 6th 2015

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Retellings, Fairy Tales

Pages: 336

Format: Ebook

Source: Disney Hyperion, via Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home—a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow. 

Ehh, I didn't mind this but I wouldn't rush out to buy it. It's SO SLOW in the beginning, the MC does a whole lot of nothing, and the plot felt pretty flat despite the high, personal stakes - in the beginning. When it gets to around halfway, and the MC leaves behind the bland love interest, she really comes into her own. The story gets exciting, there's actual danger, and it's fairly interesting.

I actually understood the alien transport thing in this book. It was similar to Polaris's alive alien transport thing, but handled in a way that made sense, or connected with me. AKA I wasn't completely lost and weirded out like in Polaris. The aliens in this book are imaginative and different to each other in both appearance and cultures. I liked the sister saving all her brothers story, but I did feel she could have dealt with it better, i.e actually tried to tell someone what was happening. I get it was a bad situation but there were ways. Also to say this was in the same world as Stitching Snow it did NOT feel like it. Worlds felt totally different, and I didn't like this as much.

An alright story overall. I kinda understood the end, kinda didn't, and kinda liked the characters, kinda didn't, but it wasn't the worst book I've read.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

3 ish stars

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Thief of Lies excerpt blitz.

Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers, #1) | Brenda Drake

Release date:  1/5/16

Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/library-jumpers-brenda-drake/1121817874

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669243-library-jumpers?ac=1

Author Bio

Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).

http://www.brenda-drake.com/

https://twitter.com/brendadrake

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Drake/171424269657164

Excerpt:

I pressed the screen, and it went dark. “How do we know he’s not being forced to say this?”

                “The password, May Agnes guide you,” Lei replied. “She’s the patron saint of Asile.”

                Agnes? That was the silver woman’s name that formed from my globe. Did the saints have something to do with the Chiavi?

                I faced Ricardo. “How did you know I was here?”

                “The werehounds tracked your scent from a shirt Katy…excuse me, your nana…gave us.”

                “Can your pack help us save Couve?” Arik asked him.

                “They will, but Gia must go with me.” He noticed the protest forming on my lips. “Merlin said no exceptions. I’m to get you to the shelter.”

                From the corridor came yells, scuffles, and the continual wail of the warning siren.

                “I can’t go with you,” I said. “I have to fight with them.”

                “She can’t fight with us,” Lei said, glancing at the door. “She almost killed Kale.”

                I turned to Sinead. “You know what I can do.”

                Sinead gave me a pity smile. “Yes, but you have no control over it. Let Ricardo take you to your father and friends.”

                I thought of Kale lying motionless, near death, and I hated that she was right. As much as I wanted to stay, I might be more hindrance than help. I caved. “Okay,” I said, defeated. Lei flew out of the room with the Laniars on her heels.

                Sinead hugged me, then rushed after them. Arik moved over to me and cupped my face gently in his hands. His eyes held the intensity that always drew me to him.

                I swallowed my breath in anticipation. All the sounds around us went silent.

                He bent and lightly brushed my lips with a kiss. His lips were soft and oh, so tender. Butterflies swooped and curled inside me, and it felt like the ground disappeared from beneath my feet. He pulled back a little and said, “Regardless of the fact that you’re a royal pain in the arse, I fancy you. Listen to Ricardo and don’t do anything rash.”

                He gave me another kiss and rushed out the door. My heart twisted in my chest as he disappeared. I touched my mouth and exhaled. He liked me. It was against the laws, but he told me he fancied me. Maybe we had no future, but we had now.

                “What a sweet display,” Ricardo said, dragging me out of my haze. “I’m not one for rules or laws, but I’d be careful there. The punishment would be much worse for him than you.”

                “Why?” I stared at the door as if I’d see Arik there.

                “He’s a leader. He knows better.” Ricardo headed to the window. “Are you ready to fly?”

                “Did you say fly?”

The Fire Sermon (DNF Review)

The Fire Sermon: The Fire Sermon | Francesca Haig

Published by: Gallery Books, March 10th 2015

Genre: Adult, Dystopia, Post-Apocalptic

Pages: 284

Format: Ebook

Source: Gallery Books, via Netgalley

The Hunger Games meets Cormac McCarthy's The Road in this richly imagined first novel in a new postapocalyptic trilogy by award-winning poet Francesca Haig.

Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair one is an Alpha - physically perfect in every way - and the other an Omega burdened with deformity, small or large.

With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world's sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other. Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side by side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights.

I've been reading this book a full week. I'm at 50%. And I swear nothing has happened yet. There was a slight burst of plot when the main character rescued a guy from a tank in a laboratory, and while that sounds pretty exciting and cool (it was!) NOTHING ELSE HAS HAPPENED. They've walked, and walked, and stopped for a bit in a town where they made food and sat around and did nothing then started walking again. I'm halfway through the book and literally nothing is happening, so I don't see the point of continuing. I could carry on reading and all the plot might happen in the next 10%. Or I could read until the end and still nothing will have happened. There's a bit of hinting about a rebellion, but that's non-existent at this point. The dystopia of it all has essentially dropped off. It's become just everyday life and walking, which is not something I want to read about.

Slow and bland, and I didn't like how the "bad" and "infected" twins were all disabled. Way to be insulting.

(Sidenote: WHAT IS WITH THE UK COVER? Because of that I thought this was early YA, almost middle grade???????? The cover is so juvenile, not adult at all.)

DNF at 50%

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The Potion Diaries (ARC Review)

The Potion Diaries | Amy Alward

Published by: Simon & Schuster UK, July 2nd 2015

Genre: YA, Your-Guess-Is-As-Good-As-Mine

Pages: 320

Format: Ebook

Source: Simon & Schuster, via Netgalley

When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.

Enter Samantha Kemi - an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam's family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they've fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?

And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news. 

No big deal, then.

I didn't mind this book ... but I didn't love it. From the beginning it was just a little odd to me, and fluffy. I didn't connect to the characters really, even though they were okay, and their romance was neither here nor there. Plus the villain was one dimensional and typically evil.

When reading, the world is a major thing with me, and this world was ... strange. It had the magical royalty you'd expect from a high fantasy or historical, but it was actually sci-fi, I think, given it's set in the future (or contemporary times? it wasn't clear) and there's all sorts of electronics and fancy tech. It just clashed, the magic and technology, the world and the story. It didn't feel futuristic enough for sci-fi, nor magical enough for fantasy, just somewhere in between that didn't feel right to me. That was the major reason I didn't enjoy this book that much.

I did like some things - the alchemy/apothecary stuff was cool to read and I LOVED that there were definitions and magical properties of plants mixed in with the story. And I liked the adventure stuff, and Evelyn being in love with herself was both sad and hilarious. But the rest? It was kind of flat.

Ultimately, this is an okay book. If you connect with the characters, though, you'll probably like it more than I did.

(Side note: OH GOD THIS IS A SERIES??? HOW??? It ended pretty definitely.....)

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★☆☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

It's nearer 2.75 but I'm rounding down.

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Inherit The Stars (ARC Review)

Inherit The Stars | Tessa Elwood

Published by: Running Press Kids, December 8th 2015

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Space

Pages: 304

Format: Ebook

Source: Running Press Kids, via Netgalley

Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

Author Tessa Elwood's debut series is an epic romance at heart, set against a mine field of political machinations, space adventure, and deep-seeded family loyalties. 

I LOVE this book. Love it so much with every tiny piece of my heart. Everyone needs to read this book.

The romance, guys, the ROMANCE. It's a really slow burn love and you can literally see them falling for each other and I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT IT. They're thrown together in an arranged political marriage (even though Asa isn't technically supposed to be the bride...) and I ADORE the forced marriage trope.

 I love the characters so, so much, literally a whole lot. Asa is a quiet character - she's not a take-charge badass action type, but she's awesome and fights for what she believes is right and I love her. She's easy to identify with, a normal clumsy, heartfelt girl. And EAGLE - he's even more complex and protective and everything to me. I love him so much. (Can you tell this is an emotion-driven review rather than an analytical one or...?) Also Eagle is a MOC and he's scarred, and he has a prosthetic arm!!!

It wasn't just characters I loved though. The world is amazing, and enough details were given about the different planets without overpowering the story. AND it felt natural and feasible, that each planet had its own strengths and products/services it was know for. Eagle's home was known for technology and medicine for example. There were politics too, enough to give high stakes and intrigue but without being overbearing.

All of that combined to make the Book of My Heart. I loved everything.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

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Dark Heart of Magic (ARC Review)

Black Blade: Dark Heart of Magic | Jennifer Estep

Published by: Kensington Books, October 27th 2015

Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: Kensington, via Netgalley

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

As a thief, I stick to the shadows as much as possible. But when the head of the Sinclair Family picks me to compete in the Tournament of Blades, there's no escaping the spotlight—or the danger.

Even though he's my competition, Devon Sinclair thinks I have the best shot at winning what's supposed to be a friendly contest. But when the competitors start having mysterious "accidents," it looks like someone will do anything to win—no matter who they hurt.

As if I didn't have enough to worry about, mobster Victor Draconi is plotting against Devon and the rest of my friends, and someone's going around Cloudburst Falls murdering monsters. One thing's for sure. Sometimes, humans can be more monstrous than anything else...

This isn't quite as good as the first book. Maybe that's because a tournament takes up the most part of this book and I am SO BORED of tournaments and championships. Every time one crops up in a book, I yawn. BUT I did like everything else in this book.

The characters continue to be awesome. I really like Lila, and I love her and Devon's slow and natural romance. But my favourite in this was actually Deah??? I love how she fell into the typical bitchy girl role but broke that mould so much, and I ADORE the plot twist between her and Lila. I hope she and Felix get their happily ever after!

Aside from the tournament, the story was pretty awesome. There's mob tension, spying, and the expected monster fights. I thought the villain was pretty obvious from the start, and I'm a little disappointed it didn't turn out to be Poppy. I get a serious Natalie Dashkov vibe from her!!!

Overall, a good book full of action, fun, and secrets. I want book 3!

SIDE NOTE: What is with the gravestones on the cover???? Lila goes into a graveyard twice and it's really not pivotal to the plot AT ALL. I feel like they went for the generic UF cover thing with this and the book deserves better!! Put the darn mansion in the background.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

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Mad About The Hatter (ARC Review)

Mad About The Hatter | Dakota Chase

Published by: Harmony Ink Press, August 20th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 190

Format: Ebook

Source: Harmony Ink Press, via Netgalley

This isn’t his sister’s Wonderland….

Henry never believed his older sister, Alice’s, fantastic tales about the world down the rabbit hole. When he’s whisked away to the bizarre land, his best chance for escape is to ally himself with the person called the Mad Hatter. Hatter—an odd but strangely attractive fellow—just wants to avoid execution. If that means delivering “Boy Alice” to the Queen of Hearts at her Red Castle, Hatter will do what he has to do to stay alive. It doesn’t matter if Henry and Hatter find each other intolerable. They’re stuck with each other.

Along their journey, Henry and Hatter must confront what they’ve always accepted as truth. As dislike grows into tolerance and something like friendship, the young men see the chance for a closer relationship. But Wonderland is a dangerous place, and first they have to get away with their lives. 

What is it with me and reading Alice In Wonderland retellings even though I don't overly like the original? Why do I do it to myself? I'll tell you why with this one - gay representation drew me in. Sadly I didn't like the world, the characters, the threat, the story, or the romance. This is just gonna be one of those kind of reviews.

First, I never connected with the characters. Although it was a totally new and inventive thing to tell this story from Alice's brothers POV, he was just pretty uninteresting. I didn't particularly like Hatter either, after a while. At first I enjoyed his wit and humour but either that dropped off towards the middle or I got tired of it. And when you put those two characters together ... well, no sparks whatsoever. Even though Hatted had 'feelings' for Henry after a day.

The rest of Mad About The Hatter will be better for most people than it was for me. As with the original the world was just ... weird, and not in a good way for me personally. The author did a very good job world building, with enough detail to make everything fleshed out (and I can't say how much was of their own creation because I barely remember the gist of the original.) The story was bizarre, but not interestingly bizarre, just plain wacky. Not a fan of that. When they left Wonderland I thought I might enjoy the story more but I still wasn't that interested, sadly. The threat ... well, it's the same old same old, nothing new brought to the Red Queen, and it never felt dangerous. It felt like there were no true stakes, like nothing bad was ever going to happen to the main characters despite threats of beheading getting thrown about all over the place. I can't explain it.

So not a good choice for me, and despite its LGBT representation, I wasn't a fan. Maybe you'll get along better if you're a fan of the original.

DNF at 58%

(Apologies for the spate of negative reviews lately. Hopefully I can get back on track with my reading and write some proper reviews! I don't like being so down on everything!
~Saruuh)

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