Tag: young adult

Review: Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

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cover91844-mediumIron Cast by Destiny Soria
Genre: Paranormal
Published by: Amulet Books
Pages: 384
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★.5

Set in 1919, Iron Cast is about best friends, Corinne and Ada, who have magical powers linked to the arts. When Corinne recites poetry, she can conjure illusions. When Ada plays the violin, she can bend your will and change your memories. Their friends, Saint, can pull objects out of what he paints. They are all hemopaths. Together, the girls work in Cast Iron, a club that’s kind of like a speakeasy, but hemopathy is sought, rather than alcohol. Because of their powers, they’re hunted, and the group hunting them down is closing in. The explanation is all great, and the world sounds like an interesting place, but while reading, I struggled to be interested by what was going on, no matter how glorious the girls’ powers were.  Continue reading “Review: Iron Cast by Destiny Soria” →

Review: The Amateurs by Sara Shepard

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31328386The Amateurs by Sara Shepard
Genre: Mystery, Crime Solving
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 336
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★.5

I was really excited by the first couple of chapters of The Amateurs, because the concept was just so cool for a girl that wishes she was Nancy Drew. The main characters, Seneca and Maddy are both part of this online forum, Case Not Closed, that gives people access to information about unsolved, cold cases the police have given up on. Using contacts, members of the website are able to solve the unsolvable and play the detective.  Another of the characters, Aerin, whose sister Helena goes missing in the flashback that opens the book, posts a plea for help on Helena’s case. Seneca and Maddy, previously only friends online, meet IRL to answer the plea. It sounds super great, right? Well, after I kept reading, I grew slowly more incredulous and…dissatisfied? Here’s why: Continue reading “Review: The Amateurs by Sara Shepard” →

Review: The Witch’s Kiss by Katharine and Elizabeth Corr

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cover83338-mediumThe Witch’s Kiss by Katharine and Elizabeth Corr
Genre: Fairy Tale, Contemporary
Published: HarperCollins
Pages: 424
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★★
Note: We received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Sister writing duo, fairy tales, witches, oh my! There was a lot to look forward to in The Witch’s Kiss and I loved every single second! If this book wasn’t made for me, I’d be surprised! Going into it, I didn’t realise it was going to be part of a series, so I was reading it thinking everything was going to resolve by the end, and it almost does, except for a little thread that just itches at you, making you desperate for the second book. We’re only waiting until February 2017, though, which isn’t too long….right?  Continue reading “Review: The Witch’s Kiss by Katharine and Elizabeth Corr” →

Review: Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery

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29864658Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery
Genre: Dystopian
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 400
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★

I absolutely adore the tagline, ‘Behind bars. For your entertainment.’ It’s such an exciting premise! (Here’s a plot summary: Martha has killed a high profile celebrity, and she will be tried in the Cells, where the public will vote over seven days whether or not they think she’s ‘guilty’ or ‘innocent.’ But there’s something she isn’t mentioning and the people that love her and getting increasingly more concerned as it looks like the vote isn’t going to save Martha. It’s going to kill her.) This book has received quite a lot of hype already and it comes highly recommended by a few blogger friends. So, let’s get onto what I made of it!

Continue reading “Review: Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery” →

Review: The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch

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The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Amulet Books
Pages: 368
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★★

The idea of a character that constantly compares real life to the movies, and how it would be better if it was a movie, sounds like my kind of thing. I feel like I’m constantly quoting films or bringing them up in conversation, whether it alienates other people or not. So, The Movie Version was setting itself up to be good, but I didn’t realise it would be so great. With a great sibling relationship, a mental health issue and the trials and tribulations of first love, this book ticked way more boxes than I thought it would.  Continue reading “Review: The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch” →

Review: How To Keep A Boy From Kissing You by Tara Eglington

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28220759How To Keep A Boy From Kissing You by Tara Eglington
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published by: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 320
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★

From the title I thought this was going to be a little silly, but it sounded like the Australian version of Kisses For Lula by Samantha Mackintosh – one of my favourite duologies! And I’ve come to the conclusion that I would’ve probably liked this a lot more when I was 14 and was oblivious to things like the Bechdel Test.

Continue reading “Review: How To Keep A Boy From Kissing You by Tara Eglington” →

Review: Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

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30309128Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling
Published by: Bloomsbury Children’s
Pages: 384
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★

From the very beginning, I was confused about what Stealing Snow was trying to retell. Her name, Snow, made me think of Snow White. But, the whole mirror thing and wintry landscape had me thinking Snow Queen. Either way, I was disappointed. Let’s talk about why… Continue reading “Review: Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige” →

Review: The It Girl by Katy Birchall

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The It Girl by Katy Birchall23201793
Genre: Contemporary, Comedy, UKYA
Published by: Egmont
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5

This is another book that follows the geeky/awkward girl struggles through secondary school trope made popular by Holly Smale’s Geek Girl series. Any regular reader or watcher of Heart Full of Books will know that Maddie and I adore Geek Girl, and The It Girl is supposed to have a good sense of humour, so we both thought we’d give it a go! If nothing else, at least we’ll be supporting another UKYA author, right?

Continue reading “Review: The It Girl by Katy Birchall” →

Review: The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book by E. Lockhart

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https://heartfullofbooks.com/2016/07/25/review-the-boyfriend-list-and-the-boy-book-by-e-lockhart/

The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book by E.
Lockhart
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 256 | 224
Format: e-book
Ratings: ★★
Note: We received these books from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I’ve been seeing this series floating around Goodreads with a ceramic frog on the cover, and since then, I’ve been intrigued. After writing about such strange teenagers in We Were Liars, I wanted to see how E. Lockhart portrayed an average teenage girl.

The answer?

Extremely stereotypically.  Continue reading “Review: The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book by E. Lockhart” →

Spoiler Review: Half Lost by Sally Green

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26404831Half Lost by Sally Green
Genre: Paranormal, UKYA
Published by: Penguin
Pages: 335
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
Series: Half Bad (#1) | Half Wild (#2)

OPINIONS. I have them. This is the last book in the Half Bad trilogy, and since I’ve reviewed all of the others it seemed only right that I reviewed the finale. (Also, I was in too deep to stop) I supposed this book lived by to my expectations considering I’d already been spoiled on a major character death thanks to a Twitter rampage that after the initial release. A list of questions seemed like the only way to approach this review, so here we go.

  • Why did nothing happen in the first half?
    • Basically, Nathan and the crew spend the first half of the book roaming around different campsites trying to find Hunters and, more importantly, Annalise. Other than that, I have nothing to report. It was slow paced and super boring.
    • In fact, the beginning was very reminiscent of Mockingjay. I mean, a group of people trying not to trigger booby traps with some death thrown into the mix.
  • Was The BIG Death necessary?
    • Simple answer? No. It was emotionally manipulating to the audience, I felt, and severely damaged the character development steps made in previous books.
    • Gabriel is a sweet child and did not deserve this fate.
  • ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT THE IMAGES ON THE FRONT OF THE BOOKS ARE ALL NATHAN?!?!
    • He’s a boy in the first. In the second he discovers he can turn himself into a wild animal to feel more in control. AT THE END OF HALF LOST HE TURNS HIMSELF INTO A TREE. The tree is Nathan. Nathan and the tree are one.
    • It’s genius, but I’m still a little mad at it.
  • What other gifts does Nathan have?
    • He’s in possession of so many, but he managed to control so few? He still had so much potential but the ending was so rushed we didn’t get any of it.
  • Nathan is just so hellbent on his stupid revenge plot he gets himself stuck in a bundle. He was literally invincible at the time, as well.

I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of this story but three main factors pulled me in from the beginning: 1) Male witch. 2) UKYA 3) morally grey (erring on bad) MC. If those things pique your interest too then I would recommend reading the first book. Then you can battle with writing style and characterisation when you decide if it’s worth continuing. Half Wild although more vulgar than any of the other books was my favourite of the series (against popular opinion), so maybe my dislike of this end was inevitable. I’m just glad I have something else to tick off my series list.