Tag: young adult

Review: Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

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Sapphire Blue bsapphire bluey Kerstin Gier
Genre: Fantasy, Time Travel, Historical, Contemporary
Published by: Square Fish
Pages: 354
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Series: Ruby Red (#1)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Because I was so involved with ‘Ruby Red’, I just had to read the next book, ‘Sapphire Blue’, straight away! This, again, took me about a day to read for similar reasons as the first book  – just so much happens!

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first, however, and here’s why: the romance. Gwen and Gideon were suddenly the loves of each other’s lives. It all seemed a bit sudden, seeing as Gideon thought that Gwen was annoying and immature to start with. The story line remained quite down to earth, in the case of Gwen getting jealous of Gideon being with Charlotte, which made me realise this isn’t just a book about time travel; it’s also about teenagers.

Some of the things Gwen moped about seemed a little melodramatic for the situation, but you could tell that she’d definitely gotten more confident with her role as a time traveller. Lesley, possibly my favourite character, didn’t have as big a role to play, which was upsetting, but the addition of Gwen’s gargoyle demon ghost thing made up for the loss of Lesley’s humour.

I really loved how little things from ‘Ruby Red’ were explained. As I said in my previous review, Gwen could see and talk to ghosts. She is also linked to the raven, as all time travellers are linked to an animal. Ravens themselves are birds that bridge the gap between life and death (duh, I should have guessed because of Vampire Academy!) so that explains why she has these supernatural powers! Everything became relevant, at least, which now improves my thoughts on ‘Ruby Red’.

I don’t think I understood why this book was called ‘Sapphire Blue’. Lucy, the lost, rogue time traveller, is the sapphire, but she wasn’t a main staple of the plot. Gwen and Gideon were the carbohydrates of the book, whereas Lucy and her partner Paul were more….the dairy. Not as present. Not as necessary. Did Gwen even wear a blue dress? I was expecting a little nod to the first book, where Gwen spots her older self kissing someone at a Rococo ball, but that didn’t happen.

Similar to its predecessor, this book ended at a point where you were desperate to know more. A revelation had been made about Gideon’s and Gwen’s relationship, which kind of explained the instant romance, so I’m looking forward to how their story unfolds in the third and final book.

I’m hoping for a big showdown between the time travels and the maybe-evil Count. Fingers crossed.

Overall, I’d give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars, because I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first book. The plot didn’t have as much excitement and some of Gwen’s personality traits grated on my nerves. I have high hopes for finale of this series – it may make the favourites shelf!

Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

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Ruby Rruby reded by Kerstin Gier
Genre: Fantasy, Time Travel, Historical, Contemporary
Published by: Square Fish
Pages: 322
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★★
Series: Sapphire Blue (#2)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I didn’t go into this book with high expectations because Bee didn’t immensely enjoy this book. However, due to my love of ‘Under the Never Sky’, I realise we have quite different opinions!

‘Ruby Red’ caught me completely by surprise. I didn’t know what to expect, with the time travel element and all the other lore that went into this novel, like the gemstones, the birds and the musical notes. I thought it would be all too bitty. However, I was completely wrong. I fell in love!

This book does not stop. There is always something going on, whether for a chapter or a paragraph, this book was full of content – hence why I couldn’t put it down and read it in one day. Even though the chapters are long, which normally puts me off a book, I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what would happen next.

The characters are loveable. I really liked the fact that Gwen, the main character, had told Lesley, her best friend, about being a time traveller. It completely cut out the cliched ‘you’ve been lying to me, betrayal of trust’ storyline that I’ve read all too many times. Lesley was quirky and realistic – wouldn’t you Google search everything your friend dug up about the eighteenth century?

There were so many little things that I can’t wait to be elaborated on in the next two books. Like the possible rivalry between Charlotte, who was supposed to be the next time traveller, and Gwen, who turned out to be the real time traveller. Or the magic element. Or Gwen being able to see ghosts! Like I said, this book is choc-a-block with cool things.

Bee did say that there was some romance that came flying out of nowhere. I do have to agree that the romantic feelings between Gwen and Gideon, her male counterpart, were slightly forced, however romance really didn’t contribute much to the plot of this book. It was purely action and adventure…you know through time and space.

I thought it was especially nice to have the book set in England, despite being originally written in German. I love it when I can recognise locations in novels! The translation aspect of the book was almost flawless, with only a few irregular word phrasings, on the other hand, if it didn’t tell you on the end pages that this book was translated, I never would have known.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, because I loved it, but 5 out of 5 stars seems like a stretch. This book isn’t ‘Mark of Athena’, after all. However, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes historical fiction, Cassandra Clare style, and those that want a quick, fun read!

Shakespeare and YA

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Last month, as it is now November (arghh! Nanowrimo!) we decided to dedicate our reading time to the many plays of Shakespeare. This was mostly because we’d have to study a lot of Shakespeare at University, and it would be great to at least know what we were reading before hand, however, own decision to read Good Old Will’s masterpieces also stems from our love of….’Ten Things I Hate About You’.

10 Things‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ is a 1999 cinematic treasure, starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. Not only is it brilliant film on its own – it is also an adaptation of ‘Taming of The Shrew’ by Shakespeare. The plot consisted of a guy trying to woo a girl so that other guys can date her younger  sister, who can’t date until her older sister does. I think Shakespeare might have invented the phrase ‘cruel to be kind’, which is a very prominent theme throughout this tale. If you haven’t read the play – read it. If you haven’t seen the movie – watch it, because there’s nothing better than Shakespeare in a modern setting.

This was attempted by the 1996 adaptation of ‘Romeo + Juliet’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. However, unlike ‘Ten Things..’ this movie still uses the iambic pentameter of the original play. Romeo and Juliet is not my favourite of Shakespeare’s plays. In fact, it’s probably my least favourite, because it’s a very early example of instant-romance and there’s nothing worse than that. Much Ado

However, if we’re discussing 1990s Shakespeare movies, let’s not leave out the beautiful 1993 version of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, my favourite Shakespeare play. Yes, Keanu Reeves is about 18 years old in this movie (and looks hella fine) but otherwise, it just consists of Hogwarts teachers, mucking about in an Italian villa. Excellent.

We also read the lesser known ‘As You Like It’, as introduced to us in ‘Just One Day’ by Gayle Forman. It was alright. Yeah. But, after watching about ten minutes of the 2006 movie ‘She’s the Man’, based on ‘Twelfth Night’, and then reading the play, I was getting bored of the old ‘I’ll-dress-up-as-a-man’ plot line. (Classic Wills.) And, apparently, Olivia from my beloved ‘Lemonade Mouth’ was named after Olivia from Twelfth Night, so I suddenly understand all the references! 

Finally, let’s end with ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. My knowledge of this play, prior to reading it, was given to me by the blessed Sprouse twins in ‘The Suite Life of Zack and Cody’ (probably the best show to come out of Disney.) After reading the play, I was pleasantly surprised by how accurate the episode was in depicting the plot, with addition of a 13 year old Selena Gomez.

All in all, Shakespeare had managed to trickle into our books, our films and our everyday lives. We’ve both loved getting to read some of his most well known plays and hope to continue exploiting our school library’s endless supply of his work. My last word on the topic is: if you think you don’t like Shakespeare, just because you read it at school, read it for pleasure and then make your judgement, because I know I will be falling back on ‘Much Ado..’ when I’m feeling sad to cheer me up again.

 

 

Review: A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani

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A World WithoA-World-without-Princesut Princes by Soman Chainani
Genre: Fairy-tale Retelling, Middle-Grade
Published by: Harper Collins
Pages: 443
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I absolutely adore fairy tales – especially retellings, hence why I’m  devoting six months of my life to studying them for my EPQ. So, when I discovered ‘The School for Good and Evil’, there was no way I was going to leave the store without it (and the covers are the most beautiful thing, like, forever after.)

I devoured the first book extremely quickly and was hungry for more, more, more of Agatha and Sophie’s tale, so I couldn’t be more delighted with the sequel ‘A World Without Princes’ when I got the chance to read it.

‘A World Without Princes’ is about how the School for Good and Evil changed once Sophie and Agatha escaped the Endless Woods and got their assumed ‘happy ending’, with Agatha choosing friendship over the love of Prince Tedros. The two girls proved that happy endings could be achieved without princes (not like you didn’t get that from the title or anything) so it seems the fairy tale world changed the past, present and future to reflect this new feminist movement.

However, Agatha understands better than anyone that a world without princes isn’t that great, and not just for the selfish reason that she wants true love’s kiss (it’s the most powerful magic of all, you know.) I like to think of this book as a social commentary on the disadvantages of ‘man-hating’ feminism and how actions can be misinterpreted. This book definitely took the patriarchal rivalry thing to a whole new level: to the death!

Agatha and Sophie face many moral problems throughout this book. Is Sophie Evil? Is Sophie Good? Does Sophie still love Tedros? Mostly, it’s Agatha worrying about Sophie’s intentions, because the first book in the series proved that we shouldn’t always trust the sugary-pink princess. Yet, I really loved how tormented Agatha was over Sophie’s true being (gosh, that sounded Evil – I’m Good, I swear…OK now I sound like Sophie.)

Although Sophie may be walking a fine line between Good and Evil, she always tries to be Good in her heart. This is what makes her my favourite of the pairing, just because you never know which of her natures is going to pull her next action.

One thing I can say about this novel is the FRICKIN’ PLOT TWISTS, MAN! I swear for the last fifty pages, I had no idea how Agatha and Sophie’s story was going to end. I was, and I kid you not, literally on the edge of my seat (furnished with a Sleeping Beauty pillow) with anticipation. Was Agatha going to choose Tedros or Sophie? Was Sophie going to becoming an evil hag-witch-monster?  What was going to happen to the School Master, or the genuinely evil Dean? WOULD THERE EVER BE A HAPPILY EVER AFTER?!

Well, the answer to that is no. Soman Chainani ended the novel with THE EN. THE EN!! If anything, this makes me incredibly happy, because it means Agatha and Sophie’s story isn’t over. I mean, surely, their story can’t end where it did! Agatha and Sophie were the epitome of friendship, ignoring their differences, the perfect pair. I CANNOT deal with this being ruined by some blond King Arthur wannabe. Ugh.

Summer 2015 needs to get here sooner. I NEED the next book as much as Agatha and Sophie need the Storian to finish writing THE END to their story. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, because I did find some parts repetitive which irritated me slightly, but generally this was the perfect sequel to a brilliant fairy tale with a twist.

Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

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The Darkest MindsThe Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Genre: Supernatural, Apocalyptic
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 488
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

So, we had two copies of this book, and this normally means that we love the book so much, we just can’t share it. Let me tell you now that the fate of the second book is not looking good and does not at all parallel that of the second copy of ‘Fangirl’ by Rainbow Rowell and ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ by Stephanie Perkins.

We’ve had the first book on the shelves for a while. There was a lot of hype surrounding this book a while ago, but we let it die down before we decided to read it. Then, the third and final book in the series, Into the Afterlight, came out a few days ago, and suddenly everyone’s ravenously reading this series like a slice of fresh cake.

I was not impressed.

The premise sounded good. The title was intriguing. I thought it was going to be so much more than it was, when really all the book amounted to was a waste of 488 pages. The journey the main character goes through is circular and ridiculous, leading me to question why I invested the time into reading something I didn’t enjoy.

Ruby, as a main character, held all of the tropes of a protagonist I do not like. Number One being that she was adamant she was a ‘monster’ because of her powers. Number Two being that she was victim of an instant romance that hit you in the face like a bus (and was just as unwelcome.) She had a case of I-only-develop-a-personality-200-pages-in syndrome that did nothing but demotivate me from finishing this book.

How did I do it, you ask? I don’t know.

I had a number of problems with this book, like the irrational pacing and the insta-love but nothing annoyed me more than the dimensions of the Black Betty van. From the description (which is lengthly to say the least) this van is at least the size of a bungalow. Somehow the people in the front seat couldn’t see Ruby hidden in the back seat, because the back seat acted as a living-room-bedroom that was six metres long.

I didn’t understand what was happening a lot of the time because the important and fast paced scenes were so short and underdeveloped. I didn’t understand the use of the ‘fade-to-black’ technique that left the reader guessing whether Ruby was sexually harassed by this jerky expletive guy. I certainly didn’t understand why Zu, one of the main characters, had to leave, or the fate of Chubs, another of the main four.

And, talking of the jerky expletive guy, I completely saw his plot twist a mile off. DO NOT TRUST anyone but yourself is the advice I would give to any dystopian novel participant.

As I can’t think of anything I particularly liked about this book, I’m going to leave the review there, because my hate fire is too stoked to continue. HOWEVER, part of me wants to know how this series could possibly progress, so if I subject myself to that, I’ll be sure to let you know of my opinion. Overall, I give this book 1.5 stars, redeemed by the shopping sequence and the traumatising back story that was the only event in the book that made me feel any emotion but irritation.

Review: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

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Why We why we broke upBroke Up by Daniel Handler
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Little Brown Books
Pages: 354
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon
Wait, there’s going to be a movie?! How very ‘The Spectacular Now’.

There were a lot of things about this book that really jumped out at me. I love the title, how to the point it is. You definitely know what you’re getting with this one. I love the addition of pictures. That extra element just adds originality to the story but also enhances it so much. It definitely wouldn’t be the same without the beautiful pictures.

The novel follows Min, short of Minerva, Roman goddess of knowledge, as she explains the stories behind all the items she put in a box to deliver to her ex-boyfriend, Ed. Min is “different”, but only to someone who’s life is filled with basketball games and getting drunk at house parties. Ed is “different”, but only to someone who loves old movies and sitting in coffee shops. The point is, Min and Ed were two very different people and therefore not suited to each other in the eyes of their unsupportive best friends.

But if someone tells you you’re not right for someone, you’re going to do all you can to prove you are, right? Somehow, Ed changes when he’s with Min and I really liked how he was willing to change and try new things but I hoped that the developments he made with Min, such as not using ‘gay’ to describe things (urgh, those people actually exist) would translate into his basketball life. They didn’t. Away from Min, he was still the same guy with a string of angry ex-girlfriends who were more than willing to be his shoulder to cry on.

Min’s relationship with Ed, very realistically, alienated her from her friends, which is never the right thing. She didn’t grow as Ed did, but she definitely matured. I loved her realisation at the end of the relationship that there was nothing ‘different’ about her, and that was just a label given to her by ignorant teenagers that were to involved in their own lives to be bothered about anyone that didn’t resemble their personality. (I like to think of this book as a book about doomed romance but also a social commentary.)

I particularly enjoyed the beginning of the book, when Ed was innocent and so was Min. The way their relationship blossomed was lovely, if a little bit fast paced but I guess that’s the cliche of young love. However, once you get to know Ed, you realise he is the ‘jerk bastard prick’ that Min describes him as.

I thought that the actual break up was slightly anticlimactic. I wanted their to be a huge fight, with not just Min arguing at Ed. She, at the very least, needed to punch the guy for what he did. Two punches, even. Heck, she needed to invite her friends to help her beat him up.

Overall, I’d give this book four stars. The pictures and short chapters helped to push me through the novel in a very addicted fashion, as well as helping me to guess what was going to happen next. Daniel Handler’s irregular writing leant itself well to the style of this book: a long and slightly rambling explanation of a teenage break up from the girl’s perspective. I’d be really interested to read this book also from Ed’s perspective, with different items, but only to a certain extent because he was a dick.

I think this book definitely did its job, because if that was what a break up felt like, I never want to love.

Review: Rogue Wave by Jennifer Donnelly

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Rogue WavROGUE-WAVEe by Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: Supernatural, Adventure, Romance, Middle-Grade
Published by: Disney Press
Pages: 320
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★
Series: Deep Blue (#1)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Most importantly, what a beautiful cover.

‘Rogue Wave’ had a lot to prove as the sequel to ‘Deep Blue’, a book that became less impressive as it continued on. ‘Deep Blue’ ended at a very climatic battle, with the six mermaid friends swimming into a mirror in order to escape from the hands of the enemy. I thought we would be instantly thrown back into the action at the beginning of this novel, but was severely disappointed.

The book began with the six mermaids having parted ways (when previously they’d been told they were strongest when together) and only three out of the six mermaids had a prominent role in this story; Sera, Neela and Ling. Becca, Ava and Astrid were hardly mentioned, and since we didn’t really get to know them at all in the first book, I was frustrated that they were still minor characters. Heck, calling them minor characters is an overstatement: they were basically non-existent.

I was especially surprised that the mermaids had split up to go on their quest, because, yes it would be quicker if they went their separate ways, but the blurb promised me an adventure with all six mermaids. There was no way I wasn’t going to be put out at their absence if I was expecting them all to be equally present.

Sera, Neela and Ling (and I assume the other three) are trying to find talismans that link to their Antlantian ancestors in order to defeat the villain of the novels and reclaim their realms. The third person narrator lent itself well to this story, as we were able to focus on both Sera and Neela as they were split up. Overall, I preferred Sera’s part of the story. Although a lot of what happened to her was very convenient (Oh no, I’m going to be attacked by death riders, oh look, there’s a secret safe house! Oh no, this ghost woman is going to kill me, oh look, this diamond is helping my life force! Oh no, my true love is a horrible person, oh look, he loved me all along!) there was a lot more adventure compared to Neela, who spent most of her sections just running away from different threats – and when she did do something adventurous, like defeat a sea dragon, it was only dwelled on for about a page of the novel. Brilliant.

This book was just as pun-y as the last and especially liked the use of transparensea spells (how many transparensea pearls are there? Are they hard to find? If so, the stock must be seriously low) to get out of tricky situations. I definitely think that this book was better than the first as there was a lot more going on, however, it didn’t feel as bitty as the last book. Everything had some sort of purpose, which would later be explained and the ending wasn’t ridiculous.

If this is a trilogy, I think the next book as been well set up, and I look forward to finding out how Becca, Ava and Astrid did on their half of the quest. (A lot of days seemed to pass in this book and I found the time scale quite hard to follow between Sera and Neela, so hopefully that will also be resolved)

My expectations for this series is for it to only get better, as there is a battle coming up, and with the combined powers of the six mermaids, it’s such to be exciting. Overall, I’d give this book three stars, because the book didn’t deliver what was promised on the blurb and the convenience of the story drew away from the action and suspense. Definitely recommended to girls age 10-12!

Review: Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the R.M.S Titanic by Iain Reading

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Kitty Hawk andKitty Hawk the Tragedy of the R.M.S Titanic by Iain Reading
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Published by: Amazon
Pages: 320
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Ever since I watched the 2007 Emma Roberts movie ‘Nancy Drew’ last month, I’ve been desperate to read a detective story. Kitty Hawk definitely fit the bill! I loved the idea that Kitty was a girl flying solo around the world, an Amelia Earhart heroine. It was all so original and well thought out – I couldn’t believe how it all came together.

I have to admit that when I read this book, the suspense of the mystery was just added to by having my Kindle read the story aloud. It was great to get to listen to the adventure as well as read it.

So, the story starts off with Kitty endorsing free sushi in a sumo-wrestler’s costume, and if that doesn’t completely drawn you in I don’t know what does! She is approached by a cute guy, Andrew, that acts as her love interest, to solve a mystery, as she’s built up quite a reputation for herself. (This is the fourth book in the series and I did not read books one, two, or three. However, this did not hinder my enjoyment of the novel at all, or ruin the plots of the previous books!) The mystery is all to do with the honour of a family, who’s reputation as been sullied because of the events of the Titanic disaster.

If there was one bad thing about this book, it was that it took a while for the minor characters to explain different parts of the backstory to Kitty. I’d say at least 25% of the total book is spent learning about different key events. (If ever I have to write an essay on The Titanic, Egyptian Hieroglyphs or Jack the Ripper, this book had it covered.) This did inhibit the flow of the novel, causing me to be able to split it into multiple sections instead of a continuous storyline. On the other hand, I loved the change of locations between London and Dublin.

My favourite scene was probably the jet-ski chase, which made the front cover of the novel. It was fast paced and full of tension, although the action was sparse because I think this book was more about thinking than doing. I didn’t really understand how old Kitty Hawk was meant to be throughout this series, as Andrew is described as a man, yet he becomes her sort-of-boyfriend. I’m guessing she’s about eighteen, because she can jet around the world by herself with no-one questioning her ID. When reading this book, I kept thinking of the Professor Layton games, because pictures, maps and diagrams are given in this book so the reader can try and puzzle out the mystery as Kitty does. That’s an aspect that really sets this book apart from the rest, along with the research material that is found at the back of the book which explains the inspiration for the events that transpire in the book and real Google searches!

Overall, I’d give Kitty Hawk four stars, because I did enjoy it immensely, however, the pacing was slow in many places which led me to put the book down and put off picking it back up again. I’d recommend this book to anyone that loves Nancy Drew, but wishes Nancy was targeted at a young adult audience!

Review: A Little Something Different by Sally Hall

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A LittlA Little Something Differente Something Different by Sally Hall
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Swoon Reads
Pages: 273
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

What’s not to love about this book? I completely adored it and am going to spend the next four hundred words fawning over it.

The premise of the novel is that it’s a love story, between Lea and Gabe, told from basically everyone’s perspective expect Lea and Gabe’s. This includes a squirrel and a bench. A BENCH. An inanimate object has a part to play in Gabe and Lea’s love story. Genius.

Although there are fourteen different perspectives, all of them completely work and all of them I loved, which is odd because I normally have a favourite when it comes to multiple points of view. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Victor, a student in Lea and Gabe’s creative writing class that wishes the two of them would get together already so he wouldn’t have to deal with the sappy looks they give each other. Lea and Gabe are both his NO-TP and his OTP, I think.

I think it’s such a beautiful idea that people in all different kinds of situations can be invested in two people and want them to get together. It makes me think if teachers really do ‘ship’ their students together, or whether waitresses do create their own couples from their customers.

Of course, this really was the worst book if you get annoyed when characters can’t make the moves on each other. I did find myself, at points, being like ‘Gabe, just say you like her!’, ‘Lea, just kiss him!’. But this wasn’t a game of Sims. I couldn’t control their actions and for that I am glad, because otherwise the book would have been very short and Lea and Gabe would have got married.

They really were perfect for each other. I have nothing bad to say about them because it was literally the most ‘aw’dorable book I’ve ever read. Ingenious, humorous, real. Brilliant, beautiful and original. Higher praise could not be given.

My dream is to buy hundreds of copies of this book and then throw them into the streets for people to read and feel happy as a result. Right now, I smiling as I write this review, just thinking about what happened in the book and how darn cute it all was.

My only problem with it, and this isn’t really a problem, is that it could have been looooonger. I would have definitely appreciated another fifty pages discussing Gabe and Lea’s relationship since they got together, but I guess that’s what fan fiction is for.

Overall, I’d give this book 5 out of 5 stars, because it just impressed me so darn much. I’d recommend it to fans of Rainbow Roweel and Morgan Matson – this is exactly the time of book that would fit in between ‘Fangirl’ and ‘Amy and Roger’s Epic Retour’.

Review: Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle

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Famous in Love famous-in-loveby Rebecca Serle
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Macmillian Children’s Books
Pages: 309
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I requested this book on  NetGalley because I thought it would be like ‘Hidden Gem’ by India Lee, as it was about a girl that became a movie star, (except Gemma became a popstar.) I kind of YA ‘Hannah Montana’.

This book definitely delivered on the promised ‘love’ of the title. The main character, Paige, gets to co-star with two guys, Rainer and Jordan, both of whom she falls in love with (although at different times.) We all know how hard it was for Bella to pick between two equally hot guys (and my guess is that Jordan is Edward in this scenario – the forbidden love) so as you can imagine, it was equally hard for Paige.

Can anyone imagine having two guys after them? The only time I’ve had two guys even talking to me was when I represented North Korea at a Model UN conference, and that was just to give me war threats. Paige doesn’t know how well she has it.

I did enjoy the book, in a cheesy ‘this is sweet’ kind of way, when it was easy to guess the outcome and the inevitable turmoil the protagonist would feel. However, this book really lacked in actual plot line. Apart from the romance, not much else went on, and if something fun was introduced in the plot (like a good ol’ book signing) it was skipped over in favour of a long car journey to the beach.

I felt that some of the things that happened to Paige, for example about half way through the book she nearly gets killed by a huge wave whilst swimming in the ocean, seemed out of place. Sure, it caught my attention, but I wasn’t expecting to have to contemplate death in the middle of a sappy romance book.

Neither of the love interests really appealed to me as much as they did for Paige. Secretly, I think they had very similar personalities, expect one was distinctly more moody than the other. Keeping with the Twilight parallels, we can all guess that the moody one was Jordan.

I was just glad neither boy was called Jake. It’s such a classic hot-guy name.

‘Famous in Love’ really didn’t take me long to finish and left me with a unsatisfying ending. Paige ended up with the guy I didn’t want her to end up with. The romance was for his sake, not hers and that seemed completely wrong. I don’t know if this book is going to be turned into a series or not but if so, I think I’d be very interested to see how the love triangle (ugh) unfolds.

Overall, I’d give ‘Famous in Love’ 3.5 stars as it didn’t do anything to wow me, but I still enjoyed the story enough to plough through it in under a week. Now, back to Shakespeare plays for me.