Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My Review:
This was a whole lot different from Anna and the French Kiss, and almost a role reversal to that story. Lola is a gifted designer with a rock star wannabe boyfriend, two dads, no significant mother figure in her life and a fantastic best friend. Life is complicated enough with her boyfriend being so much older than her (her fathers don't approve wholeheartedly), but she expresses herself through her clothes and the costumes she wears, and she never wears the same outfit twice!

Everything's hunky-dory and not so different from any other teenagers life. But when the Bell twins move back next door, Lolas life begins to unravel, like the seams of her creations and everything changes.

What I loved about this book is my wrong preconceptions. When I first started it I thought Lola dressed the way she did becaue her mother was a non-existent entity in her life and she was brought up by two loving fathers. Possibly a reaching hand to empower the woman inside her and show off her feminine side. But a little way into the story we find out that Lola has always been this way. Wanting to create beautiful designs and wear them with pride. It's part of who she is - Lady Gaga style.

Another preconception was that the Bell twins were almost perfect. As we examine the story we realise that Calliope as insecure as Lola despite her perfect skin and perfect body. Her achievements as a figure skater have diminished Cricket's significance in the family, he goes where she goes, and because of this I feel even more sorry for him as he really is a genuine nice guy.

Max started off as a great character, going through all the right motions of being a great older boyfriend while staying sensitive enough that family-life is important to Lola and abiding by her father' rules. But gradually his shine wears off and we see his rebellious side peeking through that can only drag Lola down. When he started taking time away from her and revealed his nasty side to her friends he showed his true face.

Lola's fathers, Nathan and Andy, were what held this book together. Being brought up by two fathers is nothing new these days and I loved that Lola was a really happy person from a loving home. This isn't something you see very often in YA books and made a nice break. Norah also proved to be exactly what we envisaged from the beginning. But Lola gave her hope, and for people who are in unfortunate circumstances, she really gave us a glimpse of her maturity.

Overall, there are so many little stories going on within this book. All of the characters have their weaknesses and troubles and I loved how everything, through the heartache and the pain, finally came together at the end. Stephanie Perkins is now one of my favourite authors and I can't wait to read more from her.

You can reach Stephanie Perkins here:

Web

Blog

Twitter

 Facebook: Profile

Goodreads

Dusty Reads #4 - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My Dusty Read is the very popular Anna and the French Kiss.
My paperback had so much dust on it before I started reading.
Why did I wait so long?

 

~~~~~

x

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads where we spotlight a book sitting in our TBR pile.
My twist is that I actually, finally, read them!

Synopsis:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Final Review: 5 out of 5

If you've read my previous contemporary reviews you'll know I'm not fond of the contemporaries. Thats just me. The reasons this has been sitting on my shelf for so long is that a) yes, it's contemporary and b) I've read a lot of school based books and I needed a break and c) I love the Paranormal genre and would gladly put those first. Sadly for me I missed out on reading a great book since I received it in March 2011!

So, you've read the synopsis and possibly even read the book. The first thing to say is that the first preson present tense really works well with this style of book. It's a style I'm getting more and more used to but learning to enjoy all the more.

So, Anna moves to a new school in Paris because of her horrid father and his insistance that she'll gain worldly wisdom from attending a school in a foreign country. Why Paris is chosen as that school is never really discussed. Probably because its a School of America. At the end of the day this isn't relevant at all as all of the characters are American origin.

Anna as a character was extremely likeable, and her new friends were easy to relate to. She fell into a group of friends quickly and stayed being herself, and they immediately included her.

Etienne St Clair is also a likeable character but certainly insecure when it comes to girls. His reluctance to end his previous relationship but be so friendly towards Anna gave me concern. Mainly because if it was me I would have insisted that he make a choice. Not straight away but especially after the Christmas holidays. Sadly Anna and Etienne face that age old problem that we all suffer from. The inability to really talk about their feelings. Yes, they play and joke around one another, they enjoy each other's company when they're in Paris and remain close friends. But the barrier is always there and Anna waited almost a whole school year before exploding at him after a drunken night out. Kudos to her for finally venting her feelings but I was frustrated it took so long! Although I did also cheer a little!

Of course there's no end of complications that occur throughout. They start building up from the beginning when Anna realises her first friend Meredith has unspoken feelings towards Etienne. And Dave comes into the story early on as a would be rival. Josh and Rashmi have problems with their relationship that sink further and Rashmi's upset because of Etienne's girlfriend.

But what I loved most besides the gradual growth of tension was Anna's acceptance that she isn't a perfect person, or a perfect friend. From the beginning we see her flaws and watch them grow but she makes amends when she realises them. Anna is couragous and towards the end we see her determination to help those around her, especially Etienne.

Overall, you've probably guessed it - I loved this book. So much that I'm going to buy Perkins other book very soon! I can't wait!

You can reach Stephanie Perkins here:

Web

Blog

Twitter

 Facebook: Profile

Goodreads

Review: Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

My Rating: 3 out of 5

Calla has always welcomed war.
But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting. There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping Ansel safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers' magic once and for all.
And then there's deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is.

My Review:

At last, the Saga draws to a conclusion, and will they all make it out alive? Hmm, maybe not.
Some of you who've read the first two will no doubt have read reviews giving most of the plot away. Key characters kick the proverbial bucket, and the adventure closes on a suitable ending. This, for me, was much better that the Shiver series which I found a little too bland. The Nightshade series offers nastier characters, lots of history and enough paranormal oddities to shake a stick at. But lets start at the beginning...

In Wolfsbane, Book 2, we learned that Shay is the Scion. The only person who can wield the Elemental Sword and defeat the bad guy, Bosque Mar. But Shay needs the help of the Searchers, the Guardians and a rogue Keeper who may or may not be playing both sides of the field.
In this book the search for the missing parts of the cross lead the characters on an adventure around the globe, fighting the defenders of the hidden pieces. There's loss all the way through, and not necessarily in a deadly way.

I liked this book but I didn't love it. So far, all the 'series' books I've read have drawn to a thrilling conclusion but this one just seemed to lack, for want of a better word, atmosphere.

Calla as a lead role continued to flit between Ren and Shay, at an alarming rate. She's consumated her new Alpha but still leads the other on. Even at the beginning when she finds Ren to bring him over to the other side I found her motives lacked honesty. Ren was promised more than he got and I didn't like Calla for deceiving him all the way through. She constantly implied that she loved Shay, he was The one, but then flipped her decision whenever Ren was in the same room. As role models go I didn't think her Alpha moniker held up to much. She didn't seem to be able to lead any of her pack very well. Mostly they made decisions without her say so and she just went with it.

Shay, who I loved in the first book, was a little disorientating. His quirky demeanour didn't shine like I expected. As a character he was flawed and only seemed to find himself when he was in wolf mode. As a human I didn't think he held the charisma for being the chosen one, the Scion, he just came across as a very arrogant boy.

I had a lot more respect for Ren. His own flaws were redeemed countless times and his superiority was deserved as he began to be accepted into the world of the Searchers. He held more power and deserved to be Alpha once again but Calla dealt with him wrongly time and time again.

Again, the Searchers were all over this book and again they would have come across as nicer people if the characters had a little more flare rather than the bickering that we saw in Wolfsbane. Yes, they all live together and take each day as it comes and as warriors they rock, but as people I just wouldn't want to be in the same room as them for very long.

It was nice to have the pack back together, even if it was a little disjointed. Each pack member had their own role. I would have liked more of their wolf sides to come into the story more than they did.

And in the end, I couldn't get to grips with the final battle scenes. It wasn't an epic ending by any means. If I wrote down what I thought would happen before the ending, it would have appeared exactly as I'd written. There weren't that many twists and turns as promised. It all just fell away towards the end to tie up all the loose ends and let the story filter out. The epilogue was horrible. Once again, several pages of random chit-chat that could have been so much more.

Final conclusions: As a trilogy I have to say that my favourite book was Nightshade. It had spark and fire that the next two seemed to lack. The characters were all gutsy and had attitude. All was a little lost when the human side of the Paranormal world took over. I'm glad I read the trilogy to the end and didn't give up. As wolf books go it is a much better series than I'd hoped.
But in the end I can't help feeling that the it was too safe and Calla got her perfect ending without too much of a battle.
If you like love triangles and wolf-shifter stories then you'll love this series.

CBx

Book1, Nightshade Review

Book2, Wolfsbane Review

You can reach Andrea Cremer here:
Web

Email

Blog

Twitter

 Facebook: Profile

Goodreads

Here's the book trailer! Enjoy!

Review: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

3 out of 5

This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended. Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered.

But then the Searchers make her an offer,one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack and the man she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

My Review:

I must admit, at the end of Nightshade I really didn't like Ren. I knew Calla wanted to be with Shay so it all seemed like alls fair in love and war. I'm not sure whether I liked Wolfsbane as much. For one thing there was an awful lot of info-dump. Every other page felt like someone was churning out some more history of this and that and why and when. I know most of this will be because Bloodrose is the last in the series so I stuck with it nonetheless!

At the end of Nightshade Calla made the choice to rescue Shay leaving Ren to create a diversion, giving them time to escape. However since then things have changed. The Searchers found Calla and Shay and have now promised to rescue the rest of the pack.

In Wolfsbane both these lead characters annoyed me immensely. Shay, who I wanted to like, came over as caveman Alpha whenever Calla was concerned. Whenever a discussion was being had, Shay would jump in unnecessarily to protect her. Lets remember that Calla is a seasoned wolf, a warrior and an Alpha herself. I understand that Shay is new to the idea of a wolf pack, he's known as a lone wolf, but I just wanted him to cool it a little and stop trying to defend her the whole time.

So to Calla. First she likes Shay, then she's wants Ren, then she's back to Shay, then she's thinking about Ren...the whole mental picture got exhausting. Calla is an extremely brilliant character, I loved her in Nightshade, I understand that love triangles are all the rage, and that she's a wolf underneath her own skin, but did the author have to give the impression that she was constantly on heat! For both boys! Ren features very little in this book, something I was glad for, but this isn't going to bode well for the next installment, Bloodrose.

The Searchers were an interesting concept and gave something different to the story.. They're the good guys who know their weapons and history, more than the Guardians do. I liked that they wanted to help the Guardians and was cheering as they retrieved them from the holding cells. Monroe was a true hero and a great character. The other Searchers? I liked Adne but the rest blended into the pages. The constant bickering and chit-chat got boring and annoying too. I skipped a few pages just to get to the action.

Overall, I still liked the story and must admit that this is one of the best wolf series I've read in a while. I hope Bloodrose meets my expectations now that I know the full history. All in all, its the middle book and met my middle book standards of great but not as good as the first.

Book1, Nightshade Review

You can reach Andrea Cremer here:
Web

Email

Blog

Twitter

 Facebook: Profile

Goodreads

Here's Andrea Cremer talking about Wolfsbane! Enjoy!

Dusty Reads #3 - Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads where we spotlight a book sitting in our TBR pile.

~

This week:

This has been in my Dusty Reads pile forever! Mainly because of the subject of wolves. I went through a phase of reading so many werewolf books I just didn't want to pick another one up!

But I finally read it and finished it today, and I'm so pleased I did. I loved the simplified unit of wolf packs in this story. It isn't all about packs reading each others minds or snarling and growling between pack members. There is a sense of unity as the two main packs merge to become the new unique pack. The Banes and the Nightshades become the Haldis pack.

I felt a little bit sorry for Ren at times, other times I think he deserved it. Calla was a great female lead although again at times I just wanted to scream at her about the way Ren treated her. He was all over the women at the first few chapters in this book, and Calla let it go. But then he got the hump when Calla paid any attention to Shay. 

Shay was an intriging character who showed a lot of courage right up until the end. I'm still amazed that in about a ten minute timeframe he turned into a wolf for the first time and was completely unphased by it. Even changed back and forth into human fom with no trouble at all. I thought the process was supposed to hurt considering bones get longer and shorter etc.

All in all the story is amazing and well thought out. I can't wait to read Wolfsbane and Bloodrose now! 

~

You can reach Andrea Cremer here:

Web

Email

Blog

Twitter

 Facebook: Profile

Goodreads

Here's the Book Trailer! Enjoy!

Review: Illuminated by Erica Orloff

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis:
Some loves are not made to last . . . Like Romeo and Juliet, Heloise and Abelard were doomed from the start, and their romance was destined to pass into history. Yet when sixteen-year-old Callie Martin discovers a diary hidden within an antique book, their story—and hers—takes on another life. For the diary leads Callie to the brilliant and handsome August, who is just as mysterious as the secret the diary hides. Their attraction is undeniable. As the two hunt down the truth behind the diary—and that of Heloise and Abelard’s ancient romance—their romance becomes all-consuming. But Callie knows it can’t last . . . love never does. Will their love that burns as bright as a shooting star flame out, or will these star-crossed lovers be able to defy history?

Review:
Callie meets August almost immediately in the story. And as soon as they meet its love at first sight (please, really?). The author writes the words that I see too often now..... "[And I stared/looked into/ bumped into/came])face-to-face with the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen in my life." So much so that August is slightly forward in his dialogue which didn't quite sit well with me. He almost professes his love straight away and this put me on edge. Sure, he's sweet, kind and loves his garden (which Callie proclaims later in the story as her favourite place in the world). But as she really has known August about as long as this review so far, I didn't feel any fluttering towards their love story.

This book has a great story behind it. The finding of The Book of Hours, and subsequent story telling of Heloise and Abelard. Unfortunately I'd already read The Tenth Chamber by Glenn Cooper earlier in the year and though that book isn't great either it does tell the story of the Starcrossed lovers in a better way. Personally while I love myths and legends the story of H & A doesn't really strike me as one of the great factual love stories (but that's just me) so it kind of took the shine off the thing.

Sure, there's romance happening within the pages of the Book of Hours and there's romance between our two main characters, and a small amount between the friends they make, but none of it was heart-pumping, toe curling, to die for stuff. I can only put it down to the authors story writing which was too unemotional while trying to be emotion.

Its a sweet book but there is little mystery, intrigue or suspense and absolutely no danger (except for a slight break-in of August's home). Callie and August even trek across the pond to Paris, but again I didn't feel the magic. The threats that could have made the story interesting faded away in the plot holes i.e. Tome Raider. So I was left a little empty after the last page.

This is one to fill time if you need to but no epic in any way.

You can reach Erica Orloff here:

Web

Blog

 Facebook

Goodreads 

Email

View all my reviews