Book Review: Outshine

Title: Outshine
Author: Nola Decker
Publisher: 7 Sparks Press
Release Date: 11/04/2014 
Pages: 327
Service: Netgalley 
Format: Ebook 
Download: Kindle
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @Nola_Decker

'When agoraphobic Gabe and his outgoing nemesis Jessa go on an adventure to locate Gabe's missing brother, the two teens discover they are both hiding unnatural abilities: Gabe is a living lie detector and Jessa is a kick-ass powerhouse pretending to be a delicate diva. 

Gabe's sole reason for Watts, his overbearing younger brother, is to clear his own name: he's been framed for Watts' alleged murder. Jessa is after Watt because she is, well, after him. 

They find with with Deacon, the twisted eugenicist responsible for their unusual powers. He encourages them to stay and join him "Family" where they'll be able to live openly as the genetically-modified freaks they are. When Jessa and Gabe discover the truth about Deacon's past - and what he wants for the future - they band together to stop him. Watts. however, might have other plans...'

I'll be honest, Outshine did take me a very long time to finish off and there were a few reasons for it. The plot itself was extremely interesting. After reading the blurb on Netgalley I was really looking forward to reading it. So, once they said I could have a copy and it was sent to my tablet, I started it straight away. Was I disappointed in this book? A little. 

Jessa was a character that I thought was going to bug me throughout the book and she did. I really didn't like her, it was part of her character because as I read on I learnt more about her ad it made sense why she was acting the way that she did but I still couldn't find it in me to look her. She wanted everything. The best of both worlds. And even after going through what she did in the book, I felt like she didn't really grow. Not as much as I thought she would. Gabe was someone that I just constantly felt bad for. Luck never seems to be on his side and he always seems to be second best. I loved the way that Decker played his character out and the way that he coped with being a 'human lie detector'.

There were parts of the book that really did want me to carry on reading. These little shots where something exciting would happen, or it would be left on a cliffhanger and I wanted to know what was going on. But these were few and far between. For me, I felt as though the plot just dragged a little to much for my liking. Normally I quite like it when I in the middle of a book and I think things are coming to an end until I realise I've still got a huge chunk left. It makes me wonder what else could be going on. This time around, I didn't really enjoy that. There were quite a few times when I thought that the book would have come to an end until I realised that there were still lose ends to tie up and that I was only about 60% of the way in. There was just no real love for me to want to pick up this book.. The idea of the plot was great but when written, it wasn't something that I really enjoyed and the writing style really wasn't for me. 

Jessa and Gabe, from the beginning, were a pair that I really hoped wouldn't end up together. I really hoped that they wouln't fall for each other for the fact that they hated each other from the beginning. I was expecting it though, and trying to prepare my self for it For me, the two of them falling for each other just came out of nowhere and I don't really understand how it happened. That was one thing that really did bug me. 

There is a sequel to 'Outshine' and I don't think that I'll be picking it up. This book really wasn't for me but there were a few parts that I did really enjoy.

Rating: ★★1/2

Netgalley and 7 Sparks Press sent me this book in return for an honest review. 

Book Review: The Pledge

Title: The Pledge 
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Alison & Busby
Series: The Pledge #1
Release Date: 26/03/2012
Pages: 380 
Format: Paperback 
Buy: Book Depository 
Author Twitter: @kimberlyderting

'In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can be free is the drug-fuelled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there she that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy names Max who speaks a language she's never heard before... and her secret is almost exposed. 

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.'

This book really surprised me, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did! 

The prologue of the book immediately drew me in. There were so many questions in my head about what was going on. It did confuse me slightly but it pushed me to read on and find out what was happening. I did think the beginning part of the book could be a little more gripping though. The first few chapters did drag a little bit for me but it didn't take long before the pace started to pick up. 

Charlie is a character that I really do love; it didn't take long at all for me to become attached to her. I just felt that there was a huge insight to what her character was like and what she was feeling.  Sometimes, when a book is in first person, I find there's no balance in what the character is seeing, thinking and feeling. I think Derting had the perfect balance with Charlie. I loved the relationship that she had with her sister and how protective she was over her and the way she took care of her. It was just really sweet to read and made me love Charlie's character a lot more. 

Max was a confusing character in terms that I had no idea what was going with him or his friends. But it was an aspect of the book that I really did like. It was nice not being able to guess who he was or what was really going on. As a character, I have to admit, there wasn't a point where he really grew on me but it wasn't a huge problem.

The surprises in the book really did shock me and I didn't expect any of them. This book was so beautifully written, I cannot get over the fact of how amazing the quality of the writing was. The description was amazing and though there were so points where I thought there was too much information given in one go, it did help me understand a lot of what was going on. There were a lot of other characters that I wished that we got to read more of but I'm hoping that I'll see more of them in the rest of the series. 

The ending of the book wasn't something that really surprised me or was that overwhelming to be honest. There wasn't really much of a cliffhanger but I know that I will be picking up the next book in the series. 

Favourite Quote: 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Book Review: Shovel Ready

Title: Shovel Ready
Author: Adam Sternbergh
Publisher: Hachette
Release Date: 14/01/2014
Pages: 256
Service: Bookbridgr
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @Sternbergh

‘Spademan used to be a garbage man. That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, before New York became a burnt-out shell. Now the wealthy escape the grim reality by spending their days tapped into a virtual world; the rest of the population have to fend for itself on the streets. Now there’s nothing but garbage.

So, Spademan has become a hit man. He doesn’t ask questions, he works quickly, and he’s very hand with a box-cutter.

When he’s hired to kill the daughter of a high-profile evangelist, Spademan’s life upended. To survive, he will have to navigate two worlds – the slick fantasy world of the elite and the waste land reality of the rest of the city’s inhabitants – to finish his job, clear his conscience, and make sure he’s not the one who winds up in the ground.’

So, I ended up requesting this book on BookBridgr because it looked pretty interesting and I hadn’t read a book like this in a while. Once I got I started to read it an immediately found that I was hooked, however, this did end up becoming a DNF for me.

This was not because of the writing though. I absolutely loved the plotline, it was fast paced and such a page turner. I was hooked as soon as the book started. Sternbergh wasted no time in making sure that his reader would be captivated. The very first page left you feeling extremely curious an wanting to find out more.

From what I had read of the book, the plot was really well thought out and I loved the way it was all being played out. Spademan was a character you seemed to learn more and more about as the book went on and it was just fascinating to see the way everything in his past ended up effecting him. Even though he is a hit man, I really struggled to dislike him and just wanted to give him a hug a lot of the time because you could see why he was doing these things.

You’re constantly sitting there trying to fit pieces together and wonder what will happen next. You’re trying to understand Spademan and understand everything else that’s going on in the plot and there are some things that you don’t really realise until the part is over.

One thing I did find extremely confusing throughout the book was the way the speech was laid out. I found it hard to keep track of who was talking and when people stopped talking since there were no speech marks in use.

I honestly did love reading this book up until the point I read some slightly explicit material in there. It was extremely explicit but I didn’t feel comfortable reading it so I did end up putting the book down. That kind of stuff really isn’t for me.

I don’t really have a huge amount to say on the book since I didn’t finish it. All I can say is if you don’t mind reading that kind of material and want a bit of a mystery book then I would definitely pick it up. I don’t want to give this book a rating as it did become a DNF for me and I don’t think that would be fair.

Rating: DNF 

Thank you to Hachette publishing and Bookbridgr for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Review: Unremembered

Title: Unremembered 
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Macmilan Children's Books
Series: Unremembered #1 
Release Date: 05/03/2013
Pages: 320 
Format: Paperback 
Buy: Book Depository
Author Twitter: @jessicabrody

'A catastrophic plan crash leaves one survivor: a girl with no memory.

Who is she?

Where does she come from?

Nobody knows and no one comes forward to claim her.

Haunted by a looming threat she can't remember and plagued by abilities she doesn't understand, she struggles to recall who she is. But every clue leads to more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a boy who claims they were once in love.

Alone and on the run, who should she trust? And what if she discovers that she is safer with a past that stays unremembered?'

So, I saw this book on a giveaway on twitter and I was really looking forward to reading it. I looked it up on goodreads and it just seemed like the type of book that I was looking for and I just really liked the sound of it. 

I was disappointed with this book though for numerous reasons. The actual sound of the plot was amazing but I felt that nothing really happened in the book until about 60% of the way in and even then, I wasn't exactly drawn into the book. I know that in a book explanation does need to be given and there are essential parts of the plot that you need include but for me, it was a really slow read. There seemed to be a lot of information dumping, which made it harder to get my head around everything that was going on, especially towards the end of the book. I struggled to get into the story and I felt like I was only trying to get through the book so that I could finish reading it instead of enjoying. 

What was supposed to be a sci-fi book and a romance book turned out to be quite heavy with romance with very little sci-fi. I have nothing against romance books but I was looking forward to a sci-fi read but it wasn't there. There were aspects of it but I think I was predicting a book that would be slightly more based on the sci-fi. It just felt as though we were trying to have our attention brought to the romance aspect of the book that was going on.

I found it extremely hard to get in touch with Seraphina and to be able to empathise with her. No matter how much her situation was explained to try to get us to understood her, I found it incredibly hard and it just made it a little harder for me to read the book. It was understandable that she had lost her memory but even as the book progressed, I just felt like there was no real personality there and it was only really towards the end of the book that there seemed to be a small connection between me and the character. 

Personally, I don't think I'm going to be picking up the other books in the series. It wasn't an enjoyable read for me and I was looking more forward to finishing it than finding out what was going to happen in the plot. 

Rating: ★★