Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

Title: Love and Other Unknown Variables 
Author: Shannon Lee Alexander
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Buy this book: Amazon / Book Depository

Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck. The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy. By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).

I'd seen this book on Netgalley, the interesting cover and intriguing summary had me downloading it. I have to admit though, the fact it was another story involving a romance with a girl with an illness did make me think this was going be yet another YA cancer story. Now cancer stories aren't necessarily bad, it's just that they've started to seem a little overused in YA fiction. It's begun to feel like a plot device that's being used for no other reason than to make you cry and to sell books. I'd enjoy most of them more if it felt they actually had something significant to say about a serious issue.

I actually enjoyed this book in the very beginning, I was almost sure this was going to be a book I would absolutely love. The characters were quirky and funny, they were characters that actually had me laughing out loud. But the happy feeling didn't last for long and soon I began to get a little bit frustrated with the book. It started to drag a little, there seemed to be nothing really happening plot wise and that gets boring fast. But my biggest issue probably came at about the 40% mark and it eventually caused me to have to DNF the book altogether. I wasn't even going to bother reviewing it, but the urge to moan about it is too strong.

This Shattered World by Meagan Spooner & Amie Kaufman: Review

Title: This Shattered World (Starbound #2)
Author: Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Buy this book: Amazon / Book Depository

The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war

I'd been quite nervous to get to This Shattered World, mostly because of how much I loved These Broken Stars and my worry that the sequel wouldn't be anywhere near as good. I shouldn't have worried so much, Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman definitely deliver with This Shattered World. Although, if I am being completely honest, my feelings for the book are the same as my feelings for the cover - I really like it and it's good, it's just not as good as the first one.

The second book in the Starbound trilogy takes us to Avon, where Captain Jubilee 'Lee' Chase works to take down the colonist rebellion, in which Flynn is a key player. When the two cross paths it leads to Flynn taking Jubilee back to the colonists base, in the hopes that she can be used as a bargaining chip. But the colonists hatred for the soldiers and the terraforming companies, who they feel have failed them on Avon, means that everyone else would much rather see her dead. Flynn makes a life changing decision when he helps Jubilee escape.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke & The Bookish. Each week they host a different top ten topic.

This weeks topic is:

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors of 2014

Sarah J. Maas has to top this list because that woman is the shit. She has earned herself a spot on my auto-buy authors list and she's never coming off of it. I finally started the Throne of Glass series this year and I have fallen madly in love with it. The last time I became so obsessed with a series was back when I was 9 and I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I am obsessed! I need 2015 to hurry up because we get TWO Maas releases! I read and reviewed Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire, as well as The Assassin's Blade.

Jennifer Niven wins the award for author who made me ugly cry the hardest this year. All the Bright Places basically broke my heart, and I am still trying to recover! I have had months to get my review completely written and scheduled, but I am still struggling with the words to express my love for that book.

It took me a while to finally try a Kasie West book, but once I did I couldn't stop. I read everything she had out at the time and was not disappointed. I think if I had to pick a favourite of hers then it would definitely be The Distance Between Us, just because I adored the main characters in that book. Then it would probably be Pivot Point, followed by Split Second and On the Fence. I am very excited for 2015 and her next release, The Fill-In Boyfriend (even if I hate the cover and the title!).

Abigail Haas is another author who earned a spot on my auto-buy list this year. She has written two of the most amazing YA psychological thrillers. If you haven't tried her books yet then you really need to, you won't be disappointed. Both books had me up until the early hours of the morning because I could not put them back. I reviewed both Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Boys, and I completely loved both.

It took me forever to get to the Under the Never Sky series and finally discover Veronica Rossi, something I am kicking myself for now. I absolutely loved this series and can't believe it took me so long to finally read it. But I'm also glad, it meant I didn't have to wait between books! Rossi created some of my all time favourite characters with Aria, Perry and Roar. I reviewed Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, Into the Still Blue and Boomerang this year, and I loved them all. 

Tess Sharpe is a debut author of 2014, so I guess she's technically new to everyone. I was completely blown away by Far From You. I'd been expecting some really predictable YA thriller, with a teen hunting down a killer. That was a tiny part of the story. This book was so much more than that and it took me completely by surprise. I absolutely loved it, one of my top reads of the year for sure.

Pierce Brown is another debut author of 2014! Red Rising was a story that I became completely addicted to. That book was so much more than I could have expected, I admit to assuming it would be a bit of a rip off. The book has similarities to other dystopians, but it's also unique and unlike anything I've read before. I am so excited to dive into Golden Son this month and see what else Brown has to offer.

It's getting to that point where I want to curse blogger and throw my laptop out the window. This post is giving me all kinds of headaches because it won't format correctly. Pictures are doing whatever the hell they want and I've given up. So the last two are E. Lockhart, who gave me the amazing We Were Liars and Mindy McGinnis, who wrote Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust. 

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Films for Thoughts on Thursday: Love, Rosie 

My Weekly Book Haul: 29/11/2014

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot

'Bout This Blogger Tag

'Bout This Blogger Tag

It's time to celebrate Notebook Sisters change to Paper Fury! Cait's now going solo, so that calls for a snazzy new site and a new name. Go check out the celebration here, there's a rather awesome tag and a giveaway too. Cait spoils us!

1. Why did you start blogging?

It was a very spur of the moment decision. I was at work one day and just suddenly decided I wanted to start a book review blog. Don't ask me why it suddenly occurred to me, I don't know. I didn't read any review blogs or blogs in general at the time, so I didn't really know what I was doing. But I was a little bit crazy back in August 2013, so I just went with the flow. 

                   The most honest answer I could give you is that I was looking for a distraction. I started the blog six months after losing my aunt, she was only thirty-eight and it was a big shock for the whole family. I'd never had a death in the family, especially not of someone I loved so much and it was a shock to the system. I think I mainly started blogging because it was something I could pour all my energy into and continue to pretend like nothing was wrong. I am so glad I did start though because it's been so much fun and something I am very proud of. 

2. What's the story behind your blog's name?

When I see an awesome blog name.

The story... I'm completely useless and that was the best I could come up with! When I started I actually had no idea what I was doing. I hadn't seen other blogs and all the cool, short and original names they came up with. I just went with something simple and that stated what the blog was. I was reviewing books, so Reviews from a Bookworm seemed the way to go. But it's long, not very cool and unoriginal. I'd thought about changing it so much in the beginning but now I'm attached to it. It's my blog name and I can't imagine being called anything else. 

3. How many designs have you been through since you started blogging?

I think I have probably been through three or four designs since I started, but I'd never even thought of taking pictures. So I honestly don't think I have any pictures of my old and terrible designs. I keep saying I'll change mine again because I don't have the sleekest design, but I suck at it. I want to sort out my sidebars and get some more social icons, but it's all about finding the time to learn to do it. 

4. Have you ever switched blog platforms? What made you move? If you haven't ever changed... why?

I haven't and that's because I wouldn't have a clue where to begin. I have thought about it, numerous times, but have never taken the plunge. Maybe one day, if I could pay someone to do, I might make the change.

5. How long does it take you to write a post? What's your postly process like?

It depends on the post and my energy level. Sometimes I can start a post, save it, go back to it, save it and start the process all over again. Other times I will very quickly write the post and get it posted the same day. I don't really have a process at the minute, I'm in a bit of a blog writing slump right now.

6. Have you ever been super nervous about a post? Why? What was it?

I usually get nervous when I post negative reviews. That's because I have a tendency to full on rant in my negative reviews. I mean, have you seen my The Maze Runner review? That shit ain't pretty! I just comfort myself with the knowledge that the authors will probably never see my review. 

7. Do you have a blogging schedule?

I WISH!

When someone asks for my blog name.

8. Do you tell people In-Real-Life about your blog? Their reactions?

I do, and most don't really have a clue what I am on about. They usually just ask a lot of questions. I don't tell many people though because I don't want them trying to find it. Yes, I am weird, I don't like anyone I know IRL reading my blog!

9. Top ten blogs you read/comment on the most.

Just ten?!?!

1. Paper Fury || 2. Book Badger || 3. Little Birdie Books || 4. The Daily Prophecy ||
5. The Infinite To-Read Shelf || 6. Daring Damsels || 7. A Fantasy Writer's Blog ||
8. My Reading Dress || 9. Once Upon a Bookish Time || 10. The Loony Teen Writer

And so many more! 

10. If you could change/improve things about your blog, what would they be? 

I'd improve my design, my scheduling, my content. I'd basically love to be able to improve everything. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist.

Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker
Book Blogger Problems #3: Hardback vs Paperback

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Films for Thoughts on Thursday: Love, Rosie 

My Weekly Book Haul: 29/11/2014

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot: Review

Title: Even in Paradise 
Author: Chelsey Philpot
Publisher: Harper Collins 
Buy this book: Amazon 

When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden... until now.

Before I got to Even in Paradise, I'd been really unlucky with my recent reads. It had felt like everything I'd been reading had either turned out to be a huge disappointment or just infuriatingly bad. Even in Paradise felt like a breath of fresh air compared to them. It was a book that was easy to get into, quick to get through and enjoyable. But it also has me torn about my feelings for it because I enjoyed the majority of it, but wasn't completely happy with the end.


After Charlotte helps a drunk Julia Buchanan one night, she finds herself being invited into the Buchanan's crazy world. She falls in love with the Buchanan family and gets swept up in their life of parties and summer homes. This book has a definite Great Gatsby vibe to it, if that wasn't obvious enough with the use of the name Buchanan. But when reading it that definitely is the first thing that comes to mind, and I'm almost certain that's where the author got her inspiration from. It also reminded me of We Were Liars, with the summer home and the family hiding things. It's interesting to see Charlotte get accepted so readily into their world and how much they want and need her there. There's a romance in this between Julia's brother Sebastian and Charlotte, it's quite cute and well done but never takes over the story.

This is an easy read, a perfect beach read in fact, the kind of book you can easily get through in one sitting. It's very character driven, so don't be expecting huge amounts to happen plot wise. It's more about Charlotte getting to know the Buchanan's and what they're dealing with. The more she gets to know them the more she sees they are suffering. I really liked getting to know the Buchanan family, they all had such big personalities. It's easy to see why Charlotte comes to love them all and why she gets so easily swept up into their world. Her romance with Sebastian was handled very well and I don't think the story ever became solely about that. I liked that there was so much more going on than just the romance.

My negatives with the story were mostly to do with the end. I know a lot of people loved the ending, but it didn't completely work for me. I felt like the drama got to be too much at the end, it started to feel a bit like a soap opera to me. It's also a story that you have seen before, so it doesn't feel too original when you read it. But that's probably going to be the case with a book that feels like it takes a lot of inspiration from The Great Gatsby. My other negative was the fact that I felt we barely scratched the surface with the characters. I did enjoy the characters, but I felt like we could have gone a lot deeper with all of them. I wanted more development when it came to the Buchanan's, but then this book would have been a whole lot longer.

3/5 Butterflies

I hate 3/5 reads, there is just something about them that leaves me with very little to say. It seems like the most I can come up with is eh, it was good but it wasn't amazing. This was an enjoyable and quick read, I thought it was really well done. I liked the inspiration it took from The Great Gatsby and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Buchanan family. My only problem with the book is that it's a story that's been done before, so it doesn't make it very memorable. If you're looking for a more character driven book then I would highly recommend it. 

*I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.