Sunday 30 January 2011

Review: Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz


Series: Touch Novels - Book 1
Publisher: Hyperion Books
UK Publication Date: 19 Nov 2009
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Local Library
Rating: 4 out of 5
Synopsis from back cover:

SOME SECRETS SHOULDN'T BE KEPT...

Until three months ago, sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary.  Then a mysterious boy named Ben started junior year at her school and changed everything.
Rumoured to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus.  Except for Camelia.  Despite the rumors, she's inexplicably drawn to him....and to his touch.  But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes.  Ben insists she's in danger, and that he wants to help - but can he be trusted?  She knows he's hiding something ... but he's not the only one with a secret.


Review:

I had heard quite a few things about this book before I started reading it, but I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was.  Deadly Little Secret blends paranormal romance with a gripping thriller undertone.

The characters, in Deadly Little Secret, are well developed and I found myself caring for Camelia and Ben.  I have seen reviews that compare this book to Twilight, and I have to say that I understand why. Camelia is saved from a car accident by Ben in a similar way to how Edward saves Bella in Twilight, but that is where the comparison ends.

I was gripped by the story from the very first page and found that I was reading into the early hours of the morning. Laurie Faria Stolarz has written a fantastic starter to a series of novels that I know I will be reading.  My only complaint with this book was the cover.  I just didn't feel that the cover suited the book.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Topic - Book Series

I've just finished watching a video by Karen, from the ocdaboutbooks blog, on her youtube channel where she talks about chapters in books and whether we preferred long or short chapters, and it got me think about books in a series.

So my question is if you are reading a book and its part of a series, do you read the whole series back to back or do you take a break from it to read something else. Another part of this question is do you tend to wait till you have the first two books in the series or do you re-read them as the other books are released.

My answer to this would be that I tend to collect all the books before I read them and then I will only read one or two books in the series, before I take a break and read something else.

Love to hear what you think?

So till the next time - Happy Reading

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games - Book 1
ISBN: 9781407109084
Publisher: Scholastic Children's Books
UK Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 454 pages
Format: Paperback
Reading Challenges: Dystopia, 100+ reading challenge
Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis from back cover:

In a dark vision if the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place.  twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games.  There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence.  But Katniss has been close to death before.  For her, survival is second nature.

Review:

I want to start this review by saying that this was an awesome book. The Hunger Games was the first dystopian novel I have read, and it has really made me want to read more of them.  Suzanne Collins has created a world that is both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Out of all the characters in this book Katniss was by far my favourite.

I know she was the protagonist of the story but there was just something about her that intrigued me. Although the ending of the book was excellent the most memorable part of the book for me was the friendship between Katniss and Rue, I don't want spoil it for anyone that hasn't read the book but if you have read The Hunger Games then you know what I'm talking about.

I will definitely be reading the other books in this series as well as any other books that Suzanne Collins writes.

Teaser Tuesday 18th January 2011


Teaser Tueday is a weekly event hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Anyone can participate, all you have to do is follow these simple rules:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on the page.
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away. You don't want to runin the book for others!).
  • Include the title and author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser:


The machine crashed into the net, which wrapped around it, spilling fabricated spider acid from its strands.  The acid burned through wings and struts and flesh in seconds.  Pieces spun off wildly, the plane's wings folding like scissors in the air.
~ page 202. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

So that was my teaser for this week. What's yours?

Sunday 16 January 2011

Changes to blog

I hope you like the new look to this blog. I decided to change the look of the blog as I wanted something that would reflect the books that I like to read, and I really like this template.

I now have a blog description. Again this is due to the books that I like to read.

I will still be reviewing YA fiction but I wanted to also review other books that I am interested in. So over the next couple of weeks you will notice some reviews on adult fantasy novels, horror novels and loads more.

Hope you like the changes that I have made and I look forward to reading your feedback on my reviews.