Review: See What I See

Author: Gloria Whelan
Pages: 208
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Synopsis: Kate Tapert sees her life in paintings. She makes sense of the world around her by relating it to what she adores - art. Armed with a suitcase, some canvases, and a scholarship to art school in Detroit, Kate is ready to leave home and fully immerse herself in painting. Sounds like heaven. All Kate needs is a place to stay. That place is the home of her father, famous and reclusive artist Dalton Quinn, a father she hasn't seen or heard from in nearly ten years. When Kate knocks on his door out of the blue, little does she realise what a life-altering move that will turn out to be. But Kate has a dream, and she will work her way into Dalton's life, into his mind, into his heart...whether he likes it or not.

Buy the Book (The Book Depository/Amazon)

See What I See was a short but packed and refreshing read.

The story is about a girl named Kate who is applying to an art school in Detroit but can't afford a place to live so she decides to crash with her famous artist Dad who had left her and her mom. What was special about this story was the relationship between father and daughter, which felt heartfelt.

Kate is a character you can't help but at least sympathize with and at most love. She loves her mom but she's always been curious about her dad too. She's an optimist and someone who plain cares. Kate is selfless and is a character very worthy of respect. I like her. She can be rash, insecure,and she'll make decisions she'll later on regret. She's real.

Like I said before, See What I See is a story about a girl's broken and fragile relationship with her father. I thought it was real and authentic. I hated Kate's Dad sometimes but then I'd love him. No matter what he did though, I always cared for him as did Kate. Their relationship really pulls you in and it's hard not to relate with them.

See What I See doesn't end with a happily ever after. I want to thank the author so much for that. There is pain and there is joy in the ending. It is satisfying and the story is over but there is still hope. As endings go, this one was fairly well done.

All in all, a fast read that's worth it. 3.5 stars,

*** & 1/2 *

Cover Wars: Oppression vs Want

Cover Wars is when I post two covers, and you basically get a week to vote for your favourite. The winner continues on to next week, and it's kind of cool seeing which covers work and which don't. In the comments section we can discuss what we like about what cover, and it's basically some fun competition.

Last week's winner was Oppression by a very wide margin, so congratulations to Jessica Therrien! Oppression now gets to face off against another stunning cover, Want by Stephanie Lawton. The covers both have one central colour (green vs. red) and I think they're both beautiful. It's not up to me though- it's up to you guys to pick and vote for your favourite covers on the right! So let the Cover Wars... begin!!!

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Share your thoughts in the comments!

Edit: Remember to vote on the poll to the right, commenting does not count as a vote. The poll is underneath all the following options. Thanks for visiting!

Exploring My TBR (2)

This was a really successful and fun feature the first time I did it, so I'm going to try to make it semi-regular.

How it works

I'll post 5 books from my TBR list on Goodreads, and why they're there. I'll also link to Goodreads so you can add them to your TBR too.  This feature is meant to highlight interesting sounding, but not really current reads. (Btw, I realized this is kind of like The Story Siren's Books To Pine For... but some of these titles are already released, and I'm writing my own synopsis.)

1. Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres

This book sounds so awesome. You have a girl trying to find and save her brother, a hypnotic, dangerous world that's not as innocent as it pretends to be. The story itself sounds really dark. I love that. I also get a very vague Uglies/Pretties world vibe from the synopsis that may not be accurate, but is still very intriguing. Plus the cover looks nice. Older followers may remember my love of black and hot pink.





2. Girl in the Arena by Lisa Haines

Admit it: the cover made you think of The Hunger Games right? Well, me too. Gladiators, TV, fighting... this is a book with a crazy interesting premise. Only knock against it is that it has a 3.03 star rating on Goodreads. Ouch. I'm still curious about it though, and even if I don't like the story, Girl In the Arena promises to be an interesting read, right?


3. Jane by April Lindner

Pretty cover... and pink! (Told you I had a thing for that.) I've never read Jane Eyre, and to be honest I really have no plans to read unless I'm required to. I haven't enjoyed any of the "classic" novels I've already read. (Granted, I haven't read anything other than what is required for school.) That being said, I love retellings. And I'm curious to read of Jane and Nico's romance.




4. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

*SQUEE* I got this book the other day!!! *coughs* Since I still haven't got to it, I'll still include it here. Bitterblue is a book that I've wanted to read for over a year now. I loved Graceling and Fire, and I'm not even that into fantasy so that really tells you how exciting I find this series. I'm curious to see how Bitterblue does as queen, and the synopsis sounds really good but way too hard to condense into a single sentence. Anyway, this is a must read and I will read this book soon.


5. Illusions by Aprilynne Pike 

I should have read this book ages ago. Seriously, two or three times I saw the book and was this close to reading it but something always got in the way. Wings is a really interesting series because it looks at faeries in a completely unusual way. I've always liked Laurel and I've always had fun reading this series so of course I want to read this book and see how Laurel saves Avalon from this new faerie threat.

Well, that's it folks.  Thanks for reading, and let me know if you've read any of these books and what you thought of them. Did you like them? Any I should get to sooner than others? What overlooked books do you have on your TBR lists? Happy reading! 

Review: Once Every Never

Author: Lesley Livingston
Pages: 312
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Library
Synopsis: Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface. She’s smart, but a bit of slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker… but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.


Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there’s still time—literally—maybe even get a date.


This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every… never.


Buy the Book (Amazon/The Book Depository)

I have just finished (edit- this review was written in August) the awesome book that is Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston. This book had it all- action, romance, history, war, time travel, geeks... everything. And all those elements together worked to make the kind of story that always keeps you guessing and that you'll love.

Clare (Clarinet Reid- I feel so bad for her having that name) is smart but not as smart as all the geniuses in her life. She's spunky and funny, plus a great friend. I had a lot of fun reading from her perspective. Clare talked like a real teenage girl which I loved. Books usually have smarter, vocabulary-wise characters. I like that Clare got distracted and her arguments with Al were awesome.

The characters were the best kind- quirky, nice, and you know they're going to go somewhere. They're like "the gang" of lovable characters. They support each other and have strong friendships. The romance is good too! It's an easy kind of romance, no need for it to be epic but more natural. That is so refreshing.

Clare can do this weird thing that she calls "shimmering" which basically means she goes to the past. Time travel. I really liked that part. I've never been too much into time travel but this book was different. It was like reading a historical book that had ties to the future. I loved reading about the Iceni and I thought everything was really well done.

There was magic too! Blood magic! And Druids! I would have liked more explanation of the. consequences of magic but I suspect that will be discussed in future books. The magic felt like a natural addition to the story.

The plot was so twisty and whimsical. There was so much action and something was always going on. I never wanted to stop reading and when the inevitable happened and I finished the last few pages, I was satisfied with the story. I know this is going to be a trilogy or something but this book could easily have been enjoyed as a standalone.

All in all, if you're looking for your next fun read with adventure, fighting and huge stakes, definitely check out Once Every Never. It's a very unique story that's not quite like anything else. 4 stars,

****

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

 

Author: Ransom Riggs
Pages: 352
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: Library
Synopsis: A mysterious island.


An abandoned orphanage.


A strange collection of very curious photographs.


It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Buy the Book (Amazon/The Book Depository)

Presentation is so important in a book. It excites the reader and puts them in a better mood which helps them happily enjoy the story. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a good book, but what made it great was the phenomenal presentation.

I wasn't entirely in love with any of the characters. Without spoiling, I'll say that I disagreed with many of the choices made. While the reasoning wasn't beyond my understanding, it wasn't the choice I would have made which made me disconnected to the characters. Jacob was an average character. He dealt with a lot and I feel like I only got a brief look at his character before everything happened. And what I did see didn't pull me in too much. The best part of Jacob was the love he had for his grandfather.

The plot was interesting. There were always surprising twists and I never knew where the story would go. Seriously, there were some shocker moments which I enjoyed seeing as I realized I would never have guessed what would happen ever. The idea is original and quirky so I liked it. There were some plot points I found unnecessary and I wasn't as taken with them (I was frankly a bit annoyed) since they were expected in YA novels. I was not happy with the romance. I wasn't ever really bored but the story didn't live up to its full potential, in my view.

The photos were the best part of the book, which is a good and bad thing. Good because they were so interesting and I loved seeing every one of them. Bad because after a while, I kept reading in the hopes of seeing more photos. That kept me reading more than the plot did. Which isn't very good at all. I do have to say the photos were fabulous and it was really cool how Mr. Riggs created such a comprehensive plot from them. It was very creative.

Overall, I liked this book a lot but I didn't love it. I felt off on some parts and that is probably just me because everywhere I look I see glowing reviews of this book. It's very peculiar (come on, I had to use that word at least once didn't I?) and unique. I recommend you check it out and have fun reading it! 3.5 stars,

*** & 1/2 *

The Return of COVER WARS

One of my favourite features on my blog is Cover Wars. It's also one of the hardest covers to keep up, but that doesn't really matter since I think it's one of the most fun too. Gushing about pretty covers is always cool. So since it's been a really long time, I have to say goodbye to the old covers and we're starting afresh!

Basically, for all of you who don't know, Cover Wars is when I post two covers, and you basically get a week to vote for your favourite. The winner continues on to next week, and it's kind of cool seeing which covers work and which don't. In the comments section we can discuss what we like about what cover, and it's basically some fun competition.

This week's battle will be Reached by Allie Condie vs Oppression by Jessica Therrien.

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I think they're both really pretty covers in different ways. They both have cool font though, and have circles. Which is your favourite cover? Vote now on the poll to the right, and let me know what you think in the comments!

Book Blogger Confessions: Memes

An awesome meme by Tiger's All Consuming Media and For What It's Worth. Check them out!


Memes. Love em' or hate em'? How many do you participate in? Which kinds do you like best? Do you feel like there are too many?


I've been away from blogging for a long time so obviously, I haven't been too involved in memes. Even now, I kind of am trying to keep with more original-ish content. 


I've done Follow Friday, Book Blogger Hop, Waiting on Wednesdays, In My Mailbox, Teaser Tuesdays, and of course, one of my favourites, Book Blogger Confessions. 


Waiting on Wednesdays, Teaser Tuesdays, IMM and BBC are the kind of memes I like best. They're about books, and they have the same general idea, but they leave a lot open to bloggers so that they can put in their individuality. I don't go to blogs for memes- I go to them because each blogger has their own unique views and personality, and I want to see them talk about books in their perspective. 


The only thing I kind of don't like about memes is when they're too popular. You ever look at your dashboard and notice about 15 blogs with the exact same topic? I like reading about different stuff on different blogs, and 15 teasers doesn't really interest me. That's basically my only complaint about memes. 


I don't think there are too many memes. You don't need to participate in every meme, but there is a nice variety available. Rather than memes, something I really enjoy are the little features individual to every blog. Some people have a wrap up post every week, others have a post about a non bookish topic, and others have really cool discussion topics. Those are what I try to have, and what I prefer infinitely more than memes. 


As always, thanks for visiting and have a great week!