After #1 After

Presenting After #1 After by Anna Todd.

Here is the summary of the book:

Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way.

But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.

But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn't the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless…could this be love?

Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!

There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER ... Life will never be the same.

REVIEW ==

Fifty Shades sure started a trend didn't it of fanfictions being given the best selling status. Hype sure goes a long way in helping it along ..... And here i'm swayed again by the hype to see what Anna Todd's NA fanfiction AFTER is all about. I may be late to the bandwagon because apparently everyone I know had already read the series or posting about it on the social media ..... but here I am finally!

First appearing on Wattpad as a One Direction fan fiction. Since then After has made a big journey to getting the best selling status. I am definitely not a fan of this series. While I did like the story better than Fifty Shades of Grey .... don't flame me but that was just bad writing, showing a bad image of females in general and plain bleeding on the ears *sighs* I had the misfortune of getting its audiobook. Worst decision of my life.

Anyway back to After, the writing is definitely far better. I liked how Todd kept the chapters short. I am definitely not a Hessa fan but calling this a a 1D fanfiction based on Harry Styles is just not happening. I am a 1D fan and portraying the performer as a manipulative guy is just not right. Of course the names are changed to Hardin here but I still didn't appreciate that fact .....

But I decided to overlook the 1D connection when I began reading this book. Good thing I did that too.

Anyways I liked Tessa as a character. She is good and reliable. With a penchant for micro-managing her life. She has the ambition to succeed in life and had a good head on her shoulder. Although she felt judgmental at times as well. Never doing anything out of the ordinary or anything unexpected. And a great boyfriend too who is very reliable but as the plot would have it she meets bad boy Hardin and it all goes down the drain.

Hardin is the definition of a bad boy. He is plain rude and most of the time verging on cruel. He had a bit of dark past to look back on and as a result, he is not the most complacent of them all. But he does have his good moments as well, when he is joking, happy or bring cocky. He doesn't like Tessa at first but they kept getting thrown in the same situations, eventually he gets attracted to her. And she in turn brought out the good side in him.

What results is a chaotic, dramatic and hot & cold romance between Tessa and Hardin. Really none of them are perfect angels but I definitely loved the dynamic bond they shared. Of course Tessa was annoying a lot of times and Hardin was pretty much a douche but somehow their day-to-day romance didn't really bore us in that regard. While I would have preferred the book not to be so long but I didn't mind it seeing and reading that explosive cliffhanger. Good one there Ms. Todd, that is sure to keep us interested ..... Poor Tessa though to be betrayed like that.....

"A chaotic hot & cold romantic pageturner"

Genre :     New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Gallery Books

Release Date: 21st October, 2014

My Copy: bought (paperback)

Rate:             3/5 (Liked It)

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Ivory and Bone #1 Ivory and Bone

Presenting Ivory and Bone #1 Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh.

Here is the summary of the book:

A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

REVIEW ==

Prehistoric era meets Pride & Prejudice. That is one apt description for Julie Esbaugh's Ivory & Bone. I'd be honest what really attracted me to this book was the cover and the work Prehistoric .... because really you don't see YA in a prehistoric setting .... Well there haven't been yet (as far as I know). Ivory & Bone on the whole has a lot to recommend it but they were a lot of things too .....

Mammoths guys .... this book has mammoths and the Sabertooth tigers. Of course Pre-historic humans are far behind. Kol, Mya, and Lo form the core characters. All three hailing from different tribes and appreciated how their paths converged so well together.

Kol out of all was my favorite. Eldest son of this tribe leader. He is the ultimate nice guy. And equally stubborn when he makes his mind up about something. Mya was just plain rude and distant. And Lo had her own agenda to play.

The book is written in two alternating persons. First and Second are mixed in this plot. Of course the story is from Kol's perspective in the 1st Person but whenever Mya turn came on, it switched to 2nd Person. The transition is really much more jarring than normal. The atmosphere, while the author did a wonderful job of setting the era at first it just got boring after reading it in every scene. Also she takes too long to explain the scene or the surrounding ..... and it felt off putting and dragging at best.

There is a distant lack of females in Kol's tribe and they need the alliances. So when Mya's tribe visits. Kol hopes for Mya's attentions but she turns out to be too rude and standoffish to talk to. I can see where the Pride & Prejudice connection comes in but I don't think Darcy was that rude as Mya appears to be ..... It feels forced upon us that Mya & Kol are meant to be. But there seems to eb no connection between them. That chemistry is no where to be seen and Kol feels more likely attracted towards the idea of a female than just Mya.... So that's another thing I want to point out here.

So Mya doesn't give him the time of day but when Lo enters he seems diverted to the new arrival. Kol is a good guy really but I didn't like this aspect here ... Anyway on the whole while I quite liked the story it also couldn't keep me captivated and plainly dragged a lot. One of those cases where the hype proves detrimental for this book.

Not really sure I want to recommend this but check it out maybe you guys might like it better than me.

"Interesting but didn't very well hold my interest."

Genre :     Young Adult, Pre-historic, Romance

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: 7th June, 2016

My Copy: publisher & edelweiss

Rate:             3/5 (Liked It)

Buy:         Amazon | Book Depository 

The Cage #2 The Hunt

Presenting The Cage #2 The Hunt by Megan Shepherd.

Here is the summary of the book:

They’ve left the cage—but they’re not free yet.

After their failed escape attempt, Cora, Lucky, and Mali have been demoted to the lowest level of human captives and placed in a safari-themed environment called the Hunt, along with wild animals and other human outcasts. They must serve new Kindred masters—Cora as a lounge singer, Lucky as an animal wrangler, and Mali as a safari guide—and follow new rules or face dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, Nok and Rolf have been moved into an enormous dollhouse, observed around the clock by Kindred scientists interested in Nok’s pregnancy. And Leon, the only one who successfully escaped, has teamed up with villainous Mosca black-market traders.

The former inhabitants of the Cage are threatened on all fronts—and maybe worst of all, one of the Hunt’s Kindred safari guests begins to play a twisted game of cat and mouse with Cora. Separated and constantly under watch, she and the others must struggle to stay alive, never mind find a way back to each other. When Cassian secretly offers to train Cora to develop her psychic abilities—to prove the worthiness of humanity in a series of tests called the Gauntlet—she’ll have to decide fast if she dares to trust the Kindred who betrayed her, or if she can forge her own way to freedom.

REVIEW ==

They may be out of the enclosure but Cora, Lucky and the misfits are still a long way from escaping the station and finding their way back home. The Hunt by Megan Shepherd follows closely behind the first book 'The Cage'. Beginning just where the first book ended. The group has now been scattered across the station in different areas as punishment for their destroying the previous enclosure. And somehow I still got bored.

Although I liked Cora a bit better this time. She is resourceful, quick on her feet and knows when to grasp the opportunity coming her way. Cassian still felt weird to me .... I definitely liked Lucky a lot better this time as well. In the first book, he caves under pressure and thinks the aliens are right with their rules but he stands taller this time. Makes decisions by himself. Definitely good. Leon, Nok and Rolf too try to rebel against the aliens in their own ways.

They all may have been separated throughout the station but are more than capricious and lucky enough to find ways and keep in contact. The book is paced really well and liked how the author explores newer aspects for all of her characters. The twists & turns were really well positioned throughout the story .... particularly the ending cliffhanger .... Yup there is a cliffy! But somehow I still got bored with the story. Just feel that the first book was much better in my opinion.

"A well written sequel packaged with the necessary elements to take the story to farther reaches of space"

Genre :      Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopia, Romance

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Release Date: 24th May, 2016

My Copy: publisher and edelweiss

Rate:              3/5 (Liked It)

Other Books by the author (review links):
              The Madman's Daughter #1, #2, #3
               The Cage #1

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Monsters of Verity #1 This Savage Song

Presenting Monsters of Verity #1 This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.

Here is the summary of the book:

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

REVIEW ==

Set in the fictional Verity City, This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab proved a study onto itself. This is my first time actually reading her book. I have read excerpts of her other books but somehow never really got around to reading the whole thing. So glad I began with this one. This Savage Song proved it was worth the hype and it was just so good.

Imagine a world where your deepest, darkest secrets take shape into monsters of the worst kind. Malachai, Corsai and Sunai. One vampire like, another the monster of the worst kind and the latter, the most human looking of them all. This book has it all. A strong plot. Strong background. A dynamic and diverse cast of characters. A well paced plot and the plot tropes happening at the best opportune moments.

With a much darker atmosphere and a city overrun by monsters that go bump in the night. This Savage Song tells the story of Kate Harker of the North and August Flynn of the South side of the divided Verity City. This is a city hinging on a tentative truce between the two sides and a war looming on the horizons.

The North side is run by Callum Harker, Kate's father. The worst among the humans. He lets the monsters, the Malachai and the Corsai roam free in his quarters. Callum Harker may be the proverbial King Pin but Kate will prove that she is as ruthless as her dear old dad ..... And maybe more so .... She is as damaged as they come. Vicious, calculating, smart and hardy. She wants attention and power and definitely doesn't give a damn about toeing the line.

August, ironically was so sweet. Ironically because he .... is a monster. One of the only three Sunai that sided with Henry Flynn and the South side. He is cautious about his powers because Sunai are much more powerful than the Malachai and the Corsai. He is definitely not like siblings Leo and Ilsa. He on the other hand craves humanity, wanted to be worthy as not a monster but a real life person. And this inner conflict makes his character all the more dynamic. Making us root for him throughout.

Circumstances and the author pit them together constantly. Kate always trying to figure out the mystery that is August and him trying to blend in as his mission stated. Liked how Schwab digs deeper into the characters, lighting up their deep and dark crevices of their being. Highlighting all the good and the bad for us readers to see. Every one of these characters had it and the dialogues and monologues respectively keep us bolted to our seats, mystified at such fluid writing and the bleak images it paints before our eyes.

The best thing about this book. No Romance ... It doesn't need it to move the plot forward. There is more than enough action and drama to fill its pages and you wouldn't even notice the missing romance. Authors usually use romance to lighten the plot but This Savage Song is a noire plot and you don't need to lighten things when your trying to show the dire on-the-verge-of-war situation of the monster ridden Verity.

Very much excited for the sequel ... I recommend people, This Savage Song you don't wanna miss it out.

"A dark and enticing page turner"

Genre :     Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranoramal

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: 5th July, 2016

My Copy: publisher & edelweiss

Rate:             5/5 (It was Amazing)

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Twisted Tales #2 Once Upon A Dream

Presenting Twisted Tales #2 Once Upon A Dream by Liz Braswell.

Here is the summary of the book:

What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dreammarks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.

It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

The 2nd story in the Twisted Tales series. Once Upon A Dream by Liz Braswell. What if Aurora never woke up from the kiss. What if instead of breaking Sleeping Beauty out of the spell, Prince Charming too gets sucked in ..... Much much better than the first story where she dealt with Aladdin. There is definitely an improvement but somehow I still got bored with it.

This story definitely has its plus and minus points. The author takes the time to set the world. That is good. She takes the time to set the mood and environment of the story. That is definitely good. But she takes too long to get to the good arts and it lags a lot. That is definitely bad. Saw a lot of influences from the Maleficient movie (attest I felt that). Definitely good.

Despite the direction the plot took to differ itself from the classic fairytale. At the end of its story remained the same. Felt disheartened there, I wanted the 3 fairies to be the bad once here as the plot first established them as but liked how the author did the twists & turns and the reveals. Aurora was a lot whinny & petulant throughout the story. And I just got bored with it ...... But hopefully it will improve more in the next story.

"A different what-if take to the Sleeping Beauty"

Genre :     Fairytale re-telling, Fantasy

Publisher: Disney Press

Release Date: 5th April, 2016

My Copy: publisher & netgalley

Rate:             2/5 (It was Ok)

Other Books by the Author(review links):
         #1 A Whole New World

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