Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Author: Ransom Riggs
Publisher: Quirk
Number of Pages: 352

Synopsis:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.
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.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography.

I started reading this book for book club, and because so many people have said so many good things about it, I was really excited to pick it up. Honestly, it didn't disappoint at all!

The thing I found most interesting about this book were the pictures. They made a lot of the scenes seem much more real and really creepy. There was one particular scene where I had to put the book down because I was reading it was night, I was alone, and I was seriously scared something was going to jump out at me.

The characters and the plot were so well thought out and structured that I really connected with them and was sincerely scared for them, especially nearing the end. The complexity of the situation Jacob was put in also added a factor of suspense in the story, and the entire plot was so original I couldn't have predicted anything as I was reading.

Although, the only thing was that there was so many kids living in Miss Peregrine's home I couldn't keep track of everyone, only during the last few chapters was I really able to figure out who everyone was. Also, the relationship Jacob had with a few of the characters (sorry, trying not to spoil anything) seemed a little more than strange to when taking into account his past relatives. 

Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it to everyone. But, if you are easily freaked out I would recommend not reading it really late at night.

Rating: 4 out of 5

                                              

Top Ten Books I Plan To Have In My Beach Bag This Summer

      

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Hey guys! I'm going to list the top ten books I plan to read over the summer, and try to make them all the types of books you would read during the summer. Hope you enjoy it!

1. The Heir by Kiera Cass

2. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

3. All I Need by Susane Colasanti

4. What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

5. Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

6. Tease by Amanda Maciel

7. From What I Remember by Stacey Kramer and Val Thomas

 8. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

9. The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

10. Rock and a Hard Place by Angie Stanton

Tell us what books you're planning to read this summer!

Review: Blackbird by Anna Carey

Author: Anna Carey
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of pages: 256

Synopsis:

This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.
A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her. 
On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined. 
The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists. 

I started reading this book for the book club at our school, and at first I was really excited because I had never read a book in second person before this. Although, as I was reading I felt the plot get a little confusing, and I questioned a lot of what "I" was doing.

The plot was very well thought out and very suspenseful which I really liked, and it really kept me hooked. And, it ended in a way that left the reader wanting the second book. But there were some chapters and sections of the book that were really unclear, and although they were supposed to create suspense they really just ended up confusing me. Yet, despite these section I would like to give a shoutout to the author because I thought the writing in second person was done very well and it left me satisfied with the book.

Although the one thing that really kept me off this book was the main character. Now, I understand that she had just had a traumatic experience and has no idea who or where she is, but there were so many things she did that I just couldn't open myself up to accepting. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that when I say this I am mostly talking about her relationship with the other characters. While I was reading I just found myself questioning everything she did and if I would do that too. I understand that I'm supposed to adapt myself so that I am the main character, especially with second person, but I just couldn't connect with her at all. 

Overall, I don't think I will be continuing on with this series, anytime soon at least, even with the suspense that it left off with. I really did enjoy the plot, but I don't think I will be able to connect with the characters even with another book.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Discussion Post: Why I Won't Answer Review Requests on Facebook

Now I don't know about any of the rest of the book bloggers out there but I get A LOT of requests for book spotlights and reviews.

I love. I love it when these authors and publishers expose me to all these new books. Sometimes I'll take these offers and sometimes I don't. 

But I hate it when authors ask me for requests via Facebook.

Why?

First off, because I'm not really a Facebook user. I most likely won't get someone's message for weeks.

Second, I find it a bit unprofessional. I know there are some people who might disagree with me but that is how I feel. I really only answer messages on Facebook that are from friends or authors and publishers I have previously worked with. If you can't even give the time to shoot me an email then I definitely won't be giving your book any time.

Third, most of the books that I get requests for on Facebook are erotica. My answer to erotica novels will be no, to most adult book requests as well. I do read a lot of New Adult but if I read an Adult novel it will be because I found it on my own. 

So authors, assistants, and publishers please do the both of us the favor and just shoot me an email. I check my email every single day. Multiple times. I will definitely get it. It might take me a couple of days to reply but I will answer you eventually. 

How do you guys feel about book requests via Facebook? Do you feel that I'm over reacting?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I Really Want to Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

P.S. Yeah, I know a lot of these are typical... But they're typical for a reason!

 1. Rick Riordan

 2. Katie McGarry

 3. Cassandra Clare

 4. J.K. Rowling

 5. Rachel Hawkins

 6. Ernest Cline

 7. Julie Kagawa

 8. Kiersten White

 9. Kiera Cass

 10. Victoria Schwab

Tell us what authors you would want to meet!

Review: Starting from Lost by S.K. Wills

Author: S.K. Wills

Publisher: Booktrope Publishing
Number of Pages: 245

Synopsis:

"Love is a risk. If you lose it all, would you dare to risk it twice? 
Hannah Rogers is lost: cynical, insecure, and withdrawn. Skeletons forged through a bad breakup that should have been a marriage proposal. Now four years later, Hannah follows her dead-end job to the big city where her only hope is to survive the next eight months as her flirtatious boss’s personal assistant. The last thing her predictable life needs is to collide with the boy responsible for breaking her heart, or the twist of fate that sends a sexy new neighbor to awaken feelings she’s long since put to bed. 
Alex Sorrento doesn’t have any room in his life for another pet project. He’s already put aside his career and his personal dreams to follow his half-sister Mackenzie to the big city. Lost in the guilt over the events that nearly took her life, he feels he owes her that much. When Mackenzie befriends the new girl on the third floor, Alex finds himself defenseless against the sizzling chemistry between them and the sadness in her eyes. Can he protect Hannah from her ex without losing his heart? 
In this turbulent journey about self-discovery, forgiveness, and love, some second chances aren’t worth taking, but others have their own rewards. "

I was going through my old emails when I realized I hadn't reviewed this book and I was shocked. I read this book 3 times since I got it! I just found it to be so cute!!

The plot of this book was pretty good, nothing I hadn't read before but it definitely had its own little quirks which can definitely steer a book away from the cliche labels. Wills did a fantastic job on her characters. Characters are what can make or break a book for me, usually I can't get very far into a book with shitty characters. Her characters were just...great. Mackenzie was probably my favorite character in the whole book...gosh is she perky.

I lived in New York City growing up and the memories that this book gave me...oh lord. I missed it so much. Wills just knows what she is doing when writing. Her writing is great and she just makes you want to fall in love. (Which my parents are totally not okay with considering I'm only 17...)

The only thing I wish the publisher's would do is give this cover a revamp. This cover does not do the book justice! I'm a person who is more likely to pick up a book with a nice cover and this only persuaded me with the synopsis. Come on publishers!! Give Alex and Hannah a cover they deserve!!

I keep checking for the second book in this series but I can't seem to find anything about it besides the fact that it is due to be out anytime in late 2015...THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! I sincerely hope that it is a continuation of Alex and Hannah's book but with my luck it will be Mackenzie's book, which would be fine.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars!!

*A copy of this book was provided via Xpresso Book Tours and the author for an honest review.

Blog Tour: Under the Spotlight by Angie Stanton

Author: Angie Stanton
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 400

Synopsis:

"After an embarrassing stint on a reality-TV music competition years ago, Riley vowed never to sing again. Now she's behind the scenes, working at the prestigious Sound Sync recording studio, and life is looking up. But then Garrett Jamieson, the oldest brother in the famous Jamieson brothers band, crashes into her world.
Garrett has hit rock bottom, and he is desperate to reinvent himself. After calling in a few favors, he ends up working at Sound Sync to learn the ropes of record producing from the industry's best. And he can't believe his luck when he discovers that Riley has been keeping a secret—she is an amazing singer. By producing her album, he's sure to top the record charts again. But Garrett is forced to use every trick in his arsenal to persuade the sassy girl to record.
Riley refuses to sing—or even entertain the thought of it—and sparks fly as Garrett finally meets his match. But in the heat of the moment, one stolen kiss changes everything. Will Riley be the first person to finally rein Garrett in, or will Garrett succeed in getting Riley back under the spotlight?"

Author Links

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This book is massively adorable. I absolutely adore this series and finally getting the story of the last Jamieson book was amazing. Angie Stanton did an amazing job on the final book in the series!

Throughout the whole series Garrett just infuriates the readers but this book it did...not change. You definitely don't hate him now but there were definitely moments where you questioned what the hell he was doing. That's just part of his charm though..I guess. Riley I liked a lot more. She's the down to Earth type of girl that I would love to be friends with.

Angie Stanton's writing is definitely improving with every book that she writes which I absolutely adore. I was ecstatic when I found out that Garrett's book was definitely going to happen, he was always the mysterious one. Her writing was flawless in this book and I just can't wait until her next book. 

If you enjoyed the first two books then I definitely recommend this one! I do wish we got to see more of Peter and Adam but otherwise the book was amazing!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

Angie Stanton never planned on writing books—she wanted to be a Rockette. However, growing up in rural America with her brothers’ 4-H pigs as pets, she found that dance didn’t quite work out. Instead, she became an avid daydreamer. After years of perfecting stories in her head, she began to write them down, and the rest is history. When not writing, she loves watching natural disaster movies, going to Broadway musicals, and dipping French fries in chocolate shakes.

Author Links: Blog l Twitter l Facebook l Goodreads l Instagram

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