Cover Crazy 7!

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by Tawni over at the Bookworms. In this meme you get to tell which book cover you liked the best this week and post your views on it.

The book cover which held my interest this week is the cover of Fateful by Claudia Grey.

The first thing that comes into notice and one of the things about the cover I like the best is the girl’s dress (obviously). It’s long, flurry and old fashioned kind of rusty red gown which really sits on the girl well. Second is the huge moon that is shone, half obscured by the girl’s dress, but still a beautiful sight. The rails in the cover along with the floats shows that that the girl is present on a ship, plus the ice bergs floating around and the old kind of vibe like 1900s the cover gives, gives a little bit if a feeling of Titanic, I guess.  Even if it wouldn’t have been written on the cover, it still would have felt Titanic-style. Maybe it is a story based with Titanic as its plot and surrounding. The cover neatly states ‘a doomed voyage’ and which voyage can be the doomest of all if not the ever famous Titanic? The model is beautiful and from her posture it seems as if she is running from something.  And of course the font. Neat and simple, just the way I like it, most of the time.

I really want the read this book, mainly because of such a beautiful cover and also because Claudia Grey is one of my favorite authors. Plus, the synopsis I read on Goodreads was pretty intriguing. I will soon buy a paperback copy of this book because it has really caught my attention now.  I’ve seen online that many people have read or are currently reading this book and that just fuels the need to read this book in me more than anything else, almost. I am sure I am going to like Claudia Grey’s writing because she hadn’t disappointed me in her Evernight series. So I am really looking forward to reading this book.

Let’s hope when I get this book and finish reading, I will give it 4 stars or more. Because even though I don’t want to hear the ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ thing-y, I really don’t think that a story can really be bad if it has such a nice book cover. Right?

Die For Me Review

Die for Me by Amy Plum

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From Goodreads.

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

My Review:


Die for me was a nice and steady read, though a rather dull book. I could say it was enjoyable but not awesome or anything.

After her parents died in a car crash, 16 year old Kate Mercier and her older sister Georgia move into their grandparents’ house in Paris, France. Kate is heartbroken and clinging to every memory of her parents she could remember while her sister goes out to clubs to handle her own grief. After spending some time staying inside her grandparents’ apartment, afraid of going outside and facing the world again Kate’s sister pushes her to go outside and start living again. So as she goes out, sits in a café and read a book she finds a devastatingly handsome and charming Vincent – you know black hair, blue eyes, staring at her. Kate feels this connection snap between then and then you know it is next to impossible to go back from there.

As Kate’s and Vincent’s lives start mingling more and more, Kate discovers Vincent’s deadly secret. Vincent is a Revenant; a person who dies repeatedly to save others lives. At that moment Kate realizes two things. First that the wall sorts of thing that she had built around her heart to protect herself was crumbling down because of Vincent and second that no matter what happens, even if she walks away from him, nothing would ever be the same. Though she tries and tries hard. It was quite surprising to see such a hard resolve and determination in the person who was formed as a little weak and soft and…well boring character in my head.

I must say that the idea was quite original and new too. This is certainty the first time I have heard about Revenants. Although they are basically really good looking zombies who instead of going around and eating people, helps them and give up their lives for, again and again. I liked the setting of the book best. What a better place to choose from for a magical fantasy to come to life than the city of lights, Paris – romantic and rich in history. This setting is as perfect as it can get, creating an enchanting and magical atmosphere for this new paranormal story. Its well rounded and enjoyable characters are another thing that I liked about this book. Kate’s character was…good I guess, but I didn’t find her as interesting as I did with all the other characters. I think m favorite character in the whole book was Jules.

The plot, the concept and the character won me over to give the book these ratings. I just wish that the leading character of the book – Kate, could have been written better than she actually is. What’s the fun in reading a book if its other characters are more intriguing than the leading character? At least Vincent was good enough that I don’t have anything to say about him. There was something about the story too that just didn’t work right for me but God knows what that is. You know when you finish a book, there is this feeling that you get which tells exactly what you felt and thought about the book but sometimes there are no correct words to describe what exactly you are feeling? I am in that situation right now. So whoever understands this, please bear with me.

If I wouldn’t have had that feeling in my guts then I would have given this book 4 stars or maybe even 5, because I thing that the book deserves it. Amazing setting, a fresh new plot and well rounded characters (almost) – we don’t always get these three in perfect package. But…

Damn that feeling!


View all my reviews

Chain Reaction review

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks—whether he’s scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can’t stop looking for the next thrill.

Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules—boys lie to get their way, don’t trust a boy who says “I love you,” and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor’s daughter, she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex’s wedding, and suddenly, she’s tempted to break all her rules.

Getting Nikki to take a chance on a southsider is Luis’s biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy reveals a disturbing secret about Luis’s family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he’s ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?

My Review:

After I read the last word of the book I turned over to the epilogue and read the whole thing again. After that I just sat there, with the book in front of me thinking – this is it. No more Fuentes brothers, no more of that hot, passionate romance, no more of Simone Elkeles’ beautiful trilogy, Perfect Chemistry. And then I almost teared up. I mean Oh My God! Chain Reaction was such a beautiful, captivating and heart wrenching book. And the ending was so so so sweet that I was almost at the brink bawling in the end. I kind of get mixed feelings for the last books in the series. I love them because finally the protagonists can live happily ever after with their loved ones but I also hate them because after the last book I would no longer be able to…I don’t know…be with them or something like that, especially for such special books like this one.

Now that I am writing this review I am getting to know that how hard it is for me to let my favorite Fuentes brothers go and how much I love them. Also how much I am going to miss them. Simone Elkeles surely knows how to create awesome characters and how to construct such complicated yet somehow normal and everyday (for some) lives. She is the best. This is definitely one of those books that even after finishing them I would take them out and flip over to my favorite parts and read them over again to revive those beautiful scenes and memory of reading them the first time. And this book, Chain Reaction…it totally took my breath away. The characters had depth, all of them, from not so important ones to the most important ones. The story was as always magnificently crafted and beautifully written, in a straightforward and breathy manner.

At the beginning when I started reading the book I couldn’t wait to finish it, to get to know what happens in the end (after all, the best thing I love about Simone Elkeles’ books are their Epilogues) but now that I finished the book I try to recall why exactly had I wanted to finish this book so soon, knowing that this was the last one. Because, boy, did I finish it fast. (To be exact, one and a half days.) Perfect Chemistry was simply…perfect and so was Rules of Attraction. And now as I write this review for the third book Chain Reaction, I can officially declare that Perfect Chemistry trilogy was easily the best realistic fiction series I’ve ever read, hell, the best realistic fiction series anyone could ever read.

I will not comment on my rating which is of course 5 stars, because the above three paragraphs totally justifies whatever they have to. So…this is my final goodbye to the Fuentes family (I am getting all teary eyes…again!) and I also pray to The God of books that whoever had caused them pain in the past may rot in the worst hellish scenario any author has been able to conjure up till now.

Oh I miss them like crazy already.

Oh…did I mention that Simon Elkeles is the best?

View all my reviews

Cover Crazy 6!

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by Tawni over at the Bookworms (www.bookworms.com). In this meme you get to tell which book cover you liked the best this week and post your views on it.

The book cover which held my interest this week is the cover of Hereafter by Tara Hudson.

 

As I have already read the book, I know what the water body shown in the cover signifies and even the translucent dress the girl in wearing.The cover is kind of sad, the girl’s ghost standing where she had died, her hair blowing in the wind over her hunched shoulders and her arms stuck at her sides as if she was all alone. The scenery in front of the girl, the river flowing in front of her, being seen through her translucent body shows that the girl in the picture is a ghostly figure and the cover has done a very clever and equally beautiful job in showing the viewer/reader that. The shimmering water, clear blue sky and the dark and mysterious woods shown in the cover really gives off a kind of haunting and a little scary vibe.The font is simple and I don’t know why but the more simple the text is the more I like it. It does’nt mean though, that I absolutely do not like those beautiful twirly kind of fonts too.(I really like the title font of Evernight series of Claudia Grey.)

The story inside this attractive cover is also very enchanting and beautiful. I really enjoyed reading the book as much as I enjoyed having this cover in front of my eyes and taking in it’s details like I do with every book’s cover. The book is based on a romantic love story with a magical ghostly twist to it.

If you haven’t read this book yet, then read it ASAP. You wouldn’t want to miss this story – both for the sake of the new and different in a good way plot and also for its gorgeous cover.

Crush Control review

Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


From Goodreads.

Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall ma...Willow Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall madly, deeply, head over heels in love with her. But what started out as an innocent way to make her best friend, Max, jealous soon gets way out of hand, and Willow begins to wonder if the mind - and more importantly, the heart - is something you can really control.

My Review: 

 

Crush Control was a sweet, funny, dream-like and totally lovable book.

Seventeen years old Willow Grey returns to her hometown Georgia, Worthington, after living in Vegas for nine years with her beautiful mother. There her mother’s work included hypnotizing people and was known as the “Hip Hypnotist”. So naturally, after being with it for nine years Willow knew how to do it too. When she returned to Georgia, she also returned to her best friend Max, who she had fallen in love with during one of their long distance phone calls.

On her first day back home, she meets a gorgeous boy Quinton, thanks to her crazy dog, Oompa’s equally crazy act. That part was so funny, my sides still hurt from all the laughing. Then after she finally meets Max, she feels all round sparks flying. Until she finds out that Max has a girlfriend, Minnie. Then all she feels are the tears running down her cheeks. There she meets her crazy new friend Georgia, who helps her through all the heartbroken mess and the new school system.

When the news about her knowing how to hypnotize people got out, she was invited to a party by none other than the gorgeous Quinton, who later was found out to be the star football player. Who can decline an invitation like that? So Willow goes and on the request from others, also performs a show of hypnotizing people (also I must add, totally against her mother’s rule). Soon she finds herself being asked by the queen bee of the school for help over her fears and then lovely boy Quinton joins the line later on. That is when she gets a crazy idea which would make Max jealous and realize his feeling for her (according to Willow). From there things just spiral out of control.

One of the best books, ever. I LOVED IT! It was such a beautiful story with all the right amount seriousness, romance, funny parts and confusion. Especially the funny parts. As I mentioned earlier that all the Oompa scenes were so hilarious, my sides still hurt from laughing. Even now, as I think about it I just feel like cracking up and howling with laughter. Crazy, crazy dog. Just read the part where Oompa meets Quinton and you will know what I am talking about.

Willow’s character was good, but the best I liked was Georgia. She was cool, supporting and funny. I think that in between the book just stretched on little more than necessary but that flaw was quickly overshadowed by everything else, (good) in the book. I never once thought that maybe I am wasting my time reading this book. It didn’t even give me a chance to form those words in my head. The story was beautifully crafted and well written.

The ending of the book was really sweet. Crush Control is totally worth all the five stars, which is what I’ve rated this book with. I kind of wish that there was a whole series of this book because I want this story to go on further and for its character's to stay with me a little longer. But on the other hand I think that it is better that it is a single book otherwise it would have lost its charm and the satisfaction it gave to the reader (me) that –Ah! Now they are going to have a happily ever after without any more complications. Yay!

All in all, one of the best books I have ever read. I am going to try out Jennifer Jabaley's debut novel Lipstick Apologies to find out whether it is as good as Crush Control. I really hope it is.


View all my reviews

Cover Crazy 5!

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by Tawni over at the Bookworms (www.bookworms.com). In this meme you get to tell which book cover you liked the best this week and post your views on

it.

This week the cover of Die for Me by Amy Plum captured my interest, which also is my current read.

Reasons why I like this cover:

• ·         First of all, the gown the model is wearing is really pretty. If you look closely you can see that that the intricate design shown over the gown is not on the gown but is on the cover. The gown is plain red colored. Now don’t get me wrong, the plainness of the dress is beautiful on its own too.
• ·         The intricate design done around the book title and on the dress of the girl is really beautiful and gives the whole cover an elegant and lovely look. The idea of the vines of the design curling around the model’s arms was a really good one.
• ·         The background color really goes with the color of the dress the model is wearing and I really like the way the red color changes into its lighter shades while coming down on the horizon.
• ·         The book is based in Paris, so the area shown on the cover (including the Eiffel Tower) gives the reader who hadn’t read the book yet an idea of the location of the story.
• ·         The text is simple and honestly I think it looks good. Anything fancy would have made this cover look too flashy or chichi.

The cover is beautiful and will obviously attract a lot of readers. However about the story inside the book, I won’t comment or give away anything. You guys will just have to wait for my review. But I can tell you this, till where I’ve read this book; the story had been going on pretty good. The ending matters though, so I’ll wait until I finish the book and start my review on it to say anything about the book.