My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very emotional and occasionally heartbreaking read. The story may not be the most original but it’s very well written. I found it difficult to put down and devoured the whole thing in one sitting.

THE BLURB

Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She’s ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.

Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.

Now Lena isn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.

For what she let happen.

With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends’ entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed?

MY REVIEW

Phew, that was emotional. I can’t remember the last time I cried so much reading a book, it should really come with a warning or at least a free box of tissues.

I started this early(ish) on Sunday morning planning just to read a few chapters before I got up and got on with my day but once I started I literally couldn’t put it down and demolished the whole thing in one go, bawling my eyes out for probably half of it.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail on the plot but it’s a not unfamiliar story in YA contemporary. It’s about how you live with the consequences and the guilt of one wrong decision, one mistake that changes your life and the lives of those around you forever. Main character Lena Wise has her whole life in front of her but that all changes at a party when she doesn’t listen to her instincts and makes that one mistake that I’m sure many others have and probably will.

I really liked Lena for the majority of this book. She has a lot to deal with and doesn’t always act the way she should but I could definitely relate to her and a lot of her actions are very understandable. I could very easily imagine myself acting in the same way even though hopefully I’ll never find out. The highlight of the story for me was however boy next door Sebastian. I’m not sure he’s wholly believable as a teenage boy (he’s just too good to be true) but he’s just sooo sweet and funny and lovely I could definitely understand why Lena had a major crush.

There is a little bit of romance but it too is very sweet and not at all heavy. I absolutely adored Lena and Seb together before everything changed for them and even afterwards I loved how he tried to stick by her despite her pushing him away.

This story does deal with some very heavy issues but it does it in a very responsible way. There are the proper consequences and it gives the right messages without ever really becoming too preachy.

There is definitely a lot of good in this book, there were however a few things that forced me to knock a star off my rating. Firstly, it’s just not original enough. The writing is great and the storyline really got to me but I’ve read it before, more than once. I do think it has messages that are worth repeating but I would have really liked something to make it stand out from the rest.

Secondly, I didn’t 100% buy into the friendship between Lena, Megan, Abbi and Darynda. I’m not sure why but there was something about it that just didn’t feel true to me. Possibly it was just that it was more tell than show. And lastly, the plugging of books written by the authors friends just really irritated me. If the main character is a big reader she would get through more books than just the ones by those two authors.

These are fairly minor niggles and despite them I did find myself completely immersed in the story. If you like YA contemporaries I think you’ll enjoy it. Just don’t expect it to be too original, and make sure you have a lot of tissues.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

WWW Wednesday: 15th November 2017

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 Ali@abookishlife29 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I literally just finished a book five minutes before writing this post (on Tuesday evening) so while I’m sure I will have picked something to read on my commute this morning I’m not sure what that will be yet (I have plenty to choose from).

La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1) I do however have a new audio book on the go. I was wandering round the library (cos ya know, 400 books on my TBR is not enough) when I spotted some CDs one of which was La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. Needless to say I couldn’t resist. I do have the physical book but I just haven’t had the time to read it so this is working out really well.

I’m almost finished disc 3 of 10 and really enjoying it. It’s narrated by Michael Sheen who does an absolutely brilliant job at bringing the story to life. I will definitely be looking out for more books narrated by him.

Recently Finished

My house is an absolute disaster zone, I’ve had quite a few late nights and completely neglected my boys but it’s great news as it means I’ve finally got my reading mojo back. I finished three books over the last week and every one of them has been worth giving up sleep for (who needs it anyway).

Renegades (Renegades, #1)

The first book finished was YA superhero story Renegades by Marissa Meyer which I’d received from NetGalley. It reminded me a lot of X-Men with two groups of people with super powers battling it out for control. It’s full of all of the best superhero type cliches, secret identities, tragic backstory, development (or loss) of powers, high tech gadgets and a bit of betrayal. The highlight for me though was how Meyer had me constantly switching allegiance. She is brilliant at writing sympathetic villains and less than perfect heroes. It does suffer a little from too many characters and a lot of world building and back story but the second half in particular I couldn’t put down. You can read my full review here.

Second book finished was another NetGalley pick, If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout. It’s a YA contemporary and in a not uncommon story is about a girl who makes a mistake that has life changing consequences for her and those around her. I started this on Sunday morning intending to read just a couple of chapters before I got up and ended up reading the whole thing in one go. I just couldn’t stop. It’s an incredibly emotional read and should probably come with a warning (or at least a box of tissues) but I really enjoyed it. It’s not wholly original in terms of plot so not a stand out read but still one I’d recommend if you like contemporary.

Copycat

The third and final book finished was Copycat by Alex Lake. I’d won this in a Goodreads giveaway and started it a couple of weeks ago but had to park it while I caught up on ARCs. I finally managed to get back into it on Monday and ended up blitzing my way through it. It’s about a woman who discovers someone else has set up a duplicate facebook account in her name and is sending emails to friends and family claiming to be her.

It is one of those books that’s kinda frustrating as the characters do silly things you want to shout at them for but it does keep you guessing. The ending was a little rushed and there were a couple of things that didn’t make sense but it was a very enjoyable read.

Reading Next

I finally managed to get a copy of Killman Creek by Rachel Caine (it’s Read Now on NetGalley) so I’m very tempted to read it straight away however having just finished a thriller I’m thinking I should read something else first. I should really be picking up Goodbye Perfect or My Side of the Diamond but I think I’m in the mood for a romance so any recommendations gratefully received.

My Side of the Diamond Goodbye, Perfect Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake, #2)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 14th November 2017

November 14, 2017November 13, 2017 Ali@abookishlife10 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.

This week my teaser comes from Copycat by Alex Lake, a book I had to put on the back burner while I caught up on ARCs but have finally managed to pick up again. I actually won this in a GoodReads giveaway. It’s a psychological thriller about a woman who someone has it in for. They set up a fake facebook profile in her name, send emails claiming to be from her…. It’s pretty creepy and does make you a bit paranoid about your online presence.

My Teaser

There was a strange paradox at the heart of it: she felt totally comfortable with him, trusted he loved her whatever she did, yet at the same time she still wanted to impress him, still wanted to show him she was a strong and intelligent and beautiful woman who merited his ongoing love and attention. She didn’t resent the feeling, because she didn’t think she had to do it.

~ Pg 83 Copycat by Alex Lake

Blurb

Your stalker is everywhere.
Your stalker knows everything.
But the real problem is that your stalker is you.

Sarah Havenant discovers–when an old friend points it out–that there are two Facebook profiles in her name.

One, she recognizes: it is hers. The other, she has never seen. But everything in it is accurate. Recent photos of her and her friends, her and her husband, her and her kids. Even of her new kitchen. A photo taken inside her house.

She is bemused, angry, and worried. Who was able to do this? Any why?

But this, it soon turns out, is just the beginning. It is only now–almost as though someone has been watching, waiting for her to find the profile–that her problems really start…

ARC Review – Renegades by Marissa Meyer

November 13, 2017 Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A brilliant beginning to a new series from Marissa Meyer. It’s packed full of all the best super hero cliches making it a really fun read but the real highlight is the wonderful writing and twists and turns which make you question just who’s the superhero and who’s the villain. I can’t wait for book 2.

THE BLURB

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

MY REVIEW

I’m a huge big fan of Marissa Meyer’s and a huge big fan of all things super hero so this should have been a match made in heaven for me and for the most part it was.

The writing is as always wonderful and Meyer certainly knows how to create brilliant and complex characters who are kind of morally grey but it was maybe that little bit too long and had a bit too much going on for me to love it.

The story itself felt very X-Men, two groups of people with super powers (the Renegades and the Anarchists) who have very different ideas about what’s best for society and end up at odds. Nova (or Nightmare to use her super villain name) has been raised by the Anarchists following the death of her family at the hands of a gang. She feels the Renegades let her down and is determined to bring them down at any cost.

Adrian (aka Sketch) is a Renegade and, while he’s not wholly on board with the way some of the Renegade teams operate, he believes in the cause and wants to protect all of those who need it. His mother was one of the original members of the Renegades and after she died in mysterious circumstances he’s been determined to find out what happened to her.

When an attack by the Arnarchists on the Renegades goes wrong Nova decides her best chance to defeat them is to become one, going undercover to destroy them from the inside. Adrian however is obsessed with tracking down Nightmare as she seems to hold the clue to just what happens to his mother. Like Nova though, he also has a secret identity to protect.

I absolutely loved how twisty this story is. Pretty much every one seems to have some kind of secret so there’s a lot of mystery and reveals. The whole secret identity thing is just so wonderfully superhero-y. Although, like Superman, I found myself wondering just how no one could spot it was the same person with a change of clothes/mask/pair of glasses.

There are in fact a lot of the best cliches from the super hero movies, tragic backstory, discovery of powers, changing allegiances, double crosses, ya know all that good stuff. It may not be wholly original but it’s fantastically good fun. What I loved most however is how Meyer manages to take something that should be black and white and make it grey. As the story progresses it become increasingly difficult to work out just which side are the baddies and which are the goodies and I think I ended up with more sympathy for the villains than the heroes.

I really, really liked both Nova and Adrian as characters. Nova is a wonderfully strong character. She begins with some very strong convictions but finds herself questioning them. She does come across as a little naive (especially considering she’s part of the Anarchists) but I can let that go. Adrian is just very sweet and awkward and extremely gallant. He just wants to save everyone.

I absolutely adored the relationship between them. It’s a little bit Romeo and Juliet although Adrian is completely clueless that Nova’s there to destroy his family and she’s completely clueless about his secret identity too. It’s frustrating as hell (why don’t they know) but it’s also totally addictive reading.

The other characters are very well done and many of them surprised me. One in particular I was completely shocked to find myself feeling sorry for but it’s just a mark of how good the authors writing is that I was almost in tears when this horrible character got their comeuppance.

If I had one big gripe about the story it’s that there is possibly too much to keep track of. There are a lot of characters and I have to admit I struggled throughout to keep them straight in my head. Each one has a real name, a superhero name and a super power and it was all just too much for my feeble memory. I kind of hope there’s some kind of character list with all of this information, their relationships to each other and affiliations in the physical book and with a bit of luck in the next book too as I’m never going to remember.

I also think it was maybe a little bit on the long side. There were a few moments in the first half of the book which were on the slow side to allow for all of the world building and scene setting. I can completely understand why it was needed and by the second half I couldn’t put it down but I do wonder if it could have been done differently.

All that being said though I do think this was a brilliant start to the series. Towards the end I was finding it incredibly difficult to put down and ended up staying up till 1am wanting to know how it was going to end and it was totally worth it. That ending was wow and now I don’t know how I’m going to wait for the next book, I need it now.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

ARC Review: Artemis by Andy Weir

November 12, 2017 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Artemis by Andy Weir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An absolutely brilliant heist story set on the moon. Full of detail and, like The Martian, a lot of science but it’s a fascinating and fun read with a great cast of characters and a lot of action.

THE BLURB

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of Jazz’s problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself – and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even more unlikely than the first.

MY REVIEW

So it’s safe to say that I have a rather complicated relationship with sci fi. I always say that I don’t really like it but there’s a surprising number of books in the genre that make my all time favorites list. When it works best for me I think is when it’s light on the science and heavy on the fiction. Long winded descriptions of how things work and why are a big turn off, I honestly don’t care.

This wariness of books heavy with science is in fact the reason I have never read The Martian. I heard there was a lot of descriptions and decided to stick with the movie (which I absolutely love btw). However, having now braved Artemis I think I may need to reconsider.

Very much like The Martian, Artemis is heavy on science, however this time rather than one astronaut trying to survive alone on Mars we have a whole colony living everyday life on the moon. All of them completely dependent on a myriad of systems that let them breathe, eat, drink, move around and keep them safe from any number of threats. It’s absolutely fascinating just how complicated these systems are and how everyday things are just a little bit different in such an environment. There is a lot of description in this but I absolutely loved it.

I have no idea how much is accurate or “real” science but it feels incredibly real and detailed and so well thought out. It’s never too overwhelming though and for someone like me it’s not too heavy and works around the story which is much more heist like in nature. Think Ocean’s Eleven on the moon.

Jazz is a porter and smuggler on Artemis and desperate to raise a very specific sum of money so when she’s offered a less than legal, highly risky job with a potentially huge reward she can’t resist. It all goes wrong however and she ends up on the bad side of some very dangerous people and the law. She’s forced to use her smarts and call in every favor she’s owed from her friends to pull off one more job which just might get her out of trouble or possibly even further in.

I have a feeling that Jazz will not be quite as popular as Mark Watney. She’s abrasive, has dubious ethics and despite being highly intelligent (possibly genius) she’s always looking for the highest reward for minimal effort. She keeps everyone at arms length, reader included, but despite some initial reservations she did grow on me. I loved her rebellious attitude and smart mouth and some of her comebacks really made me laugh. She’s a risk taker and is completely unpredictable which always makes for good reading.

The supporting cast of characters also make for great reading. Some are a little bit stereotyped in places but there’s something very likable about them and I loved the way they bounced off each other. The moments where they’re bantering were probably my favorite parts of the whole book.

The story is a little complicated in places (and not only because of the science) but it’s pretty fast paced and there’s plenty of action. There is the odd moment where it slows down but it did hold my attention throughout and it’s incredibly impressive the amount of detail and work that has clearly gone into it.

Overall, I’m really glad I gave this a go and it’s definitely one I’d recommend if you like a clever heist story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC, as always all views are my own.

WWW Wednesday: 8th November 2017

November 8, 2017November 7, 2017 Ali@abookishlife23 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I started reading Renegades by Marissa Meyer yesterday morning and while I’m only about 5% in I am already loving it. I just really like her writing, it draws you instantly, and I’m a big fan of the whole superhero thing so this this is right up my street. Fingers crossed it lives up to expectations.

I also still have Copycat by Alex Lake on the go but have had to pretty much park it while I try to beat publication dates for some of the ARCs I have.

Recently Finished

I got a bit distracted by ~~stalking Benedict Cumberbatch~~ the filming that was going on in Glasgow last week (pic above from outside my office) but I managed to finish three books.

The first of these was YA thriller Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten which I’d received from NetGalley. I’d previously read and loved the author’s previous book Suicide Notes fro m Beautiful Girls but I think this might have been even better. Honestly it was so good I was picking it up at every possible opportunity.

It’s a dark and twisted story about girl who’s in love with her best friend and is trying to pluck up the courage to tell him when his cheating ex reappears in his life and starts trying to win him back. Girl sets up a fake email and insta to catfish the ex but it all goes disastrously wrong. I posted a raving review at the end of last week with all of my feelings but in summary I loved it and would definitely recommend if you like a good thriller.

The second book finished this week was another NetGalley pick, Strange Weather by Joe Hill. It’s a collection of four short novels very loosely linked by bizarre weather events. This is the first full book I’ve read by Hill (I started the Fireman but still haven’t finished) and I really enjoyed it. I did prefer some stories to others but each one had something about it I loved. The shorter format was both brilliant and really annoying (I need to find out what happens next). It’s definitely encouraged me to go back and finish The Fireman and also read some of his other books.

The third and final book finished was The Truth and Lies of Ella Black by Emily Barr. I read and absolutely adored Barr’s previous novel The One Memory of Flora Banks so I was very excited to receive this from NetGalley a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately while it does have a lot of similarities in writing style I’m not sure I can really say I enjoyed this. There was one really disturbing incident pretty early on in the story that I just couldn’t get past and from there on in I think I was just looking for problems. Something that wasn’t too difficult as there were quite a few things about it that made it uncomfortable reading.

I’m still swithering over whether to review it here but you can find a draft with my initial thoughts over on GoodReads.

Reading Next

I discovered last week that the publication and archive dates for a lot of the books on my NetGalley shelf are a lot sooner than I thought (and than it says on the shelf) so I’ve had to rework my reading plan a lot. I can’t really complain when they’re some of my most anticipated reads 🙂 I think the following will be up next.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Review: Strange Weather by Joe Hill

November 7, 2017 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

Strange Weather by Joe Hill

A brilliant collection of four short novels. This is the first book by Joe Hill I’ve read from start to finish but it’s definitely persuaded me to try some of his longer books. I did enjoy some stories more than others but all were incredibly well done. The shorter format, while frustrating at times (I didn’t want a couple of the stories to end), was used to it’s fullest effect by Hill who somehow managed to pack in a lot of action, well rounded characters and some truly memorable moments.

It’s a bit difficult to rate it as one book so instead I’m going to do some little mini reviews for each of the four stories.

Snapshot – 3.5 stars

This story while not my favorite of the collection turned out to be a strangely emotional read (yes I cried). It’s set in the 1980’s and follows a lonely overweight teenage boy who has a run in with “The Phoenician” a tattooed thug with a polaroid camera that erases memories snap by snap. I think if you know someone who’s been affected by dementia you’ll know how terrible losing your memories can be for both them and their loved ones. This really got to me in a few places as the portrayal of a certain character who’s losing what makes them them was just so real and so sad. As well as being sad this does have it’s creepy and edge of the seat moments. I did however find it a little bit slow in places and I wasn’t keen on the way the story was told from the pov of the boy some 30 years in the future. This is just a personal preference thing though.

Loaded – 4 stars

Despite being written some time ago this story about a mall security guard who courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero seems particularly relevant at the moment. All is not however as it’s being presented as one journalist finds out. This jumps around a little in terms of points of view and time which I struggled with a little particularly at the start but it’s very powerful at times and asks some big questions about racial profiling and gun control. The ending in particular is literally breathtaking.

Aloft – 5 stars

This story of a young man undertaking his first parachute jump only to land on something other than the ground was by far my favorite story in the collection. There was something about it that just instantly drew me in and there was something incredibly likable about main character Aubrey. It was just such an gripping story as Aubrey tries to figure out just what he’s landed on and how he’s going to get out of the predicament he finds himself in.

I loved how we got an instant sense of who Aubrey was and also how the author worked in little flashbacks to tell us how he got to that point and the realizations that he reaches about his life. Plot wise it’s completely unbelievable but Hill makes it seem completely real. My only gripe with this one is that it ended. I want to know so badly what happens next.

Rain – 4.5 stars

This apocalyptic story is the most horrific of the collection but is just sooo good. I find it unbelievable that the author managed to cram so much into so few pages. We have the apocalypse itself in the form of a rain of nails which instantly wipes out large swathes of the population, a bit of semi convincing science behind it, a harrowing journey, a bit of a dig at the current government (and the human race in general) but best of all some great characterization. There are a lot of characters in this one but each and every one of them left some kind of impression, mostly good but more than a few bad. All however felt real despite yet again the unreality of the situation they find themselves in. I did feel the ending was a little bit sudden (hence my knocking off half a point) but otherwise a really enjoyable read.

Overall therefore this is a great collection and if like me you haven’t really read any books by the author a great introduction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

Teaser Tuesday: 7th November 2017

November 7, 2017November 5, 2017 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

This week my teaser comes from Strange Weather by Joe Hill which I received from NetGalley. It’s a collection of four novellas (each around 100-150pgs) written at different points in Hill’s career each with some kind of weather link. I enjoyed some a little more than others (Aloft was my favorite) but all are brilliant.

My teaser is from the first story Snapshot about a Polaroid camera that erases memories with each picture it takes.

My Teaser

“Invent a way not to ged old,” he said. “It is a terrible goddem trick to play on someone. Gedding old is no way to stop being young.”

~ 3% Strange Weather by Joe Hill

Blurb

A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill

“Snapshot” is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by “The Phoenician,” a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.

A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in “Aloft.”

On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. “Rain” explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

In “Loaded,” a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

Mini Review: Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh

November 3, 2017November 3, 2017 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet, funny and very steamy, I found it difficult to resist reading at every opportunity.

THE BLURB

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh kicks off her new Hard Play contemporary romance series with a sizzling story that’ll leave you smiling…

Sailor Bishop has only one goal for his future – to create a successful landscaping business. No distractions allowed. Then he comes face-to-face and lips-to-lips with a woman who blushes like an innocent… and kisses like pure sin.

Ísa Rain craves a man who will cherish her, aches to create a loving family of her own. Trading steamy kisses with a hot gardener in a parking lot? Not the way to true love. Then a deal with the devil (aka her CEO-mother) makes Ísa a corporate VP for the summer. Her main task? Working closely with a certain hot gardener.

And Sailor Bishop has wickedness on his mind.

As Ísa starts to fall for a man who makes her want to throttle and pounce on him at the same time, she knows she has to choose – play it safe and steady, or risk all her dreams and hope Sailor doesn’t destroy her heart.

MY REVIEW

This is only my second Nalina Singh book and the first contemporary romance from her I’ve had a chance to read but it won’t be the last.

Main characters Sailor and Isa are extremely likeable and from pretty much the first page the chemistry between them had steam rising from my kindle. Both are troubled by events from their childhood, Isa pretty much ignored by her family who thought work was more important and Sailor by a father who walked out on the family leaving them destitute, and they’re looking for very different things in life. When they meet however they just can’t resist getting involved despite expecting it to end in disaster.

I had a lot of love for Isa and the way she fought for her family but honestly Sailor has to be the sweetest, kindest and sexiest man alive. The secondary characters were also brilliantly done and I loved how the author worked in a lot of diversity as well as issues such as arranged marriage, bullying and neglect.

The pacing is spot on and I absolutely loved a lot of the dialogue. Sailor and Isa definitely have a lot of chemistry and the sparks certainly fly between them at every interaction but there’s a lot of affection and humor between all of the characters.

I only really had a couple of small niggles the first of which was Isa’ s inner alter ego Devil Isa. That was wandering a little too close to the Fifty Shades inner goddess for me (although I promise it’s nowhere near as bad). I also would’ve liked a bit more struggle, a few more obstacles on the path to “Twue Love” but maybe I’m just mean.

Overall though I did love this book. It’s funny, sweet and has just enough chemistry to keep you going back for more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. This has not influenced my review.

Review: Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

November 2, 2017November 2, 2017 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Wow!!! This book had me gripped from the very first page until the very last. It’s dark and twisted but oh so good and not at all what I was expecting.

Bad girls know there is no right and wrong. There’s just what you’re willing to do.
What you need to do

THE BLURB

From the New York Times bestselling author of Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls comes a stylish thriller about the darkness that lurks inside all of us.

When I looked up, his smile was wide and real. “Ready?” he said.
I faked a smile back. I had gotten so good at faking things.
I thought: You brought this on yourself, Sasha. You will have to pretend forever now.
He squeezed my hand again. He couldn’t begin to imagine what this actually was. He had no idea what I’d done. What any of us had.

When Sasha’s best friend Xavier gets back together with his cheating ex, Ivy, Sasha knows she needs to protect him. So she poses as a guy online to lure Ivy away.

But Sasha’s plan goes sickeningly wrong. And she soon learns to be careful of who you pretend to be because you might be surprised by who you become…

Told in multiple points of view, Bad Girls with Perfect Faces is sexy and twisted with shocks at every turn.

MY REVIEW

Before I start this review properly I should probably confess that I mixed up the blurb for this book with the blurb for another and found myself a tad confused about what I was reading. Despite this, there was something about it that drew me in instantly and I was completely hooked before I realized what I’d done. So hooked in fact that I ended up reading the whole thing without ever going back and reading the synopsis, something that probably worked in my favor as the less you know about it the better.

For that reason I’m not going to go into a lot of detail on the storyline. What I will say is that this is a very dark and twisted story that questions just how far you’d go for someone you love, what you’d do to protect them and just what you’d be willing to forgive. It begins very much like your usual YA contemporary with a girl, Sasha, in love with her best friend, Xavier, but too scared to tell him how she feels. When his ex Ivy reappears in his life and starts trying to rekindle things Sasha resorts to a bit of catfishing to prove to Xavier what Ivy’s really like but things don’t exactly go to plan.

The story is pretty fast paced with more than a few surprises and I found it a lot more gripping than I could have imagined. It was one of those books I couldn’t resist reading at every possible opportunity, and if I wasn’t reading it I was either thinking about it or talking about it. The author’s writing style is perfect for me, it just drew me in completely and didn’t let go. I’d previously read and loved Suicide Notes for Beautiful Girls but I think this may actually be better.

The story is told from three points of view, Sasha’s, Xavier’s and a mystery person’s and the author does a brilliant job of keeping each of these very distinct and different. Even though a big proportion of the book is from Xavier’s point of view though it feels like this story is all about the girls, with Xavier a pawn for them to play with. He’s sweet and kind and a bit fragile, making him no match for the girls. He was probably the only character I kind of liked but still found myself becoming frustrated with how weak he was. I just wanted him to act, to stand up for himself and get free of this toxic relationship with Ivy.

As for Sasha, I wouldn’t say she was necessarily that likeable or even very relatable but there was something about her that fascinated me from the very beginning. She’s very much a loner, left to fend for herself by her mother and with no real friends other than Xavier. She’s completely fearless in some ways, she’ll walk into a party or a club alone and just pick someone up for a one night stand, but you can’t help but wonder how much is an act. Xavier is the only person she really cares about and she loves him fiercely and possessively. Her actions at times were a mystery to me, not because they didn’t make sense but because they were so completely alien to me.

There aren’t many other characters in the story and those that do appear only do so briefly but still manage to make an impression. I loved that the author kept it so simple in this respect as it kept the focus very much on the relationships between Sasha, Xavier and Ivy.

It is a surprisingly dark and disturbing story and I feel like I should add a little bit of a warning that it’s probably more one for older YAs. There is underage drinking, sex, drugs and other things that I won’t go into as they’re spoilery and this isn’t a book you want to know too much about.

Overall though I thought this was an incredible read and is one I’d definitely recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This has not affected my review.