A Disappointment // ARC Review: As She Fades by Abbi Glines

Title: As She Fades
Author: Abbi Glines
Publication Date: April 3rd 2018
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Macmillan INTL (Thank You!)
Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Foyles || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: On the night of her high school graduation, Vale McKinley and her boyfriend Crawford are in a terrible car accident that leaves Crawford in a coma. They were supposed to spend the summer planning for college, for a bright future full of possibility. Together. Instead, Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken.
Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale's brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can't deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she's not immune to Slate's charm. Slowly, they form a cautious friendship.
Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she's in Slate's territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn.

DISCLAIMER: I read from an ARC and as I have no access to a finished copy, I'm unable to check if any of the quotes from below have changed.  

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

THIS BOOK LET ME DOWN.

No, let me correct that statement – this book MORE THAN LET ME DOWN.

In all honestly, As She Fades MADE ME ANGRY, and BORED ME ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Angry because these characters were NOT well developed, the writing was SO AWKWARD AND STILTED AND UNBELIEVABLE and also BORED me because the story was predictable, the characters felt 2-d and unrealistic and THIS JUST WAS NOT A BOOK I ENDED UP ENJOYING.

In fact, it got SO BAD that by the time I was at around page 180, I just flipped to the end and read the last chapter, just to be done with it all.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK:

1.       THE WRITING:

“I watched as he walked out of the room. He really did have his own special swagger. It was hard not to watch. The bad-boy persona fit him well. But now I had been given a peer into his heart. And apparently it was pretty big. Not self-centred like I had thought."

IT JUST DOESN’T READ WELL, YOU KNOW? The writing made me not like the plot and the characters (BOTH OF WHICH I WILL GET TO LATER)

It was like the concept of commas, semicolons or hyphens were LOST on this book. It might have changed in the finished copy, but I simply couldn’t get into this stilted writing.

2.       THE CHARACTERS (The Vale Edition):

This story is told from ‘GOOD GIRL’ Vale and ‘BAD BOY’ Slate’s points of view. And, quite honestly, I couldn’t like either of them.

Even when things were told from Vale’s point of view, I just couldn’t connect with her. She made major life decisions within one page, and they held almost no emotion. She was jealous, petty and when the plot twist came to life, I JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLE BE A “CHANGED” PERSON WHEN YOU’VE SPENT OVER A MONTH IN A COMA, LITERALLY UNCONSCIOUS? It just felt like such a cop-out story, the way the narrative changed purely for the ‘shock’ factor even though it didn’t make any sense.

3.       THE BAD BOY TROPE (The Slade Edition):

If I read this book six to eight years ago, I probably would’ve liked it. But, as my feminist side has evolved. HORRIBLE TROPES LIKE THE ALMOST EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE BAD BOY TROPE are things I’ve come to HATE.

SLATE: “I didn’t need a verbal answer. Your eyes told me. Now I’m asking you why.”

?? EYES DO NOT GIVE OUT ANSWERS, RIGHT??

SLATE: “…Vale asked. She had a really good voice. The sadness in her eyes was hard not to look at. It bothered me. A girl like her should be protected. Not have to face hard shit.”

I CANNOT EVEN EXPLAIN ALL THE THINGS WRONG WITH THAT LINE. So BOYS can face “hard shit” but girls are delicate princesses that just need to sit on their feather beds all day? WHAT EVEN.

In my honest opinion, I don’t think this book is worth it. I can see how some people MIGHT think it is romantic, and I would’ve thought so too, almost a decade ago, but it’s JUST NOT. TREAT GIRLS EQUALLY. CONSENT AND VERBAL CONSENT ARE IMPORTANT.

I didn’t have a good time reading this book. 1.75 Stars. 

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. She uses social media to procrastinate.

Have you read any book by Abbi Glines?

What did you think of it?

 

ARC Review: Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey

Title: Suitors and Sabotage
Author: Cindy Antsey
Publication Date: April 17th 2018
Publisher: Swoon Reads (Macmillan)
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Macmillan INTL (Thank You!)
Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Shy aspiring artist Imogene Chively has just had a successful Season in London, complete with a suitor of her father's approval. Imogene is ambivalent about the young gentleman until he comes to visit her at the Chively estate with his younger brother in tow. When her interest is piqued, however, it is for the wrong brother. 
Charming Ben Steeple has a secret: despite being an architectural apprentice, he has no drawing aptitude. When Imogene offers to teach him, Ben is soon smitten by the young lady he considers his brother's intended. 
But hiding their true feelings becomes the least of their problems when, after a series of "accidents," it becomes apparent that someone means Ben harm. And as their affection for each other grows—despite their efforts to remain just friends—so does the danger. . . 

 

Actual Rating 2.5 Stars

Over the last few months, I’ve been reading more romance books than ever before. I absolutely love awkward encounters, chemistry filled moments and the eventual realisation that the two protagonists have been in love all along.

I had HIGH hopes for Suitors and Sabotage, Cindy Anstey’s third book because of all the lovely reviews I’d seen trusted bloggers giving it, the GORGEOUS cover, and the premise in general.

Instead, what I found, was a rather silly book with absolutely no character growth that I forced myself to finish over the course of an ENTIRE week and, worst of all, a romance I didn’t even feel. All in all, it was not a book I enjoyed.

MY THOUGHTS:

1.       My initial problem, and one of the more jarring, was that I felt ABSOLUTELY 0% CHEMISTRY between our two forbidden lovers, Imogene and Ben. It was this Insta-love thing BUT dragged out over 250 pages, with the last 50 being your standard martyr nonsense. I SO BADLY WANTED TO FEEL THE ROMANCE between a headstrong artistic girl and an architect’s apprentice but I got nothing.

2.       Honestly, NONE of the characters in the book were well rounded. We heard nothing of their fears, anecdotes from their childhood or parental interaction and forgiveness or anything at all that made them seem more real. Instead, the only description// personality we got from them through the whole book, was EXACTLY what was in the back. I basically could have read the synopsis, instead of the whole book, because THERE WAS NOTHING BUT PINING AND WHINING ON THE INSIDE.

3.       So many of the plot points intended to harm Ben were so ridiculous, I skimmed through the pages everytime one happened. I especially did not understand the last two because WHAT EVEN? Bees? Muddy Water? Falling Roofs?

4.       Another thing I didn’t like was Emily and Imogene’s friendship. Not only was it THOROUGHLY UNEXPLORED and just there as an additional plot “problem” but also IMOGENE WAS SUCH AN UNSUPPORTIVE FRIEND (and jealous and petty) AND I HATED IT.

5.       Honestly, I wish this book had more SUBSTANCE, CHEMISTRY and PLOT and less ridiculous accidents and unsupportive friends and brothers.

I don’t know if I’ll pick up another Cindy Anstey book in the future, but I can say for sure that I wasn’t a fan of this one. 2.5 stars.

Whenever she is not sitting at the computer, throwing a ball in the backyard, gardening or reading, Cindy can be found--actually, not found--adventuring around the world with her hubby. 

She has lived on three continents, had a monkey in her yard and a scorpion under her sink, dwelt among castles and canals, enjoyed the jazz of Beale St and attempted to speak French. 

Cindy loves history, mystery and... a chocolate Labrador called Chester. Love, Lies and Spies is her debut novel.

What are some of your favourite romance novels?

I'm slowly getting into the genre, and I'd absolutely LOVE to get recommendations!

Thanks for reading until here <3

REVIEW RANT: Winner Take All by Laurie Devroe

Title: Winner Take All
Author: Laurie Devroe
Publication Date: January 30th 2018
Publisher: Imprint (Macmillan)
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Macmillan International (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || The Book Depository || Wordery || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: For Nell Becker, life is a competition she needs to win.For Jackson Hart, everyone is a pawn in his own game.They both have everything to lose.
Nell wants to succeed at everything—school, sports, life. And victory is sweeter when it means beating Jackson Hart, the rich, privileged, undisputed king of Cedar Woods Prep Academy. Yet no matter how hard she tries, Jackson is somehow one step ahead. They’re a match made in hell, but opposites do attract.
Drawn to each other by their rivalry, Nell and Jackson fall into a whirlwind romance that consumes everything in their lives. But when a devastating secret exposes their relationship as just another game, how far will Nell go to win?
Visceral and whip-smart, Laurie Devore’s Winner Take All paints an unflinching portrait of obsessive love, toxic competition, and the drive for perfection. 

Actual Rating 1.5 Stars

I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD OFFICIALLY RENAME THIS BOOK TO “THE CHRONICLES OF THE MOST MESSED UP CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE.”

Not lying, I was FAIRLY EXCITED when I dove into this book. It sounded like a light and yet adorable high school read that I was quite looking forward to. I even had Laurie Devroe on my blog a little while ago and she is SUCH a nice human and I was looking forward to her second book.

SPOILER: I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK. AT ALL. I WANTED TO SHAKE THE CHARACTERS HARD TO ALLOW SOME SENSE TO PASS INTO THEIR SILLY HEADS BECAUSE I DID NOT GET THIS BOOK.

In fact, I was SO SO CLOSE to DNF’ing it that the only ONLY reason I kept reading was because I LIKE THE AUTHOR and I WAS HOPING HER BOOK WOULD TAKE A TURN FOR THE BETTER. (It did not.)

My Thoughts:

1.       About 50 pages into the book, I WAS (STILL) WAITING TO FEEL THE CHEMSTRY between Jackson and Nell. I LOVE the enemies to lovers trope but from the very get go // first scene between them, I STRUGGLED TO FEEL EVEN AN OUNCE of chemistry. They were both headstrong and complicated and unwilling to see things outside of their own perspective and sometimes that works, BUT IT DID NOT WITH THESE TWO and instead they came off as selfish, self-obsessed teenagers with egos the size of a large country.

2.       I get that this book tried to portray the double standards is gives men and women and I WOULD have liked that had I liked the character who was trying to send across that message. Nell Becker was a petty human being who was running The Nell Show and there wasn’t a single time in the book that I liked her as a person. She ran around claiming she had to work twice as hard because she wasn’t filthy rich (but she WAS upper middle class) and because she was a girl (YES, SO AM I) and really, I HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT. This book was a 400 page PITY PARTY AND REVENGE PLOT (sex scenes included) and I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW.

3.       NELL BECKER FAKED A PREGNANCY AND LIED ABOUT THE POSITIVE ON THE TEST BECAUSE SHE WANTED JACKSON TO BEG AND APOLOGIZE AND PLEAD AND WHAT EVEN IS THAT. I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THIS GIRL OR HER SELFISH AS FUCK MOTIVATIONS. Even as she FAKED A DAMN PREGNANCY FOR SYMPATHY, she had the most HOLIER THAN THOU ATTITUDE AND HONESTLY, SHE NEEDED A REALITY CHECK.

4.       Jackson Hart was NO BETTER EITHER. He knew some pretty messed up drama between Nell’s family and his own and ALL THROUGH THE BOOK HE WAS TRYING TO WIN SOME GAME I COULDN’T BEGIN TO FATHOM.

5.       Really, WHAT WAS EVEN HAPPENING? I was disgusted at the ridiculousness of the characters in the book and the PRIVELIDGE that Nell had but CLAIMED SHE NEVER DID. She was ignorant, rude and playing life in a way I couldn’t understand.

I apologize for the rant, but I am simply mentally EXHAUSTED. If you didn’t get it, I did not like this book. At all. 1.5 stars. 

Laurie Devore was born and raised in small town South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University. She now lives and works in Chicago, where she misses the charms and contradictions of the south every day. In her spare time, she reluctantly runs marathons, watches too much TV,  and works a “y’all” into every conversation. 

How to Break a Boy is her first novel, followed by Winner Take All.

Have you read either of Laurie Devroe's books? What do you think of them?

What was the last book you read that you didn't like at all?

What are some of the book I should stay AWAY from?

I'd absolutely love to hear from you!

 

I Expected More // REVIEW: Instructions for a Second Hand Heart by Tamsyn Murray

Title: Instructions for a Second Hand Heart
Author: Tamsyn Murray
Publication Date: November 1st 2016
Publisher: Usbourne Publishing
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Usbourne Publishing (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || The Book Depository || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Kobo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Jonny isn't like "normal" teenagers. Every day he wakes up in hospital, kept alive by a machine. Every day he wonders if this is the day they'll find a donor match for his heart. Every day he wonders if this is the day he'll die.
Every day, Niamh fights with her "perfect" brother Leo. Every single day, Leo wins. Every day, Niamh dreams of a life without Leo. But all that changes on the day of the accident: the day EVERYTHING falls apart.
This is a story about facing the future no matter how frightening. This is a story about healing your heart, no matter how much it hurts. 

If I could sum up this book in one sentence, it would be: I expected more.

I flipped close the last page a few hours ago and I’ve spent that time being so mad at what a horrible friend Jonny was and how there was such a lack of chemistry between Jonny and Nimah.

So, let’s break it down:

Plot

I liked how this sounded, I did. Your new romantic interest is the boy who has your dead brother’s heart? Sign me up.

As soon as I read the description, I knew it was a book I’d want to read one day. It certainly is a unique plot, and I thought it would be fun to read.

I should also mention that I could see the amount of research Tamsyn put into the book. It never once felt like the information or the medical treatment that the characters were going through was anything less than 100% accurate.

Story

While the plot was good, the actual execution wasn’t that great.

For starters, there was no chemistry between Jonny and Nimah. All I could tell was that Nimah fell for the first guy or even person that paid her any attention and Jonny for the first girl he had a reason to talk to. There texts were bland, and HOW THEY MET WAS SO STRANGE.

More than that, the story progressed rather strangely. The way Nimah behaved with her parents, the way there was this random bout of depression and suicide that were sped over SO SO FAST with vague “we spoke for days about it” and “my family that never spoke to each other meaningfully will now never lie to each other”

If you’re going to handle grief, you should handle it well. If you’re going to put in suicidal thoughts and depression, it shouldn’t be glossed over.

Characters

I hated how Jonny came into contact with Nimah, and then wouldn’t tell her the truth about how he found her. There were a series of horrible lies that had me cringing. And then Nimah was jealous of a poor girl suffering on a hospital bed and said she would “allow” Jonny to speak to his friend.

Jonny ABUSED the fact that he had been given a heart, stopped taking his medicines and HUNG OUT WITH A BUNCH OF SMOKERS? It just contradicted everything he went through all so that he would make friends. I was SO SO MAD.

I really hated how he treated Em. She was always there for him, but he didn’t once understand that he might be jealous that he’d gotten better and pretty much thought her irrational when she thought he was jeopardizing his new chance at living. ALSO, HOW THEY ENDED HER STORY LINE MADE ME SCREAM. NOT COOL.

And then Nimah managed to get JEALOUS about it. I was so done.

Conclusion

Basically, I expected this book to be so much more. 2.5 Stars at best. 

Hertfordshire-based writer of books. Lives with one husband, one daughter, one son, one mad chocolate labrador, one aged tabby cat, five gorgeous bunnies. Likes animals (no, really?), Marmite and messing about on stage. Dislikes spiders, celery and arrogant people.

Have you read any harrowing books on Organ Donation? 

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