Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Goodreads Blurb

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

I am a giant fan of Lauren Oliver. Whatever she writes, I read. This was actually the book I read before Delirium, and when I discovered Delirium I was ecstatic that she had written another book! Now I'm anxiously awaiting my chance to buy Pandemonium, but this is a review of Before I Fall, not Delirium.

For a book of Lauren Oliver's I think this book is sadly overlooked because of the excitement of Pandemonium and Delirium. Yes, those books are amazing and are going to be amazing, but Before I Fall is just as good. It doesn't have the romance that Delirium has, but it still has that style of writing that makes you feel as if something more is going on, something that will make you think over life again. In a way, Before I Fall is realistic fiction, everything happening is possible; except for the one thing that makes this book so unique. Samantha reliving her death.

In the beginning, I absolutely hated every single character in this book. Samantha, her friends, her boyfriend, the "loser", basically the entire bunch. Samantha seemed fake, petty, and selfish, her boyfriend was a total jerk (and not the good kind), her friends seemed cruel and empty (and like Samantha in that way), and Juliet seemed weak because she didn’t fight back. It’s only later on, I learned why. It’s later on that I realized why Lindsay acted the way she did, and why she seemed so fake—because she was.

In the beginning, Samantha is all looks and little substance. She thinks she’s crazy because she doesn’t “love” Rob, her all-popular boyfriend. Pshh. I sort of pitied Samantha at that moment, she didn’t know the value of her friends, her family, her life. It’s only when she loses all those things that she slowly realizes. There’s a lot of character development in Before I Fall, especially on Samantha’s part. Of course, I didn’t really realize it until near the end. Sam made a lot of mistakes, but slowly, slowly, she fixes them. Slowly, she’s finally getting her last day on Earth right. “Learn from your mistakes” and that’s exactly what she does.

Another plus is that Lauren Oliver played on the domino effect a bit. Samantha relives her last day again and again, so everything should be exactly the same, right?  No. Each word she said, each look she gave, each action she did, changed something. Secrets were exposed, friendships were ruined, lives were saved, lives were killed. But those were all variations of the same day. It’s amazing how Lauren Oliver did all that, but really, was there ever any doubt?

My absolute favorite parts were the italicized parts. They just sent a chill up my spine, which happens when I read a book that touches me. It was like Samantha had gone over her own story and added her comments, added her experiences to help us understand better. My favorite non-italicized parts, to be specific, were pages 419-420, 428, 438, and 468-470. These were the parts that made me cry my eyes out or just absolutely cheered for Samantha. It’s amazing how the small things she does makes the people she cared about, or the people who hated her, happy. Samantha is a great character that shows what it means to have second chances to redo everything. In the end, she sacrificed one of the most important things and didn’t hesitate. In short: Lauren Oliver’s writing will capture your heart and touch you. She shows how everyone makes mistakes in their lives; that we can correct them, and the sacrifices people have to make in the end.



Pages: 470

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Realistic/Fiction (?)

Rating: 5 stars

“It’s too late.” She says. And I say, “It’s never too late.”



Embrace by Cherie Colyer

Goodreads Blurb

How far would you go to save the people you love?

Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It’s responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve.
Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he’s a guy harboring a secret, but she’s willing to risk the unknown to be with him.
Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren’t there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own.

Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.

 

A Read to Review:

Main character, Madison, hates change. It took people away from her, it made everything worse. But she’s about to find out, that not all change is bad, though it’s always surprising. But when new boy, Isaac comes around, creepy/weird things are starting to happen.

(There may be spoilers ahead. Be warned.) This book has to be one of the best romantic fantasies I’ve read in a while that has classic fantasy in it, excluding the vampires and werewolves that have become so popular nowadays.  It was a fun read that’s perfect for any rainy day! When I received this, I immediately started reading it and finished it within two hours! It’s an amazing story and has twists and turns almost everywhere you look.

It does have its clichés like the new, mysterious boy coming in, but something that is different is that instead of being part of the popular group or being cocky like in other books, Isaac is nice, friendly, and is immediate friends with Madison, although there is that attraction that’s looming above them. And quickly, it turns their friendship into something more. But you can already tell that from the blurb, can’t you? Anyways, the romance isn't a big part of he story which is great. Sometimes, when the everything just circles around the romance, it can get annoying. That's not he case here. there was enough romance to add some more drama, but not enough to make the book seem completely fake.

I have to admi, I fell or some tricks that were played in the story. I pointed fingers at someone who had (almost) nothing to do with what was going on and got a bit turned around again when I did the same thing. So, yeah, this is a pretty good book! Something hat kinda hit me was that Kevin (you'll find out who he is early in the book) doesn't seem like an important chaacter in the first half of the book, but then, all of a sudden he's a giant part of the plot. So, yeah. that's really it!

Pages: 220

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Romance/Fantasy

Rating: 3 stars

"Kaylee, there's no one there." And even though I couldn't see anyone, I was still freaked out.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Goodreads Blurb

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

I have to admit that even though the blurb was very...catching (funny use of word don't ya think?) it still took some time to convince myself to even start reading this book. Everyone who knows me knows I don't read that much realistic fiction except on Wattpad (a.k.a. Best Site in the WORLD!) unless it sounded good and had gotten high praise. This was one of those books, and yet, I was still reluctant to read it. Finally, I picked it up and started reading. How could I ever have thought it wouldn't be good?!

It takes much to touch me the way Stolen did. The only books that have done so so far are Delirium, Divergent, Across the Universe, etc. Really there've only been 5 total. Stolen, obviously, has no connections with them what with those books all being dystopia. And yet it still liked to a part of me. Miss Christopher writes this story beautifully in the form of a letter which not many try to accomplish. Even less people actually manage to succeed!

When Gemma is first stolen, she's scared of him, like any sane person would be! She doesn't trust him even though he hasn't hurt her nor r*** her. Interrupting this train of thought for a while, I just thought I'd say that though this is often classified as a romance novel, it focuses more on trust. How to find the strength to trust someone no matter what they've done to you. Back on topic, Gem tries to both kill herself, then tries to kill/harm Ty. Crazy, crazy girl. Not that I blame her from trying. And yet Ty doesn't get angry as much as one would think. Instead he's kind, caring. Showing her things he never showed anyone before. Although being in Australia in the desert with no civilizations miles round will do that. And even though SHE never fell in love with him till the end, I did. He was...despite his stalking (even if it is a big point) is everything you would want in a guy: sweet, caring, cute.

This review is going to be short or else we would be here all day with me spouting praises for this book! So long story short, this is one of the best books over, and you definitely need to read it!

Pages: 299

Series: Stand-alone book

Genre: Romance/Realistic

Rating: 5 stars

"When I get into court, I'm going to tell them the truth. My truth. I will say that you kidnapped me, of course. You did.I will tell them how you drugged me, and of your mood swings. I won't shy away from the evil you can be. But I'll tell them of your otherside, too."

Iron King by Julie Kagawa



Goodreads Blurb

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I forgot how I first got introduced to this book, but thank goodness I did! I've always been interested in the fey, the dangerous, cruel immortals instead of the fluttering pixies with glowing wings. Now, if you know you're urban mytholygy, all fey have an aversion to iron, right? Julie Kagawa plays on this legend and uses her imagination to dream up the Iron Fey, a new race of faeries who are made from the new dreams of mortals, dreams of science and technology. 

When the journey starts, it's Meghan's sixteenth birthday, a big thing for all teens. She swears this is going to be the day she gets her crush to notice her, but instead, she gets something she never thought possible. The knowledge of her true heritage, the entrance to a whole new world where Summer and  Winter are enemies and where there are many, many things that want to destroy her.

What I didn't catch at the beginning of this book, and what made me face-palm myself, was that her best friend is the one legendary faery that is not royalty, and yet is still so old. A few chapters in, I was hooked and Meghan was already running away from human-eating trolls and escaping death by a millimeter, not to mention meeting a faery cat that reminds me suspiciously of the Cheshire Cat. Don't tell him I said that. When reading this you won't be bored what with everything going on here and there.

Meghan's world is suddenly turned up. Side. Down. Especially when she discovers that her father wasn't her father, that she's half faery princess, that her best friend isn't human, that she's falling in love with someone who can never be with her and who's supposed to be your enemy. It's bound to happen.

This book is one of my favorites for many reasons. The characters will make you love them no matter how infuriating they are, you'll start to actually feel like you're in Arcadia, or the iron realm, and you'll experience the exact same emotions along with Meghan. I was so into this book that I read it in one sitting and into the night.

After reading this, you'll be making your parents buy you the next book, Iron Daughter, just to find out what happens with Ash, Robbie (insert wink), and Meghan! Plus there'll be the usual check-under-your-bed-for-bogies and look-at-computers-weirdly routine that you'll be experiencing every time you think of this book!

Pages: 363
Series: Iron Fey Book 1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars

"I glanced up and found his face inches from mine, his eyes searingly bright in the shadows of the room. Time seemed frozen around us."

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick



Goodreads Blurb

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

I love Hush, Hush. Completely. Utterly. Without a doubt. You get the point. The way that Becca explains everything so that it doesn't bombard you with information, but also doesn't five you so little that you have to draw your own wacky conclusions just to fill in the holes. No. She feeds you the info rationally, but enough, just to make you crave more of the world of Hush, Hush...and of Patch.

Ah, now there's one sexy, badass, not to mention cocky, fallen angel. I was there all along the way with Nora as she felt first angry at Patch, scared of Patch, attracted to Patch, curious about Patch, back to scared, and finally in love with Patch. Already in love with this world, all he's going to do is pull you in deeper and deeper until you don't want to stop reading, turning the pages frantically.

On the subject of characters, let's turn away from the main guy character, onto the narrator. Nora. Nora is what you would call the outcast of the school along with her best friend Vee, who, at times, can be a bitch. Excuse my language.  They're the enemies of Queen Bee Marcie Millar, and are in their own little world where nothing can really hurt them. Their spots in the social ladder isn't suprising, nor are their personalities. Nora is the pratical one, the worrier, the "what if" person while Vee is the outgoing, flirty one who urges Nora on. In other words, they complete each other and balance one another.

Now off that subject, This book goes at a perfect pace for a book such as this.. Not too slow, not too fast, where you won't be confused, and you won't be bored. Just when you think that you've figured everything out, you read a chapter, and find out you've got everything wrong. Again. Goodness knows, I was shocked out of my mind at some parts!

Pages: 391
Series: Hush, Hush Book 1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: 4 stars

"I don't have to break down to kill you. If I'd wanted you dead five minutes ago, you'd have died five minutes ago"

Old Magic by Marianne Curley



Goodreads Blurb

The moment the new guy walks into the room, Kate senses something strange and intense about him. Something supernatural. Her instincts are proven correct a few minutes later when, bullied by his classmates, Jarrod unknowingly conjures up a freak thunderstorm inside their classroom.
Jarrod doesn't believe in the paranormal. When Kate tries to convince him that he has extraordinary powers that need to be harnessed, he only puts up with her "hocus pocus" notions because he finds her captivating. However, the dangerous, uncontrolled strengthening of his gift finally convinces Jarrod that he must take Kate's theories seriously. Together, they embark on a remarkable journey -- one which will unravel the mystery that has haunted Jarrod's family for generations and pit the teens against immense forces in a battle to undo the past and reshape the future.

I walked into Half Price Bookstore, expecting to find a little treausure among all the discarded books. I mean, a person's trash can be another person's treasure, right? And guess what I foudn...Old Magic. The cover drew me in, the title hooked me on, and the summary sealed the deal.

This book had all the cliches of a fantasy/paranormal novel. New guy. Check. Cute. Check. Something freaky happens. Check. Secrets are found. Double check. But hey, we all need a little cheesiness in our lives right? Anyways, in this story, the roles are reversed. As many readers know, the new kid always has a mysterious past and is hiding a secret and the narrator is the oblivious one. Now, its vice versa.

Onto the author's writing style. I think Marianne has a nice writing style and the reactions are right and all that. There was one thing I hated though. One thing that constantly got on my nerves. One thing that was a big part of the story. Jarrod. Throught the story, he kept annoying me. Why? Because he kept denying over and over that he had magical, and powerful, blood. For half the book. Usually, denial only lasts one chpater. Here? Not the case. So if you're planning to read it, expect that.

Character time! As we all know, I hate Jarrod. So much in fact, that I started rooting for the antagonist. Seriously, I was just that pissed off...until I remembered that Kate would've been killed too...in some way. (I'm not spoiling anything) Anyways, slowly I started cheering for Jarrod, but you don't know how hard it was until he finally did something helpful. All in all, it was a pretty OK book. Not the best...not the worst...sorta close to it though.

Short story: It'll leave you mildly suprised, smug, and relieved. It'll make you twitch for one moment, then relax. Not enough for a scream or tears, but a twitch. Doesn't make sense? Well, that's the best I can say.

Pages: 369
Series: Stand-alone Book
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Rating: 2 stars

"A sudden chill hits every one or my senses. The thought of sleeping in this room now gives me the creeps. I withdraw from Isabel's mind, but the fearful sensationss remaing, to strong to subside."