Romanov - by Nadine Brandes

Title: Romanov

Author: Nadine Brandes

Published: 7 May 2019

Series: -

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:

The history books say I died.
They don’t know the half of it. 
Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before.
Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are to either release the spell and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction to Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her.
That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I also then purchased the book and listened to it as an audiobook.

While reading this book I was enjoying reading about the, at least slightly fictitious, life of the Romanovs as I've never really learned about them in my life -- only what I know from watching the Disney movie Anastasia when I was younger. I also adore the cover on this book! the reds and golds look stunning against the solid black

However, I was hoping that there would be a little more magic than what was presented throughout the book. Most of the time we either see relief spells or are shown/told about the Romanov doll.

There were a handful of times where I felt as if one or more of the Romanov children were forgotten about or simply glossed over. I understand that this wasn't a story from their point of view, but it would have been nice to hear more than just something like "Olga stayed behind to read to mother".

One romance I didn't mind seeing in this was between Evan and Maria and my heart felt for Maria when they were caught together during the surprise inspection and the consequences that came afterwards for them.

My three favourite characters would probably have to be Nastya, Alexei and Nikolai (their father). The bond between Nastya and Nikolai, and also Nastya and Alexei would never be broken in this story, my guess is -- only death could seperate them and even then their love would never disappear.

I may have only given this book 3 stars, but I wouldn't mind reading it again at a later date.

My favourite quote from the book is below:

"We are Romanovs. The bond of our hearts spans miles, memory and time."

Spoilers!

The romantic-type moments between Zash and Nastya weren't too bad and they were just subtle enough to make them believable -- especially when trying to stay unseen while portraying a severe Bolshevik soldier. Towards the end the romantic moments heightened though and I didn't get as into them as I did when the entire family was in the house in confinement. I would have been happy to just see the pair as friends in the end though.

End Spoilers!

Everything, Everything - by Nicola Yoon

Title: Everything, Everything

Author: Nicola Yoon

Published: 1 Sep 2015

Series: -

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Wanting just leads to more wanting. There's no end to desire.

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

It was interesting reading about 'bubble baby disease' as I hadn't heard much about it before. The name of the disease is fairly self-explanatory, but it was still interesting to hear about the bits I hadn't known before.

Something I've noticed in many TV shows, movies and books I've watched and read seems to be that most people say "Welcome to our new home!" when they get to a new house. I still have no idea why people do that.

It's nice how Madeleine is half-Japanese and half-African American but it's not a big deal. But I think that my favourite character in the book was probably Olly, followed by Carla as they both cared for Madeleine and both had a sense of humour.

I'd like to know more about her dad and her brother - what her mum remembered them being like, the little things her brother would do for his younger sister, the jokes her dad would tell...

Spoilers!

Why is there usually a "breath/tension they didn't realise they'd been holding" variation in YA? Beginning to get sick of seeing that.

I did love that Olly was good to her and that he cared for her, but I also feel like there was a sort of insta-love too.

Zach being gay was great as Olly and Madeleine didn't make a big deal about it - it's just part of who Zach is as a person.

Why yes, I did indeed cry at the ending.

End Spoilers!

What If It's Us - by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Title: What If It's Us

Author: Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Published: 9 Oct 2018

Series: -

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.
Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.
But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?
Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.
Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.
But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?
What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?
What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?
But what if it is?

What if we haven’t seen the best us yet?

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Arthur James Seuss: a 5’6” Jewish kid with ADHD and the rage of a tornado. Ben Hugo Alejo: a freckle faced Catholic Puerto Rican. The book centres around both of these boys but you manage to love the secondary characters just as much as the main ones.

Dylan: On the sad scale, how are you feeling today? Opening-montage-of-Up sad? Or Nemo’s-om-dying-sad?
Ben: …last-five-minutes-of-Toy-Story-3 sad.

There are also many references in the book too. Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lyft, Avenue Q, Titanic, The Fault in Our Stars and a few more.

Dylan acts how most best friends would (and how mine definitely does) – asking about how their friend’s date went. “Who is he? Name. Address. Social security number. Twitter and Instagram handles.”

I loved this book and there were so many themes that should be shared around so that the entire human race finally hears them and hopefully finally absorbs them!

1. Not everything is love at first sight
2. You can still be friends after you break up
3. Not being ready for sex is okay
4. Asking about things to do with sex is okay
5. LGBT+ should be able to come out when they’re ready and not be pressured into it
6. Everyone doubts themselves about something
7. Take people as they are! Not everyone from a certain race etc can speak the language or follows the religion etc.
8. Not kissing someone before you’re ready to is okay
9. Some people are able to jump into love and others have to take their time
10. Sometimes you just need time to love yourself before you can love someone else

I also love that Juliet is biromantic ace.

Plus I think the treasure hunt was probably my favourite part of the book. I’m a sucker for cute things like that.

Maybe it’s all about people coming into your life for a little while and you take what they give you and use it in your next friendship or relationship. And if you’re lucky, maybe some people pop back in after you thought they were gone for good.

Spoilers!

I did guess that Arthur was going to meet the actual Hudson, but the meeting was more amusing than I thought it was going to be.

Also, I very much wanted to scream at the man on the train that was being super rude and anti-gay. You can have your own opinions about sexuality etc, but there’s definitely no need to shout it at someone and make them feel terrible just because you have your own opinion of something. We are called individuals for a reason!

End Spoilers!

Twice Dead - by Caitlin Seal

Title: Twice Dead

Author: Caitlin Seal

Published: 18 Sep 2018

Series: The Necromancer's Song #1

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

Naya, the daughter of a sea merchant captain, nervously undertakes her first solo trading mission in the necromancer-friendly country bordering her homeland of Talmir. Unfortunately, she never even makes it to the meeting. She's struck down in the streets of Ceramor. Murdered.

But death is not the end for Naya. She awakens to realize she's become an abomination--a wraith, a ghostly creature bound by runes to the bones of her former corpse. She's been resurrected in order to become a spy for her country. Reluctantly, she assumes the face and persona of a servant girl named Blue. 
She never intended to become embroiled in political plots, kidnapping, and murder. Or to fall in love with the young man and former necromancer she is destined to betray.

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I'll be the first to admit that yes, I did want to read this mainly because of the awesome name of the author (I may be biased on that point though) and the lovely cover. Then when I read the synopsis, I was definitely ready to read this one.

There were many sailing references to be found in this book, and you didn't have to be a sailor to understand them which was good.

I also liked that there were runes to bind a person's spirit to their body once they were dead. It's probably the first time that I've read where that needs to happen for a spirit to stay bound. Plus the carvings in wraith's bones was an interesting thing to read about.

One thing I didn't like was only a small thing, but for some reason in the things I see or read recently there seems to be a mad king for one reason or another so I felt kind of meh about that when I saw that come up.

Corten seemed pretty nice though and I think I probably liked him more than I liked Naya. Plus I loved that Lucia and Alejandra were together and made me like Lucia a little more than I already did - I don't know why that's the reasoning, but I know it helped.

The reason behind Naya being able to do things that other wraiths can't was an interesting twist and I liked that point quite a bit.

By the time the glass bird that Corten had made was brought up towards the end, I had pretty much forgotten about it - whoops!

Overall, I definitely loved the story though and I was very into it. There were time that I didn't want to put it down because I wanted to find out what happened next. That cliffhanger has me stuck though and now I seriously want to find out what happens next!

Spoilers! 

My first thought when we find out that Lucia literally sings Naya back to not-quite-life, was that Naya was probably one of the undead - turns out she's actually a wraith.

The almost insta-love between Corten and Naya did annoy me a little though.

It would have been nice if I was interested in Corten just a little more as it probably would have made his death sad for me to read if it was.

End Spoilers!

__________________________________________________

All books in this series:

    1 | Twice Dead
    2 | Trinity of Bones

Fawkes - by Nadine Brandes

Title: Fawkes

Author: Nadine Brandes

Published: 10 July 2018

Series: -

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.
Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.
But what if death finds him first?
Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.
The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.
The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.
No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

Have you no honor to stand for your beliefs?

Standing for my beliefs isn't always the same as standing for truth.

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My favourite thing about this book is probably that Emma was a strong character who could look after herself and beat half the boys at their own game.

I really loved the idea of how the colour masks and Colour Test worked. The book is set in 1604, but doesn't have the 'ye olde english' feel to the words. Plus I adore this cover as it's so pretty.

There being a White Light as one of the colours was an interesting point to include in the book and how every colour apparently stemmed from it. I also loved its sass and how it sounded like a best friend would a couple of times. A couple of times I guessed that Guy Fawkes or Emma may have been White Light users too, but we do find out whether they actually are or not.

If someone, somewhere, somehow, can also make a Lady's Ball like how it was described in Fawkes then I will be very grateful as it sounded beautiful and definitely makes me want to go. Well, maybe make it without a few of the pieces we're told about.

I also cringed pretty hard at the end though when we find out how they attach the mask to the Gunpowder Plot plotter's faces. Plus the information we find out at the end of the book about the true story behind the book is pretty fascinating stuff too.

There has always been fear. There will always be fear. It's up to us to stand tall, even when the fear demands we bow to it.

Spoilers!

Norwood's death wasn't as sad as I sort of hoped it would be, but I still felt bad for Thomas.

I also guessed that Emma was black when my White Light idea didn't pan out, but it still surprised me.

Big question here though: How and why did Dee learn about and spread the Stone Plague?

But I loved that Thomas' mask was made from the same Stone Plague that had haunted him and been connected to him for years after he was freed from it.

End Spoilers!

The Tattoo Thief - by Alison Belsham

Title: The Tattoo Thief
Author: Alison Belsham
Series: -
Published: 3 May 2018
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
A policeman on his first murder case
A tattoo artist with a deadly secret
And a twisted serial killer sharpening his blades to kill again...
When Brighton tattoo artist Marni Mullins discovers a flayed body, newly-promoted DI Francis Sullivan needs her help. There's a serial killer at large, slicing tattoos from his victims' bodies while they're still alive. Marni knows the tattooing world like the back of her hand, but has her own reasons to distrust the police. So when she identifies the killer's next target, will she tell Sullivan or go after the Tattoo Thief alone?


One, two, cut a tattoo
Three, four, flay some more
Five, six, my bloody fix
Seven, eight, will not wait

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There were some characters dealing with things that was nice to see in a book. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was mentioned as Francis' mother and sister have it,  Francis went to church regularly, and Marni has diabetes. The down side was that diabetes was only mentioned at the start and during the end scene.

While reading the book, I did have many questions, but pretty much all of them were answered. Questions such as: Who's Paul? Who's the Collector? Did the Thief kill Ron? Who's Luke?

It was quite fun to try and guess who he Thief and the Collector were as the book went on too. I'm sure that I guessed nearly all the characters in my quest to find out who it was. I guessed Rory, Steve, Thierry, Paul, Bradshaw, and Tom Fitz to name a few. The real answer as to who the Thief and Collector were did shock me a bit though.

There are multiple points of view in the book, and they're not in a pattern so it did take me a little to figure out who was up to what at the start of each chapter. 

Spoilers!

Finding out that Marni and Thierry were targets was another shock.

Also, when I found out that the Thief was a woman, I actually had to stop reading to try and wrap my brain around that piece of information. It was a bit disappointing that I wasn't able to correctly guess who the Thief was as we had never officially met her along the way.

End Spoilers!

Whisper - by Lynette Noni

Title: Whisper
Author: Lynette Noni
Published: 1 May 2018
Series: Whisper #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me.
I believed them. That was my mistake.
There isn’t anyone else in the world like me.
I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster. 
For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word.
As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Another book from an Aussie author! This book is also set in Sydney.

Little Abby was adorable, Enzo is awesome, Cami would make an amazing best friend (plus I really want to try her pancakes), and Ward and Kael are tied as my favourite male characters. Also, if Vanik could go fall off a cliff, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm sure a lot of character from the book would too.

The web of a family tree that Cami and Ward have was quite a twist and I wouldn't have guessed who was involved. Another twist was when we find out about Kael's family tree. Another one that I definitey wouldn't have guessed. Both of which do make sense in a way after you find out about them though.

Little Schrodinger was quite cute and the name was quite fitting for him too. I want to pet him on his little fluffy head!

Jane Doe's real name is quite pretty. I won't spoil what it is though.

About Jane Doe's parents? Wow. That's all I'm going to say.

Definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks they may want to read it.

You are brave.
You are powerful.
You are heard.

__________________________________________________

All books in this series:

    1 | Whisper
    2 | Weapon

Before I Let You Go - by Kelly Rimmer

Title: Before I Let You Go
Author: Kelly Rimmer
Published: 27 Feb 2018
Series: -
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: 
The 2:00 a.m. call is the first time Lexie Vidler has heard her sister’s voice in years. Annie is a drug addict, a thief, a liar—and in trouble, again. Lexie has always bailed Annie out, given her money, a place to sleep, sent her to every kind of rehab. But this time, she’s not just strung out—she’s pregnant and in premature labor. If she goes to the hospital, she’ll lose custody of her baby—maybe even go to prison. But the alternative is unthinkable.
As weeks unfold, Lexie finds herself caring for her fragile newborn niece while her carefully ordered life is collapsing around her. She’s in danger of losing her job, and her fiancé only has so much patience for Annie’s drama. In court-ordered rehab, Annie attempts to halt her downward spiral by confronting long-buried secrets from the sisters’ childhood, ghosts that Lexie doesn’t want to face. But will the journey heal Annie, or lead her down a darker path?

Trigger Warning: non-consent, drugs, cult

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I didn't think that I was going to cry with this one, but indeed I did.

This is a story about two sisters who go from being best of friends, to barely speaking. A story about familial love, no matter what stands between them.  A story about someone who would do anything to save her sister's life.

Forgive me, Annie. I love you.

Before I Let You Go is told from two points of view - Dr. Alexis Vidler, and the journal of Annie Vidler as she goes through drug rehabilitation.

I was mainly annoyed at their mother for nine times out of ten not realising when her daughters were hurting. Especially her youngest, Annie. Personally, I think that their mother should have realised that Annie wasn't coping in Robert's house and tried to help her. I may not have children, but I'd like to think that that is what I'd do for my child in that scenario.

How hard would those three little words have been to squeeze into our last conversation? Love you, Annie.

This book makes you realise that although this is a fiction book, things like this do happen every day in reality. What I also took from this book, is that there isn't any switch that you flip to suddenly make you an addict - you can fight it and you can also not realising it's happening, but drug addiction is a slow process.

I see myself through her eyes - and as I read about those early years in the community, I'm no longer the sister who failed her, but the sister who saved her.

Spoilers!

When Annie began talking about Robert, I called it that the non-consent was probably going to happen.

I may have called it, but it doesn't make it any less painful to read or the tears about it any less real.

End Spoilers!

Asking For It - by Louise O'Neill

Title: Asking For It
Author: Louise O'Neill
Published: 3 Sep 2015
Series: -
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
It’s the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O’Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy, confident.
One night, there’s a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma.
The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can’t remember what happened, she doesn’t know how she got there.
She doesn’t know why she’s in pain.
But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show, in explicit detail, what happened to Emma that night.
But sometimes people don’t want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town’s heroes…

Trigger Warning: non-consent, suicide

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

It didn't take me as long to read this book as I thought it would because I have been in a massive reading slump for months. However it did make a lot of powerful points.

"No one forced them to wear that. They're just asking for something to happen to them like that."

No.

No one forced the perpetrator to do what they did either, but they did it because they wanted to do it.

The main point of his book is that no one is ever 'asking for it' because of what they wear, how they act, and so on. Victims of sexual crimes shouldn't be made to feel punished for something that isn't their fault.

When the main character, Emma, had that happen to her, she didn't know how to cope. Yet no one takes her side and believes her (not even her best friends). This is because she wasn't the nicest person (even to her best friends), she dressed what could be classed as inappropriately, and she had slept with people before. But that's sort of the point - non-consented sex can happen to anyone of any age, race, gender, or personality type.

"They are all innocent until proven guilty. Not me, I am a liar until proven honest."

This is a book that I urge you to read. This is a book that I urge everyone to read. Especially those in high school. It's hit-you-in-the-face honesty that we live in a world like this, and Louise O'Neill doesn't sugar coat that fact.

This is a book that will stay in your mind.