Oct 31, 2011

Our Fake Relationship, by Belle

Title: Our Fake Relationship
Author: Belle
Target Audience: Mature Teenagers
Chapters: 50
Genre: Romance
Person: First
Tense: Past
Opinion: 7/10

Blurb (quoted):
“Olivia and Zane are just normal teenagers with normal relationships. But they hate each other. When Olivia's boyfriend breaks up with her and Zane's girlfriend breaks up with him, what will happened when they both want revenage and they decide to get into a fake relationship to get their lovers back? But what if Zane and Olivia accidently fall in love in that time? This story is of two teenagers who hate each other and don't get along but things start to heat up between them and their past relationships won't matter, will they?”

My Summary:
Olivia had a good life: trustworthy best friend, amazing boyfriend, rich parents. But when she finds out the love of her life is dumping her for her best friend, Kendra, who he’s been cheating with, everything falls apart.
As if her life hadn’t just become enough of a struggle, Kendra’s now-ex-boyfriend is the biggest pain in the ass she’s ever known – but he wants his girlfriend back and Olivia wants her boyfriend back. That’s when the two enemies cook up a scheme to make their ex’s jealous enough to take them back: they’d have a fake relationship.
But when things start heating up for reasons other than anger, Olivia begins to question who her heart actually belongs to…

Judgment:
I found this book on the website Booksie and fell in love with it; Booksie is a site where aspiring authors can group together, post their work and read other people’s work.
Personally, I would have altered the way some of the scenes were written. I’m not saying I didn’t thoroughly enjoy reading this, because I honestly did, but it’s not the most polished piece of writing – but I whole-heartedly believe this could be a published novel.
It has everything from drama, to romance, to comedy – the number of laughs from this is heart-lightening, but it can just as easily bring tears. The story line goes up and down with twists and turns, just like a REAL romance does. There is at least one scene that requires a mature mind, so don’t say I haven’t given fair warning.
The fact that the two main characters are practically bipolar opposites gives it a spark and I love how the storyline is all nicely linked together – everything is explained well. The characters have depth and strong personalities, which only makes the clashing more enjoyable.
It’s unlike any romance I’ve read before in that it doesn’t have the typical dates and events, but rather ends up so far outside the square you’d never have guessed!
I think it’s one of those pieces I could read again and again, and is well worth your time – if you can stand cheesy lines and gooey scenes.
Hmmm, and she maybe uses a few too many rhetorical questions in the blurb, but I adore the name – the title was what originally caught my attention.


This book is published online at Booksie and I had permission to review her work. You can read it at this web address: http://www.booksie.com/romance/novel/xxbellexx/our-fake-relationship

Oct 16, 2011

The Body Finder, by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Target Audience: Young Adult
Pages: 327
Chapters: 28
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Series: 1-The Body Finder, 2-Desires of the Dead, 3-The Last Echo, (book 4 coming in 2013)
Person: Second
Tense: Past
Opinion: 7½/10

Blurb (quoted):
A girl with a morbid ability
When a murder is committed it leaves a unique echo… on both the victim and the killer. Most people are unaware of these echoes but Violet Ambrose has always been able to sense them.
A serial killer on the loose
Now that Violet’s town is in the thralls of a serial killer the echoes of the local girls he has murdered are haunting her.
And the boy who would never let anything happen to her
The only shining light is Violet’s best friend Jay. She’s started falling for him and his fierce protectiveness gives her hope that he may feel the same…
With the police at a loss, can Violet use her ability to stop the killer or is she in danger of becoming his next victim?
Quotes from the cover:
“The romance and the mystery in The Body Finder were so intense that I didn’t know whether to hold my breath or scream. I did know I wouldn’t be getting anything done until I read whole book” – Melissa Mar, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Lovely.
“You’ll be drawn in by the love story – and kept up all night by the suspense” – Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author of Stargazer.

Summary:
Violet has never been your normal girl; she can sense bodies. Everything that’s killed has an echo, which matches the one on their killer.
So when girls start disappearing only to turn up dead, Violet enlists herself to help find the killer – in the process endangering her own life.
But then again, that could work in her favour when it comes to her best friend Jay, who she and every other girl in the school now has the hot’s for. While she’s falling hopelessly for him, all she can do is pretend to be normal and hope he feels the same.

Judgement:
The Body finder took a little bit to get interested in; like a lot of good books, the beginning is slow-going, but believe me: once you reach the drama, your eyes will be glue until the very last page.
I really liked how the author created echoes; it’s an interesting idea. However, there was a little confusion at times, but it just adds more to the story and enhances your need to read more.




I would like to apologize for the briefness of this post. It took me a while to get round to reviewing it and I've read 3 books since!

Oct 15, 2011

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Target Audience: Young Adult
Pages: 454
Chapters: 27
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Series: 1-The Hunger Games, 2-THG: Catching Fire, 3-THG: Mockingjay (THG = The Hunger Games)
Person: First
Tense: Present
Opinion: 9½/10

Blurb (quoted):
Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.
In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.
When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
Quotes from the cover:
“Constant suspense… I couldn’t stop reading” – Stephen King
“Bare-knuckle adventure of the best kind” – The Times
The Hunger Games is amazing” – Stephanie Meyer

Summary:
Katniss has a tough life, caring for her mother and sister with little to no money. But when her sister is chosen to participate in a ‘game’ where you either kill or die, Katniss feels she has no choice but to take her place, though she sees it as nothing more than a death sentence.
Until, that is, she finds out she and Peeta (the other boy from her home chosen) had a great stylist and her mentor is going to sober up to help, and then hope begins to flicker.
But winning (which means living) seems impossible when some of the strongest competitors have it out for her. Katniss is forced to rely on her practiced hunting skills, knowledge of plants, and cunning wit to surive.
Of course, when she finds herself in love with Peeta halfway through, things start to look bad, but the final show down isn’t until after the Hunger Games have ended.
Is there a chance Katniss will make it back to her family?

Judgement:
This book stole my heart, my breath, my attention. Admittedly, it took a few chapters to hook me, but once it had hold, it had ownership over me. I literally didn’t put the book down until the last page – which left me wanting to pick up the second one.
It’s a compelling story, with action, romance, thrill, adventure and everything in between.
There was a little confusion in parts, with a few too many details, but it all worked itself out quickly enough. The only reason it doesn’t have a 10/10 is because if it hadn’t been highly recommended to me, I wouldn’t have read past the first three chapters – not because it wasn’t good, but because it was a little slow going.
What really made me fall in love was the realism; I could literally see the words playing out in film before my eyes as though it were a movie. It was very believable, highly descriptive and left you unable to tear your eyes away with the almost constant drama and panic.
It’s made my list of recommendation and will just about stop your heart.



Coming soon in movie form!