Review: They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera

On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they're going to die today. 

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but for different reasons, they're both looking for a new friend on their End Day. 

The good news: there's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure - to live a lifetime in a single day.

My Review: 

‘They Both Die in the End’ by Adam Silvera is another novel that I read in February of 2020, yeah, like I said last time, I’m kind of a little behind.

‘They both die in the end’ follows two boys named Mateo and Rufus in a world where you get a phone call from ‘Death-Cast’ around midnight on the day you are going to die. The story follows the boys as they connect and go through the motions of saying goodbye to their loved ones and… well, as they wait to die.

This was my first time reading an Adam Silvera novel and I will be looking to read some more when I get the opportunity to do so.

The author wrote a novel that pulled you into the book and held you there until it throws you upside down into a swimming pool with a broken heart and a deep worry for how your day is going to end.

 ‘They Both Die in the End’ is filled with suspense and softness.

With the recent loss of my little brother some parts of this book had me sitting with tears streaming down my face… which is rare for me when reading. It also taught me that no matter what we/I did differently on the day that my brother passed nothing I could have or would have done would have changed the outcome.

This novel also taught me to make every moment count especially when it comes to spending time with someone you love.

I gave They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera 5 stars on Goodreads and recommend it to anyone who wants a gritty, dark, hard-hitting read.

 

Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord.

 

Blurb: 
We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world.

Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever.

My Review: 

So, I am a little bit behind on reviews. I read When We Collided by Emery Lord in February of 2020. I have had this review (and a few others) written in my content planner for a while, but I have neglected to type it up, therefore I have neglected to post it here, for you guys.

The beginning of When We Collided hooked me pretty much straight away. The story is told from two points of view. Vivi and Jonah.

We begin with our lead female Vivi engraving ‘Vivi was here’ on a tree in a park in the middle of town she has just moved to for the summer. This slogan ended up creating a kind of familiar warmness for me. As she goes through the motions of her day, she meets Jonah and his little sister Leah who became just as captivated with Vivi as Vivi did with the pair of them.

The setup of Vivi and Jonah, in the beginning, appeared to me as ‘bad girl tarnishes good boy’ scenario. When I got further into the novel, I realised it was a really good novel about two people who had been through life altering trauma’s and were both avoiding dealing with them until they were absolutely forced to.

Emery Lord built a captivating world. I was taken on a hard-hitting, yet beautiful journey through the trials of adopting new norms. However, there were several scenes or sequences throughout the novel that could have been left out or glazed over. More than a few, but less than many but they made the novel drag a little.

Having said that the author was trying to put across a story of hardship, loss, and the struggles that one can have with their own head. All the while pretending that everything is okay on the outside. This, she covered Flawlessly/Faultlessly.  

In my opinion, Emery Lord wrote a great book that dealt with grief and mental health in an honest way. From her standpoint, research & experiences, and that, again, in my opinion, should be the takeaway from this novel.

I rated this book 4 stars on Goodreads and recommend it to anyone who wants something a little harder-hitting to read.

 Check out When We Collided on Goodreads to find out more about the book and author. 

Review: Pistol Daisy by Natalia Leigh

                                                         What's it about?

The year is 1880, and outlaw gangs roam the West.
When Daisy Allen’s family is brutally murdered by the infamous Hopkins gang, she’s left with two options: drown in a bottle of whiskey and grief, or saddle up and hunt the killers down. Accompanied by strangers in pursuit of the same outlaws, Daisy takes to the Colorado plains with an old revolver and a hunger for revenge. But the Hopkins gang isn’t easily found, and as their pockets run dry and the trail goes cold, Daisy and her companions may be at the end of the road. She must learn how to survive in this dangerous world of outlaws and gunslingers, or her only chance at avenging her family may be lost.

Don’t miss Whiskey City, the next book in Daisy’s cutthroat quest for revenge.

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC copy of Pistol Daisy in exchange of an honest review. 

Review: I’ve been wanting to read the work of Natalia Leigh for sometime now. I’ve had her previous novel Song of The Dryad on my wish list for a while but when the request for review was made I jumped at the chance to see if Natalia’s work was everything I had built it up to be in my mind. I’m delighted to say I wasn’t disappointed. 

I received my E-copy of Pistol Daisy in mid-May. When I saw it was on my kindle, I opened it up (like I do with most books I receive) to read the first couple of pages to get a feel of the story and how it’s written. I had every intention to just read the first chapter, maybe the second. The next time I looked up from the pages, it was 45% through the novel. I took a couple of days off to finish the book I was currently reading. When I picked Pistol Daisy up, I finished it just a few hours later.

Pistol Daisy is an extremely captivating novel. I felt deep sorry for Daisy as she endured the events thrust upon her through out this journey. I came to admire her for fighting through the travesties put in front of her to at each turn she took and becoming a strong willed character that can stand up to the gnarliest men. 

Natalia Leigh’s writing is seamless. You can tell that a lot of research, thought and time has gone in to sewing together such a fine piece of art. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Pistol Daisy. Since reading I have managed to get my hands on Song of The Dryad and will be reading that as soon as I can in hope it will be able to tied me over until I can read more in Daisy’s journey in the upcoming sequel, Whiskey City.  

Interested? Check Pistol Daisy out on Goodreads for all the places to purchase it from. 

Review: Kissing Coffins by Ellen Shreiber

What's it about?
Not far from Dullsville, someone's lurking in the dark. . . .
After meeting the handsome and shadowy Alexander Sterling, goth-girl Raven's dark world has a bright, new glow. But as in her favourite movie, "Kissing Coffins," Raven knows that love always has its complications, especially when Alexander has a big secret to guard.
When Alexander suddenly disappears, Raven leaves Dullsville to begin a dangerous search to find him. Can she stay safe, no matter who--or what--she encounters on the way?
My Review: 

I enjoy vampire books but have not read one in a long time. Kissing Coffins was a good book to pick up to rekindle my obsession.
I read Vampire Kisses a long time ago, so when I jumped into Kissing Coffins I was jumping relatively blind and by blind I mean I couldn’t even remember the main characters name. Never the less, Kissing Coffins follows Raven Maddison’s heartbreak as her vampire boyfriend Alexander skips town leaving no reason and no clue behind. That is until she gets a clue to travel to a neighbouring city where we meet Jagger who is a vampire on a mission of his own.
This was a very short quick read for me, I don’t know if that was the style of the writing or the new pills the Dr put me on two days ago. 
The novel lacks a lot of the gore and manipulation that I enjoy in my vampire reads but with the near-perfect way the cliches were written it made up a little for the lack of blood spilt.
I did enjoy Kissing Coffins but I wouldn’t really call it ‘Young Adult” maybe more middle grade? That’s nothing on the author’s writing. Ellen Schreiber wrote a captivating story and I will most likely continue the series once I get my hands on the next books. I just think it would have been better marketed towards a younger audience.
Kissing Coffins was a nice read for a lazy Saturday evening and an even lazier Sunday morning, I gave it three stars on Goodreads, would have given a three and a half if I could have. I recommend it for people who like vampire teenage romance.

Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

What's it about?
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff—the designated ugly fat friend—of her crew.
But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My Review: 
I had been hearing about The DUFF for a long time. It was the hit book when I first started reviewing and it eventually became a movie. When I found out what DUFF (designated ugly fat friend) meant I was appalled. I thought that it was going to be pure bullying of fat people and I wasn’t here for it.
However, when I joined Scrib’d (its the Spotify for unlimited audio and ebooks, click here for a one month trial) The DUFF was an audiobook that had a quick read time, so I gave it ago.
Bianca Piper and Wesley Rush are any two high school kids you could randomly imagine sitting at your school. Bianca turned bitter by every shoe that had walked over her previously.
Wesley, that guy who got all the pretty girls but really, he’s got a few skeletons in his closet just like the rest of us. Wesley’s approach on the women he womanizes is to treat their DUFF friends nicely, he assumes this does people a favour and they will do him one back. All was well and good for Mr Rush until he called the fierce Bianca a Duff. Little to his knowledge Wesley started a fire that he didn’t know he wanted or needed.
As the story grows in the book my fondness grew for both the main characters s the story was crafted into the style of an amazing heartwarming message, I’m going to leave that for you to read and find out.
I also enjoyed the friendships that Bianca had with her friends prior to the beginning of the novel. It showed how friends really act, like fights and arguments and eventually calling each other dick and moving on in some way.
The audio-book was fast-paced and read extremely well. The narrator, Ellen Grafton had a well-spoken character-driven voice that was easy was easy to relax too. Although I did not see the words on the page, Ellen would not have been able to express such a the novel as impressive as it was if it was not written well for her to read.
I am happy that I ended up giving The Duff a read and ended up giving it a four-star rating on Goodreads, I recommend you keep an eye out for a copy and give it a read. I’ll be watching the movie at some point which I hope is just as pleasant as the book was.

Book Review: The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh

Title: The Stolen Kingdom: An Aladdin Retelling
Author Bethany Atazadeh

Medium: Advanced Readers Copy. 

Blurb: How can she protect her kingdom, if she can’t protect herself?

Arie eagerly anticipates becoming Queen of her humble kingdom. Even when a Jinni’s Gift manifests before her 18th birthday, she fights to hide the forbidden ability.

But when a neighbouring king attempts to marry her and steal her kingdom, discovery feels imminent. Just one slip could cost her throne. And her life. 

Review: Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Title: Monday's Not Coming

Author: Tiffany D Jackson
Medium: Audiobook
Narrator: Imani Parks
Blurb: Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day or the second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumours and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help.

As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?