Fiction in Fiction in Fiction

Shaking and crying at that amazing ending. Alex you are one of the strongest, bravest and most beautiful girls ever. YOU WILL SURVIVE THIS. Aiden you are the most loving, protective, sweet, selfless and sexy guy ever. Alex and Aiden, YOUR LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL. Fate has nothing on you!REVIEW TO COME ERMAGHERD I HAVE TO WAIT HOW MANY MONTHS TIL SENTINEL? NO I WANT IT NOW!!!

Enjoyable enough but I was still extremely disappointed despite my low expectations coming into the book. Some of the gods/goddesses didn't make sense - there was a lack of background around them and they didn't really match what they represented. I really didn't see enough Greek mythology in this and the tests weren't even related to Greek mythology... The writing wasn't ALL that bad, it was a bit all over the place though; at times it was really good, lots of emotion and showing but at others I got heaps of telling and information dumps. I'll still read Goddess Interrupted though!

3.5 stars. This had potential to be so much more but I just found it to be lacking. The horrendous amount of spelling and grammatical errors really annoyed me. I think Cam was the only thing/character I really liked about this book...

Holy shit the FEELS right now I can't even. I know some people who would hate this but I absolutely LOVED it. Taste made me laugh, cry, groan in frustration and break my heart. Demitri and Luka were both so perfect I still can't choose! They were each beautiful, enigmatic, selfless, sweet and loving in their own way I wanted Phoenix with them both... Somehow. UGH IS THERE A SEQUEL? I haven't finished a book in 1 day in a long time, but Taste did it for me

Cute and easy read. Can't wait to get started on the 2nd book

Holy shit that ending was epiccccccc. DARKLING I LOVE YOU. YOU CAN HAVE ME ANY DAY.

Such an adorable read! Review to come

Firstly, thanks to Atria Books for this NetGalley

OMFG CHAPTER 62. TEAM WARNER. WARNER YOU BROKEN, MESSED UP, BEAUTIFUL TENDER BOY ILY.Gushing review to come.

3.5 stars. Review to come---“The rules of high school are completely, entirely, disturbingly mysterious to me. But everyone else seems to get them.”A thoroughly enjoyable read, I thought this was a well written contemporary that was light (well lighter than the other stuff I’ve been reading of late) and easy to get through. With issues of bullying, adjusting to high school, acknowledging the feelings for that first crush and peer pressure, this was a realistic and relatable account of freshman high school.Fourteen-year-old Rose Zarelli is dealing with the recent loss of her father that’s caused her family to fall apart – her brother has gone away to college and barely calls, while her mother isn’t so much a mother as a not-wanted therapist. As she and her small number of friends enter high school, they’re swept away in the glamour of cheerleaders and popularity, leaving Rose behind questioning her friendships.“Is that why I’m leaving? I’m leaving because I don’t feel like having Tracy flaunt her new friends in my face as if I’m not worth anything anymore.”I could really feel all her pent up frustration at everything, at not knowing where to channel it all and just having so much rage that people don’t understand. Rose’s voice was really likable as I think (I can’t remember, I do know I hated high school) I went through some similar things in my high school days. I really liked the juxtaposition of what Rose was thinking as opposed to what she actually said aloud to people. Not only observant, but I thought she was wise beyond her years. I adored her sarcasm but I also liked how, in her thoughts, she knew what she wanted and what was right for her. I might not have agreed with all her decisions (especially in regards to bullying) and what she ended up acting on but what went on in her mind was the right thing.I’m not sure I liked all the other characters – I truly hated the best friend Tracy. She was a lousy best friend and at times Tracy, along with the “popular” girls were a bit stereotypical – similar to something out of Mean Girls. I’m sure these situations exist, but they’ve been explored so many times it got a bit cliché. That being said, Rozett did a well-rounded job of handling the more “bitchy” characters. I also really warmed to Angelo, the boy who probably should have graduated years ago and everybody ignores. He was really misunderstood and judged (even by Rose) so I was like woah double standards much? When Rose herself realised this, I think it opened her eyes a bit more and helped her come to terms with the fact that, yes maybe the world was against her sometimes, but she wasn’t really doing much to rectify the issue.“Bad things happen whether you’re scared or not, so you might as well not bother being scared. It’s a waste of time.”The romance was really adorable – I’m not sure that’s the right word because it caused a LOT of confusion and angst (and so much trouble) between Rose and Jamie but I thought it was cute. Actually I don’t think it even really counts as a romance, more a first crush thing so yay no insta-love! The reason I say it wasn’t much of a romance is also because Jamie is hardly ever present. He’s talked about, thought about but his actual physical presence is rare. Even when he was in the same room, Jamie was always quiet and enigmatic. (But damn is he a good kisser!)“For a split second, there’s so much sorrow in his eyes that I want to reach out and touch his hair, his face – find a way to make him feel okay.”I thought this was a great book about being misunderstood, jumping to conclusions and that first crush in high school. Confessions of an Angry Girl had a good combination of themes that were all addressed thoroughly and well written, I can’t wait for Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend!“Something in my chest eases a little for the first time since last summer… There’s a world out here.”

Good god I had to stop at 20 pages. Maybe I would have liked it more if I kept reading? But I seriously couldn't. The writing was atrocious, I didn't understand what was going on.I may come back to this later...

Wow bloody AMAZING. IT WAS SO OUT OF THIS WORLD (pun intended hehe)

EPIC. FREAKING EPIC AND WHEN I THOUGHT ALL HOPE WAS LOST OMG. Legit ugly cried for ages so beautiful and heart breaking and raw and just WOAHHHH what a way to end a series.REVIEW TO COME OMG BUT IT WON'T DO THIS JUSTICE.--- Updated with review ---“… How much I think about him, how I dream about him, how even after all this time apart my heart still aches to see him, touch him, hear his voice.”One of the most epic finales I’ve ever read, this is one ending I’ll never forget. The feels? Ohgod ALL OF THEM. I legit UGLY cried at one point in the novel – the kind where I was sobbing so loudly, soaking my pillows and my face was all splotchy and scrunched up and my chest was heaving from the pain of it all… I felt so much love, heartbreak, happiness, sadness, hope and despair my emotions were just all over the place. But what makes a really good series final is that feeling of completeness and satisfaction you get that it’s over – the bittersweet aftertaste once you reach the last page and also the whole world of possibilities that the author has left open for the characters too. I felt all of that with Boundless!I can’t get over how amazing Cynthia’s writing is. If possible it’s improved even more since Unearthly and Hallowed. Her writing just has this way of sucking you in… into her abyss of beautiful words and descriptions. Everything was just phrased so eloquently I felt like I was reading poetry. When an author can SHOW rather than tell, it makes the whole reading experience so much more enjoyable. I get so frustrated with writing that gives me information dumps.“It smells so good here, like wet cement and fresh-cut grass, the aroma of bacon and pancakes wafting between the homes, garden roses and magnolia trees, the smells of my life before.”The plot was an interesting one and I was intrigued with how Cynthia would tie in the Black Wings, Clara’s purpose and this ‘battle’ with said dark angels. A battle definitely ensued and I really liked the way it played out over the course of the book. It wasn’t a huge climax but rather everything built up and unravelled slowly but with so much power. I think Cynthia handled the extent of Clara’s abilities and fit those with what she was faced with in a very reasonable manner. Despite being what she is, Clara is only 18 and can only do so much and I liked how she didn’t suddenly have the powers of the archangels; her powers took time to hone and they were believable!I enjoyed reading about most of the supporting characters here like Angela who I saw a different side to, and I really liked getting to knowing Michael more. I was a bit disappointed with Phen though. He was shrouded in mystery and when I finally met him it felt so anticlimactic. He was introduced as another angel with not much background and I thought it was a bit rushed and too vague. But my favourite supporting character had to be Samjeeza! His profile had been built up over the past books and there was obviously history between him and Maggie, but their story is finally revealed in Boundless and I revelled in it! Such a bittersweet tale, I could really feel Samjeeza’s sorrow.“Samjeeza flinches. It is more than he expected. I feel him start to tremble under my hand.”Although Maggie was essentially a supporting character in Unearthly and Hallowed, she makes another appearance in Boundless. I think it’s amazing how her presence managed to emanate throughout Boundless despite her physical absence. Wendy @ The Midnight Garden in her review of Boundless comments “I've also rarely seen parental love depicted in such a warm and loving way” and I couldn’t have phrased that better which is why I quoted her. Clara and Maggie’s relationship is one full of so much love and support, but in Boundless it’s not just Maggie giving Clara advice as the mother – there’s daughter to mother wisdom too! That kind of bond is so beautiful and timeless I wanted to grab a piece for myself.“We think of happiness as something we can take. But usually it comes from being content with what we have, and accepting ourselves.”Clara has grown so much since Unearthly. When I first met her, I thought she was slightly whiny but this understandable, faced with a purpose and no idea how to achieve it. Not only is she stronger physically in Boundless, but she’s stronger mentally and emotionally. There’s a newfound confidence to her in the way she goes about things. She’s sure of herself and her decisions – they may not always be the best but she knows what she wants. I loved that take-charge fire to her attitude! We also see a lot more of Christian in Boundless and he really grew on me – I’d already decided that I didn’t care who Clara ended up with but I ended up having a soft spot for Christian regardless. He was so supportive and just this constant in Clara’s life – the stability she needed amongst all the angel madness (the irony I know as he’s part of it too but he understood her in a way that no one else could when she was alone).“He’s waiting. He’s still waiting. He’s given up everything for me. His entire life. His future. Everything, because he wants to keep me safe.”So this begs the question: Tucker Avery or Christian Prescott? GAH I don’t even know how I’m going to write out this paragraph. The romance was SUBLIME. Heart-wrenching, heart-breaking, heart-SHATTERING. Beautiful, bittersweet, hopeless, hopeful and in the end just so full of love no matter what happened I was left breathless. One loves her from a distance but she can’t have him – or can she? One is right in front of her but she doesn’t have feelings for him – or does she? I was knocked around by these two amazing boys so many times I nearly forgot my bias by the end. The romance was essentially what made me ugly cry haha. And god was it written in the most stunning way. No amount of adjectives will explain my feels. I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE AS HAPPY WITH WHO SHE ENDS UP WITH AS I WAS!“I give him my whole heart through my lips. I love him. I open up my mind and show him how much I love him.”I really felt the integrity of the trilogy when I got to the end. Cynthia maintained a cyclic structure that came full circle by the last page and this style gave it such a completed feel I really knew I’d reached the end of Clara’s story. And yet I still knew that even though one part of Clara’s life had been completed, there was a lot more waiting for her in the future – that her purpose was not yet over.“My home is you.”

“But my imagination wraps itself in this quilt of horror whenever I sleep.”It’s not often that I read books from a male perspective. Maybe I’m not reading enough books but I think most first person young adult novels are from a female’s point of view? The only first person male POV YA’s I’ve read are Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover and Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Knight. Those two were essentially from a series that were originally from a female POV too. Thus I was really interested in Something Like Normal as it’s told completely from 19-year-old Travis’ point of view. The challenge for writing from the POV of a guy is not being overly emotional yet at the same time displaying just enough feelings to show what they’re really experiencing deep inside. And Trish pulled that off extremely well!Travis comes home after a year in Afghanistan to find that his life as he knew it, no longer exists. His family is falling apart, his brother stole his car and girlfriend (actually Paige, that skank is no real loss in my opinion), and friends just aren’t the same after a year away at war seeing things only a soldier does.“He’s enveloped in a cloud of dust. The bomb, hidden in the case of a tree, sprays him with shrapnel.”At first I wasn’t sure I liked Travis’ voice. His feelings seemed rather detached at first but then I realised he just wasn’t emotional (unlike me and my feels LOL) and he had other things to deal with. I eventually fell in love with how real Travis’ voice was. Trish doesn’t hold back on the military talk or the military experience for that matter. Through Travis’ nightmares, we see the traumatic experience he had in watching his best friend die and the repercussions this has on him psychologically. The memories and descriptions were so raw and unflinching they brought tears to my eyes.“The world seems to slow around me. I can hear my friends laughing and talking, but I don’t know what they’re saying, and the only thing in focus is that man. The side of his turban is ripped open, the side of his exposed head caked with blood.”As a person, I thought Travis was a bit of a, and excuse my language, dick. However, I loved how he didn’t make excuses for his actions. He’s messed up and he needed outlets and he made mistakes. But he wasn’t a bad person – deep down he needed to get away from the stifling town and expectations of his father and he just couldn’t catch a break no matter where he went.Then along comes Harper. I’m sort of meh about her. She was funny and something different (normal?) in Travis’ world where the only thing he looked forward to, was being deployed again. Harper was definitely sweet but from Travis’ POV I thought the romance was a bit flat at times. It sort of just happened and lacked the intensity I was after. But still, there were moments of passion and I liked their relationship – Harper was what Travis needed.“She shivers in a way that has nothing to do with the temperature, and it pleases me in a way I can’t even explain.”I thought the pace was perfect. Full of impact yet still managing to be mellow with the events occurring throughout the book, Travis’ challenge of facing his demons was very realistic! Written extremely well, this was such an enjoyable take on the contemporary genre. I laughed, teared up, and smiled at this bittersweet slice of life.“I don’t know if my life will ever be completely normal again, but something like normal is a good start.”

This review can also be found at Fiction in Fiction in FictionFirstly, thank you to Penguin Books Australia for this NetGalley

OHMYGOD. MY HEART. WHATTTTT. I NEED TO GET PURPOSEFULLY LOST IN PARIS NOW OR EUROPE IDK. I MEED JUST ONE YEAR GAHHHHH.Review to come o.o