BOOK REVIEW: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Everneath

Summary from Goodreads:

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her friends—before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever. 

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s..

MY THOUGHTS:

I actually picked up this book due to the hype it's been getting, let's just say I had high hopes for this book - which in this case, it didn't measure up to it.

TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT!

There have been countless of times where I thought of giving up on reading it altogether - don't get me wrong, the writing was okay, the plot is something unique and interesting but the plot execution - I don't know, I have no words for it. Frustrating is an understatement.
The events are not coherent - it kept going around in circles, there are too many unnecessary scenes. The last 100 pages of the book summarized the book, I think that's all you need to read, to be able to save time and effort. Somehow those last 100 pages served as a redeeming factor - and yes I'm still looking forward to the next book. I just hope the second book would not be like this one.

RATING: 3/5

BOOK REVIEW: Forever My Girl by Heidi Mclaughlin

Forever My Girl

Summary from Goodreads:

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. 

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile. 

And now I’m going back. 

After ten years. 

I hope I can explain that after all this time. 

I still want her to be my forever girl.

MY THOUGHTS:

FIVE MUCH DESERVE STARS! :)))

I have my fair share of favorite books but there's only a few of them that I could classify as an unforgettable one. And this book is one of them. MY BEST BOOK OF 2013 so far.

It's only rarely that I adored the book so much that I literally devoured it. I could not put it down - I read it in one sitting. I can't help myself yet it's one of those books that I hope would go on and on. Every scene will have you holding your breath and have you anticipating every turn of event.

This book is really something because it's capable of drawing you in, you will find yourself getting lost into the story. It's a roller coaster of emotions while I was reading this. When I was in college, a professor of mine had us differentiate sympathy and empathy. To sympathize is merely supporting someone and being there for them while to empathize is feeling what someone felt, being in their shoes quite literally. With other books I have read which I did like or even loved, I thought it was enough that I sympathized with the characters but with this one I empathized with the characters. And I think that what makes this book so special and outstanding. I cried, I laugh and I even found myself falling for Liam, hahaha.

I don't know if my review did justice to how outstanding this book is. I think one should just see for themselves. It's one of those books you can't afford to pass out on especially if you're a big fan of romance novels.

My only dilemma now is that because it's sooooooooo good I don't have any idea what to read next. :|

RATING: 5/5

BOOK REVIEW: Perfect Chemistry by Simon Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry

Summary from Goodreads:

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created 'perfect' life is about to unravel before her eyes. She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. 

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

MY THOUGHTS:

Through reading this book, I realize that an addictive, hard-to-put-down book doesn't always mean that it would be good. Truth be told - I didn't like it as much as I want to. 

I felt like the plot was all too predictable - perfect girl meets bad boy, falls in love - that kind of cliche. Maybe I just expected too much from the book due to the hype it's been getting. The narration was done by both the main characters Alex and Brittany alternately and for the first part of it, I couldn't even differentiate their voices. I felt like their voices are not distinct enough. 

As for the positive points of the book - I love all of the characters. They felt like real persons to me. I think the main theme of the book is how we all tend to hide and maintain a certain facade to the world. I really like how it was incorporated into the plot. It serves as an eye-opener that most of the time we tend to live up to the expectations of other people instead of living a life we intend to have.

RATING: 3/5

BOOK REVIEW: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day

Summary from Goodreads:

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines. 

MY THOUGHTS: 

WOW!

I don't really know what to say about this book because it's a lot to take in. I just want my review to somehow give justice how wonderfully crafted this book had been.

The book seems to communicate to me on a more personal level - it means so much to me. Allyson is so me. I don't know if she's afraid of being herself or she's just plainly confused. All her life, she was just boring, reliable, predictable Allyson - there's so much expectation from her that she felt obliged to live up to it. In order to make other people happy, she ends up being miserable. It's always what they expect from her, it was never what she wants. Simply because, she was never bold enough to stand for what she wanted or she never really know what it is so she let other people decide for her. 

It has been a truly amazing journey of finding herself in the midst of Europe no less. 

The plot was perfectly executed - how one event led to another, and how everything turned out in the end. I can't help but admire the author's genius. 

This book made me want to live life the best way possible, take more risks, open myself to more opportunities, anything and everything. 

ACCIDENTS. MIRACLES AND LIFE ITSELF. I NEED "JUST FOR ONE YEAR" NOW! haha 

RATING: 5/5

BOOK REVIEW: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me

Summary from Goodreads:

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

MY THOUGHTS:

I have so much to say about this book that it left me speechless.

It's like reading hunger games but so much better.

AMAZING. BITTERSWEET. HEARTBREAKING.

It was so beautifully written that it was heartbreaking. Imagine being overjoyed that you can't help but get teary-eyed - I don't know but that is what "shatter me" did to me. 

I was really moved by this book, I can't help but be one with the characters - Juliette and Adam, especially Juliette, her angst and her pains. I know they're only fictional characters but I did learn something from them. Despite what they had both gone through, when they have every right to condemn humanity - their compassion is what prevailed, their hope for humanity. I love how they stood for what they believed in.

Another one of those book hangovers, I know "shatter me" would be staying with me for quite awhile. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THIS BOOK. I can't wait for the sequel.

RATING: 5/5