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

BOOK REVIEW: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Wanderlove

Summary from Goodreads:

Eighteen-year-old Bria wants to be a Global Vagabond. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. So when Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspoken sister, Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path. Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel through Mayan villages and remote Belizean islands, they discover they're both seeking to leave behind the old versions of themselves. The secret to escaping the past, Rowan's found, is to keep moving forward. But Bria realizes she can't run forever. At some point, you have to look back.

MY THOUGHTS:

I'm going to have a hard time rating this one because my feelings are all over the place.

Anyways, on to my review. I think the reason why I didn't like it as much because I expected a lot from this book. I had high hopes for this one given that it is one of my favorite genre - young adult travelogue fiction. I love reading about books that can take me places, this being in Central America - one of my dream destinations.

However I just felt it didn't measure up to my expectations, I felt like the descriptions didn't give justice to the beauty of the setting. I didn't find myself being transported to the setting.

I think the redeeming quality of the book are the issues being dealt upon by the main characters. The book is so insightful and full of wisdom especially to those readers that are non risk-takers like myself - the good girl who plays by the rules and sometimes forget to live a little. It's a book about self-discovery in the midst of a beautiful setting and encourages everyone to just take the plunge.

RATING: 3/5

BOOK REVIEW: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate

Summary from Goodreads:

NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

MY THOUGHTS: 

I have mixed emotions when it comes to this book. 

Initially, I find that it has a slow pacing. And I'm almost tempted to stop reading it altogether but I find the concept to be unique and interesting. Also, I think it lacked in the world building department - it would be helpful to the readers if we were given a deeper understanding of the society they live in.  It's redeeming quality however is the romance between the main characters - it's by far my most favorite love story. I find that their relationship is not what most books have which is instalove - ridiculous at most. haha 

I love how their relationship blossomed into something more than friendship, it's the kind of love most people can only dream about. It's based on something substantial and not just purely lust and attraction which most books have. 

Overall, I really love and enjoyed reading this - definitely looking forward to next sequel. 

RATING: 4/5