BOOK REVIEW | MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME

MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME - Edited by Stephanie Perkins

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell – 4.5 stars

Like all of Rainbow Rowell’s characters, I immediately fell in love with these two. They were so realistic and likeable and relatable. I feel like I wanted a little bit more from the story though – but I feel like that’s the case for a lot of short stories, but this one was definitely adorable, but it’s more of a New Years story rather than Christmas!

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link – 2.5 stars

I feel like this story had so much potential, but it was just really confusing and a lot of it didn’t make sense. I also felt like there were a lot of answers that weren’t given, which was really frustrating. I liked the idea of the story, I just don’t think it was executed particularly well.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Pena – 5 stars

This was just perfect. It had everything I could ever want in a short, holiday-themed story. It had a cat (ANYTHING WITH CATS I AM SO THERE), it also focused on different ethnicities and social classes and wealth and it was just so interesting and beautifully told. I am honestly in awe of Matt’s writing. Absolutely stunning. I’ll definitely be picking up more books by this author! (Fun fact, the main character from this story is a main character in his book called ‘The Living’, so if you liked him as much as I did, you can read a whole book about him!)

Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han – 4.5 stars

I love Jenny Han, so I wasn’t surprised to find that I loved her short story! It was so christmasy which is exactly what I wanted! It was set in the North Pole where Santa’s adopted human daughter is attending a ball with all of the elves and it was so sweet and adorable. I will say the main character was quite young and tended to be a little on the annoying side in regards to things she said and did but I still loved it so much.

It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins – 5 stars

OH MAN. STEPHANIE PERKINS. I COULD NEVER RATE ANYTHING BY YOU LESS THAN 5 STARS. This was honestly amazing. What made this story so great was that as you’re reading it, you get those butterfly feelings in your tummy and the relationships are always so perfectly done in her work I just love anything she writes.

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan – 2.5 stars

This one was just eh. I feel as though I just didn’t get anything out of this story unfortunately. I did like the little sister though, she was really cute but I felt like there were a lot of unanswered questions and I found the ending kind of confusing and underwhelming.

Krampuslauf by Holly Black – 3 stars

This one was a bit strange and confusing. I liked the concept of it, but I wanted more from the ending and I wanted more answers. A very different holiday story, that’s for sure!

What the Hell Have you Done, Sophie Roth? By Gayle Forman – 3 stars

I really liked the characters in this one! But it just fell flat for me in a lot of other ways. For some reason, I always feel like there’s something missing with Gayle Forman’s writing and I have no idea what it is. It’s almost like we just don’t click for some reason. I’m loving the diversity though!

Beer buckets and baby jesus by Myra McEntire – 3 stars

This was pretty cute, but I’m not into the whole religious thing. Myra McEntire didn’t necessarily push it on the reader or anything, but it did play a prominent role in the story. It was pretty cute though and I liked how the characters were a bit rebellious.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White – 3 stars
This one was alright. It was kind of depressing and I didn’t really like the setting for it, but that’s honestly just personal preference. I thought that the random magical element was really random and I thought there was something a bit off about Ben. Like I said, it was alright.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter – 5 stars

I honestly think this is my favourite out of all of the stories! I just have a special connection to this story and I won’t say why because I don’t want to spoil anything but this was just amazing and I loved it more than words can say.

The girl who woke the dreamer by Laini Taylor – 4 stars

Laini Taylor’s writing is always so unique and her stories are always so strange! But I really liked this one and I thought it was beautiful. I always find her stories hard to get into at first but then they start to make sense. It was definitely different!

Overall Rating - 3.75 Stars!

Book Review | True Calling by Siobhan Davis

Title: True Calling

Author: Siobhan Davis

Series: First in a trilogy
Publisher: Self Published
Format: eArc

Source: NetGalley
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi
Goodreads

Plot: ★★★★

I have been obsessed with YA Sci-fi books ever since I picked up Across the Universe a few years back and so when I saw this title on Netgalley I just couldn’t resist! It follows a girl called Ariana whose family relocated to the planet Novo two years ago where life is peaceful and in control. Then the ‘Calling’ gets announced – a pageant where you are placed with your best match to marry and you must have kids ASAP. Ariana doesn’t like having her life taken from her like that as she wants to have a career before she gets married and has kids. Then she starts dreaming of a boy back on Earth and she has no idea if he’s from her past life or just a figment of her imagination.

It sounds great right? The only downside to certain plotlines in this book is that they were very reminiscent of other books. I couldn’t help but think immediately of how similar this was to the Hunger Games and the Selection series. Otherwise, it was really enjoyable and I’m intrigued to see where the next book will go!

 

Characters: ★★★★.5

For some reason at times I found myself getting confused because at one stage there were a whole bunch of new characters introduced and then I was like.. who are you again? But other than that I thought the characters were all really well done and I really enjoyed how prominent her family was in the book.

Writing: ★★★★

I can’t think of anything to really criticise about the writing, but for me, there wasn’t anything mind-blowingly different about it either.

Romance/Feels: ★★★★
This is obviously going to be a love triangle and I am definitely rooting form one of them all the way! There were some feels and I can tell that in future books, there’s going to be a lot more!

Ending: ★★★★.5
SO INTENSE. It really picked up towards the end and there was so much action! The last line of the book reminded me again, however of other works like the Hunger Games and Divergent. I just felt like a couple of things were too similar.

Overall Enjoyment: ★★★★
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good sci-fi romance!

Rereadability: Possibly.

Final Rating:  4.17 stars to be exact!

Book Review | Zoey and the Nice Guy by Carter Ashby

Title: Zoey & the Nice Guy

Author: Carter Ashby

Series: First book in the ‘Big Girl Panties’ Series
Publisher: Self Published / Createspace
Format: eArc

Source: NetGalley
Genre: New Adult Romance
Goodreads

Just want to say a huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eArc in exchange for an honest review!

Plot: ★★★.5

I definitely enjoyed the storyline, but I felt it was quite generic and similar to many other New Adult stories out there and was also very predictable. I did, however, like how some of the themes were woven into the story that were meaningful and realistic such as relationship abuse, family neglect, friendship, etc. I really like when authors incorporate important themes like these to add a sense of depth and meaning to their stories and I feel as though Carter Ashby definitely did that.

Characters: ★★★★★

THE CHARACTERS WERE PHENOMENAL. Especially the main character, Zoey. I have never read about anyone like her. She was honestly the most feisty, independent, upfront, obnoxiously awesome character and I loved that. She was so unique, especially in this genre. She obviously has some insecurities which make her hide behind this façade, but I really liked how she wasn’t your typical new adult main character. She was FIERCE.
 

Writing: ★★★★★

The writing was great! There weren’t any parts and I really liked her style of writing. Even though it’s told in third person, you still get the distinction between the two points of view the author is telling the story from.

Romance/Feels: ★★★.5
I did really enjoy the romance, but at some points I just didn’t buy it. The two main characters hated each others guts at the start of the book and now all of a sudden they are attracted to each other? Kinda random if you ask me! I also felt like the main problem of the relationship was resolved too quickly and easily and it was sort of unrealistic, but hey, it was still fun to read about.

Ending: ★★★★
Like I said, I did find the ending a bit unrealistic and way too easily resolved but, I definitely enjoyed it overall.

Overall Enjoyment: ★★★★
It was definitely a lot of fun to read and that’s definitely because of Zoey’s character. She was so excellently written. This book has mature content so I’d recommend it to mature readers who are looking for a cute holiday romance!

Rereadability: Probably not, but it was a cute, fun book that I’m glad I read!

Final Rating:  4.17 stars to be exact!