REVIEW: Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

            What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness?

            What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?

            What if you never had to fall?

            Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results.

            Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school.

            Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore—a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming.

            This review is a little difficult for me to write, because I honestly on the fence about Free to Fall by Lauren Miller. It was good, but it did not enthrall me. There was never really a point when I absolutely could not put the book down. The writing wasn’t bad or boring, and neither was the plot. Yet again and again I found reasons to put the book down. This is one of the reasons why the book did not get a higher rating.

            Another reason was the love story. A young adult book should never end with a couple in a position where they’re basically already in “old-married-couple” status. That’s just not how it works. Love develops in YA because that’s how the real world is: you love and you learn. So it definitely iffed me when they were such a set-in-stone couple but they barely knew each other. On top of that, Rory kept a major secret from North for basically the entirety of the book and somehow it didn’t bother him nearly enough when he found out. I’m not buying it. And then North is a hacker? How convenient is that?

            The next thing was Dr. Tarsus’ allergy to gelatin. It just felt one of those things that got added in to heighten the intensity and elevate the plot. If Dr. Tarsus is allergic to gelatin then she’s allergic to a lot more because you have no idea what animal byproducts you’re getting when you consume gelatin. It was a rushed add-in, and there was not enough research put into it. While the product the gelatin was put into was well researched (all the bio-tech products were well written), I’m mainly speaking of Dr. Tarsus when I throw out the words “not well researched”. Her character was written as a shapeshifter, and she served that purpose well but was not well written I feel.

            I wasn’t a huge fan of Hershey’s character. I’ve read some reviews where she was a lot of peoples’ favorite, but she was a rat to me. She was a rat in the beginning, a rat when Rory found out her secret, and a rat in the end when she was…you guessed it, a rat. Yet everyone quickly forgave her in the end and I almost threw the book out the window. I just wanted to shake Rory till her head fell off.

            The next thing was Miller’s description of the Fibonacci sequence that tied her whole book together. I never ever understood what picture she was trying to paint in my mind. I had no idea what the sequence looked like throughout the entire book. I literally just looked it up because I forgot to every time it came up in the story (which was a lot mind you). Could she not have alluded it to a conch shell or something?

            The last thing that really got me was Rory’s mother’s knowledge of the secret society. It was sort of explained in the book, but I didn’t like how it was just thrown in. How could Rory’s mom know about the layout of the secret society’s lair? The girl must have had an IQ greater than 10 Einsteins combined. I think I would have liked to read her story more.

            I actually had a lot more bad to say than I initially thought I did. I didn’t think I’d end up with such a long review, but here we are. The bad reasons and my lack of a desire to stay invested in the book are really what brought the book down to three stars. What gave it that redeeming half star, you ask? What brought the book from mere mediocrity to decency? The detail.

            While I’m not a huge conspiracy-thriller reader, this book made me appreciate the genre. There are a lot of twists that need to occur, and big reveals that need to happen. That’s something that Miller did incredibly well. The world felt very real. It seems like a completely plausible reality for our very near future. So the detail with the conspiracy and the biotech world really sold the book for me. While I was not a huge fan of the interpersonal relations between all of the characters, the plot and world inevitably sold me the book.

XOXO Tia

REVIEW: Empire of Night by Kelley Armstrong

            Sisters Moria and Ashyn are the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood. Or at least, they were.

            Their village is gone. Their friends have betrayed them. And now, the emperor has sent them on a mission to rescue the children of Edgewood—accompanied by Prince Tyrus and a small band of imperial warriors. But the journey proves more perilous than they could have imagined. With treachery and unrest mounting in the empire, Moria and Ashyn will have to draw on all their influence and power to overcome deadly enemies—not all of them human—and then avert an all-out war.

            Sadly I must first mention that this book did not, in any way whatsoever, live up to it’s predecessor. While I still enjoyed Empire of Night, I can honestly say it was not as good as Sea of Shadows. The problem with this book was that it read like a filler book. It felt like the first book happened and then this one was only written to move the characters to their final positions for the big finale. It felt like Kelley Armstrong wrote the first book, then the third book, and finally the second book. Clearly there were characters in the third book that weren’t in the first so she had to jam all of that into this second “filler” book. Of course, I’m not sure if this is true, it is just how it felt.

            One of my main questions is where did Tyrus even come from? He wasn’t in the first book, and then suddenly he’s Moria’s love interest and BFF in the second? Did I miss a chapter? While I loved Tyrus, I just didn’t see the point of introducing him so out of the blue. His and Moria’s friendship and relationship could have developing throughout this book instead of just existing on page one. Oh my gosh, a plotline that could have been used? Well I never. Besides, Moria and Gavriel belong together (no matter how perfect Tyrus and Moria seem!).

            Some of the things I really loved about Sea of Shadows just didn’t happen in Empire of Night. I loved the apparent personalities of Tova and DAIKO (???), but they were lost in this book. Then there was Moria’s likening to a bard what with her wide knowledge of lore and stories. I didn’t get that too much in this book. Sure there were the hellhounds, but those are nothing new and exciting like Thunderhawks and Shadow Stalkers! It was just a disappointment. All the things I wanted to see again didn’t happen. I get that due to the events of the last book the main characters have changed, but they shouldn’t be that different.

            One thing I actually hated was the fact that I had to wait for Ashyn’s POV in chapter seven to get even an inkling of a recap for the first book. It was so confusing jumping into Moria’s character with all these new people and no recap. I seriously thought I was missing chapters. And then when Ashyn ended up with her birth tribe of sorts, I was all who are these people? I couldn’t remember anything other that her living in Edgewood, so there really needed to be more of a lead in for the introduction of that tribe. The last thing I hated was how annoying Moria was with her sexual escapading. She was all “Oh it’s fine, we can just have sex because that’s normal for me and I can have as many sex partners as I want”. It was so weird and awkward to read about.

            As for what I loved…there’s of course Ronan and Ashyn. I was so sad to see them not together but of course the plot must go on. I really enjoyed learning more about Ronan’s background and the fact that he’s casteless. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Emperor and his slight deviousness. I even relished finally getting to truly meet Gavriel’s father! So good! The way this book played out just makes me want a lot of things for the final book.

            Now that Ashyn is with her birth tribe of sorts, I want to become a fighter. While Moria is stuck in enemy’s territory, I want her to become reserved. I want what their roles have been so far in the series to just swap completely. Ashyn becomes a fighter, and Moria becomes engrossed in politics and has to use her head more. I think their strengths work brilliantly but they need to become more well rounded if they’re going to save the empire and I think they’re in the perfect positions to do so.

XOXO Tia

REVIEW: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

A modern tale of star-crossed lovers with a fresh urban twist.

At Fairfield High School, on the outskirts of Chicago, everyone knows that south-siders mixing with north-siders can be explosive. So when Brittany Ellis and Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes are forced to be lab partners in chemistry class, this human experiment leads to unexpected revelations—that Brittany’s flawless reputation is a cover for her troubled home life, that Alex’s bad-boy persona hides his desire to break free from gang ties, and that when they’re together, life somehow makes more sense.

Breaking through the stereotypes and expectations that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart, Perfect Chemistry takes readers to both sides of the tracks in a passionate love story about looking beneath the surface.

I had heard a lot of hype about this book for a long time, and I’ve actually owned the book just as long. It was only recently that I finally took the chance to read the book, and I have to say that the hype is completely true. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Brittany in the beginning because of how “perfect” she was and made herself appear to be. I’m not saying Brittany was ever my favorite character, but I understood her home troubles and why she was the way she was.

Alex, however, was one of my favorite characters. He was the bad boy, with a good heart and those characters make me swoon. He felt tied and unable to escape the gang due to his father’s mistakes and the mistakes he is trying to prevent his younger brothers from making. All in all, the characters and their flaws were portrayed amazingly, and the north-side, south-side dynamic was on point and perfectly executed.

I did have a few issues with the book though, the first being the ending. While I loved seeing the year’s later epilogue, I felt that it was an outdated and easy-out sort of ending. I know that there are a couple of sequels to this book, told through Alex’s brother’s points of view, and I would have loved to see the ending of Alex’s and Brittany’s stories through the brother’s eyes instead of the way in which Simone Elkeles did it. I understand that sometimes sequels aren’t a guarantee and you want your readers to know how everything ended happily ever after, but that’s the joy of YA. Your characters are teens and we read the stories to see them grow up and have their whole lives ahead of them. YA books are open-ended most times because of that. Sure, the guy and girl get together but we will never know if they stay together or the trial and the tribulations of their relationship because they’re no longer young adults.

A bit of a rant there, sorry. Other than that, the rest of the cons I had are just the other side of the coin of my pros for the book. While I thought the characters were great, I didn’t love them. Paco and Isabel were the only characters I completely loved. They were true to themselves and to their friends. Brittany and Alex just got so caught up in themselves, and everyone else in the book did too and that was annoying. One relationship cannot be the end of the world.

My final con was the whole part where Alex ran away. I hated that he did that and didn’t just deal with his issues. His family was in danger, which I believed, but it was so weak of him. Sure, he fixed all his problems in the end, but that just made me frown.

Anyway, that’s all I have for that book. Do read it, because it was really good! I know it seems like it wasn’t, but I did love it overall. I even loved the epilogue even though I hated that it was there. Does that make sense?

XOXO Tia

REVIEW: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

            Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.

            So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.

            I’m not kidding, he says.

            You should be, she says, we’re 16.

            What about Romeo and Juliet?

            Shallow, confused, then dead.

            I love you, Park says.

            Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.

            I’m not kidding, he says.

            You should be.

            Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

            Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. This was the only way I could think to start this review other than a slew of disgruntled and unorganized keystrokes of no discernable pattern. Now, first things first, I did like this book. I just did not like the ending. This book was promoted by John Green himself and is often given to readers who really enjoy his works. I, however, do not believe the hype. I know, you’re all like ‘NO’! And I’m like, ‘I know right?’ how could I ever not adore Eleanor and Park wholeheartedly?  It’s not quite that simple, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

            The cover is so cute, I just have to mention that, and the setting is perfect. Hello, ‘80s. I think the meat and bones of this book were great. The love story was beautifully developed and the families were diverse and the character voices were pristinely unique. This book seemingly had it all, except a good ending. The ending was clique and a total shift from what could have been. The ending has been done before, almost exactly, and the characters were incredibly wishy-washy at the end. Like I said, writing and development were great. I really believed the characters, but I did not believe the ending.

            Now, my problem with the ending was not even Eleanor’s split with her family or the final three words business, it was the fact that it was predictable and nothing happened conflict-wise. There was no confrontation, and I was not okay with that. Granted, it was all very realistic and I get that, but I don’t think the ending was what it should have been. It felt very cut-and-paste like she didn’t really have anything better so here’s a placeholder and I’ll figure it out later (and then she didn’t figure it out, but rather just left it). And the character! The bullies just flopped over and turned into entirely different characters altogether. I was all; they’re secretly helping her and will betray her! They didn’t. Gosh, that ending was just so womp! It fell completely flat to me! I just loved that book until then, and because of that ending I can’t give this book a very good rating and that makes me sad. Eleanor and Park were totally relatable and I loved them so much, but when I look at the book I don’t see their love story. I see that horrible ending.

            That ending has been done over and over again in much better ways. The love story was very original, especially the way it wasn’t love at first sight. I was so beautiful, but the ending is what brought it down. I think Park’s family was a little stereotypical (Eleanor’s too actually, but at least hers had additions of originality to it).  I just don’t know what else to say. This book was heart wrenching and beautiful. I loved it and I hated it and then I just overall really loved it. I simply believe that there are some things that could have elevated the book that much more.

XOXO Tia

REVIEW: Heist Society by Ally Carter

            When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind.

            Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, the gorgeous Hale, appears, pulling her back into the world she has only just escaped. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster’s priceless art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Now. Only a master thief could have pulled off this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

            Kat’s solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and, hopefully, just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history. And, with any luck, she just might be able to steal her life back along the way.

            I was incredibly excited to read Heist Society by Ally Carter, and I’m very happy that I did. I really enjoyed the book and found it to be a quick and excited read that left a lot for the imagination to fill in, in a good way of course. I can see how the series can be read in a serial fashion, and left just enough loose ends at the end of the first book to make me really, really want another, but not need one necessarily. Which is really good. Ally Carter did a brilliant job with this fun, light-hearted, and exciting novel and I cannot wait to read the first book in her Gallagher Girls series, at least until I can get my hands on Uncommon Criminals that is.

            Now, despite the serious issue of World War II stolen art and the tragic background to all of the pieces that were pertinent to this novel, the book did ring a little chick-lit. This was fine, of course, because any other way and I wouldn’t believe that Kat was going to rescue art instead of fulfill the greedy thief stereotype I have in my mind. Kat is truly a hero even despite being part of a sort of mob family of brilliant thieves. The barrier to entry on this book was very low, great for readers of all ages and levels of knowledge about thievery (like my total lack thereof). Also, there was no blood, gore, or cursing. Shocking for a book about criminals, right? But Ally Carter did a good job avoiding all of those issues so as to have a final product that is completely PG and completely suitable for readers of all levels.

            I love the cover and title of this book; I’m just going to put that out there. Succinct and beautiful, just like the book. I love the premise of this book too, the fact that Kat is trying to escape the family business of stealing but is swept back in kicking and screaming to save her father. It’s great, and the characters are splendid. I’d tell you my favorites, but the list would literally have everybody’s names on it. Each character just worked off of each other perfectly. Hamish and Angus had that whole Weasley brother vibe to them, and Simon and Gabrielle each played their roles amazingly. Then Kat and Hale were so perfect for each other! I even loved Nick and Taccone. Aside from the characters, the plot worked really well. The book was divided into a sort of countdown system and it also told where all the characters travelled. Sadly, it was a little hard to believe (even with a private jet courtesy the W.W. Hale family) the characters could just fly around to all these different places under the time crunch. Then there’s the plot and conflict with Kat figuring out how to steal from the Henley all while Taccone threatens her. Sadly, that is all that happens conflict wise. Sure, it’s easy to be concerned whether or not they’ll pull off the heist or whether or not Taccone will do something, but nothing truly happens. Taccone never carries out his threats, and they complete the heist without a hiccup (well, there were some minor ones of course).

I know Ally Carter tried her hardest to keep the book PG, but there wasn’t enough meat to Taccone’s threats. There were the subtle hints, like the guard with the burned hand, but it just wasn’t enough for me to fully believe in Taccone as a villain. I wish he had done more instead of just sending various threats Kat’s way. Then there’s the heist, which went incredibly well considering all their fears. Sure, there was Nick, but even that was resolved rather hiccup free. All I’m saying, is the conflict was very minor for a gang of criminals. There should have been more! Of course, don’t get me wrong, I did love the book, but these are just a few of the things that could have been done better. Also, the book was written in third person. This wasn’t a problem, but the POV would randomly be somewhere and then it would lead back to Kat’s POV and her introduction with the character. While I liked it and it was very unique to read, it got old after a while and sort of stole some thunder from the fast-paced heist going throughout. It made it easy for me to put down the book and for my excitement level to go from ‘100’ to ‘huh?’ and that makes me sad. The book was a quick, exciting read still, but sometimes those other POV beginning were weird. The book was hilarious, though, and it needs to be said that Ally Carter’s voice is amazing.

            In the end, the book was very original even though the topic of young thieves is one that has been done a few times over. The mob family is a common trope in YA and the characters in the gang were all the stereotypical members needed for a heist of any sort: the genius, the leader, the billionaire, the flirt, and the explosion techies. Despite this, Ally Carter brought a fresh take to this story with the unique third person technique, the witty and hilarious dialogue, the easy barrier to entry, and of course the backstory to the art being stolen and then re-stolen. It was a great, fresh story and very entertaining.

XOXO Tia