Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Publisher: Electric Monkey

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th March 2012

Number of Pages: 240

Book: For Review*

Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, Suspense, Humor, Action-Adventure, Mystery, Realistic-Fiction, Romance, YA

Recommended Age: 13+

Contains: Rather a lot of Violence and Death (She IS an Assassin), Mild Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog: The Scary Parent

“You shot him.  You totally just shot that guy back there.  I think I’m gonna throw up.”

One ordinary guy.

One female assassin.

Five targes by daybreak…

When Gobi lands in Perry’s life, she rips it apart like a bombshell.

Fasten your seatbelts for a quirky, rapid-fire joyride through the streets of New York…  This is the most entertaining thriller you’ll read this year.

                                                                   Review:

"You shot me."

Perry's mom thought having a foreign exchange student would be enriching for all of them. Perry though it could lead to a hot chick in his house. Instead, they got Gobi. Perry made sure to be nice to her, to help her, and was fine about being teased for it. Until his mother tells him that he has to take the frumpy, constantly surprised-looking Gobi to prom. She's been there almost a year, and Perry is sure that Gobi is geeky and boring and he does not want to go to prom with her.

Turns out, Gobi isn't as dull as she's been making out. In fact, she is very interesting, very dangerous, very hot and very much armed.

Gobi is an assassin, and she has five targets before morning. Perry is caught up, trapped, as Gobi pulls him along for the ride, for her killing spree.

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick up. I've never read anything by the author, or with this kind of story line. But what I wasn't expecting was a book that made me laugh out loud, hooked from the first sentence and unable to put it down 'til I found out what happened. As I said before, I've never read anything like it, and the uniqueness made it all the more awesome!

Perry Stormaire was someone I liked straight away. He was snarky and funny and brave and sweet. He was just an ordinary kid who was desperate to please his dad and play in his band.  Therefore his freaking-out reaction at who Gobi really is was both believable and totally hilarious!  And I kinda loved him. Just a little! He was so cool and so clever and brave and sweet and funny...  Yeah. Just a little bit loved him!

Gobi Zaksauskas was a very, very unusual and complicated character. She seemed dull at first... until she went and called this guy a "ball-licker". She was full of surprises; defiant and stubborn and brave. And dangerous! A bad-ass, gun toting, dangerous chick. She was confident and charming and unexpectedly, strangely, I found myself liking her, ruthless assassin though she was. She has earned a place in my Kickass Wall Of Fame (currently occupied by Rose Hathaway and Katniss Everdeen).  She may have been a killer, but she was more than she seemed. She was... brilliant. Absolutely, freaking brilliant.

Gobi and Perry's relationship was equally brilliant, more so because they were complete opposites. Gobi was a kick butt, confident assassin. Perry was just a normal kid, who was scared of not pleasing his dad. But as the night went on and the body count went up, they got close, and Gobi had a huge (but positive) impact on Perry. Their relationship and the chemistry between them felt 100% real to me, despite the rather unusual circumstances!

The other characters were brilliantly padded out – I especially loved the relationships in Perry's family. This wasn't because they were amazing and so close. It was because they were so unusual, and not like many I've read about. I just liked the family dynamics and how they evolved as the book went on. They weren't perfect, but they all loved each other.

Utterly addictive, action packed, killing sprees, loads of laughs, believable characters, a dash of romance and break neck speed, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick was amazing - it totally blew me away! A word of warning: if you read this, make sure you have a whole day free 'cause you will NOT be able to put it down!

The writing was brilliant - totally teen, totally Perry and totally laugh-out-loud funny. The action was just non-stop from the word go, the writing sucked me in from the very first line. So many of the books I read are written from the girls' POV, so I loved being inside the boy's head for once. And I just loved that college application questions were used at the start of each chapter, and that all tied in with the events that followed.  The plot was equally amazing: full of action, totally unexpected, it twisted and turned as the body count speedily went up! From the first chapter, I was hooked and the action only picked up from there! Shoot outs, murder, car chases, "only a little" bomb(s) and just nonstop action. The plot was just amazing and surreal. I will point out that it's probably very unlikely these events will happen, but I believed them anyway. Schreiber made them really and funny and addictive!

With two lead characters I loved to bits, non-stop action, unrelenting humor and just pure awesomeness, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is one of the most original and addictive books I've read in a long time. I loved every second! I can't wait for the movie! Or for whatever Schreiber brings out next.  I want another about these characters please! Hint hint, Mr Schreiber!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

Medusa Project by Sophie McKenzie

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Egmont in exchange for an honest review

Crossed by Ally Condie

Series: Matched, Book Two

Publisher: Puffin

Format: ARC

Published: 24^th November 2011
Number of Pages: 384

Book: For Review*

Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Science-Fiction, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Ally Condie

The Society chooses everything.

The books you read.

The music you listen to.

The person you love.

Yet for Cassia the rules have changed.  Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him.

And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.

But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems…

A REBELLION IS RISING.

And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.

Review:

Ky was taken from Cassia, sent to fight in a war with an unknown Enemy.  Cassia will do anything to get him back, including sacrificing everything.  So she follows him to the Outer Provinces to the place of the war, risking death.  Only to find that he has gone already, left with two others to save their lives.  Cassia follows again, this time joined by fellow work-camp girl Indie.  Bit something bigger is going on: a rebellion is rising, and it is larger than Cassia every thought it could be.  Could this rising have something to do with the mysterious Enemy Ky was sent to fight?  On the very brink of Society, nothing is what it first seems to be.

When I read Matched, I was stunned by the writing and the world.  I really couldn’t wait to get back there and find out what the hey was goin’ on in the Society!  And I found Crossed even better than Matched.  Beaufiul writing, forbidden love, death and a mysterious Enemy made Crossed faster-paced and way more interesting to me.  The new cast of characters only added to the new feel in a really, really good way.

Meet the new, improved Cassia Maria Reyes!  She’s actually fighting back, resisting, on the run.  And I am just loving the stronger version of her!  And, she’s still so clueless, so naive, so innocent: I loved seeing everything through her eyes – the most mundane things was wondrous and magical to her.  At the very end we see yet another whole new side of Cassia.  I can’t wait for Book Three, just to see where she goes next!

And Ky: I finally, completely understand what Cassia saw in him!  He’s been through so, so much, and knowing more about his background and everything he’s been through just made me fall totally in love with him.  He’s still fighting back, and I love the rebelliousness!  That boy totally has that hot-mysterious-tortured thing goin’ on! 

I was so pleased we got a brief glimpse of Xander – I love him!  He’s just so amazing, and wonderful, and I just love him.  But what I want to know is how he feels: does her looking for Ky feel like a betrayal?  Is he disappointed with Cassia?  Angry?  I want Xander’s words; I want to know how Xander feels.  Plus: he had a secret…  A big secret…

This time I could really feel both Cassia’s love for Xander: he feels like home for her, makes her feel better, and her love for Ky: he is like her in so many ways – strong, passionate, brave, and he’s a mystery, he intrigues her…  I could really feel it this time, Cassia and Ky’s love.  Their love just is so real to me now.  Therefore, I need the next book.  Because I finally get why Cassia couldn’t choose.  I couldn’t choose… ok.  I’m kinda leaning towards Xander… Still.

All the other characters were brilliant, and brought a whole new feel to the book.  I really liked Vick, who was slightly cynical and a natural leader.  Blunt and to-the-point, he too had fallen in love with someone he shouldn’t, which made me like him all the more.  Young Eli, also sent to fight the enemy, was cunning, brave and very clever, he was like a young Ky: I loved the young boy, and felt so sorry for him as well.  And Indie, Cassia’s only friend in the work camp, who was brave, quick-fingered and did whatever she wanted to.  I loved the mystery surrounding her, her inner fire and that she had a real vulnerable side: I loved the complicated Indie.

One thing I missed was the family feel.  I loved Cassia’s parents and brother and Grandfather, and of course Xander.  I wanted more Xander.  There were families in the Outer Provinces, but it wasn’t the same, and I hope we see more family bonds in the next book.

I was enchanted by the beautiful writing of Matched, and Crossed did not let me down!  The writing was lyrical, poetic, haunting.  And to be able to see both Ky’s and Cassia’s POV was genius on Allie’s part.  Their voices were similar enough to make me realise just how perfect they were for one another and different enough for me to be able to tell them apart.  And being able to see both POVs meant I could get to know Ky and his story: Ky wasn’t that jump-off-the-page for me in Matched, but in Crossed… I soon fell in love. Again.  But we want Xander to have chapters in the next book please Ally!  The plot in Crossed was faster and more exciting than Matched.  It was a real quest-like book and therefore more intense than just forbidden love (though there’s still plenty of that).  And again I found myself completely under Condie’s spell.  I have no idea how she does it.  I am pretty sure it’s the writing, but I needed to know what would happen.  I had to find out how it worked out. 

Again, I have to mention the amazing world Condie has created.  It’s so real, so scary, so… powerful.  I was obsessed with finding out everything.  And I loved that we finally got to find out why the Society was created!  And, worryingly, the reason makes sense…  It’s quite disturbing, actually.  And we get to know more about the Rising, the rebellion, Anomalies…

Love, trust, betrayal, searching, lost, found…  Crossed was a book that held me under its spell from start to finish.  I am now desperate for book three.  I NEED it!!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Matched by Ally Condie
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
The Chemical Gardens by Lauren DeStefano

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Puffin in exchange for an honest review

The Devil’s Triangle by Mark Robson

Series: The Devil's Triangle, Book One

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Paperback

Published: 31^st May 2011

Book: For Review*

Genre: Science-Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Action-Adventure, Fantasy, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Mild Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Mark Robson

The legend comes to life…

The Bermuda Triangle has cast a shadow over Sam and Niamh Cutler’s lives since teir mother vanished nine years ago.  Her whereabouts remains a mystery and every year the twins return to the Florida Keys with their father, Matt, who is obsessed with solving the haunting puzzle.

But Sam is bored with lazing around by the pool while his father hunts for the truth.  Craving excitement, he and his friend, Callum, “borrow” Matt’s boat.  At first it’s great fun, but when they find themselves marooned in a terrifying land, the boys realise they too have fallen victim to the Triangle’s mysterious effects.  Can they find a way home, or will they be lost forever?

                                                                   Review:

Sam and Niamh’s mother disappeared when they were kids.  No one knows where or how she vanished, but Matt, the twins’ father thinks it has something to do with the Bermuda Triangle.  Every year the family return to the place she disappeared from, thanks to Matt’s obsession with finding his wife.

Only, this year Sam is bored and sick of his father’s empty promises and obsession.  So with his best mate, Callum, Sam ‘borrows’ his father’s boat.  What started out as a great laugh soon turned into chaos and a strange world of monsters and mystery.  They have become the pray of the Devil’s Triangle – can they escape or will they remain stuck there forever?

I started to read this the moment it landed on my doormat.  I mean, c’mon!  Sci-fi twist on the Bermuda Triangle!  Which happens to be one of the coolest natural mysteries, way up there with Stonehenge, Lock Ness and Justin Beiber…  And blimey was it good.  I was just sucked in and couldn’t stop reading.  I officially need to read Book 2 (thank God I have it already!) and I’m seriously thinking of getting another Robson series.  So… awesome book, in shorter words.

I loved Sam Cutler: the outspoken, athletic and confident twin.  He had a good sense of humour and was brilliantly cheeky.  While he was a trouble maker, he was also clever and logical, and such a brilliant survivor.  Driven, friendly and supportive, he was a natural leader and so good at keeping him and Callum alive.

Niamh Cutler was brilliant: cheerful and teasing, she seemed to be the calm and mature twin.  She was quick witted and level headed, but also snarky and feisty!  She was brave and determined, but I couldn’t help being shocked that she was flirting while her brother was missing!  Then again, teenager girls always do think of guys at just the wrong time, don’t they?  And Tony was rather hot!

Sam and Niamh’s twin bond was amazingly described and really clever.  Niamh got images of what Sam was going through and his emotions.  Sam could sense her strong emotions.  But Niamh couldn’t use it to find Sam.  The magnetic thingy in the Triangle was scrambling Niamh’s feelings… hence not being able to sense him.

Callum, Sam’s best friend, was awesome!  He had a great sense of humour and was really snarky, along with being a curious, clever geek!  While he was sensible and logical, he was always up for Sam’s jokes.  What I really liked about his was his ability to keep up the humour in the most difficult places: he really made me laugh!

Matt Cutler, was obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle, and never gave up on finding his wife.  Which is rather romantic, if you ask me.  While he could be moody at times he was great with boats and planes, relaxed and powerful under pressure. 

All the various characters were awesome, and I loved that all the minor ones felt so real and padded out.  Carrie was one I adored – she was so sweet and cheerful and helpful.  And Carrie’s brother Tony was just yummy!  Moira Mitchell was one of my favourites, even though she was a super minor character.  Her sense of humour and wonderful drawl were brilliant and funny. 

The writing was brilliant.  I loved the teen-ness in the kids’ voices, and how American the Florida folk sounded.  But more importantly: the action!  It was non-stop and wrapped in mystery – my favourite kind!  And I could see everything as I read – especially the world.  And I loved the plot!  Some bits were obvious (thanks to the blurb or common, maybe hopeful, sense) but everything Robson made up was unforeseeable!  I was hooked, desperate to know more about the world, if the boys would be able to get home, if… And, man, did I not see this one particular twist coming.  Just an overall awesome book packed with adventure and mystery.  Yay!

I loved the world!  A sulphur-smelling sea, a crocodile-sea-lion-whale-looks-like-its-about-to-eat-me thing, communist dinosaurs, advanced technology…  Yeah, welcome to the Devil’s Triangle, people!  Unlike anything I’d ever read about before, I completely feel in love with the world.  And Nipper, one of the raptors.  (Is that strange?)  But I loved the parallel to us: global warming and how much you’re willing to put at stake for technology and power – bearing in mind the method is killing the planet and endangering the inhabitants.  Mark’s imagination was just amazing!  I would never have been able to think up even the most basic bit of his world – and my imagination is worryingly vivid.  Just… wow!  A wow world, for a wow book by a wow author… More please?!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Imperial Series by Mark Robson

Wereworld by Chris Jobling

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from the author in exchange for an honest review

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Number of Pages: 400

Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Publisher: Walker

Format: ARC

Published: 28^th February 2012

Number of Pages: 272

Book: For Review*

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Mild References to Suicide and Depression

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Allison Rushby

Behind the flashing lights, the camera reveals all... even love.

Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she's known in the biz.  The best pint-sized paparazzo out there, Jo loves shooting the stars, and she certainly doesn't mind doing whatever it takes to get that one perfect picture.

But then Jo is sent on a major undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett - teen superstar/heartthrob and the only celebrity who's ever been kind to her - at an exxclusive retreat facility in Boston.  Among the cheesy group therapy sessions and embarassing "team building" exercises, Jo finds there's more to the reclusive Ned than meets the eye - and maybe more to herself, too.

                                                                   Review:

Zo Jo, the pint-size photographer, is the best in the biz. She loves her job, and certainly isn't afraid to do whatever it takes to get the perfect photo.
Until she's sent undercover to an exclusive retreat to get shots of teen star Ned Hartnett. Ned, the only star who has ever spoken to her kindly, who kept her in the paparazzo biz. She isn't at all sure about being there, but this job could secure the money she needs to go to school. But as she gets closer to Ned, her morals are tested like never before...

I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked up Shooting Stars – I’ve never heard of anything like it!  What I wasn’t expecting was to be totally addicted to ever word.  Exciting, twisty, funny and pure awesome, Shooting Stars just sucked me in from the first page.  I loved every moment, all the characters and the fact it made me laugh out loud.  Amazing, amazing, amazing!

Josephine Foster, AKA Zo Jo, was just brilliant! Crafty, enthusiastic and a little genius, I was equally shocked and impressed at the lengths this 16 year old went to get that one perfect photo. More impressed, actually. She was snarky and funny: a just really loveable character.  As awesome as the tough, snarky Jo was, I really liked seeing the more vulnerable side of her. It was obvious she was hurting really bad, even if she couldn't admit it. And she was, as I mentioned before, a genius! An EVIL genius!

Ned Hartnett, a 16 year old singer-song writer, who was reclusive without being resentful – according to Jo, anyway.  He helped Jo when they were younger and was really sweet to her and he proved that he had sneaky-smarts with his suggestion on how Jo could get the sneaky shots.  I liked his sneaky side.  And his sweet side.  He was just so cute and adorable!  But, he was hiding something… Something I didn’t guess.  And it wasn’t his bacon bits addiction!

I really loved Ned and Jo’s relationship.  I’m glad they didn’t start of loathing one another, like in so many movies – I liked that their backstory was sweet and realistic.  Their past made their current feelings much more plausible.  What I liked even more is that they were kinda awkward in their dating – I mean, real teens aren’t totally at ease with one another right away are they?  Their mix of chemistry and awkwardness was sweet and believable.  Perfect!

All the supporting characters were equally amazing.  Such as Mannie, Jo’s friend and fellow pararazzo, who was cheerful, friendly and funny.  Jo’s dad, also paparazzo, only paparazzo royalty; he was also really supportive and just lovely.  Wendy, Jo’s cousin and next door neighbor, was really nice and funny and totally knew Jo and all her sneaky ways!  But she really loved Jo and would do anything for her.  And I loved Kristina: former ballerina, girly, funny and as tall as Jo was short, she was Jo’s only friend in the retreat facility.  And all of them were just so real, so well-padded-out!

And the writing was amazing!  It was teen, addictive, funny and so Jo.  I adored the witty style, the description, the characters and the humor – everything!   I loved every moment, that I saw everything, and that I fell totally in love with all the characters.  And I loved the way Rushby tackled difficult issues such as depression, suicide and teen phobias.  Although these were just touched upon, I felt Rushby covered and described them really well: lightly, but not so lightly she brushed them off. 

The plot was completely unexpected.  I thought it’d be boy meets girl, fall in love, moral dilemma, get over it, couple.  And, well, I was wrong!  Shooting Stars was full of twists: I actually did not see the big twist coming – at all.  Which, of course, made it even more amazing and awesome.  Sure, some parts were expected after the blurb.  But the main part of the story… not so much.

And I’d just like to say that I really admired Allison’s view of fame and the paparazzi.  She totally got the way our world, the media and stardom work.  I just loved the way she portrayed it all through the slightly cynical Jo, who just nailed how the celeb society works.

A leading paparazzo, a reclusive teen star, a retreat to “find yourself” and one or two problems to untangle, I adored Shooting Stars.  A cute, fun, light hearted and addictive read, it is not one to be missed!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Diamonds are a Teen's Best Friend by Allison Rushby

Flawless by Lara Chapman

The Chocolate Box Girls by Cathy Cassidy

Split By a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

 Fifteen Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins

Challenges It's Taking Part In: Happy Reading

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Reading Angel & Katie's Book Blog)

Megan

* This book was received from author in exchange for an honest review