Flawless by Lara Chapman

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: Paperback

Published: 3^rd May 2011

Number of Pages: 272

Book: For Review from Bloomsbury*

Genre: Real-to-Life Fiction, Romance, Comedy, Contempory, YA

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Mild Swearwords

No Alcohol, Drug References

 

Sarah Burke’s life is about to get complicated.  She’s agreed to help her gorgeous best friend, Kristen, catch the eye of the hot new guy at school, only to discover that he’s actually perfect for her!  And to make matters worse, Sarah’s convinced that the guy of her dreams won’t be able to see past her unusually large nose.

Misguided matchmaking, hilarious escapades and genuine romance result in this sensational high school romcom.

Review:

Sarah has just met the perfect guy for her.  Smart, articulate, gorgeous: he’s everything she’s ever wanted and more.  But she’s agreed to help her best friend, Kristen, get him.  Sarah wasn’t expecting the scheme to go so far.  Is she willing to sacrifice everything – her own happiness, her future guy, her morals – for her best friend’s happiness?  For loyalty?

I loved this book so much!  The writing was incredible, funny yet clever.  It tackled some tricky teen issues – accepting your faults, morals – but in a light way that was completely enjoyable.  It was such a brilliant book of love, loyalty and mismatched relationships.  It was touching, even as it made me grin.  I just absolutely loved Flawless!  I can’t wait to see what Lara Chapman writes next – I have a feeling it will be amazing!

Sarah Burke was wonderful, absolutely awesome.  She had a big nose, but she tolerated it.  And when other people made fun of her, she stood up for herself.  Often in rather funny ways.  She was also a geek in a great way, a loveable way.  Plus she has just got to be the most loyal friend ever, in the whole wide world.  Well, that or a bit of an idiot.  I’m going with Option One.

Kristen was sweet and really protective of Sarah.  I loved her – her sense of humour, her protectiveness, her love of life.  She was just gorgeous – inside and out.  And she was made even more real by her insecurities.  Kristen was just drop-dead-brilliant.

The “perfect guy,” Rock, was gorgeous, smart, thoughtful, and family orientated.  He was just a real sweetie, and super intelligent as well.  And that was why I just could not figure out how he didn’t know who the writer was! 

The bond between Sarah and Kristen was really strong.  Sarah would do absolutely anything for her best friend – even give up the guy of her dreams, and suffer through watching the two of them flirt.  And Kristin would do anything for Sarah, and was just constantly standing up for her.  Their relationship was beautiful, special and an once-in-a-lifetime friendship.

Ok, so Flawless was simple and predictable.  It was nothing like my usual vampire-filled reads.  But, still, I adored this book.  It was totally amazing.  I was touched, amused, intrigued and always thinking.  The writing was just so honest and beautiful, the characters and situations so relatable.  I loved every word – devoured them, even – and truly think that everyone should read this.  Accepting yourself is just so important, and Flawless highlights this perfectly.  A wonderful, thought-provoking read, hidden inside an equally wonderful rom-com.  It taught me was that we all have a few things we’re embarrassed about, insecurities.  And that you can’t be happy if you don’t accept yourself.  I know that, when I’m feeling insecure, quotes from this book will be what I think about.

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski

Drawing With Light by Julia Green
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan
The Chocolate Box Girls by Cathy Cassidy

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

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

Happy Reading

Megan

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

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Series: Bloodlines, Book One

Publisher: Puffin

Format: Paperback

Published: 25^th August 2011

Number of Pages: 432

Book: For Review From Penguin*

Genre: Paranormal, Dark Romance, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Action, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Mild Swearing, Drinking

No Drug References

Author's Blog: Richelle Mead

Warning: Contains Spoilers From The Vampire Academy Series

Sydney protects vampire secrets – and human lives.

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway.  What unfolds is far worse.  The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding.  Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathising with vampires.  And now she has to live with one…

Review:

Ever since Sydney Sage helped dhampir Rose Hathaway, she has been shunned by the rest of her secret organisation, the Alchemists.  Their goal being to protect humanity from vampires, associating with a half-vampire is not helping Sydney’s case.  So when a job pops up, Sydney sees a chance to redeem herself.  Until she finds out that it involves living with a Moroi.  And not just any old Moroi – Queen Vasilisa Dragomir’s younger sister and only relative, who is a being targeted by rebels.  This will not help Sydney rid herself of the name ‘vamp lover’…  Of course, it doesn’t help that darker goings-on are happening in their new home.  Ones that could prove to be deadly…

I have to admit, when I saw that a spin-off series of Vampire Academy was coming out, I thought: “Oh!  It’s not going to be the same – can’t be the same – without Rose!”  I was, of course, a total fool to doubt the brilliance of Richelle Mead.  Sure, I missed Rose.  But Bloodlines just blew me away completely.  The characters, the action, the humour, the plot, the setting… everything was just perfect!  I loved every single moment, just zooming through the book at break-neck speed.  And, as I read, I just thought how much I wanted the book to go on and on and on…  Yeah.  It was just that good!

Sydney was awesome.  Eighteen, an Alchemist, Sydney was smart, practical and… well, awesome!  When she first appeared in Blood Promise, I wasn’t too keen on her.  But I got past the suits and righteousness quickly and realised I really, really liked her.  She has this wonderful, dry kind of humour about her: she made me laugh – and grin – a lot.  She was also wonderfully bad in social situations – she really didn’t get people.  It was hilarious!  So, ok, Sydney wasn’t a kick-butt guardian like Rose.  But she was smart, funny and would do anything for the ones she cared about – die for them, fight for them.  And, in that way, she was very much like our dear Miss Hathaway.  Oh, and I loved Sydney, if you hadn’t gathered.

Now for the ‘supporting cast’.  Jill: I’ve always loved her!  She’s so full of energy and often nervous, but she’s just so cute!  And all rambly!  But, in the events preceding this book, she’d had to go through so much – it was terrible…  (Intrigued, yet?)  And then we have Adrian Ivashkov.  I have always loved Adrian Ivashkov.  Now, this is how it went down:   Adrian enters the cast.  And, instantly, I’m laughing.  He’s just that brilliant.  And, even better, underneath the sarcastic, snarky, I’m-so-wonderful exterior is someone who is damaged, but amazingly sweet and deep.  This is blatantly obvious whenever he’s around ‘Jailbait’ – Jill for those who haven’t read the books.  I love him!  Oh, and Eddie Castille makes an appearance!  I really liked Eddie – always have, ‘cause he’s sweet and brave, and very sarcastic when needed – which, basically, is whenever Adrian is involved.

I’ll end with a sort-of badguy.  An Alchemist.  Keith Darnell.  Grr.  Sydney didn’t like him – at all.  And I hated him from the moment he walked in.  He was smug, arrogant and just rubbed me the wrong way. 

Bloodlines was super-fast pace and exciting!  Even when there was no action, it was so, so addictive!  And, as usual with Richelle’s books, I guessed some of the more basic twists, but there were more where my guesses were way off mark.  Like out-of-the-park incorrect.

Really, it was so cool to see the problem – and world – from the Alchemists’ point-of-view.  It was amazing to see more into the Alchemist organisation, their secrets and mission.  Even if I didn’t entirely like all of their beliefs and strict social rules.

And, true to all Richelle’s novels, I felt so much throughout the book.  I laughed – a lot – I held my breath, I hoped, I smiled, I felt like crying…  How does she make me feel every.single emotion Sydney does?

I need The Golden Lily.  ASAP.  Now.  Its release honestly can’t come soon enough!  Bloodlines ended on one of the worst one-sentence cliffhangers ever!  And, in the sequel, can we look forward to a few new love triangles?  We’ll just have to wait and see…  But, I’m tellin’ you now, I am packing my bags and moving here, to this wonderful, wonderful world.  I don’t think I can wait until next year!  So…  Bye!

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Finding Sky by Joss Stirling

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

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

Vampire Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Parajunkee’s View)

Happy Reading

Megan

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

Fortnight of Guests: A Novel Paradise (Rediscovering Reading Through YA)

Hey everyone! My name's Felicia and I run A Novel Paradise, a YA book review blog. That sounds like I'm important or something but really, I'm just your average bookworm armed with a passion for YA (and an unfortunate talent for lame jokes). I read under my desk in class instead of paying attention, I visit the library more than anywhere else, and I just love talking books, even when my friends start playing deaf. So a big thank-you to Megan for giving me the opportunity to guest-post on your wonderful blog! (:

I initially intended to write this informative essay on how we can rediscover reading through YA, but in the end, I realised that what I really wanted do was to share my thoughts about how awesome books can be for teens. Or somewhere along that line, at least. Hope I'll be echoing the sentiments of teen readers out there!

I've been a bookworm pretty much all my life. Ever since I was a little kid, I chose to read over watching cartoons or playing video games like my brother did; I was completely mad over Enid Blyton books and The Boxcar Children series! While growing up, I had tons of interests, including scrapbooking, swimming, painting, baking...you name it, I did it. But reading is the only hobby that has stuck with me as I grew from a silly, giggly and talkative child to the moody, sulky and angst-ridden teenager I am today (LOL).

A huge part of the reason why I was able to keep up my passion for books has to be because of the diversity of Young-Adult and teen novels I have to choose from. What else can you read when your taste has evolved beyond children's fiction, but is still not yet mature enough for the world of adult literature? To me, YA books are the stepping stones for us teenaged bookworms. Some titles are more suitable for tweens, while others would appeal more to older readers in the demographic, but with the vast sea of books available in the market, there's ALWAYS a book for everyone. There are so many different genres to choose from that you will probably stumble upon something you like. Hater of contemporary? Move over to fantasy, or a whole new paranormal world. Tired of romance? Get yourself an edgy, creepy psychological thriller!

When I tell my classmates that I like reading, some of them would give me the "What are you talking about? Books? Isn't school enough?" look, like I was stuck in the dinosaur era or something. But I think they still haven't discovered The Book yet: the novel which will tug at somewhere in their souls and kickstart their love for books! My best friend's a real life case study right there; she used to hate reading when she was a kid because she just wasn't interested. But as a teenager thrown into the world of boys and dating...hello hot-male-love-interests-who-are-head-to-toes-perfect! That moment when I first saw my book-burning bestie burying her nose into Twilight was priceless.

That's why I believe YA literature has become a sort of life-saver for teens who have never liked reading, or are put off by books thanks to the monotony of textbooks. I'm sure there are tons of other people out there just like my bestie, which is why if YA were a person, I would throw my arms around him/her and plant a huge, wet kiss on the cheek. Because books are totally awesome (Well, to be fair, not all of them are. But that's not my point. Ahem.) and I would hate for anyone to miss out the experience of enjoying a great read! I just can't imagine life without books, especially when they've been there for me when no one else was.

So if you've got an addiction to YA, be proud of it! And if you're a teen who rediscovered reading through YA, know that you're a very, very lucky person (:

Thanks again Megan for having me here today; I feel so honored as this is my very first time haha. Hope you guys didn't fall asleep while reading my rambling! :D

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No still wide awake!  ;)  Thanks for the brilliant post, Felicia!  And I completely agree: books save lives... from boredom.  :D