"This is What Happy Looks Like" Books Review!

Today Imma tell you about This is What Happy Looks Like, written by Jennifer E. Smith!

*Tons of Celebratory Stuff*

Here's a bit about it:

"If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?"

(Blurb taken from Goodreads)

Sounds cheesy, right?

Trust me, it isn't.

But it is.

Or is it.

Ohohohohoohohn. (That was my cute French Laugh by the way,)

(Whatever.)

Anyway, to clarify my statement above, I picked this book up at the Library on a whim because I'd been wanting to read it many times before.

Personally, I am a huge fan of adorable, preshy feel-good stories, and this sounded exactly like what I needed after my depression due to finishing Shadow Kiss, book three in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.

And that's what this book was, don't get me wrong. It was so incredibly sweet, and the characters were absolutely beautiful. It was realistic but not over dramatic and I kept waiting for something to go wrong but the characters were so well written and they never exploded about stupid stuff. I thought they would, many times, because that's what every other romance book has me believe--the two love interests are desperate and dramatic and just UGH--but these two? They were perfectly reasonable through it all, and to me that proved that they were worth it.

It proved that, in all of the modern crap we have in books these days, that there can be--and are--characters that actually FIGHT for what they love. Fight for each other, instead of pulling each other further downwards and making stuff worse. It was very refreshing and new from what I usually see in YA Romances.

Since you all must very well know by now that it's all about the characters for me, let's talk about them, shall we?

From the little bit about the book above, we don't nearly get enough insight into how pretty the characters are.

Graham is our leading lad (Omg I just used the word 'lad') and he's grown used to the spotlight. At the beginning he may sound a bit Cliche, but I swear he is anything but.

Because each chapter flips POV, it's really neat getting to see inside his thoughts. He misses his parents who feel uncomfortable around his filming life and he's at first annoyed by the girl that's acting as his love interest in the movie that he's starring in and ultimately he just wants to find a house in this little town and spend time with Ellie.

But this is the really great part: Though he's unhappy with the way his life is, he never complains.

HOLY COW WHAT HE DOESN'T COMPLAIN ARE YOU-

No. I'm not kidding. He doesn't throw fits and mistreat his Co-Workers and isn't rude to his fans. This little fact showed a bunch about his character and who he is, and I jumped in joy.

A NICE leading guy! That's a very rare thing!

And then we have Ellie, our leading lady, and she was truly the 'ideal girl'.

She has so much to her that would be impossible to touch on it all within this review, but I adored her in every way possible. She was believable and wise and kind, and together her and Graham made the most precious pair.

There were many supporting characters that were all done as they should be: double sided and well crafted.

Jennifer E. Smith is a wonderful writer, and this book couldn't possibly be what it is without her skill. I've recently purchase one of her other books, the Geography of You and Me, and I am very much so looking forward to reading it! (And telling you guys what I thought!)

Have you ever read This is What Happy Looks Like? What did YOU think?

Thanks for reading!

"The Evolution of Mara Dyer" Book Review!

Can you seriously believe that I fell even MORE in love with these books?

Like, I thought I loved it, but now it's just like I hated it compared to how much I love it now and-

I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

Today I'm going to tell you about The Evolution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin, because seriously everyone needs this in their life.

Going to keep it spoiler-free, considering it's the second in the series, but here's a bit about the first to clue you in on what it's all about:


"Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong."

(Blurb taken from Goodreads)

(Aren't those covers ABSOLUTELY STUNNING?)

Not much to read,  is it?

Trust me, I know--I had no idea what these books were about.

But then I read the first one literally in one day, and soon after got the second one for my Birthday, and sadly didn't have to read it in a day.

But I wanted to. I walked everywhere with this book open in front of my face and thus had many near-death experiences, but it was worth it because WOW.

More Hallucinations. More dreams and flashbacks and confusion and wickedly painful realizations. It was all just beautiful.

Mara really is one of my favorite YA heroines, because she's wise about things and she's motivated and she's determined. She's not annoying or obnoxious nor is she timid and complaining. She's perfect, basically.

Noah... Well, Noah is the best of the best, but in this book you really didn't get to see a lot of that. Because Mara is doubtful of him at some points, naturally I was as well, but by the end I was totally in love again, thinking:

"Oh my dear, why did I ever doubt you?"

There are a ton of beautiful characters around in this book, and some of them are evil and some aren't and some are both which is why this book is so great.

It was intense and fast paced and it held me thoroughly, as the first one did.

But...

That ENDING???













You don't understand my pain right now. I finished that page in a crowd of people, and I couldn't even pretend to be put together. I was in complete and total denial.

Nope nope nope.

Oh, and now we have to wait until NOVEMBER 4TH, to find out what happens next? That's just now fair! 

Sighh... So I shall wait and beat my head against a wall or two and try to pretend that that ending isn't tearing me apart. and maybe murder a few people.

Ha.

Haha.

Have you read the Evolution of Mara Dyer? What about the Unbecoming? What did YOU think?

Thanks for reading!

Ignite Me Book Review!

So I have a bunch of posts and Reviews and Super Secret Epic Things to get caught up on, so I finished this book quite a while ago, but just got around to turning my ASDFGHJKL notes into something more coherent.

Warning: This post contains slight spoilers of you haven't read Ignite Me!

Ignite me, By Tahereh Mafi, is the third and final book in the Shatter Me Trilogy.

Want to know more about Book One?:

"Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.


Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."

(Blurb taken from Goodreads.)


Check out my Review of book One HERE, and book Two HERE!

When I started this series, I really didn't know if I would like it.

I'm not a big fan of the whole 'crushed society, barren lands, hopeless war' type idea, because there are SO MANY. They're all about a ruthless ruler and a murdering army and a small rebellion that arises to fight against the odds.

This was a refreshing topic at first, but after the tenth and eleventh remake of the same story, I just got so sick of it, and I'm still constantly seeing the same boring feel to books.

But eventually I bought this one because of all the hype it was getting, and even reading what is offered above, I wasn't too impressed.

But this story is exactly what I was looking for.

A completely new take on the same old thing.

So, three books later, The characters are new and exciting and the plot is so quick I literally couldn't put it down until my eyes wouldn't stay open any more.

I also firmly believe that this series would be nothing without the magic sprinkled over it by the wonderful author, who is ranked up to my favorites. Her writing is emotional and intense and overall extremely poetic and breath taking.

Each and every character in this became as close as family in this book and that made me so happy.

Juliette and Warner are just the best-est, cutest in the world, we really get to see that in this book.

But there was one thing in this book that grated on my nerves.

One thing that annoyed me to death and made me want to explode with rage.

Adam.

Okay. 

I don't know if this is the authors fault, or if I'm just really missing something.

I get the whole situation. I'm trying not to spoil anything, but I get all of the feelings, and Juliette tries very hard to explain it in a way that makes sense, and it does.

But it was so incredibly unbelievable the way that Adam acted throughout this entire book.

He can be mad. He can be upset and torn and absolutely destroyed, but he just crossed way too many lines. He was annoying as heck and I really really wished someone would just shoot him.

And I used to absolutely LOVE Adam. I always shipped Warner and Juliette faithfully, but still I loved Adam's character but by the end I lost all respect for him and that made me so upset.

This could have easily been done so that you still like Adam as a character, and he could have respected Juliette as a person. If he really loved her, he would love her no matter who she was with, and not tell her to 'go out and freeze to death'.

He insulted her many times over and it really ticked me off, and I just thought it was so unrealistic and such a dramatic change for his character, I really had to question the entire story, because this was a fatal flaw in it that was very hard to see past.

But really that's the only bad thing about this book. Warner and Kenji and Castle and all of the others made it plenty worth it, and I absolutely loved the way that it ended. It was perfect.

But just.

Adam.

UGH.

Have you read Ignite Me? What about Shatter Me? What did you think?

Thanks for reading! But UGH ADAM.

Eleanor and Park Book Review!

Get to it, shall we?

Eleanor and Park is written by Rainbow Rowell.

How have you not heard of this book? Fine!:

"Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try."

(Blurb taken from GoodReads)

Okay, so this review probably won't be very fun to write because, honestly, there are only like four books in the entire world that I don't love.

And.

This was one of them.

I know you're going to hate me for that...

But let me explain why, okay?

I really do like this book--I think it's realistic and rough and adorable at many points, but overall it was just and 'Eh', read. And that never happens to me.

As a reader, I find at least one way to love everything I read and, being a writer and looking at a book from all different viewpoints, it makes it easier for me.

So I can see why most people love this book--I'm sure most people can relate to it, and think it was perfectly enjoyable and perfect, so don't let my sour feelings against it discourage you from picking it up. 

But I do have many problems with this book, so you might read my opinions and see if this is the book for you.

First we have Eleanor, and she was my favorite. Basically, she was the reason I read this book. She was cute and funny and easy to relate to, and had my sympathy from the very beginning. She's perfectly precious and I loved every minute of her.

And Park? Well, I didn't enjoy his character as much. He just seemed a bit flat to me for some reason. He was adorable at many points. But you know. Other points he just aggravated me to death.

There were just many parts that I didn't really care. I didn't really care what happened to them and what they did and how they acted. And this is a very sad thing to me.

Another key point that got incredibly on my nerves was all of the language. I understand what the Author was going for: She wanted a real, believable public school experience without sugar coating anything.

And this is fine and all, but when it comes to the content in a book, it's extremely annoying to have the F word every other sentence while they're on a Bus or something.

I mean--really?

I understand her motive, but, still, you just don't do that in a book. It's not good dialogue to read, realistic or not. I actually tried reading this book a month or so ago and had to put it down because I got so ticked at it. It was overall unnecessary and impossible to ignore. 

Also, the feel of this story seemed off. I didn't know if it was supposed to be a cute, feel-good book, or a sad, torturous read. And, even after I've finished it, I still don't know what she was going for.

The ending was supposed to be upsetting, I think, but I wasn't upset at all. The scenes missed their mark, and where I should have cared in the end, I simply didn't.

And I've heard that there's a chance this will be a movie? 

I'm not entirely certain on how I feel about that--if I'll go see it? I have no idea. Probably not.

But, remember, I'm originally not a very big fan of more Modern-Day settings. They're just not very exciting to me, and this book didn't prove me wrong. 

The romance was sweet but nothing more, the characters were fun but not extremely double sided or interesting, and the plot failed to give me a clear picture on exactly what kind of book this is.

Have you read Eleanor and Park? How do you feel about it? I honestly would appreciate your opinions!

Thanks for reading, and go give the book a try! Maybe you'll like it more than I did!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Book Review!

Before I start this Review, just wanted to announce that I have a new GIF buddy who will be helping me to properly describe my emotions.

Thank God for Stiles Stilinski.

03/28

page 227

48.0%

"Oh sweet goodness this book will be the death of me."

(Progress Update taken from My GoodReads)

Yes. That's all I had time to stop and Update during my adventure with this book. I was too busy not being able to stop reading it to update any more.

My family probably thought I was crazy or something--I physically could not set this book down. I read it when I had to walk down streets, ride in the car, eat food--literally, people, it was a little ridiculous.

But something was always happening. And, even when nothing huge was happening, the story itself was so indescribably captivating I just couldn't stop!

Never heard of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? COME ON, SON!:

"Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong."

(Blurb taken from GoodReads)

Yes sir, it is the vaguest Blurb on the face of the planet.

When I bought this book, I had absolutely no idea what the heck I was walking into. I'd heard from a few Blogger friends that it was good so I thought "Alright then. I'll give it a try."

And so I gave it a try, and didn't realize I was signing away my soul in order to begin this epic book.

Let's try to break it down, shall we?

The characters are simply irresistible. Each one is well rounded and realistic and interesting.

Mara, the main character (obviously), is something else. She's not typical or average or predictable in any sense.

She's a bit mental, you see--or so she thinks she is. And this was ridiculously fascinating to read because half the time you don't know what is real or what's a hallucination or what's a dream.

One of the few things I can think of to actually put into words about Mara Dyer is that I have total respect for her as a YA Heroine. There were so many parts I rolled my eyes and expected her to do what every other YA girl does--throw herself at the jerk, cry all the time, and just basically yet again portray girls as weak and fragile. But Mara never did that. She was shocking and bold and lovely, and I just.

Respect to Mara Dyer.

Next we have Noah Shaw.

Can I just say.

It started out. He's a jerk. It ended. He was still a bit of a jerk. But.

He was the most freaking lovable jerk I've ever read about ever.

He's precious and adorable and proud and brave and smart and obviously there's still something to him that we don't really know.

But I just.

Animal crackers.

I also have to mention Mara's brother, Daniel. He is someone that I really absolutely love.

I loved their whole brotherly/sisterly thing they had going on because, really, we don't see that in a lot of YA books. I was glad it was there, and it made me incredibly happy. Having an older brother myself, I could relate to Mara and their relationship.

The plot? It was wickedly confusing, and that's the only way I can accurately sum it up.

It was dark but also fun and I laughed and cried and my mind was blown many, many times.

While reading this book, I kept getting headaches because it all just got so twisted and big and just WOW.

But I've never been so happy to suffer through a headache--this book was worth it. Worth everything.

It's an epic story about so many different things, led by a great cast of new and exciting characters, written like liquid gold was used in the ink.

I couldn't stop reading, and I'm currently dying to read the next books.

I can't handle this level of epic.

Have you read the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? What did you think? Which character is your favorite?

Thanks for reading--now go buy the book and come back and we can ASDFGHJK!

The Raven Boys Book Review!

Oh Gosh.

Here we go.

Three Words.

"My Raven Boys."

OMG YES IS RIGHT MORIARTY.

I used those three little infinitely important words because that is exactly all I could think by the time I finished this quirky but epic little book.

In a weird sort of way, the reader sort of turns into their own version of Blue--honored to be taken along on these boys adventure, steadily growing to know them all and their unique qualities and their deep flaws and their brave strengths.

I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Here's a bit about the book:

"“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before."

(Blurb taken from GoodReads.)

This is the first book in the series--I think there are supposed to be four books?--written by the delightful Maggie Stiefvater. The second book is, I believe, already out. Anyone know for certain? Share in the comments because I'm new to this particular series and really behind on my Raven Boys information!

Whatever the case may be, this book is beautifully done, and let's I can sorta-kinda-maybe touch on that.

03/23	page 230		55.0%	"Wow this book is blowing me away. I love Adam so much. My precious."
03/25	page 361		86.0%	"The unimaginable plot twist. Whoa. And I love Adam like a ton. He's my precious now holy cow."

Those are my Updates during the time I was currently reading this book. A lot about Adam. I know.

You want me to start with him okay fine if you insist

Adam is like an adorable little pet puppy--like the kind with the big sad eyes, that cower if you're too loud, that are incredibly sweet and caring and kind. And, specifically over this character, I got ticked at his lifestyle. I'm trying to keep this review spoiler free, but, well--read the book, send me a message, and let's rant about our poor little Adam.

And at that one point--you know when I'm talking about if you've read the book--I was so freakishly proud of him and I just died a little on the inside. Oh gosh I just.

Next up is Gansey, who has to be my second favorite.

Yes the book is just that pretty so I turned it
into a spur-of-the-moment photo shoot.

Gansey is like Gansey. He's epic and has so many sides and is overall just a wonderfully crafted character. He's well done and interesting and fascinating. I love Gansey. The end.

Noah comes next in my list of descriptions, and lemme just say that Noah is... More than he seems.

Like really this book is so hard not to spoil. I can't say anything. But I love Noah and he always pets Blue's head and that's just the cutest.

Ronan is one of those characters I admire--I could never write someone like him, though I've tried. He's tough but soft and sharp but kind and it's like a little bundle of complicated messes wrapped into one character with a witty humor.

Blue is our quirky little character in this book that is sort of a balance--she belongs right in the middle of these boys, and I couldn't imagine her anywhere else.

The plot is quick and, especially near the end, I couldn't stop reading due to all of the unbelievable plot-twists but, that's the great part--even before that point, the book was still so exciting.

This is one of those books that, legit honestly, the characters could be sitting at a table, talking, and it would be the most interesting and exciting and bestest thing ever. The characters are just THAT good.

The world is a strange little mix of sorta Modern-Day-But-Not and an element of Magic. It was easier to wrap my mind around and even easier to enjoy the setting.

So--what's to say that's bad about this book?

Nothing.

The characters are full and great, the mood and theme of the story is pin-pointed and interesting, the plot is shocking and gasp-worth and squeal-worthy and the writing is just the icing on the cake.

The freakishly, ridiculously pretty icing, but still.

Stiefvater's writing includes quick, funny/cute dialogue, but can also create breath-taking imagery that made me swoon and stare a bit. I could image everything perfectly, and the genius of this Novel just is pouring all over me.

Have you read the Raven Boys? What did you think? Who's your favorite character?

Thanks for reading!

Unravel Me Review!

I read Unravel Me, guys. 

I read it.

I finished it.

And I. And I.

Okay so now that I spammed you with my emotions in SHERLOCK GIF form, I'm going to attempt to put one letter in front of the next to create a thing called words that you will actually understand.

Unravel Me is written by Tahereh Mafi, and is the second book in the Shatter Me series.

Don't know anything about it? Here, have a bit about book number one, Shatter Me:

"Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."

(Blurb taken from Goodreads.)

And check out my review of Shatter Me over at my GoodReads!

Yes, it IS as good as it sounds. Actually--correction--it's even BETTER than it sounds.

This little bit doesn't nearly touch on the beauty of this book. Literally every page is like reading poetry with descriptions and words that are daring and loud and get stuck inside your head and weave their way into your heart. It's stunning, Tahereh's writing is.

My Updates while reading it:

03/18	page 106		22.0%	"I'm not okay with this. at all"
03/18	page 149		32.0%	"HOLY FREAKING CRAP WARNER AND A PUPPY. I REPEAT WARNER AND A PUPPY. I'M IN LOVE. MELTY HEART. Be with him please. My ship shall sail."
03/19	page 261		56.0%	"Oh my goodness."

And characters. As you well know, that's what does it for me--if a book doesn't have good, quality characters, I'll dislike it instantly. Sure, a book may have a super awesome plot. Sure, it make be written perfectly. But if the characters are boring, flat, and unrealistic?

NOPITTY NOPE.

But these books hold within its pages some of my all-time favorite characters. 

Juliette, our leading lady, is a hard one to figure out. She has so many mysteries and uncertainties tied to her, but her character development and progression though out the story is absolutely incredible and very well done. I have to admit, in Unravel Me especially, there were some times when I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get a grip.

Which is one of the many reasons I absolutely adore Kenji, who does just exactly that. He's introduced in the first book, and I really loved him from the start even though he was a total jerk. I still knew there was more to him, and indeed there was! He's hilarious and quirky and has so many sides to his characters, as all of them do, that I'm still shaking my head, trying to figure out how our Miss Tahereh Mafi managed to create characters so real and understandable and breath-taking.

Adam honestly is the one I rooted for at the beginning. He's your standard YA male love interest--steady headed and brave and kind and caring, but though he was a fantastic character, I can't help but think he pales in comparison.

In comparison to who, you ask?

Why, Warner, of course!

I'm in love. I'm love with ANOTHER freaking fictional character and I am NOT EVEN ASHAMED.

I fell all over myself for Warner from the very beginning, which made it hard to even appreciate any moments between Juliette and Adam. The whole time I'm just thinking "You are with the wrong guy, you idiot."

And can I just say. Warner. And a Puppy.

Oh. My. Gods.

I don't think I've ever laughed and cried and died over a book so hard. I don't know why, but that was it for me--that was the moment that I realized I was taking this wonderful book way too seriously, and that I loved this particular character WAY too much, but...

That just made it all the better. This book could sneak it's way inside of me and made me gasp and laugh and, yes, cry. It's a powerful, unique book that screams with it's own voice and it's own words.

The descriptions paint realistic pictures in your head and many times I was just stunned silent, sitting there staring at the pages.

These books are inspiring to me, as a writer, and teach me to be brave with my words. And, as a reader, these books will set on my shelf of pride forever and ever. (I don't ACTUALLY have a self of pride, sadly--I imagine it more of a mental shelf, you know?)

So I plan on buying the third and final book, Ignite Me, as soon as humanly possible! I'm dying here!

Have you ever read Unravel Me? How about Shatter Me? What's your opinion?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all go out and purchase these books right away!

Unforgotten Book Review!

Helloooo, my lovely followers!

Got something either Super-Awesome or Super-Lame for you lot today. Super-Awesome because it involves the new release of UNFORGOTTEN, by the brilliant Jessica Brody, but perhaps Super-Lame because it also involves a BOOK REVIEW which, personally, I think I'm pretty crappy at. But we'll see, won't we?

I've done some reviews over at my GoodReads after I finish a book, but half of them are full of:

ASDFGHJKL

and

I CAN'T's

and

Yes. Lots of SHERLOCK GIF's to express my undying love for all things of words that I obsess over.

Not to say that OMG's and BRB DYING doesn't perfectly capture the language of a fangirl, but I really wanted to try my hand at a more... coherent review, without spilling my thoughts all over the place like an explosion of death.

What better why to start than with Unforgotten, right?

So, if you've never heard of Jessica Brody, or UNFORGOTTEN, or the first book in the trilogy, UNREMEMBERED, you really should promptly go bury yourself in a hole.

No just kidding I'm really joking.

A bit.

But really I love these books so much. Jessica Brody is also the Author of many other YA Novels that I, sadly, have not been able to get my hands on quite yet, but they are most certainly on my To-Read list.

There's just something about her writing that is beautiful and cryptic and just lovely all at the same time. It has voice and it's full of bravery, especially in the Unremembered Trilogy, from Sera's POV. 

Dunno who Sera is? Fine then:

"When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten."

(Blurb taken from GoodReads.)

So there's a bit about the story for book one, but really if you haven't read the first one you probably won't understand much of this review seeing as it's for the SECOND one, but I'm going to try and keep it Spoiler-Free, so if you're curious anyway, maybe this review will get you interested about the story and perhaps buy it and read them for yourself! (Which would be a seriously great idea.)

Anyway, first thing's first, is that I literally just discovered like a week ago the wonders of the Status Update option on GoodReads, where you can update your page number for whatever book you're currently reading, and add a little note to it as well. This was incredibly helpful to keep track of my thoughts as things were happening in the book, but I may have had a LITTLE too much fun with it. Do you think so?:

03/13	page 162		38.0%	"I ship it I shouldn't but I do. 'Nuff said."
03/13	page 210		50.0%	"OH MY GOODNESS WASN'T EXPECTING THAT YAY WHOA"
03/15	page 240		57.0%	"Oh my gods okay Reese and Ella and my precious precious little Cody. I'm certain I'm about to cry this is beautiful."

...Yes. All of that was very necessary. 

Characters, man! It's all about the characters for me! And Miss Jessica Brody didn't only reach my incredibly high standards for 'great characters', but even surpassed it! And that's a very hard thing to do. Because I'm picky. And negative. But whatever.

First we have the complicated Sera, who is the leading lady for our story, and I think she is the epitome of well-written YA female heroines. 

There's a huge, constant war of how our girls should act and think in novels. Some say "They should be soft-spoken and pretty and happy!", while other's say "She should have two guns and should scowl a lot and not take no crap from anybody!"

Now I think that these both are fair suggestions, along with all of the other arguments that are going on for female characters, but, honestly, there shouldn't be a debate on what YA girls SHOULD or SHOULDN'T be. Each characters is different, as each person is, and who they are is who they are, whether they have big daggers or a fluffy stuffed bunny.

But Sera is like this magical combination of all of them. She's kind and caring but strong and stubborn, but it's never annoying. I hate the characters that act all big and bad, like "Don't even look at me the wrong way or this bullets going in your face!", because, honestly, where's the character in that? Women can be whoever they want to be, but there is a line that crosses that--even if it was a male character, I guarantee I would still roll my eyes.

Sera has so many good qualities, and it's thoroughly interesting just to see what she's thinking and find out more and more of who she is. I love Sera. Obviously.

Then we have the wonderful Zen who, honestly, is one of the best written male love interests I've ever read. He's not just there to make this book a romance--he's there as a character who is loyal and funny and just all around perfect. And I shipped he and Sera with all of my giant, feelsy heart, until...

Until Kaelen. 

Yes the size IS necessary. Deal with it. 

Even when I shouldn't have, I loved this character. I fell for him at the very beginning and now he has to be my absolute favorite out of them all.









He's just so freakin' adorable and--Nope. I can't say anything else without spoiling something. literally his entire existence is a huge spoiler. Just know that I have an undying love for him. Just know. Ah.

The plot in this one is probably even quicker and more shocking then the first one, and THAT'S saying something. I was gasping and staring at the pages, and I finished the entire second half in one sitting because I literally couldn't stop.

THAT ENDING THO! 

We see some awesome, familiar characters, and get introduced to some epic new one's, and the threats are higher and the danger is for real intense. It's full of romance and beautifully woven words and action-packed excitement. It's full of great, unique characters and realistic, rough lives that jump out of the page and slap you upside the head with the book. Like I still have a bruise. Seriously.

Have you read Unforgotten? How about anything else written by Jessica Brody?  (Was this Review terribly terrible or is there still hope for me yet?!)

So long folks and thanks for reading!