Gypsy Reviews

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received an eARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss. Thank you!Pitched as a mix-up of X-Men and The Godfather, I was pretty underwhelmed by Transparent. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. The MC annoyed me with her childish, immature and overreactive personality. The writing wasn’t the best, some areas did bug me quite a bit and the story was in overall okay. It was the secondary characters and values behind family that really drew me in. Transparent proved to be a decent debut novel which could have been something so much more.You would expect Fiona to be tough, used to a life of crime, able to defend herself and be used to the harsh reality of life but she is far from it. Fiona was immature, whiny, overreactive and she was childish. There were people at her new school who genuinely wanted to be her friends and she just shunned them and ignored them and was pretty insensitive. Her mother is trying to protect her and give her a shot at a life she never had but Fiona never trusts and believes her. She overreacted and completely overanalysed the situation when a guy confessed he liked her and had tried to spend time with her as his brother helped him ask her instead since he knew she wouldn’t want to come if it was him asking her out. If Whipple was trying to make Fiona seem detached and afraid of commitments because of her life and connections to her father’s syndicate, she didn’t do a good job of making it convincing enough.I adored the secondary characters, they were such a family and bonded together. They had some great family values there and this was where it made the book seem more like a contemporary novel. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because it kept the book very grounded and more interesting. It delved in deeper into the plot and provided another side of a family who was affected by Radiasure but didn’t venture into crime. It was heartwarming to see family and friends who truly cared about each so much they were like one big extended family and how willing they were to take in new people. In the romance department, I liked Seth, he’s a geek, knows his responsibilities and incredibly sweet underneath, though he was a bit of a jerk in the beginning but it made sense when he said it was because he liked Fiona he didn’t really know how to react to that. This, on the other hand, was executed well enough to be convincing and not make me want to hate the character.The writing was well, it was choppy and it definitely contributed to making Fiona sound more childish. I admit it did sound more of a MG novel the way it was written though the content definitely wouldn’t be MG. One aspect that really bugged me was how accepting Fiona was of her father’s power because he can attract women and manipulate them to do whatever he wants. Fiona was basically going “What can you do? That’s just his power, he wants us to do his bidding, we can’t stop it.” It might just be me overanalysing that bit but it seemed pretty sexist to me. It just really bugged me and gave me an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. It shouldn’t be okay at all that she is so accepting of it and how it isn’t presented as an issue to her.Plot was mostly predictable, nothing really jumped out and surprised me which was a little sad because there could have been a lot more happening. The world building wasn’t much either, just a bit of mention about the history of the Radiasure pills. Would have loved to find out more about the effects of Radiasure in the present day and how it goes beyond crime syndicates and stuff like that.Transparent was a decent read, nothing too boring though nothing that interesting. I definitely expected more action than following Fiona’s to school. An underwhelming read particularly regarding the MC because she was nothing I expected and not in a good way. If you want to check this out, be warned this is more of a light fluff read that is bordering contemporary and less paranormal so don’t expect anything too big. Not necessarily a bad thing but with a synopsis like that, I was expecting something more serious and action-packed.

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsBack when Pivot Point first came out, I heard loads about it and of course I had to check it out. Having already read a similar book dealing with a similar issue in Parallel, no doubt Pivot Point had big shoes to fill. Pivot Point has its merits and cons and manages to stand on its own with its thrilling moments, interesting concept of the Paranormal world and is a book I definitely enjoyed. However, the story-telling fell flat a bit because the build-up towards the end wasn’t executed well enough.Addison just found out her parents are getting a divorce and she has to decide who to choose and does so by using her powers as a Searcher where she can see the two potential futures she could choose. Addie is confident, well-aware of who she is though despite that, she also has her own insecurities. In the paranormal compound, people misunderstand her abilities and presume she can tell other people’s futures as well so she has to deal with the part where there might be people wishing to take advantage of her whereas in the Norm world, she fears not being able to embrace her powers because her powers are a huge part of her they have come to define her and without them, she does not know who she is. Addie does seem a bit of a brat when dealing with her parent’s divorce because she secretly thinks she can get them to get back together and tries to take advantage of the post-divorce effect. Though I think this is rather relatable to children who have gone through this process and find it hard to come to terms with. So it was understandable.Now we have two potential romances and needless to say, I pretty much detested Duke. To be honest, I usually do like characters who seem like jerks in the beginning but who aren’t actually in the end but Duke always gave me this really bad feeling because he hardly knew Addie at all and wanted to catch her attention. In the end we find out Duke is anything but he seems. Trevor is such a sweetheart though, he’s honest and although he and Addie don’t share similar interests he respects that and I loved their relationship. It was slow and gave you time to warm up to it. Trevor is quite a complex character.I liked the flow of the story-telling, how sometimes we would see what happened in this future and see a mention of it in the other future. The events fit in seamlessly and bravo to West for accomplishing that! You could see that no matter what Addie decided, some events were going to happen and she couldn’t stop them. I get what West was trying to accomplish in the end and tried to throw us off with what was going to happen but I found it confusing and overwhelming. I would have liked more build-up towards that climax and maybe some insight as to why the characters did what they did instead of a bunch of info-dumping. I know there were small hints here and there but more would have made the overall impact of the ending more BOOM!I know some reviewers said it was hard to get used to which future Addie was in, that wasn’t an issue with me. It was easier to grasp than Parallel. I definitely wanted to see more of the Paranormal compound, I was quite fascinated by what Addie’s parents did and the whole finalising your powers once you’re an adult. So I hope we see more of the paranormal compound in the sequel and more expansion on that part.I liked Pivot Point well enough, I enjoyed the story and liked the characters. The concept wasn’t confusing and I really want to find out more about the paranormal compound. However it wasn’t a book I loved because of the ending, I liked the action but would have preferred more build-up so I was more prepared for it and it just made more sense. It’s worth a read and I recommend it.

DNFI just couldn't get through this book, not after reading September Girls and suffering through that. I was expecting an inspiring journey of a father and her daughter but what I got was boring monologue that consisted of the most random, detailed and absurd thoughts ever. I mean the father literally thought that pissing was like a... strange dull orgasmThis is a 40 year old man we're talking about. Do I really want to know about this? He's peeing and then also thinking about having sex with this women at his workplace because he hasn't had sex in a while and feels 'less of a man'. What finally convinced me to stop was when he found a bundle of cocaine at the sea and started to get high on it but stopped when his daughter wanted to try some and his dog wanted to stuff her nose into it. Uhm what? Your kid is right there and you want to get high on cocaine? You're in the middle of nowhere. I do not need to know every single painstaking detail of what Gavin does and all the sensations he is feeling. This book is a good reminder to me as to why I am reluctant to read any old adult book because of how boring they usually are but this is the tip of the iceberg because I haven't read such an awful adult book in a long time and I don't DNF every single day, I have a pretty high tolerance so if I do DNF, there's something really bad about this book and I tried not to because this was a review book.

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received an eARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss. Thank you!Congratulations September Girls, you have gotten my first 1 star rating ever. I don’t give these out to any old book, I give these even more rarely than I give 5 star reviews. Just fantastic with your portrayal in women as hos, lots of descriptions about women mainly pertaining to their chest area and including lots of naked women because naked women are everywhere! With a dash of horny boys and characters who cannot think of nothing else to say but lots of expletives. Great job September Girls! *thumbs up* You absolutely did not have my inner feminism raging at this book Sam has got to be one of the most boring and unbelievable characters I have ever read about. He supposedly goes through this ‘transformation’ throughout the book but I really didn’t see anything because he was so incredibly boring. You can see the attempt to make Sam this really deep guy who goes through a journey of self-discovery and make him seem like a good guy and always the victim. I can’t really take it seriously if he suddenly has a revelation drunk and at a club dancing around. Who has revelations like that? If anything at all, Sam is a jerk and a mindless drone. His actions in the past seem mainly dictated by his best friend, Sebastian who actually got him to dump a girl because she was a ‘starter’ and after he had groped her breast then after she started to shun him, he then felt guilty. …………… Am I supposed to sympathise with a guy like this?Now onto the portrayal of women, Sam and other male characters in the book see women as mostly hos. It’s not only the male characters, even the girls. Every single time a women is mentioned, without a doubt when it comes to their description, their breasts have to be mentioned because yes, a women is defined by her breasts. Sure, women have breasts and you can distinguish a women from a man by their breasts so do we define men by their penises? Why didn’t I see whenever a man came into a scene, their penis wasn’t mentioned? There were also lots of naked women, why are the women naked? Why? Either that or they’re scantily clad. Did everyone just lose their clothes or something?Not every book needs to have the empowerment of women but at least respect women. I didn’t see this at all. Rather women were treated more like objects – walking sticks with breasts if you will. There for the pleasure of men and to be used for sex because that is what they are here for. It bothered me so much that the Girls were blonde, thin and so on because this was how they got what they wanted. It speaks so much about the portrayal of men too in this book, that the only thing that matters to them about a women is their breasts and they’re thin and beautiful. It was absolutely disgusting to read about it. This basically embodies everything that is wrong with society and we shouldn’t be encouraging this in any sort of media at all. If it was purposely to highlight what we shouldn’t be doing, I would be okay with that but September Girls gave me no indication as to the fact that all of this was wrong at all.The whole book made absolutely no sense to me at all. I have no idea what was going on because it seemed pointless. At the 50% mark, I just stopped reading it carefully and started skimming because I wasn’t going to waste more time reading this when I could have been reading other books. It’s mainly Sam’s inner thoughts and attempts to be deep and find the meaning of life. Whining a little that he didn’t understand Dee Dee because she was avoiding him and then he loves her when he hardly even knows her at all. Apparently, he thinks that making out with her can constitute as getting to know her and knowing her enough to be in love with her. I never got the indication throughout the book that Sam was a nice guy, he didn’t seem to have his own personality.The inclusion of the paranormal and fantasy element was so poorly done, why was it even included? It seemed absolutely redundant. Why did the Girls have to go through this? Was there some sort of hidden meaning or purpose behind it? Also, why was it only girls? There are male mermaids you know. Also the way to break the curse? Made to put men on a peddle stone for women to worship at is it? So the Girls would throw themselves at virgin boys? *rolls eyes*The use of expletives was astounding. No idea how Madison got away with this, particularly for a Young Adult book but do you really have to use them in nearly every single sentence? Do the characters honestly have no other words they can use? Someone needs to buy them some dictionaries because boy, if these was the olden days, their mouths would have been scrubbed clean with soap. Plus the negative influences of smoking, drinking and even drugs. It’s not a book you want a Young Adult audience to read because really, what good are they gonna get out of this? There are no role models here, there’s nothing to learn from September Girls.September Girls is a good example of what not to do in a book. It’s misogynist to the core and so incredibly sexist. If this was what a guy’s mind looks like, well I pity the human race. Stay away from this book, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone even if you begged me to. I would probably grab this book out of your hands and run away screaming, “THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!”. Now I’m going to try and find an awesome epic book to read and regenerate all the brain cells I lost while reading this. I salute everyone else who has read this book as well, you have done a great service to the book community *salutes*

2.5/5Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received an eARC from Green Leaf Book Group via NetGalley. Thank you!Scrap sounds like an adventurous fantasy novel with a promising storyline and the potential to be something different from what we usually read. However, Scrap follows the lines of a typical fantasy novel despite the interesting history of the brutal king and the inclusion of alchemy. The plot was fairly predictable and it was difficult to believe the events due to the poor planning and pacing of the story, also the characters were not developed well enough for me to believe they were in that particular situation.Tucker Scrap has been in the orphanage for as long as she can remember when she was left there with a note on her with her friend, Kally. Tucker works at the bakery and stealing has become a way of life, though getting beaten by the baker for doing so but she’s content to have a job. Tucker has a mind of her own and a peculiar girl who although has been an orphan her entire life and lived at the orphanage, it was hard to believe her position. I never got the impression she fit her description. When she was trying to be someone else, she adjusted to it very fast and it seemed unlikely to me that a true orphan would adapt so fast to a rich person’s world. Tucker seemed a bit too arrogant for her own good and wasn’t exactly very likable in my book, it was hard to identify with her.I definitely enjoyed the history of King Ibis and how ruthless he was, it seemed real enough to be in the medieval times. I only really felt that it was a fantasy book from when I was learning more of the history, those parts were the few that managed to engage me and forget about how far along I was through the book. However, the worldbuilding was done poorly, there was a lot of name-dumping of the lands but little was built on top of it. It was hard to visualise the areas because not much was concentrated on the scenery.Now the rebellion, I was pretty astounded at how little time was needed for such a plan to be concocted. We’re talking about a heartless king who has killed his own wives and daughters in cold blood and they’re going with a simple tactic to try and kill him? Hmmm. It seemed like a lot of planning had gone into it and there were a lot of people backing up the rebellion but it seemed like a two person plan, something that only amateurs would come up with when they were truly desperate. It was underwhelming to know that this was the tactic being used, no doubt I knew that it was going to fail because so little thought had been put into it. I had been expecting something much more akin to a war or battle judging by the scale of king’s power.There were many plotholes that never ended up being resolved, it might have been that the author was planning to resolve these in the sequel but if you introduce them in the synopsis and it happens early into the story, these matters should be resolved within the book and not in another book.Scrap proved to be an underwhelming fantasy story that just seemed to go through the motions of a typical fantasy book without going in-depth and exploring the many possibilities it could have ventured into. With a heroine that I found hard to identify with, I didn’t exactly enjoy this book nor did I particularly hate it. I didn’t really have any feelings towards it. I am not sure if I would recommend this because it was generally quite boring, I guess if the history of King Ibis intrigues you enough you should give it a go because the history part is definitely one I enjoyed. If not, you won’t be missing much by skipping this.

4.5/5Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received an eARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss. Thank you very much!Parallel brings up the mysterious concept of parallel worlds and what happens if one day your world collided with your parallel’s and suddenly, her decisions dictate your future? Miller is able to create a fantastic story that kept me curious and marveling at the wonders of science, relating to the characters and made me torn between two characters who were actually one person.Abby Barnes is smart, determined, focused and has a plan. She’s got her priorities straight, knows what she’s doing but sometimes she’s a little too focused on her Plan, she forgets about her surroundings. But there are a lot of things that don’t go the way she planned it and I found myself rather liking Abby. That she was determined to get her own life back and try to take control of her own destiny and not ler her parallel dictate that for her. She was also quite realistic and didn’t go crazy or overreact, she made logical decisions and opened her mind to possibilities.It was definitely very interesting to read from the two perspectives of Abby because for one, when you’re in present Abby’s position, you feel that the Parallel is the enemy and she’s making all the bad decisions. But from the Parallel’s perspective, her decisions seem to be the right ones in her position. It gives you a whole entirely new way of looking at perspective. It was confusing at first to grasp the two Abbys but I got the hang of it at the second chapter. I really loved the way the story was told, it all coincided very nicely so the pacing was good until the end. That was a little rushed for my taste because everything was resolved very quickly and I felt more build-up could have been done beforehand.There are two guys involved in Abby’s life, present Abby and Parallel Abby and because we got both perspectives, it was so hard to choose who you were rooting for haha. They did seem a little similar though, Josh and Michael, I don’t feel like we got enough of their own personalities coming out. Though I did like seeing how their relationships with Abby progressed, I’m always here for progression *thumbs up* I did get mindblown at one point and that was the best part of the book haha.The secondary characters were good and the development was well-written. You could really see that some of these people in Abby’s life really were important to her and it’s great to see a character so connected to her friends and family, really makes her seem grounded. Caitlin was a character I liked very much, although she looks like a Model, she tries very hard to do well and is fascinated with Science. Couple that with the fact that she is dyslexic, you see someone who is level-headed and down-to-earth who has her own goals in life and yet her own insecurities.I had sort of a geek out moment with all the scientific terms and explanations in the book haha. Miller did great with this part because it wasn’t too sophisticated to the point where a layman wouldn’t understand but it also wasn’t too simple to where it was too boring and unbelievable. Also, loved the writing! I did quite a bit of highlighting in my Kindle haha and that’s rare because I usually don’t do too much highlighting, I’m picky when it comes to quotes I like. Miller mainly concentrates on the concept that no matter what, your decisions are going to lead to this result, it all really depends on when? That your life is already pre-destined and even if you decide that, you’re going to end up where you were always meant to be. She did well making Abby discover that and it was a journey of self-discovery for Abby too.This didn’t affect my rating but I thought I should mention it, there were many grammar and spelling mistakes in the ARC, more than I normally see in an ARC so it’s pretty unusual. Though not uncommon because ARCs are subjected to grammar and spelling mistakes so hopefully, none of them are in the finished copy.I really enjoyed Parallel, it’s smartly-written and I had such fun reading it. It was refreshing to read something different and sci-fi, touching on topics such as destiny and how much your choices can change the future, no matter how small or big. It reminds you that you shouldn’t take any decision too lightly because you never know the impact it could have. I highly recommend Parallel to everyone!

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsWither was one of my first 5 star ratings ever and I devoured it quickly, craving for more. Fever however left me empty and hollow as I was underwhelmed by the events Rhine went through. Sever though is a satisfying ending to the trilogy but the storytelling was little from what I expected with many filler moments and a plot twist that failed to impress and convince me. Needless to say, Sever was an underwhelming book and I could come to terms with the ending but it could have been so much more.We continue from when Linden takes Rhine out of the house and keeps her away from his father, Housemaster Vaughn. Rhine is determined to find her brother and let him know that she is alive. I quite liked Rhine in Wither and somewhat in Fever but now in Sever, I find her to be quite fickle-minded and she fails to redeem herself and be the heroine that she is portrayed to be. Rather, she is a damsel-in-distress and constantly being assisted by everyone, not doing much herself.A large part of the book is filled with Rhine’s ramblings and I was expecting it to go a lot faster than that because it seemed like much was supposed to happen. I don’t really want to hear about Rhine’s conflicting feelings, I want more story development. When is Rhine going to find her brother? Can Vaughn just leave them alone already? It bothered me so much that Rhine was falling in love with Linden and kept saying she ‘owed’ Linden. What do you owe him? You’re not his wife anymore. It made no sense to me. Rhine’s love life wasn’t exactly handled very well because she didn’t love Gabriel either, she has never indicated that she truly loves him or has feelings for him. In one way or another, she used him and I just wanted to shake Rhine by the shoulders whenever she was talking about her feelings for Linden and then talking about Gabriel. Make up your mind girl!I loved Cecily, she has definitely grown from that dainty girl who was so excited to be married and have kids with Linden, so clueless about the world to a more mature, hardened and loving mother who would do anything for her child. She’s become more defiant and more herself. It is hard seeing Cecily being forced to grow up in this situation but yet I’m happy to see her become more rooted to reality. She’s pretty bad-ass in this book though, more than Rhine was anyways. I don’t really have much to say for Linden because Linden is sweet and endearing but that’s pretty much it.I was so disappointed by the events that unfolded after Rhine met up with Rowan finally. It felt like everything we knew was a lie and I was wondering, then what was the whole point of setting the entire story that way? Although the explanations provided were well-tied and covered up the loopholes, it was just such a drastic change that it was very hard to adjust to. It also made the book less exciting and it got pretty boring. But there is something about this series, it isn’t that good but it just sucks me right in and I devour it quickly. I call this series my guilty pleasure hahaI know fellow reviewers have complained about the world-building and it is slightly better in Sever because some things do get clarified but it is rather simple. For me, when it comes to world-building, I don’t require too much because I prefer simplified ones to over-detailed ones where I would get confused easily and lost. As long as it makes sense to me and is easy to visualise and not over cluttered with details. So in this aspect, I’m okay with DeStefano’s world-building but something to consider if you are someone who prefers more detailed world-building.Sever wraps up the trilogy with a satisfying ending but the events leading up to it were disappointing. It was a shame we didn’t get as much of Lauren DeStefano’s beautiful writing here because I love her writing. I do recommend those who have started this series to finish it but those who haven’t yet, I would recommend it with reservations because although I loved Wither, I’m not sure everyone would too because this series is my guilty pleasure haha.

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsEvery Day draws you in with its poignant and thought-provoking writing that is typical of a Levithan novel and one of the best aspects of the book. It had a peculiar concept and reminds us that love has no boundaries – we are capable of love for everyone. However, the execution and the story wasn’t all that impressive as the main character bordered stalkerish and a little too pushy for his own good.No doubt A is a character unlike any other, A is neither a guy or girl though I think we assume that he takes the identity of a guy though every day, he ends up in a different body. He never knows which body he is going to be in but he goes through that person’s life for one day and continues the cycle. One day, he ends up in the body of Justin and meets his girlfriend, Rhiannon and through that one day, A has fallen in love with Rhiannon. He breaks his code and every day, regardless of what body he is in, he goes to see her and eventually tells her who he is.I was very much bothered by this part of the book because A hardly knows Rhiannon, I don’t think one day qualifies as being able to tell if you’re in love with someone. It simply isn’t very realistic and I didn’t like A’s attitude towards this. He starts uprooting other people’s lives for one day and taking advantage of them to do what he wants. I know he doesn’t have much free will himself because he doesn’t have his own body but it just seems so wrong. Plus, he’s trying to convince Rhiannon that his love for her is true and she needs to dump Justin because he isn’t good for her. I don’t think that was A’s decision to make because it’s Rhiannon’s life and he doesn’t have a right to tell her how to live it no matter how badly Justin treats her. It might have been for Rhiannon’s own good but the way he approached it just made me very uncomfortable. He started to get very stalkerish and followed her every day, needless to say I was not a fan of their relationship.I did like the concept of A being in a different body every day, it was very interesting and I loved the message it sent across that love knows no boundaries. Love is not all about gender – but about the soul within, the person who you are. A had fallen in love with girls and guys alike, he’s not bisexual or a particular sexual orientation, he loves someone because of who they are inside. Levithan is also fantastic at manipulating words and his writing is fantastic. I have said this before and I’ll say it again but I love thought-provoking quotes that are self-reflective and which you can relate to them. Every Day is in no short supply of them.Not a big fan of the pacing though, once we got into the book, straight away it dived into meeting Rhiannon. I would have preferred getting to know and understand how it felt for A before he met Rhiannon, to go through his usual routine so we got to adjust to the changing bodies every day factor. There was one element in the story that I enjoyed, where one of the bodies A inhabits reports having been ‘possessed by the Devil’ and because A forgot to log out of his e-mail from the guy’s computer and he e-mails him with threats. This leads to the later events of the novel which I won’t mention because spoilers but I do wish it was expanded more as later on we find out that there might be more people like A. It ended pretty abruptly and I would have liked more clarification and a little more depth because it was getting interesting. I was far more interested in that than the romance to be honest.Every Day is not doubt a good Levithan novel but I wouldn’t say it’s one of his best. No doubt the concept is unique and interesting and the writing is great but I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters’ attitude and the MC wasn’t someone I could very much empathise with since I didn’t like him all too much. The romance was a drawback and I didn’t really enjoy it very much and took up a very large part of the book. I would recommend this with reservations so it really depends on what you’re looking for here. If you’re here for the romance, then I say go for it. If not then well, I think you might be better off trying out Levithan’s other novels.

2.5/5Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received an eARC from Bloomsbury via NetGalley. Thank you.I adore historical fiction, I have always loved history and especially the history on Britain. I admit I hastily requested The Disgrace of Kitty Grey earlier on as I saw it was one of the few YA books I could request on NetGalley so I didn’t have much of an idea what it was (the bad habits of a new blogger D; I have learnt from my mistakes!). I enjoyed the first part of the book but however as we ventured further and further, it just got so unbelievable that I just couldn’t take it seriously anymore.Kitty is a milkmaid working for a wealthy family and loves her job despite the fact that she hardly sees her family. Her sweetheart, Will, laments constantly about wanting to go to London to make his fortune and to earn enough money to marry Kitty and start a family but secretly, Kitty wants him to stay. Kitty is sweet by nature, demure and polite, she causes little trouble to her employers and is capable at her job. There wasn’t anything that particularly stood out about Kitty, she was mostly seemingly good-natured. Nonetheless she was a likable character who showed much strength beyond what she seemed to be capable of.The plot was a little crazy, everything seemed very plausible from the beginning from when Will disappeared then Kitty seizes an opportunity to go London to find him, her stuff is stolen and subsequently has little money to survive and so on. But then Kitty gets accused of arson and theft and gets sent to prison, I’m sorry but WHAT. Then she gets sentenced and sent away to Australia and of course before the ship sets sail, SHE FINDS WILL ON THE SAME SHIP. What a coincidence! I do not get how Kitty, a simple milkmaid, can become a criminal so fast. I don’t know how possible is that and how much I can actually believe it because this is historical fiction, you can’t spin it like a fantasy novel or an adventure novel. You have to make the roots realistic and the events possible as well. If you told me that Kitty fell from grace and resorted to stealing and thievery to feed herself or others and ended up that way, I would believe it. But this is a little absurd and after a while, this just amused me.While I was reading The Disgrace of Kitty Grey, I never got the actual feeling I was reading a historical fiction novel. I’m not sure if it’s because I expected something much more olden in the language to something resembling a little of a classic? Or in the events, it felt like a poorly executed historical fiction book despite the research the author did because some of the scenarios she presented were definitely based on real places. She might have wanted to present these issues in a more serious tone and highlight how serious some of the situations were but the way it was executed, I just couldn’t take it seriously because it seemed pretty ridiculous to me. The character and scenarios simply didn’t fit at all.I won’t deny that I enjoyed reading The Disgrace of Kitty Grey despite the amusing plot turn, I found it rather humourous because of that area but if you’re looking for a good historical fiction novel for a YA audience, clearly The Disgrace of Kitty Grey is not where you should be heading. Sorry to say, I just can’t recommend this book. If it had been rewritten with a different character and scenario, I might have been able to take it more seriously and enjoyed it more.

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsThere’s just something about high school romance where you remember that time when a crush could consume all your thoughts and if you think about it now, it’s kind of silly to care so much about a crush and believe it was ~true love~. Meant To Be is a great fun read that reminds you that sometimes you can’t follow a rigid plan, that sometimes you need to live a little and that some things you never knew were just right beside you.Julia can’t let anything not go the way she planned, she is smart and curious about the world and is elated to be on the trip to London. It’s easy to relate to Julia who always plans a step ahead and is down to earth, practical, she likes to follow rules. There’s a sort of security obeying the rules, that way you always anticipate what is going to happen and it’s safe. Though her crush on Mark is a tad bit overdone but what high school girl wouldn’t be like that? I remember a time when I was like that too, you would hardly know the person but you just thought you were Meant To Be. It’s a process of growing up and realising hey, maybe we’re getting a little too far and I need to take things from a logical perspective.Jason on the other hand is the class clown and he’s all for taking risks, dragging Julia along with him. He constantly teases Julia, calling her a ‘book licker’ and he manages to teach her a few things on living. Despite that unruly and immature presence about him, there’s something much deeper inside of Jason, someone who has bigger secrets than he would ever reveal and soon, he and Julia grow close to each other without even realising it. I think Julia taught him a few things as well about staying grounded and knowing his limits.There are plenty of things about Meant To Be that I could scoff about because some areas were quite ridiculous but to me, it was a fun contemporary novel if you’re looking for something light-hearted. The pace was good and there was character development between all the characters. It was great finding out more about them rather who they were just on the surface, particularly with contemporary novels, where the plot isn’t too heavy. There needs to be more focus on the relationships between the characters and Meant To Be nails that. The story was pretty predictable though but I enjoyed the ride along with the characters.Meant To Be reminded me a lot of how it was to be a young teen and be so thrown off by love, it made me feel a little nostalgic but glad I’m not like that anymore because boy, those were some funny days. I look back and I can’t help but shake my head at how stupid I could have been for having these silly thoughts. I don’t regret them though because like I said, I feel like this is the whole process of growing up. Julia needed to get through that phase of crushing on Mark and rigidity to go on to knowing who truly mattered and more about living. Some things you just gotta experience before getting to the other side.

3.5/5(Even though it was a 3.5, I felt it deserved more of a 3 star rating on GR)Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsEverything about Altered screams NO for me because I’m not one to fall easily for hot guys and even in this case, none of them really filled my criteria for a YA hot guy but surprisingly, this book exceeded my expectations and was more than a romance story. There was a bit of mystery, thrill and a little science fiction. There’s a lot more depth than I anticipated to find and Altered proved that it was an enjoyable book for me and a quick read too. Anna lost her mother at a very young age and ever since she can remember, her father has been working for the Branch and part of the program consists of the 4 altered boys who live in her basement. Anna is homeschooled and now is her father’s assistant and has come into contact with the boys many times and formed friendships or relationships with them. Anna knows a bit of self-defense and can draw very well, she seems meek and shy but there is more than meets the eye with her. Problem is though, I did get a huge damsel-in-distress vibe from her despite the fact that she knows how to defend herself. You don’t really see her actively trying to save herself so to me, having her know self-defence really defeated the entire purpose.The four boys are all quite distinctive because their personalities are so different. Sam is the leader and no doubt is the one who gives the commands, Cas is flirty and playful, Trev is full of wisdom and smart and Nick is dark and moody. I liked them, their whole dynamic really worked for them. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding them, particularly Sam and their connection with Anna too so it was quite a bit of a surprise to me when that plot twist was revealed. It’s not boring, that’s for sure.Now for Sam and Anna, it wasn’t much of a case of instalove because they knew each other for a while but we never got to see why Anna liked Sam so much. We just had to take for granted that she loved Sam and she would do pretty much anything for him. It is incredibly hard to connect with a relationship when you have no idea the feelings behind them and the history. I think it’s pretty much crucial if you want readers to root for them, that’s my opinion when it comes to couples. I like to get to know a little bit of their history first so I can actually connect with them. I can’t just go straight into rooting for them if I have no idea why they liked each other in the first place. I can’t take that for granted because I know nothing about them, why should I care about them? Give me a reason to.The story was good, it was definitely much more than I expected and Rush expanded much more on the Branch and what they did. There’s definitely a lot of backstory and surprises here and there that I wasn’t expecting at all which is always good when you’re trying to keep on surprising readers. I won’t reveal too much but really, you will never see some of these coming. I did find parts about solving the small puzzles in between a little anti-climatic because they didn’t seem complicated at all and especially since we know they’re quite smart and it was mentioned one of the guys was affluent in many languages, I didn’t find that code with the Roman Numerals particularly difficult? I mean it’s pretty obvious it’s linked to numbers? Rush could have put a lot more thought into making them more complicated and convincing.So judging solely on her book, I would recommend giving her book a try but I wouldn’t purchase it, it’s a book you’ll like but not enough to go out and buy it. I’m not going to go out of my way to support her though, she’s written a good book which I might check the sequel out when I see it in the library but that’s it. I find it hard to support her though because of her previous incident with a negative review of her book, in no way did that affect how I wrote the review but this is a personal feeling of mine and it affects the way I look at her as an author but not her books. So Altered is worth a read because it really did surprise me and exceeded my expectations.

Originally written at Gypsy ReviewsScarlet is a much welcome change and adaptation of Robin Hood, I was delighted by the twists and turns of this novel and the surprises that came along with it. I never expected some of these changes and I was pleased at how well executed it was. Having never been too much of a fan of Robin Hood, Scarlet sure has me hooked onto the series, leaving me craving for more and feeling very excited that it’s set in Medieval England.Scarlet, or otherwise known as Will Scarlet, is part of Robin Hood’s band of thieves and many don’t know it but Scarlet is actually a girl. There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to Scarlet who has a past that seems connected to the Thief Taken, Lord Gisbourne, who is hired by the Sheriff to capture Robin Hood and stop his band of thieves. But the complicated matter of the relationships between Robin Hood and John Little, one of Robin’s band, and Scarlet do pose an issue amidst the chaos to try and prevent the Sheriff from arresting everyone in the village come Tax Day. Scarlet not only has to deal with her head but her heart as well.Scarlet is tough and sees herself as one of the guys, she’s blunt and to the point in a way that is endearing. She is very stubborn and has a lot of pride and likes to take care of herself. She doesn’t like the fact that because she is a girl, Robin takes care of her. Rather she wants to be treated as an independent women, doesn’t help that she is in love with Robin. Scarlet is fearless and has a good heart, she refuses to let the people pay for what the Sheriff is doing to them and inside, it torments her that outside, people are starving. Scarlet is far from perfect though, she has done some things in the past she regretted and they do haunt her but we also get to see this vulnerable side of her.Oh boy Scarlet and Robin Hood. They’re both pretty stubborn and you know, I actually imagined Robin older until I realised this was a much younger version of him but his experiences, from going with King Richard to fight the Saracens, it changed him from a boy to a man. Robin is so self-sacrificing, he would do anything for the greater good even if it meant giving himself up. Then there’s John Little who is such a flirt but does all the things that Robin would never do – willing to make the first move and be straightforward about his feelings. I’m not gonna say too much on this love triangle though it’s so worth it in the end.It was slightly hard to adapt to the language used because the tense is changed in some sentences and the Grammar Nazi in me went RAWR in the beginning but as I got used to it, it was okay. The story was a little predictable but it was a quick read. I loved some of the action scenes and I really didn’t expect some of the twists and turns! Gaughen did a fantastic job with weaving in all the characters and putting her own spin to it. I would definitely recommend this to everyone, no matter if you’ve heard of the Robin Hood story or not.

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsMaggie Stiefvater blew me away with The Raven Boys and I had been told by many that The Scorpio Races was much more fast-paced, however it was not. Despite Stiefvater’s beautiful writing and a fantastic plot, it was really kind of boring due to its slow pace.Puck’s stubborn and has a lot of pride in her, her stubbornness governs her decisions and I can relate to that so much. Her decision to enter the races to get a reaction out of her brother and her unwillingness to drop out when she could because doing so would affect her pride. Sometimes it is not a choice, you can’t turn back from it because it seems right to do it that way and that stubbornness within you refuses to let you back out. Puck also has a lot of heart and it was enlightening to read about someone who didn’t want to go out and see more of the world, she wanted to stay home where everything was familiar to her. She was loyal and despite the other options out there, she still decided to stand by what she knew and what was familiar to her and had never failed her.Sean on the other hand, has everything and yet nothing. Being the reigning champion of the Scorpio Races for 4 years affects him little in his life when his capaill uisce, Corr, belongs to someone else. Sean dreams of a life where he doesn’t have to work for Malvern but Malvern refuses to sell Corr to him and Corr is all Sean wants. Sean and Corr have this silent understanding between each other and even though Corr is a ruthless creature who has killed many, they are bonded in a way many others could never be. It’s that kind of unspoken connection between a man and an animal can possess – one of the greatest mysteries in our world that science cannot explain why.There’s something compelling about Puck and Sean together, they creep up on you and for two people who know little about each other, they have this connection that makes them gather feelings for each other and care about each other. Both of them are such oddballs that it seemed only right that they found each other.The story was however not compelling enough, I appreciated the short chapters because it helped me keep on going despite the boredom. If there were longer chapters I’m sure this would have taken much longer to finish and I really love Stiefvater’s writing but sometimes, there’s so much weight behind her words that it takes quite a bit of time for all of it to digest. Stiefvater’s novels are weighty, not in topic but in her writing and in a way, reading her books is like wading through thick oil compared to swimming in water. It’s not an unpleasant experience but just that if you ever read a Stiefvater novel, you should be mentally prepared for something heavy because her books are anything but light. In this time, it seemed quite a drag to read it because the pace was far too slow. I didn’t feel like anything was happening at times. The action didn’t really start until the races began which was at the last few pages which had me wanting to bite my nails in nervousness. It was an unique plot no doubt but I wasn’t captivated enough to fully enjoy the book in its entirety.I am disappointed that The Scorpio Races did not live up to my expectations but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I highly recommend Maggie Stiefvater’s books nonetheless because she is a one of a kind writer though I do have my doubts about The Scorpio Races. No doubt it’s much less weightier than The Raven Boys but The Raven Boys had this magic about it that simply captivated me that The Scorpio Races lacked.

4.5/5I received an eARC from Harlequin via NetGalley. Thank you very much!Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsVery frequently we see a sequel succumb to Second Book Syndrome, where the sequel is nowhere as near good as the first book but Julie Kagawa manages to do the impossible. The Eternity Cure is so much more thrilling and exhilarating than The Immortal Rules, packing a punch of action into the story and numerous twists and turns to keep you constantly on your toes. You need to read The Eternity Cure.Allison is even more determined this time to rescue her sire, Kanin from the hands of the psychotic vampire, Sarren. In The Immortal Rules we saw her coming to terms about being a vampire and in The Eternity Cure, we see her getting to know her own vampire family and understanding more about the whole mechanics of being a vampire in vampire society. Allie is faced with many hard decision to make this time and many between life and death. She’s still the character we all enjoyed back in The Immortal Rules and few things have changed about her but we can see her growth and how far she has come along from living in the Fringe, to being an independent and fearless vampire.You’ll see the return of a few characters, I don’t want to spoil too much on this part because I was really surprised and I want to keep that suspense for all of you. It’s good to see the change and transition of the other characters, Kagawa really made them grow and adapt to the situation in the story. We see how much has changed since we last saw them and none of them is the same. I can say that I’m satisfied that we got to see more of Kanin, we don’t learn anything too new but you can truly see that Kanin is anything but a typical vampire. You can see how his experiences have changed him and how his actions are so different to Allie’s, how he takes everything calmly and understands the risks.The action here is so much more exhilarating this time round because we have Sarren who is this manipulative, calculative and psychotic vampire who will go to all lengths to try and get what he wants. There’s something incredibly haunting and chilling about him and his scenes, you can get shivers down your spine. The thing that really works with Sarren is that his scenes aren’t fast and straightforward, he likes to play games and keeps you constantly on your toes wondering what his next move will be. He drags out his game, wanting to enjoy how his opponents react and takes great pleasure from their fear.What blew me away was the ending, hats off to you Julie Kagawa for making something that should have been dismissed as a story gimmick to make me actually believe that it was real. I don’t feel like my review will do the book any justice because really, less is more, for this book. The less you know initially, the more you’ll enjoy it. I loved The Eternity Cure and it was a far quicker read than The Immortal Rules, I’m going to be eagerly anticipating the next book (if there is one because there better be!) and I really can’t wait to find out what happens! You definitely need to check out this series if you like action, thrill and suspense!

4.5/5Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsHere’s what If I Lie will do to you – it’ll break your heart, make you rage at the characters, make you cry but you’ll still love it. This is a truly emotional story that talks about how much a secret could completely destroy you and makes you wonder – how far are you willing to go to keep a secret someone you loved asked you to? If I Lie deals with the complicated issues of a family and town who everyday wait for their soldiers to come home safe and sound and the toll that this takes on all of them.Quinn is one of the most strongest characters I have ever seen, she is willing to go through all that humiliation and name-calling, all for the sake of protecting Carey. It is so much more than that though because in Sweethaven, betraying a soldier is the last thing you would ever want to do and with everyone in Quinn’s life leaving her, I seriously admire how she can walk out in public knowing that every single person hated her for what she did. I’m not sure I could deal with that because it is so hard to be absolutely alone and to stand alone. At some times I just couldn’t believe Quinn would do that for Carey and thought it was incredibly selfish of him to ask her to do that because how could he not know what this would do to her? How everyone would treat her in that manner? At other times, I understood why he asked her of this because you could relate to both sides. His whole life would change if he let Quinn explain the secret. There wasn’t a best solution – only a solution you could live with.I was filled with hatred for the people in Sweethaven because no matter what, they should have listened to Quinn’s side of the story but then again, if that was you, if you saw someone cheat on another, would you be so forgiving? It really forces you to ponder what you would do in their shoes. How it is so common for us to look on only one side of things and to disregard the other. In a story, it is so much easier to see from two perspectives and choose the one you prefer. But in real life, there is only one side most of the times and you would only gravitate towards that side. I feel this quote really sums it up too.Sometimes a moment defines you, defines how people see you for the rest of your life.It won’t matter whatever you say because that moment has defined how people see you and they won’t see you any other way. There’s only that one perspective and no matter how compassionate we might think we are sometimes, it takes a lot to look at the situation from another person’s perspective.One of the best parts of the story is Quinn’s relationship with George and I just adored them together. They worked so well together despite the generation gap and George could really see the Quinn inside and read her inner thoughts. He understood her so well and it broke my heart in the end. In more ways than her father ever was, George was more of a father to her because he stood by her without even asking what the secret was, he knew what she did but never once judged her for it. He knew that she wouldn’t do this without a good reason.If I Lie talks about war and the toll war has on the families back home while their family members are off fighting for freedom and I love this quote in the book – “Freedom isn’t free”. That is so true, freedom comes so easily to us, sitting at home and watching from the sidelines and we never get the full impact of the situation over there. But for these brave men and women, what they experience over there is nothing we ever could have imagined and they pay the price for our freedom, for us to walk free every single day and living our lives happily. There is such a huge price to pay and also the families, they take so much toll on them emotionally and strain that sometimes it can never be mended back up again. Freedom comes with a price. But most of us don’t even realise how much was paid for it.If I Lie has wound its way up in my heart as one of my favourite contemporary reads of the year, albeit predictable it is a truly compelling and heartbreaking read. I highly recommend this book to everyone because this is one of the books you really need to read so you can understand people from another perspective because there are always more than one perspectives, we just don’t get to see them usually from where we’re standing.

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsI received a review copy from Harlequin via NetGalley. Thank you!Having first experienced vampires in YA books when I first read Twilight, that marred the entire experience and world of vampires for me and I vowed to myself to never read another vampire novel again. Though after hearing much about Julie Kagawa, I decided to give her a shot and I am so glad I did because The Immortal Rules was such a great read – filled with action-packed moments that will get your heart stuck in your throat. Kagawa managed to put her own spin on vampires and succeed in making it authentic to typical vampire lore.Earth is now ravaged by vampires thanks to the Red Lung disease that spread and caused the deaths of many humans, with the subsequent experimentation on vampires to find a cure for the disease turning many vampires into rabids. Allison Sekemoto lives in New Covington which is a vampire city where the Registered humans can live peacefully within the walls of the city and be well fed but it all comes with a price – they have to provide blood to the vampires regularly. Allison, however, is an Unregistered and she has to scavenge for food with her gang to survive. One day, she goes out of the city walls and stumbles upon a food source. The next day, she and her gang go back to retrieve the food however they are attacked by rabids and Allison is nearly mauled to death by them until she is saved by a vampire, Kanin, who gives her a choice – die or die and live again as a vampire. Allison chooses to become a vampire and from there begins her new life.Allison is a terrific character – one who knows and understands the conditions of her hard life but yet her heart chooses to do the human thing. She’s not only strong-willed but soft-hearted as well and at times it is her downfall but it also shows her loyalty and the best of her. Her decisions and emotions were very relatable, she’s quite a likable character in general. I was a little hmmmm about her romance with Zeke, unlike a lot of romances I’m usually ‘Nope’, I did like Zeke and Allie but it sort of left a bad taste in my mouth? So it wasn’t horrible but it also didn’t really work for me even though I could accept it. I think this is just me though, I have no idea why I didn’t like it so much because I should have liked it, there was development! I was rather interested that when Allie wanted to kiss Zeke, she not only wanted to kiss him but bite him too. It really spoke about the vampire within her, how her vampire instincts wanted her to mark Zeke as her own through biting him.I really liked the vampire lore here, it was made actual sense you guys! Vampires burned when in the sun! They can be killed by beheading or stabbed by a stake in the heart! YESS. It has somewhat fascinated me about the concept of having humans as blood bags in YA (not in a creepy way but more of I’m glad authors are exploring this concept) and it did make a lot of sense as to why the world is like that now with vampires. Clearly, vampires are the superior race of the world and with their heightened abilities, humans would fall down to them. That brings me to another point I liked that how vampires weren’t invincible. Vampires could still die, even under human hands and they aren’t entirely immortal because they can live indefinitely but their superpowers do not get to the point where they’re untouchable.I was a little sad we didn’t see more of Kanin, I know in The Eternity Cure we do see more of him and I’m glad. There’s a lot more of him we haven’t seen and Sarren, I’m wondering about their history. Kanin is rather mysterious and hard-headed, he’s straight forward and does not sugarcoat anything for Allison when she becomes a vampire. Rather he wants her to face the facts soon before they blew up in her face. Kagawa nailed her characters, you really could relate to each and every one of them even if you didn’t like them but you could relate to how they felt. You couldn’t blame them for their actions because it was understandable, what would you do if you were in their shoes? Though at times it was hard to believe Zeke was that self-sacrificing and he cared so much for the people he loved. He did seem a little too good to be true.I was confused by how if Jeb believed that God had abandoned them, why did he still pray? Who was he praying to? That part didn’t really make too much sense to me?This book was so action-packed! It was a tad bit gory but it really got my heart pumping and I loved that. It’s rare when a book really makes you stop and you feel chills down your spine and you’re paralysed with the fear you feel for the characters. It is a long read though, I read it on my Kindle and it felt slow but in actual fact in hardcover this is around 500 pages so it could be a bit of a drag but it is worth it.Julie Kagawa manages to nail vampires in The Immortal Rules which is dark, gory and forces you to face the fact that there is no escape in their world. Highly recommend it to those who like action and are looking for a vampire novel that features vampires that actually follow vampire lore and a romance that has development. You will definitely be sated (heh pun intended ) with what Kagawa has provided in this novel and I hope The Eternity Cure is as every bit good as this was.