Vain (The Seven Deadly #1) by Fisher Amelie

Publisher: Fisher Amelie
Published: February 7, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 3/5

If you’re looking for a story about a good, humble girl, who’s been hurt by someone she thought she could trust, only to find out she’s not as vulnerable as she thought she was and discovers an empowering side of herself that falls in love with the guy who helps her find that self, blah, blah, blah...then you’re gonna’ hate my story.                                                         
Because mine is not the story you read every time you bend back the cover of the latest trend novel. It’s not the “I can do anything, now that I’ve found you/I’m misunderstood but one day you’ll find me irresistible because of it” tale. Why? Because, if I was being honest with you, I’m a complete witch. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a friend using, drug abusing, sex addict from Los Angeles. I’m every girlfriend’s worst nightmare and every boy’s fantasy.                                                                                                                      
I’m Sophie Price...And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most envied girl to the girl no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

I rule my elite world. But not because I am the wealthiest.

No,  I rule because I am the hottest.

My light gold eyes are the colour of amber and are perfect. My lashes long. I am practically flawless and it pisses me royally when girls try to copy me.

God, get a clue nimrods. You'll never look like me!

I am VAIN... 

This book was about a girl who was vain, obnoxious, spoiled brat and a definite Queen Bee. The blurb gave promise of a story about an unforgiving head of a clique with no care for the world. The cover showed a girl with piercing eyes that could give the bitchiest look condemning your soul to eternal horror. I was excited and felt sure that I will have a deep hatred for the main character by the end of the book. I was severely disappointed that what I expected did not happened at all. There were only glimpses of the spoiled Queen Bee that I was looking for in the early chapters. It turns out, Sophie was not entirely the shallow and bitchy person the blurb described as. She was indeed a "friend using, drug abusing, sex addict from Los Angeles, every girlfriend’s worst nightmare and every boy’s fantasy" but she also surprisingly has a lot of sense on what is right and what is not so it totally ruined the effect of her being a total heartless bitch as described in the blurb. I was severely disappointed by that. For once, I want a total bitch for a main character. I want a main character that I can hate. I want something that is totally different from the norm. This book, unfortunately, was not what I was looking for. Sophie was a bitch but she also has a lot of redeeming thoughts that made it hard to hate her. Although the I was disappointed by the turnout of the main character, I could enjoy the story and her transformation from being an airhead to someone much humbler.

The relationship between Sophie and Ian was inevitable as this is of a romance genre. It was the standard Love lust in first sight when Sophie saw Ian for the first time. She was startled that Ian was not what she was expecting as she assumed he's an African.

Their romance was cute but I wasn't too excited for it as it was a foreseeable relationship. If you love romance then you will be more excited than I was.

It was an overall a fun read but I wasn't too psyched about the parts where Ian is the savior of everyone and everything. He's such a perfect book boyfriend that you might want to check out. I wish Sophie never changed throughout the book because then it will be as what the blurb entailed. She was a total bitch at first but was too quick to change when she arrived at Masego, Africa. I mean, it took some girl to get hit by a bus to stop being mean, why did it took so little for Sophie to change?

Anyway, this book will be greatly enjoyed by those who are searching for cute romance and in need of a new book boyfriend.

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Published: March 24, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: YA Science Fiction
My Rating: 4/5

Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.
They always say that high school is the best time of your life.
Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.
Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present. 

I don't actually have a preference for a pre-apocalyptic book. I've read a few and I find them to be almost the same. I was a bit wary when picking up this book. I was expecting much of the same story. What I wasn't expecting was to get sucked into the story as soon as I read it. I love this book for how much it got me thinking. This book also agrees to me in a lot of things. I found myself nodding my head vigorously, agreeing to every words. It seems like the author managed to see into my brain. It's almost uncanny to be reading the words that was the mirror image of my own thoughts.

“Then I’ll tell you. The best books, they don’t talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you’d always thought about, but that you didn't think anyone else had thought about. You read them, and suddenly you’re a little bit less alone in the world. You’re part of this cosmic community of people who've thought about this thing, whatever it happens to be.

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[Giveaway + Review] Vampires Suck by Giovanni Valentino

Published: October 31, 2014

Publisher: Strange Musings Press

Genre: Humor/ Comedy

My Rating: 3/5

  

Each story has a different take on the legend of the Vampire. Some hide from the darkness and others can walk in the daylight. Some are cold, calculated killers and others are full of teenaged angst. Some are held at bay by garlic but others love Italian food.Here is a collection of stories designed to poke fun at the whole vampire genre. We have funny stories about the troubles of immortality, about the crazy life of the vampire slayer, and about just how the different vampires get along.But in all the stories, one element is always there.Vampires Suck 

I don't usually read books about vampire. Often, I was trying to avoid the romances that are usually associated with such genre. However, this book is a collection of short stories so there weren't any complex romances to be worried about. Thus, I decided to give this book a chance. Besides, this is a comedy reenactment of vampires so I was ready to dive into it after remembering the humorous movie with the same name. I was seeking for humor and laughter and that was exactly what I got. I was not disappointed by the story. It was humorous and all the while entertaining.

Along with the different stories comes different types of vampires. I enjoyed the varieties of vampires that comes to light in the telling of the stories. Aside from that, it was also entertaining to read about a vampire that suffered from fangs dysfunction. Also, one story that was one of my favorite has a vampire suffered what most parents suffered today that is to go through the phase of teenage girls who wish themselves to be a vampire because of the famous book and movie, Twilight. It was so funny to think that vampires might unknowingly suffers the same things human does. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I was glad that the authors seems to share the same thoughts I have in regards of the night creatures. I'd say read this book the next time you are looking for something short, light and funny to read in between. 

GIVEAWAY

This is your chance to get a hand on one of Giovanni Valentino's books!
Open to US only. Sorry for international readers! :3

Good luck!

1st prize:  $10 Amazon Gift Card, 

2nd prize:  1 Print copy of Alternate Hilarities (vol 1), 

3rd prize: 1 Print copy of Romantic Ruckus,

 4th prize: 3 eCopies of Alternate Hilarities (vol1),

 5th prize: 3 eCopies of Romantic Ruckus

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Published: February 10, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins/ Balzer + Bray

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

My Rating: 4/5

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.
There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.
Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince. 

I have a love/hate relationship with books like this. I love the emotion that such books can evoke but at the same time the emotions truly sucks! This book makes me feel depressed! 

Which I think is the point because this book is after all about two teenagers trying to commit suicide. So, it hit the point right there. 

Music, especially classical music, especially Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor, has kinetic energy. If you listen hard enough, you can hear the violin’s bow trembling above the strings, ready to ignite the notes. To set them in motion. And once the notes are in the air, they collide against one another. They spark. They burst. 

Usually, books that centers around things depressing will be written as depressingly as the plot so I usually don't get much enjoyment from such books. However, My Heart and Other Black Holes starts off with an almost normal manner (well, as normal as you can get with physics related introduction) without any hint of black clouds looming. So, I wasn't weighed down by any feelings yet which is rare in books of such topics. Usually, the very first sentence can already starting to weigh me down. The light and airy introduction quickly sucked me into reading it. (See what I did there? :D)

I spend a lot of time wondering what dying feels like. What dying sounds like. If I’ll burst like those notes, let out my last cries of pain, and then go silent forever. Or maybe I’ll turn into a shadowy static that’s barely there, if you just listen hard enough. And if I wasn’t already fantasizing about dying, working at the phone bank at Tucker’s Marketing Concepts would definitely do the trick. 

Okay, the introduction may not be all light and airy but the words really captivated me. As soon as I started reading, I know it's going to be a good one because the writing is oh so good! 

Most of the time, the topic of depression and humor don't usually go hand in hand. It's an unbefitting relationship. However, amazingly, the author managed to marry the two elements together into a flawless rendition of a macabre tale. The story can be depressing at times but it never reaches the low point because it will soon be uplifted by the humor. 

Aysel is one of the character who wanted to commit suicide because of an event that changes the trajectory of her life. (Using physics phrases in light of the physics element in the story. :D) I found her to be very realistic and believable in her struggle. 

“Anyone who has actually been that sad can tell you that there's nothing beautiful or literary or mysterious about depression.” 

She was struggling to deal with the repercussion of her father's action. Roman on the other hand wants to die because he was being weigh down by a tragedy that happened almost a year ago. He was suffering from a "what could have been" moment and that is definitely the worst of all. 

“I wish I could draw you how I see you. I'd draw a boy with the most magnetic smile, and the kindest hands, and eyes that are gloomy, but can sometimes be bright. I'd draw a boy who deserves to see the ocean.” 

The story brings out a lot of sadness but also hope. Hopes of things to come, of when it will be better and can be better. Aysel and Roman found in each other places to let go and not hold things back. The outcome only depends on how they are going to act on it.

I love how the author portrays the social environment of Aysel and Roman. It shows the supporting, caring and loving family and friends that were misunderstood and blurred by the guilt that were clouding up Aysel and Roman's eyes. It just goes to show that things can change and be better if only you let them in.

This might not be much worthy of mention but I truly enjoyed the physics mentions in the story. In fact, the title of the book was the first thing that make me want to read it. I was expecting more of a science related story but oh well. 

In all, this book offers the point of view of persons that are depressed. It highlights important points that comes along with such issues. I truly enjoyed the journey of the characters from self-admonition to finally accepting. You should really read this book, if you haven't already. If you are not a fan of the topic than read it to experience the writing. I truly enjoyed the style of writing immensely.

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The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) by Soman Chainani

Published: May 14, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: MG Fantasy-Magic
My Rating: 4/5

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away. 

I started reading this book thinking that it's going to be a light and airy fairy tale. I was delightfully surprised when it turns out quite the complete opposite. For a book that was shelved as an MG, it definitely didn't fit the suppose picture. It was a fresh change to have a fairy tale twisted into an unconventional pathway where the story line doesn't follow the Fairy Tale 101 Guidelines. Besides, the trailer for the book was amazing! It sent shivers down my spine! It looks magical and so out of this world. It held promises of an enchanting, dark tale of a fairy tale gone rogue. Watch this, you must! :D

“In the forest of primeval

A school for Good and Evil

Twin towers like two heads

One for the pure

And one for the wicked

Try to escape you'll always fail,

The only way out is

Through a fairytale.” 

When I first held the book in my hands, my inner 7 year old squealed in delight. I was expecting castles, beautiful princess, charming princes, woodland creatures and mythical creatures. The book also have a lot of beautiful and enchanting illustrations. It reminds me of the feeling I get when I was a kid, marveling at the beautiful illustrations in a book and then when I open the book, tingles spread through my fingers, straight through my hand as I stared wide-eye at the beautiful illustration of a princess dancing with her prince. This book also has a lot of illustrations. I absolutely love it. It helps to accentuates the events of the story and also provided glimpses into the fairy tale world.

I absolutely love the idea of the story. It was unheard of and never before told. I was intrigued by the idea of a school to train heroes, princesses and villains! The story also presented one of the conflict in the fairy tale world that is a trend when it comes to a fairy tale story where the Good battles against the Bad, which is to why villains had not win against the Good side for so long. I love that the author took that matter into account because I was wondering if this story is going to follow the same pattern. Fortunately, nothing in the telling of this story is conventional so I was not disappointed in the execution of that aspect.

As for the characters, there definitely was variants to their characteristic. Sophie was "supposedly" the good girl and Agatha fit right in to the image of a witch. So, Sophie was certain that she will get into the School of Good and Agatha will rightfully be in the School of Bad. But, when the opposite happened, it was truly exciting to see the reasons as to why it happened. It just goes to show that there's often only a fine line separating the good and evil side of us and sometimes, the line could be blurred and we are not even sure which side we are on. Also, the stereotypical image of a hero and a villain were also brought into issue in this book. Usually, when we think about villains the first thing that comes to mind are warts, pointy hats, crooked nose, hunchback and wrinkly skin to name a few. On the opposite, we think about everything good in beauty. This story proves that it can be quite the contrary. Agatha who was described as being ugly, turns out to be in the good side while Sophie who has been beautiful and perfect her whole life, was sent to the School of Evil.

Agatha wished to be beautiful. 

Sophie's supposed goodness because of her perfection reminded me of a quote by Leo Tolstoy. 

Of course, the very important element in a fairy tale is the hero, the warrior who have the destiny to

save his one true love from demise. Such heroes are often princes. Thus, this book was not devoid of a charming prince. In fact, there were a lot of princes in the School of Good. All vying to be the best prince and winning the hand of a lovely damsel. One special prince that plays a major part in the telling of this story is Prince Tedros who is the son of King Arthur. There was nothing special about Tedros that sets him apart from other charming princes in fairy tales. He did have more depth than what's originally thought as some of the chapters were told in his point of view so we definitely get to know a little bit of him and his thoughts. He is not outwardly interesting and I definitely do not have a care for him. To me, the story will be highly significant if he was not in the conflict of interest between the girls.

I also adore the teachers, the mythical creatures and the school ground! The teachers can be fun or eccentric and funny at times. As for the mythical creatures, there were a lot of them! There were every kind of creatures that can be found in a fantasy world. The school ground was amazing and sounds really fun with all the dangerous creatures lurking in the forest and palaces and a barrier separating the two towers. Just look at this map!

The story left nothing to be sought. Everything was perfect and all the correct issues were raised and implemented in the story. I only wished that Tedros, Sophie and Agatha interests conflicts weren't so apparent. Tedros change of heart also was easily foreseen. It seems like the author chose to follow one rule in the Fairy Tale 101 Guidelines about love conflict if there is more than one available damsels. But, it didn't turn out as I was expecting though, to my relief. 

The ending, I think, was perfection. I love how it all turns out. I am now very curious to find out what will happen to the school now that the sides between the two were blurred. This book is recommended to those who love fairy tale or re-tellings, fantasy and those who would like a different turnout to cliched fairy tale endings.

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[Book Blitz + Giveaway] Grade A Stupid by A.J. Lape

Today I'm hosting the Book Blitz for Grade A Stupid by A.J. Lape. The Blitz will run on 16th and 17th March. This book is highly rated and currently free in US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia. It is only Rs. 60 in India.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Series: The Darcy Walker Series Book 1

No. of Pages: 375

Publication Date: November 2012

Genre: Young Adult Mystery, Thriller, Humor

Fifteen years ago, Darcy Walker's parents thought it was a good idea to give her a unique name: Darcy, meaning "dark walker." Whether that was a stroke of genius or stroke of stupid, they definitely nailed the irony. She lacks direction, her grades stink despite a high IQ, she's boringly average--although flirting admirers claim otherwise--and God help her, she's infatuated with a bad-boy.  A bad-boy that her hottie best friend, Dylan, wishes would get acquainted with his fist. 

And, oh yeah, there's that tattoo that was a royally stupid idea. 

With her life spiraling out of control, everything changes when she skips class and finds a dead body...in fact, it gets worse. It jump starts Darcy's inner-verb, and her brain hardwired for action gets caught up in a situation she can?t let go. 

Set in the fictional Cincinnati town of Valley, Ohio, Darcy falls into a world of threats, violence, and gangland exploits chasing down every clue to finger the murderer. When a fellow misfit is arrested for the crime, Darcy goes from zero-to-sixty trying to clear his name--constructing aliases, breaking the law, everything that makes perfect sense to her but reeks of Grade A Stupid to everyone else. 

Trouble is...will she live to see sixteen?

EXCERPT

THERE WAS ALWAYS a boy in your life that common sense and the prayers of parents told you to stay away from: fast talker, fast car, and fast hands. He was the boy your father kept a loaded shotgun by the door for and met on the front porch if he ever thought about venturing onto his property let alone the threshold. He was the tall, dark, mysteriously handsome, and uncharacteristically quiet one that made you wonder what was going on in his head, and that little voice in your head said it wasn't always so honorable. He was the boy you broke all of the rules over because bad-boys equaled excitement and the rebel in you liked the ride.?

WHERE YOU CAN GET THIS BOOK

• Amazon.com  {FREE in US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia}
• Amazon.in {Rs. 60}
• Barnes & Noble {FREE}
• iTunes {FREE}
• Kobo {FREE}
• Smashwords {FREE}

About the Author

A. J. Lape is the author of the Darcy Walker Series which has stayed on Amazon's teen's mysteries and thrillers bestseller's lists since its debut in 2012. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two daughters, an ADD dog, a spoiled hamster, and an unapologetic and unrepentant addiction to Coca-Cola--plus a lifelong love affair with bacon she has no plans to sever. A graduate of Morehead State University with a Master's degree in Communications, she's a PI wannabe and recently joined the Citizen's Police Academy in her hometown but daily stops crime through the fictional ADHD character of Darcy Walker. If the FBI ever checks her computer, she'll be wearing prison-orange due to the graphic and disgusting "wiki" articles she looks up...all in the name of career research, of course.

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The Darcy Walker Series

Book 1: Grade A Stupid by A.J LapeAmazon.com {FREE}| Amazon.in {Rs. 60} | Barnes & Noble {FREE} | iTunes {FREE} | Kobo {FREE} | Smashwords {FREE}

 

Book 2: No Brainer by A.J LapeAmazon.com | Amazon.in | Goodreads

Book 3: 100 Proof Stud by A.J LapeAmazon.com|Amazon.in| Goodreads

Book 4: DEFCON Darcy by A.J Lape--> New ReleaseAmazon.com |Amazon.in |Goodreads

Giveaway

Giveaway is an ebook set of Grade A Stupid, No Brainer, 100 Proof Stud, and Defcon Darcy
Open Worldwide
Ends 6th April

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Psychaotic: See The World in Red and Black by Irum Zahra

Published: November 18, 2014

Genre: Gothic Poetry

My Rating: 3/5

Psychaotic is not a happy song. It's a collection of poetry and passages that depict struggle of a human mind with it's veiled and untamed nature. It show how far we can go if we incline ourselves to that side and how much we are willing to give up.Psychaotic tells you the harsh realities of life rather than filling your head with fantasies and dreams that will never happen.In that reality check, this book will change how you think about certain things. It will tell you, that wrongs can be right and right can be wrongs as well as, bad can be good and good can turn out to be bad.

I am not a fan of poetry but this book managed to attract me into reading it. The words were beautifully strung together into a poetic lament. The poetry was both disturbing and beautiful. It was undoubtedly an emotional rendition of everything depressing. There was blood, a lot of blood. It wasn't nauseating though as it was nothing gory. It was almost beautiful to imagine the scenes in the book. Some of the poetry seems to show a glimpse of a fairy tale gone wrong. Sure does makes an interesting premise for a totally new and unrelated story.

I love the use of non-complex words because the author has the ability to concoct beautiful sounding sentences using only simple everyday words. It sure does made the reading very easy for a person like me who is not a huge fan of anything poetry.

Another thing that I love about this book is that it provided me with a lot of sentence to quote so I am so excited to create picture quotes out of it.

It was so much fun to read the poetry because I get to experience an instant rush  of feelings. It's like reading a novel just that it's shorter and you get to experience turmoils of feelings in short amount of time.  Definitely recommended to those who are looking for dark tales. 

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The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab

Published: January 22, 2013

Publisher: Hyperion

Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy

My Rating: 3/5

The dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead, called 'Histories', rest in the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper is dangerous and a constant reminder of those she lost, Da and her little brother. Mac wonders about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. Yet someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Imagine a file of your entire life, of every moment, every experience. All of it. 

This book has the most interesting ideas ever! Have you ever read a book about libraries that has not books, but, souls. I think not! Well, something like a soul. It's a copy of your soul that stores every living memory you ever experienced. The idea of it is so intriguing that I waste no time in engaging to the idea. It's totally unheard of.

Mackenzie, the main character is a Keeper. A Keeper is someone who hunts for the souls that managed to escaped from the Archive and return them back to where they should be. I truly enjoyed the actions and everything there is to it in the job.

Wes, oh Wes! I normally don't have a thing for guys with eyeliner (except for a select few!) or in this case, guyliner but I got to admit, Wes totally rock it off. Only a select few can totally rock guyliner like Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Hook and Oliver Queen from Arrow!

Cheers for guyliner! :D

I love the idea of the Archived of the dead but the story fails to include the vital information of why it is there in the first place. Surely, a thing of such importance will have a reason for its existence in the first place. It felt like there were not much use for the Archive. I would have thought that the knowledge obtained from all those memories would have been used for a greater purpose and not just to be stored away. I hope there will be more entailed details about the Archive in the sequel because it will be a waste for the Archive to exist for no foreseen purpose at all. 

Also, there were times that the plot seems to be pretty obvious and that eliminate any surprises that I should or may have. 

Besides, what also irritates me is Mackenzie's affair (not like she is involved with someone else at the time but it felt wrong, somehow.) SPOILER ALERT Oh yeah, because he is a History! SPOILER ENDS with the blonde guy (I forgotten his name) because of how easy she got all kissy-kissy with him and not even caring about his "being" (if you know what I mean). 

The ending felt rushed. Everything seems to fall in place in a highly predictable ways. Also, when Wes kissed Mackenzie (thus, reading her thoughts), I am not sure if it was deliberate, or compulsive. The thing is, if he wanted to just read her mind, he could have just touched her but he kissed her so I am not sure if that is the result of a long bottled-up emotions or if he intended to do that to read her mind (what a way to do it and at an inconvenient time too!).

There wasn't anything that is ugly about the story. Overall, it was more like a "mehh" than amazing. I love this book for the idea of the story but not so much for the plot itself. There was no fault in the writing. It was amazing and beautiful. I only hope that there were huger conflicts in the story. The conflict at the end was just not enough. I need more! I will continue reading this series with high hopes that it will be better.

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The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Published: February 10, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
My Rating: 2/5

There's death all around us. We just don't pay attention. Until we do.
The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.
Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.
As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.
Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

I totally adore Cynthia Hand. I love The Unearthly trilogy so I was excited to read The Last Time We Say Goodbye which is of a different genre than the books I've read of Cynthia's. So, I am curious as to how Cynthia will fare with writing a Realistic Fiction. I wish I can say that I love this book as much as Cynthia's other works but doing so will be lying. It might be that I have read similar depressing books before that have a genius teenage main character that so to happen, be a total bitch. I have encountered main characters that have similar traits before so it is a total letdown to have the same traits for a main character in yet another book. 

The story includes a series of flashbacks and it provides us the information needed to fill the holes of what we yet to understand of the story. I enjoy the memories that had to do with Lex's brother, Tyler but not so much about the memories of Lex herself. I feel like I didn't need to know about Lex so much and her memories flashback didn't help in raising the needed emotions and sympathy I might have for her. Lex as I have said, is a genius and she can't help but be a bitch because her extensive knowledge of mathematics helped her to realize that everything insubstantial in this world is insignificant. It was so annoying to read her rant and hatred for "love" because it was just a mix of chemicals and blalala. That can be a discussion for another day. 

I've read a LOT of rave reviews about this book so I am feeling quite exasperated to think about what is it that others like about this book so much and how is it that it didn't work for me. It might be due to the fact that I am used to such books so this book didn't present anything new for me to cry on. I did, however, started to feel sad at like a few chapters near the end. I did felt sad but not that much that I have to cry. It was more like "Oh, this is sad" rather than "Oh GOSH, my heart BLEEDS due to this excessive emotional trauma!!!". I am actually concern to this lack of emotion of mine and wondering if I didn't cry for this book because I have a cold heart or is it because of the lack of emotional triggers. By how others are reacting to this book, I might conclude that maybe my emotional response bar were set to "high", thus what was sad for others was not for me. 

I couldn't even forced myself to cry. :3

Despite my lack of emotions, I have to agree that the grieving part of the characters was believable and I did feel for Lex and how she is trying to cope with her brother gone, just like that, there at first and gone the next. It must be hard to imagine a life without someone who was a part of your everyday life and to have them just *poof out of thin air. There's also the impossibility for you to see them again, to touch them and talk to them about everyday trivial things. Now, that makes me sad. 

There were two things that triggered more than "just sad" feeling for me. The first was the last text message that Ty messaged to Lex. I was wanting to know what exactly that Ty messaged to Lex and when I finally did know, I felt a stab at my heart. It was such a sad feeling. It was a "what could have been" moment and that never fails to make me feel sad. The second thing that make me feel more than sad was not in the story itself. It was in the acknowledgement. If you have read the book and did read the acknowledgement, you'd know what I mean. When I read the acknowledgement, then I feel a rip in my soul. I was thinking, what I had just read, was a real emotional account. What I read could be real, is real, and it could happened to anyone, did happened to someone and it makes the story all the more realistic. My heart goes out to the author. 

Overall, it was a sad read, yeah but it fails to make me cry like how it did to others. If you love to read sad books and happened to have low settings on your emotional bar, then you might enjoy this book.

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The Color of Happiness by K. P. Gazelle

Published: March 1, 2015
Publisher: Radiant Books
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
My Rating: 2/5

Faith Lane is the girl who has everything. At least, that’s what everyone thinks when they see her rocking a killer dress while laughing with her best friend, Tiffany. But Faith’s life is far from flawless. Her peers torment her relentlessly, and her parents expect her to be the epitome of perfection. Criticized and pressured at school and home, Faith retreats into silent acceptance and finds an escape in her passion of dancing. Then she meets Alex – quirky, forever with a pass, and concealing a mysterious secret of his own. And through his encouragement, Faith starts believing in her gift for dance and gains courage to stand up for herself. But will she be able to keep her footing when the events of one night consume her with the need to jump off the rocky cliffs near her coastal home? And what has pushed her to the edge of reason?

I have always been interested in ballet. It has always been somewhat magical to me. The dancers looks so elegant and pretty while dominating the stage with their graceful dance. Thus, I had high expectations for the ballet and dances aspects in this book. I was not disappointed about how the author had managed to execute the ballet elements in the story. It was beautiful to read and it's all what I was expecting.  Also, the relationship between Alex and Faith was sweet but not over the top so I had no problems with it. I also love how Faith become more strong willed as the story progress. In the beginning, she was so easily bullied and have little self-confidence. But, as the story unfolds, she become stronger as the circumstances grew. The ending was heart-rending. It was both beautiful and haunting how everything wrapped up.

However excellent the execution of the dances aspects, I was a little disappointed that there were not more of the dances. Also, the dances that did happened weren't for long and my thirst for it was not quenched. 

I also didn't like how cliche and easily expected the starting of the relationship between Faith and Alex was. It was too much like a "misunderstood jock who is actually nice and have a thing for a girl who thinks she's not so pretty and is very plain where no one should like her because she's just ain't pretty when we all know that's just not true because every female main character is pretty because then it's not fiction" cliche of a story.

I rate this book 2 out of 5 because it didn't really make me feel attached or want to read this book again. It felt too much like a Disney movie, if I'm honest.

There isn't anything ugly about the story. It was quite a satisfying story to fill the gaps in between if you are looking for a short and light read. The writing in itself was pretty uneventful but was enough to provide a canvas for development of the story. I wish there were more excitement to the story though. The ballet aspects alone weren't enough to provide a bump in the story. Nevertheless, you should try and read this book if you have a passion for ballet, dances and the things in between.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review.

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