Review: ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen ****

"It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.
A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.
In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect."

(summary)

This was my first Sarah Dessen book and I admit I order it mostly because I fell head over heels in love with the cute cover. I wasn't too keen on the plot, but since everyone and their monkey is praising Ms Dessen, I thought I'd give her a try too. The result? I fell right under the Dessen spell, of course!

Judging by the cover and the description, this is such a summery book so I thought now was the perfect time to read it. It's been ages since I've read a proper YA novel and it felt kind of strange at first, but then I started to enjoy it - it was sort of nice to be reminded of what it's like to be 18 again (even though I don't miss those times at all), hehe.

The plot wasn't too mind blowing, but I enjoyed it anyway and I did find the book quite hard to put down as it was really well written - the narrative voice was typically teenagery, but the narration was still beautiful (slightly melancholy) and I liked that combination, it was perfect for the book. I really liked the main character, but all the side characters were great too. I didn't favour anyone in particular, but I thought they were all well crafted and had dymension.

This is YA fiction at its best and I can hardly fault this wonderful and well-written story of friendship, first love, divorce, death, coping with a newborn etc - I could've easily rated it 5/5, but it didn't completely blow me away on the personal level (totally subjective, whereas objectively it's excellent).

Ms Dessen is adored by her fans (just check the ratings of her books on Amazon!) and I'm really glad I've finally given her a chance. I'd really recommend Ms Dessen to anyone looking for a great YA read and I'll be definitely reading more of her books - next up I'm planning to order Just Listen and The Truth about Forever and I'm also tempted to read This Lullaby and Dreamland (which appears to be really hard to get in Europe?). They all sound great and I'm awfully excited to read them!!!

Lastly, click here and here to see Ms Dessen introduce the book and read an excerpt from it.

overall rating: 4/5
plot: 4/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 4/5 | cover: 5/5

ps: Oh, no IMM post from me this week because I've only received a couple of the books with several still on the way so I thought I'd just post them all next week.

Review: THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton *****

"A lost child: On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but has disappeared without a trace.
A terrible secret: On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.
A mysterious inheritance: On Nell's death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost."

(summary)

Like many others, I've read and loooved The House at Riverton by this same autor so I was really looking forward to reading her next novel. I admit I had high expectations for it and luckily I was not disappointed, far from it - the book couldn't be better!

The opening scene takes place in 1913, but later on three other stories are intervined: one starts in 2005 when Cassandra inherits the house and decides to explore Nell's background, then there's one that takes place in 1975 when Nell bought the house and went to Cornwall herself to do some research about her parents and lastly there's one that describes Eliza's life; it starts in 1900 and leads up to the opening scene. These different time periods rotate in chapters and each chapter provides some information about the main mystery of who Nell really is and why she was left alone on the boat to Australia.

The story is not only wonderfully written, but also incredibly well-structured so that layers of the intriguing mystery are removed bit by bit, which means that the book is really quite hard to put down as you simply must know what happens next. The writing itself is beautiful and it adds to the story, making it evn more engrossing as you just get completely sucked in into the worlds that Ms Morton created, her writing skills make everything described in the book so easy to imagine. Yes, there were quite a lot of side characters, but I felt everyone was portrayed vividly and contributed to the story, which in itself was easy to follow.

Personally I found the book impossible to dislike in any way as it has everything you could possibly wish for in a great book: an absorbing story with a really intriguing mystery at heart, which is also well presented and features a set of wonderfully portrayed characters. I can't compare it to The House at Riverton as I've read that too long ago to remember it properly, but I can safely say that this was one of the most enjoyable and satisfying novels I've read lately. I'm already looking forward to Ms Morton's next book called The Distant Hours, which will apparently be published in April 2010 - if the same writing skills are employed, then it's bound to be fantastic!

overall rating: 5/5
plot: 5/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 5/5 | cover: 3/5

Review: LUCY IN THE SKY by Paige Toon ***

"Settling down for a 24-hour flight to Australia, Lucy finds a text message on her phone - not from her boyfriend James, as she fondly hopes, but from a woman claiming to have slept with him four times in the past month. Trapped on the plane, she questions everything about her relationship with James. She finally calls him and he reassures her: it was only his mates playing a silly joke. James is a lawyer, persuasive and gorgeous and Lucy adores him. So why, at the wedding in Sydney of her best friend Molly, does she have niggling doubts, and find herself attracted to Molly's brother-in-law Nathan? The sooner she gets back to her regular life in London, the flat she shares with James, her job in PR, the better. Nathan is a happy-go-lucky surfer boy, with no prospects, no place to live, an almost-girlfriend in tow. And the other side of the world ... Lucy - a girl caught between two distant continents - and two very different men ..."

(summary)

I've been hearing so much praise for this novel and I quite enjoyed it myself, I just wasn't blown away like I expected to be, but please don't hate, I'm just a silly girl with a strange book taste. ;)

Firstly, I liked how the novel was set in Australia and London, two destinations that I adore so it was interesting to read about those two places. Furthermore, I thought the jokes between Lucy and Nathan were a cute addition and even if most of them were plain silly, some of them really cracked me up! On the other hand, that seemed like a cheap way of entertaining the reader and personally I prefer to be amused by the writing and the dialogue. I just appreciate that more because it's harder to achieve, but nonetheless these little jokes were a lovely touch and made the budding relationship even cuter.

I didn't quite warm up to Lucy, I thought she wasn't the best narrator ever (even though she had her good moments), but I quite liked the two guys. Obviously Nathan had more good points going for him, but I found James quite well-portrayed (he had the most dimension, I think) so I could understand Lucy's dilemma, at least at the beginning and then it was just plain obvious where her heart was. Speaking of which, I found the relationship between Lucy and Nathan a bit too sudden and too convenient, albeit cute, but by the end it was simply too corny, shame. All in all, I thought the theme itself (being caught between two men aka emotional cheating) was very interesting, but I just don't think this was the most interesting executing I've ever read (a similar theme was occured for example in Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier and I thought it was more emotional and 'real', same for Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin, both excellent books). Oh and also, is it just me or was the topic of cheating underdeveloped? It was supposed to be a life changing thing, but I thought it was too quickly brushed aside and not investigated enough.

Personally, I found the novel to be sort of badly written, firstly because the writing itself was really simple and also because I thought there were several events and characters that contributed hardly anything to the main story. I also thought certain things were too detailed for no apparent reason. Sometimes I just had this feeling that the author was just trying to fill the pages ...

What I liked by far the most about this book is the cover, which is simply goooorgeous! That's why I'll most likely be buying Ms Paige's other two novels, simply because I feel the urge to own such beautiful books, can't resist them (yes, I know this is silly, but I don't care, must have these books). I'm just hoping the other two novels will be better. I'm not saying this was a bad book, far from it, it's a lovely summer read, but very very light and simple and not particularly funny (apart from the jokes). It's a cute read, but I think there's definitely room for improvement. :)

overall rating: 3/5
plot: 3/5 | writing: 3/5 | characters: 3/5 | cover: 5/5

Award: Let's be friends!

Yay, I was recently nominated for the award below by Carolyn at Book Chick City!

"Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

Aww, how sweet is that! Therefore I'd like to pass this lovely award to the following super friendly bloggers (in alphabetical order):

Book Chick City
Chicklit Reviews and News
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Dot Scribbles
Novelicious
Written in the Night

Please pay all these lovely blogs & sites a visit, it'll be worth your time! :)

Review: AIR KISSES by Zoë Foster *****

"Sometime it’s better to kiss than to make up…
Hannah Atkins – the girl most likely to be sporting unblended foundation, orange wrists or a wobbly trail of liquid eyeliner – has bluffed her way into the position of beauty editor at Gloss magazine. Just as she’s carving a path into the shiny world of guerrilla air kisses, achingly hip PR campaigns and goodie-bag overload, she reads about her boyfriend and another girl in the gossip pages of the local rag. Then she gets dumped. By text.
Vowing to claw back some dignity and make her ex regret what he’s done, Hannah adopts a manifesto of hardcore rules. Don’t become BFFs with the catty girls at work. Don’t drink fourteen glasses of Moët & Chandon at PR launches. Don’t go home with inappropriate men. And certainly don’t get all besotted with your best friend’s brother. As her rules start to slip away, Hannah finds herself having to decide on more important things than just the perfect shade of lip gloss…"

(summary)

"Is love *really* more important than lip gloss?" That ridiculous question, printed on the back of the book, would be enough to make me put the book back on the shelf, but since I was kindly sent the proof for review (many thanks to a&b; the book is officially out today), I thought I'd give it a try anyway, expecting it to be a 4/5 max. I admit I was a little prejudiced (I mean, a book about a beauty editor's dating experiences doesn't quite sound like my cup of tea), but I'm glad that I started reading it because I was completely blown away!!! Yes, this novel may sound very shallow, but the author manages to turn it into something abolutely delicious and I devoured it like yummy chocolate cake while enjoying every second of it!

I was drawn in right from the start, which was quite the opposite of what I expected, but this is good stuff. I thought the strongest point of this novel was the writing itself aka Hannah's narration - it's fresh (*wink wink*) and modern and sassy and vivacious and I absolutely loved it! I always say that the book is not about the story, it's how the author tells it and Ms Foster really made the best of it (goodness knows the plot isn't quite riveting, but you don't even notice that), whereas it's a great shame when an author comes up with an interesting story but just fails to deliver it properly. This is not the case with Air Kisses, a book full of great characters as well as funny and convincing dialogues.

Based on the blurb, I expected Hannah to be more of an Ugly Betty or Andy at the beginning of DWP, but she seemed to fit in with the rest of the beauty girls just fine, even if she was a bit self-conscious. She annoyed me slightly when she got all emotional and mad, but on the whole I really enjoyed her narration and the girl evidently loves her job, which is always a plus. It's quite clear that the author is writing from personal experience and she makes the job of a beauty editor sound really interesting. I wouldn't quite kill for that kind of a job (I don't have the passion), but I really enjoyed reading about what such a job involves, plus all the freebies they get (envious!) and all the meetings and glamurous functions they attend. It was all very well presented, which I expect is due to both the author's and narrator's passion for make up. Every chapter also includes an interesting beauty tip at the beginning, which was a nice addition. I mean, I'm a huuuge fan of make up myself (couldn't live without it), but who knew it could be such serious business, hehe!

I loved pretty much all the characters, I thought they were really well portrayed and no one annoyed me, which rarely happens. The best friend Iz was lovely and great, I loved their friendship, her gay friend Gabe was incredibly funny and fierce, the work friends all added to the story too so that was great! But the male characters - ooooh, what a charming bunch! I fell for all the boys Hannah crossed paths with, namely Trucker, Dec, Jesse and Dan. Trucker may have been slightly too aggressive in his approach, but I still thought he was kind of cute and hilarious, haha. Jesse may have been a bit of an idiot, but I still couldn't hate him, he had his good moments. Dec was full-on adorable and dreamy, and I think I developed a serious crush on Dan (which was gone by the end of the book, you'll see why) - I loved his flirtatious ways and the texts between him and Hannah were just the best. All in all, I think the novel boasts a great set of characters.

This has to be one of the best chick lit books I've ever read and I strongly recommend it to all fans of the genre (click here to read an extract from the book and click here for the video of the author talking about the book). It really is a fantastic debut, which I (unexpectedly) enjoyed immensly. Ms Foster has apparently signed a three book deal with Penguin Australia and her next book is out in October (non-fiction?) and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by her. Chicklit Club (great site) did an interview with her and appears to be a feisty and ambitious and successful woman herself - even her website is funny; another A++, this girl is simply a winner. :)

overall rating: 5/5
plot: 4/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 5/5 | cover: 4/5

Review: LOVE LIES by Adele Parks ***

"Fern is glaring thirty in the face and can't ignore the love lies any longer. Life with Adam was amazing once - although these days swinging from the chandeliers means D.I.Y not S.E.X. She believes a romantic wedding should be the next step but Adam just won't go down on one knee. Then a chance meeting with Scottie Taylor - the UK's sexiest pop star - lights fireworks in Fern that won't stop exploding. It's mind-expanding love at first sight for them both so when he proposes in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley Stadium, there's only one answer. Yes, yes, yes! Before you know it, Fern is living the celebrity dream in LA and a wedding planner is arranging designer shoe fittings. But isn't it all happening a little too fast? Why is this modern day Cinderella homesick for a rented two-bedroom flat in Clapham? How do you know whether love is telling the truth? Fern must choose which version of this fairy tale is hers."

(summary)

I've been excited about this book for months, but sadly it didn't quite deliver. The beginning was kind of boring, but the story quickly picked up once Fern was whisked off to Scottie's world. I admit I nearly drooled over the descriptions of his fabulous house and his wealth - hey, that's what dreams are made of (mine especially, hehe). Reading about the life of the rich and the famous really was the best bit, possibly because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff (I wonder how the author researched it though?). I found it quite fascinating, especially since you quickly learn that their lives are not all rainbows and butterflies and that they basically lose their identity, quite tragic. I found it quite creepy how fake and staged and manipulated everything was, but it's easy to see how one could get lost in that world.

The story is narrated mostly by Fern with occassional narrations by Scottie. I quite enjoyed the latter as they gave important insight into his mind, which was important for the story. Fern really idolizes her, but Scottie himself presents himself as the bastard he really is, no pretense. And while I appreciated that, I can't say that I liked him as a character, he was just too selfish and seriously lacked backbone - he couldn't think or speak for himself, everything was done for him by other people. I didn't like Fern either, I thought she was a silly girl since she actually thought a man like Scottie was marrying her for love. She wasn't annoying all the time, but mostly just too naive to my liking and I found it hard to feel her "pain".

Despite the surprisingly very average writing, I quite enjoyed the book, especially the middle part where Fern (what kind of a name is that btw?) was sucked into Scottie's crazy world. But what really ruined the book for me was the ending (if you're interested, you can read it in the summary linked above) - I felt like the author was taking the softest possible option and wasn't even trying to end the book properly. The "discovery" is supposed to be this twisty twist, but it just made me roll my eyes, I mean come on! And then it just gets worse with a big cliché and lots of cheesyness and then the book ends in the middle of nowhere. As a reader, I'd expect at least an explanation on how all the people took the news and what the consequences were (they're bound to be huge in a situation like that), but the author just closes the curtain halfway through and expects us to believe that everyone lived happily ever after or what? Maybe it's just me, but I thought the ending was an incredible rip-off.

This was my first Adele Parks book and I can't say I was overly impressed. I've already got two of her previous books (Still Thinking of You & Husbands) waiting to be read so I'm hoping those will be better. But wahey, at least the cover for this book is stunning and the ads are pretty gorgeous too (clever, huh). ;)

overall rating: 3/5
plot: 3/5 | writing: 3/5 | characters: 3/5 | cover: 5/5

In My Mailbox #3

It's been two weeks since my last IMM (created by The Story Siren) and I've acquired quite a lot of amazing new books since then (click the photo to enlarge):

It feels like I'm drowning in books, but I couldn't be happier! :)
Click on the covers for more info.

Review: OPERATION SUNSHINE by Jenny Colgan *****

"Evie needs a good holiday. Not just because she's been working all hours in her job as a receptionist for two high-powered plastic surgeons - but also because every holiday she has ever been on in her life has involved sunburn, arguments and projectile vomiting - and sometimes all three at once. Why can't she have a normal holiday, like other people seem to have - some sun, sand, sea and (hopefully) sex? So when her employers invite her to attend a conference with them in the south of France, she can't believe her luck. At last, the chance to hob nob with the rich and glamorous, to party under the stars, to live the life she's dreamed about. It's certainly the holiday of a lifetime - but not quite in way Frances imagined!"

(summary)

My lovely boyfriend (who actually reads this blog ♥) got me this book for my birthday last year and I'm so glad I saved it (unintentionally) for the holiday as it was indeed the perfect sun-lounger read, just like it's described on the cover!

The story itself is perhaps a bit far-fetched, but whatever the books lacks it plot, it makes up ten fold in the hilarity! It honestly cracked me up many, many times and I just love books that manage to do that. Evie is such a loveable and funny character and her narration makes this novel a fantastic feel-good comedy!

Evie was possibly my favourite character, but I loved most of the others too. Lydia was such a fantastic bitchy friend you just couldn't hate her (her nastiness was just too funny) and most of the male charaters (Tom, Bailey, Wilf) were just such sweethearts - a bit silly at times indeed, but none of them annoyed me because they were just so well written that even their sillyness was funny.

As I said before, I can't say that the plot was smashing, but I honestly really truly enjoyed the book because it was just hilarious and I'm honestly surprised at the bad reviews on Amazon, couldn't disagree with them more (happens quite often). I thought the book was fantastic and a perfect summer read! Click here to learn more about the book from the author herself (her husband works on fancy boats - jealous!!).

Now *this* is a worthy comparison to Sophie Kinsella, who is of course the queen of wit lit, but Ms Colgan has just earned herself the princess title (imho)! This may only be the second book by her that I've read, but I'll definitely read the others too - I've already got The Boy I Loved Before and West End Girls in my book collection and look forward to reading them.

overall rating: 5/5
plot: 4/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 5/5 | cover: 4/5


ps: Below are two other covers for this book (hardcover and Australian respectively). Which one out of three is your favourite?