AMIZA REVIEWS

Two readers - one blog. One a fan of contemporary, one a fan of everything BUT contemporary. One critical, one uncritical. Enjoy!

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The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Number of pages: 368

Rating: 2/5 stars

Plot (from goodreads.com): 

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

 Review:

When I bought this book, I did not really have that high expectations. I had heard both good and bad things about it, as is expected when it comes to books. I thought the synopsis was interesting, so I picked it up. The thing is that the book was not necessarily bad. But it was not good either. It was just…something. Personally, I really like fantasy and fairy tales, and this book should have been right up my alley - but it was not.

 I felt like this book tried too hard to be one of those super dark fantasies where you are left with chills running down your spine - but failed miserably. Most of the time I found the book to be comical. When it was supposed to be scary or intriguing, I found myself feeling amused or embarrassed by the author’s failed attempt at being so. I was also left very underwhelmed as the story progressed. The things that happened, though not something I expected, did not shock me. One thing she should get credit for, though, is that I did not foresee what was coming.

 The main character, Alice, was immature and quite annoying, as was her «companion» Ellery Finch. I did not find myself feeling sorry for her, or having any empathy whatsoever. Finch, in my opinion, was way too persistent and forward - though we get to know why later in the book.

The writing in this book was wacky and odd. It did not quite get to me. I felt like she moved on to the next thing way too fast, and I often felt confused. I had to read the same sentence several times for me to really get what she was trying to convey.

Overall, like I said in the beginning - the book was not good, but it was not bad either. I did not enjoy it, but at the same time I did not not enjoy it.

- I

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The next together by Lauren James

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot (from goodreads.com)

How many times can you lose the person you love? Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace? Maybe the next together will be different...

My thoughts:

I read this out in like 24 hours, and that was an amazing feeling. If there is one thing to say about this book, it is that it is definitely not a book you can put down. So much happens during these 355 pages, and it was a thrilling ride. 

Not many books make the rise of Jacobite and a life-threatening bacteria go quite well together in one book. I know, I know. They don’t exist at the same time, so it is not too weird, but it was still impressively done. I loved going between all of the time periods, and I found it easy to follow each story line. It is not exactly a time travelling book where every character jump between different time periods a lot, it is much more a “collection” of the different lives that Katherine and Matthew have lived, with each reincarnation being more aware of the previous lives. It is a tad bit confusing how it is all done, but I loved this aspect of the story, as it developed the plot in different directions. 

Okay, on to the romance. I was honestly surprised at how the romance was not such a big part of the story as I originally expected. Yes, it is about the fate of Matthew and Katherine and the sudden end to their love stories, but it is also about more than that. Though, I must say, I enjoyed the romance aspect of the story a lot. Katherine and Matthew were great characters, and I loved the chemistry between them. All of them were just fantastic. 

Though the characters, the premise, the plot, almost everything about this book was amazing, I did feel like the ending was kind of rushed and a bit underwhelming. It felt a bit out of place, and I had different expectations to what would happen. I don’t feel like I quite understand it just yet, but maybe time will help? I don’t know. I’ll definitely still read the next book, because I need to know how this all ends. Gosh, this better end well. 

Definitely pick this up if you like time travelling/historic/romance books that you’ll fly through. 

-A

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I believe in a thing called love by Maurene Goo

Rating: 4,5 out of 5 stars

Plot (from goodreads.com):

Desi Lee believes anything is possible if you have a plan. That’s how she became student body president. Varsity soccer star. And it’s how she’ll get into Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds guidance in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Steps to True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and staged car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.

My thoughts: 

Was this an over-the-top, hilarious and amazing contemporary?

Yes, yes, 100% yes. 

Just my kind of book, to say it as simple as that. If you need a funny, tad bit unrealistic and cute book, look no further. This will put you in a good mood for days. 

I loved the concept of this story. A girl following steps taken from Korean dramas to capture the heart of a boy? Sign me up. I have never watched Korean dramas before, but knew it would be fun. From dropping pants to 7 minutes in heaven.. It was definitely a good read. The characters were amazing, the setting spectacular and the writing fit the story perfectly. When it comes to characters, Desi’s father was definitely one of my favorites. 

When it comes to the romance, it is one of those things that you don’t quite know how to feel about. On one side, Desi is planning everything out, almost to the point of putting lives in danger to complete her list, but on the other side you can’t help but falling in love with the chemistry between Luca and Desi, and understand where she might be coming from. You can see the struggle. 

One thing that definitely describes this book, is over-the-top. Especially in the beginning it feels quite unrealistic and overexagerated. That is something to be a bit wary of, as some might not enjoy that too much. For me, it just added on to the enjoyment. This book would not be as good if it took itself too serious all of the time. It made the book more of a comedy, which I personally loved. I definitely think this could be an amazing movie.

If you love hilarious, cute and adorable contemporaries, definitely pick this up in the near future, you will not regret it. 

-A

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Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Number of pages: 377

Rating:

Plot: (from goodreads.com)

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Review:

First of all, I would just like to point out that this is a book which is well known in the book world. You see many booktubers and bookblogs talk about this book — most of these reviews are good. I went into this book with all these great reviews in mind — only to be let down. Big time. 

Now, I might be a critical reader, and sometimes too harsh, but this book was quite frankly bad. You can somewhat tell from the summary that it is a typical, cliché YA book. I do not have anything against clichés when they are conducted on a proper basis, but too much of the good stuff tends to throw me off. I understand that some readers might enjoy this type of book, but it was not quite up my alley. I could tell already from the first fifty pages what would happen, and how the characters and plot would develop. But not only that, the characters were also standard YA; ‘the girl — a smart character, who seems small and incompetent, but is actually very strong. She is very beautiful as well, but has no knowledge of it. The guy — a brooding bad boy with a handsome face, and a rockin’ body. He might seem cold and rude on the outside, but in reality it is just a defense mechanism, he is actually a very kind and lovable person’. Oh, yeah, I’ve never heard that one before…

I know that Katy and Daemon often fight, or bicker, but in reality they do not really hate each other, they just have this secret-but-not-so-secret-attraction, but neither of them want to admit it. But this is the fundamental of their relationships, and that is just perfect — because all relationships start with two people hating one another…right?

I have to admit, reluctantly may I add, that a part of me — a teeny tiny part — actually partly enjoyed this book. Which is why it gets 1,5/5 instead of 1/5. Despite cringing during 99,9% of this book, I might pick up the next one in the series as well — just to mock it, of course.

-I