Book Review: Five Years From Now by Paige Toon

 

A MASSIVE thank you to Emily from Penguin Random House for sending me this gorgeous copy of Five Years From Now by bestselling author, Paige Toon. I have never read Toon’s works before so I was beyond excited to read it! But due to uni commitments, I didn’t get the chance to read it until very recently. So here’s the overdue review! Enjoy!

Synopsis:

Vian and Nell are thrown together at the age of five when Vian’s mother and Nell’s father fall in love. At first wary of each other, they soon become the best of friends. But five years later, they are torn apart and Vian moves to the other side of the world.

Fast-forward five more years to when Vian comes to visit, and Nell discovers that the boy she once knew is now ‘Van’ – a wild and carefree teenager. Chemistry crackles, but once again, they’re separated.

For the next two decades, Nell and Van meet every five years, but life and circumstance always intervene. Will they ever find true happiness? And will it be together?

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Book Review: Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills (spoiler-free)

“In truth, we are rarely all on the same page. More often than not, they’re all on one page, and I’m on a completely different one.” 

This is the first Emma Mills book I’ve ever had the pleasure to read and I have to say I’m completely blown away! Foolish Hearts is a beautiful and honest story about love, friendship, forgiveness and acceptance, along with a clever parallel between the cast of Foolish Hearts and the cast of Shakespearean masterpiece, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. All opinions in this review are my own. Thank you to Pan MacMillan Australia for sending my a finished copy to review.

Synopsis:

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia’s ever seen. As Claudia’s world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

Mini Review: Lucky In Love by Kasie West

Hey guys! Today I’m reviewing Luck In Love by Kasie West! This review is gonna be like my Nevernight one where it’s more on the informal side. Enjoy!

Synopsis:

Can’t buy me love…

Maddie’s not impulsive. She’s all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment—

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie’s life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she’s talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun…until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now Maddie isn’t sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn’t seem aware of Maddie’s big news. And, for some reason, she doesn’t want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

Book Review: A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland (spoiler-free)

Heyyy hey guys! It’s been so long since I’ve posted, but I’m going to make up for it by presenting you this (in my opinion) awesome review of Krystal Sutherland’s new novel – A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares!!!

(Thank you to Penguin Random House Australia for sending me this novel in exchange for my honest review! This in no way affects my thoughts or opinions of this book.)

Synopsis:

Ever since Esther Solar’s grandfather was cursed by Death, everyone in her family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime. Esther’s father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the basement in six years, her twin brother can t be in the dark without a light on, and her mother is terrified of bad luck.

The Solars are consumed by their fears and, according to the legend of the curse, destined to die from them.

Esther doesn’t know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to), a feat achieved by avoiding pretty much everything. Elevators, small spaces, and crowds are all off-limits. So are haircuts, spiders, dolls, mirrors and three dozen other phobias she keeps a record of in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.

Then Esther is pickpocketed by Jonah Smallwood, an old elementary school classmate. Along with her phone, money and a fruit roll-up she d been saving, Jonah also steals her list of fears. Despite the theft, Esther and Jonah become friends, and he sets a challenge for them: in an effort to break the curse that has crippled her family, they will meet every Sunday of senior year to work their way through the list, facing one terrifying fear at a time, including one that Esther hadn’t counted on: love.

Blog Tour: Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Simone Howell, Fiona Wood

Hello there lovelies!!!! 

Today I will be sharing my thoughts on the hottest collab of the year  – TAKE THREE GIRLS – written by Fiona Wood, Cath Crowley and Simmone Howell. This is a fantabulous #LoveOzYA collaboration between three award-winning Australian authors. Thanks to Pan MacMillan, I was given the phenomenal opportunity to participate in my first blog tour EVER! Without further ado, let’s just get on with the review!

Synopsis:

Kate, a quiet boarder, making some risky choices to pursue the experimental music she loves.

Clem, shrugging off her old swim-team persona, exploring her first sexual relationship, and trying to keep her annoying twin, Iris, at arm’s length.

Ady, grappling with a chaotic family, and wondering who her real friends are; she’s not the confident A-lister she appears to be.

When St Hilda’s establishes a Year 10 Wellness Program in response to the era of cyber-bullying, the three girls are thrown together and an unlikely friendship is sparked. One thing they have in common: each is targeted by PSST, a site devoted to gossip and slander that must have a source within St Hilda’s.

Who can you trust when rumour is the new truth?

Book Review: The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich (spoiler-free)

Hey book dragons! Today I’ll be reviewing The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich (who is an Australian author). It was a quick and fast paced read, I enjoyed it! Thanks to the Pan MacMillan team for sending me a review copy! Let’s get on with it!

Synopsis:

There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad?

Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die.

What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.

Book Review: Wreck by Fleur Ferris

G’day book lovers!!! Hope you are well! And a Happy Book Birthday to Wreck by Fluer Ferris! I only started this last night and I finished in one sitting! Before I go into my review, I want to thank Penguin Random House Australia for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review! (In no ways this affects my thoughts or opinions on this book.)

Synopsis:

Tamara Bennett is going to be the first journalist to strictly report only good news. Finished with high school, Tamara is ready to say goodbye to her sleepy little town and part-time job at the local paper. O-weeks awaits, which means parties, cute boys and settling into student res with her best friend Relle. Things take an unexpected turn, however, when she arrives home to find her house ransacked and her life in danger. What is this mysterious note? And why does it mean so much to one of Australia’s most powerful media moguls? Caught between a bitter rivalry and dangerous family secret, who can Tamara trust? Or should she trust herself?

Book Review: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (spoiler-free)

First and foremost, I would like to thank Date a Book (Hachette Australia) for sending me a copy of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandy Menon. The review is of my own opinion alone just FYI (just like all my reviews). This book was one of my most anticipated read for June and I really looked forward it. Unfortunately I was utterly disappointed. This book has left me conflicted and I truly wished I enjoyed it more. I really did.

Look, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I know that a lot of people out there absolutely love this book – but to me, meh – it just wasn’t my thing. But please, in no way I am discouraging anyone from reading this book – I’m just pointing out the things which I personally discovered and wish to share my experience with you.

Synopsis:

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

Book Review: Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer (spoiler-free)

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer IS BY FAR MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF 2017 (no I am not joking)! First of all, I want to say a massive THANK YOU to the fabulous team at Bloomsbury for sending me a surprise copy. I’ve been looking forward to read it for so long because after getting a glimpse of the sample online I was immediately hooked. The story is heart-felt, emotional and brutally beautiful (in a good way). It has the ‘wow factor’ that I crave for in a special YA contemporary. You may ask, “Why should I read this book?”, well my friend, read on and find out!

Synopsis:

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can’t resist writing back. Soon, he’s opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they’re not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.

Book Review: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord (spoiler-free)

Hey guys! Today I’ll be reviewing The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord, who is also the best-selling author of When We Collided. I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me an eARC as this book has been one of my most anticipated novel of the year. This was a heart-warming read. Lord did an amazing job in writing themes that are perceived to be difficult to write, which I would elaborate in my review. This novel was cleverly written and the feelings are portrayed beautifully. Read on if you wanna know how I found it!

Synopsis:

When it all falls apart, who can you believe in?

Everything is going right for Lucy Hansson, until her mom’s cancer reappears. Just like that, Lucy breaks with all the constants in her life: her do-good boyfriend, her steady faith, even her longtime summer church camp job.

Instead, Lucy lands at a camp for kids who have been through tough times. As a counselor, Lucy is in over her head and longs to be with her parents across the lake. But that’s before she gets to know her coworkers, who are as loving and unafraid as she so desperately wants to be.

It’s not just new friends that Lucy discovers at camp—more than one old secret is revealed along the way. In fact, maybe there’s much more to her family and her faith than Lucy ever realized.