Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1) by Claudia Gray

Goodreads description:

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1)
Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: Sci Fi, YA, Romance
Format:Paperback
Pages: 368 pages
Publisher: Harper Teen

Source: Purchased from Popular Bookshop

Doctor Who parallel universe has gone to a whole new level! A thousand pieces of you was a well crafted, twisting adventure with one of the best love triangle romance I've read! I could not put the book down as I need to know what happen next and ended up breezing trough this within a day, though partly its because I was on a road trip so I had to read something or I'll go nuts sitting for 4+++ hours!

We follow Marguerite as she and Theo race across multiverse to find Paul, one of her parents protégée who destroyed her parents life work along with murdering Marguerite's father with the help of her mother's invention the 'Firebird'. They materialize into alternate versions of themselves, hoping to capture Paul and get their revenge. However things aren't not what it seem they got a hold of Paul and unravel the truth.

The plot was entertaining, twisting and epic! Its one of those plots where I had TRUST ISSUES with the characters and where the story was taking me. I love jumping trough the different dimension and see how they diverge from one another. The book started out slow for the first couple of chapters as its a lot of theory building to take in but after a while it was a breeze to read!

We explore futuristic London, 19th century Russia, an alternative reality of Home and a futuristic underwater world.

The world building is simple yet complex with the layers of parallel multiverses but also facts of science, history, art and pop culture and how different each universe is. There is a great air of mystery and gripping romance. I also like the pacing of the and how it jumps back and forth from the past to the present as we learn on the back story on Marguerite, her friends and family. Also the ending was a good solid ending as the book wrap up nicely.

I enjoyed the science aspect of the book and though I'm usually not a fan of history, the Russian history makes me want to learn more about it (which I eventually Wikipedia it). Also I love the Beatles pop culture references!

I enjoyed Marguerite narration and as a character! She's the odd one out of her family of scientist who has a passion for art, is intelligent, quick thinking and creative in her own way. Even so she tends to make some stupid decisions especially at the beginning of the book but is saved with her quick thinking.

Theo and Paul were great to read! Both are students of Marguerite's parents and are passionate about physics. Their personalities are similar yet different though we don't see it that much they have a very strong bromance. And yes I pictured/fan cast Will Poulter and Dylan O'brine as Paul and Theo as 1) I was still high with the maze runner movie when reading this book and 2) the book describes the characters (hipster and eyebrows) like them!!!

Theo who is flirty and confident and dresses like a hipster was fun to read! I enjoyed reading his character though I don't know why I never pick up clues about his BIG SECRET and odd behaviors till I re read the book.

Between the two i'll choose Paul specifically Russian Paul whom I melted at how caring and tender (i hate using that word as I associate with chickens and was laughing my heads off when i had to use said word for an essay the other day) he was to Meg. In fact he is my favorite character in the book and is one of the most complex characters of the cast.

The romance is the book is like me having trust issues! I don't know which guy (a part from Russian Paul) I like as both of them were hiding something from Marguerite so it took me a while to figure out which guy I ship her with. Probably one of the most unlikely love triangles I've read.

My favorite side character has to be Dr. Craine, Meg's dad. In fact I love the family aspect of the book.

Anyone play, heard or watch the video game Life Is Strange (Review Here)? I highly recommend this book (or if you read the book I recommend watch/play the game) as I find the concept slightly similar though Life is Strange has to do with time traveling while the book has to do with parallel universe traveling.

Life is strange is a consequence based driven game where the choices you make now will have a effect later which is a genre I'm seeing getting more and more popular with games like Beyond Two Souls and Telltale walking dead though not much in books.

I was getting that vibe when reading 'A Thousand Pieces of You' that some of the questionable choices Marguerite make in her parallel-self body now might come back to bite her in the future books with serious consequences. I really like how the book addresses the morals and ethics of parallel universe traveling and am interested on seeing how this plays out in the future books.

Overall this is a great solid first book in the series! Like everything is wrapped up in a nice little bow with no cliffhangers yet still makes me want to read more of the next book as I want to see the progress of the characters and their relationships. In fact this is a book I'll recommend to anyone who want's to get in to Sci-fi without being overwhelmed.

Also can't wait to read the sequel AND am drooling at the pretty cover!!!

I'll definitely be checking out Claudia Gray's other books (while waiting for the sequel) as her writing was very creative and brought my imagination to a whole new level.

This book has a spot on my favorite shelve and is one that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 

Book Review: Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Goodreads Description: 

A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process. 

Title: Hello, I Love You

Author: Katie M. Stout
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA,
Format: ebook, ARC

Pages: 304 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 
Source: ARC was received in exchanged for an honest review from NetGalley

Oh gosh my head is up in the air of how do I rate this book...

Grace goes to an international boarding school in Korea for her final year of high school after tragedy struck her family. She's the daughter of one of the biggest country music mogul and producer as well as the sister of one of the biggest country singers around. There in Korea she befriends with her roommate Sophie and be enemies with her twin brother Jason who is one of the newest K-Pop star in the industry.  While adapting to her new life in Korea and avoiding the problems back home, Grace finds herself falling for Jason even though she sworn off being associated with anyone in the music industry.

When I first heard about this book it reminds me of Anna and the French Kiss meets Korea Drama and I don't know if any of you guys watch those drama but they are the most cringe worthty, dramatic, cheesiest and cliches things my eyeballs have ever experience and but they are also additively and laugh out loud hilarious thing ever! That was my experience with this book! I cringe at the cheesy dialogs and rolled my eyes at the cliche things the characters thinks/ does but still at the end of the day was addicted to the story and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. It was a hard to get into book especially since the MC was already pissing me off in within the first 10% of the book with racist chopstick remarks (and FYI in case any of you guys don't know I'm Chinese Malaysian). But after pushing myself trough I found myself forgetting why I mad and carrying on what happens next.

I liked the pacing of the book even though I was not a fan of how the relationships were build. Though it was predictable, I did like predicting the mystery surrounding Grace's brother

Grace was not my favorite MC but is not the worst. She's going trough a hard time with her family especially her mum at home, hence her moving to Korea. I don't dislike her as a character and do empathise her especially when you learn why she's 'running away' from home for but I hated how she handled some of the situations.

I adored Sophie! I really like her as a character and her relationships with both Grace and the brother Jason.

Jason was a love hate character for me as his cold and moody attitude put me off while I did like his passion for music.

Now some (or should i say a long list) of things I was not a fan of the book. Firstly like Grace I went to a boarding school for my last year of high school overseas and lived in a dorm filled with international students mostly from South East Asia. I was cringing at Grace's remark about how the dorm only have chopsticks. I'm pretty sure they'll have provided forks and knife no matter what. Another thing that made me cringe and almost flung my reading device was her going all 'love at first sight hottest Korean guy' remark as the insta love siren in my head beep. keep in mind this is just the first 10% of the book. There are more cringe cliches and inaccurate facts about Korea in the book that made me roll my eyes, but instead I'm not gonna turn this into a negative review (as I did enjoy some things) but focus on the positive.

I enjoyed reading the sibling relationships in the book especially Sophie and Jason's. It was real and fun to watch their sibling bantering.

My favorite thing about this book is THE ROMANCE! *Play Katy Perry Hot and Cold* No joke the one thing I feel the author nailed is the love hate relationship (which is my cream de la cream of all love hate relatiohship)! Grace and Jason's relationship also reminds me a bit of the relationship between Tessa and Hardie in the After series where one moment they are cold towards each other and the next they are the sweetest thing ever! Also I enjoyed that they bonded over music and their common ground of parent/family problem.

Overall this is not the best thing I've read but its definitely not the worst. I keep thinking this as a polished wattpad story or a K-pop fanfiction.

This is probably the most disappointing book I've been anticipating of 2015. It had potential to be a new favorite book though sadly it had A LOT of flaws and in accurate facts not to mentioned PISSING ME (and probably the WHOLE of ASIA) within the first 10% of the book.
 

If you have read Anna and The French Kiss... Skip this, If you have NOT read Anna and the French Kiss also SKIP this as that's better in story, characters and overall.  If you are curious, bout the book read a sample or check it out of the library before checking it out.

Book Review: Every Move (Every #3) by Ellie Marney

Goodreads Description: 

The sequel to Every Breath and Every Word.

After the dramatic events of London, a road trip back to her old home in Five Mile sounds good (in theory) to Rachel Watts, with her brother Mike in the driving seat. 

But when Mike picks up his old buddy – the wildly unreliable Harris Derwent – things start to go south. Back in Melbourne, Rachel’s ‘partner in crime’, James Mycroft, clashes with Harris, and then a series of murders suggest that the mysterious Mr Wild – Mycroft’s own personal Moriarty – is hot on their tail. When tragedy strikes, Rachel and Mycroft realise they’ll have to recruit Harris and take matters into their own hands…

Title: Every Move (Every #3)
Author: Ellie Marney
Genre: Conteporary, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Romance
Format: paperback
Pages: 340 pages
Publisher:  Allen & Unwin
Source: purchased from Dymocks

WARNING: Mild Spoilers for Every Breath (Review Here) and Every Word (Review Here)

My heart is not the same after reading this book.. or series...

One heart attack after another, this book has my emotions flying all over the place! I need a moment as I lost count how many times I held my breath.

Its been about two months since the event of Every Move. Rachael and Mycroft both suffer the aftermath of being captured and tortured by Mr Wild's men. Long story short, they are both very mess up as Mycroft has not been eating and Rachael suffers PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) like being overly alert and jumpy with her surroundings and sleep deprived as she is afraid of the nightmares.

The plot drove me off the edge! I was in a crossroad between devouring the book as fast as possible and taking my time and enjoying this last installment! I love how it once again throw us instantly into the action, one WTF moment after the other! Its darker, more sinister and definitely more dangerous. I'm not kidding as A LOT OF THINGS KEEP HAPPENING! BOTH GOOD AND BAD! Also I enjoyed connecting the dots and was mind browned with how the clues all adds up! 

I sucked into the book from the prologue! Also I love how each Every book starts with a prologue and where Rachael compares life on the farm with what's currently going on with her life (also very random but I keep thinking of the show Dance Academy as each episode starts with the MC comparing her life in the country and where she is now.. yes I love that show... ALL THREE 
SEASONS!). 

The writing is one of my favorite things about this series! Its beautiful and witty yet a roller coaster or feels! Ellie Marney's writing rips your heart apart and slowly put them back together.

I love how we get see Rachael pick up from the events of 'Every Word' where she is not only trying to be stronger mentally but physically for the coming events. She's one of the most realistic characters I've read as we watch her fall and struggle and slowly raise and build back herself to be more confident and kick-ass than before. 

A way to sum up my though about Mycroft in this book is that some stuff he does I'm like 'stupid!! stupid!! why?! WHY?!' and then I'm like 'what?! that does not make sense! what the?! how?!' and then he explains all the mad scientist genius stuff in his head and I'm like :

James Mycroft you are both an IDIOT and a GENIUS. Its a good thing that he's tall, dark and sexy (especially when he goes on a tangent on science!). 

Also feels! lots of them! Mycroft finally has closure to his parents death and can properly grieves  which is something he has been holding back trough the whole series. I was brought to tears and feels when we got to know the truth about Mycroft's parents! Poor Guy! I want to give him a hug!

Watching both Rachael and Mycroft recover from their London ordeal was slow and steady as well as realistic. It humanizes them especially Rachael as we watch them both broken and slowly pick themselves back up. 

Also their relationship hits a bumpy road in this installment. They are trying to work out their relationship which has already been establish and grown from your 'just friends turn romance' in Every Breath to something more. I love their romance and its one of the best paced out romance in a series I've ever read. It took its time to build to a point where its believable and that you not only care for their characters but their ship! The best way to sum up their romance in this book is that its way past the 'sweet innocence' we saw in the first book but along the lines of passionate and deep. Grab your popcorn guys and get ready to swoon and giggle *hint *nudge *wink.

Like every book we not only see familiar characters but are introduced to new ones.

In this book we are introduced to Harris, Mike's best friend from Five Miles who comes back with them to the City as well as teaches Rachael self defense. I have a bit of a hit and a miss with him as he was messing with my ship but he manages to redeem himself in the end. 

As always I love the cast of side characters!

Rachael's brother Mike was awesome! Like I mentioned in the previous book reviews, I love the sibling elements and interaction which is one of the best that I've read.

I was happy to read more about Mai and Gus in this installment and how they help Rachael and Mycroft! If I could ask for another book about any characters I'll love a book about Mai and Gus as I adore them and won't mind reading a whole book of them!

I liked reading about Rachael and her Mum's relationship as after her spontaneous trip to London caused their relationship to be a bit rocky. Even so seeing how they resolve their relationship was a great side story of Rachael trying to win back her mum's trust. 

Like each installment, this book brings Rachael and Mycroft to a new location. Apart from Melbourne, we get to see Rachael's home town Five Miles. I like reading about the place and where Rachael grew up. Its bittersweet especially when Rachael talks about her now empty house and the memories.

Overall Every Move well wrapped up ending! This contemporary series with a crime, thriller and romance twist is one of the more unique and refreshing YA's not to mention have a special place in on my favorite shelve!

The Every series is an addictive, heart gripping, mind blowing and swoon worthy series that I devoured and seeing the series end is rather bitter sweet. I'm happy and satisfied with the ending of Rachael and Mycroft's adventure and hugged the book like I'm hugging an awesome friend when I was done with that last page with a huge smile on my face.

 

My current state after reading Every Move... I have no idea how to move on as I can't stop thinking about this book... yes I got a book hungover and just finished re reading this book!

Long story short READ THE EVERY SERIES!

 

Book Review: Every Breath (Every #1) by Ellie Marney

Goodreads Description:

Rachel Watts is an unwilling new arrival to Melbourne from the country. James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old genius with a passion for forensics. Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. And when Watts and Mycroft follow a trail to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally.

A night at the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again...

Title: Every Breath (Every #1)
Author: Ellie Marney
Genre: Conteporary, Thriller, Mystery, Crime
Format: E-book

Pages: 335 pages
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: free of itunes

Thanks to Miranda of Bookss101 and Ebony of DarlingDemsel as watching and reading your rave made me read this! :D

I love Sherlock and have watch many adaptations like the the Robert Downey Jr movies, the  Steven Moffat BBC adaptation and my personal favorite, MidSomer Murders (especially the Tom Barnaby and Ben Jones arc!!!)! 

This is one of the best and unique adaptations. Sherlock meets YA set in Melbourne!

Follow Rachael Watts who's family moves from the country to Melbourne befriends her neighbor Mycroft. Together the neighbors, best friends and partners in crime investigates the murder of their friend Homeless Dave while Rachael finds herself falling for for her mysterious friend. 

I liked Rachael from the start! Quick thinking, tough and tomboyish, she's a country girl trying to fit in and adjust to life in the suburbs of Melbourne. Though she is mature, there were times where she makes some stupid decisions though thanks to her quick thinking she manages to get them out of the situation. 

Mycroft... where can I get me one?! I love reading more about Mycroft as he is so mysterious and has some mess up secrets and past which makes him kind of insane. He has a lot of issues that got me a bit frustrated at times bout once I understand him I empathize him. Also I love reading about his passion or forensic science and though I don't understand the jargon at first it was still fascinating reading all about it! 

Also did I mention he is British? Hello sexy British accent!

I love reading the diverse cast of side characters! Mai and Gus, Rachael and Mycroft's classmates and best friends were great to read especially Mai and her knowledge for Legal studies.

Also I love the family element of Rachael and her family! Though she's angry with her parents for moving to the city, she is still supportive and does not make a fuss about the move. 

I also love her relationship with her brother Mike as I RARELY see YA with a good, strong and realistic brother-sister relationship! In fact THIS how a brother-sister relationship should be written (I know as I have a little brother and the way Rachael interacts with her brother is how I interact with mine).

I enjoyed the plot and how it throws you straight into the action without giving the readers a heart attack along with the pacing though I found the first one third of the book a bit hard for me to click with the story. There was a good air of mystery which made the book a page turner as I want to know what happens in the end! 

I like how we slowly got to know a bit about both Rachael and Mycroft and their past trough the book. I also like the suspense and gripping moments of THAT climax as I was on the edge on my seat reading it! There were some good plot twist though I kinda foreshadow the big WTF event the moment I got enough evidence though it came out totally different from what I expected.

Though I've read a couple of Aussie YA's that is set in Melbourne (which has been my second home for the past 5 years) its still refreshing and exciting to read a book set in somewhere familiar and was great picturing them taking the tram/train and going to some places that I've passed by or am familiar with.  

One thing that made the book for me was Rachael and Mycroft's relationship! As the book progress they developed a 'more than friends/neighbor/partner in crime' relationship and boy was the tension between them gripping to read! 

They keep insisting they are 'just friends' but the more the story develops the more I wanted to shout 'OH JUST GET TOGETHER ALREAD- oh.... ohhhhhhhh xD' 

I love when the two of them bilker and watching the tension between them build and though it took a while for the romance to build but ITS WORTH THE WAIT! Best friends turn romance is one of my favorite kind of romance and I love how once they established their mutual feelings its not dragged for the rest of the book!

Also when they are together expect alot of swooning as the romance is cute and HOT!

Overall this is a great and solid start to the series! Its well written and researched, great cast of characters and refreshing plot! Rachael and Mycroft are one of the best bookish duo's I've read!

I just purchased the whole series and am currently reading Every Word! This is a great YA Mystery & Crime Romance and Sherlock with a twist! 

Check out this book (and series) and get lost in the mysteries! 

Now to get back to my copy of Every Word as I NEED MORE WATTSCROFT !!! 
 

 

Book Review: Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

Goodreads Description:

Perfect for fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell, Love and Other Foreign Words is equal parts comedy and coming of age--a whip-smart, big-hearted, laugh-out-loud love story about sisters, friends, and what it means to love at all.

Can anyone be truly herself--or truly in love--in a language that's not her own?

Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue -- the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word -- at least not in a language Josie understands.  

Title: Love and Other Foreign Words
Author: Erin McCahan
Genre: Contemporary, YA, Romance
Format: Hardback

Pages: 336
Publisher:  Dial Books
Source: Purchased from Hills of Content

I love cute geeky YA and this book is one of them!

Love and Other Foreign words follows Josie who's sister Kate comes home engaged to a guy she hates and is set to brake them up. With that we have the battle of the sisters as Kate insist she's in love with Groff and is determine to marry him while Josie learns the language of Love.

Intelligent and chatty though she tend to be naïve and overthink at times, I adored Josie from page one! She's a gifted genius and is fascinated with language including ohmigod aka high school and ohmigod 2.0 aka college. She knows them all except the language of love which is what she is trying to understand trough the book and apparently that's the one thing she's clueless about. Trough the book Josie is not only learning the language of love but also learning how to deal with her emotions on love.

Josie's brainy, snarky and innocent narration was what made the book for me! I related so much to her character from the way she talks to the way she thinks and react! I am no where near her level of genius but Josie is literally a smarter version of me.

There is a strong family dynamic in the book and I love how honest and realistic their interactions are with one another. I solute the parents on the way they handle the situations trough the book especially Josie's dad. Josie parents are very involve in the book and it was refreshing to read a YA where the parents are always there.

Obviously Josie loves her older sisters especially Kate but ohmigod I COULD NOT STAND THAT BRIDEZILLA! I understand where Kate is coming from when she was annoyed with Josie's attics at times as I too am an older sister but some stuff she does is just pure evil! Way beyond the lines of sibling wars.



I meant some of the of the stuff and pranks that Josie does in the book was kinda unfair and childish (but come on she's fifteen!) but what both Kate and Groff did at times was just MEAN especially for a grown adult!

I hated the way she treated Josie (and silently vow never to be like her to my younger sibling) as she neglected her younger sister for her wedding plans. I also hated how she keeps commenting about Josie's appearance! I meant forcing her to trade her glasses for contacts is one thing but when Kate pushes Josie to change her appearance like getting piercing and rants how its going to ruined the wedding whick flipped me off!

I've been in Josie shoes and comments like those coming from someone you love should not be hurtful especially if they are critique and for you own good but the truth is it hurts 10 times more.

 

Her fiancé Groff was no better! Ugh that pretentious bastard!

Even so there were some of the moments between Josie and the 'lovely couple' were entertaining and hilarious to read about! They did come around at the end of the book I eventually forgive them as that's how books like this end... Right???

Josie's friendship with Stu and Sophie were also great to read about.

I especially love her relationship with Stu and I kinda predicted the direction it was going from early on. Stu is a fellow genius and understands the language of Josie fluently. Their banter between each other were some of the best dialogs in the book!

For a book about Love, the romance was surprisingly a side-plot, and though it was fast paces, it works so well and was cute and fluffy (and I awww and melted into a happy snowman puddle :3).

My favourite thing about this book was when they talk about The Language of Love and the meaning of love. It was not just talking about romantic love but also love for your family, for food, your pet, books. I also like how the author points out the different language and 'slangs' we speak in our daily life.

Overall its a cute, smart, and hilarious 'rom-com' about the language of love.

Fans of John Green's An Abundance of Katherine, Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've loved Before, Phillip Sigel's The Break-up Artist, and Holly Smile's Geek Girl Series will enjoy this book!