A Veil of Glass and Rain by Petra F. Bagnardi

*Copy of book provided by Petra F. Bagnardi in return for an honest review* I'm not sure how to begin my review of this book in a formal manner, so I'm just going to start with what comes to mind first. The Writing: To me, this is the most crucial aspect of a book. It's the number one thing I consider when writing my own book because writing that is cheap and tasteless really isn't authentic (I have a few books in mind). Some people can read a things like Fifty Shades of Grey and enjoy it despite the quality of the "prose" being weak. I certainly can not. I've experienced this a lot with other contemporary novels that have such themes of romance and erotica, though I won't name any more as they're irrelevant and it would be unfair. I digress. Anyway, I actually enjoyed the writing in this book. I'm a visual person and I enjoy any type of writing that is poetic and portrays strong and aesthetically pleasing visuals. I think that Petra Bagnardi's writing is reminiscent to that of Tahereh Mafi's, regarding the ways in which they both manage to captivate the readers interest through poetic imagery. The writing is particularly effective in it's depictions of beautiful Rome and the story's steamy romance scenes. Concept & Plot: There wasn't a whole lot of movement within the plot that is set in the present tense, but that is because the narrative directs us from chapters past to present, in a snapshot type of style. We also get to see different segments of the story told from both main characters, Brina and Eagen's POV. Characters and Relationship's: The dynamic between the two main characters, Brina and Eagen is interesting because firstly, it wasn't a typical all-American 'girl meets boy in college and they fall in love' type of romance. There is a significant age gap of five years between the two. Brina met Eagen when she was nine years old and he was fourteen. Eagen began to crave Brina when he was twenty-one and she was sixth-teen. Despite the difference in age, gender and race, they bonded through their loneliness and otherwise similar situation. The relationship between them however, turns from a comforting family bond to that of a sexually intimate and lustful one, as the pair grow up and their story unfolds. In general, the story takes you through the journey and development of this type of complicated relationship, along with troubles that coincide along the way. Thank you to Petra F. Bagnardi for kindly giving me her story and allowing me to delve into her characters and writing.

Callum & Harper (Sleepless #1) by Fisher Amelie

Rating:  Solid 4*

I didn't plan on buying this but was captivating by the first sentence and so ended up reading the full sample before proceeding to unexpectedly read the full thing in one day. I've been waiting a long time to read a sweet and innocent YA story such as this, that takes the readers through a touching journey of the difficult graft of two really cute but misfortune souls, wronged all their life by the actions of others, just trying to survive life's hardships. It's a sweet, gut-wrenching, heart stopping (John gave me flippin' hives), nail biting and frustrating story of an adorable pair; hard to put down.

Avoiding Responsibility by K.A. Linde

Rating: 2*

I can't see myself finishing this book anymore after having abandoned it 3 weeks ago. Basically, I got fed up of the writing style. I really hate having to criticize authors on the way they write because I believe in everyone having the freedom to write in their own unique style no matter how eloquent or opposingly, non-sophisticated it is. But...(the big B-U-T)...

For me, the writing was too repetitive and heavy, and I lost patience to the point where I ended up leaving the book nearly half way through. There were too many sentences in between a couple of lines of dialogue which I couldn't seem to digest, and I ended up skim reading nearly everything after I realized that having read those sentences (interior thoughts of the narrator etc), I was non the wiser and was neither absorbed or intrigued on reading more.

It's a shame because I hate leaving books unfinished, and I do kind of want to know about some of the lies and secrecy, but everything was dragged out far too much and for too long that I ended up losing interest. I did enjoy the first book and even rated it with 4 stars based on the levels of nostalgia, excitement and angst present between characters. 

If the author reads this review, I hope it doesn't sting too much. I know, being a writer myself, how much work, effort and determination creating a story like this consists of.

Lastly, I have to be brutally honest and say that I detested every single character in this book. I couldn't swallow their immaturity, lack of control, morals or self respect, naivety, sex obsessions... I could list a few more stemmed by my personal upbringing and moral attitude but don't want to berate the author too much. I would like to address the author directly however, and say that you, K.A. Linde, have a lot of potential and a knack for creating awesome sexual tension. Listen to your readers and their criticism in order to become a whole lot better. :)

Thoughtless (Thoughtless #1) by S.C. Stephens

Rating: 4.75*

Five stars solely based on the fact that this book was written with so much emotion that I felt it and cried so much in the hospital and airport extracts that I was sick. Yes , I hurled but in my defense, it was also due to the fact that I was feeling particularly panicky about my college exam deadlines and I hadn't eaten at all. I don't know why I held off from reading this book for so long; I think because it was not what I expected. Instead, it was so much better. I'm satisfied with it, almost to the point where I don't even feel a need to read the second and third book; as the first suffices as a single book just nicely; but curiosity always gets the better of me so I know i'll end up reading them some time soon. Kellan cries too much but I'll let it pass since he is so lovely. I can hardly judge his character since he is such a scarred and emotionally damaged guy but damn, he really is a softie under all that rock star persona and those striking looks. Another think I need to comment on is the fact that these characters were flawed and believable. They were realistic portrayed. One of the aspects I value most highly within an authors writing is the way they write their characters. They need to stand out but at the same time be realistic, and I believe S.C Stephens achieved this. 5* for an addictive read

Vain by Fisher Amelie

Rating: 4*

So I really should be outside making the most of the current few days of British summer that we rarely have here in Newcastle, but I just spent all of yesterday reading it and now want to review! 

The concept of this book would have made it five stars if the writing had of been to a higher standard (not saying it was particularly bad) and also had it not been for the amount of typos, grammatical errors and the rushed ending.

Firstly, I'm one of those people who gets easily put off a book by its grammatical errors, because it comes across to me as unprofessional and it tends to draw me out of the book making it less engaging for me. Based on this fact alone, I would normally rate a book 2.5*/3* however I really did love the ideas, characters and message conveyed by this story.

I have to thank the girls in one of the group discussion that I'd set for TSoT because I had no intentions of reading this because the cover and blurb didn't interest me, however, the girls were adamant about me reading it so I gave it a try. When I read someone else's review of this where they briefly explained some of the books concept and plot, that's when I was really taken.

I'll tell you what I liked:

1) Ian. 

Mmmm-Mmmmmm Damn! He reminds me of Gale from the Hunger Games and I bloody love me some Gale type characters ;)

2) Sophie. I hated her at the start and that's what I admired about how the author wrote this book. Instead of having the all too common endearing, angelic and innocent thinking character with a light conscience, Sophie was a bitch. Not just a bitch, she was far worse. I loved her journey, her character development and her redemption. 

3) The other heart warming characters, especially Karina; she reminded me of a lovely lady I once knew :)

4) The depictions of the scenes in Uganda. They were subtle but visually effective and not overly described to becoming mundane.

5) The book somewhat bring awareness of the real life situation of Joseph Kony and the LRA in Uganda, and allows the reader to sympathize with the poor Ugandans. 

Now the things that kept me from giving 5 stars:

1) The typos (already explained)

2)The ending. The epilogue and ending in general was just a bit too peachy for my taste and far too rushed, availing little conclusion. 

3) I wish the book had of been longer! I feel like it should be because firstly, Sophie's past life took up a relatively large fraction of the book; I think it was 20% of the story. 

Secondly, I feel like there should have been a few more chapters in the book that were about Sophie working in the orphanage, changing her ideas and being accepted by Ian and the other characters because to me, that was a bit too sudden and undeveloped. The growing of the relationships are what I think need expanding because they were too abrupt. Example: One second, Ian loathes Sophie (or at least acts like it), then out of the blue, he's completely enamored by her and can't stop fussing around her.

Also, another example of this that I feel I need to add, are the time gaps in the story that which I think should have been filled because they had the potential to cover what I said in my previous point about the dynamics of character relationships. I disagree with the author's choice in having significantly large and important time periods and possible events out of the book. I mean like after Sophie's first couple of days in the orphanage she knew no one and hated the position she was in, then suddenly, a couple of relatively important weeks later, she's all happy-dappy and hugging the life out of Mercy like they're best friends. We don't even get to know about Mercy so what da hell was the all about? (I don't actually talk like 'da'). At that point I was a little frustrated, feeling like I've missed out on a lot and I couldn't stop myself from saying "What? WHAT?! What Da?!".

Overall, I did completely LOVE reading this and couldn't put it down, so I'd definitely recommend it. It was such a nice change to read some nice Y/A prose as a change to my usual stuff but I can't help but feeling like I should still currently be reading it because such a good concept for a book deserves a lot more creative development and for the journey/adventure to just be longer really.

The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

Rating: 5*

Fantastic! A taste of the classic Duffy feministic approach to historical, mythical and biblical worldly female figures. My favourite piece was Queen Herod, it portrayed contradistinctive elements of love such as lesbian and maternal which was interesting. Love these poems.

Captive In The Dark (The Dark Duet, #1) by C.J Roberts

Rating: 5*

Shit shit shit. Does it make me a terrible person for enjoying (more than enjoying) this great feast of such dark subject matter? I hope not cause I really couldn't put this down at all. There is no cliche fluffy light fairytale feel-good YA love story elements at all. Full stop. It's brutal and it's raw and certainly not one for the faint hearted.

On the contrary, I completely admire the author's bravery on writing such a risky piece. It takes some skill to engineer a sickening yet enjoyable and completely addictive story that doesn't offend people against humanity (or lack thereof) because the truth is 'es la verdad'. Shit happens. This is honest, okay? I'll stop waffling now. :)

Crow's Row (Crow's Row #1) by Julie Hockley

Rating: 3*

I'm not really psyched by this book if I'm honest. I really don't like the protagonist and other main characters. I stopped reading it for a long time when I had 10% to go before finishing it because I wasn't interested in following on from where I left off. 

I really don't like Emily. She reacts to certain situations very childishly that I cringe when reading them. She is bratty, naive and immature despite everything she's been/going through.

Also, what the hell is up with the 'love' in this book? I don't comprehend. To me, this is not 'true love' like the character stresses. Her naivety and Cameron's lack of character development leads me to think that the only thing they've got going on between them is perverse infatuation; nothing special. 

I usually love a good book that relates to mobsters/drug lords/ mafia's/Criminal Organizations (whatever you want to call them) and Stockholm Syndrome, and while the aspects of secrecy within these topics were realistically and accurately portrayed, I really wasn't taken by the characters themselves. Maybe I have strong taste in character portrayals but I can't help but disdain the blandness.

April and Oliver by Tess Callahan

Rating: 5*

This book is fantastic, I don't understand how the overall rating isn't higher than what it is. It definitely stands out among all of the other books I've read this year. It was so refreshing, cathartic and purgative to read and the ending left me with the highest hopes ever. I also felt very strongly about the characters and certain subjects in the book, particularly the physical abuse which I could identify with. The characters in this book are the type that stay with you and the story was realistically written so much so that it seems like a personal memory of people I know rather than it just being a fiction novel. This summary is a mess so I'm definitely gonna take some of my working time up this week to write a full on review (vent my frustrations, admiration's with the authors writing; that kinda thing). I just need to get more people to read this book; it's good! ;)

Forgot to say, the writing it beee-yoooo-tiiii-fulll! I also learnt a lot of new words which my kindle wiki came in handy for.

Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding #1) by K.A Linde

Rating: 3.5*

Okay, this book just made me hate the whole male population. Yup. I hate men now. Even more so than I previously did at least.

I don't know how I have only just discovered this book. I came across it by accident but am so glad I did as it was to me, a mixture of two of my favourite books 'The Opportunist' by Tarryn Fisher and 'April and Oliver' by Tess Callahan.

I loved it because I always crave a bit of over the top angst and drama. There were so many unexpectedly heated passionate moments, so hot that I felt my brain boil over once or twice. And God I was so frustrated reading this over just about everything. I admire how the characters were emotionally driven and acted impulsively, which was realistic to human nature, instead of those oh so virtuous perfect human being type characters that many authors have repeatedly written in their stories. People just don't hold back like that in real life, which made the characters in this story believable and the plot more exciting. Human beings are selfish, destructive creatures. 

I usually always root for flawed characters such as Jack hoping that they are redeemable but I seriously just lost patience with him and gave up on that son of a bitch. Ughh. I liked him so much at the start and now hate him so much, which I certainly did not think would happen. I also hate Ramsey. I tried to like him and forgive him for what he'd done but even from the start he just proved to be a non-endearing nuisance. I don't like anyone really. Most of the characters were crazy shallow sex obsessed whores who lacked self respect and moral values. I did like Chyna a bit but she's a slapper and an annoying superficial socialite type but she was a good friend and stuck to her guns, which I commend her for. Don't even get me started on Beckah. I felt so bad for Lexi but I just wanted to shake her until she realized there was never love between her and Jack, only lust, obsession, longing, nostalgia, regrets and what-ifs.

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 3*

Awh man I really was stuck trying to give this book a rating. I'll tell you the good points first:

As usual, Tahereh Mafi's beautifully poetic and colourful prose astounded me. Her writing is amazing and unique. 

Secondly, the concepts are interesting. I'll say no more on that.

Thirdly, I love the dilemma Mafi has created for Juiliette which is between Warner and Adam.

Fourthly, Kenji.

I read it in a day (a day which I skipped all but one of my college lessons to read it in) and couldn't put the book down despite all rational reasons that I should have.

On the contrary, I think my expectations were a little high (as you can see in the photo above of me before reading it) for this book because unfortunately it did not meet them. I preferred the first book so much more. There was exciting tension within the drama, action and dialogue in Shatter Me, which I think Unravel Me lacked. I actually loved the first book that much that I think I read it 2 or 3 times. 

I regretfully found my self bored reading this, particularly in the first fifty percent of the book where nothing seemed to be happening and Juliette was just on a bratty self-sympathetic mind wondrous journey. Ughh. I hate when characters go on about how much they hate themselves for too long, especially when they shouldn't. 

Needless to say, I enjoyed learning a bit more about Warner and seeing how his character developed but I don't know, for some reason I found myself disliking him. I liked him more in the first book.. (don't hurt me please!)

Anyhow, if my rating was based on the the quality of Mafi's writing, it would definitely be a 5* however I had to chop the 2 stars off thanks to me being probably far too opinionated for my own good.

True Love Story by Willow Aster

I came across this story advertised in the back of Tarryn Fisher's "Dirty Red" book and I can't wait for more people to read this. 

I think this book actually made me go through the five stages of grief. Call me melodramatic but I swear I felt the denial, isolation, anger, betrayal, depression etc.. that the main character would have felt. I got so emotionally attached to Sparrow, who's POV the story is told from. I was so connected to her that I cried so much because of how angry I was made to feel and also because of the amount of sympathy and sadness I felt for Sparrow. The story was heartbreaking but touching that she could be so forgiving. The fact that her whole personality was effected by Ian's affair with Laila ( unreasonable prick!) ,as she went from a bubbly optimistic lovely young girl to broken down and depressed also broke my heart.

 I still don't understand Ian's motives for what he did and how he could do such a thing while being so enamored and in love, and so found myself unable to comprehend how Sparrow could forgive him. The point I think was for it to reflect the intensity of their love, the message being that love conquers all. I think she just gave up and was too sick of being unhappy that she decided to be with him in the end.

Overall, I will  recommend this book. It was addictive to the point where I couldn't put my kindle down. The romance was beautiful and the love was portrayed poetically. The author also managed to cover the many different types and aspects of love. The writing I think, had an exceptional quality to that of other N/A, Y/A and Chick-Lit authors. What I like most about the writing of the book was how it was structured- I think it was most effective that way because deep down we all kind of knew what was coming from the start, though I tried to brush it off, and this was vital to the built up of the betrayal.   

Read it people, if you're in need of a good o'l story 'bout love.