The This or That Tag

Jen

1.Audio or book in hand?

Book in hand. I haven’t listened to too many audiobooks but I will always prefer reading a physical copy because I can read it so much faster than it would take to listen to the audiobook.

2.Soft cover or hardback?

Hardback. They are definitely pricier than soft covers, but with hardcovers I don’t have the issue of having to hold the book a certain way while reading to prevent the spine from cracking like I do with paperbacks.

3.Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction. What kind of world would it be without Harry Potter?

4.Fantasy world or real life issues

This one is impossible to choose. It really depends on what kind of reading mood I am in and also how well the world is written.

5.Harry Potter or Twilight?

Harry Potter. Is an explanation really necessary?

6.Kindle, iPad or other?

iPad. Just because it’s what I already own.

7.Borrow or buy?

Buy. Books that I am not sure if I will like enough to own I will borrow from the library, but there is nothing like looking over at a shelf and seeing rows and rows of beautiful books.

8.Bookstore or online

Online. I used to be one for browsing any bookstore that I came across and could easily spend hours looking at all the pretty books without realising it. Unfortunately, there are no bookstores near where I live anymore so I have been forced to turn to online book buying. Online prices are usually cheaper than in-store and I like that the books don’t come covered in price tags and other annoying stickers.

9.Stand alone or total trilogy

Trilogy. The majority of the books I read are trilogies or series. While I do like stand alones, sometimes when I finish a book I just want more and that can’t happen if it’s a standalone.

10.Monster read or short and sweet

Monster read. With a longer book the author can spend a little more time and go into more detail when developing the world and the characters. It also means that if I’m really enjoying a book, it’s not over quite as soon. Also, there’s just something really satisfying about finishing a big book with lots of pages.

11.Starry eyed romance or full of action

This is another impossible choice for me. Again it depends on what kind of reading mood I am in. Sometimes I want to become immersed in an action filled dystopian or fantasy world and other times, nothing but a contemporary romance will do for me.  

12.Curl up in your snuggie or bathe in the sun

Snuggie. I don’t actually own a snuggie, but my favourite way to read is in my nice warm bed tucked under the blankets.

13.Hot chocolate or latte

Neither. I don’t actually drink either of those so I’m going to insert my drink of choice here and say Coke Zero.

14.Read the review or decide for yourself

Decide for myself. I generally will look at ratings and reviews on Goodreads but if the synopsis of a book sounds good to me, then I will read it anyway and decide for myself if I like it or not, regardless of whether the book has a high or low rating or positive or negative reviews.  

Mel

1.Audio or book in hand?

Book in hand. Although I do like audiobooks, I tend to tune out to them if I’m distracted by my phone or whatever and miss favourite sections and have to rewind a bit. They’re often more time consuming because I read faster than the narrator speaks. Audiobooks do come in handy if I’ve been reading ebooks for too long. The screen tires my eyes quickly, so if I still want to enjoy a book, but give my eyes a break, audiobooks are my go to while I do other things - like jigsaw puzzles!

2.Soft cover or hardback?

Hardback. Most of my books are soft cover, but that’s more due to availability and cost, rather than preference. I love seeing hardback books all lined up and looking prettiful on my shelves!

3.Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction. Because I have better attention for anything that provokes the imagination. I drift off when I read non-fiction and find it really hard to focus, even when it’s a book I’ve bought for myself, like biographies and movie companions.

4.Fantasy world or real life issues

Fantasy. I’m a fantasy junkie.

5.Harry Potter or Twilight?

Harry Potter. Every aspect of the Harry Potter series is better than the Twilight series.

6.Kindle, iPad or other?

Other. I have an iPad, which I used to use as an ebook reader all the time, but because I prefer Android devices and won a Nexus 7, I haven’t used the iPad for reading in a long time. I use the Kobo app for epubs and the Aldiko app for NetGalley downloads.

7.Borrow or buy?

Buy. When I borrow books, I hate having to read to a deadline. So I much prefer to buy books so that I can read them whenever I get to them and I don’t have any time parameters.

8.Bookstore or online

Bookstore. Although the range in my area is limited, I still manage to find the books that I’ve been wanting. I go online if I’m looking for something specific that I know the shops won’t stock.

9.Stand alone or total trilogy

Trilogy. I love series in general. Imagine a world with only one Harry Potter book! While standalone books are good too, sometimes I love the world and characters so much that I wish there was more than just one book.

10.Monster read or short and sweet

Monster read. Such books tend to have more to them than short and sweet in the way that the stories are developed better, the characters are fleshed out more and you really get your money’s worth out of the book. And yep, it’s a good feeling when you finish a monster!

11.Starry eyed romance or full of action

Both. I do like starry eyed romances, but I don’t see why an action book can’t have that too.

12.Curl up in your snuggie or bathe in the sun

Snuggie. I don’t own a snuggie either but I do love to stay tucked up in bed while reading! Plus, I don’t like when my books are exposed to the elements. The sun yellows your pages!

13.Hot chocolate or latte

Hot Chocolate. Or Mocha. I do love mochas.

14.Read the review or decide for yourself

Decide for myself. Sometimes I will read a review for a book I’ve been looking forward to reading, but I never take too many opinions too seriously. I have learned this while listening to people talking about this movie or that, that I should just not watch something “because it’s crap!”, but then when I did actually watch it, I found I actually liked it. This happens a lot with hyped books/movies/music. People hate something because it’s popular, not because they have bothered to read/watch/listen to it. A lot of people said to me personally that they hated Twilight, but I knew they had never read the books or watched the films. That’s why I decide for myself.

The Opposites Book Tag!

Jen’s

1. The first book in your collection/The last book you bought.

First book: Set of Harry Potter books 1 to 4 in paperback (these are the first books I ever bought that are still on my shelf. The first book ever in my collection is probably a Baby-Sitters Club book that is currently boxed up in storage.)

Last book: My True Love Gave to Me (collection of 12 short stories) edited by Stephanie Perkins

2. A cheap book/An expensive book

Cheap book: Good Girls by Laura Ruby

Expensive book: Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey by Bob McCabe

3. A book with a male protagonist/A book with a female protagonist.

Male protagonist: Harry Potter! (This one was an obvious choice)

Female protagonist: Legend by Marie Lu

4. A book you read quickly/A book that took you long to read.

Quick read: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (I just could not put this book down and read it in a day)

Long read: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (It took me about 2 weeks to get through this book. Mainly because the start was just so slow I kept putting the book down and did not want to pick it back up)

5. A pretty cover/An ugly cover.

Pretty cover: Sapphire Blue by Kiersten Gier

Ugly cover: The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Ugh I just do not like this cover at all)

6. A national book/An international book.

National book: Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

International book: A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks

7. A thin book/A thick book.

Thin book: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

Thick book: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

8. A fiction book/A non-fiction book.

Fiction book: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Non-fiction book: My Life by Li Na

9. A romantic book/An action book.

Romantic book: Easy by Tammara Webber

Action book: Divergent by Veronica Roth

10. A book that made you happy/One that made you sad.

Happy book: Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover

Sad book: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (OMG that ending!)

Bonus questions!

11. Shortest chapter/Longest chapter

Shortest: Reached by Ally Condie (One chapter was just a blank page!)

Longest: Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult (Some chapters are 60+ pages!)

12. Earliest publication/latest publication

Earliest: Probably Kristy’s Great Idea by Ann M. Martin (The very first one in the Baby-Sitters Club series.)

Latest: The Memory Hit by Carla Spradbery (I got an advance copy for review so this one isn’t even out yet.)

13. Best Hyped/Worst hyped (Overhyped?)

Best: Legend series by Marie Lu (I absolutely LOVED these books. I feel like they should have been hyped up even more than what they were.)

Worst: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (This book was hyped up something ridiculous and I was really expecting it to be phenomenal. It was not.)

14.Best Movie adaption/Worst movie adaption

Best: All the ones in The Hunger Games series. (This even includes Mockingjay Part 2 because I know that one will be awesome.)  

Worst: Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. (I loved this book and was so excited for the movie, but unfortunately the casting choices just completely killed the movie for me.)

Mel’s

1. The first book in your collection/The last book you bought.

First: Disney’s Classics - Beauty and the Beast (Much loved and falling apart!)

Last: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

2. A cheap book/An expensive book

Cheap: The Morganville Vampires #1: Glass Houses, bought for AU$3.47

Expensive: The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, bought for AU$32.99

3. A book with a male protagonist/A book with a female protagonist.

Male: Eragon by Christopher Paolini (Because Harry Potter was already mentioned :P)

Female: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

4. A book you read quickly/A book that took you long to read

Quick: Dark Heart Forever by Lee Monroe. Read in a day.

Long: Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Started 2007, still not finished.

5. A pretty cover/An ugly cover.

Pretty: Mercy by Rebecca Lim (AU edition). It has shiny bits, which makes it better than this image.

Ugly: Very close toss up between Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (I have the ugly cover) and The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand (AU edition. It’s designed to fit in with all of those awful John Green books. And I am not a fan of orange. I wish I had the US edition.)

6. A national book/An international book

National: The Alchemist’s Key by Traci Harding

International: French Dictionary. Zero English!

7. A thin book/A thick book.

Thin: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

Thick: A Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin

8. A fiction book/A non-fiction book

Fiction: The Gift by Alison Croggon

Non-fiction: The Mortal Instruments Movie Companion

9. A romantic book/An action book.

Romantic: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Action: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

10. A book that made you happy/One that made you sad.

Happy: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Sad: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Bonus questions!

11. Shortest chapter/Longest chapter

Shortest: Die For Me by Amy Plum. Chapter 28 is 8 words long.

Longest: The Human Stain by Philip Roth. There are only 5 chapters in the whole book of 361 pages.

12. Earliest publication/latest publication

Earliest:Cole’s Edition of Saxon’s Everybody’s Pocket Encyclopaedia 621,000th Issue, printed 1893.

Latest: Half Wild by Sally Green 2015

13. Best Hyped/Worst hyped (Overhyped?)

Best: The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Worst: The Fault in our Stars by John Green

14.Best Movie adaption/Worst movie adaption

Best: Harry Potter. The whole series.

Worst: Eragon was pretty awful, but because I saw the movie before I read the book, I still like it!

Review: The Memory Hit by Carla Spradbery

 

Expected Publication: June 4th 2015 by Hodder Children's books 

Source: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

On New Year's Eve, Jess's life is unrecognizable: her best friend is in the hospital, her boyfriend is a cheater. A drug-dealing cheater it would seem, after finding a stash of Nostalgex in his bag.

Nostalgex: a drug that stimulates memory. In small doses, a person can remember the order of a deck of cards, or an entire revision guide read the day before an exam. In larger doses it allows the user detailed access to their past, almost like watching a DVD with the ability to pause a moment in time, to focus on previously unnoticed details and to see everything they've ever experienced with fresh eyes. As Leon, the local dealer, says 'it's like life, only better.' What he fails to mention is that most memories are clouded by emotions. Even the most vivid memories can look very different when visited.

Across town Sam Cooper is in trouble. Again. This time, gagged and bound in the boot of a car. Getting on the wrong side of a drug dealer is never a good idea, but if he doesn't make enough money to feed and clothe his sister, who will?

On New Year's Day, Jess and Cooper's worlds collide. They must put behind their differences and work together to look into their pasts to uncover a series of events that will lead them to know what really happened on that fateful New Year's Eve. But what they find is that everything they had once believed to be true, turns out to be a lie ...
(Summary from Goodreads) 

This is a mystery/suspense thriller aimed at YA readers, but it is rather dark, with quite a bit of murder taking place. It is told from differing points of view from multiple characters, but the majority of the book is told from Cooper’s and Jess’ perspective. Each individual character’s story all had a common link in some way to ‘Whiteface’, someone who no one actually knows the true identity of, but is the one behind everything. 

I loved the character of Jess and felt that I could relate to her, as well as the character of Cooper, who was just unfortunate enough to get caught up in someone else’s mess. Leon also turned out to be a surprise character and not who I thought he was.

This book is very fast paced and full of action right from the start. I liked that the author used the fictional drug, Nostalgex, as a means of showing the reader not only the events that had taken place in the past, but also different perspectives of the same events from different characters. Unfortunately, the author doesn’t entirely distinguish between characters enough and I relied heavily on the big bold name at the start of a new section to tell me which character perspective it was from.

Like with all mystery and suspense novels, there were plot twists that I could figure out and also ones that I didn’t see coming a mile away! Particularly who ‘Whiteface’ turned out to be. I never would have picked that character to be responsible for the entire drug operation. But at the same time, I wasn’t entirely convinced that it was possible to be who it was revealed to be. Their true identity doesn’t come until the very end and the reason given for that character to have gone down the path they did was weak and not the most convincing in my opinion. I feel like that could have been expanded on but the book ended rather abruptly after that. The ending was also sad and I was left feeling a little disappointed and thinking, “Oh, is that it?”.

Overall, despite the ending, this was still a good quick read and I was happy to read a thriller aimed at a younger audience than the adult thrillers that I normally read. I gave it a 3.5/5 rating and it’s worth a read if you like mystery and suspense.

Review: You Belong To Me by Samantha Hayes

 

Fleeing the terrors of her former life, Isabel has left England, and at last is beginning to feel safe.

Then a letter shatters her world, and she returns home determined not to let fear rule her life any more.

But she's unable to shake off the feeling that someone who knows her better than she knows herself may be following her.

Watching. Waiting.

Ready to step back into her life and take control all over again. 

(Description from Goodreads)

Note: This is the third book that features the recurring character of Detective Inspector Lorraine Fisher, but it can be read as a standalone without having read the two previous books (Until You’re Mine and Before You Die).

Hayes’ writing is absolutely brilliant. I found myself being drawn right into Isabel’s world, as the sinister truth of what she is running from is gradually revealed. Hayes also does an excellent job of writing a believable villain who is all kinds of creepy and twisted. However, I felt that in this book, Detective Inspector Fisher’s personal issues started to get a little repetitive towards the end and didn’t really add anything to the storyline.

Hayes is one of the best psychological thriller authors I’ve ever read as she has an amazing ability to mess with the reader’s mind. Having read all of Hayes’ previous books, I knew to expect a multitude of twists and turns in the plot. I like to form my own theories and suspicions as to what is going on and what will happen next as I am reading along. There were a few moments where I thought “Yes! I was right!”, but there were also some “I totally did not see that one coming!” moments. I love Hayes’ ability to make you think one thing only to have it turn out to be something completely different.

Overall this was a fantastic book with a gripping storyline that definitely had me turning the page continually. If you like mystery and suspense, then this book is for you. 4.5/5 rating.