Review: Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Synopsis: Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded. Everyone knows the world will never be the same.

As Reese drives home along a stretch of empty highway, a bird flies into her headlights, causing her to crash. When she and her friend David wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won't tell them what happened.

For Reese, this is just the start. She can't remember anything from the time of the accident to waking up in the hospital a month later. She only knows one thing: she's different now. Torn between her longtime crush David and new girl Amber, the real question is: Who can she trust?

Review: I had a like-hate relationship with this book. Note I did not say love. Half of me wanted to keep powering through to find out what happens next and to answer the question that couldn't help to get stuck in my brain- What the heck is with these birds?! The other half of me was struggling to comply with this wish because while it seemed like a lot was going on, the plot and characters were not carved out very deep.

You have barely met the protagonists when the bird fiasco begins and the following series of events do not lend to much character development. Though there appears to be a love triangle of sorts occurring (second plot line), it's hard to tell who truly feels what because the character focus is on the bird situation and less on their feelings. I will admit there was a section of pretty intense feelings from the Reese/Amber relationship however when you find out further facts about the situation, it leaves you wondering if those feelings were there in the first place.

You do find out, in a sense, what is making the birds crazy but you don't find out why. Obviously this is because the author knew this would be a series and couldn't tell us everything at the end of the first book. I may pick up the sequel just to see if more of these questions are answered.

Recommended For: Science Fiction, Young Adult fans

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Be sure to check out the sequel to this novel, Inheritance, currently released in the US, being released in the UK September 2014. 

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow

Synopsis: Andy Burton knows a thing or two about survival. Since she was removed from her mother's home and placed in foster care when she was nine, she's had to deal with abuse, hunger, and homelessness. But now that she's eighteen, she's about to leave Haywood House, the group home for girls where she's lived for the past four years, and the closest thing to a real home she's ever known. Will Andy be able to carve out a better life for herself and find the happiness she is searching for?

Review: Wow...just...wow. I completely devoured this book. I mean, read it in less than 3 hours type of devouring. This book dealt with so many difficulty topics in such a graceful, relatable way. The main character, Andy, has always lived a rough life, completely unfair for a child. Just when it seems to be looking up for her, her first experience at happiness gets snatched away in the blink of an eye. She then experiences so many heart wrenching, tragic events that you wonder how much more she can endure. However, throughout everything it never seems that her hopefulness falters. Is it predictable that this will all have a happy ending? Maybe. But with all the events that unfold throughout the novel, it is what the reader remains hopeful for. 

The characters in this book are well developed and relatable. The plot offers a glimpse into what the foster care system can be like for so many children that don't have a family or a home to call their own. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend picking it up!

Recommended For: Fans of contemporary YA novels. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Publish Date: September 29, 2014

*Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review: By Any Means by Chris Culver

Synopsis: At the end of a particularly grueling summer day, Ash Rashid is heading home to his wife and kids when he discovers a pair of bodies, shot execution style, in the front seat of a crashed vehicle. As the first officer on the scene, Ash finds himself and his department 20 minutes behind a killer in a race where every second counts. With two victims down and a third unaccounted for, the clock is ticking and Ash must find the killer before he strikes again.

Review: This book was middle of the road for me. It started off as a typical police mystery. The plot then split and for the majority of the book, it switched back and forth between two characters and their stories. Without giving too much detail, these two characters had one thread that connected them both to each other and the case. This kept me intrigued for the first third to half of the book. However, it got to be too many characters and story lines to keep track of, at least to me.  Some sections of this book were suspenseful however the story mostly flowed with the details of the case. The end wrapped up fairly quickly. I will admit I'm curious to see what happens to Ash Rashid next.

As an aside, this is the first Chris Culver book I have read. There are 2 other Ash Rashid novels and I wonder if reading these first would have made any difference.

Recommended For: Fans of crime fiction, murder mysteries.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Publish Date: May 6, 2014


*Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome to my book blog!

Hi All!!

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mel and I am an avid reader. I have recently upped the ante on my reading quantity (thank you BookTube!) and thought that a new blog would be the perfect way to share my reading, opinions, and reviews on books. As noted, I accidentally stumbled into the BookTube section of YouTube and can't seem to find my way out! Not that that's a bad thing, mind you. I finally have a community of people who are as crazy about books as I am!

Hopefully in the coming days/weeks/years we will get to share plenty of book love! Maybe you will even see my face on BookTube....