The Elite by Kiera Cass

So I picked up the fast-food equivalent of books again. And yes, once again I loved every second of it. Admittedly I am starting to see how this series could be annoying-the main character is frustratingly indecisive purely to keep the 'who will she pick' mystery going, although to be fair there is also some genuine conflict. One thing I do love is that this world truly stays happy the entire time. There are several things in this that I think are going to develop into huge problems but nope. For example, there's a secret library the prince shares with America and then when the rebels break in, it's implied they knew where it was. I expected this to lead to her being suspected as a traitor but thankfully that never happens. Missed opportunity? Maybe but I like this world as least-stressful as possible.

Aspen continues to be annoying to me, mainly because I don't really buy his and America's romance in this. There is a point where the prince seems to have a darker side but then it's revealed he's even sweeter than ever and really, why hasn't she picked him? It's painfully obvious she loves him more and this does suffer from more of the irritating dragging out.

However, as a sequel I can't really fault this. It offers much of the same from the first, it attempts to world-build a little more and the personalities of the other girls get developed slightly. Overall, I enjoyed it less than the first but only slightly. At least it doesn't lose any points for not being a standalone like the first.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Choice by Samantha King

ABSOLUTELY HAS SPOILERS AHEAD. It's okay, this one sucks.

This is one of the messiest books I have ever read. I don't understand how it got this way either because the basic premise (woman picks which child gets killed when a psycho breaks into her house) is good. Not very original but certainly a solid basis for a thriller. Unfortunately the book isn't actually about that.

Okay, so the best way to explain the plot of this book is to summarize each of the three parts separately because really, they're a different story:

Part 1-A woman struggles to live with the guilt she feels for choosing one of her children to die. Unfortunately she can't talk (because none of this is real) which means she doesn't actually have any interesting interactions with anyone. Instead we get internal monologuing interspersed with flashbacks.

Part 2-A woman wakes up from a coma. *gasp* None of part 1 was real! Nothing much happens here until we build up to the 'twist' that her daughter isn't actually dead because the weird choice scenario didn't happen like she imagined it in her coma dream (see what I mean about messy?). This twist is entirely obvious due to no one mentioning her daughter's death at all during this whole section.

Part 3-The main character is kidnapped by her husband who was the masked gunman (again, this is painfully obvious). A vague and badly paced showdown occurs. The woman lives with her two children, the end.

The biggest theme of this book is 'missed opportunities'. So part 1 has the main character be mute as an attempt at foreshadowing the fact that she's not really there/it's some weird coma dream. I as a reader don't care about this however because where is the premise offered by the blurb? I expected a book dealing with the main character's guilt at being forced to choose which child to die, an examination of why she chose that child and MOST IMPORTANTLY, other peoples' reactions to it! What would her husband say to her? Her surviving child? Her friends? All of this is completely lost for the sake of a twist which means that none of it matters anyway.

Similarly, by having the twist at the end of part 2 be so incredibly obvious, it unfortunately means that none of this section really matters either. None of her thoughts about her dead daughter are valid because her daughter isn't dead. So now we're two thirds of the way through the book and nothing so far matters.

It's really sad because there is some good stuff in this book. Not the pacing or plotting because that's always awful, but the actual style of writing isn't terrible. The characters as well are believable and had the potential to be compelling. I like the story of the romance between her and her husband, even if I hate the way it's revealed. And again, that initial seed of the idea could have made for a really good thriller. Instead, we just have the worst kind of mess.

Overall Rating:

The Selection by Kiera Class

Sooo I was fully expecting this book to be trash. I mean, have you read the blurb? That cover is gorgeous but with a main character called America Singer, my hopes can only soar so high. And yet, to my utter bewilderment I really enjoyed this book. Not in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way but in a genuine, 'want to read more' way.

Don't get me wrong, this book is not high art. I read so many negative Goodreads reviews before picking this up that I was preparing for a snarkfest. But there is something so happy and enjoyable about these characters. The protagonist is a nice person, the prince is a nice person, even most of the competing girls are nice people. I didn't find any of them annoying with the exception of Aspen, the 'other' love interest. Even then, he wasn't so much annoying as he just got in the way a bit of my lovely fluffy romance.

However, I do have one major major issue with this book-it doesn't have an ending. As in, literally nothing is resolved by the end and we are stuck with a literal 'TO BE CONTINUED'. I am not okay with that. I don't care how many sequels you've planned, each book should have its own goddamn satisfactory conclusion. This sin was big enough for me to knock my rating down an entire star because I don't understand how an author or publishing company could be this cocky about people picking up two books to get the plot of one. Seriously not cool.

Overall, can I understand why this book might not be everyone's cup of tea? Yes, absolutely. It is fluff pure and simple, a love story about girls in pretty dresses trying to win the affections of a prince. Also there's a love triangle and the barest hint of world-building in an attempt to qualify it as a dystopia.  However, I am genuinely baffled by all the hate this book is receiving because honestly, it's just so nice and unassuming. Ultimately I like reading books about decent people and there just aren't enough of them in YA fiction.

They should have written a freaking ending though.

Overall Rating:

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

This book has such a cool premise! One girl's make believe family being killed off one by one in a world of fantasy and magic...excellent stuff. And for the most part, it lives up to it! For almost the entirety of this book, I was fully invested in the storyline and I desperately wanted to read more.

Unfortunately, this book seriously suffers in the last third. As more of the solution is revealed, it just becomes confusing in a badly-written way. The identity of the killer was extremely obvious to me, although there is a secondary twist which I didn't see coming and I thought worked very well. Without giving too much away, part of the climax also involves a character which appears so infrequently I genuinely had no idea who they were, despite the narrative trying to tell me it was a big reveal. The result isn't...great.

However, this book is definitely still worth reading. All the characters are extremely well fleshed-out and they're all so unique. I can honestly say this didn't remind me of anything else I've ever read and that can only be a good thing. It also gets major points for representation-the main character is bisexual with an asexual love interest, many of the side characters are also non-hetero and the fantasy city seems suitably diverse in terms of ethnicity too. I was so happy to read such a casual portrayal of an asexual love interest, even if it wasn't quite perfect.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. The protagonist is interesting and intelligent, the plot really sucks you in and the world-building element is also well done. This is so much better than I was expecting from a YA book and I could not stop talking about it to people whilst I was reading it. No book is perfect but this is certainly up there.

Overall Score:

The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon

Honestly, what can you expect from a book based off a video game? A pretty good horror story it turns out. Five Nights at Freddy's has admittedly always been a game series with a solid plot, if only you bother to look closer. I myself have enjoyed watching countless Youtube videos on the lore, which is why I knew I had to pick this book up. My expectations were extremely low but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does this add valuable insight to the games, it actually stands alone as a reasonably enjoyable story.

Don't get me wrong, the main enjoyment gleamed from this book is the way it sheds light on events from the game. There are many things in here that probably won't make any sense if you have absolutely no knowledge of the games whatsoever, and likewise it explains things that had no explanation in the games themselves. They follow separate continuities (allegedly) but honestly I could fit them together pretty well. It did give me unrealistic hopes for the plot of Sister Location but I'll try not to go too off tangent.

Back to the book as a book, it's a fairly basic horror. The characters are slightly more fleshed out than they needed to be but they are by no means hugely compelling. They have their own personalities though and I did care for them so it managed to do that much. The villain is chilling, as are the animatronics. I will say that there's not much action to be found and that is slightly disappointing. If you want tons of deaths or varied attacks from the Freddy's crew, you're going to be let down. The main threat comes from the springlocks, which was threat enough for me but might not be what people are hoping for. Again, my sense of horror was linked so closely to my knowledge from the games that some of this might be lost if you've never played them. Then again, who is going to read this never having played the games?

Overall, The Silver Eyes is a decent if not groundbreaking book. I've heard complaints that it is too long but it seems a pretty standard length to me. I would definitely recommend it to add some depth to the lore of the games, and for anyone looking for an easy read. A part of me is genuinely excited to read the sequel so they must be doing something right!

Overall Score:

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Let me start this review by saying this is an extremely well-written book. I want to get that out there because honestly, it's hard for me to articulate what I thought of this book and I want to sing its praises before I seem too negative. All the characters in this book are so compelling and fleshed out and it's because of this that the emotions created are so strong. The author skates dangerously close to 'John Green' syndrome (pretentious characters that don't speak or act like real people) but skilfully manages to avoid it. I spent almost this entire book feeling like it should be irritating me and yet finding myself unable to put it down.

History is All You Left Me is the story of Griff, a gay teenager dealing with the sudden death of his ex-boyfriend and best friend Theo. It addresses his regret at initially ending the relationship when Theo went off to college, as well as his mixed feelings towards Theo's current boyfriend Jackson. This is utterly unlike any other book I have ever read plotwise and that certainly helped it a lot. It also has a very subversive plot compared to typical YA romance. While admittedly I did see most of the 'twists' coming, I probably wouldn't if I were the intended audience and I thought they were handled very cleverly. All the 'twists' were incredibly understated and woven very naturally into the narrative, so that even if I had found them surprising I would not have been rudely jerked out of the story. The fact remains that this book tells the kind of love story not often seen in YA fiction and it felt very mature and realistic because of it. I loved that Griff also got over his first love and had to cope with his guilt about that fact, despite being very close with Theo still.

Aaaaand now for the negatives. As much as I did enjoy this book, there were several elements that felt...off. I absolutely HATED (spoilered though you can guess from the back) the fact that Griff and Jackson slept together. It didn't really seem to fit in with the plot or characters and honestly, I think it's something the author had in mind from the start but didn't adapt once he actually started writing it. I also found it hard to identify with Griff a lot of the time. He just seemed to make bad decision after bad decision with no real self-awareness/attempt to rectify these bad decisions. Having said that, I did enjoy his character a lot. I think the only character that didn't seem all that well-developed was Wayne who was another of the slightly-off elements.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is commendable alone for the positive and varied portrayal of LGBT teens/relationships, but it is also so much more than that. A fascinating book and one I will not be forgetting in a hurry.

Overall Score:

The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood

I am having such luck with authors lately! After finding the joy that was Ruth Ware, I was skeptical about how good the next thriller I read would seem in comparison. Fortunately, I picked this beauty up.

The premise of this book is nothing special really. The story follows several different people living in an apartment building, one of which is a serial killer. What makes it special is the writing style and the sheer brilliance of the characters. Again, on the surface they don't seem unique-there's the runaway teen delinquent, the kindly old lady, the weird misfit, the perverted landlord and many more. But every character is well-developed and you genuinely become very invested in their lives and what's going to happen to them next.

This actually helps a lot with one of the book's main issues. It's told in third person but each chapter focuses on a different character. This definitely takes some getting used to (there are a LOT of characters) but the characters are genuinely all quite different and having a unique voice for each of them stops it being the train wreck it could have been otherwise. Apart from that minor hiccup, I couldn't fault the writing style. It was engaging, suspenseful and all without being melodramatic or cheesy. Hey, actual good villain POV chapters! That never happens!

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book, enough to immediately acquire everything else the author wrote. I consider this her best book for sure and it's the perfect example of how to do a thriller right. Definitely worth a read

Overall Score:

.5

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

It's hard for me to judge which I liked better, this book or In a Dark, Dark Wood. I bought this as soon as I finished the latter and it did not disappoint. This one certainly has a more complex plot but not necessarily in a bad way. I think I liked the main character more or at least, she seemed to be more developed and have more meat to her.

The premise of this book seems simple on the surface-a journalist gets sent on a super fancy cruise as part of her job, only to get sucked into a mystery when she thinks she hears a woman get thrown overboard. The reviews describe this as Agatha Christie-esque but honestly, it's really not. This is not your traditional murder mystery setup and it's much more like a modern thriller. However, this doesn't mean it isn't good,

I must admit, I was not quite as sucked into this book as In a Dark, Dark Wood. That need to finish it quickly wasn't quite as strong, although I still read it across two days. It slumps a little sooner than her previous work too, although slump here means 'was slightly less engaging and still really awesome'. However, the ending really is its saving grace. Again, I was unable to predict what was going to happen and the direction it takes is an intriguing and less obvious one. I loved the reasoning behind everything, even if maybe the second to last bit was a bit directionless.

Again, this is a really solid book from a very satisfying author. I definitely won't be forgetting it anytime soon and really, that's all I ask for from my thrillers. Definitely worth a read and it shouldn't disappoint.

Overall Rating:

.5

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

I have utterly fallen in love with this author. Admittedly, I picked up this book after reading a truly awful thriller so anything would have looked good after that. However, after reading more of her work I am convinced she is the real deal.

In a Dark, Dark Wood is a unique and compelling tale. The premise is a woman gets invited to a hen do in a secluded forest house by her old high school friend who she hasn't spoken to for 10 years. I can't really say anymore without ruining the plot but trust me, it's really good. What's more, it's actually very original. I couldn't tell where this was going at all but I was with it every step of the way, unable to put it down. I read it almost entirely in one sitting and finished it on the same day I started it.

The characters are another strong point of this book. They all seemed like real people and having the majority of them being well-written females was just another bonus. I felt for the main character without her needing to really say much about her pain at all. This is an author who appreciates show don't tell and I am so grateful for that.

My only gripe with it was that it got a little rocky about 3/4 of the way through. It didn't quite drag and it was still very good but it didn't hold my attention in quite the same way. This thankfully gets fixed by the climax and it does finish on a strong point. This is also a perfect example of having a complex and detailed solution without making the setup ridiculously convoluted or hard to follow.

Honestly, I really can't recommend this book or this author enough. In a genre flooded with books ranging from terrible to okay, this is one of the gems. Please please give it a try.

Overall Rating:

.5

Only the Truth by Adam Croft

I almost didn't finish this book. Seriously, that's how dull and uninteresting I found the plot. Not going to lie, the main problem of this book is its protagonist/narrator. It has been a long long time since I read about such a self-centered, stereotypically awful male protagonist. There are two female characters in this book and neither of them matter at all in terms of their character. For the most part, you are stuck listening to this whiny, self-pitying jerk narrate the really quite uneventful plot until the sweet release of the ending frees you.

Maybe it seems like I'm being too harsh. This book seems to be popular enough to be advertised to me on Amazon after all. I however can't find a single thing to say about it that's good. The plot sounds promising enough-the main character finds his wife's body in a hotel he's staying at and, in a fit of panic, runs away with his current lover who works there. But...it's just so bad. His wife is given zero personality and the protagonist mourns her very little. Even then, he only uses sentences like 'How can I possibly put into words how much I miss her?' without actually going on to attempt to tackle that challenge. The lover is slightly better but her character is tainted by constant physical descriptions of how slender and short she is, again seemingly the only thing the main character notices about her at all. She is however the only slightly interesting thing about the whole book which makes it even worse when SHE FREAKING DIES HALFWAY THROUGH.

That is the exact point I almost gave up. I basically skim read the rest of the book and I kid you not, it's just him going from one location to another with nothing worthwhile happening until the climax. Speaking of which, it's so painful. The lover turns out to be the one who killed his wife all along (of course, given that she's the ONLY OTHER CHARACTER) and she did it because...he's a jerk? The main character even acknowledges how little sense this makes, that's how bad it is.

Worst of all, the main character has learned precisely nothing by the end and escapes with no ramifications except a dead wife (we know just how much he cares about that). I actually agree wholeheartedly with the bad guy here and I'm not entirely sure I'm meant to. Aside from the fact she should have killed him rather than his wife, she was 100% right in my eyes. Ultimately, when you actively want the protagonist to suffer horribly, I don't consider that a great book.

Overall Rating:

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

You know, there's a common theme with modern thrillers that almost never ends well because it's been done to death. I am so sick of suspecting the main character or it turning out to have been the main character all along. You might ask then why I'd pick up a book so obviously intended to invoke the 'unreliable narrator' trope-good question. I do actually really enjoy the trope when it's done well. Unfortunately I'm not sure this is a shining example of that.

Sometimes I Lie actually starts off a lot better than I thought it would. Nothing special perhaps but the premise is intriguing enough and it fares better than most thrillers I've read lately. It starts off alternating chapters between present day and before the main character's accident and that's fine, but then flashbacks to her childhood diary also make an appearance and the whole thing gets a bit...crowded. I got fed up pretty quickly due to this but it actually turns out there is a very good reason for their inclusion and so I am more willing to accept them in hindsight.

The best word to describe this book is 'messy'. It has one genuinely good twist which surprised me and was kind of cool, but then it quickly descends into not making much sense. Then it tries to throw in more twists and there is far too much going on at the end which is unconnected to the main story or is too hard to follow. It's not complicated by any means, it's just not interesting enough to get me to focus enough to understand the poorly written reveals. The ending wasn't satisfying and I couldn't help but stop caring at that point. Also, as often happens with these books, the husband might as well have not existed. He had about as much personality as a sheet of paper and had even less influence on the plot.

Overall, this is one thriller that has some interesting potential but manages to ruin it in its attempts to be clever. Not a bad read by any means but hardly a standout in its genre.

Overall Rating:

.5

After the Cure by Deirdre Gould

Is it better to kill your family but you're not in control or kill strangers but have it be your choice?

This is just one of the many interesting questions this book raises. The second I read the blurb, I was hooked on the possibility of where this idea could lead. The premise behind the book is actually really simple-we've cured the zombie apocalypse. It's such an obvious idea and yet I have never read or seen anything which considers it. I was worried this would be one of those books with such a great premise that the actual content could never live up to it. Thankfully, I was plesantly surprised.

Now let me be clear, this book does not fully utilise the great idea behind it. To be honest, I don't think any book could. The main plot suffers a little bit from being too vague and ultimately disappointing, but the two central characters make up for it by being fully-fledged and quite compelling. They represent two sides of the apocalypse-those who were cured and must live with the knowledge of the terrible deeds they did, and those who were immune and...must live with the knowledge of the terrible deeds they did. Again, this could have been explored more but then the plot itself would have been even less focused. There are sequels to this book which may explore things further. However, this book felt quite complete on its own and I'm not sure about seeking them out personally.

Like I said, the main flaw of this is a lack of clarity. Without crossing too much into spoiler territory, the main villain maybe dies at the end. I say maybe because they kind of just stop being mentioned. A side villain (again, this doesn't give much away due to the changing nature of the plot) gets every second of their demise described quite clearly but I think we're just supposed to assume the main character dies at the same time. It's really jarring and probably my least favourite thing about the whole book. It's a little like forgetting to give Voldemort a conclusion.

The plot is the weakest element but on the whole, this is still a really strong story. It managed to do the near-impossible and not make me wish I'd thought of an idea first so I could write it how I wanted to. This was already pretty close to the stuff I would have included. Definitely a must-read if you like stories about morality (and zombies)

Overall Score: