The Bursting Bookshelf

Happily ever after is a thing of the past. 

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless. 

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more. 

Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become . . . 

The Last Princess.

Review:
The premise of this book really drew me in upon reading the summary, and the cover added to my need to read the book. Both parts were huge factors in why I read this book, even though I had heard nothing about it, good or bad. That said, I had fairly high expectations of this book that, unfortunately, were not delivered upon.

Cover-wise, this book hit the right notes. I absolutely adore the colors used in the sky behind the model, they ranged from blue to pink with some great purple tones in there too. When you look away from the gorgeous sky, you can see the city below in ruins, showing that there had been some apocalyptic event recently because the city looks as though it had seen better days. Moving past the sky and the landscape, there's the cover model, who, too, looks like she's seen better days. Though you cannot see her face, her body language says that she has been through a lot, but is still willing to fight on. The cover came together with the cool, futuristic font used on the author and title, giving the entire thing a dystopian feel.

The characters didn't have exact faults, but they were all around bland. The main character, Eliza, didn't come off as the strong female protagonist that would have suited this story better. Instead she was a diluted pampered princess, fitting to her title, but not the rest of the story. There was nothing directly annoying about her, but the fact she was simply boring. The secondary characters were just as bland; not as developed as I had hoped they would be. The relationships were just as uninteresting for the most part, except that between the antagonist, Hollister, and Eliza. Their dynamic was interesting because he wasn't the stereotypical villain. He didn't hate Eliza in particular, he simply hated the idea of royalty being in power, and eliminating her was the easiest way to get to be where he wanted to be.

The writing was where the true problem with this book was. It was written much too simply for my tastes. There was no style to the writing, it was all very dry and without much personality, without much to build relationships with the characters. It was the staleness of the writing that was truly what brought the book down for me. It didn't allow the characters to grow, it prevented the plot from picking up to a faster speed and it just made the read slow. As I mentioned before, the plot was slightly sluggish, never quite getting to a desirable speed before the ending. The ending was fairly conclusive, though I'm not sure how the sequel (mentioned in the author description in the flap of the hardcover) will fit into the story; it seemed to wind up fairly nicely.

I really wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did, but I just didn't feel that it delivered on the amazing premise. I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a light, dystopian, beach read. I give The Last Princess a 2.5/5.

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. 

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

Review:
A cure for death; that was the main premise behind this book. Having never read a book on this topic, I was eager to read it from the start. To add to my eagerness, I had also heard a ton of great things about Cat Patrick's books, so my expectations were fairly high. Luckily, I enjoyed this book quite a bit!

The cover is very different from many covers out there. It had a shade of blue-green that was lighter than the overused black that many YA covers use. It's color sets it apart, and the cover model makes it even more unique, bringing another dimension to it by using the thin, tissue paper-like substance to rip through. This could symbolize so much from the book, whether it was Daisy realizing the unfairness of her being able to come back from death while others died everyday, or how she could lead a normal life even though everyone around her said that she couldn't. The font was very modern looking, bringing a high tech feel to the cover, embodying the feel of the book nicely.

Daisy was my favorite character of this book; she was closed in her own little world at the beginning, but as the book progressed she became more aware of her situation. She realized that death wasn't a normal thing to most people; she could beat it, but others were affected by it dramatically. This growth of character was amazing, she changed her entire personality, bettering herself within the span of the book. Then there were the secondary characters. I really loved Audrey for how honest and nice she was. She became a fast friend for Daisy, not judging her on her secrecy or her crush on her brother, Matt. Matt was fairly interesting, he also helped Daisy grow into the person she was at the end of the book and he was a pretty good love interest.

The one thing that I didn't enjoy about this book was how it was paced. At times it moved very fast, maybe too fast, then it would slow down to a crawl, not holding my attention very well. It was this inconsistency that was the one flaw that held the book back from it's full potential. Apart from the pacing, the story was fairly interesting. The premise was that there was a drug that was being tested on a group of individuals to bring them back to life time after time. I found it to be fairly well delivered upon with a very easy to visualize style of writing to back it up. The writing was some of the best I've seen in a while, it had a style to it that was what kept me reading when the pacing lulled.

I cannot wait to read another one of Cat Patrick's books in the future after really enjoying this one. I loved the fact it was a stand alone book, it ended nicely while still leaving some up to the reader. I'd recommend this book to a person looking for a book set in modern time with a death defying twist. I give Revived a 4/5.

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.

Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

Review:
I hadn't read anything else by Jackson Pearce when I received this book, but I have been wanting to for a while, and I thought this would be a good place to start. I had high expectations going into this book due to what I had heard about about Jackson Pearce's writing. I'm glad to say I did quite enjoy this book, despite how short it was.

The cover was very symbolic of the situation Shelby was in. It had a lock on a chain, undone, but still on the chain. The lock symbolized the promises Shelby had made to her mother right before she died, Shelby wanted to find a way out of it without disappointing her family. Shelby was symbolized by the chain, the lock was still hanging on the chain, even if it wasn't locked. Apart from the symbolism, there was also the gorgeous blue that was the background behind the chain. I loved how the title font was worked into the lock; it brought the simple cover together nicely.

Shelby was mostly enjoyable, but I had trouble understanding why she was so hell-bent on keeping the promises. I understand that she felt like she had to because it was one of the last things she said to her mother, but she didn't ever really consider talking to her dad or any not extreme alternatives. I didn't agree with the extremes she went to to release herself from the promises she would have to break otherwise. The other characters were fun and light; they filled out the story nicely without stealing too much of the spotlight in this short novel.

The plot was quick and to the point. The book was short, but that wasn't degrading to the plot in any way, if anything, it kept it on track. There was very little downtime in the plot, which was good because the story got straight to the point. The writing was great- just as good as the hype surrounding it said. It had a style that was very accurate to how a teenager might view the world and how life can go on even when you've lost a big part of it. The whole story wrapped up nicely, tying up the story with a good ending that didn't give the reader too much, but didn't leave them with too little.

All and all, I really did enjoy this book; it had it's highs and it's lows whilst still being enjoyable for the reader. I'd recommend this book to fans of Jackson Pearce who also want a bit of contemporary thrown into the mix of her usual paranormal books. I give Purity a 4/5.

No parents. No rules. No way home. 
Fourteen-year-old Bonnie MacDonald couldn't be more excited for a camping trip on an island off the coast of Thailand with her fellow Amelia Earhart Cadets-the daughters of the men and women stationed there during the Vietnam War. But when a strong current deposits the girls on what their boatman calls the "forbidden island," things take a turn for the worse: A powerful storm comes to destroy their campsite, the smallest of the junior cadets is found dead, and their boatman never returns. What once seemed like a vacation in paradise has become a battle against the elements. 
Peppered with short, frantic entries from Bonnie's journal, Lost Girls is a page-turning, heart-pounding adventure story about a group of teen girls fighting for their lives.

Review:
I saw this book's cover and read the synopsis in the publisher's catalog and immediately wanted to read it. The premise was similar to many books before it, but it was very well delivered on this time around. What caught my attention was the foreign setting and as well as the element of history within. Altogether, it was a winning formula.

Purple: my favorite color. I love how gritty the cover looks, it shows the massive amounts of rain the was received on the island the characters were stranded on. You couldn't quite see the cover model's face, not giving the reader any idea of what she might look like, leaving the reader to imagine what she looks like. You can also see that it was a tropical location by the palm trees in the back, they also showed the immensity of the storm's winds. The font brought the entire thing together by looking very military and old.

There was only one character I didn't like: Bonnie. You're probably thinking 'But she's the main character!'. I didn't overall hate her, but I just didn't like how indecisive she could be over very simple matters. Whether it was her feelings about another character or something even more trivial, she just couldn't seem to make her mind up on anything. I really enjoyed Mrs. Campbell because of how she was able to make me feel angry towards her due to how well written she was. Not many characters can illicit such strong feelings from me, but she was written just so, making her a character who was drowning in her own troubles and was suddenly expected to ensure the survival of a bunch of young girls.

Grittiness was a big feature in the writing of Lost Girls. Having that gritty feel in the writing was essential for the story because of it's setting on the island without any of the amenities of home (running water, bathrooms, electricity, etc.). The short journal entries were a good add in for the writing; not too long that they got boring, but not short to be pointless. I found the setting of the island to be fairly realistic (to the extent of my knowledge, at least) with the frequent tropical storms and lush jungles. It made for an entertaining setting, providing unforeseeable challenges for the girls stranded. The plot was well rounded and it didn't leave with a huge cliffhanger or leave many strings loose. It got to the point fairly quickly and demanded my attention the entire way.

The end was a good one, it rounded things off where there will not be a sequel. This was a novel with few flaws, I'd recommend it to people looking for something original or to fans of survival books. I give Lost Girls a 4/5.

Review:
Ever since reading The Lightening Thief a year and a bit ago, I fell in love with Rick Riordan's writing. Fast forward to now and six books later, you have The Son of Neptune, a continuation of the successful Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus Series. Going into it, I was very excited about the new book, and I can say that I was even more excited about it coming out.

The cover was a very interesting one, as all of Rick Riordan's middle grade covers are. It is under the same theme as The Lost Hero, with the illustrated cover that comes into play with the story. That is one of my favourite moments of reading a book, realizing connections that the author and publisher has left for the reader. Another aspect of this cover that I love is that it helps you better picture a key scene in the book towards the end. Also, the font for the title is very cool looking.

This book introduces the reader to a new batch of characters, different from those in The Lost Hero and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series with the exception of Percy and one or two other minor characters (to avoid spoilers I won't say names). I really enjoyed the return of Percy, getting to see a different side of him than before, one without his Greek friends to help him. As for Hazel and Frank, I really loved the wit they brought to the book along with the struggles and back-stories, unlike anything else in the series.

The best part of this book had to be the writing. The writing of this book brought Rick Riordan's gift with wit and humour to even the darkest of times, making every moment memorable and great, it also worked to keep the reader's imagination running with connections to everyday things as well as Greek and Roman mythology. The story was good, but it did have a few slower parts throughout, mainly when more explanation was given about the Roman aspect of the book. As for explanations about the two camps, I thought it was fairly well explained and understandable for the reader about how the two could exist without the other's realization, creating a seamless transition to the new set of gods and goddesses.

Overall, I give The Son of Neptune a 4/5 for being a great sequel with few flaws, setting up for a great third book. I would reccomend this book to any fan of Rick Riordan's or a fan of humour and Greek mythology.