Tag: friendship

YA

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Vampire Academy #1

vampire academy -richelle meadONLY A TRUE BEST FRIEND CAN PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR IMMORTAL ENEMIES…

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires – the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger… and the Strigoi are always close by.

Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever…

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Okay, I will admit that I broke my golden rule for this book….I watched the movie version before reading the book. I know. That’s awful, isn’t it? But the plot of the movie (which I had hoped stayed true to the book) intrigued me deeply. After the whole bang that Twilight created, vampire novels just seemed to pop up everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE.

So this is why it took me so long to finally read this series. It’s not like I haven’t seen it around before. I just was never interested in starting. How many more ways can these vampire books be different from each other? It’s hard not to compare them to “rip-offs” of Twilight-esque themes.

I was wrong. This book proved it to me. There are still so many creative things to add onto the vampire mythology that’s already out there. Richelle Mead did not disappoint.

Our protagonist, Rose, is a fireball. Man, I love her. She has a voice that’s so strong and clear, it’s almost like I can see her standing there in front of me. She has no restrictions when it comes to those she cares about. She’s not one of those weak and shy heroines at all. Her strength (and recklessness) is balanced throughout the novel with the frailty of her best friend, Lissa. I liked her too, as she had her own character that was special. She wasn’t as unique or original as Rose was, reminiscent of Disney princesses at first with their love of animals and always-kind attitude, but there were different sides of her that showed as the story progressed.

As for romance, the chemistry between Rose and her mentor were there. Obviously I’m glad it’s not just a hormonal-fueled relationship going on, as the two of them really connect on an emotional level as well. Let’s just say I can’t wait to see how things go with those two.

Overall, this story had turns I did not expect, especially nearer to the ending. I must say that watching the movie spoiled it for me, but I was surprised when I found out there, so I’m pretty sure I would’ve been doubly surprised with the book since I would have spent more time with the characters by reading about them instead. It still lowered my rating a bit (I did know what was going to happen after all), otherwise it may have landed 4 stars. It’s still a great start to a brand new series. I will look forward to reading the rest.

Overall Recommendation:
Vampire fans (and vampire haters)! Don’t overlook this book like I had for so long. Just because there are so many out there, I do understand vampires can get tiring, but this one is an exception. Richelle Mead created a brand new world of vampire lore, set in a school of teenage vampires that do the craziest things sometimes. How much more fun can it get? Danger, romance, backstabbing(!), it has it all. A great start to a series, I suggest you give this one at least a try before deciding if the series is worth it or not to read.

YA

Review: Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

since you've been gone -morgan matsonIt was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um…

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane’s list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait…what?

4.5 Drink Me Potions

I enjoyed this book a little more than I anticipated. As I kept reading, my rating went up a little more. Yes, Since You’ve Been Gone was rather a long read, and occasionally felt drawn out. There is a chapter titled for every item on the list that Emily wanted to complete to find her missing best friend, Sloane. However, I was kind of glad seeing that there was a whole chapter for each one, as it produced a progression for the summer in how Emily came to find herself.

Character development was one of my favourite things. Emily started off panicky, shy and alone as she found herself best-friend-less at the beginning of the summer. It’s understandable, especially if you have a shy friend like that. But slowly, with each item she crossed off the list, they challenged our protagonist to come out of her scared shell and for once, BE BRAVE. She had to face her fears for many of them. Like come on, she has a fear of horses but has to ride one. If I had to face my worst fear…..my goodness, it would not turn out as well.

I also liked the minor characters, like the friends Emily makes over the span of the summer as she goes through the list. They each had a personality that didn’t make them just mundane pieces to surround her with. This included her family as well. Her erratic playwright parents and adrenaline-junkie little brother were fun sides to the story, although they may not have directly impacted the central plot: follow list, finish list, find Sloane.

I’ll admit, I had hoped for more romance between Emily and Frank for more of the story. He’s had a long-time girlfriend for most of the story, which made it somewhat more bearable to wait. But if you’re looking for an amazing romance here, this is NOT the book for you, I’m sorry. I appreciated their growing friendship and under-the-surface feelings that gradually came. It wasn’t just physical chemistry between them. They were good friends too, and I like a relationship that’s based on more than just attraction between 2 people that may have nothing in common.

As for Sloane, I was very satisfied with the ending. For most of the book, I couldn’t understand why she left, or where she could’ve gone that would inhibit her from responding to Emily’s texts/calls. Hello, 21st century here. It’s not as hard to communicate with people over long distances. But I came to see her point of things and the ending left me with an emotional taste of their friendship that wasn’t just seen in Emily’s flashbacks. I surprisingly actually liked her by the end. Hoorah! She’s not a villain!

Overall Recommendation:
A mix of a fun and emotional read, Since You’ve Been Gone is a wonderful story on best friends and finding new friendships. With memorable characters and a protagonist with strong development over the course of the book, I swear, you’ll have a lot of fun following Emily and her friends as they complete the list. What an epic summer! Oh, and a bit of underlying romance thrown into there as well. It’s a complete package!

YA

Review: #scandal by Sarah Ockler

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

#scandal -sarah ocklerLucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love…

4 Drink Me Potions

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started #scandal. I have read some of Sarah Ockler’s previous works, and I can see some of her unique writing styles in this one too. Has anyone else ever wondered why she gets the protagonist to narrate what an animal/pet in the story might be thinking in certain situations? Beats me.

Anyway, this story surprised me, though I’m starting to think that’s the trend with Ockler’s books. It may seem like just another romance story, with the big “OOPS, I broke the unspoken rule of never going after a best friend’s ex” kind of theme. Reminded me in areas of The Unwritten Rule. However, she always turns the story into something more than just melodrama. It looked into cyberbullying, a very real threat in this present day and age of social media. The anonymity of the internet provides an outlet for people to say and do things that would deter them if they had to do it face-to-face. It was interesting, and of course, sad to see how Lucy, our protagonist, would deal with it.

Although I was looking forward to a fun, light read, #scandal still had its merits.
1) There was the underlying intrigue throughout the story of who ACTUALLY posted up the incriminating picture(s) and got Lucy into trouble. Who that turned out to be may or may not be so obvious to you, unless you’ve read/watched as many mystery plots as I have.
2) The relationship and sideplot of Lucy’s famous (albeit scandalous) older sister was an interesting look into family relations. You don’t have to like the sister, but she felt real and her character does develop over time.
3) The new friends that appear out of this darkness are all different, quirky and unique. A cute French Canadian dude who follows Lucy with a cute puppy-dog kind of love? A not-so-bad stoner known as 420? A crazy group of anti-vanity social media (ie. Facebook/Twitter) led by a leader in a wheelchair? Man, what a variety of characters! Not to mention, our own protagonist is an ass-kicking warrior/princess/mystery girl—that is, if you’re a zombie on her game.

I do wish that there were more Cole-Lucy moments. The story could have centred on them a bit more. I know (hypothetically, in their world) it made sense to lay low in the public eye from each other, but in MY world, come on! I was waiting to see him pop up whenever he could, though there were not enough dreamy moments with just him. Le sigh.

Overall Recommendation:
#scandal is many things all at once. A sweet forbidden romance at one moment, and a pulsing anger of betrayal in the next. From friendships forming to cyberbullying (and physical bullying) from the school population, this book covers it all. So I hope you jump into this knowing that it is way more than what it first appears to be. Reminiscent of The Unwritten Rule, it considers the consequences of being in love with your best friend’s guy, and finally standing up for yourself.