Mini Reviews #9 ♥ Tiny Pretty Things, Killer Within, Black Iris & more.

Tiny Pretty Things
Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles| Goodreads 

Source: e-ARC was sent free of charge via Edelweiss. 
My Thoughts: So many books to review, so little time. I shall be doing mini reviews today of hyped books & upcoming releases, mini reviews are getting pretty popular these days so here's to hoping we find some gems in stones. Tiny Pretty Things has such a beautiful cover, I love the cursive writing and the color usage used. It truly shows an amazing font can be sufficient enough for the cover. Furthermore, it's a realistic novel about girl on girl hate in ballet - the story revolved around three characters Gigi, Bette and June who are students at an exclusive Manhattan Ballet School. Gigi is the innocent victim, Bette is the mean girl, and June is a follower who's misguided. Now, Bette and June are capable of backstabbing each other in order to get what they want. The book has diverse characters from many ethnic groups as well. The novel acknowledges the dark side of females where they rip each apart - I have actually studied about this topic, and I'm glad there's an actual book that sheds some light on the issue. Now, I admire female friendships, but cattiness still exists in reality especially in professional settings. Tiny Pretty Things takes an extreme form of bullying though - the ending was just saddening, this would have worked better as a standalone novel though. I couldn't put this book down, the writing is compelling and you do get to know more about the characters and the reasoning behind their choices. The great thing about the novel is most of the girls are catty, but you do see character growth in some, it's better to go open minded in this novel. Recommended for fans of Black Swan.

Killer Within
S.E Green
Genre: Thriller, YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Review Copy was sent free of charge via Kaye Publicity. Thank you Julia.
Thoughts: Killer Within is the sequel for Killer Instinct which I had previously reviewed. I liked the second installment so much better, although, it could have used a better cover. Lane is in a internal battle with her desire to kill and her family conflict. Should she be the good daughter and good sister, or act out on her urges? Now, she only hunts down serial killers. It's great that the author has mentioned why she gets these tendencies now, the background information in between was intriguing to know. There is a crazy fan of Lane a.k.a The Masked Warrior, now the fan is re-creating Lane's work.. but they're targeting innocent people. Now, the police are in the hunt for the replica creator which means Lane is in troubled too. I couldn't guess who the copycat was, I accused almost everyone mentioned except Justin, Lane's little brother. Ultimately, my main guess was wrong although, I wish the ending had a more stronger impact. Killer Instinct which had such a good ending though. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the sequel beginning to the end, the series is promising and I do look forward to reading the third installment. Recommended for fans of Killer Instinct, I Hunt Killers, and Normal.


Black Iris
Leah Raeder

Genre: New Adult, Suspense
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: e-ARC was sent free of charge via Netgalley.
Thoughts: Unpopular opinion time.. I'm the black sheep so brace yourself for the impact. Well, the cover is gorgeous - I've read the author's previous book Unteachable, it was a decent read and I'm not the biggest fan of the author. Black Iris is about an anti-heroine name Laney who is fifty shades of messed up. There are rumours about her, and she is now set to prove how the rumours are actually true. What bothers me the most is how the books have very little plot and lengthy pages of steamy scenes. This isn't really a love story, it's a more dark and intense read. It does have lesbian romance so kudos to the author for showing diversity. Leah's writing is beautiful though, it's lyrical and quite atmospheric although, I do feel no one's eyes aren't speckled with embers or something unless it's a fantasy novel. I love that the author's challenges stereotypes, she questions double standards and misogyny. She creates flawed characters who have a certain darkness to them. Black Iris didn't work for me, because I didn't get a sense of an actual story until the last 15% of the novel, before it's just smash smash.. It surprises me how people are offended by sexist remarks, but there is a sly racist remark in this novel which no one really caught on about Middle Easterners, way to make them look evil. The book never truly apologized about it and that's what offends me actually.. That's enough to make me put down a novel, I can handle one-two subtle sexist comments, but racism is something I hate even more, I did however finish this novel even though I wanted to DNF it. The MC is flawed which is alright, but then she almost seems psychotic. Her choices are rather strange yet she's sending out the message, "don't judge me." Of course people will judge you when you're on the path towards self-destruction! There is just too much drug usage/addiction with no bad outcomes, I'm surprised the heroine is still alive. I feel the book is giving a wrong message and is saying if you have a messed up life, it's okay to abuse addiction, drugs and alcohol. Laney is trying to justify her choices by claiming to be a "normal" teenager. Honestly, this generalizes all teenagers. Most teenagers don't fool around, they might party once in a while but many are not addicted to sex, booze. and drugs. If you're a party monster, than that probably that does not make you normal. Most teenagers aren't diagnosed with bipolar disorder nor or they suicidal. There are other ways to deal with your problems to to you know? Yoga helps. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending either, it just sounded cliche, sometimes cliche works but it didn't in this case. I was a bit hesitant to share my review since all my blogging buddies have enjoyed this novel, and I'm sure many others will enjoy this too but it's just too complex for my taste. Recommended for fans of Unteachable. 

A School For Unusual Girls
Kathleen Baldwin

Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Review copy was sent free of charge via Tor Teen. Thank you Alexis.
My Thoughts: Stranje House is a school for Unusual Girls. The school was created for the daughters of the Beau mode who no longer fit against the society's standards. They are enrolled to becoming more suitable ladies for marriage. The premise is fantastic and quite original actually. Georgiana Fitzwilliam is the heroine, she accidentally sets her father's house on fire and she is sent to Stranje House. However, Georgie is too strong minded and she doesn't want to marry, she plans to escape until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt, now they work together for a secret mission. Well, the concept of the novel sounded fantastic - I did enjoy this novel for the most part although, the first half is quite slow and it's hard to read in one setting. The first two chapters were easy to get into, but then it was slow.. The second half was executed well, and you do receive a genuine plot. The romance was adorable and some parts were almost hilarious, but it almost felt insta love which I'm not fond of. The historical fiction woven into a suspenseful type novel was intriguing enough, although some parts in the book were quite boring and I did skim here and there. Recommended for fans of The Winner's Curse.

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & drop by :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron 

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