#Ten Mini Reviews #10 ♥ Immaculate, Written In The Stars, Nowhere but Here & more.

Immaculate
Katelyn Detweiler

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Personal Kindle Purchase
Thoughts: Yesterday was my birthday so I was unable to post, so I thought of doing it today. 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. Immaculate has been one of my highest anticipated reads this year. This the retelling of The Virgin Mary. Mina is seventeen, a virgin, and now she is pregnant. Her pregnancy would be a miracle, I thought the concept was fantastic. I haven't read any retellings of this premise before. This is a compelling novel that grips you to the end, I also love how this book questions "Why do you need a carrier(a human) to give birth to a God?" I'm not Christian, so I don't believe Jesus is a God, he's a prophet in my religion, born as a human being from another human being. I like how religion takes a backseat here, it's not a religious novel because Mina isn't religious. She's a fantastic heroine, she's courageous and she is brave. Her boyfriend Nate is a douche bag, I wasn't the biggest fan of Mina's friend Izzy either. The novel also explores bullying, desperation, and religious extremists. Furthermore, I'm not sure I understood what the point of the pregnancy is in the end, I understand it's shown as God's miracle. It shows the desperation of the heroine where no one believes her, whereas Mary might have felt the same. It's a beautiful novel overall.

Written In The Stars
Aisha Saeed

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source:  Gifted
Thoughts: Written In The Stars is about force marriages in culture. The novel explores Pakistani culture - I'm Pakistani myself so I was quite happy to read this novel. The cover is gorgeous though, I'm probably the minority with this rating, but allow me to explain why. Naila is in love with Saif, she is caught with him by her parents - her conservative family doesn't approve of love marriages, so of course they're angry at Naila's choices. A few weeks later, the parents then decide to make a trip to Pakistan telling Naila that she will explore the Pakistani culture. That should ring automatic bells of a force marriage. If you're Pakistani, Indian, or even Middle Eastern - you SHOULD know the double meaning when some parents mention a trip to their country after the girl is caught with her partner. I'm shocked how Naila, nor Saif aren't aware of this - this isn't realistic, they're seventeen years old, almost every Pakistani, Indian, and even Middle Eastern know this. Moving on, I thought this was overall a good novel about force marriages in some culture. Let me clear that, there's a difference between an arrange and love marriage. The author makes it clear that force marriages happen in almost every culture, and religion is not to blame. Religion is a sub-genre in this book, as Naila isn't religious but she is traditional. I also adored the romance between Naila and Saif, I was rooting for them all the way! I felt Naila's pain throughout the novel. I do feel this book was more fast paced, I wish it would have kept a moderate pace. Otherwise, overall this is an eye opener for sure, and it's great there is more diversity in young adult now. This would appeal much more to non-Pakistani's more. Recommended for fans of Bend it Like Beckham, and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

A Good Killing
Allison Leotta

Genre: Thriller, Adult
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Review copy was sent free of charge via Touchstone Books.
Thoughts: A Good Killing is a thriller about two sisters. Anna Curtis is a sex-crime prosecutor, she finds out that her sister has been arrested for the murder of a football coach. Her sister Judy becomes a prime suspect because of her close relationship with the coach Owen. Anna becomes a defense lawyer to help her sister and bring her justice. The novel is told from third perspective, plus the first perspective of Judy with flashbacks. This is a well written novel, and I do love a good thriller. This novel also explores female friendships and a sisterly bond. I wasn't the biggest fan of Anna's romance with her former fiance Jack, it felt dull. The story is quick, yet suspenseful at the same time. This is part of Anna's series, but it can be read as a standalone novel as well, although some questions did arise since I haven't read the previous books. It would have been better if the beginning summarized what had happened in the previous books, a backup story would have worked better, otherwise this is a good thriller.

Nowhere But Here
Katie Mcgarry

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Personal Kindle Purchase
Thoughts: Well, hello to the second worst novel this year, of course the first would be The Heir. I'm not sure where the author is going with this book, a biker romance in young adult? A GOOD biker gang who aren't corrupted? Yeah, okay. If you're corrupted, own it. I was quite eager to read this novel, but I quite frankly hated this book. The hero, heroine, the parents are just disastrous. Emily is a boring character, she's like a damsel in distress, an "innocent" heroine who needs rescuing. This seems to be a recurring theme in the author's book which is fine, but this book was a disappointment. I loved the author's Crash Into You though. Oz is arrogant, and I didn't like him at all. Emily is the good girl who goes to visit her grandmother's funeral, her married has remarried and the biological father has no contact with Emily. This book is just filled with stupid schemes and plot where everyone is trying to control Emily, and she just goes along with it. There is slut-shaming here, and I didn't like how the heroine met the hero either, they actually collide. How unoriginal. I can't think of one positive thing about this novel. I actually gave up by the end of the novel, I didn't care for the ending. This is actually a half star for me, but since it's Katie, I'll give it one star for the attempt of a biker gang in young adult. 

Daughter of Deep Silence
Carrie Ryan

Genre: Contemporary YA, Thriller
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Personal Kindle Purchase
Thoughts: Well, the cover is gorgeous, so kudos to the designer, but it is misleading since Daughter of Deep Silence is about vengeance and love. I also adore the title of this book. Frances has lost her parent's on the cruise ship Persephone, they're dead.The reason being is that the senator and his son Grey who also happens to be Frances love cause the ship to be under attack and killed everyone, now they're keeping the reality under the surface. Now, Frances decides to take revenge.. It was interesting to see the motivation for revenge were her family. The concept of revenge is fantastic, although, sometimes it can be quite immature when the better option would be going to the police. Frances is barely fourteen years old, I wish she was more wiser when she had made the decision about revenge - she does seem a bit unstable at time but she's going through a traumatic experience so I can understand. Regardless, this is a compelling and an addicting novel. The heroine is vulnerable but at the same time she is determined. I haven't read a good revenge thriller lately with much focus on an actual good plot instead of the romance so this was a refreshing effort. The romance was swoon worthy as well, overall this was a great thriller in young adult. The ending is open, but I believe this is a standalone novel. Recommended for fans of Black Iris, Dangerous Girls, and The Book of Ivy.

The Distance Between Us
Kasie West

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Personal Physical Purchase
Thoughts: Contemporary is one of my favorite genres, and it's awesome when you can find a book that you love. I wasn't the biggest fan of Kasie West's work before, but now I adore her writing. I loved this novel, there's nothing about it that I actually disliked. Caymen Meyers works in her mother's doll store, and she wants to take care of her mother's store and stay out of college for 1-2 years. Her family is poor, and they have ignorance about the rich. Xander Spence is wealthy, and he stops by Caymen's store to pick up a doll for his grandmother. He leaves an awful impression on Caymen and soon a love hate relationship begins. I adored the characters and the romance, Caymen is snarky and quite sarcastic. Her dry humor made me laugh till the very ed. I love how Kasie's books are squeak clean, readers are eagerly waiting for the couple to unite in the end. I would probably read anything by this author now. It's amazing how she can balance romance, family, and an actual wonderful plot and weave them together. This will be added to my favorites now, a beautiful book overall. JUST READ IT ALREADY. Recommended for fans of The Fill In Boyfriend.

Left Drowning
Jessica Park

Genre: New Adult
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Review Copy was sent free of charge via Amazon Publishing.
Thoughts: Left Drowning has such a gorgeous cover, it's the first thing I notice about this novel plus it goes along with the title. Blythe McGuire is struggling with alcohol addiction and her parents death, her brother blames Blythe for her parent's death when it was just an accident. Blythe is almost one step away from overdosing when things begin to change.. This is a new adult novel, so typically the hero Chris comes to rescue and shows her a new insight on life. I liked the novel until 20%, I even liked how Chris and Blythe met as well, they were skipping rocks which was adorable, but then the novel just went downhill. It was quite disappointing to see another love story with angst, that is quite annoying. Chris is annoying, and Blythe becomes desperate as well. The characters are quite frustrating and ultimately unlikable. They make up, they break up, then they make up and it just continues.. There's nothing different, and the book disappoints quite a lot. l I'm surprised I even finished this book, it did have potential to be good but it fell short.

Every Last Word
Tamara Ireland Stone

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: DRC was sent free of charge via Netgalley.
Thoughts: Well, hello to diversity in young adult books. Samantha McAllister is one of the popular girls at her high school, but she has a secret. She has Purely Obsessive Disorder, OCD. She is constantly surrounded by dark thoughts, soon she finds comfort in a poetry club where she meets Caroline and Garret. Sam is an interesting heroine, and we can see her struggles with OCD throughout the book. I do wish this book was more darker YA though especially since it has such a strong theme of OCD. The writing doesn't tackle the theme and mindset of OCD as it should have which was disappointing. The first half was much better than the second half, I still enjoyed reading this novel. I feel the mental awareness aspect took  a backseat, while the friendship with Caroline and the romance were the main focuses. The twist was interesting, but I don't believe it should have been there, it fell flat for me. The romance between Sam and the male love interest was adorable especially since the male lead has some flaws of his own. It's a coming of age novel and it is inspiring. It has it flaws, but it's a beautiful and thought-provoking read overall.

Between The Lines
Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: Borrowed from the library
Thoughts: The cover is quite catchy, but what caught my attention the most was the premise. It's actually brilliant. Fairy tale characters coming to real life. Since humans are three-dimensional, we're unable to communicate with two dimensional items such as objects, and books. Imagine if we could though. Delilah is obsessed with fairy tales but especially one fairy tale in particular, and she adores the Prince Oliver. The prince can communicate with Delilah through the book one day, how amazing does that sound? The premise was so unique, yet the plot wasn't executed as well. The first 30% of the novel was quite strong, I felt it would be one of my favorite novels but then it just went downhill. It's a shame the plot couldn't be executed well when I'm a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's work. The writing has enjoyable, especially the humor and the pictures in the story. The book has a story within a story. They're are two different stories, the actual fairy tale and Delilah's and Oliver's. I do believe this novel had plenty of potential to be a masterpiece though, but it fell a little too short for my liking.

The Cost of All Things
Maggie Lehrman

Genre: Contemporary YA
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Goodreads
Source: DRC was sent free of charge via Edelweiss.
Thoughts: Aris' boyfriend dies, so she gets help to cast a spell on herself to forget the memories of her boyfriend. The spells can be costly though, they have unhealthy side effects. Her reasons can be selfish, but I can understand because the pain of a loved one's death can be unbearable. Now, Ari is carrying a dark secret whereas everyone around is struggling with Win's death. The premise has a wonderful concept, magical realism is quite underrated in novels. Honestly, it's a shame when the premise of the novel is so fantastic, yet the plot isn't executed well. It just makes me scream! This book has too many characters to keep up with. There are many different perspectives, why though? I didn't like any of the characters, and they all fell flat for me. The characters were all dull, I thought the boyfriend Win was the most decent. Ari was quite immature, and so was almost every teenager in this novel. I didn't even care what happened afterwards, I gave up on this novel towards the end. 

Thank you for reading this! Have an amazing month of June - 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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