Review For Amy and Roger's Epic Detour!

Amy And Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

I picked this book up from the library a few weeks ago and by the end of the night I had already finished. It is pure perfect escapism. A fellow blogger and reader had been talking about this so when I saw it I had to pick it up (She has very good taste!) Also the cover is so inviting and makes it look like a fun, sweet book that is worth a read.

The story itself is quite simple. Amy is moving house and has to drive her car from California to the East Coast. To save Amy from driving (plot point issue) her mother enlists the help of Roger, a boy she hasn't seen since childhood and who she doesn't really remember. 4 days stuck in a car with a complete stranger. Amy is in hell. 

But what follows is a funny, sweet, charming and at times heart breaking book that lets you know that it's okay to let go of the bad things in life to enjoy the good. 

What's so great about this story is it's broken up with mementos from the trip from receipts to menus to Roger's playlist for all the places they go. It makes the book feel even more real like this is a diary rather than a fictional story. 

As for the characters themselves they become your travel buddies and you really become invested in the story actually finding yourself sad when it ends (I know I was). Amy and Roger are both broken in very different ways but both show it very differently which was interesting to read about. 

Finally I loved this book because as a girl from the UK I can think of nothing more amazing than driving across America stopping at motels, taking pictures and making memories. I still plan to do it some day all I need is money for flights, food, clothes and petrol (or as Americans call it gas), a car, a passport and a driver's license so you can see I still have a ways to go. 

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour is a perfect summer beach read, light but with real heart. 

5/5

Review - Forsaken

So today I'm putting up two reviews as I've finished two books and didn't have time to post about one before i jumped into the second so without further ado here we go.

Forsaken by Jana Oliver

It's the first book in the Demon Trappers series and I picked out this book to read because I follow the girl on the book cover on deviantart. Her name is Auriethepixie and she is an amazing photographer. Seriously. I've linked up her name with her account so check out some of her stuff as it's stunning stuff. Anyho, I saw her post the cover up on her account a while back and it struck me as something that I'd like to read (hey I always give urban fantasy YA a go) so I made a note of it and then later on (quite a lot later but never mind) I decided to get it out from the library.

First off i love the cover and I'm not just saying that because I follow Aurie. I really like the font (I am a font obsessive) and the style of the cover. There is a symbol on it that's really cool like angelic, mechanical and futuristic all at the same time. The symbol appears in the book under chapter numbers so it's a nice theme that carries on through out the book. I like that the cover isn't completely clear, it's dark around the edges with a fire sort of burning below and around the buildings that are at the bottom of the cover. My only gripe with the cover is that the cover to me looks a lot like a Cassandra Clare cover. I wouldn't want my cover to be similar to someone elses (ie apples on covers or flowers with a black background...you know what i mean) as there's more chance of it getting lost behind the other many YA urban fantasy books. Another thing (I know I said only) is I don't feel that the girl on the cover looks as Riley does. That's just personal opinion but she doesn't look like the Riley in my head.

Moving onto to the actual book. Riley is an apprentice demon trapper. Basically she traps demons (there are various grades of demons) and then sells them for money. Her father is a famous demon trapper and she is the first female apprentice ever. I liked the premise, a girl trying to succeed in what is quintessentially an all male profession. Also it's set in the future; 2018 to be exact but it never feels like it's pushing over into science fiction. In a way it reminded me of Dark Angel (a TV series starring Jessica Alba as a mutant supersoldier), how that is set in the future but only a little way and it's still basically the same world we know just a lot crappier. Well that's the same here, our main character Riley Blackthorne is a teenage girl living in a rundown version of Atlanta, Georgia. It's a striking look at the way things could go and the universe felt very real despite the fact i've never been in Atlanta before.  School is held in small classes across the city in abandoned coffee shops or old supermarkets. Metal is precious and scarce. Money is hard to come by which is why Riley and her father have turned to demon trapping. It pays the rent and keeps the city safe.

The plot has its shares of twists and turns but it's slow moving. It's more about the characters than one big event after another. There is also a mystery that Riley stumbles onto and of course some romance for our heroine. In fact she has three possible suitors.
Riley is an interesting character and has been shaped by the world she grew up in. She felt very real and developed. The other characters are also equally developed from Beck, her sorta big brother/protector/crush to Harper who you geniunely want to hate and want to punch in the face most times. It's a different take on the whole fighting demons concept and one I really enjoyed reading about.

I'm not a fan of Simon to be honest but I think that's just my own personal take on religious people (I'm an atheist) so personally I wouldn't go for a guy like Simon but like I said that's just me. I've already got the next book on my list to read and I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.

A really brilliant start to the series but the slow moving pace might put some people off. I'm interested to see where this goes though. I will be along for the ride.

4/5 stars from me and well worth a look if you enjoy tough heroines, demons and captivating writing.

Review - 13 Little Blue Envelopes

So my first review is for 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I had to order this in from another library as ours is a relatively small one and doesn't stock a wide range of Young Adult books. I mainly ordered it as I follow Maureen Johnson on twitter and she seems like my kind of crazy but her own personality doesn't transfer to the book.

The premise is simple; Ginny has to follow the instructions in each of the 13 envelopes and she can only open the next one when she has completed the task of the previous one.

It's a strange little book and it doesn't take too long to read, maybe about 4-6 solid hours if you read in one go like I do. Only in this case it was spread out over a few days as I was busy and ill(on two seperate days obviously).

The first thing that struck me was how dated the names are. Maybe that's just me but Ginny, Peg (who granted is a middleaged woman) and Miriam (Ginny's best friend) all seem to be from the 70's. Not that it bothers me it just made the story feel older than it was supposed to.

Ginny is our main character. She's American. We're not given much description about her other than she's got dark chocolate hair and is supposed to be very pretty. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a 'put yourself in their shoes' story but I felt detatched from her, never really taking her to heart. She seems very wispy, like one gust of wind would blow away her personality. She's likeable enough though. She just isn't fully formed enough for me.

The story (without giving it away) is something different than I've read before but it felt hurried. As Ginny moves on from place to place characters get dropped and left behind, never to be talked about again except for a special few. I never felt I got a true feel of all the places she was, it was just 'she's in blah, now she's in blah'. The pace of the book for me was too slow and it didn't have enough to make me devour the pages like I do with books I love, I literally cannot put them down. This one I had to force myself to finish and even when I did it felt stilted. There was a small bit of character development for Ginny but that was about it.

The cover as well is really not right for the style of the book (UK cover that is). It completely gives the wrong image to a reader.

All in all an ok read but nothing spectacular and certainly nothing memorable.

Do you agree? Disagree? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Hey, hi and howdy

So for the longest time I've wanted to do book blog because if there is one thing I love to do on this greenish earth is read. It's all I've ever done. I remember pretending I was sick so I could stay home from school and read. Yes, I was a strange child.

Anyho, since I read a lot and also have a lot to say (too much some might say) I felt like I should really get on with this and send my words out to the world. Chances are no-one will ever read this but if at least one person finds some help then I will be happy.

Feel free to drop me an email or you can follow me on twitter where I talk about the random things that happen to me and what it's like living with a tortoise who humps shoes.

There is nothing else to say but enjoy and if you can leave me a comment.

xoxo