Book Review: Haunt Me by Liz Kessler

Reading books because they remind me of trashy "reality" tv shows.

Erin wants to face the future. 
Joe is desperate to remember his past.
Olly only ever lives for today.

When love weaves its dangerous magic around their lives, each of them face their own demons.

And as the past catches up with them, it comes down to the ultimate question...

Would you swap Love for Life itself?

I presumed this book was about ghosts, and luckily it was actual ghosts, not the mental ghosts of your past. Well, all the characters are meant to have those as well. This tries to deal with a lot of things including suicide, mental illness and drug abuse, none really that successful. This book feels very old school YA, mostly in the negative ways. It's okay, there was a point that annoyed me enough that I almost quit the book (chapter 10, anyone?) and then I remember that I choose to watch 'A Haunting'

So I should probably just let this stupidity go and I was only reading to fulfil my trashy need for terrible ghost stories, whether people claim they're real or not. My main problem, was that it very passive of the main character and was done to quickly move on the plot without thinking about the meaning or the why. I mean if this had been A Haunting episode then a demon would have suddenly appeared and that would be more entertaining. Do you know how hard it is to find someone to bless your house? Yeah, neither do I, but a day is just so quick.

Erin and Joe are soulmates because they write and have/had no friends. Their poetry is littered through the book, I'm not really a poetry person anymore but I definitely believe that the poems were written by two sixteen-year-olds, and maybe if I was sixteen too I would think they were great.

Erin is "not like other girls" so that's great. In her deference, she does not describe herself as that, but it's still a line in the book. It could be read that the other love interest Olly is just a dimwit who never dated anyone for their personality before. The book is told from the POV of the different angles of the love triangle: Erin the Sad Girl, Joe the Ghost and Olly the Alive Brother. I never felt deeply for anyone or anything, obviously only one of the romances is healthfully viable and even then I felt like it should have been a case where everyone moves on.

Erin had been in car accident in the past that took months of recovery but has no side effects of this and her injuries are never explained other than she had access to painkillers at one time. This would have happened four years ago during the main events of the novel, it's possible that she surfers no long term injuries or they won't effect till she is older but it would have been nice to see physical issues since so few books have physically disabled characters. It's nice that the psychological issues are acknowledged from suffering a traumatic incident like this, except it's very much for plot.

We have Mean Girl Zoe, Zoe that no one likes but is somehow popular. At least Zoe isn't just some flat sociopathic sadist stereotype that targets the main character for no reason and actually has some motivation for what she doing. She also described as being vain, obsessed with social media and image. So she is better than most stereotypical mean girls but she is still flat, plot driven character and still in lines with being a stereotype, just better than the other ones you can find.
Her actions at the end don't really make sense, unless she lied, but why would you want a rumour like that getting out about you.

Bullying and suicide are big theme in this book. I don't think they dealt with well, or terribly. They are used as plot. Erin is introduced immediately as having had a bad time which caused her family to move. Joe is this young guy who didn't seem to have any friends and wrote poems, so suicide did immediately spring to mind. I can't really comment on the impact of bully because I'm always like why do you care what dimwits think about you? I had people call me stupid names but it was very whatever, my nature means that unless it get physical or they get you into trouble it's hard for me to relate to characters that get so obsessed with it. The bit where its used for straight up plot I do take issue with. It's very sudden and lazy.

There is 26 chapters in this book. The POV changes within the chapters and the chapters just seem to end really randomly. Like the chapter will end but we're in the same scene and nothing dramatic will have happen to justify the chapter end. I'm not sure what the logic was behind this choice.

This is almost 400 pages and the plot is slow and steady and then at hyper-spreed twice in the book.
The ending was bit rushed, I feel like Erin would have had more defences up realistically meaning that ending didn't feel earned for me, even with it being established that she had past of doing what she did.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for wallpaper. This is a books with tons of popular 00s tropes released in 2016. I wouldn't say it's harmful, but it's not a powerfully story and I doubt it will stay with me for long.

Book Review: Demons of Ghent by Helen Grant

I would like to rate this series blurbs a 1 star due to them being highly misleading.

People are falling from the rooftops of Ghent. But did they throw themselves off - or did somebody push them?

Veerle has seen enough death to last a lifetime. But death isn't finished with Veerle just yet.

When people start to die in her new home town, some put it down to a spate of suicides. Some blame the legendary Demons of Ghent. Only Veerle suspects that something - somebody -has followed her to wreak his vengeance.

But she watched the hunter die, didn't she?

This is the second book in the Forbidden Spaces Trilogy, the first person being Silent Saturday. Beware that there will be spoilers for the first book so check out my review if you've not read it.

In this book, unsurprising the story is now set in the city of Ghent, instead of the Veerle's home village. We get new characters. We also get the creation of a love triangle. It is the more realistic type, that doesn't put Veerle in the best light. It felt a little for the sake of plot. I like the new guy, but why romance? Why not friendship? Instead of murder with a side of  meh drama.

We see more of Veerle's father Geert and his girlfriend. Pretty relations. Though, I'm surprised that Veerle didn't call him on his shit. His girlfriend doesn't feel like a real person. Terrible people exist, the lack of contract we get with her makes her feel unreal.

The plot is hinting at something weird. I feel like I can have no thoughts until I read the next and final book in the Trilogy. The mystery was okay. The climax was a bit er but did fit with the rest of the novel. I did enjoy how much Ghent was involved and acts as another character.

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars for salty nails. This a mature crime YA novel set somewhere other than America or England so what's to love. Also swearing in Flemish. I am intrigued to see how this story wraps up.

Book Review: Tonight the Street Are Ours by Leila Sales

Don't ask me why I choose to read books by authors who I've had a bad experiences with over the ones I love?

From Leila Sales, the author of This Song Will Save Your Life, comes a compelling and relatable story about the hazards of falling for someone you haven't met yet. Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose: it makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her - including her needy best friend and her absent mum. Arden stumbles upon a blog called 'Tonight the Streets Are Ours', the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter, and it feels like she's finally found a kindred spirit. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him. During one crazy night in NYC filled with parties, dancing and music - the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does - Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was either.

I never liked the "This Song Will Save Your Life" so of course I had to pick up this book. In fairness, I do like this one better and there nothing wrong with it per say.

This novel was okay, I guess its about love, though not really romantic in my opinion. It's a character book with no interesting characters. There's something there with Arden and Lindsey's friendship but Lindsey is more like a side character and plot device more than a real person. Arden's family dynamic that's touched on and while the centre to the plot, we don't get a lot of time with her family so it didn't feel explored enough for me.

There isn't any romance in this book, despite slight love triangle action going on. Sure, the character has a boyfriend and developed a thing on someone from the internet from reading his writer. This doesn't work as the writer, Peter automatically becomes clear as being a pretentious, spoiled brat. I don't get why Arden decides she likes him.

The book ends the only way it could really and be satisfying, at least for me. 

Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars for Just-Like-Me-Dolls. It was an okay read, it had interesting elements but they were overshadowed by romance elements that didn't really go anyway. While they do support the better elements, I just wish they had been more focus.

I got this book for review off Netgalley and it is publish by Pan Macmillan.

Book Review: The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Bobbing along, Bobbing along on the wind, spying on people.

"The yard of this house is a graveyard of moments and everything left behind is a clue. And I am here to dig."

There's a ghost haunting 208 Water Street. She doesn't know who she was, or why she's still here. She does know that she is drawn to Maggie, the new girl in town, and her friends - beautiful, carefree Pauline and Liam, the boy who loves her.

But the ghost isn't all that's lurking in Gill Creek... Someone is killing young girls all across the county. Can the ghost keep these three friends safe? Or does she have another purpose?

This book is also know as The Vanishing Season, I have no idea how either name was came upon.

The writing was pretty. There is this thing about a nameless ghost spying on everyone. It's odd flaming devices that all brings to the book as no one is aware of the ghost within the story.

This is a novel about relationships. Everything else is just flaming. I like the exploration of the friendship dynamics, it does feature a love triangle but it's interesting in terms of a relationship study. It was bit frustrating sometimes the way the different angles behaved.

I found the ending disappointing, I think it was twisty for the sake of twisty. Also strangely happy considering everything that happens.

Overall, I gave the book 4 out of five stars for ice holes. This book was pretty to read and the character were interesting and real.

I got this book off NetGalley for Review and it is published by Orchard Books.