artsy musings of a bibliophile

thriller

Review: Wicked Games by Sean Olin

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ABOUT THE BOOK

young adult contemporary thriller published by Katherine Tegen Books on 10 June 2014

To all the locals in the small beach town of Dream Point, Carter and Lilah seem like the perfect It Couple-but their relationship is about to brutally unravel before everyone’s eyes.
Carter has always been a good guy, and while Lilah has a troubled past, she’s been a loyal girlfriend for the last four years. When smart, sexy Jules enters the picture at a senior-year bash, Carter succumbs to temptation. And when Lilah catches wind of his betrayal, she decides that Jules needs to pay.
By the end of the summer, the line between right and wrong will be blurred beyond recognition. Blood will be shed. Nothing in Dream Point will ever be the same.
This juicy summer read will keep readers turning pages until the shocking, nail-biting finale.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW

Wicked Games is one big cliché of a book. First off, it misled me into thinking it’s going to be steamy hot. It wasn’t. I also thought it was going to be nail-biting except we all know what happens to psychos ninety percent of the time, I worked past that because I thought it was going to be shocking. It ended with a twist alright, but then the epilogue killed it. Lastly, there were some cringe-worthy moments where Lilah does some really ugly stuff. However, it also made me roll my eyes because Carter couldn’t handle Lilah and Jules was so scared and paranoid that it was plain annoying.

There’s obviously something wrong with Lilah because she goes into periods of intense depression where she hurts herself. It has severely affected her current, as well as future, life. In her various failed attempts to hold on to Carter, she actually manages to push him away further. And oh, she’s got the I’m-going-to-keep-following-you-to-the-edge-of-the-world-until-you-realize-how-much-you-need-slash-love-me routine perfected to a tee.

However, the cheating aspect is downright stupid and wrought with oh-please-don’t-give-me-those-lame-excuses-about-how-Jules’s-so-beautiful-but-Lilah-but-oh-well-fuck-it. The thing where he doesn’t want to leave Lilah because he’s afraid of what she’ll do to herself is nullified in that moment, because you really do not have the integrity Jules think you do. So you know your girlfriend is disturbed and I get that you’re too annoyed at her to care, but going skinny dipping with an almost stranger is bound to end up the way it did. And then there’s Jules who’s had this big crush on Carter since their freshman year which is supposed to justify his sudden interest in her? Just… no.

Lilah’s instability is obviously a plot device in the book which I feel wasn’t handled all that well. She was smarter than Carter and Jules combined despite her mental insecurities and is probably the best character in the book. She’s just fixated on being with Carter no matter what and that’s much more admirable than Jules daydreaming about how Carter is such a gentleman. Aw shucks.

I don’t have anything against characters that are hard to like because of the things they do and that is never something that makes me hate a book. Why I had such a problem with Wicked Games is because how stupid Carter and Jules act. Carter has been in a four year relationship with Lilah and one night he just ups and stop caring about her despite knowing she’s going through series stuff? That is not okay. Then he tries to help her on his own which is idiotic at best. On the other hand, Jules is made to seem like she’s sexy, smart and artsy but in reality she’s just not that much of a nice-girl victim she’s seems to be.

In short, Wicked Games is one big no-no and that’s just sad. I’m just happy that it was a quick read because I wanted it all to be over. I also actually couldn’t stop reading it because I was intrigued. Then I figured out what was about to happen and it went down from there. I guess if I didn’t have so many expectations from it, I’d have enjoyed it more but then I’m not so sure. Oh well.

THE QUOTES

‘You can only be you. No matter how much you might want to be the person they think you should be, you can’t change who you are. It’s up to them to accept you.’ 

‘She felt like her life and everything it had ever contained were crashing down and burying her alive.’

Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Panic by Lauren Oliver
young adult contemporary thriller published by HarperCollins on 4 March 2014 

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he’s sure of it. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

For the town of Carp, Panic is more than just a feeling. It’s a rite of passage. It gives the town’s sheriff something to investigate on and the townspeople something to look forward to in the summer. Most importantly, it gives its winner a chance to get the hell out of Carp. Panic is very real. But proving oneself worthy of winning more than 50K is more real than that. The catch? You’ll never know who the judges are and you won’t know what the challenges are until the day of. It’s like a reality TV show that really has no script.

So something can always go wrong. And it does.

For starters, the stakes are high. The police are after anyone who may be playing Panic. The players are in for some real surprises and the ones who are really good at it do not even want the money so much. There’s just this need to prove that they can play which is just really disappointing. When doing tasks, the players are all afraid but right before and after them, they’re all…casual. This is what made Panic so drudging to me. The challenges are stupid and reckless but they really require hardcore courage to complete them. But I never got that from either Heather or Dodge.

Heather takes part in the game on a whim; though it’s very clear what, or who, spurs her decision. Her life is hard and the only people who are constant in her life are her little sister, Lily and her best friend, Bishop. But Lily is having a hard time dealing with how things are at home while, Bishop seems distant right when Heather admits to herself that she might be falling for him. Nat, her other best friend, is just busy trying to win Panic so she can go to Hollywood to and start her modeling career.

Dodge is playing Panic for revenge. Despite everything that led him to that decision, I could never discount the feeling that the revenge aspect was stupid. Probably because it is. And that’s all I got on him even though half the book is from his perspective. His role is typical; will-do-anything-to-win which got really old, really fast.

As a game, Panic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There is never any sense of desperation, the desperation to win. The competitive streak. That could be because of the way things proceeded because the revelation wasn’t surprising to me as I picked off on all the hints before. By the time the end rolled in, everything just fizzled out.
I was never fully invested in the characters because their reasons for playing Panic did not equal the risks involved. Moreover, the tiny hints about the whole mystery took the surprise out of the whole thing. With a plot that never really grabbed me and characters who acted predictably, for me, Panic turned out to be a forgettable read. 

THE QUOTES

‘Why did time have to be the wrong kind of relative?’ 

‘It was so strange, the way that life moved forward: the twists and the dead ends, the sudden opportunities. She supposed if you could predict or foresee everything that was going to happen, you’d lose the motivation to go through it all. The promise was always in the possibility.’

Review: Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader Blog Tour + Giveaway

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Escape from Eden | Elisa Nader | YA Mystery Thriller | Merit Press | 18 August 2013 | 272 (eBook)
ABOUT THE BOOK
Since the age of ten, Mia has lived under the iron fist of the fundamentalist preacher who lured her mother away to join his fanatical family of followers. In Edenton, a supposed “Garden of Eden” deep in the South American jungle, everyone follows the Reverend’s strict but arbitrary rules—even the mandate of whom they can marry. Now sixteen, Mia dreams of slipping away from the armed guards who keep the faithful in, and the curious out. When the rebellious and sexy Gabriel, a new boy, arrives with his family, Mia sees a chance to escape. 
But the scandalous secrets the two discover beyond the compound’s façade are more shocking than anything they ever imagined. While Gabriel has his own terrible secrets, he and Mia bond together, more than friends and freedom fighters. But is there time to think of each other as they race to stop the Reverend’s paranoid plan to free his flock from the corrupt world? Can two teenagers crush a criminal mastermind? And who will die in the fight to save the ones they love from a madman who’s only concerned about his own secrets?

THE RATING


THE REVIEW
Wow. I’m still reeling from the thrilling ride Escape from Eden turned out to be. Anticipation kept me glued to the book until the very end. I’ve always been fascinated with brainwashing practices, cults and conspiracy theories so I knew I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the words fundamentalist preacher. But what I didn’t know is how adrenaline packed, engrossing and action-filled Escape from Eden would turn out to be.

Escape from Eden is so much more than just a thriller mystery. It’s exhilarating and controversial to read about humans being brainwashed willingly in the name of faith. Taking advantage of their adversary when, in their minds, they’ve no one to turn to except God. On the surface, Edenton is believed to be a self-sustaining utopian community located somewhere in the South American jungles. The people in the community work hard all day to serve each other doing whatever they’re assigned to do silently. Shrouded in secrets, Edenton is far from perfect.

Mia works in the kitchen along with her peers. Tired of doing the same thing over and over, she secretly yearns to escape Edenton. Mia remembers life before Edenton and questions her mother on why it’s better to give up freedom and exist on the Reverend’s commands. She secretly writes and sketches in her journal in order to keep herself sane and escape the controlling environment of Edenton for a few moments every day.

Gabrielle is new to Edenton and his unflinching, defiant attitude has Mia intrigued. Running into trouble with the guards ever since his arrival, he notices Mia as well. He reveals the true purpose of Edenton and his plan of escaping to Mia who agrees to escape with him. But escape doesn’t come easily and soon both of them find themselves into the heart of the Reverend’s sickening plans for the unsuspecting community of Edenton.

Mia is such a headstrong, brave character who is willing to get to the bottom of every doubt she has. She has some pretty admirable qualities and I couldn’t help but be in awe of her. Gabriele is such a risque character. I honestly don’t have a better word to describe him. Always on the verge of uttering a quip, he has crashed and burned through life. Their relationship dynamic is portrayed brilliantly with sizzling moments, and disagreements in between.

Straight up violence, twisted preachings, illicit discoveries and damaging secrets, Escape from Eden is a truly compelling read which kept me on the edge throughout. Despite the underlying suspicions about the truth about Edenton, the story balanced perfectly between chilling, dark suspense to witty, evocative moments at every turn. I can’t recommend this unique and captivating debut by Elisa Nader enough.

THE QUOTES

“I noticed the swirls of a dark tattoo peeking beneath his sleeve. The lines were beautiful and mysterious. Some of the older people in Edenton had tattoos, reminders of a life left behind, but the kids who’d grown up in Edenton didn’t even have pierced ears, let alone something as exotic, and daring, as a tattoo.”

“What is the matter with you?”
“You want an alphabetical list?” 

Click the banner for the tour schedule.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi. I’m Elisa. I like cheese and reading and TV show marathons. Writing is scary, but not as scary as, say, Civil War amputations. I’m an Aquarius. Uh… let’s see… I’m not very good at writing my own biography. Or autobiography. I guess this is reading more like a slightly incoherent personal ad.

Elisa Nader can be found at


THE GIVEAWAY
Elisa Nader has offered so many awesome stuff in the giveaway and it’s international. Enter away!
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Thanks to Merit Press and YA Bound for providing me an eBook copy of Escape from Eden for review. 

Review: Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

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Title: Through to You

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: 2 October 2012
Pages: 194 (eARC)

Synopsis

Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv.
The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all.

My Rating
* * *
The Review
Grieving, moving on, trying to get through every day when everything becomes a chore, a mechanical movement of limbs; it’s all for everything and nothing. Life would have been a lot easier if there was a chance to see how it could all go beforehand. How it would all be if you didn’t lose that one person who was holding it all together for you. There are countless ways in which your life can turn out, unlimited scenarios out there and only two words that can get you there in your mind: what if. The term that can manage to throw logic out the window. Only it does. In Cam’s case.
Camden Pike had everything in Vivian Hayward even if he wasn’t in with the popular crowd or the star quarterback anymore. It simply didn’t matter. It mattered even less when Viv died and Cam life got way out of his comfort zone and into a series of uncomfortable interactions with a psychiatrist and unnecessary notes in the fruit bowl from her workaholic mother. 
There is only one place in all of Fayetville where Cam feels closest to Viv and that is at the exact spot she died. Where they put up a memorial two months ago. Mike doesn’t get it, willing him to join the team, which is not very plausible given the condition of Cam’s leg after the injury and how they both quit football together; him as the quarterback and her as the cheerleader. But then everything changes when Nina stumbles upon the parallel universe and sees Cam. Only she seems to know him and Cam has never seen her before.
The window between the two parallel worlds is there for a reason which Cam sees as the best thing that ever happened to him when he discovers that Viv is alive there. But Nina seems to be dousing his happiness and warning him to not cross the window over and over. It’s clear to see where Nina is coming from and I was definitely intrigued about the part she plays in the book. She’s obviously the sensible one yet she has an aura of sadness around her. As if she is trying hard to live less life.
Cam is very dignified when it comes to honoring Viv and it’s clear that he’s having a hard time letting her go. But Cam is in a downward spiral, he needs to have the sense to be realistic but it’s easier to do the opposite. To close eyes and see Viv smile instead. It’s interesting to see him trying to get past the crossroad trying to decide between his desperation for wanting to be with Viv and trying to get away from everyone.
But he knows that Viv is all he wants and the feeling is mutual. But even if it seems like she’s the same Viv, it isn’t. Cam see glimpses of a person who feels like a stranger to him and given the situation, it isn’t surprising seeing she’s from a parallel world. Yet the mind cannot stop but wonder what would make him not stay if Cam found the person he thought he’d lost forever? Even if that person was not exactly like the person Cam lost. It seems as if there is an obvious solution to the question but once a layer is removed with such a thought, it becomes complicated.
I admired the way Emily Hainsworth took hold of the concept and wrapped it around Cam’s story. It was gripping to read the book and towards the end, I had no idea how it was all going to play out. Being a character-driven story, I found Through to You to be a bittersweet read. The subtle way in which differences in Cam’s Viv and the other Viv starts showing up is done brilliantly. The descriptions of the different-yet-same parallel worlds is unnerving enough to bring weird thoughts in your mind and make it seem almost real.

Best Quote:

“It doesn’t matter why I want to leave. You’re the reason I want to stay.”

“I’m in that place between waking and sleep. The one where everything’s still black and peaceful until it gets invaded by my thoughts.”
Thanks to Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss for providing me an eARC of Through to You for review.

Review: Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson

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Title: Before I Go to Sleep
Author: S J Watson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: 14 June 2011
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)


Synopsis
‘As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me …’

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love – all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.

Welcome to Christine’s life.


My Rating
* * * 
The Review
I started reading Before I Go To Sleep with a lot of expectations and well, it all turned out to be a very twisted, almost unemotional, ending to a promising story. The cover is very striking and the synopsis had me intrigued from the get-go.
However, every day Christine has to go through the part where she discovers she’s 47 and not in her twenties. Due to these descriptions, I felt that she found herself ugly just because she found her skin to be wrinkly and saggy. It is normal for her age; but the descriptions had me in doubt about her looking more as if she’s 75 and not 47. And the repetitions didn’t really help, of course.
Moving on, I have two rather contradictory opinions about this book. The first one veers me towards everything that is likable in the novel. The second of course, makes me want to roll my eyes at the un-likability factor when the mystery part is taken into perspective.
I liked Christine, her character grew very stably and it was very moving for me to read about her lost hopes at a future. And that feeling, of being helpless of knowing that, in her own words, “The worst thing is that I don‘t even know what I don‘t know. There might be lots of things, waiting to hurt me. Things I haven‘t even dreamed about yet.”

Before I Go To Sleep could have easily deserved 4 stars but the whole chase didn’t help the case. The ending was bland, cold and not even in line with the rest of the story. Only a single paragraph telling the hours she spent reconciling with Ben. Taking into account that with almost no contact for years, her real husband suddenly realizes that he wants to be with her? After all this time? Just…wow. Plus, the son. It seems highly unlikely that they didn’t try to contact Christine on a regular basis.

These are just a couple of nagging little thoughts I have been having. From the book, it is apparent that Claire is on seemingly normal terms with Adam. And if there is that chance then how come Adam doesn’t know that his parents are apparently back together? Why all the unnecessary miscommunication?

Moreover, when she had all those glimmers or flashes of memory something doesn’t set in right.In all of the book, she is unable to see a single memory flash of Ben and then she has it finally. Plus, she also comes to know of all the time they spent together shortly after that. Maybe the particular truth triggered her memory, but how far can fiction be twisted?

However, S.J.Watson made a good effort at writing about something written many times before and forming a novel story line. I wanted to more than like Before I Go To Sleep, the writing was beautiful and the expressions profound. Her sorrow at the uneventful turnout of her life stretching into a long wait of dying every day waiting for the actual death to arrive. Of feeling lost. But, in the end, I just keep getting the feeling that something small, something crucial is truly amiss from the story.
Best Quote:

“I step back further, until I feel cold tiles against my back. It is then I get the glimmer that I associate with memory. As my mind tries to settle on it, it flutters away, like ashes caught in a breeze, and I realize that in my life there is a then, a before, though before what I cannot say, and there is a now, and there is nothing between the two but a long, silent emptiness that has led me here, to me and him, in this house.”