Girl Online – Zoe Sugg *REVIEW*

 

Click on the cover to read more about Girl Online

RATING

3.5 stars – I really enjoyed it!

SYNOPSIS

Penny Porter is clumsy, has no brain to mouth filter and tells boys that she has gas problems.
It isn’t until Penny goes with her parents and best friend Elliot to New York for Christmas that she starts seeing herself differently, or at least someone sees her differently. Noah is eighteen, on his gap year and has a deep love of music. That’s it. Or at least that’s all that Penny knows about him. Then she returns home to the UK and everything changes.
Penny and Noah fall hard and fast for each other in this first-love romance and are forced to decide whether secrets and four thousand miles will tear their relationship apart…

OPINION     

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this novel. There was so much hype about it in the media these past few weeks that I was slightly worried that my expectations were going to be too high, therefore resulting in an awful review. But alas, this didn’t happen (yay!).
To start with the bad, unfortunately the first half of the novel- I felt- was a little bit detached and so I wasn’t able to really connect with the main character  Penny. I found that the passages of text weren’t very eloquent or descriptive which made me a little frustrated with not only the novel but the characters specifically. The romance between Penny and Noah developed a little too fast for my liking, however their quick development did fit into the time frame of the plot so I can’t actually complain about that!
Moving onto the good, the second half of the novel was a different ball game completely. I fell in love with the budding romance between Noah and Penny even if I found the ‘plot twist’ unsurprising. It was as if I could literally see the development of Zoe Sugg’s writing with each page that I turned. The sentences became descriptive and the speech was suddenly more fitting to the story which made me so incredibly happy!
Because Penny was suddenly relatable, I was able to enjoy the story even more, stress over the choices she made and was  just generally swept up into the lives of the characters and the story.
The addition of the blog posts that Penny writes throughout the novel allowed me as the reader to gain a different perspective of her. Reading the posts was like getting the CliffsNotes version of Penny’s life- you got most of the main details plus a little extra, but that was it. Going from reading an intense chapter that contained a direct insight into Penny’s thoughts and mind to reading the same chapter but in less than two pages in the form of a post was the perfect contrast that highlighted the difference between Penny’s online and real world. Definitely two thumbs up for this aspect Ms Sugg!
Overall, it felt as if the moment I hit the second half of the novel, I didn’t want to put it down- shaky start forgotten!
Girl Online is a novel about first romance, young love, growing up in today’s world and the struggles of both long distance friendships and relationships. 

‘Til the next ramble,

Bye-bye!

DOWNLOAD/PURCHASE LINKS

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Online-First-Novel-Zoella/dp/1476797455

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Website/Blog – www.zoella.co.uk/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/zozeebo

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/zoe.zoella

Youtube – www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390

Almost – Anne Eliot *REVIEW*

Click on the cover to read more about Almost

The last few chapters of this novel left me stunned. The increase in momentum throughout the entire novel all seemed to be building to a very explosive climax that did all of the characters justice.
I was definitely left satisfied.

 

RATING

3.65 stars – I really enjoyed it

SYNOPSIS

At a party she doesn’t even remember, Jess Jordan was almost raped.
That’s the word that seems follow her everywhere- almost.

In order to go to college, Jess must prove to her parents that she is normal- completely fine- and she is… well almost anyway. Her solution is to follower her younger sister’s list on HOW TO BE NORMAL.
Number 1) Make at least two friends your own age
Number 2) go places besides your room
Number 3) Get boyfriend
Number 4) Make sure Mum and Dad n0tice numbers one through three

So Jess lands a summer internship and strikes a peculiar deal with school top-guy, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000 and she gets a fake boyfriend and a social life to please her parents.
Jess had no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money for his own college expenses but then again, she also had no idea that she could possibly fall in love.

OPINION

My rating for this novel is fairly harsh is some ways, yet lax in others- I almost gave it two ratings; one for the first half of the novel and another for the second half.
I have to admit that the last twenty or so chapters of the book had me completely riveted and so I was sorely tempted to give book something closer to fourish stars, just for the brilliance of the last section of the plot.But of course, I had to rate the novel as an entirety and not in sections, which is something to keep in mind when reading this review.
The beginning of the story I felt was incredibly enjoyable and left the reader with a sense of mystery and anticipation, BUT around the middle of the story, I started to feel excluded from the plot, I wasn’t sure what was happening which left me slightly confused and frustrated at times- I needed to know what was going on! Personally, I think the aspect of mystery surrounding Jess’ party incident was carried on just a few pages too long.  With that said though, I absolutely loved the last twenty or so chapters- I mean adored them. I felt as if my emotions were being tugged from left to right then back again and I loved every second of it. It was like an emotional work out.
Surprisingly, I found that of the two point of views I enjoyed Gray’s thoughts, opinions and insight more than Jess’. I believe that Gray’s chapters were written  much clearer and flowed simply which provided a nice reprieve from Jess’ scrambled and jumbled mind! Whether it was intentional or not, the use of the dual point of views were a brilliant way to build characterisation and help thicken the plot- I felt as if I knew the characters and understood the motives behind their actions which, might I say, is so deliciously frustrating at times- I wanted to scream at the characters to just listen to each other!
Personally, I prefer novels to be written in first person and love when dual point of views are used effectively so Almost definitely ticked those boxes for me. The dual point of views allowed for a well rounded insight into the story, yet remained personal and particular to the character of which the chapter belonged to. I feel this was helped by a first person narrator.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I feel that the slow  build of the first half of the book allowed momentum to build and anticipation levels to rise- something I didn’t acknowledge at first.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this novel is one that I will only read once, for no other reason besides the fact I already know the major plot reveal! I kind of wish I could time travel and read it again for the first time just so I could appreciate the build in momentum more than I did this time around!

If you’re looking for a sweet, hilarious high-school romance with characters who deal with issues that run deeper then the average teenage life, Almost by Anne Eliot is the book for you. Especially if you enjoy a male romantic interest who definitely proves that boys are- in fact- better in books!

‘Til the next ramble,

              Bye-bye!

 

Purchase/Download Link:

http://www.amazon.com.au/Almost-Anne-Eliot-ebook/dp/B0075CHVDA

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Anne Eliot:

Blog – http://www.anneeliot.com/

Twitter – @yaromance

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/anneeliotauthor

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy- Anne Eliot *REVIEW*

Click the cover to read more about Unmaking Hunter Kennedy

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot was such a great novel. I enjoyed this book so much, it actually shocked me. 

RATING

4 stars – I really liked it, it was great!

SYNOPSIS

After a prank gone bad, teenage heartthrob and pop star Hunter Kennedy is forced to hide out with his small town aunt. Vere Roth, a small town girl herself,is given the task of ‘unmaking’ the utterly recognisable star and a friendship-maybe even more- soon builds.
This novel holds the story of a sickly sweet, high school romance with a touch of humour that will melt the hearts of any ‘first love’ skeptics.

OPINION

Let me just start by saying, this book really surprised me. Something about this book captured me and reeled me in, I just couldn’t seem to put it down! So after reading this book in a mere two hours, I must say I was kind of wishing my own Hunter Kennedy would turn up at my door and sweep me off of my feet.
Typically I enjoy narratives written in first person the most, it’s true, but I was able to overlook the fact that this story was written in third person just because of how cute it was and after a while I forgot about the narrative voice and got lost in the story of the characters.
I have to admit, before Unmaking Hunter Kennedy, I had read little to no romances quite like this- with an unrealistic male romantic interest- so I was a bit unsure of the book to start with thinking it would be boring or too cheesy. I am so glad that I was wrong. So very glad.This novel definitely wasn’t a deep or challenging read at all, more of a  fun, light and incredibly sweet novel- the perfect read when you have some time to kill.

‘Til the next ramble,

              Bye-bye!

 

Purchase/Download Link:

http://www.amazon.com.au/Unmaking-Hunter-Kennedy-Anne-Eliot-ebook/dp/B009RS5M36

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Anne Eliot:

Blog – http://www.anneeliot.com/

Twitter – @yaromance

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/anneeliotauthor