Hey Sunshine by Tia Glacalone

Hey Sunshine, Tia Glacalone
7/10

I have a lot of unanswered questions but before that, this was a great book. It was nice and cutesy and happy and I didn’t cry or emotionally break down which was nice. Being able to actually find a good book after months and months of a book slump that I thought I’d never get out of, Hey Sunshine was a happy ending to those dark months.

The story isn’t too complicated and its not like other books where everything goes well and suddenly, there’s a huge issue because *plot twist* the guy is hiding 70 secrets and murdered 3 people oh no what ever will happen to this relationship noooooo! (okay but seriously though) Hey Sunshine was the story of a girl who thought she had a happy life, but then life happened, things changed and she dealt with it. Fast forward 4 years, she has a chance of getting back her former happy life and she wants that. She wants to go back to when things weren’t complicated so when Mr. High School Boyfriend comes waltzing back in, she goes to him and they live happily ever after (not so much). Of course, Mr. High School Boyfriend brings back a very eye-pleasing friend with him and before you think that this spirals into a love triangle, NO. I liked that about the book. It wasn’t what you were expecting. There weren’t any major plot twists and my heart remained relatively calm throughout the entire book. No one died, there were no tears (of heartbreak…actually no there were but let’s be fair, you could see the bus coming from miles away). Relatable characters? Meh. I mean I don’t know what its like to have a future planned out but I liked the characters. They were nice and funny and as always, there’s the side characters who interest me more than the main ones. Oh also, the guy’s name is Fox. With a name like that, you KNOW the book is going to be great. Also, I very much admire a fictional character’s motivation and determination to keep moving on with life even when it starts falling apart. Although I would like to read one where the main character has his/her life wrecked and he/she goes from being almost perfect to a trash bag of disaster.

Despite all this, I give the book a nice half-way rating because 1) it was cute and got me back into reading but 2) it didn’t emotionally do anything to me, which is what I read books for. It was fun for sure though and everyone could do with some happiness in their lives. Also can someone PLEASE explain the ending to me because I refuse to believe that it had a bad ending. I’m going to IGNORE the epilogue completely and pretend that this book was all rainbows and sunshine (haha) and you should totally read it because it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy which is nice. 

#Lady of Cheese#

Post-review update: there is a second book and further research shows that it is a re-telling of Hey Sunshine from Fox's POV which could answer a lot of open ends. But re-reading the same story might be a bit overkill so Night Fox (which is a really cool name for a book) will have to wait.

Nocte (The Nocte Trilogy #1)

Title: Nocte

Author: Courtney Cole

Rating: 12/10 

You know those books where you see the cover, and read the blurb, and it makes you want to read the book so badly that you abandon the 3 other books you were reading to read this one supposedly great masterpiece of a book? 

That is what kinda sorta happened here.

I went into Nocte with really high expectations. You can't read the blurb and not have expectations...

 My name is Calla Price. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm one half of a whole. My other half—my twin brother, my Finn—is crazy...even though I'm terrified he'll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I'm drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline. Dare DuBray. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me. Maybe that's ok. Because I can't seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt. Why? Because of a secret. A secret I'm so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming. You won't either. 

I got hooked on the book before the book even started. I love the little author's note at the beginning, where she warns the reader of it being "too dark, too twisted,” and not being able to digest the storyline, and this actually scared my a little. It seemed too good to be true and I was legitimately worried that the book would be crap and not as good as I would want it to be. But I was wrong on so many levels. 

I'm not sure how to write this review without going into too much detail or giving away any major spoilers, because the whole book is basically a spoiler. But it's written in a way, where you're not sure whether what you're reading is a major plot point or not, so I wasn't exactly expecting most of what happened. 

Onto the characters! Now there was Finn and Calla, twins, joined at the hip and the perfect pair of siblings. At times, I thought their relationship was a little too perfect but maybe there's a reason for that. Finn has this intriguing interest in death and Latin, and throughout the book, there's random facts about death and Latin phrases, which really make the book that much more fun to read: for me anyway.

There's Dare, the black eyed, black clothes wearing, black motorbike riding british guy that makes friends with Calla (I promise he's not scary or creepy, he just likes a lot of black) and there's Calla and Finn's dad. They're all really real and they might have had flaws but who doesn't? I didn't notice them anway because the storyline messes up your brain and you're so busy trying to figure out what's happening that even the small details and   some what logical things don't make sense; until you read the second book that is. There's so many concepts from Nocte that don't make sense at the beginning and there's even some at the start of Verum, the second book, but everything lines up perfectly (well, almost) at the end of Verum. However, the fact that there's a third book coming out in August 2015 makes me doubt even that. 

So in summary, the characters are great, the plot is awesome, the ideas used in the book are 10/10, sometimes things don't make sense, but then again does anything real ever make sense? 

^•^ The lady of Cheese ^•^

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn #1)

Title : Mistborn: The Final Empire

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 1000/10

So this is my first review after a looong break.. sorry if I sound a little strange and rusty xp What I've learnt from the last two books I've read..which may be a bit of a rushed assumption but i'm just gonna say it anyway is- READ EVERY BOOK BY BRANDON SANDERSON. YOU WILL REGRET NOT READING THEM AND RELISH EVERY SINGLE ONE AND FEEL LIKE YOU'VE ENTERED AN IMAGINARY SECRET FANTASY SOCIETY WORLD OF BEING A BRANDON SANDERSON FAN. JUST DO IT.

Mistborn is set in a fantasy world which gives you a creepy idea of what would happen in all those books if the hero didn't save the world and destroy the Dark Lord.

'In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?

In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

When I first read the synopsis i thought oooh metal magic - Magneto 0.o But boy was I wrong. The types of magic Sanderson invents is soo intricate and intelligent.  There's allomantic metals, and each metal gives you different abilities (physical or mental). Some people have the ability to control one allomantic metal ...and then there's mistborn- who can control all of them.

They are pretty fancy. xp

There's not really one main character.. the book pretty much switches between two main people but you basically get to know whoever Sanderson wants you to know about ;) Because trust me- during your time reading this book- HE CONTROLS YOU- happiness, sadness, anger, jealousy... All of it 0.0 It's hard to describe my favourite characters without revealing some of the spoilerish awesome things I love about them, but Kelsier, Vin and Sazed have pretty much become my favourite book people. I love the balance Sanderson gives in every character. No one was too perfect..and no one was too terribly annoying. They were just like real people you met in everyday life (minus the awesome allomancy ). Reading about characters can get frustrating and boring if you don't feel a connection with them, or you feel like they're just too unrealistically brave or selfless *ahem* Tris *ahem* With Kelsier and his crew, I felt like I was a member of his little rebellious family. I'd get annoyed at some characters, want to kill others, then hug them, then stab them again xp

The action never drags..and something I really appreciate because I've seen some books fail to make it easy- is the clarity in the fight sequences. You know and visualise exactly what's going on, and considering all the fancy new ways of fighting in this book..what with all the coins and the metals... I think that's a pretty awesome and impressive thing to do.

What I also loved with this book was the satisfaction of the ending. Usually with trilogies when you're not reading the last book in the series you always feel scared that the author will cut the story off at a horrible or super boring point. Here I felt completely satisfied. Nothing was rushed or hurried.. I was desperate for the second book but for the perfect reasons. I'd almost admit that I wouldn't mind if Brandon Sanderson left it at this book...but that would be a lie because I don't think I'll ever get enough of the terrifying and incredible world of Mistborn ;)

So yeah... read it!!!

~The potterhead panemaniac pancake lover~

More Than This by Jay McLean

 Title: More than this

Author: Jay McLean

Rating: 6/10

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BASED ON ITS GOODREADS RATING

I learnt that the hard way and had to read this illogical excuse for a book just so I could write another book review. I admit it was interesting to see how the situation was handled but in some places it was completely illogical and crazy and made me question how much thought people put into books when reading them. 

More than this is the first book in the More series, and revolves around the life and circumstances of Mikayla after 'the tragic incident' that happens the day of her pre-prom party, the tragic incident being her finding out that her best friend and boyfriend have been doing the forbidden deed for two years and her entire family dies. Dramatic I  know. All this happens in the first few pages of the book. Which may be a good thing because the other main character Jake and a bunch of his friends are all introduced in the middle of this confusion and murder. 

Mikayla has no place to live so she picks the next best choice: go live with the random dude who you met 20 minutes ago. And yes his parents agree to this. Which is fine because of the situation she's in but she could be a murderer or a thief or something (she isn't don't worry).

What I loved about the book was the gradual story-line, Nothing was rushed, there were no cliff-hanger moments, and the characters were pretty much the best part. All the friends were funny and accepting. Everyone needs friends like that. 

I don't have much to review on this book; nothing big really even happened. Mikayla got sad, Jake helped, and the rest of the book is just them living and her trying (and failing) to cope with her family dying. I'm not even going to mention the fact that she didn't care about where her friend disappeared to or who killed her family until someone else brought it up and talked to her about it. 

 Literally I could write a book about my life and it might have had more drama than the book (or maybe it would be a compilation of me explaining all my different sitting positions while watching tv or reading) 

More than this made no sense, but then at times it made perfect sense. The female protagonist was a whiny desperate girl who didn't want a boy to help her but got miserable and teary eyed every time he got mad or ignored her. And there's the part where she does basically everything you would do to your boyfriend but says he's "just a friend" because she's dealing with too many things to get in a relationship. IF YOU DON'T WANT A RELATIONSHIP WHY ARE YOU LETTING HIM INTO YOUR ROOM EVERY NIGHT YOU MENTAL HOMELESS HUMAN POTATO

 And the guy was too perfect, even for a book. He made up his own worst case scenarios for no reason, understood Mikayla too well and had perfect friends >_>. I love his friends but they're too unreal and perfect. Yes I'm going to read their stories too shh.

Another thing that bothered me was that Mikayla's parents were okay with their 9 year daughter being familiar with male body parts and there were a lot of Justin Bieber and One Direction references which I think you need permission to use because of copyrighting or something *ILLEGAL BOOK ILLEGAL BOOK ILLEGAL BOOK*

But they did change Zac Efron to Zac Teflon or something.

So what I'm trying to say is, read this illegal, illogical, interesting, intrusive book that goes into too much detail on a few scenes. And I would like to mention to Ms. McLean, I highly doubt man-parts can snap in half. It's just muscle. Muscles don't snap. I have never heard of someone saying "oh i broke my tongue in half". There's no bone. It cannot snap! So yeah, do some research on the human body before writing okay?

 I have very mixed feelings about this book so I probably would recommend it to others but then I don't want to be that person who recommended a weirdly odd book. 

-The Lady Of Cheese 

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Title : The Distance Between Us 

Author : Kasie West

Rating : 7/10

Maybe the 7/10 rating is a bit too harsh for a book that I wouldn't mind reading again. But then, some parts of the book *ahem*the ending*ahem* left me like this.

I loved the book. The beginning, the middle, the little parts in between the middle and the three quarters mark. The characters are the kind of people I would like to be friends with. The setting of the book is somewhere I would like to visit someday. This collection of multiple words and chapters seems almost flawless. And then you get to the ending. It wasn't very satisfying and didn't quench my book-thirst. What happens to the doll store? Where did her grandparents go to eat? And a bunch of other questions I can't ask without ruining the book for you. How can the author sleep knowing that there is a girl sitting on her bed with a million unsolved questions? 

It's better to start at the beginning. The Distance Between Us is a story about a not-so-wealthy Caymen Meyer and her mother working in a doll store, which happens to be in a town filled with two types of people, the super rich and the super poor. 

I was really happy with the way the book started and the sequence and how each scene in led up to other parts of the story. Every chapter left me wondering what happened next and the urge to turn the page and keep reading was intense (and I finished the book in 2 days in the middle of my exams period. Yes it was that good). The characters were the highlight of the book for me. Caymen is a really sarcastic, witty person who is capable of making jokes in any situation. 

“Note to self: Caymen is very good at sarcasm.”

“If you’re recording notes for an official record, I’d like the word ‘very’ stricken and replaced with ‘exceptionally.’”

“He has a doll phobia. Some childhood trauma.”

I could list all of them here but out of context, they wouldn't make much sense (sorry to all those who expected a string of funny words). All the other characters were the right amount of real and fictional; Xander the perfect rich kid, Skye the best friend, a drummer who has the ability to write a whole song starting from the word 'fire-hydrant'. 

The story had a great plot, unexpected twists and a whole lot of sarcasm. Not to mention it oozes cuteness. 

“So arrogant. Do you think everything is always about you?”

“What was it about?”

“You.”

The Distance Between Us is perfect for a quick read and if you want something light and stress-free, but if you're looking for something with a more defined ending this isn't the book to choose. I'm guessing this is what Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters felt like after they read An Imperial Affliction and got no ending to the book. But there is a difference. The Distance Between Us doesn't end abruptly. It's just a really unexpected ending. It doesn't really say what happens afterwards. There was a feeling of momentary confusion and I was so sure I had lost a few chapters because there was no way that could've been the ending. There was no complete explanation to what happened to a few people after they left the main part of the story. I mean I was sure there were a few people in the book who were worth a graceful exit in the book. One that they never got. 

Sadly, I had to accept the ending and use my imagination and creativity to come up with a personal version of what happened to Skye, Henry, Mason, drummer kid and not to mention, Caymen and Xander. 

-The Lady Of Cheese 

Champion by Marie Lu (Legend #3)

Title: Champion 

Author: Marie Lu

Rating: 8/10

*Sighs* the last wonderful, glorious, perfect book from the series left to review....

oh well.. all good things must come to an end. here we go...

I just realised describing this book will be very difficult if you haven't read the first two. To avoid upsetting anyone with horrible spoilers i'll try to keep everything vague but clear enough so that those who have read the book will know what I'm talking about ;) 

So Champion begins a short while after Prodigy (Legend #2), with Day living peacefully living in his fancy flat and June back at her home working with Anden. The story moves along at a nice pace just like all the other books and (for me atleast) it wasn't too hard to remember what was going on at the end of Prodigy and being able to connect it to the beginning of this book. But that might also just be because i read it maybe a week before this one xp

Something this book definitely improved and fixed up-was Tess. I felt like Marie Lu read my Prodigy review, understood what a silly potato of a character she'd changed Tess into, and then tweaked her back into the innocent, sweet girl she was in Legend. So thank you Marie Lu! I know you proabably didn't read my review..but thank you nevertheless =)

This was  probably my least favourite book from the series- Prodigy being first and Legend second. I felt like there was alot less action in this book than the others, which was probably because alot of the story went on through political discussions and meetings. There was also less surprises and plot twists. Some of the things that happened seemed really obvious where they were heading, which was a bit boring and annoying :P I did enjoy the character development hroughout the books between both main characters. The rare, special, fluffy moments June and Day got were adorable and much appreciated ^_^

“You drive me insane June. You're the scariest, most clever, bravest person I know, and sometimes I can't catch my breath because I'm trying so hard to keep up. There will never be another like you. You realize that, don't you? Billions of people will come and go in this world, but there will never be another like you.” 

gaaaa i love that quote ^_^

And now on to the interesting finale. The way the plot progressed throughout all three books I had uber high hopes for the ending. For some strange reason I had an intuitive feeling that the news we found out at the end of Prodigy  wasn't going to affect the finale. I was soo sure it was gonna be one of those perfect, everything-is-wrapped-up-nice-and-fine-ish endings. But no, ofcourse not. Following the depressing pattern of the last few books I'd read, this one had to go down the lets-surprise-everyone-by-stabbing-their-heart's route. 

Alright I'll confess. It wasn't as bad as some atrocious endings i've read ..*cough, cough..Allegiant..cough* it just..well. I just don't understand why Marie Lu couldn't give us a nice, smooth happy ending. Especially when it would've been sooooo easy. All she had to do was change and remove the last (i think) 2 chapters. 

 My overall impression of the last book (mostly due to the ending) was a bit like this:

 Despite my dislike for the ending, I would say that the trilogy alltogether was brilliant =) The consistency in the characters and their developments was lovely to read throughout all three books and  I'd say one of the
best things about all of them was that no matter how suckish times got, you never wanted to stop reading! It was like Marie Lu cast a spell on all the books to keep you wanting to read on forever 0.o The action, the drama, the tears... all of it ;) If i could rate the entire series overall, i think I'd give it a 8.5/10. It'll definitely stick with me as one of my favourite trilogies I've ever read =) So yes- go read it now! All of them!




“No matter what happens in the future, no matter where our paths take us, this moment will be ours.”
~The potterhead panemaniac pancake lover ~

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (The Maze Runner #1)

Title: The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Rating: 9/10

So I had been avoiding this book for a while.. I can't really explain why but for some reason the plot seemed a little too typical dystopian to me. Add that to the fact that i knew there was only going to be one girl (in the first book) and i thought mehh..don't wanna read a book about annoying, helpless teenage boys stuck in a maze. But The Maze Runner definitely took me by surprise ;)

The Maze Runner starts with a boy waking up in a box confused and unable to remember anything apart from his name- Thomas. He wakes up to find he's been transported into a place full of teenage boys (the Gladers) in an area they all nickname the Glade. The Glade is closed off with walls and around it is a huge maze that basically has no exit and lets just say keeps them terrified from entering it due to the robotic, disgusting, terrifying creatures/ machines called Grievers which move around the maze (mostly at night). Every month a new boy has always appeared in the Glade for the past two years until the day after Thomas arrives a girl comes with a message that will change everything. Oooh what is that message you ask? Read the book and find out ;) 

Ok so first of all maybe the only think that stopped me from giving this book a lovely 10/10 was the beginning. I found it a little hard to actually get into the book or want to continue reading the book because i felt way too confused at first and just wanted some answers (aha just like Thomas :P ). Also it felt a little slow at first and i just wanted things to move forward a little. I was glad that finally after the first..maybe 20 pages the story definitely took off and after that..everything was awesome 0.o

The plot was really interesting and cleverly thought out and written. I loved the fact that even for me, someone that always loves predicting whats going to happen next (and  is usually right ^.^ ) was surprised at times and was able to enjoy the different twists and turns the story took and how Thomas managed to get through all sorts of things. Knowing the series was a trilogy, i also loved the fact that enough was revealed in the first book to not make you frustrated and annoyed and that (it's very hard to explain this without any spoilers) with the way the book ends you can tell all the books won't be the same situations, atmosphere and themes repeated over and over again. It won't (hopefully) be like the show Prison break, where every season their breaking out of a new prison or running from the same people over and over again (No hate on Prison Break! I do love the show but i hope you get what I'm trying to say ;P ).

I also liked the reasoning behind the whole scenario of why the boys were in this place. We still don't know all the details by the end of the first book, but i liked the fact that it wasn't one of those moments where you're dying to know why  and then when you find out your like -.- ARE YOU SERIOUS. I COULD'VE COME UP WITH A BETTER EXCUSE.

The characters are all loveable and grow on you. I didn't actually hate anyone..maybe this is the first time for that xp lol. My favourite is definitely Minho because he's just chilled out and all his reactions to everything the Gladers went through seemed the most mature, relatable and ..epic ;) (Yes i am thinking of that epic Gathering scene where everyone wants to hear his decision..and then he tells them ^.^ ) I also loved Chuck cus' well.. who wouldn't ;) My least favourite, but not disliked, was probably Teresa. She just seemed a little plain and well randomly put in there for the sake of having a girl in the book but without much personality. I mean don't get me wrong she wasn't annoying and she was definitely essential for the story and she did alot of stuff but..I don't know..something about her seemed a little boring to me. Thomas ( the protagonist) seemed like a typical main male lead and in my opinion was a bit too much of a stereotypical hero at times. Some of his reactions for me felt a unrealistic and are-you-serious-wth-no-non-suicidal-normal-person-does-that ish. Don't get me wrong..he wasn't terrible. I mean I guess if I like the book this much the main character must have been ok. He just wasn't my favourite.

All together this book was definitely worth reading and after the first few pages, is a wonderful action packed gripping read. Alot of people say Hunger Games fans would love this, and I'm sure they would.. but I think the closest book it relates to for me is the Gone series by Micheal Grant. So ya.. if you've read the Gone series and you loved it..you'll definitely most positively love this too!

Some quotes:

“Holy crap, I’m scared.”
“Holy crap, you’re human. You should be scared.”

"Can’t take a chance that one day, in one spot, somewhere, an exit might appear. We can’t give up. Ever.”

Also..it's going to be a movie and will apparently ( according to a rumour i read) will be released on September 19th 2014 !!! Here's some cool photos from the movie:





Ooooh fancy shmancy.. something tells me I'll probably love movie Thomas more than book Thomas. hehehe

~The potterhead panemaniac pancake lover~
PS. ooh btw HAPPY PANCAKE DAY EVERYONE!