REVIEW // OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW // OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST BY SUSAN NIELSEN

RATING : 5/5 STARS

I've received this as an advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for a 100% honest review!

This book is a roller coaster ride with ALL THE FEELS!

Optimists Die First followed Petula who was a pessimist, she worried about taking the elevator, about touching public things and she even made a scrapbook of accidents so she could remind herself not to let her guard down or accidents might occur. Then she met Bionic Man, Jacob. They all officially met in YART class (youth art therapy class), along with the other students who had kind of like a mental block and living in guilt. They met and became friends and maybe even more than that.

Reading this book was such a roller coaster ride! There were ups and downs and some unexpected twists and turns throughout the book which just caught me off guard and maybe made me wept a little. It would play with your feelings, when you expected the story to go this way and Nielsen bombed a twist that went the other. The plot was good enough, but this book is definitely a character-driven book. This book also had a friendship element, I could definitely relate to the friendship part a lot and it was so realistic. It also deals with family issues and a little sprinkle of romance to lighten the book. It is totally that one book that almost all of you can relate to if you have troubles in friendships before or any experiences dealing with lies. The book is quite short and I flew through the last half of the book because not only it's short, but it's so dang good!

The characters. They were all so so likable, I felt like I knew all of the characters like they were my own friends. Their emotions and how they finally opened up and cared for each other, it was so so heartwarming and touching to see. Petula as a main character transformed a lot in the book, the Petula on the first page was a completely different person compared to the Petula on the last page! She definitely changed a lot towards the good side and becoming someone better. And of course, honorable mention goes to Bionic Man, Jacob Cohen. He, also changed a lot and at the start we would think him as a weirdo but when you finally finished the book, you could see the huge transformation!

The romance in the story, it was good but not that focused. I personally think that it was more focused on how the both of them made an impact in each other's life and how they encouraged them to break free from their fears and guilts and not cheesy words spat as a daily task. I really shipped them a lot!

The writing style was fun and easy! I surprisingly enjoyed her writing style from page one to the last page, it was so easy to catch up with and she writes so smoothly! The writing style is definitely one of the reasons why I flew through the book, because it makes you want to know what happens next and the writing pulls you down, captures you and make you plunge deeper into the story!

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and nothing much to criticize on. It's one coming-of-age book that everyone should pick up! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read a fantastic book in one sitting! Even if it's not for a one-shot reading, I'd advice everyone to give this a go!

REVIEW // KILL ALL HAPPIES

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW // KILL ALL HAPPIES BY RACHEL COHN

I was sent and early e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
RELEASE DATE : 02 MAY 2017

RATING : 4.5 stars
This book is basically about Vic who is graduating from high school, decided that she wanted to throw one last party at Happie's. Impromptu set-up and last minute decorations, the party was on and everyone was here! This is a book about an epic party gone wrong and maybe finding love and regain friendship in it!

Firstly let me just tell you HOW HAPPY I WAS WITH THE ENDING! THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS WERE THE BEST! I loved how everything was wrapped up and  it's an amazing contemporary! I was so happy with the friendship and romance in this book! OH MY GOSH! I NEVER REGRETTED REQUESTING THIS TITLE!

Plot, this book is set in the course of the day before the party, the party and the day after so it's a short period of time, only within the three days but the content was packed and so a lot of things happened in the book so even it's only set the day before, during and after the party it's an amazing book regardless!

A+ FOR THE WRITING! I may have just found a new favorite author! Rachel Cohn has the sense of humor that I needed in the book! It's so funny and witty and the way she described the things that happened, it's totally my cup of tea! I really, really loved the way she writes and how she conveyed events, things and characters into words.

CHARACTERS ARE JUST TOP NOTCH! My favorite had to be Zeke Zavala-Kim! He's such a cute character and so lovable! Of course, I also enjoyed Vic's narration and her thoughts when she was facing problems and et cetera. I really loved the friendship between Vic and The Cuddle Huddle, and the romance in the story was just SO DELICIOUS! I delved into the book thinking it would be a cliche kind of party but in the party, it was wrapped with friendship and maybe a little bit of love in it which was not what I've expected at all!

I rated this a 4.5 because I think the ending was kind of rushed and it ended in a blink of an eye! I want to know more of Thrope's backstory but was disappointed a little when it was just a short little paragraph of explaining but at least it did the job! I would totally recommend this to anyone who loves party books and a funny character! This one is a must read for those who like things to get out of control, and the ones who love to break rules, and of course, party!

REVIEW // THE SHADOW QUEEN

SPOILER FREE REVIEW // THE SHADOW QUEEN

The Shadow Queen followed Lorelai as she was the crown princess of Ravenspire. After her father's death, her wicked stepmother, Irina ruled the kingdom and Lorelai escaped along with her brother, Leo. Years later, she knew she had to get the throne back, and the only way to do that was to kill Irina. And then there's Kol, the king of Eldr after his father died in a war against ogres. He knew he had to seek alliance with Irina if he wanted to destroy the ogres in , and Irina wanted him to bring her Lorelai's heart, Kol knew he had to try.

I rated this book a 4.5/5 stars! This book was written following different POVs, Lorelai's, Kol's and occasionally Irina's. I didn't really enjoy this type of writing style but surprisingly it's an exception for this book! It was so capturing and its description was so vividly presented. The writing just kept me on the edge of my seat and the last thing I knew was that I finished the book in two sittings!

The storyline was well-plotted and everything was unexpected. I really liked how the story was retold, not entirely different but you could see bits and pieces of the tale Snow White throughout the book. It wasn't exactly like the fairy tale but you could totally see the parallels between the two stories. In the book, the world has a magic system and I really enjoyed how the magic was played out in the book. The magic system was really one of the things that captured me in the book and it was easily understood. It was really fascinating to see how different the magic system was compared to other systems in other books!

Unfortunately, this is a high-fantasy novel which means the world was a work of fiction. Throughout the book, there was not really any world building which made me wonder where was the protagonist all the time and it really could be improved to make the world better. Although there was a map on the front, the map didn't really do the job of portraying the places mentioned in the book as it was labeled vaguely. If the world building was slightly better, I'd have given the book a 5/5 stars as to me, the world building in books is one of the important elements in a good novel.

Now now, the romance in the book was just nice and sweet! The book was a fantasy novel and luckily it was more focused on the adventures than the romance. I found the romance just right, not too little and not too much and I really adored both of them and how they figured it all out and kind of unfolded their relationship. The romance was pretty obvious if you were aware of the characters, they were pretty much in love at first sight but trust me, it's not like those typical love at first sights story but it was well developed and i liked how it was, slow and steady and working its way towards the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book as it is C.J Redwine's debut retelling novel if I'm not mistaken, it has a pretty unique and fascinating concept and I highly recommend it to anyone of you who enjoys fantasy and fairy tale retellings out there!