All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Birthright #1
Release Date: April 6, 2012
Publisher: MacMillan
Source: For Review
Rating: No rating

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. - Goodreads

This is another review of a book that I'm not sure how to rate. I enjoyed some of it, but I was also quite disgusted by some characters and the plot kind of veered off course halfway through.

All These Things I've Done is written from Anya's point of view. Anya is the daughter of a deceased mod boss and she has to looks after her siblings and dying grandmother.

I really liked the idea of a world in which chocolate and caffeine had been banned. Who in the world would ban chocolate? Anya's family run an illegal chocolate business, although Anya doesn't want anything to do with them now that her father is dead.

The plot was excellent at the beginning, and kept me hooked, but after the romance started up the entire plot shrivelled away. I was really looking forward to reading about Anya's mafia family, but we didn't get to see much of them. The book became all about Anya and her love interest, and there was no depth there, either. I was looking for something akin to Holly Black's White Cat, which balanced a crime plot with character development wonderfully. But this was as if the two plots couldn't wind together. One had to be abandoned for the other to go ahead.

I also couldn't really relate to Anya. She was a Catholic - which alone I was fine with, of course - yet she wasn't a very 'good' one. She also only turned to religion because of her deceased Catholic mother, which I thought was a bit silly but whatever. Also, she couldn't make up her mind about how she felt about sex. Before she met Win, she didn't believe in sex before marriage, and after she met him she almost jumped on him right there and then. Sigh.

Win, the love interest, was also kind of bland. He didn't have much of a personality and I couldn't relate to him at all. If anything, he was far too sensitive. He acted like an overly hormonal girl at some points when he whined and got his feelings hurt over nothing. Man up.

Like I said at the beginning, I was quite disgusted by some of the characters in this book. Anya's ex-boyfriend tried to force himself on her not once, but twice. She did end things with him after the first time, but after the second time she didn't really do anything. Even worse, HER BEST FRIEND STARTED DATING HIM!! What kind of a friend starts dating a guy who almost date raped their best friend? And what kind of friend (Anya) lets her do that?! And what kind of a boyfriend/love interest takes sympathy on this almost-rapist?! This left such a bitter taste in my mouth and I'm sorry that this was a bit spoilery. I just think it needed to be said.

At random times, Anya started addressing the reader. It was really out of place, and it took me out of the story every time this happened. I would have preferred it if this hadn't happened at all, or at least happened consistantly.

So, yes. That's my choppy review. I was really disappointed in this book, but I did enjoy the beginning. Maybe I need to come up with a new rating "DISGUSTED" because that's honestly what I mostly am at this point.

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
Nightshade #3
Release Date: January 3, 2012 (US)
Publisher: Philomel
Rating: No rating

Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon her, there’s more at stake than fighting. There’s saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay’s wrath. There’s keeping Ansel safe, even if he’s been branded a traitor. There’s proving herself as the pack’s alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers’ magic once and for all. And then there’s deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is.

In the final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Andrea Cremer creates a novel with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat until its final pages. A dynamic end to this breathtaking trilogy. - Goodreads

Note: I have no idea how to rate this book so I'm just going to leave that out.

The plot started off really well and at a fast pace. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, as it had a lot of action and there were enough interesting scenes to keep me interested. Shay had to find the rest of the pieces of the Elemental Cross, and a small team went with him each time. During the second half of the book, it started to go downhill. The ending was absolutely appalling and I despised it. The way Andrea Cremer dealt with the love triangle felt like a cop out and I wasn't pleased with it.

Calla, our protagonist, was a complete idiot in this book. She has Ren and Shay fighting over her, and at one point she tells them that she's not making a decision until after the war is over. Fair enough. But then she complains CONSTANTLY about the two of them as they argue and get defensive over her. They're two alpha males who are after her attention, so I'm not sure what she was expecting. Calla is also a giant hypocrite. She thought about her 'difficult' decision at the worst times, and I was almost shouting at my Kindle to tell her to worry about stopping yourself from falling down a deep crevice rather than which guy you prefer.

Shay was also a moron. Like in Wolfsbane, he was immature, bratty and he tried to control Calla. I didn't like him in Wolfsbane and I despised him in this book. He was one of the reasons behind the undermining of Calla's character. She is supposed to be a strong alpha female, and yet this guy is trying to control her life and tell her what she should be thinking.

I love Ren, though. He has gone through so much character development in this series - more than Calla, in my opinion. He's protective of Calla, yet he doesn't try to dominate her in the way Shay does. Ren takes her feelings into account.

Like I said, I have no idea how to rate this book. It started off as 'Enjoyable' but then the second half of the book was 'Troll'-worthy. I really don't know.

Have any of you read this book? Let me know what you think of it if you have. I'd be interested to see what rating you gave it.

Short Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Release Date: October 18, 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Rating: No rating

Jay Asher's brilliant first novel is a moving, highly original story that focuses on a set of audiotapes made by a girl before she committed suicide, and which explain to 13 people the reasons why she decided to end her life. Told in a highly effective duel narrative -- alternating between the girl s voice and the thoughts of a boy who is listening -- this honest, poignant story reveals how other people's actions shape, and by extension can ruin, an individual's faith in people. Intensely powerful and painfully real, Thirteen Reasons Why reveals how brutal high school can be, the consequences of spreading rumors, and the lasting effects of suicide on those left behind. - GoodReads page

I really struggled coming up for a review for this book, so therefore I decided to write just a few paragraphs instead of my usual one and a half page Word document. I may add a longer review later on.

Overall, I loved the entire concept of this book. It was really wonderful. While it was a sad and depressing topic about a young girl's suicide, it was interestingly dealt with. 

The plot was well thought out, and it was interesting to read about what Hannah - the girl who committed suicide - went through after moving to a new school. 

This book intrigued me because it zoned in on the whole "Butterfly Effect" thing that Before I Fall had going on as well. It really made you realise that one thing really does lead to another, and that the smallest thing you do can make a huge difference to someone's life.

That said, and despite this in no way being a bad book, there was just something about it which made it less enjoyable. This is probably why I'm struggling to write a review, because I can't figure out what it is that I didn't like. Maybe it's the writing style. I don't know.