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Review: Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2) by Colleen Hoover

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Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hardships and heartache brought them together…now it will tear them apart.
Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.’ 

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

**Minor spoiler ahead**

I wish I could've like this book more or at least as much as I did with Slammed but meh, the drama llama was getting tiring or maybe I'm just a douche who despise every second book in the series because I got bored.

I probably would still read anything by Colleen Hoover. She has this amazing talent - it's like anything wrote by this woman would sound deep and meaningful. But I started to notice that her choice of themes is not something I would really like to read about and this frustrates me. A lot.

I had the same problem with Point of Retreat as I did with Hopeless: I don't understand why sex needs to be hailed as the holy grail of a relationship. Ugh, I wish I don't have to point that out. I'm worried if I don't get my point across, people will misunderstood and given my limited capacity to express my thoughts clearly, I really wish I don't have to.

But let's have a go anyway. There was so much build up leading to Will and Lake *ehem* sex in the first half of the book as if their relationship wouldn't be whole and complete without sex. Like sex is the highest point of a relationship. Sure, issues like friendship and family were emphasized as well but seriously, I think the story was better invested on something else rather than their anticipation of having sex together for the first time. Sure, the build up adds to the value of the relationship itself but I don't know...it's really hard to explain. Personally I think that the first time for a couple should of course be uh, thought carefully beforehand to make it, urmm meaningful but it shouldn't appear as if it's the goal of a relationship. The part which annoyed me the most is when Will decided to reject Lake when she was still crying. I thought this thing needs a common decision from both sides and Will totally denied her right. I know many people will disagree but anywaaaay...

Kiersten and Sherry are nice additions to the story. Caulder and Kel are charming and cute as usual. I'm glad we still get to learn more about Julia, she is such an inspiring character. I'm not sure what the author wanted to prove or show with Eddie and Gavin relationship. Again, Vaughn and Reece are like the causes of some of major events in this book but apart from being the cause, their characters didn't get fleshed out more so they ended up to be very one-dimensional.

Similar to Slammed, the storyline is indeed cliche but unlike in its predecessor where the cliche was handled in such a way that you wouldn't think it's possible for the book to be that wonderful when the same plotline has been reused over and over again in countless other books, in Point of Retreat, the cliche remains as cliche. *sigh*

Me gusta! A four-stars

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Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

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Easy by Tammara Webber
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…
He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…
The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.
Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

Buddy read with Deska. You can read her thoughts here.

I have to warn you that this isn't exactly a review. More like my thought process written in scrambled words.


I swear to God this book would've find itself in my DNF pile if it's not because of all the buzz and hype. Instead of a swoon-worthy book, it was a snooze-worthy book. Sorry! But I need to stop giving these Contemporary/New Adult/YA books with deep message my knee-jerk five star ratings.

Although I have to confess I may lose my ability to enjoy this kind of books after Colleen Hoover's stunning debut, Slammed and her latest hit, Hopeless.

Hmm...yea it was sweet, empowering and all that but don't you think it's just tad predictable? And planned? Planned and awkward at the same time? You might hate me for this but the make outs were written awkwardly in my opinion. Like, I didn't even get the insta-love vibe and out of the blue, Lucas and Jacqueline make out? = insta-make-out? *shudders* Well, it isn't that sudden but the make outs sound really casual. I swear I felt more emotions when reading their e-mail exchanges.

I need to get myself checked,

I think.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Can I talk about Landon separately as if he isn't, you know... (don't want to spoil it for the not-yet-readers).

Hawt. LOL! An Economics tutor?

Hawt. Hawt. Hawt.

I took Economics in my college days too and that was one the best decisions I've ever made.

So I'm gonna be the smart-ass that I am and show you how I felt about Easy in terms of an economics curve.

Class, today we're going to learn about Phillips Curve!


Ignore the axis labels and just look at the curve. Needless to say the first chapter was brilliantly written but somehow the rest of the book failed to amuse me until the end.

Well, it was an easy read, no pun intended. :)

P/S: Sorry for my pseudo-smart-ass-ness show off. I miss studying Economics so bad.

ZA
3 poker faces
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Review: Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1) by Katie McGarry

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Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.




Hmm...this review will be awkward since I felt a total indifference towards this book.

Eh, I wasn't that entertained as I first thought I would.

Sure, it's a nice book. I laughed, I felt sad, I blushed whenever Noah does his Noah thing. It has some serious, meaningful messages. It's crude, realistic - I could totally understand where Noah and Echo had come from. Of course, at first I was uncomfortable by how much Noah pays attention to Echo's butt and cleavage but he is just a high school student after all. Furthermore, Noah does prove himself to be more than this hot stoner guy throughout the course of the story.

I adore the slow building of Noah and Echo's relationship. I thought it was cute and believable. But halfway into the book, I felt like this tug war between Noah and Echo and also the family drama llama goes on and on and on and on...

...and on and on and on - you get the idea.

And I failed to empathize anymore.

Sure, they are teenagers and teenagers makes bad decisions. The adults in this book didn't do any better either. That's why I thought this book was nice but I think I sort of grew tired with it along the way.

I also thought the dialogues are natural (even though I never been to a high school in the US so who am I to comment on that LOL!). The characters including the secondary ones also felt like real people. The ending has this amazing sense of closure to it.

Meh, I don't know. I was looking for a teary read so I must say I'm disappointed that Pushing the Limits didn't deliver it. Not the book fault probably, but there you have it, 3-stars from me.

3 poker faces
**An ARC was provided by Harlequin UK in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Stolen: A Letter to My Captor

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Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.
This is my story.
A letter from nowhere.
Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?
The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

A truly 5-stars-worthy book, largely because I cried.

For the camel.

More about the camel later on. But wait, what? This book was originally written as Lucy Christopher's PhD thesis? Boy, I'd be wearing my caped-Superman t-shirt, dancing to the grooves all night if my thesis not only secures me a doctorate title but also a best-selling author title.

As you may or may not know, I currently live in Australia. Always complaining about how dry, how hot it is during the summer here, how rapid the temperature can drop at night, how...cloudless it is during the day.

I took an Ecology course too and I agree with the author, Australia is a place both terrifying and beautiful.

I mean it, if you can't stand the sights of spiders, snakes, or bats, don't bother coming here.

Reading this book was like reliving my visit to Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Agusta last spring. Here's the proof;

(I'm sorry I had to throw in a picture of me here because I can)

Flies, flies everywhere. Note that the flies out here are big, stubborn and they could torn into your jeans because they bite. Haha. I went to the desert area near Newcastle for winter break last year too for sandboarding and it was awesome despite I nearly broke my thumb.

I haven't review the actual book, have I?

Well, just like I expected, I honestly don't know what to write. This book doesn't sugar coat you with the idea of Stockholm Syndrome. Believe me, I first thought that this book is going to be somewhat romantic. Well, it does but not in the dreamy sort of way, it's realistic and justifiable.

AND THAT POOR CAMEL!

I cried myself to sleep because of that poor thing!

Jeez, I feel like crying now.

And that ending...is just perfect!
Sweet baby penguins!
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Review: Slammed (Slammed, #1)

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.


p/s: Sorry if I come across as a very, very stingy person. I'm just flipping poor. A student, get it? Hence, no moneiz. Heeeeee

The Five Stages of 'Rejoice, rejoice all around because I found a good book through Goodreads'.

1. Denial

This happened back in early May 2012. I need to give Larissa credit for introducing me to Slammed because she's my first Goodreads friend who've read this book. She said that this book made her cry and she never cried over a book before. I was intrigued, but being me, I am never so much of a contemporary reader. Plus, the title, the cover and the blurb didn't drawn me enough. But come on! Although the rating was exceptionally high at that point, there were only like, 40 reviews in total! So, I decided to let it pass.

Back in August, I've seen one after another 5-stars rating for this book. But the true turning point was when I saw Slammed on Netgalley as an auto-approve title. But being me, I'm still skeptical. I mean, if Simon & Schuster could take over and publish Beautiful Disaster (the horror!), then I thought S&S wanted to do the same with Slammed because it was intensely hyped, not because it's a quality read. Heh! So, I requested Slammed only, thinking I won't want to read Point of Retreat afterwards.

*Shakes head* Egocentric Zuleeza.

Now the sequel is sold for $9 instead of $0.99.

I feel like punching myself in the face. EDIT: Strangely I could find Point of Retreat when derping around the new Netgalley.

2. Anger

Dude, have you heard that people's saying Taylor Swift is like the sober version of Ke$ha?

Slammed is like the sober version of Obsidian initially. You know...a girl with her single mom, moves to a new town, meets a hot male neighbour. Not that it angered me, I was just thinking 'this is Deja Vu. Hmm...proceed'.

The thing that angered me was, how quickly this book stole my heart without even trying so hard. Usually, it takes a kick-ass heroine, an intricate plot, a powerful imaginary world to impress me. But this book has none of those! In fact, it has the big no-no element in YA books; insta love. Yes, Layken and Will freaking kissed in Chapter Two, just when the story starts moving. How did I feel about that? I wished they kissed sooner LOL!

But, by the end of the story, I asked myself again, was it really an insta love? I personally think it wasn't. Because the time they spent away from each other was the moment that they learnt to love each other, not the time when they were together at the beginning.

Here's the peculiar part. I'd call Slammed formulaic and cliche. Is that a bad thing? Of course it is for other books but Colleen Hoover had done the impossible. If someone tried to tell me the whole storyline, I'd say 'Geez...I've heard that kind of forbidden love since I was in kindergarten. And the author expects that if she threw terminal illness into that mix, I would break down and cry?'.



Seriously, this is a book you need to experience it by yourself.

3. Bargaining

Once I finished Slammed, I was certain that I really need to punch myself for not requesting Point of Retreat. I went to Bookdepository.com, it was sold for around $14 for a paperback. Sheesh, that's kind of expensive for a Bookdepository book standard. They let you pre-order the other version of paperback for cheaper price but I have to wait. No, are you kidding me? And I'm not going to spend $9 for an e-book!

I decided to let it go for now.

Hmm...now that I think about it, I actually have a fear of Book 2. I'm afraid Book 2 is not as good as its predecessor. So yeah, I need to let my fangirling over Slammed settles down a little bit before jumping to Point of Retreat.

4. Depression

So the ending was very heart-moving. I actually had braced myself but it was really touching...no point in denying what I felt. But the problem with having a non-reader best friend is that she doesn't understand? Like all I wanted to do was to hide under my quilt and cry myself to sleep. But she didn't let me!

Of course I won't tell her why I was depressed last night because it's just too embarrassing. Heheh.

5. Acceptance

Wow. I just never felt this way about any books before. I respect every single characters in this book. I like Will. Very much. But I don't feel right making that exploding ovaries joke because I feel like Will belongs to Layken and Layken only? Weird, I know.

There are just so many things I like about this book;

The slam poetry, the lung cancer Halloween costume, the 'I don't think that's a good idea', the 'of course I let him kiss me', the backward day, the basagna, the inhabitant, the Avett Brothers song lyrics and the Chuck Norris jokes...

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Actual rating: 4.999999999 stars

Honestly, I don’t know how to write a review for this book without getting personal. So, just a disclaimer; I don’t think this is really a review, this is just a story of how I felt as a reader.

The Fault in Our Stars is definitely one of the most hyped books for 2012. As I am never quite a contemporary/realistic fiction reader, I wasn’t quite eager to read this especially when I have this weird aversion of all things mainstream (no, I don’t think I’m a hipster, I just like to discover new things). So, about seven months later, I thought of reading something short and meaningful so I picked it up (at last!).

Reading the blurb, I thought that this book is about Hazel, of how she battled with cancer, how devastated her family when she passed away, how noble her death was, how her lover finds it difficult to move on, you know, like a cross between My Sister’s Keeper and P/S, I Love You. Haha! Sorry I went for cliché plot because I thought the plot had to be cliché in order for the underlying message to be delivered effectively. Pffft, of course I was wrong. This just to show how much I haven’t read enough contemporary/realistic fiction. Or enough John Green.

I took me two sittings to get through it. The first half was not quite impressive. Well, I did read with extra-critical eye. Nothing satisfies me enough than finding faults in highly-rated, popular books. LOL! Hazel and Gus first meeting was quite insta-love-ish and their subsequent encounters and interactions were oddly unnatural? Not odd as in staged or pretentious, just odd as in ‘normal people don’t behave like this. This just happens in parallel universe’. At this point, I disregard the realistic aspect of story because I was thinking that maybe the ‘beyond the story’ part is more important. I did doze off a couple of times, so by then, I decided to do other stuff.

Then, I remembered the airport scene and the emotions came rushing back in. Disclosure: I do have a disability that is pretty obvious. Safe to say that when people first meet me, that’s the first thing that they’ll notice. Of course, I pretty much live a normal life except few small things such as I have trouble seeing in the dark, focusing on distant things, and estimating distance and speed. I understand the feeling of being the centre of attraction when you don’t want to, or being treated differently (I have my own perks :P). I didn’t cry because I was sad of who am I, I was sad because I wish people know that it’s rude to stare.

The second half as I put it was ‘shit just got serious’. Peter Van Houten was such a scene stealer! And Augustus Waters! *weeps* With the second sitting, again, the same thing happened. While I didn’t feel sleepy until the very end, I cried two, three drop of tears, max. But six hours later, I was lying in a pool of tears. Urghh!

First, I sort of know, how it feels to have lungs that suck at being lungs. I have an asthma for as long as I can remember. While it wasn’t particularly life-threatening so far, that feeling of underoxygenated is always daunting. Secondly; cancers. Cancers aren’t common enough in my home country (partly because we don’t live long enough), so I don’t know anyone with cancer personally. I’ve been learning about molecular basis of cancer for almost three years and the only thing I felt about cancers before I read this was, cancer development is so complicated, it seems to have a mind of its own, I don’t think in many years to come, we would eventually wipe out cancers. Some cancers probably, but not all. So yeah, I used to see cancer as a ball of cells that have grown out of control. I failed to see how, no matter how impossible it seems like to cure cancers, we need to try because there are many Hazels, Augustuses and Isaacs out there.

In short, the book itself wasn’t exceptional for me (for now). But I shelved it under my favourites anyway because it has a capacity to be exceptional many, many reads, later. And it’s already exceptional in leaving marks in people’s hearts.

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Review: A Monster Calls

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.

I don't know when was the last time I cried over a book, but this one was definitely sad. And they were only 215 pages of it!

Oh God, I'm still sobbing...

This book comes in a complete package. Almost everyone who read this had experience how was their life went at the age of 13. Hence, most of us would relate to this story well. Nevertheless, it was not simply a children book, nor it is mere a young adult book. All the four tales told by the monster and Colin were deep and almost philosophical.

It was amazing how, given the limited number of pages this book has, every character was developed perfectly. They have their own goodness and flaws, in short, this book will mesmerized you in term of how the voices will stay long after you read the last page.

Finally, you would be able to sense that this book was written with honesty and sincerity.

And even you read the book without the knowledge that the idea for the book was originally came from the late Siobhan Dowd i.e you would be neutral about this book in the first place, then yes, this book would still be awesome. Trust me.

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Review: What She Left Behind

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What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Don’t even think of leaving… I will find you,” he whispered. “Guaranteed.”
Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it.
With each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.

I don't always read realistic fictions but when I do, I..

I..


Damn ninjas cutting onions!

So...it took me a full month before I finally posted a full review. The thought occurred everyday within that one month. I had been thinking, was it laziness? Was it lack of mood?

No.

I simply didn't want to go back there again, among those trees in the cover.

This is why I rarely read realistic fictions or watching documentary about abuse, poverty and such. I hate thinking, 'This shit happens, alright? More than I know. Everyday'. Oh well, I need to stop being a coward, am I?

This book is told from a sixteen years old girl POV. The voice sounded like how I would imagine a sixteen years old girl feels like. Very impressive writing.

While the book dealt with a heavy subject which is abuse, the romance is still incorporated but I didn't like it that much because everything between Sara and the boy who has crush on her happened too fast (It's a short book anyway and well, the romance is not the subject matter of the book a-ny-way).

I'm still not sure what to make of the idea that Sara has to write an assay for every English class based on different one word each time. I mean, for sixteen years old students, that method of teaching seems...fitting only for seven years old students?

Everything else about this book was mesmerizing, so I hope more people will read this someday.

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Review: Star Girl (Star Girl #1)

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Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Daring to Be Different
In a moving and highly engaging tale about the vagaries of adolescent peer pressure, Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli tells the story of Stargirl, a high school student who is startlingly different from everyone else. The need to conform -- and unabashed curiosity about those who don't -- are at the heart of this touching tale, which aptly demonstrates the peaks and pitfalls of popularity. 
Actual rating 4.5 stars

Well, what can I say. This book is equivalent to a cute cat on the internet. Heart-warming and generally likeable.


It's kind of funny because I kept anticipating outrageous revelations such as Stargirl is an alien, or Leo's imaginary friend, or a doll coming to life or anything like that (paranormal fantasy overdosed for sure). It is funny but in the same time it is sad that I can't imagine the existence of someone like Stargirl. What kind of society we live in today... *sigh*

If you read this book for the romance then well, there's not much in store for you. Leo and Stargirl relationship is oddly healthy (because Stargirl is definitely not the type of girl people would introduce to one's family but hey, she's definitely better than the bitches out there). Leo is not the strong male character I was expecting but I guess the author shaped his character as a representation of what a regular nice person would do. Of course most of us have a conscience to be nice to other people no matter how he or she behaves but not all of us would have the courage to stand up for the outcasts even though you know the majority is wrong anyway.

All in all, I would approve this book as a school textbook in coming years. There're so many valuable lessons coming out of this little gem.

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