I was immediately intrigued by the title the first time I heard about this book. Was the title a spoiler by the author or would there be an unexpected twist? Obviously I won’t tell you as it would be a spoiler on my behalf, but don’t let the title and whatever happened in the book fool you. This is not a book about death, but about life; about living your life to the fullest, because it could be over any second.

It’s also a beautiful story about two strangers who meet and fall in love under the strangest circumstances and about becoming the person you want to be without fear and the opinion of others holding you back.

I loved the two main characters, Mateo and Rufus, so much! When we meet them, they are both about to receive a call from a company called Death-Cast, who can predict when people will die and calls them up on their last day letting them know that they have less than 24 hours to live. Via an app called Last Friend they find each other and end up spending the day together.

Despite their differences - Mateo is quiet, introverted and very anxious, and Rufus has a bad boy appearance, living in foster care, with a criminal history, but also as will soon be evident, with a heart of gold - they soon take to each other. Instead of a sad, miserable day, they find love and the courage to change. Mateo has more or less stayed hiding at home due to his anxiety, but with Rufus he gains confidence to conquer his fears and take on the world. Rufus on the other hand has lived life almost too much, acting out as a way of trying to silence the guilt, grief and loss from previous happenings in his life.

Even though the story is very sad and I often had tears in my eyes, this book also gave me so much hope and feelings of love and gratefulness. It was such a beautiful thing that even on the worst day of your life, you can meet the one person that will change you and give you the courage to accept who you are.

I also loved the way the boys’ relationships with their families and friends are described. Especially Rufus, you can really feel how much his friends meant to him and how he would sacrifice his life for them if he could.

In the middle the book dragged a little. Even though the story is only about one day, the book is more of a slow read than a fast forward one, with perhaps a little too much descriptions of the things the boys did without any real purpose, like walking around town, eating food and singing karaoke. There are also this random chapters introducing new characters, which at first annoyed me slightly, but then really liked. It worked very well as a way of emphasizing that no person and no life lived is without importance. In total, there are around ten additional persons to Mateo and Rufus that gets a chapter each, or more, telling their story of living or dying on that same day. This gives the story extra depth and in the end, it was also clear that they more or less were connected to the larger part of the story.

Overall, I really loved this book and would recommend it to absolutely everyone, regardless if you like contemporary, YA or sad readings or not! This is truly a book that anyone will be affected by and start to rethink one’s own life after reading.

Rating:
​4 stars

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​Author info:
Adam Silvera

Shatter Me is amazing and unique! It’s raw, twisted and dark, yet hopeful and romantic at the same time.

There are so many things I love about this book, especially the writing style. It’s very special though, so I can understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was definitely mine! I think the writing is extraordinary. The way Tahereh Mafi uses numbers to tell and emphasize the story is so unique. The repetitions and the way she crosses over text to make us understand the underlying thoughts and doubts is almost magical.
 
The characters are also very complex and engaging. My heart really aches for Juliette and her situation. And even though it’s a sci-fi setting and a supernatural problem, you can really relate to it all, especially the feeling of being unwanted and scared without control over your own faith. And then the slow-burning romance with Adam. It’s so intense, with Juliette fighting her urge and desire to touch him, knowing that it might kill him. It’s so well done! And Warner. Talk about complex character! I have a strong feeling that he and Kenji will get much more focus in the following books. At least I hope so, they sure have captured my interest and I want to know so much more about them!
 
Overall Shatter Me was a brilliant and unique read and a fabulous start of this series that I cannot wait to continue!

Rating:
5 stars

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​Author info:
Tahereh Mafi

If I Was Your Girl is about Amanda Hardy, who is moving to a new school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda has a secret past; she used to be Andrew, and she has struggled growing up, being bullied, the whole gender identity issue of course and other hardship. But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can’t help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself, including her past.

I loved this book! So much! It’s such a heart-breaking story. I was immediately drawn into it and read it basically cover to cover in one sitting.

It’s also a very important book, that normalizes trans experiences, and opens they eyes to what the life of a girl who has undergone the medical procedures is like. What I especially liked about the book was that it was not a coming-out book, but a book about the every day life of a transgender teenager, dealing with issues like finding acceptance amongst friends, how to start dating and being intimate with a boyfriend, how to work things out with the parents.

Amanda was such a lovable character. My heart really ached for her, and I so wished for her to get a happy life and be fully accepted for who she was. I liked that there were passages in the book that showed Amanda’s past, to give a feeling for the hardship and abuse she’d endured. It gave her so much depth and made me get even more attached to her. These passages were really emotional, both from Amanda’s perspective but they also gave some insights on the issue from her parents perspectives. I really loved Amanda’s mother in the book and how she handled the ‘losing-a-son-to- get-a-daughter-thing’, which was something I’d never thought about before.

In the book Amanda also made some good friends. I loved the friendship, and it really gave me hope for Amanda’s life onwards. Her friends were all amazing, especially towards the very end of the book. (Except for one, but talking about that one will be a spoiler alert.)

What I loved about the book was the overall positive feeling. Yes, Amanda has been through a lot of terrible things, and has struggled so hard (even trying to commit suicide) to come to terms with who she was, but when the book takes place, her life is good. Or at least starting to be good. She has become the girl she’s always been and is about to start a new chapter in her life. I think that is a really important aspect and a wonderful message to take with you from the book.

Also, do not miss the author’s note at the end of the book. It really gives you an extra dimension to the book after reading it.

Rating:
​5 stars

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I absolutely love Simone Elkeles’s slow-build romances and her bad boy characters with good hearts. Chain Reaction is the third book in the Perfect Chemistry series following the three Fuentes brothers. This time focus is on the youngest of them, Luis, who has been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks… or falling for the wrong girl, Nikki.

Simone Elkeles hasn’t completely turned around the “bad boy – good girl” formula of the first two books to a “good boy – bad girl” story though. Instead she gives us shades of gray in both Luis and Nikki, which I really loved. Compared to the first two books though there wasn’t the usual spark in the romance, not the same tense and smoldering chemistry as I’d expected from a Simone Elkeles book. But still, it was a heart-warming and addictive story, and with so much lovely Fuentes brothers content!

I loved the continuity seeing the brothers a few years down the track; Alex and Brittany with little Paco, and Carlos and Kiara, and how Carlos still manages to screw things up… And the epilogue was pure Fuentes brothers candy! I’m so happy for that, so all in all I will rate this book 4 stars, thank to these aspects, whereas it as a standalone would have gotten a star less. 

Rating:
4 stars

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​Simone Elkeles

This is the first book in a new series that takes place in a fantasy world that resembles Game of Thrones quite a bit, with fights for power, wars between kingdoms and a magic twist with demons and the hunting for demon smoke. The story is told from five different POVs; Princess Catherine, royal guard Ambrose, servant March, thirteen-year-old demon hunter Tash and thief and royal bastard Edyon.

Five POVs might seem a little too much, but I really loved all of these different POVs and how they made the story more dynamic and interesting. I especially loved Princess Catherine’s character and how she adapted to living in a world of female oppression without losing her fierceness and self-confidence. And the romance with the honorable and gorgeous Ambrose was so sweet. My favorite though was demon hunter Tash; she was such a badass, strong and shining character that it was impossible not to fall in love with her completely! I didn’t connect that much with March and Edyon, but I think that might come as the series evolves.
​
I must confess though, that I had hoped for something similar to Sally Green’s previous the Half Bad series as to writing style and sense of rawness, but The Smoke Thieves is more of a traditional fantasy. There was a lot of action going on and the writing, the characters and the plot were truly enjoyable, but it was nowhere near the uniqueness of Half Bad. But a solid 4-star adventure, and I will definitely continue the series!

Rating:
4 stars

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I liked Stephenie’s idea of a gender swap and a retake of the story, but it turned out to be... just meh. Boring, frankly. I hoped that there would be some re-writing of the most problematic parts, or some new additions to the story, but it was the exact same story as in Twilight, but with all the characters as the opposite gender (except Bella’s parents). Just in itself, this gender swap didn’t add anything really new to the story. Also, since all the genders were different, the names changed too and quite honestly, I didn’t know who was who most of the time. (And why change the gender of everyone except for Charlie and Renee? Would a female chief of police and a male carefree Renee really have been too unrealistic? Compared to vampires...?)

I can’t help thinking that it would have been so much more interesting and refreshing if it had been turned into a LGBT story instead, like between Beau and Edward, or between Bella and Edyth…

​What I really loved about the book though was the foreword and afterword, you could really feel how much fun Stephenie had when writing it! For that, and for the nostalgia I give it three stars.

Rating:
​3 stars

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Stephenie Meyer

This debut by Audrey Coulthurst was one of the first lesbian romances I’ve read in a YA fantasy. I loved that the society described in the book was so open to women in general. There were women in positions of leadership and in the army, and it also seemed like there wasn’t any taboo in the relationship itself. The obstacles against it were more the circumstances, that Denna was already engaged to the Prince, not because it was two women falling in love. It was also good that Denna and Thandi (the Prince she was betrothed to) never had any romantic feelings for each other. It was not about Denna falling in love twice, or a love triangle, but about being torn between the duties enforced upon you and the wish to make your own decisions and be with your one true love.

I am really happy about this kind of diversity in YA Fantasy books and wish for there to be more of it in the future. But there were a few things that disappointed me, unfortunately. The fantasy world and the characters could have been more developed, and it would have helped a lot with a better background (why was magic forbidden and why was there an alliance between two of the kingdoms that needed to be sealed by a marriage?).

But overall it was a sweet and enjoyable read, with a fresh and different plot for a YA fantasy.

Rating:
3 stars

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​Author info:
Audrey Coulthurst