Review: Tick to the Tock

Tick to the Tock is a Contemporary New Adult Novel about Dante coming-of-age during turbulent times. A story inspired by love, but with the gritty realities of regret, missed opportunity, and understanding life’s meaning under dire circumstance. But a single mind isn’t affected on this journey, as an eclectic group comes to terms with the past, present, and what lies ahead.

Dante must confront and accept his fate, but can he let go of Danni: his lost love and kindred dreamer? With his rationally stubborn cousin, and eccentric best friend, Dante witnesses a life of dream and wonder: embarking across Europe, tackling Tibet, travelling Australia, and defeating each lifelong wish one-by-one.

Follow this coming-of-age roller coaster as four lives change forever. We’re only given one, but it’s never too late to understand faith, discover acceptance, and uncover the true meaning of love and happiness. Dante will die, but not before Danii, Ethan, Wilbur and he undertake an intense and heartfelt journey.

Smile… Cry… Ask yourself what you would do with three months left… Because Love & Living Begins Now.

I received a free copy of this book from the author via the goodreads group YA and NA romance in exchange for an honest review.

This book hit close to home with me as I a family member died of a brain tumor. At first I felt sorry for Dante and wished that a miracle would happen, but after a while I began to despise him, I found it hard to carry on. I found the story dragged, but I think this is probably it’s just not for me, I do not often read this sort of thing although I usually enjoy them. This one just went on too much for and since I did not connect with the characters, I struggled.

It was well written and the writing was flowery and beautiful. The romance side is what I probably struggled with, I need something to take my mind off that I am reading romance and I thought the drama of his illness would do it. Unfortunately for me it did not.

This book was just not for me, but I can see why people really enjoyed it.

3 stars out of 5.

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Quilli.us and my writing

Quilli.us is a new site that is still in beta, it is for writers and anyone who likes to write. You can put your novels, short stories, screen plays anything you want up there. Other writers and readers will be able to comment on what they like and don’t like (hopefully constructively), which will help you improve your writing.

Tonight I put up the first chapter to the novel I am currently writing The Way of Magic. You can read it here. If you do read it please feel free to tell me what you think. If you choose to use this site to write your own please send me a link, I would like to read it.

The site is just getting going so there is not much activity yet, but hopefully with word of mouth it’ll get a good community going.

Happy reading (and writing).

Emma

TBR Thursday: Week 6

Once again I am a day late with this. But the idea of this is that every week we say what book that we have had for 3 months or more, we will be reading over the coming weekend or week. This meme is hosted by Words with Sarah.

I love Peter Pan all that is to do with him, looking forward to this book very much.

Review: Athena the Brain

Athena has always been above average. She has never quite fit in at Triton Junior High, but who would’ve guessed that Athena is actually a goddess? Principal Zeus’s daughter, to be exact.

When she’s summoned to Mount Olympus Academy, Athena thinks she might actually fit in for the first time in her life. But in some ways, school on Mount Olympus is not that different from down on Earth, and Athena is going to have to deal with the baddest mean girl in history: Medusa!

I loved this book, it was short but it was very sweet. I loved all the characters we know from mythology portrayed as teenagers, it was fun, original and very exciting. The whole concept of the school and how it was run was amazing. There was so much I loved about this book and I cannot think of one thing I disliked apart from it ending, thank goodness there’s more books in the series.

I loved the character Athena, she was one of the mythological characters I knew less about, it was fun to see her grow and interact. Medusa lived up to her reputation, how she got the snakes was a brilliant idea.

I am not sure what else I can say, other than read it 🙂

5 out of 5 stars

R4R Review: The Cage

The Cage by Jacci Turner

Four students are thrown together in a high school summer class. Tyrell tells of a dream he’s been having about a girl who’s in danger. Sam realizes it’s the same mystery girl she’s been sketching! Where is this information coming from and what should the Blue Group do about it?

Join Tyrell, Tiffany, Sam and Orlando as they navigate the complicated world of high school
friendship,romance and something bigger than both!

I received a free copy of this book from the author via the goodreads group We love Ya books, in exchange for an honest review.

General Review (No Spoilers)

I liked this book very much. The setting of a school was nothing original, but a summer English class of different schools and ages, all there for different reasons, was a creative one. The teacher seemed very nice and actually cared about the students. It was good to see a fun side of him as well as a serious side. It was a nice mix of students in the Blue group, different backgrounds and up-bringings. The way each character’s story was told and how they grew was really clever and had me engrossed. It took a little longer than I would have like for the mystery girl to be mentioned and them do anything about it, but that’s just me, I expected most of the book to be about it.

There were some dark issues dealt with in this book, the author did not go into great detail but I would not suggest this for readers under 15. Also a little too much religion in this for me.

4 out of 5 stars.

Step by Step Overview (Spoilers)

0%-Looks like a fun, intriguing YA novel, around 150 pages so not long.

10%- So far the characters seem likeable. The way you are getting to know them all through an English assignment is clever and creative.

20% – So far it has a lot more depth than I expected. I did not expect some of the dark issues mentioned.

30% – I do hope we hear more about their stories, I am really enjoying them. I loved the Catholic story very much, made me smile.

40% – It’s nice to see them taking such interest in each others lived. The concert sounded magical, it takes a great author to make me want to something like that, but I really wanted to be there.

50% – I am guessing the group are going to pair off into couples; Tyler with Tiff and Sammy with Lando. I am looking forward to hearing more about the mystery girl and how she comes into the story.

60% – So now Charity is having dreams about the girl too, a little overkill in my opinion.

70% – The growth in the characters is good but I did think the story would be more about the girl.

80% – Finally we are getting somewhere. Don’t get me wrong I am enjoying the story greatly, just not what I expected it to be about. How are they going to find the girl?

90%-  Good Dwana is now safe and they will hopefully get her home to her parents.

100% – I liked how the author finished up the book well, all issues were cleared up, but for me the poem was not needed. I really liked how the author put links to support groups for issues discussed in the book.

 

Review: Gossip Girl

Welcome to New York City’s Upper East Side, where my friends and I live, go to school, play, and sleep—sometimes with each other.

S is back from boarding school, and if we aren’t careful, she’s going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn’t fit into, steal our boyfriends’ hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way. I’ll be watching closely . . .

You know you love me,

gossip girl.

I really enjoyed the T.V. show, although the book is not usually something I would read but decided to give it a try. Glad I did. It was really fun and as you’d expect full of gossip. Serena was an enigma, she seemed to have two personalities, it annoyed me a little. But I really enjoyed the rest of it. Some of the characters were not what I expected. But I did expect more gossip and more scandal. Dan was not what I expected, he was a lot more whiny and too much of a cliche. It seemed like he was wanting people to think he was sensitive and I honestly wanted to tell him to stop being so pretentious and get over himself.

I hope that Dan and Serena get together. They seem like they would make a nice couple, a little odd but nice. Chuck is a little perverse, almost illegally so. He abused a girl and she felt like she could not yell out and no-one seemed to care. That really annoyed me.

I would read this again and I am looking forward to the second one in the series.

4 out of 5 stars.

TBR Thursday: Week 5

TBR Thursday is a meme hosted by Words With Sarah, the idea is to say which book that has been on your shelf for three or more months, you are going to read in the weekend or in my case, since I work all weekend, over the coming week.

I read the first one a while back, looking forward to reading this one. 🙂

ARC Review: The Rebel Within

First book in Rebel series.

Forced to grow up quickly, Annabelle (16) faces adult dilemmas and a fight for her life. Orphaned at age three when the elite military corps took parents, she’s a tomboy who rebels against a conformist society. The state pushes her to become a cop intern to catch escaped boys. Then she’s forced to choose between joining the elite military unit that took her parents or being torn from her beloved sister and adoptive mom.

The Rebel Within turns our male dominated world upside down. After the Second American Civil War, the Federal Union pursues a utopian society without men by rounding up the remaining males, and enforcing Harmony. Central to their plan is EggFusion Fertilization and Female Mechanized Warriors based near Knoxville.

In this world, Annabelle faces a cop intern boss who hates her, a military commander who demands too much, and an amazon bully who won’t leave her alone. She meets a handsome boy who escapes prison. As she tries to survive rigorous military training and hunt for her imprisoned birth mother, Annabelle must choose between capturing the boy and helping him escape, while she wrestles with the consequences of her actions.

I received a free copy of this book via the goodreads group Shut up and Read, in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with this book. I found it slow and really dragged. I really did not like the characters and I found some of the relationships a little disturbing. I really did not like Dara, from the first meeting she annoyed me. I actually almost stopped reading because of her. I did struggle to carry on. I felt like I was wading through mud rather than flowing down a stream. There was no point I actually cared what happened to the characters, if it had not been a review book I would not have finished.

There was terms that was never explained and some of the rules were very unbelievable. The only bit I really liked was hearing about Morgan and other males. It gave me something to hang onto. There was something lacking in this book for me, I cannot put my finger on what it is. The premise and idea of book was great, it did not follow through in execution.

I will not be continuing with the series.

2 out of 5 stars

How Much is Too Much?

When I bought this book on my kindle it was ~£6, which for a debut novel I thought was a little steep. I was having a look at the reviews the other day it has gone up to £10.17 for the kindle book. A little pricey in my book. Especially for a book that is only rated 3.35 stars out 5 on goodreads.

So how much is too much for a kindle book? I understand the author needs to make a living, but £10 is over-priced.

What do you think? Would you pay that for a kindle book? I am keen to hear your thoughts. 😀

Review: The One

THE SELECTION changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. Now, only one will claim Prince Maxon’s heart…

It’s swoon meets the Hunger Games in the final instalment of THE SELECTION trilogy!

For the four girls who remain at the palace, the friendships they’ve formed, rivalries they’ve struggled with and dangers they’ve faced have bound them to each other for the rest of their lives.

Now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown – or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realises just how much she stands to lose – and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.

The breathtaking finale to THE SELECTION trilogy will make you swoon!
This was better than the Elite, but not as good as the Selection. At least Aspen wasn’t so bad in this one, I could stand him enough to read the pages with him in. Maxon had changed so much in the second book, he did not feel quite right, he is getting back to his old self now and it reads much better. Without giving anything away, I loved the end, it worked out as it should have with extra drama. One part did make me sad, it made sense, but if I cried at books I would have cried then.

There was a few parts that did not sit quite right with me, they happened to quickly to feel real. But overall I enjoyed the story, it was a nice end and made perfect sense.

four out of five stars.