My Big, Fat, Fake Wedding by Lauren Landish // BOOK REVIEW

“She can be a badass bitch when she wants to be.”

Book: My Big, Fat, Fake Wedding

Author: Lauren Landish

Genre: New Adult, Romance, Fiction

Synopsis: He needs a wife. I need a husband. It’s just temporary… what could go wrong?

I’ve always wanted the fairy tale wedding. Not for the princess perfect dress or big party, but for Papa.

My grandfather. The only father figure I’ve ever known.

It’s his dying wish to walk me down the aisle.

Gee, no pressure.

But I can grant that wish...

I just have to fake being head over heels in love with Ross Andrews, my best friend's big brother whom I embarrassingly crushed on all through high school.

Handsome. Knockout sexy. Arrogant jerk extraordinaire.

Our childish pranks and tit-for-tat battles were legendary. Then I grew up.

Not that he ever noticed.

I know it’s a terrible idea, and we’re both in over our heads.

It could be the wedding of a lifetime or a total disaster.

How do we make it to the altar without killing each other first?

Or without falling in love for real?

What I think about it…

The Characters

Violet Russo is the main female character. She didn’t have any striking or unique characteristics or whatever. For me, she seemed just like a normal background character if not for her dilemma.

Ross Andrews just like any stereotype male lead character – handsome billionaire and a playboy. I find his personality a little problematic. I seriously disliked the way he handled the situation when their (spoiler) fake marriage was exposed.

The Story

I find this one overboard, so over-the-top. It was kind of funny and entertaining at first but the second half of the book felt like the story was being dragged and cringey and just too much. For someone who’s working in a corporate world, I find Ross’ conference with the Board absurd and hilarious. I don’t know if there’s ever a company that’s going to hold a meeting over someone else’s personal life – even if it’s the Vice President of the company. 

What didn’t work for me…

I like romance but this was too cringey and unbelievable, again, over-the-top. I readied myself when I realized that Ross is the brother of Violet’s best friend, Abi. For me it’s a no-no to date your friend’s siblings – that’s just incest (this is my opinion). So it added to the cringy-ness I was feeling but not too much. Also Ross’ pointing fingers when the truth was revealed kinda turned me off. He said something along the lines that yes, the Board certainly didn’t push him to do what he did but they pressured him. Oh-kay boy, so that’s what you do when you’re pressured? You make irrational decisions? Oh-kay.

My Verdict

In all fairness the love scenes here are quite steamy and Violet’s family is kinda amusing. I also have a big and crazy family. Honestly, the book was quite fine but maybe I’m just not in the mood for something like this. I skipped a lot of pages towards the end. Not that enjoyable but the story is kinda bearable.

MY RATING

★★☆☆☆

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak // BOOK REVIEW

“The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you.”

Book: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Genre: Classic, Historical, Fiction

Synopsis: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

What I think about it…

The Characters

Liesel Meminger, the book thief, her life – though fictional – made me think, ‘How can a little girl endured so much?’ She’s undeniably strong and courageous. I admire her bravery, of facing the world head on. She’s been through a lot of hell at a young age and yet she overcomes the world.

Rudy Steiner, oh boy Rudy is Liesel’s best friend. This boy with a lemon colored hair and a gangly blue eyes is athletic and brave. He was with Liesel everywhere. They’re literally partners in crime. From stealing apples, potatoes and books – a thief – he became the boy that hands breads to the Jews.

Max Vandenburg is the Jew that was kept in the Hubermann’s basement. He’s the only son of Papa’s former colleague – the guy that taught him how to play the accordion.

Papa is Hans Hubermann who taught Liesel how to read. I admire Papa so much. He embraced Liesel like she’s his own flesh and blood. He is tenderhearted. He has a gentle soul. He’s poor but that doesn’t stop him from helping people who needs it.

Mama is Rosa Hubermann who always, always curses everyone, like, she’s not gonna finish her sentences without a saumensch, saukerl or arschloch. She’s not Mama if she doesn’t curse but you know that’s her weird way of saying she cares and loves Papa and Liesel.

Ilsa Hermann is the Mayor’s wife. Ilsa became somewhat friends with Liesel. She lets her come inside their home, inside her library and she also lets Liesel read books there. She’s always in her robe and slippers with an unreadable expression. Honestly I don’t know what to make of Ilsa but there’s something in her that made me like her.

The Story

Liesel was 11 years old when she lost her younger brother. Her brother died in front of her and that’s what Liesel’s nightmares are made of in so many years to come. The day of her brother’s death, she got her first book – The Grave Digger’s Handbook. This book means so much to Liesel cos the book was there when she last saw her brother and the last time she saw her biological mother. But as ironic as it sounds, the book thief doesn’t know how to read. As the years went on and she started learning how to read, she also started stealing books.

What didn’t work for me…

I didn’t get the hype and for that I’m sorry. It was boring, for me, and the only time that I felt something about this book is that chapter. Maybe I’m just too dumb for this book because I didn’t understand a lot (and I mean a lot) of things here like, maybe, there are symbolisms or whatnot that I missed. I know Max’s sketch meant something but I was too bored to care. I don’t know what I missed but I think the reason why it was on my shelf for, like, forever was because it was in the historical genre.

My Verdict

This book has been in my shelf for years. Yes, years. It’s only this week that I had the urge to start reading it and boy it disappointed me. I felt bad that I didn’t love it like my friends loved it, like the people who I followed on Goodreads loved it. So yeah, one star for Rudy and one star for Papa.

MY RATING

★★☆☆☆

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater // BOOK REVIEW

“My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.”

Book: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Synopsis: “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

What I think about it…

The Characters

Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are the Raven Boys.

Gansey is President Cellphone. I super love Gansey. He's independent, smart and responsible. He's like the big brother to the three other boys. He's rich and yet he's so simple. There are times when he feels like he's nothing to his friends but what he didn't know is they love him and he's the glue that holds them all together.

Ronan is the bad boy that's barely holding it all together. He's been keeping a lot of secrets just like his father.

Adam is the clever one because he needs to. He's not rich just like every other students in Aglionby. Gansey took him under his wing and Adam doesn't like it. He wants things to work his way and not because he has rich friends. He's living with his abusive father and submissive mother.

Noah is Noah. He's always there although you can't see him.

Blue is the only girl in the circle. She's not part of the Raven Boys and she's not studying in Aglionby but she became friends with the Raven Boys because (1) Adam has a crush on her; (2) she doesn't have a psychic power just like everyone else in her family and; (3) her mother told her to stay away from the boys but she disobeyed her.

Barrington Whelk is the young Latin professor who was once a student in Aglionby. He came from a once very wealthy family. He also has a lot of secrets he's been keeping for years.

These characters are all so adorable. They have different personalities like for instance Ronan is arrogant and rough but Adam is the complete opposite and yet you know the love and care for each other is there. They roast each other like there's no tomorrow and yet you can feel their support towards one another. 'Tis squad I'm looking for.

The Story

The story is so intriguing and it might look like it's over the top but it's not. I was not expecting that the author will go for a love triangle here - Gansey, Blue and Adam - and upon finishing the first book, I still don't know who Blue will end up with or what will happen to Gansey. There's a lot of adventures and magic and paranormal in the story that makes it captivating.

My Verdict

I've been wanting to read this series for so long and now I'm beyond ecstatic that I get to have my hands on this first book already!

Paranormal genre is not my thing but the plot is too intriguing not to read. In the end, I don't regret a thing and my instinct is right that I'm gonna love this.

The story is cute and intriguing and not scary at all. Something tells me it's gonna be a favorite!

MY RATING

★★★★☆

Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3) by Patrick Ness // BOOK REVIEW

“To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility.”

Book: Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3)

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction

Synopsis: As a world-ending war surges to life around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale.

What I think about it…

The Characters

I love the character developments! Looking back in the first two books, Todd has come a long, long way. He was just a boy back in the first book but he’s a full-grown man in this final book. Viola’s character, too, improved greatly. Wilf too has come a long way. I’m happy to see the return of a certain character too (it was overwhelming and a bit shocking). We’ve seen a lot of old characters here too like Mistress Coyle (who I still don’t understand. I don’t know her motives. Is she good or bad?) and the bloody genius President Prentiss (gosh, I love his character so much). We were also introduced to new characters like Bradley and Simone – Viola’s friends from the first scout ship that arrived. And then there’s the Spackles – The Sky, The Land, The Return.

The Story

It’s still boring like the first two. It’s all about war from page one til the last one and it was so boring. I felt like it was dragged on for too long. I didn’t learn something new, just the same old story about them like Mistress Coyle doesn’t want Prentiss to lead the people so there’s the never-ending bickering between them; Mayor/President Prentiss’ controlling the people; Viola always choosing Todd; Todd always choosing Viola; Spackles being Spackles and so on. Some characters were improved but the others stay the same way and its booooring. I've also read the last short story entitled Snowscape (Chaos Walking #3.5) so if you feel like the ending of Monsters is a cliffhanger (because it is), the answer to our question is the last paragraph of Snowscape.

What didn’t work for me…

The whole thing didn’t work for me. I love the main characters but others not so much. I hated Mistress Coyle, why is she acting the way she did? She’s so detestable. Lots of violence, killings and bombing happened here and there and yet I feel like it was just there to make one chapter or one whole book. I didn't like it in ways I can't explain.

My Verdict

All in all I don’t like this series. I love Patrick Ness, I always say that and that’s what kept me from finishing this series and I even read the short stories even though I don’t like it – that’s how much I like him. But putting my love for Ness aside, would I recommend it? Nah. No. There are much better series than this. This is a complete waste of my time and I feel bad about it.

MY RATING

★★☆☆☆

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn // BOOK REVIEW

“I was not a lovable child, and I'd grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it'd be a scribble with fangs.”

Book: Dark Places

Author: Gillian Flynn

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Synopsis: Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

What I think about it…

The Characters

I honestly don’t feel anything about these characters especially with Libby. I don’t know what to feel about her. I feel sorry that she lost her family at a young age but I kinda don’t care, too. They’re all so weird for me. Libby was a miserable, kleptomaniac woman in her 30’s and what I hate most about her is her self-entitlement. I feel sorry for her but she’s just horrible. On the other hand, I feel indifferent towards the old Ben. I pity the 15-year old Ben but I still question why he chose the decisions he did. Lyle kinda freak me out and Diondra is a bitch. This book actually is freaking me out. The Kill Club is cool though.

The Story

The story is very dark as it revolves around the murder of the three members of the Day family (Michelle, Debby and their mother Patty). Libby and Ben survived the night of the murders because (1) Libby ran out of the house and hide and (2) Ben was the suspected murderer. Patty is a single mother raising her four kids while her ex-husband, Runner, is busy doing his own thing (yes, they’re separated).

Again, this story is twisted and this is the kind of story I’m expecting from Gillian Flynn after reading Sharp Objects and  I don’t like the creeps her books is giving me.

What didn’t work for me…

I kinda felt like it was so slow at the beginning like nothing important was really happening at all. It was so slow and boring that it took me a month to finish this one (I usually finish one book in two days). How slow it was in the beginning is how fast everything happened in the end though I would say that I wouldn’t want it any other way. Again, the characters are either detestable or creepy and I don’t like that feeling. I mean I understand that Libby became that kind of person because she lost her family at a young age and she’s been jumping from one place to another but I still feel like she’s a ticking time bomb like she’s also gonna kill people (I mean, I’m getting that vibe from her). She’s just creepy.

The first few chapters bore me, like, I feel all so jumpy in one of the chapters only to be disappointed by the next one. It is alternately narrated in the present (Libby’s own investigation) and the past (what happens during the day of the murder). It was written nicely but I think the problem for me is that, as I’ve said, the momentum is there in the chapter I’m currently reading but the next chapter is going to be a killer and when I read the next chapter that is the continuation of the other chapter, the excitement isn’t there anymore.

My Verdict

The plot is so dark and twisted. I love mystery and thrillers but I don’t know what’s in this book that creeps me out. The story is good but I feel so much indifference towards Libby that it made almost impossible for me to finish this book. But my desire to know what happened to her family pushed me anyway. And I only have one question in my mind, why did Ben let all that shit happen?

MY RATING

★★☆☆☆