Category: Review (Page 219 of 297)

BOOK REVIEW: How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller

August 28, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A meth dealer. A prostitute. A serial killer.

Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear.

Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class. But then Mandel recruits a fierce new competitor who also happens to be Flick’s old flame. They’ve been told only one of them will make it out of the Mandel Academy. Will they find a way to save each other—or will the school destroy them both?

“What takes more guts? To fight for your own life at any cost-or prove that you’re willing to lose it?”

Well, well, well….I am so beyond happy. <<< Eew that sentence, but it’s so true! Months ago, I read a series that I absolutely cherished, adored, obsessed over-I Hunt Killers. It took me a long time to get over my Jazz boy, and anyone that didn’t grasp my level of obsession over him would have to have been blind or wholly disinterested. But what do you do when you can’t make extra books appear out of thin air when your favorite series of the year ends? You find similar books.

I don’t care about Ghosts or girls anymore. I don’t give a damn about proof. This monster is just waiting for a chance to kill it’s creator. One way or another, I’ll get out. And then I’m going to destroy him.

But, as it was, when I started this, I couldn’t stop thinking of my wonderful Jazzy boy. So, this was put on hold until I could get my head out of that world and I could focus on this one. My long winded story ends here, I promise-This weekend I couldn’t get into my book, so I scoured my e-library and saw this beauty. It suited my mood, it reminded me of a favorite, had an addicting and compelling story, and it had an amazing male lead that had me rooting for him from beginning to end. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book…but, in the end, it was a thrilling page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat.

I would sacrifice almost anything to stay here with her. And that’s exactly why I have to leave. She will keep me from becoming what I need to be. And if she tries to save me, I will end up destroying her.

And that’s the best part-It wasn’t extremely fast-paced, it wasn’t action on each and every page, and it wasn’t what you’d expect. But, with all that being said, it was so much better. It was chilling, intense, underhanded, and brutal in it’s subtlety. I didn’t need non-stop action, nor did I need millions of things to happen at once. This story was so manipulative and gripping that I never once was thinking about anything but what was happening in front of my face-that is so rare for me. I am always thinking to the next chapter, the next page, the next problem, but because this was so intense I was so worried for our main character that I only cared what was happening to him in the here and now.
I thought this time, I was willing to do anything. Now Mandel will know that it’s all just an act. Because there’s one thing that I will not do. Not even to save the world from a monster. I won’t let Joi die.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I went into this, but I never expected for it to have The Testing vibes mixed with an I Hunt Killers theme I so immensely craved. And, even more than that, it was sad. Our poor boy, who had lived an inexplicably sad and undeserved life, was hurting-and rightfully so. More than once my heart ached for him and was torn to shreds as he imagined his little brother right beside him, even though he never truly could be again.

I’m not a lost boy, and I’m too old for a Wendy. But I want to remember her once before I let her go. All I get is a faint whiff of jasmine before my dream’s interrupted. And then the last person I’ll love is gone for good.

I choked on tears, wished for a better life than what he got, and hoped for him to make it out of Mandel Academy alive….but that’s hard to accomplish when you set out to make enemies.

Second period just started, and I already have five enemies, a pretty blond stalker, and zero friends. It’s a record, even for me.

Flick (No, that’s not his real name) is a thief, a boy so good at pick-pocketing on the streets that all it takes is a flick of his wrist and he has your license, your money, your life in his hands-clever, eh?? His humor is exactly what I love in these books. Thrown into a world he’d have never wanted after losing his mother and almost identical brother, the only two happy things in his life, and being beaten for the most minuscule things (I mean it-like, being beaten to a bloody pulp) by his father, Flick is what you could probably call a ‘tortured’ male lead.
When I was younger, I’d make Jude stand beside me in front of my mother’s closet mirror. We looked so much alike. I couldn’t see what the difference was-I couldn’t understand how my father could love one of us and loathe the other.

So, when he is offered a chance to go to Mandel Academy in exchange for information that will help him take down his father, the reason for all the bad things in his life, he accepts….but at a price-he must leave Joi, his last happy thing, behind without a word or notice.

Suddenly I see the problem with Jude’s brilliant advice. Be who you want to be, he said. Well, the person I’d like to be would save View Spoiler »Violet « Hide Spoiler. But that would be dangerous. I could die trying-and there’s only one of me to sacrifice.

I’ll be quick-Joi is who makes him strive to be better, what keeps him from flipping his switch and turning into a monster. She helps anyone and everyone, never turning down even the most lost of souls, and she is a ray of sunshine in his-and many other children’s-bleak world. But don’t be mistaken-Joi can be a badass, too. But I don’t want to spoil that for you ;).

Maybe he’s not going to give me the choice to trade my life for hers. Maybe he’s found another way to force me to watch the girl I love be destroyed.

All in all, I never expected much from this story. I didn’t know where it was going or when the blurb would come into play-but I was never bored. And the minute the blurb does kick in? Wow. The things Flick has to do, the intense, multi-layered cast of CRAZY characters he has to encounter and go through….Wow. Keep your eye on a certain…yeah, never mind. Just watch out, ‘K? It’s never safe. Never trust anyone. And don’t do anything you can’t live with. This chilling cast of characters will make your head spin…..and I still am thinking about it, even a day after finishing.

This is how it feels to lose your last hope. To stop treading water. To unplug life support.

BOOK REVIEW: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

August 24, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
What if you'd been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, who she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that's as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her archnemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger). But just when Alice's scores are settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she's said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she caused irreparable damage to the people around her—and to the one person who matters most?

Julie Murphy's Side Effects May Vary is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality.

Karma was a bitch, but so was I.

Once upon a time, there was a girl. This girl grew up with her best friend, her partner in crime, and they were inseparable. She was the ring-leader, and he’d follow her anywhere. He’d do anything for her, because he had fallen madly in love with her. They got to high school. They drifted apart. Then one day, her world shattered with the uttering of three simple words: You have cancer. And with the proclamation of these words, the world became clearer. Her world began to focus, align. She would get the boy on her side again. She would start a bucket list. But not just any bucket list-she would make all those who wronged her pay. Her story isn’t pretty. Her story isn’t nice. She manipulates, breaks hearts, and makes people’s lives (or one person’s in particular) a living hell. You will not like her. You will not condone her actions. But you will finish this, and you will sympathize with her. Your morbid curiosity-and longing for the boy to get what he wants-will win out…but you won’t like the harsh reality. I warned you.

Cancer would take away plenty. My hair, my body, my life. What I’d never realized, though, was that there was one privilege to dying: the right to live without consequence.

Wow. I just don’t even know what to say to this?? What a harsh, manipulative, heart-breaking,
addicting book. Never have I read something that conflicted my feelings so much…okay, lies-But it’s been a while! I went into this not really knowing what I was getting myself into. The reviews are dreadfully mixed, ranging from ‘wow this was epic’ to…yeah, I won’t even say it. Alice isn’t a nice girl-of that I was sure of. But the extents she goes to?? I just never…I never expected it. Now, listen to this. It wasn’t even the payback. Sorry, guys, her bucket list was epic. But no, she treated Harvey, her best friend, the boy who has loved her since they were kids, like shit. This? This was extremely hard to handle.

When the girl you loved was dying, it was hard not to let yourself go with her.

Everyone knows I am always on the boy’s side. It’s inevitable-that’s just meeeeee. But in this one, I don’t see how you couldn’t feel horrible for the boy. How you couldn’t fall in love with him and be on his side. He was the kindest person ever-He’d drop everything to help Alice. He’d humiliate himself in front of the whole school to save her. He’d protect at any and all costs, even if he felt like he was losing a piece of his soul-and he did. He really, truly lost a part of himself in this story, and it tore me to shreds. He would sacrifice everything for her…but there’s a point where even the most in love, dedicated guys can’t take the heartache anymore. Naturally this was when I felt like my heart had went through a wood chipper. Enough was enough….but when you’re madly, truly deeply in love with someone, when do you give up? Never.

When I dropped her off, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, a small gesture that she knew would appease me. I hated myself for letting it be this way, and I hated her for making it this way. But, really, I loved her, and that hurt the worst of all because I was tired of being her debris.

Alice was a bitch. A manipulative asshole. A vengeful little shit. She was beyond redemption and deserved everything that came her way…but, yet….I understood her. I even liked her sometimes-Go figure. But, as I said, every time she manipulated Harvey I didn’t like her. Anyone that can treat someone that way is disgusting, no matter the circumstances. What she went through was horrible, dreadful, but in no way excused treating someone you love that way. Her bucket list was complete, she was on her death bed, when she finally gets the news any person would cherish and grip onto with their last shred of hope and dignity-You’re in remission. But not Alice-Alice has a lot to atone for…and she’s in deep shit.
Oh shit.
This, I did not expect. This was not on my list.

One thing I must say was that the writing wasn’t quite what I’d expected it to be-It didn’t flow as much as my favorite books have lately and it was missing a lyrical quality I’ve grown accustomed to, but that is probably due in part to the intensity of every page. You weren’t focused on the writing so much as Harvey’s heart breaking into little tiny pieces chapter by chapter, and of course that stunted every line, every paragraph-the lines were blurred, but only because I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was written in a then and now fashion, which I loathe normally. But as the story progressed, it only served to produce impact-POWERFUL IMPACT…and it made me think the story was perfect as it was and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’d known her my whole life. Other girls didn’t exist for me in the same way she did. They had been there all along, these feelings; the only thing that had changed was my understanding of them. My whole body finally connected the dots, and I realized that even if we were never together, she’d ruined me and I’d never feel that way about anyone again.

****
On that cold night in January it all slipped into place for me and she became my everything and my everyone. My music, my sun, my words, my hope, my logic, my confusion, my flaw.
I was thirteen years old, and she was all these things to me.
And I was her friend.

So, if stories with a morally ambiguous character aren’t your thing, I’d steer clear of this story altogether. It’s not a sweet story (unless you count Harvey and Alice’s love story), it’s not light or easy or wholly likable…but it has heart. It has substance. And it might or might not be gratifying, in the end….but this story became beyond addictive and had my stomach in knots from beginning to end….And never has revenge tasted so sweet.

BOOK REVIEW: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

August 21, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

I thought about the metal in my knee, replacing this piece of me that was missing, that no longer worked. And it wasn’t my heart, I kept telling myself. It wasn’t my heart.

Ah, okay…so. So. I’m going to venture out and say I have no clue what I want to say. There. Simple. I said it. Except…I had so much to say. I had little notes written here and there and I found some great enjoyment and humor from page one to the end. And then there was so much sadness entwined in each layer of humor, of each dig at his being crippled. It was a very complex book in the aspect that you didn’t know if you should be happy or sad sometimes….Like, at times, I wondered why this book focused so much on popularity, like it was almost mockingly downplaying the tragedy of his accident. But then, before I could get too judgmental, the main character kind of snapped out of it-He began to see life for what it really was, what it meant, who he could be…and that’s where I found my greatest enjoyment.

Everyone’s life, no matter how unremarkable, has a moment when it will become extraordinary-a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen.

I’m sure a lot of teens do go through the motions from day-to-day, taking for granted the fact that they woke up breathing, had many friends, and were a part of whatever tier their little social hierarchy was…I know I did. I never cared or thought twice about who I was or where I ranked. I never had to worry about it-until I did. Life changes. People evolve. You meet your soul mate or whoever you think you should be with, you make career choices or college choices or even life choices, and your friends might no longer be compatible with where you are going. I understand that, because it happened to me. I never thought of my rank…until I met THE one-Yeah, that guy I’m married to, now.

Tennis was like a video game, one that I’d beat a million times, with the pleasure of winning long gone. A game that I’d kept on playing because people expected me to, and I was good at doing what people expected. But not anymore, because no one seemed to expect anything from me anymore. The funny thing about gold is how quickly it can tarnish.

It’s funny how quickly people turn on you when you don’t want to hang out with endless boys every Friday and Saturday night like they used to ask you to-how quickly I was outcast-It was almost comical. But what happens when you are outcast from the ‘awesomest group of friends ever?’ You move the fuck on-just like I did. You see, part of who I can say I was (and I still am, really), is that I never was mean to people. I had friends in every clique, group, sports team, whatever. So I just walked to the other side of the hallway to my other friends standing by their lockers, and it was as easy as breathing-except it wasn’t. It hurt. It hurt like a mother fucker that my best friend, the girl who had spent the night at my house for a whole summer while we stayed up ’til 4 AM watching scary movies and binge-drinking Mountain Dew (except when we had a game the next day!), had iced me out, was spreading rumors about me, talking behind my back, and generally trying to make my life a living hell-and it was-internally. Keep in mind: One day we were totally fine, the next, people were approaching me saying that my best friend was talking about me and we apparently weren’t friends anymore. This was news to me. All because of who I chose to date. It’s sick, and there’s more to the story, as there always is, but that’s the gist of it. We were at pivotal moments in our lives, and she wanted to start rebelling, to start drinking and partying, as most kids do, I realize, but I was never that way. I didn’t need anyone to pull me in that direction, my parents aren’t/weren’t drinkers, so I was never going to take that path. She had started to go out behind my back (I don’t know why? I wouldn’t have cared…just proof positive of her insecurities-who am I to judge? You’re my best friend for fuck sakes…) and fib-Me dating my now-husband was just the final jealous nail in the coffin. It is what it is. My point? While it hurt that my soccer friends and everyone on that social tier was being kind of ridiculous, I held my head high like I didn’t care, moved on to my other friends, and walked down the hallways laughing and acting as if my world hadn’t changed. Sometimes life takes a direction you never expected-but it makes you a better person for it, in the end.

It was like the part of me that had enjoyed those friends had evaporated, leaving behind a huge, echoing emptiness, and I was scrabbling on the edge of it, trying not to fall into the hole within myself because I was terrified to find out how far down it went.

And believe me when I say that I had no intention of writing any of that-it never even crossed my mind while reading this book, but, for some reason, when I started this review, that story felt relevant. You know, the lack of similarities as you grow older, the fact that I chose to take a different path, a harder path. Oh, PS, she had apologized a year later-after I was okay with standing on the other side of the field during soccer practice and acting like it didn’t bother me at all to hang with other girls on the team. It came in the form of-“Oh, wow *grabs ear* when did you get this pierced? That’s cool!” I guess we acted like it never happened…except for a letter of apology. Needless to say, we barely talk now, but we’re on okay terms. Sigh. Anyway. I am not comparing myself to Ezra, I think he was a little skewed on his thoughts of who he should hang out with and why…but it felt right to mention that, even when things aren’t going the way you want them to, it might not be the worst thing to happen to you, nor is it the end of the world.

He’d grown up into exactly the unabashedly nerdy, quick-witted guy you’d expect from a kid who went door-to-door selling homemade comics to raise the start-up capital for our summer lemonade stand when we were ten. And I’d grown up into a massive douche-with a cane.

My story had a happily ever after….but did Ezra’s? His story, even from the beginning, while riddled with his humor, had a dark undertone. His life was tennis, he was popular, he had a girlfriend…then one fateful night he gets slammed into by an SUV-shattering his knee beyond repair. He will never get to play tennis again. His whole life, career path, etc, are gone…or so he thinks. I loved that he was a closet nerd. It made me deliriously happy, actually. I can’t say I always loved all the conversations he had with his new found (some old, some new) group, but I loved the sincerity with which he connected with them-how he finally felt like he belonged and that was where he always should have been. I loved Ezra, in the end.

She was achingly effortless, and she would never, in a million years, choose me. But, for the next few minutes, I contented myself with the magnificent possibility that she might.

I had a lot of problems with this book. I can’t even tell you why (See blur rating shelf above). But some things I can tell you:

1. The Romance-Fuck that bitch, Ezra, you could do better. I didn’t like her-ever. But that’s my personal opinion. My heart melted as he fell in love with the mysterious Cassidy Thorpe. He was such a fragile, adorable boy who fell for a girl completely high on herself. Eh, I’m biased, sue me.

As always, she left me wanting more, and dreaming of what it would be like if I ever got it.

*****************

She tasted like buried treasure and swing sets and coffee. She tasted the way fireworks felt, like something you could get close to but never really have just for yourself.

2. The Plot-While a wonderful message, in the end (for a while it seemed a tad clique-y and cliche, maybe it always was, but I stopped seeing it near the end), it was a tad day-to-day activity for me, and I didn’t like the people he surrounded himself with enough to love it.

3. The Characters– See above. But I loved Toby and Cooper. More on Cooper here in a sec. I never really believed the character’s reactions-not all of them, anyway. Some of it felt false or misplaced and I kind of thought those parts were a little exaggerated. But that’s probably just me.

4. The Voice/Humor– I LOVED Ezra’s voice. I wasn’t sure at first, but as the story progressed, I started to highlight more and more of his hilarious voice. His humor was THE BEST. Perfectly cheesy humor and bad puns-win.

5. Nostalgic References– If you were a child of the 90’s, or even remotely aware of any happenings, toys, shows, etc. in the 90’s, the nostalgic ramblings, conversations, and throw backs were epic. I was smiling SO big about stuff I had long forgotten. Wow.

6. Cooper–Cooper the dog was by far my second favorite character. The way he talks to him and the bond they have breaks my heart. He had read The Great Gatsby over the summer and had a ton of those type of references, imagining the dog referring to him as ‘old sport’ on more than one occasion. I LOVED this dog-he is loyal, fun, and a total badass….I absolutely adored this aspect.

7. I cried–That is all. Out of nowhere. Right in the feels.

We move through each other’s lives like ghosts, leaving behind haunting memories of people who never existed. The popular jock. The mysterious new girl. But we’re the ones who choose, in the end, how people see us. And I’d rather be misremembered.

So, without further adieu, I will wrap this up. I never meant for this to be long. It was actually supposed to be short because I both loved and hated this…but sometimes, as my friend just said, the review decides for you. I think there was a lot of stereotype stuff in here, but the message was clear: It wanted to be stereotypical. It wanted the message to pop out at the end for all to see, and I get what the author was doing. I just wonder if people with this dislike in books will be able to get past that and the somewhat slow pace to actually get to the message at the end. I don’t know. Either way, I had a fun time with this one-for the most part.

**PS, there were literally so many quotes I wanted to use that I couldn’t-if nothing else, this book had a million quotable parts. I am sad I didn’t have enough room, lol.

***

This one hurt, Guys-really, truly, deeply. Ouch.

But not for the reasons you’d suspect….Or maybe exactly for the reasons you suspect. Who knows.

Review to come.

BOOK REVIEW – Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne

August 20, 2015 / Jen / 0 Comments

Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When Parker Blanton meets Ben Olsen during her freshman year of college, the connection is immediate—and platonic. Six years later, they’re still best friends, sharing an apartment in Portland’s trendy Northwest District as they happily settle into adult life. But when Parker’s boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she starts to wonder about Ben’s no-strings-attached approach to dating. The trouble is, even with Ben as her wingman, Parker can’t seem to get the hang of casual sex—until she tries it with him.

The arrangement works perfectly . . . at first. The sex is mind-blowing, and their friendship remains as solid as ever, without any of the usual messy romantic entanglements. But when Parker’s ex decides he wants her back, Ben is shocked by a fierce stab of possessiveness. And when Ben starts seeing a girl from work, Parker finds herself plagued by unfamiliar jealousy. With their friendship on the rocks for the first time, Parker and Ben face an alarming truth: Maybe they can’t go back. And maybe, deep down, they never want to.

Review:

**A truly intoxicating friendship to lovers story. It was sexy, the banter was hilarious, and the elements of friendship and love were touching and done brilliantly.**

Lauren Layne has done it again! Her books always contain the perfect combination of sexiness, banter, family, friendship and love. And the writing always plays out like a movie in my head. I can visualize everything so clearly, yet I’m not weighted down with a ton of details. But this time around, I have a confession. Blurred Lines is now my favorite Lauren Layne book. Please don’t tell Mitchell and Julie from After the Kiss, because while I love them dearly, there is something intricately special to me about reading a friends to lovers story. I’ve been there and done that when I was younger, but reading this twist on that trope still felt fresh to me. So YES! I. Loved. This. Book! Blurred Lines was truly intoxicating, and I can’t wait for you to meet Parker and Ben.

Parker Blanton and Ben Olsen have been best friends since their first year of college. After graduation, they moved in together and their arrangement worked great. But when Parker gets dumped by here boyfriend of almost 5 years, she decides that she wants to be more like Ben. Which is having meaningless yet hopefully hot sex with strangers. But a hiccup happens and now Parker is looking at Ben to be her one night stand man. And when they do take that next step, oh my goodness, the sex is scorching HOT! They were intimate, sexy and I loved every minute of it! But being friends and having sex creates cracks in their friendship. Where do they go from there?

From the first chapter, I could feel the fun, love and closeness in their friendship. They had adorable little rituals like asking the other if they wanted to talk or mute when they were upset or seemed off. And the banter between the two of them was hilarious. I was laughing so hard that I was crying – hello Polly the doll ha! But the love they had for one another shined through loud and clear. Heck if I was Parker, I would be looking at Ben for sex too. That’s because she could count on him and trust him completely, plus he always had her best interests at heart. Especially when he was sacrificing his own needs or wants to make her happy. And each time he did that, my heart would be crying yet at the same time be happy because he was such a true friend. Sigh, I loved Ben. Especially his inner dirty thoughts haha.

But don’t be mistaken, they were definitely not perfect or flawless. I mean, Ben was a player and Parker could be a hypocrite or clueless at times, but that made them that much more real. They screwed up, made mistakes and struggled with choices they made that were wrong. But you know what? When characters are imperfect, it makes it easier for me to relate or find little tiny pieces of myself in them. Those are always the characters that I will remember months and years down the road.

So if you can’t tell, Lauren Layne has quickly become one of my favorite authors. She has a knack for writing memorable stories that feel real and relatable. Especially when we get alternating points of view which allows me to understand Parker and Ben inside out. I easily found myself attached to both of them and became lost in laughing at their antics and then crying in sadness and happiness for what happened to them. Blurred Lines is a story that I will definitely be reading again and again in the future! If you haven’t read Parker and Ben’s story yet, I highly recommend it!

*ARC kindly provided by Random House Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

BOOK REVIEW: Poison Study (Study #1) by Maria V. Snyder

August 17, 2015 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

Poison Study (Study #1)
by Maria V. Snyder
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison...

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear..

Who better to have on my side? Rand, the cook, whose food I’d be eating on a daily basis, or Valek, the assassin, who had a nasty tendency of poisoning my meals?

Ahhh where do I even begin??? Is there even an adequate place to start? Wellll, first I’d like to give a shout out to my two vacant besties who did a ~~wonderful~~ horrible job of reading this with me-Hello, Bitches (you know who you are, my lovelies). They really missed out. While subtle in it’s charm, this book sneaks up on you like poison in your veins (Muaha I went there).

With a soft, languid pace, this book tricks you with it’s addicting nature-It isn’t rushed, hurried, nor overly stuffed with information, yet each chapter something significant happens that has you on the edge of your seat. Whether it’s an attack on Yelena to abduct her, a poison lecture on what to watch out for, or an actual tasting for the commander, I was never once bored and found myself idly wondering how this book could so be wonderful with it’s understated simplicity.

Shouldn’t, should, shouldn’t, should. So easy to say but so hard to believe.

I think that’s my favorite part, if I’m being honest-aside from the romance, duh-the beautiful writing. I don’t know why, but each page that passed had me begging for more even as plenty was happening. For such a simple job, Yelena has a lot of enemies, and with those enemies comes attacks, training, and so much more. I yearned for those moments when Valek had to come save the day because there was yet another threat on her life (and no, it wasn’t a tacky nine-lives deal like the Kathleen Turner series…this chick had real enemies). But he’s another story altogether…

I moved. In a heartbeat I twisted her arm behind her back. She yelped as I raised her hand up high, forcing her to bend forward.
“I am not a rat,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ve proved my loyalty. You will get off my back. No more nasty messages in the dust. No more prying into my things. Or the next time, I’ll break your arm.” I shoved her hard as I released my grip.

Yelena. Omg I loved her. She was strong, determined, cunning, and brave. She was weak, scared, and the target of an evil man. She was so many things all wrapped up into one small package, and she was on the last leg of her life. A convicted and admitted murderer, she is next in line for noose. But then an opportunity arises where the next in line to die is to be offered the position of poison testing the Commander’s food. He is a powerful man who has many powerful enemies-all who want to be his successor and take his position as their own. So Yelena has a choice-die by noose the following morning, or agree to be the guinea pig and possibly die by poison on any given day if she doesn’t detect all traces of poison at any given time. But, in the end, there’s really no choice at all-Live with danger, or die.

Damn it, I thought, angry at myself. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about. I shouldn’t miss Valek; I should try harder to escape. I shouldn’t figure out the bean puzzle; I should sabotage it. I shouldn’t admire and respect him; I should vilify him.

Valek. Oh gosh he was perfection. A trained assassin loyal only to the Commander, he is appointed with teaching Yelena the art of poisons so she can be the food taster for the commander. Up until Yelena, Valek has been filling in the position after the last food taster met his untimely end. He is fierce, loyal, and a total hardass when it comes to training Yelena…but the same could be said of his defending her. A convicted felon is nothing in comparison to keeping his commander safe, but what happens when she starts to show her strength and determination? Her willingness to do whatever needs to be done to stay alive? What happens when attack after attack, he grows more and more desperate to keep her alive….even as he implies it’s nothing more than him doing his job and not wanting to have to train another poison tester.

My interactions with Valek resembled a performance on the tightrope. One minute I was confident and balanced, and the next insecure and unstable.

Come on, Valek, you adorably sly dog. We all know after training you should be moving on…Anywho, I adored them. They were absolutely adorable. He is a busy bee and she is doing everything she can to stay alive…but each time she thinks she’s alone and there’s no way she’ll get out of her predicament, who’s right behind her to save the day? A slow burn romance at it’s finest, we see them gradually falling for one another as each day passes, more confusion and desperation in preventing each action that might cause them pain or suffering…I couldn’t help but to become addicted, now could I?

Even more than the romance, though, was the friendships formed. I mean, it was absolutely adorable when she befriends two soldiers and they do everything in their power to keep her safe when Valek can’t. Loyal friends who train her in combat and watch out for her at every turn, I was almost as obsessed with them as I was the romance. It’s not often I find a friendship addicting, but this one got under my skin.

“It’s a dirty way to fight, but I’m late for lunch.”

So, you know, I loved this one. And why wouldn’t I? Romance, betrayal, a mercurial assassin, and a ton of action that never seems to cease no matter how breezy the pace, I was hooked from Valek’s first smirk (Chapter one, duh). I know there was much more I wanted to say, but sometimes it’s best to leave things be. I will try to chill out and let you all decide on your own if this is for you or not-but just know: It’s not only a romance, though there is an ample amount of longing you’ll do for she and Valek to just kiss already!!! It’s a story of strength and strong-will, a determination to break free and save what you hold dear, and a wonderful world of castles and watching your back even though you have a group that supports your every move…I just loved it so much. Literally my only problem? I wanted more. Sigh…such a horrible predicament, isn’t it? Ciao, Bellas.