Review | Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Goodreads synopsis: The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?
Published by: Orion on February 10 2015
Format: ARC







RATING: ★★★✰✰

“In school, we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and gods that lived in the sky, ruling the earth with kind and loving hands. Some say those are just stories, but I don’t believe that. The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.”

In a world where the colour of your blood determines your status in the world, Mare is a thief, trying to survive in a world of inequality and injustice. And, although she does not know it, a short meeting with a stranger who takes pity on her will thrust her into a world of deception, secrecy and betrayal. [...]

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Review | All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS: The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this compelling, exhilarating, and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

 Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
 Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.
 When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink

PUBLISHED BY: Knopf on January 6 2015

FORMAT: ARC

RATING: ★★★✰✰

(An ARC of this was provided by Netgalley and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review)

"The thing I realize is that it's not what you take, it's what you leave."

It's unclear as to who saved who the day Theo and Violet meet on the bell tower, but for a brief moment, both of them stood there, contemplating the end. Their meeting is a pivotal point in both of their lives that will change them both forever.

This book is genuine and unapologetic. Jennifer Niven isn't scared of confronting the less savory aspects of mental illnesses, but she does it so tactfully. [...]

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