ARC Review: Sekret by Lindsay Smith

Title: Sekret
Author: Lindsay Smith
Release Date: 1st April 2014
Publisher: Macmillan Children's
Find on: Goodreads

Quick Review: An empty mind is a safe mind.

Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.

Detailed Review: When I first stumbled across this book on Goodreads and my partner mentioned that the cover for Sekret was really good, I thought to myself, this needs to be on my TBR list. I'm a sucker for historical fiction. Anything that involves past incidents that have actually happened. So when I saw Sekret available for request on NetGalley, I absolutely had no hesitation on clicking the Request button. I kept my fingers crossed on being approved. 

I got approved. I read it. I rated it. And now I'm writing this review on how much this book really fazed and awed me. 

Sekret is a great example of how history can really make an original setting for your book. I was very intrigued when I found out that the book was set in the USSR (now Russia) while it was engaged in the Cold War with America. Using a historical setting will give an atmosphere hardly associated with books that have present or future settings. The atmosphere in Sekret was one of tension and secrecy. Giving psychic abilities to the characters gives the book another finishing touch. I especially loved the different abilities which the psychics have, everything from mind-reading to remote viewing and altering memories. The author has got a good imagination.

What gives it a high polish are the characters. Yulia is a brave and smart heroine that challenges all-time favourites like Katniss. She did remind me of Katniss at times, possibly because they were somehow under the same circumstances. Yulia's love interest, Valentin was a very hard code to crack most of the time, yet I still loved him. Rostov made a great antagonist as well as Misha and Masha. 

The secret ingredient though, was still the twists. The thing is, there's no warning of a twist coming your way. It just leaps out at you and stares you down. It's like being drowned and then pulled onto shore and then being drowned again. This cycle will keep on repeating as you read the book.

And then when you find out there's a sequel... I was like, where's the cliffhanger?!? Unlike other books, the ending was surprisingly well-rounded. Nonetheless, I still need the second book!!!

Finally, a request. MAKE ME A PSYCHIC!!!

Brief Review: Lindsay has obviously done her research regarding Russia in the 1960s and captures the atmosphere well with her descriptive prose and secretive air in writing. She artfully brings her characters to life with words and their psychic abilities is the result of creativity and thorough research. This debut clearly wears out a path for the author to easily navigate and make her voice heard in the writing industry!

Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing!'

QUOTE:

This quote captures the mood of the book so well,

“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”---George Orwell

Your Reviewer:

Blog Tour and Review: Just Like A Musical by Milena Veen

Title: Just Like A Musical

Author: Milena Veen

Release Date: 15th November 2013

Seventeen-year-old Ruby Fields has always lived by the rules set up by her foolishly overprotective mother. As a result, she doesn't go to school, she's never been kissed, and almost everything she knows about life is what she has learned from old movies.

But now...now there's this Joshua guy. He's quirky, and he's tall, and he uses “romantic” and “old-fashioned” in the same sentence.

And there's Mrs. Wheeler, an eccentric retired Hollywood costume designer and Ruby's new best friend.

When Mrs. Wheeler ends up in hospital, just after telling Ruby her long-kept secret, Ruby decides to break her mother's rules and embark on a journey that will change her life forever.

Find on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18656484-just-like-a-musical?ac=1

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Like-Musical-Milena-Veen-ebook/dp/B00HBQUDKS

Detailed Review: This book greatly reminded me of The Fault in Our Stars. And if you have read this latest John Green book, you'll know what I mean.

Even though the book was quite a short read, I felt like I had read a book that was 500 pages long, because each word held the weight of so many words.

What stood out the most to me was the friendship between the main character, Ruby, and an old woman who used to work in Hollywood as a costume designer. A friendship may seem unlikely between the two characters, but if circumstances dictate it, it will happen. 

I present to you, the wonders and miracles of life. 

The characters were oh so beautiful. It's like a version of The Fault in Our Stars (please excuse this comparison, I simply can't help it), where Ruby is Hazel, Joshua is Gus and Mrs Wheeler is Peter Van Houten (but a more cheerful and caring one). It's like insta-love with these characters for me. They have their own trademarks like Ruby's heart problem, Joshua's Tourette's syndrome and Mrs Wheeler's rich but tragic past. If these don't interest you, I doubt anything ever will.

It was Ruby, who I loved most of all. Her hunger for freedom struck a chord in me, because who doesn't want freedom? I am 15, and I want freedom just like her. Freedom to go wherever I want, do whatever I want. It's so easy to relate with her in terms of this. It's also the fact that she's different from other people. She's unique in her own way and she shines the brightest in Just Like A Musical. Her musings about life are both deep and meaningful. She's right when she said 'Freedom lies inside you.' And when she says, 'Life – life was just like a musical. Sad and  beautiful at the same time.', all I could think was, 'This is a great finale to this musical.'

And if I have decided to compare The Fault in Our Stars with Just Like A Musical, it means so much. So much that even words can't convey how touching this book is. A sad but beautiful ending, funny characters, unique circumstances. What more could you want? 

With a satisfied heart, I end my journey in this book. *sigh*

Brief Review: Tragic, beautiful, funny, cute, unique. This is how I would describe Just Like A Musical. It's magnificent how Milena could write such a beautiful story using not just the power of words, but the power of strong emotions- which words can't describe that touch the reader's heart. This, is what makes this novel truly stand out from other books. 

Final Rating:

5/5 'Totally Amazing!'

Your Reviewer: 

About the Author

Milena Veen was born in Belgrade, Serbia. Her first piece of writing, a poem about a walking cherry, saw the light of the day when she was seven. She's been writing ever since.

Milena graduated from University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology. She lives in a little European town with her husband and a mute cat. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading, riding her bicycle, and listening to music. She prefers clouds to sunshine and coffee to tea. 

Author Links:

http://milenaveen.blogspot.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7336308.Milena_Veen

http://twitter.com/milena_veen

http://fbl.me/mveen

http://pinterest.com/milenaveen/

***GIVEAWAY***

$25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

 RULES AND RESTRICTIONS: 

Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond  or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Hosted by:

ARC Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Release Date: 1st April 2014

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Find on: Goodreads

Quick Review: For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy...

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

Detailed Review: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the few times when I've promptly reviewed a book in the next few hours after reading it. 

This book literally begged to be reviewed. I don't think I've ever been this eager to express my opinion about a certain book until it has driven me to madness to not tell everyone how much I loved this book.

And by love, I mean L-O-V-E. I feel like I've found my soulmate. That may seem like an exaggeration, but this is the closest description I can give that shows my true feelings while reading Stolen Songbird.

So, you must be wondering... What was so GOOD about this book that it has elicited such a prompt review from me? Well, first, let me name a list of things that really make a book deliciously good:

1. Deep and well-developed characters
2. Intriguing setting 
3. A simple plot with twists that make it seem complex
4. Many secrets waiting to be uncovered beyond the written words...
5. A killer ending, in other words, a CLIFFHANGER.
6. Writing style that brings the characters to live and helps you connect to them easily
7. An original central idea that brings liberation from other ideas that are too common or mainstream (and romance, if possible)

Stolen Songbird had them all- the 'Seven Points'. Besides a few other books, I think this book more than fully met my expectations. I couldn't have asked for a better book. 

This book was written from the first person, mainly from Cecile's point of view, but also sometimes from Tristan's point of view. This was an especially good style of writing to use because it let you put yourself in the character's shoes as easily as they were your own. 

The factor that made me love this book the most, was the characters. It's always the characters. Cecile  is a great heroine, who is stubborn and always cares for others before herself. She is willing to protect the people she love and empathises with those who are in pain. Although she may be weak compared to the trolls in terms of strength, she is strong in character. Tristan, was another go-getter for me. He was absolutely charming. When I first read about him, I think I fell in love with him before Cecile. Who wouldn't want to be with a boy who is handsome, strong and (later revealed in the book) also a kind-hearted person? There were other characters that made this book seem a whole interesting. And I believe it's the characters that give the book a vibrant and colourful story. Where's the beauty in an empty canvas without the colours, right?

And then, THE TWISTS. Yes, more than one. Jensen was a true artist. She laid the twists like breadcrumbs on a road, waiting for you to stumble on them and possibly die from food poisoning after eating them. In a good way. Only a person with experience could lay them out so artfully and nicely.

ALSO, the romance. It's just GOOD. No, scratch that. It makes me go dizzy when I swoon over those parts. It's awesome. Need I say more?

Finally, that ending. Makes. Me. Want. The. Sequel. So. Much. You don't know how badly I need the sequel right NOW. I'm willing to go on my knees to beg the author to let me read whatever she has started writing for the second book.

And, if you are a cover judger reading this review, that cover is GORGEOUS. 

Brief Review: With a kick-ass heroine that is comparable to Katniss or Tris and wholesomely good characters, this book made a spectacular debut. An original idea for a story, some twists, awesome romance, completes the whole picture, which, I must say, is flawless. The ending makes it impossible to not read the second book either. Jensen really did a great job and has evidently overworked herself to produce this book. I couldn't have asked for a better debut.

Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing!'

Your Reviewer: