Review: In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

Release Date: February 8^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 228

Publisher: Flux

Source: Bought 

From the author of "But I Love Him" comes a haunting novel about what happens to one teenage girl when a rumor of rape goes around her school. A Junior Library Guild Selection. 

There are books you love, there are book you don’t. It’s that easy. In the case of In Too Deep by Amanda Grace, I sadly didn’t like it. The book was short, too short in my opinion for all she tried to cover with the book. You have the main story, which is already kind of big, and you have to story with her father. The problem I had with the father part is that it felt a little disconnected of the book, like it was an unnecessary addition to the book.

Another thing that really hit me while I was reading this book was how little I believed the story. I just couldn’t believe that she didn’t realize what she was doing, and how she was destroying Carter’s life. He may have been a jerk, but no one deserves to get their life destroyed by someone’s lies.

The lies were one of the reasons why I really dislike Sam. I wanted to scream to her to wake the heck up for about 95% of the book. I also felt like we didn’t get to know enough about the characters. I wish the author could have gone deeper in the character. Maybe it would have felt more believable to me if she had done that. I do have to say that I really liked Nick as a character. It was one of the only characters that felt really interesting.

I do have to say that overall, I wish there had been more to the book than we got. There was something definitely missing from the book for me to really enjoy this book. If there’s one thing that I did like about the book is the ending. I thing Sam got what she deserved, and that it ended the way it should have ended. I do think many readers will enjoy it. It simply wasn’t right for me.

Review: Ascend by Amanda Hocking

Ascend by Amanda Hocking
Trylle Trilogy #3
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Number of Pages: 336
Publisher: St.Martin’s Griffin
Source: Raincoast Books

Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?

The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end. 

Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it.

If there is one thing I really liked about this novel, it is the world Amanda Hocking had created. Was it my favorite book in the series? No. Why? I simply felt that it was slightly rushed, and that the ending wasn’t fitting to what I was expecting. I was expecting at least one of the main characters to have an unhappy ending. I find it hard to believe that after a war, a marriage, a love triangle, everyone seems happy.

I’m a little on the fence when it comes down to saying if I like Wendy or not in this book. The thing is, on one side, I liked that she is trying to do what is right for her people and that she is trying to do her job as princess and future queen. On the other side, I felt like she was a walking contradiction. One second, she is saying she can’t, and then she does it, then she says something else and do the opposite. That annoyed me. Still, I’m happy with her evolution and the maturity she gained through the three books.

Now, there are other characters that made me feel contradicted. Finn made me mad most of the time, as he is worse than Wendy when it comes down to doing the opposite of what he is saying. I mean, isn’t supposed to stay away? Yet, HE STILL IS THERE! Now, on the other side of the triangle, there is Loki. Loki, that I do like, and grew to like him better than Finn. Why? Loki is ready to fight, to run away with Wendy if she is ready to give him a chance.

If we talk about Wendy’s love life, I can’t not talk about Tove. Why are they FREAKING getting married?? I mean, Wendy isn’t his type, there is no romantic love between those two, and there will never be. I was really disappointed that they did decide to go through with it.

Finally, Elora and Wendy seems to understand each other, and get to share a loving moment together, instead of what we have seen in the first two books. It still left with so many unanswered questions about her, which could be nicely answer in anther short story (Please Amanda? Pretty, pretty please??)

I was expecting a little more, and felt a little cheated that everyone seems to get their happily ever after. I may have felt slightly let down with this third book, but I’m really excited to read more from Amanda Hocking. Overall, as a series, it is really great. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely recommend it to fans of this genre.

Review: But I Love Him

Title: But I Love Him

Author: Amande Grace

Release Date: May 8^th, 2011

Series: None

Number Of Pages: 245

Publisher: Flux

Source: Bought

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Tonight was so much worse than anything before it. Tonight he didn't stop after the first slap.

At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.

This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong.

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Wow. That was a beautiful and powerful book. I don’t know how many time I’ve heard girls say, and even I’ve said that many times, that they would never stay in that kind of relationship. They would live the first time he ever raise his hand against them. The first time he shows any kind of violence. Yet, many will stay.

The story shows the struggle Ann face with her relationship. She loves Connor, but he is physically and psychologically violent with her. After every fights, he tell her how much he loves her, how sorry he is. Yet, all she can think is that she can’t leave him, because she loves him and he couldn’t survive without her. She couldn’t survive without him. The story is told backward. We see him at his worst, going back in time to see the guy she fell in love with. I thought it was brilliantly presented to make the reader understand the reality of her struggle.

I loved Ann, even thought she can’t leave him. She was strong, even thought she couldn’t find the strength to leave him…. Do I make sense? Connor was at the beginning of their relationship so different, but the Connor from the end, I would have kicked his butt if he had been dating one of my friends, even if violence is never the answer. He was always saying he would change, he would look for help, but he never does. Even if many say that violence is a vicious circle, there is no reasons to tolerate that someone is violent, even if it isn’t physically against someone, simply because someone was violent with him before.

The author presents beautifully a painful subject. She doesn’t make us feel bad for Connor, or accept what he does. She makes us understand the circle that can leave any girl caught in a violent relationship. Even if she thinks she is strong enough to walk away at anytime.