Hello October!

       Well, here we are. My absolute favourite season has arrived.

      

        September didn't turn out to be the best month, but that's okay, because it's a new month, new week, new day, so there's always hope that things can get better.

       On the bright side, I managed to get two reviews out last month. Positive ones too!

       Apart from the blog, September was very busy and stressful, and so far it doesn't look like October is going to be any less busy or less stressful.
       

        For this month, I only have one review to post so far, but I'm at least pretty sure a review of The Night Circus will be up sometime this month as well.

       I'm hoping to read some good books this month and keep the blog updated, hoping for a better month than September overall, but if all else fails, at least Halloween is at the end of the month, right?

       I hope September treated you guys well and October treats you even better. :) 

       

Kiss Cam by Kiara London

Author: Kiara London
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Expected Publication: October 18, 2016
Pages: 201

Introduction

       Juniper, Jasper and Lenny make up the popular vlogging channel WereVloggingHere on the vlogging site VlogIt. With as many subscribers as they have, they are constantly getting "shipped" together. The most popular ship being Juniper and Jasper or "Jasiper" as the fans like to call it. After years of the fans begging to see some concrete Jasiper action, they give in, and kiss once on a dare. The fans go crazy, and soon the Kiss Cam is born, where they surprise each other with kisses, or they plan them out. The only catch is that it can only continue if there are no feelings involved.

       What's a little harmless kissing between friends?

Cover

       The cover is very cute. I like all the contrasting colors going on. The white titles stand out nicely against the black background and the bright colors of the lips against the black almost makes it look like the lipstick kisses are glowing.

Brief Review

       This was a pretty short book, one of only 201 pages, so I think I can fit everything I need to say into a paragraph or two without sectioning it off like I usually do.

         I had no problem with any of the characters, they were all what I expected them to be. This entire book was pretty much what I expected it to be, cute and quick and fun.

       The plot moved pretty quickly which is pretty much a given due to the length of the book, there isn't a lot of room for build up.

       This book goes with the cliche of two best friends falling for each other trope, so if that's not what you want to read about, then I wouldn't bother if I were you, because that's all this is. I enjoyed it though, it is exactly what I wanted it to be.

The Cabin by Natasha Preston

Author: Natasha Preston
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Expected publication: September 6, 2016
Pages: 336

Introduction

       Mackenzie's weekend away with her six friends was supposed to be fun. They expected to wake up in the morning with a nasty hangover, not with two of them dead on the kitchen floor. 

       The police put Mackenzie and her remaining friends on the top of the suspect list, since there was no sign of forced entry.

        Mackenzie launches her own investigation, knowing that her friends would never murder someone. But as time goes on, she might just have to accept that there is a killer lurking among her childhood friends.

Cover

       It's a good cover. The cabin, for some reason, isn't how I imagined, but it's spooky enough, so I'll let it slide this time.

Mackenzie

       I didn't like Mackenzie at all. I know her tendency to look for the best in people is part of her personality, and is supposed to be one of her quirks, but she was way too naive. I also feel like as a side note, she was probably a very sheltered child, seeing as what her reaction was when one of her friends admitted to getting high on occasion.

Blake

       So here we have Blake. The-mysterious-older-brother-that-nobody-has-ever-met-who-everybody-is-going-to-blame-for-the-killings, bank character. If not for the huge trope that is his entire purpose for being in the novel, he was okay. At the very least he was a bit smarter than Makenzie.

The Rest of the Gang

       The other characters in the cabin with Mackenzie were very stereotypical teenagers. All of them were very uninteresting, which is a shame because I really wanted to like them.

Motive & Ending

       I pushed through reading about characters I didn't like because I was interested in knowing why the killings took place. Sadly, I think the motive behind the killings wasn't strong enough. I know people get killed over all sorts of reasons that would be deemed "weak motives" but I was definitely hoping for a better ending than what was offered.

        As for the ending itself, it only makes sense if there's a sequel coming eventually. So far I see no mention of one, which right now is okay because technically this book isn't published yet.

Conclusion

       This book was okay. I wanted to like it more. I was so excited to start reading this, and I wish that the excitement had stayed with me throughout reading, but it's hard to stay excited about what's happening when you don't like any of the characters and you don't really care about what happens to them. I wouldn't read this book again, and if a sequel does come, it won't be high on my TBR.

Hello September!

       Well autumn is soon to fall upon us, and I'm excited! It's absolutely my favourite season, the one I wait all year for, and it is always a particularly productive time for me.

       In August, I wasn't very active with posts, and I know that. I have been reading though! The reviews are just yet to be published. I'm happy to say that there are going to be some very good reviews coming in the months ahead, which is nice, because I feel like for a long time, the books I've been reading have been spurring only negative reviews. I'm always happy when I get to publish some positive ones!

       Apart from the blog, I've had a busy summer, but it's been fun! My most favourite part was probably when I got a tattoo. My first one! I was really nervous to do it but I'm so glad I did, because I love it!

       This summer treated me pretty well, and I hope September has nice things in store for me, and this blog.

  

Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog

Introduction

       Victoria Zell doesn't fit in. She doesn't have a lot of friends, but she's okay with that, because she's got her boyfriend Andrew. He's homeschooled, but he's the only thing that makes her stupid Catholic school bearable. That is, until Z comes along. He's captivating and confident and fun. Everything Victoria isn't, He makes her want to do things that she could never bring herself to do before, and suddenly Victoria feels like a completely different person than she was before he came along.

Cover

       I'll admit, the first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. It's absolutely beautiful.

Characters

       I didn't really like the characters in Unnatural Deeds but in it's defense, I don't really think the author intended for the characters to be likable, and even though I didn't like  them, they did make me feel for their situations, which is good.

 Mystery

       Unnatural Deeds is written sort of backwards. We start at the ending and Victoria recounts the story from the beginning. The mystery I'm talking about opens as soon as you start the book. At the beginning of each chapter, there are little snippets of things like police and coroner reports, as well as interviews from characters you read about. As you read, you are left wondering who these pieces of information are about, and what caused them to happen. It's all very suspicious. An example would be:

Duchess-Police are investigating an apparent homicide after a body was found in a wooded area early Tuesday morning. Authorities have not yet released the name of the victim or the person(s) they are questioning in connection with the investigation.

-Central Maine Express Times

       I loved reading these. Obviously, you can guess who's involved, but I think this is a very creative way of communicating a mystery.

Ending

       The ending really surprised me, just like I was hoping it would. There were times where I wasn't that into the book, but the ending redeemed the book for me.

Conclusion

       I struggled with this book at the beginning, which you would know if you're my friend on Goodreads, but I started enjoying it more once I hit about halfway. Despite the slow start for me, I would read this book again. I would recommend this book to fans of The Lonely by  Ainsile Hogarth, and fans of The Memory Game by Sharon Sant. I would be cautious if giving this book to a younger reader as there is some sexual content. 

One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Expected publication: October 4 2016
Pages: 320

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.* 


Introduction

       Nobody is happy when rain falls during a mandatory senior hiking trip. Everybody is even less impressed when a flash flood cuts the group in half, each stuck on one side of the overflowing river.
   
       They all thought the rain was the largest of their worries, until Luke, Jude, Emily, and Sera wake up groggy and confused with words etched on the skin of their wrists. Luke got the word Dangerous. Jude got the word Deceptive. Emily got the word Damaged. Sera got the word Darling. They have no idea what these words mean, why they were drugged enough to sleep through the day, why their teacher won't wake up, or why all of their stuff is destroyed. What they do know is that they need to get out of the woods, although somebody in the forest with seems determined that they don't get out alive.

Cover

        Interesting cover, different from what I usually see with Natalie D. Richards' covers.

Sera (and Luke, kind of)

       I liked Sera mostly. I wasn't a huge fan of the backstory between her and Luke, or how she kept resisting everything because of her past with her mother. I'm struggling to explain what I mean, but I feel like if Sera was going to blame a lot of her trust issues on her mother, than more story should have been written in with the relationship between her and mother, instead of just continually mentioning that falling for someone like Luke is exactly what her mother would do.

Jude and Emily

       I liked these characters a lot individually, but the close friendship/relationship seemed to develop really fast and abruptly I wasn't very much into it.

Mystery

       I had my suspicions about who the psychopath was before the ending revealed it, but it was still very enjoyable to read, and the way that you are lead off course of the real person behind it was believable. Even though I say that I had my suspicions, I wasn't entirely sure, as I don't think it was that obvious, especially when thinking of the motive
Story progress

       The story takes a while to really get going, but in the book's defense it was written to be a suspenseful thriller, so there is supposed to be a lot of buildup, and it's completely understandable for the style.

Conclusion

       I had a few gripes with the relationships in this book, but nothing horrible or earth shattering. I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I would definitely read this book again. One Was Lost reminds me once again why Natalie D. Richards is my favourite author, and as always, I can not wait to read more from her.

     

Teaser Tuesday (10): Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog

     
       I just started reading Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog late last night. So far, it's reminding me slightly of The Lonely by Ainsile Hogarth. I am currently unsure if that is a good thing. Here are my teasers!

"I swear sometimes I feel less like a human and more like a hamster in one of those wheels." 

"This is probably why I checked the clock on the wall twice a minute and rocketed out of my seat the second the minute hand hit the six."

Page 55.

       This book shouldn't take me that long to read so look out for the review, that should be posted in October!

The Assassin Game by Kristy McKay

Author: Kristy Mckay
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Expected publication: August 1 2016
Pages: 336

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review* 

Introduction

       At Umfraville boarding school, there is a game that everybody want to be a part of, even if they're just in the sidelines, watching it all unfold. Killer gets played once a year, for the players of this prestigious game, the goal is to not get "killed." Meaning, do not fall victim to the pranks set out to end your life in the game. Killer has been played for years at Umfraville, and as long as the game remains relatively harmless, it goes on uninterrupted. When the "kills" go from pranks with fake blood, to actual deaths, suddenly the prestigious game of Killer is anything but harmless.

Cover

       I am in love with this cover. It gives off such eerie and sinister vibes and I honestly never want to stop looking at it.

Story progress

       The events of this book took a long time to get going, so because of the very slow story progress, I struggled to maintain my interest in the novel for a long time. I had to keep forcing myself to read a few pages at a time, but do not fear! The novel takes off eventually and it's worth the wait.

Cate

       I liked Cate. I admire her ability to deal with unpleasant situations mostly in a responsible way. I also thoroughly enjoyed that she thought about what she was doing before she did it, more often than not.

Marcia

        I have gripes with Marcia. To get straight to the point, I think she's a crappy friend to Cate, and not in a way that has anything to do with romantic interests. She is pretty much never there for Cate, always disappearing and not paying attention to the things that Cate has to say. I, personally, would have given up on maintaining friendships with her.

Daniel

       I believe that Daniel accomplished what he was written in to do, to make me angry and frustrated at the things he does (but in a good frustrating way!) I honestly think that Cate was much too kind to him, after the things that he has done.

Vaughn

       I didn't find Vaughn that interesting. I thought he was kind of two dimensional. However, I do wish that the author had delved into his backstory a little more, as we end up with two different versions of why he ended up at Umfraville.

Romance

       Romance takes a backseat in this book, which I didn't mind at all. I think if the romance had taken up more of a role in the book. that it would have distracted from the main point if the story; that people are dying. Plus because the romance wasn't a huge element of the bool, it made the romantic moments all the more sweet.

Mystery

       There's two things you are trying to figure out throughout reading. The first is: Who is the game's killer? The next is: Who is actually causing people to die? Is it the same person?
       I'll admit, it took me a bit to answer these questions, correctly, anyway. This mystery had me, just because there were so many outcomes and so many reasons to
believe them. Even when the big climatic reveal comes along, I was so surprised. I honestly had no idea it was going to play out the way that it did, and for the reasons it did. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out mysteries before the reveal, and I absolutely loved that I wasn't spot on about this one. It kept me guessing, just like a mystery should.

Conclusion

       Overall, I had a few gripes, but nothing deal-breaking. The mystery was great and kept me guessing, which was refreshing. I'm open to reading this book again when I get the chance, as well as more from Kristy McKay. I would recommend this book to any teen boy or girl, looking for a good mystery to keep them interested.

Teaser Tuesday (9) The Assassin Game by Kristy McKay

       Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.

       Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your 
teasers!

       This week, I have teasers from the book The Assassin Game by Kristy McKay. The book is about something that started at a prestigious, but relatively harmless game developing into something far more sinister. The book isn't officially published until July 2nd, but I was granted access to it via Netgalley.

       My teasers:

"What if the Killer is out there? What will I see? The sunshine and the background noise of kids screaming in the quad give me the courage, I pull back the curtains."

"Hi!" I wave lamely from above. "Just thought you might be the Killer."

Page 94

       I took a break from this book for a while, because I wanted to read Splintered by A.G Howard before it was due back at the library, but now I'm going to have time to read this book again. I'm about halfway finished, so it should be done and reviewed soon!

       

Teaser Tuesday (8): Splintered by A. G. Howard

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.
Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your 
teasers!

        This week my teasers are coming from the book Splintered by A. G. Howard. I've been wanting to read this book since it's release in January of 2013. I just signed it out of the library a few days ago, and I'm already hooked! My teasers today are:

       "I shut my door without answering. My hands shook and my blood felt jittery in my veins."

and...

"I knew deep down I was lying to myself, and the last place I wanted to visit was an asylum."

(Page 4.)

       I'm about halfway through this book right now, and I am so excited to finish it!

Hello, I Am Alive

       Well everybody, it's been half a year.
       Here's what happened.
       I just didn't feel like reading, or doing anything with books. It's probably the worst reading slump I've gotten into in the past three years. Actually, I know it is, because I've been blogging for that long and have never had this amount of time pass between each post. Truthfully, I hadn't been feeling like reading for a long time before this break, but I kept pressuring myself to do so. I tried everything to get out of the slump. Re-reading old favourites, being adventurous with the books I attempted to read, and trying to get to books that have long since been recommended to me, but nothing was working, so I just stopped, since it was the only thing I hadn't done in the past three years of my life.
      It took six months, but I'm back, finally feeling like I want to read again. Actually, I'm feeling like I want to read all the time again, which is a feeling I'd forgotten about completely. So anyway, this is me officially declaring my return to this blog, and my Twitter (@sibella_asher) ;) and I couldn't be happier to be back.
       As a final thought, I follow a lot of blogs so posts of bloggers feeling unmotivated to post come up on my dashboard a lot, and I read almost every single one of them, and a lot of them mention feeling bad they aren't posting as much as they used to/usually do. I've even gotten a few emails over the years about bloggers asking for advice on how to stay motivated, so I'm just going to make my simple advice known for anybody who may be going through a phase of something much like I just got over: Take breaks if you need to, and don't feel guilty! These blogs are yours, you shouldn't feel guilty about not posting as often as you would like to if you aren't feeling it, and if you log back on after a long time of being away and notice that you have lost followers, don't worry about it! It's not about followers (although followers are fun) and I have no doubts that you'll gain your followers back eventually, remember it's all about you!

Anyway, if anybody is wondering, a Teaser Tuesday will be up in just a few minutes, and I'll have my first review in six months up
in about a week!

1095 Days of Blogging! +Giveaway!

       That's right everybody, today marks the 1095th day of blogging on Reviews of YA Books. In other words, it's my 3 year blogoversary! I can't believe it's already been three years, not in the totally cliche way either, but the time has flown by fast.
       I didn't make a post for last years blogoversary, but for my 1 year, I posted stats and stuff. Mostly for myself, because I like looking back on how far I've come, so I'm going to do it again.

Chat With Me Thursdays

4

(I'm disappointed, but doing interviews can sometimes be very time consuming)

GFC followers

63

Bloglovin followers

28

Total comments

188

Page-views

15750

       Now for the part that I've been planning since August 2015, the giveaway!
       Wendi Wilson was kind enough to offer her 2 books Shadowed Strength and Shadowed Instincts to giveaway for this very occasion. I had the pleasure of reading Shadowed Strength and it is a great paranormal novel, so I very big thanks to Wendi for making this possible

Synopsis of Shadowed Strength

At 16, Melanie Johnson is a typical teenage girl. She has a BFF she adores, a mad crush on her good friend Jeremy, and an evil Barbie doll that destroys her self-esteem on a regular basis. One fateful night, after being humiliated at a party, Melanie is attacked and nearly raped as she walks home. A mysterious dog appears out of nowhere, just in the nick of time, saves her and then disappears just as quickly. No one saw him but her. And the man who tried to rape her. 
In the wake of the attack, Melanie tries to pull her life back together with the help of her friends. Just as things start to go her way, she starts to receive creepy notes from her attacker, promising to finish what he started. And to make things more complicated, Jeremy has a dark secret that Melanie's not sure she can accept. 
Can Melanie and Jeremy reveal the identity of her stalker before he attacks again? Will Jeremy's secret drive a wedge between them? And will the mysterious dog save her in the end, like he did in the beginning?

Synopsis of Shadowed Instincts

Melanie Johnson's world just got turned upside down. Things are changing for her, fast, and all she can do is hold on for the ride. 

After meeting her father and learning his family secret- one that her affects her directly- Melanie is whisked to the forests of Kentucky to meet his people to learn what she can from them. With her boyfriend Jeremy by her side, she is introduced to a whole new way of life- a glimpse into the life she could have had if circumstance hadn't gotten in the way. 

Before long, a threat emerges that could take away one of the most important things in her life- Jeremy. Someone wants him dead. Now they must work together to expose this threat and ensure his safety. 

Will Melanie and Jeremy discover the identity of his assailant before it's too late? And will Melanie be able to save Jeremy, like he's done for her so many times before? 

***This young adult paranormal romance is suggested for readers 16+ for language and mild sexual situations.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway


       I am so happy that I've continued blogging for 3 years, I hope I continue for a long time! Again, I would like to thank Wendi for supplying the books to giveaway, it was a pleasure working with you!