Wrap Up & Haul | September 2015

September has been another crazy month for me and one that included quite the reading slump. For some reason I just had no desire to read anything and the more I tried, the worse it got. That is why, along with being busy with starting back uni and all of that fun stuff, I have read a grand total of 2 books this month, and one doesn't really count.

My Life In September...

- I am planning to go back to uni to do a different degree next year so its open day time again.

- I went away for the weekend with my mum to visit my best friend.

- Unfortunately, I went back to uni so that is taking over my life again.

- My best friend the I went to visit had a beautiful little baby! This is the most exciting thing ever!

Watched In September...

- Love, Rosie (rewatch) - 5/5

- Tarzan - 3/5

- Insurgent - 3.5/5

- Orange Is The New Black Season 1 - 3/5

- Gossip Girl Season 2 (rewatch) - 5/5

Read In September...

More Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops by Jen Campbell -

This is the book that doesn't really count, considering how small it is. This is a book full of funny and interesting things people say in bookshops and is the second instalment. I read this first one and liked it, I gave it 3 stars, and this one was also good, just not quite as good. I found this book to be not quite as funny as the first. It is still a good, fun read if you are looking for something short and quick. 3/5

Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire by JK Rowling -

This book both got me out of a reading slump and put me into one. I picked this up in an attempt to get me out of a reading slump, and it worked. I couldn't put it down and it made me actually want to read for the first time in a couple of months. However, as soon as it finished I was straight back into a slump because I enjoyed it so much. I think this may be my favourite of the books so far, probably because it was the first of the books that I had never seen the movie adaptation for so knew very little about what was going to happen. 4/5

Bought In September...

After reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in September, I went straight on to Amazon and bought the final three books in the series; The Order Of The Phoenix, The Half Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows. I can't wait to read these books and hopefully finish the series this year.

Blogged In September...

- I reviewed The Distance Between Us by Kasie West.

- I hauled the books I bought in August.

- I reviewed The Heir by Kiera Cass.

- I shared my Top Ten Series I Have Yet To Finish.

- I wrapped up August.

- I reviewed We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach.

- I did the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag and updated you on my challenge progress.

- I shared some mini reviews of recent reads.

- I listed my Top Ten Completed Series.

- I reviewed Paper Towns by John Green.

- I shared some mini reviews of some non-fiction reads.

That was my month of September. What did you read in September?

Sophie :)

Mini Reviews | A Bit Of Non-Fiction

I started doing some mini reviews at the start of the year for those books that I don't have loads to say about. There are times when I read a book but when it comes to reviewing it, there isn't enough to say to make up a full review. I don't want these books to go unnoticed, however, so mini reviews are perfect. In these reviews I will mention a few things I liked about the book, and a few things I did not like.

One Born Every Minute by Maria Dore & Ros Bradbury
Published By: Sphere
Published On: January 10, 2011
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 243
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: I have always been very interested in the role of a midwife and have enjoyed watching the TV show that this book has come from. I found this to be a very interesting and informative account of the role of a midwife, both the good and bad.
What I Disliked: As there were two authors of this book, a lot of the chapters were very repetitive as they were both discussing the same topic. I also found it to be quite disjointed at parts.
Rating: ★★★

  We Should Hand Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist
Published By: Little Brown Books
Published On: December 23, 2014
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
Narrated By: Josh Sundquist
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: This was bound to be a funny book given the premise and it did not disappoint. All of the stories in this book were funny but also quite relatable. Josh is a very likeable person which made reading this book a whole lot more enjoyable. I also loved how refreshingly honest he was throughout the book and he was a fantastic narrator.
What I Disliked: The only issue I had with this book was that it got a little repetitive after a while.
Rating: ★★★½

Our Story by Collabro
Published By: Blink Publishing
Published On: March 5, 2015
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 248
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: I absolutely love these boys so obviously I loved this book. I am a huge Collabro fan so I really enjoyed getting to know more about them and their lives before Britain's Got Talent. I also really enjoyed the insight into the process of Britain's Got Talent and found that very interesting.
What I Disliked: I really didn't dislike anything about this book, there just wasn't anything particularly special to make it a 5 star read.
Rating: ★★★★

Cabin Fever by Mandy Smith
Published By: Thistle Publishing
Published On: April 5, 2014
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 244
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: I am really interested in anything to do with flying and I love planes and airports. I picked this up to get more of an insight into the life of an air hostess and I definitely learnt quite a bit. I loved all of the stories of interesting flights and passengers.

What I Disliked: There was far too much information about her personal life, and in particular her sex life. I have nothing against sex in books but I when I was looking for an insight into the life of an air hostess, I don't need 50% of the book taken up by details of the author's sex life and her relationship history. I was not interested in her personal life, particularly when it was not at all related to her being an air hostess!

Rating: ★★½

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Sophie :)

Review | Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green
Published By: Bloomsbury
Published On: September 22, 2009
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 305
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★

Amazon | Goodreads

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

Quentin had admired next-door neighbour Margo Roth Spiegelman from a distance ever since their childhood friendship dissipated when high school began. Therefore, when she appears in his bedroom late one night to enlist his help in a crazy revenge scheme of hers, Q, though slightly shocked, agrees to help her. The next day, however, Margo is nowhere to be found and Q must use her mysterious clues to solve the mystery of Margo Roth Spiegelman.

This was a bit of a slow starter for me as I struggled to get into it. I was quite unsure about it for the first half as there didn’t seem to be all that much going on apart from the introduction to the characters. I still liked it in the beginning but not as much as I had hoped.

Luckily, though, I couldn’t put the book down for the second half. Once the story really got going I was so engrossed in the mystery and started to really enjoy it. I enjoyed all of the different aspects to the story and ended up spending a good few hours just sitting in the same spot reading this book.

I really enjoyed the revenge plot aspect of this book. This was probably the most fun part of the book for me. I loved the excitement of their revenge scheme and the exhilaration due to the fact that the characters could have been caught at any moment. This was such a fun part to read about.

One of my favourite things about this book was the very unique and interesting characters. John Green’s characters, or at least the ones I have read about, are always very unique and different from the usual teenager. Margo and Q in particular were no different. I loved how different the two characters were yet they were drawn together. Even the supporting characters were great fun to read about.

I can’t review this book without commenting on John Green’s amazing writing style. He writes the most amazing books but has such a unique way of doing so. I always find his writing style to be very individual but great to read. The writing style in this book was to his unique style, complete with the unusual wit and quirkiness.

The one minor flaw I had with this book was the ending. I didn’t think the ending was bad, I just found it a little disappointing. It was well written and a decent ending but it was a bit anti-climactic. I did still enjoy it but it was not as great as I had expected it to be considering the rest of the book. 

Overall, I really enjoyed almost every aspect of this book. Despite the slightly slow start, I went on to read the entire second half of this book in one night, as I could not put it down. I loved the story and the characters, which were the typical John Green quirky, unusual characters and were great fun to read about. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys John Green’s writing style, or anyone who enjoys quirky and fun books.

Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten Completed Series

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke And The Bookish. Lists galore, I can think of nothing better!

This week is a Freebie week so I decided, following on from last week's Series To Finish, I would share my completed series, even though there is only 8. I have decided to set myself a bit of a 'Mid-Year Resolution' to complete at least 5 series this year, and have reached a total of three so far. Compared to many, I have completed very few series, mainly due to that fact I read relatively little until the beginning of last year. Like I mentioned, as of this moment I have completed a total of 8 series. These are not in any kind of order.

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
Includes: 
Twilight (#1)
New Moon (#2)
Eclipse (#3)
The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner (#3.5)
Breaking Dawn (#4)

Of course, like the majority of girls around my age, I have completed the Twilight series. I went through the same faze as many, during which I was completely obsessed with this series and everything to do with it. I have since reread Twilight, and am currently rereading it very slowly, and, as awkward as it is to admit, I do still enjoy it. According to Goodreads, I rated the first three books 4 stars, the novella 5 stars and Breaking Dawn 5 stars.

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Includes:
The Hunger Games (#1)
Catching Fire (#2) - Review
Mockingjay (#3)

This was the series that got me back into reading. I absolutely love this series and there is no question as to why it is so popular, it's amazing! I knew nothing about this series until I went to see the first movie completely on a whim. As soon as I left the movie I started reading the first book and by the end of the week I had finished the series. I rated The Hunger Games 4 stars (I was very fussy with my 5 star ratings at the time), Catching Fire got 5 stars as it was, and probably will always be, my favourite in the series, and Mockingjay I originally rated just 3 stars. I was not a huge fan of Mockingjay initially but after rereading it before watching the movie last year, I completely changed my opinion and changed the rating to 4 stars.

Divergent series by Veronica Roth
Includes:
Four (#0.1-0.4) - Review
Divergent (#1) - Review
Insurgent (#2) - Mini Review
Allegiant (#3) - Review

This was the first series I finished this year, having read Allegiant in January and Four in February. I had very little intention of reading this series until it was turned into a movie. I was searching for a new book to buy and, since I had heard about the movie, I decided to pick up Divergent and see what the fuss was about. I'm so glad I did because I loved most of this series. Insurgent was a let down for me but the rest of the series was great. I gave Divergent 5 stars, Insurgent a pretty generous 4 stars, Allegiant 5 stars, and the novella bind-up Four 4 stars.

Katie Parker Productions series by Jenny B Jones
Includes:
In Between (#1) - Mini Review
On The Loose (#2) - Mini Review
The Big Picture (#3) - Mini Review
Can't Let You Go (#4) - Review

I believe this series is now over but even though I am not completely sure, I thought I would count it anyway. This will be the second series I finished this year, as I read Can't Let You Go in February. This series was my first experience of the world of Christian Fiction and I really enjoyed it. I was looking for some Christian fiction that was light-hearted and fun, which is exactly what this is, thought it has the serious stuff thrown in there as well. I gave all four books 4 stars.

Darcy & Rachel duology by Emily Giffin
Includes:
Something Borrowed (#1)
Something Blue (#2)

I read this duology a good few years ago now so I struggle to remember a whole lot about it. I read Something Borrowed as I watched, and really enjoyed, the film. I liked the first book but I loved the second a whole lot more. This is one series that I would like to reread at some point. I rated the first book 4 stars and the second 5 stars.

Matched trilogy by Ally Condie
Includes:
Matched (#1)
Crossed (#2) - Review
Reached (#3) - Review

This is one trilogy that has extremely mixed reviews; some love the series, others hate it. I read this a while ago so don't remember a lot about it but I do know that I generally enjoyed this series, some books more than others. I really enjoyed the first book, giving it 4 stars; the second was a bit of a let down and I ended up giving it 3 stars; the third book I also really enjoyed and gave it 4 stars as well.

Anna And The French Kiss trilogy by Stephanie Perkins
Includes:
Anna And The French Kiss (#1) - Review
Lola And The Boy Next Door (#2) - Review
Isla And The Happily Ever After (#3) - Review

This is one of my favourite series I have read recently. I started this in the summer of last year and had finished the series by September because I was enjoying it so much. I really enjoyed Anna, especially the Paris setting, and gave it 4 stars. Lola is probably my least favourite of the series as I found it difficult to relate to Lola but my love of Cricket made me give this one 4 stars as well. Isla is definitely my favourite book of the series, and the only one I have reread, so I gave it 5 stars.

Confessions Of Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison
Includes:
Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging (#1) - Review
It's Ok, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers (#2) - Review
Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas (#3) - Review
Dancing In My Nuddy-Pants (#4) - Review
And That's When It Fell Off In My Hand (#5) - Review
Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (#6) - Review
Startled By His Furry Shorts (#7) - Review
Luuurve Is A Many Trousered Things (#8) - Review
Stop In The Name Of Pants! (#9) - Review
Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? (#10) - Review

I started this series when I was around 14 but never finished it. I recently decided to finally finish it as the books are such quick read so I reread the first three and then continued on with the series. I enjoyed these books, they are very fun reads and they are great to break up some more serious reads. They are targeted towards younger girls which meant that I found them to be quite immature at some points. I gave the majority of the books in the series three stars, with a couple being 2.5 stars, and to the final book I gave 3.5 stars.

Those are the 8 series I have completed. As I am reading much more this year than I have in previous years, I am hoping to increase this number very soon. Do you have a favourite series that I should add to the list?

Sophie :)

P.S. I am having problems with the comment system at the moment. For some reason Blogger is not letting me reply to any comments, or comment at all. Does anyone know how to fix this issue?

Mini Reviews | Recent Reads

I started doing some mini reviews at the start of the year for those books that I don't have loads to say about. There are times when I read a book but when it comes to reviewing it, there isn't enough to say to make up a full review. I don't want these books to go unnoticed, however, so mini reviews are perfect. In these reviews I will mention a few things I liked about the book, and a few things I did not like.

 

Luuurve Is A Many Trousered Thing (#8) and Stop In The Name Of Pants! (#9) by Louise Rennison
Series: Confessions Of Georgia Nicholson series
Published By: Harper Collins
Published On: 2007 (#8) & 2008 (#9)
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 253 (#8) & 286 (#9)
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: These books are very fun, quick and enjoyable reads. I find that these are a great quick read to break up some more serious reading as they don't take too much concentration. They are full of interesting, funny characters, including a very quirky main character, Georgia.
What I Disliked: I have mentioned before that I find these books to be a little immature. These books are aimed towards 14/15 year old girls, so as a 20 year old I do find some of the behaviour to be immature but as I am not the target audience, this doesn't bother me too much. I didn't really like some of the behaviour that seemed to be encouraged throughout these books, for example the way Georgia speaks to and treats her friends sometimes. I liked book 9, Stop In The Name Of Pants!, slightly less than book 8 as it focused more on some characters that I did not like as much.
Rating: Book 8 - ★★★
Book 9 - ★★½

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
Series: Confessions Of Georgia Nicholson #10
Published By: Harper Collins
Published On: June 25, 2006
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 315
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: This was a really great ending to a fun series. I thought this conclusion was perfect and the story ended just as it should have, I was very satisfied with the ending. Like I said, the books in this series are quick, fun reads with great characters and this was no exception.
What I Disliked: I had the same issue as always with this instalment in the series. I found some parts to be a bit immature but as I am a bit older than the target audience this can be expected.

The Naughtiest Girl In The School by Enid Blyton
Series: The Naughtiest Girl #1
Published By: Hodder
Published On: 1930
Genre: Children's
Pages: 166
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: This was a reread from my childhood so I found this to be a very nostalgic read. This was just as fun as I remembered it and the characters are great. I loved boarding school stories and I especially love this school and the way it is run.

What I Disliked: As this book is really from a different generation (even my mum read this as a child!) there are a lot of behaviours in the book that were deemed acceptable at the time but not so now. Some of the behaviour promoted in the book would be seen as bullying now and this made it a bit uncomfortable for me to read.

Rating: ★★★

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Series: Harry Potter #3
Published By: Bloomsbury
Published On: September 8, 1999
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 317
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Amazon | Goodreads

What I Liked: I liked absolutely everything about this book. I love the Hogwarts setting and enjoyed getting to see some more of the surrounding areas. The characters are great and are starting to become more familiar to me, which is adding to my enjoyment. I also liked that I didn't know what was coming this time. In the previous books, the exciting plot was ruined slightly by the fact I had seen the movie adaptations many times. Luckily, this time I had only seen it once and couldn't remember anything.
What I Disliked: I am still feeling quite a lot of pressure to love these books and that is causing me to enjoy them slightly less than I would otherwise.
Rating: ★★★★

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Sophie :)

Tag | Mid-Year Book Freakout & Challenge Update

It may not be the middle of the year anymore but I wanted to have a bit of a look back on the year so far and see how I am getting on with my reading and with my challenges. I wasn't tagged to do the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag but I really like the idea of it so decided to give it a go for myself.

   

Best Book You've Read So Far In 2015

This is really tough! I would probably have to go with either The Selection by Kiera Cass or How To Fall In Love by Cecelia Ahern. I wasn't expecting great things from The Selection and was very pleasantly surprised when I ended up loving it. On the other hand, I was really expecting great things from How To Fall In Love and was so relieved when it lived up to those expectations.

Best Sequel You've Read So Far In 2015

This has definitely got to be Allegiant by Veronica Roth. This seems to be one that people either love or hate due to the controversial ending. Personally, I absolutely loved it and thought the ending suited the book series perfectly. This is one of my favourite books I have read this year and completely redeemed the Divergent trilogy after Insurgent disappointed me a little.

New Release You Haven't Read Yet But Want To

There are a few for this but I'm going to go for Volition by Lily Paradis. I read Ignite, Lily's debut novel, early in the year and really enjoyed it so I am desperate to read more of her work. I don't even know why I haven't picked this book up yet, I really need to get to it soon.

Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half Of The Year

I don't really have any very highly anticipated books for the second half of the year. I am trying to cut back on my book buying so I am trying not to look at what books are releasing in the second half of the year, I don't want to be tempted to buy them.

Biggest Disappointment

This has probably got to be Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I read and loved My Sister's Keeper and really wanted to read more from her. Nineteen Minutes seemed very interesting to me and I haven't read anything about a school shooting before so I was looking forward to something different. I ended up really not liking this book and found it quite boring.

Biggest Surprise

I'm going to go with This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales. I picked this up on a whim and when I eventually got around to reading it I wasn't really expecting great things. I ended up really enjoying it! It was an enjoyable story with a very relatable main character whom I really enjoyed reading about.

Favourite New Author

Since I read and really enjoyed her Selection series, it has to be Kiera Cass. She did a great job of writing a really fun series and I can't wait to read more from her.

Newest Fictional Crush

This is another really hard one! I think I'm going to have to say Maxon from The Selection series. I loved him straight away in The Selection and my crush just grew throughout the three original books. I can't say I feel the same way about him in The Heir, though, considering he is a fair bit older in that book.

Newest Favourite Character

This is also a tough one but I think I'll have to say Caymen from The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. I seriously want Caymen to be my best friend. She is sarcastic and witty and she just seems like so much fun.

Book That Made You Cry

There have been a few so far this year but I'm trying not to repeat myself so I'll go with I Was Here by Gayle Forman. This was a very well written take on teenage suicide in which our main character's best friend commits suicide and she wants to work out why. This was a very touching story and did a great job of emphasising the stigma around mental health.

Book That Made You Happy

As strange as this sounds, considering the topic of the book, How To Fall In Love by Cecelia Ahern made me happy. Despite being about suicide, this book was adorable and actually quite funny. It is the kind of thing only Cecelia Ahern can achieve as she somehow manages to find some comic relief in even the saddest of situations.

Favourite Book To Movie Adaptation You Saw This Year

This is easily Love, Rosie. This is based on one of my favourite books, Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern, and they managed to do such a great job with the movie. I absolutely love Lily Collins and Sam Claflin as Rosie and Alex, they are perfect for the roles. It is such a fun movie and though it doesn't follow the book completely, it is a great adaptation.

Favourite Review/Post You've Done This Year

This is a tough one because I don't think I have done anything particularly great this year. I think my review of This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales may be one of the best reviews I have written since I wrote it straight after finishing the book so I'll go with that.

Most Beautiful Book You've Bought So Far This Year

I have bought quite a lot of beautiful books this year so that's a hard question. Since I have it sat next to me, I'll go with the copy of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by JK Rowling that I bought recently.

Books You NEED To Read By The End Of 2015

Basically every book I own! I don't have a specific set list of books I want to read by the end of the year, I would just like to get through a good chunk of my TBR.

That was the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag! I thought it might also be helpful for me to see how I'm getting on with my 2015 reading challenges.

Goodreads Reading Challenge

Goal: 50
Progress: 44
I would say I'm doing pretty well with this challenge! If I manage to get out of the horrendous reading slump soon I should definitely get to 50 books by the end of the year.

Ebook Reading Challenge

Goal: 10
Progress: 8
I'm also doing quite well with this challenge as well. If I read my 10 books soon I may consider attempting 15/20. The next level up in the challenge is 25 but I don't think I'll manage that by the end of the year.

TBR Pile Challenge

Goal: 11-20
Progress: 2
I'm definitely not doing well with this one so far. I am only counting books that have been on my shelf for over a year. I definitely need to get a move on and read some of my older books.

Prequel & Sequel Challenge

Goal: 25-50 Points
Progress: 42 Points
I have already had to move up a level for this challenge and it looks like I could have to move up another one if I continue reading so many books in series. I'm actually quite surprised how many books within a series I have read so far, especially considering I decided not to count any of the Georgia Nicholson books.

Debut Author Challenge

Goal: 12
Progress: 2
This is another challenge I am falling behind on. I am trying not to buy a lot of new books at the moment, which is affecting this challenge a bit. I am going to try and use up my Audible credits on some debut novels to get caught up on this challenge.

So that is my slightly late mid-year update. What's your favourite book you've read so far this year?

Sophie :)

Review | We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Published On: March 24, 2015
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 370
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★½

Amazon | Goodreads

Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels: The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. 
But then we all looked up and everything changed. They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. 
Two months to really live.

When it is revealed that an asteroid is headed straight for Earth, four high school students must learn to break away from their defining labels. In the two months before the asteroid is due to hit, the athlete, the outcast, the slacker and the overachiever are drawn together as they attempt to deal with the reality that they could all be wiped out completely.

This book wasn’t really what I was expecting. From the synopsis, I was expecting some kind of empowering story about getting rid of high school labels and stereotypes and all coming together in the face of disaster. I didn’t feel like I got anything like that from this book. I don’t think there was any real ‘shedding of labels’ as they seemed to be separated by their labels from beginning to end.

I expected more about the asteroid, less about the high school drama. Considering there is currently an asteroid headed for Earth throughout this story, I was definitely expecting that to be more of the focus. Instead the book became more about the drama of high school. That aspect seemed quite juvenile and the characters definitely seemed to have their priorities in the wrong order.

As this wasn’t what I was expecting, it became clear it just wasn’t my kind of book. What I was expecting from the synopsis would have been my kind of book. This just wasn’t the kind of story I enjoy reading and that was a little disappointing. This was just an average read for me because of that.

The characters were okay. I didn’t particularly love the characters, or really feel any kind of connection to them, but they weren’t bad characters. I enjoyed reading about them for the most part and found their lives quite interesting. I did like some more than others, particularly Peter.

I really did not like the romance in this book. To me the romance just seemed like the most ridiculous forced love triangle. I don’t know if Wallach just decided ‘oh the world could be ending, they need to find love’ and thought he would throw in some instant love triangle but it certainly seemed that way to me. I was definitely not a fan of the romance.

Overall, it was an interesting premise that could have been written so well. Unfortunately, as much as I found the story interesting, there was far too much high school drama and forced romance for me to enjoy it. It was an average read for me but as this was just not my kind of book, I can seen why others may enjoy it.