The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers

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Book summary:

Seventeen-year-old Jocelyn follows clues apparently from her dead twin, Jack, in and around Seale House, the terrifying foster home where they once lived. With help from childhood friend Noah she begins to uncover the truth about Jack's death and the company that employed him and Noah.
Jocelyn's twin brother Jack was the only family she had growing up in a world of foster homes-and now he's dead, and she has nothing. Then she gets a cryptic letter from "Jason December"-the code name her brother used to use when they were children at Seale House, a terrifying foster home that they believed had dark powers. Only one other person knows about Jason December: Noah, Jocelyn's childhood crush and their only real friend among the troubled children at Seale House.
But when Jocelyn returns to Seale House and the city where she last saw Noah, she gets more than she bargained for. Turns out the house's powers weren't just a figment of a childish imagination. And someone is following Jocelyn. Is Jack still alive? And if he is, what kind of trouble is he in? The answer is revealed in a shocking twist that turns this story on its head and will send readers straight back to page 1 to read the book in a whole new light.

         Even though, I'm always going on about how I want to read some mystery stories, I never to. Why? Well, first they usually aren't that mysterious and well I do watch plenty of TV crime shows, so I kinda of need a break sometimes. But it turned out that a real mystery has found me now. Go figure.

        Speaking about OTP! So, it's not a strange thing that I love damaged characters in my stories, so when I got to meet Jocelyn here we clicked from the start. There is just something in that girl that I'd love to hug. She is been through hell and back, and you can see it. She is not your kickass strong girl all the time, she is, to put it simply human. Right after she got back and met with Noah I was instantly captivated. It's just match made in heaven. I really loved how they got back to living with their past and getting to know each other again. Well, I kinda went all squee and ahhh whenever they appeared on the page together.

        Mystery is mysterious! Yeah, you don't hear this a lot, but honestly I couldn't predict absolutely nothing here. I just kept reading and whenever some big twist happened I just had to stop. It's everything from slowly revealing their past to the all Jack's mystery clues game. Not to talk about the ending, which is simply mind-blow.

        Throw in some really good writing and nice organization, when you get past revealed little by little and twist happening one at the time and well you won't be surprised to see my rating. I had no idea that I'd grow to love this so much. But I'm so happy I did. Hopefully you will too.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry

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Book summary:

 A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so... different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah's more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he'd be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn... seriously epic. 

Your dearest Glass and Tanja are back with another joint review for Katie's book. It's a tradition and some traditions we don't break.  
  

Tanja: I think that this is the first time that I'm actually feeling sorry for a review that we haven't written yet, but the fact is that this will turn into "this should be Abby's book" story. But let's try to avoid it, somehow.
So this book for me was everything Katie usually is. It's like when you get into a Katie restaurant and order a Katie special you'll get this. Swoon worthy scenes and plenty of drama, all cooked together. But, it seemed like it was in a microwave before it got to you.
(Love, make some sense here, as I'm losing my metaphors)

Glass: But this should have been Abby's story!!! I am sorry, but I just can't get over the fact that we might never get that. And you metaphors are perfect - Breaking the Rules (I cannot believe that I'm about to say this) is a washed out version of epic, swoon-worthy story we had in Pushing the Limits. Noah was one of my favorite guys in this series - well, until we met West in Take Me On - but now I'm starting to doubt everything. I kind of wish that we haven't read this at all, don't you agree?
Tanja: Yes, totally. I assume that now readers will think that this is awful or something. It's not, at the same time it's not nearly as good as Pushing the Limits and other Katie's books were. It was just average and Katie's is everything but average writer.
Glass: Plus, I ended disappointed with both Noah and Echo, they annoyed me so much. Especially her. But as you already said, it is okay book, fans of the series will enjoy reading this, there are still a lot of "signature" Katie McGarry scenes and ending kind of redeemed everything. 

Tanja: Exactly. It's sad, because you could get a lot from this series by writing about other character (we won't let it go), but this was well unnecessary. What bothered me the most, was that sort of, kind of love-triangle there. Gaaah! Why?!
Glass: Why did you even have to mention that? I didn't like that part at all. Completely unnecessary, extra drama.  But, guys, don't get us wrong - we did give 3 stars to this book, so it means that Breaking the Rules wasn't a bad read - just not what we expected. But Katie McGarry is going to publish completely new book this year, Nowhere But Here, and we are so excited because of that. That summary sounds so intriguing and like nothing I've read so far when it comes to young adult genre.
Tanja: Yup. It's not Abby's book (this is the last time I'm mentioning it!), but I think it'll be much better than this. You know me, I'm always up for unique reads and let's hope that Nowhere But Here will be that. Aside the drama and everything, this is just an okay read. So I'd recommend - don't expect something different and new, as you won't get that. But you'll for sure enjoy reading it, as one thing that Katie will never fail at is good writing.

Rating: 3 stars.

Until the next time,

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

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Book summary:

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn…

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above. 

       Do you guys believe in coincidence? I did not, but then it happened. Just a day after I finished this story we started with Sexing the Cherry which in it's base also has the story of 12 Dancing Princesses or well a deconstruction of it. Anyhow my point is that I have never actually read the original story before reading Princess of the Midnight Ball so yeah I couldn't stop wondering...

       Speaking of retellings well it took me some time to start seeing them as individual stories rather than creatures from my nightmares that are trying to destroy my childhood. Once I did I couldn't but get addicted so nowadays I'm hunting them down. Luckily I have help and when Rashika told me that I should read this of course I did!

        While this series does share the original base with the fairy tale it still builds differently in some ways. We get a story about 12 sisters whose shoes are found every morning worn out and it creates a mystery that their father wants to solve. So of course he calls for help and we get an soldier who just returned from the war. So their journey starts, when the soldier has to find a way to trick the princesses and find the solution to this puzzle.

       To be frank I have a really mixed feelings for this book. While it offered me, personally, some thing will not surprise those who have read this fairy tale before, as this story is not much different than original. Also while I did get to enjoy the romance here, it didn't help that there was not much character development. All but the two main character who made this book really interesting. Then there is humor, as I couldn't help but laugh out loud so many times. It made this book really enjoyable at the end of the day and that's what I was looking for.

      Basically, if you want to be entertained a bit while struggling with your exams or any stressful thing, go for this one.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Until the next time,

Movie Review - Mockingjay, Part I

Hello all. This is something new @Ja čitam, a ti? Basically, we've decided to review movies from time to time. You can expect us to review movies that have first been books. We can discuss them and give final verdicts: movie vs book.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I (2014)

     I have to say that I did not expect much from The Hunger Games movie adaptation because I had been usually disappointed with movies based on my favorite books. I watched them just to see how did they pulled it off. Odds were not in their favor.

      These movies get better with every next installment and that is even more noticeable if you binge watch them like I did. There were a lot of things that only those who had read the book would notice in The Hunger Games. I was disappointed that they didn't manage to capture all emotions and interactions. Catching Fire was much better when it comes to that part (I will never forget that last scene with Cinna), but latest movie was the absolute best. Probably because they decided to make two movies instead of one.

       I almost managed the unimaginable scenario - to make my boyfriend read a book for a change. (No, he does not share my passion. Sometimes it is a bad thing - like now, but in the most cases I don't really mind that because I have this whole world for myself.) He wanted to go to the theater and watch Mockingjay immediately because he couldn't stand the cliffhanger. It was late, so we had to wait until tomorrow.  And do you want to know what happen? My tough, alpha male of the boyfriend sniffed and had "something in his eyes" along all teenage girls who had sat around us. If that is not a good recommendation to watch the movie, I don't know what is?

Book vs. movie? As the true book worm I feel obligated to say book, but truthfully, movie is alamost just as good.

Dear fellow bookworms,

have you watched Mockingjay? Share your thoughts with us.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

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Book summary:

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

         By the middle of City of Glass I strongly believed that we're getting somewhere and that I've got to finally see why this series is so much popular. I got to connect with the characters and the whole story really got a nice vibe around it. But by the end of that book I felt that things will go downhill. I still hoped and that's why I actually picked City of Fallen Angels. Sadly my hopes crashed right away.

Please note that in the sections to come there WILL BE SPOILERS. I've warned you!

         First and actually the biggest problem for me was that this one didn't feel like part of this series. When at the end of City of Glass they killed Valentine and actually destroyed the main villain it felt like an end. It actually was an end and this story didn't have much to do with everything. Yes this world is amazing. I knew that I'm glad that we got to see more of it, but not like this.

          The pacing here was really slow and at the beginning this book was really boring. But what's most mostly non of it made any sense. I couldn't see the point of this book. I still can't to be honest. Once again characters started to annoy me and Jace mainly (side note: please don't compare Jace and Will any more. There is a huge difference between being douche and cocky and Jace is the former.).

          Another problem I had with this one (yes there are many) is the villain. I just wonder who is next. God, himself? Valentine was a perfect villain and one who could be beaten and who is no invincible. But I cannot say the same for the Lilith. I mean the first women ever and they kick her ass like that. Really?

          Now you may wonder where on earth I found that half star. Well...

          Kidding, no I'm not. It's actually what I say in my review for City of Glass is my favorite couple. Yes I couldn't resist, but Malec is really what I saw as a light at the end of the tunnel. They are hilarious and it was so easy to laugh when the two of them started arguing.

         But, still I'll go on and continue with this series as one of my GR friends told me it gets better. I hope so.

Rating: 1.5 stars.

Until the next time,

Movie Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Hello all. This is something new @Ja čitam, a ti? Basically, we've decided to review movies from time to time. You can expect us to review movies that have first been books. We can discuss them and give final verdicts: movie vs book. 

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

The Movie. Fear. It's the first feeling I experience after I see an announcement that one of the books I have read is going to be adopted for the screen. You already own one version of the movie, the one you created yourself, but what if the one you see is not near it. Joy. This feeling comes second. Joy that many will hear and hopefully read the book later on.
Same happened with this movie, but then we got to see first trailers and suddenly I knew that this would be good.
We can start from the cast: Both Shailene and Ansel did a great job in this movie. Ansel really captured and brought on screen Gus' humor, while Shailene did a great job with bringing Hazel's wit and temper on screen. But not just them, one of my favorite characters from the book was Isaac and Nat did a great job with his character.
The plot: It stayed true to the book and I expected nothing else with John Green being presented during the filming (all authors should do this). Of course they couldn't put everything in the movie, but they kept the best scenes and made the story coherent. Not a single scene felt odd or/and unnecessary.
Emotions: Don't get me start on that, but more about it in the next paragraph.

The Audience. I think that the best way to illustrate the movie is through the audience in the cinema and firsthand from my friends who were there with me. I shall tell you that I kinda of persuade them so we went to see the movie, but the catch is that they knew nothing about it. Not a single thing! So yes, it was quite a shock for them but it seems for others in the cinema, too. Throughout the whole movie you could hear cries and sobs, and afterwards group laughs at funny moments while we still haven't recovered from the cries.
But the thing that surprised me the most is that probably I was the worst there. I knew what was going to happen and what to expect but I couldn't hold my tears. It tells you a lot about the movie.
Needless to say, you should maybe think about not telling, or better said preparing your friends for the movie, as mine threaten to kill me, well...I stopped counting how many times.

Movie vs. Book. Well even though this movie was really good and I really enjoyed it, you can expect me to pick book over movie any day. It's how it is. But, when you finish reading the book, go and enjoy the movie. You won't regret it!

Until the next time,