[Review] The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 22/10/2013

Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 370

Source: Publisher for review
Genre: YA (14+) - Dystopian

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow ♪

My Rating: 

Intense

My thoughts

Thank you so, so, so much Alesha @ Scholastic for sending me a review copy! I have been so excited to watch the movie (huge dystopian fan!), only that I hadn't yet read the book. (And I make it a general rule to read the book before the movie.) I went into this book feeling a bit hesitant and anxious to pick up and read other books that I NEEDED-TO-READ-RIGHT-NOW, but since this book was for review and kind of urgent (as I wanted to read it before watching the movie) I pushed forward. By about 50 pages in I was hooked. Dashner throws you into this freaky world where teenage boys have had to build a society in a place surrounded by the Maze. And he kept unleashing mystery after mystery, bringing about such an intense and fast-paced read that I couldn't stay away for long--for the past few days if I wasn't at work or busy socialising, my nose was stuck in this book.

Top Ten Tuesday (9): Ten Books I Almost Put Down But Didn't

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. I, however, will just pick and choose which ones I want to answer because I play by my own rules. #rebel

Top Ten Book Covers I Almost Put Down But Didn't

1. Game On (#1) by Monica Seles
2. Falling Kingdoms (#1) by Morgan Rhodes
3. Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron
4. Born Wicked (#1) by Jessica Spotswood
5. Emerald by Karen Wallace
6. Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia
7. Wood Angel by Erin Bow *
8. Small Blue Thing by S.C. Ransom
9. Matched (#1) by Ally Condie
10. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

* I am extremely, extremely glad that I didn't put this book down because I would have missed out on one of my absolute favourite books ever! <3 It's a bit slow in the beginning, but it picks up and it's just beautiful.

[Review] Reality Boy by A.S. King

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Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 22/10/2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 353

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Thirty Seconds to Mars - The Kill ♪

My Rating: 

My thoughts

I am writing this review 1.5 months after I've finished it. Yep, it's another of those kinds of books, I kind of have no idea what I thought of it. But let me start off by saying that I love A.S. King. She's an extraordinary YA writer who deserves every single bit of recognition and acclaim she has received so far. If this weren't written by a beloved author that I trust and adore I probably would never have given this book a second look, it just didn't sound like my kind of read. And it wasn't, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the book - it's just my least favourite of hers so far.

Top Ten Tuesday (8): Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. I, however, will just pick and choose which ones I want to answer because I play by my own rules. #rebel

Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art

I have over 2000 books on my Goodreads list, I gave up at 700, so really this is my "Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art" among the 700 most currently released (or to-be released) books on my Goodreads.

Extra:

[Review] Crown of Midnight (#2) by Sarah J. Maas

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 (#2, Throne of Glass)

The Assassin's Blade | Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire | Untitled

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 15/08/2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 353

Source: Publisher for review
Genre: YA (14+) - Fantasy

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes

♪ Evanescence - Lacrymosa ♪

My Rating: 

Kick-ass!

My thoughts

*sigh* This is the second time I'm writing this review. I accidentally copy and pasted right over my entire review like 10 minutes after I finished it. :( I was legit about to go on hiatus, because I was that frustrated. Anyway. Hope this review is at least half as good as the first time around. I will be writing this in the same format as I did last time -- responding to my previous notes from Goodreads, my reactions after finishing the book about a whole year ago.

~~~

By the Wyrd, this book just... kicked ass. Maas writes suspense SO WELL!

That, I remember well. If nothing else, I remember how much this book kicked ass. There is still so much action, so much violence, so much going on that it was hard to stay away. I remember picking up the book and telling myself, "Just one chapter," and then that would stretch into two, three, four chapters.... There's a slow build-up, suspense and mystery that keeps you on the edge, Maas reveals at a good pace -- not too fast, and not too slow. The writing, as usual, is fantastic. I love the style that she utilises, and her writing just flows nicely.