Day: August 20, 2014

Review: Tease by Amanda Maciel

Posted August 20, 2014 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Rowena’s review of Tease by Amanda Maciel.

Emma Putnam is dead, and it’s all Sara Wharton’s fault.

At least, that’s what everyone seems to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma’s shocking suicide. Now Sara is the one who’s ostracized, already guilty according to her peers, the community, and the media.

During the summer before her senior year, in between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment—and ultimately consider her role in an undeniable tragedy. And she’ll have to find a way to move forward, even when it feels like her own life is over.

In this powerful debut novel inspired by real-life events, Amanda Maciel weaves a narrative of high school life as complex and heartbreaking as it is familiar: a story of everyday jealousies and resentments, misunderstandings and desires. Tease is a thought-provoking must-read that will haunt readers long after the last page.

The minute I read the blurb for this story, I was interested in reading it because it was such a different premise. All of the bully books that I’ve read to date have been told through the victim’s point of view so to finally get a book from the bully’s perspective? Yeah, I wanted to read it.

And then I started the book, and I stopped wanting to read it. I had to stop reading the book far too many times because my emotions kept getting the best of me. This book was not an easy book to read. It was an extremely hard story to get through because the main character, Sara, one of the bullies who harassed a girl so much that she ended her life, was not a likable character.

She was completely selfish and while that’s understandable, being a teenager and all, it did nothing to make me connect with her at all. There were times when I would put the book down and tell myself that I would not be picking this book back up again but I always made a liar of myself because I wanted to see if Sara would wake up and realize that her actions and her hatefulness led Emma Putnam to do what she did. And all over what? A freaking boy? It was hugely disappointing to read chapter after chapter of Sara feeling sorry for herself. Of reading Sara tell herself over and over again that she did nothing wrong, at the same time that we’re reading about her doing some pretty stupid and hurtful things to another girl.

One of the things that really pissed me off while reading this book was how Sara never really blamed Dylan for anything. Her anger and resentment was for Emma, and Emma alone. Dylan was her boyfriend, not Emma. Dylan cheated on Sara, not Emma. It was a really bitchy thing for Emma to do but still, you don’t hold Emma accountable for Dylan’s actions. And that’s the thing that pisses me off about teenagers in books like these, and I’ve seen it done in real life. Where the girl is always mad at the girl their boyfriend cheated on them with, but never really the boyfriend.

This is a really hard review to write because on one hand, I didn’t enjoy this book at all but on the other hand, it’s a book that I want my teenage daughter to read because I want her eyes to be opened to the right and wrong way to handle situations. There are lessons to be taught by reading this book and in that aspect, it’s a book that people with teenage kids should read and a book that they should make their kids read.

Emma wasn’t perfect but she didn’t deserve the treatment that she received. She didn’t deserve what Sara and her friends did and even though we see that Sara didn’t want to do a lot of what her friends were doing, she never stepped up and told them to stop. And it is because of that, Emma killed herself. Because they didn’t stop. And if you don’t feel right about something, then you speak up and you say, “Stop.” I wish that Sara had been stronger. The only person who seemed sorry about how everything turned out was Dylan.

I will say that this book has made me mighty curious to have Emma’s story. To read her story and to see what she was going through, what really happened between her and Dylan. Between her and Tyler. I think that would be an interesting story to read. But as for this book, it’s definitely not an easy story to read and the characters in the book do nothing to make you want to continue reading the book, but the story itself is powerful because it was about a bully dealing with the consequences of their actions. Some people learned their lesson and some people didn’t. And really, that’s real life for you.

Grade: 2 out of 5

This book is available from Balzar + Bray. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Tagged: 2.0 Reviews, Amanda Maciel, Balzer + Bray, Contemporary, Netgalley, Rowena's Reviews, Young Adult

Guest Review: Taking It All by Maya Banks

Posted August 20, 2014 by Natalia S in Reviews | 0 Comments

Natalia’s review of Taking It All (Surrender Trilogy, #3) by Maya Banks

Chessy and Tate have been married for several years. In the beginning, their relationship was everything she wanted. Passionate. All consuming. She offered her submission freely and Tate cherished her gift with a tenderness that made her feel safe. Content. Wanted. And loved beyond all measure. But as the years have gone by, Tate has become more immersed in making his business the success it has become, and Chessy has taken a back seat to his business obligations. Growing unhappier with the status of their once blissful marriage, Chessy knows that something has to give. Or they stand to lose it all

Tate loves his wife. Has always loved her. Providing for her has always been his number one priority. But lately she’s seemed unhappy, and he’s worried. Worried enough that he arranges for a night together that he hopes will reignite the fire that once burned like an inferno between them.

But a business call at the wrong time threatens everything. Chessy’s safety, his concentration, his wife’s faith in him as her husband, a man sworn to love and protect her above all else. Gutted with the realization that he’s going to lose her—has already lost her—he readies for the fight of his life. Whatever it takes, he’ll get her back. And prove to her that nothing is more important than her love. And that if she’ll allow him to prove himself one more time, he’ll take it all. Everything. But he’ll give far more back. Himself. His undying love.

As a whole, I enjoyed this series well enough. I thought it was a different outlook on the dominant submissive type of relationship where all parties involved were happy and respected. We always see happily ever after in romances, but rarely do we see what happens afterwords. Where does a marriage go, and how do they overcome their fazes?

Because of this, when I finished the second book, Letting Go, I’ve been looking forward to this release. I must say that sadly, it didn’t fulfill my expectations.

It was nice to revisit the old Characters Kiley, Joss, Nash, and Jenson. I wanted to see how happily they ended up. However for the most part, I felt that this was a pointless book. First off. Chessy’s unhappiness in her marriage. It seems that she grew unhappy as time passed, but didn’t do anything about it. She never had any kind of conversation with Tate, expressing her feelings. When she finally did, it seemed to me that Tate was willing to listen and change. The entire thing felt at least to me, that it could’ve been avoided with good communication and compromise.

One of the things I love most about romance novels are devoted heroes. Every hero in this trilogy is absolutely devoted to his heroin. Still, while the story line of each book was different, the personalities of each hero and heroine were exactly the same. It felt as though I was reading the same book for the third time in a row with a different plot.

In spite of my nit picking, I did enjoy this series, and liked how everyone ended up. I hear that this author has a romantic suspense series. I’m looking forward to her take on that genre!

Grade: 3 out of 5

The Series:

This book is available from Berkley. You can purchase the book here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.