Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

" Voices and faces aren't manifestations of good or bad. " - Fairest

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine is set in the fictional Kingdom of Ayortha. In Ayortha a person is judged on their appearance and their voice, it is considered normal for one to just break into a song in the middle of conversations. The main girl, Ava, has a beautiful voice however she is not so lucky with her looks. Ava always feels embarrassed and is very harsh on herself, all she longs for is to be beautiful. When she gets the opportunity to travel to the castle the Queen grows fond of her however but for the wrong reasons. The Queen quickly learns of Ava's secret ability and uses it for her own benefit. Ava also finds out the Queen's secrets and she too uses it for her own good. Both will learn that with any action, potion and spells comes great consequences. 

I read this book in under 3 hours. The plot was simple and the language was very easy and simple. By this description I do not mean to say the book was bad or even boring but I am stating these facts so that you can decide if you would like to read the book. I personally like reading these books when I don't want to spend too much of my time reading or when I want a cheesy, cute book just to pass my time.

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper is about an 11 year-old boy who is part of the Company of boys, a group of boys who are rehearsing to perform Shakespeare’s plays. It is first set in the late 20^th century but after Nathan gets the Bubonic plague, he goes back in time to 1599. He works with William Shakespeare and makes new friends, but he still misses his life in the 20^th century. He also wonders if he will ever be able to return to his old life. Everything is so different in the 16^th; no light bulbs or television and very brutal punishments. So how is he supposed to act like a boy from the Elizabethan Era?

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.” - Rebecca

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a classic gothic novel. It follows a young woman (not named) who marries a wealthy man widow, Maxim de Winter. She moves to his house in Manderley and finds it very hard to fit in. She thinks everyone is judging and comparing her to Rebecca. All the things in the house are Rebecca's and everywhere she goes she knows Rebecca would have done it. Worst of all Maxim is getting more and more distant and she believes that he was never really in love with her but he still loves Rebecca. It seems that even the dead can win.

I will go straight to the point; I didn't like this book. I really don't get why this has become such a famous literature. It may be that I am still too young to fully comprehend the whole story of Rebecca, but I just found it wasn't as mysterious or as captivating as a gothic book should be. 

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

“Sometimes, Edie, a person's feelings aren't rational. At least, they don't seem that way on the surface. You have to dig a little deeper to understand what lies at the base” 

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton is a Gothic novel. Edie Burchill is curious about the reaction from her mother when she received a long lost letter. It was set between 1939 and 1992. Edie knows nearly nothing from her mother's mysterious past. It all leads to the Milderhurst Castle, Edie feels a strange pull towards this place. When she takes a tour around the house she realises that there are many more secrets hidden by the stone walls of the castle. Secrets that fascinate her about the sister that live there and their family!

The novel by Kate Morton made me realise how much I adore the Gothic genre!

Eve (the Eve Trilogy) by Anna Carey

“A relationship between two people can be judged by the list of things unspoken between them.”  - Eve

Eve by Anna Carey is the first in the Eve Trilogy. The story is set in 2032, in the New America after a plague (and its vaccine that was meant to help) killed most of the world's population. The U.S.A is now ruled by a King. Girls and boys are completely separated into schools. Eve, the protagonist, is graduating from school and hopes to become a great painter. One day before graduation one of her colleagues shares her plans and knowledge with Eve. It seems that the King nor the teachers are telling the truth. Everything she believed in is a lie. Eve escapes all of this and meets Caleb. They fall in love but with them being fugitives she must choose between safety and love. 

This book is AMAZING!! I don't really know exactly where this books achieves this success or how Anna Carey did it but I just found I was completely absorbed by the book and the characters. I read non stop and finished it in less than a day. I would burst out at random moments screaming for Eve or Caleb, I was nearly crying at the end when Caleb was leaving. This is seriously such a cute, sweet book for all the dreamers and thinkers out there.

Mac Slater, Cool Hunter by Tristan Bancks

" Sometimes you've got to do the wrong thing to do the right thing, and I'd convinced Paul that this was the right thing. I just wasn't so sure I'd convinced myself." - Mac Slater, Cool Hunter

Mac Slater, Cool Hunter (I Heart NY) by Tristan Bancks. It is the story of Mac and Paul. Previously they had won a competition to become a cool hunter, someone who finds cool stuff and vlogs on the Coolhunters website. In winning the competition he gets to fly to New York for a week, all expenses paid; as long as they find cool stuff to upload. The first day everything goes wrong, the next day their luck seems to be changing. Mac finds a whole group of people inventing the coolest things ever but this time he must keep it a secret. 

I actually only read the second book in the series. I didn't even think it was a series; the title on the cover basically says mac slater, cool hunter there is a tiny writing saying "2 I <3 NY", i just thought this was part of the graphics. Other than that there was no mention of it being a series. 

I found this book really, really weak. I kept on reading and waiting for it to reach a climax but I didn't really think it go to it.

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

"In Venice, a secret is indeed more powerful than a sword. " - Cross My Heart

Cross my Heart by Sasha Gould is set during the Italian Renaissance. Laura della Scala, the protagonist, is sent to the convent at the age of 10. When her sister dies her father calls her back home to marry her sister's fiancée. Laura despises whom she is to marry, he is completely disgusting. However, all her father cares about is wealth and power. Laura finds out about someone who can help her; they call themselves the Segreta, a secret society of women all they ask is a secret. At the start they seem to help but soon she realises that it may not have been all good. She thinks they link up to the murder of her sister. 

This book will have a similar review to a recent book review I wrote about Ever . It is a very quick read with a short plot. There was quite a lot of mystery but I wouldn't say it was a complex novel. At the end things got quite gruesome but overall I found the story very cute and romantic.