The Name on Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns

The Name on Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:  In Corin's world, your carpinomen - the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist - is everything. It shapes your whole life, and sets out your future. People spend decades searching for the one they're supposed to be with.
But what if you never find your soul mate? What if you fall for someone else - someone other than the name on your wrist?
And what if - like Corin - you're desperate not to be found?


The premise of this book really intrigued me. I've found myself in a book rut at the minute and this book is short enough (my copy is only around 260 pages so it is a nice short book) to get me motivated to read once more.

I did enjoy this book but there is something missing and I can't quite put my finger on what. I thought Corin was a strong character (quite literally in some cases) but there were times when she annoyed me a little bit. Her mood towards soul mates jumped around quite a bit - one minute she was totally against the whole idea of soulmates the next, she was surprised that not everyone married their soulmate.

The world itself wasn't really explained. There were a couple of pages at the end which kind of explains why things changed but, unlike other dystopian fiction like Divergent or The Hunger Games, the world wasn't explained enough for me. It was just kind of there rather than a part of the story like I wanted it to be.

I did like the plot overall. I thought the plot was okay, with some unexpected twists and turns thrown in which surprised me. However, I do think some of these things need to be alluded to in more detail beforehand. For example (without giving too much away), we learn that Corin has 'contacts' that she uses to get things but we don't find out much more than that until the end and I would have liked to see more of how Corin uses the information she has to help the plot along.

Which brings us briefly to something that has been bugging me. Corin has all this information but she doesn't do anything with it. In this respect, Corin is drastically different from heroines like Tris and Katniss who use the information they have to defeat the government. Corin doesn't seem that interested in bringing down the government - she seems content to moan about it a lot which started to annoy me.

The ending. Oh.My.God. That ending. It confused me. A lot. It felt rushed and I didn't really understand the decision that Corin had made and why her sister was so mad about it. Helen Horins didn't really explain it very well and I finished the book feeling a little disappointed with the ending.

Overall, the plot was good, the romance was good BUT there are quite a few things that weren't explained well or at all and there was that...spark...missing. I'm not sure what it is but other dystopians like Divergent and The Hunger Games have it - it's a hard thing to describe when you don't know exactly what you're describing! You'll have to take my word for it ;)

Not bad for a debut novel (maybe I'm being a bit harsh - it is a debut) and I would like to see how Helen's writing develops from here, but her next book probably wouldn't be an automatic buy for me.


Image from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18213013-the-name-on-your-wrist - no copyright intended

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: Callum is a Nought - an inferior white citizen in a society controlled by the black crosses.

Sephy is a Cross - and the daughter of one of the most powerful, ruthless men in the country.

In their hostile, violent world, Noughts and Crosses simply don't mix. But when Sephy and Callum's friendship grows into passionate love, their're determined to find a way to be together.

My Review - I wasn't sure what rating to give this book. I did enjoy reading it overall and I thought the issues dealt with were really well done. BUT there were quite a few things that I didn't enjoy about the book and these things lowered the rating for me.

We'll start with the negatives. I hated Sephy. Seriously hated her. She's younger than Callum by a few months yet she acts like it's a few years. Callum explains why they can't act like friends at school (for obvious reasons) yet she does it anyway and gets mad when Callum doesn't help. She does kind of develop by the end of the book but for the majority of the book I couldn't connect to her character at all and just wanted to slap some sense into her.

The star-crossed lovers element also didn't work for me. The romance seemed to be thrown in every so often and, because of this, I couldn't really imagine the relationship between the characters. One of the final 'twists' in the book also felt like it had just been thrown in to try and make things more interesting and I didn't really invest in it - the 'twist' in question has been a little overdone in my opinion and it really didn't work here.

I think the book would have been better if it had focused more on the story between the two mothers that we see in the prologue - I thought the book would revolve around that incident but instead, it's explained in the prologue and then left alone, so I didn't really understand the relevance of having X amount of pages dedicated to it at the start because it didn't really help the book much, other than to show why Callum and Sephy aren't allowed to be together and even then, I felt it didn't really do that.

On the positive side, I did like how the elements of racial prejudice was dealt with in this book; it added a really unique twist to the whole plot. I would have liked the story to include more details on the prejudice because by the time I'd finished the book I'd forgotten that one character was white and one wasn't. But, apart from that, the issues the book dealt were what really made the book interesting and, by the authors note at the start, the issues were really personal to the author and you could tell she felt strongly about the issues.

I'd heard a lot of amazing things about this book so I was disappointed overall by what I found. It's an OK book but I won't be buying the rest in the series. I thought the issues that were dealt with were really good but overall, the book lacked the spark between the characters and the plot. For me, dystopian novels such as Divergent and the Hunger Games are 10,000 times better and more entertaining. Sorry Malorie Blackman - but this just wasn't for me.

I'd really love to hear what you think about this book, or any of the books that I review, or to recommend books to read!

Image from http://artsydoesit.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/noughts-and-crosses-malorie-blackman-a-review/ - no copyright intended

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4.5 stars
Synopsis: Every year, the Scorpio Races are run on the beach of Skarmouth. Every year, the sea washes blood from the sand. To race the savage water horses can mean death, but the irresistible. When Puck enters the races to save her family, she is drawn to the mysterious Sean, the only person on the island capable of taming the beasts. Even if they stay together, can they stay alive?

 

My review: I loved this book! I haven't yet read the 'Shiver' trilogy (I'm going to I promise!) but I've read so many series and trilogies lately I wanted to indulge in some stand alones for a little while. With all the hype over the Shiver trilogy I was intrigued as to whether this would live up to all the buzz and Oh My Gosh it did!

 

I loved the whole idea of the races; it's unusual and different and you could tell Maggie had really thought about the whole process of them, from sign-up to the actual races the whole thing felt alive and real.

The water horses (or capall uisce/cappaill uisce as they are known in the book) added to the originality of the book and I loved the idea of capturing the horses from the sea each year. The way the water horses are savage beings from the stormy sea is really unique and shows you that you can't trust anyone in the races - especially the horses.

 

The characters are really well written. I love that Puck isn't like so many of the female protagonists I've read recently who are whiny and a little bit stupid, she just gets the job done. She takes part in the races to try and keep her family together and, I think, to prove to herself that even if her family is torn apart, she is strong enough to hold what's left of it together. Sean is the mysterious horse whisperer who has won the races for the past few years. Something you'll learn about me, I fall in love with the male protagonists very easily and Sean is no different. Again, he does what he has to do to survive although he takes part in the races not just for the money but also for the thrill of the races.

 

If I can't have Sean though, I would settle for Corr. I adore the connection Sean has with his water horse and how, although Corr is as dangerous as the other water horses, both horse and rider love each other and will do anything to protect the other which is all kinds of sweet. Seriously, if Sean is unavailable, I'll take Corr (or both, preferably both!)

 

The only reason I gave this book a 4.5 rating was I felt the ending was kind of sudden and a little confusing. Don't get me wrong, it's a satisfying ending but I felt it could have been done differently - maybe fleshed out more and explained a little bit better. I kind of understood why it ended the way it did - I don't know maybe you guys will disagree with me if you read it.

 

Apart from that, the book is incredible and I can't do it justice without giving everything away! If you're wary of starting the Shiver trilogy, start with The Scorpio Races - it's a brilliant way to introduce yourself to Maggie Stiefvater's writing.

 

Image from http://videosnpictures.com/pictures/dirgefornovember.com - no copyright intended

Soulmates by Holly Bourne

Soulmates by Holly Bourne

Rating: 4.5 stars


Synopsis: Every so often two people are born who are the perfect matches for each other.  Soulmates. But the repercussions of soulmates getting together are huge and, unbeknown to Poppy and Noah, they are being watched by a secret international agency responsible for separating them.
Poppy and Noah will soon have to decide whether to stay together and potentially end the world, or live without love for the rest of their lives.

My Review: Meet Poppy and Noah - two ordinary people with an extraordinary ability. An ability that not even they know about. I loved the premise for this book, the idea of having a soulmate has always enchanted me (I'm a hopeless romantic) but the idea that having a soulmate might actually be a bad thing instead of the traditional 'you belong with me' storyline.

I thought the storyline overall was fantastic. I loved the irony of Poppy being anti-romance and the intrigue of her mysterious mental-health problems. I thought the build-up to 'the meeting' as I have dubbed it moved a little fast though and Poppy's constant 'I need to stop thinking about Noah because he obviously hates me' got a little repetitive.

Once that was over though I thought the plot moved along well. The addition of a different POV every few chapters gave an insight into the slightly creepy organisation watching Poppy and Noah's every move but I think these characters needed to be thought out a little more - because of their short chapters, their backstory felt rushed in some places but, overall, I thought the addition of these chapters added something different to the story and drove home the point that this is not your average relationship.

All I can say about Noah is I want him as a boyfriend! (As the blog continues, I'll probably be saying that a lot - there's a reason I devour books...) He's so romantic and thoughtful and, although his whole 'I think I love you speech' to Poppy after only speaking to her for five minutes seemed a little strange I can totally overlook that. Seriously, if you need a reason to read this book, read it for him. He's kind of the dream guy - knowing Poppy's interests, her favourite places - even her dress size. Enough said.

This is Holly Bourne's debut novel and the only reason it didn't get 5 stars is because there were a few tiny moments for me where the plot seemed either a bit repetitive or it moved too fast and I thought it had skipped something important. BUT, these points are so minor compared to the overall book and I couldn't recommend this book enough. It's a perfect summer read - romance with a little action towards the end to keep you entertained. I can't wait to read more of Holly Bourne's books!


Image & Synopsis from http://www.hollybourne.co.uk/books/