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Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I don’t even know how to write this review without spoiling anything because I’ve just finished reading this so my brain is full of what I’ve just read. So I’m sorry if a few things don’t make sense but this book is so hard to review without any spoilers.

Hades is the second book in the Halo trilogy and thank God *excuse the pun* that this was slightly better.

Is love a great enough power against evil? Bethany believes so – after all, the love of her angel siblings and her boyfriend Xavier saved her from the clutches of Hell itself.

But when Jake returns to town, he may be able to destroy everything she cares about.

Will Jake’s actions shatter Beth’s faith in love? Or can she overcome heartache and betrayal to find her way back to Xavier?

Ok first of all, yes this book is better than Halo – but not by much.

The main plot in this book is much darker than the first installment in the series and I found the darker approach much better (well, I say darker but nothing bad really happens to Bethany – again.) This is one of the things that I find so frustrating with the series. When evil comes along to try and ruin Beth’s life, nothing bad happens to her. She might get a few scratches here and there and be threatened, but nothing bad is ever done to her and it’s annoying.

There was also some terrible writing in this book. Absolutely terrible. How Adornetto ever got away with it, I have no idea. I actually noted down some of the rubbish writing so I could share it with you guys. So here you, a few amazingly awful quotes from Hades:

– “Little did we know they would find us before we had a chance to find them.” 
If you follow me on Goodreads, you will know that I had a little rant about this sentence. After I read this, I noticed how much unneeded foreshadowing Adornetto did. What’s the point in telling us that bad stuff is going to happen before it does? Why not leave out the in-your-face foreshadowing and give us a bit of a shock?

 


 – “I wanted them to know that Taylah was out there still, only now she was free. I wanted to tell them about Heaven and the peace she would find there. But of course, sharing any of that knowledge was impossible. Not only would I be breaking our most secret code and exposing our presence on Earth…”
SHE HAS ALREADY TOLD XAVIER WHAT SHE IS! SHE HAS ALREADY BROKEN THE “MOST SECRET CODE’. What a huge contradiction on Adornetto’s part. This is terrible. And Bethany stupid.

– “Are you okay, Huggie Bear?’ I asked, protectively reaching up to fix his hair.”
Beth just called Xavier “Huggie Bear”. What. What writer even does that? I mean, I’ve heard of ridiculous nicknames for your other half but ‘Huggie Bear’? That should be made illegal. *shudders* Just no.

– “When Big Daddy fell from grace…”
Yup. Lucifer is called ‘Big Daddy’ in this by his followers. I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WORSE, HUGGIE BEAR OR BIG DADDY! And the description of Lucifer (there’s no way I’m calling him Big Daddy) is all wrong, but I’m not even going to go into that because we’d be here all day.

 

As you can see, I came across some appalling writing and ideas in this book. HOWEVER! Even though nothing bad happened to Bethany (not really, anyway. A few minor incidents here and there, but still…) I found the story much more gripping than Halo.

My favourite part of this book was an exorcism scene. It’s like it was ripped right from the pages of a Supernatural script. Adornetto’s writing during this scene surpassed anything I had read during the series and blew my mind. It was fantastic. The way she described the demon possession, the surroundings of the building and how the creature moved was breathtaking and it’s a scene that I will always remember for being brilliant. I don’t know why Adornetto couldn’t keep writing like this.

I can’t say much else about this book without revealing what happens but just know this: even though there is some terrible writing, Adornetto has got a good story going here, she’s got some really good ideas and the darkness of the book worked so much better than Halo. Yes, there was still Bethany and Xavier confessing their undying love for each other all of the time (shut up, already – no one cares), and the ending was absolutely ridiculous but this book was definitely better than Halo

Now onto the third and final book… Heaven. Fingers crossed that I don’t drive myself mad reading it.

 

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Halo is one of those books where I don’t know how I really feel about it…
Is love a great enough power against evil?

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel the warrior; Ivy the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone – especially herself.

I don’t know who I was annoyed at the most: Gabriel or Bethany. I got very annoyed at Bethany because whilst I was reading it, I was yelling at her to not fall in love with anyone because she’s got a job to do. I mean come on, if I was an angel I would not want to let some boy stop me from doing my job. Hello! I would work for God. How awesome is that? I’d have powers and wings. No mortal boy is stopping me from being an awesome angel. Bethany was so stubborn and would go against anything that Gabriel said. He’s Gabriel, you do not want to mess with him (yes, he’s exactly the Gabriel that you’re thinking of.)
However, I wanted to yell at Gabriel because even though being an angel would be super cool, I can completely understand why Bethany would be fascinated with Earth. It’s completely different to anything that she’s ever experienced before and because she’s a young angel, she’s going to be influenced very easily. Gabriel would be so stern with Bethany and expect her not to pique an interest in anything. I know he’s an archangel and everything but come on, give the girl some slack.
“One of the most frustrating words in the human language, as far as I could tell, was love. So much meaning attached to this one little word. People bandied it about freely, using it to describe their attachments to possessions, pets, vacation destinations, and favourite foods. In the same breath they then applied this word to the person they considered most important in their lives. Wasn’t that insulting? Shouldn’t there be some other term to describe deeper emotion?”
– Alexandra Adornetto, Halo
 
 
Even though I could see both of the characters points of view, I admit I was absolutely sick of hearing how much Xavier and Bethany loved each other, or how gorgeous Xavier was. We get it, you find him attractive. Get over it already. I also hated how overprotective Xavier was. If I had a boyfriend and he was like that, I would tell him to stop and that I could handle carrying my own school books. And I hated when he decided he could just answer for Bethany is class. I seriously wanted to punch him. But everything was ok, it was fine that he was overprotective because he was attractive *sarcasm* (I hate books like that, that get the male to do everything for the female because we’re apparently so weak we can’t even carry our own books.)

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book as well. It started to get good when Jake Thorn was introduced but again another cliche of a British guy being evil. Us British people aren’t all evil ok? I finished this book in two days and even though there were some very annoying bits with the romance and the characters, I found the whole idea of the book very interesting.

I am in no way religious (if I was, I’d be a Buddhist) but I like reading books about heaven, hell or limbo. I find it fascinating when it gets a fantasy twist put on it and I think it was this that made me keep reading it. I like reading about evil trying to take over and the good guys trying to fight it.

I also found Adornetto to be very descriptive in her writing. Sometimes I found it brilliant as it made me imagine the setting of Venus Cove much more clearly and made me understand the characters better, but on the other hand, sometimes it got annoying because she would repeat herself when describing things. However, I would say that the descriptive side of the book is more positive than negative in its storytelling.

Because of this, I will be reading the second book in the series: Hades. I don’t think I will thoroughly enjoy the second book because I wasn’t a big fan of the second, but let’s hope that I like it enough to not put it down for the second time.

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This book has become my heart and soul. I devoured it, loved it, wanted to immerse myself into it; Fangirl was a brilliant read.
Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one-half of a pair anymore – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there’s romance far more intense than anythings she’s experienced in real life.
 
Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realising that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible…
 


After reading the blurb whilst I was in Waterstones, I was thinking to myself: ‘great, not another teen fiction book about romance.’ But, oh how wrong was I?
 
This book has some romance in – obviously. And the book portrays how it feels to have your first love, but Fangirl is so much more than that. What I loved the most about this book was the portrayal of going to university. Of having to pack up your things from home and move to a strange place with weird people. I could relate so much and it made me feel all nostalgic of when I first moved into my new flat at Staffordshire University.
 
It’s obvious that Cath suffers from social anxiety as she doesn’t leave her room for weeks and tried to live off protein bars and a tub of peanut butter – she’s too scared to find the cafeteria. Even though she attends all of her lessons, the thought of going through the whole ‘new school, new cafeteria, new cliques = time to sit on my own and not socialise because no one wants me.’ She also has major anxiety about the way she looks, she sees herself as the ugly twin, the one that no one will love and the one that everyone will find boring because she loves fanfiction so much.
 
 
 
“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can’t Google.)”
– Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl
 
 
 
I found Fangirl so much better than Eleanor & Park and Rowell’s style of writing seemed so much more concise in Fangirl. I found the characters to be more real (can we just talk about Reagan for about 100000 years please?!) and Cath was the most relatable character in the novel. Even though I can relate to Cath and Wren’s experiences of university, I’m more like Cath and that’s why I fell 100% in love with this book.
 
Even though Wren made me angry a few times with how oblivious she was to how bad her sister was coping with uni life, her character development towards the end of the book was extraordinary, it was so quick it nearly gave me whiplash. It wasn’t quick – however – in the sense that you had no idea what just happened, there is something that happens to Wren in the book and she suddenly realises she needs to change her ways.
 
There was also major character development for the Dad. I found him so cute and adorable and after the ‘thing’ that happens with Wren, he also figures it’s time for him to change his ways and start managing himself a bit better.
 
This book is a romance book, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a book about growing up, about finding your feet at university and about learning to do what you love. This book has become one of my favourites and is one that I would read over and over again. 
 
Fangirl is perfection.
 
 
The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan

The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan

A love affair story set in New York and written like a dictionary? Yes, please!

This sounded like such a good idea when I was recommended to read this book by a friend and since I’m a huge fan of David Levithan anyway, it didn’t take much convincing.

It turned out that we had both met people online before, and we had both slept with people on first dates before, and we had both found ourselves falling too fast before. But we comforted ourselves with what we really meant to say which was: “I don’t normally feel this good about what I’m doing.”
In 185 snapshot moments, The Lover’s Dictionary tells the story of a love affair between two people in New York. Moving, funny, heart-breaking and life-affirming, it is a story that anyone who has ever fallen in love will recognise.

Not once during reading this book did I feel moved, did I laugh or feel heartbroken. I felt confused and I felt bored. This story just felt so disjointed, there was actually no story. It felt like a patchwork book where everything is jumbled together and there is no meaning.

“‘It was a mistake,’ you said. But the cruel thing was, it felt like the mistake was mine, for trusting you.”
– David Levithan, The Lover’s Dictionary
 
 

There were a few moments where I thought this book had potential – those feelings were near the beginning of the book, but I still had them – but I just got let down. The book is very quotable and Levithan uses this book to portray the ups and downs of a relationship and even mentions how little pet hates make you feel frustrated like when your other half leaves the cap off of the toothpaste. However, a book being ‘quotable’ does not make it a good book.

The plot was so disjointed that I didn’t even know what going on. Once I had finished the book, I actually turned to my Mom and said ‘I don’t know what happened’. I genuinely had no idea what story I had just read. I know that there were two lovers, I know that they’re together for two years but in what ‘chapter’, the narrator exclaims about being cheated on but then in the next ‘chapter’, everything is happy and like no cheating has happened. One ‘chapter’ is about the first date and then the next is when they’ve been together for one year. It isn’t in chronological order and it makes no sense.

I do think it’s a clever way for a book layout and I even got to learn the meaning of some different words that I can add to my vocabulary, but as I said before: it had so much potential and I just got let down.

The only other time that I would read this book is to see if I could make any sense of it a second time around.

Sorry, David Levithan, but this book was not good at all.

 

Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Perks of Being a Wallflower is Stephen Chbosky’s debut book and boy, is it a fantastic one to start off your writing career.

It was released in 1999 but it’s only been in the last five years that it’s been recognised for the brilliant novel that it is.



Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
This is the most beautiful coming of age story that I have ever read and no, that isn’t an exaggeration; I remember being captivated after reading Charlie’s first letter to his “friend”.



“I just want you to know that you’re very special… and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has.”
– Stephen Chbosky, Perks of Being a Wallflower


The format in which Chbosky’s written this books is in that of letters, the story is told through them in which Charlie writes letters about his day over the course of him being fifteen and sixteen. It’s like reading a diary. Chbosky makes Charlie such an open, heart-endearing character that when you read him spilling his feelings out in the letters, you can’t help but want to wrap your arms around him and give him the biggest hug in the world.
It’s also written like a fifteen/sixteen-year-old would write as well. Chbosky doesn’t use any ‘fancy’ words or make the characters sound older than they are; the written style is short and simple sentences most of the time unless Charlie is practising his writing skills – then Chbosky slightly changes the writing style to suit Charlie’s.

I also loved how well-rounded the secondary characters were like Sam, Patrick, Mary Elizabeth, Bill and even Aunt Helen. It just showed how much of an incredible writer Chbosky is and how well-thought-out his characters were; I felt like I could connect with most of them on a personal level too which is one of the things that I love as an avid reader.

I recommend for everyone to read this book because this is a beautiful piece of literature that I’ve now read four times. I just can’t get enough!
Warning: contains references to physical/emotional abuse 


I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

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When I first read Jandy Nelson’s debut novel: The Sky is Everywhere back in 2010 when it came out, I was encapsulated by Nelson’s writing style and the characters that she creates. I’ll Give You The Sun is another magical novel from the mind of Jandy Nelson. A story that will bring you to tears and make you laugh, a story that has characters you will love until the end. …

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Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I had read about much of the hype that surrounded this book. Nearly everybody who had read it had told me that it was amazing and that they couldn’t fault it, other people told me that this book was over-hyped and it wasn’t as good as everyone was exclaiming it to be.

 I decided to read it myself and have my own opinion.

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Night Owls by Jenn Bennett

Night Owls by Jenn Bennett

I’ll be completely honest, I picked up this book because of its GORGEOUS cover. I know that you can’t tell from the picture, but the gold on the cover is gold foil, so it’s really shiny, and under the lights and Waterstones, it’s constantly shining and that’s what caught my attention. I AM SO GLAD that I picked this book up.

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