"Just One Year" by Gayle Forman

Release Date: October 10, 2013
Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 336

From Goodreads: "Just One Day. Just One Year. Just One Read.

Before you find out how their story ends, remember how it began....

When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . .

The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents that happen—and the happiness we can find when the two intersect."

Admittedly Gayle Forman's "Just One Day" was the sort of book that totally snuck up on me, not expecting much from it, having not been the biggest fan of her "If I Stay" series. "Just One Day" exceeded my expectations in every way, shape, and form, being, without a doubt, one of the best books that I've read this year. With every word I felt as if my heart would explode at any moment and, for that very reason, I will remember it for many, many years to come (it doesn't hurt that it featured Paris, a place near and dear to my heart). Because of the utter amazingness of "Just One Day", this book quickly became one of my most highly anticipated of this year- and I thought that it would only be stronger than the first (as I found the case to be with "Where She Went"), however, I must admit that it was anything but.

Where I found that emotion was the biggest strength in "Just One Day", in this, I found it to be it's biggest weakness. Willem had SO MANY road bumps in his life, however, I found it near impossible to dredge up any sympathy for him because of the overall lack of emotion. I think that the biggest contributing factor to this was his voice- I feel that his voice was far too similar to Lulu's, not bringing anything new to the table (which is a shame, because I can't recall another instance of preferring a female's POV over a male's). Because of being unable to connect to much of the story, I found it to be quite draggy and slow at times.

That being said, I loved all off the various settings of this book- it allows the reader to experience another level of escapism, getting a stamp in their mental passport, of sorts, at every stop in his journey. Additionally, I did think that the parallel storyline about Willem's parents to be quite interesting, having a sort of "Jellicoe Road" vibe to it. Furthermore, the last ten or so pages of this book were ABSOLUTELY breathtaking- they were filled with the magic that I had been SO hoping for. They were close, but no cigar, to making me forget about the earlier 320 pages.

All in all, while I think that this book had great potential, I do think that ultimately it was unable to live up to said potential. That being said, that it is not to say that it is a bad book (I do think that it is much better than many YA contemps/ coming of age novels out there), it just wasn't quite able to fill the shoes of its predecessors. Furthermore, despite my complaints, I do now consider myself to be a 'Gayle' junkie and will do anything in my power to get her books in my hands.

Rating: 3/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honesty review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.

"Crown of Midnight" by Sarah J. Maas

Release Date: August 27th, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 420

From Goodreads: "An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?"

While I was not a huge fan of the first book in the series (a fan, rather than a FAN), I was still extremely excited to read this book because of both the world and the cast of characters that Sarah crafted, quite unlike any I have encountered in YA before. Within only a few pages of this book, I knew that it was not only much, much better than the first, Sarah truly finding her stride as an author, but one of the best books that I have read this year (which I truly have to thank Sarah for- it has been AGES since I truly loved a book, she was able to crack through where few authors have been able to).

While in the first book I did find myself growing somewhat frustrated by HOW MUCH there was going on in it, in this book, it was the icing on top of the cake for me. I LOVED piecing together all of the various storylines and admittedly gasped aloud a number of times when Sarah entirely twisted the plot on its head.

Another successful component of this book, in my opinion, was the romance. As anyone who knows me knows, I LOVE love- and this book has perchance one of the best love stories that I have read in YA. Ever. While on the one hand I hated how long drawn-out the romance aspect of it was (I legitimately texted one of my fellow reviewer friends with "WHY WON'T THEY KISS ALREADY?"), on the other hand, I do think that that was for the best- that when that aspect of the storyline finally came to fruition, that it made all of the FEELS cometh forth.

The last component of this book that made me fall head over heels for it was the ending- while the ending is technically wrapped up in its entirety, you can't help but feel the need to get your hands on the next book as soon as humanly possible- it has the feel of the cliffhanger ending, without actually being a cliffhanger. (That being said, as a side note, I find myself growing more and more scared about the next book because I can't wonder if Sarah will simultaneously tell two different storylines or only one- in only telling one, one of my most favourite aspects will be lost).

All in all, Sarah J. Maas is an evil, evil person- something which I'm sure that she revels in. As mentioned, this book is one of the best books that I have read this year and one that I know that I will pick up time and time again. I HIGHLY recommend this book to all YA readers- from those seasoned YA fantasy fans to those newly minted.

Rating: 5/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.

ARC Review: "The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey

Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Putnam
Pages: 480

From Goodreads: "The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up."

As many will know, this book has had major hype surrounding it- perchance the most hype that the world of young adult literature has experienced in years. While in the large majority of cases I do believe that hyped up books deserve all of the hype surrounding them, I must admit that I didn't believe that that to be the case for this book. While overall I did really enjoy it, I can't think of a single reason why this book stands out more than any other YA book of this nature out there.

While I hate making book comparisons with best-sellers, I do find the following titles to be the most apt description- this book is "The Hunger Games" meets "The Host". Like Katniss, Cassie goes out of her way to protect her brother at all costs- even if means sacrificing herself, she's quick on the draw, and she has a difficult time trusting people. Like "The Host", this book makes us question what makes humans human and whether others are capable of humanity. Furthermore, like "The Host", the aliens implant themselves within humans and have a similar make-up.

I think that my largest complaints about this book was the pacing of the book- I personally found the first 100 pages to be a draaaaag- almost entirely composed of world-building/ back story. There were a number of times when I thought that the characters were dragging their feet/ not realizing the severity of the situation that they were in/ the action-packed moments never really felt as such. If upwards of a 100 pages of this book were shaved off I think that I would have enjoyed it more so.

Furthermore, I didn't find the plot to be near as unique as I had hoped (as becomes evident with my comparing it to "The Hunger Games" and "The Host")- we have a kick-butt female character, a mysterious male who quickly sweeps her off of her feet, a post-apocalyptic society reminiscent of "Partials" by Dan Wells, and so forth. Additionally, I found myself growing increasingly overwhelmed with the changes in POV (we have POVs from Cassie, Zombie, and Cassie's young brother)- especially with the POVs being so un-uniform (one character's POV would be a hundred pages, the next 20 pages, the next 60, and so forth)- every time I found myself finally starting to settle into a character it switched.

That being said, Yancey knows how to write THE FEELS/ twisty turns quite unlike any other. There were a number of times while reading this book that I literally gasped out loud. Furthermore, I LOVED Evan- he is very likely to knock a number of my top YA book boyfriends down the list, if not entirely off of it.

All in all, while I did overall enjoy this book I do question whether or not it has the potential to become the "next big thing in YA". I personally find it to be no different than many other books on the market, the aforementioned "The Hunger Games" and "The Host", "Partials", "Blood Red Road", and so forth. That being said, I will continue on with this series, if only just to see how it wraps up.

Rating: 3/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.

In My Mailbox: Vampires and Alchemists Edition

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kirsti at The Story Siren as a chance to share the books we've bought or received over the past week.
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For Review 
"My Life in Black and White" ARC by Natasha Friend (Thanks to Penguin Group Canada/ Razorbill)
"The Golden Lily" ARC by Richelle Mead (Thanks to Penguin Group Canada/ Razorbill)

Bought 
"Insatiable" by Meg Cabot
"Vampires: The Recent Undead" anthology (includes the likes of Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Caine).