Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows
Six of Crows #1
Leigh Bardugo
YA Fantasy
Paperback, 465 pages
29 September 2015 by Henry Holt

Goodreads Ratings : 4.41/5
My Rating : 4/5

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

“Six people, but a thousand ways this insane plan could go wrong.” 

If you’ve been on social media, you probably have heard of Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo’s new series. Which, you probably have seen the book cover too. ISNT IT PRETTY AND GLORIOUS?!!!! I wish I have the hardback edition where the page spine is painted black. Such beauty.

Six of Crows tells the story of six amazing characters who are put together for an almost impossible heist mission with great rewards awaiting them. We have Kaz Brekker, Inej, Matthias, Nina, Jesper and Wylan to gush over but more on that later. This story takes place in the same world as Bardugo’s previous trilogy; The Grisha Trilogy—but they have totally different perspectives altogether. This is my first time reading Bardugo’s work so I need a bit of getting used to the Grisha world but the author herself totally helps by explaining the world building here and there within the pages of the book.

Okay moving on to what I like about Six of Crows :

1) THE CHARACTERS. Leigh Bardugo totally excels in writing diverse characters. THEY ARE ALL AMAZING WITH A BIG FAT CAPITAL A. Each one of them is very distinctive with very different personalities from each other, yet still amazing in their own way. If there is one thing to say about Six of Crows, its definitely this. 

Kaz Bekker is ruthless, heartless, a genius criminal prodigy and a bit of an asshole here and there but still loveable all in the same time. Inej is a woman of colour who is brave and passionate. Nina is one kickass character for me. She’s fierce, full of compassion, bold and MY FAV WOMAN CHARACTER HERE. Matthias is like this one huge teddy bear (hes not fat, if that’s what u thinking lol) who tries to act all fierce BUT SO ROMANTIC INSIDEEEEEEEEE. /dies/ Jesper appears to be funny but he has this depth in him that I like. And then we have this cute clueless Wylan.

2) THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES. They are all so different yet the dynamic they have when they are together is palpable. JUST LOOK AT THIS.

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.
"You're all horrible," said Matthias.”

And this too!!!!!!!!! I actually laughed lol.

"Jesper knocking his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. "Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I'm going to get Wylan's ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost."

Brekker's lips quirked. "I'll just hire Matthias' ghost to kick your ghost's ass."

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost," Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.” 

3) THE SHIPS. THIS BOOK IS A SHIPPER’S PARADISE. I really love how the romance element in Six of Crows isn’t overly done like some other books. I mean, its there but not that much??? Just enough gestures and thoughts that wont make you cringe. They were all briefly written that made you yearn for more and more. AND THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE YEEHAAAAA!!!! (I hate that stuff)

We have Kaz & Inej with all their vulnerabilities. Matthias & Nina WHOSE RELATIONSHIP SCREAMS ANGST AND HATRED AND PASSION AND SEXUAL FRUSTRATION AND MORE OMG GIVE ME MORE OF THEM GIVE MEEEEEEEEE. And then we have my favourite couple of all, Wylan & Jesper because FLUFFINESS AND GAY AND CUTE AND FLIRTY AND DHGCUKWCUWDCGEWUFFBWEUHWEBUWE goodbye

“I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.” 

“It's not natural for women to fight."

"It's not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall, and yet there you stand.” 

 “Wylan blushed deeper, and Jesper shook his head. “Play piano, too?” “Flute,” said Wylan defensively.
 “Perfect.”

4) THE ACTION. The tricks and actions in this book is intense and genius. There is always something to expect from Kaz and he always delivers. At some point of this book I shrieked because of the sudden gore this book has. It's almost like Game of Thrones.

Naturally, I have some issues with this book too.

1) IT HAS A PAINFULLY SLOW START. I almost give up, I swear. Its not until 100 pages or so that the plot starts to pick up. But once youre sucked in, youre sucked in.

2) NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS ACT LIKE THEIR OWN AGE. I could’ve sworn that at some points, I had a doubt on Kaz’s real age. He thinks like how a 28 years old leader/mastermind would think, for God’s sake. I mean, if you want your characters to be 17, make them at least think like 17 years olds. They are all so painfully mature that its hard to imagine them as teenagers. I had to readjust my imagination lol.

All in all, Leigh Bardugo can totally write. If I haven’t yet convinced you to pick Six of Crows up, I’ll say it again. READ. IT. I don’t care when you are going to read this book, but you need to read this book at some point of your life. Just read it, and then we’ll talk. The sequel (Crooked Kingdom) will be released on 22^nd September 2016.

My SoC reaction tweets can be found at #thesurayareadsSoC thread in Twitter 

“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”- Kaz Bekker, Six of Crows

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Illuminae
The Illuminae Files #!
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Trilogy
Young Adult Scifi
Paperback, 608 pages
20th October 2015 by Knopf Books

Goodreads Rating : 4.31/5
My Rating : 5/5

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. 

READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT READ IT

Ok tbh I've been trying to write a proper review of this book since 8.30pm but I failed. I got writer block or anything u call it, but try as hard as I may, I couldn’t fully express what I want to say about Illuminae in an interesting way. I already typed 4 paragraphs of my review but I stopped because it isn’t what I want.

So im just gonna write this in point form lol.

•  The hype over this book is justified. I can guarantee that. I'm so so glad that I get to read this book and enjoy it. (This book intimidates me tbh)

•  It’s a scifi + dystopia. Its perfect for scifi lovers, really, And probably star wars lovers too because it mentions the space, space war, spaceships and some other aerospace things.

•  Illuminae is told in a very very unique way—Its in footage style. We have IMs, emails, hacked documents, journal entries, pictures, transcription of surveillance videos etc etc, which revolves around spaceships, an attacked planet, a robot/machine and 2 amazing characters. I don’t know how Amie and Jay did that but they nailed it!!! Not only that the unique and cool formatting enhance your reading experience, it also makes you feel  various type of feels for the characters.

• VERY VERY PRETTY COVER ART!!!!!! My edition is the paperback one. The hardback in its naked form is gorgeous too. I might buy the hardback edition once I found a good deal on it because hardbacks are expensive here. I love the book too much <3

•  I LOVE THE MAIN CHARACTERS. KADY GRANT IS MY SPIRIT ANIMAL. AND EZRA MASON!!!!! <3 <3<3<3<3<3 FOR HIM.

• I got sucked in immediately when I was introduced to both these characters. I like them both even as individuals with all their characters. Kady is an intelligent girl hacker with her ‘I do what I want to do and I do it my way, y’all are stupid anyways’ attitude and Ezra with her charming witty self. I was definitely won over, big time.

• AIDAN. God, I don’t know what to make of AIDAN. I hate it. I love it. I cried for it. I pitied it. I want to kill it. I want to hug it. I feel all of those things for AIDAN. You’ll understand me when you get there.

• VERY VERY INTERESTING PLOT I SWEAR!!!!!!! AND THE PLOT TWISTS!!!! I DIDN’T EVEN SEE THEM COMING!!!!! My God.

• Have I mentioned that I cried while reading this book?

COMPLAINS I HAVE FOR ILLUMINAE

1.    Truthfully, Illuminae is so hard to understand T___T. I had to ask a friend to explain the basic plots for me to be able to confirm what I have in mind. That happened because of the unique formatting and lots & lots of scientific terms. (Im ashamed because im a biochemistry student but I always find it hard to understand scifi books tsk)

2.    There are still a few things I don’t understand but some of them are cleared up once I had a discussion+fangirling session with Hanan.

3.    One of the reasons for the confusion is that we don’t really have a background story before Kerenza was attacked. The story starts right where the attack happened and it moves forward after that, with very few notes about the past. Some readers felt that they couldn’t really connect with the characters because of this.

4.    This book contains a lot of cuss words but they are all blacked out as in highlighted with black highlighter so you couldn’t see them. It gets annoying at some points but those blackened words can be predicted. If you prefer a cuss free book, then this is for you.

5.    The romance bit is okay but at some parts it gets cheesy. I found this being said by a reviewer and I couldn’t agree more :

     "I’ve read a decent amount of reviews touching on the subject of the romance aboard Illuminae and how it was too much, too cliche. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail, but the one thing I kept in mind when reading the ‘love story’ bits was this: when your family is gone, and you have the one person that you used to love in front of you, the only remnant of your home planet, what would you do? (& I advise that all prospective readers keep it in their head, too.)"

Kady & Ezra is still OTP, though <3

TIPS TO READ ILLUMINAE

• Make sure you have someone you can go to in case youre feeling confused/need explanation. You can always PM me :)
• Focus. Don’t think of anything while reading this book. It requires your utmost attention

SPOILER/DISCUSSION (Quickly scroll pass this if u haven’t read the book yet)

1.    Zhang. When he met Kady at Alexander, he said something like, “I do it for you” or something like that. I don’t really get it. What does he mean by that???? Was he in love with Kady or???/

2.    WHEN THAT ONE PARTICULAR CHARACTER DIED OMG I WAS SO SHOCKED I COULD BARELY RESPOND. I WAS HEARTBROKEN.

3.    Ezra’s mom????? WTF WAS THAT??? God, I need book 2.

4.    I was in absolute emotional pain when AIDAN was dying T_____T Poor AIDAN T____T

*SPOILER ENDS*

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably have seen my outrage over Illuminae since yesterday so please read this book and fangirl with me. Please.

WARNING : ok so i understand that there is a lot of hype surrounding this book. Just because I love this book, doesnt mean that this book IS SUPER GOOD. it may not match your taste because I believe this book isnt for everyone. You may hate the book despite my overflowing praise for it. I also have a few complains like i mentioned above so i understand if some people find it overhyped. I just dont want people to go all 'im disappointed. i dont find this book entertaining at all' on me.

If you haven’t known yet, Warner Bros and Brad Pitt has signed Illuminae up to adapt it into a scifi movie. Honestly? I dont know. Illuminae is unique as a book because of its formatting. Lets just see how Warner Bros will deliver the uniqueness of Illuminae in movie form.

OH AND THE SEQUEL OF ILLUMINAE IS CALLED GEMINA!!!!!!

(This review I did still fail to express what I want to say about Illuminae sigh)

The Wrath and The Dawn (The Wrath and The Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath and The Dawn
The Wrath and The Dawn #1
Renee Ahdieh
New Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Paperback, 416 pages
12th May 2015 by Putnam

Goodreads Ratings : 4.15/5
My Rating : 4/5

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

The Wrath And The Dawn in my opinion is one of the hardest book to review. 48 hours has passed since I finished reading the book and I’m still not entirely sure what I think of it. I love the book, but I don’t love it. If you think youre confused, I am far more confused than you are, trust me. THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG REVIEW ANYWAY.

So TW&TD is a story between Shahrzad the girl with a strong determination to seek revenge and the mysterious young Caliph of Khorasan, Khalid. I was expecting a lot of stories between stories, you know ? 1001 Nights retelling and all but its not. The book has more to tell than just tales of distractions. It has an element of magic, pure love, understanding, trust and A LOT OF CONFUSION.

To be honest, I struggled with the writing in the first place. It’s a bit twisted that it was hard for me to fathom at one go but I got used to it by the middle of the book. It’s set in the Middle East, so there are a few Arabic terms here and there. There’s a word glossary at the back of the book to help you understand the setting but having to constantly flip the pages isn’t fun at all. In case youre wondering.

“So you would have me throw Shazi to the wolves?”

“Shazi?” Jalal’s grin widened. “Honestly, I pity the wolves.”

Shahrzad (Shazi) is a force to be reckoned with. She’s fierce, strong, determined and she knows how to handle a fight. Basically everyone’s favourite lead character. Khalid on the other hand is very very mysterious. You know when I first read the blurb of the book and there it says ‘boy-king’, I immediately got reminded of Joffrey from Game of Thrones. Boy-king, murders innocent people, heartless. You know it fits. But Khalid and Joffrey is a very different person altogether. Khalid is everything Joffrey’s not. For someone as young as him, hes so mature beyond his age. I love love love him. Slowly in the book, his mysterious character got revealed one by one. And with more things unveiled, I love him even more. (HA YOU’D BE LYING IF YOU DON’T ONCE YOUVE READ THE BOOK)

The main focus of this book is actually the romance. How love changes it all. Khalid and Shazi’s love is profoundly beautiful. It’s built out of trust and understanding which most marriage lost. But most of all, I fell in love with Khalid’s idea of love.

“I want someone who sees beneath the surface-someone who completes the balance. An equal.”

“And how will you know when you’ve found this elusive someone?” Shahrzad retorted.

“I suspect she will be like air. Like knowing how to breathe.” 

I mean, how can someone so strong and heartless SPEAK SUCH WORDS WITH ALL THESE CRAZY INTENSITY ???

 “My soul sees its equal in you.” 

Does he know what his words did to me ?!!?!?!/1

 “Get up, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. You kneel before no one. Least of all me.”

 JUST HOW ?!!?!?!?!?1?!/!?!?!?!/

This is not fair. Life isn’t fair.  

All swoons aside, I found something unsettling regarding the romance, though. It doesn’t develop well in the beginning in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, they are still good together but while it was developing, something feels wrong to me. Like something is missing from the picture. *SPOILER* Shazi is so determined to kill Khalid right from the start. That determination however is suddenly swayed in a few days by her feelings towards him when hardly NOTHING hugely romantic happened during those 2 days that can result in having a crush so quick, you know ? That process doesn’t settle quite well to me. Maybe I’m the only who thinks that way. Maybe I don’t. *SPOILER ENDS*

There are also a few side stories which in my opinion, are not exactly well-developed. There is Jalal and Despina who should have more stories on them written. I WANT THEIR ROMANCE TOO DAMMIT. There’s also a few magic elements that left me so freaking confused because I understand absolutely nothing. And then there’s Tariq who is Shazi’s boyfriend. I’ve said it before that I don’t deal with love triangles that well so when he comes around I was so irritated  because GET OFF MY SHIP YOU NOSY ASS. He doesn’t do anything wrong hes just trying to get his girl back BUT GOSH DUDE MOVE ON SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU ANYMORE.

In my conclusion, this first part of a duology is a HUGE CHUNK OF CONFUSION. There are still a lot of things left unresolved and unexplained but it still is a good book nonetheless. This book requires a lot of discussion in my opinion, SO EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS BOOK SO I CAN DISCUSS THEORIES AND SOLVE A BIT OF MY CONFUSION WITH YOU GUYS PLEASE !!!

It ends on a bad note, in case if you feel the need to be prepared. If you want it to be a good ending and not feeling all heartbroken or wanting the next book fast (found this advice somewhere, thought I’d share with you), do not read the last 2 chapters. Read it once youre ready to read the second book. Make the last 2 chapters be the first chapter of the book two. Or you’ll be miserable. Like me.

 “We women are a sad lot, aren't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Strong enough to take on the world with our bare hands, yet we permit ridiculous boys to make fools of us." - Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and The Dawn

My Heart and Other Blackholes by Jasmine Warga

My Heart and Other Black Holes
Jamine Warga
Young Adult
Paperback, 320 pages
10th February 2015 by Harperteen

Goodreads Ratings : 4.08/5
My Rating : 3/5



WARNING : Read the blurb at your own risk. (Dont read if you dont want to get spoiled bcs the blurb is kinda spoiler-ish to me)

A stunning novel about the transformative power of love, perfect for fans of Jay Asher and Laurie Halse Anderson.

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There's only one problem: she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel's convinced she's found her solution--Roman, a teenage boy who's haunted by a family tragedy, is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other's broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together.

From Goodreads

“Sometimes I wonder if my heart is like a black hole--it's so dense that there's no room for light, but that doesn't mean it can't still suck me in.” 

You know how deep inside you whether you realize it or not, you have that black slug that pretty much eats up your happiness even the slightest bit, that makes you think negatively about things even when your supposed to just enjoy the moment and be happy ? And how you tend to push everyone away when your drowning in sadness and depression thinking that you want to be left alone and you dont want others to be infected with your sadness ? And sometimes when bad things happened even if its not entirely your fault, you keep on blaming urself on and on ? And sometimes you wish you could die than having to face any of this but you dont exactly have the courage to do just that ? 

This is basically what this book is all about. Its about depression and suicidal thoughts. Pretty much a common issue nowadays in teenagers. It helps you think to appreciate life more, which i think is the huge main idea of this book. Jasmine Warga delivers this part quite well. 

“Depression is like a heaviness that you can’t ever escape. It crushes down on you, making even the smallest things like tying your shoes or chewing on toast seem like a twenty-mile hike uphill. Depression is a part of you; it’s in your bones and your blood.” - Aysel

I would say this book is quite something, it IS something. Its very emotional but somehow i kinda felt like something important is missing. I'm not exactly sure what is it thats missing (I have some idea but having to say it here would probably mean giving you guys a spoiler so I wont) 

I keep on getting reminded of Jojo Moyes' Me Before You while reading this because it has the exact same idea. Only thing is that this happened to 17years old kids instead of 30ish. I found myself enjoying this book at some points but like I said it has a few things missing that made this book a little less meaningful, but its still okay enough. I would love to read more insights on Aysel's friends and family though. Like what do they think of her personally and stuffs but I dont get that so yeah im a lil bit disappointed about it. 

But this book has insanely lots of good quotes about depression and stuffs so thats a huge total bonus ! I'm having a hard time choosing which quote to put down here lol. 

“Anyone who has actually been that sad can tell you that there's nothing beautiful or literary or mysterious about depression.” 

One of the things that I love about this book is that the author keeps on saying how depression isnt all that beautiful. You know how these days its so hipsterish of people to write poems about depression and being depressed ? This book opens up my mind how the people who are diagnosed with depression would think, and its bad. Its all dark there that sometimes I feel like I was trapped somewhere with no lights and no where to go. 

I'm quite disappointed with the synopsis/blurb at the back of the book actually. It ruins the surprise for me. Like i would probably like the development (?) of the story if I didnt read the blurb earlier (so a warning to you : do not read the blurb. just know that this is a book about depression and suicide. That knowledge is good enough) 

I was imagining quite a different ending actually. I was also waiting for that one point, one event or anything that would break me. That would make me cry like a baby. I felt it at first, but it was there just a little while so thats another reason why im giving this a 3. I think i am one of the minority who is not emotionally affected by the book. I felt like I was being let down by this book when actually I shouldnt because it ends okay, but that's just me being complicated af lol. 

Book Review - Just a Girl Standing in Front of a Boy by Lucy-Anne Holmes

Just a Girl Standing in Front of a Boy
Lucy-Anne Holmes
416 pages, Sphere
1st January 2014

'My love story may not be the sort you read about in books or see in films . . . Love stories have glorious highs and ghastly lows. But when it comes to my own life, I'd have to say, you can keep your fabulous highs and I'll happily steer clear of the terrible lows.'

After a rocky start in life, Jenny Taylor, 27, star receptionist at the local doctors surgery, has things all worked out thanks to 'The Smiling Fanny Manifesto' - a list of 10 daily things she must do to keep the blues at bay. But her life is turned upside down when she meets aspiring musician Joe King. And reliable boyfriend Matt proposes. And then her mum leaves her dad and moves into Jenny's flat determined to 'bond'.

Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy will make you laugh and cry - and it will make you look at your own love story in a new way. Lucy-Anne Holmes is the bestselling author of 50 Ways to Find a Lover. 

 From Goodreads

I saw an acquaintance of mine tweeted about this book 2 months ago, and she said its good and funny and pretty much enjoyable. That made me thought that I had to read this. It received a freaking good ratings and reviews from goodreads so why not. So when I saw this book at Big Bad Wolf, I was ecstatic ! RM 8 for a book is pretty much a real good bargain in my country, so grab it I did, and what a book it was !

This is a Jenny Taylor - or Fanny, as she would prefer - love story, hence the title, which I believe is a quote from the famous movie Notting Hill. Her terrible and traumatic teen life makes her lost all confidence in her. When she found her ultimate best friend Philippa, things changed. She regained her confidence back, she found and be the person she wanted to be, and finally things are working for her. Through this book, the readers were introduced with The Smiling Fanny Manifesto which oh my God, is so brilliant ! It is a list of 10 things Fanny had to do every single day to keep her smiling, from doing a kind deed to have a face-to-face conversation with somebody. The adventures she and Philippa went through while completing this list are so funny and enjoyable and freaking amazing that I thought "Oh I should do this too!".

Through this list, she met her sensible fiance Matt and things were pretty okayish between them, though Philippa are so against their marriage which I dont get why in the first place. Matt is a very good looking man but a little too workaholic for his own good. His relationship with Fanny, given the history, is a bit disturbing to me and as the story goes, I understand what Philippa feels. He sucks at being a boyfriend, what even a husband. Best friend has this magical instincts, dont they ?

Things got pretty miserable when Fanny's mom, came to live with her after leaving her cheating husband. Fanny didnt get along well with his family --- her parents are one of the major cause of her teenage depression, so having to face her mom every single day pretty much screams disaster, or so she thought. Within the pages, Fanny met Joe King. Joe King made her stomach flutters and all that stuffs which Matt didnt so you can guess what happened from here.

What I love about this book is that although the title pictures a cheesy love story, the book actually tells more than that. It's Fanny's relationship with everyone around her that I adore the most. Fanny is a good lady. The kind who makes your heart warms just by thinking of her. She has an amazing friendship with her best friend, doing all kind of amazing adventures, and have fights with each other that couldnt last more than a day. Her wonderful daily interactions between herself and her flatmate, colleagues --- everyone. Also, her relationship with her mom grows within the pages. Oh, the love her mom has for her was incredible ! 

The second thing I love about this book is how the ending was done. Lucy-Anne couldnt make a better ending for this one. It was perfect. I love how unexpected, saddening, heart-breaking, funny and beautiful it is. I didnt cry though, because a friend of mine did, but that didnt matter because I was satisfied.

Of course there are a few flaws - like I dont like how cheesy Joe King was, I literally cringed - but it was tolerable. This is an enjoyable read overall. I might search for more Lucy-Anne books after this.

"Hello, you dont look very happy and I hope youre not offended but this might help. My best friend wrote this for me when I was down. It's called the Smiling Manifesto. I've been doing all the tasks now, daily, for years, and it really helped me. If you dont want it, you might know someone else who could use it" - Jenny Taylor

My Rating :