REVIEW: Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Title: Beautiful Malice
Author: Rebecca James
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery.
Publication Date: May 1st 2010
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Rating: 4/5

'Truth or dare?' She asks.
I hesitate. 'Truth,' I say finally. 'I can imagine one of your dares, and I don't fancy running down Oxford Street naked tonight.'
'Truth,' Alice says slowly, drawing out the vowel sound as if she's savouring the word. 'Are you sure? Are you sure you can be completely honest?'
'I think so. Try me.'
'Okay.' And then she looks at me curiously. 'So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?'

Katherine has moved away from her shattered family to start afresh in Sydney. There she keeps her head down until she is befriended by the charismatic, party-loving Alice, who brings her out of her shell. But there is a dark side to Alice, something seductive yet threatening. And as Katherine learns the truth about Alice, their tangled destinies spiral to an explosive and devastating finale.

An intense and addictive psychological thriller.

I don’t even know what to say about this book.

The thing is- I’ve owned Beautiful Malice since it came out in 2010, and it was one of those books that my mum bought for me that I never really paid much attention to. It’s times like these that I want to travel back in time just so I can slap past Ely for being an idiot.

This was beautiful. (See what I did there?) I don’t know if I’m even going to be able to explain this, but the writing was just so easy. You know how there are those books that are just so tedious that you don’t even want to pick them up? This was not one of those books. In fact, it was the complete opposite- I couldn’t believe how quickly I flew through this book and how involved in the story I was.

I admit, Katherine could be a bit of an annoying character but I understand why she was written the way she was. I don’t know if that makes sense, but what I mean is I don’t think the story would have had quite the same effect if Katherine had acted differently. I also really, really want to talk about Alice but I feel like everything I’m going to say about her will just spoil the entire book. Also, Robbie. I really love Robbie. (Someone who’s read the book should help me flail about Robbie and rant about other stuff.)

I just want to talk about the plot for a moment. It’s not really something I can go into detail about without ruining the entire book, so I’ll just keep it brief. HOW? WHY? WHAT? AHHHHH. I think that pretty much sums it up. If that didn’t convince you to read this book then I don’t know what will. (And Ebony if you’re reading this, I totally should have picked up Cooper Bartholomew is Dead the other day. Why didn’t I do that?)

Also, this isn’t technically related to the book but has anyone else noticed how I always end up ranting about the books that Allen and Unwin publish?

GenreMatch: #MYSTERY TV SHOWS

Title: Pretty Little Liars
State: Currently Running (Season Hiatus) - Approved for Season 5.
Plot: Rosewood is a perfect little town. So quiet and pristine, you'd never guess it holds so many secrets. Some of the ugliest ones belong to the prettiest girls in town: Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily, four friends whose darkest secrets have been unraveling since Alison, the Queen Bee of their group disappeared. As the mystery surrounding Ali's disappearance resurfaces, the girls begin getting messages from a mysterious “A,” who they quickly realize is out to get them. Now, after years of tormenting and numerous shocking revelations, the Liars are united and ready to kick some “A” and uncover the truth! No longer just wanting to sit by and wait for "A’s" latest cruel attack, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer take matters into their own hands and try to finally put a stop to their tormentor. As relationships are put to the test, new and old secrets are revealed and the stakes are raised higher than ever before as the Liars come closer to the truth. Will all of their sacrifices be worth it in the end?

The series stars Troian Bellisario as Spencer, Ashley Benson as Hanna, Lucy Hale as Aria, Shay Mitchell as Emily, Sasha Pieterse as Alison, Ian Harding as Ezra, Janel Parrish as Mona, Tyler Blackburn as Caleb, and Laura Leighton as Ashley.

REVEW: The Evolution Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Evolution Of Mara Dyer (The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer, 2#)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Format: Ebook

Pages: 507

Rating: 5/5Blurb:

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

Review:

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit.

Holy Shit!

It has been five minutes max from finishing “The Evolution Of Mara Dyer,” and it blew my mind in everyway possible. Not only are the characters realistic with the choice of dialogue for each character, it is hell creepy. Young Adult books usually don’t creep me out, but this is one exception. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out. I expected way more from “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer,” as the hype that was built with it was humungous and I wasn’t truly very happy with it, but the second one has skipped to all the conventions of a season finale of a tv show or a last book in a gigantic series. It was surprise after surprise and I just loved it. There were many parts that confused me and made me think, “Woah, what the hell is going on here.” But they were kind of explained so that is always good in the end isn’t it? Overall, I thought this was one of the best sequel books I have ever read to a series and I now realise that the publishers must’ve read the second book or something to pick this up (Wink wink). I cannot wait for the next book and see where the letter from the first book has connected with this whole series.

Spoiler: This book could be divided to two books, and I would clearly cut it off for when she went of to the inpatient retreat. Truly, I had thought the part where Jude had kidnapped Mara was the climax of the whole book, and I was so wrong! That ending! It blew my mind! It was intense and it broke my heart.

What really annoyed me were all the employees of the mental hospital and Mara’s mum. Seriously? You wouldn’t seriously do that to your daughter! What is wrong with you.

Just to clear it up.

I definitely don’t think that Noah is dead. So I’m not worried about him.