My Top Five Picks For Christmas!

It's that time of year again! Christmas is just around the corner and I wanted to share with you my top five books that I think everyone would want for christmas. Hope this helps!

1. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa.

For officail synopsis and other reviews click here

I thought that this book was really amazing and really a great conclusion to the Iron Fey series and I thought that this book was made a lot more interesting coming from Ash's perspective. There were a lot of twists in this book and a lot of emotional moments aswell, overall a great book.

For my full review of The Iron Knight click here

2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

For officail synopsis and other reviews click here

I thought that this book was an amazing start to what seems like is going to be a really entertaining and fast-paced series. This book flows on seemlessly from Vampire Academy and I love that this time the story is coming from Sydney's perspective.

For my full review of Bloodlines click here

3. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

For officail synopsis and other reviews click here

I loved this book! This has definitley become one of my go-to series for summer. I thought that the characters were great and the story was written flawlessly, just an all-around great read.

For my full review of The Summer I Turned Pretty click here

4. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

For officail synopsis and other reviews click here

I thought that this book was great even though it was really the same all storyline I found that there was something interesting about this book and it made me not be able to put this book down. Overall it was a really great read.

For my full review of Perfect Chemistry click here

5. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

For officail synopsis and other reviews click here

If you're looking for a more serious book to read this Christmas this is definitley the book for you. It is a very compelling read and you will be finding yourself having to turn the next page to see what is going to happen next. It is a beautifully written story and a book that every teenage girl should read.

For my full review of Wintergirls click here

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles...

Series: Perfect Chemistry (Book #1)
Published: April 29th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 368
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Review:

I had pretty high expectations when I first opened this book just because I had seen and read such great reviews on it, but I really didn't know what to expect but I am glad to say that I LOVED it!

The plot. I though that the plot was so interesting I had never really come across something like it before. I mean, sure I had come across the whole star-crossed lover plot before but there was something about this book that made the whole plot and story of the book feel different. I thought that the book was written in such a way that it really made the plot of the book seem real and like this really could have happened, which I completley loved because I know that with book with simalar storylines they sometimes seem really fake and unrealistic, another thing that I really loved about this book was that therer was dual narration, so we got to see into the minds of both Brittany and Alex.

The characters. I completley loved the characters I thought that they were all written brilliantly and that they all seemed like they could actually have been real people and even the side characters were written great. For me Alex was really the star of this book I thought that his character really went through the most development throughout the book and we really got to see him evolve throughout the book. But I also found myself really likeing Brittany's character I thought that she was really relatable and I really found myself feeling sorry for her throughout the book for what she was going through.

Overall I thought that this book was a really great start to the series I am so glad that i picked up the first two books in the series because now I don't have to wait to read about Carlos and Kiara.

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen...

Series: -

Published: May 11th 2004 by Speak

Pages: 281
Rating: 4 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

Review:

I don't really know how I feel about this book, I had pretty high expectations going into reading this book because I had heard really great things about it but it ended up not really living up to the expectations that I had for it.

The plot. I thought that the plot was really good, predictable but still really good. It was maybe a little bit slow in parts but it did keep my attention the whole way through and most of the time had me turning the next page to see what was going to happen next.

What I really loved about this book though was the characters! I thought that they wer all written really well and they all seemed really believeable and realistic, really I can't even pick a favourite character. I thought that Halley's character was amazing! She seems like she would be a great best friend to have because she's so supportive and pretty much just an all-round good person. Scarlett's character I also loved, she seems like she would be a really fun person to be around. And I found myself really likeing Cameron's character, I thought that he was so supportive of Scarlett and was really there for her when she needed him.

Overall I thought that this book was pretty great and a really great book for summer. I am really glad I picked it up.

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han...

Series: Summer (Book #3)
Published: April 26th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 291
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

Review:

This book was amazing! I had to admit I was a little bit hesitant to read this book just because I didn't know where the book would go, but this book was great and it was the best way to end the series.

The plot. I thought that the plot was great! This book was really an emotional rollercoaster one minute you were really happy and really happy about how everything was working out for everyone in the book and the next you were on the verge of crying! But I've found lately that I have come to love those types of books. another thing I loved about this book was that we got to see Conrad's perspective this time instead of Jeremiah's and I love how throughout all of the books we got to see into all of the teenagers minds, Belly's mostly but I think that the story wouldn't have worked as well if we didn't get those glympses into the minds of the boys.

The characters. I found myself really loving all the characters in this book and I know that in the last book I couldn'y stand Conrad and I think if I didn't get to read those chapters from Conrad's perspective in this book my feeling about him would sti;; be that same, but since I did and I got to find out why he acted the way he does I found that I actually came to like his character. As always I loved the Jeremiah's character he really makes me laugh and just makes the story really funny and I love his character for that, he did make a few mistakes in this book but you could tell that he completely loves Belly. I found myself throughout this series having trouble with Belly's character but in this book I found myself really coming to like her character, she had some hard decisions to make and in the end she made the right one for her.

Overall I thought that this book was the perfect end to a perfect series, these are characters that I am going to be thinking about for a really long time and I am always going to be wanting to know what happened to them, these book are definitley books that I am going to be reading every summer for years to come, a completley amazing series.

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han...

Series: Summer (Book #2)
Published: April 27th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 288
Rating: 5 stars

Age Recommendation: -

 

Synopsis:

 

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach? It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.
But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

Review:

I had really high expectations for this book after just finishing "The Summer I Turned Pretty" which I completly fell in love with, I am glad to say that this book did stack-up to those high expectations.

The plot. The one thing that really stood out to me with the plot of this book was that we got to see Jeremiah's point-of-view a few times throughout the book which I loved I thought that it was refreahing to get another characters perspective throughout the book and I really liked that. Overall my thoughts on the plot are pretty much the same as the previous book, I thought that the plot was really interesting and it kept me having to turn the page to see what was going to happen next and I also thought that there was a lot more tension in this book that really enhanced the story even more.

The characters. I found myself not likeing the charatcers as much in this book. I found that I still loved Jeremiah's character he still made me laugh thoughout the book and just made the book fun to read, but I found myself really having problems with Belly and Conrad's characters. I couldn't get over Belly's obsession for Conrad, it really started to get on my nerves at times but I'm hoping that it might change in the last book. Conrad's character really annoyed me pretty much the whole way through this book I just thought that he was really rude.

Overall I thought that this book was really good, the story kept making me turn the page to see what was going to happen next and I thought that it was a great edition to the series and I am definitley going to be picking up the next book straight sfter this is posted, I have to see how this great series ends.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han...

Series: Summer (Book #1)
Published: May 5th 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 276

Rating: 5 stars

Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Review:

I had such high expectations for this book after reading such great things about it and I am so happy to say that it lived up to my expectations and manybe even exceeded them. I couldn't put this book down, and thats a really bad thing when you're meant to be studying.

The plot. I thought that the plot of this book was great I loved the idea of both the families going to the same place every year, having their traditions and I really loved the flashbacks in the book to all the previous summers I found that it really enhanced the story and I got to learn a little bit more about what was going on.

The characters. I loved all the characters, but the two that stood out for me were Belly and Jeremiah I thought that they were the most relateable characters for me. The one character I found that I didn't really care for was Cam I found myself being pretty bored with his character. But overall I thought that the characters were great and they were all written really well.

Overall I thought that this book was great and it really does get you in the mood for summer and the ending of this book was so good that after I finish writting this I am going to have to start reading the next one because I have to know what happens! I can tell that this is going to be a series that I am going to be re-reading every summer for a long time.