When mystery meets historical fiction, you can be almost certain that the book will be exciting. This was definitely the case for These Shallow Graves. The moody 19th century setting fit perfectly with the murder mystery plot.
MATCHED (Matched #1) by Ally Condie
Matched was a fairly mellow book for a dystopian fiction. In fact, it started off with a markedly utopia society in which peace reigned. Cassia looked forward to her Matching ceremony, where she would meet her Match. She fully trusted the Society to determine her ideal partner whom she would marry four years later, when they were 21 years old.
LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins
What do you make of a book that everyone has already loved to shreds? How do you pick up those pieces and see what others saw before you? Hype has a way of bringing awareness to certain books. At the same time, it can negatively impact one’s enjoyment. Without the hype I wouldn’t have loved Lola and the Boy Next Door. With the hype, I came to feel indifferent.
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
I finally decided to join the party and read Anna and the French Kiss. It’s one of those books I read because I wanted to know what the book was about. It keeps popping up everywhere online—in the blogosphere, on Instagram, as well as Twitter—and all the online bookstores seem to have it under their recommendations right now. At first I did mostly enjoy the book. For the most part, I liked Stephanie Perkins’ writing style, which was well-suited towards a sweet romance. Sadly, towards the last third, prominent cracks started appearing for me.
THE TREATMENT (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young
I can hardly describe the overwhelming disappointment that The Treatment brought me. I know I wasn’t a fan of The Program but I did like it for the concept. Still, I had problems with it because of the many unanswered questions The Program left me with. I pegged them as cliffhangers, so I expected The Treatment answer them, particularly the ones about the suicide epidemic that wrought this society. Did I get those answers? Hardly. The big issues were glossed over so much, I was mad at the end of the book. To me, The Treatment hardly contributed to the duology. It would’ve been better left unread.