Instructions for a Second-hand Heart, Book Review

Instructions for a Second-hand Heart by Tamsyn Murray

Rating: 2.5/5 

Goodreads Summary:

Jonny knows better than anyone that life is full of cruel ironies. He's spent every day in a hospital hooked up to machines to keep his heart ticking. Then when a donor match is found for Jonny's heart, that turns out to be the cruellest irony of all. Because for Jonny's life to finally start, someone else's had to end. 
That someone turns out to be Neve's twin brother, Leo. When Leo was alive, all Neve wanted was for him (and all his glorious, overshadowing perfection) to leave. Now that Leo's actually gone forever, Neve has no idea how to move forward. Then Jonny walks into her life looking for answers, her brother's heart beating in his chest, and everything starts to change. 

Together, Neve and Jonny will have to face the future, no matter how frightening it is, while also learning to heal their hearts, no matter how much it hurts.

*Just wanted to say thank you to Hachette Book Group Canada for providing me an ARC of this book*

*Spoiler near the end*

Thoughts and Opinions:

          When I got the list of books to choose from I was intrigued by the synopsis and even though I kinda knew what was going to happen at the end, I still wanted to read it anyways. My overall thoughts was that it was okay, but it had its frustrating moments. 

          I love books that have independent and strong characters, and the MCs in the book did have their good moments, but I got so annoyed and I couldn't just get past it that I think it became the reason I didn't enjoy the book as much. 

         Jonny has been sick his whole life and the only way for him to get out of the hospital was if he were to get a heart transplant, but a heart transplant means that someone else's life ended. Enter Neve, Leo's twin sister who becomes Jonny's organ donor (you can probably already see how the rest of the book will go). Jonny was an interesting character, he liked comics and drawing, but once he got his heart transplant, I think his fascination (or curiosity) about who the heart came from was a bit over the top. I am a curious person in nature, and I would want to know who it came from as well, but personally, I don't think that I would go as far as acting like the guy who it came from. Yes I understood that he was just trying to find himself after expecting that he wouldn't live long enough, but I think something was lacking in the writing and what the book was trying to convey. What I really liked about the book though were the comic drawings by Jonny, they were fun for me because it helped visualise what Jonny liked and his drawing style/technique. I thought it was a good way of showing a little insight on who the real Jonny is and not  who he was trying to become. As for Neve, she's an angsty teen, she got used to being in the background of her golden-boy twin, and I could see how that will turn someone bitter. But, I never really understood why the need for those pills, I feel like there were unresolved problems that the book didn't expound on. The MCs did go through a character development, but I felt like it wasn't enough, and that it was a bit rushed especially since it happened so close to the end of the book and the events leading up to it weren't really connected.     *Spoiler* I also did not understand Emily's death, it felt forced and I think there could've been a better ending for Emily. *Spoiler*
          I liked the idea and the trope, but this book wasn't really my cup of tea. A lot of people seem to like it, so I recommend this for people who like teenage romance, and I guess in a way, characters who try to find their identity. 

Denton Little's Death Date Book Review

Denton Little's Death Date by Lance Rubin

Rating: 3/5

Goodreads Summary:

Denton Little’s Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day on which they will die. For Denton, that’s in just two days—the day of his senior prom.

Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle—as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend’s hostile sister. (Though he’s not totally sure—see, first hangover.) His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton’s long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters. . . . Suddenly Denton’s life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.

Thoughts and Opinions:

         Basically, the book is set in the near future where scientists have figured out when most people would die, through genetics and other science-y ways. Denton, the MC, has his death day in less than 48 hours, and so the adventure begins (or ends.. depending how you look at it).

         Right off the bat, this wasn't how I expected the book to be because this book is Weird with capital W. I thought it would be reflective and philosophical for some reasons. I mean yes, there were times where the MC would actually think about life and death, if he's ready for it, but most of the times it's usually the MC and his friends in a crazy situation. I don't think most of us actually think about death and how when or how it's going to be happen, but in Denton's world, they know when they're going to die from the moment they were born. There were moments in the book when the MC is quite serious and it got the wheels on my head working because as a Christian, I sometimes wonder if I'm living in light of the Gospel, or not and this book appealed to me I guess because of that. Questions like: am I living like it's my last day? Being kind to others, reading my Bible, and all other kind of thoughts on how I should act.

         On the other hand, the book was crazy and four things were happening at the same time that I didn't even really focus on those thoughts as much. Denton Little and this whole book was awkward. There were moments when I couldn't go through because cringe. However, the awkwardness of the MC worked well for the book, in my opinion. Denton is 17, relatable because I'm 17 and I don't have my life in order. Although, I'm pretty sure I make better decisions and life choices (being biased here, but I honestly don't see myself doing most of what he did in the book), but he was dorky and socially awkward. It made the book more believable and was refreshing because most books in with highschool MCs usually have events that would never actually happen in real life. But for this book, I could relate to the awkwardness.

        Things really picked up for me in the end because things got more interesting and there were so many things happening. Even though there were moments where things were kinda rushed, it felt okay because it was coming through Denton's POV and that's how he is so it would make sense that the book would take on that nature of writing as well. I enjoyed reading it because it was a light and funny book. There were times when I would laugh because I'd just be like: "same".

        It did end with a  cliff hanger though, and I wouldn't mind reading the next book to see what happens next.

Crimson Bound Book Review

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Rating: 2.5/5

Goodreads Summary:

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Thoughts and Opinions

          I had high hopes for this book. I read Rosamund Hodge's Cruel Beauty, and I loved it. I enjoyed it very much and I thought I would feel the same way about this book. Sadly, I didn't. It felt like I've been reading this book for forever.

         This book is about a girl who was training to become a woodwife, a person who has been trained to make charms and protect the village from woodspawns, and forestborns. Woodspawns are animals that have become beasts in a way, and forestborns are creatures who come from the Devourer. Forestborns mark humans to become forestborns too. Once the humans are marked, they have 3 days to choose whether they kill someone in order to live and become bloodbounds, or not kill and die after 3 days. Bloodbounds are like fledglings. They still have their human personalities, but once they give in, they become forestborns. And that's what happens to the MC. She gets marked by a forestborn and she turns into a bloodbound, then the rest of the story happens. 

         I love retellings, the way the characters came from different tales and they have their own spins to it. This was a retelling of Red Riding Hood. Although half of the time, I didn't really see the Red Riding Hood part, there were times where there were similarities and parallels. There's a cottage in the woods, a path, and the forest-theme. 
         I'm not really sure what I feel about the book. There were good times and frustrating parts, but the concept itself is unique and different. I liked how there was action, the plot, and the consistency of the forest-theme. Other than that, reading the words "woodspawn, forestborn, bloodbound, The Devourer, the Forest" over and over again kind of got tiring. I get the importance of repetition to prove a point, but it was one too many. I have a love-hate feeling towards love triangle and this book is one of the reasons why. There's 2 guys and 1 girl, who does she end up with? She works well with both and it was frustrating cause she would have this connection with Armand, and then the next she feels some sort of feelings with Erec. It was just too much and even though it explains it at the end, it was frustrating for me having to go through it. I understand how it helps add more to the book and intrigue the readers, but it ended up ruining the character for me because I got annoyed. It was also hard to understand what the characters were trying to say or what they're trying to get at. It got confusing and I just wished the author got to the point without other hidden messages. 

         It's been a while since I got annoyed with the MCs in the book, but I did. Rachelle had so many mixed feelings I just wanted her to make up her mind. And Armand, what do you want? Just say it out loud already. Erec, even though he was sort of the antagonist, I liked him more than I Rachelle and Armand combined. 

         Overall, the writing style was good and so was the trope, but there were a lot of things I didn't particularly like. I would still recommend it for people who like retellings as well, but it just wasn't for me.