Rooms by Lauren Oliver

Very strangely indeed, the only time I feel inclined to visit my blog is after I read a Lauren Oliver book. This is very, very strange. At this rate, you will have to wait another year or so to hear from me again. Oh well lol.

Rooms begins when Richard Walker dies and his disconnected family is forced to come together again and confront their past and their secrets. The story is told through his family members' points of view as they recollect what they thought they knew. It is also told in the perspectives of Sandra and Alice, two ghosts who previously lived in the house. Their stories intertwine as they rediscover their secrets and the truth.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book and how the stories were woven together. Two-thirds through the book I asked myself, "Is there some way that this is all supposed to come together?" And it's pretty awesome and heart-breaking at the same time (not cry-worthy though) when it does. The only critiques I have are that it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who between the two ghosts and I was easily confused because of all the characters whose names began with the letter "M". I also wish that that story had been longer with just MORE so that I could closer connect with each of the characters and really feel their struggle. The chapters are so short that the reader barely gets time to feel sad or connected with one character before the story moves on to a different point of view. This is a strange story with some sad, sad topics. Don't let the low rating of Rooms fool you, it really isn't that bad. I assume it got such low ratings on this website because the readers are comparing this book too much to Oliver's previous works. Oh well, I still think it's an intriguing story that's worth the read. 4 out of 5 stars.

Between by Jessica Warman

Imagine that it's your birthday, and you have a bunch of friends spending the night on your family's boat. You hear a thumping noise that wakes you up, so you go outside to investigate. You lean over the boat to see a girl face down in the water. And then you realize that the girl is you.

This is how Between starts out of Liz. She finds herself not quite in the afterlife, and not quite on Earth. Instead, she is Between. For some reason, she is unable to remember the events leading up to her death. It's like parts of her memory has been wiped clean. She has nothing else to do than to wait and observe the people around her as they, as well as her, try to put all the pieces together. 

This was an awesome book. I'm going to try not to give too much away, because it ruins the experience. I read Breathless by Warman, and though I don't really remember what happens in it (I forget everything I read... lol), I remember I really enjoyed it. And Between was even better. It's a haunting mystery which has just the right amount of supernatural elements. It's also a romance and a story about family and friendship. I loved how you know exactly how much Liz does, and you're figuring out her death just like she is. From the very first chapter, Between tells of intriguing mystery lays all the pieces out for you, and then helps you put them together.

It was slightly predicable at times, and not at others. How it happens is what makes it interesting. I honestly can't think of one thing that I don't like about this book, because it was just that awesome. I know that I'm being kinda vague, but if you know any more it will ruin the experience of the book!! Read this one, it's worth it. And it has a little bit in it for everyone. 5 out of 5 stars, and I would give it 6 if I could.

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Wren loved Danny. In fact, she still does. He was her everything, and she was his. One sunny day, he dies in a car crash. Wren is devastated, and decides that she must do anything she can to have him back. She’s always known she was special and possessed supernatural powers, so with the hope to have her boyfriend back, she performs a spell. When she opens her eyes, she finds Danny in front of her. At least, it’s sort-of Danny. He’s colder, paler, less human. Undead. She hides him away and is glad to have him back. Then Gabriel comes to town. He sees the power that’s inside Wren, and makes her see that what she did was wrong. With things getting worse with Danny, as well as her relationship with her friends and family, Wren discovers what it means to love and what it means to lose.

The plot was interesting and I liked the author’s take on zombies. In the beginning , I was very intrigued with the mystery and romance. I kinda was over it halfway through. I felt like this would have done better as a longer story, with more background to their relationship, and also the future. I don’t know if a second book is planned, but there were some unanswered questions at the end. It was also pretty anticlimactic. It was promising in the beginning, but it got less interesting as the story went on. Oh, and if you are planning on reading this novel, I suggest you read the summary of it so you get a basic idea of what’s going on. Because the author just throws you out there and explains it later, which can be a bit confusing.

The characters were iffy. I found myself relating to Wren in the way that she loved Danny a lot, and wanted to bring him back because she missed him so much. I loved the bits of the past that she described, because it helped me sympathize with her and understand how special their relationship was. However, she also bothered me because of her selfishness and ignorance to other people’s feelings, like her friends’ and family’s. And also to Gabriel. He had been nothing but nice to her, and basically it was like “Thankyou Gabriel I need you” to “Get away from me and stop helping” in the next second. She was just so afraid of loving him and decides to be mean to him, and every time he comes back. I didn’t find myself connecting with any of the other characters.

I know all I’ve been doing is criticizing this book, but I promise there were some good parts. Those are the parts where I really connected with Wren and her struggle, like when you see why she loved Danny so much. I also really liked the concept, and the conflicting feelings of grief, love, and loss.

The cover is gorgeous, and probably what interested me in the first place. Overall, this is an average paranormal romance for me. I liked the take on zombies, but this just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m sure If I wanted to read a paranormal romance, I could find a more satisfying story. But this was just okay, not good and not bad. If wouldn’t recommend it, just because I think there’s better out there. If you want a good read about loss and love (not paranormal though) try Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. 3 out of 5 stars for Cold Kiss.