Never Never: Part Two

by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

125 pages

(Never Never, #2)
Published: May 17 2015

Blurb:

“Never forget that I was your first real kiss. Never forget that you’ll be my last. 
And never stop loving me between all of them. 
Never stop, Charlie. 
Never forget.” 

Silas races against time as more truths unravel, while others twist tighter together. And now, the stakes are higher as Silas’ control slips and others begin to point fingers. Charlie is in trouble and he must be the one to bridge the chasm between their past and their present. Because somewhere between I love yous and Never Nevers and Never Agains, a truth they can't imagine, beckons to be found. 

Rating:

Thoughts:

AHH! Okay, so I will say pretty much the same thing I said in my last review. I recommend this series to whoever loves mystery or romance. If you like books with some form of journal/letter/email writing in them, this is perfect for you as well.  Since I have not read any other Colleen Hoover or Tarryn Fisher books, I cannot compare these books to any of their other ones. But since many readers are fond of Colleen's work, I think it's safe to say all you Hoover fans must check this out! It's short, gripping, and over before you know it! I simply can't wait for the next one! 

So, I have a lot more good things to say about this book. Since we are already somewhat familiar with the plot and the characters, the book is a lot easier to get into. I recommend you read this one immediately after the first, just to keep your curiosity right where it's supposed to be. You also don't want to forget all the details, like Silas and Charlie did....*da dum tssssss*. Okay, that was lame. Back to my train of thought. In this book, we ironically get even more character development, which if you read the books would understand what I'm talking about. Charlie is no longer overdramatic, and Silas stopped being creepily in love with her. I really like how in this book, the characters are doing a lot more to figure out what it is that's actually happening to them. Whereas in the first one, they did a whole bunch of just hanging around and dealing with it. The fact that many journal entries were put into this also allowed us to understand more about the history between their families, and why this possibly happened. And then the reason behind the name of the book, "Never Never". It was adorable! We got a lot more of the badass side of Charlie, and the loving, passionate Silas. All the mystery surrounding the Shrimp and the characters' family history led me to coming up with many theories about the third book. And that's what I love, when a book actually make me predict what's going to happen next. Like I said in my first review, I couldn't decide which perspective I enjoyed reading from more. In this first book, it's even more diverse. Their ways of thinking, their situations. I loved gobbling up every word of it. 

Now, my issues didn't change much from what I said about the first book, which I keep saying repeatedly. I still think that stretching this out into three books was completely unnecessary!! That is probably the main reason lots of people don't give these books full ratings. In some ways, the plot does fit into three books, but it would have to be altered in many ways. It is incredibly annoying how readers have to now wait for the third book, when barely any information was given to them in the second. And yes, I am now a member of the painful "them" group. I feel like this series would've been so much better and would've been a lot more organised if it was just one book divided into three parts. 

Moving on from that point, I no longer have a problem with Charlie's unnatural cleverness. She did things that were only understandable given her situation. I thought this book had a lot more action and suspense, which I was thrilled about. Definitely check this one out! 

Never Never

by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

159 pages

(Never Never, #1)

Published: January 7 2015

Blurb:

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen. Complete strangers since this morning. He'll do anything to remember. She'll do anything to forget.

Rating:

Thoughts:

Okay, so this is my first ever Colleen Hoover read, so I was pretty excited about it. I wouldn't have picked it up if it weren't for my friend, so big thanks to her for begging me to read it. If there's one thing I can say about this book, is that it's worth it. I will try to make my thoughts as general as possible, so as not to give anything away. I recommend this to anyone who likes a good romance novel, or books with a mysterious plot. I have a lot to say, some things good and some bad. 

First of all, this is a book that focuses mostly on the relationship between the two protagonists. There is not much storytelling, I must admit, but it set up a nice foundation for the next books in the series, since we are now very familiar with the characters' personalities. That is something I thought was great, and it made the book very mysterious. It makes the reader keep reading, wanting to find out what lies in the next page. I also like how sarcasm plays a big role in how the characters cope with what's going on. It just made me love the relationship between Charlie and Silas, the two main characters, even more. The fact that it is written from two perspectives is completely necessary here, whereas other authors sometimes do it simply to fill up a few pages. I couldn't decide which character I enjoyed reading from more, which is something I look for in a book. They are both so untrustworthy as narrators, and it kept me entertained to discover everything about their lives right when they did. This book does leave off with a pleasantly annoying cliffhanger (Does that make sense? Pleasantly annoying?), which is why my fingers are flying across the keyboard right now, so I can get everything down before starting the next book. It is not nearly perfect, but now is when I go over the things that slightly irritated me.

As a reader, I tend to get annoyed at myself for getting annoyed at silly little things in books. It always makes me knock off a star or two on the rating when I wish I can just love it all. But I guess you can't blame yourself for having opinions, now can you? The main thing I didn't like about this book was the way the authors decided to format it. I felt like the plot was meant for a stand alone, even if it did have to be slightly thicker. It would've helped the book flow a lot smoother, and actually provide some answers to this big mystery. Now onto character flaws. Or not really, now that I think about it. The problem isn't that the character's are too flawed, but that they are way too clever. If I opened my eyes one day with no memory of who or where I was, I would certainly freak out, not try to find my wallet for any personal information. Maybe that's just me. At some points, what they were doing felt like natural intelligence, but in others was just unrealistic. I speak mostly about Charlie's character when I say this. Other than that, I did like how the information was given to you in steady bits, instead of being thrown at you all at once. I thought the ending was the very best part of this book, the part that made it really worth reading. I can only hope for the second book to be just as gripping. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty

by Jenny Han

276 pages

(Summer, #1)

Published: May 5 2009

  

Blurb:

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.

Rating:

Thoughts:

So, first of all, I recommend this one to anyone on vacation. It tends to be difficult, reading a fantasy or anything with heavy content on a plane or by a pool. This book is very light, and written in a way that makes you turn the next page barely after you've started the last one. 

The thing I liked most about this book is that there was plenty of character development. You could tell what kind of person each of the characters was, which really helps you catch on and start enjoying the book almost immediately. Jenny really has a way of making you either want to scream at a character, or pull them into a loving embrace. I, personally, adored Jeremiah. For reasons I will not state in a no-spoiler review :). I also found Belly very relatable and funny. Jenny also stuck in many scenes from the previous summers Belly had been at the beach house, which I simply loved. 

Now onto why I didn't give this book a perfect rating. These are very simple things I thought would've made the book better if done properly. When it came to the flashbacks, I thought things were a little messy. It wasn't very hard to follow, but perhaps arranging the events in chronological order would've made me enjoy the book better. Organisation is key! Next, I found Belly overdramatic at times. Of course, that is very common with main characters, but I felt like it could've been taken down a notch. Also, this book contained a lot more dialogue and character thoughts than actual description of their surroundings. Since it is a very contemporary, summery novel, I felt like it would've added an extra something to the mood. 

If you're looking for something short and fun, it's definitely a book you'd want to check out!