Guest Review | This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David

Today on the blog we have a very special guest and a dear friend, Zoe, who reviewed This Is Not A Love Story by Keren David, and I am very happy to have her here today. I hope this brings back great memories of blogging and hope to have you back soon.

Summary

Kitty dreams of a beautiful life, but that's impossible in suburban London where her family is haunted by her father's unexpected death. So when her mum suggest moving to Amsterdam to try a new life, Kitty doesn't take much persuading. Will this be her opportunity to make her life picture perfect?

In Amsterdam she meets moody, unpredictable Ethan, and clever, troubled Theo. Two enigmatic boys, who each harbor their secrets. In a beautiful city and far from home, Kitty finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But will love be everything she expected? And will anyone's heart survive?

Review

So a little while ago on Twitter, a hashtag "#YANeedsMore" started trending and I hopped on the bandwagon myself and wrote a few tweets. The thread was hilarious and downright truthful, and the main theme that seemed to arise is that YA fiction needs more diversity. We need more realism and issues that teenagers go through on a daily basis. Although I agreed wholeheartedly with these tweets, I couldn't help but think of This Is Not A Love Story and how it breaks this norm of YA fiction - because, let me tell you something, this book appreciates the beautiful differences in our world and has depicted them in an outstanding way.

This Is Not A Love Story is told from two points of view: Kitty and Theo. Two teenagers who move from England to Amsterdam and have to deal with family drama and discovering what they truly want in life. Although both Kitty and Theo are the main characters, the book also heavily focuses on other characters such as Ethan who is a brilliantly constructed character who I could picture very clearly in my mind. Despite Keren David ALWAYS blowing me away with her books - without fail - I wasn't too sure how I would feel about this novel since the blurb sounded like a typical love story (if you ignored the title, of course XD) and it didn't particularly sound unique. BOY, I WAS WRONG. This book is so much more than romance, and I wouldn't even say that romance is the key genre. Keren David is an expert at weaving various themes into one book that naturally fall together.

Both Theo and Kitty were great protagonists. I am very happy that this book is told in first person as  I think viewing this story through the eyes of these characters allowed the book to be told in the best way possible. I would love to be friends with Kitty and Theo. Excuse me for saying the most cliché thing about a fictional character, but Kitty is definitely relatable. She is strong but also lets herself be emotional which I think is a great inspiration for people to express themselves. And even though she gets crushes and would like romance etc, she doesn't need a boyfriend to make her life complete which more YA books with female characters should take on.

Back to the diversity. This Is Not a Love Story deals with two families that are religious. This definitely wasn't a major factor in the book, yet within the subtle dialogue I learnt so much more about Judaism and how prejudices are still a big part of life today. Different cultures should be celebrated and that's exactly what this book demonstrated. Moreover, there are LGBTQ+ characters! I won't disclaim which characters for possible spoilers but I really liked how Keren David explored the ideas of labels and how sexuality does not define a person.

Oh, and the setting. This book made me fall in love even more with Amsterdam and I want to visit there again ASAP; I think it is impossible to read this book and not love the city when finishing it. Settings are often not a big deal within fiction as the characters' lives direct the book. Yet I could really appreciate different cultures with this novel therefore encouraging me to read more books set in different countries.

I read this novel is one day and it was the perfect read to sit outside in the summer weather. I give This Is Not a Love Story 4.5 stars, since I found it quite slow to begin with but after a several chapters I couldn't put it down. Big thanks to Shazina for letting me on her blog for the day! Love your blog and our endless amount of Supernatural fangirling! <3

This Is Not a Love Story - Keren David 4.5 stars

Review | The Potion Diaries #1 by Amy Alward

Summary

When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.

Enter Samantha Kemi - an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam's family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they've fallen on heard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?

And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news.

No big deal, then.

Review

It's the 21st century with a mix of magic and a hit of alchemy. Though times have changes the Kemi family legacy is all about the traditional methods, "do it yourself". Whereas the Asters legacy is all synthetically produced. What could possible go wrong?

In a world where magic exists and there are Talented and non-Talented and in the midst of it all one love potion made by the Princess of Nova will test them all when she falls in love with - wait for it - HERSELF - wow! The only way to save the ONLY heir of Nova is through the tradition 'Wild Hunt' when such cases arise.

This book was a great read, I could sense all the emotions throughout and picture the different places the hunt took Samantha Kemi. The plot line was very intriguing to see where it would take all the participates. Though the idea of magic and alchemy in the 21st century clashed at times in the novel, after a while it picked up again but not quite - if that makes any sense - while reading it I wasn't really hooked as I was before. 

All the characters were very likable, each relationship, seeing some grow and some experience new things was simply amazing, seeing them go through situations that we all experience in reality - not the magic part, but that would be pretty cool, right? Character development was a strong aspect in here and I love that in a novel. Seeing Sam grow as a character and become more independent was great to read. Grand-dad Kemi, Anita, Arjun WERE AWESOME!!! They help Sam a lot with her character development and were incredible supporting characters.

I personally felt that the romance part was lacking, though I found the time Sam and Zain spent together great to read, it just didn't seem realistic or serious. Why, you ask? Because besides Zain Asters physical features that's about all we know and that he hates his dad. Instead of focusing on the above I would have liked to see more personal development and more reasoning behind Sam's 'Instincts' when it came to the ingredients. Again, Zain's actions helped Sam during the end with becoming independent and I think the aspect of knowing more about each other could have been played on more. 

Amy Alward has done a great job with this novel. The alternating chapters where another part I really enjoyed, thoroughly. Seeing how the Princess, Evelyn was handling the effects of the love potion was a definite intense mix to the novel. With the alternating chapters we also got to see the toil this all had on the parents. This book is a great read for all who are looking for a light hearted read, a strong and brave female character and magic. Because, lets face it, we all love a good magical book. 

The Potion Diaries - Amy Alward 3.5 Stars

My Summer TBR Pile

Today, on the Book Chapter I have my Summer TBR pile and OH MY GOD I cannot wait to start them all. Some books have been sitting, waiting patiently for me to finally pick them up and read them and some I brought recently which I wrote a GIF full post about, you can read that right here. 

So the first book on my Summer TBR pile is;

The Sin Eaters Daughter by Melinda Salisbury - I brought this book when it was newly released and because of college I haven't really been able to pick it up and enjoy this book, but now I can.

Rain by Virginia Bergin - Once again another book waiting to be read, and I hope to get to this very soon WOOP
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - I recently brought this book and it has taken all the power in me to not read this yet. I've heard such amazing thing about this novel and to make things even more amazing - and yes I know i'm late to the gang (I just said gang hehe) - I just ordered the first book in the Throne of Glass series YUSSSSS
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy - This is another book that I brought but never really came around to reading it but again I've heard amazing things so fingers crossed for this one. 
Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig - I received this book from Harper Voyage UK and I got the Omega copy, another highly anticipated read so here it goes. 
And finally we have The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh - OMG THE HARDBACK COVER IS SO BEAUTIFUL! I brought this alongside ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas and also wrote a post (here) and I just fell in love just by reading the synopsis and the cover is just to die for so this is another highly anticipated read for me.

@CrazyBookLover_

More books will be added to my Summer TBR pile but as of yet there are six books. So have you compiled a Summer TBR pile, if so comment below with a link, I would love to see what your Summer reads are.

Happy reading!!!

Book Reaction Post #2

Yes, it is another book reaction post and I know I haven't really done any of these recently, only because I haven't really brought any books. Okay, so today I am so excited to finally type this up, in all honesty I've been planning this since I placed my order and the books that I FINALLY brought are; A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. Bare in mind guys, that I placed my order last Sunday and had to wait over a week to get them yesterday and this was my reaction. 

GETTING AN EMAIL SAYING ITS BEEN

DISPATCHED 

One week later...

WHERE ARE THE DAMN BOOKS??!!!!

And then on a bright, Monday afternoon, my sister called me down "YOUR PARCEL IS HERE"

ME WHILE WALKING DOWN THE STAIRS

Then she said the most horrifying three words... "I'M OPENING IT!!!"

LITERALLY

THEN...

I OPENED THE PACKAGE.

NOT A GOOD REACTION

OH MY GOD

*breathe* ONE OF THE BOOKS WAS DAMAGED. THE WRATH AND THE DAWN WAS DAMAGED AND ASDFGHKL.

I was very angry, I don't tend to get damaged books and seeing a BOOK damaged... I DO NOT LIKE. And I just got a reply back from them *goes and rants some more*

Nevertheless I really hope I enjoy them, heard such amazing things about both novels and I am really excited. If you've read any of them feel free to comment below your thoughts or tweet me @CrazyBookLover_ 

Happy Reading!!!