BOOK REVIEW: Malaise by Max Henry

Malaise by Max Henry

Published date: 11th October, 2016

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Pages: 468

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5*

Synopsis: Final exams and end of year parties don’t seem so important at your brother’s funeral.

Two short weeks, and Meg would have survived her senior year relatively unscathed. But when her best and only friend—her brother—dies in a questionable road accident, being the loner in her year doesn’t fit as well as it used to.

One act of kindness from the man her small town isolated amidst rumors and lies, and her hope for a day where pain won’t overwhelm her doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Brett Carver is trouble with a capital T, but he’s also the only person who can get Meg to let go and smile.

Some good things are never meant to last.

Arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, the man who finally found a way to bring light back to her dark days is ripped away when she needs him most. Determined not to lose the only good thing to have come out of her year from hell, Meg sets out to prove Brett isn’t guilty. But first, she must accept the ugly truth …

… that the people who can prove his innocence are the same people who will do all it takes to keep them apart.

REVIEW:

I started this book knowing basically nothing. I had only read the synopsis and a couple of bookstagrammers had said that they enjoyed Max Henry’s books so I gave it a shot. 

It wasn’t a pity shot or a ‘’hm, let’s see if this is worth my time’’, none of that. The synopsis had awoken a huge curiosity inside me so I NEEDED to read this.

This was the first Max Henry book I read and I must say that I started with the right book, not that any other wouldn’t be a good introduction to the author’s books, but in a way, I connected to the story and some aspects of it.

Throughout the whole book my heart would beat so freaking fast. My concern for Meg and her life was so damn real that I was always worried of what would happen next because nothing seemed easy for her or at least less hard than it already was. What she thought she wanted wasn’t what she needed. Yes, she needed for her parents to love her and cherish her but she needed to find herself alone and by alone I mean without others influence. Once again, yes, Carver is in a way an influence in her life but he pushes her away so she fights for what she truly wants and must do to achieve everything in her life. He doesn’t want her to give up on her future for him.

I can genuinely say that this book made think of my own life choices and all the obstacles I’ve endured. This story shows us clearly, even though we already have a pretty good idea of it, that is quite hard to endure and that there will be a lot of ups and downs (mostly downs) but it doesn’t mean we should give and leave our dreams be just dreams and not a reality.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE You must read it!

BOOK REVIEW: The Elven Tales by Fabi Ghittoni

The Elven Tales by Fabi Ghittoni

Published date: 1st February, 2017

Genres: Fantasy

Format: Ebook

Rating: 3.5*

Synopsis: Prudence Clark lives a seemingly normal life in Cambridge with her best friend's family. But a series of strange events compounded by a wave of kidnappings is about to turn everything she believed about her existence upside down.

A brutal attack catapults her into a new reality - one that makes her the most important refugee of the Council of the Five Kingdoms. Now, she's charged with the task of finding the King's runes to stop Alanel, the most malicious and ruthless being, following his escape from prison.

Alanel has declared war on the king of Arkana. Now, even more shocking truths come forth, exposing long-held secrets about Prudence's past and her destiny. Her newfound knowledge will prompt her to embark on a treacherous journey to face dangerous beasts in the most inhospitable of places. But her journey will not be alone, she'll be joined by the Company of the Rose, brave warriors that will fight by her side, and hopefully, lead to the retrieval of the runes before it's too late.

REVIEW:

An ebook copy of the book was kindly sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Before moving into the review of the story let's just talk about that freaking cover. It's so so beautiful! It suit the book so well and I don't know how to describe the design besides TOTAL PERFECTION.

Now into the review.

Spoiler-free!

So I'm giving this book a 3.5* rating.

Why?

Well I did quite enjoy the plot itself and where the book was leading us readers. It made me so curious to keep reading so I couldn't just not finish it but I think the fact that Prudence, our main character, lacked some emotion killed a bit of the excitement of reading this book. 

What do I mean by lack of emotion? In the beginning she's worrying about one thing of her life and then suddenly it all changes dramatically but she doesn't question anything. She just enters this whole new world like: ''oh, okay''. Also, she does everything she's told to do, no questions asked. I think that aspect itself was what killed the reading buzz. But otherwise I completely enjoyed the story line and I'm pretty sure this series has a lot of potencial of getting better and better. 

The characters and also the description of the surroundings we encounter in the book need a bit more work on them. We need to have something that makes us even more attached to them so we get hooked on the book and a bit more description about the place(s) where the characters and/or the action is progressing. 

But hey, if you're into books filled with action please pick this one. This is one badass action packed book which will totally make you breathless!