Diary of a Book Maniac: 4 stars

4 stars

Light-hearted and satisfying ~What About Today by Dawn Lanuza

Taken from the author's website

Title: What About Today
Author: Dawn Lanuza
Format acquired: ebook

Source: From the author (Thanks, Ms. Dawn!)

Publication date: April 14, 2015

Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo / Buqo / Smashwords

Summary:

Aiden's stuck working for his family's amusement park, Funtastic World, for the whole summer. Nothing amuses him, until he met this terrified girl.
Gemma's stuck in Funtastic World thinking she could handle the park's rides. She couldn't. Good thing she met someone to guide her.

As the day comes to a close, Aiden and Gemma ask themselves if one day is ever enough to decide if they were better off as friends or strangers.

Review:

I've read this book last month but I wasn't able to post a review about it because I got depressed and ill for a few weeks. Basically, it's like life's preventing me from being a productive book blogger and individual. Gah. :(

What About Today is, just like the title suggests, a story that happened within 24 hours. It's actually my first time to read a 24-hour story. You would think that it would be a story with a lot of plot holes because let's face it, it ain't easy to write a book that happened in a day only. I honestly can't imagine how the author would include all the essential parts of a story and leave the readers satisfied with it but HOLY COW, Dawn Lanuza managed to do all of that. She's a genius, I tell you. I've read all of Ms. Dawn's books and I loved them all. I was a bit anxious of reading this book because like I said, I just can't imagine how a book with a 24-hour time frame leave me satisfied. But I guess I shouldn't have doubted the author's writing ability. It was done flawlessly. It made me a very satisfied and happy reader who wants to read more of Gemma and Aiden.

What made this book different from the other works of the author was that I had an instant connection with Gemma and Aiden--the main characters in the story unlike her previous books that I've read. They're very likable characters and easy to have connection with. In fact, I can see a glimpse of myself in both Gemma and Aiden.

I loved how the book ended! I couldn't ask for a better ending than that. Though I must admit that it made me want to read more of them but at the same time I don't want to. If you're in need of a light and unique (I haven't read a 24-hour story so I shall call this unique) book the What About Today is the right one for you. Seriously, read this book. Or any other books by Dawn Lanuza because they're just amazing! I consider Dawn Lanuza as "Queen of Contemporary Novels." *bows down to the queen*

No comments

, by Alyssa

4 stars

Amazing sequel ~Fire Falling by Elise Kova

1 comments

, by Alyssa

4 stars

A book shrouded with mystery and sprinkled a bit of romance ~The Hometown Hazard by Dawn Lanuza

Photo taken from Ms. Dawn's website

Title: The Hometown Hazard

Author: Dawn Lanuza
Format acquired: ebook

Source: Gifted

Publication date: January 29, 2016

Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo / iBooks / Smashwords

Summary:

Jules Coronado has been away from her hometown for almost a decade but when an intruder breaks in to her childhood home, she finds herself coming back. Changes evidently took place in her small town, including her childhood best friend’s younger brother, Kip – now tall, slightly scruffed, all grown up and caught climbing into their garden wall.

Kip Villamor has a mission and despite Jules’ doubts, they team up: going on fieldtrips, tackling unsuspecting men, and trespassing offices to dig up dirt. But Jules has secrets of her own, one that might be exposed – unless she keeps her walls up. But climbing walls are Kip’s forte, remember?

Will her secrets keep her on his side, or will it force her to disappear again?

Review:

The Hometown Hazard is a book shrouded with mystery and sprinkled with a bit of romance. It has character development, mystery that will keep you flipping the pages and an easy going pace. I love that the author went out of her comfort zone to write this book. It’s completely different compared to her previous work.

If you have read Ms. Dawn’s debut novel then you’ll be familiar with the protagonist in this book. Jules is the no-nonsense friend of Regina. She’s very serious and she’s the type of woman who always has plan B up to Z prepared if plan A failed. But in this book, we get to see a different side of her. I love how Jules went through a character development in this book. She went out of her shell and I guess we have to thank Crispin (his name never fails to amuse me. LOL) for that development. Kip is the main guy in the story. He’s the younger brother of Jules’ best friend and he’s also her childhood friend. Kip’s outgoing, impulsive and a daredevil. His personality reminds me of Leslie. It’s like I’m seeing a male version of Leslie with a mysterious aura around him. Kip is the polar opposite of Jules. It’s like they’re sun and moon. But as the famous adage goes, “opposites attract each other.” And that’s what happened in this book. I honestly didn’t like Kip in the first half of the book. There’s something about him that irked me when I was reading the first half of the book. I can’t pinpoint what it was since I myself can’t understand the reason why I didn’t like him. My best guess was that I hated how he acted in the first half of the book. I’m that one lone girl among the sea of fangirls who didn’t swoon over his character.

What I love in Dawn Lanuza’s books is that it always has a believable love story in it. That kind of love story that you would really see in real life and maybe experience it yourself. The pace of the romance in this book was okay. Okay in a sense that it’s not too fast nor too slow. It’s the kind of pacing that I want to see in a contemporary book

The highlight of this book is the mystery that surrounds the plot. I like the feeling of unraveling the answers in the book. This book made me feel like I’m Sherlock Holmes. The reason why I like the mystery in this book was that it made me feel like I’m part of the Kip-Jules tag team. It made reading interactive in a way that I’m also solving the mystery with the characters.

The Hometown Hazard is a must read for those people that loves to expose secrets and unravel mysteries. It’s a book that has a realistic love story, characters that went through character development and intriguing plot.

2 comments

, by Alyssa

4 stars

Review: The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1) by Lindsay Cummings

Title: The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1)
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Format acquired: ARC

Source: Received from the author (thank you, Lindsay!)

Publication date: June 10, 2014

Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary:

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

Review:

This is a long overdue review. I was given an ARC of this book last 2014 but because I went into a long reading slump and blogging hiatus, I haven’t had the chance to read it. But it’s better late than never, right? ;)

This book is set in a Dystopian world where the death rate is higher than the birth rate. It’s also told in dual POVs—Meadow’s and Zephyr’s. Meadow, one of the main characters of this book, is a total badass female character. I liked how she doesn’t second-guess herself and that she’s not whiny (which was so refreshing for me because most Dystopian novels that I’ve read always have whiny main characters). And we also have Zephyr, the other main character of this book. Well, I have an on-off relationship with him. Sometimes I liked his character, but sometimes I do not. He’s quite the opposite of Meadow. If Meadow is all rough and headstrong, Zephyr is kind and mellow. But I find his character more intriguing and interesting than Meadow’s because his character is very mysterious. In the book, Zephyr would have this occasional blackout. He would suddenly find himself with blood on his hands and a dead body beside him and he would have no idea how he got there or why he’s there. And that’s one of the mysteries in this book.

I also liked how fast-paced this book was. Lindsay did a great job in explaining the world in this book. It’s very natural and it doesn’t drag the story. It’s easy to digest the world-building of this book. One of the things that I always look for in a Dystopian novel is that I shouldn’t have a hard time understanding it. It should be easy to dive into its world. Because when I read books, I always imagine myself in that world. It helps me understand and appreciate more the characters in the book. So I always look for that characteristic in a book especially in Dystopian novels because I love Dystopian novels. And I could say that The Murder Complex has that.

I gave this book a 4 stars rating because I did have a problem with it. And the reason why I only gave it 4 stars was because of the insta-love. Don’t get me wrong, I’m okay with insta-love (I guess? Haha) but it depends on its execution. I liked their characters individually, but I hate it when they’re together. They would turn into these bumbling idiots whenever they’re together. Honestly, I would prefer if the author didn’t add a romance in this book. It can survive without it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. The Murder Complex is a gritty and gory novel that will make you cringe (and enjoy in my case) at its gruesome scenes. If you’re looking for an action-packed and full of badassery book, then this is the perfect one for you.