Review: Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Unhooked
My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: February 2016

Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Hardcover, 342 pages


Summary From Goodreads:

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself? 

My Review: 
 
First off, if they ever make a this book into a movie, I want Dalton Rapattoni to play Pan. Because, I mean, seriously:

“His white-blond hair stands on end in an artful disarray that gives the impression he’s constantly in flight, like the wind itself can’t keep its greedy fingers out of those unruly locks."

Anyways...

This was a modern day retelling of Peter Pan, which, initially, I wasn't sure that I would like. I mean, I didn't understand how it was going to work out, but once I started reading the book, I was hooked {lol, no pun intended} It's definitely not the Peter Pan I grew up watching. It's kind of got a dark, creepy feel to it.

Honestly, I think part of the reason that I loved this book so much was the fact that Captain Hook wasn't the bad guy. Ever since I started watching Once Upon A Time, I've had this obsession with Captain Hook, and I am always looking for Peter Pan retellings, where Hook isn't bad {or as bad as he is in the original} and that's actually pretty hard to find. Everything I've read so far has stuck pretty close to the original. It also had a few similarities to OUAT, which I thought was pretty funny. Like the Dark Ones. Every time the Dark Ones were mentioned, I couldn't help but think of this:

I liked Gwen, but sometimes I wanted to shake her and tell her to get herself together. And stop believing the wrong people, and start believing in the ridiculously good looking pirate who says he's going to protect her. She spent a lot of time just being fixated on what she thought she knew about Neverland, and

Rowan. Ah, he has to be my favorite character. I love, love, love him. He's this super sexy pirate captain, who seems like a heartless jerk face. But in reality, he cares too much about the boys on his ship, and he will do whatever he can to keep them as safe as he can.

Pan was cray cray. I thought he was going to be one of those bad guys who turns semi good at the end, but nope. He was ridiculously creepy and crazy all the way to the end of the book.

I wish that we'd gotten to see more of the relationship between Gwen and Olivia, because I loved that friendship, or the idea of it at least. I wanted more of a backstory on their relationship, because I didn't really feel a connection to Olivia.

The Fey. Oh wow, they were kind of... Ferocious. Definitely not the cute, mischievous Tinkerbell I'm used to. Not believing in them doesn't work either, btw. They're real and they're gonna getcha.

I wish that this book had been a little longer. I felt like the end was a bit rushed. I wanted a little more closure with Rowan and Gwen, and I wanted to see how Rowan adjusted to his new life in the "real world" after being gone so long.

I also did not like Gwen's mom. She seemed like she wasn't all there {which, I suppose she wasn't} and just so... disconnected from everything. I didn't feel very connected to her either.

But all in all, it was an awesome book, and I would suggest it to anyone who liked fairy tales or Once Upon A Time.

Review: Firstlife by Gena Showalter

Firstlife
My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: February 2016

Publication Date: February 23, 2016
Hardcover, 480 pages


Summary From Goodreads:


ONE CHOICE.
TWO REALMS.
NO SECOND CHANCE.

Tenley “Ten” Lockwood is an average seventeen-year-old girl…who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she’ll live—after she dies.

There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she’s drawn to isn’t home to the boy she’s falling for? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision…

My Review: 

I freaking love Gena Showalter, you guys. I'd been in sort of a Reader's Block for a few weeks when this book landed in my hands, and I was super excited because Gena is one of the handful of authors who is guaranteed to pull me out of not being able to read anything at all, or getting bored with the book a few pages in. This book definitely followed along with that trend. It was absolutely fan-freaking-tastic.

It kind of reminded me of a mix of Divergent, meets Shatter Me, but at the same time it managed to be its own unique story. Does that make sense? No, probably not... Oh well. Once I picked it up, it was impossible for me to put it down.

First let's start with the guys. Oh. My. Gosh. The guys. Archer and Killian Gena gets extra points for naming one of them Killian *SWOONS* I mean, I love that name anyways, and the whole time I was reading it, I just kept picturing a younger version of this:

 

He had the whole sexy Irish accent going on for him, too! I don't know who this character was modeled after-if anyone-but daaaaaaaang, I love him. Archer was pretty Ace, too. 

This book had a love triangle that wasn't {which, I know, doesn't make any kind of sense}...Or at least, that's how I saw it. Sure, there were two super sexylicious guys that were both vying for her attention. But in my mind, there was only one guy she had any sort of romantical {yes, romantical} feelings for. 

The one thing I didn't like about the guys was the fact that they were like "oh you're so special" and then in the very next breath it was "you should join Troika/Myriad" so that was annoying and frustrating, and if I were Ten, I would have lost my temper with them...

Speaking of Ten, I loved her! She was this tough as nails character and she refused to be broken no matter how many times she got hurt. She was completely loyal to the people that she loved, and sometimes that ended badly for her. She refused to let Archer or Killian be the deciding factor in who she chose to pledge her allegiance to. Troika would be my place of choice. They both have their downsides, but I think the positives for Troika outweigh the negatives. Less violence, more light, more value placed on Firstlife.

I will say there was a twist that I didn't see coming when *SPOILER REMOVED* tried to *SPOILER REMOVED* that about broke my heart, it was so sad. AND SPEAKING OF SAD! That ending! SHEESH! I was so brokenhearted at the ending of the book. And now I'm waiting very impatiently for the next book to come out, so I can see what happens to Ten and the rest of the gang. I have my theories, and I am curious to see if I'm right.