Summer Days and Summer Nights – Twelve Love Stories, edited by Stephanie Perkins

Format: e-ARC, 320 pages

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: 17 May 2016

ISBN: 9781250079121

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Back cover blurb: Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom.

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

My review: This was not exactly the sweet summer anthology I was expecting. Many of the stories were bittersweet and packed quite a punch, and I was enthralled by most of them. Of course, I was most keen to read Stephanie Perkins’ story, a continuation of her winter tale from My True Love Gave To Me, but to be honest it disappointed. I found North rude and a bit of a jerk this time around. My favourite stories were by Leigh Bardugo, Jennifer E. Smith, and Veronica Roth. Others by new authors to me, such as Francesca Lia Block, intrigued me and made me want to hunt out their other work.

Individual Ratings:
Head, Scales, Tongue, Tale by Leigh Bardugo – ★★★★★
The End of Love by Nina Lacour – ★★
Last Night at the Cinegore by Libba Bray – ★★★★
Sick Pleasures: For A and U by Francesca Lia Block – ★★★
In Ninety Minutes, Turn North by Stephanie Perkins – ★★★
Souvenirs by Tim Federle – ★★★
Inertia by Veronica Roth – ★★★★
Love Is The Last Resort by Jon Skovron – ★★★
Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert – ★★★
Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare – ★★★
A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong by Jennifer E. Smith – ★★★★★
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things by Lev Grossman – ★★★

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

Amazon

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

Format: Kindle Edition, 545 pages

Published: May 1, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Back cover blurb:

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

My review:

Wow! Veronica Roth never ceases to amaze me, especially given her young age. Insurgent is an emotional ride, and at times I had to put it down because the heartfail got a bit much. I love Tobias/Four, but sometimes I just wanted to shake him for being so clueless. Typical teenage boy, really. This book is missing the delicious UST of the first because they have become a couple, yet their relationship is seriously tested by communication issues right to the end.

Tris, although only 16, seems to get stronger as she fights on bravely to find what truth there is left in their world. I was genuinely afraid for her most of the story, but she really is a fantastic heroine. Regardless of heartfail, I could not put down the last third of this book. That ending was amazing, and I cannot wait for book three (which Roth is very amusingly calling Detergent as she is writing it). This series is a must-buy and I cannot recommend it enough!

My rating: 5/5

Related articles

• Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story, by Veronica Roth (mrsaubergine.wordpress.com)
• Divergent, by Veronica Roth (mrsaubergine.wordpress.com)

Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story, by Veronica Roth

I feel like I’m the last person in the world to know about this, but when Divergent author Veronica Roth got 35,000 preorders for her sequel Insurgent, published last week, she promised fans a scene written from the point of view of our beloved Four, aka Tobias.

The scene – the one from Divergent where Four must throw knives at Tris’s head – is free HERE and it is totally worth reading. I love Four, and being in his head is just swoonworthy. My only complaint is that it isn’t long enough! Roth needs to do this again. And I really need to start reading Insurgent – it’s next on my TBR list 🙂

A sneak peek at Insurgent

Pretty British cover 🙂

Entertainment Weekly has given us an exclusive excerpt from the highly anticipated Divergent sequel, Insurgent, due out May 1!

I loved Divergent so much, and can’t wait for my pre-ordered copy to hit my Kindle! Read on for the teaser 🙂

View this document on Scribd

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Format: Kindle Edition, 487 pages

Published: May 3, 2011

Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.

Back cover blurb:

Beatrice “Tris” Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth’s dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth’s young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

My review:

This book is going to stay with me for a while. I dreamed about it while I was reading it, and now I am finished I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s THAT good. The plot grips you right from the get-go, and there isn’t a dull moment. I griped when family life intruded and I had to put it down. It’s easy to see why it was voted the best book of last year – if only I had read it earlier so I could have voted for it.

The plot, as I said, was gripping and fast-paced, but what I truly loved about it was Four. Oh, yes, add another blue-eyed hunk to Mrs A’s list of fictional boyfriends. He has a way with guns and with words. *sigh* I’d love to be trapped in tight confinement with him… ahem. Lucky, lucky Tris. Anyway, I seriously hope that in the next book he ensures Marcus gets what’s coming to him. Likewise to Peter.

Another thing I loved was the way Roth touched on so many typical teenage concerns in her writing, without coming off as preachy. In particular, she tacked the feelings of being an outsider, of covering up your insecurities with bravado, peer pressure and groupthink, first love and fickle friendships, and the glorification (often these days via Facebook) of teens who commit suicide. I also loved the ways Tris came to realise her mother had hidden kickass depths, and even her father was not as grey as he was painted. Maybe these concepts don’t dawn on us until later in life than 16, but they are important things to consider. I hope they teach this book in schools in a few years – it would be a great mind-broadener.

A fantastic book which I plan to recommend to everyone I know. Can’t wait until the sequel comes out.

My rating: 5/5