Preview Post- The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride

The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride
"It’s been two years since Noelle disappeared. Two years since her bike was discovered, sprawled on a sidewalk. Two years of silence, of worry, of fear.

For those two long years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her own life in a state of suspended animation. Because how can she allow herself to enjoy a normal high school life if Noelle can’t? How dare she have other friends, go to dances, date boys, without knowing what happened to the girl she thought she would share everything with?

And then one day, someone calls Noelle’s house. She’s alive.

A haunting psychological thriller taken straight from the headlines, The Tension of Opposites is a striking debut that explores the emotional aftermath of a kidnapping on the victim, and on the people she left behind."- summary from Kristina's site

The cover and summary are a bit misleading, in my opinion. It makes it look like a thriller and all suspenseful and stuff; it is not. Now, this isn't to say the book is bad, per se, just that it's not what I was expecting after looking at the cover and summary.

In the first chapter, which is all of like 9 pages, we find out that Noelle has been gone two years and then halfway through, we find out she's alive and is coming home the next day. This bothered me a bit because there's a difference between coming in at the middle of the story and being catapulted through a storyline. I barely had enough time to really think and care about Noelle being gone before it's revealed that she's coming back. It all happened way too fast.

After that, the book did get better for me, though again, it's still hardly the psychological thriller I'm being promised in the summary. In fact, there seemed to be only a few scenes where Noelle's kidnapping is brought up and the rest of the time, it's just usual high school drama- boys, mean girls, etc.

I honestly don't really know what to make of this book. I almost put it down because once Noelle was found and back home, it was like "What's the point?" Not much happened after that initial chapter for a while, but then things started moving again and I became more interested and invested in the characters.

A strong point of the novel was the romance. To start, I was pleasantly surprised to find out who the male love interest was since I was wrong on my first guess. The courtship between Tessa and the boy is slow and a nice change of pace from "OMG YOU'RE HOT LET'S MAKE BABIES WHO CARES WHAT YOUR INTERESTS ARE" that some YA novels tend to have.

I did enjoy the novel, and it was interesting to have the book be told from the best friend's point of view as opposed to the victim, but it just didn't really have the effect on me that perhaps the author was trying to convey.

I'm also contemplating just leaving this as a review. I don't even know why I bother doing previews when I just keep rambling, lol. So this is my review. YAY!! :D I did just kind of ramble and I'm not sure if I covered everything or made sense, so if there are any questions, feel free to ask.

In My Mailbox- Week of March 22 + Retrospective

Here is my vlog:



I am too sick and tired to do links this week so you'll just have to look them up yourself.

ETA: Split and Stargazer have been claimed already.

Here's my retrospective:

Monday- I reviewed Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison.

Tuesday- It was my birthday, so I asked for people to wish me happy birthday, lol.

Wednesday- I started up Ask Book Chic again, and there's a great contest going on too. One random winner will receive a copy of Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti. And there may even be more winners! Go to the post for details!

Friday- I posted a preview post for She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott, which is out May 25!

Preview Post- She's So Dead To Us by Kieran Scott

She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
"Perfect, picturesque Orchard Hill. It was the last thing Ally Ryan saw in the rear-view mirror as her mother drove them out of town and away from the shame of the scandal her father caused when his hedge fund went south and practically bankrupted all their friends -- friends that liked having trust funds and new cars, and that didn't like constant reminders that they had been swindled. So it was adios, Orchard Hill. Thanks for nothing.

Now, two years later, Ally's mother has landed a job back at the site of their downfall. So instead of Ally's new low-key, happy life, it'll be back into the snake pit with the likes of Shannen Moore and Hammond Ross.

But then there's Jake Graydon. Handsome, wealthy, bored Jake Graydon. He moved to town after Ally left and knows nothing of her scandal, but does know that he likes her. And she likes him. So off into the sunset they can go, right? Too bad Jake's friends have a problem with his new crush since it would make Ally happy. And if anyone deserves to be unhappy, it's Ally Ryan.

Ally was hoping to have left all the drama in the past, but some things just can't be forgotten. Isn't there more to life than money?"- summary from Amazon

Let me tell you something to start off- read summaries before picking up a book. This doesn't mean that it was the kind of book I don't like or anything, but it definitely helps to know what you're getting into. See, looking at the title, I thought it was some sort of paranormal/mystery/suspense/ghost novel, but as it turns out, it's just the usual teen girl drama of "she is SO dead!" wherein no one actually BECOMES dead. This kinda made me sad since I was expecting it, which is why it is good to read summaries before starting a book. Thank you.

Now, on to the preview. This was a good book, and it's my first by Kieran Scott, though I do own one of her earlier novels and it may even be signed too. But I imagine it's very much like her Kate Brian books, specifically the Private series, in that it deals with petty drama, rich kids, gossip, etc. This isn't a problem, but just wanted to set the feel of it all.

I am intrigued by these kinds of novels since I'm a poor college graduate, so it's a bit nice to escape into a world filled with money that grows on trees, at least for a select few families in a town. What makes this one stand out a bit more is the fact that these rich families are having to rebuild their empires, and we see all the emotional drama and cracks start to unfold from that.

OK, so this preview is getting long, so let me stop being vague and get a little more specific. I will say that reading this book made me want to slap some of the characters or maybe murder them (thus making it the ghost/mystery type book I want!). Mean characters always get to me and I'm just wishing for the main character to strangle them. It's probably why I try to read as little of these sorts of books as possible. These girls are mean, and are in fact very close to the mean girls seen in Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, though it's not as united a front here as it was in that book.

There was a very good romance here and a swoon-worthy guy, who we get to see part of the story from! Yes, it's told in alternating POVs- that of Ally, the girl returning back to the place she had to run away from, and that of Jake, the new guy who came in after Ally's departure and is now living in her former house. The depth of these characters are really shown and fleshed out, and even some of the mean girls have their redeeming qualities (very little though). I'm excited to see where the story goes from here and can't wait for the second book.

A full, more detailed review will be up closer to the book's release date, which is in late May. It will include more character names and specifics rather than vague ramblings! YAY!

Ask Book Chic- The Resurrection + Contest!

Yes, I'm finally bringing back Ask Book Chic! I have several vlogs featuring answers from the Myspace days and I may still post them sometime but for now, I'm taking new questions.

Not only that, but I may even give a book away in a contest to someone who leaves a question for me on this entry. I'm not sure what book it would be- I may pick one, or let you all pick something from my massive shelves. We shall see.

Anyway, so ask away!! You can ask me anything you like- it can be personal, blog related, reading related, writing related, author related, whatever. I just love answering questions. You can also email me if you'd rather do that instead of commenting here.

ETA: I now have a prize! I just got an extra ARC of Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti and want to give it to one of you! Enter by asking at least one question. This contest will be over on Saturday, April 3 at 9pm EST! US/Canada only please!

Birthday Post

Today is my birthday and as I cannot check my Facebook or anything until I get home, which won't be until like 8pm, I'm putting this up so that I can receive birthday messages here throughout the day. So please leave comments!

I'd also appreciate getting comments on these posts too- think of it as giving me free presents, lol. So go check these out: In My Mailbox vlog, Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison review, and my recap of Maggie Stiefvater's signing.

Thanks you all!! And by the way, I'm 24 now and am heading to Red Lobster tonight. Mmmmmm. I might even get an alcoholic drink for once, lol.