Madly (Potion #1)
Goodreads | Author
Publication Date: 29th September 2015
Rating: 4/5 bamboo sticks
(Received a copy via Edelweiss)
When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.Enter Samantha Kemi – an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam’s family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they’ve fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?
And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news.
No big deal, then.
YES! – The whole magic and non magic people thing was perfect. You don’t need to be special to get somewhere, and Sam really shows that. She’s a non gifted person but she’s got some crazy skill at potion mixing which is basically a gift in itself. And also the whole quest like storyline is just perfect. It was like a magical Amazing Race, yes this is what I want in real life now.
But… The whole romance? Yeah, I wasn’t feeling it. It felt too instant and I hate instalove. They basically saw each other like 3 times and then were like “Yep, we’re a thing now”. No, you’re not.
Umm… What was up with the Evelyn POVs, it was like really unneccessary. I didn’t like the whole multi POV going on until around the last bit of the book, where Evelyn just goes completely crazy. Crazy Evelyn was interesting to read about, obsessed with herself Evelyn was just annoying. I do hope we get a book on her though, because she seems like a really interesting character.
HOT! – I love this version of the cover. I mean it’s really simplistic but I love the pink liquid background with the symbol stamped on the top. The graphic designer in me fangirls. Honestly, I just want this as a poster.
A Summer Like No Other
Goodreads | Author
Publication Date: 30th July 2015
Rating: 3/5 bamboo sticks
(Received a copy via Netgalley)
She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all.They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.
Sixteen-year-old Emilia Moretti’s goal for the summer is simple: forget her brother’s best friend—Nick Grawsky—ever existed. It should be easy: He’s spending his summer in the Hamptons, adding girls in tiny bikinis to his list of broken hearts. Guarantee he won’t be telling them they’re like his little sisters. This summer, Emilia won’t stay awake at night thinking about him. She’ll need flawless ballet movements to have a shot at next year’s showcase, and she’s finally ready to search for her birth parents. But when Nick decides to stay in the city, Emilia’s resolve disappears in a pirouette. Maybe it’s the spin they needed to be together. As long as she doesn’t get stuck believing in happily ever after…
Nick is tired of pretending to be the happy, let’s-have-fun guy. His father wants him to change his career from professional dancer to…lawyer. He needs to put all of his focus on dancing to prove to Daddy Dearest he’s good enough to make it big. And he may have a case of the bluest balls in history courtesy of Emilia. She’s off-limits: The bro code with Roberto even forbids the dirty thoughts he has about her. Besides, he’s not boyfriend material. He only has time for flings, for girls who don’t expect much, for girls he doesn’t want to kiss goodnight. He knows he should resist her, but he’s not sure he wants to…
At least for this summer.
It’s going to be a summer like no other.
YES! – the whole adoption plot and all the where do I belong was great! It was really intense and heartbreaking because we all want to belong somewhere and Emilia’s whole life had just changed. And then when she goes to find her biolgical mum… the sadness 😦
But … It only came in the second half. And the first half was almost just deathly boring. I don’t think it helped that I was so sick of contemporaries while reading this. It was just your typical brother’s best friend and the girl kinda story.
Umm – It was kinda slow? But then again I haven’t read the first book so maybe that’s why. Honestly, I only realised it was a companion novel halfway through, so next time I better do my research properly XD
So have you guys read either of these? If you have tell me what you thought about them! Sorry about not posting for a while but I’ve been really busy with school. I haven’t read anything in a while so ugh! Anyways, will try and post more!
Panda Hearts Books 