Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1 by Marissa Meyer)

Synopsis

Cinder is a girl, but not just any girl, she's a cyborg, and perhaps something more, but in her step mother's eyes. She's a slave under her own roof, with two sisters. Pearl and Peony. This isn't your typical Cinderella story, the cyborg part aside. All Cinder's ever wanted was to escape for her freedom. When Prince Kai shows up at her workplace with Nainsi, his android, Cinder knows there's a reason he doesn't want her wiped clean. And while Cinder may be just a cyborg girl, everything puts her right in the middle of a political war between the Eartheners and the Lunars.

I give 

★★★★★

It took me about two days to finish this book. Is that a good thing? Yes. It's an amazing thing. Even though Science Fiction is not my thing, I was able to give this book a shot and I absolutely loved it!

I cannot wait to see what the next three books hold. They hype on this book is so great. I've been seeing this beautiful cover everywhere! 

The book is written from a third person's point of view. What does this mean?! We can get into anyone's head! Although the main focus is mainly Cinder, we still get to see what is happening with Prince Kai. The pace of the book is fast. There's a lot going on in such little time. My heart had a hard time adjusting to some of the events and I could feel like that all the time. It's what a good book does to me. Who needs time to drink in every thing?! Nah, overwhelm me with every little event, please! Going back to the perspective talk, the fact that the author chooses to place us with different characters in some chapters creates quite the suspense and Meyer did not throw in any boring, long chapters. I have to say, everything about how this book was written was absolutely perfect.

"Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. 
What would you do?"

Now, let's get on the plot. I've mentioned above who this story is about. Cinder. A cyborg. She's 36% metal and the rest very human. But is that really all she is? Nevermind. Moving on. This cyborg girl, with two sisters. Pearl and fourteen year old Peony, who is undoubtedly sweet and surprisingly gets along with our Cinderella. They live in New Beijing, a place where the greatest threat is the plague, Letumosis. After her dear sister, Peony catches the plague at an old junk yard, Cinder is punished by Adri, her stepmother, by being sent as a volunteer to be a test subject for the very same plague, and everything changes for her as she finds more about herself inside the lab's walls than anywhere else. Dr. Erland does not tell her everything though.

"I'm sure i'll feel much more grateful when I find a guy who think complex wiring in a girl is a turn-on."

Cinder is a very... cute character. Yes. Cute. Her actions are innocent, despite her strong personality. With the disability to produce tears and blush, her stepmother finds her inhuman, even though she is fully capable of feeling every little thing that hurts her emotionally. I would have to say the romance going on in this book kind of lacks a lot. As much as I wanted her moments with Prince Kai to prolong, there wasn't much going on. Except this sweet cyborg kissed him and the reaction we expected had not occurred. I'll have to admit, some things were, however, very easily predicted, like the fact that she is princess Selene. I didn't expect the Lunar part, but then as soon as she found out, I was so sure. 

"Kai cleared his throat. Stood Straighter. "I assume you're going to the ball?"
"I-I don't know. I mean, no. No, I'm sorry, I'm not going to the ball."
Kai drew back, confused. "Oh well...but...maybe you would change your mind? Because I am, you know."
"The prince."
"Not bragging," he said quickly. "Just a fact."

For a man in this story, Prince Kai lacks the masculine features I look for in the ideal man for a story with so much going on. Prince Kai came off as a wuss. Yes. A WUSS. Why, you ask? Because even though he was a little human with little control over Princess Witch-head's magic/glamour, he could've done more, or acted more superior, I mean, in the end, the whole world did look at him as a freaking Emperor, and he lacked judgement and probably character development overall.  Perhaps there will be more to expect from the mighty Emperor in the next few books. I would've liked him to be more controling (cuz' he's the damn prince) and perhaps more... arrogant? Yes, that would've been nice. 

Now, the villain of this book would be a Lunar, Queen Levana. Basically what a Lunar should be is: Creatures with the ability to glamour/manipulate people/humans into seeing and believing anything they want them to believe. And, yes they live on the moon, hence where "Lunar" came from. She's a total heartless bitch that cares about nothing but herself. She killed her sister, her daughter and attempted to kill her grand daughter, Princess Selene, if i'm not mistaken. But there were rumours about her surviving the fire and escaping on earth. When Queen Levana gets to earth in her fancy spaceship, she comes with one purpose. To become the Empress of New Beijing. (Marry Prince Kai) and if that happens, the war between the Lunars and the Eartheners would be prevented.

This heartbreaking story ended with sweet, sweet Cinder being imprisoned by Prince Kai. What a twisty turn everything took. And Cinder is left with only one option. To escape and meet Dr. Erland in Africa. 

Here's the most heartbreaking part of this story. 

(Page 282)

"She knelt over the pile of worthless parts that Adri had left. for her to find. A beat-up tread punctures with pebbles and debris. An ancient fan with a crooked blade. Two aluminium arms-one that still had Peony's velvet ribbon tied around the wrist. Clenching her jaw, she started sorting through the pieces carefully. One by one. Her fingers trembled over every mangled screw. Every bit of melted plastic. She shook her head, silently pleading. Pleading. Finally she found what she was searching for. With a dry, grateful sob, she crumpled over her knees, squeezing Iko's worthless personality chip against her chest."

OH MY GOD WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO IKO?

"Prince Kai! Check my fan, I think i'm overheating."

I love Iko so much, please be in the next book!

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1 by George R.R. Martin)

Synopsis

The Game of Thrones is the first book in the Song of a Ice and Fire series, a fantasy novel by George. R. R. Martin. The plot-line revolves around three stories of the nobel houses: The Westeros, the Wall and most people's favourite, the Targaryens. Eddard (Ned) Stark treats being named the hand of the King like a curse after the one before had died, or was rather murdered. This changes everything for the Stark family as they split. 

It is a matter of time before the Iron Throne is claimed by the wrong people. 

Review

I give

★★★★☆

Game of Thrones is a novel that includes eight perspectives, (Tyrion Lannister, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Eddard (Ned) Stark, Bran Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen , Catelyn Stark). I had a difficult time building some kind of emotion towards any of the characters listed above. The first book revolves around the idea of who is to keep the Throne and how the fight between the Starks and the Lannisters got bloody, but mainly who killed John Arryn, the hand of the king, because the fight against the Starks starts when Ned (Eddard) Stark questions if Arryn died of a natural cause. This is the type of book where you would expect gory details when it comes to violence, detailed sexual content and rough language, make no mistake there will be. The narrative is rich in context, though, I have had trouble understanding what was happening sometimes because of the different use of vocabulary, and it is not simple English. It is highly expected considering how the writing has to match the setting of the story, that being the middle Ages. Perhaps someone with a more profound knowledge in literature would have no trouble understanding everything. There’s always that one word though, right?!

There is no shame in picking a favorite character, so I’ll admit, I love Tyrion. He is more or less one of the most bullied characters in the book, along with Jon Snow, for being different and this is how I was emotionally attached to the both of them.  They’re both examples of good protagonists. Their choices are wise, and I can’t help but love the amount of sarcasm Tyrion has thrown in every now and then. I’ve enjoyed his chapters far more than any other character. However what makes the book so great is the fact that if you do despise or love a character, the chapters aren’t entirely long, so you have enough time to see what is happening on the other side, but not enough to bore you if you don’t feel interested. Besides, he may be fun to read because of his sarcastic thoughts, but events have made others a lot more interesting. And there’s this constant thing going on where some chapters end with a cliffhanger, which absolutely kills me and love.

As a mystery book, there’s a lot to discover, even though the core idea revolves around someone’s death. There’s so much going on and this helped me continue reading when I felt discouraged at times. The diversity between the characters is great, everyone’s different. In fact neither of them can quite relate to each other, especially those related.

What I liked so much about this book more than most other ones is that there is no cliché to it. There are no heroes or evil guys. There’s only our opinion on their actions. In the end every character and general person in real life believes their actions are for some kind of greater good. It’s us who decide who are the good guys. Of course we learn that all Eddard wants is for the truth to be out. He’s a loyal man with good intentions, and that gets him “chopped”. So this is more about survival. We see from every character’s perception what it takes for them to survive against those who wish them harm. I’ve unfortunately seen the TV show before reading and I know for a fact that this is no typical story. Or a typical fantasy for that matter. There will be deaths, ones I won’t care one tiny bit about, and others I’ll bawl my eyes for, so of course I’ll continue. 

Ashes to Ashes (Burn for Burn #3, by Jenny Han)

Goodreads Synopsis 

New Year's Eve ended with a bang and Mary, Kat and Lillia may not be prepared for what is to come.

After Rennie's death, Kat and Lillia try to put the pieces together of what happened to her. They both blame themselves. If Lillia hadn't left with Reeve... If Kat had only stayed with Rennie... Things could have been different. Now they will never be the same.

Only Mary knows the truth about that night. About what she is. She also knows the truth about Lillia and Reeve falling in love, about Reeve being happy when all he deserves is misery, just like the misery he caused her. Now their childish attempts at revenge are a thing of the past and Mary is out for blood. Will she leave anything in her wake or will all that remain be ashes?

Review

I give ★★★✩✩

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a burn for a burn, a life for a life. That's how this all started, and that's how it's going to end."

For starters, let me point out that Kat in the cover above really looks like someone incapable of putting together two pieces of clothing, why would someone wear a black bra under a white laced top?!

Back to the real topic, the heart-wrenching, heartbreaking, evil, evil book called Ashes to Ashes. The book with the worst possible ending I've had to come across EVER. Where do I even start? 

Well, from the beginning of course. 

The second book ends with us finding out that Mary is in fact dead. And she's a seriously pissed off ghost. Not only does she want to make Reeve's life horrible but she wants to literally actually end him. This is just beyond my expectations. 

Let me point out that I stayed completely quiet about the whole failed plan to make Alex miserable in the first book because he was in fact innocent, so their first plan to make Reeve pay for everything hurt way too many people. That should've immediately screamed MARY YOU'RE EVIL right from the start even though it was Kat's idea to put this whole thing together. Whom was also half responsible for this, and yet she gave absolutely no shit about it (may have never even mentioned how awful she felt about even coming up with the idea.) To be quite frank, and a bit of a cold-hearted person, Shepherd was more or less of a karma for Kat coming up with this plan to hurt Reeve, Rennie and Alex. BUT what was more infuriating was the fact that Kat was just another character in the third book. There have been no credits given to her. She saved Lilia and herself and risked her dog's life because of stupid, stupid Mary. Also, what happened to her aunt? She had a pretty important role in the first book and second one and then all of the sudden she disappears and Mary becomes the most awful, annoying and deadly ghost. Kat was introduced as this amazing, i-dont-give-a-flying-crap girl and then the third book just killed her off. I was rooting so badly for her and Alex to get together, because, I mean, opposites attract and he is described as sweet, romantic boy with artistic dreams and she's just a hopeless human. Just perfect together. 

To be honest, unlike many many other readers, Lilia was a character I liked. The fact that she was centred somewhat in the center of this  drama was what made me like her BUT HER CHOICE TO PICK ALEX AND BREAK UP WITH REEVE IN THE END COMPLETELY WIPED ANY GOOD EMOTION I FELT TOWARDS HER. The whole point of the second book was to get us to love the two of them together, Lilia and Reeve. They had to break so many kind of codes to be together. The excitement was slowly built and I was so excited their relationship would develop more in the third book but then SHIT HAPPENED. And authors are so evil sometimes. It took forever for them to get together. There were so many obstacles like Rennie's clingy long arms (at least that's how I imagined her and her friendship to Lilia.) and Lilia's loyalty towards Mary and Reeve's bro-code with Alex. But they had finally made it together and there was no going back and Rennie died because of it. Rennie died because of Lilia's relationship with Reeve and they still did NOT end up together. How is she so heartless? She said she loved him, they actually FELL IN LOVE AND SHE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT AND IT'S PISSING ME OFF. I wanted them together despite their differences in social status and studies. OPPOSITES ATTRACT DAMMIT! 

"I've fallen for the one person I shouldn't have. For the boy who broke Mary's heart. For Rennie's one true love. For Alex's best friend. It has to end here. Now."

NO IT DOESN'T!

The truth is that even though Lilia was in fact my favourite, after Reeve, she had suffered the least out of all of them. They all had one major loss, what was Lilia's? A piece of jewelry from Reeve? I got seriously mad whenever Lilia wouldn't put the energy to keep her relationship alive with Reeve. She was worried about what people thought about her more than actually being with him and enjoying the time they had together. For a main character Lilia lacked the strength and will to keep a relationship so complicated. In fact I'm convinced she didn't deserve Reeve. Maybe it was all pity for what happened to his leg. 

I may have also disliked Reeve at some major points for instance when he was with Rennie. Why did he just not freaking say no to her if he wasn't attracted to her? Why couldn't he just let her go and stop leading her on. I'd feel zero guilt if I ran into someone I actually liked and let go of the clingy person attached to me that I find UN-attractive. Reeve was just too much of a wuss to deal with his guilt and his problems and how the hell did he talk to Mary on Halloween and didn't totally freak out? If he did, why was it not mentioned? How come he hears Mary and doesn't deal with his shit by talking to someone? And isn't it a bit suspicious to just have your ghostly past pop up out of nowhere after so long? He loved Lilia? He should've told her. Reeve goes through So.SO.MUCH. I should've dedicated some ten minutes crying for all the pain he's had to endure. That poor bastard.  The thing is, Reeve was such a bad-ass character, so tough and strong and the quarter-something-American and he was popular and cool and everything and he couldn't HANDLE ANYTHING LIKE A MAN.


And if she loved him she should've told him what was going on, or at least found a way to tell him without having Mary find out like an anonymous letter or some shit. BUT SHE DIDN'T EVEN TRY. She just cut him off and I wanted to burn the book right that second. Pretty sure the Goddamn author has done absolute no research on the meaning of love or the actions or anything. That was a cheap sacrifice. She should've found a way. AND IN THE EPILOGUE THEY'R JUST DONE. They've ruined the whole story for me with that. The rush was awful.
Let me get back to Mary. The character build up had absolute NO KIND OF CONNECTION TO THE THIRD BOOK. We meet sweet, innocent Mary in the first book and then the second we barely get anything on her and then suddenly she's the most evil person you'll ever come across. Because why, you ask? Because she killed herslef. HERSELF. Her fault she died. You want to end your suffering? You freaking grow up! Her reasoning for killing herself was pretty weak for such an insufferable, evil human-ghost. Her personality is so much stronger as a comparison to her old self. She's in fact weak throughout the whole first book. I get that she expected some kind of attention after coming back to Jar Island's highschool but that should've given her a hint when everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, except of the two girls, ignored her. And the fact that the only reason she even came up in the this book to just rant about her revenge plans and how she was so evil she wanted to burn everyone, I just  COULD NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE. I should've been wise and skipped every chapter involving Mary. AND GUESS WHAT FOLKS. She realizes everything was a mistake and wanted to make up for it for the smallest little act. LIKE THAT WOULD FIX LILIA AND REEVE. WELL DONE MARY YOU FAILED.  There was so much chemistry and love and beautiful things and it took an author 3 pages to flush it in my neighbor's toilet. I'm so devastated about it, you have no idea.
Alex is another example of poor character development. Normally after being turned down or rejected, people MOVE ON. Not Alex, he's a special kind of boy. He won't take no for an answer, i'm actually surprised Lilia doesn't feel harassed by his love towards her. He lacks every little aspect that makes up a good, strong personality. All he does is get mad and upset at Lilia turning him down AND HE GETS THE TROPHY IN THE END, YAY FOR HIM! To be honest Lilia's all to blame because she makes him believe there's a chance and he doesn't give up knowing he's got a 1% shot at being with her. Luckily the author is on his side. Me? Not so much. But what does it matter, i'm against this whole series. It's quite a shame because the hype was real on the first book. 

This book had so much more potential and it all went down the drain and i'm so so so so so sooooo disappointed you have no idea. They just threw in a death in Kat's family, they threw Lilia and Alex together after she's rejected him for THREE FUCKING BOOKS and they just made KAT have absolute no university and just forgot what happened to Reeve because I was honestly too disappointed with that epilogue that a wave of a long-term shock hit me and I still cannot get over it.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,14, 15, 16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29 days later and I can NOT get over it.

Big Disappointment. 
Cheers.
Love.

April

 

It's a blooming month this year, and the nominated book for April is

Ashes to Ashes 

by Jenny Han

Think Mary, Kat, and Lillia have nothing left to lose? Think again. The fiery conclusion to the Burn for Burn trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian.

They only meant to right the wrongs. It was about getting even. Burn for burn.

Burn For Burn (#1, Burn for Burn by Jenny Han)

Goodreads Synopsis

Postcard-perfect Jar Island is home to charming tourist shops, pristine beaches, amazing oceanfront homes—and three girls secretly plotting revenge.

KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend.

LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it.

MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him.

None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible.

With an alliance in place, there will be no more “I wish I’d said…” or “If I could go back and do things differently...” These girls will show Jar Island that revenge is a dish best enjoyed together.

Review

I give ★★★★✩

WELCOME TO THE BIGGEST MYSTERY OF YOUR LIFE.

This book was such an easy book to read start to finish. Not being an exactly big fan of Jenny Han's "The summer I turned pretty," It came off as a surprise that I had in fact enjoyed this book. 

The mystery is real as we don't know much about anyone's background story, but as the story progresses, I started getting to know each of the characters, Kat, Lilia and especially Mary as well as their intentions, personality and role. I'd say it's too early to choose a character I mostly like, or find interesting as all three of them seemed to play an important role in everything that has been going on. They're also extremely different people, the contrasting personalities made it more enjoyable to read because each one of them responded differently to certain situations, like for example, when they chose Alex to "bully."

The touch of the famous high school drama was the key to draw me in, no questions asked, i'm a sucker for those. Or at least used to be until I graduated, haha. But Mystery and high school is such a cool mix, definitely what i haven't come across just yet. I was used to reading from multiple perspectives, as I had just finished Game of Thrones, an incredibly complicated read if I must say, and reading this book immediately afterwards was like walking after a long run. 

The whole story flowed inconsistently, and everything was not as I had predicted,  if anything, I was convinced Mary would be in the spotlight. 

I had a hunch it would be supernatural, or at least more or less connected to something supernatural, but oh boy, i was wrong about the whole thing.  This is not your typical revenge-high-school-story. Na-na-nah. I can't wait to see what happens, there's so little I can say right now, it only feels like the beginning. 

  You would think I would pick a favourite out of Kat, Mary or Lilia, but I equally like them all, I suppose Kat is the one with the strongest personality out of all of them, and Mary has the best story behind her mysterious character, Lilia is just there, conflicted. I am not sure what is happening, the mystery is real.  I have a feeling the next book won't disappoint me.

Fire for Fire (Burn for Burn, #2 by Jenny Han)

Goodreads Synopsis

Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance.

Not even close.

For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before.

And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him.

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn.

It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn... 

Review

I give ★★★(½)✩

Here's a guide to how to get disorientated, a.k.a MIND-FUCKED.

Excuse my french while I rip out strands of hair because what the fuck duck?!

The last 100 pages have been the most confusing hour of my life ever! Yes Jenny Han must be hysterically laughing at how rage-ful her fans must've gotten because of this book. I don't deserve this. Nobody gets to mess with my feelings, but oh wait, this book just did. 

To hell with these girls, I'm not sleeping tonight. 

Okay, now that my feelings are somewhat out, let me get started on the stuff. I've been impatiently trying to finish this book because it was pretty B.O.R.I.N.G. Reading from Mary's perspective was like being forced to listen to this one person without an interesting story to share. Mary has like no place in here (Jar Island), I thought it would be cool at first because she was new, she tried to blend in, she spoke to Reeve, that made her interesting. I couldn't wait for her to like bump into the kid and get her shit problems together with him. But surprise surprise, there's no paradise and nobody fixes anything. On the other hand, Lilia made up for all those Mary-boring-whiny pages, because her story is just pretty great. Of course, the whole fighting with the mean girl thing was kind of a cliche for a story so freaking original.

Now this book would get more than 3½ stars but due to the lack of entertainment and rushed events, it felt like I was reading a summary of a much more interesting book. Every emotion, every action seemed way too rushed. I NEED MORE DETAILS ON THE KISSING. THE CRYING. THE HAPPINESS AND THE SADNESS.

Of course, it is a beautifully written book, and even though it is the longest book of the trilogy, where you find out everything, it felt like events were flying about left and right. This is worse than the Walking Dead and its sudden missing characters dying off and around everywhere.

➦SPOILER'S ALERT!

❗❗❗❗❗❗

Reenie dies?

What.

Well hold on I haven't even had the time to mourn the bitchiest meanest character in the story. Give me time! I'm slow with these. This book has left me with so many questions, I don't even know where to start. I suppose it's part of the book business technique to get us to buy the next book, which we obviously will because someone's gotta answer my questions.

Perhaps I should talk more about the characters, like Reeve. He may be the hottie, but what the hell is up with the getting drunk and acting like an idiot everytime? And his reaction to seeing Mary was like "what?!" and the way he goes to Rennie and then he believes they're just friends. What again? It doesn't take an idiot to see she was in love with him, and he just led her on and on and on, like give her a break.  And Alex was such a puppy throughout the whole novel. Grow some man stuff you pup, because I'd forget he was a guy or even slightly important despite the constant mention of his name. Our focus was Reeve. Manly, drunky, hottie Reeve. Alex was just Lilia's vacation toy to play with. It's a shame though because he's such a sweetheart and Kat would be perfect for him. Opposites attract right? 

Mary was such a shock, Holy Crap. I'm speechless on that matter.

This book was quite a blur, the only reason i'm up for the next book is because the ending was extraordinary. Pun intended. 

♥Goodnight♥

Anna and the French Kiss (by Stephanie Perkins)

Goodreads Synopsys

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. 

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Review

I give  ★★★★★

I suppose, every cheesy, typical girly-girl would dream of this book to actually happen. Guess what, folks, guess what? I hate cheesy, or at least I thought I did until I read this book. I kept a smile on my face from the very moment I started this book. Why, you ask? Because I can relate to this character beyond my imagination. I did not know  "Oui'" is spelt that way, I didn't think it is spelt w-e-e either, I just never thought of french. YES I Would skip lunch, breakfast and dinner if I didn't know how to communicate, but it is an American school in Paris, so that was in fact kinda silly considering they must know English. But Anna is such a real protagonist to me, seeing everything from her perspective just made it perfect. Perfect to me because I saw how she adapted, learned about her friends, and tried to be the right person in all situations. But she was also human, and made mistakes I could see myself making. 



Yes it is a shame that our perfect man in the story is in fact short. So what? That's alright. You'll learn to appreciate his sense of humor, pretty face and cool hairstyle. With those in the package, nothing else matters. Coming from a height-obsessed-weirdo. Not to mention that I have not been to Paris and this book made me want to crave a journey, a new place, and sometimes even a new life. To start over like Anna did. However, the only thing lacking in this story was loyalty. There's a simple rule when it comes to friends and boyfriends and that is exactly what I absolutely hoped wouldn't happen. Anna stealing her friend's boyfriend. Why. Of course, we are once again reminded that friendships between a gal and guy will always develop to something more. YAY. That's what I call the best kind of love story. 

Considering how I've always wanted to study abroad but never got the chance to (yet) and seeing what the experience would be like from Anna's perspective was satisfying since a lot of people aren't quite specific on the details on the new language and the new people. That whole idea was really thought through in this novel. I would definitely recommend it to those with some kind of fear of moving to another country, going to a new school/university/college. This book will definitely ease out your fears.