January Mini-Reviews

Title: Since You've Been Gone
Author: Mary Jennifer Payne
Publication Date: February 17, 2015
Genre: Contemporary

Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school she's in a different country.

Sydney promises her that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them.

Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she ll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life.

3 Stars

Thank you Dundurn Press for granting me access to this review copy!

Since You've Been Gone was a bit of a disappointment, to be frank. I wasn't expecting a literary masterpiece, but I feel like this book that focuses on such a bleak topic could have brushed more than the surface. The romance was extremely off-kilter, the main character was irritating enough for me to want to set the book aside, and the writing needed work. I'll admit, the fact that I finished this book in one sitting is a good sign, and I'm grateful that the story was short else I would have DNFed the book. I understand what the author was trying to do here, but I feel like there was too little plot and minimal development for it to have had much of an impact on me. I'm giving it a solid three stars because, all in all, it wasn't a bad story.

Title: Tear You Apart (Beau Rivage)
Author: Sarah Cross
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Genre: Fantasy

An edgy fairy tale retelling of "Snow White" set in the world of Kill Me Softly for fans of Once Upon a Time and Grimm.

Faced with a possible loophole to her "Snow White" curse, Viv goes underground, literally, to find the prince who's fated to rescue her. But is life safe in the Underworld worth the price of sacrficing the love that might kill her?

2 Stars

I had to suppress the urge to roll my eyes multiple times throughout Tear You Apart. I didn't have a very good reading experience, and there's only so much drama and ridiculousness I can handle in a book before I lose it. Wayyyy too much girl-on-girl hatred, lots of selfishness, bad choices galore, and a retelling that isn't even that unique. Viv is an insufferable brat who constantly bathes in self-pity whilst I forced myself to endure her long-winded complaint sprees. Good lawd, if she is the "fairest in the land," imagine everyone else?

The only thing that's preventing me from one-starring this is that underneath the pointless drama and snobbery, there were some parts of the story that were done right. I can't exactly pinpoint what, but it's keeping me from full-on hating this.