Throwback Thursday Reviews #2

And, I'm back with some Throwback Thursday Mini Reviews. 

You ready for this?

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson: Most of you have heard of this one, I'm sure. If not, drop what you're doing and get this book immediately. Clear a few hours for yourself to devour Mary Pearson's work because if you don't, I guarantee you'll miss some appointments or be late. I almost missed my train stop. A few times. KOD is pretty much my dream novel. Magic, friendship, plot-twists, princesses…the list goes on. The writing, characters and setting are superb. Pearson, who you might recognize from the Jenna Fox series, is so versatile. When you're done, you'll be begging for the next one. Good thing it comes out soon…ish. From my Teenreads review: "The wording was so evocative and the tone so gentle that at times, I felt like the characters were sitting around me and whispering their stories. Yes, it was that good."

One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington: Full disclosure for this review: I worked at Bloomsbury as an intern while this was being published. So I'm a bit partial to it. HOWEVER, that didn't affect my review at all. I kind of expected to hate it a bit. And at first, I wondered if I would DNF. But I'm so glad I kept reading. It's such a different story and Shirvington shares such wonderful (Ethan) characters with readers so that we're enamored with the book just on principal. I loved the idea of our main character living too completely separate lives. I especially loved that this novel wasn't completely contemporary or completely science fiction. Sabine was a regular girl who had an extraordinary gift, the ability to live two parallel lives one after the other. At times heartbreaking and stunningly real, I definitely recommend this book to just about anyone willing to try something different. From my Teenreads Review: "I love that [Sabine’s] she’s not just a privileged character or a down-trodden one. She’s both of those things, and the combination of that makes her really fascinating."

Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally: This novel was so beautiful and inspiring. It not only made me want to do something uplifting for myself but after reading it I considered running! That's how wonderful this book was. I really cannot say more about it except that I found it very realistic and powerful. A seriously gorgeous book. At first I was a little put off by the subject matter (it's pretty tough) but I found it to be quite inspiring. Annie is a great character to follow around on her journey and I'm so glad I did.  From my Teenreads Review: "I was inspired by Annie’s story. It honestly made me consider starting to jog or at least working toward some sort of similar goal.I was inspired by Annie’s story. It honestly made me consider starting to jog or at least working toward some sort of similar goal."