Conspiracy Girl

Title: Conspiracy Girl
Author: Sarah Alderson
Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: 4.5/5
Cover: 8/10
Release Date: January 5th, 2015

I was given an egalley by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Everybody knows about the Cooper Killings – the Bel Air home invasion that rocked the nation.

There was only one survivor - a sixteen year-old girl.

And though the killers were caught they walked free.

Now eighteen, Nic Preston - the girl who survived - is trying hard to rebuild her life. She’s security conscious to the point of paranoia and her only friend is a French Mastiff bulldog, but she’s making progress. She’s started college in New York and has even begun dating.

But then one night her apartment is broken into and the life Nic’s worked so hard to create is shattered in an instant. 

Finn Carter - hacker, rule breaker, player – is the last person Nic ever wants to see again. He’s the reason her mother’s killers walked free from court. But as the people hunting her close in, Nic has to accept that her best and possibly only chance of staying alive is by keeping close to Finn and learning to trust the person she’s sworn to hate.

Fleeing across a snowbound New England, frantically trying to uncover the motive behind the murders, Nic and Finn come to realize the conspiracy is bigger than they could ever have suspected. But the closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, the greater the danger becomes.

To survive she has to stay close to him.

To keep her safe he has to keep his distance."

Alderson has done it again. She has a knack for creating memorable, diverse and interesting characters, and Nic Preston is no different. I loved the entire setup, the premise was brilliant, and best of all, the execution didn't let me down. Most importantly, Alderson weaved a very good story in a used-up genre without falling into many of the stereotypes of that genre - and it made for a very enjoyable read indeed.

I especially liked the connection between Finn and Nic - it was nice that she didn't clap eyes on him shirtless and swoon, instantly forgetting about their past; he broke down her walls and defences with time and patience. And Nic's paranoia could have been very easily overdone, but Alderson presents it in just the right amount to make it clear that it is serious, and to make the reader feel on edge, while not making it too much.

But perhaps the best part about Conspiracy Girl was trying to figure out whodunnit. If you're a mystery buff, this one is definitely up your alley! I don't want to say too much, but I had a theory, and it was (I thought) a pretty good theory... but the actual perpetrator took me completely by surprise. They did enter my mind, briefly, at an early stage, but I dismissed it. What a bomb that one was!

A brilliant way to kick off the year's reading list! Most definitely recommended.

The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft

Title: The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft
Author: Lola Salt (aka Sarah Alderson and Becky Wicks)
Genre: Adult contemporary
Rating: 4/5
Cover: 10/10

I was given an egalley of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After my quick fall in love with Sarah's YA books, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this novel. It sounded interesting, but nothing too incredible.

I was in for a pleasant surprise. I don't think I've laughed so hard since Seduction and Snacks. Seriously, the situations Lara finds herself in are absolutely hilarious in their impossibility. It was weird to think that a 27 year-old could possibly manage to get herself into so many ridiculous situations.
Admittedly, though, while Lara herself (and CP. Can I have one of my own? Pwease?) was amazing, I felt like Lucy and Jamie were slightly lacking. And it was sort of ok because they weren't in it that much, so their less 3D personalities didn't detract that much from the overall book; the one time when it did impact the story was at the end, which is really quite disappointing.
In a way, it almost would have been more satisfying if they had gotten together, as it would add some sense of backstory, rather than just kind of leaving them floating randomly at the end, like beautiful fillers.

That lapse notwithstanding though, a hilarious read that is definitely worth your time!

Book Review: Fated

Title: Fated
Author: Sarah Alderson
Genre: YA
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 8/10

Remember Hunting Lila? Yeah, well, it made such a good impression on me, I decided I'd go out and read whatever else Sarah Alderson had written, because honestly, I love it when I find an author who I can read anything and everything of theirs without being afraid of disappointment.

Fated, while drastically different from Hunting Lila, was equally as engrossing. I found myself smirking at Evie's blunders, and her quirky behavior. I love her; she reminded me of myself, in many ways, and that of course made the book very easy to identify to, nevermind all the crazy supernatural things going on.
And when I say 'crazy supernatural things', I mean exactly that, emphasis on the crazy part. I loved the supernatural salad here; while we've all heard of werewolves and vampires (these days, who hasn't?), the Shadow-Warriors and Mixens... well, I've never read book with them in it.

Now that I've successfully gone quite some way without gushing, the gushing shall commence. I'm sorry, but why is it that fictional men are always hotter than the guys I know? That's hardly fair. And Fated didn't disappoint there. Even thinking about Lucas right now, weeks after I read the book, I still get the tingles. He and Evie have that whole starcrossed lovers thing going on, and I guess that helps his image, since you can't help but think of him as a bad boy on a certain level. And then Alderson tops it off with a kiss scene (not saying who with, though!) so hot, I almost had to go take a cold shower afterwards. And I read adult about as much as I read YA; I'm used to steamy. I wasn't expecting that scene though, and to have that dumoed on me like that...

Anyway *cough* yes, great read. Like I said in the Hunting Lila review, I do believe I have found my new favorite author - and I have no doubts I'll be running to the bookstore for the continuation of Fated. Especially since I got a hint from Sarah on her twitter that there would be more sexy times in book #2!

Book Review: Hunting Lila

Title: Hunting Lila (Lila #1)
Author: Sarah Alderson
Genre: YA
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 10/10


First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate this cover. My first thought was "I want those shoes!". I still maintain it ;)

Hunting Lila was quite a ride, and I loved every second of it. There were some moments there when Lila's love for Alex bordered a little on almost-creepy obsession, but for the most part, it was ridiculously cute, and definitely created some very great scenes.
I can see that this review won't be as good as it should be because, well... it's just hard to pinpoint what, exactly, was so great about this book. It just sucked me up, and refused to spit me out until I had finished it. I loved the diversity of the characters, and how even the secondary - and sometimes not even that - characters had all this backstory, and were all so wonderfully developed. Almost the entire time Lila was in California, I kept getting frustrated because for me, as a reader, it was obvious that whatever big secret her borther and Alex were trying (not too successfully, I might add) to hide, it had something to do with people like her.
It's always great when you're so focused on the book, that your emotions run away with you, and, even though, if you were being objective and looking at the book from an outsider's view, you'd probable be able to figure out what the best move would be, because you're so immersed in the story, you're about as lost as the characters about what to do. I love that. And Hunting Lila gave me all that, packed it up in this beautiful packaged of a cover and ended it with a powerful cliffhanger.

I think I just found my new favorite author.