Trust Me, I'm Lying

Trust Me, I'm Lying

By Mary Elizabeth Summer

The title very much alludes to the theme of the book. The protagonist, Julep Dupree, is a grifter. "For the newbies out there, a grifter is a person who specializes in selling people something that doesn't exist" or in other words someone who fixes something. Julep uses her talents to fix her peers problems at school whilst making money in order to pay for her school fees. The business runs in the family. Julep comes home from school one day to find her apartment trashed, her dad missing, and suddenly the school hottie Tyler Richland, offering his help. Julep has to follow the clues her dad left behind through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts and family secrets. Julep uses everything in her book of tricks, friends and favours in order to find her dad before his marks finds her. A job is never left unfinished because that would be criminal.
Trust Me, I'm Lying is not your usual romantic novel with happy endings. In fact the ending is so shocking and so unpredictable, yet so very predictable at the same time that you have to read as fast as you can just to see it. I read the book in a day because it was so exciting, full of twists and turns at every chapter. Following Julep's story, Julep not even being her own name, makes you want to become a grifter in your own life. Even the little act of never paying for a coffee, even though she drinks multiple per day, is so intriguing. Of course the predictable love triangle between best friend Sam and new and amazing senior Tyler occurs, however, the subtle changes Mary Elizabeth Summer makes adds to the unknown of the whole story. There was no tingly feelings or squeals of delight when reading the book but the mystery and sleuthing made up for that.
Loved the book and recommend if you have time do read it.

Four: A Divergent Collection

Four: A Divergent Collection

By Veronica Roth

Four is a spin off to the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. The book is written in the view of Four and half way through connects to the story that is Divergent. In Divergent we learn a little of Four's past and his life in Abnegation, however, in this novel we learn all the nitty gritty details. The book begins two years before Beatrice Prior transfers from Abnegation to Dauntless, the same choice that Four made 2 years before. Four must fight for his way into Dauntless, learning how to fight, make new friends, stand up for himself and overcome his fears. As Four learns more about Dauntless and the alliance they have with Erudite the less confident he is in his decision to become Dauntless in the first place. His decision to stand by and watch or whether to act will change the whole faction system. Two years later, Four has denied a leadership position and is training the new initiates when he meets the first Abnegation transfer since himself. The more he cares for her the more his world becomes turned upside down and once again he feels like he can become Tobias Eden, son of Abnegation leader Marcus Eden.
I did enjoy reading this book and learning the history of Tobias Eden, however, the Divergent series is a much more engaging read. The Divergent series is a must read, yet, Four is something you can probably survive without reading. Hard core Veronica Roth lovers will love the book though.
On a side note, I saw Insurgent last night at the movies, in Gold Class none the less, and can I say it was a-maz-ing!! I thought it was even better then the first movie, a hard thing to achieve. I'm not sure how closely they followed the novel though. At points I was confused if that happened in Insurgent or occurred in Allegiant. To be sure I'll have to re-read Insurgent, but either way the movie was fabulous. Recommend go see it, even if it's not in Gold Class.
Divergent series - Must read.
Four - Read at your choice
Divergent and Insurgent movies - Must see.

On the fence

On the Fence 

By Kasie West

 

Can I just say I am unbelievably obsessed with Kasie West at the moment. Those cheesy friends-becoming-lovers clique just sounds brand new in her words. In 'On the Fence' the main character Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, is a modern day girl. She has 3 older brothers, 4 counting her hottie next door neighbour Braden who she's known for 12 years, and loves watching and playing all types of sports. She has no clue about clothes or makeup as she lost her mother at a young age and is clearly living in a male dominated house. As Charlie gets a new job at a chichi boutique she becomes thrown into a world of fashion, new friends of the female gender and boys. As an overwhelming sense of 'run' takes over her body, Charlie finds refuge in midnight talks with Braden over the fence separating their two worlds. One thing the talks cannot help is Charlie's growing love for Braden. The harder she falls the more complicated Charlie's world becomes.
Personally I thought the combination of protective brothers, crazed sporting superstars and the underlying love Charlie and Braden have for one another made a captivating read. I started the book at 9pm and read for 3 hours straight, finally succumbing to sleep. That of course didn't stop me from picking it up straight away in the morning and finishing the book in a record 5 hours. A sign of a good book is when the reader laughs out loud, is near tears and visibly cringes at the tension created. Tick, tick, tick. The awkward moment in the middle of the book where Charlie almost confesses her feelings for Braden was when I was truly at my peak, squealing with the awkwardness of the situation and momentarily unable to continue.
On the fence is a must read! Love, love, love!