Book Review: Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North

The Book:

The Blurb:

All the world forgets me. First my face, then my voice, then the consequences of my deeds.
So listen. Remember me.

My name is Hope Arden, and you won't know who I am. We've met before - a thousand times. But I am the girl the world forgets.

It started when I was sixteen years old. A slow declining, an isolation, one piece at a time.

A father forgetting to drive me to school. A mother setting the table for three, not four. A teacher who forgets to chase my missing homework. A friend who looks straight through me and sees a stranger.

No matter what I do, the words I say, the people I hurt, the crimes I commit - you will never remember who I am.

That makes my life tricky. But it also makes me dangerous . . .

The Review:

Received from NetGalley for my honest review
Completed June 26, 2016
472 pages - Kindle Edition

This book is a hard one to rate. I liked it, and I LOVED about the first half of it, but then it just kept getting duller and duller and went on and on and got tedious. I like to rant/talk a lot, but some of the dialogue was 1 person talking for a full page about scientific stuff that made my eyes hurt. It just lost me somewhere around 60% and I just really wanted it to be over with, which is a shame because it started out so well.

The good: the concept, the 1st half of the book, Hope, what she was able to do and how she did it. She was lovable, for a thief.

The not-so-good: The writing style at times, unique but not something I liked. The "definitions" that made me feel like I was reading a dictionary have of the time.

The bad: the scientific stuff that went on and on and on. The 1 page dialogue from one person just rambling. The length. If this book was closer to 300 pages instead of 500 pages, all the dull stuff could have been taken out and all the fun good stuff left in and it would have been a great book.

Setting = B
Plot = A (execution of plot sliding scale from A to C)
Conflict = B
Characters = C
Theme = A+

The Rating:

Enjoyable, equally good and ok. (3 stars)

Book Review: Omnia by Laura Garcia

Reports of my assimilation have been greatly exaggerated! :)

The Book:

The Blurb:

All you have to do is imagine—the Omnia superstore has anything you could ever dream of.

Where else but Omnia would a boy go looking to replace a one-of-a-kind stuffed bunny that happens to be his baby sister’s favorite toy? Scrolling through the online retailer’s extensive inventory, Nico finds what looks like a perfect match, but the item is lost somewhere in the vast Omnia warehouse. He doesn’t believe it, so he stows away in a shipment being returned to the warehouse to search for the bunny himself.

Nico quickly gets stranded on the island of Omnia, a fantastical place that does much more than sell everyday items. It is a hub for a business with intergalactic reach, and while stray visitors to Omnia are welcomed warmly, they are not permitted to leave, ever.

The adventure of a lifetime awaits Nico as he searches for the beloved toy and tries to find a way to return home.

The Review:

Received from NetGalley for my honest review
Completed July 27, 2016
288 page ebook

Omnia is a Middle Grade book about a boy who goes on the search for a stuffed bunny at Omnia, a "store" that has anything you could ever want or need.

While I thought that the story dragged at parts, overall I thought it was very very cute. It definitely is on the more younger side of middle grade and not all adults who enjoy MG books may like it, and probably many teens won't, but anyone who is looking for just a cute story overall will enjoy Omnia.

Nico finds his way to Omnia, a place that the world knows little to nothing about and finds a magical place filled with all many of things and creatures. He tries to fit in as he gets stuck in Omnia but is always looking for the rabbit and for his way home.

The story was unique and very cute. It was different and I wasn't expecting things that happened. It was slow at times but overall was quite good. If I have one complaint about it, it is that the ending was rather abrupt. I mean, it was leading up to it, but it was like all the sudden and then there was little follow up, it was just over. I would have liked to have seen the ending filled out with more detail and more after all that happened then just the letter. The letter was good, but I just would have liked more.

Very cute!


Setting = A+
Plot = B+
Conflict = A
Characters = B+
Theme = A+

The Rating:

Loved it, really really enjoyable book! (4 stars)