Wednesday 13 May 2015

Book review - The Selection by Kiera Cass

Thirty-five beautiful girls. Thirty-five beautiful rivals…

It’s the chance of a lifetime and 17-year-old America Singer should feel lucky. She has been chosen for The Selection, a reality TV lottery in which the special few compete for gorgeous Prince Maxon's love.

Swept up in a world of elaborate gowns, glittering jewels and decadent feasts, America is living a new and glamorous life. And the prince takes a special interest in her, much to the outrage of the others.

Rivalry within The Selection is fierce and not all of the girls are prepared to play by the rules. But what they don’t know is that America has a secret – one which could throw the whole competition… and change her life forever.


(I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review)

I loved The Selection.
I don't care what the other reviewers say, but this book is near perfection for me.

America Singer comes from a poor family from the caste of Fives.
She received a letter inviting her to apply for the Selection, in which a girl from each Province will be sent to the Palace as a potential wife for the crown prince Maxon of Illéa.

The entire Selection will be aired on TV and as you can imagine America was very reluctant to apply. Her mom pesters her about it everyday and even bribed her to sign up. She has a secret boyfriend who's a Six and he managed to persuade her to enter her name into the lottery too.

She did enter in the end and she was selected to represent her Province in the Selection. So off she went to the Palace to meet the other 34 girls. As expected, the competition was very fierce with some particularly bad characters trying to sabotage everyone else's chances with Maxon.

At the end of the book, Maxon had to narrow down to the Elite few. There was supposed to be the top 10 girls who would be the Elite but Maxon made the difficult decision to only pick out 6 girls, America included.

We will find out what happens during the next round as the top 6 battle out in book #2 The Elite.

Goodreads link to The Selection

Get your copy from Amazon UK

Thursday 7 May 2015

Book review - Shattered Witness by Anna DeStefano

A brutal assault leaves high-powered CEO Shaw Cassidy’s memory shattered. Her isolated estate on High Lake Mountain should be her haven, but nightmares and eerie shadows threaten her sanity. A shot in the night sends her running from the creaking Victorian into the arms of a stranger she instinctively trusts. But is he her hero, or her downfall?

Time is running out for special agent Cole Marinos. His undercover assignment: to protect his childhood sweetheart—the lost love who broke his heart. His reality: Shaw is suspected of treason. To uncover the top-secret government leak that will exonerate her, he must trigger her memories of her stalker…and of Cole’s long-ago betrayal.

The evil tracking Shaw closes in, each attack more cruel and personal than the last. And each is designed to implicate Cole. With Shaw’s memory returning and her life on the line, is she trusting a man she once promised to love forever? Or is Cole the monster who wants her dead?


(I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review)

This is the first book I've read by Anna DeStefano. The book cover initially drew me to it and as I started reading I got caught up in the story.

Shaw Cassidy is the CEO of her family business but she was attacked which left her with amnesia. She was accused of treason but because she's lost her memories she couldn't prove her innocence. She was advised to retreat to her grandmother's mansion in the mountains to recover and recuperate.

Enter Cole Marinos who is Shaw's ex-lover and an FBI agent. He was called to this task due to their history. He would monitor and protect Shaw without her knowing, until one day she freaked out and ran out of the mansion and Cole then made his presence known to Shaw.

What happened over the next 2 days since their encounter helped Shaw bring back a lot of her memories that no other agents or Doctor could. Even though Shaw couldn't remember Cole, her heart and body remembered and they fell for each other uncontrollably.

All while this was happening, the villain of the story continued tormenting Shaw. It was pretty easy to guess early on who he is.

All in all, this was a satisfying read with a happy ending. My favourite parts of the book were when Shaw and Cole were drawn into each other and what they have together is very real and bold. Good read!

Goodreads link to Shattered Witness

Get your copy from Amazon UK