Book Review: As I Descended

As I Descended by Robin Talley

Released: September 6, 2016

Read: August 2016

Publisher: Harper Teen

Format: ARC, 384 pages

Series: Stand-alone

Description on Goodreads:

    Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

    Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

    Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

    But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

    Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

    But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

    From acclaimed author Robin Talley comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Review:

    As I Descended was darker and more twisted than I thought it would be. The cover gives off the illusion that the novel would be a frilly yet somewhat unsettling contemporary; I was caught completely off guard. Instead, I read about controlling, frightening spirits, competitions that can drive people over the edge, and old legendary ghost stories that might not be just stories.
    Overall I would recommend As I Descended to anyone that can handle the horror and is willing to get a glimpse of what truly lies after death.

Favourite Quotes:

• " It was over. She'd done it. There was no going back from here."
• " Blood will have blood."

Rating: 7/10 

Recommended if you like: ghost stories, thrillers, horror novels, spirits, high school competitions, reading about characters who hide what they truly feel about everything

Keep flipping pages,

Lauren

Book Review: The Telling

The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy

Released: August 2, 2016

Read: July 2016

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: ARC, 400 pages

Series: Stand-alone

Description on Goodreads:

    Lana used to know what was real.

    That was before when her life was small and quiet.

Her golden step-brother, Ben, was alive, she could only dream about bonfiring with the populars, their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell the truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.

    Then came after.

    After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, and living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: Love, blood, and murder.

Review:
  This isn't a spoiler, no matter what you may think, but I am a committed member in the Alive-until-literal-body-is-proven-dead club. As soon as Ben's death was described, and I learned that he fell off a cliff into the water below, I believed that he was alive. I've watched waaaay too many of my favourite characters on TV shows die then come back to life. There's always a loop hole or a small detail that someone missed, that proves the person isn't dead. So for the majority of THE TELLING, I searched for Ben. But what happens, I will not say.
    Ben and Lana share a complex relationship, considering their horrible childhood ( before meeting each other). The stories Ben tells Lana bond them and make them closer siblings. These stories, although quite morbid, are unique and really interesting. Beakless black birds and  rosary peas, an odd combination. Also in these stories, Lana and Ben are the common protagonist, always killing the villain the same way the villain killed its victims. Lana the Brave is outgoing and fearless, unlike her current realistic self.
    Lana's relationship with Josh Parker is short and not really there. Of course they're good friends, but if you're looking for a strong romance, this is not the book for you. They act nervous and semi-casual around each other, but you can't feel their connection. It's as if she doesn't like him and is awkward around him just because he's a guy. In short: not very lovely dovey.
    The mystery was kept alive during the entirety of the novel, and made me switch between many suspects. I couldn't figure out who had the right motive and how each murder was pulled off. Why did Maggie hide where she did? Why does everyone suspect it was Fitzgerald Moore? And what did any of this have to do with Lana and Ben?
    By the end of this thriller, Lana finds out the true nature of many of the people around her. Many are not who they seem to be, and each of these discoveries is even more captivating than the one before.

Quotes:

• " I was an earthworm dreaming of being a python."
• " The good and bad are indistinguishable in the dark."
• " You can't go back in time any more than you can regrow a lung once you've lost it. The only thing to do is learn to breathe with just one."
• "Gant, the idyllic island where the millionaires of Seattle flock with their 2.4 kids, labradoodles, and trophy wives. Gant, where shit doesn't stink and bullshit is recyclable, where everyone gets to be white, rich, and an asshole."
• " Perception is nine-tenths of everything, and you only need to appear okay for them to think you are."
• " People wear sadness like they wear hats."
• " I'm tired of hearing what anyone but me thinks I should be. I want to define myself. If I am small, it's my choice. If I'm daring, it's because it's who I am. If I'm good, fine. If I'm bad, that's on me."

Rating: 9/10

Recommended if you like: thrillers, high school drama, reading about bullying, family drama, murder mysteries, the Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy, books about story telling, obsessions.

Keep flipping pages,

Lauren