Landry Park by Bethany Hagen

Title: Landry Park
Author: Bethany Hagen
Series: Landry Park, Book One
Synopsis: "Downton Abbey meets The Selection in this dystopian tale of love and betrayal
In a fragmented future United States ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum and her domineering father won't allow that. Madeline must marry, like a good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty - her family and the estate she loves dearly - and desire." - Goodreads.

Review: I listened to this on an audiobook which I got from Scribd, a site which I have absolutely fallen in love with. I have to say that I'm really glad that I did because I don't know if I would have finished it if I had just been reading it like any other book.

The thing is, the writing in this book was absolutely stunning. It was weirdly poetic and super descriptive, and an absolute pleasure to read, but sometimes the pacing of the book was just a tad too slow for my liking. I feel like, even though a fair bit did actually happen within the span of this book, it didn't FEEL like a whole lot happened. Sometimes the descriptions, which were beautifully well done, would kind of take away from the actual story.

I had a couple of issues with the characters. Madeline and David both fell quite flat for me, especially considering that they were supposed to be the two main-ish characters. Unfortunately, their flatness wasn't saved by any of the side characters either. All of the characters were fairly flat (at least in my opinion), and none of them were particularly likable. I don't know if it was just me, but even though I could connect with Madeline on several levels as we have some similar tendencies, I just couldn't stand listening to her back and forth constantly going. The relationship between her and David, which did take a long time to actually become anything, still managed to feel rather insta-lovey. After seeing David for the first time, Madeline never stopped thinking about him, which did get rather annoying.

Over all, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought that I would. It was okay, but I don't think I'll be continuing on with the series. That being said, if Bethany Hagen ever puts out a different book, whether it be a stand alone or a new series, I will definitely give it a shot if only for her amazing writing.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Shelved on Goodreads as:

1. Read
2. Books of 2015

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Title: The House of the Scorpion
Author: Nancy Farmer
Series: Matteo Alacran, Book One
Synopsis: "Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium. Can a boy who was bred to guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can he ever be free?" -Goodreads.


Review: Earlier this moth, I was having a lot of trouble with a reading slump. I had finished a book around the third of April, and then finished nothing until I finished this book, which happened on April twenty-third. I had tried to pick up several books, but none of them was able to keep my attention until I picked up this book. I was enjoying it so much that I started a little book club on goodreads, so that I could enjoy it with others if they so chose.


I initially picked up this book last year from a second hand shop after hearing Regan from PeruseProject talk about how much she enjoyed it in a wrap up. As per usual, I took forever to actually pick it up, but MAN am I ever glad that I did.

This book took me a bit by surprise, as I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it. The title gives absolutely nothing away about the story itself, and in fact doesn't make sense until a fair way into the book, but when it makes sense, does it ever make sense. I have such a love for this book now, I can't even begin to explain it. All I can really say is that if you haven't picked up this book yet, that you really, really should. It will surprise you, and it will make you fall in love with it. It will make you feel so many different kinds of emotions, and it will make you frustrated in the most fantastic way.

I need the next book in this series. I have to know where the story is going to go, what is going to happen to the characters. I want to say that I am ready for all of the twists and turns it will throw at me, but I could never be prepared for what Nancy Farmer will give me. I can just hope and pray that it will live up to the expectations that I have for it after reading this book.

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Shelved on Goodreads as:

1. Read
2. Books of 2015
3. Favorites

Wow, It's Been a While...

Wow, I've just realized how long its been since I posted on here.
Its been almost six months, and that is just not good.

Hello everybody, if you are still looking at this, I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Things have been a bit hectic with this semester of school and I've been moving all of my stuff into storage so that I can go back home for the summer. Today I wrote my last final exam, so I thought it would be a good time to reboot my blog.

I'm hoping that I can do a bit of an overhaul over the summer. I don't know how much I will truly be able to do, but I hope that I can make it a habit to write on here again.

What will this overhaul entail?

Well, mostly, it will be me actually using this damn thing again. I have lots of books to read, which means I have lots of books to review. I really want to start reviewing all of the books that I read again I loved doing it when I did it, and I still don't know why I ever stopped.

That being said, I also don't want this blog to be nothing but book reviews. I want to have some fun with it! I'm still not entirely sure what other types of posts I will be making, but you can expect to see something different from time to time. It might be a tag, it might be a personal ramble, it might be something about Scarlett (my NaNoWriMo novel) and editing my manuscript, maybe it will even be the return of TARDIS Tuesdays! We will have to wait and see.

I hope that you all are having a lovely day, wherever you may be.
What books are you reading right now? Let me know down below!
I respond to every comment, and I love hearing from you!

Until next time,
Helen.