One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington

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Title: One Past Midnight

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Length: 352 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury-Walker Books

Classification: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Source: ARC (Thank you so much Bloomsbury!)

Name of overseas edition of Between The Lives. Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole. Until now, that is...
 For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.
 With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking? (From GoodReads)

GoodReads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Books-a-Million

***I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

My Rating:

Amazing! What a unique story! I haven't read anything quite like this one before. The idea of this book is just so fascinating! And I really like the author's writing style. 

Sabine has two lives. And it has been this way since she can remember. Every stroke of Midnight sends her to her other life. And it looks as though she is the only one in this situation. At least, she hasn't found another person quite like her. She tries to accept and understand what is happening to her. She tries to balance between these two completely different lives. Not knowing which one she really belongs in. Until something happens that changes everything. Now she has to figure out what to do with this knowledge.

I really enjoyed reading this story. It really pulled me in and made me want to find out what would happen next. 
At first I was a little worried about becoming lost and frustrated with the switching of lives. Since this happens every chapter or every couple of chapters. But it wasn't difficult or frustrating for me at all. I actually really found it interesting and it was easy for me to shift lives with Sabine. Following the storyline and the characters in each life was also easy. And I think that the storylines transitioned smoothly and at a great pace!

I think for the most part I was equally interested in both of Sabine's lives. They are so different and each one was fascinating for different reasons. 
I really like that even though this is a Science Fiction/Fantasy book, it had a Contemporary feel to it as well. I was very interested in the relationships that Sabine has with her family and friends from each of her lives. I especially love the relationship developments between the siblings, in one life Sabine has a little sister and in the other she has brothers. 
And for me, her actions and results of those actions felt pretty realistic. 
I was really able to connect with Sabine's character. I felt so bad for her because she was struggling so much with what it meant to live two different lives. She really goes through a lot. I couldn't really imagine having to go through my awkward teenage years and high school twice (and at the same time!) And I love her character development through the story. 

There were several events and plot twists that I didn't see coming. And there were a couple things that I guessed while reading, but it did not take away from my love of the story at all! In fact one of them I was pretty happy I was correct. 
This book was a roller coaster of emotions for me. And I even cried a little bit at one point. 

My Recommendation:
Read this book! I highly recommend it! I really love the story. It was entertaining and deep. The story really made me think about life. Not only did I enjoy the plot, but I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships with Sabine! 

I would definitely buy this book!

Thank you SO MUCH, Bloomsbury for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

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Title: Dangerous

Author: Shannon Hale

Length: 400 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Classification: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Release Date: March 1, 2014

Source: ARC (ARC Tour hosted by On The Same Page)

Read: April 2014

Maisie Danger Brown just wanted to get away from home for a bit, see something new. She never intended to fall in love. And she never imagined stumbling into a frightening plot that kills her friends and just might kill her, too. A plot that is already changing life on Earth as we know it. There's no going back. She is the only thing standing between danger and annihilation. (From GoodReads)

First I want to thank Brittany, Alyssa, and Amy (On The Same Page) for hosting the ARC tour. It is fun to get to borrow a book that I am interested in reading.


My Rating:

I'm not sure why, but I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story at the beginning.
I found it to be interesting, but it didn't grab my attention and keep me hooked.
But as the story progressed, I became more interested in what was going to happen. And the book really grabbed my attention near the middle of the story.

The Story:

At the beginning of the story I felt like there was some insta-love happening between Maisie and one of the first boys that she meets away from home. (Then creating a sort of love-triangle since she already seems to have feelings for her best friend.)

I have trouble believing that this is something that could really happen, but I also except it because it is a work of fiction. I enjoy reading books that feel realistic, but I also enjoy reading things that wouldn't likely happen either.

There were some twists and turns that I didn't expect to happen though out the book. But there were also some that I did figure out before it happened. I did like that there were parts that I felt like I had figured out, but the author made me second guess my theories. And it made it interesting and hard to figure out which characters could be trusted and which couldn't. (Which I think was one of my favorite things about this book.)

The book was different from what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be set in space, when only small sections of the book actually did take place in space.
This book felt more like a Superhero type story to me.

The Characters:

Maisie is the main character. I liked her character the most, and she was pretty much one of the only characters that I felt stood out in the book.
The other characters that were part of the fireteam didn't really stand out to me. I don't really remember much about their characters. I felt like they weren't developed as well as Maisie and I didn't become attached to them.
I like the parts of the story that involved her parents and I was left interested in their lives.
I didn't really feel attached to any of the characters in particular and I wasn't emotionally involved in the relationships or the romance.

My Recommendation:

Give it a try. You might like it.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. And I am glad that I didn't give up and put it down. I don't think that this is a book that I will re-read. But I am glad that I read the book.
And I liked it enough to be interested in other books written by the author.