First Impressions: 4 New Reads

So, I got a Kindle. I'm slightly disgusted with myself, because I've never liked the idea of them, BUT it was a gift and I thought I'd give it a try. I actually quite like it. Especially the super-cool feature which has aided todays post. After toying around on the Kindle store, I realised that I could download 'samples' of books I wanted. So I did just that, and I thought I'd do a little First Impressions post about the books that I downloaded.


The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins. This book gave me chills. I'm pretty faint-hearted when it comes to anything remotely spooky and supernatural, but I've heard pretty good things about this book so decided to give it a try. I read the first two chapters of this, and I really like it! It's mysterious, well-written and actually quite chilling. The last line of the opening chapter was very effective in creating the drama. I'm definitely going to be buying this.
 
The Manifesto On How To Be Interesting by Holly Bourne. I metaphorically flicked through the first three chapters of this book SO easily, that I immediately bought & downloaded the full copy. Weirdly enough, it's very similar to something I wrote a little while ago. I found the main character, Bree, really relatable right up until she decides to be 'interesting' then I pretty much lose all respect for her. Of course, her fate still remains to be read, so she might change my mind! I think that it's aimed for an audience younger than me, as I did find it quite young, but I'm enjoying the drama.
 
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. This book is very 'The Hunger Games'. I hate saying things like that, because I know there's much more to the dystopian genre than just THG but I just found the opening chapters very similar. I like the main character, Mare, and her little pickpocketing habit. I also like the idea of the 'supernatural' nature of the Silvers, and that they spill silver blood (literally). I am very intrigued and will pick this book up at some point, but I'm not riveted. I've heard that this book takes a while to get into, and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt! I've been looking for a new, intense dystopian trilogy to read - hopefully this will be the one!
 
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Much the same as The Manifesto, I found this book to be quite young. The main characters 'voice' made her seem a lot younger that 17 (I was thinking around 15, and was surprised when she said she was 17), and the immediate attractive to St Clair (who already has a girlfriend, duh) was kind of predictable. I also don't like the information dump within the first two chapters, but it was readable. Despite these things, I was SUCKED IN, and flipped through the pages so quickly. I think it'll be quite a light, fluffy read judging by the beginning three chapters & just from what I've heard from other people. I was disappointed, but I'll definitely stick with it and read the whole thing before I pass judgement!
 

4 comments

  1. I'm the same, I much prefer an actual physical copy of a book but I love how you can download a sample through the kindle app and try out a book before buying. I will admit though, once I have read the sample i'll go out and buy the actual book haha!

    www.simplysara.co.uk

    x

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    1. Totally! I think I'm going to buy physical copies of the books that I think I'll enjoy more. I've actually bought & read The Manifesto on How to be Interesting and although I enjoyed it, I'm glad it's not taking up space on my bookshelf! x

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  2. I love reading off my Kobo, haha. I still read physical books but the Kobo just saves me so much more money as a broke student. The sample reading feature is the best! I've remembered wasting money on books that weren't as good as I thought they were because I didn't spend that time reading the first chapter or so in the bookstore.

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    1. I hate wasting money on rubbish books! I'm definitely going to take advantage of the 'sample' feature on my Kindle x

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