Letterbox Love (41) They're Back!

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

I'm so happy to be bringing back book hauls to the blog this week! Back in May I explained that I wouldn't be doing them for a while whilst we were decorating and my books were everywhere and now we're all done and my books are back together again on my gorgeous new bookcases. I won't be showing everything I've got since May because that would be ridiculous so instead I'll be starting fresh with the books I've bought and received over the last two weeks.

Us by David Nicholls (For Review)
One Day is one of my all time favourite books and I've been waiting and waiting for another David Nicholls book for years. The wait is finally over and I was thrilled to find that the publisher had sent me a signed copy!
Talon by Julie Kagawa (ARC, Borrowed)
I'm borrowing this one from my lovely friend Jasprit which reminds me that I really need to get to it soon as Rach is waiting to borrow it next! Kagawa's books tend to be hit or miss with me but this one has DRAGONS so we'll see how I get on with it.
My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins (For Review)
Our gorgeous UK cover, Christmas and several of my favourite authors. I'm freaking excited you guys! I'm waiting until November before making a start on this one.
I Was Here by Gayle Forman (Proof, For Review)
When this dropped through my letterbox earlier today I got some very worried looks from my family because I was squawking and flapping my arms about like a seagull. This is one of my most anticipated 2015 releases and I'm so made up to have a proof copy! I don't think I'll be able to wait long before starting this.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (Bought)
I have wanted to read one of Sanderson's books since forever and I've almost bought one so many times. I believe this is a new YA series from him and so I decided to finally, finally give him a go.
Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (For Review)
This is another book where my inner seagull was out in full force! I love this series and am so excited to see how everything ends. I'll be reading this one very soon.
Sublime by Christina Lauren (For Review)
I hadn't originally heard of this book until the publisher emailed me about it and based on the synopsis alone I decided to give it a go! Although I have to say after some research I much prefer the US cover.

This Autumn I have been on such a thriller kick and it all started when I read Gone Girl last month. Since then I've been straying away from my review pile once a week and diving into a thriller. I've got a little pile that I've been working my way through which has made for perfect October reading. I'm currently reading and enjoying Before I Go To Sleep and if you have any recommendations for what I should pick up after I've finished these three I'd love to know!
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Bought)
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey (Bought)
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (Bought)

 As always thank you to the lovely publishing folk for the review copies. If you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^ 

 Happy reading till next time!

Review for Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Warning
Just One Year is a companion novel to Just One Day and so if you haven’t read Just One Day this review may contain spoilers.

Just One Year by Gayle Forman 
Publisher: Definitions
Release: 7th November 2013 (UK)
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, New Adult, YA, Travel
Source: Borrowed from Jasprit – thank you!




Goodreads Summary: 

"After spending an amazing day and night together in Paris, Just One Year is Willem’s story, picking up where Just One Day ended. His story of their year of quiet longing and near misses is a perfect counterpoint to Allyson’s own as Willem undergoes a transformative journey, questioning his path, finding love, and ultimately, redefining himself."

Review 
Just One Day was an incredibly special book to me. It changed the way I looked at life and pushed me to say yes to exciting but scary opportunities. It had a massive impact on me and so I went into Just One Year hoping for more of the same. After Just One Day’s ending I still had so many unanswered questions and was hoping for closure from this companion novel which serves as the flip side to the same coin.

Going into Just One Year I had no idea where this book would take place on the Just One Day timeline. I only knew that it was a companion novel from Willem’s perspective. The book begins with where we left off with Willem in Paris after his beautiful day with Allyson and although I was grateful to finally get those crucial missing pieces to the puzzle I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to experience that whirlwind day through Willem’s eyes. Because of this I would definitely recommend reading Just One Day first as I don’t think that you can fully appreciate this series without knowing what happened on that life changing day. I was actually kind of surprised that Gayle didn’t include it as it’s such an important part of Willem’s journey and is the crux of the story. I would have loved to have experienced his thoughts and feelings first hand and I feel like it would have resurrected the feelings I have towards this couple and would have brought those feelings back to the surface. I guess Gayle didn’t want to cover old ground but I personally would have liked it to have been included.

Sadly there isn’t as much time spent with Allyson and Willem together as there was in Just One Day however the chemistry between them and the anticipation of them meeting again is kept alive through Willem’s memories of the day they shared together that are always very present in Willem’s mind which I felt like was a fair compromise for not re-visiting that day. I loved finding out what Willem had got up to in the year since their meeting and I loved that he put just as much time and effort into looking for Allyson as she did for him. I’m pretty sure that their paths may have crossed over at some points but because it’s been a while since I read Just One Day I couldn’t be sure and so where Allyson was at that time was often lost to me. I’d definitely recommend reading the books back to back or even each month side by side. I’m going to be trying this myself in a future re-read!

One of the things that I loved most about Just One Day was how deeply I connected with Allyson and her journey. Willem is a lost soul drifting from place to place since the death of his father and the loss of his home. He’s grieving and broken and is a big believer in accidents and life leading you to where you’re supposed to be. I didn’t connect with Willem on the same level that I did with Allyson but I still enjoyed his journey. Like Just One Day, Just One Year is both a physical and mental journey and I loved both the sites and experiences of Willem’s travels and his growth as a person as well as meeting the people who shape him along the way. I also enjoyed the subject of Free Will VS Fate and Love VS Luck and how maybe you need a little of both in life to get to where you belong.

The ending to this book was simple yet perfect. Just enough was said to leave me feeling like I got that closure. With this duology it is definitely a case of journey over destination and by the end of Just One Year I felt like both Willem and Allyson had become who they needed to be and that was down to each other and the journey they took to find a way back to one another. Although Just One Year didn’t leave as strong an impression on me as Just One Day did I closed this book feeling satisfied and like Willem and Allyson’s story is complete.

Review for Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown 
Publisher: Little Brown (US)
Release: May 21st 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Borrowed from Jasprit @ The Readers Den

Goodreads Summary: 

"Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story."

Review 
Jennifer Brown is an author whose books have always sounded interesting to me but I’ve never actually took the plunge and read one. So when my blogger friend Jasprit offered to lend me her latest novel Thousand Words I jumped at the chance to finally check this author out.

Thousand Words covers the subject of teen sexting. Ashleigh and Kaleb’s relationship has been rocky all summer with Kaleb making plans to go off to college. With the pressure of Kaleb being away and surrounded by experienced college girls Ashleigh worries that they will grow apart. After being drunkenly encouraged by her friends Ashleigh snaps a naked picture of herself which she sends to Kaleb. For a while the photo seems to bring them closer together but when Kaleb goes to college the cracks in their relationship re-appear and after a nasty break-up Kaleb sends the picture to his friends. As well as being publicly humiliated it seems like everybody has something to say about the picture and have their own ideas on who Ashleigh is as a person. But whilst a picture speaks a thousand words it doesn’t tell the whole story or define who somebody is, and this is Ashleigh’s story behind the picture.

The book is told in a past and present narrative from Ashleigh’s point of view. Before, tells the story of that fateful day when Ashleigh takes the picture and follows how everything so disastrously fell apart. And the present day is Ashleigh serving her community service as she is prosecuted for child pornography for taking the picture of herself. I loved how this story was told and although I preferred the past chapters and seeing how everything went down I also enjoyed reading about Ashleigh picking herself back up again and claiming back her life and dignity in the present.

One of the things I found really refreshing about Thousand Words is the lack of a love story. A Young Adult book without a love story? You say. Yes. I was shocked too. So at the start there is Ashleigh and Kaleb’s relationship but ain’t nothing romantic about that boy! At times I wondered if a romance would blossom between Ashleigh and Mack – a guy she meets at community service who didn’t look at her picture – but Mack is just a friend who helps Ashleigh reclaim her life. I loved the lack of a romantic interest and appreciated this story of standing up for yourself and forgiveness instead, it was certainly something different!

Overall Thousand Words offers up something completely different in the YA Contemporary market and I was captivated by Ashleigh’s unique story and her journey to redemption. Jennifer Brown blurs the lines between victim and offender making Thousand Words a thought provoking novel that I really enjoyed. After reading this book I’m definitely eager to read more from this author!