Reached Book Review

Book: Reached 
Author: Ally Conde 
Pages: 512
Publish Date: November 12th 2012
Start Reading Date: May 25th 2018
End Reading Date: June 20th 2018
Good reads Rating: 4



I’ve said this before in a lot of book reviews, and other book related disses that I like multiple narrations in books that much. They get confusing. (Thanks to Breaking Dawn) but this one I liked. For the simple fact that if you ever get confused on who the narrator is of the chapter in Reached you can easily tell just by the top of the page. What I ended up finding (and I’m not sure if it’s because of the length of the book or I’m just picking at it) is by the third part of the book just before Ky gets sick the narrative of each character in the book became like one person. Rather than the individual person as it had been. It kind of gave it away that they would meet up closer than what I personally would have liked near the end. 


I like how the society is being broken down bit by bit. But. And it’s a big BUT, I am got a bit bored of the book half way through. I liked the progression of the series but it I am finding it hard to read at the moment. I am writing this bit about 250 pages within the book, and I felt as of there is no end in sight, and all I want is it to be nearly finished. I know the last books are normally longer then the first two (or more) but I think it’s dragging on. A lot.  


I really liked the beginning two parts of the book but felt as if the rest wasn’t up to it. I don’t want to skip ahead of any of it in case I miss something important. 


Like most third books that have recently come out I think that Reached could have been cut down a bit. It was far to long. I got to about 350 pages and I’m so close to the end that I could easily finish it. But I am getting bored by it now that I had to DNF it. 

I felt let down by the series. It was ok, but Crossed and Reached definitely let it down.  

There were parts of Reached I enjoyed, like seeing Ky and Xander working. But I felt as if Cassia lost more of who she was over the course of the book and the series.  

Best Character Development

Character development for me should just flow really well.

For me over the course of a book wether it be a stand alone book or part of a series every character should have a little development. The more important the characters are within the book the more they should be developed. That’s the way that I personally see it.

- Poppy
    - The Ice Cream Girls
Poppy’s development comes in so many different stages, because the author has four stages of life for Poppy. There is before when she is a young teen, who is in an relationship with a teacher, to a 17 year old who is sent to prison, to one who is released and is trying to find the truth about what happened and the last when she finds out the truth.

You see in the book when she goes back and talks about her life before hand that something in her changes when Marcus hits Serena, and you see her develop in to someone who still loves him, but starts to hate him more and more as well. By the end of the book you see her relationships with people change. You see her personality changes, her ambitions, because even though she’s been free of Marcus for 17 years in person, in reality he’s still a part of her life in her mind.

Most authors whose work is mainly stand alone books like Dorothy Koomson, I don’t tend to want to know what happens to those characters, where as with Dorothy Koomson I have two books in particular I would love for her to delve more into and The Ice Cream Girls is one of them

- Andy
    - The Devil Wears Prada
I love Andy’s development throughout the book. Though it’s obvious that she’ll go through all the stages she does go through, I think it makes her a stronger person. She needed to change herself into one of the people she works with and at the beginning of the book despises, in order for her to grow as a person.


- Ruby
    - Lock and Key
I liked Ruby a lot through out the book. At 17, she has her head screwed on, and is a strong independent teenager, who lived with her mom, but when she moved in with her sister you could tell she just wanted her independence back. Though she was strong and independent before moving in with her sister, her development during the book taught Ruby that she can be all of the things she wants to be, while having the love and support of her sister, brother in law and the cute boy

Worlds I Woulndt want To Live

Welcome to an old Top Ten Tuesday. All about Worlds That I wouldn’t want to live in. 



- Twilight
I really would hate to live in a place where your imprinted upon by anything, or where your partner and his family are a bit strange. Or where all the stuff that happens within the book yet no one really notices what’s going on. 

- Matched Series
I love 💕 the Matched Series, but honestly I’d hate to live where there are so many rules and regulations when it comes to the society. Some of them are just scary.  

- Lunar Chronicles
I liked the concept of the books but wouldn’t want to live there because of all the changes, challenges, the weird robot things. Na. It’s just not me.

- Rules of Summer
It would be cool living/working in an area like the Hampton’s but in reality I’m not that kind of person.

T5W Father Figure

Welcome to this weeks Top 5 Wednesday, as its Father’s Day on Sunday this weeks T5W is all about Father Figures.  

- Luke
    - My Best Friends Girl
    - Dorothy Koomson 

I really liked Luke’s character in the book. Though at time he does slip back into his old ways when it comes to talking about Tegan, and then leaves her, she always has a place on his heart.  

- Logan
    - The Lucky One
    - Nicholas Sparks
He took Ben under his wing, but without forcing anything. He followed Ben’s lead.  

- Arthur Weasley
    - Harry Potter 
    - JK Rowling

Who wouldn’t want a father who is kind and caring and literally lets your friends stay when ever they want yet you know it can affect your family yet be so bonkers about things. #TottallyCoolDad 

Your Halfway Through A Book Your Not Enjoying: Do You Carry On Or DNF It.

When I first started this blog post it was almost complete and as I was going over it I realized that it was all over the place and didn’t make any sense what so ever. So I actually went through what I do in the situation and came up with this better version.  

1. If I Have Read More Then Two Other Books
If I am reading a book that I am not 100% about I’ll try and finish it. But if I have read two or more books while I’m reading that one then I know it’s time for me to put that book down and DNF it.  

2. Gut Feeling/Knowing When The Time Is Right 
This is such a cliche one but it’s true. You have no idea why. But you just cant carry on. I’ve done it a few times where I’ve known it’s not the right time and just put it down 

3. If It Takes Me More Than A Month and I’m Only Halfway Through
It’s happened to me plenty of times where I’ve been reading a book and it’s taken me more than a month to finish it. This could also be tied in with the first point as well.  


4. If I’m Not Connecting. 
That can either be with the plot or characters. If I am having a hard time with either one or both I’ll have no shame than to put the book back on my shelf.  

5. Don’t Be Afraid To Go Back To It
There have been a few books (mainly Paper Towns, One Day and The Help) where I started the book, couldn’t carry on, put it down and then a few months later started again.  

Helpful Tips

1. If Your Not Enjoying A Book Don’t Feel Guilty About Putting It Down 

It’s easy to be caught up in youtube planet where all the booktubers and Popular youtube people are enjoying a book but if you are not feeling the book for what ever reason don’t be ashamed to put it down halfway through. Because there is always an option to start again when you are ready.  


2. Don’t Continue Reading If Your Not Enjoying

I’ve said in another post a while ago that I don’t understand why many book bloggers or vloggers read so much in a year and I wondered are they actually reading or not. Is it quantity over quality. And are they actually enjoying the book. I have no problems if half way through and sometimes earlier putting that book down 

T5W Summer Reads

Welcome to this weeks Top 5 Wednesday which is on my favourite Summer Reads.  

- Rules of Summer/ Since Last Summer 
Not one that I tend to go for anymore after the last time I read it but it’s 100% a series that is perfect for summer.  

- Fan Girl 
Though Fan Girl isn’t my favorite book out there I tend to find its a perfect summer read.

- Just One Day
I choose Just One Day because of the first part where it’s set in summer. It’s just a fun read (much better then Just One Year)

- My Life Next Door
My Life Next Door for me is such a perfect summer book. Love and drama in equal measures. 

- Since You’ve Been Gone
SYBG is such a fun book to read. Especially in the summer either on the beach or by the pool. It’s the only book by Morgan Matson I’ve read but it’s brilliant 

Books I DNF’d… But Will Try and Read Over The Summer ||

Welcome to another TTT. Though this week for me is really a top 3 Tuesday. While looking through my DNF books I really only have three books that I’ve DNFd. (4 if you include Jane Eyre but hey I have one classic on here). 

- Just Listen
Just Listen I just stoped reading about halfway through because I found myself reading other books (spoiler alert 🚨: I will be having a post about that pretty soon). I didn’t enjoy it but will be reading it at some point over the summer when I’m by the pool. 

- Lola and the Boy Next Door
Even though it says I’ve read it on goodreads I haven’t actually finished it. I would get confused by the story lines in it that I just happily put it down. 

- Sense and Sensibility 
I want to read at least one classic this summer. Who knows what one it will be. 


Lauren
xoxo

Favourite Books Out Of My Comfort Zone

I have no idea what my ‘zone’ would be because just like anything else in my life my reading style and books I like are all over the place.   

I will also go through fazes. Not just in reading but in everything, so because of the faze’s I go through I always push myself to read a curtain style of books, then get bored.  


- My Best Friends Girl
At the time when I first read My Best Friends Girl all I would read was the Harry Potter series or gossip magazines. So reading My Best Friends Girl was so different.  

- Goodnight, Beautiful/ Marshmallows For Breakfast and The Ice Cream Girls 
I have read a quite a few Dorothy Koomson books over the years, they are out of my ‘old’ comfort zone because unintentionally I normally read books by white people. Where as Dorothy Koomson is not. She is a black author. And one that should have well known all over the world. 

- Matched Trilogy 
I really liked the Matched trilogy. I’m not really a big dystopian kind of person, though I have also read 3 of the Lunar Chronicles, Matched trilogy is definitely my favourite.  

- The Great Gatsby
I am not a massive classic book reader. I own a few (yay for 3 for $10) but The Great Gatsby is 100% my favourite classic I’ve read.

- The Devil Wears Prada
Just like with My Best Friends Girl I wasn’t really reading more than the Harry Potter series. But one day I felt like a change and read The Devil Wears Prada It was something different. And brilliant. And gave me my love for the author.  

Lauren 

Xoxo

June TBR

Welcome to my June TBR

How are already in June.  


- Reached
    - Ally Conde 
I want to finished Reached, which I am likely to do as I am enjoying it.  

- Lola and the Boy Next Door or Just Listen
I want to read either or it really doesn’t matter. With Lola and the Boy Next Door I read it but didn’t enjoy it because I wasn’t on the mood to read it so I skipped a lot of it. With Just Listen I felt disconnected with the characters and I want that to change.