Chasing Brooklyn - Lisa Schroeder

RESTLESS SOULS AND EMPTY HEARTS

Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants, or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

Title: Chasing Brooklyn

Author: Lisa Schroeder

Genre: Young Adult, Verse Novel, Grief

Publisher: Simon Pulse

My Rating: 5/5

I was so emotionally invested in this book. I was drawn in immediately and was thoroughly captivated by this story. For a novel in verse, it is brilliantly done. I can't believe how much emotion and depth is conveyed in just a few short sentences. We get to feel what the main characters are feeling, what they are thinking, their very personalities. It was a genuine show of emotion, and I really got the characters. I couldn't help but fall in love with them and hope that they could find happiness after the deaths of a boyfriend, brother, and friend. I was deeply invested in the outcome and held my breath as I kept turning the pages, voraciously reading every word. I can't believe how one sentence could be so powerful, and portray so much. The story was heartbreaking, breathtaking, mesmerizing, and all around beautiful. I loved the humorous passages interjected in with the more serious passages. The characters ran the gamut of emotions and I was there through every word. Through the sadness, grief, despair, fear, happiness, joy, love, heartbreak; all of it. This novel was exceedingly well crafted and I can't wait to read the next one when it comes out.

In My Mailbox -19-

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren every Sunday. In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that lets everyone see what books you have received or bought that week.

For Review

1. The Third Rail - Michael Harvey

2. All the Way Home - Mary Suzanne Lopez

3. Radiant Shadows - Melissa Marr

Many thanks goes to Julie from FSB Media, Ryan from Yorkshire Publishing, and Katrina from Bloody Bad for hosting "Borrow My Arc Tour", for the books I received for review.

Bought

1. Burned - P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

That's what I received in my mailbox this week, what did you get in yours?

Mieradome - Kate O'Hegarty

Mieradome, revolves around a young girl named Amavia, who believes she is a human girl, but slowly comes to find she is a faery in the world of Mieradome. Amavia's mother, Anastasica, had taken her out of the faery realm and hidden her away here in our human realm, so that she may be protected from her parents' past mistakes. But that was not enough, the forces that be found Amavia, and brought her back into the cosmos of the Grandmother Tree. There she meets other faeries, goblins, Telkar dragons, and Utopisols. Slowly who Amavia really was began to unravel to show the truth. The truth, that she just may be the evil they need to destroy. This is where the story begins.

*Synopsis taken from goodreads.com*

Title: Mieradome (e-book)

Author: Kate O'Hegarty

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Faery,

Publisher: Hegarty & Co.

My Rating: 2.5/5

This is one of those books that I couldn't decide whether I loved it, or hated it. I think I fell safely in the middle though. There were times that I really enjoyed the story, and there were times where I couldn't stand it. The "bones" of the story itself were good, but the writing was very much underdeveloped. In certain areas, I noticed that we were told several times in a sentence that Amavia was in Mieradome. I found that that detracted from the story, because it seemed redundant. I also noticed that there were several key points that were mentioned in the middle, or end of the story, and I thought that they would have done much better at the beginning (or closer to the beginning), as they could have been explored more. However, in saying that, I think that the ending definitely is leading up to a second installment. Certain scenes contained too much description, but then in other instances I found the character development was lacking. I did find that there were some parallels between "Narnia" and "Mieradome" as well. I do think that O'Hegarty has potential, and I hope she keeps up with Amavia's story. I am intrigued as to how everything fits together. We are left with some questions at the end of the book that hopefully will be answered in the next one. All in all, I think it was a good first effort, and I hope she does continue the story as I do want to see what happens next.

DISCLAIMER: This e-book was received free of charge in exchange for an honest review.