#BookReview Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins, Leigh Bardugo, Jon Skovron , Jennifer E. Smith, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Veronica Roth

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories

by Stephanie Perkins, Leigh Bardugo, Jon Skovron , Jennifer E. Smith, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Veronica Roth

Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy
Publication: May 17th, 2016
Format: ebooks
Source: NetGalley, St. Martin's Press

Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom.

Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

The thing I like about an anthology is that I get to experience a lot of stories. And there are twelve love stories by twelve awesome young adult writers in Summer Days and Summer Nights, Each story has their own adventure and romance, all happen during summer. But not all stories have a happy ending.

There are stories for everyone: fantasy, sci-fi, horror. Each story is entertaining in their own way. What I really like about this anthology is the diversity of characters and romances. The pairings are interesting. There are also LGBT pairing in the book. 

The thing I didn't like about an anthology is that there are some stories that I really like, stories that I thought was okay, and stories that I didn't understand at all. And each time I finished a story, I have to put down the book to let the story sit in for a while before I pick it up again.

My favorite stories are:

Head, Scales, Tongue, Tale by Leigh Bardugo 

A really good start. There are something magical about this story and I love that bits of twist at the ending.

Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare

I love the setting! It was set up in a dark carnival powered by demon magic. Kind of reminds me to The Night Circus. This story has a really good plot and development.

A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong by Jennifer E. Smith

I absolutely love the characters. It was hard to not fall in love with everyone. The romance was really sweet and super cute.

My least favorite stories are:

Sick Pleasures: For A and U by Francesca Lia Block

It was hard to connect with the characters because they didn't have names. They are all referred by letters. And I'm not really sure what happen in the story.

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things by Lev Grossman

I absolutely love the idea of the book. But I just thought that the pairing didn't really click. The romance was too quick and a bit cheesy. It could be good if it was a bit longer.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed the stories. A perfect read for summer! There are lots of stories that I really like as compared to that I didn't like,  The stories are light and short. If you're looking for a quick read, this is the book for you.

I received a copy of this book from the Netgalley & St. Martin's Press in exchange for my review.

Book Review: City of Bones

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)

by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Publication: April 2009

Format: Paperback, 485 pages

I’m reading this book after two of my friends in fanfiction.net recommended this book to me. Plus, I’ve seen lots of readers giving this book good high ratings and good reviews. So... I really have a high expectation from this book.

At the end, I have a mixed feeling about this book. I wanted to really like it. But I just couldn’t. I had to sit back for a while to think of what is it that I like and didn’t like about this book.

City of Bones is well-written. I admit that Cassandra Clare is a great storyteller. She did a good job in creating an interesting world of Shadowhunter. The first page had a bit mystery behind it which makes me wanting to read more. It has an interesting start. But then it was starting to bug me when it got to the second part. Clary’s investigation on her mother’s whereabouts was slow. I thought there were some unnecessary scenes – like the part where they have to rescue Simon. Their adventure to rescue him was nice, but it was unnecessary. 

I’m not sure if I like the heroine very much. I can’t seem to connect with Clary. Perhaps it was because I had a totally different personality with her (and what is it with YA heroine with artistic talent?). But Clary strikes me as, well, ordinary. While Cassandra Clare’s imagination and portrayal on the world sounds wonderful, her characters development is not. Her other characters, Jace and Simon didn’t have that squealing factors (you know, when the characters made their appearance and you start to squeal like a rabid fan girl) for me.

So, what did I like about this book? The dialogue, the humor and Cassandra Clare’s description. What I didn’t like much are the characters and the predictable endings. But I will still read the continuation to this book to found out what will happen to the characters. I hope it will be better.

Book Cover’s Description

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. .