Book Blog #85: Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler

Title: Love? Maybe
Author: Heather Hepler
# of Pages: 267 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Synopsis: Just because Piper's birthday is on Valentine's Day does not mean she's a romantic. In fact, after watching her father and then her stepfather leave, she's pretty sure she doesn't believe in love at all. Then her friends concoct a plan to find them all Valentine's dates, and somehow Piper finds herself with the most popular guy in school. But true love never follows a plan, and a string of heartfelt gifts from a secret admirer has Piper wondering if she might be with the wrong guy.  
In this heartwarming romance, true love is more than a maybe - and it might be closer than you think.
Review: There goes four days of my life that I'll never get back.

I bought this book months ago because it was on sale (probably sometime after Valentine's Day). I didn't like the cover at all; it's too plain for me. However, I have to give it some credit; it represents the book well (no sarcasm).

What really ticked me off was our protagonist, Piper. The best way to describe her is how the supporting characters describe her: cynical (a word that her friends are constantly calling her) and stupid.

"'For such a smart girl, you sure can be stupid sometimes'" (Hepler 243).

This quote does a great job of reflecting my thoughts of Piper. Hepler tries to portray Piper as a smart girl who always seems to have homework that she needs to finish, etc., etc. Yet she gets caught texting in class (if she's going to text, at least be smarter about it) and is missing stuff relating to her love life that even her friends have picked up on!!! It's very frustrating when the protagonist is completely oblivious.

The second major dislike I have for this book is the writing style. Sentence structure was awkward at times to the point where it disrupts the flow of the plot. Hepler's character development is sloppy; she was still developing Piper's mom half way into the book!

To sum it all up, this book was bad. I would not read it again, nor would I recommend it to anyone.

Book Blog #84: Magyk by Angie Sage

Title: Magyk
Author: Angie Sage
# of Pages: 584 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow -- a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?
Review: This is my second reading of the Septimus Heap series after several years. I remember enjoying this book very much and even rated it five stars (and added it to my favorites shelf) when I joined Goodreads.

Unfortunately, Magyk has found it's way off the favorites shelf.

Sage's writing style didn't impress me as much as it did all those years ago. I don't know it my standards are higher now, but I no longer consider this book to be at the same level as some other books such as The Fault in Our Stars. Now, don't get me wrong; Sage is still a wonderful writer. She created an engaging, entertaining read that is also CLEAN, thus is enjoyable for all ages.

But it was missing that special something that other YA books have (although some can classify this book as Middle Grade, but I still think that it fits in the young adult section). Maybe Sage found it in Fyre, the seventh book. I wouldn't know yet because I am rereading the Septimus Heap series in honor of it's release this past summer.

But here's some stuff that really bugged me.

Sally's cafe is burned down

Why is Sally's cafe burned down? The answer is simple; she didn't lie. When the Hunter marched in and questioned her, she is obviously not very good at acting. But at least she could pretend to give in when the Hunter says that he's going to burn her cafe down! And she only has herself to blame. If she didn't gawk at them through the window, she wouldn't have drawn attention to herself.

Sally could have fought a little bit harder for her cafe. It is HER cafe after all. Don't let someone take it from you! True, she did kick the Hunter, but that's hardly going to stop him from having his lackeys burn the building. It's a cafe, right? Use pots, pans, tables! Fight!

Boy 412's Fact Lists

His "lists" are really, really annoying. The amount of "good" and "bad" facts are painfully obvious, but 412 has to list them off and the COUNT the number of goods and bads when THERE IS ONLY ONE GOOD! And then later in the book he makes yet ANOTHER list where there is only one bad, yet he has to go through the same process he used earlier. For our new main character (who the series is name after, might I add), Sage makes him look awfully dumb.

Similarities to Harry Potter, Hobbit, etc.

There and Back Again Row? Trelawney? If I'm not mistaken, these are references to two well known books. I'm not sure when Harry Potter was published, but i do know that the Hobbit was published before Magyk. Sage may have put these references into her book to appeal to her audience, but it only makes me question how much of her book is actually HER idea and not someone else's.

Despite my slight change in opinion about this book, I still highly recommend it!