Happy Release & Review - The Heartbreakers

The Heartbreakers #1 by Ali Novak

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What they say: "When I met Oliver Perry, I had no clue he was the lead singer for The Heartbreakers. And he had no idea that I was the only girl in the world who hated his music."

Stella will do anything for her sick sister, Cara—even stand in line for an autographed Heartbreakers CD…for four hours. She’s totally winning best birthday gift this year. At least she met a cute boy with soft brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes while getting her caffeine fix. Too bad she’ll never see him again.

Except, Stella’s life has suddenly turned into a cheesy love song. Because Starbucks Boy is Oliver Perry – lead singer for the Heartbreakers. And even after she calls his music crap, Oliver still gives Stella his phone number. And whispers quotes from her favorite Disney movie in her ear. OMG, what is her life?

But how can Stella even think about being with Oliver – dating and laughing and pulling pranks with the band – when her sister could be dying of cancer? 

Ali Novak wrote her debut novel My Life with the Walter Boys when she was just 15 years old, and has since penned her next book, The Heartbreakers. First a hit on the online community Wattpad, her second novel has over 38 million reads and is loved by readers around the world.

Coming 4th Aug by Sourcebooks Fire.
Pre-order: Amazon * Amazon UK

Author Spotlight:
Ali Novak is a twenty-three-year-old Wisconsin native and recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s creative writing program. She started writing her debut novel My Life with the Walter Boys when she was only fifteen, and since then, her work has received more than 100 million hits online. When she isn’t writing, Ali enjoys Netflix marathons and traveling with her husband Jared.
Wattpad * Facebook * Twitter * Website * Instagram

I received a copy from Sourcebooks (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: I'm going to start out by saying that I haven't read any of Ali Novak's work as Fallzswimmer on Wattpad. This gave me the chance to approach her writing and The Heartbreakers as a complete newbie to her style and read the story as it is now.
I'm feeling slightly conflicted about The Heartbreakers because on the one hand it's a cute and charming contemporary YA romance, but on the other hand I've read several similar stories recently and I wasn't 100% convinced by the insta-love element. 
On a road trip with her brother, Drew, Stella meets young rockstar (to be honest he was more of a popstar) Oliver Perry. She doesn't recognise him as the lead singer for The Heartbreakers aka her sister Cara's favourite band. Cue her horror when she realises the hot guy she had a chance encounter with, was the singer from a cheesy band she hates. I did really laugh at Oliver's reaction to her dismissal.

The Heartbreakers is a coming of age story. It's about tackling difficult problems and overcoming your own insecurities. The book focuses on Stella and her trip with the band, but also on her relationships with Drew and Cara. I really liked Alec, Xander and JJ (the other guys in the band), and would happily read more about them. I did keep expecting Cara to end up with one of them. 

The story is sweet but it's also really sad in places (have a few tissues at the ready). The relationship between Stella, Cara and Drew was really sweet and I liked how the other two challenged Stella to branch out. 

Oliver and Stella were extremely sweet together and as much as I don't like insta-love relationships I don't mind it so much in YA stories. Their relationship reminded me of the kid's movie Starstruck (yes I have seen it). I did have a few issues with their age because they seemed to alter between behaving like much younger and more immature teens, to having adult problems. As much as I enjoyed the sweet relationship between Stella and Oliver I wasn't entirely convinced by the reality of their romance, but this didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story. My teenage self would have loved the idea of ending up with my favourite singer - there's no chance I'm telling you who that was.

3.5 Stars in my Sky!

ARC Review: Summoner - The Novice

The Novice - Summoner #1 by Taran Matharu

YA goodness!!!
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What they say: When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs. 

Coming by 5th May by Hodder Children's/Hachette Children's - ISBN: 9781444923971

Author & Book Links:
Wattpad * Twitter * Goodreads 
Pre-order:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

What I say: Wow! I loved The Novice and it made a fab change to read about a young male character written by a guy. I didn't read the book when it started on wattpad and so I approached the series a complete novice (like what I did there?), but I thoroughly enjoyed every page and am looking forward to seeing what happen next. 
I don't often like to describe one book as being like another or something similar, but with The Novice if you take elements of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Throne of Glass, Game of Thrones and merge it with Pokemon (yes, Pokemon) then you're still nowhere near, but are on the right track!

Fletcher lives in a strange kind of fantasy world where orcs, elves, dwarfs and demons exist. Humans have different relationships with these creatures ranging from hostile to sort of friendly, to outright enemies. Summoners have the ability to summon demons to fight the evil orcs. Fletcher finds himself training with other trainees at a special academy which reminded me of an uber competitive version of Hogwarts.

I really liked Fletcher because he wasn't willing to accept the class and race system for what it was. He challenges the accepted norm and looks out for everybody. He is impatient but isn't mean or nasty, and most importantly, he's extremely loyal.

I appreciated that The Novice was all about action and the trainees learning their craft, rather than some big love triangle. The secondary characters work well (although I did get a little confused with a couple of their names being similar at times). I had my suspicions about the ending (don't worry NO SPOILERS here) and although I did turn about to be right about one big event, it didn't in any way lessen my enjoyment of the book and I cannot wait to see what happens next after that cliffy!

4 - 4.5 Stars in my Sky!