Bookmas Day 1 — Dangerous Girls Recommendation

♫On the second day of Bookmas, the book blogger gave to me, a book rec for a mystery...♫

It's officially the first day of Bookmas! And as promised, here is my first post... a recommendation of
one of the best books I read during this year, a book called Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas.

Have you ever read a book that left you questioning your existence and sitting in a pool of your own tears and horror? That is what Dangerous Girls did to me. It is enthralling, mind-bending, incomprehensible and un-put-down-able. I started reading it just casually, and I didn't put it down again until I'd read the whole thing cover to cover. Then, I proceeded to reread the book, because I could not imagine reading anything else. I went through a brief Dangerous Girls-induced reading slump, because it was just so good, I couldn't read anything else.

Dangerous Girls is a psychological thriller/murder mystery, so now you probably understand why I love it so much. Except, believe me when I say, this is THE BEST psych thriller I have ever read, the best mystery I've ever read, and I'm deeply upset that I didn't write this book.

Dangerous Girls follows the journey of a group of friends who are spending their spring break in Aruba, enjoying an adult-free, responsibility-free, repercussions-free holiday. Our main character, Anna, is so happy with her life. She has an amazing best friend, Elise, and an amazing boyfriend, Tate. The three of them and a few other friends begin their holiday shopping, drinking, partying, relaxing at the beach. But then, Elise is found brutally murdered in their holiday house, and someone must pay for her death.

Whilst dealing with her best friend's death and the deterioration of her life and everything she ever knew, she is faced with vile accusations, and she and Tate are under suspicion for Elise's murder. Anna must now fight for her innocence in a foreign country, discover horrific and painful truths about friendship and love, and wait anxiously for the judge's decree.

The writing in this book is perfect for it. It is enthralling, and the way it is structured, with time jumps, TV and phone call show transcripts and more, makes this book impossible to put down. It's so messed up and intense, don't allow yourself to be fooled by the jovial start, the friendly banter of the group. This book gets progressively more twisted, until you find yourself wondering how these kids are even the same ones from the start.

The characters are all well rounded and developed, and they're all shown just a little bit guilty. It's easy to get lost in the story and the characters, to be hanging off every word and wondering who did it. I fell into the world and the pages dissolved in my fingers as I read, because I was so desperate to know, to get more of it.

This book is just so good, I don't think I can fully explain without spoilers, but everything about it is twisted and crazy and breathtaking. The best way for me to describe this book is that it's like not being able to exhale until you finish the book, because you just simply cannot breathe properly until you know.

I would highly, highly recommend this book, and I am so excited to read and review Dangerous Boys, the sequel, which I already own! This book would be perfect for fans of Lauren Oliver, and books like Cooper Bartholomew Is Dead and Beautiful Dead.

If you know of any good psych thrillers similar to Dangerous Girls, let me know, because they are my jam! This is exactly the sort of book I looooove. If you want to discuss this book, because let's be real it's so mental and upside-down you just need to talk about it, contact me and we can rant and discuss! As per usual, you can contact me via any of my socials if you want to recommend me a book, discuss a book, talk business things like ARCs, or just to say hi! And, of course, my email is always open — mywordsarearrows@gmail.com.

I hope you have enjoyed the first day of Bookmas, and I'll see you tomorrow with another post!

Lily xo

12 Days of Bookmas

Wow, I truly am the worst blogger in the history of book blogging. Sorry for being so inactive over November! NaNoWriMo was surprisingly hard this year, and I've been in a reading slump (the horror... it's been tricky!), and so naturally, with a lack of reading going on, there is a lack of posting as a result.

But fortunately, I am going to make it up to you with a new MWAA tradition... 12 Days of Bookmas! On the twelve days leading up to Christmas, the most wonderful event of the entire year, I will be posting every single day. Yep, that's right, twelve posts in twelve days! I hope this will make up for my flakiness during the last few months.

Bookmas by My Words Are Arrows will involve a different sort of post every single day. I don't want to spoil anything, but there will be a review, a recommendation plus loads more, including the long awaited My True Love Gave To Me photoshoot that was pushed back from last year due to a calamity you can read about here. There might even be some goodies and downloadable Christmas presents from me, because I love you guys and I want you to have a Merry Christmas too! <3

Bookmas will start on the 14th of December and will run until the 26th. After Bookmas, I'm going to take a short break to get some reading done, and to spend time with my friends and family, and then in the new year, my usual every-Sunday posting schedule will continue.

I'm also going to be accepting Spirit Book applications once more over Bookmas! If you're in need of a book recommendation that is completely personalized by yours truly, click the link and check out if my Spirit Book campaign is for you :)

Once again, sorry for being so inconsistent! I can't wait for Bookmas, and I hope you can't either. See you soon for My Words Are Arrows' 12 Days of Bookmas!

Love, Lily xoxo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY WORDS ARE ARROWS!

Hello! It is a very exciting day, because once more it is My Words Are Arrows' birthday! I don't have anything planned to post today, other than an expression of my gratitude.

It has been two years since I decided, on a whim, to start a blog so I could inflict share my opinions with others on the internet. I started out writing poorly structured reviews for books I'd read, with no real schedule. Since then, I have posted almost 100 times, met and talked to several amazing authors (including but not limited to: Jennifer Niven, Cassandra Clare and Holly Black), written, edited and published my own novel, signed almost 100 copies of my book, signed alongside award-winning YA author Claire Zorn, spoken at Book Week events and attended my own book launch.

I can't actually explain how happy it makes me to know that people not only enjoy reading my posts, but also actively keep up with my recommendations and decide to spend their own time reading books I've suggested. I think my goal starting this blog was to make friends, to interact with other people who loves books too, and I've managed to go above and beyond that in my time here. I've made so many friends, whether they be fellow bloggers, writers or just book lovers, everyone who I've met has added something different and unique to my blogging, reading and writing experience, and I'm so grateful to you all.

I have put my heart into not only the blog posts but also the writing I post and sell through MWAA,

and to have people say they value it and loved it makes me feel unimaginable joy. I cannot adequately describe the feeling I get when I receive emails from people telling me how much they loved my book or a particular post. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world, for me.

This blog is something I have worked extremely hard on over the last few years. Even though I miss a Sunday every now and then (trust me, no one is angrier at me than myself on those days), MWAA has become a part of me and I love it to pieces.

Sorry I don't really have any proper things to share on this momentous occasion! I'm still working on my NaNoWriMo project, and you can read some snippets of it in my last post, if you missed it.

Until next time, thank you so much for reading MWAA, I value you so much.

I'll see you soon with a proper post.

Lily xoxo

NaNoWriMo 2015!

Hey! Sorry this post is a week late, but I've been so busy with, you guessed it, National Novel Writing Month!

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is where writers all around the world band together to write a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November. Last year, I wrote Hide And Seek, my debut novel, in NaNoWriMo, and here I am again!

This year, I'm writing another psychological thriller/mystery. It's an odd mix of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Lauren Oliver. It's been stretching my writing skills, that's for sure! This is the first time I've written in present-tense third-person, so I've been playing around with that and figuring out how to use it most effectively. I'm also finding a challenge in my characterization, due to the fact these characters I'm writing are so odd and distant and unreliable as narrators. I'm very used to writing honest, lovable characters (eg. Ellie from Hide And Seek), and so it's been fun and also difficult to play around with them and see just how they work and interact with one another.

I wrote a little synopsis for the story on my NaNo profile page, which you can read below:

The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues…

Under the shining, freshly polished face of the Hawthorne Academy, there's dark secrets, twisted lies and dangerous students.

There's fights, parties, challenges… and murder.

Gemma Stone's death brings along with it police investigators, reporters, and a whole lot of suspicion. The girls at Hawthorne have been getting away with everything for centuries. It's part of their identity. But will Gemma Stone's death unmask their darkest secrets, exposing them to the retribution they know all too well they deserve?

It's not the best summary for the story, but if it intrigues you, let me know! I've been wanting to write it for ages, and it seems to be coming together okay. I also have a few excerpts to share with you! Throughout the month, I will try to keep you guys updated with not only my progress but also bits of my story. Here are some snippets from the (completely unedited!) manuscript:

And so Esmerine has never worried about going under a car as she runs across the darkened highway. She has never worried about the water that might spill into her lungs as she tries to escape the ropes the hold her at the bottom of the river. She has never worried that the amount of foreign substance she puts into her body will do her harm, because she does not care if her death comes about playing dangerous games with dangerous girls on the fringes of school property. If her end comes in the form of squealing, cheering girls, short dresses, her lipstick smudged on her perfect collar, her youth glowing on her face as the light drains from her eyes, she will be content. Better than being bored, as she always said.

***

“People think I murdered Gemma,” she says quietly.

Esmerine shrugs. “People think many things. Did you know that, according to the first years in Mr Roberts’ English class, I have an exotic European boyfriend who whisks me away each night, and showers me in endless gifts? What a fanciful life I lead!” she says. She speaks with her hands, they punctuate her words and add a new level of crazy to conversing with her.

“Do you think I killed Gemma?” Olive asks, her voice steely.

Esmerine laughs. “God, no. Well, I don’t think so. You never know… You’ve got to be careful of the pretty, innocent ones,” she says, tapping Olive’s cheek. She lowers her voice. “They are, sometimes, the maddest.”

Olive doesn’t know what to make of this. There isn’t much consolation in Esmerine’s half-trust in her. The way Esmerine smiles makes it seem as if she knows all Olive’s secrets. Perhaps she does. Wouldn’t be surprising. Esmerine seems to know everything; and she’s unexpectedly smart.

“Did you kill her?” It’s not a question she expects to be answered truthfully. But then again, Esmerine is so insane, she transcends all expectations Olive seems to have.

Esmerine just grins. “Good question! Do you think so, Amateur Detective James? Look at the evidence, darling, and make your deductions!” She draws out her words, mocking.

Olive rolls her eyes and shoves her way past Esmerine. “I have things to do. Things that don’t involve conserving with power-obsessed, emotionally dry lunatics.”

 So there are some snippets from the story! Let me know what you think in the comments below or via any of my socials or even through a message on the NaNoWriMo website, if you are also participating. I'd love to know what you think!

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo this year and you would like to friend me, go to my page and add me! Send me a message letting me know you came from my blog and I'll add you back and we can be writing buddies! I'm so excited to keep writing and updating you all, and I'd love some more buddies to write with this month.

I'll see you with another post and some more updates on my progress soon!

Lily xo

Queen Of Shadows Review

Throne Of Glass is one of my favourite books of all time. I am opening with that statement because

not only is it true, but it is also completely necessary to keep in mind throughout this review. I am also going to state here that Celaena, Nehemia, Manon, Chaol and Dorian are some of my favourite characters of all time. I love this series, and reading the first two books makes my little heart soar. However, things started to go somewhat downhill in Heir Of Fire, but I still had faith that Sarah J Maas had a plan, that the questionable content and characterisation in HOF was completely intentional, and written into the SJM Throne Of Glass Masterplan.

But after reading Queen Of Shadows, the fourth installment in one of my favourite series ever, I'm just slightly confused and vaguely offended that SJM thinks her readers are so dumb they wouldn't notice the abrupt, poorly justified shift in characterisation and in relationship dynamics between characters.

In saying that, QOS is a good book. If I set it apart from the series, and pretend that these characters are not the same ones as in TOG, COM and HOF,  then I would give the book five stars. It is impeccably written, has a beautiful plot and despite it's 644 pages, never really has a dull moment. And there is (probably) nothing SJM could ever do to make me hate this series (THAT IS NOT A CHALLENGE PLS SJM DON'T TRY). Although, in my opinion, this book was way out of character and a complete shift in plot from the earlier books, I still have some faith that SJM will pull it back (not in the way I would want it to be, but I'll get to that in the spoiler section).

If you've read the first three books and are questioning whether to continue, especially because of the sheer amount of negative reviews circulating, then I'd say yeah, it's worth continuing. As I mentioned, some characters are ripped to shreds in terms of characterisation (disclaimer: if you love Chaol like I do, please beware. Your heart may be squashed almost as much as his character was), but it's still a fantastic book.

You can check it out on goodreads here, and read the synopsis below:

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

If you haven't read QOS, beware of the spoilers below!

***SPOILERS***

Queen Of Shadows has me very conflicted. And you can bet you'll read about why I'm conflicted very shortly, but first I'm going to talk about why this was a fantastic book.

Sarah J Maas is an incredible writer. She uses her words so nicely and she is a master at world building. When reading her books, I am constantly in awe of how spectacular she is at creating such vibrant and complex fantasy worlds.

And this book was no different. The setting was so intense and beautiful and scary, it makes for the perfect backdrop in an epic fantasy series like this. The mythology and the depth of ancient magic and folklore was just incredibly beautiful to watch develop and unfold even further, despite being in the fourth book of the series. Nothing is surface-deep in SJM's books. Everything is intricately built, carefully constructed so that the reader truly understands the way Terrasen will start to flourish again, the exact way the Valg demons take and possess people, and the way they are destroyed. No corners are cut in terms of world-building, and SJM never skirts over complications or leaves any plot holes.

I was also incredibly happy to see elements of the novellas (The Assassin's Blade) pop up in QOS, like Lysandra, whom I'll talk more about shortly, Aelin's time in the Red Desert, and Aelin's tense relationship with Arobynn. The way SJM subtly expanded on these themes really added depth to not only the novellas and the series, but to Aelin's character.

Lysandra slowly became my favourite character in this book, because of how Aelin and Chaol were treated (which I will discuss later on). She was fiery, sharp-tongued, and wasn't afraid to do whatever to get what she wanted for herself and for those she loved. Her loyalty to Evangeline, Aelin and even Clarisse was so strong. Then, we later found out she was a shape-shifter, and this just added to my love for her. It was amazing to see her character expanded on and developed in an incredible way, after only seeing her in fleeting times during The Assassin's Blade. Even down to the fact that she shifted into a ghost leopard and saved Rowan and Aedion, and her friendship with Aelin. It was all so nice to see. Her fantastic characterisation almost made up for the travesty with other characters.

Let's discuss Rowan/Aelin, before I dive into the issues with Aelin and Chaol's characterisation and the mess that is Rowan/Celaena/Chaol. Rowan is a nice guy, I'm not disputing that at all. But honestly, we've all seen Rowan-esque characters before. Does Ash from the Iron Fey ring a bell? How about Tamlin, from SJM's other book, A Court Of Thorns And Roses? Regan, from City Of Halves? They're all the same character trope: the stoic, possessive male who is surprisingly loving and passionate when it comes to their slightly rambunctious love interests. All loosely supernatural, all boring. Rowan was funny at times, and I don't hate him by any stretch, but his character is just so overused. It was way more interesting when he and Celaena/Aelin were just friends, and their relationship was entirely platonic. When he helped her deal with her feelings for Chaol, and might have even helped them get back together. But no, SJM just had to completely change a clear, well written plotline and make Rowan/Aelin a thing.

And in theory, I have no problem with my ship (Chaolaena, if you hadn't already guessed) not being canon. It would hurt my soul a little, but if she wrote it well and made sense of it, I could look over it, because I'm not one of those crazy "make my ship canon or I will hunt you down and steal your fridge" fans. The thing that upsets me with the Rowan/Aelin/Chaol storyline is how flippant and weak Aelin's transition between the two was. In COM and even HOF, Celaena/Aelin was completely in love with Chaol. She said multiple times that he was her one and only, that she would always choose him. To me, that seems like a solid, endgame storyline. But in this book, she completely flip-flopped. She decided that she had literally no feelings for Chaol whatsoever, which just doesn't make any sense in comparison to things she said in TOG, COM and HOF. It's just not consistent.

On top of that, the progression from platonic to romantic in regards to Rowan and Aelin was ridiculous and unbelievable. It was clearly said multiple times in HOF that they were completely platonic, just friends due to AELIN'S FEELINGS FOR CHAOL!!! So why, all of a sudden, did they just decide they were in love with one another? If this progression had been written well and over time, maybe it would've been more believable. Check out this quote from page 250, from Rowan's perspective, about Aelin:

"While they'd been in Wendlyn, it had taken him a while to realize she was beautiful. Months, actually, to really notice it. And for the past few weeks, against his better judgement, he'd thought often about that face."

Last time I checked, it normally doesn't take supposed "soulmates" months to realise the other is beautiful. What a flimsy attempt to create a somewhat "instalove" style relationship. As I said on twitter, whilst live-tweeting as I read, I'm not buying it.

Now, let's discuss the biggest problem I had with this book — my poor baby Chaol's characterisation. Chaol in the earlier books was calm, loyal, protective and conflicted. He was an amazing friend to Dorian and Celaena, and he took his job and loyalties seriously. He was filled with self-loathing, and always blamed himself for everything. He trusted and loved Celaena and Dorian, and was incredibly selfless and loving.

In the first few pages, we see Chaol get furious at Aelin, as soon as she returns. He picks a fight with her, blaming her for the horrific things that happened in her absence, even though he was the one to ship her off to Wendlyn to start with (an action proving his selflessness, loving nature and deeply ingrained self hatred — he gave up the woman he loved and pretty much any chance of being with her so that she could reach her full potential and take back what was hers). The young man we saw in TOG, COM and even HOF was calm, collected and selfless. This immature, insolent boy we see in QOS is hostile, angry and short-tempered. His character shift was completely unexplained and so abrupt I could barely believe I was reading about Chaol.

In addition to this, Chaol was in love with Celaena, just as she was him. Similarly to Celaena, his feelings seemed to be stamped out so quickly, him moving on so fast, I was so confused. Love like Chaolaena had doesn't just disappear the way SJM portrayed it, not at all. He was stubborn, obnoxious and constantly put himself and his agenda first. He acted like a sulky child, which was just so out of character. Of course, all these things only happened when he was actually mentioned. For a major character, he was degraded to such a minor role. He only had a few short chapters in his point of view here and there, and most of the time, his actual thoughts and opinions weren't recorded, only his observations and actions. I even started to think he might have had a demon in him, too. He was simply pushed to the side for convenience, to make room for Rowan and to ignore the one gaping plot hole — where the heck did Chaolaena go?

I was so upset at the way Chaol was treated in this book. He was such an interesting, caring, intricate character that was completely ripped to shreds in the process of tearing the story away from its natural progression and setting it on a whole other route. It was unfair on his character and the readers, and so this is the main reason why this book could never be five stars or perfect by any means to me.

Okay I spent ages discussing characters and very little time discussing actual plot, so to keep things (somewhat) short, I'll quickly talk about the plot here. In this book, we see a build up to the killing of the King, the rescuing of Dorian and Aelin claiming her place as Queen of Terrasen. I am excited to see how Aelin rules, and what will happen next (hopefully Chaol will be avenged!!). I was particularly fond of Manon, the Wing Leader of the Blackbeak witches. We finally got to see her interact with Aelin and the other main characters, and I loved the relationship she had with Aelin. I loved the message she left for her on the wall — it just gave me chills. I really want to see more of her in the next book (and possibly watch her kill her grandmother and take control of the clan... Just an idea!).

I was also really fond of the Arobynn storyline. I am so glad he's dead, after what he did to Celaena and Sam and Lysandra, and I think Lysandra killing him was just perfect. I love that she felt no guilt, that she killed him and never looked back. And when Aelin switched the wills, I laughed so hard, because she felt like Celaena again, and I truly did miss Celaena in this book. I feel like Aelin and Celaena are slightly different people, and I feel that Celaena isn't nearly as heartless or cruel as Aelin portrayed her to be. Celaena was brave and calculating and funny, and in my opinion, less hard and bloodthirsty than Aelin, anyways. Throughout the book, Aelin killed and threatened to kill without any shred of remorse, whereas Celaena always felt remorse and the weight of her actions.

What did you think of Queen Of Shadows? I am aware that it is a highly debated book, and very divisive, too. If you want to share your opinion, let me know in the comments or via any of my socials. My question for you is — what are your ships in the TOG series, platonic or otherwise? I'm still holding tight to Chaolaena, even though I highly, highly doubt it'll be endgame. I also have strong feelings about Chaol/Dorian as a brotp, Manon/Asterin, and even a bit of Lysandra/Dorian, even though they've never met. I just feel like they'd get on really, really well.

If you want to contact me about business, my book or just to say hi, shoot me an email to mywordsarearrows@gmail.com. You can also friend me on goodreads and like my facebook page to keep up to date on what I'm reading and posting about.

Have a wonderful day, and I'll see you here next week with another post!

Lily xoxo

I Am Princess X Recommendation

So for this week's recommendation, I have a pretty unique book to show you. It's a little bit graphic novel, it's a little bit super hero comic, it's a little bit YA contemporary, it's a little bit Nancy Drew-style mystery. It was so interesting and fun, and I really enjoyed it.

It's called I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, and it's a recent release, published earlier this year in May. You can check the goodreads profile for it here, and read the synopsis below:

Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure.

Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.

Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.

Princess X? 

When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon---her best friend, Libby, who lives.

If that and the beautiful cover doesn't intrigue you, I don't know what will. The book, which focuses heavily on Princess X and her story, features snippets from the web comic about the Princess. It also has beautiful little drawings, illustrations and splashes of purple throughout it. The cover is spectacular, for sure, but the interior design (of the hardcover copy, at least... I don't know about any other medium) is gorgeous. The chapters all have a brilliant purple header of Princess X, and the book physically is so beautiful I was tempted to buy it without even looking it up on goodreads.

Not only is the book's design, interior and exterior, spectacular, but the story is also incredibly intriguing and cutesy. The main character, May, although a tiny bit dry, is our narrator most of the time, in third person. She is dedicated and loyal, and a through-and-through conspiracy theorist. She meets many other friends, including a snarky, law-bending hacker and a peroxide blonde punk in her quest to figure out who is behind the new Princess X site and whether Libby is still alive.

Though the book is somewhat childish in its nature, with very tame, comic book like themes, the clues and the actual mystery is captivating and keeps you guessing. The parallels between the Princess X web comic and the actual storyline May is living are spine-tingling to watch unfold, and you will start to piece together the mystery, slowly, for yourself.

It's not the most intellectual mystery ever, but it's a cute, adorable tale of bravery, super heroes and friendship. May and Libby will make you want to grab a friend and create things together, and their friendship is wonderful to read. In saying that, this book does get dark in its themes at time, with murder and serial killers and psychopaths, but the way it's written, with comic book style motifs and lovable characters, makes it hard to be too menacing.

I would recommend this book to anyone in need of a fluffy, cutesy, original contemporary with a bit of a mystery and a happy ending. I would suggest it to fans of comics like Ms Marvel, and books like E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History Of Frankie Landau-Banks, and other books with mysteries, friendship and strong female role models.

If you do read I Am Princess X, and you'd like to discuss with me, contact me via the comments below, or any of my socials (in the banner at the top of my blog, under the header). If you'd like to contact me for business, my book, or just to chat, send me an email: mywordsarearrows@gmail.com :)

You can also add me as a friend on goodreads, or like my facebook page, to keep up to date with what I'm reading and posting.

Hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you soon with another post!

Lily xoxo

Vanishing Girls Review

Hey! So today I'm going to be reviewing Vanishing Girls, Lauren Oliver's latest book. I bought this

book shortly after it was released, because I love Lauren Oliver, especially her YA psych thrillers (Before I Fall and Panic). So naturally, I wanted to buy this book (the beautiful cover and title certainly helped, as well).

This book was really interesting, and it was the first book in ages that I've read and actually not wanted to put down. The characters were interesting and had such depth, and the story was twisted and very confusing at times, which is just the way I like my psych thrillers.

You can check it out on goodreads here, and the synopsis is below:

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.

I really liked this book. I found it edgy and emotional, and a constant rollercoaster of emotion. I don't think it deserves the 3.6 average on goodreads at all.

If you read a lot of psych thrillers, however, you quite possibly will not be as shocked at the plot and the resolution as someone who's new to them... If you've never read a psych thriller, I would highly recommend starting with Vanishing Girls, it's a great introduction to the genre and will most likely get you hooked on this style.

So if you haven't read Vanishing Girls and you'd like to, go get yourself a copy, read it, and come back here to discuss!

***SPOILERS*** (LIKE MAJOR SPOILERS THIS TIME... IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK AND WANT TO ENJOY IT AT ALL PLS DON'T SCROLL DOWN! THERE ARE ALSO SPOILERS FOR WE WERE LIARS BY E. LOCKHART SO BEWARE OF THAT TOO)

Where to start? This book was so intricately created, and despite being a huge fan of psychological thrillers I didn't see the twist... But I'll get to that later.

This book is not really all that original, plot wise. We read books like We Were Liars and Mara Dyer, which have similar themes, similar twists and similar issues for the main characters. The reason I enjoyed Vanishing Girls so much, is not just because I am a complete sucker for psych thrillers and this storyline, but because of the characters and the writing. Lauren Oliver is truly an artist with her words, and I am constantly marveling at the way she writes, and the way she manages to weave the beautiful language she does into an angsty YA. For example, the following quotes:

“Sometimes people stop loving you. And that's the kind of darkness that never gets fixed, no matter how many moons rise again, filling the sky with a weak approximation of light.”

 “I guess that's the really nice thing about disappearing: the part where people look for you and beg you to come home.” 

“This is it: somehow, in these pictures, the mystery of the accident is contained, and the explanation for Dara's subsequent behavior, for the silences and disappearances. Don't ask me how. I just do. If you don't understand that, I guess you've never had a sister” 

That last quote also highlights another of my favourite aspects of this story — the relationship between Dara and Nick. As the eldest of three girls, I can understand and relate quite intensely to books that portray sister relationships well (like Isla And The Happily Ever After). I of all people understand how complicated and intense relationships between sisters can be, and I feel like Dara and Nick's dynamic was really interesting. I loved that they were best friends, that they had quite a good relationship before the accident. I feel like, in YA, we see a lot of tense relationships, especially between sisters (like in The Protected, the book that won CBCA Award for 2015) which are good and fun to explore, but it was nice to see sisters who have a deep, complex relationship, that is not perfect, that is flawed, but is so much deeper than any other friendship could be. It was also incredibly sad to see that, in Nick's hallucinations of Dara, Dara hated her. I didn't think about this until after I finished the book, because I didn't guess the twist, but it's heartbreaking to think that Nick thought Dara would hate her that much. It just adds even deeper meaning and intricacy to this beautiful, sad, complex relationship.

A thing that kind of caught me with this book was the timeline. The jumping back and forth was effective, but it was hard to follow at times. The book needed the time jumps, but it was sometimes had to distinguish whether I was reading a before or after chapter, and I often had to skip back to check. I feel like I would've liked a little bit more material from before the accident, just because I would really have liked to see the relationship between Dara and Nick in action.

Then we have the whole Parker issue. This made me feel a little icky, not only because Parker was so flip-floppy in his feelings for Dara/Nick, and I couldn't really figure him out. It also made me uneasy, because I hate the whole two-girls-fighting-over-one-boy trope, especially with sisters. However, Lauren Oliver did it in a way that wasn't at all horrific, and it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. In fact, I think it definitely helped build on the relationship between the two. I just didn't care all that much who Parker ended up with, and I probably would prefer him with neither of them.

The twist. HEY GUESS WHAT DARA'S ACTUALLY DEAD!!! I mean, this is such a popular plot resolution, I probably should have guessed it. But, I really just did not even think of it. I was too busy hoping that Dara was okay, that she'd be rescued, to even comprehend it. I've seen some people call it a "cop-out" story ending, and although I agree with that in some ways, I don't think its entirely true. Yes, it is an easy way to end a story, but as a writer, you cannot write an ending like that on a whim. Building a convincing story around a plot twist like that is not easy, and I congratulate authors like Oliver and E. Lockhart for executing it in a way that an avid psych thriller reader and book reviewer like myself could not guess. I do think it's an easier way to resolve a novel than writing an actual avenging/rescuing/reunion scene, but it can much more emotional and compelling, especially if it really is unexpected. The way Oliver managed to build the story around something like this was really quite incredible, and extremely hard to pick.

We Were Liars has a similar twist, and I didn't guess it in that book, either. However, it was the first time I'd read a book like that, and I feel like Vanishing Girls was much more subtle. I liked both books and their twists, but they were executed quite differently, and thinking about them in contrast with on another, I feel like it may be slightly easier to pick We Were Liars.

Just because the twist is slightly over-used and arguably predictable for some, doesn't mean it didn't hurt my heart. I really liked Dara, and to think she was dead was extremely sad. I was really hoping for a scene where she and Nick could make up and start to rebuild their relationship from the ground again. It certainly got the desired emotional reaction from me.

So how did you feel about Vanishing Girls? I find it to be a rather divisive book, and there are a ton of different opinions out there, so I'd love to know yours! We can discuss in the comments, on my twitter, my tumblr, or you could even send me an email to mywordsarearrows@gmail.com. If you want to contact me about my book, business or just to say hi, feel free to contact me via any of the above mediums! You can also friend me on goodreads or like my facebook page to keep up to date with what I'm reading and when I post.

Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you soon with another post!

Lily xoxo