Review: More than This by Jay McLean

More than This by Jay McLean

Published: August 20^th 2013

Number of pages: 318 (paperback) 

Series: Yes, #1 

*Mikayla*
In one night my fairytale ended. Or it may have begun. This is my story of friendship and love, heartbreak and desire, and the strength to show weakness.

*Jake*
One night I met a girl. A sad and broken girl, but one more beautiful than any other. She laughed through her sadness, while I loved through her heartbreak.

*This is our story of a maybe ever after.*

He was right. It made no difference whether it was 6 months or 6 years.

I couldn’t undo what had been done. I couldn’t change the future.

I couldn’t even predict it.

It was one night.

One night when everything changed.

It was so much more than just the betrayal.

It was the Tragedy. 

The Deaths. 

The Murders.

But it was also that feeling.

The feeling of falling.

 **Mature Reader Advised. Language and Sexual content.** (goodreads)

“When they reach us, they each do that weird, bro code, handshake, fist bump, shoulder slap, half hug greeting”

   This book. No, but seriously, this book.
   When I first saw it on GoodReads, I got really interested in it. Partially because of the cover. So, shortly thereafter I jumped over to amazon and ordered it. 3 days later it got delivered and I dived into it, after finishing the last book in the Vampire Academy-Series. And, in all honesty, I finished reading it within less than 24 hours. I mean, it’s not really long but the beginning was just really funny and I couldn’t stop reading.
   So, the story is very simple and, again, quite unrealistic, but that’s all right. It’s a nice contemporary and thus doesn’t have to be realistic. The beginning is straight out hilarious. I was constantly laughing, so much I’m sure my mom thinks I’m crazy. Sometimes around 30-40% in, I was sure that if it stays this way, I will surely give it 5 Stars because it was just what I expected and it was just what I needed.
   BUT, somewhere around 60-65% in, I started to slowly change my mind. By the time I was done, I was FAR away from giving it 5 Stars. I’m sorry. The situation between Mikayla and Jack got so frustrating, annoying and ridiculous that I was about to put the book down and not finish it, because it ruined the awesomeness of the first half of the book. And I must say, I find it very sad that it somehow went so downhill. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, or maybe there are more people who think that way, but at some point I was just like “People, just get your shit together or just split up finally!”

   Mikayla is a very funny and likable character and I really felt sorry for her and what she had to go through. Sometimes her reactions to certain things were a little bit weird and her logic was just so far off in the second half of the book, it was simply frustrating. Well, maybe that was the whole point. I don’t know.
   Jack, well, he was a very gentleman like character. Very funny, loving and simply not real. I mean, in the real world there are just no men who would be just this loving and caring, especially not toward a girl they just met. But, maybe that’s exactly why I liked him, and everybody else likes him. But, also he had a few moments where his reactions to certain things were just extremely weird and exaggerated to a point where it was also scary. Like, his jealousy was just WAY over the top.

   Anyways, something that also annoyed me a little, was the fact that the book has no page numbers. I don’t know, maybe that’s just my copy or maybe it was made that was on purpose, however it might be, I found it really annoying.
   I really like the cover. I like the color scheme and the softness of it. It fits the story nicely and it was definitely the first thing that drew me towards buying it. Another thing that stood out were all the references to music, like Justin Bieber or One Direction, but also to books – The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, which I love as you guys know. This was something that I have not seen so often yet, and thus I found it really nice and it was used in a very comical way. Especially the version of J. Biebers “Baby” that her father, I believe, sang on page two of the first chapter. I immediately had to read it to a friend of mine, and so share the laughs with her.

   All in all, the book is funny and a nice, light read. The first half is really amazing, funny and cute, but the second half kind of killed it for me. If you are looking out to read something light, like a nice summer contemporary, then this is definitely a book for you. 

“Apparently some new Nicholas Sparks movie is being filmed here, and that ‘Zac Teflon’ boy from the high school movies is in town.”

I give More than This by Jay McLean 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Mini Book Haul

    Hello!
   So, because I'm currently suffering through the worst 3 weeks that I had ever to suffer through in all my years of school, also known as Finals-season, my mom decided to cheer me up. And, because I am who I am, my mom knew exactly with what to cheer me up: books!

   And these are the books I ended up ordering. 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Published: October 23rd 2012

Number of pages: 527 (Paperback)

Series: Yes, #2

   Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
   She can’t.
   She used to think her problems were all in her head.
   They aren’t.
   She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.
   She’s wrong.
   In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next? (goodreads)

   Yes, I know I already own a copy of this book, but only the Kindle version, so I had to buy the paperback so I could add it to my collection and have it standing on my bookshelf next to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. 

Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender

Published: June 22^nd 2010

Number of pages: 346 (Paperback)

Series: Yes, #1 

When Alexis' little sister, Kasey, becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough for the girls to see their breath. Kasey is changing too. Her blue eyes go green, and she uses old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore? (goodreads) 

   Well, I really like creepy stories so I decided to give this one a try. The last creepy book, which freaked me out more than it should have, was 172 Hours on the Moon, which I read a few months back, so now it’s time for a new freak out story. Dear, Bad Girls Don’t Die, please don’t disappoint me. 

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaria

Published: May 1^st 2014

Number of pages: 327 (paperback) 

Series: No 

   It begins as an assignment for English class: write a letter to a dead person - any dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain - he died young, and so did Laurel's sister May - so maybe he'll understand a bit of what Laurel is going through. Soon Laurel is writing letters to lots of dead people - Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart... it's like she can't stop. And she'd certainly never dream of handing them in to her teacher. She writes about what it's like going to a new high school, meeting new friends, falling in love for the first time - and how her family has shattered since May died.

   But much as Laurel might find writing the letters cathartic, she can't keep real life out forever. The ghosts of her past won't be contained between the lines of a page, and she will have to come to terms with growing up, the agony of losing a beloved sister, and the realisation that only you can shape your destiny. A lyrical, haunting and stunning debut from the protégé of Stephen Chbosky (THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER). (goodreads) 

   I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this book since it first came out, but, because I already had spent way too much on the complete box set of Vampire Academy, I didn’t have the possibility of buying it. But now, finally, it is mine! 

More Than This by Jay McLean

Published: August 20^th 2013

Number of pages: 318 (paperback) 

Series: Yes, #1 

*Mikayla*

In one night my fairytale ended. Or it may have begun. This is my story of friendship and love, heartbreak and desire, and the strength to show weakness.

*Jake*

One night I met a girl. A sad and broken girl, but one more beautiful than any other. She laughed through her sadness, while I loved through her heartbreak.

*This is our story of a maybe ever after.*

He was right. It made no difference whether it was 6 months or 6 years.

I couldn’t undo what had been done. I couldn’t change the future.

I couldn’t even predict it.

It was one night.

One night when everything changed.

It was so much more than just the betrayal.

It was the Tragedy.

The Deaths.

The Murders.

But it was also that feeling.

The feeling of falling.

**Mature Reader Advised. Language and Sexual content.** (goodreads) 

   So, these are the 4 books I ordered. And, I must say I’m really surprised that they are mostly contemporaries and not, which would be more typical for me, some dystopian stuff. I wanted to order After the End by Amy Plum, BUT, I started to read the beginning, which you can read on amazon, and I don’t know, it just didn’t really convince me to buy it. Oh well, maybe next time.

   And this is all for today.

   Cheerio!