Book Review: Lucky Me by Saba Kapur

Title: LUCKY ME
Author: Saba Kapur
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing
Published: April 2016
Pages: 446
ISBN: 978-0-6925-3639-1
Price: $11.95 [Amazon]
Rating: 2/5 stars

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A jealous boyfriend, a manipulative arch nemesis, a creepy stalker, and a frustratingly good-looking bodyguard. Throw in some pom poms and a stolen cheer routine, and I was the definition of cliche." - Chapter Two

I know, you might be wondering why did I choose this kind of book at the first place? Lucky Me is definitely not my cup of tea. Please don’t judge. I was trying to explore new things. People who like this kind of story might give this book more than two stars. So, if you’re a fan, stop reading and find the review somewhere else. If you’re omnireader, or you have the same taste as me, keep going. I’ll explain more about the book.

Lucky Me is about a spoiled girl named Gia Winters who lived in a big mansion with her celebrity dad, Harry, and her brother, Mike. She had her good reputation, coolest squad in school, and the perfect boyfriend, Brendan. Saba Kapur did a really good job in writing the opening, I guess. It was written in form of fairy tale because Gia’s life is like fairy tale in Hollywood version. Her mom was also a celebrity, but she lived in different city. So, you can imagine how glamorous her life was right? For me, it was like reading Legally Blonde’s story (except Gia wasn’t that smart).

After the short and refreshing opening, I was brought to the point of the story. Danger. Yep. On the first chapter, Harry told his children that they could have been in danger because of something. That was why he hired bodyguard for each of them. The bodyguard would follow them everywhere, including pretended to be cousin when they were at school. Can you guess what happen next? If you’re smart, you must know that Gia’s bodyguard turned out to be super hot, super handsome, and super mysterious. I was like, seriously??

‘‘...a young, blonde-haired guy who was standing only an inch away. His eyes were blue, but not piercing, and I was standing close enough to see tiny bits of grey in them. He was the kind of attractive that you don’t come across too often, the kind that makes you all excited. He was the type of guy who you’d tell your friends asked for your number at a bar, when really all he did was walk past you.’’ – Chapter One

Everything after was predicted. Super cheesy. With the love triangle between Brendan, Gia, and Jack the bodyguard, I don’t understand why Kapur bothered to add one more guy to make Gia’s heart complicated. It was the cutie police. I know that a story comes from writer’s imagination, but sometimes you have to keep it real in order to make the reader feel related. I got bored easily and tended to skim. Kapur also described too many things in details. It wasn’t the fantasy kind of world. Most readers know how Hollywood’s life looks like. I think Lucky Me becomes a really thick book with no reason (sorry to say).

Book Tour & Giveaway: Penunggu Puncak Ancala

PENUNGGU PUNCAK ANCALA

-kisah horor para pendaki gunung-

Penulis: Indra Maulana, Sulung Hanum, Ageng Wuri,

Acen Trisusanto, Dea Sihotang

Penerbit: Bukune; Cetakan I, September 2013

ISBN: 602-220-113-6; Harga: Rp 30.400 (BukaBuku)

Aku dan teman-teman penasaran akan keberadaan kompleks makam Prabu Siliwangi di puncak Gunung Tampomas. Sesampainya di sana perasaanku jadi tidak enak. Ingin rasanya segera kembali ke tenda. Aku merasa... ada yang mengawasi.

Sesosokanak perempuan terlihat mengintip rombongan dari balik pohon. Siapa itu? Kulitnya hitam, bajunya lusuh, dan... Ah aku dibuatnya gemetaran, tapi kami saling berjanji untuk tetap diam jika menemukan keganjilan.

Perlahan, anak perempuan itu keluar dari persembunyiannya. Sepertinya tidak ada yang sadar bahwa kami tidak lagi bersepuluh melainkan sebelas. Karena dia kini mengikuti kami di barisan paling belakang. Dan... selama berjalan... lehernya yang hampir putus juga ikut bergoyang...

Alam tidak hanya menyuguhkan keindahan, tapi juga menyimpan banyak misteri, yang melahirkan rasa takut. Dan, ini adalah kisah kami, para pecinta alam yang ingin mengalahkan rasa takut. Dalam perjalanan mendaki gunung, menelusuri gua, menapaki hutan, kami bersentuhan dengan "mereka"--penghuni alam lain--yang membuat nyali ciut. Namun, bagi para petualang, ketakutan harus dihadapi, sebab, ke mana pun kami pergi, mereka akan selalu mengikuti....

Heretic

Judul: Heretic

Pengarang: Sarang Singleton

Penerbit: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Tahun Terbit: 2007

Jumlah Halaman: 328

Harga: Rp 35.000

Rating: ★★★

Heretic adalah orang yang memiliki opini berbeda dengan pihak berwajib atau penguasa ortodoks; memiliki kepercayaan agamis yang bertentangan dengan Gereja yang berkuasa--dari kata Yunani hairesis, yang berarti "memilih mengingkari kebenaran".

Elizabeth menemukan seorang gadis seusianya di hutan. Tingkahnya aneh dan tubuhnya berwarna hijau. Dia sama sekali tidak takut. Meski tidak banyak bicara, gadis itu memberitahukan namanya, Isabella Leland. Setelah membersihkan tempat pertapaan, dia berjanji untuk kembali menemui Isabella keesokan harinya.

Namun rencana tidak berjalan sesuai keinginan. Elizabeth harus pergi ke bukit spirit untuk menemani Lady Catherine. Entah kenapa Sang Lady ini sangat menyukai Elizabeth dan menghiraukan perkataan warga setempat tentang keluarga Elizabeth. Kerjaan Iggris tidak lagi memeluk Katolik. Semua gereja katolik dirubuhkan dan beberapa penganut bertahan, termasuk keluarga Elizabeth. Kedatangan kakaknya, Robert, bersama seorang Pastor tadi malam membuatnya tidak fokus. Dia takut keluarganya dalam bahaya. Pastor itu adalah orang yang paling dicari!

Kedatangan Marvile, seorang utusan istana, merunyamkan segalanya. Pria tampan dan kejam ini datang untuk mencari sang pastor dan keluarga Elizabeth dicurigai. Elizabeth merasa tertekan karena tidak bisa melakukan apapun. Untunglah, kedatangan Isabella di Bukit Spirit mengurangi bebannya. Isabella membantunya menyelamatkan sang pastor dan tentu saja keluarga Elizabeth. Dalam misi penyelamatan ini, Elizabeth berkunjung ke negeri bayangan dan bertemu Sang Ratu. Isabella pun harus merelakan adiknya.

Akankah penyelamatan mereka berhasil?

Hush

Title: Hush (Lakeview Series)
Author: Stacey R. Campbell
Publisher: Green Darner Press
Year Published: 2012

Price: $11.20
Rating: ★★★

Summary:

For small-town girl Blakely Henry, any hope of finding her biological parents died when she stopped believing in fairy tales and Disney princess. That is, until she spots her boarding school's new British exchange student, Max Ryder, staring at her. Why would a boy who looks like he stepped out of the pages of a magazine be looking at her? Because Max knows something Blakely doesn't. 

Following the tragic demise of one of Europe's most beloved royal families, Max has stumbled upon information he thinks may lead to a lost royal heir, and now he is on a quest halfway around the world to see if he's right. 

Sworn to secrecy by his university professor and the headmaster of Lakeview Academu, Max is admitted into an exchange program with the sole purpose of finding out the truth. But will his personal feelings for Blakely get in the way? When a stolen email surfaces, Blakely and her friends' lives are threatened, and Max starts to question what he is really after. From the exclusive rolling lawns of Canada's most prestigious boarding school to the University of Saint Andrews' hallowed grounds, Blakely's quiet, unassuming life is turned upside down. Is she really who she thinks she is? Can she survive long enough to help Max unearth the truth?

This e-ARC of this book was given to me FREE in exchange of honest review.
There might be a minor spoiler. You've been warned!

First of all, I totally like the cover. It's simple, vintage, and elegant. The story is good. It reminds me of Mia Thermapolis, The Princess of Genovia in The Princess Diaries movie. There were two main characters here. Blakely, who was a regular student in a boarding school, was adopted and never knew who her real parents were. She was a pretty popular student. Max Ryder was a colleger in St. Andrew. He did a project which occured him to pretend as an exchange student in Blakely's boarding school. He had to found out whether Blakely was the lost princess or not.

For me, the author describes Blakely and Max as too perfect people. Max was described like Alex Pettyfer (which is so damn cool!!) and well, Blakely just a hotty in school but she was hard to get. It would be nice if one of them wasn't so perfect. There were a lot of chapters in this book. You will be brought at 1993 at the first page and jump few years later where Blakely grew up in a good family. One thing about this book was that it was just too easy. I thought the story was predictable until that annoying jurnalist showed up! I think at that point the story became more interesting. I did hoped that the jurnalist would make more troubles, but he didn't. He was jailed by the bad parties and gone for the rest of the story. But there will be the next book, probably until four. I really hope the story will not only about Blakely and Max.

These are some question of the interview with the author on the few last pages:

Who is Blakely really?
The character of Blakely is loosely based on our oldest daughter. I wish there were a real Max for her, but at this point, she is still looking.

Where did you get the idea for Hush?
Every night, we gather around the table dinner. On one such evening, several years ago, we were discussing the British royal family. "Well, there's both Tudor and Middleton on my side of the family," my husband informed our girls. "Does that mean I could be a princess?" a much younger Blakely asked. "Only if several hundred people died first," I told her. "But what if that happened? What if there was some sort of big family reunion and they all died?" And the idea was born...

What motivated you to write Hush?
I wanted to do something with out oldest daughter. She had just started her first year at boarding school, and the loss of her in our day-to-day life was devastating. So, I thought, I'm going to write a book for her, and if I'm lucky, she will help me. I was lucky.

Are there plans for more Lakeview novels?
There are plans for at least two more Lakeview novels, one for each of our girls, and I am toying with an idea for a fourth. No, that does not mean we are having another baby.

Autumn

Title: Autumn (Dog Days #1)
Author: Sierra Dean
Publisher: Sierra Dean
Published: June 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Kobo / Nook
Rating: ★★★★

Cooper Reynolds's life is going to the dogs...literally.As if being a high school senior in a small Texas town wasn't hard enough, Cooper has bigger things to worry about than who he'll take to prom and whether or not the Poisonfoot Padres will win homecoming. He has less than a year before his eighteenth birthday, when a curse placed on his family will doom him to live in coyote form forever.The last thing he needs to complicate his already messed-up life is a girl, but fate has other plans in mind for him when it brings Eloise "Lou" Whittaker to Poisonfoot. She's grouchy, sarcastic and has no love for her new Texas home, but she might be exactly the right person to help Cooper break the curse.The clock is ticking, and Cooper will have to decide if he's willing to let Lou in on his dirty little secret before it's too late.