The Body Finder by Kimberley Darling

Book review #44
The Body Finder by Kimberley Darling
Rating: Five stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself. 

I picked up The Body Finder not really expecting to like it. Imagine my surprise when I completely fell head over heels in love with it! The Body Finder easily became one of the best books I have read this year. I devoured it whole, loving every single second of it. With just the paranormal aspect it would have still been great. That topped with the heated chemistry between Violet and Jay it made this book amazing.

Violet has an extraordinary gift, she has the power to sense dead bodies, not just any dead bodies, but only bodies that have been murdered. Lately her "gift" was the last thing on her mind. Jay, her best friend since forever, is the only thing on her mind. He definitely changed over the summer, but he's not the only thing that changed.  Violet finds herself falling in love. A couple of weeks after school starts, it has been reported that several girls have been missing. When Violet finds a an actual human dead body, she has a strange feeling that there is one person responsible for all the murders. It becomes her main priority to use her gift to find the killer, no matter how dangerous it becomes...with Jay's help of course.

Violet is such an awesome person. She's the type of person I could see myself being friends with. She's one of those girls that are amazing, but they don't really know it. She can be stubborn at times, but in a good way if that's possible. Her friendship with Jay was super cute. You don't usually see boy and girl best friends. Now the romance aspect with Jay was hot! Their love for each other was amazing. And oh Jay! He became another one of my character crushes. Not only was he extremely handsome and sweet, but he didn't fall for all the attention he got.

I also loved the thrill and suspense parts of The Body Finder. I was grateful to see the little tidbits of what was going on in the murderer's head. It was really interesting, even though it was really creepy! Even though there were moments with not much going on, something always happens. The mystery wasn't the hardest thing to solve, but it was still great.

The Body Finder is the type of book you cancel your plans for. I'm so happy that it actually lived up to the hype. And there is a sequel coming out! I'm definitely ready for some more Jay and Violet. If you have this one in your TBR pile, move it up to the top. What could you be waiting for?

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Book review #15
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Rating: Five stars(refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary:(taken from Goodreads) 
Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing? Taking readers deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them—and herself—that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have readers see-sawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

I just finished reading Liar a few minutes ago and I have to say I'm left feeling breathless, overwhelmed and almost exhausted from being on Micah's roller coaster of lies. I've never read a book like Liar, honestly it was a breath of fresh air. Before reading this book you have to understand that Micah is a liar, you can't trust anything she says, she will lie about telling the truth, and she will lie about lying. I kind of wish I kept that in mind more while I was reading the book. I'm a very gullible person and tend to believe most things, so I got a little confused.

The book is divided into different sections all revolved around Zach's death. Micah describes the times before Zach( her after hours boyfriend) died, after he died, then adds in "family history". At first, I almost questioned if Zach was even her boyfriend! Along with Micah's illness for lying, the book focuses on how Zach really died. Aside from the subchapters there are three parts to the book. Part one is titled Telling the Truth except that she doesn't tell the whole truth.The clues build up, so that in part two: Telling the True Truth, her biggest secret isn't so hard to believe.You easily find yourself torn between the truth. At times I even found myself questioning if small details, that should be true, were lies. This might sound confusing, but the more Micah lied and told us she was being truthful, the easier it was to believe her. The last part, The Actual Real Truth, is where some of your questions are answered, and the "truth" is revealed. I have to admit, while reading some of her confessions, my mouth literally dropped open! 

Micah is a fascinating, strong main character. I loved how she literally "talked" to you, as well as her "reasoning" for her lies. I have to warn you at the end of the book, it's up to the you to decide whether or not Micah's telling the truth. The only complain I could come up with about Liar, is the journey of doubting and second guessing myself the whole time, but then again that just made it that much more interesting. Liar is a suspenseful thriller that will leave you at the edge of your seat. I'm happy to say that Liar is a book that stays with you long after you read it.