Friday, May 13, 2016

Doon Book Review

Title: Doon
By: Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Pages: 395 (paperback)
Publisher: Blink YA
Format: Paperback
All thoughts and comments are my own.

SUMMARY:

Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months. 

But the Scottish countryside holds other plans. 

Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for...or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.


NON-SPOILERY REVIEW:

Entering Doon was a whirlwind adventure. Once I got into the book, I could not put it down. I was able to find this book in only two sittings. It took a couple chapters for me to become hooked, so you just have to troop through the world building, which is done fairly quickly. After becoming a Doonian though, the pages flew by. There is adventure, unbreakable friendship, and totally swoon worthy guys with accents! I could feel myself wishing to live in their universe throughout the book. The world consumed me and left me with the sound of bagpipes. This is definitely a good recommendation for fans of Outlander, but it is very different from Outlander. Even though both have super hot Jamies. Also, the writers in this book have instantly captured me as a lifelong fan with their hilarious pop culture references. One of my favorites included, "He looked like a goth kid with a Jedi complex" (page 117). I know, probably not very funny outside of context, but oh boy did they really appeal to my inner geek.

I found the characters to be extremely relatable and they quickly had me hooked. I felt the struggles that Veronica, our main female lead, faced in the beginning of the novel were realistic, but not to the extent that they were portrayed. I mean I'm sure that has happened to someone, but it just felt very overdone to make it seem tragic. Our counterpart to Veronica, and Veronica's best friend, MacKenna was also gifted with her own POV. She intrigued me especially as she grew throughout the book. Jamie and Duncan are the swoon worthy princes of Doon, and you will want to meet them ASAP! The growth of all of the characters by the end did not feel forced and was very reasonable for the circumstances faced.

OVERALL:
I absolutely loved this book. Jamie is my new Scottish prince book boyfriend. You will want to pick up this series before the final book in the series comes out. The twists and turns in the plot were, at least to me, unpredictable. I thought I knew what was happening, then it turned out to be something different all together and a completely different villain, but I'm also really bad at conspiracy theories. This was a beautiful first book of summer and be prepared to storm the bridge!

RATING:

DOON: 4.5/5 STARS


 I cannot wait to see more of them in the rest of the series and will be starting book two, Destined for Doon immediately. The series will be a quartet and will finish up in August of 2016. Stay tuned as I return to Doon and post more discussions, a spoilery review, and reviews for the rest of the series. Also, be on the lookout for more upcoming reviews this summer!

Monday, May 9, 2016

Catching Up + Summer TBR

Hey Guys!

Sorry for the extended lack of activity! I've been so incredibly busy finishing up this year at college and finals. I am finally off for the summer, which means more blog posts (yay!). If some of you are keeping up with things on my IG (@heir_of_books) you'll know that I was surprised with a trip to the launch of Renee Ahdieh's The Rose and The Dagger. It was so much fun to be able to go with my bestie/roomie and boyfriend for the day. Also, I've had some HUGE book hauls (more pictures to come). Thanks for being patient and waiting out these past two months with me. Here's to a great summer for reading!

Now for something fun. My Summer TBR. These are the books I plan on getting done sometime before I head back in August. They are listed in NO particular order, just as I happen to see them on my bookshelf. Also, please forgive me because I have A LOT of catching up to do, hence the killer-bank breaking, book hauls. LET'S DO THIS!
1) Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
2) The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas
3) A Court of Thorns and Roses bySarah J Maas
4) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
OKAY, I KNOW. I'm very behind on the queen's work. That's why I'm catching up before Empire of Storms.
5) The Shadow Queen by CJ Redwine
6) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It just looks so GOOD!
7) Doon Series by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon. I was recently gifted with a digital ARC of Forever Doon, so I definitely plan on marathoning these bad boys.
8) Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan.
9) These Broken Stars Trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

So I know most of these aren't incredibly new, but I do need to catch up. I'm going to attempt to keep updates on my goodreads account as I read new books!  Are any of these your personal favorites? Have a recommendation for a book not listed? Leave me a comment! I always enjoy hearing what you have to say. Stay tuned for a new post or review for next week!