Review: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Goodreads summary:
Imagine that you have two minds, sharing one body. You and your other self are closer than twins, better than friends. You have known each other forever.

Then imagine that people like you are hated and feared. That the government want to hunt you down and tear out your second soul, separating you from the person you love most in the world.

Now meet Eva and Addie.

They don’t have to imagine.

What's left of Me introduces us to a unique, thought-provoking and eerie world where life starts out with two souls sharing a body. As people grow older, they settle; one soul takes over completely while the other disappears. Eva is a recessive soul sharing the same body as Addie. She is unable to control the body but has held on for years pretending not to exist. Addie and Eva are forced to hide the fact they are hybrid since the government sees hybrids as dangerous and a sickness that must be cured. I would've liked more explanation of why ALL hybrids were seen as dangerous because the reason given was weak: a few incidents here and there involving hybrids. Would it have been a big deal if these incidents were committed by settled people? I'm sure more answers will be given throughout the series though.

Throughout the book Eva and Addie go through many internal struggles and battles and I thought these were the highlights of the book. Eva's situation was really heartbreaking and frustrating. The writing was superb, capturing the trapped-in-a-cage helplessness of Eva as a lot of the time, Addie made the final decision of what they did. A little romance was thrown into the story which added another interesting concept to explore what with Eva and Addie sharing the same body but not the same feelings.

A compelling read and a promising start to the series!

Review: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Goodreads summary:
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

A completely captivating bittersweet story about two young people falling in love in the worst possible scenario - being separated by time!

I loved the pacing of the book and the writing kept my interest all the way through. I was engrossed in the initial meeting of Anna and Bennett and the strangeness in the way Bennett acted around Anna (interested in her one moment and the next, cold and indifferent). I was interested in finding out all there was to know about his ability which was hinted in the book blurb and I wondered how their relationship would work. I experienced the heart tugging and miserable moments in the book along with Anna.

The explanation of how time travel worked was a bit questionable. There were quite a few holes which failed in making me suspend my disbelief. Other than that, the story had a great message: live life for yourself. The time travel aspect of the story was great medium in delivering this message.

Time Between Us works as a stand-alone but I'll definitely be continuing Anna and Bennett's story in Time after Time.

Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Goodreads summary:
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge.

Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

The book was quite slow in the build up but you could just sense that a shitshorm was brewing. Divided into three parts, each increased the intensity in which the characters toyed with my mind. Alternating chapters told from Nick Dunne's POV and Amy Dunne Elliot's POV, my opinions of each of them and of all the people they associated with were constantly changing based on who was narrating.

The husband and wife were really hard characters to like but I was compelled to figure out their story. I was constantly changing my take on what happened that morning when Amy went missing and what events had led up to it. I was thoroughly disturbed by the last page! Gone Girl was a well plotted dark and sinister tale.