How To Keep A Boy As A Pet by Diane Messidoro

Publisher: Electric Monkey

Format: ARC

Published: 7^th May 2012

Number of Pages: 304

Book: For Review*

Genre: Contemporary, Comedy, Romance, Realistic-Fiction, Humour, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Mild Swearing, Verbal Bullying

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Twitter: Diane Messidoro

Can taming a gorgeous boy really be as easy as walking a dog?

“I refuse to spend my entire life swooning pointlessly.”

Circe Shaw is on a mission!

“I must transform into a fabulously sophisticated journalist and discover the amazing truth about boys.”

But life is beyond complicated.  Circle has to deal with a poisonous rival, her mum’s annoying “just friends” men and her own Dark Past.

Can Circe’s daring investigation really teach her the facts of love?

Will it help finally get a boyfriend?

Or will it break her heart…?

                                                                   Review:

Circe Shaw wants to become a fabulously sophisticated journalist and uncover the mysterious truth about the male species. 

But she has some major problems.  It's hard being fabulously sophisticated living in "The Nook" (the smallest cottage ever) with her mum and her "just friends" guys "in The Middle Of Absolute Nowhere", while facing down an arch enemy and her romantic Dark Past... 

In amongst blogging and "Male Human Pet Control Experiments", can Circe find out the real truth about guys - and maybe get herself a boyfriend of her own?

Or is this mystery meant to remain a mystery for all eternity - as it has a tendency to cause way to too many problems and broken hearts when seriously investigated...?

I love, love, love books that make me laugh.  Always have.  How To Keep A Boy As A Pet?  Constant LOL-ING!  Quirky and fun and bonkers, I just sped through this book: I felt myself being drawn in by Circe's madness from the word go and couldn't stop reading!  But what I truly loved was that it was more than just funny, it was also really thoughtful, insightful and pure genius - and will definitely help in attracting a pet boy!  For everyone looking for an amazingly written, hilarious and bonkers book: *thrusts How To Keep A Boy As A Pet at you*!  This really is a must read for all teen girls!  Seriously!

Circe Shaw was bonkers and funny and cute and oh-so fabulously sophisticated!  Evidence of her wit, insanity and cuteness: "hamstericidal ratlets".  I adored Circe - she was the most teenage teen, so relatable and loveable.  An average, normal teen girl with abnormally large hair!  As fabulous as she was, she was also dreadfully insecure - it just made you love her more, that vulnerability beneath the bravado, and I loved watching her grow and mature.  

Rufus Strakes was kinda grumpy and snarky and smirk-y.  He was really hard to figure out - a mystery!  But that intense thing he had - yum!  He was dark, broody, mysterious...  Hey!  Circe got her very own R-Patz!  Learning more about him just made me adore him!  And I loved the glimpses of the sweet, vulnerable Rufus we got, the Rufus lingering under the snark. 

I also loved seeing how Circe's and Rufus' relationship grew.  It started off as an experiment, but soon became much, much more.  I felt it - it was so sweet and real and so not a science experiment!

I just adored all the characters - from the poshies to the besties to the "just friends" men.  They were all brilliantly described and very varying and very funny!  I also loved all the various relationships - how they evolved, how different they all were - how real.  Tash and Ben, Circe’s best friends, were both awesome and so cute together!  Savvy Rose, Circe's real-imaginary-reader of her blog, was clever, cheerful and a great advice giver – like a virtual big sister!  I loved the conversations she and Circe had!  But who was she really...?  And I loved Circe’s pets' names - Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Daniel Craig.  LOL!  Blame her mother!

The writing was just hilarious and so, so Circe!  I was constantly giggling and just loved the blog layout and how Circe liked to Put Things In Capital Letters A Lot!  She was very thorough, very descriptive and very, very funny!   She just felt so totally teen-ager-y!  Loved it!  I loved how she wrote as she felt, and how we could tell when she was excited, shocked, in pain.  I really, truly felt like I got to know Circe!

And the plot was just utterly addictive!  I adored Circe's "Male Human Pet Control" experiments - they had me absolutely cracking up!  The plot was marvellously simple and sophisticated and straight forward, totally original and addictive.  And gotta admit - did not see most of it coming! 

I also loved that beneath the snarky, funny exterior lay a deeper, more serious theme - bullying, what it is and how to deal with it.  Circe didn't think she was being bullied but she was - horribly so.  Diane Messidoro dealt with it skilfully, tackling it and telling the reader how to stop/deal with it if it happens to you or a friend.  

One girl's mission to be a fabulously sophisticated journalist while trying to discover the truth about the male species and hopefully land a boyfriend, How To Keep A Boy As A Pet was bonkers, hilarious and marvellously, barmily British!  I found that I couldn't put it down, and when I did I had a lovely warm feeling inside.  I loved this book to pieces and will be counting down the days til the next book in the series (What Not To Do In The Dark) comes out!!

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison

The Vampire Blog by Pete Johnson

Fifteen Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins

Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

2012 Debut Author Challenge (Hosted by The Story Siren)

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Reading Angel & Katie's Book Blog)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Egmont in exchange for an honest review

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Publisher: Electric Monkey

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th March 2012

Number of Pages: 240

Book: For Review*

Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, Suspense, Humor, Action-Adventure, Mystery, Realistic-Fiction, Romance, YA

Recommended Age: 13+

Contains: Rather a lot of Violence and Death (She IS an Assassin), Mild Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog: The Scary Parent

“You shot him.  You totally just shot that guy back there.  I think I’m gonna throw up.”

One ordinary guy.

One female assassin.

Five targes by daybreak…

When Gobi lands in Perry’s life, she rips it apart like a bombshell.

Fasten your seatbelts for a quirky, rapid-fire joyride through the streets of New York…  This is the most entertaining thriller you’ll read this year.

                                                                   Review:

"You shot me."

Perry's mom thought having a foreign exchange student would be enriching for all of them. Perry though it could lead to a hot chick in his house. Instead, they got Gobi. Perry made sure to be nice to her, to help her, and was fine about being teased for it. Until his mother tells him that he has to take the frumpy, constantly surprised-looking Gobi to prom. She's been there almost a year, and Perry is sure that Gobi is geeky and boring and he does not want to go to prom with her.

Turns out, Gobi isn't as dull as she's been making out. In fact, she is very interesting, very dangerous, very hot and very much armed.

Gobi is an assassin, and she has five targets before morning. Perry is caught up, trapped, as Gobi pulls him along for the ride, for her killing spree.

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick up. I've never read anything by the author, or with this kind of story line. But what I wasn't expecting was a book that made me laugh out loud, hooked from the first sentence and unable to put it down 'til I found out what happened. As I said before, I've never read anything like it, and the uniqueness made it all the more awesome!

Perry Stormaire was someone I liked straight away. He was snarky and funny and brave and sweet. He was just an ordinary kid who was desperate to please his dad and play in his band.  Therefore his freaking-out reaction at who Gobi really is was both believable and totally hilarious!  And I kinda loved him. Just a little! He was so cool and so clever and brave and sweet and funny...  Yeah. Just a little bit loved him!

Gobi Zaksauskas was a very, very unusual and complicated character. She seemed dull at first... until she went and called this guy a "ball-licker". She was full of surprises; defiant and stubborn and brave. And dangerous! A bad-ass, gun toting, dangerous chick. She was confident and charming and unexpectedly, strangely, I found myself liking her, ruthless assassin though she was. She has earned a place in my Kickass Wall Of Fame (currently occupied by Rose Hathaway and Katniss Everdeen).  She may have been a killer, but she was more than she seemed. She was... brilliant. Absolutely, freaking brilliant.

Gobi and Perry's relationship was equally brilliant, more so because they were complete opposites. Gobi was a kick butt, confident assassin. Perry was just a normal kid, who was scared of not pleasing his dad. But as the night went on and the body count went up, they got close, and Gobi had a huge (but positive) impact on Perry. Their relationship and the chemistry between them felt 100% real to me, despite the rather unusual circumstances!

The other characters were brilliantly padded out – I especially loved the relationships in Perry's family. This wasn't because they were amazing and so close. It was because they were so unusual, and not like many I've read about. I just liked the family dynamics and how they evolved as the book went on. They weren't perfect, but they all loved each other.

Utterly addictive, action packed, killing sprees, loads of laughs, believable characters, a dash of romance and break neck speed, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick was amazing - it totally blew me away! A word of warning: if you read this, make sure you have a whole day free 'cause you will NOT be able to put it down!

The writing was brilliant - totally teen, totally Perry and totally laugh-out-loud funny. The action was just non-stop from the word go, the writing sucked me in from the very first line. So many of the books I read are written from the girls' POV, so I loved being inside the boy's head for once. And I just loved that college application questions were used at the start of each chapter, and that all tied in with the events that followed.  The plot was equally amazing: full of action, totally unexpected, it twisted and turned as the body count speedily went up! From the first chapter, I was hooked and the action only picked up from there! Shoot outs, murder, car chases, "only a little" bomb(s) and just nonstop action. The plot was just amazing and surreal. I will point out that it's probably very unlikely these events will happen, but I believed them anyway. Schreiber made them really and funny and addictive!

With two lead characters I loved to bits, non-stop action, unrelenting humor and just pure awesomeness, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is one of the most original and addictive books I've read in a long time. I loved every second! I can't wait for the movie! Or for whatever Schreiber brings out next.  I want another about these characters please! Hint hint, Mr Schreiber!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

Medusa Project by Sophie McKenzie

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Egmont in exchange for an honest review