Ana Cat's reads

So... I'm reading [b:The Voyage Out|148905|The Voyage Out|Virginia Woolf|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328874751s/148905.jpg|1412170] and needed a break, although it's a really good read!
I thought, "let's do something more fun and sexy", and downloaded [b:Into the Deep|17970255|Into the Deep (Into the Deep, #1)|Samantha Young|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1373117694s/17970255.jpg|25189752]. Resume: I'm still completely shattered from this book. Samantha Young: you broke me!!!

It's beautiful, it's romantic, it's heartbroken, it's fun, has the right amount of angst... and most important true-cut-you-open-like-a-sword kind of love!

I loved the writing. I never thought I would say this, but Samantha, girl, this is so much better then Dublin Street, and I loved that one. It's an humble and honest writing, but it conveyed in so much depth for me... I was utterly in love with this book, and I just want to read it all over again.
It's probably "an OK" book for most people, but it just got through me, maybe because I tried to put myself in Charley's shoes for a moment and it hurt like hell...

I immediatly related with Charley. I was 19 years old when I met my husband, and a month later I knew he was "it", that there was no coming back from that kind of love. So, I understood her, and when I put my self in her place... god, that hurt!

I felt like I was traveling through all kinds of emotion. I laughed with the parts in Indiana, where Jake embarrased himself pursuing Charley, with their fun banter. Felt in complete bliss reading the natural and driven way they fell in love. Got ansious trying to figure out what the f*** hapenned for him to leave her like that (and I even controlled myself not to go and read ahead, and that's a big deal for me). I felt her pain having to be around him and his girlfriend, but at the same time felt her joy when they had those alone times, when they just talked for hours and laughed, and realized how great they were together, how perfect they have always been with one another. The struggle to try to "just be friends", because he had a girlfriend, when they just felt so driven to each other. And in the end I was like: "god, what a rush..."


The characters are fantastic. Samantha Young surely has some great oportunities here to write more books. A lot of stories to evolve.
And damn myself. I knew better than to go and read a book that was just released and that the second one is months away. How am I going to wait??



Charley is totally likable. She's not whinny, and self centered. She's mature, but also makes the natural mistakes of a 20 year old. She's driven, knows what she wants, but at the same time struggles with her unabillity to assume her career choice to her parents, and also with the fear to let them down.
Jake is that kind of boy that every girl would fall for, but with fear of getting hurt. He's very experienced for a 16 year old, but then comes Charley that completely knocks him off the wagon, and he becomes the perfect boyfriend in love... until tragedy gets in the way and he breaks her heart by leaving her.

At first he got me mad. What the hell, he screw up, and in order for him to feel better she has to forgive him, an be friends? But in the end he got through to me, just like he did to her. And I fell for him... Also through the story was obvious how hurtfull the breakup was for him, and how hard it was to see her after almost 4 years and realize that he's just as in love as ever (read an extra from the book, wich is their first talk from Jake's POV, it's very enlightening).
And the way he was with her when they were 16, and together, was just fantastic. What a guy!

The other characters are also great.
A lot of angst, sexual frustration and pain with Beck and Claudia's wicked friendship. I hope they can work that out, because they would be great together. Claudia is that kind of friend any girl would want. And she introduced some really funny moments to the story.

The group was all funny and a nice portrait of the early twenties, in college, studying abroad. Oh, and there's a band... it just doesn't get better than that!

But my, oh my! Lowe was the best. I think I even loved him more than Jake. Funny, sexy, a good guy, with the right amount of "bad boy", and a nice friend to Charley, and respectful, even when he demonstrated that he was attracted to her. What some really great moments between him and Charley. Sometimes I was like: "oh god, she's going to give in and kiss him, and this will all be a big mess, but I wouldn't blame her". She almost considered fooling around with him, although she was in love with Jake. Yes, he was that good!

Altough I was heartbroken to the core, the book endend in a good note, and there were some heart warming moments. They stil have a lot of issues to overcome, if they want to stay together, and that will probably be the main story in the second book. I got suspicious about the only guy Charley dated after Jake, and about his identity, and if I'm right, he won't like it, at all! It's Alex, don't you all agree? And according to the chapter from his POV, he's still jealous of him


I don't know what it there more to say... If you're in to NA, and like a good love story, with some great laughs in between, please read it!

Samantha Young: keep them coming :)

Huu... so, I wrote a lot. Sorry!

Terminei agora mesmo de ler o Perdidos da Rute Canhoto.
Dentro do género fantástico/young adult ainda só tinha lido a saga twilight, e não conheço também o livro que é algumas vezes mencionado (Hush Hush, da Becca Fitzpatrick), e não sou por isso influenciada pelo tanto que já existe no mercado.
Uma das coisas boas, e que para mim foi uma lufada de ar fresco, é o facto dos seres sobrenaturais serem diferentes do que está na moda. Gostei também da dicotomia céu/inferno que está e estará sempre actual.

Mas o que mais gostei foram, sem dúvida, as personagens. Adorei a protagonista, Marina, que apesar do que já li nas restantes críticas, não me parece que seja assim tão inconsistente. Temos de ter em conta que de um momento para o outro a sua vida virou-se de cabeça para baixo, com tantos acidentes, a sua vida em constante perigo, quem é que se lembraria da escola? Mesmo assim acho que era uma pessoa muito metódica, e que tentou levar a sua vida o mais normalmente possível. Lucas e Joshua cumpriram o seu papel de adversários, mas gostaria de ter visto ainda mais disputa entre eles. Penso que isso poderia ser explorado no segundo livro, bem como papel de Ana em toda a questão do sobrenatural. É a melhor amiga de Marina, e soube das suspeitas da mesma desde o inicio, acho que merece um papel de mais destaque.
Penso também que o segundo livro deveria levantar um pouco mais sobre a vida terrena de Lucas, apesar do mesmo não se lembrar de nada.

A descrição pormenorizada dos espaços de Alcácer enriqueceu a estória. É uma cidade portuguesa que merece. Espero por mais detalhes, e um pouco de história também!

Gostei dos diálogos dos adolescentes. São adequados e perfeitamente passíveis de serem ouvidos por jovens no nosso dia-a-dia.
Existem alguns erros, que parecem ser distracção, e que parecem ter falhado na revisão, mas que são facilmente corrigidos numa próxima edição.

No geral recomendo, e penso ser uma boa estória dentro do género, que me deixou ansiosa por saber mais. Estou expectante para ver como a Rute irá dar a volta aos personagens na continuação desta trilogia.