Now or Never - A.J. Bennett

Title : Now or Never
Author : A.J. Bennett
Publication Date : June 19th, 2013
Synopsis : Now or Never (taken from Goodreads)
Review :

Twin sisters Grayson and Luna were born seconds apart but they have different personalities. Luna is always more outgoing, and Grayson is the shy one. Things changed when Grayson met her boyfriend Josh. She thinks she has met the one. Because they have lived together and getting into deep relationship than ever. But is it love when your boyfriend is so jealous of other guys he decided to hit you? He can't bear to see you talking with another guy, he gave bruises on your hand? is it love? if it's love then I don't want to fall in love. 

It takes a long time for her to finally realize that it's not love. It's the anxiety that she feels, the feeling of being verbally and physically abused by the one you love and trust, IT IS NOT LOVE. I REPEAT, IT IS NOT LOVE. 

Grown up as the shy one doesn't make her truly vulnerable, Grayson choose to run away, make her own way to cherish her life to the fullest. She moved back to her mother's house but then she met another trouble, a guy she met at Starbucks, Derrick. Maybe, a fresh start with a new guy isn't so bad at all. But what if he just want to be her friend with benefits?  

Note to myself : 

1. No matter how handsome and sexy your boyfriend is, if he attacks or hits you for whatever the reasons are, LEAVE HIM NOW. Be with someone who adores you, not the one who hit you. 

2. Don't get involved with anything that you can't handle.

3. Family comes first. 

I like the concept that the author used. But I think it could be better at some parts. It isn't the path that I would want to walk in, but sometimes life can take you to places or people that give you either a blessing or a lesson.

"You're only young once Grace. Learn to enjoy it before it passes you by and you're my age." - Grayson's Mom

Time never goes back. Unless you have time machine which you don't, because it only exists in fiction and fantasy novels, it will never give you back your past. So enjoy what you do and what you have now, be happy about it, so you will have good memories when you recall it.  

The Truth About You And Me - Amanda Grace

Title : The Truth About You And Me 

Author : Amanda Grace

Publisher : Flux

Publication Date : September 8th 2013

Synopsis : The Truth About You And Me
Review :

The theme is about forbidden love between a teacher and a student. It is not my first time to read this kind of theme, but I haven’t found what I want to read yet so far. It hasn’t met my expectation yet but I'm so determined to finish this one. So here we go,,, 

Madelyn Hawkins never thought that she would fall in love with her biology teacher, Mr Bennett. She is still sixteen but she has managed herself to be in college whereas her friends are probably still enjoying their high school fun. Although I myself don't believe in love at first sight, it is as if Madelyn has known him forever and found the spark between them. 

No one knows that the age gap is nine years, not even Mr. Bennett. Madelyn kept the secret by herself and it seems she is ready to bury the secret with her. The feeling is mutual but will it last long while you have the strictest parents ever? 

Points : 

1. Being smart in high school/college doesn't necessarily mean you're smart in building a relationship. 

2. Never lie to someone who trust you. 

3. As a child, we can’t give all the blame to our parents. When they’ve failed on something, they will try as hard as possible to not make us experience the same way as they had gone through. It's a good thing though. But it can be wrong as well depends on how they lead and raise their kids. 

"See, Bennett, the sad thing about expectations is that if you fail them – by an inch or a mile, it doesn’t matter – you disappoint people. And my parents, they don’t set the bar low. And my brother, he just kept right on raising it."

"Well, that's just how it is in my house. You have to be perfect, and if you aren't well, you better fake it pretty damn well." 

The root of the problems is parents are too demanding. Forcing Madelyn to be the perfect daughter. No one is perfect,though. I can’t even imagine if one person has no flaws at all. It must be so boring. It sure feels good to be on top, but if we never be on the bottom, never taste how it feels to be failed, we would never know how far we can go. It isn’t the succeed that so important. It is the process that we went through over and over again before we could be on top.

“You were my escape route. My doorway to another world, a reflection that looked more like the me I wanted to be than the one I was forced to be.”

I guess we just have to be honest to ourselves. We don't always know what do we want and we don't always get what we want as well. We just need to be more open-minded and contemplate what other people might have suggested to us.

I only have two things to love about Mr.Bennett. 

1. The fact that he named his Golden retriever dog with Lord Voldemort. 

2. He never lose his patience. It has been said that patience is a virtue, that good things come to those who wait. But maybe it doesn't always work for everyone. 

Overall, I can't say that I like it, but it was okay. 

Hopeless (Hopeless #1) - Colleen Hoover

Title : Hopeless
Series : Hopeless series
Author : Colleen Hoover
Publication Date : December 19th 2012
Synopsis : Hopeless (taken from Goodreads)
Review :

Sky's life is a complete mess.

I've come to the point that I don't even know how to start writing the review because her past and present's life is so complicated. Not only Sky's but her mother's, Holder's and everyone's. As a teenager, making friends with lots of people will give you benefits to shine. But for some people who only make friends to one or two persons, most of them are usually get bullied, verbally attacked, etc. Sky is used to be home-schooled and now she get the chance to study at public school. But things don't work out really well for her. Being Six's best friend give her a bad reputation but she doesn't care at all. Only a few know and understand her while the others are busy judging what they thought they know. 

"You have to let it go. You can hold on to the hate and the love and even the bitterness, but you have to let go of the blame. The blame is what's tearing you down, babe."

This story isn't simply just tell us about love between two young people. It is much more than that. It has deep meaning and involves every themes that we could think about such as bullying, friendship, truth and lies, rape, etc. I think the author has done a very good job. I'd never think about this plot and the mystery isn't very easy to guess. Since the beginning, the author has made us curious about who is the guy Sky met at the grocery store? , why Sky's mother Karen won't allow her to have phone and using internet?, etc.

I really love the chemistry between Sky and Holder that have developed since their first meeting. Although I can guarantee that a man like Holder is one in a million and maybe only exist in romance novels, but I really like how he loves Sky so much and would do everything to win her heart. Same goes to Sky who kind of have a bad thought of him at first but then fall in love with him for all that he has done for her.

"Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses."
"Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers."

Points that I get :

1. When a man likes you, he will make an effort to get to know you better.

2. If he likes you enough, your differences won't matter to him.

3. Dimples can be so intriguing. You will never know until you meet the one.  

You're in love when :

1. You have butterflies in your stomach whenever you met him. 

2. You spent so many times just to pick clothes to wear before you meet him. Normally it only takes 5 - 10 min to dress up but now it takes much longer to decide what to wear. 

3. You can't stop wondering what he/she is probably thinking of you.

About the friendship between Six and Sky and Sky with Breckin, tell you what? At first I'm so jealous of Sky for having friends like them. Not only because they are incredibly awesome friends who support you in every conditions, but also because they're giving e-reader and a phone to Sky! Like it's a normal present to give to your bestie. Some parts in this novel are too good to be true like Holder, and best friends like Six and Breckin.

I live you :*

Bared To You (Terbuka Untukmu) - Slyvia Day

Judul : Bared To You - Terbuka Untukmu
Penulis : Slyvia Day
Series : Crossfire #1
Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama (versi terjemahan)
Tahun : 2013
Tebal : 456 hal
Sinopsis : Terbuka Untukmu (via Goodreads)
Review :

"Aku tidak takut berusaha. Aku hanya takut kehilangan dirimu." hal.309-310

Banyak yang membandingkan Bared To You dengan Fifty Shades of Grey dari segi cerita dan karakter. Walaupun tidak menyangkal bahwa memang adanya kemiripan dari segi cerita dan karakter pria utama, namun bagiku Bared To You adalah versi yang lebih baik. Setidaknya tidak ada yang namanya BDSM, atau belum. Entahlah karena aku baru membaca buku pertama. 

Bukannya mau membanding - bandingkan walau memang itulah yang sedang kulakukan, tapi untuk segi karakter wanita, menurutku Eva jauh lebih kuat daripada Ana. Eva berani untuk menyuarakan hak dan pendapatnya. Well, disisi lain, Christian Grey tak terbantahkan dan Ana terlalu mencintainya untuk mengatakan tidak. Eva hobi makan. Berbeda dengan Ana yang harus dipaksa, terkadang bahkan diancam, supaya mau makan. 

Karena sudah setahun sejak pertama kali aku membaca Fifty Shades of Grey, banyak kemiripan dari kedua buku ini yang mungkin terlewatkan olehku. Tapi yasudahlah, mari kita berpusat pada cerita Gideon dan Eva. 

Keduanya sama - sama memiliki masa lalu yang ingin mereka kubur dalam - dalam. Eva bertemu dengan Gideon pertama sekali di lift kantor barunya.

Gideon Cross adalah pengusaha kaya raya. Ia sudah terbiasa memegang kendali atas semuanya. Jadi ketika Eva masuk kedalam hidupnya dan menolak menurut pada setiap aturannya, Gideon kebingungan. Eva sendiri adalah wanita mandiri yang benci diatur oleh siapa pun. Eva juga punya ibu yang terlalu sayang padanya sampai - sampai Eva merasa takut. Gideon dan ibunya memiliki kemiripan, yaitu sama - sama ingin tahu segala hal tentang Eva. Dan itu membuat Eva merasa jauh lebih tertekan. Namun Gideon bukanlah ibunya. Gideon adalah lelaki yang didambakannya. Walaupun terkadang sebal dengan sifatnya yang suka seenaknya, Eva menyukainya. Tepatnya adalah Eva mencintai Gideon Cross.

Aku suka dengan sifat Gideon yang selalu berusaha untuk mengenal Eva. Walau caranya memang agak ekstrim. Well, kalian tahulah bagaimana orang kaya mendapatkan informasi - informasi yang mereka inginkan. Kalau hal ini terjadi dalam praktek kehidupan sehari - hari, pastilah akan sangat menganggu dan menyeramkan. Tapi karena berhubung ini hanya cerita belaka, cobalah dimaklumi.

"Ayo kita pergi ke gym-mu besok."

"Gym-mu lebih bagus."

"Tentu saja. Tapi aku akan pergi ke tempat yang kausukai." hal 261

Overall sih cukup suka. Untungnya ceritanya tidak garing dan lumayan buat penasaran. Terlepas dari semua kemiripan antara buku ini dengan Fifty Shades of Grey, aku beri bintang 4 untuk cerita dan karakternya yang hidup.

"Aku ingin terus merasakan apa yang kurasakan ketika berada bersamamu. Katakan padaku apa yang harus kulakukan. Dan berikan ruang bagiku untuk membuat kesalahan. Aku tidak pernah melakukan ini. Banyak yang harus kupelajari." hal 160

Rating : 4/5

Marriageable - Riri Sardjono

Judul : Marriageable

Penulis : Riri Sardjono

Penerbit : GagasMedia

Tahun : 2013 (first published 2006)

Tebal : 368hal

Sinopsis : Marriageable

Review :

Harga diri yang tinggi dan perasaan takut tersakiti untuk kedua kalinya membuat Flory hidup dalam kecurigaan terhadap semua lelaki, kecuali Gerry. Don't even think about why, it's simply because he's gay. Bagaimana Flory harus menyikapi kehidupan percintaannya kalau di umur 32 tahun dia masih single? Bella Saphira saja sudah pecah telor, masa Flory seorang arsitek cantik nan modis belum memiliki tambatan hati? 

Setiap orangtua yang melihat anaknya masih single di umur 30-an pastilah akan gelisah. Begitu pula dengan mama Flory yang sekarang sibuk mencari lelaki pilihan untuk anaknya. Memang sekarang sudah bukan zamannya Siti Nurbaya lagi, akan tetapi masih banyak saja orangtua yang menerapkan sistim ini, terlebih ketika dalam waktu mendesak. 

Flory keki berat pastinya. Menemukan sendiri pria yang disukai saja belum tentu langsung jatuh cinta dan naik ke pelaminan, apalagi kalau dijodohin? Walaupun nggak suka dengan ide menikah dengan pria yang dijodohkan orangtua, tapi sepertinya Vadin, calon suaminya tidak terlihat begitu buruk. 

Menurutku pribadi Vadin termasuk tipe idaman wanita. Mapan dari segi usia dan karir, sayang dengan Flory, mau mengalah dari sifat dan moodnya yang lebih sering jelek daripada bagus, juga tipe lelaki yang nggak memikirkan dirinya sendiri. I just love this guy. 

Yang aku suka dari Riri Sardjono adalah cara menulisnya yang witty, jujur dan blak-blakan. Dari sinopsisnya aku langsung tertarik buat baca. Secara keseluruhan ceritanya juga sama bagusnya dengan sinopsisnya. Cuma mungkin yang kurang berkesan adalah karakter Flory yang kurang kusuka.

Di dalam hidupnya terlalu banyak kata "kenapa?"

"Kenapa, sih, gue jadi nggak normal cuma gara - gara gue belom kawin?!"
"Karena elo punya kantong rahim, Darling," jawab Dina kalem.
"Kantong rahim sama kayak susu Ultra. Mereka punya expired date."
"Yeah," sahutku sinis. "Sementara sperma kayak wine. Masih berlaku untuk jangka waktu yang lama."

"Kenapa sih elo bisa kawin sama laki?"
"Hormon, Darling! Kadang - kadang kerja hormon kayak telegram. Salah ketik waktu ngirim sinyal ke otak.
Mestinya horny, dia ngetik cinta!"

Bagiku Flory cukup membingungkan dan memusingkan. Di umur ke-32 tahun, seharusnya seorang wanita sudah bisa bersikap dewasa karena memang sudah tergolong matang dari segi usia. Namun dari yang kuamati, Flory seolah-olah baru menginjak masa remaja. Mudah cemburuan, kalau sudah cemburu nggak mau mengaku pula, juga sering menjadikan orang lain sebagai objek untuk mebuat Vadin cemburu. It's an old moves and never ends well. Aku ngerti Flo pernah dikecewakan oleh mantan pacarnya di masa lalu. Well who didn't by the way? Aku juga ngerti kalau sikap mama dan papanya yang suka perang mulut membuatnya takut untuk membina rumah tangganya sendiri. Tapi life must go on. Kita nggak akan pernah tahu apa yang akan menanti kita di depan. Either we take the chance to move forward to the next level or just stay at the same path forever. 

Omong - omong tentang sahabat, diantara sahabat - sahabat Flory yang super ajaib, aku paling suka sama Ara yang lebih sering ngasih saran yang masuk di akal dan positif. Salah satu kata - katanya yang membekas di pikiranku ;

"Kita semua punya masalah, Flo. Gue nggak perlu punya masalah yang sama kayak elo untuk bisa ngerti gimana rasanya sakit." - Ara

Rating : 3/5