Book Review: All Our Yesterdays

All Our Yesterdays

by Cristin Terrill

Published: 1 August 2013 by Bloomsbury

Version: Paperback ARC borrowed from Caroline of Big Book Little Book

Rating: 4 sofas

“You have to kill him.” Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. 

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. 

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

Words can not describe how excited I was to read this book! I had heard nothing but AMAZING things. I adore time travel books, and luckily this didn’t disappoint.  To try and convey my excitement and feels without giving too much away! 

In the beginning we are introduced to Em, who is stuck in a cell. She discovers a piece of paper written by herself saying ‘You have to kill him’. From the start I knew I would enjoy the book from all the gushing I had heard from other bloggers. However, as soon as Em found that piece of paper, I was hooked. Who was him? And why does she have kill him? And why were all the previous entries on the list crossed out? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Throughout the book it changes perspective to Em from Marina. Marina lives a fairly normal life, spending time with her best friend (hopefully one day boyfriend), James. In comparison, Em’s life is at the other end of the spectrum. Stuck in a cell all day apart from when the doctor wants information from her, she only has Finn as a companion. Except he is stuck on the other side of the wall in his own cell, and Em has never seen him. 

To be honest, in the beginning I much preferred Marina’s storyline. It was similar to the happy contempories I know and love. Em’s life, on the other hand, was brutally depressing. Alone and tortured, she is obviously quite a fiesty but moody character. However, through the book I came to understand the reasons why her personality was so volatile, and I forgave her a bit more for her moodiness. Marina, on the other hand, becomes a bit too clingy for my liking. 

The best thing about this book is the range of emotions and genres. Happy but depressing, it also incorporates a lot of action that left me frantically flicking pages. Although it did get a bit confusing towards the end, and I wasn’t entirely convinced on their explanation of time travel. And THAT ENDING. My god. I think it was the right ending for the book, but my god was it emotional. 

A time travel book with a plethora of emotions and action, All Our Yesterdays is a thriller with a difference. It left my jaw dropping from the surprises, and my heart aching for both Em and Marina. For fans of time travel, sci fi and emotional reads. All Our Yesterdays definitely does not disappoint! 4 sofas! 

Until the 2nd August, Caroline is giving away a copy of All Our Yesterdays along with some amazing other books! Hop along to enter and share my reading experience! 

Letterbox Love #17

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! It’s scary the amount of books I got this week O..O

Firstly, on the 19th I went to a book event for Lauren Oliver, to celebrate the release of her new book Requiem. It was really lovely to hear her talk about her inspiration and how she writes. Although I’m sad the series has ended, I’m really excited to read more things by her. I had a nice catch up with Stacey of The Pretty Books and met Lucy from Choose YA. Special thanks to Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts and Daphne of Winged Reviews for keeping me company in the line! My lovely signed books:

So while in the queue, discussing books (naturally), Faye was gushing about the Eternity Cure, and I said I had never read any of Julie Kagawa’s books. I also haven’t read Divergent yet (I know!), and Faye mentioned that she found a copy in The Works, which for those of you who don’t have one, is basically a discount store where they have books and stationary and things. The books aren’t in any order, which is quite frustrating! So I visited a shopping centre yesterday, and (having already indulged in a couple of books in Waterstones) decided to pop in the Works to check out what they have. Here’s what I came out with:

I think I have a problem! In my defence, the books were 3 for £5, which means each book cost less than £2. At that price, how could I resist?!  

So I managed to find both of Faye’s recommendations; Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. I also picked up a couple of books that I have read before, but wanted for my collection. These were Extras and Specials by Scott Westerfeld and The Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks.

I also picked up some cute looking girly/contemporary YA. They had lots of Sara Shepard’s books, so I decided to get the first, Pretty Little Liars. The Pretty Commitee Strikes Back is actually the 5th in the series by Lisi Harrison, but was all they had so I decided to grab it! The Look by Sophia Bennett has pink edges. Need I say more.  Lucy Lord’s Revelry also looked a lot of fun, so it went in the basket.

The rest from the Works were just YA that I’ve heard about, or seen, and looked good! For that price, I think even if it is an okayish read, it’s worth it. Lots of people are talking about the sequel to Slide by Jill Hathaway, so I’m pleased I found the first one. Likewise with Pure by Julianna Baggott. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Adorkable by Sarra Manning looked like cute, geeky books, something which I greatly enjoy! Last, but not least, Night School by CJ Daugherty, because I love boarding school books, and When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle, because it sounds like an epic romance, and goodness knows I need more of that in my life!

Blimey. So before this amazing trip I had already popped into Waterstones, where I picked up Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt and Insignia by SJ Kincaid, as part of their Waterstones Teen Shortlist offer. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini really took my fancy (psychiatric hospitals, yay!) and The Hit by Melvin Burgess was an impulse buy. It sounds amazing and the cover is SHINY. Ironically, I spent more in Waterstones (4 books) than in the Works (15 books). What madness.

Finally, in all the buying bonanza, I picked up one book from the library this fortnight! The Farm by Emily McKay is a vampire dystopian kind of book. I swear it was YA, but my library have shelved it in fantasy. Who knows.

Needless to say, this will keep me going for a good while! I totally blame Faye for making me going in there. And on payday! Recipe for disaster if I ever saw one 😉

And if you think I got off lightly on the ebook front, think again!  

I think someone at Random House must have been clicker-happy this week as I got approved for 4 books from them on Netgalley! Thanks you guys, I was very surprised for all the approvals, and they are all for amazing books, and ones that I really want to read.

Firstly, Itch Rocks by Simon Mayo, the second in his Itch series. I have read the first one, and thought it was a really good middle-grade sciencey actiony book. I have yet to write up my review, but I will try and get it up before I read this one!

Next is Fall Guy by Liz Reinhardt. This is the first in a NA romance series, a genre which I seem to be reading a lot of lately!

 

 

 

Next is a book I got sent an email about, and requested in straight away. Twerp by Mark Goldblatt is a bullying book, and you know how much I love those, so I’m looking forward to seeing how Mark tackles it.

And my last beauty from Random was The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles. This looks like such a cute contemporary, great at the end of a long day or maybe for the beach?

I also got approved for Storm by Evan Angler, thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley. This is the third in a series; I have the second in ebook but unfortunately not the first. However, they all look really good so I will try and get hold of the first so I can start these!

Bloomsbury kindly gave me access to The Academy: Game On by Monica Seles. There is a surge of sports/romance/YA contemporaries at the moment, and this looked really cute. So much pink!

I also got approved on Edelweiss for Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. This has gotten really great reviews so I can’t wait to read it!

Last but certainly not least, Harper Collins gave me a copy of The Edge of Never to review. I have seen LOADS of reviews about this, and finally I get to see what all the fuss is about! It looks very 50 shades to be, but is marketed as NA so we’ll see how it goes!

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? Do you think I have a book-addiction problem? I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #14

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! Lots of library books this week (I know I’m a bad person). Just when I was getting my pile down! :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many books! Fist week haul on the left. Although ‘Wool‘ by Hugh Howey is an adult book, it sounds quite dystopian-esque. And the cover is all soft and matte-like! To make up for it I have ‘Shivers‘ by Bali Rai which is a tiny tiny book. I also picked up ‘Virals‘ by Kathy Reichs for keeps. I have always meant to get into her series (is there 3 now?) so hopefully now I can. 

Yesterday I picked up three books by Nicholas Sparks: ‘The Wedding‘, ‘The Choice‘ and ‘The Guardian‘. This is because on Wednesday I am attending an event where he is signing books, and there are two actors from his latest book-to-film adaptation, ‘Safe Haven’. Confession: Okay, so I haven’t actually read any of his books. But I have seen a lot of films that his books are based on! 

It is also an excuse to visit Waterstones Piccadilly, which is massive! Fingers crossed I can find some good books there! 

I ordered ‘Where She Went‘ by Gayle Forman because everyone is raving about her latest book, so I thought I’d check out one of her previous ones. I didn’t realise this was the second one, so I’ve ordered the first one! So more books to come (oops). 

Finally, ‘Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe‘ by Shelley Coriell. I vaguely remember someone reading this and liking it, so when my library ordered it, I thought I’d put my name down. And it’s a yummy hardcover! Not so good for the commute, but pretty all the same. 

And for ebooks: 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Someday, Someday, Maybe‘ by Lauren Graham. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House! This book just sounds really good; about an actress trying to make it in New York, it is full of hopes and dreams. And I just adore the cover. So simple, yet so perfect. 

  

 

‘Anthem for Jackson Dawes‘ by Celia Bryce was quite a shock, as I really didn’t expect to be approved for this. I looove road trip books, and I like the typography on this cover. Thanks very much Bloomsbury and Netgalley 🙂

 

‘Straightjacket‘ by Meredith Towbin was sent to me by the author for review. Thanks Meredith! The main character is a girl in a psychiatric hospital who sees an angel. This sounds right up my street, and you should check it out if it sounds like yours too.

 

 

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #13

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! First from my beloved library:

Kill Order by James Dashner. This was an amazing series, and I can’t wait to find out how it all began! I resisted buying this for my birthday as I knew I had it on order. Thank god I didn’t have to wait long 🙂 

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson. I have wanted to read this for ages, but had to wait for my library to order a copy. Finally it is in! 

Survive by Alex Morel. I returned a proof copy (MetaWars- my 4 sofa review coming soon) on Saturday, and I just couldn’t resist picking up another. It is compared to the tv series ‘Lost’ which I loved, so I HAD to take it home. Right?….

Now for ebooks:

 

 

Ever by Jessa Russo. Thanks to her for letting me take part in the blog tour! So check back on March 21st for my review. I know it is gonna be good though, I mean look at the cover! So mysterious and pretty….

 

I’m also taking part in the blog tour for A Matter of Fate by Heather Lyons. Thanks to Nereyda from YA Bound for organising. Check back on February 28th for my review of this supernatural YA debut!

 

I tried not to request any books this week, as I am still waiting to hear from Harper Collins about all their lovely Edelweiss books 😦 But I doubt I will get approval anyway! So Netgalley sent me an email, and I thought I’d just check what was new, and got a bit carried away….

 

Hidden by Marianne Curley. Thanks to Bloomsbury! The cover is gorgeous, I love the blue against the black and white cover.

 

 

There are Reasons Noah Packed No Clothes by Robert Jacoby. Sometimes simple covers are the best, and I thank Cloud Books for a copy of this. This is about a 19-yo boy who overdoses. I love hospital/illness type books, so I am expecting good things!

 

 

Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany from Atria Books. I requested this because it has kids in it! Lol. The plot seems really interesting, very Jodi Picoult-like. I haven’t heard of this author before, so I am excited to see what this is like.

 

Finally, but certainly not leastly, Fragments by Dan Wells. I know I haven’t read Partials yet, but I got it in my birthday haul. And everyone has given it good recommendations. Many many thanks to Harper Collins, you guys rock! If only you would approve me on Edelweiss….

 

 

  What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #6

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

A big book haul for me this week! I went a bit mad on NetGalley so have lots of ebooks awaiting me now! But first, the library litter:

I absolutely love Robert Muchamore, so I am very pleased to have got my hands on ‘One Shot Kill‘, which is the sixth book in the Henderson’s Boys series. The series is set in WWII and acts as a prequel to his popular Cherub series. 

Also ‘Perks of a Wallflower‘ by Stephen Chbosky. I have been wanting to read this ever since I fell in love with the film (see my review here). However, there was (understandably) a long waiting list at the library, but it has finally arrived! And in good condition too, which is always pleasing. Most of the library books I get are new, but I hate when other people mistreat them!

Note the pencil earrings, in celebration of my new publishing job 🙂

Now onto my ebook haul. Many thanks to NetGalley for all the titles below. 

                 

Another book all the bloggers seem to have got their hands on is ‘Dance of Shadows‘ by Yelena Black. Ditto with Kat Zhang’s ‘What’s Left of Me‘. I have only heard good things so far so I am looking forward to starting these! Thanks to Bloomsbury and Harper Collins for these.

Two books I requested for their covers are ‘Hysteria‘ by Megan Miranda and ‘What I Didn’t Say‘ by Keary Taylor. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but these are both so enticing, for very different reasons! Thanks to Bloomsbury and Keary Taylor for the approval of these.

‘Exposure‘ by Kim Askew and Amy Helms is a modern day twist on Macbeth. I thought this would be interesting, as it is so hard nowadays to get a lot of children interested in Shakespeare, so I hope this turns out well (thanks to FSB Associates). 

And finally, some news; I was autoapproved for Harper Collins UK Children’s titles on Netgalley. So as a celebration to myself I downloaded ‘The Sea of Stars‘ by Kate Maryon.

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you!