My review of Because You'll Never Meet Me

Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
Release Date: July 2, 2015
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon | The Book Depository

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

Because You'll Never Meet Me is a touching story of two boys who bond over their exceptional conditions that mean they are unable to fit into society. The book is told from two points of view: Ollie and Moritz. Ollie lives deep in the woods, isolated from the modern world of technology because he is allergic to electricity. He can't live a normal life but he tries his best to remain upbeat and optimistic. I really enjoyed his voice in the story because despite having such a sad and life altering condition, he is able to see the bright side in any situation. As for Moritz, he is a little bit older than Ollie and lives in Germany. He was born without eyes and depends on his incredible sense of hearing to get by his daily life. Moritz is quite proper and refuses to try and confront his fears. Both of the boys learn to confide in each other and what it really means to have a friend. 

I was really touched by the letters sent between the boys all through out the book. Aside from the two telling each other their stories and day-to-day lives, we are also presented with the mystery of how on earth Ollie and Moritz ended up with their conditions. I felt that this spurred on the plot and added a interesting twist on the boys' relationship. You'll no doubt want to make it to the very end of the novel in one sitting to see how both Ollie and Mortiz turn out because throughout the book you are really left wondering what can be done to help these two poor souls?

Overall, I would definitely recommend this novel if you're looking for a contemporary that is a bit different and has unique characters that you will get to know better through the form of letters. Some people may not find the characters that gripping or exciting to start off with and occasionally their personal stories may not seem that captivating, but you the two boys really grow on you and before you know it, you're in love with both of them.

Rating

A review copy was provided by the publisher

Book Haul (#103)

Hey,

I'm back! I hope you guys have all been enjoying the summer weather. I finished my exams and I've had a short holiday to relax so I'm really going to try and get some good posts up because I think I have missed doing this whole blogging business. ;)

This week I borrowed:

Echo Boy by Matt Haig - Borrowed -
This reminds me of that new TV show on Channel 4 called Humans, which is amazing if you haven't started watching it yet! I've heard only good things about the author's writing style so I wanted to give it a go.
I Was Here by Gayle Forman - Borrowed -
I do love Gayle Forman and the way she builds up a story. If I Stay and Where She Went were absolute amazing while Just One Day didn't fall too far behind, but I wasn't too big of a fan of Just One Year. I can't wait to read this purely because I know it's gonna be a good emotional story to pluck at my heart strings.

Leave a link to your Book Haul/Letterbox Love/In My Mailbox/Showcase Sunday/Stacking the Shelves in the comments below so I can check it out!

Enjoy all your books,
Sam :)

Waiting on Wednesday (159)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Made For Love by Melissa Marr

Release Date: March 25, 2015

Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital to discover an attempt has been made on her life. But who in her sleepy town could have hit her with their car? And why? Before she can consider the question, she finds that she's awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people's deaths when they touch her.

While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old friend, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva's power to keep her friends - and themselves – alive. But the killer is obsessed and will stop at nothing to get to Eva… 

I love a mystery! And I have to say I've missed Melissa Marr. It's been a long time since Wicked Lovely and I did adore those books.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Waiting on Wednesday (158)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Livia is a dreamstrider. She can inhabit a subject's body while they are sleeping and, for a short time, move around in their skin. She uses her talent to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. But her partner, Brandt, has lately become distant, and when Marez comes to join their team from a neighborhing kingdom, he offers Livia the option of a life she had never dared to imagine. Livia knows of no other dreamstriders who have survived the pull of Nightmare. So only she understands the stakes when a plot against the Empire emerges that threatens to consume both the dreaming world and the waking one with misery and rage.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Waiting on Wednesday (157)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

Release Date: May 26, 2015 // June 4, 2015

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both. 

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down. 

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

If you're in the US and an avid fan then you should have got this yesterday but those of us in the UK have a little longer to wait. Isn't that just heartbreaking? Katie McGarry is one of my top top favourite authors for contemporary and this book doesn't sound like it's going to disappoint!

I'm really sad about the UK cover (on the right) it just looks so vanilla! *Sigh* I will get over it.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Waiting on Wednesday (156)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Grace Mae knows madness.

She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

I am so madly in love with this cover! 

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Waiting on Wednesday (155)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Soundless by Richelle Mead

Release Date: November 17, 2015

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. 

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

I have adored Richelle Mead for years now and my excitement for this book is through the roof. 

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Book Haul (#102)

Hey,

I hope you are all doing brilliantly! It's been tough lately because exams are now hitting me full swing so I won't be posting a lot apart from my usual WoW posts. I promise there will be more reviews in the near future, I just need to get past these GCSEs. 

These past few weeks, I have received:

Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas - Received -
Thank you, Bloomsbury! I am a good half way through and I am loving the premise. It's about a boy who is allergic to electricity and a boy who was born without eyes. Cool as.
Made for You by Melissa Marr - Received -
Thank you, Harpercollins! I have not read anything by Melissa Marr since her Wicked Lovely series and I'm looking forward to delve back into her writing.

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich - Received -
Thank you, Hachette Children's Books! This is a murder mystery/psychological thriller and I don't think I've ever read anything like it so I'm pumped for this one.

Leave a link to your Book Haul/Letterbox Love/In My Mailbox/Showcase Sunday/Stacking the Shelves in the comments below so I can check it out!

Enjoy all your books,
Sam :)

Waiting on Wednesday (154)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Six of Crows (The Dregs #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: September 29, 2015

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Waiting on Wednesday (153)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

The Iron Warrior (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #3) by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: October 27, 2015

The Iron Prince—my nephew—betrayed us all. 

He killed me. 

Then, I woke up. 

Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned to learn that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was temporarily torn away. Although humankind's glimpse of the world of Faery lasted just a brief moment, the human world has been cast into chaos, and the emotion and glamour produced by fear and wonder has renewed the tremendous power of the Forgotten Queen. Now, she is at the forefront of an uprising against the courts of Summer and Winter—a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever. 

Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran himself: Ethan's nephew, and the traitor son of the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase.To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he and his girlfriend, Kenzie, search for answers long forgotten. In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D