Mini-reviews: Rose Under Fire and Tumble & Fall

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
Publisher: Disney Hyperion 
Publication date: September 10th 2013.
My rating: 3 stars

While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbr ck, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that's in store for her? Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.

Rose under Fire is another powerful and compelling story by Elizabeth Wein. I was completely overwhelmed by her debut novel Code Name Verity and so was expecting no less from her here. Just like with Code Name Verity I found it extremely difficult to get into this story. But with Code Name Verity, once I got past the initial struggle I was hooked, however with Rose under Fire this was not the case. I hugely liked Rose’s character and her strength and her resilience that she displayed but I never felt myself invested in her story like I was with Maddie and Verity. These two brought out so many different emotions within me. Whereas I’m sad to say that despite bringing such a brilliant diverse range of characters, not one really shone through for me. However I did appreciate the comradeship that came through this book that despite coming from different places and pushed to the limits in many ways, these girls were a solid team with them doing everything to help each other out. Rose under Fire is a beautiful read you just have to read all the praising reviews to see this is the case. Being the mood reader I have lately become, I can only explain this being the reason for not enjoying this one more.

Tumble & Fall  by Alexandra Coutts
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Publication date: September 17th 2013
My rating: 3 stars 

A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand.

Tumble & Fall is another book which I knew I had to immediately read after seeing the gorgeous cover. I guess it’s kind of my fault for not reading the blurb more carefully, but who is the couple on the cover meant to represent?, maybe I was expecting more romance from the story, the cover does seem to convey this is what the book would be about. The three different pov’s we got from Caden, Sienna and Zan I didn’t mind. It was interesting learning about these three different individuals back stories and then seeing them intertwine together. But once again I only found myself invested in one story and what a beautiful one it was. I think if it wasn’t for Zan’s story I probably would have given up on this story very early on. But I loved watching Zan go on her journey to discover the truth and the ever loyal Nick by her side. Coutts from very early on led me to believe what had actually gone down between Zan and her boyfriend, but I’m glad that despite this Zan went out to find out more. Where I was fully invested with Zan’s story, with Caden and Sienna, not so much, I even admit to skimming over some of their parts. Tumble & Fall may have not been one of the most memorable reads for me of this year, but Zan’s story definitely found a special way to my heart.