Between the Lines & Off the Page - Reviews!

Title: Between the Lines / Off the Page
Authors: Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
Synopsis: Delilah loves a fairy tale she found in her school library. She knows it's just a story, but the characters - the Prince in particular - feel so real to her. And then the Prince talks to her. Between the Lines follows Delilah and Prince Oliver as they try to let Oliver live the life he's always wanted in the real world, and Off the Page picks up a few months after Between the Lines.
Rating for both books: 4 stars.

These books are the perfect light-hearted Summer reads! Not only is the plot incredibly appealing to booklovers - speaking to your favourite characters and bringing them to life? Yes, please! - but the writing is easy to read and the characters are fun and likeable. I think people say you can read these books in any order, but I think reading Between the Lines first will make Off the Page more enjoyable as I think you'll feel closer to the characters, having read another book with them in.

If you're thinking about reading Between the Lines, I would recommend it as it left me feeling happy and comforted in the way good contemporaries do.

*SPOILERS FOR BOTH BOOKS FROM THIS POINT ON*

So, I read Between the Lines first, and I found the whole world when the book is closed fascinating! This was such a unique idea, and I loved how the characters of the fairy tale were completely different when they weren't acting out the story. In a weird way, that setting felt more realistic than the high school, which seemed like the typical school you see in films and nowhere else, perhaps because of the stunning pictures and excerpts from the actual fairy tale that were included.

Oliver was kind, thoughtful - the perfect book boyfriend! - and I absolutely ADORED how well he fit into the high school! It made me smile (well, both of these books made me smile all the time, so I guess it made me smile even more!).

I liked Delilah at first, but then towards the middle of Between the Lines, she started to really annoy me. I get that she really cared for Oliver and felt that he understood her in a way she hadn't before, but that was no excuse to completely ditch her friend Jules, whom I really liked! I just didn't understand why she would do that. But I loved how Jules played a bigger role in Off the Page!

Her and Edgar's relationship was quite heart-wrenching, but it felt a little weird that she forgot about Chris. I think that's the thing with these books: if you think too hard about them, they're ruined. You have to suspend belief, but when you do you get an enchanting (like a fairy tale!) read.

 

Off the Page felt exactly like a rom-com or high school film - which I love - and I think it would make a good film. Off the Page had a stronger plotline than Between the Lines in my opinion, and was also more serious than Between the Lines, which I liked. The ending with Edgar and his mother in the book and Oliver and the Queen - who was one of my favourite characters - out of it was satisfying and felt like the right way to end Off the Page.

The only thing that I did not like AT ALL was Frump's story. He was a great friend to Oliver in Between the Lines, and I loved how he had that (at first) unrequited crush on Seraphima. And then in Off the Page (I think; I read these books one after the other so it's hard to remember what happened in which book) Frump becomes human, and we think yay, now he can be with Seraphima!

And then he DIES. What? I was completely shocked by this, and I didn't think it suited the light mood of the book, especially as everyone else got their happy endings. This was the only plot point that I didn't like, aside from the occasional repetitiveness of Between the Lines.

Have you read these books? What did you think? Who was your favourite character? Mine was either Oliver or the Queen.
Thanks for reading(:

July Bookhaul

July has ended, and I've managed to accumulate a crap-load of books.
Oops.
But it was to be expected, as July was YALC month (read about my YALC plans here), and I bought eight books at YALC alone. And then I had already bought a few books before YALC. And then it is possible that I ordered two other books off of Amazon after YALC. Possibly.
Oh well! I'd rather have lots of books to read than none.
Because I've bought so many books, and read a lot as well, I'm splitting up my bookhaul and wrap-up, so here is my July bookhaul!

The Haul:

• 1984 by George Orwell - This is one of the books I have to read for school in September, so I thought I would buy my own copy, as I'd feel more comfortable writing thing in a book I own (although even that will be awful!).
• Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - This is the book that has made me realise that I have to really think about the word 'lightning' before I spell it!
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - I have been really excited to read this book. I read the summary and thought it sounded amazing, and there are so many good reviews of this book.
• Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer - After seeing this book just about everywhere thanks to Booksplosion, I decided to cave and buy it as the premise sounded great: a fictional character coming out of their book. How many times have we wished that could happen?
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - I loved Cinder (my review is here), and badly wanted to continue on with The Lunar Chronicles, so I bought this and....
• Cress by Marissa Meyer - Now I can read these and be up to date by the time Winter is released!
• The Good Girls by Sara Shepard - The second (and final) book in The Perfectionists series, The Good Girls picks up right where The Perfectionist left off. Being a huge fan of Sara Shepard, I had to buy it and read it straightaway!
• Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini - I've been meaning to pick up this trilogy for a while, as it seems to be about magic and time travel, and I love books about time travel.
• Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid - This sounds like the perfect summer read, and the cover is gorgeous, so I bought it!
• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - Everyone seems to love this, so hopefully I will too!
  

The books I bought at YALC are mentioned in my YALC Adventures post, which you can find here.

I have actually read four and a half of the books I've bought in July already, so if you weren't going to check out my wrap-up, you should as I had a great reading month! Have you read any of the books I've mentioned? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading(: