Review: Fire with Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Title: Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn #2)
Author: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release date: September 3rd 2013
Pages: 528
Genre: Young Adult
Source: BEA - I received an advance copy of this book at Book Expo America in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!
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Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance.
Not even close.
For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before.
And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him.
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn.
It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn...

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Burn for Burn was such a fun read, and Fire with Fire is just as entertaining. These books are perfect guilty pleasure reading - there's nothing deep or meaningful about them, but they're just so much fun to breeze through.

Both Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian have writing styles that I always enjoy. They write books that are always entertaining, simple as that. Both writing styles flow really nicely and make the pages turn quickly, even though this book is so long. Their styles work really well together. The characters they have created in this series are intriguing: no, they're not the most complex characters I've read about, but their stories are engrossing, and that's what counts. None of them are characters I can entirely agree with, but they're relatable nonetheless, and I enjoyed reading about them.

The story, though, I didn't enjoy as much in Fire with Fire as I did in Burn for Burn. In comparison, I feel like the sequel was lacking a certain drive. In Burn for Burn, the girls were brought together by their revenge plan, which pushed the plot throughout the novel. At the start of Fire with Fire, the girls have nothing of the sort to keep them together, so I didn't really see the point of the novel of at first. They do develop another revenge plan over the course of the novel, but it didn't seem as strong as the one in the first book. I wished the other girls' revenge plans that were mentioned in the first book had been elaborated on more in the sequel, instead of continuing on with the one that was already started in Burn for Burn.

In Burn for Burn, I was pleasantly surprised that the supernatural aspect didn't play too important a role in the story. That is still the case for most of Fire with Fire, up until the very end. And the ending... I really don't know what to make of that. The way it's left at the end of Fire with Fire, I don't think it makes all that much sense, to be honest. But I'm assuming the third book in the series, Ashes to Ashes, will elaborate on that storyline and hopefully make it all start to make sense.

Despite these smaller issues with the story, Fire with Fire is most definitely a fun read. If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read that doesn't require much thinking on your part, you should definitely give this series a try!

Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Title: Burn for Burn
Authors: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: September 18th 2012
Pages: 368
Genre: YA
Source: NetGalley
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Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.
Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person – her ex-best friend – and she's ready to make her pay.
Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.
Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I love both Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's earlier books, but I was a little worried about this one, since it's classified as paranormal and not contemporary, like both authors' previous books. But I had nothing to worry about! Really, Burn for Burn reads a lot more like contemporary than anything paranormal. There are a few hints at some supernatural powers, and I guess that'll be explored more later on in the series, but for the most part, Burn for Burn is contemporary. That might be disappointing to people who prefer paranormal books, but I, as a contemps-lover, appreciate that it takes place mainly in the real world.


Burn for Burn is so much fun. Really, that's the only way to describe it. It's not deep or meaningful, but it's just so entertaining to read. Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's styles are both great, and they work really well together. I'd love to know who wrote which parts - whether each of them wrote one character and they shared the third one, or what - since I honestly couldn't tell. The writing on both parts flows very nicely, making this a quick read. It's not too descriptive or ornate, but it makes it so easy to get lost in the story.


I'm not sure what to make of the characters. I didn't exactly like them or agree with their decisions, and each of the girls frustrated me at some point, but I didn't even care, for some reason. They're just fun people to read about! Especially Lillia and Kat have some serious sass and attitude, which made it hard for me to feel for them, but made them all the more entertaining characters. The same thing goes for the secondary characters - a lot of them are bitchy and mean, but that just caused for more drama and fun reading. In the beginning, I had some trouble keeping track of who's who, because of the varying POV and the large set of secondary characters, but I figured it out after a while.

At first, I was a little worried about the whole revenge thing, since it seems kind of... wrong, but I ended up really enjoying it. Again, I didn't agree with the characters' choices, per se, but I still couldn't wait for them to get revenge because it caused for so much fun reading. Burn for Burn is the perfect guilty pleasure read - you know you shouldn't be enjoying this because it's all so wrong and mean, but you can't help it. I loved Kat's and Mary's storylines, but I found Lillia's a little weak, to be honest. Her reasons for wanting revenge didn't seem as strong as the other girls', and I kept thinking something about what she'd heard would turn out not to be true, making me feel kind of bad for the guy she gets revenge on.


Burn for Burn is a quick and very entertaining read. If you go in expecting something meaningful, expecting it to be discussed whether or not the revenge these girls try to get is wrong, you'll probably be disappointed, but I didn't mind. This book is pure fun; total brain candy. I can't wait for the next book, even if I'm dreading the part where the supernatural stuff takes over.

Who are two authors you would love to see team up and write a book together?

Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

Title: Not That Kind of Girl
Author: Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Scholastic
Release date: September 1st 2010
Pages: 322
Genre: Contemporary YA; romance
Source: Bought
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Natalie Sterling wants to be in control. She wants her friends to be loyal. She wants her classmates to elect her student council president. She wants to find the right guy, not the usual jerk her school has to offer. She wants a good reputation, because she believes that will lead to good things.
But life is messy, and it's very hard to be in control of it. Not when there are freshman girls running around in a pack, trying to get senior guys to sleep with them. Not when your friends have secrets they're no longer comfortable sharing. Not when the boy you once dismissed ends up being the boy you want to sleep with yourself - but only in secret, with nobody ever finding out.
Slut or saint? Winner or loser? Natalie is getting tired of these forced choices - and is now going to find a way to live life in the sometimes messy, sometimes wonderful in-between.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


You know those books that you just love getting lost in? Where you can't put your finger on what makes the book so amazing, but you know for sure it's good? Yeah. That's what Not That Kind of Girl was like for me. There's no one thing about this book that's incredible, but it all just works so well. The story sucked me in from the first page on, and I just loved reading this book.


Siobhan Vivian's writing flows so nicely. It's not the most beautiful or expressive style I've ever read, but it's easy, the kind of writing that makes you get lost in the book. I didn't even notice the time passing while reading Not That Kind of Girl - I wanted to read a chapter or two, and when I looked up again, I'd read a hundred pages.


Natalie is a great character. I didn't like her for most of the book - some of her actions and the way she thinks made me so mad! I didn't love her as a person, but I loved reading from her POV. There's just something about her character that's so compelling. I loved reading about how she develops over the course of the story. That goes for Natalie's friends, Autumn and Spencer, too! I didn't love either of them as people, but I liked reading about them and seeing how they grew from beginning to end.


And then there's Connor. I loveloveloved Connor. Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure why - he's not the most complex or interesting love interest. But, much like with this whole book, there's just something about him that made me love him so, so much. I always found myself looking forward to their secret meet-ups in the barn - those scenes are seriously hot. I love how subtlely (is that a word?) hot the romance is in Not That Kind of Girl. It's not overly descriptive, but the amazing chemistry between Natalie and Connor made their scenes hot and swoonworthy, even when they weren't doing anything. I loved these two together!


I shouldn't have waited so long to read this book! What kept me from reading Not That Kind of Girl is the cover. But after reading the book... I don't hate it anymore! I still don't love it, since I'm just not a fan of covers with people kissing (or close-ups of faces in general), but I don't mind as much. It works well with the story, and that's really what's most important about book covers!


The ending is the only thing I didn't love about this book - it's a little too abrupt, in my opinion. It seems like all the issues wrap up a little too nicely in the end, and I would have liked some more time for that to happen naturally. The way it is, the ending seems a little forced. But maybe I just wanted the book to keep going!


Really, that's all there is to it. There's no one thing that makes this book incredible, but it's just so good. It's an addictive read with a style that's easy to get lost in. It's pure fun - perfect feel-good reading!

Review: Same Difference

Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
(Amazon / Goodreads)

Goodreads description:

Feeling left out since her long-time best friend started a serious relationship, sixteen-year-old Emily looks forward to a summer program at the Philadelphia College of Art but is not sure she is up to the challenges to be faced there, including finding herself and learning to balance life and art.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I had quite a few problems with it and am split on a lot of aspects, for example the main character, Emily. At times, she was so easy to relate to and understand, but at others I just wanted to shake her and make her stop imitating others and start being herself. Her journey was portrayed well, but in my opinion, Emily's progress in finding who she is happened too late in the book. At first, she imitates her friend Meg, and later, after going to art-school by herself, she imitates her new friend Fiona. That imitating Fiona instead of Meg was portrayed as progress, though, seemed wrong to me. Only in the very end does she try to be herself only.

I personally don't mind extremely self-conscious characters, but I've heard a lot of others say they're annoyed by main characters who are whiny and doubt themselves too much. If you don't like those kind of characters, this book isn't for you - there's a lot of whining and a lot of self-doubt. I don't usually mind that, though, as it's something I can relate to.
The other characters were okay. They were really well-written, but as people, both Meg and Fiona got on my nerves. How both of them blamed Emily and tried to manipulate her was annoying, especially from Fiona - she's supposed to be so different, but she can only be different if those around her like how she's different. I appreciated her character more, though, when we learned about her insecurities towards the ending.

The writing was great and vivid - it was so easy to imagine I was there with Emily, and teenage life was described realistically, both in her home-town and at the art-school. I loved how art was used to show Fiona's growth, and the aspect of the art was interesting in general.

The romance between Emily and Yates was okay. I loved Yates as a character, but I didn't like the romance as part of the main plot all that much. I would have preferred if Emily didn't have a love interest, as this would have helped her be only herself and not try to impress others as much.

Another problem I had with this novel was the predictability of the plot. From the first few chapters on, the reader knew (well, at least I did) how the storylines with Meg, Fiona, Yates, etc. were going to go, and except for the very end, there were no unexpected twists, which left me a little bored with some of the storylines.

Overall, this was an okay read. The writing was great, but the plot too predictable.If you like reading about insecure, self-doubting characters, you should read Same Difference, but if you're easily annoyed by those characters, I don't recommend this one for you.