joanne macgregor – Playground of Randomness

Tag: joanne macgregor

22
Sep
2017

Fiction Friday: The Law of Tall Girls by Joanne Macgregor

The Law of Tall Girls by Joanne Macgregor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Peyton is a very tall girl who makes a bet that she can get a guy who is even taller than her to take her on three dates and the prom. However finding a guy who is taller than her, interesting and single turns out to be a challenge. The number one person on Peyton’s “Tall Guy” list is Jay. But while Jay is taller than Peyton, gorgeous and charming, he is also taken. But when Peyton and Jay are both cast as the leads in the school play (an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet), things might turn a turn in Peyton’s favor. If she can keep all her secrets locked safely away from Jay, that is.
The whole idea of a romance between characters playing Romeo and Juliet in their school play seemed incredibly cliched but Joanne Macgregor carries this out in a wonderfully real way. I loved seeing all the effort that went into the play and the romance happened naturally. Instead of the play driving the romance, both the play and the romance seemed to happen at the same time which was great. As a tall girl, I found this book difficult to get into at first. It just reminded me of my awkward teen years (which I honestly didn’t want to be reminded of now. I’m an adult now. Being tall doesn’t bother me anymore but reading this book brought back alot of those old feelings of inadequacy). However which I got through my tall girl issues, I devoured this book. I loved Peyton and Jay’s character and I loved that their families had such interesting backstories (especially since so few YA novels mention parents and other relatives). This book was funny, entertaining and dealt with real-life issues. I definitely recommend this book to fans of YA contemporary fiction.

View all my reviews

14
Nov
2016

Book Review: Rebel (Recoil #3) by Joanne Macgregor

categories: Books, Reviews

Rebel by Joanne Macgregor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so thrilling! Unfortunately life got in my way so I didn’t start this book as soon as I wanted to. Not being able to instantly dive into this book upset me so I ended up reading the ending first (and then spoiled the entire book for myself). Aside from that very stupid mistake on my behalf, I absolutely loved this book. I was so thrilled to see Jinx and Quinn again. There is so much of character development in this book. I started off hating characters and wishing them dead (I can’t help it. Some of the characters were really hateful) but by the end of the book I really liked them. This was a super-fast read that was difficult to put down. Fans of dystopian fiction will love this book! The characters are incredible and so very clever! The writing is great and the plot is unique. This book blew my mind.

View all my reviews

29
Jul
2016

Fiction Friday: Book Review- Refuse (Recoil Trilogy #2) by Joanne Macgregor

categories: Books, Reviews

Refuse by Joanne Macgregor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Refuse” picks up instantly after the thrilling cliffhanger in “Recoil”. Jinxy is captured and taken in for questioning. The great thing about this book is that it does eventually provide a recap of the previous book. This is really helpful since I couldn’t really remember precisely what the government’s real agenda was.
Jinxy finds out that her ex-boyfriend’s brother is being held in the same facility that she is and she’s desperate to get him out (she was the one who put him in there in the first place).
To do this she has to get back into the organisation that captured and tortured her. Cam Jinxy stand to go back to the people who think nothing of torturing a child? Will she even be accepted back into an organisation that thinks of her as a traitor to their cause?
This book was such a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I hated some characters with such intensity and I loved other characters with the same intensity. My favourite part of Joanne Macgregor’s writing is that she always creates characters that are well-fleshed out and real. (Honestly I started this series to see more of Macgregor’s great characterisation but stayed for the intriguing plot). The characters in “Refuse” certainly do not disappoint. I especially enjoyed seeing how characters have developed since the first book.
I loved that this book had the same fast-paced action as the first one. Jinxy has so many unique skills that help her throughout the novel. At several points I literally had to put the book down to absorb all the clever things she found or did.
“Refuse” was a wonderful read but again, I strongly believe this is a series that should be binge-read. The book was 50 chapters which I found intimidating at first but at the end I really wanted more.
I think this series is one of the most unique and believable dystopian books around. The issues with the government in this series is something we see everyday.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fiction or dystopian novels. Hell, read it even if you don’t like dystopian novels. This is just that great of a read. I found this book impossible to step away from.

View all my reviews

Purchase a copy of Refuse from Readers Warehouse

20
May
2016

Fiction Friday: Recoil by Joanne Macgregor

categories: Books, Reviews

Recoil by Joanne Macgregor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I feel this review should start with a warning- this book is part of a series (which will all thankfully release this year).I don’t generally like dystopian fiction but I really enjoyed this book. I feel like with the hundreds of dystopian novels that are already out, you can either go very right or very wrong with the genre. My first impression of Recoil was that it was very strange but in a good way. This is a world where people can die if they go outside without proper protection. A lethal plague poses a danger to everyone and they are forced to remain at home 24/7.Jinxy is a teen who is an eager gamer. (What else would she do with all her free time?) Jinxy is soon recruited to join in the force against the terrorists and meets Quinn. However Quinn seems to suspect that their new job is a part of something bigger and more terrifying. What I loved about this book (besides the hot Irish male- I have a weakness for boys in books AND the Irish so obviously I loved Quinn) was that it was pretty different from the usual dystopian book. Unfortunately I can’t say any more without giving spoilers but trust me, if you like dystopian books you’re going to love Recoil.

View all my reviews