What a Girl Wants by Lindsey Kelk

What a Girl Wants (2014) (Harper)
Lindsey Kelk
Grade: B+
Genre: chick lit
Sex scenes: mild
Source: library
About a Girl: (1) About a Girl, (2) What a Girl Wants

Romance RBC 2014: A book with 'girl/woman' in the title 

Not so very long ago, Tess Brookes had her life turned upside down. Her job at an advertising agency was her life, so when she’s made redundant, she thinks her life is over. This tumultuous period leads to Tess making a host of other bad decisions, including sleeping with her best friend Charlie and impersonating her bitchy housemate Vanessa and taking Vanessa’s place on a photoshoot in Hawaii. It is during this trip that Tess rediscovers her love for photography and realises that she is actually really good at it.

The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite (2013) (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Kiera Cass
Grade: B-
Genre: YA dystopian
Source: NetGalley / own
The Selection: (1) The Selection, (2) The Elite 

In a future where WWIV rocked the world and the new country of Illéa lives under a brutal and unfair caste system, life is changing rapidly for 17-year-old America Singer. She was one of thirty-five girls picked for The Selection, an outdated process that was originally aimed at bringing the country together and garnering public support for the monarchy. Thirty-five girls have been whittled down to six, and America, a Five and the lowest caste left in the competition, has got all to play for …

Crossed by Ally Condie

Crossed (2011)
Ally Condie
Grade: B-
Genre: dystopian YA

Source: library
Matched: (1) Matched, (2) Crossed

When Society decides what you eat, what work you do and who you have children with, not everyone is going to blindingly obey. The vast majority have been indoctrinated to believe that this is the only path to follow, but underneath the surface, if you know where to look, dissenters exist aplenty. Society has its ways of controlling those who are more vocal in their dissent; those like Cassia are more aware of what will happen to them if they lash out and instead keep one ear open for any news to do with the Pilot who it is said will lead The Rising.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection (2012)

Kiera Cass

Grade: A-

Genre: YA dystopian

Source: NetGalley

The Selection: (1) The Selection, (2) The Elite

The Selection is a life-changing experience for all thirty-fives girls who are chosen, even if they don't win. It's the traditional means of finding a wife for the Crown Prince of Illéa whereby one girl is chosen from every province to live the high life of the royalty in the palace. As the prince spends more time with the girls, he’ll eliminate them until he’s left with one girl who will become his wife. A reality television Princess-finding process, as it were, since the people of Illéa tune in weekly during the Capital Report to watch the progress of the Selected and are just as enthusiastic - if not more so - about who will become Queen than the prince is. The Selection is open to all girls between the ages of sixteen and twenty, whatever their caste. An eligible girl would be crazy not to enter; America Singer is by this definition, crazy.

Awakening by S.J. Bolton

Awakening (2009)
S.J. Bolton
Grade: A
Genre: Gothic thriller crime (from the mouth of the lovely Sharon Bolton herself)
Sex scenes: n/a but some wonderful sexual tension
Source: bookshelf in the Transworld/RHCB building

Clara Benning is very happy as a wildlife vet in Dorset, tending injured badgers, birds and hedgehogs as well as the more mundane household pets, despite being perfectly qualified to work in a big zoo - something she tried but didn't like. Quiet village life suits her, though Clara makes a concerted effort to avoid seeing and coversing with the few neighbours she has; despite being deliberately blunt and rude, her neighbours continue to be nothing but friendly. When Clara begins to see an increasing number of snake cases, she refuses to believe it to be the work of the local gang as many suspect; herpetology being a speciality of hers, she investigates deeper.