Olga Gay Worontzoff left the Underworld for her final year of high school anxious for things to return to normal, but fate has other plans.

The new hottie at school reads her thoughts but nobody else’s. Her best friend wakes up from his coma acting like a completely different person. Caught in a world that’s a mix of familiar and supernatural, she must confront what she will—or won’t—do to bring him back and stare down her own perceived inadequacies to face a couple of tenacious demons, figurative and literal.

Everything she thought she knew about reality will change as she walks the line between past and present, fear and faith, love and loyalty.

And by the end of a heartbreaking year, she might be forced to realize “normal” in the conventional sense of the word is the one thing she may never achieve.

Find Online: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of 18 Thoughts for this blog tour and an honest review!

For this review I thought I stick to the theme and present it in 18 thoughts (more like ramblings). Make that one.

2. I'd only just finished reading 18 Things, the first book in this series before starting this one (as I read 18 Truths already last year). Therefore at the beginning it felt like I was reading a different version of the same novel.

3. As many things synchronized, I actually quite liked that.

4. In the second part I started remembering things from the second book as well, and I felt a shift from it feeling like the first book to feeling like the second book.

5. Unfortunately, this also involved more of the somewhat preachy tone that annoyed me in the second book.

6. Although I really liked the idea they got to do things over and have another shot at life I didn't like what else was thrown at them. But I won't go into spoiler here.

7. The only people that seemed important were Olga, Nate and Conner. The rest of their friends were mainly interchangeable.

8. The Angels and Demons felt like caricatures rather than characters.

9. Speaking of the afterlife; I still wonder why there's a high school in Juvie. If they're supposed to stay there forever, why the school?

10.

11. I didn't like what was happening to Conner because I felt the only reason it was happening to him was because he's *horror* an atheist, which brings me back to point five.

12. I could've done without the love triangle.

13. Why are there always different (1st person) POVs?

14. I did like the fact that Nate was able to read Olga's thoughts. I'm not sure how it was supposed to work or why it were only her thoughts he could read, but I could completely understand how self-conscious this made Olga and how she was unable to stop thinking embarrassing thoughts.

15. Why does Olga get to work in a bookshop but I don't? (I guess that's the sin of envy, oh no!)

16. After 'the thing' happens to Olga, the book lost me a bit as it all seemed a bit, I'm not completely sure how to say it since it's a fantasy novel anyway, unreal. Perhaps not original enough to really leave an impression or to wow me.

17. But I couldn't stop reading these novels. I only have the records for the books I read recently but both were finished within 24 hours each. Which is an accomplishment if you keep in mind that I spent most of the day visiting a friend. They were very hard to put away as soon as I started reading. The writing was very easy to read too.

18. Overall, this was a very enjoyable series. I've not that much experience with reading contemporary novels, but I did enjoy myself. I wasn't always to enthusiastic about the sometimes preachy undertone, but it didn't spoil all reading pleasure for me. I would definitely check out any new books written by Jamie Ayres.

(Bonus thought: Not specifically for this book, but isn't the title of this series, My So Called Afterlife, a major spoiler for 18 Things?)

18 Thoughts is the conclusion to the My So Called Afterlife-trilogy. You can also read my reviews for the other books: 18 Things and 18 Truths.

About Jamie Ayres:

Jamie Ayres writes young adult paranormal love stories by night and teaches young adults as a public school teacher by day.

When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this.

She lives in southwest Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She spent her youthful summers in Grand Haven, Michigan and this setting provided the inspiration for her debut novel, 18 Things.

She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she’s thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you. Visit her website at www.jamieayres.com

Find Jamie Ayres Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Follow my travels as I visit the world via books (since I have neither the money nor the time to do it in real life). It's not meant as a challenge (for my) but I'm just curious to see how many places I visit whilst reading. So I keep track of them and update the maps every ten books. Prepare and get ready for the next ten stops...

After my exams I now had one week to relax before starting again, and I think it's safe to say I used it one reading. I read more than 10 books, which means it's time for another update on my 'travelling'.

Only one book this time that didn't really have a setting that was made clear: Chronicles of Steele: Raven.

This episode focusses mostly on North America it seems. After starting in Chicago (Illinois, US) for Under Different Stars, I moved on to Michigan (US) for 18 Things to which I returned for 18 Thoughts after a short break in the UK for a literary festival (Fest). I then went to Boston (Massachusetts, US; The Scarlet Letter - Manga Classics), followed by New York (US; Seventh Heaven) and Seattle (Washington, US; Zhukov's Dogs). A short trip to Canada (Whisper) eventually lead to Florida (US; Half Lies), the last stop on this part of the journey.

Part 21-30:

Countries Visited: 3 (Canada, UK, US)

New Countries Visited: 1 (Canada)

Continents Visited: 2 (Europe, North America)

New Continents Visited: 0

American States Visited: 6 (Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Washington)

New American States Visited: 5 (Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York)

New Places: 6

Most Visited Country: USA (7)

Most Visited Place: Michigan, US (2)

Not Set: 1

Total:

Countries Visited: 6 (Canada, France, Germany, Spain, UK, US)

Continents Visited: 2 (Europe, North America)

American States Visited: 10 (California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington)

Most Visited Country: USA (14)

Most Visited Place: London, UK (3)

Not Set: 5

Also read my earlier travels:

Part 1 - Part 2

During a sailing trip on Lake Michigan, Olga Gay Worontzoff's best friend - and for ever secret crush - Conner gets killed after being struck by lightning and falling into the cold water. Olga blames herself for his death and attempts suicide/takes an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. She's then sent to a psychiatrist who suggests she makes a list of 18 things to help her cope. Hence the title.

I read the second book in this series, 18 Truths, last year. I know that's not how you're supposed to read it, but I ended up with an ARC and found it intriguing enough to now want to read the first and also the third book. I do suggest though to start with the first book.

Having already read 18 Truths meant I was going into this book already knowing how it would end. However, it didn't bother me, although I was wondering how look it would have taken me to figure it out by myself.

I really enjoyed reading it. Not too much is happening, but I find that refreshing every now and then. I do need to warn people that can't stand any mention of religion in books though. This book suffered the least from it, but I noted in my review of the second book and also while reading the third book that it felt preachy at times (which is IMHO annoying, I like to be able to make up my own mind), but here it's more like a mention she's praying or going to church (which I don't mind reading).

In the end I think it was a good start to the series. It's not something I read a lot, but it was nice for a change.

18 Things is the first book in the My So Called Afterlife-series. The other books in this series are 18 Truths and 18 Thoughts (Review to come)

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Moonlight Reader started the TBR Thursday, and I think it's a good way to a) show what new books I've got and b) confront myself with my inability to lower my TBR. In fact, since I started recording it, it has risen significantly. I get the feeling I'm doing something wrong here...

Tomorrow I have my last exam and that it's one week of freedom before the next (busy) semester starts again. After two months of exams and studying I'm really looking forward to this vacation!

Reading this week has not been so great. I've been extremely tired (see above). I did add however more new books, even though I was trying not to. Once again less than last week (it fits in one post!) and I hope that next week I won't add new books. (But I can't promise anything).

TBR pile currently stands at 317. (+14)

(Netgalley ARCs at 139 (+11))

I received a free copy from Curiosity Quills Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the cover, that made me decide I wanted to read the book. I didn't know it was the second book in a series, but I didn't feel like I missed a lot by not reading it before 18 truths (of course, I missed all Olga's 18 things, but it didn't seem that important).

Olga has just found out she's dead, to make things worse: she's been dead for the last year and has ever since reside in a place in the Underworld called Limbo. This also means that everything she did during the last 12 months wasn't real (including her 18 things). Olga and her (also dead) boyfriend Nate decide to become spirit guides, who trick other people like themselves in 'living' in Limbo.

But, now she knows she's dead, Olga wants to find the boy she's been secretly in love with for the last 12 years, who's - you guessed it - also dead (but not in Limbo).

Overall, I liked the story., at times there was nice wit and humour. It felt a bit like Percy Jackson but with Christian Mythology (angels, demons etc) instead of Greek Mythology. I thought the whole Underworld setting was original and interesting. But, what I didn't like was that the book felt, at times, very preachy. The book kept telling me how you won't be able to enter Heaven unless you believe in God, and there is a lot of mentioning when it's really not necessary, like:

The I.Q. God gifted me with...

Speaking of I.Q; Olga's supposed to be super smart, with a photographic memory and all. Such a shame she apparently wasn't interested in European Literature, because reading Faust would have really helped her during the story =)

An extra course in logic could have helped as well. She's afraid they're going to kill someone, but - I hate to be the one to break the news to you - he's been death for the last 13 months, he'll be OK. And how are you supposed to do a lobotomy on a spirit?!

Then there's the (in YA almost omnipresent) love triangle. The characters apparently didn't see it coming, well, I did. Why does there always have to be a love triangle? Why?

I was pretty sure her idea of Heaven included an unlimited supply of books and coffee

 

You could keep the coffee, but I'd definitively want the unlimited book supply!