Samantha van Leer

This is actually a rather cute book. Surprising enough, I read it rather quickly. I would have liked to have given it three and a half stars, but since I can't, I gave it four instead. The idea for the story was rather cute, and I myself can't deny having thought of something similar before--about having a character come to life and what not! All in all, I found it really cute and rather funny (having had a hard time not giggling out loud in the uni library). I'm pretty sure I'd recommend this if you're looking for something cute and also a really quick read. :)… (more)

Okay, so I actually really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure what my problem was, but this book (for me) took me ages to read.

It wasn't the characters. Delilah & Oliver are adorable. Socks, Frump & even Jules were great supporting cast. you even have fairies, wizards, dragons, mermaids, talking dog - EVEN Unicorns. It was just a very interesting story and great idea.

There was so much to love.

maybe it was the timing, maybe it was the pace - I just couldn't seem to really immerse myself into the story. althought, after about 200 pages, I didn't want to put the book down - I wanted to get my HEA.

and seriously, Go Edgar! LOL… (more)

It did take me some time to read this.

At first I thought it was cute and enjoyed the story very much. Then other books came out that I wanted to read more so I placed this down intending to come back to it. That was September of 2015. Here we are in March of 2016.

I have to be completely honest. I thought it was cute but sometimes I just felt like it was dragging a little. I felt sometimes as if I was reading the same thing over and over again. Which was part of why I put the book down. When I picked it back up I was already half way through the book and I really did want to finish it. After a few months away from this book I was glad that I finally picked it back up to finish. The ending was not what I was expecting. I was glad that everyone got what they wanted in the end.

I know that I said it took me awhile to read this and then I also put it down, you might not understand why I rated it even a four star if it took me so long. To be completely honest, while it took me awhile I still really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it almost like it was in parts.… (more)

Off the Page is the sequel to Between the Lines, both written by the mother-daughter duo mentioned above.

This book continues exactly where Between the Lines ends. Delilah and Oliver finally have their Happily Ever After, or do they? Oliver has successfully transitioned to the human world, trying his best to fit in, Delilah is wondering if she really did the right thing getting him out of his 2D world, and Edgar (can't tell you who this is without giving you a major spoiler about Book 1) is beginning to have major regrets over his decision. So basically, we have three misfits who are desperately trying to adjust to the change in their circumstances, and making a bigger mess in the process. Will there be a fairytale ending for this traumatised trio?

In terms of its story, this is a nice improvement over the first book, which itself was pretty good. I loved the chapters that came from Oliver's perspective. His attempts at fitting in the human world are sidesplitting. The insecurities of Delilah and Edgar are also very well-penned. And remember I had said that there are minor plotholes in the first book? Most of them are resolved in this story. That said, this is still fantasy, and it still involves fictional characters trying to get into the readers' world. So the questions in your mind won't end. You really need to keep aside your logic and just accept the content as a magical possibility.

Read it only if you have read Between the Lines, otherwise the story won't make much sense.

So,
Good News: This is a fabulous book if you are looking for something light-hearted and yet thoughtful.
Bad News: You can't read this without reading Between the Lines.

I'd rate this a 4.25.

Where this book massively scores over and above the first book is in its lines. I've already shared the brilliant introductory page a couple of days back. Here are a few more quotes that I loved:

❤️ Stories are all around us, caught in the throats of the strangers you walk past and scrawled on the pages of locked diaries. They’re in love letters that were never sent and between the lines of every conversation ever spoken. Just because your story’s not written down doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

❤️ What would you do if you only had one day left in this world? Spend it with the people you love? Travel to the far corners of the earth to see as many wonders as possible? Eat nothing but chocolate? Would you apologize for all your mistakes? Would you stand up to those you'd never had the courage to face? Would you tell your secret crush that you loved him or her? Why is it that we wait till the last minute to do the things we should be doing all along?

❤️ What one person takes away from a book might be very different from what the next person takes away -- almost as if the story is altered depending on who's reading, where, and when. But then, maybe all books are like that -- a little different each time they are opened. The real question is who's doing the changing: the story, or the reader.

❤️ You've seen those pictures of couples kissing in front of a Christmas tree, or clasping hands on their wedding day, or holding a newborn baby between them-a snapshot of joy. But what do you really know about them? Just that at the second the shutter clicked, they loved each other. You have no idea what trials came before, or after. You don't know if one of them cheated, if they grew apart, if a divorce loomed on the horizon. You simply see that in one static moment, they were happy.

❤️ The thing about a mom is that she's always there. She's the one who rubs your back when you have the flu, who manages to notice you have no clean underwear and does your wash for you, who stocks the refrigerator with all the foods you love without having to ask. The thing about a mom is that you never imagine taking care of her, instead of the other way around.

❤️ Because that’s what stories do. They help you escape, and they give you the chance to do things you never imagined you would or could. They let you feel heartbreak you’ve never had and experience adventures from the safety of your own room. They are dreams for those who are still awake.

❤️ Hope is what makes you look outside the window to see if it's stopped raining. Hope is what makes you believe he'll text you back. Hope is why you buy your jeans a little tight... Hope is why you get out of bed in the morning, and why you dream at night. Hope is what makes us believe that things can only get better. Hope is what keeps us going.

Wanna check out the first book? You can see my review here.


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