roselaina
*3.5 STARS
(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)
Confession time: I don't like the Beatles (though I do love the Across the Universe soundtrack). I had no idea this was a Beatles reference, or I probably would not have picked it up. Thankfully, though, even though Penny was Beatles-obsessed, that in no way turned me off the book! I like it quite a bit. While some of the dialogue seemed a little stilted, Eulberg had a really great cadence to her writing that I thoroughly enjoyed. Penny stood up for some great things and learned a lot of good lessons throughout the story. It was a cute one!
See this and more reviews at Fictionally Inclined!
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I went into it without high hopes, as the YA I had just finished reading, with similar subject matter (Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti), had been a tremendous letdown. However, I would not even begin to compare the two now that I've read them.
It caught me at the end of the very first paragraph with this quote:
❝She held her head as if she were the period at the end of her own sentence.❞
There is a side mini-romance with Scarlet and a boy named Jesse, which is adorable, and I loved them. I'm a sucker for romance, so I was happy it was there, but honestly, the book was good enough, I would have enjoyed it without the side story. Although aspects of it did prove a catalyst of sorts, so I suppose it was necessary.
Wild Roses
Did it make you...
Laugh?
Cry?
Think?
(Vlog review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)
A great story with dynamic characters, an intriguing plot that didn't overshadow the romance, occasional wry humor, and great relationship development.
*4.5 STARS.(Review originally posted at Fictionally Inclined.)I did not know what to expect with this book. The only “kidnapping” books I've read are [b:Perfect 129617 Perfect (Second Opportunities #2) Judith McNaught http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171988350s/129617.jpg 1391556] by Judith McNaught and [b:Precious and Fragile Things 8487352 Precious and Fragile Things Megan Hart http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280528992s/8487352.jpg 13352674] by Megan Hart, which are vastly different from one another. Neither are young adult, although both are fantastic. Stolen was tagged with “romance” on Goodreads, but that does not necessarily guarantee a love story. Despite all this, I was still super excited to read it.I was so addicted to this book! For the first half, I kept only catching little 5-20 minute segments to read. It was maddening because the book was super intense and made you completely lose yourself in it. But I just couldn't quite get there because I kept getting interrupted. Finally, I'd had enough. I was planning on snagging another 20 minutes one night before I went to bed. Instead, I stayed up until 2 AM finishing it, despite the fact that I had to be up early the next morning. It was so good! Articulating how I feel about this book is going to be a challenge. Basically: I loved it. But describing why is a bit of a challenge. For one, when they're fictional, I love twisted, messed up relationships. A lot. The promise of this is a lot of what drew me to it in the first place. Stolen is rather controversial, due to the touchy subject matter. I've heard it's one of those books where you either love it or you hate it. I can definitely see how that would be the case. Ty kidnaps Gemma. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. There is more to the story, more that makes it possibly even more creepy. It is not an easy book to read. Regardless, I absolutely loved it. I never wanted to leave this world, whether it was due to interruptions or the end of the book.Christoper's prose is top notch. It is real and harsh, but beautiful and unique at the same time. The format of the first person voice written to the second person really worked. It was perfect for the story. It truly added a whole other quality that any other approach would not have included. I never would have thought of it, and I applaud Christopher's originality. Oh, and her descriptions of the land were wonderful. I have never been to the desert of Australia, so I cannot speak for the how realistic it was. But it did give a very convincing sense of authenticity. I honestly just loved the writing itself. A few samples:❝The deep blue of your eyes had secrets. I wanted them.❞❝I remember that feeling of skin. It's strange to remember touch more than thought. But my fingers still tingle with it.❞❝Instead, you smiled. Or tried to. It was like your eyes and your smile were fighting each other.❞This book messed with my head and heart so much. My emotions were in upheaval the entire time. I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know what I was supposed to want! This is actually a testament to how well written the book was, I think. There were mixed signals galore. You would think this would be horrible, but it wasn't. I was not sure how anything was going to work out. I was on the edge of my seat, clenching my blanket, biting my lip the entire time. And I loved every second.This is no fun, lighthearted book. It will mess with you. If you are prepared, though, I would highly recommend it.
Strong content warning for miscarriage. If that is a triggering subject for you, I would suggest skipping this book.
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Sadly, this one did not live up to The Push, but I still look forward to reading more from Audrain in the future.
I have been looking forward to this book since the cover reveal, but unfortunately, it fell a bit short of my expectations. If I were rating it purely as a checklist, it would be a 5 star read, but as a book, it was a little lacking. I read a lot of middle grade, but the tween angst in this book was truly on another level. A lot of it was completely justifiable and fit the story, but there was a portion of the book that honestly would have been better removed. It slowed the pacing unnecessarily and made the MC about 300% more annoying. I won't go into the others because they're just more personal pet peeves than anything. Overall, though, it was cute and a good story and definitely worth the read! Also, I'm a Beth fan for life. <3
3.5 stars.
(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)
My love of Jill Shalvis and her fabulous books continues! After reading Slow Heat, #2 in this series (yes, I read them backwards), I was excited for this one. It didn't let me down! I loved both the hero and the heroine. I enjoyed the way baseball was woven into the story, even though it is not my favorite sport. There were some great friendship portrayals, from Pace and Wade's close but easygoing and fun friendship to the one developing between Sam and Holly throughout the story. The dialogue was snappy and hilarious, and the chemistry between Pace and Holly was smoking. I could also totally relate to Pace and his Dr Pepper withdrawal. Poor guy! The love confession at the end was original and cute and fabulous. It also made me really happy to see the pre-set up for Wade and Sam, the h/hr from Slow Heat. All-in-all, Double Play was a great read, and you don't even have to love baseball to appreciate it.
A good collection! Winter Songs for Summer was definitely my favorite, and of course, I always love Simon and Baz. I've read Kindred Spirits twice before, and it holds up on a reread. In Waiting was spectacularly original, and I'm never going to think about all the characters who live in my head the same way again.
(Find my thoughts on this book and the entire Fever series here at The Book Barbies.)
It's very difficult to talk about this book without being spoilery. Suffice it to say, it was addicting. I loved it. I grew to like characters I wasn't crazy about before. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT finish this book without Shadowfever sitting next to you, ready to be opened. I have no idea how the people who read this series live did not go completely insane in the wait between these two books.
Enemies-to-lovers slow burn romance set in a bookstore at Christmas? Did Chloe Liese intercept my letter to Santa? Because that's EVERYTHING I LOVE.
The pacing was a bit odd, but I couldn't put it down, and the writing was fantastic. At times lovely, at times visceral.
Also, this book made me want to cook and/or eat all the things.
Will definitely be picking up other books by Emezi.
Maybe it was the fact that it took a long time to read (I started it with Dracula Daily but eventually meandered off on my own), so the pacing of an already slow book suffered. Maybe it was the narrator of my audiobook, who had a very pleasant and calming voice.
But whatever it was, I found this book to have only the barest hint of creepiness and barely any tension at all.
Three stars is me being nice. Also, Jonathan's journal at the beginning was very good. I don't know. I'm just glad it's over.
I did a reread tonight in preparation for Lowe's next book coming out tomorrow, and it holds up wonderfully on a reread!
(Audiobook note: Listening to this book directly after The Rising Storm was jarring, as Disney/TPTB/the narrator mysteriously decided to change the pronunciation of both Marchion AND Nihil. Does pronouncing it like part of “annihilation” make sense? Yes, of course. Do I think they should have just chosen one pronunciation and stuck to it? YES. This might just be my brain being difficult, but every single time I heard either one, it was like hearing someone play the wrong chord in a song. I actually switched to the ebook for the majority of the time.)
And LMFAO at Gray's heavy-handed attempts to get me shipping Elzar/Avar. Maybe it's because it's been so long since I read Light of the Fallen, but I felt absolutely Nothing for them??
As for the book as a whole, though: while I think it needed another editing pass (there were at least two chapters that contained nearly identical lines at different points, which is the kind of thing that should happen in first and second drafts, not published works), it was very good. It really sucked me in, and I wasn't bored for a second. I felt a myriad of emotions throughout the story, and I thought Gray juggled the various POVs very well.
*3.5 STARS.
(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)
I had wanted to read this book for quite some time before I actually got my hands on it. Even though I know next to nothing about hockey (and still don't, even after reading this book), it was an enjoyable read. The beginning was extremely similar to It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; I half expected the heroine's name to be Phoebe. But it was about Faith and hockey, not Phoebe and football, and the similarities pretty much ended at the premise. The book was good, but nothing about it was overwhelmingly wonderful. The heroine was attractive, and the hero was Alpha (and his name was Ty Savage, which should not be sexy but totally is). One thing that bothered me was that there were some awesome secondary storylines happening, but we really didn't get any resolution for them at the end. Overall, though, it was a cute and fast read.
(Read this and other reviews at Fictionally Inclined.)
My sister gave me this book to read, and since we usually have pretty similar taste, I trusted her judgment. The premise sounded good enough. Plus, look at the pretty cover! It turns out that I was right to trust her; I enjoyed this book a lot!
Academy 7 was so cute! It was a fast read, but it wasn't super light. It had substance, an interesting premise with good execution, and a decent plot. In fact, if anything, I would have liked to see some things fleshed out more, specifically the ending, which was a little abrupt. Regardless, it was still a pleasurable read. I particularly enjoyed the original world Osterlund had created. I am...strange when it comes to sci-fi. I am not usually a fan unless it is a background for a romance, and even then, I'm picky. But this worked for me. And it was so nice to actually have a story in a different universe that – gasp – wasn't part of a series. Now, don't get me wrong; I love a good series. I also happen to be impatient, though, and I hate waiting in between the books. Plus, I am always worried that I will forget the details and it won't be as great of an experience as reading the books back-to-back. Which is true to some extent, although I have started to get over that. There are just too many things I'm dying to read that are the first in a series; I know I will cave on at least some of them. But I digress.
The main thing I loved about this book was the development of the relationship between the two main characters. Aerin is so hesitant about everything at first, including actually having a friend in Dane. She just broke my heart and made me want to hug her. But the way they naturally develop from strangers (with some animosity on one side) to friends to, eventually, more was so realistic and beautiful. It grew naturally, and the way their feelings were portrayed was perfect.
Oh, and there was sparring! Which always makes me happy.
This was a cute, satisfying read that left me with a smile on my face – the perfect way to spend my Friday morning.
This book made me want to bake ALL THE THINGS. Best read with a cinnamon roll close at hand.
Was the plot a bit of a mess? Sure. Should the author have double checked the Mamma Mia soundtrack before mentioning it includes a certain song? Probably. But it was just so fun and delightful (and diverse!), and I loved Aguirre's purposeful way of taking common tropes and turning them around. Four stars!