Category: Book Reviews

Review: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Posted August 29, 2014 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

Okay honestly I can’t believe I didn’t read this book sooner. It has been my most anticipated read of the year, hands down, and I guess I kept waiting to see if it would go on sale. I decided to just say fuck it and decided to make it a part of Bout of Books. I am so, SO glad I finally read this one (although I kind of wish I waited a little longer so it would be closer to the release of the second book). To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before easily gets five stars from me. I loved every second of it. I LOVED loved LoVeD the characters. Before I get too carried away – this book is about how Lara Jean’s life is turned upside down when her box of letters is released to their intended recipients. In order to get over a boy she likes, she writes a letter to them and hides it in a hatbox under her bed. One day, the letters are mysteriously sent out and she has to deal with the repercussions. One of the boys is her sister’s ex-boyfriend Josh, who is also their longtime friend/neighbor. Another is the popular boy at school, Peter, who was her first kiss. Lucas, a third boy at her school, becomes her close friend after getting her letter and helps her make sense of everything happening to her. Every character in this book was so fun to get to know. Lara Jean was blessed with an amazing […]

Review: The Heiresses

Posted August 27, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Review: I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase “guilty pleasure.” That’s exactly what this book (and literally any and all other books by Sara Shepard are). I just wanted to get that out of the way first before you holler at me and say how shitty this book is. I’ve read the entire PLL series and I’m FULLY aware of Shepard’s writing style and plot devices and anything else you could think of. The thing is – I don’t care. I would read her grocery list because I think somehow she would manage to surprise me. Maybe you thought this book was predictable if you’ve read it. The thing is, I don’t try to predict anything when it come to suspense books. I prefer to be surprised. I may make a guess or two about things but never want to be right. I’m sure if I really sat hard and brought my thinking up just one more level, I would have been able to figure more out. I just don’t want to. I could make the jokes that everyone and their mother made in their Goodreads reviews, but I’ll resist the urge. (They are pretty funny though, you should look) Sara Shepard has been vague about if this is a series (although Goodreads suggests that it is).. I’ve gotta say that after that ending- there better be a second book. It kept me interested and intrigued throughout the entire thing, which is really what a good book boils down to. […]

Review: Love Letters to the Dead

Posted August 25, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Review: Before I say anything and you think three stars means this is going to be mostly bad review – it really isn’t. I liked this book. I just didn’t love it and I found a lot of things that I didn’t connect with. I was so excited about this book; I loved the cover and it had been on my wish list for a very long time. When I saw the low audiobook price, I knew I needed it. I planned to listen for Bout of Books while driving up to spend a few days in Maine. I was able to finish it within 2-3 days thanks to the heavy amount of driving. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it didn’t really end up meeting them. The thing I really liked about Love Letters to the Dead was the fact that it was written strictly in letters. I absolutely loved this format; it worked perfectly for the storyline. I loved seeing who Laurel was going to write the letter to (she stuck to the same few people) and how she was going to relate her experiences to the dead person’s. The person she wrote to always connected, in some way, to the letter and to her life. That was a really cool touch, especially because they were people I knew and loved too. The book had some amazing quotes that made me wish I was able to highlight on my Kindle. I can see why people described this […]

Review: Boomerang

Posted August 23, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

10% through Boomerang and already smiling to myself like an asshole. I love these characters already #boutofbooks — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 18, 2014 Review: Okay so this is EXACTLY what I want from a new adult book. This story was so funny and cute; I couldn’t get enough of it. You can tell from the cover and the description that it’s just going to be a fun, light read. I didn’t expect to find a whole lot of heavy shit in it and luckily that was true. (I read Dangerous Boys after this… maybe I should have switched the order). Like the plotline, the characters were so fun. The characters were very likable and believable. I found that they talked and acted like most people my age; it was refreshing. I related to them in so many ways. Both of them had past relationships that fucked with their heads in different ways. Mia was in a relationship where she was under-appreciated and used. (Been there) Ethan was in a long-term relationship with someone who was the wrong fit for them; eventually things got too boring and one of them cheated. (Been there, too) Aside from their relationships, the characters had so many interesting pieces to their personalities. Mia was the definition of a “cool girl” who could get along with the guys and not get too bent out of shape about the little things. She was an aspiring filmmaker who wanted to get out of her photographer mother’s shadow. Ethan was…a different […]

Review: Dangerous Boys

Posted August 21, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

If I highlight the first paragraph of a book… I can tell it's going to be good. @abbymcdonald #DangerousBoys #YES — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 19, 2014 Review: I’m certainly not the first person, and I won’t be the last person, to say HOLY SHIT this book was crazy. I’m not sure what I was expecting with this one, but based on other people’s reviews I was prepared for something absolutely wild and full of twists. This book delivered in very many of those ways. Unlike a lot of people, I couldn’t bring myself to give it five stars and I’m still kind of trying to figure out why. Lately, every thriller/mystery/suspense book I even THINK about reading is compared to Gone Girl. I couldn’t even come close to predicting the vast majority of twists in that book. That was a five star-worthy suspense book for me because it kept me guessing literally with every page. For the most part, Dangerous Boys did the same. I kept wondering who was the boy in the hospital, who did she pick, and what the fuck was generally going on. Primarily I was thinking – how the HELL is this book going to end? I was already disappointed in the ending of Gone Girl! The ending here didn’t disappoint. It made my mouth drop open. (I think I jumped the gun talking about the ending so early in the review but whatever – Abigail Haas can start her book at the end so I can start my […]

Mini Reviews: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and Ajax Penumbra 1969

Posted August 20, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

I read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore a few months ago for my Book Club. I saw it in the store and was intrigued by the story, and then I had the excuse to push it higher on my list for the meeting. I really enjoyed it; the concept was beyond what I normally read. When I saw that there was a prequel, I was definitely interested in reading it eventually too. I saw it on Audible recently and it was only an hour and 45 minutes long. Without further ado, here are my MINI REVIEWS for both books! Mini Review: Who wouldn’t want a 24-hour bookstore, with high ceilings and infinite shelves of books? The summary Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore immediately grabbed me. Clay begins working in this peculiar store when he loses his job within advertising. He has the late, overnight shift and makes crappy money. He wonders how the bookstore stays open when there are so few actual customers. The only people who really enter the shop are not even buying books – they’re taking them out as if it were a library. He becomes curious about the old books he needs to climb up to the ceiling to get. Clay and his friends slowly uncover the mysteries of the bookstore and its clientele. Clay begins cataloging the books and the store’s clients, when he starts to notice some odd patterns. He eventually learns the secrets of Mr. Penumbra’s store and what the readers are looking to achieve. This book […]

Isla Is Coming Readalong / Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Posted August 18, 2014 / Book Challenges, Book Reviews, Features / 4 Comments

The Isla Is Coming readalong kicked off on the last day of July and I decided to take part! Unlike most people participating, I’m reading the series for the first time. (Click on the picture above to read the informational post). I finished Anna and the French Kiss WAY too early and waited to start Lola and the Boy Next Door with the rest of the readers. I finished Lola within 24 hours as well! Of course, the point of the readalong is to gear up for the third book’s release – Isla and the Happily Ever After on the 14th. I pre-ordered it and anxiously awaited for it to come in. It was worth the wait. Without further ado, here’s my final review for the Isla Is Coming readalong! ISLA IS HERE!!! Review: Oh god, how am I going to write this review without A) squealing and swooning like a child and B) not repeating the lovely things everyone else has already said about this book. This author. This series. IT’S ALL PERFECT. I don’t have any idea how Stephanie Perkins can write very typical young adult romance books but have them be so different, so original, and so amazing. First off, Isla was different because the two characters, Isla and Josh, started their relationship fairly early in the book. It was not about how they came together, but how they stayed together and how their relationship grew. In both Anna and Lola, the couples took some time to get their shit together and make it work. The […]

Review: All Our Yesterdays

Posted August 16, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

Back story: Let me first tell you about the funny coincidence surrounding my exposure to this book. I was browsing my Bloglovin feed and came across this post by The Library Canary. Even though I hadn’t read the book yet, I read her post about the author trying to make a sequel but deciding she would be forcing something that wasn’t meant to be. I was like damn, that’s cool of her to go against publishers/contracts and do what is right for her and the book. I was intrigued by the book but was a little skeptical. Time travel is cool, but this sounded a little more sci-fi than I prefer. Anyways, I went over to Audible a few minutes later to see what their Daily Deal was, and THIS was the deal! I couldn’t believe the coincidence and downloaded it ASAP. It was a sign. Audiobook feelings: At first, I wasn’t a fan of the narrator. As the book went on, I realized I liked her more than past narrators because she sounded more mature. Instead of the YA contemporary audiobooks I was used to, this narrator sounded professional and a shit-ton less whiny. BUT hearing her try to make British and Spanish accents made me cringe and want to jump out of my moving car. (Yeah I mostly listened to this on my commutes to work). Jesus. It was rough. Review: This book and storyline was SO COOL. I loved the way it was written. The book switched […]

Review: The Distance Between Us

Posted August 14, 2014 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

Review: This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a long time, but unfortunately was released before I really started getting back into reading like a crazy person. I can’t believe I waited this long because it was so, so cute. Character-wise, this book definitely had some winners. Caymen was hilarious with her sarcasm and dry sense of humor. I laughed out loud quite a few times thanks to her. She was definitely the kind of girl I wanted to be friends with. Caymen and her mom live above the doll shop that they own and work at, struggling to make ends meet. Her father isn’t in her life because he took off the moment her mom announced she was pregnant at a young age. Simultaneously, her mom’s parents disowned her. She used the “keep quiet” money from Caymen’s father to start up the doll shop and since then was not having the best time keeping up with her bills. Since her wealthy ex left her, Caymen’s mom has a lot of hatred towards rich people. We learn that there is a lot more to her story than that, which makes a lot more sense as to why she feels so strongly about it. Enter Xander Spence (excuse me as I barf at his name – really Kasie West? XANDER?), who is coming to the doll shop to buy a present for his grandmother. Caymen instinctively keeps her distance, but is inevitably drawn to him anyways. He has the […]

Review: Where She Went

Posted August 13, 2014 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Contains spoilers if you haven’t read If I Stay! Review: If you haven’t read If I Stay [review here], you should probably read that before reading this review! Overall, I liked this one better than If I Stay. I think. To me, they were just so different. The first book is from Mia’s perspective, where you learn about her family, friends, and boyfriend as she decides if she should live or die. Once you get to know her parents and brother, you understand why this is a difficult decision for her, now that they have passed away. She can take the easy route and join them wherever they ended up, or she can struggle through the rest of her life without her family but with her boyfriend and bright musical future ahead of her. She ends up deciding to stay. At the end of the book, I was itching to know a little bit more about what happens next. I didn’t feel like there was closure. I think that If I Stay could have been a standalone, but I’m glad it wasn’t. I loved Adam from the first book and when I learned that Where She Went was from his perspective, I was very excited…. until I read the plot summary. She left him?? How could she do that!? I was initially pissed but then realized how hard it must have been for both of them. I was glad the two would have a chance to meet up again and hopefully start their […]