Icon Tag: Addictive

ARC Review: Caraval

Posted January 12, 2017 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

This book was insanely cool. Completely lived up to the hype for me. I went in expecting an atmospheric, magical story, and that’s exactly what I got! I absolutely loved it. There were a few things that bugged me a little that prevent it from getting a full five stars, but I would still count this among my favorites. The plot, in a few words: Scarlett, our main character, had been writing to the creator of Caraval, an insane traveling circus (to put it mildly), for years, in order to try to get him to come perform. Her grandma had gone years ago and told her and her sister, Donatella, all about it. The girls finally receive invitations, plus one for her fiance, and decide to sneak away from her father before her wedding. A sailor named Julian comes along with them for the final ticket because Scarlett hasn’t actually met her fiance. Her sister essentially gets kidnapped when they arrive and the mission of this year’s game is to find her. Loved It Magical Setting and Atmosphere The setting was easily the best part of this story. I loved learning about Caraval and trying to understand how it all worked. They warn you that it often feels real – and it partly is – but it’s mostly a game. It was amazing to follow Scarlett along as she tried to figure out what in the fresh hell was going on up in there. The atmosphere and magic of the story was […]

ARC Review: This Adventure Ends

Posted September 26, 2016 / Book Reviews / 11 Comments

Initial Excitement After loving FIRST & THEN to absolute pieces back when I read it, I was so eager to read THIS ADVENTURE ENDS. I loved Emma Mills’ style of storytelling and super charming, yet flawed, main character(s). I was so excited to end up with an advanced copy of this one and I’m surprised I waited until the end of August to finally read it. Summary in a Second Sloane and her family move to her childhood vacation town in Florida after living in NY. Her father is a famous author and he needs to get his writing mojo back, so the family opts for a change of scenery. Sloane quickly falls in with a pair of twins, Vera and Gabe, and their friends Aubrey, Remy, and Frank. When Vera/Gabe lose sight of a painting their deceased mother left them, Remy and Sloane make it their goal to track it down. This is a story about friendship, love, family, and fandom! Storytelling & Setting The whole premise behind this story was so intriguing. It had elements of my favorite tropes, like road trips, slow burn romance, friends-to-more romance, fandom/writing/reading, and strong, sassy main characters. I loved following Sloane on her journey with Remy to track down the painting while watching her friendships strengthen with the various people in the group. She was also a fantastic singer, so there were some elements of “will I be singing for the rest of my life and/or college career?” that were fun to […]

Review: Tell Me Three Things

Posted August 5, 2016 / Book Reviews / 3 Comments

So yes of course I’m going to take the obvious review style here and tell you three things about this extremely wonderful book that landed on my favorites shelf… Thing #1: Super realistic and relatable While some things about the main character, Jessie, bugged me, it really felt like a realistic portrayal of the inside of a teenage girl’s head. She wasn’t perfect and was a bit too judgmental about those around her in her new school, a lot of it felt like a defense mechanism. She moved across the country essentially on a whim and was reacting honestly to what she saw around her. I usually like there to be some kind of character growth around this, but I have previously loved books where this happened too. I think it’s a story worth telling because some mean girl situations ARE real and the people DON’T change. Aside from Jessie’s internal monologue, I really just felt like the book was so enjoyable and, again, REAL. I loved her voice overall. Thing #2: Adorable romance I shipped her and SN from the beginning… and knew who SN was from the beginning. Jessie did frustrate me as it got further and further into the book and she STILL didn’t know. HOW? It was so obvious to me! It did involve some of those classic annoying things were she assumes it’s someone else with zero evidence and is a dummy about it for way too long. Oh well. Regardless, I LOVED reading about the […]

ARC Review: The Long Game

Posted July 13, 2016 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

You guys. I just can’t with this book. I was completely smitten with the first one and was SO EAGER to get my hands on the next. I was counting my lucky stars when I ended up with a copy from ALA Midwinter because I planned to read it ASAP after finishing the first one. However, in typical Lauren fashion, I ended up waiting until a few days before its release. I totally shouldn’t have waited because some of the previous book’s plot was a bit muddy in my head. Either way, it didn’t take long for me to settle back into this world. I absolutely loved Tess in this book. I didn’t think it would be possible, but the stakes were even higher. The twists were even twistier. The characters were even asdfghjkl-ier. Sorry, no words there. Just feels. So fucking many feelings about everyone and everything. In the first book, there was literally zero romance. The author hinted at two romantic prospects in general but there really wasn’t even any tension to suggest that necessarily. I won’t spoil anything for this one. Just keep in mind what I said. I love books where you think everything has settled after the main climax, and then the author manages to toss in a few more curveballs. Totally happened here. I read very few mystery/thrillers because not many work for me. Add in politics and I’m even less sure I’ll like it. This duo seriously has me adding political dramas to my […]

The Selection Series – Part One

Posted June 29, 2016 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

I randomly decided to binge this series when I saw the audio on Hoopla back in early May. I had just finished with my reread for A Series of Unfortunate Events via audio and decided to go with another long-ish series in the same format. I’ll be splitting this review situation up into a few different posts because there are 3 main books, 2 companion-y books, and some novella bind-ups. I’ll just split everything into two posts and share my thoughts as I binge along. You know how I do. I could tell right away why people loved this book and why people hated it. It’s super addicting and easy to read, but there are so many little things that could grate on someone’s nerves. America Singer, for one, is a decently annoying main character. I appreciated that she had a personality but the millionth time she talked about her prettiness level (others thinking/telling her she’s pretty, her thinking she isn’t, and sometimes thinking she is)… I wanted to punch her. Towards the end of the book she had really started to bug me. The love triangle is also pretty irritating. I don’t have an issue with them in general because love triangles can happen – especially at a young age – but this one didn’t work for me personally. I do like the idea that it’s the hometown/long term boyfriend versus the new, different guy. It has that Peeta vs. Gale vibe. (#TeamGale) That element works for me because I can […]

Blog Tour | Review: Mystic Summer

Posted June 15, 2016 / Book Reviews / 11 Comments

It is my absolute favorite thing to read books that take place in towns or cities I’ve been to before. What’s even better? When it’s a location I know very well and is in my home state! I adore Mystic and haven’t been there in way too long. This book absolutely inspired me to get in the car some weekend soon and take a trip down there. It’s only an hour-ish from where I live and is full of fun things to do. So, needless to say, the setting for this book was pretty wonderful. The author did a fantastic job of setting the scene for people who may have never been there. I’m positive that all readers want to visit Mystic after reading this. Aside from the setting, this book was incredibly enjoyable. Maggie, the main character, starts spending time in her hometown of Mystic when her summer vacation starts. She was a teacher in a Boston prep school but finds out that she may lose her job due to budget cuts. She’s in the midst of helping her best friend plan a wedding, figuring out where she’ll live when her friend moves out, and determining some next steps with her actor boyfriend. When she comes home, she discovers her ex-boyfriend from high school has also returned to Mystic…with a lot going on that she didn’t expect. The two spend time together and you can imagine the rest! I enjoyed Maggie’s personality a lot and loved being inside her head. […]

ARC Review: Two Summers

Posted April 15, 2016 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I really enjoyed this one. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting in a lot of ways, but it was a super fun and summery read. I love parallel life books SO much. Just waiting to see what happens at the end is my favorite part. You always wonder – will the two lives/paths/choices leave them to a different result? Will their life end up the same in the end? Every book has this question and I’ll admit, I haven’t read many that led to two very different outcomes. No spoilers here though. I definitely didn’t LOVE this as much as I hoped. It sounded right up my alley and I’ve enjoyed Aimee Friedman’s books in the past, so it was nice to be with her writing again. The premise is that Summer is planning to go to Paris to see her dad for the summer. She’s having second thoughts and then her phone rings with an unknown number the moment before she steps on the plane. Her life splits into two different directions – what happens when she answers, and what happens when she doesn’t. Like most parallel life books, the story alternates between the two choices and how her summer turns out. Summer in Paris vs. Summer in New York Instead of switching between the two parallel storylines every other chapter – like most books do – this one has longer “parts” so you only switch between the two a handful of times. In some ways, I liked […]

Review: Right of First Refusal

Posted April 13, 2016 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Dahlia Adler has literally never let me down. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of her books (and now I have officially read ALL of them) and I can’t see it changing any time soon. This is the second in her Radleigh University NA series and I liked it even more than the first book. Every book by Dahlia is so well-rounded, covering every important topic in a young person’s life, without feeling like it’s “too much.” This book had strong friendships, romance, family issues, and – of course – a few sexytimes. Every single thing you could want in a book, really. Our main girl Cait was fierce and I fucking loved it. She wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted and be super intense doing what she loved: playing lacrosse. I LOVED that she prioritized it above a lot of other things, because it shows how dedicated she was. She never let anyone tell her otherwise; she didn’t care if they didn’t get it. I really loved how strong she was. Friends & family Lizzie (from book one) and Frankie (book three coming next, eeeeek) were, as usual, fantastic, supportive friends. They had Cait’s back, even when she kept things from them to protect someone else. I love their relationship so, so much. I could probably go on about it all day. Their personalities are so distinct and fleshed out. I have to say though, the best part is the constant sexual innuendos 😉 Those are my people! Her sister, Cammie, […]