Format: ARC

ARC Review: Wink Poppy Midnight

Posted March 11, 2016 / Book Reviews / 18 Comments

I’m the kind of person who usually writes reviews immediately after finishing the book. I just really don’t even know what to say about this one and decided not to write the review right away, just in case it would come to me or something. This was a mistake because I’m struggling to even remember anything besides: this book was really fucking weird. While my rating report below leans strongly towards 2.5, I just can’t bring myself to do it. It’s been a couple of days since I finished the book and (a) I barely remember what happened and (b) I don’t like anything that I do remember. Within the first handful of pages, I could see the comparison to We Were Liars. As we all know by now, that book didn’t work for me in any way. I should have DNFed this one once I saw the comparison but something compelled me to keep going. For a while, I was glad I did! Things got really creepy and interesting for a handful of pages. But, then the end disappointed me. As I said in my Goodreads review (at the bottom here), the entire first half or so of the book felt incredibly pointless. We learn a bit about the characters and their weird relationships, but that’s about it. There were short, easy “chapters” to highlight each character, so that helped with being able to read it quickly, but that was the only thing that kept me going for a while. Things […]

ARC Review: The Word for Yes

Posted February 10, 2016 / Book Reviews / 8 Comments

Warning: I am going to probably have a few spoilers in this review. I just… can’t do it without them. Trigger warning: Book is largely focused on a date rape and its aftermath I didn’t like this book and I kind of feel uncomfortable reviewing it. I feel weird about saying that a book with SUCH an important topic… felt pointless. I actually haven’t read a lot of books that involve date rape or anything similar, but I know there are powerful ones out there. How can something like this be breezed over, when it’s meant to be the point of the book? Let me back up a little bit. The synopsis says that three sisters try to move on from the aftermath of something that happens at a party. I mean, sure, that happens? But it wasn’t what I was expecting. They all kind of hate each other and – spoiler alert – that doesn’t really change at the end. In fact, NOTHING changes at the end! Melanie is raped at a party by a guy who is one of her best friends. This impacts her family and her in different ways, but no one is changed by what happened. By the end of it, Melanie kind of moves on and forgets it happens in some ways. She has ONE conversation with a guy she likes and just feels completely better. It’s like in the books where the main character’s depression is ~cured~ by a boy that comes into […]

Blog Tour + Giveaway | Cover Colors: Arrows

Posted February 7, 2016 / Cover Colors, Features / 8 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with book covers. I love the colors, the typography, the different designs that cover artists can create. I even have a guest post feature where people share their favorite book covers and bookmarks! I decided to start up this random feature where I draw color inspiration from my favorite book covers. I may create an outfit, pick out some nail polish, or design a quote graphic. Today’s cover is… Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk I love how simple this cover is! I’m a huge fan of ANYTHING with hearts involved. It’s a super cute cover and very representative of the book inside. The Cupid vibe is just perfect. I tried to capture that with my collage below. The shirt and skirt with the bow reminded me of the cuteness and color of the cover. I just kept picturing this big read heart-shaped bag, and I’m so glad I found such a gorgeous one. I also have some matching beauty products and a cute Cupid-y phone case! The jewelry features hearts and arrows. Arrows by bookmarklit featuring a crop top Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk Publisher: Delacorte Press Release Date: January 26th 2016 Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Retellings, Romance A modern cupid story set in present-day Wisconsin combining the fantastical elements of Greek mythology with the contemporary drama of MTV’s Teen Mom. People don’t understand love. If they did, they’d get why dance prodigy Karma Clark just can’t say goodbye to her boyfriend, Danny. No matter […]

Blog Tour | Mini Review + Cover Colors: The Impostor Queen (Giveaway!)

Posted January 20, 2016 / Book Reviews, Cover Colors, Features / 23 Comments

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with book covers. I love the colors, the typography, the different designs that cover artists can create. I even have a guest post feature where people share their favorite book covers and bookmarks! I decided to start up this random feature where I draw color inspiration from my favorite book covers. I may create an outfit, pick out some nail polish, or design a quote graphic. Today’s cover is… The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine This cover has some cool bright red and peachy tones, mixed with black and very light blue. I usually don’t go ALL out with the makeup aspect, but her makeup on the cover is too pretty to ignore! I thought it would be fun to show some similar colors to the ones she’s wearing on her face. I chose a dress to match the “Queen” font and some black and light blue accessories. The Imposter Queen by bookmarklit featuring a holiday nail polish Mini Review I have been trying to get better about reading more fantasy books. I always say how it’s one of my favorite genres, but I find that over half of the books I read every year are contemporaries. It’s one of my major goals of 2016 to have a better distribution of book genres, and THE IMPOSTOR QUEEN was the first fantasy book I read this year! (Well, aside from finishing up my […]

ARC Review: This Is Where It Ends

Posted January 8, 2016 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments

Whew, this book was not easy. I raced through it in one sitting on a Saturday night and was desperate to see how it all ended. Heartbreaking, terrifying, and real. This won’t be an easy review. I’m a Connecticut resident and live about an hour from Sandy Hook… plus I have a friend who is a teacher in that town. Needless to say, this book hit entirely too close to home (literally). School shootings are something that really scare me more than I can express. When I was younger I read books about Columbine and in high school I read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I don’t know why, but these stories have always grabbed me. Maybe because it feels like your biggest fear realized. Aside from my personal connection and “interest,” this book was incredibly well-written and well-done. I sat on my couch and finished it within a couple of hours; I couldn’t stop. The book centers around an hour long period, from when the shooting starts until it ends. There are four main characters whose POVs get alternated between: Sylvia, Autumn, Tomas, and Claire. I won’t get too much into their relationships to each other and how they related to the shooter, but they were all definitely connected. I was nervous about all of these characters and their relationships at first, but I finally got the hang of it. Despite the constant POV changes, I really felt like I knew these characters. Maybe it’s because in your moments […]

ARC Review: Truthwitch

Posted December 24, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

PHEW. That was quite a read. I honestly had no idea what to expect with this one, but whatever my expectations were – they were definitely exceeded. I should definitely preface this review with: I don’t read high fantasy. Like, ever. I’ve come to realize that I tell people I like fantasy, but have really read a small amount of the genre. I prefer lighter fantasy or paranormal reads. This book, which is definitely a high fantasy, was kind of a stretch for my brain. The world-building was very complicated. I was confused at the beginning, but some things started to click into place within the first 70-100 pages. I think that hardcore fantasy readers won’t have a problem with this. I liked being thrown into the action though; it was interesting to see the two girls kicking ass but wondering why they were on the run. The whole premise of the book was just too cool. Essentially, there are people in their world who have powers and people who don’t. Some powers are more valuable than others, so Safi, the Truthwitch, is hiding hers. There are so many twists involving people wanting her, chasing her, or trying to kidnap her. She’s best friends with Iseult, a Threadwitch (meaning she can see the threads that tie people together or make up their feelings). Again, it took me a while to figure out what certain powers were and how everyone came together. I don’t think I could even describe anything else about […]

ARC Reviews: Rules for 50/50 Chances and Just Visiting

Posted November 19, 2015 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

This was a pleasant surprise! I have a tendency of signing up for ARC tours for books I’m kind of in the mood for, but never really want to read them when I have to. Struggles of being a mood reader, I suppose. Regardless, I was able to knock this one out in pretty much three sittings over the course of two days. I think this story is really unique overall, and I would definitely recommend it to people who aren’t familiar with Huntington’s Disease. Oddly enough, I read one other book series where this rare disease made an appearance, so I already knew a little bit about it. Rose’s mother has Huntington’s, a degenerative disease that is slowly killing her. The biggest problem is: there’s a 50/50 chance that Rose has it too. Her father is incredibly supportive, helpful, and loving towards his deteriorating wife. He was easily my favorite part of this story. This book deals with alllll of Rose’s struggles. She is a ballet dancer trying to decide where to go to college, if she can allow herself to fall in love, and if she should take the test for the Huntington’s gene. Lots going on for this girl. I felt bad for her because of all of these things, but my sympathy for her dried up surprisingly quickly. She had a “why me” attitude about everything, which is understandable, but she was constantly comparing her family’s issues to everyone else’s. No one else was allowed to have […]

ARC Review: Young Widows Club

Posted November 4, 2015 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

Sigh. For a book with such a sad premise, I sure didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t expecting to like this one that much but I wanted to try it out anyways. The writing wasn’t too bad but the feels and emotions were just straight up nonexistent for me. Tamsen (weird name) got married to her longtime boyfriend Noah when she was just seventeen. Six weeks later, he dies unexpectedly in his sleep. She’s reeling and not sure what to do with herself. Her entire life revolved around him and his band; she even dropped out of high school to work on band manager stuff. The book focused on Tam’s life six months after he passes away. She’s forced to join a Young Widows Club, go back to high school, and think about getting her life back on track. The overall premise of the book was pretty good and interesting enough. Tam as a character was super boring because she didn’t have a life or interests aside from Noah and his friends. Moving on from his death was a huge deal because she had to figure out what kind of future she actually wanted, without him in it. She spends time getting back in touch with her old friend Lula (another weird name) and repairing her relationship with her dad and stepmother. Like I said, I definitely didn’t feel a lot of emotion from this book. Her struggles in finding herself and moving on were at the forefront, but they still didn’t […]

ARC Review: The Anatomical Shape of a Heart

Posted November 2, 2015 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

The premise of this book and the characters inside it were just so unique – I knew I was going to like it (at the very least!). I have definitely not read a book about a girl who draws cadavers and dreams of being a medical illustrator, or a boy who is a graffiti artist with lots of family secrets. Both Bex and Jack felt so real, interesting, and different. I say this a lot, but I love when a YA book features strong family presence. There were some great scenes with Bex, her mom, and her brother. They were so funny and her mom was the best: super understanding and compassionate. I loved the interactions between the people in Bex’s family. I wish there was even more time with them. Even Jack’s family presence (and growth) was strong, and he was just the love interest. I think the biggest thing I loved about this book was how unique it is. The story is unlike any that I’ve ever read. It’s not every day that you meet characters with such interesting backgrounds and interests. They both felt fully developed to me. As I said earlier, Bex wants to be the next great medical illustrator, so she gains access to some cadavers at the local university. She meets Jack on the late night train and discovers that he’s the notorious graffiti artist. The two of them hit it off literally instantly and their relationship grows from there. Jack kept a lot of secrets […]

ARC Reviews: The Lies About Truth and Hotel Ruby

Posted October 30, 2015 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

This book started off kind of weird for me. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it for some reason, but I’m SO glad that changed pretty quickly! The book slowly gave some details away about what happened and who the characters were. I finished this book a few days ago (at the time of writing this) and to be honest, I don’t remember much about Sadie – the main character. Nothing really stuck out about her and I think that’s because the book is so focused on the accident and how she copes with it. It’s something that seems to consume the most space in her brain, so there wasn’t really room for her to feel like herself. I loved how complex the relationships were between all of the characters. Sadie’s family was in a sort of group with a few other families; they’d go on vacation and spend a lot of their time together. It was five kids – Sadie, her then-boyfriend Gray, her best friend Gina, Gina’s boyfriend Trent, and Trent’s brother Max. (Phew.) I won’t get too much into why their relationships with each other were complicated, but just know that they definitely were. They all had some healing to go through when they were involved in an accident that killed Trent. There were lies and secrets between ALL of them. The focal point of the story is that Trent’s family moved to El Salvador for a year and is coming back to town. In the […]