Format: Hardcover

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury

Posted May 19, 2016 / Book Reviews / 15 Comments

I was able to attend the ACOMAF tour stop in Warwick, RI, which was moderated by my friend and former Secret Sister Sarah! Both Sarahs were so fun to listen to. Seriously, seeing SJM and hearing her talk about Throne of Glass makes me want to hop on reading those books ASAP! It was also great to see Sarah and catch up about everything. It definitely was worth the 1.5 hour drive! Plus, it was near my old college and I had all the nostalgic feels. Here are a few photos from the event before I kick off my review: It took me a very long time to read this book. I have trouble with fantasy sometimes and I remember having the same issue at the beginning of ACOTAR as well. I just needed time to settle into the world, but everything picked up so much after the first couple hundred pages. This makes it sound like those millions of pages were boring or not good. Believe me, that’s not the case. I found myself reaching for lighter, faster reads in the middle of ACOMAF because I just needed a break. I know I could have sat and read forever if I had the time, but I just needed to take my time and savor it. ACOTAR was also one of those books I felt slightly disillusioned with over time. The more I thought about Tamlin, the more he bugged me. The ending of ACOTAR was an absolute fucking whirlwind […]

Review: We Are the Ants

Posted March 21, 2016 / Book Reviews / 13 Comments

You know you really loved a book when you find yourself immediately tracking down other books by the author. I did end up checking two out from the library (and was planning on doing an author binge review), but didn’t read them in time. The joys of being a mood reader, amirite? So that’s why there’s a bit of a delay on this book review that I actually read a few months ago. But here we go! What a book this was! I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story, but I admittedly had high expectations from all the glowing reviews. There aren’t many reviews, but the ones that do exist are damn perfect. This was a really honest, interesting, and heartbreaking book. It covered every possible topic, fully fleshed out every character, and made me feel all sorts of things. I admittedly do not read a lot of books that fall under the QUILTBAG umbrella, and I plan to change that this year. Really. I think that books about coming out are REALLY important and helpful to those in that situation, but there is much to be said about books that don’t involve that element of the community. It was nice to read a book like this, where the character was already out to his family and it was really never brought up as an “issue.” (You know what I mean; I don’t know what other word to use there.) I could spend all day talking about the characters. […]

Review: The Wrong Side of Right

Posted February 26, 2016 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

This book seriously made me feel ALL the things. So many different emotions at different times. It felt like I knew the characters and was dealing with them myself. I was enraged when Kate was pissed, I was happy and falling for Andy when she was, and I was confused and sad when she didn’t know what to do. That is definitely the sign of a fantastic book. A year after her mother passes away, Kate learns that her father is a Republican senator running for president. She is so quickly swept up into their house, the election, and their world. It’s not easy, as her political opinions generally differ from her fathers, but she adjusts faster than I would have in her situation. She just felt SO REAL to me. As for the political stuff, I liked that it wasn’t beat over my head. There was one key issue that they focused on and dealt with, but the Republican stuff didn’t bother me. If anything, I wish there was more politics! It would have been interesting for her to actually talk more with her father about her beliefs (because she clearly leaned left, although she hadn’t made a decision really). I loved the family feels in this one. Honestly, the stepfamily vibes were stronger than those with her father. I liked seeing them all get closer, but I wanted a little more from him. I won’t spoil anything. When they got into the inevitable first fight, I thought it was […]

Mini Reviews: See How They Run and The Fixer

Posted February 15, 2016 / Book Reviews / 9 Comments

I read two mystery/thriller stories in a row, and neither of them disappointed! They both had interesting political elements and little to no romance. (I had grown sick of reading back to back to back (etc.) romancey books in December and needed a new vibe to kick off the year.) I’m bringing some mini reviews your way for both of these highly recommended stories. After the major cliffhanger in ALL FALL DOWN, I was so anxiously waiting to see how things picked up in SEE HOW THEY RUN. I definitely should have reread the ending of the previous book before starting it, because I was a little lost for a while, but I started to remember things as time passed. It did generally take me a while to fully feel invested in the story. I think the action didn’t take off right away and for some reason I wasn’t pageturning like crazy. Don’t get me wrong – some crazy twists and turns happened in the beginning of the book too! It just didn’t click with me right away. In my review for ALL FALL DOWN, I said how I wanted more of her friends and to finally meet her brother. One of these hopes did come true, as her brother Jamie comes to Embassy Row with his friend from West Point. He was definitely a big presence in the book, but her friends weren’t. The pace quickened around the 200 page mark and I didn’t stop reading until I was finished. I […]

Review: Firsts

Posted January 4, 2016 / Book Reviews / 11 Comments

This book was definitely one of the ones I was most looking forward to for 2016. I saw countless early reviews of people who said “this book doesn’t sound like something I’d normally like,” but it sounded right up my alley. I like tougher topics in YA, especially if it tackles sex and slut-shaming and all that other realistic stuff. So, when I went to The Strand last week and saw an early copy on the shelf, I bought it immediately! And, of course, I read it immediately. I wanted to post this review also immediately because I figured I may as well treat it like an ARC and try to beef up the buzz for it right before it actually comes out this week. This book was everything I was hoping it would be, and more. The concept itself was really refreshing and different, and the execution was nearly perfect. A lot of things could have gone wrong with this plotline, but Flynn made it so easy to relate to this girl (that most people usually wouldn’t relate to). Mercedes’s actions made you feel more sympathetic to her than judgmental. There was definitely a sense of foreboding throughout – a sticky feeling that made you uncomfortable and nervous for when everyone inevitably finds out what she’s been doing. There were really a lot of different factors that probably impacted Mercedes into making this choice – a teaching service for virgins, to make sure their girlfriends have way better first times […]

Review: I’ll Give You the Sun

Posted December 6, 2015 / Book Reviews / 8 Comments

Why do I read stories I know I’m not going to like?????? I was pretty damn adamant that I wasn’t going to read this book (evidence 1 and 2). I heard somewhere that the writing style was metaphor-filled like We Were Liars, which I totally loathed. I was right. It was similar and heavy-handed and frustrating. I feel stupid when I read books like that because I can’t tell if the person is being literal or if it’s a metaphor. Anyways, because this book was very middle-of-the-road for me, I’ll break into my usual YES and NO lists… What I Liked In general, I was a fan of the two separate timelines. I thought it was interesting to read about Noah at 13 while reading about Jude at 16, because you wonder how things progress in those 2-3 years. I started putting puzzle pieces together early on and saw some click into place depending on whose chapters I was reading. The storyline was pretty interesting. I was curious to see how it all ended up, especially because it seemed like the twins ended up switching personalities in those few years. I wanted to know what happened to cause that. I thought the ending was sweet. I actually started to think, “did I really hate this book as much as I thought?” when I read the ending. It was enough to leave me with a generally positive feeling about the book, instead of the low score I was planning. What I Didn’t Like […]

Review: First & Then

Posted December 4, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

THIS BOOK WAS THE CUTEST. It took me a little while to get settled into the plot and the characters for some reason, but once I did… oh boy. So perfect. This is definitely one of my favorite books this year based on sheer cuteness and readability. I read this in basically just a couple of sittings over the course of two days because I was determined to finish and feel all the things. Devon’s annoying younger cousin, Foster, moves in with her family after basically being abandoned by his mom. Come to find out, he’s a great kicker and is invited onto the football team. Their family feels progress and grow slowly throughout the book, as does the romance between Devon and SOMEONE. I’m keeping this sentence spoiler-free but you may be able to guess by the end of the review. Sorry, not sorry. I will also totally reread this book, and that’s a big honor. So far the only books I’ve reread are Sarah Dessen (duh), the Harry Potter series (double duh), and books I read a long time ago because I wanted to finish the series. To have a random YA contemporary (non-Dessen) be thrown in as a worthy reread is kind of big deal. Perfect things are perfect THE FEELSSSS between Devon + Foster (seriously, the way they warmed up to each other killed me) between Foster + Ezra (what a fucking adorable friendship. I can’t) between Ezra + Devon (mmmm what a slow burn, with a […]

Review: Magnolia

Posted November 12, 2015 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

I honestly had no idea what to expect with this book. I wasn’t interested in it last year when it came out for some reason, and then I started getting more and more interested. I love hate-to-love romances and really needed something fluffy, after reading a couple of darker books. This book was just what I needed: fluffy, cute, and a bit cheesy. It took some getting used to because I honestly don’t know the last book I read in first-person. It was a bit jarring at first because Jemma was essentially talking to the reader, instead of just narrating what she was doing. It was kind of cute though! This book certainly made me smile and keep reading. Things I loved Shipping them the hardest | Okay, their first kiss killed me for some reason. I loved the build-up to the romance in this book! It’s easily one of the best hate-to-love romances I’ve ever read. Add in the storm (more on that later) and I’m hooked. I was rooting for them right off the bat and thought they had the best chemistry in the beginning. Hearing about the eighth grade dance broke my heart, but it was such a sweet moment to move on from. Southern setting, complete with tornadoes | I never thought I would like books set in the south for some reason. Maybe because life is different down there and I only saw stereotypes? Either way, I keep falling for every romance set in the south! It […]

Review: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

Posted October 22, 2015 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Usually the longer it takes for me to finish a book, the less I’m going to like it. I know that this usually has nothing to do with how good the book is. I happened to be away on vacation while reading this one and just didn’t have enough time to read. When I did sit down to read it, I felt oddly detached from the story as I kept reading. From the beginning, this book was going to be iffy for me. It’s really out of my comfort zone but I wanted to give it a try with my book club. Cults have always interested me, but religion in generally really does not at all. I don’t think this book was too in-your-face about religion, which was nice, but it was still explored quite a bit. It makes sense given Minnow’s history and lack of education about a lot of things. I started out really intrigued by the story, mostly because of the writing style. I loved how the chapters slowly revealed more from her past, while mixing in with present-day in juvie. (I have to say though, I couldn’t stop thinking of Orange is the New Black.) The plot was really interesting and I was certainly wondering what the fuck happened back at the Kevinian camp. There was a good amount of suspense, again because of the writing style, but I still felt too detached from all of it. I liked Minnow as a character – I think she […]

Review: Resonance

Posted October 19, 2015 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

OH MAN. Yet again, I was slayed by Erica O’Rourke. I loved being back in this world… or should I say, multiverse? 😉 The concept behind this duology is literally too cool (and too complicated) for words. I couldn’t explain all of it if I tried. I think that’s really my one issue with it. I think I’m a pretty smart person but this whole multiverse thing confuses the crap out of me. Every time they’d learn about some new loophole or whatever, I would find myself even more confused. I honestly don’t mind though because I love it so much. The world-building is, again, very complex. I expected to not learn AS much about how the multiverse worked because the whole first book had the explanation, but it ends up being even more complex than expected. I loved it – so suspenseful! Because of the suspense, I was completely captivated by the story. I don’t know what it is about O’Rourke’s writing; I just never want to stop reading once I start. Del is very headstrong and determined, which is the same as the first book. I love her as a character but wish she had some more going on aside from obsessing over Simon. I know it’s a major part of her characterization and the whole plot, but I dunno. I wish there was a bit more. Looking back, it’s hard to even remember all of the different events that happened in this book. I read it in such […]