Genre: Contemporary

Review: Three Day Summer

Posted August 8, 2015 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

I LOVE WOODSTOCK. I love music from the 60’s and 70’s more than any other time period so I knew I was going to at least love that element of this book. I even wrote a research paper on Woodstock back in high school, because obviously it’s the best time period in history. Can we get more books set in this time? Thanks. I thought the atmosphere felt really well-done and representative of the time. I’ve seen countless Woodstock movies and read articles, so I feel like it was definitely historically accurate. I actually believed that these two characters could have been real concertgoers at Woodstock. The MUSIC was perfect. If I had a time machine……. Every time they referenced Janis Joplin or Roger Daltry or the “new guy” Santana, I squealed a little bit. And of course the biggest event of all: Jimi Hendrix. Goosebumps, dude. Cora, a nurse volunteering at the event, and Michael, a hippie concert attendee, hit it off right away. They were interesting characters that came from different backgrounds but were struggling with similar things – primarily their future. Could Cora become a doctor? And what the hell was Michael going to be when he grew up? The two of them were perfect characters to meet and explore the concert together, and again – very representative of the time. I feel like it would have been nice to get to know Michael a bit more. I think Cora was more fleshed out, including her family […]

Blog Tour Review: Never Always Sometimes

Posted July 30, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I love books about bucket lists and road trips and other FUN teenagery things (that I never did as an actual teenager). I had a good feeling about this book and its premise, and I was pretty hooked by the first few pages. Here are a few reasons you should pick up this book: Friendship & Banter David and Julia had some amazing chemistry. Dave, who was in love with Julia for YEARS, is obviously harboring some romantic feelings for her (no spoilers on whether or not that pans out!)… but they have such great banter and overall friendship chemistry! The inside jokes about Mr. Marroney (throughout the whole beginning of the book) seriously made me laugh out loud. I knew I would like the two of them right off the bat. The Never List Like I said, I’ll probably read any book about a bucket list. This one, oddly enough, is kind of the opposite of a bucket list! They make a list of things they’ll never do in high school – all of the cliches that high school can be to other people. They decide, with a few months left in senior year, that they’re going to make up for lost time and just DO them all. I absolutely adored the premise. Very reminiscent of Since You’ve Been Gone, which I also loved. Relatability I loved that Julia and David have different family backgrounds and situations. I feel like this allows for really anyone to relate to them in […]

Novella Reviews: Harmonic, Happy Again, Secrets and Lies, and Just One Night

Posted July 24, 2015 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

I’m usually not a huge novella fan, but I really enjoyed all four of these! I figured I would share some very brief thoughts on each novella, so you can judge if they’re worth the time. THIS WAS SO GOOD. I absolutely loved reading from Del’s sister’s point of view for this 100 page novella. It was nice because it felt really like a mini book, instead of just a few pages. Addison’s story picks up right where the previous book left off and gives us a little taste of what’s been happening recently. I suspect that some of the issues from this book will continue into the next one, so I highly recommend reading this. Beyond that, I looooved Addie’s relationship with Laurel. Yay, for LGBTQ! This was a perfect thing to hold me over until Resonance‘s release. (At the time of writing this, it hasn’t come out yet.. but at the time of this is posting.. YAY IT’S HERE) Honestly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first book. When I saw this novella was coming out, I was actually pretty excited! I actually ended up liking the novella even more than the original story. It was a super cute, quick read. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking to know what happened next with the characters. I shipped them way more the second time around. I definitely wish I took a few notes on this one before deciding to write my review much, much later! Oh well. This […]

Review: Lying Out Loud

Posted July 18, 2015 / Book Reviews / 8 Comments

I am definitely a Kody Keplinger fangirl. I’ve now read three of her books, with just one more YA one to go, and they’re all superb. She uses the formula of flawed character + hate-to-love romance like a goddamn pro. I love the way she takes these extremely REAL teenagers and gives them some opportunities to grow and learn. They’re not perfect by the end, but they’ve been changed in some way and learn to be better people. Lying Out Loud is definitely no exception. Compared to the other two I’ve read, the main character is probably the most flawed of all. Sonny is a liar. She has a terrible “home” life and uses lying as a defense mechanism for just about everything in her life. Her best friend Amy, the younger sister of Wesley from The DUFF, is pretty much a saint. These two are definitely in a codependent relationship, but in the best possible way. (I shipped them even more than the romance, which is saying a lot!) When her and Amy get mixed up in this lie with the new boy in school, Ryder, Sonny risks destroying her relationship with both of them because of her lies. What I Loved The chemistry and banter: As Debby calls it, the banterfluff in this book was perfection. Ryder and Sonny hate each other at the beginning, but then feelings start to grow. (At least, they do for Sonny!) I loved it. Keplinger’s hate-to-love romance is always the best because it’s […]

Review: Where the Stars Still Shine

Posted July 17, 2015 / Book Reviews / 8 Comments

This was definitely the kind of story that grabs you and doesn’t let go while you’re reading. I finished it within a few hours. I really loved so many elements of the book, but I didn’t get to the same level of “oh my god I love this book” like MANY other readers. I’m not sure why, to be honest, because it’s hard to even think of flaws. Callie was kidnapped by her mother when her parents got divorced, and they were on the run ever since. When her mom gets pulled over because of a broken taillight and finds out who they are, Callie is immediately brought to live with the father she doesn’t remember. She’s suddenly a part of a huge Greek family that has been missing her for years. She meets a cute boy and makes friends right away, which I thought was a little crazy… but I still loved it. Kat, Alex, and Greg (her father) were such great characters. I wanted them to be my friends. The romance was a bit quick, in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean I don’t ship the shit out of it. Callie’s struggles between her loyalty to her mom and the love she feels from her new family were so heartbreaking. I feel like most characters would have acted out much more or made much worse decisions, but Callie felt REAL and believable. I’m so glad for that. She was willing to try new things, make friends, join her family, etc. […]

Review & ARC Review: Daylight Falls Series

Posted July 8, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I bought this book a loooong time ago and totally forgot about it. When I got approved for the second book, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that I already owned the first one! I was a big fan of Jen Calonita’s series about a girl in Hollywood, so this one seemed to be right up my alley. I was right that the Hollywood setting is kind of like book crack for me. I definitely want to read more books like this and will be rereading Calonita’s series again at some point! It was interesting to get the perspective of the best friend to the Hollywood star, who doesn’t want anything to do with it. Honestly I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ally, compared to the other characters. She had a lot of moments that made me want to punch her. Like, A LOT of moments. She was super self-conscious and self-loathing, no matter what Liam said to her. She was incredibly jealous and let her emotions get in the way of any sound decision-making. Aside from all that, I really loved her friendship with Vanessa though; I could see that they had a solid foundation that Hollywood couldn’t fuck up for them. I’m SO EXCITED to read the next book for more Van. The relationship with Ally and Liam happened kind of quickly and was pretty cheesy in the beginning. I definitely rooted for them throughout though. I didn’t really see what Liam saw in her, because of her […]

Review: Racing Savannah

Posted July 6, 2015 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Maybe I gave myself a little series burnout (since this is the third book I read in a row) and I just wasn’t as excited to read it or invested in the characters. I may not like books about religion, but I apparently (not surprisingly) also don’t like books about horses. I couldn’t get myself to care much about them or the racing aspects, which did take up a lot of time within the book. It took me a little while to get into the story because for some reason it just felt different than her other books. I don’t know how to explain it. Aside from the horses, there was quite a bit of romance here. It was a forbidden love kind of story, where Savannah works for Jack’s family in the horse barn and lives in their “staff quarters” with the rest of her family. Jack is trying to prove that he can run the business successfully and needs to impress his father, so naturally there’s some conflict surrounding their relationship and keeping it hidden. Jack seemed like a decent guy but I really didn’t feel much for him or them. I wasn’t swooning or shipping them, to be honest. Maybe cowboys just don’t do it for me or something. Thinking of him tipping his cowboy hat at her just seemed cheesy instead of cute. That’s probably just me, though. My favorite part of this book was the group of friends that Savannah joins. Vanessa and Rory, in […]

Review: Things I Can’t Forget

Posted July 2, 2015 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

This was not an easy book for me to read. You’d never guess that, considering I read it all in one night. Because of Kenneally’s writing and my love for the rest of this series, I’m really tempted to bump my rating up… but I just can’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I read the book and got to see some of my favorite people again (Parker and Will, obvs). The events in this series kind of roll into each other for the rest of the books, so it’s awesome catching glimpses of people like JEREMIAH who I already know is going to be PERFECT in Breathe, Annie, Breathe. I don’t think you have to read this series in order (obviously I didn’t for the most part) but it really helps in that aspect. Anyway, again I’ll probably be divisive in my thoughts on this. It seems like most people really enjoyed this book. It was hard for me to let myself enjoy it because of the main character and her beliefs. I like to think I’m an understanding person that can respect others’ opinions, but that doesn’t mean I WANT to hear about some of them for 320 pages. I really can’t do it. I’m surprised I was able to push by some of that and eventually grow to (kind of) like Kate. Kate has always been the epitome of a good girl. She’s been kissed once, never EVER does anything bad, goes to church, and […]

Review: Stealing Parker

Posted June 29, 2015 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I adored the first two books I read by Miranda Kenneally: Catching Jordan and Breathe, Annie, Breathe. I read BAB first because I didn’t think it was included in the series. (At that time, it didn’t have the Hundred Oaks name next to the title on Goodreads!) I absolutely, unexpectedly LOVED it. I decided to go back and read her other books in the series, especially because CJ was about FOOTBALL which, as you know, is my entire life. Also loved it. So why the major hesitation to embark on the rest of the series? Religion. Gah. I don’t want to be divisive on here, but I will say that I was raised an atheist and continue to strongly hold those beliefs. As a result of that, it’s extremely hard for me to enjoy books that feature religion, praying, church, etc. in any way, shape, or form. This book wasn’t completely about church, but it was pretty strongly included. Definitely enough to make me roll my eyes a lot. I feel kind of bad saying this, because people are certainly free to believe whatever they believe, but it just doesn’t work for me. Did it dampen my enjoyment of this book? Yeah, definitely. Did I still really enjoy the book overall? Yes. I thought that Parker was kind of annoying at first and I was very excited for the impending character development that MK is famous for. Although I will say, I don’t understand what she meant by the fact […]

Book Buddies Review: Even In Paradise

Posted June 22, 2015 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 3 Comments

Book Buddies is a discussion-style review that takes place with one of my two buddies. (Learn more and see past reviews here) We both read the book and then have a private discussion about it. We post our discussion as a review on the last Wednesday of each month. You’ll be able to see our similar/different opinions on the overall book, characters, writing style, etc. – just like a regular review. The first half our discussion will take place right here, and the second half will be on Cristina’s blog! (Link at the bottom) View Cristina’s part of the discussion here. Some spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution. Do you see this as a Great Gatsby “retelling” or just a book that makes a few parallels to it? Cristina: For the first 80% of the book I thought it merely had some parallels to Gatsby (such as Charlotte paralleling Nick, the outsider looking in), but at the end of the book, especially with the twists, it seemed to become much more of an adaptation. I sort of thought the first big “twist” was a good nod to Gatsby, but the additional one at the end felt a little too excessive, like it was trying too hard to emulate the novel. Lauren: I agree. I think the book was trying a little too hard. I could tell that some kind of tragedy was brewing for the end, but I didn’t think it would so closely resemble Gatsby. I did like the parallels of Charlie to Nick, because I think […]