Publisher: Macmillan

Review: Landline

Posted March 4, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I feel like this past month has been full of books that I wasn’t sure how to rate, and this was no exception throughout most of the book. The ending REALLY sealed the deal for me (in a good way). I don’t think I have too much to say here, so I’ll break it down short and sweet. This book just felt so real: the feelings, the thoughts, the reactions. It reminds you that all relationships take work. You can’t take things for granted. There were lots of little lessons that make the reader really understand how things just can slip away undetected until you don’t even know how you arrived at where you are. Rainbow Rowell’s writing + the narrator = perfect. Highly recommend the audio version. The ending of the book brought a major smile to my face. I wasn’t sure how I felt about things for a while, because of all the reasons below, but I think the ending totally made up for all of it. Adorable. There were SO MANY great quotes. Some of my favorites are scattered around the post! I really didn’t even like the characters… that seems like an awful big negative, eh? Well, throughout the whole book, Georgie made decisions and said things that just made her seem so selfish and self-destructive. She constantly took Neal for granted, worked too much, and just didn’t seem to care about any dreams but her own. Neal was totally too good for her… and […]

Review: My Last Kiss

Posted March 2, 2015 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

This was a highly anticipated read for me and I’m not sure why it took me so long to get to it! I finally got around to checking it out from the library recently and I’m so glad I did. I’d seen somewhat mixed reviews on this one, so I was hesitant to buy it outright (even though the cover is perfect). I absolutely love books that involve that in-between space between life and death – the main character has some kind of unfinished business on earth that needs to be resolved before they can move on. I had pretty high hopes for this one as a result. It starts off kind of confusing with the different timelines and flashbacks. I did continue to be a little confused at times throughout because I was thinking that she’d have flashbacks to slowly piece together the night, in order, but it also had scenes from much earlier than the event. The book is about Cassidy, who dies at seventeen. Obviously the book involves kissing and cheating of some kind, hence the title/summary, but the reader tries to figure out what happened to Cassidy in her final minutes along with her. Her death is ruled a suicide but most signs point to the fact that it was either an accident or she was killed. Regardless, I could not figure out what happened for the life of me. I’m usually bad at figuring out books like this, but I’m always glad when I can […]

Book Buddies Review: Siege and Storm

Posted January 28, 2015 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 4 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 Kaitlin’s blog! (Link at the bottom) View the first part of the discussion here. Be warned that there are some spoilers included! You can probably tell which questions to avoid, like the one about the ending, if you haven’t read the book yet! Did you start to feel different about any of the characters or did you like/dislike them the same? Kaitlin: Honestly, this book I felt like Mal was getting really annoying and not someone I would always want to have around. I understand that he was trying to protect Alina from the Darkling but sometimes he would just be so over protective. He was always questioning Alina’s actions and trying to hold her back. Sometime’s you just got to stop running and fight what you’re avoiding. I still really like him but just not as much than in the first book. Then my admiration for the Darkling has grew! As much as I would not to like him, I can’t. He is so smart and […]

Book Buddies Holiday Review: My True Love Gave to Me

Posted December 25, 2014 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 4 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. Half our discussion will take place right here, and the other half will be on Cristina’s blog! (Link at the bottom) For this particular review, because it included short stories, we alternated the stories between the two of us and shared our thoughts on all of them. Because of that, I’m featuring six stories but will share my overall rating for the other six stories at the bottom of the page. Overall Thoughts I absolutely loved reading this anthology. There were quite a few stories that left me wanting more, for different reasons. Some of them had such great characters that I would have loved a full story with them. Others felt kind of rushed or unfinished, which unfortunately can happen with short stories. They would have benefited from a few more pages for characterization, wrapping up the stories, or just better developing it overall. Regardless, I would highly recommend this collection of short stories to anyone who enjoys the Christmas season. At the bottom of my post, you can see some of my story recommendations! Discussion #2- The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link […]

Book Buddies Review: Shadow and Bone

Posted November 26, 2014 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 5 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 Kaitlin’s blog! (Link at the bottom) Lauren: So what made you initially put this one on your TBR? Kaitlin: I had a big time period where I was obsessed with BookTubers and a lot of the BookTubers mentioned this book on their hauls or recommendation videos and said they loved or liked the/series book. I read the synopsis and thought it was pretty interesting so, I put it on my TBR list. Lauren: Mine was kind of similar actually! When I first started blogging a few months ago, I noticed that it was a series that everyone loved. It sounded really unique but I wasn’t sure if it was a book I’d like. The more I saw people talk about it, the more I realized I needed to read it. Kaitlin: Yea, I think the best place for book recommendations are from other people like bloggers or BookTubers, because if you find someone you think has the same taste in books as you then you can […]

ARC Review: Trial By Fire

Posted October 3, 2014 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Oh god oh god this book!! Wow. Within the first chapter, I already knew I was going to love it. I was a bit nervous heading into it because I had just finished about two or three months of reading pretty much only contemporary romance. (A lot of lighter reads for the summer, ya know?) I was itching to get my hands on something a little heavier and paranormal, so this surprise book mail was delivered at exactly the right time. Lily, a girl who (in our world) is extremely sick and allergic to everything, has a seizure at a party one Friday night. She ends up being transported to a very different world that is also located in Salem, Mass. The alternate universe piece was REALLY freaking cool. Lily’s other self, Lillian, is an evil witch who has been killing her own people for some unknown reason that is supposed to help their world. The world-building in this book was just amazing. Realistically, this book was definitely an introduction to the rest of the series in terms of setting up this alternate universe. The reader slowly learned about witches, crucibles, the Woven, the Outlanders… it was so detailed and complex! Because of all of this world-building and setting the stage for the next books in the series, there was a little less action than I expected. They spent a lot of time laying low and figuring out what to do next while Lily uncovered her abilities. It was interesting, […]

Review: Eleanor & Park

Posted September 16, 2014 / Book Reviews / 14 Comments

So I read this book right before I decided to start my book blog. As I said up there in the basics section, I saw the book at the store and passed it by countless times. The concept didn’t sound overly interesting to me so I never bothered. I had just lent my John Green books to a friend of mine, who then passed on Eleanor & Park to me. She highly recommended it so I decided to finally give it a go. The story was simultaneously an adorable tale about first love and a story that will break your heart. The love between Park and Eleanor was slowly developed perfectly. Pretty much think of the opposite of insta-love. The two were fascinated with each other at first but they both were mostly just curious. It all started when Park finally tipped his comic book so she could read along with him on the bus. Rainbow Rowell does such an amazing job of bringing the reader into their world and making you really feel for them. You remember all the first love jitters like they happened yesterday. Their story is more than just first love, though, as Eleanor struggles with her home life and Park is unsure if and how he can help. It’s just so heartbreaking. Eleanor & Park follows the two characters as they build their relationship, struggle with issues at home, and navigate high school. The end of the book was fitting but definitely left me wanting more. […]

Review: There’s Cake in my Future

Posted August 31, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Review: When I saw this book at Barnes & Noble for less than $5, I knew I needed to have it. I haven’t read a lot of adult fiction books lately, but this one was a nice break from the YA. The plot summary sounds so unique and interesting. A bride-to-be, Nicole, organizes a cake pull for her friends at her bridal shower. She rigs it so that the girls receive exactly the charms they’d be best suited for: the engagement ring for Mel, whose boyfriend of six years STILL hasn’t asked to marry him; the red hot chili pepper for Seema, who has been in love with her best friend Scott for a long time; and the shovel for Nicole, who needs some luck in finding a new job and getting her career back on track. When each person accidentally picks the wrong charm, each person at the shower finds their fortune coming true. What is Mel going to do with a chili pepper charm when she doesn’t need any hot lovin’ in her life? She already has a boyfriend. What is Seema’s life going to be like now that she has the shovel? Her career is already in a good place. How does Nic feel about the baby carriage, when she doesn’t feel ready to be a mother yet? This book alternates between the perspectives of all three women as their lives begin to change. I didn’t really feel super attached to the characters and didn’t feel like the […]

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 […]

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 […]