Publisher: Penguin

Review: The Art of Wishing

Posted November 10, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

I was intrigued by this book when I saw the premise. It was a really unique and compelling take on genies. I loved learning about what being a genie entails and how it can be a lot different than the mainstream interpretations of what genies do. (I’m kind of making it sound like genies are real now… maybe I’m convinced.) The writing style in this book was really fast-paced and enjoyable. It was very easy to read, which is what I was in the mood for! I’ve noticed this a lot in some of the books I’ve read lately: I like the slow release of information. It was over halfway through the book when I finally felt like I fully knew what it was like to be a genie and how Oliver’s life worked. I like jumping right into the middle of the action then learning more about the backstory as the book goes on. I loved that this felt much more like a contemporary romance with some fantasy mixed in. The main characters grow closer and develop a relationship despite the fact that Oliver is a genie. It just felt like I was reading a cute romance story and OH YA he’s a genie too I guess. The paranormal/fantasy aspects were really cool and I loved when they were mixed in, too. Oliver is so cute. I love him. That’s all. The concept behind the book overall was really interesting. As I said before, I just couldn’t stop reading […]

Review: Big Little Lies

Posted October 10, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

I generally don’t read adult books because I relate better to young adult books. (By the way, you can expect a discussion post on this exact topic within the next few weeks!) This book was certainly a perfect example of that. The main characters in this book are all parents of kids in kindergarten, who were dealing with domestic abuse, ex-spouses, being a single parent, and schoolyard politics. It was difficult for me to completely relate to the characters but I did find it pretty interesting. Frankly books with such a grim outlook on adulthood are not normally fun for me. At least with young adult books dealing with heavier topics I can be happy I’m through with that point in my life. I’m not married yet, I don’t have kids, and I certainly don’t want to think about the potential of divorce or domestic abuse in my life! REGARDLESS, this book was overall an enjoyable read for me. The story follows Madeline, Jane, and Celeste as they deal with all of the aforementioned issues. The book is written in chapters from each of their perspectives with little police interviews intermixed (more on the writing style later). The book begins with the understanding that a parent dies at the school’s upcoming trivia night, and then backtracks through the months leading up to the trivia night. The story itself was surprisingly funny, considering it dealt with some pretty heavy issues. I loved each of the characters, flaws and all. Liane Moriarty’s […]

200 Word Review: That Summer

Posted September 24, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

I don’t want to say I was disappointed, because that seems a bit harsh, but it definitely didn’t exceed my expectations. Why? The characters – ALL of them – were so selfish. I get that there was (kind of?) a reason for it in terms of the book’s moral, but I just found myself SO sick of their shit. Nothing. Happened. At. All. The book took place over the course of a month or two and literally Haven worked, ran into her sister’s ex, complained about her life, and spent time with her friend. Oh, and there was a random supermodel show that pretty much added nothing to the plot. I’m okay with the fact that this book was only about family issues, but it was just missing the spark of something else. ANYTHING to get some more action. The moral/message of the book was pretty clear and I liked the way it ended. The narrator had the most childish voice. I get that the MC was 15, but holy shit it felt like a 12 year old. Overall, I did like the book. It didn’t blow me away and it certainly isn’t one of Dessen’s best, but I can’t say I regret listening to it.

Review: Five Summers

Posted September 10, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

I liked this book enough but it didn’t blow me away. The general idea is that these four girls (Emma, Skylar, Jo, and Maddie) all attended four years of summer camp together when they were younger. They’e grown apart over the years and hope to reconnect over their reunion weekend. The book makes you wish you had friends like that or an experience at a summer camp. I never had that and I wish more than anything that I did. I think the ending was drawn-out a little bit; the last 80% of the book could have easily been consolidated into a chapter or two. The ending was extremely predictable and I can safely say all of my theories about their secrets or how things would play out came true. I think all of the girls tended to blend together a little too much. I don’t mean that they were super similar to each other; I just mean that they were characterized at a very superficial level. They all had different problems and stereotypical “personalities” but all sounded the same. There was the tomboy, the girl who’s hiding something, the party girl, and the innocent/shy girl. Otherwise, they were not characterized beyond that stereotype. Emma seemed to be the main character. She was pretty innocent, shy, and still a virgin. She was harboring a longtime crush on Adam, who could be sleazy but also seemed to be “different” around her. I didn’t really buy it. I didn’t understand at ALL what […]

200 Word Review: Audrey, Wait!

Posted September 2, 2014 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Review: In the simplest terms: this book made me smile and I enjoyed it. I wasn’t ever REALLY itching to read it though. Lately, the books I’ve been reading have been addicting and I would try to carve out as much time as possible to read. This one wasn’t exactly the same way and it took me too long to read. Things I liked: It was really cute. I liked the general plot and the way it progressed. There were a few LOL moments. The characters were fun and EXTREMELY well developed. Things I didn’t like: The humor felt forced at times. I wanted to roll my eyes at some of the jokes/conversations. While there were a lot of things that happened, it also kind of felt like nothing was really happening… if that makes sense. The description of the book lists something that doesn’t happen until literally one of the last chapters. I kept waiting for it the entire book and it almost felt like the description had a spoiler for the “big event” at the end. Overall, the book didn’t WOW me but it also didn’t exactly disappoint me. I liked it and am glad I read it.

Isla Is Coming Readalong / Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Posted August 18, 2014 / Book Challenges, Book Reviews, Features / 4 Comments

The Isla Is Coming readalong kicked off on the last day of July and I decided to take part! Unlike most people participating, I’m reading the series for the first time. (Click on the picture above to read the informational post). I finished Anna and the French Kiss WAY too early and waited to start Lola and the Boy Next Door with the rest of the readers. I finished Lola within 24 hours as well! Of course, the point of the readalong is to gear up for the third book’s release – Isla and the Happily Ever After on the 14th. I pre-ordered it and anxiously awaited for it to come in. It was worth the wait. Without further ado, here’s my final review for the Isla Is Coming readalong! ISLA IS HERE!!! Review: Oh god, how am I going to write this review without A) squealing and swooning like a child and B) not repeating the lovely things everyone else has already said about this book. This author. This series. IT’S ALL PERFECT. I don’t have any idea how Stephanie Perkins can write very typical young adult romance books but have them be so different, so original, and so amazing. First off, Isla was different because the two characters, Isla and Josh, started their relationship fairly early in the book. It was not about how they came together, but how they stayed together and how their relationship grew. In both Anna and Lola, the couples took some time to get their shit together and make it work. The […]

Review: Where She Went

Posted August 13, 2014 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Contains spoilers if you haven’t read If I Stay! Review: If you haven’t read If I Stay [review here], you should probably read that before reading this review! Overall, I liked this one better than If I Stay. I think. To me, they were just so different. The first book is from Mia’s perspective, where you learn about her family, friends, and boyfriend as she decides if she should live or die. Once you get to know her parents and brother, you understand why this is a difficult decision for her, now that they have passed away. She can take the easy route and join them wherever they ended up, or she can struggle through the rest of her life without her family but with her boyfriend and bright musical future ahead of her. She ends up deciding to stay. At the end of the book, I was itching to know a little bit more about what happens next. I didn’t feel like there was closure. I think that If I Stay could have been a standalone, but I’m glad it wasn’t. I loved Adam from the first book and when I learned that Where She Went was from his perspective, I was very excited…. until I read the plot summary. She left him?? How could she do that!? I was initially pissed but then realized how hard it must have been for both of them. I was glad the two would have a chance to meet up again and hopefully start their […]

Isla Is Coming Readalong / Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Posted August 11, 2014 / Book Challenges, Book Reviews, Features / 6 Comments

The Isla Is Coming readalong kicked off on the last day of July and I decided to take part! Unlike most people participating, I’m reading the series for the first time. (Click on the picture on the right to read the informational post). I finished Anna and the French Kiss WAY too early and waited to start Lola and the Boy Next Door with the rest of the readers. I finished Lola within 24 hours as well! Of course, the point of the readalong is to gear up for the third book’s release – Isla and the Happily Ever After on the 14th. So now here’s my review for the second book in the Isla Is Coming readalong! Review: As predicted, I loved this book. It was hard not to compare it to Anna and the French Kiss, though… I found myself doing that a lot. I think there were enough similarities and differences to make this book really a great follow-up. Perkins does a wonderful job of bringing variety to a typical YA book/topic. There was somewhat of a love triangle, which I normally don’t care for, but the reader obviously knows how the book is going to end and who she is going to end up with. It always takes the main character a lot longer than the reader to figure out! Lola was very different from Anna, which I liked. She had two dads and a messed-up biological mom, who all worked together to make a pretty interesting family dynamic. It was […]

Review: If I Stay

Posted August 9, 2014 / Book Reviews / 12 Comments

Review: My expectations were too high with this novel. Everyone constantly raves about it and I’ve seen countless 5 star reviews. I’m not sure why, but it just didn’t hit that level for me. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked this book. I can see why it’s so popular and I’m really glad I read it, but I was expecting to be blown away. This tweet kind of sums up my reaction: I gave 'If I Stay' 3 stars immediately, got off the couch, thought about it and let it really sink in, then bumped it up to 4 stars lol — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 8, 2014 When I finished the book, I was really surprised. I was like “that was it?” — but that was mostly because there were a million fuckin pages at the end of the book for discussion questions and author questions and other shit. I was totally caught off guard; I thought I had a good 30 pages left to read. In other words, I wasn’t mentally prepared for the book to end. It sounds stupid, but it completely threw me off and made me think “wow I don’t know if I liked this book that much.” After getting off the couch for a few minutes and coming back, I started to let the book sink in (like an ending normally would have). I’m pleased with the way it ended, after a lot of thought. This is definitely the kind of book that resonates with […]

Isla Is Coming Readalong / Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Posted August 2, 2014 / Book Challenges, Book Reviews, Features / 5 Comments

The Isla Is Coming readalong kicked off on the last day of July and I decided to take part! Unlike most people participating, I’m reading the series for the first time. (Click on the picture on the right to read the informational post). I started reading Anna and the French Kiss on Friday, when the readalong started, and I basically haven’t stopped it reading since. I just finished the book (WAY too early!) and now I’m going to wait another few days before starting Lola and the Boy Next Door with the rest of the readers. It’ll be hard to resist but I really want to keep pace with the readalong. Of course, the point of the readalong is to gear up for the third book’s release – Isla and the Happily Ever After on the 14th. Judging by how much I absolutely loved the first book, I’m sure I’ll really enjoy the next two in this totally adorable trilogy. So now here’s my review for the first book in the Isla Is Coming readalong! Review: This is exactly what I’m looking for when I read a young adult romance. All YA authors should read this book before writing one of their own. I feel like I smiled to myself like an idiot throughout the whole book; it was just so damn cute. Anna was one of the most relatable characters I’ve encountered. Her experiences completely mirror those of the average teenage girl: getting screwed over by a best friend, falling for a boy […]