Source: Purchased

Review: Just Like Fate

Posted September 26, 2014 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Wow, this book left me sitting there with a dumbfounded look on my face. The story is about Caroline, who is faced with a tough decision in the wake of grandmother’s impending death. Should she escape her family for the night to attend a party with her friend Simone? Or should she stay with them by her grandmother’s side? This decision splits her world in two: she lives out both of the timelines for the reader to enjoy. The book alternated chapters between STAY and GO, which was surprisingly not too confusing. Sometimes I had to peek down at the bottom corner of the page and remind myself of which one I was reading, but otherwise it was not hard to follow. What a freaking cool concept. I’ve been obsessed with the parallel life theme for as long as I can remember. Going into this book, I assumed the GO timeline would piss me off because I couldn’t imagine leaving my family in a time like that, especially for a party. Somehow I actually much preferred the GO timeline to the STAY one. I don’t know why; I think the STAY decision led to more boring consequences for me. One of my favorite things about the book was the “glimpes” into the other timeline from the one we were reading. For example, she would say “I could never imagine a world where ___ happened” …. while that exact thing was happening in the other timeline! It was really, really cool. […]

Review: Second Chance Summer

Posted September 22, 2014 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

Okay I finished this book less than two minutes ago and am making sure to write this review immeditely. Holy shit. Morgan Matson. Why and how are you so good? I don’t think I can express how much I loved this story. It was so many different things, all amazing and sad and happy at the same time. This is most likely not going to be a very long review because I kind of just only want to sit here and cry. Very few books have actually made me cry out loud, but this book was one of them. OKAY so Taylor and her family head to their lake house, where they haven’t been in five years, because their father only has a few months left to live. Their relationships at the beginning of the book are so strained and everyone is totally separate from one another. Watching their family grow and develop over the summer was just so perfect. Instead of a nice slow burn romance, this was a slow burn family-rekindling. Meanwhile, Taylor is faced with all of the people she left behind five summers earlier. This included her best friend Lucy and boyfriend Henry. Taylor has to make amends for what she did to them when she left. It was nice to see that those aspects were vital to the story, but still felt more in the background. Above everything else, this book was about family. I’m tempted to text my dad that I love him right […]

Review: Twenty Boy Summer

Posted September 12, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

This book has been on my radar for a while. The plot of the book follows Frankie and Anna as they embark on Frankie’s family vacation. The girls have been close for their entire lives and Anna is pretty much considered a part of her family. A year before, Frankie’s older brother Matt passes away. The last month of his life, Anna and Matt were secretly seeing each other. Anna’s relationship with him is unfinished when he unexpectedly dies and she is unsure about how to tell Frankie. Frankie comes up with the idea of the Twenty Boy Summer to occupy them during their vacation. This was obviously a somewhat large part of the plot (I mean, it’s the title of the book and everything!) but I didn’t think it was that necessary or relevant. They end up meeting some boys soon after they arrive and the competition sort of fades away. Overall, the story of this book was really amazing. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and exploring how they each worked through their grief. I really liked that it wasn’t as predictable as I expected. I’ve been falling into that trap lately with contemporary YA, where the book happens exactly as you’d think and there’s no mystery to it. The “climax” of the book was really the only part I saw coming. However, I liked the way it was developed and dealt with. Without giving too much away, the issues that normally would be “resolved” in a […]

200 Word Review: Since Last Summer

Posted September 6, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Review: DAMMIT why wasn’t the first book in this series a standalone? And is there going to be ANOTHER book after this one? Because I don’t think I can deal with that. Things I liked: It was a light, summery, easy, and fast read. Things I didn’t like: The DRAMA and typical YA conflicts/misunderstandings. I could literally predict every single decision the characters were going to make…and I groaned every time because they, of course, managed to make the wrong choice. Utterly predictable. The recurring characters all seemed very different. Obviously the book takes place a year later but seriously? People don’t change that much in a year. It seemed like a lot of the problems were invented or all in their heads. The relationships just didn’t make sense to me, while at the same time being completely expected. I guess they just weren’t developed enough for me. I finished this book pretty quickly and it left such a minimal impression on me. I was so happy after the first book ended and thoroughly enjoyed the story, despite some traditional predictability. After finishing the second book, I couldn’t even remember what happened in half of the story. Oh well. *sigh*

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.

Review: There’s Cake in my Future

Posted August 31, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

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: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Posted August 29, 2014 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

Okay honestly I can’t believe I didn’t read this book sooner. It has been my most anticipated read of the year, hands down, and I guess I kept waiting to see if it would go on sale. I decided to just say fuck it and decided to make it a part of Bout of Books. I am so, SO glad I finally read this one (although I kind of wish I waited a little longer so it would be closer to the release of the second book). To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before easily gets five stars from me. I loved every second of it. I LOVED loved LoVeD the characters. Before I get too carried away – this book is about how Lara Jean’s life is turned upside down when her box of letters is released to their intended recipients. In order to get over a boy she likes, she writes a letter to them and hides it in a hatbox under her bed. One day, the letters are mysteriously sent out and she has to deal with the repercussions. One of the boys is her sister’s ex-boyfriend Josh, who is also their longtime friend/neighbor. Another is the popular boy at school, Peter, who was her first kiss. Lucas, a third boy at her school, becomes her close friend after getting her letter and helps her make sense of everything happening to her. Every character in this book was so fun to get to know. Lara Jean was blessed with an amazing […]

Review: The Heiresses

Posted August 27, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Review: I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase “guilty pleasure.” That’s exactly what this book (and literally any and all other books by Sara Shepard are). I just wanted to get that out of the way first before you holler at me and say how shitty this book is. I’ve read the entire PLL series and I’m FULLY aware of Shepard’s writing style and plot devices and anything else you could think of. The thing is – I don’t care. I would read her grocery list because I think somehow she would manage to surprise me. Maybe you thought this book was predictable if you’ve read it. The thing is, I don’t try to predict anything when it come to suspense books. I prefer to be surprised. I may make a guess or two about things but never want to be right. I’m sure if I really sat hard and brought my thinking up just one more level, I would have been able to figure more out. I just don’t want to. I could make the jokes that everyone and their mother made in their Goodreads reviews, but I’ll resist the urge. (They are pretty funny though, you should look) Sara Shepard has been vague about if this is a series (although Goodreads suggests that it is).. I’ve gotta say that after that ending- there better be a second book. It kept me interested and intrigued throughout the entire thing, which is really what a good book boils down to. […]

Review: Boomerang

Posted August 23, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

10% through Boomerang and already smiling to myself like an asshole. I love these characters already #boutofbooks — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 18, 2014 Review: Okay so this is EXACTLY what I want from a new adult book. This story was so funny and cute; I couldn’t get enough of it. You can tell from the cover and the description that it’s just going to be a fun, light read. I didn’t expect to find a whole lot of heavy shit in it and luckily that was true. (I read Dangerous Boys after this… maybe I should have switched the order). Like the plotline, the characters were so fun. The characters were very likable and believable. I found that they talked and acted like most people my age; it was refreshing. I related to them in so many ways. Both of them had past relationships that fucked with their heads in different ways. Mia was in a relationship where she was under-appreciated and used. (Been there) Ethan was in a long-term relationship with someone who was the wrong fit for them; eventually things got too boring and one of them cheated. (Been there, too) Aside from their relationships, the characters had so many interesting pieces to their personalities. Mia was the definition of a “cool girl” who could get along with the guys and not get too bent out of shape about the little things. She was an aspiring filmmaker who wanted to get out of her photographer mother’s shadow. Ethan was…a different […]

Review: Dangerous Boys

Posted August 21, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

If I highlight the first paragraph of a book… I can tell it's going to be good. @abbymcdonald #DangerousBoys #YES — Lauren (@bookmarklit) August 19, 2014 Review: I’m certainly not the first person, and I won’t be the last person, to say HOLY SHIT this book was crazy. I’m not sure what I was expecting with this one, but based on other people’s reviews I was prepared for something absolutely wild and full of twists. This book delivered in very many of those ways. Unlike a lot of people, I couldn’t bring myself to give it five stars and I’m still kind of trying to figure out why. Lately, every thriller/mystery/suspense book I even THINK about reading is compared to Gone Girl. I couldn’t even come close to predicting the vast majority of twists in that book. That was a five star-worthy suspense book for me because it kept me guessing literally with every page. For the most part, Dangerous Boys did the same. I kept wondering who was the boy in the hospital, who did she pick, and what the fuck was generally going on. Primarily I was thinking – how the HELL is this book going to end? I was already disappointed in the ending of Gone Girl! The ending here didn’t disappoint. It made my mouth drop open. (I think I jumped the gun talking about the ending so early in the review but whatever – Abigail Haas can start her book at the end so I can start my […]