Blog Tour: All I've Never Wanted Review

About the Book

Title: All I’ve Never Wanted

Author: Ana Huang

Genre: YA 

The Scions were the four richest, most powerful guys at Valesca Academy, and they ruled the school with iron fists. Everyone wanted to date them or be them...everyone, that is, except Maya Lindberg, who just wanted to avoid them until she could graduate.

She almost succeeded, until an ill-advised outburst on her part put her right in the Scions' path. Just like that, one became her fake boyfriend, one her unwanted matchmaker, one her guardian angel, and the one she couldn't stand the most? Yeah, he's her new housemate. 

I'm honestly shocked that I'd never heard of Ana Huang before! I'm a pretty huge fan of Wattpad, I've discovered a ton of incredible stories through using it. Anyway, I was impressed by Ana Huang's writing. She did a beautiful job at capturing all of these layered characters. Some of the drama was a little overwhelming at times, but I always felt connected to the story itself and each character within it. Needless to say, I'm definitely prepared for the next novel that Ana Huang writes. 

Maya was a fabulous and sassy main character. I loved that she couldn't care less about how much money these kids have, if they act like jerks then she's going to call them out on it. I know that the lower class female character meets and saves the snotty rich boy is a common cliche in various YA novels. However, I felt like this book had so much complicated subplots going on, that it wasn't so cliche. I did think that Roman, the ridiculously rich guy that Maya tells off the first time that she meets, was an absolute jerk that I personally wouldn't tolerate. But I also feel like his reluctance to truly change into a nicer human being in this book would be completely unrealistic. Someone that spoiled isn't going to change overnight, and I like how Huang emphasizes this several times within the book. 

As I said earlier, there are tons and tons of characters in All I've Never Wanted. I've already talked about the two main characters Roman and Maya, but there's also Carlo, Parker, Zack, Venice, and Adriana. The first three are members of the Scions alongside Roman. Adriana is Zack's gorgeous twin sister who instantly takes a liking to Maya and believes that she'll be perfect for Roman. Venice is Maya's hyper close friend, who is a total fangirl of the Scions. There's also a brother, (Carlo's brother Rico) many different parents, and Maya's hilarious grandma. If I had to pick a favorite out of the group of supporting characters, I'd likely choose Carlo. He's a great friend to Maya and he also probably has the best head on his shoulders out of all the guys. To me anyway, he seemed to be the most grounded and down to earth one. I also really loved Adriana and felt like she had such an endearingly strong personality. I enjoyed the scenes where she was playing matchmaker with Maya and Roman and actually ended up roping her brother into it with her. 

Since there's so many key characters, you can probably guess that there would also be a lot of romances going on as well. The couples are: Roman and Maya, Adriana and Parker, and Venice and Zack. Carlo also has a girl but she's not apart of the group so we don't get to see her much. While I did like Roman and Maya together, they weren't my favorite since it took them so long to actually get together. I hated all the drama that seemed to stop them every time you thought they were going to act on their so very obvious feelings. Therefore, my favorite was Adriana and Parker because they got together pretty early on in the book. I thought it was adorable how long Parker had feelings for her and she also liked him. Although that initial conversation when they first get together is all we really see of the relationship, I still enjoyed it since they stayed together the rest of the book with no drama. 

I recommend this book if you're looking for something that's well written and filled with a great ensemble cast. There's so much to enjoy about this book, so I'm just going to urge you to read it and see for yourself what all my fuss was about. While I wish some of the drama could have just been left out, that didn't make me completely dislike the book, I was still really interested in it from start to finish. I'm beyond glad that I chose to read this one!

Author Bio

Ana Huang, better known as ACRL37 on Wattpad, primarily writes Young Adult and Romance. She started writing her first novel, All I've Never Wanted, when she was sixteen; it was originally inspired by the Asian manga Hana Yori Dango. Her second novel, If We Ever Meet Again, was loosely based on her own study abroad experiences in college. Her stories currently have a combined view of over 20 million on Wattpad. Besides reading and writing, she also enjoys shopping, brunch, and traveling.

Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/All-Ive-Never-Wanted-Huang-ebook/dp/B00WY2WU50 

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-ive-never-wanted-ana-huang/1122059657

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/all-ive-never-wanted/id1001710587

Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/acrl37

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ana_huang37

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25464015-all-i-ve-never-wanted

Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru Review

 

Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru

Tera Lynn Childs

Entangled Crush 

September 14th, 2015

When life gives you a blank canvas, make art.

Sloane Whitaker hates everything about moving to Texas. She hates leaving behind her friends and half her family in New York, starting over senior year at Austin’s NextGen Academy, and having to say she lives in Texas. Most of all, she hates that it’s all her fault. If she wants to earn her way back to the Big Apple, she has to prove she can still be the perfect daughter.

Which means no vandalism art, no trouble at school, and absolutely no Tru Dorsey, her serial screw-up neighbor, who loves nothing more than pushing her buttons.

But from the moment he vaults onto the roof outside her bedroom, there is something about him that makes her want to break every rule. Suddenly it’s not the ten things she hates about Tru that are at the top of her list. It’s the ten reasons she doesn’t want to be without him.

As a whole, this was a cute story that actually had way much more intense drama than I was anticipating. I recently read and loved Playing The Player which is also from Entangled Crush, and it's probably unfair to compare the two. With all that aside, I did enjoy this book but it wasn't the most unique novel or really all that memorable. I think I'll still read the upcoming books in this series, or at least the ones that are going to continue telling the relationship between Tru and Sloane. The title is totally misleading (in the style of one of my favorite movies Ten Things I Hate About You) because there aren't any reasons why Sloane actually hates him. However, I decided to follow the same style and make my review a list of ten things to know about this book. 

1.  The story features art in a fabulous way 

As you can tell if you read the description, the main characters attend an art school in Texas. So obviously, art is a big part of this plot. However, I really loved getting to see the love that Sloane had for art and sharing that art with the world. She is shy about the online comic that she crafted, but I still loved getting to see how much she loved it. I also enjoyed when she began opening up to Tru about her love, and he opened up about his love for making films. 

2. There's no love triangle 

One of the things I love about Entangled Crush stories are the lack of love triangles. Okay, I've only read two of these books so far, but that's still a really important thing for me. 

3. The love story builds in a very realistic way 

Sloane is extremely hesitant to become involved in any activities or make friends in Texas since she's dead set in going back to New York. Therefore, she's pretty distant from Tru in the beginning. They slowly start to hangout more and everything progresses from there. I found that buildup to be realistic and honest. 

4. Lots and lots of drama

This was a major drawback for me. I found it frustrating just how much drama was packed into these pages. Some parts were emotional (we'll get to that later) while others just felt unnecessary and drawn out.

5. Likable main characters

Although they could be a bit angst filled at times, (Sloane particularly) I genuinely liked both Tru and Sloane. They were pretty realistic and reminded me of teenagers that I know. My point is, I did feel like the whole high school thing was moderately accurate. But it just ended up going a little overboard and even predictable in some areas.  

6. Overused tropes

Boy living next door, the artistic girl, the bad boy who isn't really bad, and I also consider awful parents to be a trope. 

7. Tru was an easy character to sympathize with

At the beginning of the book, we get some insight into how bad his home life really is. Truthfully, it's been awhile since I've read a book that had something like that happen to the male love interest. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I will say that his home life isn't everything that it seems to be at first glance. He did go much deeper than what you see on the surface and I did like that. I just felt like he was still similar to a lot of other males in YA books in terms of the whole bad boy thing. 

8. The friends were actually a little ridiculous 

It feels like they used the friends (her former and the other kids she befriended in Texas) of Sloane as a plot device. I just feel like it was something the author placed there because she felt like it would liven up the plot, but the characters themselves weren't developed nearly enough. 

9. Graffiti is awesome! 

I felt like this had to be worked in somewhere on this list. Graffiti actually doesn't play a huge role in this story, but it still is important to say the least. 

10. The parents are horrible people

Can we just have some normal parents in YA books please?

 

Playing The Player Review

  

Playing the Player

Lisa Brown Roberts 

Release Date: 08/18/15

Entangled Teen: Crush

 

Summary from Goodreads:

Trina Clemons needed the money. Why else would she—the most organized, prepared student in school—spend the summer as a nanny and partner with the biggest slacker ever? Now she's ready to tackle nannyhood with her big binder of research and schedules. Just don't ask her about the secret job of “fixing” the bad habits of a certain high school player...

Slade Edmunds prefers easy hook-ups, and Trina is definitely not his type. She's all structure and rules, while Slade wants to just have fun. Fortunately, Trina has no idea about the bet Slade made with his best friend that he can totally get her to unwind by the end of summer...

Then the weirdest thing happens. There's chemistry. A lot of it.
But nothing gets between a boy and a girl like a big, fat secret...

Going into this one, I wasn't so sure about whether or not I'd like it. I've never read anything from Entangled Crush before, but this book sounded up to my speed. I'm glad that I gave it a shot and I'll definitely read more from this publishing company and from the author! Playing The Player had plenty of things that have been used previously in Young Adult books before. However, I think it was well executed in a unique way with several fun characters. Recently, I've been picking up a lot of books and pretty much just skimming them, instead of really reading them like I should be. I didn't feel that way at all with this one so that alone says a lot for me personally! If you're looking for a feel good romance, look no further than this one. 

I really enjoyed both Slade and Trina. I felt like the author did a decent job going back and forth each chapter between their perspectives. Slade could be a total jerk towards Trina at times, but I still liked him, especially in the later parts of the book. Honestly, Trina annoyed me a little bit because of how controlling she was when it came to dealing with the kids. She just tried to be completely organized instead of just going with the flow, but I liked how the pair ended up balancing each other out. I've been babysitting since middle school so books that feature this will always catch my eye. The kids were so entertaining, oh man! The little girl that Trina watches has a thing against clothes and gets upset that she has to put them on at all. I just found it all to be very amusing, and I like how the author doesn't downplay how dramatic and unpredictable children can be. Let me just say that I sincerely wish that I had a guy like Slade around when I'm taking care of kids! 

While this could easily be taken as being a cliché type of YA romance, I felt like it was honestly a fairly realistic portrayal of a high school love. Well, that is if you started out falling in love with someone that you totally clashed with at first. My point is, I like how this book doesn't have an insta-love thing going on. It feels like a much more built up romance in general and that was one of the highlights of the book for me.

I was really pleased with the first novel that I've read from Lisa Brown Roberts. With Playing The Player, you've got a heartwarming and hilarious romance. It's light and feels extremely real to me. This is one that I personally was able to connect with and I hope you're able to do the same!

Red Queen Review

 

Red Queen

 

Victoria Aveyard

 

Harper Teen

 

February 10th, 2015

 

Goodreads description:

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart..

 

This book is definitely one of the most violent and intense books I've read this year. I almost had a heart attack a grand total of no fewer than three or four times. Sometimes, it felt like I was watching a violent TV show or movie (like Game Of Thrones maybe) and I just wanted to shut my eyes during the particularly gruesome parts. It kept me on the edge of my seat for a good part of the book and I seriously enjoyed it.

At the start of the book, it felt extremely boring to me. I had to fight through the first fifty pages or so to get to the good parts. Despite this, the book picked up so much that the slow beginning wasn't such a huge deal to me. These types of stories aren't usually my thing, but I found myself fascinated by Aveyard's beautiful writing. There's just something about her style that felt really authentic and enticing to me. 

Mare was a brilliant lead character. I loved her strength, humor, and sarcasm. She had such a dynamic personality and I loved how she told the story. I'm not going to lie, several of her qualities reminded me a lot of Katniss Everdeen. Some people disliked the story because they felt like it was a rip off of other stories like The Hunger Games and Game Of Thrones. While the similarities are pretty obvious, I still feel like the story had its own unique story to tell. If you ask me, YA could always use more strong female characters so Mare was really awesome and unique to me. 

I'm not going to reveal much else about the other characters and much about the plot. I'll just say that the supporting characters were very dynamic and full of life. I felt like they were each masterfully crafted. The romance here is pretty moderate to low, but there's just so much plot going on that it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. I'm on edge waiting for the next book to come out. It can't get here soon enough! 

Mini Review: The Truth About Us

 

The Truth About Us

Janet Gurtler

Sourcebooks Fire

April 2015

Goodreads description:

 A powerful and gripping contemporary YA from the author of I'm Not Her that's "Just right for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jodi Picoult."-Booklist

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

 I probably should have just skipped this one altogether. It wasn't an enjoyable read for me as a whole. Parts of it really struck my attention and made me want to keep reading, then I'd reach a part that just made me want to stop reading. It does explore the issue of social class, but I've read other YA books that pulled it off in a much more natural fashion. I felt like this book only scratched the surface on this issue and didn't go deep enough. The ending also REALLY put me off, I just didn't understand why it ended there. All in all, this was a book with much more flaws than strengths. 

I didn't click with either Jess or Flynn, which obviously makes me feel disconnected with the story. I wasn't all that invested in the plot or the characters, but the ending still rubbed me the wrong way to say the least. I'm not going to say much about it, but I'll leave it at the ending just wasn't necessary and it didn't seem realistic to me either. Both characters had their fair share of respective issues, but I felt like some of the drama was also not needed. I wanted more focus on the relationship between Jess and Flynn, not a ton of drama with just a little bit of romance thrown in for a few pages here and there. I didn't feel good about the majority of the decisions made by Flynn, and Jess wasn't 100% innocent in some areas. However, I felt like it was Flynn who was the real fickle one. On one page, he would be certain that he and Jess were meant to be together, but then the next he was calling her spoiled and saying they wouldn't work out. It gave me whiplash and was another thing that made me want to stop reading. 

Why did I keep reading if there were so many things that made me want to stop? In short, I pretty much ended up skimming quite a bit of the pages. I wanted to read a contemporary YA book that was light. This one wasn't as light as I was anticipating, it had a lot more drama. One of the positives is that I do think that the writer has a lot of potential. She really channeled Jess's voice and I liked her storytelling methods. Anyway, this wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but there were plenty of weaknesses about the book that certainly rubbed me the wrong way.

ARC Review: Very in Pieces

Very in Pieces by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Published by Harper Teen

Expected publication: September 29th

Source: Edelweiss

Goodreads Description:

Very Sales-Woodruff is done being a good girl. Done being the only responsible one in a family that’s unraveling. Done being the obliging girlfriend in a relationship that’s sinking. Done saying no to what she wants—like Dominic, her rebellious classmate.

With her mom’s drinking, her dad’s extended absences from home, and her younger sister, Ramona, running wild, the path Very has always seen for herself doesn’t seem to matter anymore. At the same time, Very’s grandmother, a poet known less for her work and more for her exploits with the likes of Andy Warhol and Arthur Miller, is slipping away.

If everything else can fall to pieces, why can’t she?

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book felt like it was missing something. I don't think it was bad or anything, but I felt like it needed more growth from the characters. I wanted to know more about Very's sister, and it seemed to not be explored in great depth. This was still an entertaining YA read that I did like, just not love. The plot wasn't anything overly unique, but it still had a few creative characters. It just needed MORE for it to be an amazing and memorable book.

Very was a character who I didn't connect with in the way that I have with other YA main female characters lately. I'm not sure what it was exactly, I found her to be a little on the boring side. It did bother me how she automatically did what was expected of her, but I still understand why, and I liked that she gradually came out of her shell. Ramona is Very's little sister who I didn't really get. I felt like the author didn't resolve this character the way that she should have. The supporting characters also lacked character development, which I felt like was desperately needed. However, I did enjoy Very's Grandma, specifically, I enjoyed the relationship that her Grandma had with Very. I felt like it was a the perfect combination of both sad and sweet. All of Very's friends were forgettable and her boyfriend at the beginning of the book was so boring. I got that she was with him because he was a safety net for her, but come on! Even her parents (and especially her grandmother) could see that he wasn't the right guy for her. I didn't exactly get why he was included at all, but he did help Very to grow and see that a guy like Dominic is more of what she needs.

I'd like to forget completely about the relationship between Very and Christian since it was so dull and predictable. Which means I'm going to focus more on what happened between Dominic and Very. Dominic has a reputation at her high school for being a rebel and also a drug dealer. Regardless of what he is, Very is automatically drawn to him, and he starts appearing everywhere once she starts her senior year. I liked the romance between them because it built in a slow and real way. Yes, parts of it still moved kind of fast, but it still felt realistic to me. One thing I did dislike was how the relationship wasn't really resolved. Very was still hesitant to be with Dominic which rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like she cared too much about what other people thought, and that bothered me.

I liked the family dynamics in Very in Pieces. Some of the book wasn't so great for me, but it still was a fast paced read. I was just waiting for more of my questions to be answered, and it was disappointing for me when they weren't. Anyway, I think some YA fans will enjoy this one. It has it's positive and negative moments, but it is still an okay read.

What We Saw Review

What We Saw

Aaron Hartzler

Harper Teen

September 22nd, 2015

Source: Edelweiss

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

"Nothing is exactly as it appears. The closer you look, the more you see."

The Steubenville rape case hit home for me. My grandma lives just across the bridge from the town. I remember when the case happened, all I could feel was sadness for the girl involved because her life had to be changed forever from this. It also felt personal to me because this is something that could easily happen at my own high school. It made me ask myself if I would be one of the few who spoke up on behalf of the victim.

Kate was at the star basketball players party the night that something happened to Stacey. Kate knows that she drank more than she probably should have that night, but she was lucky enough to have gotten home safely while Stacey wasn't so lucky. The school is flipped upside down when Stacey presses charges against four of the basketball players and suddenly the whole school automatically jumps to blame her. The events that happened that night can all be seen on social media sites. Kate is one of the only people who sees things from Stacey's point of view. What if she really is telling the truth and everyone is choosing not to believe her?

Kate was an extremely strong character and I adored her. I loved that she didn't back down from figuring out the truth about what happened that night. She could have taken the easy way out like Ben and all her friends by just letting the situation go, but she looked at from a different angle. She knew that she easily could have been in the same position as Stacey because Kate was drinking too. [ Yes, she was a little bit blinded by Ben at times but she also had no problem distinguishing between what was wrong and what was right. (hide spoiler)] Kate's friends were absolutely unbelievable. I hated that they instantly took the star basketball players side and rushed to judge Stacey because basically, "she asked for it." However, that way of thinking is very similar to how the Steubenville students (and any others when these types of cases happen) responded. I remember how angry I was when the verdict for Steubenville was reached and CNN had a whole story dedicated to how tragic it was that these boys with such a bright future were going to have their lives forever changed. All I could think of was what about the victim? The boys being put away for a couple of years and maybe registering as sex offenders doesn't make up for all the horrible things that she had to hear.

The book has such beautiful writing that unapologetically hits you right in the gut. It flowed in such a poetic way and I felt like the voice of Kate couldn't have been better. I'm beyond glad that I read this one and recommend it for absolutely everyone. It's about a topic that needs to be talked about and this was handled in such a sensitive way. It's an important read for high schoolers, parents, and everyone in between. While I know that different books appeal to different people for whatever reason, but I feel like this one is a book that anyone of any age should read. It's one that I won't be forgetting for a long time.

Finding Perfect Review

Finding Perfect

Kendra C. Highley 

Entangled Crush

September 14th, 2015

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads Description:

How far will you go for perfection?

For “Perfect Paige” Westfield, today is “D” Day. As in, she just got one on her calculus test. With her dreams of Stanford, her reputation, and her parents’ expectations at stake, Paige needs to find a way to save face before everything she’s worked for goes up in flames.

Ben Franklin (yes, he’s related) is from the wrong side of town, with the wrong clothes and the wrong kind of life. He also knows an opportunity when he sees one, and he’ll be happy to tutor Paige—if she makes him into the kind of guy her best friend, the hottest girl in school, will date.

It’s the perfect arrangement. And Paige is determined not even the inconvenient—and utterly imperfect—attraction simmering between her and Ben will ruin it…

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I wasn't sure how the author was going to pull off a story about a boy agreeing to tutor a girl in order to get a date with her best friend. Somehow, it truly did work in a surprising way. I loved the characters and felt like each one, even the supporting characters, developed throughout the book. This is one that I recommend for people who love YA romance and are looking for a story that is just a little bit different from the others.

Paige was a very realistic high schooler who also happened to be a serious overachiever. She wants to please her parents and follow in her fathers footsteps to become a doctor. She's extremely stressed due to her calculus class and knows that if she fails it, it'll ruin everything for her. I liked Paige because she was a relatable character and sometimes I can't always relate with main characters in YA books. I've read a lot of books recently that are similar in the respect that the girl seems uptight and perfect, but Paige was more than what appeared on the surface. Ben was also a lot different than what he seemed to be. He was also serious about grades but for reasons both similar and different from Paige's. The similarity being that they both want to please their parents and get into school, different because Ben feels the pressure of providing for his mom and taking care of her. I liked how the book explored social class, it never seemed out of place or unrealistic, it was fitting in the story. Even the adults in the story were well developed and seemed to grow along with the main characters. I loved Ben's mom and felt like she was a sweet and supportive adult character. In contrast, Paige's parents weren't as warm and fuzzy in the beginning. However, I did like how the book wrapped things up involving their relationship.

The chemistry between Paige and Ben becomes obvious early on in the book. During only like the second time they hangout, they get pretty close to kissing. My point is, I like that the adult has them build up from just helping one another out, to becoming aware of their attractions and not knowing what to do with it. It drove me a little crazy how they both seemed to beat around the bush and focus on him getting a date with Zoey, even though it was obvious that he would be a better match for Paige. Zoey's role in getting the pair together was one of my favorite parts. It just wasn't what I was expecting to happen in the best way. Paige and Ben make a fabulous pair that never was boring to read about and I really loved the unique element to the love story.

I'm beyond glad that I read this book. It exceeded all of my prior expectations of it. This was a book that I believed, and I was invested in each and everyone of the characters. I was even wanting to know more about Zoey and wanted her to find her own love story. The ending made me hopeful that maybe we'll get to see a book with Zoey as our main character that follows her college years, but who knows! Regardless of whether or not this is the last we'll see of Ben and Paige, this was a book that was a quick read and one that made me really happy.

Song of Summer Review

Song of Summer

Laura Lee Anderson

Bloomsbury Spark

July 7th, 2015

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads Description: 

The thirteen qualities of Robin’s Perfect Man range from the mildly important “Handsome” to the all-important “Great taste in music.” After all, Westfield’s best high school folk musician can’t go out with some shmuck who only listens to top 40 crap. When hot Carter Paulson walks in the door of Robin’s diner, it looks like the list may have come to life. It’s not until the end of the meal that she realizes he’s profoundly deaf.

Carter isn’t looking for a girlfriend. Especially not a hearing one. Not that he has anything against hearing girls, they just don’t speak the same language. But when the cute waitress at Grape Country Dairy makes an effort to talk with him, he takes her out on his yellow Ducati motorcycle.

Told in first person alternating perspectives, language, music, and culture go along for the ride as Carter and Robin find their song.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

With music being a huge part of the plot, I knew right away that this was my kind of book. I couldn't stop reading once I picked it up, it completely had my attention all the way through. I was just dying to know what would happen between Carter and Robin and that's always a big indicator of a good book to me. Laura Lee Anderson certainly made her mark with this one, I'll be anxiously waiting for her next release.

I understood Robin because like her, I'm also obsessed with music. I loved all the musicians she referenced including my personal favorite Bob Dylan. Anyway, I felt connected from the beginning to her passion for it. Where I couldn't connect with her was the obsession she had with having a boyfriend who loved music as much as she does. Anyone who personally knows me would jump in here and point out that is totally hypocritical of me to say. Music is something that I also use as a way to connect with people, and I do judge guys that I like based on their taste in music. Unlike Robin, it wouldn't be such a huge deal for me if I met a guy as fabulous as Carter. He's caring, fun, sweet, smart, witty, and adores Robin for who she is. Yes, he's not exactly innocent either, he judges Robin for not being deaf, but I felt like she battled with it way more than Carter did.

Carter and Robin were great as a couple, well until all the drama had to come in and shake things up for them. However, no relationship is smooth sailing and a hearing girl who has never been close to anyone who is hearing impaired is going to encounter many doubters. These seem to pop up again and again in the story through a variety of characters. I did enjoy the romance though, despite that it was pretty much insta-love. I still never felt like any part of the relationship was rushed or unrealistic at all. It was a story about love that happened in the most natural way possible and that was fun to read about.

In the end, the book did fall a bit short for me because of Robin's attitude at times. I also found the ending to be abrupt and I didn't like that it was left open-ended. Sometimes stories like that work, but in this case it didn't for me. I wanted to see more development and answers about where the two characters will end up in the future, and of course, whether or not they'll be together. I felt like Anderson wrote about music and being deaf in an incredibly beautiful manner, I held on to every word and craved more after it ended.

Waiting On Wednesday: When We Collided

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking The Spine. This is where we share our most anticipated upcoming releases.

When We Collided

Emery Lord

April 5th, 2016

Bloomsbury USA Children

Goodreads Description:

Meet Vivi and Jonah: A girl and a boy whose love has the power save or destroy them.

Vivi and Jonah couldn't be more different. Vivi craves anything joyful or beautiful that life can offer. Jonah has been burdened by responsibility for his family ever since his father died. As summer begins, Jonah resigns himself to another season of getting by. Then Vivi arrives, and suddenly life seems brighter and better. Jonah is the perfect project for Vivi, and things finally feel right for Jonah. Their love is the answer to everything. But soon Vivi's zest for life falters, as her adventurousness becomes true danger-seeking. Jonah tries to keep her safe, but there's something important Vivi hasn't told him.

Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart and Jandy Nelson, When We Collided is a powerful story of two teens whose love is put to the test by forces beyond their control.

I think that Emery Lord is a brilliant writer who has previously created some memorable characters, especially some notable book boyfriends. So I'm looking forward to see if Jonah can be as memorable and swoony as Matt and Max were in Open Road Summer and The Start of Me and You. Vivi also sounds like a complex female character, and that sounds like something I'll likely enjoy. Why can't this book just come out already?! I don't want to wait so long to read it!

Tonight the Streets Are Ours Review

Tonight the Streets Are Ours

Leila Sales

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
 

September 15, 2015

Goodreads Description:

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was, either.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book was hard for me to get through. I don't know what it is honestly, Leila Sales is a really great writer so it's obviously not that. I just had a hard time getting into the story in the beginning. It started out extremely slow to me. While it did gradually improve, it was too late for me to get all that wrapped up in the story and the characters. It was just an okay read that I did enjoy, but didn't really love. The ending was incredibly fast paced, I wish the whole novel was like that.

Arden was a character that I completely related to. I understand the feeling of being relentless loyal to people who don't seem to return the favor. I also related to the fact that she became a huge fan of a boy named Peter who she'd never even met, but she was drawn to his writing. Sometimes I don't have a problem with third person narration, but I would have been even more connected to Arden if I saw things from her first person perspective. I enjoyed her best friend Lindsay, she was a fun secondary character. Sure, she had her moments where Arden felt like she was the only person in the friendship who cared at all. But Lindsay always ended up proving herself and that she appreciated Arden. I love the great female friendship that happens in this novel! It did make me more interested in the book, I definitely would have stopped if the friendship was overly dramatic or something, but this was something that totally worked with the plot. I liked how complex Sales made the character of Peter. I can't say much or otherwise it will ruin the story, but let's just say that it was something about his character that I didn't see coming. It's not anything too dramatic, but it's still surprising and it was one of my favorite things about the book.

Romance isn't a huge part of this book at all. I don't think that telling you this really spoils anything, it's just a book that has a lot going on so romance is just kind of in the background. I've read so many books recently where romance was a huge part of the plot so this was different for me. However, I did find it refreshing, it's definitely one of the more daring and unique YA books that I've read this year.

As I already said, Arden and I have so much in common so she was a large part why I continued reading the book. I like books with strong female friendships and this one had it. My huge drawback is that this simply isn't the type of book that I normally go for. It actually does have several elements that I do enjoy, but this was a book that didn't click for me right away. I picked it up months ago and only made it about 20% through before I got bored and moved on to reading something else. I returned to it because I knew it was being released soon and I wanted to give it another shot. I'm glad that I did pick it up once more because the story really does get better and more interesting as the pages go on. It's not my favorite book, but it's still one that people will enjoy.

Just One Day Review

Just One Day

Gayle Forman

Speak 

August 2013

Quotes:

“Part of me knows one more day won't do anything except postpone the heartbreak. But another part of me believes differently. We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.”

“Sometimes the best way to find out what you’re supposed to do is by doing the thing you’re not supposed to do.”  

“You have to fall in love to be in love, but falling in love isn't the same as being in love.”  

“I think everything is happening all the time, but if you don't put yourself in the path of it, you miss it.”  

“And that's when I understand that I have been stained. Whether I'm still in love with him, whether he was ever in love with me, and no matter who he's in love with now, Willem changed my life. He showed me how to get lost, and then I showed myself how to get found.”  

I'm a pretty big fan of Gayle Forman's writing. I think that she weaves story together in a beautiful and effortless sort of way. She also creates such memorable and awesome characters. There aren't many characters of hers that I haven't connected with or cheered for. Comparatively, this book didn't hit me as hard as If I Stay did. However, it is unfair to compare the two since it's such a different story. This one was definitely more upbeat and filled with a lot less sadness. I like books that have adventures and this one certainly has that going for it.

Allyson Healey is in her last summer before she heads off to college. Her parents sent her on a three-week European tour with a group from her school as a graduation gift. On the last day, she meets a boy named Willem, who acts in Shakespearean plays and goes wherever the wind blows. Willem is unpredictable, the complete opposite of the careful and safe Allyson. She decides to shake things up in her life and go with Willem to Paris, a place she desperately wanted to see but didn't have a chance on the tour. There is where the pair share grand adventures as they share one unplanned day in the city of love together. She wakes up to find Willem gone, so she finds her way back to the states on her own, completely heartbroken over his disappearance. As the months at college fly by, Allyson can't get the day that she spent with this boy out of her mind. So she decides to down whatever it takes to track him down.

I liked hearing the story from Allyson's point of view. She was a decent narrator and I liked seeing her develop as the story went on. She could be a little annoying at times considering how jealous she was of every single girl who even looked Willem's way. However, I enjoyed that she was uptight and safe but gradually turned into someone else, a person who doesn't plan everything out and just goes with the flow. Obviously, she's more that person around Willem than she is on her own, but I still thought it was fascinating to see. Willem was a fun character that I really enjoyed. He had a ton of personality and was hard to pinpoint. While I wish he would have opened up to Allyson more about her life, that just wasn't his character I guess.

I'm aware that it's obvious that the two are only together for one day, but I still found myself craving more of Willem. I know that the second book is dedicated to his point of view during the time they were apart, but I just didn't like the flow of this one. Allyson at college was just kind of boring to me and I found myself skimming through it honestly. Overall, I loved the first part of the story because any story in Paris is automatically awesome in my book. 

Biggest Flirts Review

Biggest Flirts

Jennifer Echols

Simon Pulse

May 2014

 I think I'm just too old for this book. This is really weird because the book has mature content, including sexual content from pretty much the first chapter. I mean, it's nothing totally graphic, but it just seemed weird since I had the impression that this was supposed to be meant for like middle grade/freshman in high school. The drama that fills the pages from the first page fully maintains it's speed until the last. If young adult contemporary romance is your kind of thing, you might give this one a shot. I typically enjoy the genre and still found that this one wasn't for me, but Jennifer Echols is still a decent writer, maybe you'll personally enjoy her style.

Tia is just about to start her senior year of high school and has decided that she has no time for relationships. She only looks for casual hookups, nothing more than that. She's never had a real boyfriend because of her fear from seeing what happened to her sisters who got seriously involved with boys and subsequently were knocked up by them. At one of the last parties of the summer, she meets the new kid from Minnesota, Will Matthews. Things immediately heat up between the two on that first night, but Tia takes a step back when she realizes that he wants more than just a casual hook up. After she turns him down, he decides to ask out somebody else. Everything gets even more awkward between Tia and Will when the pair are both voted Biggest Flirts of their senior class.

I wasn't a fan of Tia. I felt like their just wasn't enough growth involved with her character. She was constantly changing her mind and looking to pick a fight with Will, which never failed to annoy me. Will wasn't much better though. I didn't find him to be all that swoonworthy. Honestly, I actually liked Sawyer, the boy who friends with benefits with Tia better. I'm glad that he's going to have his own story though because he and Tia aren't a good match for each, but I just liked his character better than Will's all around. Will had just been through a pretty bad breakup, the girl he loved from back home cheated on him with his best friend and he found out through pictures. With that being said, it didn't make any sense to me why he would be rushing to get into a new relationship if he had just had his heart stomped on. Not to mention the fact that Tia and Will are constantly arguing about everything from competing for being the captain of the drum team, to about what boy Tia is flirting with. It was simply exhausting how much drama they started with one another. Having two unlikable main characters obviously results in a disaster for me personally.

To be honest, I ended up skimming through a lot of it because I was so ready for it to be over. I know that probably sounds harsh, but this wasn't a realistic book about high school in my opinion. I've read many great ones, but this one missed the mark by quite a bit. I didn't know anybody in high school who acted the way that these kids did. There was a lot of relationship drama of course, but never at this type of level.

The Heir Review

The Heir

Kiera Cass

Harper Teen 

May 2015

I'm pretty tough when it comes to The Selection series. Personally, I did enjoy parts of the first three books. But I just disliked all of the drama and the love triangle. In the second book in particular, America was so possessive over Maxon, even though she herself was secretly cheating on him. But anyway, The Heir had its moments for me. It's absolutely necessary for you to read the first three books before checking out this one. I've read all of them and even I was a little lost at times because I'd forgotten different characters and events from the other books. For fans of the series, this will be a pleasant and intense read.

Eadlyn is the daughter of Prince Maxon and Queen America Singer. This book picks up 20 years after the last book. The country of Illéa is currently in a bad place. Maxon got rid of the social classes and this caused even more of an uprising from the people. In an attempt to ease the tensions, Maxon and America convince Eadlyn to allow them to bring back The Selection. Despite having no intentions of finding a man to marry, Eadlyn reluctantly agrees to participate although she still plans on scaring away the boys one by one. Will she change her mind and actually find that The Selection isn't so terrible after all?

Surprisingly, I disliked Eadlyn even more than I disliked America in the earlier books. She's different from her mother in the respect that she has things handed to her, she's spoiled, and she thinks she's better than others. America was never really like that, she was just unlikable because of her jealousy and possessiveness. The most likable characters included her twin brother Ahren, who didn't have to host his own Selection because he's already found his future wife. I liked the strong bond that they shared and how Ahren was never scared to set his twin straight when she was totally out of line. It was strange seeing characters that we know from America's story through her daughters point of view. Meaning, she sees her mother's old boyfriends in a completely different light. It's just a new perspective that really brings something new to this story. Anyway, Eadlyn was still a difficult character to follow considering her attitude that stays pretty strong throughout most of the book.

As far as the romance goes, Eadlyn starts out having 35 guys to pick from. She immediately begins winding the pool down and cuts 11 guys, who she barely had one more than one conversation with. While there are many potential love interests, the main one is still obvious from the very beginning. This love interest I'm talking about is Kile, who is Marlee's son, America's servant and friend from the previous stories. He is selected to be one of the contestants in The Selection, much to his dismay. Kile and Eadlyn immediately bump heads, but they also pretty quickly form a mild friends with benefits relationship. Meaning, Eadlyn still tells him she dislikes him but she still wants to kiss him, which doesn't make much sense. I didn't like the way this relationship went down in this book and I hope it improves more in later novels. The other boy I liked was Henri, who doesn't speak much English. He has a translator named Erik who stays by his side at all times. While Eadlyn enjoys Henri's personality and company, she slowly grows closer to Erik as well, even though he isn't technically apart of the competition. It's unclear (but probably Kile) who she will choose, but this should become revealed to readers in the next book.

This was a quick read and I liked catching up with characters that we've grown familiar with. I didn't give it a higher rating because I was unable to click with Eadlyn at all really. She does grow more as a person there towards the end, but I just didn't like her attitude. It's hard for me to absolutely love a story if I can't get past how the main character treats other people. I do think that fans of The Selection will enjoy that the story didn't end with America.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour Review

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Morgan Matson

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

May 2010

4/5

Quotes:

“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren't looking for it. Columbus and America. Pinzon, who stumbled on Brazil while looking for the West Indies. Stanley happening on Victoria Falls. And you. Amy Curry, when I was least expecting her."

“Tomorrow will be better.”
“But what if it’s not?” I asked.
“Then you say it again tomorrow. Because it might be. You never know, right? At some point, tomorrow will be better.”  

“Saying good-bye is basically an invitation not to see a person again. It's making it okay for that to be the last conversation you have. So if you don't say it--if you leave the conversation open--it means you'll have to see them again."

“I think there are lots of things still to be discovered. You just have to be paying attention.” 

“You've got to have pride in your home. You are where you're from. Otherwise, you're always going to be lost.”    

Goodreads description:

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

I've recently read one of Morgan Matson's other books, Since You've Been Gone and I loved it. So the bar was set pretty high going into this one. It's safe to say that this book was everything I hoped for and even much more than that. This author has definitely made me a huge fan of her work, although I've still yet to read Second Chance Summer but that's on my TBR list after liking these ones so much. This was a great read about friendships, relationships, grief, forgiveness, and letting go. I really enjoyed Amy & Roger's Epic Detour and recommend it if you're looking for a fun and sweet read.

Amy is a likable and relatable main character. I personally related to her since she was involved in theatre and that was something I always loved growing up. While this is obviously something that not every person out there is going to relate to, it just caused me to have more of an investment in the character, if that makes any sense. What can I even say about Roger? He's on the nerdy side, but he's also beyond sweet and charming. I found his love for history and specifically explorers to be extremely endearing. He also made the best road trip mixes of them all. Seriously, one of the huge highlights of the book for me was getting to read Roger's latest mix which was mostly relevant to the state they were visiting or something on the topic of road trips. Both of the pair's personalities balanced one another out, and I loved them as they got to know one another better on their big road trip.

As a couple, they really worked for me. They didn't know hardly anything about each other when the trip first began, but gradually they formed a friendship that slowly but surely developed. Part of me wished that Amy would have been more aware of Roger's feelings for her when us as a reader began to notice his attraction and protectiveness over her. However, the other part of me knows that the relationship moved at a more realistic pace the way that Matson wrote it. Anyway, the relationship between them was just so real and rather swoon worthy.

The reason why I didn't give this book five stars is very picky of me. I just kind of wish there was more character and plot development. Not everything was resolved between Amy and her mom. The ending was cute but I was hoping for more of a conclusion to officially wrap everything up. Needless to say, I loved the music choices made by Matson, all the characters, the road trip plot, and so much more. It was just the kind of book I needed to read after all of these heavier angst filled books I've been reading lately.