Tag: college

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Book Reviews

Dear Emma – Book Review

Dear Emma - Book Review

Plot:

Harriet, the author of her college newspaper’s pseudonymous student advice column “Dear Emma,” is great at telling others what to do, dispensing wisdom for the lovelorn and lonely on her Midwestern campus. Somehow, though, she can’t take her own advice, especially after Keith, the guy she’s dating, blows her off completely. When Harriet discovers that Keith has started seeing the beautiful and intimidating Remy, she wants to hate her. But she can’t help warming to Remy, who soon writes to “Dear Emma” asking for romantic advice.

Now Harriet has the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the person who broke her heart. But as she begins to doubt her own motivations and presumably faultless guidance, she’s forced to question how much she really knows about love, friendship and well-meaning advice.

Review:

I think that Harriet is like most people who are good at giving advice: great at dishing it out but terrible at taking it from others. Harriet is such a relatable character. She lives with her two best friends, and she does work study in the school library. She is a typical college girl. And she has boy problems, but then again don’t most girls? She gets jealous of the girl who is dating her crush (been there!) and hates her before she even really gets to know her. I think that Harriet is probably like most girls.

I really enjoyed how this story progressed, it had the perfect pacing. Just when it seemed like it was starting to slow down, something new would get tossed into the mix to shake things up again. Harriet learns a lot about herself throughout this book and realizes that life isn’t just about finding a boy to make you happy.

I give this book 5/5 stars. It goes on sale this Tuesday, March 1. You can order it by clicking on the book’s cover above.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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Book Reviews

A Million Miles Away – Book Review

A Million Miles Away

Plot:

When high school senior Kelsey’s identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her other half. The only person who doesn’t know about the tragedy is Michelle’s boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can’t bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.

As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can’t deny that she’s falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn’t want.

Review:

I wasn’t too sure how I was going to feel about this book when I started reading it, but it surprised me in a good way.

Kelsey Maxfield has a pretty easy life. She goes to school, is on her high school’s dance team, and dreams of going to the college in her hometown and joining their elite dance team. But her life crumbles around her when her twin sister Michelle dies in a car accident on her way back from taking her boyfriend Peter to the airport.

Kelsey doesn’t know much about her sister’s boyfriend except that he is being deployed to Afghanistan. She has no way of getting in touch with him to let him know what’s happened. Then one day, while Kelsey is on Michelle’s computer to delete her Facebook, she gets a Skype call from Peter. She answers it, and of course Peter thinks that she is Michelle, seeing as they’re twins. Kelsey doesn’t have it in her to tell Peter the truth, especially after Peter tells her that she is the only thing keeping him going while he is overseas.

Kelsey keeps up the ruse, because it makes her feel close to her sister and like she isn’t gone yet. Slowly, Kelsey starts to fall for Peter, but she still doesn’t know how to tell him the truth about her sister’s death, so she continues pretending to be Michelle.

I didn’t see this book ending well, at all. I couldn’t see a scenario where Kelsey could tell Peter the truth and that he wouldn’t be furious with her. The ending to the book actually surprised me a few times by making me think one thing was going to happen, only to blindside me with something else happening, and then yet another surprise at the end. It was like a very pleasant rollercoaster and I loved how the book ended.

When Kelsey loses her sister, she doesn’t know who she is anymore. While her sister was around, she felt like she knew who she was because she wasn’t her sister, so she at least knew who she wasn’t. But after Michelle passes, Kelsey has trouble finding herself and discovering what she does and doesn’t like or believe in. In a way, pretending to be Michelle helps her to discover who she really is and what is the most important to her.

I don’t agree with Kelsey’s actions but they made for an interesting story to say the least. I enjoyed her journey of realizing what she really wants out of her life and how losing her sister helped her to do it. I give this book 4/5 stars.

A Million Miles Away goes on sale tomorrow, July 7. You can order it by clicking the image of the book’s cover above.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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Book Reviews

What Happens in Paris – Book Review

What Happens in Paris - Book Review

Plot:

Four countries.
Three girls.
Three loves.
One adventure abroad they’ll never forget.

Camie can’t figure out what she wants, from college or life . . . until she meets Hunter. But will the magic of a romantic night in Paris last till the morning?

Review:

What Happens in Paris is a perfect book to take along to the beach to read on a nice summer day. It’s a novella, so it can definitely be tacked in one day. Altogether there are four novellas in this series, with Paris being the second one. The others are What Happens in London, What Happens in Berlin, and What Happens Abroad.

I found that I could really relate to the main character of the novella, Camie. She’s had a tough year in college, in part due to falling in and out of love with a boy in one of her classes. In order to help put this out of her mind, she decides to go backpacking all across Europe, starting in Paris, where upon landing she meets someone. Initially the two don’t get along, but it seems as though fate is pushing them together, with the two running into each other all over Paris. One thing leads to another, and eventually Camie decides to give him a shot. Along the way, Camie meets two girls staying in her hostel, who also appear in the other novellas in the series.

I enjoyed this book for what it was: a quick summer read. I would definitely be interested in reading the other three books in the series. Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars, simply because I prefer longer books.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Since Forever Ago – Book Review

SinceForeverAgoPlot:

Fresh off the heels of a devastating breakup, Riley Benson is a mess. But with her ingenious plan to become a ball-busting heartbreaker herself, she’s pretty sure she’ll survive. After all, what better way is there to get revenge than to move on?

Riley’s determined to become the perfect bachelorette—she’s going to drink like a bro, belch like a beast and swear so much that she’ll make even the most seasoned sailors blush. After all, those are the qualities that every guy’s secretly looking for…. aren’t they?

Max Fletcher is in love with the girl who gave him chicken pox and his first broken leg. When his best friend seems to finally be out of the picture, he can’t help but want to keep Riley all to himself. And, after coaching her with the very best of the very worst love advice, it seems as if he might actually get what he’s wanted after all those years. But just as the two come to the realization that they’re actually kind of perfect for each other, along comes a secret that threatens to tear them apart.

Review:

Before I even started reading this book, I saw that reviewers had been giving it very negative reviews, so I tried to go in with as open a mind as possible and to not let others’ opinions influence my own.

The characters in Since Forever Ago are very realistic. While some reviewers have called them whiny, immature and clueless, I think that these characters are very much a representation of at least a good portion of those in the “new adult” age range. As a 19-year-old college student myself, I thought that Riley and her roommates Liz and Audrey portrayed new adults in a fairly accurate way. College students are notorious for partying too much, drinking too much and being overly dramatic, and the characters of this book represent just that. While these traits don’t describe all college students, it does describe a decent percent of them.

Riley is no hero. She drinks too much, swears like a sailor, and generally doesn’t have any part of her life figured out. But no one is perfect, and not all characters are hero types. Not everyone can be a Hermione or a Katniss. Riley showcases real emotions and often acts before she thinks. Just because she isn’t the empowered heroine doesn’t make her a bad character. She is just flawed, as everyone is, but perhaps just a bit more.

This book does have a lot of swearing and a few sex scenes, if that bothers you. While this book definitely wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever read, I enjoyed it and thought it was very funny. I found the characters and the story easy to relate to, and it was a very fast read.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.