Categories
Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

Maybe This Time – Book Review

Summary

Title: Maybe This Time

Author: Kasie West

Pages: 368

Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult

Publisher: Point

Pub. Date: July 9, 2019

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn’t so bad after all . . .

Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.

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Categories
Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

The Me I Meant to Be – Book Review

Summary

Book Cover - The Me I Meant to Be

Title: The Me I Meant to Be

Author: Sophie Jordan

Pages: 304

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: HMH Teen

Pub Date: January 1, 2019

Girl Code: Never date a friend’s ex.

Willa Evans has no intention of breaking the code. So what if she’s always secretly loved her next-door neighbor Zach? As her best friend’s boyfriend, he was always off-limits and it needs to stay that way, even though they just broke up. Even though every time she turns around he’s there, tempting her…

No keeping secrets from your bestie.

Flor Hidalgo has a lot on her plate: her breakup with Zach, her dad’s new dating life, and her struggling grades. So why can’t she stop thinking about her hot, know-it-all tutor? At least she’s got Willa, her constant in the chaos.

Breaking the code breaks friendships.

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Categories
Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

From Twinkle, with Love – Book Review

Title: From Twinkle, with Love

Author: Sandhya Menon

Pages: 328

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Published: May 22, 2018

Summary:

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

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Categories
Book Reviews contemporary new adult romance

The Wedding Obsession – Book Review

Title: The Wedding Obsession

Author: Madeline Ash

Pages: 199

Genre: New Adult, Romance

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Published: August 27, 2018

 

Summary:

Emmie Morgan woke up from heart transplant surgery, saw her best friend Brandon Tan sitting by her bedside, and promptly asked him to marry her. If there was a faster way to ruin a friendship, she didn’t know it.

One year on, Bran has returned home to open a restaurant and Emmie adds trying to make amends to her already chaotic life. She’s also running her own music venue, battling survivor’s guilt—oh, and secretly tending a wedding obsession sprung from her near-death experience.

Bran needs answers. But all Emmie has are problems. Hating that he couldn’t help her last time, he resolves to ease the trouble in her eyes. He sets aside their attraction and awkward past and tries to focus on being friends again.

If she would just stop trying on wedding dresses…

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Categories
Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

The Impossibility of Us – Book Review

Title: The Impossibility of Us

Author: Katy Upperman

Pages: 320

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Published: July 31, 2018

Summary:

The last thing Elise wants is to start her senior year in a new town. But after her brother’s death in Afghanistan, she and her mother move from San Francisco to a sleepy coastal village.

When Elise meets Mati, they quickly discover how much they have in common. Mati is new to town too, visiting the U.S. with his family. Over the course of the summer, their relationship begins to blossom, and what starts out as a friendship becomes so much more.

But as Elise and Mati grow closer, her family becomes more and more uncomfortable with their relationship, and their concerns all center on one fact—Mati is Afghan.

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Categories
Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

Love & Luck – Book Review

Title: Love & Luck

Author: Jenna Evans Welch

Pages: 320

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Published: May 8th, 2018

Summary:

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.

So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

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Review:

Give me all of the YA travel/contemporary romances, because I am obsessed with them. There’s something about reading a book that features travel that I just love to read in the summer. I love a good summer vacation as much as the next person, when I get the chance to take one, I jump on it. And for the times that I can’t, I read as many books with a travel story as I can.

I thought the idea of Addie following this guidebook for getting over heartbreak while in Ireland was absolutely hilarious. The fact that such a guidebook would exist was oddly specific and I found the whole concept to be ridiculously funny. I think that some of the advice in the guidebook actually wasn’t half bad, either.

This book focuses on a real issue that a lot of girls, and sometimes guys, face all too often. She trusts someone with something incredibly personal and private, and that trust is betrayed, and shared with everyone. It’s such a terrible thing to have happen, and Love & Luck shows how difficult it can be to deal with, and not just from Addie’s perspective.

While I was really hoping to love this book just as much as Love & Gelato, it didn’t quite live up to all of my expectations for it. That’s not to say that I didn’t still love this book, but I had really high hopes for it that just weren’t quite met. That being said, I still gave Love & Luck 5/5 stars because I really enjoyed the story and the setting, though it did feel a bit ultra-touristy at times.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

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Blog Tours Book Reviews

Summer of Irreverence – The Rock Star—Blog Tour and Book Review

Summer of Irreverence tour banner

Click on the tour banner above to see the list of the other great blogs that have featured Summer of Irreverence – The Rock Star on this tour!

Summer of Irreverence - The Rock Star—Book Review

Summary:

Straight-laced, veterinary surgeon, Summer Wynters is ready to break the rules. And who better to break them with than the most irreverent of all men, mega rock star Malcolm Angel? With one last summer free from work obligations, Summer moves to New York City, and at the coaxing of her friend, pretends to be a model so she can spend one wild night with Malcolm.

Rock star, Malcolm Angel, tortured by a dark past, may be the poet laureate of romance, but he, like science-minded Summer, has never believed in romantic love. How could he? With his history, he doesn’t deserve to be loved.

When Summer’s honesty, kindness, and exuberance for life changes his perspective, the two discover they are in deeper than either dreamed possible. But when Malcolm discovers Summer’s been perpetuating a lie, will he forgive her? Even if forgiveness is possible, can a man immune to love teach someone else to believe in it?

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Review:

This is the perfect summer read for a day at the beach or something else relaxing. It was the perfect blend of sexy and entertaining, and I could not turn the pages fast enough.

I found this story to be relatable, despite how unlikely the whole scenario might seem. Summer and Jeanette’s friendship and dynamic reminded me a lot of the way that my best friend and I act with one another. I could totally see myself setting her up with some guy for a hot, steamy night of fun. They are always there for one another, even though sometimes get a little rocky, and I think that is true for a lot of best friends.

Summer and Malcolm both really matured and grew a lot throughout the course of the book, and it was great to see the changes slowly unfold through the story, but sometimes I just wanted to slap them across the face and tell them to open their eyes. If only they knew what the reader can obviously see was going on.

I am looking forward to seeing what other delights Cathrine Goldstein brings with the rest of The New York Artists series.

I give Summer of Irreverence – The Rock Star 5/5 stars. You can purchase it from Amazon by clicking on the book’s cover image below:

Categories
Book Reviews

Confessions of a Queen B* – Book Review

Confessions of a Queen B* - Book Review

Plot:

Alexis Wyndham is the other type of Queen B—the Queen Bitch.

After years of being the subject of ridicule, she revels in her ability to make the in-crowd cower via the exposés on her blog, The Eastline Spy. Now that she’s carved out her place in the high school hierarchy, she uses her position to help the unpopular kids walking the hallways.

Saving a freshman from bullies? Check.
Swapping insults with the head cheerleader? Check.
Falling for the star quarterback? So not a part of her plan.

But when Brett offers to help her solve the mystery of who’s posting X-rated videos from the girls’ locker room, she’ll have to swallow her pride and learn to see past the high school stereotypes she’s never questioned—until now.

Review:

I did not want to put this book down the entire time I was reading it, I enjoyed it that much.

This book had content that I could really relate to. The main character of the book, Alexis, runs a blog chronicling all of the drama that goes on at her high school and exposing people’s wrongdoings, both students and teachers alike. This is somewhat along the lines of an idea that my best friend and I had in high school, so I was very entertained by it.

Alexis prides herself on being the Queen Bitch of the school, the person that everyone is afraid of. People are afraid to be around her because they don’t want to give her any ideas for an exposé to put on her blog. Even though she will stick up for the kids who aren’t popular and in power, she doesn’t go easy on them either, and tells them that they need to stand up for themselves.

Alexis is a prime example of doing something to the extreme in order to cope with a past trauma. The entire reason that she starts her blog is because she got burned by her former best friend, who decided to expose all of Alexis’ secrets from her diary to the entire school. She decides that she is tired of the popular kids being able to get away with whatever they want, so she strikes back, and she is ruthless. She builds up walls around her and hardens her exterior. This allows her to be harsh to others without feeling bad about it. In her eyes, she is just doing what is right and not allowing the bullies of the world to get away with things.

But then when her senior year starts, Alexis is teamed up with the dreamy quarterback for a class project. She assumes that he is going to be just like all of the other popular kids, but as she gets to know him she starts to realize that she is wrong about him.

I really liked that this book wasn’t predictable. It didn’t have the typical ending where everything ends up perfect and happy, and the main character ends up finding love. I get so tired of books that all end that way, so it was refreshing to see it end differently than most. That being said, it isn’t a sad ending either, but rather a hopeful one that leaves the story line open to continuation in another book.

I give this book 5/5 stars for keeping me very entertained and not being like every other book out there.

Confessions of a Queen B* goes on sale July 28, 2015. You can click the book’s cover above to order your copy.

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

Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist! – Book Review

Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist! - Book Review

Plot:

Two hot guys. One big lie. What’s a virgin sex columnist to do?

My name is Skylar Quinn. I just moved to New York with my best friend Bridget, and I have a confession. Well, more than one. Okay, quite a few really. Fine, here goes!

Confession #1: I’m a sex columnist. Hold on, that’s not really the confession. You see, I’m sort of a virgin…sex columnist.

Confession #2: I’m kind of in love with Bridget’s older brother, Oliver. No, I was. No, I am. Wait, was? Am? Crap.

Confession #3: I’ve been avoiding Oliver for four years. Or I was until today, because he just moved in. Yes, you read that correctly. He’s my new roommate. So that night we’ve both been pretending never happened, well, we might not be able to keep it a secret any longer.

And trust me, this is only the beginning.

Review:

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this much entertainment out of the misfortunes of someone’s romantic life, with the exception of my own.

The main character, Skylar, or as everyone calls her, Skye, gets an internship working at a newspaper in New York City fresh out of college. At the paper, she works in the book review department, when she gets promoted to having her own column in the paper, while also working as an assistant. There’s only one small problem with this: Skye is supposed to write a sex column, and she is a virgin.

Adding to her troubles, the guy that she’s had a crush on forever, her best friend Bridget’s brother Ollie, moves in with them, making Skye’s life more difficult than it needs to be.

Every time Skye goes on a date with someone for her column, Ollie is right there,  quick to judge the guys that Skye is dating. No one seems to get his approval, and Skye has a difficult time deciding if it’s simply because Ollie is like a big brother to her, or if his judgement means something else entirely.

What I particularly liked about this book was how mature all of the characters seemed to be overall. Let’s face it,  I don’t expect everyone to be mature 100% of the time—we all have our childish sides—but the majority of the time the characters acted like mature adults, which is something that you don’t always see in books with characters in the new adult phase of their lives.

This book also has one of the most mature break up scenes I’ve ever read, which I can appreciate. Two characters (I won’t name names!) come to the conclusion that they don’t really see a future with one another and that their lives are just too different. Instead of a huge, dramatic break up, they wish each other the best and go their separate ways. Just because they are young doesn’t mean that they are ridiculous and overdramatic.

I could really see a lot of similarities between Skylar and myself, which I think only added to how much I loved this book. For example, she loves books and interns at a book review department of a paper, which is something I could definitely see myself doing. She is a bit socially awkward and inept, which I admit I am sometimes as well. And perhaps the greatest similarity of all is that she has absolutely no flirting skills and just starts rambling uncontrollably. Personally, whenever I flirt I get all flustered and start using big words that don’t normally find their way into everyday conversation. I guess it’s a good thing my boyfriend likes that kind of stuff. Ha!

I can’t wait to see how the story continues to unfold in the next book. I give this book 5/5 stars because I absolutely couldn’t put it down!

Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist! is on sale now. You can click the image of the book’s cover above to order it. The sequel book, Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend! comes out next spring.

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

The Kiss – Book Review

The Kiss - Book ReviewPlot:

Aphrodite kissed a mortal once by the light of this moon, many thousands of years ago. It drove him crazy. The next person that he kissed – boum. The craziness travelled like this from person to person. It travelled through time. Everywhere – boum! Tu comprends?’
‘Where did it end up?’ I whisper. His lips are on my cheek now.
‘It ended with me. And now I am going to pass it to you. You will like that, mermaid?’

Imagine the perfect kiss. A legendary kiss that makes people crazy with love. Imagine a summer’s night, on a moonlit beach in the South of France, as French boy Laurent kisses 16-year-old Delilah after the best chat-up line she’s ever heard.

Delilah is pretty sure the Kiss is fiction, despite her head-spinning holiday fling. But with all the sudden crushes, break-ups and melt-downs happening back at home, the Kiss starts looking a little too real for comfort. If only Delilah could keep track of where it’s gone …
Who knew one kiss could cause this much trouble?

Review:

Let me start this off by being completely honest: I didn’t know if I was going to finish this book. Allow me to explain.

When I started reading this book, I wasn’t a fan of the way that it was written. The first chapter definitely grabbed my attention, with the story of Aphrodite’s Kiss and how the main character Delilah was wooed by some dreamy French boy while on vacation. But then come the second chapter, the book starts in “current time” and I felt a little lost for a few chapters, trying to make sense of who was who, what  was going on, and where the story takes place. One thing in particular that threw me was the characters’ diction and their affinities for slang words. To me, this made Delilah and her best friend Tabby seem a little spacey and random.

After I made sense of some key information, I started to actually enjoy the book and read through it fairly quickly. I particularly enjoyed that the characters in the book are far from perfect. Each character has many flaws that are pointed out, making them seem all the more real. For example, Delilah has money problems, which I found I could relate to. There were other things that I found to be relatable too, like the fact that a lot of the characters are in college, or looking for jobs.

Delilah’s main love interest, Jem, is quite the charmer. He works at his mother’s bar, and seems to have girls throwing themselves at him left and right. But despite his good looks and broad shoulders, he isn’t the player that I would have expected him to be, even though he does make mistakes here and there. It takes almost the entire book for Delilah to see Jem for who he really is, but it is very entertaining to go through her thought processes of overanalyzing every thing that both she and Jem do. Girls sure can be ridiculous sometimes, myself included.

I give this book 3.7/5 stars

The Kiss goes on sale July 2. You can order it by clicking on the book cover at the top of this post.

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