Author: Sara

Book Review: Signs Point to Yes (ARC) by Sandy Hall

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This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy of the novel obtained through snail mail at the permission of Fierce Reads, information pills Macmillan Teen and Swoon Reads. This is in no way had an effect on the integrity of my review. Please note that published novel will differ from this ARC.

Genre: 

Young Adult, doctor Contemporary, website Romance

Pages: 

272 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date: 

October 20th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting job to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She’s babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo.

Teo doesn’t dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo’s pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he’ll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane’s house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she’s terrified of how her parents will react.

In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane’s Magic 8 ball can’t give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.

My Review:

 

This book is so short and sweet and awesome, I can’t even handle it. Its a Swoon Reads book, which I love, because Swoon Reads is super awesome and gives a shout out to those working their butts off to get published :) And I’ve read a few other titles and I was excited to get this one in the mail.

I absolutely adore Jane. She’s just…everything about her is just great. I love that she’s unsure of the future and that she’s superstitious and she consults her Magic 8 Ball. I like that she’s obsessed with writing weird obscure fan fiction (okay because seriously, I want Little Women/Doctor Who crossover fic). I like that she’s just figuring stuff and I like that when she collides with Teo, they have such a cute relationship. I absolutely love it.

Because I really miss sweet romances. I love that Teo and Jane so obviously like each other and that they aren’t really sure what to do about it and its just so cute. Its definitely swoon worthy. Sometimes a short and sweet romance is exactly what I need and I like the way that they crash together eventually. Its just fun to watch. Like watching a romantic comedy.

But I also like that there are genuinely important concerns to teenagers in there. Teo wonders about the identity and location of his father. Jane wonders what she wants to do with her life and struggles when she doesn’t have an answer for that. Even Jane’s sister, who is a secondary character, has her own struggles, ones that are quite close to my heart, and I loved every single minute of this book. I can’t wait to read more Swoon Reads because the fans are picking them and they obviously do a great job with them!

Rating: 

4 out of 5 Stars

 

Book Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

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18660447Genre: 

Young Adult, cialis 40mg Contemporary, price Romance

Pages: 

352 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date: 

May 5th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she’d been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it’s not the real Bradley she’s thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn’t even know. But tracking him down doesn’t mean they’re done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend’s graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

My Review:

I did it guys. I finally read a Kasie West book! And I adore Kasie! I’ve met her twice in real life, and once was at the Ontario TBF and apparently that was enough for her to remember me at RT Convention in TEXAS and she is just the sweetest. Plus she said I looked like I was still in high school and I’m a sucker for compliments. I swear that has nothing to do with this review. I don’t give good reviews based on compliments. I mean, they help. Duh. ;)

Anyway…

I adore this book! Its so cute, I can’t handle it. I’ve been in the need for a lighthearted book where the main character isn’t broken. I needed a break from new adult and I saw Kasie’s book on the shelf and I thought…how have I not read any of her books yet. I immediately bought and read it and I just loved it. Its seriously so fun. Gia lies to her friends, tells them that this beautiful boy that she basically found in the parking lot is her boyfriend Bradley and then she stages a dramatic break up and then she actually falls for the guy and come on, hilarity and hijinks are going to ensue. Because when you lie that much, its just bound to come and bite you in the ass and I kind of flew through the pages because I just had to know how it ended. It reminded me a bit of Katie Finn’s Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend and how lying, especially to those you care about, can seriously blow up in your face.

And that’s also what makes it such a great book. Gia has to stop and think, wait, why am I lying? Why do I feel the need to lie? And that opens up a whole can of worms and while this book is fun and romantic and watching the romance between Gia and Fill-In Boyfriend build up is just so awesome, I love that the book really focuses on Gia’s struggle to figure out who the hell she is. And that’s hard! She struggles with who she is, who her friends want her to be, who her parents want her to be, who she expects to be and who she really actually wants to be and those are all incredibly confusing. And it sucks that it takes lying to her friends for her to figure it out but this book is so much about her growing up and I absolutely love that.

Bottom line, I was massively impressed with the first book I read by Kasie. She is able to both write a fun and light romance novel that also touches on genuinely real things that happen to teenagers. Its a hard balance but she does it so well and I absolutely enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Plus now I have a massive crush on Fill-In Boyfriend (you’ll figure out his name in the book!) and really, Kasie, did I truly need another book boyfriend?

Of course, I did.

Rating: 

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: Jet by Jay Crownover

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With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

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Music Monday: “Comeback Kid” by Against the Current

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“Comeback Kid” by Against the Current

You got this subtle kind of way of making everything turn grey
Like a bottle that runs dry before you’ve even had a drink
Do you think what you do just might fix the bad in you?
Well, you’re wrong this time around

And oh, oh, oh, oh, you know you gave me something to believe in
Oh, oh, oh, oh, you hide behind these battle lines

[Chorus:]
I’m gonna be a comeback kid
And I want to find the words I need to say
Yeah, I’m gonna survive with my head held high
And finally walk away
I’m gonna be a comeback kid
And I want to be the one that’s not afraid
To jump from every sinking ship ‘cause I’m done
Waiting to be saved

You got this subtle kind of way about you that pulls me under but I won’t drown
It’s gonna take a whole lot more than that to ever bring me down
I promise that I’ll be back and I’ll be better than before
What you broke down I’ll build back up, ‘cause I don’t need you anymore

And oh, oh, oh, oh, you know you gave me something to believe in
Oh, oh, oh, oh, you hide behind these battle lines
And oh, oh, oh, oh, you know you gave me something to believe in
Oh, oh, oh, oh, you hide behind these battle lines

[Chorus:]
I’m gonna be a comeback kid
And I want to find the words I need to say
Yeah, I’m gonna survive with my head held high
And finally walk away
I’m gonna be a comeback kid
And I want to be the one that’s not afraid
To jump from every sinking ship ‘cause I’m done
Waiting to be saved

Do you think what you do just might fix the bad in you?
Well, you’re wrong this time around

And oh, oh, oh, oh, you know you gave me something to believe in
Oh, oh, oh, oh, you hide behind these battle lines

[Chorus:]
I’m gonna be a comeback kid
And I want to find the words I need to say
Yeah, I’m gonna survive with my head held high
And finally walk away
I’m gonna be a comeback kid
And I want to be the one that’s not afraid
To jump from every sinking ship ‘cause I’m done
Waiting to be saved

Find Against the Current

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / iTunes

Book Review: Rule by Jay Crownover

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17866388Genre: 

New Adult, tadalafil Contemporary, for sale Romance

Pages: 

327 pages

Part of a Series?:

The first novel in the Marked Men Series

Release Date: 

December 30th, this site 2012

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Opposites in every way . . . except the one that matters

Shaw Landon loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule is everything a straight-A pre-med student like Shaw shouldn’t want—and the only person she’s never tried to please. She isn’t afraid of his scary piercings and tattoos or his wild attitude. Though she knows that Rule is wrong for her, her heart just won’t listen.

To a rebel like Rule Archer, Shaw Landon is a stuck-up, perfect princess-and his dead twin brother’s girl. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. He doesn’t have time for a good girl like Shaw-even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is.

But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule have to figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love . . . or each other.

My Review:

I’m going to admit it. This book was incredibly hard for me to get into. I’m not sure if it was because my friends had built it up so much for me so I had a hard time being like “OMG YES” or what. But it took me a long time to get into this book.

I like the story and I like the premise. I like the characters a lot. I think the biggest problem that I had with each of them was how incredibly broken both of them are. I like my characters broken, for sure, because you need character development and you need them to get better, and fix each other, especially in a romance but there were times when I just wanted to punch both of them in the face because they were just TOO broken for me. I think I like my characters a little less broken haha. I’m not really sure what I mean by that but I guess it was just maybe too dramatic for me.

That being said, I did like the romance between the two main characters, despite the drama outside of that with both of their families. I liked that there was this give and take, this back and forth. You kind of want to scream at them because they’re so different and on paper, they make absolutely no sense whatsoever but they’re so perfect at the same time and they see it but they sabotage it. Its a fantastically written romance. That is something that Jay just rocks at. She creates this incredibly sexy characters, characters that you really do love and she creates this heartbreaking romance between the two and you just want to scream, I SHIP IT and MAKE IT WORK ALREADY. Literally. That’s how I feel.

And those sex scenes? Holy. Crap. Someone fetch me a bucket of cold water because a mere splash on my face is just not going to be enough for me at all. She creates these just incredible scenes. Now that I’m writing my own new adult romance, I know exactly who to go to for inspiration for sex scenes. Seriously. My. God.

Plus tattoos. Oh god tattoos. Nothing sexier than a tattooed one. She really won me over with that. And piercings! I never thought I’d be into that but yes. Definitely yes.

So in the end, I definitely liked this book. I didn’t totally love it but I did like it. It didn’t make me rush out to read the other books which is hilarious because I actually ended up loving the second book, Jet, so much. But anyway. Great story and romance and all that but a little too dramatic for my tastes. Check out my review for Jet to see more ;) Plus I’m currently reading book 3, Rome!

 

Rating: 

3.5 out of 5 Stars