“I don’t think we could be more opposite if we were custom-designed to be.”
I love the way Sandhya Menon writes YA and aft3.5 stars
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“I don’t think we could be more opposite if we were custom-designed to be.”
I love the way Sandhya Menon writes YA and after meeting Pinky and Samir in ‘There’s Something About Sweetie’ I was thrilled to get their story. I love a good opposites attract romance and when I saw it was a fake dating romance… SOLD.
Pinky is a rebel and a bit of a wild child but she’s sick of her mom always thinking the worst of her. She ends up letting it slip that she has a respectable boyfriend (she doesn’t) and that’s where Samir comes in. Sam is the type of guy that parents love. He’s homeschooled and lives with his mom, who he loves and respects. He lives his life by the book and according to his lists of the day. He and Pinky couldn’t be more opposite. But he’s the perfect guy for her plan.
Samir and Pinky have a mutual friend in Ashish so their story is simple enough. As predicted, Pinky’s parents adore Samir. What really surprises Pinky is that she doesn’t find him nearly as annoying as she used to. I love nothing more than the hate to love troupe and these characters couldn’t stand each other at first. Watching them start to fall for one another was a real treat!
10 Things I Hate About Pinky took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. This was a sweet and fun story that had a great message. I loved how passionate Pinky was about her causes and how her parents ended up seeing her in a new light. I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more from this author.
Merged review:
3.5 stars
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“I don’t think we could be more opposite if we were custom-designed to be.”
I love the way Sandhya Menon writes YA and after meeting Pinky and Samir in ‘There’s Something About Sweetie’ I was thrilled to get their story. I love a good opposites attract romance and when I saw it was a fake dating romance… SOLD.
Pinky is a rebel and a bit of a wild child but she’s sick of her mom always thinking the worst of her. She ends up letting it slip that she has a respectable boyfriend (she doesn’t) and that’s where Samir comes in. Sam is the type of guy that parents love. He’s homeschooled and lives with his mom, who he loves and respects. He lives his life by the book and according to his lists of the day. He and Pinky couldn’t be more opposite. But he’s the perfect guy for her plan.
Samir and Pinky have a mutual friend in Ashish so their story is simple enough. As predicted, Pinky’s parents adore Samir. What really surprises Pinky is that she doesn’t find him nearly as annoying as she used to. I love nothing more than the hate to love troupe and these characters couldn’t stand each other at first. Watching them start to fall for one another was a real treat!
10 Things I Hate About Pinky took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. This was a sweet and fun story that had a great message. I loved how passionate Pinky was about her causes and how her parents ended up seeing her in a new light. I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more from this author....more
I think I would have liked this more if I listened to it after reading 'Solitaire', but still enjoyable and I loved getting more Charlie and 3.5 stars
I think I would have liked this more if I listened to it after reading 'Solitaire', but still enjoyable and I loved getting more Charlie and Nick! A nice, quick, holiday listen!
Audio book source: Audible (purchased) Story Rating: 3.5 stars Narrators: Holly Gibbs, Sarah Ovens, Hew Parmenter Narration Rating: 4 stars Genre: Contemporary YA Length: 1 hour and 2 minutes
Dear Justyce is the sequel to Dear Martin and it was even more hard hitting and equally as important to read. It was a quick listen and I recom4 stars
Dear Justyce is the sequel to Dear Martin and it was even more hard hitting and equally as important to read. It was a quick listen and I recommend everyone check it out!
Audio book source: Libby (library borrow) Story Rating: 4 stars Narrator: Dion Graham Narration Rating: 4 stars Genre: Contemporary Length: 4 hours and 45 minutes
“Real friends are the ones you can count on no matter what.The ones who go into the forest to find you and bring you home. And real
3.5 stars
“Real friends are the ones you can count on no matter what.The ones who go into the forest to find you and bring you home. And real friends never have to tell you that they’re your friends.”
This review will be short and sweet! Honestly, most of my audiobook reviews for October will be (unless I love a book and I’m compelled to write a more detailed review). I’m aiming to listen to at least 25 audiobooks from audible escape in October (around 20 is my norm for audio) before it ends in November! Wish me luck…
Since You’ve Been Gone is my first book by Morgan Matson and I had such high expectations for it. I’ve heard such good things about this book and though I liked it a lot, it didn’t wow me. Frank was definitely my favorite of the book and I liked Emily as well, but the ending kind of fell flat for me. I really enjoyed this authors writing style and would for sure pick up more from her in the future, this one was just okay for me.
October Audible Escape Listen #1 Rating: 3.5 stars Genre: YA Narrator: Suzy Jackson Length: 12 hrs and 49 minutes
The Voting Booth is an important story and one I enjoyed. I really need to read more of Brandy Colbert's books because I love her writing! I3.5 stars
The Voting Booth is an important story and one I enjoyed. I really need to read more of Brandy Colbert's books because I love her writing! I think books that take place in one day just aren't for me. Most of the time the pacing seems off and I can't get enough of a feel for a lot of the characters. I liked Marva and Duke and I especially liked reading about Duke's past and family. I think this book is so crucial for young people to read because voting is so important. I listened to the audio book, which was narrated by Cary Hite and Robin Eller. The narration was great and I highly recommend picking it up. ...more
Fake dating is a troupe I always love. The Upside of Falling had that, along with a bookwork heroine, a sweet and popular hero, and at the cutest romance!
Becca is seventeen and doesn’t have experience with guys. In fact, after going through her parent’s messy divorce, she doesn’t believe in a forever kind of love. She’ll take romance in her books, but she’s not here for it in real life.
I mean, there’s a reason all books end right after the couple gets together. No one wants to keep reading long enough to see the happily ever after turn into an unhappily ever after. Right?
When she’s taunted by her ex-bff, she lies about having a boyfriend. Brett Wells, captain of the football team and all around nice guy happens to overhear and steps in to save Becca from some humiliation. After talking and deciding they both have something to gain from this ‘dating’ thing, they decide to keep up the farce.
The thing with the fake dating is that it almost always turns into real feelings. Either that, or it completely falls apart. Sometimes it’s both. Becca and Brett both have a lot going on right now and this effects their relationship.
I enjoyed so much about this story. Brett was my favorite part. He was the absolute sweetest hero. I can’t wait to read more from Alex Light in the future. I would love a spin off book from this world! ...more
“You can't change how other people think and act, but you're in full control of you.”
I listened to the audiobook of Dear Martin a4 stars
“You can't change how other people think and act, but you're in full control of you.”
I listened to the audiobook of Dear Martin and it was fantastic. Justyce’s story was real, important, and powerful. This was a short listen (less than five hours) but it packed a punch. I loved the concept of writing to Martin and I loved seeing things from Justyce’s perspective. One of my favorite things about reading is being able to be in someones head who’s perspective is totally different than mine. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. ...more
When I saw L.C. Rosen had a new book out, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Last year I read 'Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) and I loved3.5 stars
When I saw L.C. Rosen had a new book out, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Last year I read 'Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) and I loved it so much! While Camp wasn't quite as great for me, I still enjoyed it!
Camp centers around Randall who is spending his 5th summer at Camp Outland and this year, he's going to get the guy he's been in love with all those summers. The only problem is, to get Hudson's attention Randy will have to turn into Del. Randy loves musicals, nail polish and is gloriously himself. Del is into sports and is much more masculine.
I really liked Del/Randy, but Hudson wasn't my favorite character. He never really grew on me, which is probably why I didn't fall in love with this book. I did love Randy's bff George. He was wonderful! Overall, I liked this book and am glad I read it. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author. ...more
You Should See Me in a Crown was such a delightful and fun read. This is one of those books that as soon as I finished I thought, this would m4 stars
You Should See Me in a Crown was such a delightful and fun read. This is one of those books that as soon as I finished I thought, this would make the cutest high school movie. I would love to see Liz's story on the big screen!
Liz Lighty is a senior in high school. She's an overachiever, plays in the band, and is going to be valedictorian. And now? Now she's running for prom queen. The winner of prom queen at her school doesn't only get a crown, she gets a scholarship as well, and Liz desperately needs that scholarship to go to her dream music school.
Liz is fighting an uphill battle to try to win prom queen, but she's determined. Not only is she one of the few black kids in her high school, but she's not the most popular. But with a few best friends willing to help her out, and a new girl she meets and starts to fall for, Liz comes into her own.
I'm so tired of the way this place treats people who are different, tired of feeling like I exist in the margins of my own life. I deserve better than that.
Liz was such a great character. I could see her being relatable to so many. This book kept a huge smile on my face and I loved so much about it. If you're looking for a feel-good story with a great message and sweet love story, pick up You Should See Me in a Crown. ...more
“Well, you know what they say. The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings,”
When it was announced there was going to be a new 3 stars
“Well, you know what they say. The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings,”
When it was announced there was going to be a new 'Hunger Games' book, no one was more excited than me. I read the first book when it came out and the wait for books 2 and 3 about killed me. I consider myself an OG fan and I couldn't wait to get back in this world. Then I found out it was about Snow, and I'm not going to lie. My excitement lessened some. Collins could have given us a prequel on just about anyone else and I would have been jumping for joy, but Snow? Still, I'm glad I gave it a shot because even though I didn't love it, overall I liked it more than not and I was happy to be back in this world.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows a teenage Coriolanus Snow. He's getting ready to graduate from school and has been chosen to be a mentor for the 10th annual Hunger Games. The tribute he gets is a girl from district 12 named Lucy Gray. She may be the biggest longshot of the games, but Snow is determined to win it all.
Snow was a hard character to like at times, but there were moments I actually liked him much more than I thought I could. I could understand why he did some of the things he did, though there were many choices he made I can never get. My favorite character of the book was the lovable Sejanus. I also liked Lucy Gray and her songs. I loved watching some of the district 12 things tie in to the original book as well.
This book seemed a little too relevant right now and that made it a little hard to get through. I can understand why people would want to wait a bit to get to it. Being in the head of this villain was interesting. Honestly, by the end I wasn't ready for it to be over. I still have questions about what the motivation was for a certain part at towards the end of the book, but I guess I'll never know.
If you're going to pick this one up, I can't recommend the audiobook enough. It's narrated by Santino Fontana and he does an epic job. Overall, even though I didn't love this book, I'm glad I read it. It was interesting to be in Snow's head and there were a lot of characters I enjoyed. Now all I want to do is go back and do a series re-read or re-watch of the movie. I would say most Hunger Games fans will enjoy this book, but you'll have to read for yourself to find out ;) ...more
We need to have fun. To be happy. To appreciate the time.
London Prep 2 is another addicting read from the 'London Prep' series. I couldn't wait to get more of Mallory, Noah, Harry, and the rest and the gang and could not wait to jump into this read. It didn't disappoint, I think I loved it even more than the first!
Mallory has been in London for a short time, but she's grown close to Harry, Noah, and Mohammad. She's only there for three weeks total, but a lot can happen in three weeks. Mallory and Harry have been dating-ish, but there is also Noah. Noah who's family she lives with. Noah is broody, but sweet. Noah is my absolute favorite of this series!
I really like Mallory and I love going on this adventure with her. I love that she has a different relationship with all three of the guys and that she finds a female friend in Naomi. This book had me glued to the pages. It wasn't a short read by any means, but I felt like I flew through it. I couldn't put it down!
This was a bit more angsty than the first way, but in the best way! I've said it once, and I'll say it again- Jillian Dodd writes the best high school drama! This book left me wanting more and I am sooooo excited to get to the next installment! #TeamNoah ...more
“For just a second, I saw Persephone, pomegranate in hand. Dooming herself to the underworld. Is that who I was? Hades himself, coveting springtime, stealing it, condemning it to endless night.”
Midnight Sun is a book I’ve been waiting for for over 12 years and let me tell you, it was so worth the wait! I honestly thought this day would never come and as soon as I saw the book was available, I preordered the hardback for my collection and the audiobook. I listened to all 25+ hours of this and the narration was AMAZING. Jake Abel did a fantastic job voicing Edward. I can’t recommend the audiobook enough.
I loved being in Edward Cullen’s head. Absolutely loved it. Yes, this is a Twilight retelling, but this is much longer than Twilight and so much was expanded on. I loved getting more from the Cullen’s and with Edward being able to read minds and all, you really did get to see more from so many of the other characters in this book. Plus just knowing Edward's side of things and what he was really thinking was truly a treat! I also have to say, I think Stephenie Meyer's writing has only gotten stronger with time.
If you’re a diehard fan of the Twilight Saga like me, I highly recommend giving this one a go! ...more
“Never, ever, let them see you sweat. Fight until you can’t breathe, & if you have to forfeit, you forfeit smiling, make them think yo
4 stars
“Never, ever, let them see you sweat. Fight until you can’t breathe, & if you have to forfeit, you forfeit smiling, make them think you let them win.”
I was so excited when I saw Elizabeth Acevedo had a new book releasing. Her books never disappoint, and though this isn’t my favorite of hers (I don’t know how ‘With the Fire on High’ will be beaten for me) I still enjoyed it a lot. I loved the family dynamic and of course it was beautifully written in verse.
Camino and Yahaira are from two different worlds. One lives in NYC, one lives in DR. Their lives are completely different and separate but there is something, or someone they have in common. Though they don’t know it until he dies on a flight, they share a Papi. When they find out about each other, each takes the situation differently. And when they meet, it’s a while different experience for them both.
The audiobook was narrated by the author herself along with Melania-Luisa Marte. Each one voiced a different sister and both of them did an incredible job. I highly recommend picking up the audiobook if you’re able. In fact, all of Acevedo’s audiobooks are worth listening to.
This was a a beautiful story of two sister’s finding each other, themselves, and healing. There were family secrets and the journey about how two young girls deal with the secrets. I enjoyed this one and I’ll continue to read anything and everything Elizabeth Acevedo writes. ...more
This was so good. It was a sweet, heart-wrenching and heartwarming tale following the summer adventure of eleven year old Maybelle Lane.
May4.5 stars
This was so good. It was a sweet, heart-wrenching and heartwarming tale following the summer adventure of eleven year old Maybelle Lane.
Maybelle has been raised by a single mother but is on a mission to find/meet her father. When she gets the opportunity of a life time to sing at a contest in Nashville, she doesn’t think there is a way to make it happen. She lives in a trailer park in Louisiana and Nashville is a whiles away.
It just so happens that her neighbor, Mrs. Boggs is going to be watching her for a bit while her mom gets a summer job that has her traveling and Mrs. Boggs offers to take Maybelle in the RV. So we have Mrs. Boggs, Maybelle, and a boy from the neighborhood named Tommy go on this adventure and it is just the best. It’s emotional and fun all at the same time and I loved the characters and their journey so much.
After finishing this, I was in tears. They were mostly happy tears, but it had me crying all the same. And the first thing I thought when the book was over is that this would make a perfect film. I don’t read middle grade that often, but I’m so happy I picked this up! I would highly recommend the audiobook. Overall, this was a fantastic read! ...more
The Best Laid Plans is Cameron Lund's debut novel and I was impressed. Though there were parts of the story that weren't my favorite, overall I liked most of the characters and her writing was fantastic. This was an easy to listen to and fun audiobook.
This story is about a senior in high school named Keely who is one of the only virgins in her class/group of friends and she's over it. She wants to get rid of it. She finds a college guy she's into named Dean and it's her chance. The only problem is, he straight up asked her if she was a virgin and she said no.
Here lies Keely's master plan. She decides to use her best friend Andrew as practice. She wants to lose her virginity to him first before being with Dean. I didn't love this aspect of the story. I didn't like the using factor, and I felt like she was really insensitive to her best friend and his feelings. I also felt like there was some shaming going on on both sides and I didn't love that either. I think the author could have made a few different choices and handled this topic so much better, but that's just my opinion. What I did love was Keely's relationship with her other best friend Hannah. I also liked Andrew most of the time.
The Best Laid Plans is a YA book I can see a lot of people absolutely loving. If you're a fan of the friends to lovers troupe and you're looking for a fresh and new coming of age romance, I recommend picking this one up. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future! ...more
Admission is a story about a high school senior named Chloe. Chloe has a somewhat famous mother, a great dad, and is living her best life in3 stars
Admission is a story about a high school senior named Chloe. Chloe has a somewhat famous mother, a great dad, and is living her best life in a lot of ways. She finally has the attention of her long time crush, and she has a great best friend. If it wasn’t for the pressure of her college applications, she’d have it made.
Chloe isn’t the best student, and it looks like all of her dream schools are out of reach. Her mom hires an admission coach to help her get into the college of her dreams. Well, it works because Chloe gets in. But then, the unthinkable happens. Her mom is arrested in a college admissions scam and Chloe’s life is over.
This book navigates Chloe’s before life, and Chloe’s now life. It shows everything leading up to her college acceptance and we get to find out if Chloe knew what was going on all along, or if she’s as innocent as she seems.
Admission was an interesting read and definitely unique from what I normally read. There were things I liked about it, but I never felt completely invested in Chloe’s story. I understood where her family was coming from and why they did the things they did, but I found it difficult to be empathetic for them. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite Julie Buxbaum book but it was still well written and I think a lot of people will love it. ...more
I love Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka's first two books. LOVED them. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Time of Our Lives. Though I liked this book, unfortunately it didn't hit the spot the same way the first two did, I just had trouble connecting. Overall it was a good read for me, it just wasn't great.
Juniper and Fitz are both going on college tours, though their situations couldn't be more different. Fitz has no intention of going to a college that's not local. He's planning on staying near home to help his mom, even though she is encouraging him to go explore. Juniper wants nothing more than to go to a college out of state, but her family wants her to stay near. In a serendipitous way, they run into each other on their first stop.
I loved the family dynamic of both of these stories and I liked both of the main characters. I just never felt connected to them or the two of them together. I'm a little bummed this wasn't a five star favorite, but I'm looking forward to reading more from this author duo, because I've absolutely adored everything else they've written! ...more
Only Mostly Devastated was such a cute read! I loved that it was inspired by Grease and the main character Ollie had a great voice. The audio 3 stars
Only Mostly Devastated was such a cute read! I loved that it was inspired by Grease and the main character Ollie had a great voice. The audio book was fun to listen to and I never wanted to hit pause.
Ollie has a summer romance with a boy named Will. Ollie is from California and spends the summer on the east coast with family. Circumstances lead to him staying east for his senior year of high school only for him to find he's going to the same school as Will.
Will and Ollie's present romance is pretty much non-existent until the ending of the story. The only time we truly see them together and happy is the summer flashbacks. I do wish we had more time with them in the present developing their romance. And as much as I loved Ollie, I didn't love the way Will treated him throughout most of the book. I understood, but I still didn't like it.
Ollie's friends were fantastic. I loved this girl group he hung out with. I also loved his family. As light and fun as this story was, there were also a few harder hitting topics/moments and I feel like the author handled those well. Overall, I thought this was a cute and fun read and the ending had me swooning. ...more
Kasie West does a great job writing sweet and cute YA. Moment of Truth was fun to read and had a bit of suspense with a heartfelt ending.
This story follows Hadley Moore. Hadley is a serious swimmer and a bit of an overachiever. She always strives to be the best and is dedicated to all that she does. She feels like she has something to prove to her parents and to herself. When the masked Heath Hall distracts her from her swim meet, she has a bone to pick with him. She's on a quest to find out who this masked character is...
Hadley and her best friend Amelia are on the search and have different suspects in mind. A lot of the book is about them trying to find out who this is. There is also a romantic interest in the story, Jackson. Jackson shows Hadley she doesn't have to be perfect at everything and to take life a little less seriously. I liked the fun loving side he brought out of Hadley.
Moment of Truth is narrated by Caitlin Kelly. She did a great job voicing Hadley. Sometimes in YA I feel the narrators sound too old, but I could picture Hadley talking as I listened to this one. I always find Kasie West's books more enjoyable to listen to rahter than to read, so I'm glad I was able to pick up this audio book from my library.
I enjoyed this book for the most part, though the suspenseful aspect fell a little flat for me and I didn't love how much the hero was compared to the heroine's dead brother... aside from those two things it was a good read. If you're looking for a YA contemporary with some heart, pick this one up. ...more
This is my second Emma Mills book, and though I didn't love everything about it, I still enjoyed listening to it. My favorite thing about his story was Ezra. I wasn't sure if I was going to love him at first, but I really really did. I also loved the heroines brother, Foster. Every scene he was in made me smile. Devon was someone I couldn't connect with. I think Emma Mills writing is great and I'm looking forward to reading more from her. I have hope that my favorite book by her is one I haven't read yet! ...more