Tag: 4.5/5 gavels

May 14

${ARC Review+Character Interview} The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by @ms_LilyAnderson @GriffinTeen$

{ARC Review+Character Interview} The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by @ms_LilyAnderson @GriffinTeen

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You is a young adult contemporary by Lily Anderson. This book was a ton of fun, and I can see comic book lovers swarming to this book. And, by the way, I think this book has the perfect cover. I seriously love it. The only Thing Worse Than Me is You centers around three best friends- Trixie, Meg and Harper, who all go to a school for smarties. In The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You there is an all out battle for a better class ranking. I get it, class rank was really important to me in high school too. Though, I didn’t (and no one did) take it to the extreme that Trixie did, but I appreciated her passion and drive. She is a hoot to read about. Her and her friends are all my brand of quirky and nerdy. I loved all of the fandom talk in The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You. I could relate more to… Read more »

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May 04

{Review} The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi @NotRashKnee

The Star-Touched Queen is the debut young adult fantasy novel by Roshani Chokshi. It is a blend of greek mythology and Indian folklore. While, I am very familiar with Greek mythology, I am admittedly not very familiar with much Indian Folklore. But starting out with The Star-Touched Queen certainly is going to set the bar very high. I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. I am so blown away and impressed that this is author, Roshani Chokshi’s debut novel. I never would have guessed that. She writes so beautifully. The Star-Touched Queen is a breathtaking tale. The Star-Touched Queen tells the story of seventeen year old Maya, who as you can tell from the summary, is cursed. I instantly fell in love with Maya. I was more hesitant with Amar, though that was completely by design of Roshani. Eventually I warmed up to him, and the romance between the two of them turns out to be really beautiful as well. But as great as the romance is, everything is really… Read more »

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May 01

{ARC Review} Rush by @AuthorShaeRoss @EPEmbrace

Rush is a standalone new adult contemporary romance by Shae Ross. This is the second book that I have read, and loved by Shae so far. (The first was Pretty Smart Girls: Lace Up) She has this awesome knack for writing great characters. (I have been on a roll lately with wonderful chemistry in the romances I have been reading. Which is perfectly timed after about a month of just ok books.) Rush is a college sports romance featuring the school quarterback and the captain of the girls soccer team, and just like in Pretty Smart Girls, there was also a theme of guys v. girls in this book. Rush is told in dual narrative between Priscilla and Preston, and from the very first moment I knew I was going to love them. The first scene in the book shows them at a Halloween party and they are dressed up as chewbacca and little bo peep. They cracked me up in that scene, and then the you know what all… Read more »

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Apr 28

${Review+Giveaway} Painting Sky by @Rita_Branches$

{Review+Giveaway} Painting Sky by @Rita_Branches

Painting Sky is a new adult contemporary romance standalone from Rita Branches. It is hard to believe that this is Rita’s debut novel because she really captured the essence of the characters so vividly. I didn’t initially know what to think of the story. On one hand, I was immediately drawn into the little bubble that seemed to be created around Keith and Jane every time they came in contact with each other. But on the other hand, I was hoping for something a little more drastic from his brother. I mean yes he was a jerk, but it didn’t seem so clear cut to me. In the end, it didn’t matter because I was completely, head-over-heels in love with Keith and Jane, who seems so much more like a Sky to me. Painting Sky is told entirely from Sky’s point of view, and while I loved watching her sort out her feelings for Keith and come into her own, I really really wanted to hear some snippets from Keith…. Read more »

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Mar 12

{Review+Giveaway} The #RuleofMirrors by @CaraghMOBrien

**I have tried really hard, but it is unavoidable. This review will have spoilers of book 1. Do not read unless you have read book 1 of this series** I LOVED The Vault of Dreamers (you can check out my review of book 1 HERE) when I read it last year, and I have been anxiously awaiting the release of book 2- The Rule of Mirrors. And you know how sometimes you love the first book in a series so much, and you are so excited for the second book that you start out with such high expectations, and sometimes the book falls a little flat? That is always the most disappointing thing for me, because I want to love it so bad! Well, that was not the case with Rule of Mirrors at all. I loved this book every bit as much as the first one, and I went into with a very high level of excitement and expectation. The first book left off at a pretty critical cliffhanger…. Read more »

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Feb 13

{Review} Ignited by Desni Dantone @ddantone

Ignited is the first book in the young adult fantasy and mythology series of the same name by Desni Dantone. This book was written in 2013 and there are 4 books out in the series so far. Actually, the fourth book comes out next month (March 2016) so now is the perfect time to read the first three and get ready. I don’t often get a chance to go back and start a series this late in the game, unless it is one that has been on my radar for a very long time. I just found out about the Ignited series this year, and because I love mythology so much, I couldn’t pass it up. And now I am obsessed with it. I am so freakin’ happy that there are 3 more books already out that I can read because I really want to keep reading. There is a bit of a love triangle, but I am shipping one side of hard and I really, really want to see if… Read more »

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Feb 02

{Release Day Review} Burning Midnight by @WillMcIntoshSF #randomhousereads

Burning Midnight is a standalone young adult science fiction fantasy by Will McIntosh. And guess what? It features a male protagonist. Do you even know how excited I was to see a character like Sully? I loved him. And I loved Burning Midnight. Everything about this book made me excited to read it, and once I started, even more excited to keep reading. I loved that the world is much the same as the world as we know it. Burning Midnight takes place in present day New York City, and all the regular things like facebook, ebay, and flea markets exist. The one big difference is that little colored marbles (called orbs) are scattered throughout the world. They just showed up one day and no one knows where they came from. People soon discovered that if you found a pair of the same color orbs and you “burned” them, meaning you held them up to your temples, that you would absorb some sort of talent from the orbs. Each color,… Read more »

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Dec 11

{Review+Giveaway} The Concealed by Sarah Kleck

The Concealed is the first book in the young adult fantasy series, called The Lakewood Series, by Sarah Kleck. I loved The Concealed. I knew from the summary that it was going to be magical and mysterious and it totally delivered! Now, of course, the mysterious part completely blew my mind and excited me even more than I thought. I loved the direction that author Sarah Kleck took this story in, but it would be a completely spoiler for me to tell you. I will say this- it is one of my favorite sub-genres of fantasy & magic, and it was such a pleasant and unexpected surprise. (ok, heck- just click the spoiler box if you want to know more about the secret society alluded to in the summary) Poor Evelyn starts the story out by losing her sister- her last remaining family member. And then only a scene or two later she is packing up all of her belongings and leaving her home town to go away to school… Read more »

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Dec 09

${ARC Review+Giveaway} Dirty Deeds by @MeganErickson_ @avonbooks$

{ARC Review+Giveaway} Dirty Deeds by @MeganErickson_ @avonbooks

Dirty Deeds is the third book in the Mechanics of Love series by Megan Erickson. It is the story of Ivy’s sister- Alex. I am going to let you guys in on a little confession…I totally thought this was the second book in the series. I had no idea that Megan Erickson snuck book 2 by me completely. I am so bummed that I missed Brent’s story. I have to go back and read that ASAP. The second book is also where we find the link from the Payton boys to the new girl at their garage- Alex. ivy is Brent’s love interest from book 2, and Alex is her sister. I was able to figure it all out on my own, and wasn’t lost at all while reading, but it would have been nice to have known all that going in. (which is why I am telling you guys) Dirty Deeds is every bit as good as the first book, Dirty Thoughts. I might have even liked it more… Read more »

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Nov 25

{Review+Giveaway} Stupid Love by Cindy Miles @cindymilesbooks

Stupid Love is the third and final book in the New Adult contemporary romance series, Stupid in Love. Stupid Love is the story of Memory and Jace. It is a companion book to Stupid Girl, and Stupid Boy, but like the first two books it focuses on a new couple. This is a very popular trend in new adult. Series books, each featuring a novel that “stands alone” about a different couple. While I typically like series to follow the same characters, I do enjoy romances in this vein if the characters are well done and if each book is able to feel complete on its’ own. Cindy Miles does an excellent job with each of those things, and it is for those reasons that I love her Stupid in Love series so much. Stupid Girl made my favorites of 2014. I loved it so much! I really liked Stupid Boy a lot too, but it was hard to recreate the love that I felt for Olivia and Brax, the… Read more »