Switching to a New Blog

As of April 27, 2014, new reviews will not be posted on this blog. I've switched to a new one. Check it out if you are interested.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

The Sweetest Reads

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Thanks!

Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

 ARC provided by the Publisher via Edelweiss

Author: Steve Brezenoff
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary 
Release Date: May 27th 2014 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Read: April 23th, 2014

Synopsis

It is Labor Day weekend in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and boy and girl collide on a dark street at two thirty in the morning: Lesh, who wears black, listens to metal, and plays MMOs; Svetlana, who embroiders her skirts, listens to Björk and Berlioz, and dungeon masters her own RPG. They should pick themselves up, continue on their way, and never talk to each other again.

But they don't.

This is a story of two people who do not belong in each other's lives, who find each other at a time when they desperately need someone who doesn't belong in their lives. A story of those moments when we act like people we aren't in order to figure out who we are. A story of the roles we all play-at school, at home, with our friends, and without our friends-and the one person who might show us what lies underneath it all.

My Thoughts

Just so you know, it doesn't take a gamer to enjoy to this book, even the whole book itself revolves around role playing in various forms. I for one is not a gamer, but now the idea of playing Dungeons and Dragons seems very appealing.

Frankly speaking, at first I really, really, loved this book. It was so much different from most books I have read. I've always loved reading about characters with flaws and both Lesh and Lana were imperfect, yet perfect all the same. I loved their senses of humor. However, Lesh's obsession with Lana was a tad bit too disturbing for me. So character-wise, this book was not too shabby.

What really bugged was the storyline. About the first 60% or so, it was kind of wonderful getting to know the characters and all. However, it dawned on me that nothing much actually happened. It was so dragging, so slow and there was so much detail that I still don't think important. And that took the love that I initially had for this book away.

Overall, it was a cute story.

Thanks Balzer + Bray for the eGalley.

Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols

ARC provided by the Publisher via Edelweiss

Author: Jennifer Echols
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Series: Superlatives
Book: 1
Release Date: May 20th 2014
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Read: April 19th, 2014


Synopsis
Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.

Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger.

As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated…

My Thoughts
Sad to say, I've had a few hit and miss with Jennifer Echols books. And this is definitely a miss.

Sometimes it's hard to enjoy a book, even the writing is nice when you want to do some harm on the main character. That was what happened to me when I was reading this book. I really, really, didn't like Tia. I couldn't stand her from the very beginning. Me and her kind of character are not meant to be together. Yes, she had a good sense of humor, but seriously, she was such a floozy and so rude.

Not to sound like a prude or anything and I absolutely have read books more graphic than this, but come on! It was supposed to be a young adult book. The fact that Tia and Will getting freaky, even not all the way, just maybe an hour after they had met made me cringe. She was only what, 17, and she had a f*ck buddy?!? Like are you kidding me? Maybe I'm old school, still I wasn't comfortable with the way Tia character portrayed. And my initial impression of this book was sweet and fluffy teenage romance. Wrong was an understatement.

Will and Tia's relationship didn't make the book any better. It was fast, weird and I'm not sure it was even possible.They went on from a random hookup, to Will asked (and was shot down) Tia on a real date, to them flirting (way too much) while Will was dating another girl, to Tia kinda, sorta, maybe wanted to date Will (something so foreign to her because she was more comfortable having wild monkey sex with random guys and her beloved friend with benefits) and so on and so forth. It was a hot mess.

Some people might find this book more than interesting and enjoyable. I'm not one of those people.

Thanks Simon Pulse for the eGalley 

Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt

 ARC provided by the Publisher via Edelweiss
 

Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Release Date: July 8th 2014 
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Read: April 18th, 2014

Synopsis
Opposites attract—and then complicate—in this romantic, relatable novel from the author of Two-way Street and Sometimes It Happens.

It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” And okay, smolderingly sexy.

Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. Or even a friend-with-benefits. The note is not supposed to lead to anything.

Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about feelings.

Harper and Penn understand their attraction is illogical, yet something keeps pulling them together. It’s like a crazy roller coaster—exhilarating, terrifying, and amazing all at once. And neither knows how to stop the ride…

My Thoughts
The story starts with Harper gets her heart broken and then it goes back to the beginning, showing us how it comes to this point. It is told from both Penn's and Harper's point of view.

I have read a few of books written by Lauren Barnholdt and I absolutely loved each one of them. Likewise, I enjoyed reading this one greatly.

Relationship between Harper and Penn moved a little too fast in my opinion. Well, it wasn't like an inst love or anything, still it progressed too quickly. It was a complicated relationship, and the fact that Penn was hot and cold time and time again didn't help either. I liked Harper and Penn characters, though. Harper was sweet, witty, but a tad pushy. Penn was charming, to say the least.

As for the storyline, I think it had a nice flow and very compelling. Due to how the book started, I was curious to find out what had happened that made them arrived this point. Some scenes did raise a few questions, though, as I still don't believe how that made sense. Nevertheless, it was a cute teenage love story.

Overall, it was such a sweet and romantic book. I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Thanks Simon Pulse for the eGalley.