Tag: Contemporary Romance (Page 73 of 96)

BOOK REVIEW: A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

May 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments
BOOK REVIEW: A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody KeplingerA Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorced dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great. Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together. Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about.

“Ready?” Nathan asked, pulling car keys from his pocket.
“You kids have fun,” Dad said from the sofa, turning a page in the novel he was reading. “Get to know each other. You’re family now.”
Yeah, I thought. Family who’ve banged each other.

Many people found themselves comparing this story to DUFF and some of Keplinger’s other works. Now, while I did say, “This was so good! But I loved DUFF more,” I never once felt the need to compare while I was reading. I believe each book has it’s own characters, problems, and merits. Even if there are moments where we get glimpses of the DUFF world we all love (or hate, if you’re one of those.), it doesn’t, by any means, have to be anything the same or surrounded by old characters all the time-That’s just an added bonus when we get to see Wesley and my lovely bitch., Bianca. I loved seeing them, if only for brief moments!

“Buckle up,” he [Nathan] said to me, hitting the button for the radio.
He waited until my seat belt had clicked before he even pulled out of the driveway. As if traveling those three extra feet without restraints might actually kill me or something. I didn’t expect someone who had one-night stands with strangers or threw crazy parties to have such a stick up his ass.

This story was exactly what I needed-Light, sarcastic, funny, and heartwarming. Hell, I even found myself tearing up a few times, to which I replied while blinking rapidly, “What the hell?” It’s not enough to merely create an interesting plot. You have to add warmth and love and laughter to these characters and make us unable to dislike them. With this author, I find that I am always in love with her characters. Whether they’re offhandedly witty and snarky like Bianca, controlled, composed and in charge like Lissa, or just a plain old bitch like Whit (Daaaawww, Whit) I always find that they have me laughing or giggling out loud-which I RARELY do.

“Hey,” he said, folding his arms over his chest, only barely obscuring the image of a hand making the Vulcan salute on his T-shirt. “I thought you were giving this whole being-nice thing a try.”
“I am,” I told him. “But come on. You want to major in computer science, you’re practically swooning over some ancient movie about a time-traveling car, and you have a freaking Darth Vader bobblehead in your room. I thought jocks beat up geeks, not aspired to be them.”
“What can I say? I’m a complicated guy.”

And then her boys. Talk. About. Butterflies. That’s another thing-I don’t know if it’s the author’s younger age or if she just has an unwitty knack to create all the boys in the world I’d love to gather and keep for myself, but I don’t think she has created a boy that hasn’t broken my heart or made my tummy erupt into butterflies, yet. They are always kind, caring, and over-the-moon sweet, no matter their status *Cough* Wesley, the manwhore *Cough Cough* and they always stay in my heart long after I have turned (swiped) the last page. It’s not that they are different than what we see all the time, per se, but it’s the heart that goes into writing their characters-It leaps off the page and gives you multiple opportunities to grab onto it and feel that visceral connection that is so within your reach. If that’s not incentive enough, I don’t know what is.

My head began to spin. My whole body felt alive, like it was on fire. I gasped for breath between each kiss, my fingers digging into his soft cotton T-shirt. Something like euphoria swept over me, and I couldn’t think about anything anymore. It was just Nathan and me and way too many layers of clothing between us. I wanted to touch every inch of him. I wanted to melt into him. I wanted him. So much.

I mentioned the author’s age, earlier, and I wanted to say a little more on that. I still can’t believe a girl so young creates such simply amazing books. They have no typos. They are witty. They are snarky. They have VERY swoon-worthy lines from those aforementioned boys (Cash, Wesley, and now, Nathan). And I just have the hardest time wrapping my brain around that-not that young people can’t write, no, that’s not what I mean-it’s that she’s so young, yet has more accuracy and clarity in her writing (whether or not you admire the funny cliches and content) than some of the more seasoned authors that sell 10x more books than this girl does. I don’t get that. These books are light, care-free, and they have lots of heart and passion in every page. And the drama actually makes you feel because it’s not long and drawn out. These books are short, sweet, and to the point. I’m sorry, but what more can you ask for?


photo 1ACv9u6_zpsbgmimt86.gif

So, you know, I really loved this one. And while I only gave it a 4.5, it doesn’t change the fact that my heart is light as air and I have the hugest smile on my face. I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t feel the same ‘hard-core connection’ as I did with the last two I read (maybe my mood?), but there was a strong connection, nonetheless. But that’s where the .5 star went. Merely a case of not just slapping on the same rating for the hell of it…eh, I dunno. I’m weird.

Since I could remember, I’d always been a night person. My burst of energy came right around the time the sun set. I lived in the darkness. Loved the darkness. My world came alive when the stars came out.
But for the first time in my life, I wanted the night to end.

Nathan and Whitley will likely bury themselves deep under your skin and stick with you long after the last page. There’s a twist with Nathan (You’re asking, wait, aside from him being her future step-brother?) that made me smile and squee so loud, it was unreal. I don’t know why I loved it that much, but I did. It was adorable, swoon-worthy, and without a doubt something I wholeheartedly did not expect. Whether you’ll feel the same or not is merely opinion and speculation-I just severely enjoyed it. Whitley and Nathan were beyond adorable-I hope you’ll give them a chance on a rainy, depressing day.

BOOK REVIEW – Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

May 5, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky AlbertalliSimon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

This book was a serious breath of fresh air, and I end up with the biggest smile on my face.

“I take a sip of my beer, and it’s – I mean, it’s just astonishingly disgusting. I don’t think I was expecting it to taste like ice-cream, but holy fucking hell. People lie and get fake IDs and sneak into bars, and for this?”

▥ What you need to know if the fact that we have no idea who is this Blue guy that Simon is emailing until almost the very end. However, we get to know him – and Simon, in another way – through theirs emails and I can say without doubt that it was the part that I preferred. Strangely, Blue became pretty fast my favorite character. Strangely because we only know him through messages and all. What can I say? I’m a sucker for emails and messages inserted in a book. Damn, I’m such a stalker (shut up). All of that is to say that I can completely understand how Simon could fall in love with him without meeting him – Hell, I barely kept in check my crush on him (what? He is so freaking cute!). Don’t get me wrong, I really liked Simon as well. Simon, who made me burst of laughing with his Draco-Harry fan fictions (for real, I had to explain why I was laughing like crazy and all that), roll my eyes smiling because he was so clueless, Simon who is freaking adorable and funny.

Simon who sounds like a real teenager and who has multiple crushes. I’m sorry but yes, that’s high school for you (or was I the only one? Please say no). And then, there’s this moment we learn who Blue is. Happy sigh. View Spoiler »

To sum up, Simon, I really liked you, even if sometimes,

▥ Friendship is portrayed in a realistic way in my opinion, because even if Leah, Nick, Abby and Simon share a strong connection, that did not prevent them from arguing or being jealous or whatever else feeling we humans feel sometimes. That’s why I really appreciated to follow this bunch of realistic and supportive characters. However, I would have loved it if the characterization of the characters outside Simon was more developed. Indeed if Simon’s and Blue’s characters are fleshed-out (which is amazing concerning Blue, because we know him only through his emails during the most part of the book) unfortunately the others lack depth in my opinion, especially Nick and Leah. Now, we’re following Simon’s journey, so on the other hand it can be explained.

“If she thinks me drinking coffee is big news, it’s going to be quite a fucking morning.”

▥ Truth be told, I absolutely adored the dynamic between the different members of Simon’s family. Indeed they’re far from perfect, a little on the crazy side, unable to mind their own business, but the most important is that they rang true to me. Perhaps that’s because my family always was a little anti-conformist either? Even if yes, we do the Blue’s Christmas thing where we open our presents one after the other but that’s pretty awesome in my opinion and I so stick out my tongue at you, Simon.

“It is definitely annoying that straight (and white, for that matter) is the default, and that the only people who have to think about their identity are the ones who don’t fit that mold.”

▥ Finally, this book deals with pretty hard subjects as bullying, blackmailing, and above that, the difficulties to find and express our identity. Actually, I’m not sure of what I think about the way they are handled here. Indeed if they aren’t completely dismissed (which would have maddened me for sure) they’re not completely treated either and I got the feeling that everything was wrapped too nicely in the end. Perhaps am I too pessimistic? I don’t really know. Maybe. But in my opinion it would have been more interesting to explore these issues further, even if it would have impacted the general happy feeling we get when reading this book. Not that we don’t come across some heartbreaking moments. We do, and that’s what make the whole book beautiful in its own way – flawed, but sincere.

✐ As for the writing, the fact that I read it in one sitting says something, doesn’t it? While I can’t brag about amazing metaphors or original writing, in my opinion it’s perfect how it is, that is to say, addictive as a book from Kody Keplinger or Kasie West can be, with the right amount of fluffiness and laughter to keep you in a good mood. That was the case for me, anyway.

BOOK REVIEW – Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

May 2, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah MoskowitzGone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In the wake of the post-9/11 sniper shootings, fragile love finds a stronghold in this intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer.

It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives.

Craig's crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he'll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody.

Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable...and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

I remember September 11th. I was in Junior year in High School (in France, of course) and I learnt what happened late afternoon when I was heading for practice.

I remember being sad for all these person and mad because how unfair is it? but I also remember being pissed at all these teenagers around me who kept bragging that it had opened their eyes and showed them how much life is worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to minimize it, god of course not, but I just couldn’t understand how people could use it to appear cool, to spread some philosophical bullshit, as if they could understand what people in New York could feel, what people in US could feel. I couldn’t, and I don’t think they could, either. We were just fucking French Junior who couldn’t have a locker anymore because bombs. All that is to say that I didn’t get it at the time. I was only a self-centered teenager whose interest never holds long and I asked myself exactly what Lio and Craig wonder about : how do we define loss? Is it the number that counts? Or is it something else? Is it the fact that we knew someone? I didn’t know at the time, but I know now.

“What’s love when you’re too fucked up to feel it right?
I think it’s a weapon.”

Perhaps it’s going to sound incredibly selfish but to me there’s nothing truer than this : We really feel loss when we know someone. Of course we can empathize, we can feel sad and mad and sorry for someone, it remains it always seems borrowed, if we can use a word so practical when dealing with loss. Every day I hear about people who are sick, who have cancer, and yes, I feel sorry for them. My dad died from cancer two years ago. I didn’t feel sorry. I felt broken. I felt lost. I felt scared. And I’m never, ever going to say that it is the same thing. It isn’t. In my opinion we are partly defined by the person we love, by the person we care about, and no empathy can overtake that. None.

“Craig is just one person. The chances that he will get shot are the same as anyone else’s.
The hole in the world when he’s gone would be the same size as the FBI agent’s.
Except…
It wouldn’t be.
To me.
I have no way to measure these holes.
Click.
Numbers don’t matter.
Because what if loss is immeasurable? What if all we can do is call a loss a loss? “

The story takes place in 2002, during the Beltway Sniper Attacks, and for someone like me who wasn’t familiar with this tragedy at all, the way Hannah Moskowitz deals with this issue is truly wonderful because it felts real. Indeed I felt the threat, the fear, the panic this kind of random attacks could lead to. And then, there’re these boys. There are these broken boys who meet and fall in love. They are hurt. They are hesitant. They are fucking afraid. But they are.

“Just wanted to let you know I got in all right. And also that my chest hurts as if I MAY BE DYING, because I accidentally left my heart on your kitchen counter. I hate when that happens.
Li”

And I love them. I even developed a not-so-little crush on Lio. Even if he’s fictional. Even if I have a boyfriend. Even if he’s gay. Whatever. As I said, I developed a crush on Lio because this guy is so fucking adorable that I couldn’t help. As for Teeth, Gone gone gone offers us a flawless characterization with characters who aren’t perfect, who mess up, who evolve, and in the end, we just want to hug them something fierce. I do, anyway.

“It’s up to me whether I’m okay with the possibility of being broken.
Plus, I’m a tough little son of a bitch, and don’t you forget it.”

Finally, I’m sorry if this review isn’t organized or doesn’t even mention how incredible the writing is, how emotional this story is, how fucking beautiful their love is. I guess I didn’t feel writing a complete review tonight – but the only thing I’ll say is READ IT. Please, go meet Craig and his fourteen pets, Lio and his five colored hair, go read their emails and cry and laugh and fall in love. You won’t regret it. Because even if I preferred Teeth, Lio and Craig’s story goes instantly in my favorites, and I like to think that it’s saying something.

BOOK REVIEW – Changing His Game (Gamers) by Megan Erickson

April 28, 2015 / / 0 Comments
BOOK REVIEW – Changing His Game (Gamers) by Megan EricksonChanging His Game (Gamers)
by Megan Erickson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

He controls the game, but she's rewriting all the rules...

Marley Lake is no stranger to awkwardness, but getting caught watching a dirty GIF by the company's hot new IT guy exceeds even her standards. That is, until she realizes he's as turned on by it as she is. But with a big promotion on the line, she refuses to let her current dry spell be her downfall. Maybe.

Austin Rivers has no business lusting after the irresistible editor of Gamers Magazine. He's a secret partner in the business-and technically Marley's boss. One look at that GIF, though, and he's ready to install a whole lot more than just software...as long as she never finds out who he really is.

But reality's not as virtual as it seems, and when Austin's identity jeopardizes Marley's promotion, he has to change his game or risk losing the only woman with the cheat code to his heart.

Review:

Changing His Game was sexy and fun!  The storyline, which moved quickly, was too cute.  I caught myself smiling from time to time, and the characters helped with that because they were so quirky and unique.  And the sexy level in this book was through the roof scorching hot.  While I did have a few personal issues, this was still an adorable book.

Marley Lake is the head of the copy editing team at a magazine called Gamers.  She loves her job, but she’s about to cross her own personal line.  While an IT tech helps fix her computer, he stumbles upon her dirty gif she has on her tumblr account. He finds it as lust worthy as she does, so how can she not want to be with him?  But what Marley doesn’t know is that the IT tech, Austin Rivers, is actually a silent owner in the company she works for.  The one she wants a promotion from.  Watch out, because the fun is about to begin!

Oh my gosh, I was beyond mortified for Marley in the beginning of this book.  I would have crawled under that desk and rolled into the fetal position and died.  Seriously.  But thank goodness Marley didn’t do that, because it started a sexy chain reaction.  While I didn’t feel as though I had a complete grasp on Marley, since I knew nothing about her parents or if she had any friends besides her brother, I did know that she was a hard worker.  She was demanding and in charge of her career.  And you know what?  That’s why she’s drawn to her favorite gif so much.  That woman in the gif lets everything go, and Marley needs that release too.  To let someone else be demanding and take control of her actions.  And Austin is the perfect guy for the job.

Austin is one of those people where his past and his present life are such a contrast, that it seems as though he is always struggling within himself.  But he definitely did not have any insecurities when it came to being with Marley intimately in the bedroom uhhhh or other interesting places that I never would have thought of before haha.  He was demanding, in control, creative and wasn’t going to let any situation steal time away from being with the one that he wanted to be with.  Way to go Austin!  I liked that nerdy yet oh so sexy man.

The few issues I had with this book, were completely personal.  It was laced with cheesy humor, and while the sexy innuendos that were computer related were creative, I just can’t ever  connect with that type of humor.   Also, while I enjoy reading sexy, steamy scenes, I prefer my males to do less talking.  Especially the demanding kind.  Now I know that’s exactly what Marley wanted and needed, but it’s just not my cup of tea.  And while I wish the book had more relationship development and a little less sexy time, again I understand that’s not what would have worked for Marley.  But regardless, I still think this was a cute book.  I loved how the story flowed and I liked the characters that she created.  I will be trying some of her other books, because I loved the fun that she poured into the pages!

*ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review*

BOOK REVIEW – Behind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1) by Dahlia Adler

April 24, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Behind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1) by Dahlia AdlerBehind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1)
by Dahlia Adler
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

High school senior Ally Duncan's best friend may be the Vanessa Park - star of TV's hottest new teen drama - but Ally's not interested in following in her BFF's Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally’s ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. But when her father's mounting medical bills threaten to stop her dream in its tracks, Ally nabs a position as Van's on-set assistant to get the cash she needs.

Spending the extra time with Van turns out to be fun, and getting to know her sexy co-star Liam is an added bonus. But when the actors’ publicist arranges for Van and Liam to “date” for the tabloids just after he and Ally share their first kiss, Ally will have to decide exactly what role she's capable of playing in their world of make believe. If she can't play by Hollywood's rules, she may lose her best friend, her dream future, and her first shot at love.

EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE – 04/22
In some one-horse town of French country, far later than the dusk, a woman’s shrill cry split the dark silence.

INT. COUNTRY HOUSE – 04/22
Four pairs of eyes 3 of whom are pets, and yes, that’s unnerving just the same are staring at a strange creature who’s frantically clapping her hands.

ANNA, French Reviewer and Teacher, 30s and who isn’t a creature, thank you very much, stops squealing.

ANNA
(excited)
That was sooo good!

INDY, 6, cat, resumes toileting after throwing another WTF?! glance around him.

JOY, 7 months, boxer, ambles over to the couch and sits down in front of Anna.

ANNA
(louder)
I mean, this book was just so freaking cute! No, no, I’m not saying it was perfect but come on, look at me! LOOK AT ME!

(stands up and does an awkward little dance)
It made me so happy!

JOY
(staring)
…

The phone RINGS. Anna drops the e-reader she was still clutching to her heart no comment, I know how lame it sounds and searches under the blanket to answer the call —

*3259 rings later*

ANNA
Hey sorry I couldn’t find my fucking phone in time –

VOICE
(over phone)
Whatever but hey! What were you doing today? I tried to call you like, thousands times!

ANNA
Oh God you will not believe what I just read : a contemporary romance setting in (whisper) Hollywood.

VOICE
(incredulous)
You did not. I mean, you hate everything Hollywood related! You don’t even know most of the actors’ names in the movies you watch, and I don’t even talk about your stupid gossip magazines phobia!

ANNA
I know, and that’s exactly why I’m beyond enthusiastic right now. Hear me out : you know I crave for realistic and multi-layered characters and how much it’s difficult to find believable and adorable romances lately, yet how stunning as it is, this book offered me everything I was desperate to read. Don’t get fooled, I’m not saying that it’s perfect, it really isn’t, but even if the story isn’t free of cliché, I fucking adored it – (starts writing down). Look, let me tell you what I loved, okay?

VOICE
Okay, okay, it does seem amazing, but didn’t you just say that it wasn’t perfect?

ANNA
But that’s the beauty of it! Please don’t expect a perfect book, because you would be disappointed. Indeed there are cliché (for example : Ally doesn’t realize that she’s gorgeous, Liam is well, insanely hot, we come across a few overused sayings…). However, how could I complain when the writing was compelling, the dialogues funny and that I ended loving the characters as they’d be friends of mine? When it seems that I haven’t root for a couple that much for months? I couldn’t. I won’t.

▒ THE END ▒

PS : For once, after many books where French language was terrible, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of grammar errors (except bonne nuit) and I wanted to throw a little thank you here, because that’s amazing.

Oh, and before I forget, of course,

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