Review: Salt & Stone (Fire & Flood #2) by Victoria Scott

Book Title: Salt & Stone

Author: Victoria Scott

Published Date: February 24th, 2015

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Genre: YA/SciFi

Series: Book Two of Fire & Flood series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

What would you do to save someone you love? What about risking…everything?

In Fire & Flood, Tella Holloway faced a dangerous trek through the jungle and a terrifying march across the desert, all to remain a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed for a chance at obtaining the Cure for her brother. She can’t stop—and in Salt & Stone, Tella will have to face the unseen dangers of the ocean, the breathless cold of a mountain, and the twisted new rules in the race.

But what if the danger is deeper than that? How do you know who to trust when everyone’s keeping secrets? What do you do when the person you’ve relied on most suddenly isn’t there for support? How do you weigh one life against another?

The race is coming to an end, and Tella is running out of time, resources, and strength. At the beginning of the race there were 122 Contenders. As Tella and her remaining friends start the fourth and final part of the race, just forty-one are left…and only one can win.

Victoria Scott’s stunning thriller will leave readers’ hearts racing!

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book from Scholastic via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

It’s been such a long time since I visited this world! I reviewed Fire & Flood here, back in January of 2014. I really should have reread Fire and Flood before I read Salt and Stone. I had forgotten some of the details from the first book.

It took me a really long time to get into this book. I’m not exactly sure why it took me so long to get into it. Maybe it was just my mood, maybe I was bored? I’m just not sure. It finally started picking up at about page 160. When I hit that part, I had a very hard time putting it back down.

I still loved Tella, and in fact her growth in this book was really awesome. She was able to stand on her own two feet even when Guy was not around.  Guy was every bit as swoony as he was in Fire and Flood. He could get a little aggravating, but I loved how things turned out for them in the end.

I also really liked Harper this time around. She was complicated and fascinating. I was glad to see more of her given how things were for her in the first book. Willow, Olivia, Braun and the rest of them were captivating. A new character by the name of Cotton was very interesting and I couldn’t figure out if he was a good person or a bad person. I spent the entire book trying to figure it out.

I’m still madly in love with Pandoras. I wish they were real. Madox and his loyalty to Tella was awesome. It was awesome to see all the different Pandoras. Lions, alligators, bears, iguanas just to mention a few. There was a few stressful moments involving Pandoras that actually got me in the feels.

Because I took so long getting into this book, I have to give it 4 stars. I did enjoy the story a lot once I finally got into it, it just took awhile for me to get into it. I am so excited that I got to read this book and I am going to miss these characters.

Review: Hold Me Like A Breath (Once Upon A Crime Family #1) by Tiffany Schmidt

Book Title:  Hold Me Like A Breath

Author: Tiffany Schmidt

Published Date: May 19th, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s USA

Genre: YA Retelling

Series: Book One in Once Upon A Crime Family series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can’t protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family’s line of work no one can be safe forever.

All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from Bloomsbury Children’s in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

I fell in love with the cover back in December when I was watching Bloomsbury’s virtual event. It was a cover that stood out to me even days later. The synopsis also stood out to me because organ donation is one of the things I care a lot about and the idea that there is a black market for them is so interesting to me. There is a significant shortage of organ donors, so of course desperate people have to do desperate things.

Like buy a much needed organ off the black market.

That’s where the Landlow’s, Zhu’s & Vickers’ families come in. These three families control the black market.

This story is about Penelope Landlow. I liked her a lot in the beginning of the book. I could tell how frustrated she was with her life and the restrictions placed on her. I would have probably gone crazy myself if I were in her situation. I loved that she was close to her brother Carter, and her brother’s friend Garrett. It was obvious early on that she liked Garrett and that the feeling was mutual.

As the book continued, I was expecting to be pulled deeper and deeper into this world, but I really wasn’t. Things happened and then more things happened and before I knew it Penelope was on her own. I was expecting to keep liking her, but I wasn’t fond of the decisions she was making. I wanted her to reach out to the one guy she claimed she wanted to see, but instead she was waiting on him to find her.

But this guy didn’t know she was alive and she knew that. Was he supposed to just know that she was’t dead?

Making questionable decisions is so common with teenagers that I didn’t fault Penelope. As far as main characters go, I liked her and I was curious to see what would happen next.

It was the insta-love with Char that really drove me insane. I don’t like insta-love, never have and I could not understand why Penelope was so interested in him. He didn’t excite me, there was no chemistry between then. I actually found him to be quite boring and un-swoony. I think that was one of my issues.

Along with not liking Penelope’s love interest, I didn’t feel like the other secondary characters were developed well. I felt like there could have been better character development and I would have enjoyed the book much more than I did. Poor character development can ruin a book for me, and in the case of this book, I think that was my biggest issue.

But the ending was interesting and it left me quite curious as to what was going to happen to these characters next. I have a feeling things are far from over.

Unfortunately I ended up being pretty “meh” on the book overall. I am unsure if I will continue the series, but I most likely will because that ending was very interesting. I was so looking forward to this book and I hate that I was so disappointed in this book overall. I am going to give it 3 stars. It wasn’t a terrible book, it was just a book that didn’t work well for me.

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Book Title: The Wrath and the Dawn

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Published Date: May 12th, 2015

Publisher: Putnam (Penguin)

Genre: YA Retelling

Series: Book one in The Wrath and the Dawn series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights
Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Disclaimer: I bought this book.

Review:

I am utterly dumbfounded right now. This book was unbelievably gorgeous. From the cover to the pages to what was written ON the pages. This book was stunning. I’m still as in love with the cover as I was the first time I saw it. Now that I’ve read the book, I’m just as in love with the words on the pages as I am in love with the cover.

I have read many many books in my 29 years but I don’t think any of them have ever been this gorgeously (is that even a word?) written. I was barely 20 pages into it when I put it down and said out loud “holy hell this book is gorgeous” I could probably talk about the gorgeous writing for days, but I probably shouldn’t. It was so beautiful through the entire thing. I was worried that the beautiful writing would take away from the actual story, but it didn’t. It added to it.

The world building was stunning and I felt like I was actually in this world. That’s how vivid things were. I could see the clothes in my minds eye, my mouth watered with the descriptions of the food (funny as I usually don’t enjoy Indian or Persian food) but I definitely wanted the food they were eating because it sounded delicious. When a book can make you hungry in the dead of night, then you know the book is good.

I have massive love and respect for Shazi. She was fierce, stubborn and protective. Her objective was the avenge the death of her best friend Shiva. She never expected to fall for Khalid, and in fact she fought it for a good chunk of the book. In her mind, she could never love Khalid because of what Khalid had done to many young girls before her, including Shiva. She had this vulnerability to her that she was clearly reluctant to show anyone else. It took awhile for her to even let Khalid sense her vulnerability. But when she did, it was beautiful.

Khalid was one of those brooding, mysterious types. Those types always intrigue me because there is always more to them than initially meets the eye. I sensed that he had a lot on his plate and that being vulnerable with anyone wasn’t something he was comfortable with. Just like with Shazi, it took awhile for him to show her his vulnerable side.

I was really worried that Shazi and Khalid would fall for each other and it would feel very insta-lovey. I was really hoping that wouldn’t be the case as I think it would have really ruined the book for me. Thankfully it was not an insta-love situation. I fell for them as I watched them slowly fall for each other. That is a truly great feeling.

There were so many secondary characters in this book. My favorites were Despina, Shazi’s handmaiden & Jalal, Khalid’s cousin. We didn’t get to see a lot of Shazi’s father, but I liked him. I was not really fond of Tariq, Shazi’s first love, but he wasn’t a terrible person. Even the secondary characters were fleshed out well.

I almost forgot to mention, the feels! Holy feels, Batman. Within the first 20 pages I had already cried twice and then through the rest of the book, I cried no less than 5 times. I was not expecting the feels to be so rampant in this one. There were several feelsy moments near the end, and thankfully I had kleenex for those moments.

I absolutely loved this book and I am so glad I took a chance on it and pre-ordered it without even reading an ARC copy. It was totally worth it and I’m not sure how I am going to wait until next year for book 2. 5 stars to this beautifully captivating book.

Review: The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass

Book Title: The Heir

Author: Kiera Cass

Published Date: May 5th, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Dystopian

Series: Book 4 in The Selection series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads

Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn’t expect her Selection to be anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story. But as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she always thought.

Disclaimer: This book was a personal purchase.

Review:

Hello again, book crack!

Okay, I’m strangely obsessed with this series. It’s like crack, as my fellow blogger, Andi said last year.

Overall, I really liked Eadlyn. I definitely liked her more than I liked America. Eadlyn had her moments where I wanted to strangle her, but they were few and far between. Her attitude about love was so similar to mine that I think that was a big part of the reason why I liked her so much. She wasn’t dying to be married, she didn’t go gaga over every boy in the palace. She was stubborn and very, very hardheaded just like myself.

She wasn’t perfect though. She had a close relationship with her brothers and her parents, but she was kind of controlling to her twin brother Ahren. There’s a moment near the end of the book that drove me absolutely crazy because of this and I definitely didn’t love her actions during this part.

I really didn’t feel a whole lot of chemistry between her or any of the Selected, however there were a few standouts: Kile, the boy she’s known her entire life. There’s a boy who is not even part of the selection, but Eadlyn seems interested in him. There’s a boy who comes with a language barrier, but I found him endearing. And finally there was another boy, who seemed to be a slight frontrunner. I honestly don’t know which boy she’ll end up with (if any of them)

I did really enjoy this book, and I definitely enjoyed Eadlyn a heck of a lot more than I enjoyed her mother. I am super excited to see if she picks anyone in the end. I am giving this book 4 stars. Oh and if someone could make me the dress Eadlyn is wearing on the cover, I’d appreciate that.

Review: Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

Book Title: Royal Wedding

Author: Meg Cabot

Published Date: June 2nd, 2015

Publisher: William Morrow & Company

Genre: NA Contemporary

Series: Book 11 in The Princess Diaries series

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Princess Diaries series, comes the very first adult installment, which follows Princess Mia and her Prince Charming as they plan their fairy tale wedding–but a few poisoned apples could turn this happily-ever-after into a royal nightmare.

For Princess Mia, the past five years since college graduation have been a whirlwind of activity, what with living in New York City, running her new teen community center, being madly in love, and attending royal engagements. And speaking of engagements. Mia’s gorgeous longtime boyfriend Michael managed to clear both their schedules just long enough for an exotic (and very private) Caribbean island interlude where he popped the question! Of course Mia didn’t need to consult her diary to know that her answer was a royal oui.

But now Mia has a scandal of majestic proportions to contend with: Her grandmother’s leaked “fake” wedding plans to the press that could cause even normally calm Michael to become a runaway groom. Worse, a scheming politico is trying to force Mia’s father from the throne, all because of a royal secret that could leave Genovia without a monarch. Can Mia prove to everyone–especially herself–that she’s not only ready to wed, but ready to rule as well?

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from William Morrow & Company in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

Boy was this a major blast from the past. I was so excited to see this book on Edelweiss and I immediately requested it and crossed my fingers. Of course I was thrilled to be approved for it, and instead of waiting until April to read it, I tore into it as soon as I finished a book.

I didn’t realize how much I had missed these characters until I started reading, and it didn’t take me long to remember why I had loved these books as a child. Cabot continues to tell Mia’s story, although now there are “grown up” themes in the story. Other than marriage and her simply being a princess, there are references to sex, alcohol and other adult themes, so if you are expecting this book to still be be cute, awkward, and even naive Mia, you will be sorely disappointed. She still is cute, awkward Mia, but she’s also an adult now.

Ahhhh, Michael, I still love you. Michael is still very grounded despite having a princess as a girlfriend. They’ve been going out for so long, I was worried that things between them would feel stale and old. Nope! They are just as cute and adorable as ever. He’s supportive of her, and all she has to do, and she supports him in his endeavors. They really do have a perfect relationship. Well as perfect as it can be when they are frequently surrounded by bodyguards.

I had really missed Lily too. She had reminded me so much of myself all those years ago. She still reminded me of myself even though she had taken the path that I had walked away from. I loved how she was still Mia’s best friend. Sometimes things can get a little murky when a woman is dating the brother of her best friend. Not with Lily, Michael or Mia though, thank goodness.

My only issue was that the title was ill fitting for what actually happened in the book. We don’t even really get to see the wedding, which really annoyed me. We got to see the engagement and bits and pieces of the planning process, but most of the book was focused on the royal secret that Mia’s father has been keeping from her and the rest of the family for years.

So not actually getting to see the wedding was the only reason that I am giving this book 4 stars. It was such a fun book, but I think it was weakened by the wedding ceremony not even appearing in the story.

Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin

Book Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Published Date: October 23rd, 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers

Genre: YA Mystery

Series: Book Two in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer trilogy

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.
They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.
She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

Disclaimer: Library book.

Review:

Holy crap, what an opening for this book. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what was going on at the end of the last book, but this one opened with a bang. We learned some things about Mara’s grandmother that we weren’t expecting and that Mara, herself never knew about.

We also delve into the differences between Mara’s family and Noah’s dysfunctional family. Noah’s father is cold and distant and his stepmother tries to be there for him, but it doesn’t really work out like that. Noah is very loyal to his sister, Katie, she’s the only one to not let him down. He’s clearly envious of the fact that Mara’s family loves her and supports her throughout this messed up time in her life.

Mara starts to have issues with sleepwalking, all the way to the point where she doesn’t remember throwing things away. She’ll wake up the next morning and have no memory of the things she did the night before.

The concept of genetic memory is broached which I loved hearing about. I found that idea to be so fascinating. I loved that Noah brought it up. It was supposed to be a connection between Mara and her grandmother, and given how it unfolded, I liked it a lot.

Noah pushes her to put down her defenses and actually wanting him first, instead of having him always being the aggressor. She struggles with the fear that she’ll hurt him, but he wants her to trust him, he wants her to fight against her fear. He is in love with her and she is in love with him. There is a lot of fear and distrust between them, but not in the way most people would think.

“This was the boy I loved. A little bit messy. A little bit ruined. A beautiful disaster. Just like me.”

Near the end, we start to get some of our questions answered. Questions about Jude, Stella, Jamie and Phoebe, among others. The ending was absolutely bat-crap crazy. Even crazier than the first book. I loooooved this book, it was an improvement over the first book, although I was crazy about the first book too, but this book was a crazy-awesome roller coaster ride. 5 stars to this book. ALL THE STARS!!

Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters (The Secret Diamond Sisters #1) by Michelle Madow

Book Title: The Secret Diamond Sisters

Author: Michelle Madow

Published Date: February 25th, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Series: Book One in The Secret Diamond Sisters series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Savannah. Courtney. Peyton. 

The three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break. But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip’s most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their past.

Disclaimer: Library book.

Review:

I really really needed to read something fluffy after my last read and I had just rechecked this book out from the library. I really wanted to give this series a shot as the author, Michelle Madow is an absolute sweetheart. 

It was interesting at first to see how these girls reacted about being plucked from their poverty and being thrown into riches and glamour and excitement almost overnight. They never knew their father was a billionare Las Vegas hotel owner. I gotta be honest, I envied that. I had often wished that my biological father, who I never knew, was a billionaire.

I had never been to Las Vegas, but I was still able to picture it perfectly in my imagination. Madow described Las Vegas in a way that I could not only picture it, but imagine myself in it and that right there, is pretty darn awesome. So kudos to Madow for describing Las Vegas so vividly.

Now of the girls, Courtney was my favorite. She really seemed to have her head on straight, and she wasn’t overly distracted by boys and clothes like so many other teenage girls are. With that said though, Peyton is very similar to how I am. Like Peyton, I am outspoken, a night owl, a coffee nut and several other things. It actually felt like I was Peyton a couple of times so that was a wee bit disconcerting. Now Savannah is the least like me. We are complete opposites in basically everything.

I wasn’t into the romances all that much, I thought it added another layer to a confusing summer. An unneeded layer which to be honest bugged me a bit. I did like their soon to be stepbrother, but as a stepbrother, not as a love interest.

I desperately wanted more interaction between the girls and their dad and it bothered me a lot that he didn’t seem to be able to carve out any time for them. I really hope we see more of him in Diamonds in the Rough, because I think there’s a lot he’s not telling the girls and I cannot wait to see what that is. 

I am going to give this book 3.5 stars. It teetered more on the side of enjoying it than on the side of indifference and I am curious enough to continue reading the series.

Review: The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) by Marie Lu

Book Title: The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu

Published Date: October 7th, 2014

Publisher: Putnam Books For Young Readers

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: Book 1 in The Young Elites series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Disclaimer: Library book.

Review:

It was no secret that this book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2014. I hadn’t read Lu’s previous work, but this one sounded so good and I was so excited for it. It was described to me as a dark fantasy and that it would cause me pain, but that I would enjoy it.

My blogging friends were right on the money. I loved this book, and especially Adelina. The role of “evil” character is usually reserved for the man in the story, so I loved that in this story Adelina was the one who was “evil” and instead of being sweet and demure, she was passion and anger filled. Awesome-sauce.

It took me a long time to warm up to Violetta, I was actually angry with her for not defending her sister against their abusive father. We later found out more about her which definitely changed my opinion of her. I still don’t love her, but I’m warming up to her definitely.

For a little while there I was convinced that this story was going to include a love triangle between Enzo and Raffaele and Adelina, thankfully I turned out to be wrong. I adored Raffaele though and he did remind me a lot of Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games trilogy. Finnick was another character I adored. The light romance was beautiful, and I was glad that not much emphasis was put on the romance. I think any more romance would have made me not love the book.

The world building was utterly glorious, it was so vivid an I could totally picture it in my mind’s eye. It was beautifully described and it made me want to jump into the book and live in it. It’s been a long time since a Fantasy book has made me feel like this. Good world building always makes me happy and this world building was beautiful so kudos to Lu for creating this world.

5 stars to this fantasy novel that has the power to turn into an epic series and I think it will do just that. I now need to go pick up Lu’s previous trilogy from the library because her writing is so fabulous.

Review: The Fine Art of Pretending (The Fine Art of Pretending #1) by Rachel Harris

Book Title: The Fine Art of Pretending

Author: Rachel Harris

Published Date: September 30th, 2014

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Series: Book one in The Fine Art of Pretending series.

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you’re friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date—Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.

With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from “funny friend” to “tempting vixen” is only a matter of time.

But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable “break up” leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Spencer Hill Contemporary via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

Okay, so by now you guys should know that I generally don’t do light and fluffy. Light and fluffy normally bores me and I usually need depth to really enjoy the story. However, I had seen this cover awhile back and I fell in love with the cover. So when I saw it up on NetGalley, I decided to give it a shot, hoping desperately that I wouldn’t be disappointed.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. One of the biggest predictors of whether or not I’ll like a book is how the character development is. If it’s strong and I see a great character arc with tons of growth and I know what makes these characters tick, I’ll like the book. Unfortunately, with this book, the lackuster character development, particularly for Aly, was what ruined the book for me.

I think Gabi had the right idea here. She was the only sensible girl who insisted on questioning Aly’s reasons for doing it. Gabi knew that changing your whole look just so guys will see you in a different light was insane. Yet Aly had been so sick of watching the boys pass her over for some other hottie, that Gabi’s words didn’t sink in like they should have.

Look, I’m not hating on Aly. Really, I’m not. I remember how it felt in high school to have all the boys see you as just a friend. It was incredibly hard and it does do a number on your self esteem when you see all the hot girls having dates constantly and no guy will even look your way. It sucks. I think it was just hard for me to relate to her as I would have never changed myself for a guy. When I was in high school (10+ years ago) I was definitely a tomboy and boys generally didn’t look my way. Was it hard? Yes, of course it was, but it never occurred to me to change myself just so boys would like me.

I never really felt “it” between Aly and Brandon. They didn’t sizzle off my Kindle like I was hoping they would. In romance books, chemistry is key and I just never felt like Aly and Brandon really had chemistry. I did like the tension between them, but I definitely felt like the chemistry was lacking between the two of them. Now friendship chemistry was absolutely there and I felt like they would have made better friends than romantic partners.

All in all, this book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t one I enjoyed either. I’m pretty indifferent to it actually, which really bums me out. The lackluster character development and the romantic chemistry were both major disappointments to me. For these reasons, I have to give the book 3 stars. I would recommend this book to a younger reader. I think the tone of this book is for a younger reader. I was never able to connect with it.

Review: Behind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1) by Dahlia Adler

Book Title: Behind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Published Date: June 24th, 2014

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Genre: YA Contemporary

Series: Book 1 in Daylight Falls

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Spencer Hill Press via Edelweiss.

Review:

I was really excited about this book despite the fact that it isn’t normally my cup of tea. I am definitely a sucker for good friendship stories and that’s what Behind the Scenes gave me. Ally and Vanessa’s friendship was solid and it was an equal friendship. Vanessa is talented and she is set to be one of the stars of the new show Daylight Falls. Yet, she is careful not to flaunt her success in front of Ally.

Ally’s going through her own problems. Her father is in the hospital, fighting Stage IV skin cancer. Doctors are saying that he doesn’t have much time left so Ally spends a lot of time in the hospital with him. Her family is very close and supportive of one another. Ally has been planning to attend Columbia, but now that her father’s medical bills are eating up the college fund. So Ally wonders just how she is going to be able to go to Columbia when all this is going on in her family.

That’s where Vanessa sweeps in and hires Ally as her assistant so that Ally can go to Columbia like she’s dreamed of. It’s here where Ally met Liam. Ally tried her hardest to ignore Liam. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with a guy who makes a living as an actor. What she doesn’t know is that Liam has his own demons.

When Ally begins to talk to Liam, she learns that he has gone through absolute hell. His mother died from cancer when he was 8 and he was whisked off to his father’s house. He didn’t know his father at all and things between his father and him never improve.

“Sick as it was, there was something oddly nice about being able to talk cancer with someone who already knew the terminology.” -Ally-

I totally understood that as I have often said the same thing about my own health problems. It is definitely really nice to be able to talk about my heart problems with others who have experience with it. That means I don’t have to stop and explain everything that I’m talking about, which sometimes drives me batty. I could tell Ally really needed someone who knew about cancer to talk to them about it.

It wasn’t just the cancer thing that brought Ally and Liam together. They have great chemistry even as friends. Liam desperately wants to prove to Ally that he’s not a total douchebag and Ally wants to believe that he’s not like every other actor on the planet. But as things begin to deepen between them, Ally starts to wonder if she can really deal with being the secret girlfriend to an actor. She starts to think that maybe she’s not cut out for this. Maybe she’s not okay with seeing him “date” Vanessa.

“I just wanted to be enough” -Ally-

That line pretty much broke my heart. Ally’s best friend is a beautiful actress and her boyfriend is a very attractive guy. Ally lives in the real world. The world of high school and homework and prom, and sick dads and money problems. She doesn’t feel like she’s good enough for Liam. She doesn’t feel pretty enough, she doesn’t feel sexy enough. Not feeling good enough is definitely a high school thing so I was happy to see Adler put this in the book as I felt like Ally didn’t feel good enough for Liam for the longest time.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. More than I expected to. I am definitely excited to see what happens next. It was a book that combined friendship, family and love and those seem to be my favorite books regardless of the setting. 4 stars to this book and I’m excited for Vanessa’s story next.