Review: Wesley James Ruined My Life by Jennifer Honeybourn + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everybody! Today is my stop on the blog tour for WESLEY JAMES RUINED MY LIFE by Jennifer Honeybourn hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below you'll find my full review of the book, the purchase links, as well the author's social media links, a link to check out the rest of the blog tour and finally, the GIVEAWAY. I hope you all enjoy this one, folks!

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Add It To Goodreads!

Rating: PG

Genre: Contemporary

Score: ❤❤❤ 1/2

Page Count: 256

Stand Alone

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Published: July 18th, 2017

Sixteen-year-old Quinn Hardwick’s having a rough summer. Her beloved grandmother has been put into a home, her dad’s gambling addiction has flared back up and now her worst enemy is back in town: Wesley James, former childhood friend—until he ruined her life, that is.

So when Wesley is hired to work with her at Tudor Tymes, a medieval England themed restaurant, the last thing Quinn’s going to do is forgive and forget. She’s determined to remove him from her life and even the score all at once—by getting him fired.

But getting rid of Wesley isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. When Quinn finds herself falling for him, she has to decide what she wants more: to get even, or to just get over it

Review:

PROS:

Source

1. First off, I took a liking to the cute little cover this book has and since it's summer time and the season of contemporary romance reads, I thought this would be a good book to add to my summertime TBR. As if I need to make that list any longer than it already is at this point. Anyhoo, I thought the synopsis sounded pretty cute and lighthearted so I took a shot. I mean, who doesn't love a book with a medieval restaurant and a food truck, am I right? Here are my thoughts: 

2. The book ended up being super cute, and funny at times. It is a super quick read so if you want something to keep you entertained that doesn't take up too much of your valuable reading time, I'd suggest picking this one up as it's cute, fun, lighthearted and a little bubbly. It was a breeze to get through and the humorous tone of the story is present from beginning to end, making it a great summer read.

3. I also liked that the book mentions other issues going on in Quinn's life, not just having the story focus on the love-to-hate relationship she and Wesley have going on through most of the book. Quinn's grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer's which Quinn isn't taking so well as she was so close with her grandmother, as was Wesley but she chooses not to tell him about her current condition and the fact that she's now in a home. Quinn's father is also a gambler who is jobless and often takes advantage of people, including her, his own daughter.  Quinn has been having a hard time dealing with all of this, especially since she believes that Wesley was the reason it all happened, the source of all her problems. It was entertaining to see how Quinn chooses to punish Wesley for ruining her life in various ways, such as trying to get him fired from his job.

Source

CONS:

1. While I liked this book, as it was fun and quirky and cute, it didn't do much for me. The lack of swoon made me feel like this book fell a little flat for me as I wasn't really invested in the romance between Quinn and Wesley. There was also little-to-no transition from Quinn hating his guts to her falling in love with him. It felt rushed and sudden like a snap of the fingers. Personally, I like a slow simmering romance, the build-up, the angst even just a touch of it. This one though? Didn't have really any of that. I also thought the ending was too rushed and would have preferred another two or three chapter for the story to take its time to wrap things up in a cute little bow. 

2. I also liked the characters enough. I felt Quinn's character was overshadowed by the fact that she was so keen and determined to get revenge on Wesley that I didn't really get to know her as a character, even though at some points I did think she was funny and feisty. Wesley didn't really get much character development either which is too bad because I found him to be a quirky character and would've loved to have seen more development, interaction, and more time for the romance to build-up. They had a cute and subtle chemistry, but I needed just a touch more to really get me invested.

Overall, it was cute, quick, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary reads that aren't too dramatic but choose to take a simpler route with straightforward characters and fun, entertaining antics.  

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

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About The Author:

Jennifer Honeybourn works in corporate communications in Vancouver, British Columbia. She’s a fan of British accents, Broadway musicals, and epic, happily-ever-after love stories. If she could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, she’d have high tea with Walt Disney, JK Rowling, and her nana. She lives with her husband, daughter and cat in a house filled with books. Wesley James Ruined My Life is her first novel. 

Author Links:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

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Review: Internet Famous by Danika Stone + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! Today is my stop on the blog tour for INTERNET FAMOUS by Danika Stone hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. 

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my full review of the novel, the author links, full tour schedule, purchase links for the book should you fancy buying yourself a copy and, finally, A GIVEAWAY! Cue confetti cannons! Read on, bookworms!

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Add It On Goodreads!

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Young Adult

Score: 3 1/2 stars

Page Count: 320

Stand Alone

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Published: June 6th, 2017

High school senior and internet sensation Madison Nakama seems to have it all: a happy family, good grades, and a massive online following for her pop-culture blog. But when her mother suddenly abandons the family, Madi finds herself struggling to keep up with all of her commitments.

Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.

Review:

PROS:

Source

1. When I first stumbled upon this book, I couldn't but think it sounded like probably one of the cutest books ever. Because who doesn't love a book about the one thing that makes this world go round, the internet? This book practically had my name written all over it with the main character running a BLOG and FANGIRLING and the mention of all things interwebs such as vlogging, social media, and the fun and not-so-pretty moments of it all that make internet drama that much more interesting. So, obviously, I was able to snag a spot on the blog tour and was able to read this book only to be left with somewhat mixed feelings. Here's the review: 

2. I thought the premise of the story was pretty cute. It matches the cover perfectly if you ask me. Madi loves her blog more than a lot of things as it provides her an escape from her real life into the beautiful world of fiction in the form of pop-culture entertainment, mainly films such as 80's movies as she blogs about her thoughts on them. She has quite a huge following and with that following comes another set of drama and stress that cause Madi to have to fight yet another world-shattering battle: Internet trolls. I loved getting to see the real life and internet life of our main character as she struggles to keep both as separate as possible. Her life is anything but quiet and calm as her sister (who is autistic) needs Madi's constant watching over to make sure her sister's routine goes UNINTERRUPTED to avoid a freak out, her parents pretty much leaving Madi to "deal" with her sister on her own and also manage to keep up her school grades, getting ready to graduate, apply to colleges, figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, etc. Basically, the cute premise is only the surface of the story but quickly dives into deeper topics which I appreciated.

Source

3. The book is cute overall, maybe a little cheesy or corny at some points but it killed it with all the 80's movie references and funny dialogue between characters. I was also a big of the layout of the book as it includes snippets of emails, text messages, Tumblr posts, even memes and pictures which was a great addition as the book kind of revolves around social media and pop-culture. It isn't a YA novel about the internet without a meme, am I right? Madi's blog posts were also fun to read and it made me wish that MadLibs was an actual blog as I was really entertained by Madi's choice of phrasing, internet humor and quirky commentary about whatever movie she watched and either enjoyed or wasn't a fan of. It's a book I found to be very current and familiar as I'm a blogger myself and I think that other bloggers, whether book, pop-culture or geeky bloggers alike would really enjoy this book. 

CONS:

1. Even though I was a fan for most of the book, there were times when I was either really annoyed or kind of frustrated while reading. I thought Madi was a nice character and handled stress somewhat well but at times, especially in the beginning of the book, she tended to overreact big time and fly off the handle a bit before thinking about the situation first. At times, she acted immature for her age and her freakouts got a little bit annoying as she overreacted (in my opinion) to her internet trolls giving her a hard time. 

2. Madi also seemed a bit harsh towards her sister Sarah who is autistic and therefore can't help it when she gets incredibly upset. Madi tended to get frustrated easily with Sarah (which I know is a realistic response from people who take care of kids with special needs) but I just felt like Madi blamed her sister a little without feeling guilty about it. Madi tried her best to take care of her sister as best she could since her parents were little to no help and she is young, has been watching over Sarah her entire life and I understand why she would get frustrated and upset at times. She needed help but I was a little wary about how she talked to or treated her sister. 

3. The romance was cute and cheesy as you'd expect from a quick and fluffy read such as this one but the love interest, Laurent, was just a little too overdone. Describing him as a "super-hot anime character come to life" was an instant turn-off for me. Add on the fact that Madi also described him as super-hot and perfect every other page was a little annoying. He was built up seemingly to have no flaws whatsoever and played more of a Superman role in the book than a love-interest, constantly having to "save" Madi from her freak outs. I think it the dramatics had been toned down a notch or two, I would have enjoyed their relationship a bit more than I did. 

Overall, this book was a cute and quick read and I did enjoy it. Would I reread it? Maybe. But not anytime soon. I would still recommend this book to people who maybe like a little more drama to their cute and fluffy contemporary novels and of course, all the pop-culture references to make your little geeky heart happy.

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Kobo

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About The Author

Danika Stone is an author, artist, and educator who discovered a passion for writing fiction while in the throes of her Master's thesis. A self-declared bibliophile, Danika now writes novels for both teens (All the Feels and Internet Famous) adults (Edge of Wild and Intaglio). When not writing, Danika can be found hiking in the Rockies, planning grand adventures, and spending far too much time online. She lives with her husband, three sons, and a houseful of imaginary characters in a windy corner of Alberta, Canada. 

Author Links:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Pinterest

Facebook

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ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY:
•1 paperback copy of INTERNET FAMOUS by Danika Stone
•U.S., Canada, UK ONLY
•Giveaway Runs Through 6/21

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Review: Just A Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! I'm really excited to bring you guys my stop on the blog tour for JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY by Kim Turrisi hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Also, a HUGE thanks to Kids Can Press for sending me a review copy!

I was sent a physical copy of this book in exhcange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my full review of this novel, the purchase links should you fancy buying a copy, the author's links, tour link and finally, a GIVEAWAY! Please enjoy!

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Add It To Goodreads!

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Young Adult

Score: ❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 256

Stand Alone

Publisher: Kids Can Press

Published: May 2nd, 2017

It's just a normal Tuesday for sixteen-year-old Kai, until suddenly it's anything but. She's received a letter from her beloved older sister, Jen, a letter that begins, My very bestest sister, Kai, if you are reading this, I am already gone. From that moment on, Kai's life will never be the same, as she is forced to deal with the shock and horror of losing Jen to suicide. 

Consumed with grief, Kai looks for answers, lashes out at people who love her and eventually turns to excessive drinking and drugs, all with disastrous results and no relief from her suffering. Struggling with their own sorrow, Kai's parents realize she needs more help than they can give, and they enroll her in the Tree House, a "grief camp" for children. Though reluctant to go, once she's there, Kai finally finds others who truly understand her loss. No longer alone, she's able to begin dealing with her pain. And to see light at the end of the dark tunnel. 

Kim Turrisi's beautiful, wrenching young-adult novel sheds a much-needed light on the subjects of mental illness and suicide. Using the unique idea of a grief camp, Turrisi lays out a process for healing and moving forward for readers who have been touched by loss. But this book's appeal reaches beyond that. With combined elements of tragedy and romance, compellingly told in Kai's authentic voice, this ultimately hopeful story will be an unputdownable read for any teen.

Review:

PROS:

1. I was so super happy when I got a spot on the blog tour for this book because I just LOVE my mental health reads. I've said before that they're my favorite kind of books to read even though most of them are pretty heartbreaking. I love reading about mental health because it is such an important topic that affects so many people and it isn't talked about enough in YA literature. So when I found this novel, I just knew I had to try getting a chance to review. And I did! Here's my review:

2. First off, the book starts off raw and doesn't let up. The story opens up with Kai having a normal day at school and coming home to find her sister's suicide note, or letter rather, and her world comes crashing down in an instant. One of the things I liked about Kai's character was that she reacted in anger. There is no right or wrong way to mourn but I've noticed that mainly sadness and depression set in when a main character experiences a loss in the books I've read thus far about suicide or grief. Kai, however, chooses to let her anger take over and instead of turning to professionals for help or even her own parents, she turns to alcohol and drugs, blame and anger to help her cope. Kai wants someone to blame and be mad at for her sister's suicide and she's constantly pointing her finger at someone new, including herself and her sister. I liked seeing this new reaction to grief as some people do use anger to help mourn the loss of a loved one. Kai was drowning in grief and used her anger to disguise how heartbroken she was, almost doing some serious damage to herself before she's able to get help at a grief camp.

3. Kai has to learn throughout the book that sometimes, you just don't get to have the answers you're looking for. She soon realizes that she truly isn't alone in her loss, that it's okay to be mad about what happened and suicide causes a domino effect, hurting more people than just a couple. I loved that the book portrays Kai's journey through grief in such a real and raw way. We get to see how Kai thinks, justifies her actions and emotions even when she herself can't seem to justify them enough for her own liking. The writing paints a beautifully painful picture of how suicide is a hard thing to accept let alone admit to yourself that it happened and there's no changing things. Kai has to come to the harsh reality: the past is the past and there's nowhere left to go but forward.


4. This book really was heartbreaking and I'd suggest having a box of tissues with you if you choose to read this one, which I HIGHLY suggest you do. Even though it's short and a quick read, it holds a lot within its pages that's totally worth reading. The reason I didn't give this book a five-star rating is because while I enjoyed the book a lot, I couldn't help but feel the book got a little tropey towards the end when the romance really comes into play. At first, it was subtle but towards the end of things, it took too big of a role for my personal liking in these kinds of stories. If the romance hadn't felt too much like a trope, I would've totally given this book a full five stars.

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

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About The Author:

A graduate of Florida State University, Kim Turrisi began her career in film and television. After a year of on-set production (getting coffee, wrangling actors and taking lunch orders) Kim segued to the development side of the business. First working as a development executive at Columbia-Tri- Star and eventually shepherding many projects in family entertainment for Disney, Viacom and Hallmark.

Kim created and wrote an online web series for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She wrote for ABC Family's webisode series, PRETTY DIRTY SECRETS, an internet companion piece to smash hit PRETTY LITTLE LIARS.

While she’s always been a voracious reader and writer, she never thought about writing for teens until she immersed herself in the children’s publishing world as the Director of Special Projects for the Society of Book writers and Illustrators. There, reading children’s literature is a big part of her job.

Her debut Young Adult novel JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY is loosely based on the author's own experience, the debut YA novel follows 16-year- old Kai as she struggles through the emotional aftermath of her sister's suicide. Kai spends a month at grief camp, discovering a roadmap to piecing her broken heart back together.

One of Kim’s favorite parts of the writing process is to create playlists for her characters that she listens to when she writes. When she revises her manuscripts, she’s generally in mismatched plaid and her desk is riddled with junk food. She collects Chuck Taylor’s, Van’s, and has a killer sock collection.

Born in Hawaii, she credits her love of travel to her life as an Air Force brat moving every two years. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found obsessing over her dogs, Riley and Rocco.

Author Links:

Goodreads

Website

Twitter

Instagram

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Review: Alone In Paris by Ashley Earley + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! I'm super excited to bring you guys my stop on the blog tour for ALONE IN PARIS by Ashley Earley hosted by THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOK CLUB. I'm so happy I got the chance to read and review this novel and be a part of this blog tour so let's not dilly dally too much.

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my full review of this book, the author's links, the link to the rest of the blog tour (which you should really check out), the purcahse links for the book should you fancy buying yourself a copy, and finally, a GIVEAWAY! 

NOTE: The giveaway is taking place over on the author's Instagram page which I've linked down below.

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Add It To Goodreads!

Rating: PG

Genre: Contemporary

Score: 4.5 stars

Page Count: 310

Stand Alone

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: April 1st, 2017

Breathe, Taylor.

Taylor Clay's family isn't exactly perfect. They may look the part with the nice, big house and her dad's fancy job, but that's what's tearing them apart. That, and her dad's sudden recurring drinking problem.
Though her family is close to falling apart, she never wished for something like this to happen. She never wished for her father to drive off a bridge. Especially not while they were on vacation; especially not when her and her mom were in the car with him at the time.

Breathe.

She's devastated after the fact. And it isn't helping that the papers are gossiping about how the pristine lawyer could have driven off the bridge on purpose. And just when she thinks nothing could possibly make things worse, she realizes she's left alone with no relatives to care for her.
So she's alone. Her parents are dead. And she's stuck in the country her family was visiting for their vacation. She's alone in Paris.

Just breathe.
Then Nathan walks into the picture. Funny, snarky, persistent, and sometimes, just flat out rude, he annoys Taylor to no end. He won't leave her alone, but Taylor doesn't know whether or not she should push him away.

Review:

PROS:

1. So . . . that cover. If I hadn't known about the author for some time, the cover would've been enough to get me curious about this novel. I've actually known Ashley for a little while now as we've been Instagram buddies for almost a couple of years. I have no idea how I came across her books and writing but I've been meaning to read her other novel The Darkest Light ever since it's release. It's been collecting dust on my tablet (I tend to forget eBooks are a thing) so when the chance came to review Ashley's newest novel, I couldn't turn down the chance. I was SO EXCITED when I got a confirmation for my spot on the tour, I can't even describe it to you all in words. Having finally been able to read something written by her, I promise my review is NOT biased. Just getting that out there. Okay, here's my review: 

2. As I said, that cover. Upon actually reading the book, I was hooked from the very first page. Our main character Taylor is a girl living all alone with no friends, relatives, or anyone at all to care for her and watch over her in the way that a young girl needs to be taken care of. She's lived on her own for a little while and trusts no one with her secrets or in general. She's not sure where she's going, how or when she'll get there, but she's very closed off from people and doesn't interact with anyone if she can help it. Taylor learns throughout the book how to open up to people, learn to trust people again even if it's just one person, and that life wasn't meant to be lived alone drowning in a pain that she can only escape with someone's help. As an aspiring artist, Taylor is a shy, quiet, and observant character which made her very easy to relate to as the story progresses. Not to mention her character development was quite nice and had a good pace.

3. The story was really deep at some points and very fluffy at others but had a good balance of both. There was a constant underlying tone to the book that kept it from being too heavy or too light and for it to be such a quick, short read, I was impressed with the range of emotions and themes we get in its short pages. Trust and grief are two main themes that we see. Taylor isn't sure if she should trust anyone, let alone a stranger who seems to show too much interest in her for her own comfort and is in a constant roller coaster of grief, pain, and even suicidal thoughts as she struggles to move past the pain of losing her parents. Taylor fights a silent war inside herself and as the story pans out, we get to see her thoughts and deepest, darkest fears and worries as she wonders if her life will ever be different from the aching pain she feels every day.

4. The romance was very sweet and had a very nice development, though I would've liked a little more time for the relationship to develop to allow for just a tad bit more angst. This story is also very character driven which I loved. There wasn't much setting to the book or description of the sights, other than a mention of a few places to set the story up in Paris, France, so if you're looking for a quick read that cuts to the chase and doesn't focus too much on setting, I highly suggest this one. It had just enough set up to place the story in Paris and focused mainly on the characters which was a big reason why I enjoyed this book so much. Overall, I really loved reading this one. It was fast, sweet, heartbreaking yet funny and quirky at the same time. A perfect summer read that I think a lot of people would totally enjoy as much as I did. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

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About The Author:

Ashley Earley is a 20-year-old author that is working toward her B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she’s posting on her blog, reading, obsessing over a book character, or spending time with friends. Her obsession with books started at the age of twelve, before developing into a love for writing at the age of fourteen, when she wrote her first novel. 

Her Thriller/Suspense short story, Chasing Hair of Gold, won first place in the 2016 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards.

Author Links:

Goodreads

Website

Twitter

Tumblr

Instagram

Pinterest

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Review: The Slope Rules by Melanie Hooyenga + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hello, everybody! Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Slope Rules by Melanie Hooyenga hosted by YA Bound Book Tours and I'm really pumped to bring you guys my review for this lovely novel!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my review for the book, links to where you can purchase a copy of the book for yourself, the author's links as well the link to the rest of the blog tour and finally, the GIVEAWAY! Read on, bookworms!

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Add It To Goodreads!

Rating: 

Genre: Sports, Contemporary

Score:

Page Count: 350

Stand Alone

Publisher: Left Handed Mitten Publications

Published: February 24th, 2017

Fifteen-year old Cally accepted her fate as one of the guys, so when she meets Blake, a hot snowboarder who sees her for more than her aerials on the slopes, she falls fast and hard. But their romance can only last as long as vacation.

Or so she thinks.

A twist of fate—well, her Dad opening another brewery in a new town—lands her in Blake’s school, but the charismatic boy she fell for wants nothing to do with her, and worse, the Snow Bunnies, the popular clique, claim her as their newest recruit.

Cally must learn to be true to herself—all while landing a spot on the ski team and figuring out who she is without her old friends. And when she finds out what Blake is hiding, she learns the rules on the slopes apply to more than just skiing.

Review:

PROS:

1. I'm just going to jump right into reviewing this book because it deserves some love. The first thing I loved about this book was that it had me hooked from beginning to end. Normally, it takes a couple of chapters to really get me hooked and dedicated to whatever is happening in a novel but this one had my attention from the first page. I thought Cally was a very genuine, sweet character that didn't let people control her. She wasn't a follower even when she ends up befriending a group of popular kids in her new school. She remained true to herself while also learning to open up to people about the things she was dealing with such as first loves, friendships, grief and sadness over moving to a new town and starting over with her father and his new business.

2. The themes of Cally still mourning her mother are a nice overlay on the story itself, never feeling too heavy or depressing enough to create a stark contrast to the upbeat and fluffy feel of the book. Cally still struggles with missing her mother even after all the years that she's been gone and has to kind of figure things out for herself and learn from past memories of her mother to help her make decisions, get through the rough patches and handle new experiences.

3. This book also has a lot of drama happening within its pages so if that doesn't suit your tastes, maybe think twice about reading it just to make sure it's the right read for you. Personally, it was an entertaining sort of drama for me, the usual high school drama that deals with cliques, jealousy, and not following the status quo that social high-school life calls for. Cally is her own person and while that doesn't settle well with a couple of her new "friends", she remains focused constantly on her love and passion for snowboarding. Cally knows what she wants and isn't willing to let people stop her or get in the way of her love for the sport which I found to be a really admirable trait for her character.

4. The book is your typical fluffy-soft-cutesy high-school romance book that does get a little cheesy at times but I didn't mind it so much. It was adorable and I couldn't help but love it. The story doesn't just put all of its focus on the two love birds, however, but also shines the spotlight on building that relationship by showing how the two characters interact, support each other, talk through their darkest secrets, and learn to trust each other enough to open up. The characters were really well developed, the book had a satisfying ending and left me with all the feels, not to mention I flew through it. Just yes. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Smashwords

iBooks

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About The Author:

Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan.

When not at her day job as the Communications Director at a nonprofit, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy. 

Author Links:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

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Review: Kate Triumph by Shari Arnold

Add It To Goodreads!

Rating: PG

Genre: Fantasy

Score:

Page Count: 288

Stand Alone

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: October 14th, 2014

Normal is so overrated. At least that's what seventeen-year-old Kate Triumph tells herself everyday. But the truth is she lives in constant fear that someone will discover how not normal she really is. With her startling speed and her unusual ability to heal, Kate believes she's something of a freak.

Then Andrew Shore arrives.

He claims he's her father, sticks around for a few days and leaves her a plane ticket. “Come to Mercer Island,” he says. “Give me a chance to get to know you.” Soon Kate is floundering in a world of new: new address, new car, new high school and, of course, new father. Not to mention Zack, her intriguing new neighbor, who makes her want to abandon her steadfast rule of never allowing anyone to get too close. But when she discovers someone is trying to kill her, life for Kate gets a bit more complicated. And a lot less normal. 

Review:

PROS:

1. First off, I would like to thank The Fantastic Flying Book Club for the digital review copy! I'm just going to jump straight into this book review because I'm seriously super excited to have been able to review it for you all. No more lollygagging! Here's the review:

2. I really loved Kate's character from the beginning. She was a strong and unique character who faced her fears and reality head on without making a sob-fest out of everything. She had no time for drama or the water-works even when the situation might have warranted a tear or two and I really loved that. It kept Kate's character from coming off as too juvenile and too sensitive, which more than likely would've gotten on my nerves after a while. Because she didn't let her emotions get to her, she was able to keep a clear head and didn't linger on past mistakes and regrets. 

3. I also loved how the book's ending catches you a little by surprise. I was about halfway through the book and it felt like it would need at least another two hundred pages to flesh everything out and give a great ending versus the small 200+ pages that tells the entire story. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the book wrapped up even though the book is quite short. It was able to deliver an ending that I was very satisfied with, not leaving me with a HUGE cliffhanger but still leaving it open should the author decide to revisit the story of Kate Triumph in a sequel. 

4. The book was funny, quirky exciting, action-packed and fast-paced laced with a little bit of romance and cool fighting and car-chasing scenes that kept me entertained until the very end. For this to be the first published work from the author, I can't wait to see what else the author has up her sleeve. Based on what I've gathered after reading Kate Triumph, I'd say Shari Arnold better give me another novel ASAP. She wrote a great cast of characters that had really great chemistry, wrote a strong female lead who didn't need fancy weapons to show her strength, and provided a short yet entertaining read that I'm so happy I was able to pick up.  

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Book Depository

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About The Author:

Shari Arnold grew up in California and Utah but now resides in Connecticut, with her husband and two kids, where she finds it difficult to trust a beach without waves. She writes Young Adult fiction because it's her favorite. And occasionally she takes photographs. 

Author Links:

Blog

Goodreads

Twitter

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Review: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe

Hello, everyone! I'm very exccited to bring you guys my stop on the blog tour for The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe hosted by The Audiobookworm.

I was sent a digital audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Down below is my review of the novel, the author and narrartor's links, and links to purchase a copy of the book should you fancy buying one for yourself. Party time!

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Rating: PG-13

Genre: Mystery

Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 375

Stand Alone

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

Published: November 3rd, 2015

It's 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc could match wits with Sherlock Holmes, but in her world women are not allowed to hunt criminals. Determined to break free of the era's rigid social roles, she buys off the chaperone assigned by her domineering father and, using an alias, takes a job as a police matron with the Los Angeles Police Department. There she discovers a string of brothel murders, which the cops are covering up. Seizing her one chance to solve a crime, she takes on the investigation herself.

If the police find out, she'll get fired; if her father finds out, he'll disown her; and if her fiancé finds out, he'll cancel the wedding.

Anna must choose--either hunt the villain and risk losing her father, fiancé, and wealth, or abandon her dream and leave the killer on the loose. 

Review:

PROS:

1. There was a lot about this book that caught my interest at first and I'm not lying when I say I was sold when the synopsis mentioned Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is one of my favorite tales to read and seeing as there are so many of them, I'm always on the lookout for any other books who tip their hats to the great detective. This one being set in 1907, before women had rights to vote, ankles were NEVER visible and makeup was scandalous, only added the cherry and whipped cream on top. There were so many elements that held my interest while reading the book and I'm excited to let you all know more about it. Let's get started.

2. I adored Anna's character. She was definitely a girl who didn't like being underestimated but also used it to her advantage. She was smarter than the men and women around her thought, cunning, mischevious, and had a good strong head on her shoulders that I found to be a very powerful character trait for a female lead. She was definitely the type of young woman who could handle herself well, fight her own fights, and maybe even start a few along the way. Trouble always seemed to find Anna as she begins getting wrapped up in real-life mysteries and crimes and she handles them with wit, grace, and even a little bit of laughter and a few smiles. She was a spunky girl that kept me entertained as the story progressed and I found myself wishing that Anna was a real person, thinking she'd be a very interesting person to talk to.

3. The setting of this book was just perfect. The descriptions strewn throughout the book never let you forget the time period with their old sayings, slang, figures-of-speech, descriptions of clothing, buildings, ways of travel, trends and so much more that were relevant in the 1900's. It was all so easy to picture in your head and it makes you feel like you're actually there in Los Angeles during that time period when so much change was just beginning to unfold and take place. Anna was a girl with impossible dreams that were unachievable for women in that time so it was a perfect setting and I applaud the author for having a beautiful writing style that fit the tone of this book.

4. Anna tests the waters of social morals and values and it made for a very entertaining read. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction but this one is pretty high up on the list of my favorites. It reads very easily, especially if you choose to listen to the audiobook which the narrator does an AMAZING job at telling! Her voice was clear, smooth, and had just the right amount of energy to really bring Anna Blanc to life and made it feel as if Anna herself was telling the story. The book had a very nice pace throughout and kept the energy it had from the very first page to the very last. I think Anna is a great example that even though you're a woman living in a man's world, sometimes it takes a woman to do a man's job. 

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

Audible

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About The Author:

Jennifer has been a block layer, a nurse's aid, a fragrance model, and on the research faculty at UCLA, where she spent 11 years conducting studies to inform health policy. A native of Southern California, she now lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two teenagers. She's currently writing book three in the Anna Blanc Mystery series. Book two, THE WOMAN IN THE CAMPHOR TRUNK, is coming out in Fall of 2017 from Seventh Street Books.

Author Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Pinterest

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About The Narrator:

Moira grew up in teeny-tiny Rutland, England’s smallest county, which is fitting as she never managed to make it past five feet herself. Moira’s work spans the pantheon of the voiceover world: plays for BBC radio, plays for NPR, video games, commercials, television promos, podcasts, cartoons, movies and award winning audiobooks. She's won Multiple Audie Awards, Earphone Awards, as well as Audible's prestigious Book-of-the-Year Award. She has lately set foot in front of the camera again, appearing in “Pretty: the Series” and the Emmy-winning “Dirty Work.”

Narrator Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

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