Showing posts with label young adult romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label young adult romance. Show all posts

Haven Review

Haven
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I almost didn't read this book because of the cover. The cover gods did not smile on Kristi Cook's debut novel. But, thankfully, she didn't need it. Bit's and pieces of this novel reminded me of different parts of other books, but it was unique in it's own way. I could see where people could see where it reminded them of Twilight, but only slightly. Or maybe Fallen. Sort of. It reminded me most of the Eternal Ones. But even so, there was a spin on that, something I've never heard of and it would seem an obstacle that would be very hard to overcome.Violet (a popular name this year) is feeling like a freak because of her visions of things that will happen in the future. Usually bad things. No one believes her. But at Winterhaven, she finds she isn't a rarity. And she begins to have friends for the first time. And a boyfriend. Who blows hot and cold. And who she starts to have visions about. And her visions are never wrong. And he tells her something terrible and she avoids him. Then one terrible night, while wandering the streets of Manhattan when she's supposed to be visiting her step mother, she finds herself in the middle of the one vision that has been haunting her since she's met Aidan. And after that, she has to believe what he's told her, what she's seen. There is no denying it.
Hope that's enough to whet your appetite. I can't tell anymore of the story without giving anything away. I will say that Violet has some friends with interesting abilities and I was glad the author explained them more fully because I didn't know what they were. Anyone well versed on astral projection? No, me either. But the author is good about explaining everything we don't understand. With some interesting new folklore on a being we know a lot about. And we get some science lessons. Yeah, I just kind of let some of the harder stuff float by. But some of it was really interesting. And where this story is leading, well, there are a couple of threads, are all incredibly interesting and like nothing I've ever read before. So, while it might tickle your mind with some memories of other books, it really is fresh and unique and the writing is easy and flows from one chapter to the next. The book is written from Violet's point of view and there is something called "The Aidan Effect" that is really funny to read in action. It's almost four hundred pages long, but it goes by fast. There is a little lag time in certain points, but it picks right back up again. You really won't notice too much.
I can't recall bad words. There was some lusting, but no actual descriptions of sex. A memory of some kind, but I don't know if it could be called sex. Lots of kissing. I'd say 13 and up would be fine to read this.

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Dead Girl Walking Review

Dead Girl Walking
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Amber has never been known for her sense of direction, but her capacity for error jumps to new heights when, after a near death experience, her soul takes a wrong turn and she ends up in the body of popular girl Leah. Desperate to get back to her own body, Amber sets in motion a series of hilarious, horrifying, and touching events as she attempts to navigate life in Leah's body while trying to reclaim her own.
Dead Girl Walking is the first in a series, though it can easily be read as a stand-alone story. The body switching routine has been done before, and while it is done well this time, what really sets this book apart is Amber. Amber is the stereotypical quirky, klutzy, not-popular-but-not-unpopular girl. Despite filling these stereotypes (which really are starting to get a little worn), Amber is impossible not to love. Her wry commentary runs throughout the book, adding levity and thoughtfulness in all the right places. She's a person I can totally see myself befriending and laughing hysterically with every time we get together.
The secondary characters were equally endearing, though not as fleshed out as Amber. While we don't really get to meet Leah, we do take an intimate tour through her dark secrets, and they are frightening. Leah's situation is awful and I found myself feeling really sorry for her. After spending so much time in Leah's life, I wish the author had given the reader some closure or idea of how Leah's life is after the main events of the story have ended. This loose end and the abrupt ending are my only complaints about the story. Despite these two minor complaints, I fully enjoyed the book and recommend it. I will be checking out the sequels.


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An American Library Association2009 Popular Paperback for Young Adults title
"DEAD GIRL WALKING is a great teen read: suspenseful, fast-paced, and loads of fun!"--K.A. Applegate, author of the ANIMORPHS series

I am so dead... Now, was I supposed to go left or right at the Light?

Seventeen-year-old Amber Borden has a lousy sense of direction—so lousy that she takes a wrong turn when returning from her near-death experience. She ends up in the body of the most popular girl in school, who has just tried to commit suicide.Can a girl who can't even navigate the halls of Halsey High discover the secrets of her new identity and find her way back to her own life?From the author of THE SEER Series.


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The Book of Luke Review

The Book of Luke
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Readers of Jenny O'Connell's first book for teens, Plan B, will have high expectations for THE BOOK OF LUKE--and they won't be disappointed!
When nice girl Emily Abbot's family moves from Chicago back to Boston in the middle of her senior year, Emily and her two best friends come up with a plan that is not so nice. It's a project for their class time capsule, but it won't be the typical scrapbook or mix CD. They'll write a handbook for guys about girls. And who better to test out their theories on than arrogant Luke Preston? Emily, the three friends decide, will be the perfect person to try it out and report back. After all, Luke would never suspect the nice little Emily he knew way back when...But Emily's not what she used to be.
Before she knows it, however, the experiment has gone horribly wrong. Wrong in that Emily finds herself falling head over heels for her experiment!
THE BOOK OF LUKE is a funny, original story guaranteed to have readers fascinated from first page to last! This fresh, honest novel is full of amazing characters and excellent writing. Jenny O'Connell is a smart, talented author; I'm really looking forward to seeing what she writes next! This is contemporary fiction at its best; readers will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

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From the bestselling author of Plan B comes a funny and touching new novel about a girl, a boy, and a notebook that could ruin everything. Emily Abbott has always been considered the Girl Most Likely to Be Nice -- but lately being nice hasn't done her any good. Her parents have decided to move the family from Chicago back to their hometown of Boston in the middle of Emily's senior year. Only Emily's first real boyfriend, Sean, is in Chicago, and so is her shot at class valedictorian and early admission to the Ivy League. What's a nice girl to do? Then Sean dumps Emily on moving day and her father announces he's staying behind in Chicago "to tie up loose ends," and Emily decides that what a nice girl needs to do is to stop being nice. She reconnects with her best friends in Boston, Josie and Lucy, only to discover that they too have been on the receiving end of some glaring Guy Don'ts. So when the girls have to come up with something to put in the senior class time capsule, they know exactly what to do. They'll create a not-so-nice reference guide for future generations of guys -- an instruction book that teaches them the right way to treat girls. But when her friends draft Emily to test out their tips on Luke Preston -- the hottest, most popular guy in school, who just broke up with Josie by email -- Emily soon finds that Luke is the trickiest of test subjects . . . and that even a nice girl like Emily has a few things to learn about love.

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Endless Summer: The Boys Next Door; Endless Summer (Simon Romantic Comedies) Review

Endless Summer: The Boys Next Door; Endless Summer (Simon Romantic Comedies)
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Taken from my blog:
Endless Summer, the recent release from Jennifer Echols, is a perfect summer treat.
Packaged in this collection is a re-release of The Boys Next Door. Endless Summer is a continuation of that book, so it's a pleasure that they are together--with a beautiful cover!
I'm not going to give away too much about the plot of the book--because it is just SO GREAT. I can't really put it into words how much I adored Lori and Adam as a couple. Lori is the kind of girl who is laid back and has always been one of the boys. She's spent so many summers with Adam and his older brother, Sean--she's never really thought of Adam as a boy to date. He was just Adam. So when they collide into love, it's spectacular. The couple has a kind of chemistry everyone searches for and the kind of passion that propels you to keep turning the pages to see where they end up. You root for their relationship when it struggles, and you sigh at the parts that make your heart flutter!
If you're looking for a book to throw into your tote to take to the beach--this is perfect! It has the summer heat, the summer boys, and the summer love.


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In Love Off-Limits, Natalie has the perfect boyfriend, or so everyone thinks. But Natalie knows she wants more. When she discovers that more equals Matt, her boyfriend's best friend, Natalie finds herself in quite the dilemma.

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Leaving Paradise Review

Leaving Paradise
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I read this book a few weeks ago and I have to tell you: I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. The story itself is simple: two people, bonded together by a tragedy, shunned by the rest of the world, who turn to each other.
The execution is anything but simple. Caleb and Maggie are both complex, real people who you in-turn, love and get infuriated at. They are people, not characters. This events are something that can actually happen, not just story. The ending is satisfying, a real ending, not a contrived, happy one. I feel like I can pick up the paper and read about an incident like this today, that's how real this story is.
Maggie's good-girl and Caleb's bad-boy personalties are an immediate catalyst for a lot of great conflict, misunderstandings and of course, excellent chemistry. I can see this becoming a movie...it has that kind of lasting visual impressions.
Maggie's hopes and dreams of leaving Paradise behind and Caleb's hopes of a "normal" life with his family, girlfriend and "the guys" are dashed quickly in the story. You realize that these people don't have anyone who understands them. Their story together is haunting and devastating and you feel your heart break for these two teenagers who have looked things in the eye that most adults would have a hard time with.
I loved the alternatiing points of view...one chapter I hated Caleb and felt so sorry for Maggie, the next chapter I HATED Kendra and felt sorry for Caleb...my emotions were in a turmoil throughout this story. Like all great books, i read this in one sitting and all I have to say is: WELL DONE Ms. Elkeles. This is not your standard fluffy HS adventure. This is what happens when HS goes wrong, leaving behind repurcussions that last a lifetime.
I read this book and Jodi Picoult's NINETEEN MINUTES around the same time. The themes are similar...when ordinary people go very wrong. I loved both...and I will not call Simone, the Jodi Picoult of YA.
Thanks for the great read Simone. I hope we see Maggie and Caleb again one day :)


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Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.
After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb's free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It's a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.


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Going Too Far Review

Going Too Far
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All Meg has ever wanted is to escape from her backwater hometown. Away from certain memories, away from her parents who seem to want to suffocate her in their dull lives...away from everything. And it looks like she's getting her wish, it's almost spring break and she's going on a trip to Miami and see the beach.
But then, Meg and a few friends end up on a bridge where, a few years ago, some kids died. They're caught by a cop, John After, who's only 19 years old and was one of the top students of his year...Meg can't imagine why he would choose to remain tied down in the tiny town and work as a cop. But John is connected, strangely, to the bridge and Meg and her friends' stunt provokes him to want to teach them a memorable lesson.
Meg is assigned to join John After during his night shifts for a week, to learn about the law and the importance of it.
Only, Meg isn't one to be complacent and she pushes to find out exactly what promoted John to remain bound to the small town that she's so determined to escape from. And he fights back, and stretches her boundaries in an attempt to figure out exactly why Meg refuses to remain in the small Alabama town that has shaped both of their lives so much.
So, this was my second Jennifer Echols novel. I'd always intended to read The Boys Next Door, but for some reason, I never got around to it. I *did* read Major Crush which was a pretty cute ro-com read. But then I read Going Too Far. It blew Major Crush away.
I'd expected Going Too Far to be good. To be great, even. I was sure that when I reviewed it, I'd tackle it like most of the other books I've reviewed. Normal and level-headed. Except this time, I have no CHOICE but to let loose and write a completely fan-girly review of Going Too Far. You've been warned.
Okay. So this book has depth. And I'm not talking the shallow pool that some YA novels are. Going Too Far is a freaking ocean. And I mean it in the best way possible.
The relationships and characters in this novel are so complex and layered. The main characters and secondary characters all seem so real. They all have their dreams, their hobbies and their insecurities. John and Meg's pasts both haunt them, every decision in the now is a reflection of certain events from before. Both have secrets that are hinted at, throughout the novel. But, it is only further in the novel that the secrets are fully revealed to the reader and the other characters. (And, of course, this fuels further conflict and further revelations and conclusions.)
The story is told in Meg's POV, and it couldn't be told any other way. Meg's voice is realistic; everything about her makes sense and stays true to her character.
Along with that, Meg's easy to relate with and feel for, despite her not being like the average teenager. When she hurts, you cringe. When she's happy, you smile. In that aspect, reading Going Too Far is like a (fun) roller coaster.
Similarly, John is well-rounded as well. His secret, his driving motivation in life and everything..really, are questioned by Meg in this novel. The way he handles his life, his job and the way he is, makes it easy to feel for him as well.
And when you put the two characters together? It's completely believable to have them get each other. To have them fall in love, even. There are so many books where relationships are handled shabbily; the girl and the guy meet, think the other is hot and decide, at the end of the book, that they should go out. It's not like this at all in Going Too Far. In the span of the week that the book takes place over, it's easy to see their relationship build as you read page after page.
Overall, Going Too Far is an intense, touching and believable story of love, loss and friendship that will resonate with you for a long time after you've closed the book.
Honestly, this is one that deserves a spot on your bookshelf. Make sure you pick up a copy!
Reader Rabbit
readerrabbit.blogspot.com

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HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO? All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back. John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

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Forget You Review

Forget You
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I've been struggling with this review for a while, and it's all thanks to my mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed parts of it, like the character of Doug and the girl torn between two boys, though I had some problems with Zoey. I just couldn't seem to like her, and I thought the way she treated both Brandon and Doug made next to no sense. She wasn't in any way written badly, in fact that's Echols' extremely strong point: she's a fantastic writer. I just felt that, in this case, Forget You was lacking something.
As I've previously mentioned many times, Echols is a great talent in YA. Going Too Far and The Boys Next Door are both brilliant examples of fiction for teens, and her boys always stand out from the crowd. Forget You's Doug is no exception; I loved him. Echols also isn't afraid to write a steamy scene or two, and when I say steamy, I mean steamy. Page 211 (in the ARC) is like the hottest scene in YA, and just has to be mentioned. I'm not saying I went back and read it a few times or anything... *cough*. Though I know for a fact I'm not the only one!
The one thing that really irked me about Zoey was why she even bothered with Brandon at all. To put it nicely, he was a complete idiot. I get that she couldn't remember the whole night, but surely she could have figured out who was the good guy and who wasn't worth a second thought?! Zoey is my least favourite of Echols' female protagonists, though I did like her more towards the end of the book.
Echols gets teenagers, and she writes them as if her own teenage years are a not-so-distant memory. She gets the drama of relationships and big decisions, and for that reason alone I will read everything she ever writes. Although I don't think Forget You is up there with her best books, Echols has more than proved that she's here for the long haul, and I look forward to whatever she comes up with next.

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WHY CAN'T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER? There's a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey's fear that the whole town will find out about her mom's nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she's the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there's one thing she can't remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

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Love Story Review

Love Story
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Love Story is my first Jennifer Echols' book and I was not disappointed. Love Story was creative, unique, and full of funny moments. I loved the premise of this novel, that Erin and Hunter used their creative writing class assignments to send heated messages back and forth to each other. Learning their backstory along the way only added to the richness of the tale.
I enjoyed Erin as a lead female. She was smart, and had her mind set on what she wanted to be. Although she had came from money, she was determined to work as hard as possible to get to her goal, even if that meant eating nothing but peanut butter crackers to do it. Hunter was a frustratingly fantastic lead male. One second you want Erin to smack him and the next you want her to kiss him senseless, which makes for a fun romance!
My only problem with this book, and the reason it was a 4 star instead of a 5 star for me, was that I desperately wanted another chapter at the end. I just felt like I didn't get enough closure with the storyline, or the romance, or the family dynamic that I was already so invested in. I think even one more chapter could have wrapped this up better for me, but it just wasn't there.
Overall, Love Story was exactly what it's title tells us it will be, but it is a fantastic one! This is a light-hearted and funny love story for the romantic in all of us! I enjoyed being swept away with Erin and Hunter and if you like funny or romance I think you will too.

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SHE'S WRITING ABOUT HIM. HE'S WRITING ABOUT HER. AND EVERYBODY IS READING BETWEEN THE LINES. For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions—it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment? Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

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