romance

Crash and Bang by Lisa McMann

Somehow, Crash came out a while back without me knowing… I’ve had Lisa McMann on my radar since I read her Wake trilogy a few years ago, which is excellent. So, I was surprised when I received an Advance Reader’s Copy of Bang, which is her upcoming sequel to Crash, because I didn’t even realize Crash existed.I know, this is a problem only in the book nerd world to which I belong.
Anyway, I couldn’t dive into the ARC of Bang without reading Crash first, so I got my hands on a copy of it yesterday. And I read it last night. Couldn’t sleep until I had it finished. It was really, really good.
And then, of course, I devoured Bang as soon as I woke up this morning, and it’s good. Just as good as Crash, if not better.
I have two favorite things about Lisa McMann’s writing. One, her characters are so well-written that they feel like real people. I take a break from reading to do something else that needs to be done, and it’s like I’m shocked when I put the book down and the character isn’t really there. It’s unnerving in the very best way. Two, she does paranormal in a way that makes it kind of normal. Like, it’s not some weird witches and vampires crap. It’s normal people, with normal lives, in normal settings… but something happens to them that is paranormal. This is also unnerving in the very best way – it makes you feel like it could happen to you any moment. It’s great.
I highly recommend Crash, as well as her Wake trilogy, for high school and up. There’s some language and sexually-charged intense moments, but nothing over the top, really. I wish the language were tamer. Bang, which I also highly recommend, will be out in October 2013. I’m hoping to feature it on She Reads closer to its release date. For now, though, enjoy the titles that are already out!

Dessen’s Latest… Not Her Best.

I’ll start by saying that I’m generally a fan of Dessen’s, and several over her titles have made their way to my Goodreads “favorites” shelf. See my previous write up for The Truth About Forever.

One thing I love about many of her books is the summery beachiness and good, clean, fun teenage romance. Many of her books take place in a fictional (though clearly Carolina) beach town called Colby. Seeing so many of the characters and stores and landmarks show up again and again is cool, but there were so many references to Colby residents from previous books that I feel like I need a Colby directory because I couldn’t remember everything.

I didn’t feel like The Moon and More was full of her best characters, either. I found Theo completely unlikable and thus super annoying, which hindered my ability to connect with Emaline when she didn’t agree. I did really enjoy the family relationships between Emaline and her mom, sisters, and Benji, but then I wanted to throw something at her over Luke (who I really did like, because who doesn’t like a shirtless beach house pool boy?). 

I mean, it was good as Dessen always is, but not my favorite of hers by a long shot.

The Moon and More

How did I not know that local Target stores had signed copies of Sarah Dessen’s new release, The Moon and More?! Needless to say, I snatched one up when I saw it this morning. I can’t wait to read it!

Colleen Hoover, I’m a FAN.

Words really can’t express how much I love these books. And the fact that I don’t have a copy of the third and final related book, This Girl, right now is just killing me.

I’ll confess that I’ve loved the whole idea of performance poetry ever since Mike Meyers’ role in So I Married An Axe Murderer. I don’t know if Colleen ever imagined her beautifully written books being written about in the same blog post as the cheesy Meyers’ role, but I’m going for it.

Anyway, performance poetry is just COOL in a way that I feel like I’ll never be cool enough to perform it. And it’s powerful. To listen to and watch someone perform a poem is a really wonderfully moving experience.

So, when I read the little synopsis for Slammed and realized it involved slam poetry AND an incredibly hot, magnetic romance, I absolutely had to read it. And then I absolutely had to read Point of Retreat. And now I absolutely have to read This Girl, which just came out recently.

You totally don’t have to be an existing fan of slam poetry to read these books, but I do think you’ll gain an appreciation of its power to convey emotion and deliver a message emphatically through the poems that are artfully woven throughout the books. And it’ll probably make you want to find a slam poetry night in your city and go watch. I know I do.

But enough about the poetry – Hoover’s characters and the way they interact with each other are great. The instant connection and ensuing romance between Will and Layken is SO ADDICTING. The life situations they find themselves in, together with the other characters, make you root for them. They’re so right together, even though they go through more crap than any couple should have to endure.

I highly, highly, highly recommend these books (definitely upper high school and older). I love them. You should too.

Enjoy!

If Only The App Could Be Real…

So last night I stayed up really late and read The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise. I probably should have slept some more considering the fact that I had to teach today, but an intriguing premise, quirky protagonist, and swoon-worthy boy had me hooked. There was no chance I was going to sleep until I finished.

In The Boyfriend App, protagonist Audrey McCarthy is a former popular girl who’s now all techie and geeky in a way that makes you root for her to gain her self-confidence back. She’s also getting bullied by her old popular best friend, trying to figure out a way to pay for college, and still mourning the death of her father, all of which further make you want to see her succeed.

So when an app building contest is announced, with the winner receiving a $200,000 scholarship to a college of their choice as a prize, Audrey is ALL over it. She’s a super talented hacker and code-writer, and comes up with the perfect idea: an app that helps you find a match and alerts you when you’re around them. It’s cool. It takes off quickly and gets her in the running for the scholarship… until it backfires. After an accident that leads to her discovering a huge secret contained within the buyPhones sold to teenagers, she works furiously to release The Boyfriend App 2.0, which is successful. Too successful.

And, of course, all along her friendship with the techno-hottie Aidan is turning into a real, satisfying romance that adds the sweet in with the suspense of what’s going to happen with the contest, the app, and the secret Audrey accidentally uncovers during her app research. (I also must mention that Aidan’s nickname for Audrey – “Auds” – was so cute I could hardly contain myself every single time I read it.)

As I read, I was definitely captivated by the storyline, which was actually pretty exciting. I will state up front that I had a few problems with the book. One, the whole buyPhone thing is clearly actually as iPhone. I have a strange irritation with things that aren’t just outright NAMED what they obviously ARE. As Public ends up being painted in a negative light, I understand why they wouldn’t just call it Apple in the book, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying every time I have to read “buyPhone” and all the other “buy” things. Also, as much as every girl would like the power to make guys instantly desire her and kiss her, that doesn’t really make it morally correct. So that was an issue for me… though still enjoyable. Weird.

Overall, this was fun and unusual and intriguing. I recommend it (high school and up). Enjoy!

Anna and the French Kiss deleted chapter? HECK YES!!!

Seriously, words cannot describe how much I loved this book… Or how much it made me want to move to Paris.

Just this week, author Stephanie Perkins released a deleted chapter from the book on her website. It’s every bit as adorable as the rest of the book. Also, check out my previous review of Anna and the French Kiss. Enjoy!

Reached did not reach me.

Out of five stars (on Goodreads) I gave Reached by Ally Condie two. Then three. Then back to two. Here’s why:

I really, really loved Matched. It’s a great dystopian romance.

But then there was Crossed, which just made me mad because there just wasn’t enough of the romance. I wanted resolution between Cassia, Ky, and Xander. It did not deliver.

So then we get Reached, which I really hoped would be all kinds of amazing and finish up this trilogy in a satisfying way, but it was just kind of… eh. Bleh. The first 300-400 pages were all about curing a plague and continued frustrations with the whole love triangle thing. Plus, there was the Society and the Pilot and the Rising and confusion about who was who and who was good and who was bad. It was so annoying. So why did I keep reading? I honestly don’t know.

The ONLY reason that I gave this three stars instead of two is that finally, in the last 50 pages or so, I got a satisfying ending.

However, there are still so many things left hanging. All this talk of Matthew Markham in the first half of the book, which is then just ignored in the end when Ky is actually looking for his family. The tacked on voting at the end… How did we get from Society to Rising to Society/Rising to a democratic vote? I mean, it’s a nice thought to wrap the trilogy up with, but you can’t just spend hundreds of pages talking about the corruption of these governing structures and forms of civilization and then be all like, “Oh, it’s time to vote. And everyone has magically learned how to write their names.” What the heck? Everybody’s ok with that? No one tries to stop the process to remain in power? Anna actually WANTS to be in power? Doubtful. Oh, and, the whole world is going to vote just because Cassia and Ky say it will work? What about all those who blindly followed the Society, or chose the Society willingly because of the security it offered? They all just went along with what some teenagers said? Gah.

That all makes me want to go back to two stars. I am.

Good somewhat clean fun

So maybe I’m the only one who sees this puzzle on sale at Walmart for $4.00 and has to buy it, but I couldn’t resist. I can’t wait to see the faces of my husband’s family members when this gets opened in the annual white elephant gift exchange. Hahahahahahahaha :)

Catching Jordan – Miranda Kinneally

A few weeks ago, I discovered and loved Stealing Parker by Miranda Kinneally. I mean, I seriously couldn’t put it down and stayed up all night reading it.

I’m not sure why I found Stealing Parker first instead of Catching Jordan, which is actually the first in this series of connected books, but I’m kind of glad I did. I liked Catching Jordan, but I don’t know that I would have read another one of the series if I’d read it first. I know. That sounds kind of weird. I’ll try to explain. 
Jordan, the protagonist in Catching Jordan, is the quarterback of her high school football team… which means she surrounded by gorgeous football players constantly. But, they see her as a teammate and their leader, not necessarily as girlfriend material. On a certain level, I can identify with that from my own middle and high school experiences, but I struggled with really connecting to Jordan at first because she truly sounded like a football jock. Like, not just her spoken words on the football field but even in her narration of the story.
Once I got past that, though, I really enjoyed Jordan’s story and what she went through with her family, team, and romantic life. And really, it’s the kind of romance EVERY girl, jockette or not, dreams about. I also enjoyed learning more about the characters from Stealing Parker… and now I need to go back and read Stealing Parker again. :)
I’m excited for the third book connected to these Hundred Oaks books which is due to be released in March of 2013. I’d be even MORE excited if I got an ARC of it… Hahaha.You can read an excerpt of the third book here.
As with Stealing Parker, I’d recommend this for upper high school and college-aged girls. Enjoy the Hundred Oaks books! 
~Melissa

The Scent of Rain – Kristin Billerbeck

I have been reading Kristin Billerbeck’s books for years, and I always enjoy them thoroughly. Billerbeck is a Christian author, so I appreciate the clean cut content of her books, but I also appreciate that she’s able to write Christian books without having her characters be all perfect and cheesy. She captures very real characters who struggle with issues of faith and temptation and decision-making just like we ALL do. Plus, she’s a smart and witty writer, which I love. :)

In The Scent of Rain, the protagonist is Daphne Sweeten, a perfumer straight out of training in Paris who suddenly finds herself left at the altar and without her greatest asset as a perfumer – her sense of smell. Determined to get on with life and figure out what to do with herself, Daphne goes ahead and reports for her first day of work at a new company, faking her sense of smell the whole way.

Of course, she meets all new people who love and support her, deals with the heartache of being left at the altar, and even finds room in her heart to love again (because really, if she didn’t fall in love again, the book would be sucky and depressing). Daphne is a stubborn, flawed, and hard-headed protagonist that you just can’t help but love and root for.

Upper high school, college, and early career girls are probably the one’s who like this the best, though I’m not putting any age restriction on it. The content is certainly appropriate enough for middle school and relevant enough for those of us who have been out of school for longer than we’d care to admit. And if you like this one, check out Billerbeck’s other titles! Enjoy.