JUST LIKE THE MOVIES: KELLY FIORE

This isn't a life-altering, earth shattering kind of book. But it is sweet, clean, and pretty adorable. It is just fun, and I like just fun books...do you?

BOOK BLURB:
Pretty and popular track star Marijke Monti is confident about almost everything – she’s got great friends, a great family, and she’s on her way to the State Track Championship. In fact, the only thing Marijke isn’t confident about is her relationship with Tommy Lawson.

Lily Spencer has spent her entire high school career preparing for the future – she’s participated in every extracurricular activity and volunteer committee she could. But, at home, she watches her mother go on date after date with dud-dudes, still searching for “the one.” Lily realizes that she’s about to graduate and still hasn’t even had a boyfriend.

While they live on each other’s periphery at school, Lily and Marijke never seemed to have much in common; but, after a coincidental meeting at the movie theater, Lily gets an idea – why can’t life be like a movie? Why can’t they set up their perfect romantic situations, just in time for their senior prom, using movie techniques?

Once the girls come up with the perfect plans, they commit themselves to being secret cohorts and, just like in the movies, drama ensues.

Read more about it HERE.

ANATOMY OF A MISFIT: ANDREA PORTES

I've been going back and forth debating on if I should put this on my blog. In the end I can't deny that I really enjoyed this and honestly once I got into it I was wishing it was much longer. At first, I was NOT digging it. The style was a little run-on-sentency (yeah, I know that is not a "real" thing), and our main girl was NOT likable. But something that I couldn't put my finger on kept me reading. Pretty soon I was just into the book. I thought it was different and interesting. And suddenly our unlikeable heroine was pretty darn likable to me.

Now, at a point close to the end I was wondering how this was all going to go down. I'm of course not going to spoil anything but I will say this: The very ending is one of the most satisfying endings I have ever read.

My one issue with this book is that Portes says at the end that she wrote a book for herself at that age. And, I'm not sure it is really appropriate for a 15 or 16 year old. The content aside (which is pretty harsh), it just had a feel of book about teens written for adults. It might be the nostalgia factor since it took place when Trapper Keepers were in, or it was just that it had a more mature writing feel; one that I am not sure a teenager would get. The things our MC says are kind of above her years in sass and cultural references, and I am sorry but I just couldn't believe she was only 15. However, she is a character that is trying to act older, and sometimes the vulnerability of her age shines through, and that is when I liked her the most. 

There is a ton of swearing with a ton of casual Lord's name in vain swearing. Lots of talk teens drinking, and sleeping around, but nothing in detail.

BOOK BLURB:

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair—the third most popular girl in school. Inside, she’s a freak: a mix of dark thoughts, diabolical plots, and, if local chatter is to be believed, vampire DNA (after all, her father is Romanian). But she keeps it under wraps to maintain her social position. One step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life hell. So when former loner Logan McDonough shows up one September hotter, smarter, and more mysterious than ever, Anika knows she can’t get involved. It would be insane to throw away her social safety for a nerd. So what if that nerd is now a black-leather-jacket-wearing dreamboat, and his loner status is clearly the result of his troubled home life? Who cares if the right girl could help him with all that, maybe even save him from it? Who needs him when Jared Kline, the bad boy every girl dreams of, is asking her on dates? Who?

Anatomy of a Misfit is Mean Girls meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Anika’s hilariously deadpan delivery will appeal to readers for its honesty and depth. The so-sad-it’s-funny high school setting will pull readers in, but when the story’s dark foreboding gradually takes over, the devastating penultimate tragedy hits like a punch to the gut. Readers will ride the highs and lows alongside funny, flawed Anika — from laughter to tears, and everything in between.

You can read more about it HERE.

ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER

So we all waited for a long time for this one and I am happy to say that in my opinion it was worth the wait. I loved this from the very first page and I LOVED returning to beautiful Paris for another year of higher education.

I loved Isla, I loved Josh, I just enjoyed this. It isn't as perfect as Anna and the French Kiss, but it was great in it's own way. It is a more mature book than both Anna and Lola content wise just to give readers a heads up. 

BOOK BLURB:

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

Read more about it HERE. 

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU: MHAIRI MCFARLANE

Yesterday I was talking with my friend Suzy about this book and I looked on Goodreads to see what I had written about it and I realized I had forgotten to review it! Do you ever do that? I'm sure I do it more than I realize, I read too much.

With this particular book, I think I forgot because I planned on sharing how much I enjoyed it on the blog, and I kept putting it off and I forgot. Well enough about my scatter brain self and now on to why I liked this book.

McFarlane's writing style is pretty specific to her. She likes to make lots of jokes that honestly distract me quite a bit. But I like her stories and honest characters so much I don't mind being a tiny big distracted. If you are a British chick-lit fan (and if you actually read my blog you should try a few if you haven't read any before), then I would read Mhairi's first book You Had Me At Hello and then if you love it then you will probably love this too.

BOOK BLURB:
The new novel from the bestselling author of You Had Me At Hello. What if the last person you wanted to see was the person you needed? After the runaway success of You Had Me At Hello, Mhairi McFarlane is back with a new cast of characters in her second book, Here's Looking At You. In essence it's an ugly duckling tale. Our heroine Aureliana returns to school after fifteen years for a reunion. School doesn't hold happy memories for her, as being a roly poly Italian (known as the Italian Galleon), and always armed with a Tupperware full of pungent Mediterranean food, she was bullied incessantly throughout her years there. Now in her 30s, Aureliana wants to put the past behind her once and for all and face up to the bullies who made her life hell. But she is much-changed from the girl she once was - all curves and because I'm worth it hair - and no one recognises her when she arrives. Losing her bottle, she backs out on her plan for revenge and slinks off, hoping never to be reminded of her years at school again. But fate gets in the way, and after the reunion her path keeps crossing with James - major hunk and Aureliana's major crush back at school. But alas, as a cronie to the bullies, Aureliana to this day believes that his beautiful exterior hides an ugly interior. As they continue to cross paths a love/hate relationship ensues until eventually something shifts, and they both start to discover what the person underneath is really like...Full of Mhairi's trademark laugh out loud humour, Here's Looking At You is a novel about facing your demons and being happy with who you really are.

You can read more about this book HERE.

WILDFLOWER: ALECIA WHITAKER

I loved Alecia's first book The Queen of Kentucky. It was adorable and sweet and one of the few younger coming of age stories that I actually liked. I wanted it to be a series because I could have read about the main character for much longer than one book. 

Because of this I was really looking forward to Wildflower, and I am very excited to realize (now that I am done reading it) that it will actually be a series. The only problem I had with this book was I thought the pacing was a bit off, but then when I realized that there was going to be more books with these characters I was ok with it, and I am excited to read them too. 

These are great, clean, sweet books.

BOOK BLURB:

The best songs come from broken hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Bird Barrett has grown up on the road, singing backup in her family's bluegrass band, and playing everywhere from Nashville, Tennesee to Nowhere, Oklahoma. One fateful night, Bird fills in for her dad by singing lead, and a scout in the audience offers her a spotlight all her own.

Soon Bird is caught up in a whirlwind of songwriting meetings, recording sessions, and music video shoots. Her first single hits the top twenty, and suddenly fans and paparazzi are around every corner. She's even caught the eye of her longtime crush, fellow roving musician Adam Dean. With Bird's star on the rise, though, tradition and ambition collide. Can Bird break out while staying true to her roots?

In a world of glamour and gold records, a young country music star finds her voice.

  

You can read more about it HERE.

THE BEST THING I NEVER HAD: ERIN LAWLESS

I love British Chick-Lit. Why is it better to me than what we have in the US? I don't know maybe I just have a secret dream of living in London. Anyway, this one is a bit confusing at first. There aren't too many characters in this book, but in my opinion way too many are introduced right away and it took me a while to get them straight. In fact I almost started a cheat sheet so I could remember who was who. Also, the writing style might throw some people off. It just skips from one moment to the next and can take a bit to get into the flow. But I dug it pretty fast and just loved it. 

Definitely a go to book if you loved Mhairi McFarlane’s You Had Me at Hello. Plus here is some good news. It is only 99 cents on Amazon! How awesome is that?!

BOOK BLURB:

Miles and Nicky are getting married. Unfortunately, their wedding party is a tangle of ex-housemates, ex-friends and ex-lovers. So this wedding isn’t just a wedding, it’s a reunion. Can anything be salvaged from the past? And what really happened between them all, back at university?

Read more about it here. Thanks NetGalley for the read.

PIVOT POINT: KASIE WEST

I don't think I would have ever read these if I hadn't loved Kasie West's contemporary book The Distance Between Us and loved it. That would have been a shame because these are really smart and totally great. 

When I finished the last page of the second book I closed my copy and said out loud: "Wow that was clever." Which I didn't think once while I was reading because I was too entertained to notice how clever and well thought out this whole story was. So on top of a great premise, the writing is fun, clever and guess what? It is completely clean for you moms that have little (or not so little) readers in your home. 

Normally I HATE alternate reality stories. In fact I just read one (or attempted to read it) and I couldn't keep the different stories straight and I hated reading a story that kept getting interrupted by the other reality. In Pivot Point, the interruption of the stories in this is a minor offense because both story lines were equally good and different enough to keep me from going crazy trying to keep them straight. 

BOOK BLURB: (For book one only because the blurb for book two contains spoilers for book one!)

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Be sure to check out Kasie's other books too. I haven't read On The Fence just yet, but I adored The Distance Between Us.  

Find out more about Kasie and her books HERE.