Book Review- The Woman in Cabin 10

I finished reading The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware earlier in the week.

From Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author of the “twisty-mystery” (Vulture) novel In a Dark, Dark Wood, comes The Woman in Cabin 10, an equally suspenseful novel from Ruth Ware—this time, set at sea.

In this tightly wound story, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

With surprising twists and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another intense read.

This is not a book I would normally pick up, but since it was for a book club I did.  And I wasn't a fan.  I didn't like the main character, Lo, at all.  I found her unreliable and I couldn't trust her.  I think I was supposed to feel sympathetic towards her because of what she went through before and on the trip, but I just didn't.  In fact, there wasn't a single character that I actually liked.

There were some good plot twists and I have to say that I didn't really see some of them coming.  So that's always a plus.  But I still had a hard time getting engaged in the story.  It didn't really get me hooked.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

*FTC Disclosure: I bought this book.

Book Review- Stealing Snow

I finished reading Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent the majority of her life within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she's not crazy and doesn't belong there. When she meets a mysterious, handsome new orderly and dreams about a strange twisted tree she realizes she must escape and figure out who she really is.

Using her trusting friend Bale as a distraction, Snow breaks free and races into the nearby woods. Suddenly, everything isn't what it seems, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur, and she finds herself in icy Algid--her true home--with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai, none of whom she's sure she can trust. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change the fate of everything...including Snow's return to the world she once knew.

This breathtaking first volume begins the story of how Snow becomes a villain, a queen, and ultimately a hero.

I've said it many times before and I'm sure I'll say it many times again...I love fairy tales.  And if there's a retelling of one, I'm going to want to read it.  Unfortunately, this retelling of the Snow Queen story just didn't do it for me.

I can't pin it exactly.  But something about the flow of the story or the plot didn't work for me.  Snow jumped from here to there and guy to guy.  And things were too convenient.  They weren't believeable at all, even in the realm of fairy tale.

Sadly, I didn't care for Snow at all.  Or any of the other characters for that matter. I mean, I didn't dislike her.  But I just didn't care about her.  And I want to care about the main character.  Or hate them.  Or feel something for them.  But nope.

Ehh...I think this is supposed to be a series, but I'm struggling with whether I'll continue on with it.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

Stealing Snow will be released on September 20, 2016.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- The Rest of Us Just Live Here

I finished reading The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness for an Around the World ARC Tour yesterday.

From Goodreads:

What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshiped by mountain lions.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.

This book felt like it was trying to be both a contemporary novel and a strange sci/fi novel combined.  And it didn't work.  The author should have just stuck with contemporary and left well enough alone.

The main story was about a group of friends graduating from high school.  They all have their own little traumas and issues.  And reading about how they worked through those would have been good enough.

But then there's this sci-fi part thrown in that makes absolutely no sense.  Something about Immortals and indie kids and glowing blue lights.  We're given a paragraph at the beginning of each chapter and then some random things that happen throughout the story.  It just didn't really work.

I liked Mikey and Henna and Mel and Jared and reading about their struggles.  But every time I read a brief snippet of the weird sci-fi thing the author lost me all over again.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here will be released on October 6, 2015.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- City Love

I finished reading City Love by Susane Colasanti for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna are living together in New York City the summer before their freshman
year of college begins. With no parents, no rules, and an entire city to explore, these three girls are on the verge of the best summer of their lives.

Sadie is a native New Yorker. She is hopeful, romantic, and an eternal optimist who is ready to find her soul mate. Then she meets her dream boy: cute, funny, and quirky in all the right ways. The chemistry between them is unreal. Could he be the one?

Darcy is a free spirit from SoCal with rebellious tendencies and unlimited financial resources. Moving to New York City is just another adventure for her. Darcy wants this summer to be all about boy adventures—nothing serious. But how much fun is too much?

Rosanna leaves Chicago for NYC so she can put her past behind her and reinvent herself. The only thing standing in her way is the grand total of seventy-three cents she has saved. Then she meets a guy who wants to show her the glamorous side of New York—a side that she would never get to experience on her own. If Rosanna doesn't resist, she may find herself in city love.

Told from alternating points of view, City Love captures the moments in each girl's life when everything is thrilling, amazing, and terrifying all at once . . . in a way it will never be again.

I hate when my feelings about a book differ from everyone else's on Goodreads.  Makes me feel like I'm missing something.  But it is what it is.  And this book just didn't do it for me.  It made me roll my eyes so many times, I lost count.  Everything was butterflies and rainbows and spreading positive energy.  Even when secrets came out that were terrible, I never got the sense that they were really that bad since everything around it was still puppies and kittens.

I felt that the book seemed really immature.  The characters were about to go into college but for some reason, to me it read like younger girls (although what they were doing wasn't young).  It just wasn't real.

The one thing I did like was the portrayal of New York City.  I've always loved everything NYC and I loved reading that aspect of the book.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

City Love will be released on April 21, 2015.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- No Place to Fall

I finished reading No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown last night for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. It’s only when Amber goes exploring in the woods near her home, singing camp songs with the hikers she meets on the Appalachian Trail, that she feels free—and when the bigger world feels just a little bit more in reach.

When Amber learns about an audition at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for the hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between “right” and “wrong,” there’s a whole world of possibilities.

Unfortunately, this book really didn't do it for me.  I'm all for the underdog.  But I don't get into drugs and partying.  I was already annoyed with the book only a few chapters in.

And I didn't think Amber was a sympathetic character at all.  In fact, I didn't find much to like about her.  She said she wanted to be different than her sister, but she's really not.  I didn't connect with her or care about her.  I think  my favorite characters were Sean or C.A.  And I didn't really feel the Will and Amber relationship.

Sadly, we can't like them all.  But lets end on a positive--I like the cover and what it stands for in the story.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

No Place to Fall will be released on December 9, 2014.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- Even in Paradise

I just finished reading Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.

Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.

But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden … until now.

Ehhh---right off the bat, the characters in the story annoyed me.  Julia got on my nerves.  She acted immature and childish and honestly, I'm not sure why anyone would by dying to be friends with her. (And really, what was with the stuffed moose??)  The only character that I liked was the little girl Cordelia.  But I don't get the fascination with the rest of the family.  They were just all screwed up.

Charlotte grew on me a little at the very end but only a little and not really enough to make up for the weakness in the rest of the book.  I kept for getting that she had a great family back home.  With the way she acted, you'd think she grew up neglected and didn't have a family.

The sad thing is that there could be a really good plot there and an emotional one at that.  But since I didn't connect with or care about any of the characters, the plot just kind of fell flat for me.  There was a predictable twist at the end that I figured out early on but it did make for a nice little "surprise."

I gave this book a rating of 2.5 out of 5 rating.

Even in Paradise will be released on October 14, 2014.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- Tales from My Closet

I finished reading Tales from My Closet by Jennifer Anne Moses on Friday.

From Goodreads:


Five girls. A paper dress. Tons of shoes. One unforgettable raincoat. White Jeans. Secrets. Drama.

For Justine, Bianca, Becka, Polly, and Anne, living in Westfield, New Jersey is "life on planet toilet paper." At least that's how Justine feels when she shows up as the new girl in school wearing a Scott Paper Caper dress. To her, it's a super-original fashion statement. But other "loser freaks" don't agree.

The other girls have their own fashion issues, ranging from fabulous boots to raggedy pajamas to what to wear to therapy. Told in alternating voices, TALES FROM MY CLOSET follows the stories of high school kids who have nothing in common--and everything in common. They're at war with each other, but through their clothes, they reveal and conceal themselves and make peace with what it means to be a teen. Over the course of a school year, their individual struggles and successes come together to tell a story that's funny, honest, and all-girl fabulous.

Friends?

This is a young teen book about 5 fashionistas and how they do or don't fit into their school.  It's a story about friendship.  It's a story about relationships and families.  And it's slightly a book about bullying. 

This is definitely geared toward the younger teen crowd.  And while it wasn't something that was entirely engaging to me, I see how it could keep the attention of a young teen.

Tales from My Closet will be released on January 28, 2014.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 58
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 35
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 47
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 24

*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for a review. 

 

Book Review- The Infinite Moment of Us

I just finished reading The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle.

From Goodreads:

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high

school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

For some reason I seem to be reading a lot of books with explicit sex in them.  The other ones I didn't mind since they were labeled as new adult.  This book is labeled as young adult.  And while I get that teens are having sex and sex in a teen relationship is a reality, I don't think a young adult novel should be as graphic as this one was.  Twelve and thirteen year olds read young adult and I don't think they should be reading words that were in this book.

That  being said, I think the story would have worked if I had liked the characters more.  And on the surface I did.  Perfect girl Wren and tough-life (turn family life) Charlie.  Wren's parents were super-strict and expected her to do and think certain things.  Charlie had a rough start to life with his biological mother and foster parents but ended up in loving home.  This should have been an interesting relationship.  But it just felt flat to me and cheesy.  Wren was completely selfish.  She didn't understand when Charlie couldn't spend every last second with her because he was working or helping out with his disabled brother (who might have been my favorite character).  She also thought he should give up everything he'd worked toward (scholarship to a great college) to go to Guatemala with her.  Sel-fish!  Charlie was likeable.  Except for his friendship with the seedy girl, Starla.  He knows its toxic yet does nothing to fix it.  I get that he's protective of her but he really just needs to tell her that she needs to shape up if she wants to stay friends.

Then the ending.  Pretty much a cliffhanger.  I feel like the story just ended.  And I don't see anything that shows that there's going to be a sequel.  I did read an ARC so maybe that's the issue and in the real book there's a definite ending. 

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 47
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 26
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 36
2013 Standalone Reading Challenge: 9

FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from a friend

Book Review- Invisible Girl

Late last night I finished reading Invisible Girl by Mary Hanlon Stone.

From Goodreads:

When poor Boston girl Stephanie is abandoned by her abusive mother and taken in by Annie's

Beverly Hills family, she feels anything but home. Her dark complexion and accent stick out like a sore thumb in the golden-hued world of blondes and extravagance. These are girls who seem to live life in fastforward, while Stephanie is stuck on pause. Yet when a new rival moves to town, threatening Annie's queen-bee status, Stephanie finds herself taking sides in a battle she never even knew existed, and that feeling invisible is a wound that can only be healed by standing up for who she is. Brilliant newcomer Mary Hanlon Stone delivers a compulsively readable insider's view of growing up in a world where money and privilege don't always glitter.

When I first started reading this book, I felt bad for Stephanie. But as the story went on, I became less and less sympathetic.  She started off hiding in a closet and so scared of her mother that she had an accident.  She hides in the library during lunch.  I felt bad for this version of the girl.  Then she moves to California and wants to fit in so badly with Annie that she suddenly comes up with all these lies about her life back home and is pretty bold.  And when a new girl tries to join the group, she becomes mean like the girls she's with.  I didn't like this version of Stephanie. She lost all sympathy votes.

And lets talk about this group.  A group of young teens who smoke, drink, and mess around.  I'm sure that does happen, but the author makes it seem like the norm.  Disturbing.  Just not the book for me.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 21
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 14
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 17
2013 Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge: 2
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 7

*FTC Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review- Shut Up

I just finished reading Shut up by Anne Tibbets.

From Goodreads:

Mary's older sister, Gwen, has royally screwed up her life. Not only is Gwen pregnant at seventeen, but she's also decided to marry The Creep who knocked her up.

Now Mary is powerless to stop her family from imploding. Her parents are freaking out, and to top it off The Creep has a gross fascination with Mary while Gwen enjoys teasing her to tears for sport.

Despite her brother's advice to shut up, Mary can't keep her trap closed and manages to piss off Mom so much it comes to blows.

Mary doesn't know what to do, and all her attempts to get help are rejected. When she finally plans her escape, she fails to consider how it could destroy them all.

I received this book from the author to review.  Its a small book but I only read a little at a time.  The author notes in the back state that a few events are based on parts of her life but the book is fiction.  It read like an autobiography though.  It was dry to me and I never really got into it.  I feel bad for Mary but that was about it. 

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 13
What's in a Name? 6 Challenge: Shut Up
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 4

*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author for a review.

Book Review- Eternal

I read Eternal by H.G. Nadel for a TLC Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

A love story that spans across continents and centuries.
 
Julia Jones is an eighteen-year-old science prodigy with a big secret. After landing a prestigious internship with brilliant but eccentric Dr. Caleb Bertel, she is finally ready to move on from her mother's death. But after Julia revives Dr. Bertel from a near-fatal electrocution, strange things start to happen.
 
Without warning, Dr. Bertel disappears. Then Julia receives threatening notes on her car, and someone has her followed. The young police officer assigned to the case, Austin Moore, believes the events are connected and asks her to help him solve the mystery of Bertel's disappearance. Instantly
attracted to him, Julia agrees. Still, she knows that she has seen Austin somewhere before, if only she could put her finger on it.
 
Will Julia uncover the mystery of Bertel's disappearance before it's too late, and does she dare trust Austin with her heart?

I love a good love story and I love paranormal books so I thought this would be right up my alley.  Unfortunately, it was all a little blah to me. 

The plot was somewhat unique.  The idea of how Julia saves everything is definitely different.  But I felt that a lot of the thoughts and saying of the characters were very cheesy. 

I liked that Julia was really smart and embraced her intelligence.  That being said, her choice of friends and boyfriends were lacking.  I didn't really see the appeal of them at all.  Austin was okay, I guess, but his attraction to her right from the beginning given the age difference was a little creepy. 

I think if the writing was stronger and some of the plot areas were tightened up, this could be a hit book.  Just the way it is now didn't really do it for me and I found myself struggling to make myself finish it.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge:8
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 3

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the TLC Book Tours.

Book Review- Pug Hill

I finally finished reading Pug Hill by Alison Pace.

From Goodreads:

For Holly Golightly, there was always Tiffany’s. For me, there’s always Pug Hill. For as long as I’ve lived in New York, whenever I’ve just wanted to think, or relax, or be happy, or even sad, my destination of choice has been, without fail, Pug Hill. For Hope McNeill, pugs are love, unconditional friendship, happiness, and freedom—all qualities currently in short supply in her own life. She’s also short on time and apartment space, and for those reasons she doesn’t have a pug of her own. But she does have Pug Hill in Central Park, where pugs (and their owners) from all over New York City convene.

She also has a serious crush on one of her co-workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a flailing relationship with her squash-playing, cold-weather-loving boyfriend, and an unspeakable fear of public speaking. When Hope’s father calls with a daunting assignment--to make a speech at her parent’s fortieth wedding anniversary party--Hope is completely taken off guard. As a last resort, she signs up for a public speaking class, but can't help wondering, will it be enough?

Some fears are so big that even all the pugs in the world might not be enough...

Yes, I have to admit that the puppies on the cover drew me in.  I love dogs so I couldn't wait to read this book.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Often times, I'll feel sympathetic for a character which usually makes me like them more.  But in this story, I just felt that Hope was pitiful.  I never really liked her.  It might sound mean, but I found myself thinking that she was pathetic.  And that doesn't really make me want to root for her.

The very end was nice and happy and you can imagine a happily-ever-after situation in the future.  So there's always that I suppose.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 2
2013 Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge: 1

*FTC Disclosure: I traded this book with a friend.

Book Review- Marrying Up

I read Marrying Up by Wendy Holden on my vacation in Hilton Head for a Sourcebooks blog tour.

From Goodreads:

Beautiful but broke student Polly and scheming social climber Alexa may have grown up in the same place, but they couldn't be more different. Polly's just fallen for Max, a handsome country vet. But Alexa can't be bothered with love—any guy with a pedigree will do, mind you, as long as he comes with a title, a mansion, and a family tiara.

Alexa wiggles her way into friendship with Florrie, a clueless aristocrat who could support entire countries with her spare change. Suddenly the grandest doors swing open for Alexa, and a new life is so close she can taste it. Polly could care less about Max's money, but his mysterious habit of disappearing scares her. What's he hiding?

The idea of this book sounded like a light, fun read, which is just what I needed.  Unfortunately, it veered too far to the light side for me.  I found it to be silly to the point that it got annoying. 

I liked Polly and Max.  And that's about it.  Everyone else was just too over the top for me.

You know, maybe this book was supposed to be making fun of royalty and the socialites who try to get there.  That idea would make the book make more sense but it doesn't make me enjoy it any more.

I was hoping for some kind of rags-to-riches story but instead, all I got was a bunch of annoying characters and scenarios that I rolled my eyes at.  Not my favorite.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 55
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-13

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free from Sourcebooks Landmark for an honest review.

Book Review- Keep Holding On

I finished reading Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Between Noelle’s difficult home life and the bullying she endures at school, all she wants is to get out of her small town. Noelle would give anything to be with Julian Porter. But staying with her emotionally distant boyfriend is safer. When things heat up between Noelle and Julian, she has to decide whether she can be her true self with him.


So I have a feeling that my review is going to be an unpopular one, but oh well.
 
First off, let me say that this book dealt with a very important topic--bullying.  No child, teen, or adult should ever been bullied for any reason.  Adults have the responsibility to make sure that bullying doesn't happen.  That being said, teenagers need to speak out.  Adults don't alway know when bullying is happening and they need to be told so they can stop it.
 
That being said, I couldn't stand Noelle.  I felt that she was whiny and immature.  She whined that there was no food in the house, yet she spent the money that she earned working on an ice cream cone in the mall.  No, a teenager should never have to leave in situation where he/she is not properly fed or cared for.  And that part is horrible. And I get that she wanted to feel like a normal teen,  but for some reason that frivoulous scene just bugged me.  And then she complained because she was picked on for only having mayo and mustard on her sandwich because she was poor (again, that bullying should never have been allowed to happen) but then she says that she doesn't want to get a free lunch because she would get teased.  My train of thought is that if you're already being teased (horrible) for being poor, then at least get a meal out of it!  And Matt.  How could she not see that she was being used???  It was so obvious and she was so freaking naive to only be allowed to see him in private so they could make out.  Really?  Just stupid.
 
But thank god for Sherae and Julian.  Both such great teens.  They knew about how Noelle didn't come from money but still loved and cared about her anyways.  Which is the way it should be. 
 
I dunno.  I just didn't really like this book.  I've read other books about bullying where I felt the main character was stronger and there were qualities about her that made me like her.  And made me feel for her.   Noelle just didn't do it for me.
 
I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.
 
Keep Holding On will be released on June 14, 2012.
 
 This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 14
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 12
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 12
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-2
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 2

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- Second Hand Heart

I read Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde.
From Goodreadds:

Vida is 19 and has never had much of a life. Struggling along with a life-threatening heart condition, her whole life has been one long preparation for death. But suddenly she is presented with a donor heart, and just in time. Now she gets to do something she never imagined she'd have to do: live.

Richard is a 36-year-old man who’s just lost his beloved wife, Lorrie, in a car accident. Still in shock and not even having begun the process of grieving, he is invited to the hospital to meet the young woman who received his wife’s donor heart.

Vida takes one look at Richard and feels she’s loved him all her life. And tells him so. Richard assumes she’s just a foolish young girl. And maybe she is. Or maybe there’s truth behind the theory of cellular memory, and maybe it really is possible for a heart to remember, at least for a time, on its own.

Second Hand Heart is both a story of having to learn to live for the first time, and having to learn to live all over again.
 
Okay, I really hate having to do this.  But this book just did not do it for me.  When I read the premise, I jumped at the chance to read it.  I thought it would be emotional and pull at my heart strings, but unfortunately, it did far from that. 
 
I couldn't care less about Vida.  First of all, she's 19 but the writing style made her seem so much younger (and not just because she was sheltered.  I think its because it was way too simplified).  I didn't find her to be a sympathetic character at all.  I got no emotion from her.  And her relationship with Richard was creepy.  I get the whole "memory" thing since she got his deceased wife's heart.  But still.  It turned me off completely.
 
I dunno.  I guess I was just expecting something that would be either a tearjerker or something that would be heartwarming.  And this wasn't it. 
 
I do have to say however that I liked that the author brought light to the issue of organ donation.  I am such a big believer in this and can't imagine why someone would choose not to help others live if they were able.  And I think organ donation needs as much spotlight as it can get.  So bravo to the author for that!

I gave the book a rating of 2.5/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 95
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Teen Book Scene.

Book Review- Tout Sweet

Late last night I finished reading Tout Sweet by Karen Wheeler for Sourcebooks

From Goodreads:

In her mid-thirties Karen has it all: a career as a fashion editor, a handsome boyfriend, a fab flat in west London and an array of gorgeous shoes. But when her 'plus one' leaves, she wonders if there is more to life than high fashion. So, she hangs up her Manolos and waves goodbye to her city lifestyle, deciding to go it alone in a run-down house in rural Poitou-Charentes, western France. Once there, she encounters a host of new friends and unsuitable suitors, soon learning that true happiness can be found in the simplest of things - a bike ride through the countryside on a summer evening, or six glasses of Pinot in a neighbor's garden. If you've ever dreamed of chucking away your BlackBerry and down shifting, "Tout Sweet" is perfect summer reading.

This book was a memoir, and it read like one.  I felt like I was submersed in the author's new life in France.  Unfortunately, it didn't interest me as much as I thought it would.  I didn't really care about the remodeling of the house and the friends Karen made just didn't do anything for me.  I wish there had been more about France itself.

  I do have to say that I though Karen was so brave to just up and move and leave the life she'd always known.  And she had awful luck with guys.  They were all such jerks!  I didn't like ANY of them! 

The ending was just plain weird for me.  I don't think it wrapped up well.  I mean, just why did Jon decide to stay with his girlfriend.  He hinted that there was a reason, and I thought we might find out why at the very end but we never did.  And I didn't like the last line at all.  I have an ARC, so maybe it will change, but to me, it's just not something you need to have in a book.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 72
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 56

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free from Sourcebooks for an honest review.

Book Review- The Girl in the Steel Corset

Yesterday I finished reading The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross.

From Goodreads:

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch….

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help—and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on—even if it seems no one believes her.

Sigh, I really need to stay away from books that aren't in modern day.  I never fully enjoy them.  And then I can't truly appreciate them either.  This book just didn't keep my interest.  It wasn't horrible by any means.  I just didn't find myself wanting to read it and it took me forever to get through it.  Sure, there was plenty of action to keep things going, but I just had a hard time finding myself caring.  And I hate feeling that way about a book. 

I didn't really care about the setting or the plot, but I did enjoy the characters.  I liked how strong Finley was and how kick-butt she was.  I LOVED that Emily was so incredibly smart.  And Griffin and Jack Dandy made a fun love triangle.  So the book had the characters going for it.

I've read a lot of great reviews about the book.  It just wasn't my style.  But if you like steampunk, then I would give it a try.  Chances are, you'll probably like it!

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 42
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 36
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 33

*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for a review

Book Review- Drought

I just finished reading Drought by Pam Bachorz for a Book-It Forward ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?
 
Where to start?  I don't even really know how I feel about this book.  For some reason, I thought that I had read somewhere that this was a dystopian novel.  But its not really.  It's a book about modern day slavery (if I had read the Goodread's summary, then I would have known that) and it disturbed me.  And it was kind of cultish in a way.  I kept thinking, why don't these people escape?  I mean, I get that its all they've known for the past 200 years, but still!  They knew that it was wrong but they kept waiting for this "person" to save them.  I don't get it.  I really can't even put my thoughts into words to review the book, so that's all I have to say about it.
 
I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 24
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 22
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 20
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Book It Forward ARC Tours.

Book Review- The Chaos

I just finished reading The Chaos (Numbers #2) by Rachel Ward for a Book It Forward ARC Tours Review.

From Goodreads:

The curse of the NUM8ERS continues in Rachel Ward's CHA0T1C, earth-shattering sequel!

Adam has more than inherited his mother's curse: When he looks in someone's eyes, he not only sees the date of their death...he feels the searing, shocking pain of it. Since Jem died, Adam has lived by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But when rising tides flood the coast, they return to London. The city is an alien, exciting, frightening place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can't help but clock how many people's numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year's Day. What chaos awaits the world? Can he and Sarah stop a catastrophe? Or are they, too, counted among the "twenty-sevens"?

Unfortunately, once again this plot didn't really do it for me.  While the idea of someone being able to see the date when people die grabs me, the characters just don't.  I really just didn't care about them.  More troubled teens that I just wasn't compassionate about.

And the whole setting of the story was just weird for me.  It was like the world was at its worst, but I never really figured out why.  Almost like a bad dystopian novel. 

I don't really have too much to say.  It wasn't horrible.  It just didn't really interest me.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

The Chaos will be released on March 1, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
 2011 A to Z Challenge: W
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 9
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 8
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 7

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Book It Forward ARC Tours.

Book Review- My Invented Life

I read My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman for a blog tour for The Teen Book Scene back before the end of last year.

From Goodreads:

With Roz and Eva everything becomes a contest—who can snag the best role in the school play, have the cutest boyfriend, pull off the craziest prank. Still, they’re as close as sisters can be. Until Eva deletes Roz from her life like so much junk e-mail for no reason that Roz understands. Now Eva hangs out with the annoyingly petite cheerleaders, and Roz fantasizes about slipping bovine growth hormone into their Gatorade.

Roz has a suspicion about Eva. In turn, Eva taunts Roz with a dare, which leads to an act of total insanity. Drama geeks clamor for attention, Shakespearean insults fly, and Roz steals the show in Lauren Bjorkman’s hilarious debut novel.

When I read the description of this book, I thought it would be right up my alley.  Unfortunately, it just wasn't.

First of all, the characters.  The main character--Roz--got on my nerves.  Her way of talking and think just got annoying.  And enough with her invented life scenarios (yes, I know this is the title of the book, but we got it).  While I don't have a younger sister, I think if I did have one, and she was like Roz, we would not be close at all. A lot of the things she said and did were immature.  My favorite character was actually Eva.  Yes, I know she was standoffish, but there was just something about her that made me sympathize for her.  And I think she was a pretty normal teen that is an older sister--wanting her privacy.  And I didn't get Andie or Nico at all.  Andie was hot and cold,  cool in an eccentric way one minute, and just odd the next.  And I didn't find any appeal in Nico at all.  But I definitely like Jonathon.  I have a lot of gay guy friends and I could see a lot of them in his character.

Next, the writing.  All of the Shakespeare, olden days talk got old quickly.  At first I thought it was neat, but then it was just too much.  I was part of the theatre crowd in high school and college and no one talked like that.

But I do have to say that I like the way that it covered teen sexuality.  Like I said before, I have a lot of gay friends.  I have known some who came out when they were adults, and some who came out as teens, before I knew them.  Luckily all of my friends have supportive parents.  But I know that's not always the case.  And I know some of the guys came from a high school where being gay was completely accepted and others who were outcast.  And that's so wrong.  I think that there needs to be more books like this that bring light to being a gay/lesbian teenager and that everyone needs to be who they truly are.  They shouldn't feel scared to let their feelings known and I can't wait for the day when everyone has the right to love and marry whomever they want and be accepted for it!  Bravo to Lauren Bjorkman for shedding light on this very important issue!

I gave this book a 2.5/5.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of The Teen Book Scene.