I received an ARC from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
After reading Emily and Austin's first book, Always Never Yours, I received an ARC from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
After reading Emily and Austin's first book, Always Never Yours, I was enchanted by their writing and storytelling. I'm not sure if Time of Our Lives is based on another Shakespeare play like their first two books but I still enjoyed this one for what it represented.
Once again, I find myself reading a book targeted to a very specific group of readers in an age group. This book will definitely resonate with you if you're in the awkward window where you're planning to go to University/college and whether or not you want to branch out, move to another state, or stay close to home. In Time of Our Lives, we meet two highschool seniors from different cities and backgrounds. Our heroine cannot wait to branch out, leave her cramped house, and go to a university far, far, far away from her loud and obnoxious family. Our hero wants to stay close because his mom has early onset dementia and he's afraid of her losing everything and him losing everything that was normal. They both have very complicated problems involving family. Do they need to breakaway to find themselves or can they stay in their bubble and still do all the same?
This book is just heavily focused on university and self-discovery. Unfortunately, I found myself dragging my feet to pick up this book because I could not relate! I'm done university for three years now. I never had these issues regarding leaving my city or staying. I knew if i picked a major, I would stick with it. While I appreciated how relatable it would be to future readers, I just didn't enjoy this one as much. I also thought the story dragged a lot which resulted in a lower rating. This book really didn't need to be over 300 pages....more
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was first recommended to request this book by a booktuber friend so I pushed myseI received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was first recommended to request this book by a booktuber friend so I pushed myself to get through this one but early on, I knew I wouldn't like this book that much. Willa is very stubborn, argumentative, and jumps to conclusions as fast as her throwing insults to Ryder. She always thinks of the worst situation first when Ryder 'ignores' her. Or when Ryder finally did something and Willa thinks he did it so he could hear all her quiet comments to herself... It's not always about you Willa!!
I also thought the romance happened too quickly. They were seriously bickering non-stop with Willa constantly doubting Ryder for no reason. I didn't connect well with the characters but towards the end, they wormed their way into my heart and I wanted to know how the relationship would unfold even with their vast differences. Overall, the characters really lowered my rating for this one. ...more
I received an ARC from Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.
I'm always going to be supportive of asian authors because god knows we needI received an ARC from Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.
I'm always going to be supportive of asian authors because god knows we need more asian representation in all genres. I was super excited for Suzanne to debut this year with not only one book but two books in two genres that I adore and love. I was super excited walking into The Perfect Escape but after hearing thoughts of this one from friends who read it before me...I was hesitant.
This book is definitely not as romantic/cute as what it's marketed to be. About 60% of the book focuses on developing the two characters and their drastically different backgrounds. Our hero comes from a poor background known as a skid (scholarship kid) who attends an elite private school. He's Korean-American and wants his family to live a comfortable life, without fearing about budgets and spending money to fix the house. He's expected to achieve good grades, get into a good university, and get a good career. He's fine with this because he enjoys it so this is not the story about him whining about parent expectations. He just wants to earn money to help his family. Our heroine has recently lost her mom but she might as well lost her dad too. Their relationship is very troubled. He basically is her jail keeper and it's weird to read because how can a father be so cold towards their child? Our heroine wants to preform on stage but her father wants her to be an intern at their very impressive robotics tech company. When they both cannot stand it any longer, they partner up for a survivalist program to win the prize money and split it half-half. She plans to run away. He plans to use it to help his family. Somewhere along the line of this plot, our hero is also asked to lower his marks so the rich kids can rank higher than him and get into their ivey league colleges.
This book was an okay book for me. Often, the voices were too childish for me and felt forced. I also had issues with remaining focused on the book itself? It was hard to get in and stay in but it could have just been a me thing as I was told it would be a rom-com and then I receive a hunger games style novel towards the end. Seriously. They're in a forest, wet, cold, and afraid and running for their lives. Also, the ending with our heroine was very disappointing and confusing. I wanted more daughter father relationship.
I would still recommend this book if you prefer to not have that much romance in a book. ...more
I received an Egalley from Berkley Romance in exchange for a honest review.
After reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I was so excited to read AbbiI received an Egalley from Berkley Romance in exchange for a honest review.
After reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I was so excited to read Abbi's next book. Like super excited. Nina Hill was so romantic, funny, uplifting, and the perfect feel good novel and after the whole mess the world has gone through, I thought I Was Told It Would Get Easier would be the same realm.
It kind of was? But it fell flat due to an overdone story line. A mother and daughter who grew apart because one is in the process of becoming an adult and a workaholic mother who can't understand the teenage hormones. I thought the main downfall of this book for me was definitely the outdated teenage stereotypes. I mean, I snap pictures of my food and my walks but I don't post 100% the time like our daughter. I'm addicted to my phone but I don't use it all the time especially when someone is in front of me, talking to me. The whole 'i don't know what to do with my life' is relatable but so overdone by the time the book was ending and she still was crying on about being passionless and not good enough. And the whole epiphany of them finding that they're not so different was a let down. It didn't hit the right spot for me.
With that being said, this book is definitely not targeted to an age group like mine. I don't have a daughter who i'm prepping to go to university. I don't feel like I'm missing out on my teenager's life. It's just not the book for me but it could be for you if you're in a similar situation.
Also, can we also talk about this book played HEAVILY on the college admissions scandal that swept up america in a storm in 2019?...more
I received an Egalley from Berkley Romance in exchange for a honest review.
I'm going to be honest and let everyone know that I didn't have high hopesI received an Egalley from Berkley Romance in exchange for a honest review.
I'm going to be honest and let everyone know that I didn't have high hopes for this book after reading Andie's first novel, Not the Girl You Marry. I listened to the audiobook of that one and enjoyed it fairly enough despite the poor reviews on the writing and the characters. Maybe it was because I had someone reading enthusiastically to me instead of me reading it in the same monotone inner voice I have?
This one was a tough one to drag through. While the writing wasn't bad to the point that I couldn't finish, I had difficulty falling into the story because it was just large passages of descriptions and a lot of telling not showing. I could not connect with the characters and as a result, the romance seemed fake and not plausible.
This book follows the trope of fake marriage, rushed marriage, and fake relationship. Bridget is Matt's mentor at a law firm they both work at. Bridget agrees to be his mentor in hopes of getting on the good side of his family so that she can get the grant they sponsor. Matt is working there because he needed to avoid his cheating ex. They both accidentally get married in Las Vegas and agree to stay in the relationship because he wants to get back at his family and Bridget thinks it's easier to stay married than to divorce and start an actual relationship???? Does this sound weak to you or is it just me? I thought the character motivations were so wild that I couldn't believe this was an actual book. Aside from the characters being super messy, the book just bored me since I didn't believe in the romance. ...more
Not the book for me!!! A thriller YA novel that should have been an adult one with all the themes and gore in it. It's only YA because the main characNot the book for me!!! A thriller YA novel that should have been an adult one with all the themes and gore in it. It's only YA because the main character is YA? And it was too dark for my personal tastes and totally caught me off guard. I also could not care about what was happening because I wanted to stop reading such bad vibes but really needed to know if she would find her little sister....more
Could have been a three but I couldn't with this self destructive character.Could have been a three but I couldn't with this self destructive character....more
Don't listen to the audiobook of this. It's so annoying and it's hard to follow and the book is so different from the entire series. I can't. I was beDon't listen to the audiobook of this. It's so annoying and it's hard to follow and the book is so different from the entire series. I can't. I was begging for this book to end....more
the concept was interesting and this was a MUCH darker novel than I thought it would be. Still wasn't sure if people are crazy or they actually travelthe concept was interesting and this was a MUCH darker novel than I thought it would be. Still wasn't sure if people are crazy or they actually travelled to another world lol...more
I received an ARC from Simon Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
I'm going to be honest and let you know that this book was not on top oI received an ARC from Simon Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
I'm going to be honest and let you know that this book was not on top of my priority list. I thought the synopsis sounded like bait to book bloggers out there and the author would do some *cringe worthy* "relatable" stuff that would make me want to claw my eyes out. But guess who was severely wrong? Me! This book was relatable in every sense but realistic. Marisa Kanter works in the publishing industry. She knows the effort reviewers put in their reviews, posts, and social media to promote a book. She gets us. And guess what? The slang she puts in the book? It's the right amount without making it really annoying and it's exactly the slang we all use on a daily basis.
This book was the fluffiest YA read this year. It's about a girl named Halle who has an online identity as Kel. She's the owner of a super popular instagram/book blog page where she writes reviews and bakes cupcakes that look like the cover of the books. She has a tight-knit group of book blogger friends but she has never once shown her face. So what happens when she moves to the middle of nowhere and the first person she sees just so happens to be her best online friend?? She keeps it a secret, falls in love with her best friend, and ghosts all her online friends, hurting everyone around her.
I loved this book. The writing was simple enough to grip me from the very start and I wanted to read on for the grief Halle and her grandpa both shared for her grandma's passing. I thought Halle's grandpa was realistic but often cruel for the way he treated his grandchildren after the death of his wife. What I really wanted was more of them discussing this topic and him explaining his actions. While Halle was a relatable character, I also thought she was selfish at times. She claims she wanted to be there for her grandpa but she ends up ignoring him and going online to promote her blog. And of course, the whole lying thing was hard to digest. She had better options than to drop everyone and ghost people! It was her simply not thinking of others and thinking her actions didn't impact others.
Even though the characters were flawed, I still really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend you to check it out!!...more
It wasn't as bad as people said it was but I can tell how some people hate the writing because it reads dry but then the girls have these sassy dirty It wasn't as bad as people said it was but I can tell how some people hate the writing because it reads dry but then the girls have these sassy dirty personalities coming from left field. I got tired of the mentioning of dick pictures being the worst thing to happen to anyone. It also doesn't make sense that she was having a double standards. She tricked him to having a relationship just as he did that to her?? Why should he be the one only to be blamed? I also understand why the author felt like she needed to explain how insecure our main female character is of her race and how annoyed she was for ignorant people but it was overdone in a way that made the main female character seem stand offish. She wasn't giving anyone a chance and had put her insecurities on others.
Also, the big happily ever after was too big and felt unnatural. ...more
I received an ARC from Harper Collins Canada in exchange for an honest review.
I was highly recommended to read this one from a friend who works at HaI received an ARC from Harper Collins Canada in exchange for an honest review.
I was highly recommended to read this one from a friend who works at Harper Collins and I was kind of... hesitant. I tried reading Mhairi's previous novel, Don't You Forget About Me, and honestly, I was kind of bored from the writing and didn't feel much connection to the characters. While If I Never Met You started out the same, I was gripped by chapter two. Oh! The heartache! The pain Mhairi was able to pour into her words to describe two people who fell in love and had been in a long-term relationship for 18 years only to have them fall apart in the end. I loved the emotion I felt. I loved how I could imagine this relationship and how difficult it would be even though I never once had this long of a relationship.
While the emotions were there, I should note that this one isn't like a romantic comedy. It's hardly funny. It's about Laurie, dealing with the aftermath of her broken relationship. She's angry at her ex who just broke up with her after 18 years and then jumping into another person's bed a few weeks later. She's furious. She wants revenge. So she enlists the help of the office player, Jaime, who just so happens to need to clean up his image to make partner at their law firm. They get a few fake posts on social media, and lie a bunch of times, and boom it's a success! What they didn't expect was to actually emotionally connect deeply. They share their secrets and let each other in their vaults.
I really liked the romance that happened in this book. However, it was simply too much and not enough. I wanted more angst and looooove. It felt more like a deep friendship than an actual relationship. But I have to admit the parts leading up to it was fluffy enough. However, the ending can go into the trash can. It came out of left field and I don't care for it. ...more
This one was recommended to me by a publicist at Harper Collins and I was so intrigued. What I didn't know was that I would be so sad after reading itThis one was recommended to me by a publicist at Harper Collins and I was so intrigued. What I didn't know was that I would be so sad after reading it because it deals with animals in the zoo!!! And their emotions!! And their unhappiness!!! I cry. It was good but I thought the short chapters that had little continuity was annoying and hard to get into....more
Lisa (Remarkablylisa)
>
Books:
march-2020
(64)
Loading...
