Tag: Romance

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “The Code for Love & Heartbreak” by Jillian Cantor

Posted on by Sarah S.

SUMMARY

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

REVIEW

It’s no secret that I love rom-coms AND classic lit retellings, so requesting this one was kind of a no-brainer for me. I mean, a modern-day “Emma” retelling about STEM nerds? YES PLEASE. So I was thrilled to get this ARC – and for the most part, it didn’t disappoint.

Seeing as this is very obviously an “Emma” retelling (most of the characters even keep their names), I will admit that having read the original book beforehand helped me get into this. I knew what role each character would play, the basics of the plot, and what was probably going to happen. But it definitely departs enough from the plot of the book (non-spoilery examples: the Harriet/Robert subplot doesn’t exist, and Jane Fairfax plays a very different role in “Code for Love” than she does in the Austen version) enough that it’s easy to follow along with if you haven’t. And if you HAVE read the original, like I have, there’s enough that’s new here to interest: the emphasis on computer science is really fun and technology is integrated super well, making a dated story feel perfectly at-home in the modern world. The premise was really fun, and for the most part, I really enjoyed it.

The characters were fun, too: Emma was just as lovably flawed as her source-material counterpart; I actually liked this Jane even more than the original version; and I loved what Cantor did with Izzy, Emma’s older sister. (I found it kind of hilarious that Izzy goes to UCLA in this because I’m going to USC next year, so every mention of UCLA made me smirk like mad because hehe, rivals. I’m so freakin’ immature, I know.) They were easy to like and, unlike in the original, there were less sleazy potential love interests, which is always cool. As to the story itself…well, you can’t go wrong with Jane Austen. Just sayin’.

Though it didn’t have the instant “oomph” of my absolute favorite books, “The Code for Love and Heartbreak” was a really fun read that I’d highly recommend.

ENDNOTES

Content: pretty much none! Unless I’m forgetting something, the ONLY adult content I can remember reading was a single, vague allusion to the possibility that two characters are sleeping together (and it’s literally just that – an incredibly vague two-sentence reference). It’s always nice to see books as clean as this one!

Rating: 4.5/5 Confused Llamas

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “Recommended for You” by Laura Silverman

Posted on by Sarah S.

SUMMARY

Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and her beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape.

When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? New hire Jake Kaplan.

Jake is an affront to everything Shoshanna stands for. He doesn’t even read! But somehow his sales start to rival hers. Jake may be cute (really cute), and he may be an eligible Jewish single (hard to find south of Atlanta), but he’s also the enemy, and Shoshanna is ready to take him down.

But as the competition intensifies, Jake and Shoshanna grow closer and realize they might be more on the same page than either expects…

REVIEW

The truest and most positive way I can start this review is by saying that it’s impossible not to notice that this book is incredibly well-meaning. It’s written with such earnestness and belief in its story, and I don’t see that often, so I have to start off by saying that. It’s as cute, bookish, and bright-eyed as it sets out to be. Was it a perfect book? Well, no, few are. But what “Recommended for You” gets right is its chipper tone and commitment to its story and characters.

At first, I didn’t think I would like Shoshanna. She, like me, tends toward the over-the-top, and I can’t tell whether it was because of secondhand embarrassment or just plain annoyance that I didn’t like her. But I’m glad I stuck with it, because a lot of the book is actually about her journey to realizing that about herself and learning to be, er, a little less overzealous at inappropriate times, and she matures without losing any of what makes her Shoshanna. I am all about positive growth, and I’m also all about being true to yourself, quirks and all, so I loved that she was able to do both. Her sincerity was hard not to find endearing after a while. I also loved the bookstore aspect. The work environment was great and I loved the coworkers’ dynamics, and of course, Shoshanna’s bookishness was delightfully relatable.

Where this book fell a little short, eerily similarly to its protagonist, was in its overzealousness. I felt like “Recommended for You” was trying to do a LOT – we have the romance development, the work at the bookstore, the friend drama, the parents fighting…almost every source of conflict that is common in YA contemporary books was here, and it was all just…Much. It was So Much. And there were some really forced conversations about social justice that, while they had good messages, felt extremely shoehorned. In a fast, fluffy read, the weirdly forced social commentary and ~15,000 different conflicts felt like they weighed it down. There wasn’t really a need for that and I think the book would be stronger if it stuck to one or two conflicts instead of subscribing to the “every area of the protagonist’s life must fall apart!” notion.

However, none of that could abash this book’s sunny optimism, and I would recommend it for you. :p (Yes, I had to!)

ENDNOTES

Best Scene: the baking scene, probably. So sweet.

Strengths: fluffy, quick, upbeat, character growth

Weaknesses: too many side plots/too much going on

Content: none! Seriously. The characters don’t even curse??? When was the last time I saw that??? Thanks for that, Laura Silverman, I APPRECIATE YOU. This one’s veeeery clean.

Rating: 3.5/5 Golden Grasshoppers

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “The Little Bookshop of Love Stories” by Jaimie Admans

Posted on by Sarah S.

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I don’t typically read adult romance because…well. You can probably guess. But I’ve recently started requesting adult books from NetGalley because I’ve all but run out of YA to request (most of it historical/literary fiction – the first adult ARC I read was a short story collection about a Japanese family called “Inheritors” which was excellent, but not reviewed here because I imagine it would have almost no appeal to my readers), and I couldn’t resist this. To my delight, it was exactly as charming, sweet, and clean as its cover appeared, so I’m posting it here because I feel like it might appeal to some YA readers who are looking to dip their toes into adult romance but aren’t so sure about all the sexy stuff that abounds in that genre.

SUMMARY

Today is the Mondayest Monday ever. Hallie Winstone has been fired – and it wasn’t even her fault!

Having lost her job and humiliated herself in front of a whole restaurant full of diners, this is absolutely, one hundred percent, the worst day of her life.

That is until she receives an email announcing that she is the lucky winner of the Once Upon a Page Bookshop!

Owning a bookshop has always been Hallie’s dream, and when she starts to find secret love letters on the first pages of every book, she knows she’s stumbled across something special.

Things get even better when she meets gorgeous, bookish Dimitri and between them, they post a few of the hidden messages online, reuniting people who thought they were lost forever.

But maybe it’s time for Hallie to find her own happy-ever-after, too?

REVIEW

The best comparison I can come up with for this book is that it vaguely resembles the British equivalent of a Hallmark movie. However, that’s not a perfect comparison, because even though it has the chaste romance, quirky premise, and predictability of a Hallmark movie, it’s earnest, wholesome, sweet, and swoon-worthy in a way that very few of those are. (I should know. My mother has watched one every single night of quarantine and I am not exaggerating this figure in the slightest.) “The Little Bookshop of Love Stories” never claims to be anything but a sweet, escapist romance for book lovers, but that’s a very good thing to be, in this escape-seeking book lover’s mind. 🙂

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that this book…is good for the heart. (One thing it has in common with cardio, I guess.) It’s wholesome, it’s unabashedly kindhearted, its hero and heroine and their families and friends and neighbors are good people, and it desperately wants to make you believe in love. Yes, it can be sugary-sweet at times, but it means so well and is so overflowing with sincerity that it’s very hard to fault it for that. (Not to mention that its leading man is the kind of guy this world needs a lot more of. Swoon.) The characters’ love of books comes through loud and clear, the romance is a little bit slow-burn (one way it did remind me of Hallmark: it baited me with near-kisses but kept waiting almost the entire book for the one climactic time they finally did!) but earned and heart-melting, and you kind of can’t read it and not want to visit the quaint English country town it is set in. The world is having a time of it right now, and “The Little Bookshop of Love Stories” created an idyllic little pocket of goodness for me to escape into. How could I possibly not love this book?

ENDNOTES

Best Scene: um, honestly, anything that takes place in the bookshop made me *puppy eyes emoji that I wish I could use here.* And the dancing scene.

What Stood Out: the book’s unabashedly optimistic outlook and earnest sweetness.

What Bugged Me: this book didn’t really need a villain, so the one it had seemed kind of unnecessary.

Content: almost none to speak of – a little strong language (mostly British curse words and/or ones that are considered to be milder in British English than they are in American English) and a few sexual references but otherwise, almost shockingly clean for a romance novel.

Rating: 5/5

 

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “More Than Just a Pretty Face” by Syed Masood

Posted on by Sarah S.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy. MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE releases August 4th, 2020. 

Summary 

Danyal Jilani doesn’t lack confidence. He may not be the smartest guy in the room, but he’s funny, gorgeous, and going to make a great chef one day. His father doesn’t approve of his career choice, but that hardly matters. What does matter is the opinion of Danyal’s longtime crush, the perfect-in-all-ways Kaval, and her family, who consider him a less than ideal arranged marriage prospect.

When Danyal gets selected for Renaissance Man, a school-wide academic championship, it’s the perfect opportunity to show everyone he’s smarter than they think. He recruits the brilliant, totally-uninterested-in-him Bisma to help with the competition, but the more time Danyal spends with her…the more he learns from her…the more he cooks for her…the more he realizes that happiness may be staring him right in his pretty face.

Review

Oftentimes, the characters I love most in fiction are the ones I’d absolutely hate in real life. Danyal Jilani is one such character. He’s cocky and irresponsible; he knows how attractive he is and hates school – he’d probably drive me crazy in real life. But man, I was rooting for Danyal hard in “More than Just a Pretty Face.” That was consistently how I felt about this book: it was full of heart and charm, and it was almost impossible not to love and root for our leads, Bisma and Danyal. Their romance was sweet, they were compelling characters on their own, and I really felt for them through their struggles. 

Additionally, this is one of those rare rom-coms that’s both plot and character-driven; most, I find, are one or the other. The progression of Danyal and Bisma’s romance, and Danyal’s preparation for the Renaissance Man competition, make up a significant chunk of the story, but so does the character development. (Also, may I just say: I almost never read books with male perspective characters, and I actually really enjoyed reading something in a guy’s voice.) And not only are they balanced, but they feed each other: the character development fuels the romance, and the historical perspective that Danyal gains through Renaissance Man informs his character development – it’s a big part of what teaches him to speak up, which is a major lesson he has to learn throughout the story. I feel like “More than Just a Pretty Face” was trying to do a lot; many books that attempt that fall flat, but this one didn’t. None of the topics that were touched upon felt perfunctory or skimmed-over. 

Overall, this was both a fun read and a surprisingly substantial one, and I highly recommend it.

ENDNOTES

One-Sentence Summary: he may not start as more than just a pretty face, but trust me, he won’t stay that way.

Favorite Scene: hard to choose…the beach scene? Or anything at Remarquable, the French restaurant Danyal works at – I loved the cooking parts of the book. 

Something that Stood Out: the fact that a contemporary rom-com tackled historical issues that are still felt today – I’ve read contemporary/in-the-moment social issue books, but never one that talked about historical issues. 

Something that Bugged Me: really, can’t think of a lot. Maybe the fact that Danyal’s irresponsible behavior is occasionally glorified? But there really aren’t a lot of cases where that’s true. 

Adult Content: scattered cursing; a character’s sexual history is a big part of the plot and is often referenced (never graphically); lots of terrible parenting. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Befuddled Emu

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “The Key to Happily Ever After” by Tif Marcelo

Posted on by Sarah S.

Summary 

All’s fair in love and business.

The de la Rosa family and their wedding planning business have been creating happily ever afters in the Washington, DC area for years, making even the most difficult bride’s day a fairytale. But when their parents announce their retirement, the sisters—Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl—are determined to take over the business themselves.

But the sisters quickly discover that the wedding business isn’t all rings and roses. There are brides whose moods can change at the drop of a hat; grooms who want to control every part of the process; and couples who argue until their big day. As emotions run high, the de la Rosa sisters quickly realize one thing: even when disaster strikes—whether it’s a wardrobe malfunction or a snowmageddon in the middle of a spring wedding—they’ll always have each other.

Review

Whaaaat? An adult novel on a YA blog? What’s this? 

I know, I know. I rarely read adult romance because the content is more than I’m comfortable with in a lot of cases, but I read the summary of this one and couldn’t resist. Filipino wedding planners? Sibling relationships? Sign me UP. (The majority of my best friends are Filipino and I’ve developed a love for their culture through knowing them, and also, as a sister, sibling stuff gets me Every Time.) Despite that, I wasn’t sure what to expect of this, but was pleasantly surprised on several fronts.

First off, it’s almost totally clean. (God bless you, Tif Marcelo, for not writing scenes I have to flip past.) There’s a little bit of implied sexual content, but it’s minimal and nothing is shown; other than that, there’s just a smattering of strong language, and since the characters are adults, any drinking that crops up doesn’t have to be filed under ‘objectionable content’ like it does in YA where everyone’s underage. I was extremely pleased to find that I never had to worry about content here. That probably owes itself mostly to the fact that this isn’t so much a rom-com as it is a family story with a small side of romance.

Speaking of. The bond between the de la Rosa sisters in all its mess and misunderstanding was undoubtedly one of the best parts of this book. I don’t have sisters, but as a sibling, stories that truly convey how loving and crucial a bond between people who lowkey sorta hate each other can be touch my heart immensely. “The Key to Happily Ever After” nailed that, undeniably. And on top of that, each sister was fleshed-out and real and lovable in her own way; even without the sister bond, the de la Rosas could each stand on her own. I wished, at points, that we could’ve spent more time with Janelyn, who got almost no page time compared to Marisol and Pearl, but I still felt that I got a good sense of each sister’s personality from what we did get. And the wedding planning business itself was delightful. I loved meeting their clients and seeing what the process of planning a wedding (something I, a single-pringle high school senior, would obviously know nothing about) was like. Lastly, I was tickled to find that I understood some of the references to Filipino culture even from my limited, outsider experience with it: for example, the first time someone called Mari “Ate,” the Filipino term for “older sister,” I immediately thought of one of my best friends whose little brothers call her “Ate Sophia.” That sort of thing.

On the whole, “The Key to Happily Ever After” was a fun but surprisingly deep look at sibling bonds, wedding planning, and finding your own happiness. Another reason I usually shy away from adult fiction is because I can’t really relate to thirtysomethings as a seventeen-year-old, but I didn’t find that to be an issue here. This was a rare adult book where I didn’t see adults as an entirely different species – they just seemed like me in a few years. Sweet, clean, earnest, and relatable – would highly recommend.

Rating: 4.5/5 Golden Grasshoppers

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “Every Reason We Shouldn’t” by Sara Fujimura

Posted on by Sarah S.

Special thanks to Tor Teen, NetGalley, and the author for the advance copy. “Every Reason We Shouldn’t” will be released March 3rd, 2020. 

Summary:

Fifteen-year-old, biracial figure skater Olivia Kennedy’s Olympic dreams have ended. She’s bitter, but enjoying life as a regular teenager instead of an athlete… until Jonah Choi starts training at her family’s struggling rink. Jonah’s driven, talented, going for the Olympics in speed skating, completely annoying… and totally gorgeous. Between teasing Jonah, helping her best friend try out for roller derby, figuring out life as a normal teen and keeping the family business running, Olivia’s got her hands full. But will rivalry bring her closer to Jonah, or drive them apart?

WHAT I THOUGHT:

I’m pretty sure this book marks only the second time I’ve been THIS excited to get an ARC. (Like, seriously, the last and only other time was when a publisher granted my NetGalley wish to read “Tweet Cute”. Worth it.) “Every Reason We Shouldn’t” went on my TBR the moment I stumbled across it on GoodReads – at the time, it was so far out it didn’t even have a cover yet – so when I saw that it was available on NetGalley, you better believe I smashed that “request” button. And I got it! Why was I so excited?

Simply put, there just aren’t enough YA novels about figure skating. I should know – I’ve been searching for them since my early teens, when I started reading YA. At the time, I was a serious figure skater, and I was absolutely obsessed with my sport, so it always made me sad that the majority of books available about skating were either middle grade (I actually have read a very good, very accurate MG skating book that I’d recommend, though) or…kinda crappy, TBH. To my knowledge, the only high-profile YA skating book released before this one was “Being Sloane Jacobs,” which I read and was very meh on, mostly because, as a former skater, it drove me crazy that the skating parts of the book were so friggin’ inaccurate. So when I saw that this was a thing, and my request got approved? Heart eyes. I read the entire book within a day of getting the ARC. There were a few considerations that were going to impact my opinion of this book, so let’s see how it stacked up to my lofty expectations.

1. First and foremost: how accurate was the portrayal of figure skating? 

Honestly? For a skating book written by a non-skater (as it appeared from the author’s note, et. al.), it was excellent. The protagonist, Olivia, is a pairs skater, and I was in singles, so I can’t speak to that. But the elements (moves, basically) that were name-dropped were all actual things, and most of them were used correctly. The program they were doing, technically, was pretty on-par with the majority of “just moved up and getting our butts kicked” senior-level pairs programs that you’d see among the lower-ranked pairs at the U.S. Nationals. The only thing I have to point out here is that Olivia apparently has a triple axel, which…highly unlikely. There are only four or five singles ladies at the junior and senior levels (keep in mind that singles skaters usually have to do much harder jumps and spins than pairs skaters) who can land a triple axel with any sort of consistency in competition right now, let alone female pairs skaters. It’s kind of insane that a mid-tier pairs skater would have such a difficult jump in her arsenal when it isn’t expected of female skaters, let alone women in pairs, at all. Otherwise, the portrayal of skating was on-point, even in the non-technical aspects.

Oh, and the “your body goes rogue once you stop skating and you look like a normal person again” thing?

PAINFULLY accurate.

(No, really. I was sixteen when I quit, so I was almost in the same boat as Olivia is here, and the second I stepped off that ice for the last time…poof! Went from looking 12 to looking 25 overnight. So yeah, I felt that.)

2. How much of the rom-com goodness promised by the summary was actually there? 

A good amount, as it turns out.

To start on a positive note: Olivia and Jonah are a lot younger than most YA characters (usually they’re 17-18 and juniors or seniors in high school, while in this book the characters are 15-year-old sophomores), and the development of their relationship really mirrors that. “Every Reason We Shouldn’t” has one of the most realistic portrayals of high school romance I’ve seen in a while, despite being between two characters who aren’t anything like typical high school kids. It isn’t instalove (which annoys me), nor is it enemies-to-lovers (which, though it is an awesome trope, pretty much never happens in high school, to my knowledge), or any other unrealistic romance trope – they start off as friends, and their crushes on each other develop along with the friendship. There’s no fanfare or grand gestures, just shared interests, time spent together, and awkward situation after awkward situation slowly pushing them towards each other. It was…nice. I loved that, as well as how skating – something that matters so much to both of them – is a large part of what brings them together. But once they actually become a thing, that sorta derails. I felt as if they became a little…old-married-couple-ish after they started dating, in a way that no 15-year-olds I’ve ever met have. But mostly, solid rom-com goodness.

3. Were any loose ends left untied? 

Sorta.

The epilogue wrapped up almost everything quite nicely, but the *spoilers* conflict between Olivia and her a-hole of an ex-pairs partner, Stuart “Egg” Trout, doesn’t really get resolved, and I was curious to see how that would work. Never found out – not a huge deal, but still, disappointing.

So, was it worth the wait? 

…It’s a skating rom-com! It may not have been a perfect book, but I’m never going to say “no” and y’all know it.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

One-Sentence Summary: he was a sk8er boy, she said…wait, no, she didn’t, that doesn’t work.

Recommended For: figure skaters, fans of the sport, anyone who likes sports novels (especially of the rom-com variety).

Objectionable Content: scattered cursing, and a LOT of implicit making-out that could be something a little steamier but is left so ambiguous that one can never know.

Overall Rating: 4/5 Golden Grasshoppers

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “American Royals” by Katharine McGee

Posted on by Sarah S.

SPECS

Title: American Royals

Author: Katharine McGee

Page Count: 437

Summary: 

When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne.

As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America’s first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare except when she’s breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn’t care much about anything, either . . . except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her. And then there’s Samantha’s twin, Prince Jefferson. If he’d been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.

The power. The drama. The intrigue. The Crown. New York Times bestselling author Katharine McGee imagines an alternate version of the modern world, one where the glittering age of monarchies has not yet faded–and where love is still powerful enough to change the course of history.

REVIEW

I’ve been looking forward to “American Royals” for I-can’t-even-remember-how-many-months. It’s had a prominent place on my TBR since at least March. Could I tell you why? To be totally honest, not really. I’m not a celebrity devotee, I have no unusual level of interest in real-life royalty, and I’ve never been into soap opera-type drama. But for whatever reason, “American Royals” piqued my interest. So, several months later, when I finally picked up a copy, I was excited to see how it would measure up to my lofty expectations.

Conclusion: it did…sorta?

First, the positives. Not surprisingly, Beatrice was my favorite character. I love characters who feel torn between duty and propriety and their personal desires because I FEEL THAT. So Beatrice’s struggles, even though they were…well, literal princess problems…were relatable to me, and it seemed as if she had a genuinely good heart and a sharp mind. She’s the kind of character I can see myself befriending IRL. And her romance with her head of security, Connor, was THE ACTUAL SWEETEST THING EVER. Of the 3.5-ish love stories in this book, Bee and Connor’s was by far my favorite. There was some level of soap-opera dramatics to it, yes, but nowhere near those of the other two couples. It was sweet and earnest and *heart eyes* and I loved it. The others, though…not as much.

Nina was…okay. (It did bug me that everyone kept acting as if she was poor – I get that she was a commoner in a royal court and all, but HER PARENTS ARE HIGH RANKING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, STOP ACTING LIKE SHE’S LIVING ON THE STREETS. Anyway.) She was a nice enough character who had very little personality and even less backbone. Jeff was also pretty generic. Their romance was an extremely eventful one that somehow felt uneventful, which is ironic. I wasn’t feeling that – or that weird Samantha/Teddy thing. WHAT THE HECK. HE’S ENGAGED TO YOUR SISTER, SAM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING. Not a fan.

Aside from that weird Teddy thing, Samantha was delightful, but I felt like, at times, she was sort of a footnote. Her scenes with Beatrice were some of the best in the entire book (they reminded me of my brother and I, so of course I liked them), but on her own, Sam didn’t get to do much. That was sad; I hope McGee does a little more with her in book two because she has a lot of unrealized potential.

And DAPHNE FREAKING DEIGHTON. This is a case of a character whose name is as snotty as she is. I know she was the villain, and I was supposed to hate her, but it made me angry just how easy it was to do that. In the immortal words of Leopold Fitz, she is “the absolute worst!” She’s ruthless, she’s unceasingly selfish, she’s a good enough actress to be almost universally beloved in spite of all of that, and the girl’s ambition makes Julius Caesar, who was literally stabbed to death for being too ambitious, look like an underachiever. Yeah, I really hope Daphne has a parachuting accident or something in the next book.

As to the plot…it’s not “Hamlet” (ha! That’s TWO Shakespeare references in one review! @my AP Lit teacher: extra credit?), but it’s addictive, I’ll give it that. So…was this as wildly expectations-exceeding as I anticipated? No. But is it still a great read? Absolutely.

CLOSING: 

Six-Word Summary: different government system, same endless drama.

Recommended For: people who obsessively stalk every bit of coverage on every royal wedding that occurs; fans of general celebrity gossip will probably love this one, too. It has a tabloid-y feel.

Possibly Objectionable Content: surprisingly little. There’s no strong language (“hell” is used once and that’s it) and nothing graphically suggestive. However, characters get [legally] drunk, it’s definitely made clear that people are sleeping with each other (never shown, but unsubtly implied), and Daphne is an absolutely reprehensible human who makes absolutely reprehensible decisions. (*SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER AVERT YOUR EYES IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS* She drugs her best friend’s drink so she won’t rat on her for sleeping with her boyfriend’s bestie…YUP. IT’S THAT BAD.)

Overall Rating: 4/5 Befuddled Giraffes

 

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Morgan Matson

Posted on by Sarah S.

I made no secret, in a review posted a few months ago, how much I hated the ending of Morgan Matson’s most recent novel, “Save the Date.” I would probably have loved it if not for that, and when I found “Since You’ve Been Gone” at the Goodwill, I was eager to try to redeem my opinion of Matson’s work. I wasn’t disappointed.

SPECS

Title: Since You’ve Been Gone

Author: Morgan Matson

Page Count: 449

SUMMARY

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um…

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane’s list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait…what?

REVIEW

At first glance, SYBG didn’t seem like the kind of book I’d love. I love contemporaries, but didn’t think I’d be overly fond of this one, given its premise and my previous mixed feelings about Matson’s work. I’m happy to report that I was wrong.

From the get-go, Sloane’s list is the driving force behind the entire plot. It’s full of inside jokes between Sloane and Emily, and most of its contents promise an interesting story – that’s what made me keep reading. In the process, it brings Emily out of the shell she’s backed into since meeting Sloane; she has to learn to redefine herself without the spunky, adventurous best friend she’s relied on the past few years. That was my favorite aspect of the story: seeing Emily grow from an overshadowed lackey to someone with true confidence and individuality, interesting in her own right. She was very real from beginning to end and her transformation rang very true. Though she changed significantly, she didn’t do it in a cliché blaze of glory, some sort of 1980s-teen-movie makeover – it happened over time as a result of the new experiences she gained, and the friendships she was able to make when she climbed out of the shadow of the person who’d dominated her entire life. And the supporting cast was fantastic (well, I wasn’t super into Collins, but his lack of likability was understandable), especially Frank. I loved Frank, and I want to date one.

But the one thing I oddly did not enjoy about this book?

Sloane herself.

I know we were supposed to sympathize with her, but I could not STAND her character. She was supposed to be Emily’s best friend but it seemed to me like, if anything, she was subjugating her. Her reasons are explained at the end of the book when the two reunite, but I didn’t feel like they justified the way she completely changed Emily – and made her think it was a good thing. A large chunk of the book is dedicated to Emily’s quest to regain her individuality after losing it to that friendship, after all. I don’t think we’re meant to see Sloane as a toxic friend, and I don’t think she necessarily meant to be one, but that is how she came off to me. Not my favorite.

Overall, “Since You’ve Been Gone” was fun, fresh, and the perfect Labor Day weekend read. It had its issues but ultimately I thought its upsides overshadowed them, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun YA contemporary.

CLOSING

Six-Word Summary: sometimes one’s loss is one’s gain.

Recommended For: a hot, boring Summer day when you’re longing for an adventure you can’t have.

Possibly-Objectionable Content: almost none. There is one intense makeout scene as Emily follows Sloane’s instructions to “kiss a stranger,” and a little underage drinking; in addition, Sloane instructs her in another item from the list to use a fake ID to sneak into a bar (she doesn’t drink there but is there illegally). Not a single instance of strong language, though.

Rating: 5/5 Befuddled Emu

 

Posted in Lists and Rankings

Ranking the Works of Kasie West (so far)

Posted on by Sarah S.

I’ve been having a bit of a Kasie West binge lately. She’s a popular contemporary author (and all her stuff is super clean – bonus!) but I hadn’t picked up any of her books until I found “On the Fence,” one of her early novels, at a used bookshop for a dollar, and “The Fill-In Boyfriend” at the library the same day. I’d never read any of her books, but I was looking forward to “Maybe This Time” (which will  be reviewed later – I have it in my possession but have yet to read it), so when I enjoyed both of those books, I decided to check out her other works to prepare myself.

Yes, all eight of them. (Except the “Pivot Point” duology, because I didn’t want to read them, and “The Distance Between Us,” because my library somehow doesn’t have it.) 

And after the initial two, I read all of them in five days. I know. The things I do for this blog. (JK…I really enjoyed it.) So, being the competitive soul that I am, I’m going to rank them, least favorite to favorite. But there are a few things to realize here.

While on this massive binge, I realized that most of these books follow a sort of formula, tweaked a little for each story. I like finding patterns in related media (during the Christmas season, I love to find and point out the recurring similarities in every Hallmark movie I watch), and I noticed that there are certain things that ALWAYS show up in Kasie West’s books. That isn’t a knock on her work – hey, I still love it – but there are definitely a lot of observable patterns and recurring motifs here to keep in mind as you read. Re the list I made in my reading journal, they are as follows: [there are a few spoilers here, so be careful when you see something in brackets!]

  1. California or Bust: set in southern or central California (this is true of 6/8 books – “P.S. I Like You” was set in Arizona and “By Your Side” took place in Utah).
  2. Fractured Friendships: features a tight-knit friend group or pair of friends experiencing drama. This is definitely my least favorite of what I call the “Kasie West Archetypes,” or KWAs. [Examples: Gia vs. Jules in “The Fill-In Boyfriend”; Lily and Isabel’s fight in “P.S. I Like You.”]
  3. Three’s a Crowd: involves a quasi-love triangle that never truly threatens the endgame pairing. [Examples: Autumn, Dax, and Jeff in “By Your Side”; Charlie, Braden, and Evan in “On the Fence.”]
  4. Branching Out: the events of the book spark a new friendship between the protagonist and someone she’d never expect to befriend – said new friend sometimes further removes her from her former friend group.  [Example: Maddie and Trina in “Lucky in Love”; Gia and Bec in “The Fill-In Boyfriend.”]
  5. Family Ties: there is some sort of tension in the protagonist’s family life. [Examples: Maddie’s dysfunctional family in “Lucky in Love”; the strain placed on Charlie’s family life by her mother’s death in “On the Fence.”]
  6. Lost in Translation: the plot hinges on on misunderstandings and mishaps that prevent the endgame couple from admitting that they like each other until the end of the story. [Examples: Abby’s botched confession in “Love, Life, and the List”; Cade and Lily’s refusal to make amends in “P.S. I Like You”].
  7. Know Thyself: the protagonist undergoes some sort of process of self-discovery. [Examples: the Heart List in “Love, Life, and the List”; Charlie’s exploration of femininity in “On the Fence.”]
  8. Lies of Omission: features a fight resulting from the romantic leads, or the protagonist and her friends, hiding things from each other. [Examples: Maddie’s lottery win and the article leaker in “Lucky in Love”; the entire Bradley debacle in “The Fill-In Boyfriend.”]

I know. I’m a geek who loves to analyze books – what can I say? But I swear this actually has a purpose. Given that all of these books largely conform to those basic criteria, I have an easy metric for ranking them: a) which books use those archetypes in the most creative and compelling ways, and b) which books diverge the most from those archetypes to show versatility? Granted, simply judging by how much I enjoyed the book is going to be a part of this as well, but keep those KWAs in mind as you read through this list.

8. The Fill-In Boyfriend”

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KWAs Included: all of them. Literally – all eight are there.

This was the first Kasie West book I read, and it didn’t leave me with the strongest first impression. It was a fine book, but there was nothing particularly compelling about any of the characters. The premise was fun and I love fake-dating tropes, but “The Fill-In Boyfriend” is a lot shallower than Kasie’s other books – most of them are fluffy contemporaries, but they have depth as well, while this one tried to say something (ironically, its message was about turning away from superficiality) that never really got across. It uses all of my least-favorite KWAs to little effect, and it’s a decent story, but not very compelling or creative. Fun but mindless – 3/5.

7. “By Your Side”

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KWAs Included: Three’s a Crowd, Branching Out, Know Thyself, Lies of Omission

I really appreciated that this book attempted to cover issues that none of Kasie West’s other romance novels brought up – anxiety disorder, the foster system, consequences of reckless behavior, etc. – and it definitely gets props for that, but “By Your Side” was…well, I hate to say it, a little boring. Autumn and Dax’s time in the library wasn’t nearly as interesting as it could have been (it’s a LIBRARY, for crying out loud!) and none of the characters stood out to me as a particularly interesting person. The only reason it isn’t in the bottom slot is because it doesn’t involve all that many KWAs definitely gets points for sensitive depictions of tough, relevant issues.

Also. Irrelevant but worth mentioning: I can’t hear Dax’s name without thinking of Drax from “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which…is probably not the association I was supposed to make. (There’s also a guy named Dallin. The names are a little offbeat in this one.) 3/5

6. “Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss”

KWAs Used: California or Bust, Family Ties, Lies of Omission

A cute story with a novel premise and a relative dearth of KWAs (it has the least of any of her books, to which I think we owe the unorthodox setting), but…it sort of fell flat. I loved the movie-set aspect (that was very unique and fun) and that it featured Lacey, but I preferred her characterization in “Love, Life, and the List” to her characterization here. On the bright side, I feel like Lacey and Donovan’s romance was one of the more realistic ones (if you can say that of a movie star and her tutor) – it seemed to happen more naturally than a lot of the others – but it wasn’t really swoonworthy. And it had a little less depth than most of KW’s other romance novels. This seems like it should’ve been one of my absolute favorites, but it fell kind of flat. 3/5

5. “P.S. I Like You”

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KWAs Used: Fractured Friendships, Three’s a Crowd, Family Ties, Lost in Translation, Lies of Omission (sort of)

I loved the fact that “P.S. I Like You” was about a musician, and the letters were adorable, but I was lukewarm on the characters. Lily and Cade are witty and entertaining but didn’t endear themselves to me the way that my favorite KW couples do. Additionally, their enemies-to-lovers arc – normally one of my favorite tropes – fell flat for me because their exchanges usually came off as unbearably catty, rather than charmingly acerbic. This was a massive improvement over “Fill-In,” and I liked it a lot, but I often found myself wincing at how nasty every single character in this book could be to the others. (Not just Cade and Lily – Sasha, Cade’s original love interest, was even worse.) This definitely would’ve been high up on that list if the constant stream of insults had been toned down a little. 4/5

4. “On the Fence”

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KWAs Used: California or Bust, Know Thyself, Branching Out, Lies of Omission, Branching Out, Lost in Translation

I think my favorite thing about this was that it wasn’t afraid to be heavier than KW’s other books, but I liked a lot of things about it. Charlie was a very likable, down-to-earth character; I *love* that the romance sprang from years of friendship, which made it feel very real; Charlie’s growth and self-discovery is done much better than it is in most KW books in that it doesn’t cause Massive Amounts of Drama, and the family’s dynamic was really sweet. Charlie’s new job and the period of self-discovery that it sparked were really satisfying to me, for some reason, and I loved her family. It was because of the book’s focus on the family that allowed it to get a lot heavier than I expected (to minimize the spoilers: Charlie’s family experienced something very tragic and disturbing, which Charlie represses her memories of). Having that aspect to the story allowed it to get a lot deeper and more meaningful; it was sensitively handled, and the fact that the family was still loving and supportive even though they didn’t fully understand Charlie was wonderful. “On the Fence” had a good balance of depth, fluffy romance, and self-discovery – really excellent. 4.5/5

3. “Love, Life, and the List” 

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KWAs Used: California or Bust, Branching Out, Three’s a Crowd, Family Ties, Lost in Translation, Know Thyself

NO FRIENDSHIP DRAMA. That alone secures this one a top slot. But it’s also a super unique premise with characters I really enjoyed. The fact that it couldn’t fall back on the drama subplot forced “Love, Life, and the List” to avoid a few of the KWAs I don’t particularly like, and the story’s resolution felt fresher for it. Also, I want to do a Heart List now! And can we get a hallelujah for an intact friend group? (Also, Lacey is DELIGHTFUL, and definitely my favorite of the Unexpected New Friends in these books. She’s great and I can’t wait to finish “Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss,” where she’s an MC!) 4.5/5

2. “Lucky in Love”

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KWAs Used: California or Bust, Fractured Friendships, Branching Out, Family Ties, Lies of Omission

No one raves about this book, which totally mystifies me. I *loved* it. It has a fun premise, the best set of KW protagonists by far, A ZOO, and an absolutely adorable romance. Studious, happily-married-to-my-GPA protagonists are my favorite thing ever (because hello, self-projection!), which meant that I was automatically going to love Maddie. I saw a lot of myself in her even outside of that – she loves animals (yup), feels responsible for other people’s happiness (yup), and trusts others too readily (YUP). And SETH. Oh, Seth, you are a treasure. He was a soft friendly boi who I would 100% swoon over IRL. And the fact that their relationship takes place at a zoo – the place I spent most of my most formative childhood moments – is !!!. That’s enough for me to overlook the fact that this is one of the most petty-drama-filled KW books, easily. Yes, I cringed at times (I’m not kidding about the level of drama here), but it was more than worth it. 4.75/5

1. “Listen to Your Heart”

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KWAs Used: California or Bust, Fractured Friendships, Three’s a Crowd (well…sort of a love square?), Lost in Translation, Know Thyself, Lies of Omission

I think the reason I chose “Listen to Your Heart” as my favorite KW novel is its freshness. It uses all the same archetypes as her other books, but the way it’s all presented is so new that they don’t feel like the same plotlines. The podcast was super fun and a very unique way to frame the characters’ struggles; the setting was probably my favorite out of all of the ones I’ve read (it had serious Lake Tahoe vibes); and Diego and Kate had wonderful chemistry. (Also, Diego is a SMOL BEAN, and I want to know where I can find one of those.) Because it pulls off a compelling story and introduces instantly likable characters while putting a fresh spin on the classic KWAs, “Listen to Your Heart” takes top honors in this non-definitive ranking.

Okay, how off am I? Do you guys agree or disagree with my rankings? Please let me know in the comments, and be on the lookout for a review of Kasie West’s latest (as yet unread by me) novel, “Maybe This Time,” coming soon! 

 

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “If I’m Being Honest” by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Posted on by Sarah S.

SUMMARY 

High school senior Cameron Bright’s reputation can be summed up in one word: b***h. It’s no surprise she’s queen bee at her private L.A. high school—she’s beautiful, talented, and notorious for her cutting and brutal honesty. So when she puts her foot in her mouth in front of her crush, Andrew, she fears she may have lost him for good.

In an attempt to win him over, Cameron resolves to “tame” herself, much like Katherine in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. First, she’ll have to make amends with those she’s wronged, which leads her to Brendan, the guy she labelled with an unfortunate nickname back in the sixth grade. At first, Brendan isn’t all that receptive to Cameron’s ploy. But slowly, he warms up to her when they connect over the computer game he’s developing. Now if only Andrew would notice…

But the closer Cameron gets to Brendan, the more she sees he appreciates her personality—honesty and all—and wonders if she’s compromising who she is for the guy she doesn’t even want.

REVIEW

I did not intend to read this when it first came out.

I’d heard very good things from other book blogs, but it didn’t seem like my thing, so I skipped out on it. But, when I realized that I was spending an obscene amount of money on books and it was one of the few new-ish YA releases that my library had, I decided to go for it. I’m glad I did.

I think that one of the reasons I avoided this book was because I expected it to be a 300-page justification of cruel behavior in the name of “self-expression.” One of my greatest pet peeves is when people cite their circumstances to explain why they’re total a-holes, and I thought that was what Cameron would spend this book doing. She didn’t. Though she started off as a total jerk, she genuinely came to realize that treating others with decency and respect is worth the effort. I was really impressed by the way the authors developed her character – having her quest to become a kinder person start off for selfish reasons was very believable and made her accidental revelation about the value of kindness later on feel far more grounded and earned. It didn’t hurt that Cameron and those around her were all very multifaceted characters and, even when they acted out of line, it was impossible not to see where they were coming from because their motivations were so well-developed. The depth of the characters and genuineness of its message made “If I’m Being Honest” feel meaningful – surprisingly wholesome despite the amount of adult content it contains (more on that in the Rating section). Add in an adorable romance (“nerd gets the girl” is my FAVORITE THING), endless fun geek moments, and an inspiring side-message about forging a path that is truly yours rather than the one others choose for you, this was an excellent read, and I’m very glad I decided to give it a chance.

RATING

Plot: 5/5 – I love retellings (well, this wasn’t a retelling in the traditional sense, but sort of), and how this pulled off the level of trope-iness (that should be a word #fightme) that it did while somehow also being a refreshingly unique take on the typical rom-com is beyond me. It was built on a really intriguing concept and handled with enough deftness to make it both fun and surprisingly meaningful.

Characters: 5/5 – no one was two-dimensional here. Every character was extremely real and vivid, flawed but (unless they weren’t supposed to be) likable – and the principal characters were all explored in enough depth to let us into their minds a little.

Pacing: 5/5 – I mean, it didn’t flag or lose steam, so I guess that’s an automatic 5? Man, this is a pointless category…

Writing Quality: 4/5 – generally excellent, but it takes something truly incredible to make a solid 5 in this category, and pretty writing was sort of not the point of this book.

Content: 2/5 – by far my least favorite part of the book. This was not clean in the slightest. Everyone hooks up with everyone (always off-page, but it’s discussed constantly), kissing scenes tend to get intense, and the language is very strong. For me, some of that negates a bit of the message, but others might not find any of it objectionable; it depends on the person.

Overall: 4.2/5 Confused Llamas