Novel Review: Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA/NA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Shuster

Release Date: 2018

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

“Smart and funny, with characters so real and vulnerable, you want to send them care packages. I loved this book.” —Rainbow Rowell

From debut author Mary H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

For Penny Lee, high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she’d somehow landed a boyfriend, they never managed to know much about each other. Now Penny is heading to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer. It’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to, you know, see each other.

Review:

Penny is finally away from home, in college, and away from her high school life. Sam works at a coffee shop and tries to write, but is currently stuck where he is. Neither of them really know how to interact or what to do with themselves. Penny has a new roommate, and is trying to get away from her immature mother, and Sam is trying to move forward.

This was a really good, solid book. Penny stuck out more than Sam to me; she has a lot going on, what with the drama of her roommate and college, and attempting to grow away from her mother and yet also thinking her mother needs her help in order to survive. The romance was sweet, and both characters are sweet, though Penny is a bit more dramatic. I appreciate where Penny and her mother's relationship went; they have a few issues, but they ended up growing in a really healthy way, I think.

This isn't one of my favorites, but it was a really good read, and I would pick up her next one.

Manga Review: After Hours, Volume 1, by Yuhta Nishio

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: June 2017

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

There’s always something going on at night. Sooner or later, you’ll find your scene.

Emi Ashiana is 24, unemployed, and not really sure what she wants do with her life. When a friend invites her to a dance club, Emi doesn’t expect much. But what she finds will change her world!

The club is hopping and Emi isn’t…so she ends up hiding in a corner after her friend ditches her to flirt with a guy! Emi figures the night is a bust, but then someone amazing comes to her rescue. Kei is a DJ, and her effortless self-confidence captivates Emi. Is this just a wonderful night out or the start of the rest of her life?

Review:

Before starting this, I didn't realize that the characters were in their 20's, out of school and trying to figure out their lives. I did know it was yuri, but I didn't expect it to be so mature. That's not very common, I don't think, and I really like that.

Emi meets Kei rather by chance. After being dragged to a club she's not all that interested in, and separated then ditched by her friend, Kei kind of saves her. They end up going home together, and that sets their relationship in motion.

It's a rather fast move, but it's also sweet, and seems to just make sense. Kei is easygoing, and not at all worried about letting Emi stay and get comfortable from the start. Kei is also a DJ, and introduces Emi to that world, and to the job of VJ, which might be just what she's been looking for.

I related to Emi in a way. I understand her feelings about trying to figure out what it is she wants to do with her life, for a passion she doesn't really have yet. I also liked that this had a subtle, slice-of-life kind of feel to it. Their relationship is easy, and we get to see them hanging out and doing couple things, without any pressure.

This was a fun first volume. Easy start, with a few plot points that could lead to more. I'm intrigued to read the next one.

Novel Review: The Marriage Trap (Marriage to a Billionare, #2) by Jennifer Probst

Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance (with sex)
Publisher: Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: 2012
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The sexy second book in the New York Times and USA TODAYbestselling Marriage to a Billionaire trilogy by “one of the most exciting breakout novelists” (USA TODAY) Jennifer Probst.

To satisfy his late father’s wishes, hot and single billionaire Michael Conte must find a bride—someone who will fit into his traditional family back home in Italy—and fast, so his engaged sister will be allowed to wed. With no intention of being tied down, Michael “proposes” to fiery, free-spirited photographer Maggie Ryan: if she will play the part of his fiancée during her trip to Milan for a photo shoot, he will keep away from her married best friend, Alexa, and stop making Maggie nuts with their too-close-for- comfort flirtations. 

But once in Italy, sexual tension sparks the hottest no-strings- attached arrangement on any continent. Could marriage be the most enticing trap of all?

The Cover:

Bleh. I'm not a fan of this cover at all. It's overly embarrassing, showing only the sex part of the book, but it's also not pretty or eye-catching. I don't care for it at all.

Review:

This book was just meh.
I wasn’t impressed with the writing or the characters, and none of it made me want to keep reading. It was cheesy, and the sex was just okay. I was annoyed with the characters a few times, and more annoyed with some of the plot points. The alpha role got on my nerves.
I didn’t mind some of the family elements, like his big family, and I did like the plot regarding his little sister. I don’t know if it’s enough to make me want to pick up that book, but still.
I was more disappointed by the end of the book than anything, and it doesn’t make me want to pick up another one. And at this point it was rather forgettable. Meh.

Novel Review: All Played Out (Rusk University, #3) by Cora Carmack

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: William Morrow (HarperCollins)

Release Date: May 12, 2015

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

First person in her family to go to college? CHECK.
Straight A’s? CHECK.
On track to graduate early? CHECK.
Social life? …..yeah, about that….

With just a few weeks until she graduates, Antonella DeLuca’s beginning to worry that maybe she hasn’t had the full college experience. (Okay... Scratch that. She knows she hasn't had the full college experience).

So Nell does what a smart, dedicated girl like herself does best. She makes a "to do" list of normal college activities.

Item #1? Hook up with a jock.

Rusk University wide receiver Mateo Torres practically wrote the playbook for normal college living. When he’s not on the field, he excels at partying, girls, and more partying. As long as he keeps things light and easy, it's impossible to get hurt... again. But something about the quiet, shy, sexy-as-hell Nell gets under his skin, and when he learns about her list, he makes it his mission to help her complete it.

Torres is the definition of confident (And sexy. And wild), and he opens up a side of Nell that she's never known. But as they begin to check off each crazy, exciting, normal item, Nell finds that her frivolous list leads to something more serious than she bargained for. And while Torres is used to taking risks on the field, he has to decide if he's willing to take the chance when it's more than just a game.

Together they will have to decide if what they have is just part of the experiment or a chance at something real.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. I think it shows the intimacy, the attraction, and an idea of what you're getting. But it also shows the fun, that this isn't just a steamy new adult, it's funny too. I think their expressions are so cute and the position is hot.

Quotes:

• ·         “It wouldn’t be the first (or last time) someone found me boring. It’s something I’ve come to terms with in the rest of my life, and I’m happy enough with how I am not to care.” (Kindle, 22%)
• ·         “Confidence is a camouflage that does nothing to fill the gaps it covers.” (28%)
• ·         “‘And should you wake up one day to find that you regret the choice you made the day before, then you make a new one. Don’t worry about whether you might be wrong someday. Worry about whether you’re right now. Tomorrow can wait.’” (34%)
• ·         “‘I think you’re trying to wake yourself up. Before it’s too late.’” (61%)
• ·         “‘Our bad choices don’t make us stupid, they just make us wrong. About that one thing. Not about everything.’” (83%)
• ·         “‘I get that you loved her. But any kind of love where you have to prove yourself to be worthy is the wrong kind. And you’re better off without her.’” (84%)
• ·         “I’m having fun doing something I’m not good at. And I never thought I’d say that.” (87%)
• ·         “‘Never choose anything else over her. Not football. Not your own stubbornness. Nothing.’” (94%) (Aside from staying true to yourself---yes! This is how you have a relationship.)

Review:

I honestly don’t know why I haven't read all of Carmack’s books at this point. I’ve enjoyed the two books I’ve read, and all of her books sound like my kind of thing. College, with some sex, a lot of romance, at least some finding yourself. Sounds just right for me.

This is about Nell. She’s very smart, focuses only on her studies, and she doesn’t really understand people. So she makes a list of normal college things to do. She meets Torres, and despite their wants, they immediately hit it off. Torres jokes around constantly, but Nell sees more to him, and she doesn’t let him get away with it.

I understood Nell. I get her social awkwardness, at least on some level. And I liked that she went out of her comfort zone. She was fun, and I enjoyed her a lot. I thought her and Torres were a really good fit. He’s the joker, the fun guy, who fools around, and Nell balances him. She sees him and she understands him, and I liked that. He balances Nell equally as well, pushing her, helping her.

I do think I would have liked more focus on family; we have a few mentions of Nell's, but we don't really get a big sense or interaction with them.

This went by super fast and it was so fun. I loved the characters, and it’s made me look forward to reading the others in the series. I loved the attraction, and I loved the growth that they both went through.

I will definitely be picking up her other books soon.

Novel Review: Just One Year (Just One Day, #2) + Just One Night (Just One Day, #2.5) by Gayle Forman

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Genre: YA/NA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Dutton (Penguin)

Release Date: October 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Just One Year:  Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Just One Night: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The heartrending conclusion—from Willem’s POV—to the romantic duet of novels that began with Allyson’s story in Just One Day

After spending an amazing day and night together in Paris, Just One Year is Willem’s story, picking up where Just One Day ended. His story of their year of quiet longing and near misses is a perfect counterpoint to Allyson’s own as Willem undergoes a transformative journey, questioning his path, finding love, and ultimately, redefining himself.

The Cover:

I think the cover is rather pretty. I love how it goes with the original cover for the first book. I do think that having just Willem on the cover would work better, because the book is mostly about Willem on his own. But I still think it's pretty and it works.
The cover for Just One Night is very pretty as well--I think the image and colors are gorgeous, and it fits.

Quotes:

•  "There’s a difference between losing something you knew you had and losing something you discovered you had. One is a disappointment. The other is truly a loss.” (Hardback, pg. 89)
• "Saba used to say there was a difference between bravery and courage. Bravery was doing something dangerous without thinking. Courage was walking into danger, knowing full well the risks.” (Pg. 133)
• "'Maybe you’re never ready until it’s upon you.’” (Pg. 229)
• "I’m not sure it’s possible to simultaneously love something and keep it safe. Loving someone is such an inherently dangerous act. And yet, love, that’s where safety lives.” (Pg. 291)
• "But maybe we were both wrong, and both right. It’s not either or, not luck or love. Not fate or will.
  Maybe for double happiness, you need both.” (Pg. 307)

Review:

This book… was absolutely perfect. It was everything it could have been in companion to the first novel.

I loved the first book, with Allyson’s growing up and becoming her own person. And while I went into this hoping that I would get more time with Allyson and Willem together, Willem’s story was just as good and just as important.

I loved seeing Willem grow, become who he needed and wanted to be, find his family again and see it expand. Finally decide to commit to something, decide that he wanted to act. And also to see him want Allyson, go after her, as best as he could, in the same way that Allyson did for him.

I think it’s important to note going into this series that, while it is a love story, and their impact on each other is definitely present and acknowledged, this series is even more than that, about these two characters growing up and finding themselves and their families, on their own. This book ends in pretty much the same spot as the first, with I think a step farther that makes this series complete.

Then there were the places that he went, and the things he did, and the people he met. I love all of the side characters, and the way they’re all shown and developed. Broodje, in particular, is awesome; I love him.

This was a perfect companion, and I love that this series let me fall in love with the characters individually, while making you eager to see them together.

&

Just One Night (Just One Day, #2.5)

~4.5 Stars

 

This ebook was a perfect conclusion. The ending in Just One Year was fantastic, but it definitely left me wanting. After everything, I wanted to finally see the two of them together, as their new selves. This novella gives us that.

The writing, I will say, was a little weird at first, in third person, the voice not quite coming out right. But it got better, and I mostly just didn’t even care.

It starts right where the second books ends, and we finally get to see them together, seeing each other, touching each other, finding out more about each other and their friends and family. It was absolutely perfect.

It’s a short read, and it’s digital only, but if you enjoyed the first two books, and especially if you wanted more, pick it up. It’s worth it.