Novel Review: Just Call My Name (I'll Be There, #2) by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Little, Brown

Release Date: 2014

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

The happily-ever-after of Holly Goldberg Sloan's acclaimed debut, I'll Be There, is turned on its head in this riveting, emotional sequel about friends, enemies, and how those roles can shift in a matter of moments.

Emily Bell has it all. She's in love with a boy named Sam Border, and his little brother has become part of her family. This summer is destined to be the best time of their lives--until a charismatic new girl in town sets her sights on Sam. Now Emily finds herself questioning the loyalty of the person she thought she could trust most.

But the biggest threat to her happiness is someone she never saw coming. Sam's criminally insane father, whom everyone thought they'd finally left behind, is planning a jailbreak. And he knows exactly where to find Emily and his sons when he escapes...and takes his revenge.

The Cover:

Ehh, the cover is okay. It's a little plain, not too eye-catching, and it doesn't quite spark the quirkiness of the story. But it does show an important part of the story, so it's not too bad. It does have a more simple appeal, nothing too romantic or embarrassing.

Review:

This sequel takes us on a bit of a wild ride.

Things seemed to have calmed down for Sam and Emily. But unbeknownst to them, Sam's father has broken out of jail, and he knows right where he's going next.

A new girl shows up here, and she causes some drama for Emily and Sam. Some drama—and then a change for Emily. I like these kinds of friendships, so while it was a bit odd—and Destiny was a weird girl who was not very easy to like for most of this—I didn't mind it in the end. Riddle also makes some new friends and has some new experiences, which is great. He's a sweet boy, and I liked getting to see him grow here.

I really love Sloan's writing style. It feels like someone is watching from the outside, and yet you're also in their head, in a more quirky style than a normal third person. It gives weird little tidbits of peoples lives and reactions, and it jumps to different characters. I really love it, and it's one of my favorite narrative styles, honestly.

I wish I'd re-read the first book before jumping into this one, but I don't think it diminished my experience any. This was still a fun, crazy book to read, and I look forward to reading anything else she releases.

Novel Review: Words We Don't Say by K. J. Reilly

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Hyperion (Disney Book Group)

Release Date: October 2018

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Joel Higgins has 901 unsent text messages saved on his phone.

Ever since the thing that happened, there are certain people he hasn't been able to talk to in person. Sure, he shows up at school, does his mandatory volunteer hours at the soup kitchen, and spends pretty much every moment thinking about Eli, the most amazing girl in the world. But that doesn't mean he's keeping it together, or even that he has any friends.

So instead of hanging out with people in real life, he drafts text messages. But he never presses send.

As dismal as sophomore year was for Joel, he doesn't see how junior year will be any better. For starters, Eli doesn't know how he feels about her, his best friend Andy's gone, and he basically bombed the SATs. But as Joel spends more time at the soup kitchen with Eli and Benj, the new kid whose mouth seems to be unconnected to his brain, he forms bonds with the people they serve there-including a veteran they call Rooster-and begins to understand that the world is bigger than his own pain.

The Cover:

This cover is very fitting. It's a little simple, and not super eye-catching, but I like the usage of words and how it's blurring the background. It signifies how Joel is feeling really well, along with the hint of his unsent texts.

 

Review:

After losing someone, Joel doesn't really talk to people. He doesn't have many friends, he's mostly just going to school and volunteering at the soup kitchen. Wanting to talk to Eli, the girl from the soup kitchen, and yet never saying anything. Instead, he has drafts of texts he wanted to send, wanted to say, but hasn't.

Joel is a good guy, he just doesn't know what to do with himself. He feels alone now, and thus starts his collection of odd people. Eli, who's already there for him. The new guy at the soup kitchen, and the patrons of the kitchen. With the help of his new friend Benji, he starts to finally accept what happened, accept himself, and let himself open up.

There is a twist near the end of the book, and for a bit it felt like it was going in a tragedy direction. I'm happy to say that, while there are serious matters and a serious event, things mostly work out. Joel grows a lot, in good ways. His voice was nice to listen to, as well. He's thoughtful, alone and upset and processing everything still. His texts were fun to follow. And the romance, though not the main focus, was also really sweet.

This book feels like a bit of an underdog, and it kind of stands out for it, to me. It was a good book, and I'm glad I picked it up.

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.

Novel Review: The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)

Release Date: June 2019

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.

Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family—her grandmother and cousins she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

The Cover:

I do like this cover. It's simple and cute, looks rather light-hearted. I actually think the contents are a bit deeper than are portrayed here, and it might even be too simple? Which is a weird thing to say. I still like it, though.

Review:

I eagerly anticipate every new book by Dessen. About every other year, I get a new book to devour, which I usually do very quickly. Even though I haven't been reading very many YA novels lately, I still preordered this one immediately, and read it as soon as I could.

Emma lives a nice, rather comfortable life with her father, his wife and her grandmother. But then one summer, plans with her best friend fall through, and her father and stepmother have vacation plans, and suddenly she doesn't have anywhere to go. The crazy suggestion of staying with her mothers family for the summer is thrown out, and she gets the chance to discover a side of herself and her family that she never knew was there.

Emma was comfortable in herself and her life before this, and feels a bit out of place at first. There's this whole culture and family here that she never knew, and that have an impression of her from a time she doesn't even remember because she was so young. She gets to meet these new people, and experience new things. And, of course, there's Roo. The boy who remembers her, but she doesn't remember. Who she has more of a connection with than she realized, as she keeps getting drawn to him.

This was a really sweet story. I like how Emma grew during this, and how she pulled her family together through it; she comes from two very different sides, with different prejudices on both, and she forces them to meet in the middle at one point. Then there's Roo. I mean, come on. With a name like that? Of course he's the sweetest.

It's so easy to fall into Dessen-land, and I love getting to do it every so often. Still one of my favorite authors, and one I will always be following.

Novel Review: Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: June 2018

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Charlie Grant's older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can't wait for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster. There's the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won't stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren't speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner's nephew is unexpectedly, distractedly cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she'll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

The Cover:

This cover is super cute. The image and even the font match with the wedding theme really well, while also showing the quirky nature of what's going to happen in the book. It's definitely eye-catching, and shows what kind of feel the book is going to give.

Review:

Charlie has lived in her own family bubble for all of her life. When her sister's wedding is coming up, and thus all of her family is again in the same house together for the summer, some of her history starts to unravel in her eyes.

There's wedding chaos happening, the brother Charlie has always idolized is home again, the boy she's always had a crush on is suddenly an option now. And then she's forced to start questioning the life she's lead, and what the “cute” family comics her mother writes has actually done to her and her siblings' lives.

I really like the idea of this story. The whole Grant Central Station comic strips is a really good plot to explore, and it's done really well here, too. Charlie has upheld her family in such a specific light all her life, and particularly one of her brothers, that it's a shock when some of those things are revealed to her differently. I really appreciated the way that she's given this information and how she takes it. The whole thing with her crush could have gone one way, and I really liked that it didn't; that's not the moment of revelation to her, at least not in a certain way, and instead a learning experience in a good way instead. That's just one thing she had to get a new perspective on. The rest of the stuff falls into place just right, with the timing it should.

Charlie needed a wake up call, and she gets it. Of course, there's also another boy, a better one.

I really appreciated how this story played out. It could have been done in one way, which I worried about at one point, and I'm glad it went in a different one. It went in a better direction, without using the romance/crush as a crutch and a be-all-end-all kind of thing. The family drama is given its own time, and it's done really well.

Matson has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and another author that I will very quickly pre-order, now.

Novel Review: Find Me (Shatter Me, #4.5, #5.5) by Tahereh Mafi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Supernatural Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: October 2019

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Calling all fans of Tahereh Mafi’s New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series! This gorgeous paperback bind-up includes Shadow Me and the fourth novella in the series, both in print for the first time ever.

In Shadow Me, Juliette is still reeling from Warner's betrayal, and Kenji is trying to balance his friendship with her with his responsibilities as a leader of the resistance against the Reestablishment. Things get even more interesting when an unexpected person from Omega Point’s past surfaces.

The fourth novella brings readers back to the Shatter Me world one last time before the final novel installment in the series hits shelves in 2020.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent and The Hunger Games. This captivating story was praised as "a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love" by Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

And don’t miss Defy Me, the gripping fifth book in the Shatter Me series!

The Cover:

Ugh, why are these covers so gorgeous? All of them in this series, I love them so much. And in the paperback, there's one cover on the front and the other on the back.

Review:

This features both of the novellas between the books in the second trilogy. Both in Kenji's point of view.

I read Shadow Me when it was first released. It's the time right before Juliette is kidnapped, and largely stars how Kenji is growing closer to Nazeera and how he feels about her. It also shows his immediate reaction and devastation at Juliette's disappearance.

In Reveal Me, we get to see what's happening to Kenji as the fifth book is ending. He's trying to push through and be himself, but also he's seeing things that everyone else isn't, and it's making him think he's crazy for it.

In the second one, we really get to see the bond between Kenji and Juliette. While Kenji is falling for Nazeera, he doesn't trust her and he's having some issues regarding that. But him and Juliette have an incredibly tight bond, they understand each other and they're there for each other on a different level. That's really showcased in this novella, and it's one of my favorite aspects of this series. I love their relationship, so it was sweet to see.

We also get to see a new side of Nazeera here, as she opens herself up to him a little bit more, which he needs from her if they're going to have a relationship.

This was a really nice little tidbit of info and insight, and I truly love Kenji. I can't wait to see how this wraps up next.

Blog Tour (Excerpt & Review): Getting Off Easy (Boys of the Big Easy, #4) by Erin Nicholas

Getting Off Easy, an all-new sexy, single parent romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Erin Nicholas is available now!

New Orleans firefighter, James Reynaud’s true love is hanging out in the jazz clubs on Frenchmen Street and playing piano with some of the best musicians in the city. But driving his cute, bookworm neighbor Harper Broussard crazy is right up there on his list of favorite things.

The buttoned-up linguistics professor across the hall is a little older, a lot smarter, and way too good for him. And she knows it. But wow is she beautiful when she blushes.

She’s equally gorgeous when she’s saving his butt. Because now things just got serious. A baby has been, literally, dropped off on his doorstep and to say he’s in over his head is an understatement. Not that Harper knows anything about babies either. But at least they now have something in common.

Download your copy today!

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Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2rcacg1

Excerpt:

Harper reached out to lift the baby off of James, but just as her hand touched his back, James stirred.
She froze.
“Professor?”
His voice was husky from sleep, low and gravelly, and Harper’s belly flipped, heat sliding from her stomach lower, between her legs. They were in his bedroom. One of them was in bed. And that voice. And the nickname. She could hardly be blamed for her reaction.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“You okay?”
It was the middle of the night, and he was the one asleep with the thing that had just turned his life upside down, but he was asking about her? She never came to him with needs. He came to her. She nodded. “I thought I’d take him so you could get more comfortable.”
He looked down at the baby, and seemingly instinctively, his hand slid from the baby’s butt to his back. James’s hand was huge on the tiny baby, and Harper swallowed hard at the sweet picture. “He’s okay.”
“You sure? I don’t mind.”
He looked up at her. He was clearly still sleepy, maybe not fully awake. “You wanna help?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah.” She felt terrible for leaving earlier. It had gone against every instinct except the one that screamed at her to protect her heart no matter the cost. But she was afraid she was far past the point of that being possible.
“Then come here.”
Harper wet her lips. “Come… there?”
“Yeah.” He reached for her with his free hand and caught her around the wrist, tugging her forward.
She could have easily pulled back, broken free, resisted. But she let him urge her onto the mattress.
Harper knelt with a knee next to his hip. “How does this help?”
“Gets you up against me,” he said, his voice still sleep roughened.
Her heart skittered. “That’s helpful?”
“Can’t imagine how it will hurt.” He gave her a sleepy, but still devastatingly sexy smile. “This way you’re here if he does need something.”
Well, he had a point.
Harper stretched out on the mattress beside James. He put his arm up above his head again, not holding her, but definitely exposing plenty of surface area for her to be up against.
Oh, what the hell. She wouldn’t sleep well at her place now, wondering what was going on over here. This way she was very much here for whatever went on. And she’d wanted to be up against him for a few months now. Lord only knew what the next few days were going to bring with the baby and everything. She might as well enjoy this moment while she had it.
She scooted closer. His body was hot and hard. She swallowed with some difficulty.
Then the baby made a little grunting sound and curled and stretched against James.
This was so not how she’d ever pictured being in bed with James Reynaud. That was for sure.

 *****

Review:

 

~4 Stars

The final book in the New Orleans-based series by Erin Nicholas. Took a little longer for this one to come out, but it was definitely worth it, and was a nice ending to the series.

James is a firefighter and in a jazz band, and people know he's always there to help them. His university professor neighbor, Harper, was quiet and reserved next door, up until he started bringing his surprise problems to her for help, and thus started their courtship. When James discovers a baby at his door, it causes a whole new adventure for them to discover together.

James is a really great guy. He's always willing to help people, and they know it, and he knows it. Harper is similar, but in a different way. She's a teacher, she's smart and quiet, more reserved than he is. It takes a while for her to accept the ways that James is pulling her in. I definitely related to Harper a few times in this. She's a quiet reader, and yet she worked really well with James, because they were also a lot alike.

The ending was actually a big surprise to me. I hadn't quite clued in to where the baby came from, and I definitely didn't expect it to go in the direction that it went, to that extent. And I'm actually really happy with where it ended up. There's zero disappointment in me for this; it makes perfect sense for the characters, and I think is a really sweet way for their relationship and their dynamic to go. I was genuinely surprised and delighted by how their story concluded.

This was a really fun book in the series. I'm sad to see this arc of stories ending, as I've loved all of them. I'm curious for what's next, though.

An ARC was provided by the author and Social Butterfly for an honest review. Thank you so much!

****

 About Erin Nicholas 
 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.

Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).

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Novel Review: Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Tor Teen (Macmillan)

Release Date: January 2019

Spoilers?: No.

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

Excerpt.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Bestselling author Katie McGarry’s trademark wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance is given a new twist in the gritty YA contemporary novel, Only a Breath Apart.

They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.

The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.

A fortuneteller tells Scarlett she's psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.

Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…

The Cover:

I think the cover is cute. The font is nice and the image is pretty. Not super eye-catching, but also not very embarrassing. It shows the characters well, I think.

Review:

Jesse and Scarlet were best friends, and they've lived across the street from each other forever, but now they're not. Now that Jesse is dealing with the death of his grandmother and what options he has with the land he's kind of inheriting, and graduation is looming, suddenly Scarlet and him are in each others lives again. Scarlet is attempting to gain some freedom from her controlling father, but there's a lot in her way from doing that. And then there's the weird psychic in town giving them these odd messages and hints.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. Scarlet is dealing with a really bad family situation, and Jesse is dealing with a no-family kind of situation. They know each other, and they know the land, and yet they don't really anymore, it feels like to them.

This book was really just okay. I liked how it wrapped up, and the steps that Scarlet took definitely felt hard and important and realistic. It didn't wrap that situation up in a neat bow, which is realistic to me, however sad it also is. And I also think that Jesse's situation wrapped up in a way that made sense.

It just didn't connect with me as much as I hoped it would. The chemistry wasn't quite there for me. And, honestly, when a magical element is used, I really want more of it. If there's psychic leanings hinted at or talked about, I want them to be real. Not a kind of realistic possibility of a real thing.

Novel Review: Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 2017

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

What do you do when you’ve fallen for your best friend? Funny and romantic, this effervescent story about family, friendship, and finding yourself is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings, Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list, she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being.

But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems... and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

The Cover:

This cover is super cute. I like that it shows the museum aspect, since it's such an important part, and then the couple and the font is just super cute, all without being too embarrassing.

Review:

For a long while in this book, I really thought it was going in a particular direction, and had accepted that. Which made me conflicted when it went somewhere else in the end—even though that was the direction I originally wanted.

Abby is an artist, and she's trying to get accepted to art school and get her pieces put in an art show at the museum she works at. When she's told that she doesn't have enough experience—enough life experience—she decides to make a list and do some new things, challenge herself a little. Most of her friends are away for the summer, which leaves her with only Cooper, her closest friend and whom she's had a crush on forever.

I typically really like list-related series. They're fun to me and add some interesting challenges/plots for the characters, and I'm a list kind of person. I will admit the list took to the background a bit in this book. It was still fun and made Abby put herself out there, but it wasn't as important as it is in some books.

I also really liked Cooper, and am always a sucker for friends-to-lovers stories. For a really long time it felt like their relationship was going in one direction, because Cooper was fighting it so hard and Abby was still recovering from a failed earlier attempt. But their relationship was so close, and it was clear when they both became jealous, that it didn't make sense for it to end any other way. There was no way that Cooper didn't feel the same way for her, he was insane for thinking otherwise.

West's books are either just okay or a real hit for me, and this one was sadly the former. I did really like parts, particularly Cooper and Abby's relationship. I also liked Abby's parents and family situation, and completely understood when she got upset at what her father did and how her family reacted/let her down. But there were still parts that were just okay to me. This was more fun than not, but not a favorite at this point.

Novel Review: Defy Me (Shatter Me, #5) by Tahereh Mafi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Supernatural Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: April 2019

Spoilers?: Only for previous book.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

The gripping fifth installment in the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shatter Me series. Will Juliette’s broken heart make her vulnerable to the strengthening darkness within her?

Juliette’s short tenure as the supreme commander of North America has been an utter disaster. When the children of the other world leaders show up on her doorstep, she wants nothing more than to turn to Warner for support and guidance. But he shatters her heart when he reveals that he’s been keeping secrets about her family and her identity from her—secrets that change everything.

Juliette is devastated, and the darkness that’s always dwelled within her threatens to consume her. An explosive encounter with unexpected visitors might be enough to push her over the edge.

The Cover:

I love these covers. I love how they all match and go together, and also are different enough. They're gorgeous, and so eye-catching, and give such a good feel for the series.

Review:

It isn't usually so obvious to me, but this very much felt like a middle book in a series. While there was a lot of stuff happening, there was a lot of time recovering from the previous cliffhanger, and leading up to the new cliffhanger.

Since Juliette has been kidnapped, the characters are separated for most of this book. Juliette has to figure out how to deal with her new situation, learning her new surroundings and the people around her and what they're doing to her. She's still processing everything, when she's taken away from everyone she knows and basically tortured.

I will admit that I love how she recovers from it all. Juliette is kick ass, and she ain't afraid of these people any more, oh no no.

It was interesting how Warner and Kenji dealt with her being missing, and how the group had to come together and figure out how to proceed from their end of things. With Juliette gone, they have to step forward and figure out how to keep their people safe and not lose everything they've done to this point.

Not to mention the surprise characters who show up and potentially ruin everything.

I know some people don't like that this series continued (this is a common feeling for a lot of series), but I'm all for it. I'm really into this series still, and am finding these new developments really interesting, and very hard to put down, honestly. I can't wait to see how this all wraps up in the next and final book.

Novel Review: Crossing the Line by Simone Elkeles

Rating (Out of 5): ~2-2.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

Release Date: June 2018

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

A high-stakes story of star-crossed lovers from Simone Elkeles, the New York Times bestselling author of the Perfect Chemistry series

To escape his abusive stepdad, bad boy Ryan Hess runs from his tiny Texas border town to Mexico. But his plans to keep his head down and stay out of trouble are shattered the minute he meets the beautiful and totally out of his league Dalila Sandoval.

Dalila Sandoval shouldn’t even know someone like Ryan Hess. The daughter of one of the wealthiest lawyers in Mexico, Dalila is focused on studying and planning for her bright future. Ryan is only a distraction from her dreams, but she’s never felt more alive than when she’s by his side.

Ryan and Dalila are wrong for each other in every way. And yet they can’t resist the sparks that fly when they’re together. But their love is like a flame burning too close to the fuse.

Something is going to explode. Will their love be strong enough to survive? Or will it burn them both?

The Cover:

Meh. It's very typical romance couple. The title is really the only interesting part about it, but still nothing really catches my attention or makes me want to pick it up. Aside from expecting/wanting more intense of a romance.

Review:

I've enjoyed Elkeles' books in the past, quite a lot really. So I didn't expect this, or to feel this way about it.

I will admit that the beginning of this book reminded me a bit of All the Pretty Horses, which is a book I hated when I read it in high school. Most of the book didn't really have that feel, though, once I got into it.

I don't want to spoil how any of this happens, but I will say this book does not have a happily every after. I didn't expect it to go this way for most of the book, even really until the end when it happened. It doesn't happen often, and I really don't care for tragedies. They're not my kind of thing.

To be fair, though, I also didn't really feel much for this book. The characters were okay, but I wasn't all that into the romance, I wasn't even really feeling the chemistry. In the beginning it felt okay, but instead of getting better, the plot just seemed to drag on. They were put in a pretty impossible situation, including where some adults could have helped and instead decided to keep them out of the loop on everything. And how it all wrapped up and the big surprise bad guy (which wasn't terribly surprising) ended up seeming rather unrealistic.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just don't think it was meant to be for me. It had a lot in the way of it, it seems. And I can even, kind of, maybe, see how that ending was okay. But mostly I'm just not happy about it.