Novel Review: Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin's Press)

Release Date: April 5, 2016

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this utterly sweet and moving women's fiction novel, a celebrity comes to town and sweeps a young woman - who is used to being overlooked - off her feet.

Sophie May is content with her life in her small English village, working in the local coffee shop and living with her mom. But when famous actor Billy comes to town to play Mr. Darcy in a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Sophie's quiet life is quickly turned on its head. Billy is adored by women around the world, but he only wants Sophie on his arm. But being with Billy comes at a price, and Sophie is thrown in the spotlight after years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy?

Brimming with humor, wit, and genuine warmth, Billy and Me is a book about taking a chance on life and on love.

The Cover:

I absolutely love this cover. I think it's adorable, and I love the art style of it. I think it shows the romance and the small-town essence of it. I love it.

Review:

I really, really wanted to love this book. So badly did I want that. I even went in thinking I would. I’m so disappointed.

Sophie is in her late twenties, living a content life sharing a house with her mother and working in a tea house/bakery in her small town. When she meets movie star Billy, she gets swept up and lets herself fall into his life.

I will say that the way that Sophie loses herself in Billy’s life is believable. I understood her reasoning for why it happened, even if it bothered me how fast it happened and how long she let it go on when she was unhappy. I liked the way that Billy tried changing some things to make their relationship better, too.

But near the end. When Sophie freaks out about what Billy agrees to do for a movie. It bothers me so much. Maybe I’m in the minority, thinking that she overreacted? And that the way that Billy agreed she was in the right bothered me? If they’d had some agreement for what she was okay with him doing for his career, if they’d agreed what was too far, maybe that would be one thing. But it was for his job. It wasn’t because he even liked the woman. Ugh.

Sophie as a character bothered me, though. She was a crybaby. She cried and freaked out over everything and it drove me crazy. But maybe that’s just cause I didn’t relate to her. Billy didn’t have much of a character, he didn’t stand out to me at all.

The writing was more tell than show. A lot of it was in Sophie’s head, but she told us more about things than was shown to us, than she showed she felt, even. That bothered me. Also, all the UK phrases and stuff were weird to me. Mind, that’s not really a complaint, because that’s cultural and understandable and should be left in there. Still was weird reading, though.

 I wanted to love this book, but by the end I was more annoyed with it than anything. I did like how Sophie’s job and living situation had changed by the end of the book, and I did like how things between her and Billy concluded. But otherwise I didn’t like it enough.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for an honest review. Thank you!

Wishlist Thursday[160]: All the Feels by Danika Stone and The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen

All The Feels by Danika Stone

&

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Buy AtF here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Buy tWtGtWoS here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Goodreads Synopsis:

All The Feels:

College freshman Liv is more than just a fangirl: The Starveil movies are her life… So, when her favorite character, Captain Matt Spartan, is killed off at the end of the last movie, Liv Just. Can’t. Deal.

Tired of sitting in her room sobbing, Liv decides to launch an online campaign to bring her beloved hero back to life. With the help of her best friend, Xander, actor and steampunk cosplayer extraordinaire, she creates #SpartanSurvived, a campaign to ignite the fandom. But as her online life succeeds beyond her wildest dreams, Liv is forced to balance that with the pressures of school, her mother’s disapproval, and her (mostly nonexistent and entirely traumatic) romantic life. A trip to DragonCon with Xander might be exactly what she needs to figure out what she really wants.

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame:

Taylor Simmons is screwed.

Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.

Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.

Why?:

I am a big sucker for fan-based characters and/or stories. I can’t help myself. So of course this sounds very cute to me. I’m intrigued, and mostly just hoping that I enjoy it when I get the chance.

As for the second pick, I’m intrigued. The idea of the book sounds interesting to me, and I do tend to like stories like this, where someone’s reputation is ruined, where there’s slut-shaming shown in a bad way. It mostly just matters how it’s handled, and how the romance turns out. I’m hopeful.

What’s on your list?

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book 2, by Makoto Yukimura

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: 2014
Volumes: 17+
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.
Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

ENGLAND AT WAR

The foolish King Ethelred has fled, and Askeladd's band is one of hundreds plundering the English countryside. Yet victory brings no peace to the elderly Danish King Sweyn, who worries that his untested, sensitive son Canute will never be ready to take the throne. The king's attempt to force his son to become a man places the young prince within the grasp of the gleeful killer Thorkell! Whoever holds Canute holds the key to the thrones of England and Denmark – and Askeladd has his own reasons for joining the fray!

"With its rich visual details, emotional pull and strong characters, this historical epic is an instant winner." - Anime News Network

Winner of the Japan Media Arts Awards Grand Prize for Manga and the Kodansha Manga Award

From the acclaimed author of Planetes

Review:

I must say that it has taken me way too long to get around to reading this series. It’s definitely worth picking up, for sure, and I need to hurry that up.
Askeladd is leading his band of Vikings around, invading territory and killing people and stealing. They’re all very unashamed of it all, and quite terrible, too. Askeladd knows what he’s doing, though, and is smart about it. It doesn’t shy from how terrible they are, though, and what they do to the people in the villages that they take.
Thorfinn is tagging along with him, having made a deal. Thorfinn is a good fighter, but he’s simply waiting till he’s better, getting stronger until he can beat Askeladd. I do think that Thorfinn needs to work on the smarts, though, as he’s not that good at tactics yet.
We meet a few new characters, but I’m not sure who’s going to be sticking around. I do want to see more of Ylva, though, because she’s a great character.
I’m hoping to pick up the next one soon. I really need to catch up with this series.

Teaser Tuesday[202]: Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

--------------------------------------

Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 2014
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Opposites attract—and then complicate—in this romantic, relatable novel from the author of Two-Way Street and Sometimes It Happens.

It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” And okay, smolderingly sexy.

Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. Or even a friend-with-benefits. The note is not supposed to lead to anything.

Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about feelings.

Harper and Penn understand their attraction is illogical, yet something keeps pulling them together. It’s like a crazy roller coaster—exhilarating, terrifying, and amazing all at once. And neither knows how to stop the ride… 

Excerpt:

“‘Harper?’ I ask. ‘Do you want to talk to me?’
She bites her lip, and I can see her considering. Then, finally, she shakes her head.
I’m surprised to find that it cuts through me like a knife.” (Hardback, pg. 104)

What are you reading right now?

Manga Review: Deadman Wonderland, Volume 13, by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5
Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: February 2016
Volumes: 13.
Spoilers?: Light.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.
Volume: 1. 12.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Framed for the brutal murders of his classmates by the mysterious Red Man, middle school student Ganta Igarashi finds himself sentenced to death and sent to the bizarre and fatal theme park/prison that has risen from the ruins of the Great Tokyo Earthquake—a hell on earth known as “Deadman Wonderland.”

Ganta and Shiro finally face off against each other inside a collapsing Deadman Wonderland. Shiro speaks of her past and how she’s been wishing for Ganta to kill her. Ganta asks her why she killed his friends, but Shiro just pleads with him to make her wish come true. In the end, Ganta cannot bring himself to do it, and so the final battle begins. 

Review:

The final volume. So we get a final reveal, and the final battle. Now, going into this, I knew it was either going to be extremely horrible, which I found unlikely, or it was going to be very cheesy. I was mostly afraid of how cheesy it would be.
Ganta and Shiro finally have their showdown. And Shiro is pissed at what she had to do because of him, even if he didn’t know. And it’s horrible, seeing Shiro like this. Seeing what she went through was terrible, but seeing what it did to her is worse. And the fight is bad—it’s bloody and destructive, and honest. It needed to happen. Which is kind of why I maybe love the ending?
It is cheesy. Some sweet, honest words are said, and Shiro believes them, and Ganta believes them and means them. And it’s what Shiro needs. I’m sure some people don’t like it, don’t agree with it, but I think it’s kind of perfect. I think that what happened needed to happen, and I kind of love it. I really do.
I am more than satisfied with this series, and I loved it.

Manga Review: Barakamon, Volume 3, by Satsuki Yoshino

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: February 2015
Volumes: 13+
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.
Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kawafuji, the only friend of handsome young calligrapher Seishuu Handa, has come to visit the island...!! 
...However, the lack of cell phone signal and any useful landmarks is preventing the two of them from meeting up!! Also, why has Kousuke Kanzaki, who beat out Seishuu for an award (in the "Second-Place Calligraphy Incident"), come along for the ride......?! There's a storm brewing in the third volume of this mature, heartwarming island comedy!!

Review:

I really want to love this series. I’m trying really hard. And it’s good, don’t get me wrong—but I don’t love it.
In this volume, friends of Handa come to town. To visit, see how he’s doing, but also kind of to get him to come back home. Just like this was an odd town to Handa, it’s strange to his comrades. Such a small town, with people who know everyone, overprotective of their children, with no real sightseeing opportunities.
There are a lot of comedic opportunities. Like when the newcomers are believed to be kidnapping Naru, and then get forced into drinking as punishment. When the group goes fishing and are pushed into the water. How his rival brings old articles about him to embarrass him with his new friends.
But there are also the moments of development. We see Handa really deciding what he wants to do with himself, his realization about his calligraphy career, when his rival pushes him. That he likes where he is and wants to stay in this tiny town. We also get to see how his new friends care about him, helping him when there’s a storm, and trying to keep his rival from causing him trouble.
This series is fun, and the group of characters are vast and unique and a lot of cause for antics. I enjoy those things, but it’s still not hitting me like I want it to. I’m going to stick with it a bit more, hoping it gets better.

Manga Review: My Love Story!!, Volume 8, by Kazune Kawahara and Aruko

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4
Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Volumes: 11+
Spoilers?: Light.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.
Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Takeo Goda is a giant guy with a giant heart. Too bad the girls don’t want him! (They want his good-looking best friend, Sunakawa.) Used to being on the sidelines, Takeo simply stands tall and accepts his fate. But one day when he saves a girl named Yamato from a harasser on the train, his (love!) life suddenly takes an incredible turn!


Takeo and Yamato spend their days deeply in love. Yamato invites Takeo to a date at her house, but what’s in store when Takeo meets Yamato’s family for the first time? Furthermore, Takeo now has a rival in love! What will the gentle giant do about his incredibly handsome foe?!

Review:

Takeo meets Yamato’s parents for the first time, and it’s adorably awkward, but it goes good.
And then Suna’s sister Ai comes to visit, and the guy in love with her follows. Maybe there are some iffy moments here, but I like Oda, and I like the way he feels for Ai and how he doesn’t shy from it. He maybe could be nicer about it, but I understand. I get it. And I think that Ai needed a push, because she was letting herself fall into a stale state of unrequited love for Takeo when it was clearly not going to happen. I think she’s going to be moving forward now. I do like the way her family, and Takeo particularly, were there to protect and defend her, though.
And then Yamato gets a job at a bakery, and so Takeo gets a job to follow along, make some money. I like that Yamato is doing this for her love of baking and sweets, and because she wants to learn more and get better. I also find it funny that the main baker is so full of himself that he thinks Yamato’s sweetness is her falling in love with him. This in turn is making him more friendly with her than he should be, and it’s going to make Takeo jealous. I’m not worried, because these two are so monogamous and loyal there’s no doubt here, but I do think it’ll be funny to see how it turns out.
This is a fun, cute series, and it’s so ridiculously sweet. It’s always nice to get a new volume.

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.

Wishlist Thursday[159]: Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins + Others

Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins + Others
Genre: YA Romance Anthology
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Why?:

I haven’t been reading as many anthologies lately as I used to, but there are still a couple that catch my attention. I read the Christmas anthology edited by Perkins and loved it, so of course I will be picking this one up. I love that the cover is in the same theme as the previous one, since it shows the actual characters on it and is so charming. There aren’t as many authors that I follow in this one, sadly, but I still hope it’s just as good.


What’s on your list?

Manga Review: Attack on Titan, Volume 18, by Hajime Isayama

Rating (Out of 5): ~4
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Volumes: 19+
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.
Volume: 1. 17. 19.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Brand new anime episode on DVD: "Attack on Titan: No Regrets" – the backstory of Captain Levi!
Special variant dust jacket by comics artist Cameron Stewart (Batgirl, Catwoman)!

AVE MARIA
The Survey Corps has overthrown the Royal Government and swept away the tyranny of the king. The next step: Move to retake Wall Maria, with the helpf of a newly-discovered metallic ore and Eren's miraculous Titan hardening powers. But as humanity pulls together, its enemies also unite beyond the Walls... now that the Beast Titan has joined Reiner and Bertolt, what havoc will they wreak?

Review:

We’re getting real answer about Eren’s father now.
We get a backstory from an observer of where his father came from and how he acted, and what happened when Eren was taken in the forest and blacked out, and then when his mother was killed. It’s a bit weirder than I expected, but it does make some sense.
The group then moves forward with taking back their land, and going to Eren’s old house to see what is in the basement that his father left behind. Their march forward goes well, but it’s when they find Reiner and Bertolt and their gang of rebels that they run into real trouble. Armin has to think outside the box, but they find them, and then they’re ganged up on fast. This fight starts the cliffhanger, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes forward next. It’ll be bad, I’m sure.
This series is good, for sure. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next, how the fight goes and then what they discover about Eren’s past. It’ll be good.