ARC Review: Starry Eyes

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Music Pairing: Like Crazy Score by Duston O’Halloran

---

I was provided an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I first have a confession to make: it took me reading this book before I decided to pick up Bennett’s Alex, Approximately, which I know many people are obsessed with. I’m currently reading it, and I’m sure there will be a review for it on my Goodreads page within the next couple days as well.

All that being said, wow. I devoured this book and could literally think of nothing else while I was reading it. It was real. It was cute. It was heartbreaking? It was uplifting and empowering. Mostly, though, it just felt like I was on a camping trip with these people who could easily have been traded out for people just like you and me.

Zorie is an extremely relatable character. She’s pretty OCD about planning things, with calendars and lists and detailed research running her life. So when she gets sent out to the woods for a camping trip – something she does NOT plan to enjoy – she’s totally out of her element. I, too, would not enjoy camping or leaving the safety of my wi-fi at home, so I totally get this!

However, she ends up going on a spectacular adventure, with some bumps and bruises and an ex-best friend, Lennon. Oooooooh, Lennon. Lennon is not your average YA male. He’s kind of goth? And loves reptiles, comics, and works in his parents’ sex shop sometimes when he’s not working at the reptile house. WHAT A GUY. So interesting, and his character is also SO REAL. I know I say that in every review, but he was such a dweeb but also loved hiking and was kind of built and ugh… Y’ALL. It was so fun to read about him! I know my reviews also always focus on the guy, but come on. I’m gushing because you NEED to know.

Ultimately, Zorie and Lennon’s relationship starts of rocky and then you have this amazing story about love, family (so much wonderful and tragic family stuff), and friendship. Bennett’s description of the landscape is also amazing, so I could really picture myself there. The book is separated into 3 parts, and there’s a cute map at the beginning of each part. So fun!

For real, read this book. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good wilderness and camping story with a relationship that is super exciting to read about. Let me know what you guys think in April, or you could request the book which is currently on NetGalley!

Thanks for reading!

ARC Review: Don’t Forget Me

Don’t Forget Me by Victoria Stevens
Release Date: February 13, 2018
*Um, hello? Pick this up and read it for Valentine’s Day. You won’t be disappointed.

---

I was given an advanced copy of this book from a friend. Thank you, Erin!

I stumbled upon this little gem on NetGalley, and while I was not approved for it there *sigh*, my sweet friend Erin sent it to me after receiving it herself. I’m so glad she did, as this was the perfect book to pull me out of my slump I’ve been in since October. October, y’all. I needed something good. Leave it to a contemporary to pull me out of my misery.

“Redleigh used to say that the stars are spy holes for heaven,” he said. “So the people we lose can still watch over us, even when they’re gone.”

The best thing about this book was the relationships. That, of course, also stems from great characters that fit together in special ways.

I was nervous at the beginning of this book, as it sounded a lot like Jenna Evans Welch’s Love & Gelato. Girl loses mom, girl moves in with *insert dad character here*. I was nervous about this because I didn’t love Linda, the main character in Love & Gelato. However, I absolutely adored Hazel. She was upset about moving and obviously about her mother, but she was never whiny. She carried her thoughts within her, and she barely let them show. When she began to open up – yeah, that’s where we get amazing relationships that make me so happy to read.

Hazel and Red’s relationship was a strong friendship that was just… right. It was a good balance of tough love and secret keeping. I also loved Hazel’s group of friends at school and they way they embraced her. Hazel and her father’s relationships was one of my favorite to read, to watch her love grow for him and who he is and to see his eyes open up to having a daughter in the house. Delightful!

But of course, there’s Luca. What a broody little stink pot! I wanted him to be on every page! Watching his loss define who he is, but also using his family to be pulled out of where he was made for a heart-wrenching and heartwarming story. The build up of Hazel and Luca was also very slow and realistic. So if you don’t like insta-love, read this book.

Ultimately, this book was a solid read that wasn’t something I necessarily flew through but instead read with a good pace so I could enjoy the writing, the characters, and the relationships that blossomed. I recommend this book to anyone who’s read Love & Gelato, as well as The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. I hope you enjoy this book when it comes out in February, and for real – it’s a great Valentine’s Day read.

Thanks for reading!

Book Sleeve Review

Hi friends!

Quick blog post for ya – it’s my book sleeve review!  So, on Instagram on Wednesday night, I did a story reviewing all the book sleeves I own.  I own 7 different kinds, and I talked about each in detail.  Some of the content is already irrelevant because of the updates/restocks, but I still dive into detail about each one!  I’ve had people ask me about it, so I saved it and uploaded it to YouTube so you guys could watch it.

So here it is!  If you’re not following me on Instagram, I highly recommend you do, as I’m constantly doing review and unboxing stories!

Thanks for watching!

Book Review: Avenged

Avenged by Amy Tintera
Music Pairing: From Sleep by Max Richter

---

What a fantastic sequel! I read Ruined as soon as it came out last year, and I had the joy of meeting Amy on her tour for the book. I love all the tropes that were in it – arranged marriage, hate to love – so it was the perfect book for me. Needless to say, I needed the sequel.

Now that I’ve finally gotten around to reading it – *glares at TBR pile* – I am SO happy. Of course, what second book in a trilogy doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but everything before the last few pages was exactly what I was looking for in the sequel to Ruined.

The relationship between Emelina and Olivia was definitely one of the most intriguing and difficult parts about this book. You can see where Olivia is coming from in her arguments (sometimes), but of course you know Em is right… Right? I was having these thoughts the whole time as I was reading. I was excited about the addition of Olivia’s POV, as well as Aren’s, which added another layer to the book. It gave us four sides of the same story, which again conflicted me about where people should go and how they should act.

I often found myself guessing what was going to happen… and then being completely wrong! This book kept me on my toes, and it was action-packed! Fast-paced, get-to-the-point novels are some of my favorites. Amy doesn’t mess around with too much description – she gets us there and she moves the plot along. So, if you’re looking for long, drawn out, flowery descriptions… move along. I’m glad Amy packs a punch into every page – I couldn’t put the book down! It was in a constant state of movement, keeping me flipping the page for as long as I could.

And lastly – this wouldn’t be a review from me if I didn’t mention the love story. Cas is… *swoons* I just love him! I didn’t realize how much I missed him. At the beginning of the book, I thought I was going to be very disappointed in who he was becoming, but the way he turned things around for himself was so fun to watch. The relationship he started to grow with Aren – also *swoon* – was hilarious and fun. I’m still skeptical of Violet… but I’m glad nothing has happened there yet.

Ultimately, if you love fast-paced, action-packed fantasy novels – pick up Ruined and Avenged! I recommend this series to fans of the Seven Realms series by Cinda Chima and the Midnight Thief duology by Livia Blackburne. Also read all of these if you haven’t read them because they’re the best! Enjoy Cas, and enjoy the world that Amy has built. Can’t wait for Allied next May, and thanks for reading!

ARC Review: A Taxonomy of Love

A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen
Release Date: January 9, 2018
No music pairing because I read this book too fast and never listened to music with it, lol.

---

I was provided an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I feel like I should preface this review to say that I’ve solely been reading YA contemporaries over the past couple months. I’ve devoured one, sometimes two a week, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. So, when NetGalley approved an eARC of A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen for me, I dove in head first – what a great swim it was! This book will stand out in the sea of contemporaries that I’ve been reading.

“Maybe it’s about finding the other people who don’t fit the same way you don’t fit.”

The first thing I loved about this book is the fact that I feel more informed and sensitive to things. Reading about Spencer’s Tourette’s helped me to see what that would be like, and how to react in those moments. I also loved the subtle – I mean, maybe not so subtle – hints of equality in the book. It wasn’t the main focus, but it’s always relevant, especially in the South and in a high school in the South. Ultimately, these pieces made the book feel real. It made the love story take a back seat sometimes, and I – surprisingly – wasn’t upset!

Spencer’s character is down right hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud all the time at what would go through his head and out of his mouth. The way he went about and handled life was so fun to follow. I love that he was a nerd and jock and “the kid with Tourette’s” all at the same time. His complexity was refreshing after so many male characters in YA books seem one dimensional – broody and sad or cool but “understanding.” Spencer is weird! Spencer loves his stepmom! Spencer goes to camp and talks about how to cope with things! I love Spencer. And I love that Spencer plays Magic.

Side note: I’m glad we never experienced Spencer at camp. I feel like that’s a totally different book, and the omission of it was right. I liked hearing about what he learned and that he always went.

Oh, Hope. How I relate. Tragedy is something I haven’t had to deal with much in my life – praise the Lord – but I know being a girl in high school is hard. Well, that was an understatement, but you get what I mean! Confusion about who you should be with and like and surround yourself with is rampant in those ages. Fighting what your heart says with your mind was (read: is) the headline for my life! Again, another “realness” factor.

I didn’t find myself squealing quite as much in this book as I have with other YA contemporaries. This was more a coming of age novel of a young guy. A young guy who’s in high school in Georgia and deals with that while having Tourette’s and falling in love with his neighbor. The last piece was what drove the story, but the other pieces really are what kept the story alive. I devoured this book, and I can’t wait for others to read Rachael Allen’s novel.

As for who should read this: I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has loved Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley or Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. I got a lot of the same feelings in this one. I hope you enjoy this book when it’s out in January of 2018!

Thanks for reading!