Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Goodreads Blurb

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.
Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

(EDIT: I WROTE THIS 5 MONTHS AGO SO THIS WONT BE VERY GOOD AT ALL.) Meant to Be was such a fun and hilarious read! Perfect for the beach, and perfect for summer! I had moments of “LOL” and “OMG” just because it felt like the appropriate thing to say out loud! Unlike usual contemporaries, Meant to Be follows a girl, Julia (a.k.a. Booklicker. *gasp* OFFENSIVE Lol…see what this makes me do? I LOVE IT!) whose COVINCED her Meant to Be (MTB) is Mark, her “childhood (literally) sweetheart” even though he’s completely changed. But, of course, Julia thinks that he’ll still remember her and fall for her. PLEASE. When her class goes on a trip to London, she finds herself paired with Jason Lippincott, her mortal enemy. But almost as soon as they arrive, Jason already lures her to a party, something she DEFINITELY isn’t used to! The morning after, she has a bad hangover, can’t remember what happened, but gets a text from a mysterious person named “Chris”. Who is he? Julia can’t remember, but with the help of Jason, she just might. And who knows? Along the way…she may just find another MTB.

First off, let me say I LOVED this book! It was adorable and sweet, but there were touches of seriousness that struck a chord. Unlike other contemporaries, it didn’t deal with the serious stuff which, although I love to read, can make me a little depressed. So reading a bubbly book filled with romance and London was a wonderful novel!

Let me just say that all the cliques and populars really were familiar even if I’m in Jr. High. The catty, jealous…(To friends: You NEVER saw this. You never even heard of Fiction Freak. Good? Great!) Well, let’s just say that the way Lauren wrote the high school life was definitely on track. Speaking of writing, I loved the way Lauren Morrill wrote, making only what? Ten days? A week? Seem like forever, so that over the short course of the trip, two people could fall in love. It honestly was NOT insta-love to me. The romance just seemed to build up slowly and slowly until it all bloomed. It was just BEAUTIFUL!

The plot, as many have said, was incredibly predictable, but unlike most, I had fun with that!  I loved anticipating what I knew would happen and I loved squealing when it did. Honestly, my only complaint was Julia’s character. She kept thinking that she was so smart and that anyone else wasn’t. That and she kept saying “Mark’s my MTB. He’ll love me. I know it.” or something like that. Honestly, it struck a nerve and I really wanted to strangle her. Jason was right there and she just kept calling Mark her MTB. Argh.

Pages: 256

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Publisher: Delacorte

Release: November 13

Rating: 7 stars

"He pauses for a split second and shoots me a glance over his shoulder. 'There’s a lot you don’t know about me.' He says, and then he’s gone."

Blog Tour: Dear Teen Me

So as part of the Dear Teen Me blog tour, where authors write letters to their teen selves, I decided to ask my friends (Teens, of course!) what they thought about DTM when I lent it to them. I'll only be posting their first initial for safety reasons.

Dear Teen Me is one of the best non-fiction books I have read. It's humorous and serious, dealing with real life situations. These true stories deal with abuse, eating disorders, first kisses, and true friendship. This book is full of real advice and lets you know that you're not alone, someone has gone through what you're going through.

-R

I'm not usually into non-fiction books, but Dear Teen Me was an exception. It was emotional and deep and I wanted to know more. It must've took a lot of courage for authors to share their experiences and it's heartwarming to know that people aren't alone in these situations.

-F

This is a seriously hopeful book. I wasn't born when these things happen, but the fact that these things happened then and now shows that we definitely have to stand up to these things and appreciate what we have. Some letters made me cry, some made me laugh and I loved each of them! Non fic isn't usually my thing, but this? This was great. Thanks to Nikki for lending this to me!

-M

MY REVIEW-

This was definitely a deep and emotional book and y'all know that nonfiction isn't my thing (or my friends' apparently!) obvious by my blog name! But I have to agree with my friends. This was definitely emotional and heartbreaking, heartwarming and laugh-out-loud. It's gratifying to know that there are people who've gone through some of the things we have, whether they're serious situations or innocent. I loved delving deeper into my favorite authors' lives, even if that does sound weird! If you're fans of any of these authors, if you love non fiction, if you just want a break from your norm, definitely pick this up!

Goodreads Link

Every Day by David Levithan

Goodreads Blurb

In his New York Times bestselling novel, David Levithan introduces readers to what Entertainment Weekly calls a "wise, wildly unique" love story about A, a teen who wakes up every morning in a different body, living a different life.

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. 

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan, bestselling co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

I had so many high hopes for Every Day! Almost everyone was recommending it, and if they hadn't read it, it was definitely high on their TBR! So, suffice to say, I was ready to be positively blown away!

Sadly, Every Day fell a little (just a little!) flat for me. 

(Just throwing this in, I won't be talking characters much, considering...well there are a lot of characters.)

So writing. The writing was, in one word, gorgeous. The way that things are explained makes you think about all these things you never considered before? Seriously amazing. And you can tell at a glance how deep this book is. It's emotional in a way that can't be found in other books: when you don't who you are, who are you really? What makes you you? I doubt many people consider that, but Every Day asks you that exact question. And honestly, who really knows? 

I felt so bad for A. He jumped from life to life to life, every morning. He didn't have a say in anything. He didn't have a life of his own. No friends, no family, no mom or dad to love him. He's never had a connection of any kind, until Rhiannon. And it was just...sad. Never having a tomorrow to look forward to. Being aloof, acting out someone else's actions--never getting to be him/herself. 
And that was another thing. We never find out if A is female or male. And while that was kind of weird, I think most of us consider him as a guy since our love interest is a girl. And A just seemed...more masculine (From now on, though, I'm calling him/her it.) Which was why it was a bit weird when he was a girl. 

The world building, while great in the way that the way A explained his life, its thoughts as a kid and everything, I wanted to find out more about its parents, its...kind? Its power, why it could do what it could do. Apparently, Every Day is a stand alone, but it didn't fee like it. There were so many questions left unanswered and I just wanted them answered!

Now, what disturbed me was how how obsessed A seemed with Rhiannon. I mean, I get that it was in love...but people in love don't, I hope, do what it did. And always being with Rhiannon, despite its usual routine? A was violating the body of whoever A was in and I was more on Rhiannon's side about that. It (NOT THE PERSON NOW) wasn't right. 

So while the premise and writing were wonderful, there were a few disturbing things that were there and loose ends that should've been swept away. But Every Day was beautiful and stunning in other ways. The ending was touching and sad, making me want to rip my hair out. Every Day is one that will ask you questions that you can't answer, have no answer for, and you'll probably love it just because of that.

Pages: 336
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Fantasy(?)/Romance
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Rating: 3.5 stars. (Solidly 3.5. It wasn't higher than a 4, but higher than a 3.)

Book Haul + Weekly Recap

Weeelll...it's official--the post office lost my package from a bloggy friend. With three books in it. That I was anxiously awaiting. I am not happy with them.

Dualed by Elsie Chapman
Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell
Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson
Eve and dam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant

Publisher

Traded











Swag

SO I got Midnight City, finished it, and TOTALLY LOVED IT! My review is going to be up soon, I promise! I can't wait for you guys to squeal along with me! I wasn't expecting Chasing the Skip, and I'm not quite sure whether this was for review or a giveaway? I never got an email and if it was for review, it's awfully late...heh. I'm happy either way though!

THANK YOU to Nicole at Paperback Princess for trading with me! DUALED PEOPLE. ITS DUALED. And I feel so bad! I've been stuffed with review books and couldn't read the book I'm trading her1 Don't worry, I'm more than half done of this skinny book! But EEP. DUALED.

And err...this was a surprise. I'm not...quite...sure why I got it...I don't remember entering anything, but OMG ITS SWAG. I LOVE SWAG. And I'm planning on preordering Hysteria, so WOOOTTTT!!!

Weekly Recap

Review: Rua by Miranda Kavi

Review: Ironskin by Tina Conolly

Waiting on Wednesday

Review: Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara

Review: Echo by Alyson Noel

Echo by Alyson Noel

Goodreads Blurb

Daire Santos just saved her grandmother's life—and her soul. But at a cost. The Richters, a dark family of sorcerers, have been let loose in the Lowerworld, and Daire and her boyfriend, Dace, must once again work together to find them before they upset the balance between good and evil, and destroy not only their small town in New Mexico, but the entire world.
 
As Daire and Dace's relationship deepens, Dace’s evil brother Cade grows stronger than ever, building his power and forcing Daire to confront the horrifying prophecy that has brought them all together. One that will leave Daire no choice but to claim her true destiny as Seeker, but only by making an unthinkable sacrifice for the greater good of all.

I'm pretty sure I'm one of the only few, but Echo definitely seemed to suffer Second Book Syndrome. Not in action or world-building, but in the characters and romance. And while everything besides those were wonderful, characters and the romance are big things for me, so it affected my opinion greatly.

The characters...they were so much more self-centered than in Fated. Dace was more egoistical, Daire decided she was Miss-Know-it-All (at least in the beginning) and we got introduced to new characters. At least two more! And while I love meeting new characters...one (Axel) was mainly introduced near the end so I was confused, one (Phyre) was apparently very important, but we literally find out near the end of the book how important. Or, rather, the book tells us. We already know how important when she was first introduced. And then some minor characters who you'll have to read to find out about!

Dace...wasn't as...sweet, per say. Sure he was adorable in some moments, but it's like he didn't really care as much about defeating the antagonist as he was about their romance and how he looked in Daire's eyes. When he (slight spoiler) failed to kill Cade, he was so ashamed because Daire was there so he went back AGAIN after being almost killed. Ugh. And Daire just annoyed me in this book, but it was how she acted overall, so I can't quite put my finger on what annoyed me. 

The romance was so completely, utterly sappy. And I'm not a fan of those at all. I like my romance dark, forbidden, etc. But definitely not sappy. And while the romance had forbidden down, it was just so...like I said in my review of Fated, it was a bit too innocent for my tastes. And Dace and Daire...
Ex: "Content to just stand there and fill my eyes with the glorious sight of her." 
Not my type of romance, I'm sad to say.

Now, the plot was just stunning! There were definitely twists I didn't expect, some completely out of the blue, but others just purely shocked me. Seriously. Alyson Noel may not have the best characters, but she knows how to spin a story! The pacing wasn't slow and I found myself flipping through it, despite character and romance issues! It continues Daire's story beautifully, alternating between Daire's and Dace's POV.

Short paragraph part: Love the world-building and descriptions! Seriously I wish I could live in the Enchanted Spring...when it's actually Enchanted and not tainted by the Richters.

Overall, I'd recommend reading a few chapters of Fated before you buy and if you liked that, buy Fated! and if you like Fated, buy Echo (obviously). It was a fun read that, while I didn't absolutely love, I did enjoy while reading. It's one of those in-the-moment books where it's good when you read it, but not as good when  you analyze it or overthink it!

Pages: 400
Series: Soul Seekers #2
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Rating: 2.5 ---> 2 stars

Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara

Goodreads Blurb

A resonant debut novel about retreating from the world after losing everything—and the connections that force you to rAnd I loveejoin it.Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somehwere she can be alone.
Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

Wow. Just absolutely wowness. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is actually the perfect words to describe it--minus the deep and adding emotional. This is definitely an amazing book to debut with and that cover is just plain gorgeous in my opinion! Seriously. WHAT is with all these beautiful covers, and premises that I just can't resist? 

The writing was so, so, SO stunning. I think it's because McNara decided to use present tense, unlike most books which use past. Personally, I love it when people use present terms. "The snow falls softly" sounds more...poetic, I guess than "The snow fell softly". And I just love how the words seem to flow more like that. So seeing that this was in present tense? Well my expectations went a bit higher and I was a bit worried that it wouldn't quite reach my expectations.

I loved the characters. they weren't necessarily far from perfect, but they had feelings that you could fell with them. They had the reactions some of us would have. Wren was such a real character, you guys. She went through so much, and even though she could be considered " self-centered", everyone has to admit, we'd probably do the same or at least something similar. And that's what I loved! the author captured these emotions, these actions, so perfectly, in my opinion. And that was...that was wonderful, for lack of a better word.

Cal, was, on the other hand, not perfect, per say, but very very close. He did react like some people would too, but...he's like, a mix of all the kind reactions. Nothing he did was ever really mean or even slightly annoying. He was just a character you had to fall in love with, sweet and so understanding, so I guess I can't complain there!

The romance was something I was iffy about. For someone who was heartbroken about her old-ex-now-dead-boyfriend, she fell in love pretty quickly. I guess I would've liked the romance to slow down a bit instead of going as quickly as it did. I expected Wren to feel denial at her feelings, honestly, so when she didn't...well, it surprised me for sure. I'm still deciding if that was a good or bad surprise.

The plot the plot the plot the plot. Lovelovelovelovelove. It wasn't like, full of twists or anything, but it told the story of a broken girl who was looking for her place in the world again. Seriously. What's not to love? The plot was just so emotional and while I didn't cry, Lovely, Dark, and Deep definitely pulled a few heartstrings. It was just...too good for words honestly. It's something you have to read to get!

The best thing was that it didn't have a happy ending after all, no matter what I thought. There's nothing perfect about the world, and there was nothing perfect about how this book ended. Am i allowed to use the word real again? No? How about believable? This story was so believable in so many ways, good and bad. I would've liked a happy ending (I'm a sucker for HEA's) but the way it ended...well, it was infinitely better. LOVE

Pages: 352

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Release Date: October 16, 2012

Rating: 7 stars