Tag Archives: Young Adult

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Book Review: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Title: Crash Into You
Author:Katie McGarry
Series:Pushing the Limits
Rating:★★★★

Crash Into You

I need good characters to like a book. A good setting is fine; a good story is nice to read. But for me to really love a book, I need good characters. They need to grow. They need to shed their tie to the book and become actual people. If I read a story with characters that I see as people, chances are, I’ll love it.

McGarry created wonderful people in this book.

Rachel looks like she has everything a person could want. From the outside, it looks like her family is perfect and happy. But her family is hiding secrets. Her mother wants her to be the daughter she lost. Her brothers and father want her to make her mother happy. They want her to be perfect, making up for the daughter gone too soon. But Rachel doesn’t want to be that girl. She wants to work on and drive her car. She doesn’t want to play the part of perfect daughter. She wants to make her family happy, but she doesn’t know when it’s okay to stop making others happy at the expense of her health.

On the other hand, Isaiah doesn’t have a family to make happy. He has Noah and Echo. He had Beth, but their friendship has been messed up. His mother wants back in his life, but he has years of pain in her way. He tries not to need anyone because he feels like no one needs him. He’s not completely lost, though. Cars provide his escape and hope for a better future than his present circumstances. It’s fast cars that bring him and Rachel together.

I really enjoyed this story, even though cars aren’t really my thing. I know how to change a tire, oil, and car battery. That’s pretty much the extent of my car knowledge. Even though some of the car talk in the book was above my head, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the whole story. Rachel’s panic attacks really tugged at me. I’ve never had panic attacks like hers, but I have had panic attacks. The out of control feeling, of knowing that the panic makes no sense and that it doesn’t help anything, isn’t a feeling easily written. McGarry does a great job at writing those moments.

McGarry, once again, has a fantastic book on her hands. She creates characters that are the quintessential “more than their looks” characters. They appear on the outside to be one character, but there’s so much to them that the outside barely shows a piece of who they are. They aren’t characters; they’re people. I’ll keep reading and recommending McGarry because she does an amazing job of capturing people and weaving a story around them.

If you’d like to read Crash Into You for yourself, you can purchase it here:
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Book Review: Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Title:Breathe, Annie, Breathe
Author:Miranda Kenneally
Series:Hundred Oaks
Rating:★★★★★

Breathe, Annie, Breathe

It should really be no surprise that I’d probably read anything Kenneally wrote and published. This is the fifth book I’ve read from her, and with each book, I fall a little more in love with her writing, her settings, and her characters. Breathe, Annie, Breathe is no different.

Annie is training to run a marathon in honor of her boyfriend, Kyle. She blames herself for Kyle’s death, and the marathon is her way to staying connected to him, and completing the things he will never get to complete. She’s never been a runner, so she begins a training program that will get her in marathon shape. It’s hard and painful, but she is determined to do this for Kyle.

What she does not expect is for the brother of her trainer to show up. Jeremiah is an adrenaline junkie, and running provides him with a little thrill, but he’s always looking for more. He’s gotten into trouble for it, and is not working for his brother as a way to stay on a safe path.

I think what I loved most about this book was reading Annie comes to terms with her loss, and find a way to move on, while still preserving her memories. Annie is hurting. She blames herself for Kyle dying. She can’t help but think about all the “what ifs” that might have kept him alive. She’s determined to run the marathon to honor him, and she has people cheering her on. Kyle’s family is there for her. Her family is there for her. Jeremiah is there for her. As much as I loved the romance in this book, Annie’s growth is what made this book amazing for me.

I love the world Kenneally has created, and only love it more with each book. I love that she ties every book back to the previous ones in the series. It makes it feel like an entire world exists beyond the pages of the novels. These aren’t characters you read in a book and then never see again. They’re always woven into each other. It’s wonderful. Breathe, Annie, Breathe is another must-read book from a must-read series, written by a must-read author.

If you’d like to read Breathe, Annie, Breathe, you can purchase a copy here:
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Book Review: Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

Title:Racing Savannah
Author:Miranda Kenneally
Series:Hundred Oaks
Rating:★★★★★

Racing Savannah

It’s not rare for me to forego sleep to finish a book. I tend to lose any sense of time when I read and then, somehow, it’s 2am and I’ve finished a book. It is rare for me to purposely give up sleep because I know I’ll be annoyed with myself for closing my eyes when there’s an amazing book right in front of me.

That’s what coffee is for, right? To make a semi-functional human after ignoring sleep to stay up reading.

Racing Savannah is one of those books. I clearly knew I would be finishing it around 3am, but I did not care. I’d drink some coffee, maybe take a nap. Sleep was not as important as finishing this book.

I loved Savannah. She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to fight for it, yet she’s also got insecurities just like anyone. She doesn’t let those insecurities hold her back, though. She knows what she’s good at and focuses on that, rather than wallowing in what she’s not as comfortable in. Working with horses at a ranch dominated by males, I think it would have been understandable if she felt like she wasn’t a right fit. However, I’m so happy that she not only stepped right in like she belonged, but was determined to prove that she was better than the boys.

Jack is a sweet guy, and even though he’s not my favorite guy Kenneally has written, he still got to me. It’s clear he’s trying to figure out how to handle expectations from his family against his own personal desires. He’s trying to find the balance between making everyone else happy and making himself happy.

I loved the horse racing in this novel. I’ve always had a great respect for horses, and reading about the racing world was really intriguing. I also enjoyed the growth Savannah’s family went through in the novel. Savannah’s struggle to find a place in her new family unit was interesting to read. I’ve never been through something like she has, but I can understand the feelings she was having.

Kenneally has another wonderful book to add to her name. The world of horse racing draws you in, but it’s Savannah that makes this story amazing. She’s a powerful character, and one of my favorites in contemporary literature recently. I’m really happy that there is more coming from Kenneally, as I’m not ready to let this world go.

If you’d like to read Racing Savannah for yourself, you can purchase a copy here:
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Book Review: Things I Can’t Forget by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Things I Can’t Forget
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks Companion series
Rating: ★★★★★

Things I Can't Forget

It only took one book for me to fall in love with Kenneally’s writing. I read Catching Jordan because it was a Kindle Daily Deal, and I haven’t looked back. Kenneally writes the teen experience really well, and each of her characters has a different personality. She doesn’t take the same characters and put them in new situations. Each book has something new and Things I Can’t Forget is no different.

Kate is a good girl who goes to church and loves the Lord. She has let the Bible and her faith guide her in growing up, which have good and bad consequences. She’s full of guilt, though, over what she helped her best friend do. It makes her question herself and her faith. So when she gets the chance to be a camp counselor for the summer, she wants to get away from her secret. She ends up learning a lot about herself and how faith fits into her life.

I didn’t like Kate right away, but I sympathized with her. I grew up going to church every weekend and have a religious family. I can understand why Kate holds onto her faith so tight. It’s how she is able to face the good and bad of each day and find peace with it. Until she does something that goes against her faith, and she’s left questioning everything. She was judgmental in the beginning of the book, but not just toward others. She also judged herself. The growth her character goes through as the novel progresses is fantastic. She comes to accept that faith is not the same for everyone, and she can find a way of practicing her faith that works for her.

Matt was such a sweetheart in this novel. It was wonderful reading how he slowly helped Kate find comfort in her faith. He showed her that faith comes in many forms and that one way is no better than another. He also helped her find confidence in herself and her faith. Matt was the perfect person for Kate to find, at the time in her life when she needed it most.

I also loved how Parker played a role in this novel. She was also a counselor at the camp, and slowly she and Kate became friends. I wasn’t expecting this friendship to form, but I’m really glad it did. Parker was another person that showed Kate that it is okay to adapt faith in a more personal way.

Things I Can’t Forget is an amazing novel that kept me up until the early hours of the morning to finish. I loved it from beginning to end, even if Kate wasn’t always my favorite character. I think this is a must read book for any fans of contemporary romance, and ever ones who aren’t.

If you’d like to read Things I Can’t Forget, you can purchase it here:
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Book Review: A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Title: A Cold Legacy
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: Madman’s Daughter trilogy
Rating: ★★★★

A Cold Legacy

I didn’t realize how much I liked dark retellings until this series. The Madman’s Daughter was not a book I would have usually picked up. And then I loved it and had to read Her Dark Curiosity. And then I was even more in love and couldn’t wait to read A Cold Legacy.

Juliet is engaged to Montgomery. She’s finally admitted that while she cares for Edward and the Beast, she truly loves Montgomery. She’s also a little horrified by the actions she took at the end of Her Dark Curiosity. She’s afraid she’s turning into a madwoman, taking after her father. She doesn’t want to go down that road, but she feels a pull towards it anyway.

Juliet, Montgomery, Edward, and Lucy travel to Ballentyne to escape from police after the events of Her Dark Curiosity. There, they find a new mix of people and questions. Juliet discovers a secret that would push her beyond her father’s legacy and she must decide what her road will be.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot, as I think everything is best discovered as you read, but I will say I could not put the story down. I read page after page, and didn’t even want to stop to sleep. The Scottish moors location provides the perfect backdrop for the dark tale. I only really had one issue with the book, and it happens at the end of the story. I felt like a storyline was left just a little too open and unresolved.

I am happy Juliet decided to be with Montgomery. Even if she can’t see it, when she chooses Montgomery, she also choses the kind of scientist she wants to be. Edward and the Beast represent the mad desire she wants to run from so badly, and Montgomery represents the other curious, but respectful side. I think, in making her choice between the two, she unknowing decides the type of scientist she will be. She might question herself and keep secrets, but I just think she doesn’t really understand herself until the very end.

My only issue with the book is how much emphasis is put on which parent she will take after. It was a little frustrating to read, over and over, how Juliet didn’t want to end up like her father, but she also didn’t want to end up like her mother. It seemed like Juliet, as well as her friends, never really voiced the opinion that Juliet is Juliet; she doesn’t have to end up like either of her parents. Just because she was their daughter does not mean those are the only two paths she has.

A Cold Legacy was an almost perfect end to a wonderful series. I would still recommend it, though. It’s definitely not a book series for everyone, as it’s dark and a little gruesome at times, but it still is completely fantastic. If you’re up for a little darkness, the entire Madman’s Daughter series is perfect.

If you’d like to read A Cold Legacy, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

Title: Her Dark Curiosity
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: The Madman’s Daughter trilogy
Rating: ★★★★

Her Dark Curiosity

I really enjoyed The Madman’s Daughter and was anxious to read Her Dark Curiosity. I became even more anxious when I read it was inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

There are certainly issues with this novel. Juliet definitely made some stupid decisions. There’s a love triangle and some people just aren’t fans. But those issues never took me out of the novel. Shepherd explains them, or they play such a big part of the story that they make complete sense.

Take Juliet, for example, and some of her more unintelligent decisions. She feels compassion for the Beast and Edward. She trusts him when she probably shouldn’t. She keeps secrets when she shouldn’t. But each time she does one of these things, it makes sense. She herself isn’t completely human, so she understands Edward and the Beast in a way. She questions whether she can truly be at peace with what she is if she treat someone else created is a negative way. She knows and recognizes how mad her father had gotten, and she knows how far she fell after he was cast out. She fears that admitting she has the same curiosity means she will end up like her father, and telling people those secrets scares her.

I get it. I understand why Juliet sometimes comes off as making bad choices. She makes stupid decisions, but I can understand the reasoning behind them.

As for the love triangle, I never really felt like it was done to make people love one person and hate the other. The two interests mirror Juliet’s feelings about herself. There’s Edward and the Beast on one side, playing to Juliet’s fear of her father and her own madness. On the other side is Montgomery, showing Juliet that science doesn’t have to mean madness. I thought it was really well done.

Her Dark Curiosity continues the amazing journey The Madman’s Daughter started. It makes you think about what makes people good and evil. It’s fantastic in its descriptions and story. Like its predecessor, it’s dark, but wonderfully so. I am loving this series.

If you’d like to read Her Dark Curiosity, you can purchase it here:
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Book Review: Willowgrove by Kathleen Peacock

Title: Willowgrove
Author: Kathleen Peacock
Series: Hemlock trilogy
Rating: ★★★★

Willowgrove

I have really enjoyed reading the Hemlock series, and Willowgrove is no exception. After escaping Thornhill, Mac and her friends know there’s a target on their backs. They learned secrets they weren’t supposed to know and got away from the camp. But they’re left with more questions, and Willowgrove sets out to answer them.

Mac has been seeing her best friend Amy’s ghost in her dreams. Mac knows she’s missing something in the larger picture, something that might help her werewolf friends. But any knowledge hovers at the edge of her mind, and disappears when she tries to focus on it too hard. When she does finally uncover the secret, she’s shocked and knows she and her friends will have to do something big to change the perception of werewolves.

I like Mac. I do. She’s sweet with Kyle, and it’s clear she loves him. She loves him enough to want him to stay with her, but understands why he feels the pull to leave and join a pack. She cares deeply for all her friends, knowing that a virus is not who they are. Mac understands the fear werewolves instill in people, but she knows the affected are so much more than a virus. She wants to change how the world views those affected.

I love the relationships in this book. It’s clear that the little group is there for each other and is going to fight to keep it that way. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, and I like that through it all, Mac has a few friends to travel the road with.

Everything about this novel is well rounded, from the characters to the plot line. I certainly didn’t expect the book to end up where it did, but everything made complete sense. As each little piece of the puzzle was revealed, it was amazing to see how quickly everything else started to fall into place.

Peacock created a fantastic world where werewolves and humans exist, and not once did the series ever feel like it was out of place in this world. Mac and her life are so wonderfully written that Lupine syndrome feels like it could easily be a true syndrome. I applaud Peacock for taking what could have ended up as a cheesy love story and turning it into the action packed, drama filled, romance story it is.

If you’d like to read Willowgrove, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle
Rating: ★★★★★

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

I’ll be honest. I went into this book thinking it couldn’t live up to the last two books. Not because I don’t think Stiefvater can’t write well, but because I couldn’t see how the story could possibly get any deeper than it already was. The last two books were so good that I didn’t think there was much room left to develop the story. And I was completely wrong. Thankfully.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue starts right where The Dream Thieves left off. Blue’s mother has gone missing and everyone is about to start school again. Gansey is devoted to finding Glendower. Adam has promised himself to Cabeswater and is feeling the weight of his promise. Rowan is trying to bring his dream world and the real world together. Blue is experiencing what true friendship is as she falls even more for Gansey.

Each of these characters has a piece of my heart. They each have their struggles, but they are really showing how true and strong their friendship is. They are there for each other, not out of obligation, but because that is what friends do. The little moments between Blue and Gansey are slowly cracking my heart. Each time they have a moment alone, the emotions are right there, nearly punching me in the gut.

I don’t want to talk about the plot of the story too much, since I think this novel is best experienced without and preconceptions. I will say that new characters are introduced, new complications arise concerning Glendower, and the world of the Raven Boys becomes even more clouded and wonderful.

I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. It had a little of everything I wanted. Characters are continuing to develop, as are their relationships with one another. There never feels like there’s a slowing of the pace and I was anxious with every page turn. I’m in love with this series and can’t wait to see how everything finally comes to an end.

If you’d like to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Title: Forbidden
Author: Kimberley Griffiths Little
Series: Forbidden series
Rating: ★★★

Forbidden

Forbidden is different from any other book I’ve read before, in that it takes place in ancient Mesopotamia and revolves around the life of a tribal girl. It’s historical fiction, but not my usual type of historical fiction. I thought the idea behind it was incredibly interesting and could create the backdrop to a beautiful novel.

Jayden is about to go through the betrothal ceremony that will bind her to Horeb, the son of the tribal leader. Jayden cared for Horeb at one time, but he has changed and she no longer feels the same affection for him. She fears for what her life will become once they are married. When she comes upon a wounded stranger named Kadesh, she starts to question her feelings about the tribe and where her place truly is. Horeb is her betrothed, but Kadesh warms her heart.

I liked Jayden. I didn’t really feel connected to her until later in the novel, but it’s clear that she loves her family and always wants to do what is best for them. She understands that to make life better for her family, it is a part of herself that will be sacrificed. She had come to terms with that until Kadesh came along. She also knows that to be a woman in to be in danger, and she takes steps to ready herself for whatever comes her way.

The plotline was interesting and engaged me enough that I wanted to keep reading. The focus on dancing is interesting, although I tended to glance over those pieces after a while. I liked the emotions Little wrote about during the dances, but the details of the dances didn’t work for me. The only other issue I had with the book was with the pacing of the story. A few times it felt like time was dragging on. I’d start to skim until I read about something new happening.

Forbidden wasn’t as great as I’d hoped it would be, but it was still a good book. The ending made my breath catch and I’m definitely going to read the next book.

If you’d like to read Forbidden, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Series: Firebird
Rating: ★★★

A Thousand Pieces of You

There are a few book themes and topics that can end up making a book amazing or absolutely destroying it. Jumping between alternate realities is one of those. Not only does an author have to create one world where reality jumping is possible, but the other realities must be developed as well. Plus, the science behind the jumping has to at least make a little sense. I picked up A Thousand Pieces of You because I wanted to see if Gray was able to create a book that sounded as good as the book description. While I wished for a little more development in some areas, Gray was able to write a book I really enjoyed.

Marguerite has just lost her father. He’s been killed and she knows who the killer is. So she takes the technology her parents developed, the Firebird, along with Theo. Theo is one of her parents’ research assistants. Together, they take off through alternate realities in search of Paul, another research assistant and the killer.

First things first. The world building. We are dropped right in the middle of Marguerite’s mourning of her father. It’s a bit different from the norm, and in this case it just didn’t work. I wish I could have seen a little bit about Marguerite and her father’s relationship, so I knew where we were starting. I didn’t feel her grief as much as I would have liked. I think maybe dropping the story in a day before everything happened would have given me that connection.

As for the other worlds, I think they were sufficiently described and created. Would I have liked a little more in-depth building? Sure, but I also realize that would have made the book ridiculously long and wouldn’t have served the greater purpose.

I’m a little on the fence about Marguerite as a character. I think she’s incredibly brave for using untested technology to search for her father, but also a little unstable, understandably, for it as well. She also makes a few decisions that left me scratching my head. She believes people in certain situations that most people with common sense wouldn’t believe.

In the end, A Thousand Pieces of You was a good book. It handled the alternate reality well. I just found it a little difficult to fall into the story and connect with the main character. I enjoyed reading it, but it wasn’t the amazing book I’d hoped for.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of A Thousand Pieces of You, you can do so here
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Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.