Book Review: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

My Rating: ★★★★☆ (really more like 3.5 but I really liked the ending)

Genre(s): New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Plot: Tate and Miles have nothing in common-- except that they are very obviously attracted to each other. Tate is a nurse and a student and works crazy hours when she isn't in school. Miles is an airline pilot and gone for days at a time. Neither of them has time for a relationship-- but they do have time for casual sex. With two rules-- never ask about the past, never expect a future-- Tate and Miles stick to the arrangement... until they both begin falling. Tate begins to try to break down the walls Miles has built around his heart, before her heart shatters, while Miles tries desperately to keep the situation casual in order to keep his past in the past.

Pros:

• The chapters in the past paralleled the chapters in the present, even if sometimes it was only subtle.
• This book raises the question, "Is casual sex ever just casual?" and I think that's really important.
• Once Miles' past is revealed, it totally makes sense.
• Corbin is a good big brother.
• Cap is a sweetie pie.
• Miles confronted his past and that's huge.
• The sunset in the sky thing.

Cons:

• A little too much sex for my taste.
• It really bugged me that Tate agreed to the terms knowing that she had no intention of actually sticking to them.
• It also really bugged me that she kept. going. back.
• And that she kept trying to change him.

Favorite Quotes: 

• “God gives us the ugliness so we don’t take the beautiful things in life for granted.”
• “Sometimes not speaking says more than all the words in the world.” 
• “Some people they grow wiser as they grow older. Unfortunately, most people just grow older.” 
• “The smaller the house, the more a family is forced to love one another.”
• “There's nothing in the world that compares to the feel and smell of brand-new rain.” 

My Thoughts: It was... ugh. I have such conflicting feelings about this book. As a whole, it was good. Everything was resolved in the end, and it made me happy and feel-y and I think I might have cried at the very end? But all that good stuff aside, it's totally unforgivable how Tate behaved, even if it did end up in her favor in the long run. Their relationship started off as a flat out lie and with her trying to change him, and that's not cool at all. Especially when, throughout the book, she's constantly saying, "I know I should just stop." WELL THEN FRICKING STOP. smh woman you're ridiculous.

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Colleen Hoover

Book Review: Maybe Not (A Novella) by Colleen Hoover

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre(s): New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Plot: Warren and Bridgette get off to a rocky start when she moves in to the apartment he shares with Ridge. However, it's obvious that there's a shared attraction between them. As strong as her hatred toward him seems to be, Warren is determined to find out if her love could be just as strong.

Pros:

• It's what's happening in the background of Maybe Someday and that's really cool.
• Both of these characters have tough interiors, but gooey insides, and that really shows in this book.
• It was feels-y.
• It told a whole story in a short number of pages, which is really hard to do.

Cons:

• A little too much sex for my taste.
• I was kind of hoping this book would be more about Syd and Ridge, because I didn't read the description.

Favorite Quotes: 

• “The only difference between falling in love and being in love is that your heart already knows how you feel, but your mind is too stubborn to admit it.” 
• “I can’t believe I’m falling in love with such a stupid, stupid asshole.”
• [There are others but my crappy kindle doesn't highlight and I can't find them]

My Thoughts: It was good. It wasn't nearly as good as Maybe Someday, but it was good.

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Colleen Hoover

Book Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover [SPOILERS]

My Rating: ★★★★★

Genre(s): New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Plot: When Sydney learns that her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend/roommate, her seemingly great life is shattered. Homeless with no where else to go, Sydney is offered the spare bedroom in the apartment across the way from hers, where she is forced into close quarters with Ridge, her musically talented, attractive neighbor. Connected by something neither of them can ignore, their musical collaboration turns into something much more complicated, leaving them both confused and wanting more than just music to happen between them.

Pros:

• Ridge is Deaf and I totally did not see that coming.
• This book game me all the feels. All of them.
• The sex scenes weren't graphic.
• I've said it before and I'll say it again-- I'm a sucker or multiple points of view.
• Relationships are complicated. The relationships in this book are complicated. It's just so real.
• She learns ASL for him awwww.
• He spoke for her!
• She doesn't go back to her dickwad boyfriend.
• This book comes with its own soundtrack. How fricking cool is that?

Cons:

• Poor Maggie. But at the same time, not poor Maggie.
• I didn't want it to end, and it ended.

Favorite Quotes: 

• “You should take note that simply because a girl makes your dick hard, that doesn't mean you have to go shove it inside her.” 
• “Sometimes in life, we need a few bad days in order to keep the good ones in perspective.”
• “A life of mediocrity is a waste of a life.”
• “Nothing in my life has ever felt so good yet hurt so achingly bad.” 
• “Kisses like his should come with a warning label. They can't be good for the heart.”
• “Truths are written, never said... Lines are drawn, but then they fade.” 

My Thoughts: I loved this book. So much. I think I read it in about 12 hours (that's really fast for me), and the second I finished reading it, I picked up the sequel and read that too! It was so great and the characters were so perfect. I couldn't decide who I was rooting for, and in the end I was so glad that Maggie found out and was able to let Ridge go-- and that Ridge was able to let himself go. I liked that their connection was deeper than music, and I  loved that the book came with its own soundtrack. Seriously. The best book I've read in a really long time. There is so much that I can say about this book, but UGH it's just so amazing.

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Colleen Hoover

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: Young Adult

Plot: Hadley is having a bad day. She is on her way to England, where her dad is marrying a woman she's never met; then she misses her flight. Just when it looks like things will never look up, she meets Oliver, a British boy who happens to be on her flight. They bond during the flight, but are separated as they enter the airport. Will Hadley and Oliver find each other? Is it meant to be?

Pros:

• It was an easy read. And not in an "I'm so glad I was able to read this book quickly, because it sucked" way. It was just so quirky and interesting that I wanted to keep reading so I could find out what happened when Hadley and Oliver got off the plane.
• Even though their relationship progressed very quickly, I loved the chemistry between Hadley and Oliver.
• Parent-daughter relationships of any kind are important.
• Hadley was a bookworm.

Cons:

• I found a typo.
• I feel like the book dwelt too much in the past (which ok it makes sense but there were just so many flashbacks).

Favorite Quotes:

• “Love is the strangest, most illogical thing in the world.”
• “There's a formula for how long it takes to get over someone, that it's half as long as the time you've been together.” 
• “Hadley didn't know it was possible to miss someone who's only a few feet away, but there it is.” 

My Thoughts: This was a great book. I started it about a zillion years ago (ok, last year), back when I was still ok with downloading books illegally. When I came to my senses and started supporting the industry I plan to join, I deleted all of my illegal books off of my computer, and this book sat on my "currently reading" on Goodreads for a long time. But when I picked it up the other day from the library, it was like I'd never put it down. It was that easy to get back into, and that easy to reconnect with the characters. I actually cared for these characters, and that's a big deal. The end was great and made me really happy. I'm looking forward to reading more Jennifer E. Smith (Jennifer Smith? Not sure which is actually "proper") books soon!

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Jennifer E. Smith

Book Review: Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult [SPOILERS]

My Rating: ★★★½ 

Plot: Willow O'Keeffe is born with  osteogenesis imperfecta ("brittle bone disease"), and spends the first years of her life casted, splinted, and essentially broken. When the family decides to take a trip to Disney World together, Willow trips and falls and has another break. However, since they are in an unfamiliar hospital, the doctors do not have her records and must assume her breaks are signs of abuse, and her parents are arrested. Once the facts are all cleared up, the girls were reunited with their parents, but their father, Sean, was furious. He got a lawyer, with the intention of suing the hospital for the way they were treated. However, the lawyer told him that they were acting well within their rights and that there wasn't a case there-- but there might be a case somewhere else. A case that would change the way people looked at their family forever. A case that would mean that Charlotte would have to basically say that she wished her daughter had never been born.

Pros:

• It was a page-turner. I found myself unable to stop reading (I even accidentally took a forty-five minute lunch break, when I was only supposed to take thirty minutes) because I got so caught up in the story.
• It was written like they were all telling the story to Willow. I liked that.
• I could relate to the characters. Maybe not in the medical sense, but I Charlotte and Sean's marriage was very realistically written, the little disputes about money and the small habits they had with each other. All of it. And Amelia. Oh my goodness I just wanted to hug her and say "shhh bb it'll be ok, just come here shhh" and not like in a creepy way, I just really wanted to make her feel better.
• It shows the underlying problems in a family with an already big problem. The things no one sees. The things people don't really want to see. All of the casseroles that NO ONE is going to eat.
• As always, the story lines and multiple points of few gave the story a lot of variance while still showing connections in the journeys along the way.
• There are so many good quotes in this book. So many.

Cons:

• I basically knew Willow was going to die from page one. Well, ok, from whenever I found out she was sick. 1) the cover showed a girl DROWING IN THE POND, and 2) I knew the trial was going to be this HUGE fiasco all for nothing. She had to die. It only made sense for Picoult's method of storytelling.
• It was really anti-climactic and then it exploded. Like ok cool they won the trial (of course), and then the last page punched you in the face. Some readers might like that, but the ending really just didn't do it for me. Especially because I predicted the outcome.

Favorite Quote(s):

•  “When you love someone, you say their name different. Like it's safe inside your mouth.” 
• “I always hated when my scars started to fade, because as long as I could still see them, I knew why I was hurting.” 
• “Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.” 
• “There are kinds of pain that you can't speak out loud.” 

My Thoughts: This was a good book, if you like tear-jerkers. I will admit that I cried a few times while reading this book. Babies in pain is such a sad subject. I really liked the lawyer's side-story, even with the sad ending to her journey to find her birth-parents. Overall, it was a good book. I think maybe the reason I rated it so low was because 1) it was predictable and 2) it just ended the way it did. I know that Picoult does this with her books. I know. I get that. But ugh. RIGHT IN THE FEELS.

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Jodi Picoult

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn [SPOILERS]

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Plot: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? [click the link above to read more]

My Thoughts: [WARNING: Contains Spoilers!] This book was a trip. I wrote predictions along the way: Amy's parents did it... Nick did it... Amy ran away. I had no idea that my final prediction was the correct one. When I finished the first act of the book, I actually had to go back and reread a few pages because it just didn't make sense that she would disappear on her own. As I got to know Amy-- Real Amy, not Diary Amy-- I was sickly fascinated by the fact that someone could be that twisted. Once I found out that Amy was alive and very much okay, I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know why she ran, and I wanted to know how Nick was going to react when she inevitability came home. I honestly thought Nick was going to kill her because everyone already thought he did anyway. I was totally blindsided by the ending. I cannot imagine having to live with someone that insane for the rest of my life, and Nick is totally trapped with Amy forever. That is just crazy. 

I really, really enjoyed this book, and I cannot wait to see the movie when it comes out. I might even (dare I say it?) watch it in theaters. The book was that good. If you haven't read Gone Girl, you should read it. Now!

This book was recommended to me by Fatma over at the3gryffindors.tumblr.com

Review: Gossamer by Lois Lowry

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Plot: Littlest One is a tiny creature slowly learning her job of giving dreams to humans. Each night she and her teacher, Thin Elderly, visit an old woman’s home where she softly touches beloved objects, gathering happy memories, and drops of old scents and sounds. Littlest One pieces these bits together and presents them to her sleeping human in the form of pleasant dreams. But the dreaded Sinisteeds, dark fearsome creatures that plague their victims with nightmares, are always at work against the dreamgivers. When the old woman takes in John, an angry foster child with a troubled past, the Sinisteeds go after him with their horrifying nightmares. Can Littlest One, and her touch light as gossamer, protect John’s heart and soul from the nightmare of his dark past?

My Thoughts: As always, Lowry tells the story of the triumph of good over evil in her own unique way. This book was an easy read, as it is a children's book, but the tenderness of the old woman and the emotions of the boy and his mother are very real. This is also an interesting theory about where our dreams come from, and why we dream of the most random of things sometimes. Great, easy read!

Book Review: In the End by Demitria Lunetta

My Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Plot: The thrilling conclusion to In the After, the survival story of Amy and Baby, set in a near future where Earth has been overrun by vicious, predatory creatures. It’s been three months since Amy escaped New Hope, and she’s been surviving on her own, like she did in the After. Until one day, her former fellow Guardian’s voice rings out in her earpiece. And in a desperate tone, Kay utters the four words Amy had hoped she would never hear: Dr. Reynolds has Baby. Now it’s a race against time, for Baby is in imminent danger, her life threatened by the malevolent doctor who had helped start the end of the world. In order to save Baby, Amy must make her way to Fort Black, a prison-turned-survivor-colony, where she will need to find Ken, Kay’s brother. He alone holds the key to Baby’s survival. One small slip-up on this quest could spark a downward spiral that would not only cost Baby and Amy their lives, but threaten the very survival of the people in the After

My Thoughts: I was sort of let down by this book. I was looking forward to this for so long, and when I read it, the wow factor just wasn't there for me. The time in Fort Black seemed to d r a g o u t, but once Amy and Brenna escaped and the action really picked up, I flew threw the book. I loved Jacks and Amy's relationship. He just seemed right for her, and I think that if Demitria writes another book they would probably end up together. I was a little confused about how Baby just randomly knew who Amy was when, four chapters earlier, she had no idea who Amy was. Unless she was faking it. I just really hope they write another book because I HAVE ALL THE QUESTIONS.

Review: Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Plot: As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother Vivienne Margaux, the powerful head of a major New York theater company has no time for her. But she does have one friend--Michael--and no one can see him but her. But Michael can't stay with Jane forever, and on her eighth birthday, her imaginary friend must leave her. When Jane is in her thirties... (click the link to continue reading)

My Thoughts: This. Book. Was. Great. At first I was like, "Woah, that's weird, she's attracted to her imaginary friend". But as I continued reading, it became so much more than that. Not only is this book about taking control of one's life and making one's own dreams a reality (ok, the last part is probably only used a little loosely), but it's also about a mother-daughter relationship and how some mothers interact (or don't) with their children, even as their children grow up. This book was really great, and I just recently found out that it was a movie, so I'll probably watch that soon too. If you haven't read this one, READ IT! It's short and sweet and you'll fly through it.

Recommended to me by inserttypicalnonsensehere.tumblr.com

Review: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

My Rating: ★★★½

Goodreads Plot: Where there's a will, there's a way—and Sam Westing has left quite a will!

One fateful day, sixteen people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. To their surprise, the will turns out to be a contest, challenging the heirs to find out who among them is Westing's murderer. Forging ahead, through blizzards, burglaries, and bombings, the game is on. Only two people hold all the clues. One of them is the Westing heir. The other is you!

My Thoughts: (I rated this book 4 on Goodreads because they don't have half-stars and I didn't want to under-rate it) It took me a while to get into this book. The format was weird, and I was in sort of a funk when I started it. But I'm so glad that I finished it, because the twist at the end made it totally worth it. There were a lot of characters in this book, so it was hard to keep track at first, and I found myself getting confused a lot with who was who. It wasn't a great book, but it wasn't horrible either.

Review: A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin

My Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Plot: The summer Hattie turns 12, her predictable smalltown life is turned on end when her uncle Adam returns home for the first time in over ten years. Hattie has never met him, never known about him. He's been institutionalized; his condition involves schizophrenia and autism. Hattie, a shy girl who prefers the company of adults, takes immediately to her excitable uncle, even when the rest of the family -- her parents and grandparents -- have trouble dealing with his intense way of seeing the world. And Adam, too, sees that Hattie is special, that her quiet, shy ways are not a disability.

My Thoughts: This book was really sad! I wasn't really expecting to like it because it's a book for preteens, but it was actually very good. It was very funny, and very true-to-life. I would've liked to hear more about Hattie's friend from the circus (her name escapes me and I don't have the book any more). But overall it was really good, and one I'd probably recommend to my younger sisters for a light, easy read.

Review- 64 Deaths: An Anthology by Christina Escamilla

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: A collection of twenty short stories, revealing the darker side of the world we live in.

My Thoughts: This was an interesting read. I loved that it was a bunch of short stories, because I got to see a lot of stories in a short amount of time. Some stories had me flipping pages wildly, excited to see the conclusion, while others had me gripping the book sadly, dreading the fate of the character I'd already become attached to. The variety of topic kept things fresh, and the fact that the style of writing/tone changed with each new story was awesome and really helped each story become its own. This book is creepy, but not even in a bad way. Definitely worth the read!

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: Seventeen-year-old Mia's life is changes in an instant when she and her family are in a car accident, and she must make a very important choice-- the most important choice she will ever have to make.

My Thoughts: This book was pretty good. I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it, so I was a bit shocked by the beginning. This tale of young love and tough choices and relate-able, and the struggle Mia goes through is unforgettable. I read this book in a few hours, and I'm pretty pleased with how it ended. I kept posting "all the feels" because this book has a lot of emotion, but it definitely doesn't overdo it.

Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Plot: Susie Salmon is raped and murdered, and when she goes to Heaven, she sees how her loved ones (and her murderer) cope with her death, while coming to terms with her own fate.

My Thoughts: This book was phenomenal. I like that it wasn't your usual murder-mystery point of view, and I thought it was interesting how you could feel the passage of time through the narration. At first it was slow, with every detail, and then it got faster and skipped days and months and then years, kind of like what happens when someone dies and you grieve them. I spent weeks reading this because because I didn't want it to end. This book was so good.

Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban Prison and comes after Harry. Dementors are everywhere, and Harry meets his dad's old friends. Hermione is a time traveler even though she's only thirteen. Wizarding laws, what?

My Thoughts: As I've previously mentioned, writing reviews on books I've read a thousand times feels so silly. I think this is probably one of my favorite Harry Potter books, and the movie does not do it justice.

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars (on goodreads I rated it a 4, because I can't choose 3.5 but 3 seems too low)

Plot: Charlie writes a series of letters throughout the course of his freshman year of high school, where he explores himself, friendships, relationships, and the strength of his family. This book touches on many issues that teenagers face, some of which get ignored or hushed up because they're controversial.

My Thoughts: I liked it. Then I hated it. Then I decided, "You know what? I'm not going to read this. Why should I read a book I don't like? Just because it's popular doesn't mean I have to like or read it." Then I went to work and opened my Kindle up to this book and decided to give it another go and finished it within a couple of hours. It was a good book, but it wasn't particularly great like I was expecting (thanks, Tumblr). I feel like I can relate to Charlie on so many levels, but at the same time, I don't understand how or why he works the way he does. I think that's kind of the point though. I wish I'd known about this book when I was younger. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Dobby tells Harry not to go to Hogwarts. Harry and Ron steal a flying car. They get in trouble. The Chamber of Secrets is opened. Things happen.

My Thoughts: First, I feel very silly writing out the plot of the Harry Potter books because everyone knows what happens. So hopefully ^ that will suffice. Second, and I mean this with as much respect to JKR as she deserves, but I've always kind of thought that The Chamber of Secrets was a filler book. It wasn't bad, but it definitely was not my favorite in the series. It obviously sets up a lot as far as Horcruxes go, and as far as book Ginny + Harry is concerned, but it's always just sort of been the one I skip through whenever I do a reread because I'm not that interested. 

Review: In the After by Demitria Lunetta

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Plot: Amy is home alone when They come. It's clear from the beginning that her parents are dead. Surviving only because of her mom's paranoid precautions, Amy adapts to life in the After-- lonely, and absolutely silent, because They have supersonic hearing, and if They hear her, she will die. One day, Amy stumbles across a toddler in the produce aisle of a supermarket while she's scavenging for food. After taking the little girl (who Amy calls "Baby") under her wing, the girls keep each other alive, and look out for one another. It was lonely, but they lived for each other. When Amy and Baby discover a small town of survivors, Amy realizes that there are downfalls to finding civilization, and that not everything in the After is as it seems.

My Thoughts: I won this book in a giveaway from Class of 2k14, and it sat on my shelf for a few weeks before I started to read it. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I wanted to know why it was happening. I was intrigued by the story, and very pleased with the ending. This book is fantastic. It's kind of an easy read, but that makes flying through the pages that much better. The sequel to this book is set to release in June, and I am so excited to see how Amy and Baby's story ends! If you can, pick up this book as soon as possible. You won't regret it.