Tag: young adult

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Posted in Reviews

ARC Review: How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron (3/21/23)

Posted on by Jennifer

How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron
Expected Release Date: March 21, 2023

Check out the Goodreads Giveaway, open until March 21!

Recommended: sure
For a sweet story with some actual mystery to it, for a fun integration of nerdy gamer things that you’ll be in on the joke for if you’re a gamer, for characters who support being their true authentic selves

Summary

First, math genius and gamer-nerd Samaya gets dumped by her boyfriend. Then he sabotages her job and hooks up with her frenemy. What could be worse? Clearly, her golden-boy ex is winning the breakup. The only way Samaya can get some rebound cred is to find someone new. Even if she has to fake it.

At a volunteer bake sale, Samaya meets a sweet opportunity. Daniel is a handsome hockey jock and a whiz when it comes to lemon squares and brownies. And he agrees to play along. Quid pro quo. He’ll pretend to be the boyfriend of her dreams if Samaya helps him pass calculus.

This may well be the recipe for the best revenge, but Samaya has no idea how complicated it will get. As they whip up an imitation romance, and a bumbleberry pie, resisting each other’s very real charms proves impossible. Samaya finds herself on an unexpected journey of secrets, self-discovery, and the true meaning of moving on.

Thoughts

This starts off with a premise that could easily fall to the lazy, boring trope where the conflict is driven by people simply not talking to each other. Happily, that lazy boring trope is not where this book draws from. Instead, there’s a well-developed sense of identity and authenticity, as well as mutual support. Considering this is a fake-dating trope, it’s really impressive that it still felt very genuine for the characters!

I loved that they were pretty honest with each other from the start. Even though there’s the one obvious lie of pretending this guy is an excellent gamer, they both focus on staying true to themselves and encouraging each other to do the same. Daniel’s interactions with Samaya’s friends was focused a lot on who he genuinely is, rather than solely on his assumed persona. They even call that out to each other after, which was a heartwarming moment of clarity. This is a critical basis of any relationship, so I was quickly invested in them, regardless of if romance came or it stayed as a strong friendship.

Continue reading “ARC Review: How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron (3/21/23)” →
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Posted in Reviews

Review: Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland

Posted on by Jennifer

Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland


Recommended: eh…
If you can be ok with an MC / narrator who is actually an unlikeable dick, if you enjoy academic rivals, if you enjoy mini road trips, then this might work for you. If any of that turns you off… probably pass

Summary

Today Tonight Tomorrow meets A Pho Love Story in this whip-smart young adult novel about a girl who embarks on a road trip with her long-time rival to win back her best friend and his girlfriend.

There’s no one Kelsie Miller hates more than Eric Mulvaney Ortiz—the homecoming king, captain of the football team, and academic archrival in her hyper-competitive prep school. But after Kelsie’s best friend, Briana, moves across the country and stops speaking to her, she’ll do anything, even talk to Eric, to find out why.

After they run into each other—literally—at the last high school party of the summer, Eric admits he’s been ghosted by his girlfriend, Jessica. Kelsie tells him she’s had zero contact from Briana since she left their upstate New York town.

Suddenly, a plan is formed: they’ll go on a road trip to the University of Pennsylvania the following week when both Briana and Jessica will be on campus. Together, they’ll do whatever it takes to win back their exes.

What could go wrong?

Used to succeeding in everything, Kelsie and Eric assume they’ll naturally figure out the details on the drive down. What they don’t expect is that the person they actually need may be the one sitting next to them.

Thoughts

The main problem here is that I finished this book 4 days ago and I’ve already almost forgotten it. That alone tells me that it’s not anything wildly special to me, if four days have already let it slip away. I acknowledge as part of that, though, that two things went against this for me immediately:
1. I’m not a fan of road trip stories, which this is like 35% a road trip story
2. I’m not a fan of enemies to lovers where it’s really that one person is just an asshole and there was never actually any animosity needed or present for the other person

The road trip portion is blessedly short, which I was super grateful for because a story entirely in a car is a hard sell for me. Once they get out of the car again I was more into it and able to sink in to the characters a bit more. There were definitely a few moments that made me smile in mild amusement, but there were also moments that were so legitimately unbelievable that they just seemed stupid and forced.

Continue reading “Review: Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland” →
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Posted in Fast-Forward Friday

Fast Forward Friday: Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto (3/7/23)

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! In contrast to Throwback Thursday, I like to use Fridays to look forward to an upcoming release that I’m excited about! Today’s is Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto!
Expected Release: March 7, 2023

Why wait on this one?

  • The premise of Chloe being set up on arranged dates by her parents kind of reminds me of the book 10 Blind Dates which wasn’t anything that blew me away, but it was really sweet and fun and if this is similar at all I’ll probably also enjoy this one. And lighthearted fun is often a thing I want. ^.^
  • And add in the idea of Chloe actually liking one of the guys? OOOH ROMANCE YES PLEASE! Plus now there’s the subtle mystery of which of those fellas on the cover is the one that actually holds her attention??
  • But of course, there has to be some tension. And in this case — can an arranged date really last if you’re both leaving at the end of the summer for your planned futures (ie college probably)? Is it worth it? Or is it just a fling?

Summary

Chloe is officially off the waitlist at USC, and thus one step closer to realizing her dream of becoming an animator in the United States. But before she leaves home, her auntie insists on planning a traditional debut for Chloe’s eighteenth birthday (think sweet sixteen meets debutante ball). To make matters worse, her father, intent on finding Chloe the perfect escort for the party, keeps setting her up on one awkward kaishao—or arranged date—after another. But . . . why does her dad suddenly care so much about her love life? And what happens when she actually starts to fall for one of the guys, only to have to leave at the end of the summer?

Posted in Chatty

February 2023 TBR: just a few

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! I only have a few books specifically planned for this month, and the rest is going to be a lot of mood reading. Here’s what I have in mind!

Miscellaneous united!

Her Name Is Knight by Yasmin Angoe is a book I got from Kindle First Reads a while back, but didn’t end up reading yet. It’s part of the current Kindle Challenge as an option for Black History Month, so I figured now was the time! Unfortunately, it’s incredibly graphic and violent and covers some really terrible things. So far I’ve been really struggling to read it because it’s just so incredibly grim, even though it’s also interesting and compelling and intriguing. I think I’m past the worst of it though (god willing…) so I’ll continue on… slowly.

Hero in a Halfling by William Tyler Davis is my answer to the book above, and some of the others I’ve finished recently that were on the darker side. I really needed a light fantasy where no one was worried about suicide or rape or financial ruin. So far, none of those have come up. I have a feeling this is a bit similar in vibe to the wildly popular Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, though I haven’t read that one (yet). It’s lightly parodying and makes me smile a lot.

Divide Me By Zero by Lara Vapnyar is a book I had not heard of until I found it on a shelf at the bookstore today where I treated myself to picking one book out. This was the winner! It’s a reflective book with a Russian immigrant who was raised on math as the MC. It’s also by Tin House Books, which I’ve been recently introduced to through Aardvark Book Club and have enjoyed their unusual subject range in their titles. Maybe this is another winner?

Honestly, that’s it. This is all the energy I have for planning right now. I haven’t even posted in a week, which is extremely uncommon for me. This is what I could manage. Back to reading….

Posted in Reviews

Spotify Wrapped Challenge 2022

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! I saw a super fun sounding tag on Dinipanda’s site recently and immediately was hyped to join in and give it a go. The goal is to take your most listened to songs from 2022 and put them on shuffle, then try to match the first five songs that are played to a book you read in 2022 that fits it somehow! Even if it’s not a perfect fit, it’s more about seeing what you think of for each one. 🙂

I tracked this back through several layers of tags and I think I’ve got the original post here from Lace and Dagger books, then to The Corner of Laura, then to Ace Reader, then to Dinipanda Reads, and now, here! 😀 What a journey it’s been.

I’m also taking this two steps more by also choosing a book from my list to be read that fits and adding it to my upcoming, and also by adding all the songs I’ve seen in other folks’ posts to my playlist below. 🙂 If you do this post as well, tag me in it so I can add your songs to the playlist!

Dancing King – Exo x Yu Jae Seok

2022: Review: Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram

This is a book about a boy in a boy band who’s maybe falling for a new guy while getting over his ex. There’s inherent dancing in a boy band, so of course I thought of this one!

2023: A Time to Dance by Padma Vankatraman

I think the title makes this one obvious. xD It’s also on my shelf, plus a friend recommended it, so I think it’s a safe bet!

Cookie Thumper! – Die Antwoord

2022: Review: Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland

I really struggled with this song because I don’t think I read anything badass enough to suit this song vibe. I’d need like, a heist book or something. This book is more about a maybe toxic love and grief and death, so not exactly right, but it still has a bit of that wild-love style to it that I get from this song.

2023: Hum if you Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais

This is a much more straightforward and obvious choice: this book is set in South Africa. Die Antwoord is from South Africa. Simple right? I’ve also wanted to read some books about Apartheid because I know woefully little about it and want to start filling that gap.

LUCIFER – SHINee

2022: Review: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

This is literally a book about a relationship with the devil (Hades in this case rather than “Lucifer” but same idea). I can’t think of something more perfectly spot on. xD

2023: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

From the miscellaneous bits I’ve heard about this book, I think there’s some abuse / toxic relationship elements to it and that sort of aligns with the song’s lyrics about a love that’s cutting but alluring.

In The End – Linkin Park

2022: ARC Review: The End of Getting Lost by Robin Kirman

This book has a lot of confusion and pain and fear vibes, which I think are echoed in the song quite a lot. Plus of course it shares the word “end” but that’s a bit flimsy on it’s own.

2023: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

I’ve been saying I would read this book and finish this series for about five years now. IT IS TIME!! So this book for me is a very literal “in the end” by ending the series and ending this absurd ongoing wait!

Ice Cream Cake – Red Velvet

2022: ARC Review: Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee

One of the sweetest books I read this year! I loved this romance read and it’s a book about books. How could it miss? Plus it was surprisingly spicy and that perfectly suits this song with it’s slyly innocent sounding lyrics. 🥰

2023: How to Win a Breakup by Farah Heron

This is a super sweet YA romance with baking and nerdy gaming and a love of math. In all honesty, I started it this morning and I’m already over halfway through because it is just so good! This one has the literal food element to mirror the song, but it’s also really damn sweet!!

What have I learned? …I only listen to older songs. xD The newest song on this list is from 2016, and the oldest? 2000. I guess I find what I like and stick with it! 😂

Posted in Release Day!

Just Published: Spice Road by Maya Ibrahim!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! Just a reminder that Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim published today! Check out the full review here or grab a copy of your own!

Summary

In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens the affinities of those who drink the misra tea. Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading across the sands.

Her reputation has been overshadowed, however, by her brother, who tarnished the family name after it was revealed that he was stealing his nation’s coveted spice–a telltale sign of magical obsession. Soon after that, he disappeared, believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes. Despite her brother’s betrayal, there isn’t a day that goes by when Imani doesn’t grieve him.

But when Imani discovers signs that her brother may be alive and spreading the nation’s magic to outsiders, she makes a deal with the Council that she will find him and bring him back to Qalia, where he will face punishment. Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can control the minds of falcons, she sets out on her mission.

see the full review
Posted in Release Day!

Just Published: 6 Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe!

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! Just a reminder that 6 Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe published today! Check out the full review here or grab a copy of your own!


Recommended: sure
For a low-key sad love story, for teen caretaker stories, for grief and trauma and pain

Summary

Penny and Tate have always clashed. Unfortunately, their mothers are lifelong best friends, so the girls’ bickering has carried them through playdates, tragedy, and more than one rom-com marathon with the Moms. When Penny’s mother decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom, ending her wait for a liver transplant, things go from clashing to cataclysmic. Because in order to help their families recover physically, emotionally, and financially, the Moms combine their households the summer before senior year.
 
So Penny and Tate make a pact: They’ll play nice. Be the drama-free daughters their mothers need through this scary and hopeful time. There’s only one little hitch in their plan: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.
 
It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.
 
They’ve never talked about it. They’ve always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they’re living across the hall from each other. And some things—like their kisses—can’t be almosts forever.

see the full review
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Posted in Reviews

ARC Review: 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe (1/24/23)

Posted on by Jennifer

6 Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe
Expected Release: January 24, 2023

Recommended: sure
For a low-key sad love story, for teen caretaker stories, for grief and trauma and pain

Summary

Penny and Tate have always clashed. Unfortunately, their mothers are lifelong best friends, so the girls’ bickering has carried them through playdates, tragedy, and more than one rom-com marathon with the Moms. When Penny’s mother decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom, ending her wait for a liver transplant, things from clashing to cataclysmic. Because in order to help their families recover physically, emotionally, and financially, the Moms combine their households the summer before senior year.
 
So Penny and Tate make a pact: They’ll play nice. Be the drama-free daughters their mothers need through this scary and hopeful time. There’s only one little hitch in their plan: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.
 
It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.
 
They’ve never talked about it. They’ve always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they’re living across the hall from each other. And some things—like their kisses—can’t be almosts forever.

Thoughts

This is one of those books where even though characters are in and around love of all kinds, it sort of breaks your heart the whole way through. It’s not often a buoyant, easy love of light. It’s a quieter, maybe more desperate love tinged with their shared histories and pain. A perfect quote to sum up the vibe:

Scratches give it character. Nothing in life comes out unscathed.

As you can probably guess from the title, there’s a good amount of tension in their interactions given the six times they almost kiss. It’s told in two timelines, with the current-day taking up some of it, and the reflections on past near-kisses and other dominating events alternating in. This worked for me in this story because it broke up some of the fear and worry of the current-day narrative with their moms getting surgery.

Continue reading “ARC Review: 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe (1/24/23)” →
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Posted in Reviews

ARC Review: Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim (1/24/23)

Posted on by Jennifer

Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim
Expected Publication: January 24, 2023

Recommended: eh
for an incredible setting, for a story rife with possibilities and big moments, but also there are characters I hate so much I really wanted to DNF this one

Summary

In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens the affinities of those who drink the misra tea. Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading across the sands.

Her reputation has been overshadowed, however, by her brother, who tarnished the family name after it was revealed that he was stealing his nation’s coveted spice–a telltale sign of magical obsession. Soon after that, he disappeared, believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes. Despite her brother’s betrayal, there isn’t a day that goes by when Imani doesn’t grieve him.

But when Imani discovers signs that her brother may be alive and spreading the nation’s magic to outsiders, she makes a deal with the Council that she will find him and bring him back to Qalia, where he will face punishment. Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can control the minds of falcons, she sets out on her mission.

Imani will soon find that many secrets lie beyond the Forbidden Wastes–and in her own heart–but will she find her brother?

Thoughts

My biggest issue with this book was Amira. I freaking hate Amira. From basically page two she’s being a massive immature pain in the ass while also being super preachy about it. She’s one of those people who condemns someone else for doing the exact thing they themself are doing, and she doesn’t even realize it. It’s awful and I couldn’t stand her. The only way I was able to finish this book was by skipping anything she said and any reference to her name for the last 50% of the book. There was nothing redeeming about her for me.

► View spoilers about how my hopes were dashed
    And when she was like “I promise I won’t come.” I knew it was going to be a lie because that’s just how annoying younger siblings work in an adventure story, but god did I cling to that hope that she would in fact stay home. And of course she emerges by way of waking a legendary immortal giant full of rage. I hate her so much.


I persevered mainly because this was an ARC and I wanted to get more than twenty (incredibly annoying) pages in before quitting, and also because I had so much hope for seeing more of the world and the lore of it. I did indeed get more lore, and I was able to slowly fall in love with that aspect of the story. There’s so much history built into it, both in the small daily lives and the world-shaping historical beings and events that exist. Learning about each kept me entranced (until shattered by an annoying scream — if you read my spoiler or the book it’ll make sense).

Continue reading “ARC Review: Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim (1/24/23)” →
Posted in Release Day!

Just Published: The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos

Posted on by Jennifer

Hey y’all! Just a reminder that The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos published today! Check out the full review here or grab a copy of your own!


Recommended: sure
for a sweet story of figuring out what’s right for you, for healthy and balanced looks at teen / first-time sexuality, for really lovely friendships that are important as well

Summary

Cameron Carson has a secret. A secret with the power to break apart his friend group.

Cameron Carson, member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, has been secretly hooking up with student council president, cheerleader, theater enthusiast, and all-around queen bee Karla Ortega since the summer. The one problem—what was meant to be a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers has now evolved into a clandestine senior-year entanglement, where Karla isn’t intending on blending their friend groups anytime soon, or at all.

Enter Mackenzie Briggs, who isn’t afraid to be herself or wear her heart on her sleeve. When Cameron finds himself unexpectedly bonding with Mackenzie and repeatedly snubbed in public by Karla, he starts to wonder who he can truly consider a friend and who might have the potential to become more….

check out the full review!