Posts Tagged With: ya books

Top 12 Favorite Books of 2020 (so far)

Posted on July 28, 2020 by Ashley Lauren

If there can be one good thing said about 2020 (and that’s a stretch, I know) it’s that it has given me a reason to double down on my reading. I have been positively devouring books this year and am proud to say I’ve finished 78 so far. Since we’re halfway through this delight of a year, I thought I would highlight some of my absolute favorites!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

You’re a good man, Linus Baker. I’m so very pleased to know you.

There may not be as accurate of a statement than this in the entire world. This book -guys, this BOOK. It’s like a dose of rainbow, sunshine, sprinkle glitter love happiness straight to the pleasure center. It’s beautiful.

Honestly, I want to write everything and yet nothing at all. You don’t need to know anything, you just need to read this book.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

This is a truly wonderful book. Gah – I wish I could go back in time and read this as a young adult because it would have had even that much more POW.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

This is a fantastic book that should be read. Not only it is well written with personal stories and facts of cases, it’s properly balanced with success and failure. It’s not a story about only innocent people being released – it’s about criminals getting appropriate representation as well. I really appreciated that this didn’t just feel like a giant pat on the back, but it was the emphasis on how the broken system breaks individuals – and breaks those people of color even more disproportionately.

All in all, a great read.

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Undercover Bromance is a “great big manly hug huddle” (those are Lyssa Kay Adam’s words, not mine) and it’s and amazing 5/5 star book.

These books – they just GET me. I had legit belly laughs. I mean, the man-hating rooster? The banter? Heck, I was even belly laughing from FART jokes (I kid you not). It’s fun and funny and the relationships – romantic and friendship – are SO GOOD.

Can’t help it. Love these. Want more.

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Confession: I have never, not once, seen an episode of the Bachelor. Which I assume this book is a literary version of.

Guys – this is the equivalent of a romantic “who dun it” – you literally can’t guess who the murderer, I mean, perfect lover is! I mean, okay, I guess I could but I also couldn’t. I’m not spoiling this for you but it’s kind of amazing.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Heaaaaarts, rainbowsssss, and sunshine.

That’s what I feel about this book. I adored it. I giggled – a LOT. The characters are delightful, the setting adorable, there’s some very satisfying sexy time and ogling, etc, etc. Basically, it was right up my alley and I highly recommend.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

If Sue Monk Kidd hadn’t written this book I NEVER would have picked it up. No way, no how. I have as little connection to any religion as possible – I was raised in the US and therefore have those Christian influences to my society, but had nothing by the way of religious education. For example – it wasn’t until the end of the book that I found out Anna was fictional. Ha!

So – yes, from a topic, not typically one of interest to me. And honestly there were parts that were a bit dry in the book or that I didn’t quite “get” because my lack of knowledge. But the essence of it… the drive Sue Monk Kidd put into the story and the protagonist. Anna is a storm to be reckoned with and merged with the society in which she lived – it was beautiful. The fact that Anna really was the center of this story, and the most interesting of the characters, and she was married to Jesus is pretty outstanding for the author, I have to say.

Overall, a truly great read and another example of the artwork that is Sue Monk Kidd’s writing.

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

Wow – this was truly excellent. Complex without being confusing, unique without being unbelievable, and horrifying without being gross. Great characters who have enough of their own issues to be interesting but not so much so that they are distracting. I truly didn’t guess the ending. All in all, I very top notch crime thriller!

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Welp, that was perfect.

And, for the record, I usually really dislike stories where the character is a writer. And this one had two writers.

It’s still perfect.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Ok – yeah, I was really skeptical about this book. The premise is bizarre and, honestly, after reading it, the premise is still really bizarre.

But, man, I liked it! The style of the narration is amazing, I wanted to quote about half of it. I love the main character and just the way she IS. The way she responds and adapts to the strange circumstances she’s put it is fascinating.

It’s super quirky and it’s a book that gave me a lot of thoughts and feels. And that’s how I’m leaving that review.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Well, I should know better than to read what is the first in what is very clearly going to be a series so soon after it is published. I want to read the next one immediately and now I have to wait 😦

This is great – it raw and unique and Alex Stern is a bada**. I had a little trouble getting into it at the beginning and, frankly, it’s a dense book. I was trying to read it quickly but it takes a lot of mind power – there is a LOT that goes on here. That’s not a bad thing, it’s actually really good, but get ready for the investment.

All in all, Bardugo hit another one out of the park.

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

What an excellent book. I blew through this in a single day – which is no small feat in the chaos that is my life.

Maybe it’s just me, but I love when I come across a book where everything just works. The story is perfectly paced and snappy with action, dialogue, introspection, and magic. The character relationships are genuine and heartfelt – the main characters, Ryn and Ellis, are beautiful and flawed. The problems they face are real and unique. This is such a fascinating story that I have – and haven’t – heard before.

Oh – and it’s a zombie book, so, you know, that makes is automatically awesome.

Categories: Lists, Pick Ups | Tags: 2002reads, 2020, amreading, beachread, best books, blackauthors, Book, book review, books, fantasy, felixeverafter, justmercy, lgbtqreads, ninthhouse, representationmatters, reviews, romance, romcom, ya books | 2 Comments

YA Book Review: Mila 2.0 – 1/5

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Ashley Lauren

MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

No. This book is just a giant no.

There are so many obnoxious things about this story. I really, really wish I hadn’t even finished it. I slogged through it because I had a theory and, of course, it wasn’t until I got to the end that it occurred to me I might not be able to test my theory until the next book in the series, and there’s no way I’m picking up that brick.

For a book about an android/cyborg/whatever you want to call Mila, it was freaking boring. Mila is the lamest machine-like-thing ever. She can do crazy ninja-like moves, which is cool if predictable, but what else? She can insert a microchip into her wrist (but can barely process it) and she has GPS. That’s it. So. Lame.

Nothing about what she is makes sense. “Mila” is supposedly some kind of weapon the U.S. has made? Why in the world would they EVER design an android weapon to take the shape of a teenage girl? Dumb. And this entire project is run by two scientists? Equally dumb.

There is just so much about this that is absurd. I can’t resist naming a few:

1) Kaylee, her so-called best friend of a month, tries to kill her over a boy who moved into town two days before. The crazy of that situation was so glossed over.

2) Mila’s “love” for a boy who, again, had been around for two days. Why? There is zero connection. I’m so suspicious of him but we don’t get any more information before the end of the book, so I have no way of knowing if my guess is right (seriously, though, Mila is on the run from a “secret organization” who “knows no bounds” and a strange guy shows up, all handsome, decides he loves Mila, and his name? HUNTER. *slow blink*)

3) Mila has all this attachment to her school, and friends, and horse, and mother, etc, but she’s truly only been “alive” for a month. For a machine with human feelings she has about 500% the amount of feelings anyone has for anything in that length of time.

And then – there’s the biggest, most ridiculous thing of all. It’s after Mila and her mother’s capture (sorry for the spoilers, seriously though, you don’t want to read this book) and the scientist is putting her through “tests. ” Apparently if she can show that she doesn’t have emotions (when they already know she does) then she can live. So they decide to put her through these tests using emotion as the main incentive for her to succeed. In the final test she literally has to go through a Tough Mudder-like course all the while watching TV screens of her mother slowly being burned to death.

I’m sorry but if Mila works so hard to win at these games isn’t that showing exactly how her emotions are controlling her actions and not her logic? A true machine would look at this obstacle course and be all like “that seems like a risk to a lot of people and myself just to save one woman.”

I always feel a little guilty when I go into these rants, but I just can’t get over how little sense this book made. If you were thinking about picking this up, just stop. If you want to read a good book about a young adult cyborg lady, pick up Cinder instead.

Categories: Debuts, Put Downs, Weekly Review, Young Adult | Tags: amreading, book review, driza, mila 2.0, put downs, readwomen2014, reviews, weekly review, ya books, young adult | Leave a comment

YA Book Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone – 5 of 5!

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Ashley Lauren

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To those of you who pick up this book – I recommend you buy/borrow the other two from the trilogy at the same time. You’re going to want to read them all in quick succession.

I borrowed this book from the library and read it in a day. Within about three minutes of closing the book I was online, confirming the others were on the shelf, and walking back to the library to borrow the other two. It’s that good, folks!

I love this book’s imagination, the colors, the scenes. It’s all so beautiful. The setting is incredible – Prague, the art studio, Poison. Even better are the people! Humans, angels, and creatures – they are all fascinating. Taylor does such a great job of showing me everything without overloading me with exposition. I can see so much, and I don’t even think that’s because I’ve traveled to many of the places (Prague and Marrakesh being two main settings – gorgeous on paper and in real life!).

Then there’s a plot. It has the scary angels which fascinate me (quick plug for how awesome Angelfall is) along with just as fascinating underworld beings. I love the way you’re not sure who is good and who is bad. The action is intense on both a large and a small scale. Both the reader and the main character, Karou, spend the book trying to figure out who she is – and what connection she has to the (potentially) imminent end to the world. That’s a plot hook if I ever heard of one!

Okay, enough of this internet business – I need to crack open book #2!

Categories: Pick Ups, Weekly Review, Young Adult | Tags: amreading, book review, books, daughter of smoke and bone, fantasy, laini taylor, reviews, ya books, young adult | Leave a comment

Series Review: The Lunar Chronicles – (an enthusiastic) 4 of 5

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Ashley Lauren

Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and (in 2015) Winter.

There’s a lot to love about this series:

1) Cinder was born of NaNoWriMo (the greatest thing ever for those of you who don’t know about it) and, to my understanding, much of the rest of the books were drafted in November as well. I have a special place in my heart for NaNo books.

2) While having a core plot throughout, each book focuses on one Bad-A** lady from a fairy tale. The plot line of her story more-or-less follows the trajectory of the classic tale while holding true to the core, original, plot. Those are some mad skillz.

3) That original plot I mentioned? It’s creative and interesting and complex without being confusing.

4) The dudes are adorable.

There’s more, but I thing those are really the main highlights. Yes, it’s YA, and as I’m not a YA myself any longer, there is many times where I can’t stop an eye-roll at some of the young thoughts and emotions that come flying off the page. The key is to let yourself go. Immerse yourself into what’s happening and you’ll have a great time.

Cinder is spunky, unique, and manages to stay in line with the traditional ideas of Cinderella – the evil step-mother, the step-sisters, and, of course, that dashing, heart-throbbing prince. What isn’t traditional is that our heroine is a messy mechanic cyborg. Sha-zam.

Admittedly, because of how well we know the classic fairy tale, it is a bit predictable, but the character development keeps any dull feelings at bay. Meyer does such a good job of creating each character as an individual. Every character is dynamic – I particularly found the evil step-mother and the Doctor very well designed. There isn’t just one static “this person is good/bad” feel to it. How is it that, of all the characters, I love the android Iko the best? That’s good writing.

Oh yeah, and did you know it takes place in future China-ish? Awesome! It’s the little nuances that really make this first book shine.

Where Cinder was an awkward yet confident, down-trodden yet finding herself, kind of main character, Scarlet takes it all up a notch. This girl kicks butt left and right and doesn’t break a sweat. She’s sassy and sweet. Scarlet forms as a great second heroine while somehow not taking the sparkle off Cinder’s own adventures.

Of the three books out right now though, it is my least favorite. It’s a good gateway to the next but it’s also the least believable. This might get a touch spoiler-y but I had two main issues throughout – the sudden deep but really quite unnerving attraction with Wolf, and Scarlet’s dedication to the grandmother.

Let me explain. It’s not that I don’t think both of those things aren’t good and important for the book – they are – but the way things shook out were over the top. I know Wolf is loyal (like a dog, get it, lolz) but the way he constantly threw himself in front of Scarlet got old (mostly because Scarlet is totally able take care of herself). And – and this will sound calloused – Scarlet’s insistence to sacrifice herself for her grandmother became exasperating. No offense to my grandmother, but I think 99% of reasonable people would realize that a young, vibrant woman shouldn’t risk everything for an already dying old lady. Just saying. I know we needed that for forward motion but it was insane.

Even with my few irks, Meyer was really able to make the additional characters shine – and be different – from the ones in the previous book. Our cast is growing without any harm, and that’s wonderful.

I almost forgot – Thorne. He is hysterical. Total favorite. He is this year’s Han Solo.

Now, we have Cress. She’s the perfect next main character because she’s wonderfully different. Don’t get me wrong – she’s still a bad-a** with her seriously impressive hacking skills but she’s not going to beat anyone up. In fact, she’s much more apt to hide in a corner, but that doesn’t mean shes’ a damsel in distress, either. Meyer has made such a great balance of showing how her ladies need help sometimes, but that doesn’t make them weak.

A lot of things go down in Cress and they are all interesting. One thing, after reviewing Game of Thrones, is that I do wish I could have believed a little bit more that bad things were actually going to happen. Sure there are cliffhangers and worries and the like but it was hard to ignore the fact that it is a YA book and, despite the dire circumstances, things were obviously going to work themselves out.

So, I maybe didn’t worry as much as I should have, but I still liked what I saw. Emotions get deep in Cress – there’s insanity, near-fatal and irreparable wounds, deserts, disease, death, maiming, kidnapping, genocide, and the list goes on. I don’t mean to say it’s depressing through. How can it be when a character like Thorne is on so many pages? He’s adorable and he and Cress are a fantastic duo. Even more, when we do get back to the rest of the group, they still hold true to their own character traits.

Well, except for maybe Wolf. You know, for being a “big, bad, wolf” he is a sally. Seriously. Whimper a little more, why don’t you? Suck it up and get the job done, bro.

*Cough* Anyway, as I was saying, like the rest, the story follows the trajectory of a fairy tale, this time Rapunzel. The core plot is at the forefront and it’s intense. Cress is set up beautifully for another book and I’m definitely ready for it.

All in all – a slow clap, high five, jig, and kudos to Marissa Meyer!

Categories: Pick Ups, Weekly Review, Young Adult | Tags: amreading, Book, book review, cinder, cress, lunar chronicles, marissa meyer, nano book, nanowrimo, reviews, scarlet, series, weekly review, ya, ya books, ya romance, ya sci fi | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – 4 of 5

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Ashley Lauren

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I used to think the world was broken down by tribes,’ I said. ‘By Black and White. By Indian and White. But I know this isn’t true. The world is only broken into two tribes: the people who are assholes and the people who are not.”

I’ve come to realize something – young adult books need to be read on paper or e-book only. I listened to this audio book and, though the author was the narrator, which I usually love, the repetition of words and the teenage mind was a cheese grater to my soul at times. You may not have noticed it in book form, but Junior says “wow” a lot.

Even with that, I enjoyed this read. It’s perfect in many ways. We all love an awkward narrator. The voice of the story says it himself – he’s a reject in so many ways. He has his physical ailments, his brains, his emotions, and his will to survive. Every time he takes a step to the left, the rest of his world is stepping to the right. I love how we come upon this kid’s “diary” right at the time when he has figured out that he will never, and can never, fit in. We see him embrace that knowledge and move forward. It’s a great message to anyone of any age.

Alexie does a wonderful job of showing us that core, live wire of reality that every reader can relate to. It’s important to have that because the rest of the book can be quite alienating. Most people who read this, just due to numbers, will have no idea what it’s like to be a Native American, what reservations are like, or any of that. This book give s new perspective on a life not often highlighted.

My favorite scene (let’s see if I can say this without a spoiler) is the final basketball game. I think we as readers realize the David and Goliath role-reversal the same instant Junior does. I felt my elation deflate at the same moment his did. Alexie did such a good job at making that moment a blow to the heart. It was the perfect reality check that seemed to remind us that this book wasn’t going to be Remember the Titans or Friday Night Lights. This wasn’t about a game, it was about a kid’s life, and there was so much more to it than that.

As I’m writing this, I realize I don’t have much bad to say. Still, I can’t quite make it that level 5. Blame it on the audio book and the tell-tale-talk of a teenager. If you’re interested in this, I recommend picking it up in a paperback (or e-reader!)

Categories: Pick Ups, Weekly Review, Young Adult | Tags: book review, diary, pick ups, reviews, sherman alexie, weekly review, ya, ya books, young adult | Leave a comment

2013 End of the Year Book Survey

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Ashley Lauren

The Perpetual Page-Turner‘s 4th annual End Of The Year Book Survey

Jamie, a wonderful person and amazing book blogger, has posted a survey for the end of the year. Once I saw it I immediately started making my list. I can’t help it – I freaking love filling out surveys!

Seriously, though, if you’ve never checked out her blog, you have to. She puts my blog to shame.

This year I read 70 books – here are some of my selections!

1) Best Book You Read In 2013?

This, of course, is a really hard question to answer. I want to cheat and put down a couple but I’m going to get my focus together and make a commitment. Drum roll please….!

This book just gave me so many FEELS. It touched me, it fascinated me, and it made me really believe in the idea of traveling (not that I didn’t before) for the sake of meeting people but also for meeting myself. Tahir Shah is a man who really understands the written word and it humbles and excites me all at the same time. Not to forget just how beautiful the stories in this book are as well.

2) Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

This one was much easier to choose.

Man. I took me forever to commit to this book. I had heard such good things but it’s so LONG that I never felt like I had time to read it. So when Eric and I went on a 40 hour road trip we thought this would be perfect. But the end of the trip it was torture. This book is just so long winded! It could be half the length. Even though the story is good and the writing is interesting the length just ruined it. So disappointing.

3) Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?

I know very few people have read this, will want to read this, or will ever read this, but it’s the best answer for this survey. This book is about a bombing that happened on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus back in the ’70s. I had this book on my life forever but never got around to reading it. When I finally got it from the local library I almost choked – it is over 400 pages long! Dullsville, I assumed. I still checked it out, however, thinking I would just skim the interesting parts and return it. I didn’t though. I ended up finding it fascinating and learned so much about the school I call home. I found myself talking about it and recommending it. It totally surprised me!

4) Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

It’s hard to say, because I recommended quite a few, but I think this was the most likely. I loved this book and I think it’s one of those books that I lot of people could like. It’s fascinating because of its truth but it’s also just an incredible story. As a memoir buff I realize that not everyone gets the same kick I do when truth-sounds-like-fiction but I think the popularity of this book shows that the author really did it right.

5) Best series you discovered in 2013?

Hands down. I put off reading this forever because it was so daunting. Not only are the books long in of themselves but the series is long – and still going! I didn’t want to make a commitment to something that would take up so many hours of my life. But I don’t regret it one bit. I’ve been power-reading these books on audible and I don’t often do the one-after-another read when it comes to series. I have had one of these books in my currently reading list for the majority of the year and I’m not even close to being sick of Davina Porter’s voice. Love it!

6) Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Okay, so I’ve only read one book by her so it’s hard to call her a favorite author for the year but I really loved I’ve Got Your Number. It was so damn FUN! You can just tell she’s good and she really gets the whole chick-lit scene. I would love to be able to write books like her and I fully intend to make my way through others by her.

7) Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

This was out of my comfort zone for a couple reasons – one being, as you can see, it was written in Spanish. My Spanish is pretty competent but I still read with a dictionary and it takes some time. Pair that with it being a mystery and my first Agatha Christie novel this was definitely not a typical read for me. I loved it though and will definitely be getting more of Christie’s books under my belt- probably in English next, though. 🙂

8) Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

There a lot of books that I power-read but “thrilling” is an entirely different category. Gone Girl is pretty dense and I still ate it up. In the end it didn’t hold as being a favorite book of mine but it still did the trick in the moment.

9) Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I’m not the kind of person that re-reads books very often. Even my favorite book of all time, The Catcher In The Rye I’ve only read two or three times. Caravan was a re-read for me this year, actually, and I freaking loved in. Gilman is a master writer and Caravan is a story of such twists and such a strong protagonist. I love it and will likely read it again, if not next year, sometime in the next couple years.

10) Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

It’s just cool. I like covers that not only are pleasing to the eye but also tell you a little about a story – Cinder’s cover is just perfect. You know it’s a Cinderella re-telling but you also know it’s totally different but any other retelling you’ve heard!

11) Most memorable character in 2013?

The Darkling (Shadow and Bone)

I don’t want to say much since The Darkling’s character is, in of itself, a kind of spoiler. Let me just say that I loved how dynamic The Darkling is – I also love how he has no name. It’s kudos to the author that this character kept me guessing. As a reader I definitely find him arousing and terrifying all at once.

12) Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

This book was just really well done, such an interesting story and when it got exciting it got really exciting. I love when you’re reading a book and you can just take a deep breath and think, “This. This is a book of beauty.” This is one of those.

13) Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?

Somaly Mam – she knows how to tell you like it is. Because I really like to read memoirs I think I already knew more about the sex trade than a lot of people in the U.S. do and this still shocked me. Maybe what shocked me even more is how Mam has survived. This is a book that people can’t read without feeling it’s impact, I believe.

14) Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?

I’m very much a read-such-and-such-book-before-you-die kind of person. When I hear from the masses that something is good or a classic, I tend to pick it up. As much as I disdain the public opinion sometimes I still can’t withstand the curiosity of picking up a well-known book. I picked up Slaughterhouse Five probably 10 years ago, read a few pages, got confused, put it down, and never picked it up again. I finally got around to reading it here. I was no less confused, but I definitely appreciated it more.

15) Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

“Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” – Tina Fey, Bossypants

16) Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

All I want for Christmas was just a fun little novella. A Fine Balance was polar opposite of that. A Fine Balance was truly a wonderful book that I would never wish upon anyone. (Don’t think too hard about that. Just trust me.)

17) Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

This is the fourth book in the Outlander series. My husband is reading all the Outlander books after me, but he’s one book behind. Something happened in this book that I was positive couldn’t happen and I almost exploded for wanting to talk about it. But, of course, he’s not to this part yet so I am STILL waiting!

18) Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)

Jamie and Claire from Outlander

I know, Diana Gabaldon is taking over this survey but Jamie and Claire are the reason why those books are what they are. Seriously, so good. It’s so believable and real and for one of the first times in a series I can see a parallel between my relationship with my husband and the characters. No, Eric is not a 7 foot tall Scotsman, but I do really love him.

19) Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

I’ve actually read a lot of new authors this year so this is a bit hard. That being said, Lola and the Boy Next Door is just adorable and I had loved Stephanie Perkin’s Anna and the French Kiss too. I’m excited to get my hands on Isla, too!

20) Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

I never in a million years would have picked up this book (okay, that’s not true, but I doubt it would have crossed my path). But I kept seeing it pop up on my GoodReads feed from friends and decided to give it a true. I’m so glad I did! This book is heartbreakingly beautiful.

21) Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Young Adult

I think I’ve read more Young Adult this year than I have since I was a young adult. One of the reasons is because there are so many new young adults out there and a lot that have excellent ratings. The other was that I decided to write young adult for my NaNo novel this year and I wanted to do some “research” 🙂

22) Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Four/Tobias

Let’s face it – Four is a lovely brooder. When it comes to real like I love it when men are sweet and cuddly. But when it comes to a novel I’m more than happy to find someone who is totally scary.

23) Best 2013 debut you read?

This book is so good. She’s balls to the wall about how she talks about her experience, which is so brave. I know that Lundhout had a co-author as well but I’ll still give her a lot of credit for telling us so much about her incredible ordeal.

24) Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

It’s not very often that I am excited for a book to be made into a movie – normally I’m pretty nervous about it. This book, though, is going to be an incredible movie. The writing is so vivid and there are so many wonderful things happening. It’ll look great with real visuals.

25) Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

I cracked up over this book. Giddy, maniacal laughter in public, the lot of it. It was just a blast to read. Literary books that are all deep and stuff are good, too, but this stuff is just awesome.

26) Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

This is a book about kids with cancer and I don’t have a heart made of stone. ‘Nuff said.

27) Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Can’t help it – this book has always been overlooked. It is SO good. All must read!

28) One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?

I know that Angelfall is popular in its own right but I never really hear much about it. I feel like I’m getting ahead of the bandwagon curve which is a pretty new location for me and I’m excited to stay there. Angelfall left off in such an interesting spot, I am so curious to see what Ee does next!

29) Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?

It feels like so long since I’ve read Scarlet! I love Meyer not only for her books but for being a NaNoWriMo author. So curious to learn about the next step in this series!

Categories: Lists, Pick Ups, Young Adult | Tags: 2013, best of, Book, book review, end of year, favorites, reading, reviews, survey, ya books | 3 Comments

YA Book Review: Shadow and Bone – 4 out of 5

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Ashley Lauren

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I tend to be super wary of YA fantasy books – actually I’m wary about fantasy in general. When it’s good, it’s good, but when it’s bad it’s poison to my soul.

No poison here – hooray!

Bardugo did good here. I mean, I always have something to nit pick but overall I really enjoyed this. I like the flavor of the setting. I’ve heard some criticism of the Russian/Not Russian of this and to all those people I lovingly flip the bird. This is fantasy, folks, and as much as you might disagree that means the author can do *~*~anything she wants*~*~ to her setting (so long as it’s consistent and works with plot and all of that, of course). It’s beautiful magic. If you’re going to moan about the improper use of Russian words, you should probably also be concerned with the fact that magic doesn’t exist in real life. Just sayin’.

Sorry for that side track – let me start over. I like the flavor of the setting. I love the back and forth between suspense and life. I like our main character and how we get deep but not too deep. I like the conflicting romance and, even more, I like what took me by surprise. Characters evolved in great ways. Bardugo had my hand quivering at a page turn because I didn’t want to see what would happen next because I was so sure it shouldn’t happen but everything was just going wrong… anyway, that’s enough of that before I have to hide this in a spoiler.

Like I said, I have some nit-picky. Teenage girls are annoying with their wallowing, sulking, and cattiness and I would rather not read about it, but so it is.

I have high hopes for this series moving forward. Once, just once I want to be totally satisfied with a YA series when I’m done with it. I’ve given a lot of them a chance (The Hunger Games, Twilight, Divergent) and by the end they all sucked. Come on Bardugo. I am rooting for you here.

Categories: Pick Ups, Weekly Review, Young Adult | Tags: book review, fantasy, Leigh Bardugo, reviews, Shadow and Bone, ya books | 2 Comments

YA Book Review: Wild Cards – 4 out of 5

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Ashley Lauren

Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m just not going to argue with a book I read so fast. Whenever a book makes me flip page after page after page, it has something going for it. That’s how I have been with everything Elkeles has written. When I go back through and analyze afterwards I can usually identify things that bother me, that I wish were different. But I’m not going to ignore the fact that in the moment I was there and loving it. That’s what I really want in a book in the long run.

So, we have Derek and Ashtyn. Don’t be fooled – this isn’t a book about plot. Yes, there is one, since you need one in a book but that’s not what this is about. It’s about these two characters and how they fall in love. There’s no suspense or question that this will be how them book ends. Derek and Ashtyn are going to be together and we’re just reading a book on how that happens. If you want some kind of suspense about that when you read a book then this is not for you.

Elkeles does a really good job of making these two characters exist in real life. They have plenty of their own baggage and they are definitely teenagers. This is one of those books where the characters act their age. They are young, hormonal teenagers and because of this they sometimes do stupid things. You can see them learning and faltering along the way and as a reader you can’t help rooting for them. You want them to figure out their life because you hope if they can, then maybe you can, too.

Okay, that might have just been me. What I’m saying is that it’s easy to connect.

There were two things that bothered me about the story.

1) Ashtyn’s main character flaw. She projects herself as such a strong, independent young woman, a football player who, despite living with her father seems to have raised herself. For all of that, though, she can’t seems to handle herself and it’s bothersome. I wanted her to figure out about Landon on her own. For all the time she spent around guys I just don’t see how she or even her guy friends would have let her be with someone so negative to her life. I don’t see why Derek had to point out as many of these things to her as he did. I wanted her to do more on her own – but it wasn’t a deal-breaker on how I liked then.

2) Derek’s grandmother lives in Texas and the football clinic is in Texas and miraculously they are located withing CABBING distance? Texas is huge – what were the chances of them being in the same exact place?!

I’m kidding about that last point – kind of.

If you love cute, fun, YA RomCom, you’ll love this. That’s all you need to know.

Categories: Pick Ups, Weekly Review, Young Adult | Tags: Book, book review, reading, Simone Elkeles, ya books | Leave a comment

Posts Tagged With: ya books

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2013 End of the Year Book Survey

YA Book Review: Shadow and Bone – 4 out of 5

YA Book Review: Wild Cards – 4 out of 5

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