Review: Bad Blood by Demitria Lunetta

Bad Blood by Demitria Lunetta
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 14th, 2017
Purchase: Amazon

A girl discovers a family secret and a past full of magic that could both save her and put her in mortal danger in this suspenseful novel that’s perfect for fans of Katie Alender and Natasha Preston.

All sixteen-year-old Heather MacNair wants is to feel normal, to shed the intense paranoia she’s worn all year like a scratchy sweater. After her compulsion to self-harm came to light, Heather was kept under her doctor’s watchful eye. Her family thinks she’s better—and there’s nothing she wants more than for that to be true. She still can’t believe she’s allowed to spend her summer vacation as she always does: at her aunt’s home in Scotland, where she has lots of happy memories. Far away from all her problems save one: she can’t stop carving the Celtic knot that haunts her dreams into her skin.

Good friends and boys with Scottish accents can cure almost anything…except nightmares. Heather can’t stop dreaming about two sisters from centuries ago, twins Prudence and Primrose, who somehow seem tied to her own life. Their presence lurks just beneath the surface of her consciousness, sending ripples through what should be a peaceful summer. The twins might hold the key to putting Heather’s soul at rest…or they could slice her future deeper than any knife.

My thoughts:
As much as I want to love this this I just can't.  I've been sitting here for about 10 minutes trying to figure out my thoughts and they all just lead me to I didn't like it.

The story was so intriguing and there were parts I truly loved.  Heather, our main character, has been cutting herself and having just returned from a stay at a Wellness Clinic she travels across the sea to visit her Aunt Abbie in Scotland.  Her parents aren't thrilled, but she swears she's better and convinces them to let her go.  She goes every summer so she already has a group of friends waiting for her.  Sounds more like a contemporary novel right...well what we don't know from the beginning is that there is a reason for Heather cutting herself and what she cuts into her skin has a far deeper meaning than Heather thought.

Okay so my description isn't really spooky, but the author does a great job at filling in the spooky and I liked it.  The story flips back and forth from Heather's POV to two sisters Primrose and Prudence who lived in the 1600's.  Their story is filled with witchcraft and it isn't a pretty one because during that time witches were executed and the two sisters didn't exactly get along so there was tension even in their house.  I liked this part and I wanted so much more, but the author didn't really get down to the whole witch storyline until to late in the story.  There was so much build up and at 90% in the story I knew the author was going to rush and she did.  It really killed the whole story for me. I wish she would have given herself an extra 100 pages because I think the story could have been fantastic with those extra pages.  She could have spent so much more time with Heather's grandma and the whole coven plot line.  As it stands though once the meat of the story finally happens it's all over in the blink of an eye.

And the ending was very problematic for me.  I won't spoil anything, but in a certain scene I could feel the author going "hmm only have 10 pages left, better wrap this up quickly". It was such a disappointment and not believable in the slightest. I know it's witches and that's not believable ( well for some it is so please don't take offense) much either, but the ending was just ridiculous and too nice.  I expected more wickedness from all parties involved.

I also hated the romance.  I've been trying to lighten up my thinking on romances lately because I know I can be pretty harsh and they usually aren't my cup of tea, but this one was just horrible.  Heather has been in love with Allistair, Robby's brother forever and never even looked at Robby. Well the first summer that Allistair is gone she all of a sudden sees what I great guy Robby is and wants to date him.  Oh and Robby has grown up and gotten cuter, that helped her decision too. What a bunch of bull!  Robby we know has been in love with Heather forever, but knew she pined for his brother so kept his feelings to himself.  Well like I said the brother is at college with his girlfriend so Robby decides to finally speak up.  Now them getting together wouldn't have bothered me if they had a conversation about her liking his brother and what her feelings were at this moment and if she had always thought he was somewhat cute.  It really bugs me that they just left so much unsaid and that made their whole relationship feel false and strained.  I didn't like it and I didn't buy it.  I would have preferred there to be no romance or maybe she could have gravitated towards Fiona, her single friend.  That would have been so much better.

I also didn't like Aunt Abbie.  Heather had issues and nobody knew these issues tied into witchcraft so Heather should have been watched more. I get giving a teenager space, but she just got back from a hospital and you are going to let her run around unsupervised??  Oh and lie to her parents!  Talk about being a complete waste of a character.  And her whole story line bothered me.  I again would have preferred a different set of actions.  Maybe Heather could have went to Scotland for school?  That would have at least given her reasons for not being supervised.  All Aunt Abbie did was give Heather room to cut herself and get her friend almost killed.

So these were my main problems with the book.  I had a few other ones, but these were my main gripes and as you can see they were pretty big areas of the book that I had problems with.  The story could have been so good and with the market lacking in witches these this really could have been a hit. As it stands though this is a very forgettable book filled with way too many plot problems for me.

2 snowflakes

Review: You Don't Know My Name (The Black Angel Chronicles #1) by Kristen Orlando

You Don't Know My Name (The Black Angel Chronicles #1) by Kristen Orlando
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: January 10th, 2017
Purchase: Amazon

Fighter, Faker, Student, Spy.
Seventeen-year-old Reagan Elizabeth Hillis is used to changing identities overnight, lying to every friend she’s ever had, and pushing away anyone who gets too close. Trained in mortal combat and weaponry her entire life, Reagan is expected to follow in her parents’ footsteps and join the ranks of the most powerful top-secret agency in the world, the Black Angels. Falling in love with the boy next door was never part of the plan.
Now Reagan has to decide: Will she use her incredible talents and lead the dangerous life she was born into, or throw it all away to follow her heart and embrace the normal life she's always wanted? And does she even have a choice at all?
Find out if you are ready to join the Black Angels in the captivating and emotional page-turner, You Don't Know My Name, from debut novelist Kristen Orlando!

My Thoughts:
Imagine if your parents were the couple from the Mr. & Mrs. Smith movie.  You know the one with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie??  That's who Reagan has as parents and she is expected to follow in their secret agency footsteps.  Only Reagan isn't so sure she wants to live that kind of life after falling for the boy next door.

I've seen this premise in quite a few books lately and I won't lie I am intrigued by them all and have liked most of them that I have read.  This one however just missed the mark for me.  From the get go Reagan wasn't tough enough.  She states several times throughout the story that she has all this training, but we really don't get to see her stone cold side. Yes she fights a few fights, but in the end she failed to show that she was capable enough to handle dangerous situations.  That was one part that bugged me immensely.  I didn't mind that she questioned her future, in fact I liked it, but I didn't buy she was this child prodigy and that the agency couldn't wait for her to come of age.  Her decisions weren't great and she disregarded orders multiple times and put others in danger including someone who had to right to be there.  I was frustrated to say the least.

I actually liked the romance in this one.  I am a sucker for the boy next door/best friend line.  What I didn't like was what Reagan did after her and Luke's big moment.  I understood what she was trying to do, but what she did was unforgivable in my opinion and I almost threw the book out the window when that chapter hit. Communication is huge and I just wish she would have trusted her gut to at least tell him a bit about her life.  I know it was all hush hush, but come on.  That whole scene wasn't needed after chapters and chapters of her pinning for him and all the talk about her goosebumps when he was around.  If she could put a stop to things so fast, why even go down that road to begin with.  I would have rather watched her avoid anything personal from the get go then read what she did.

Those were my major gripes.  I still have a few minor ones, but I can live with the others.  Those two not so much.  This story ends not really in a cliff hanger, but you know there is more to come and I will read the next installment.  I am hoping to see Reagan gain some fierceness and I think she did by the end after the devastation that happened.  I am also hoping the agency either kicks her out or lets her take part because this whole on the outskirts thing is a bit annoying. They said she was the best, but yet they won't listen to her.  Frustrating!!  So much of this book was frustrating!!  Compared to other books I have read with this same plotline this one doesn't stand out which is a shame because it had great potential.

2 snowflakes

 

Review: Girls Like Me by Lola St. Vil

Girls Like Me by Lola St. Vil
Publication Date - October 4th, 2016
Publisher - HMH Books for Young Readers

Fifteen-year-old Shay Summers is trying to cope with the death of her father, being overweight, and threats from a girl bully in school. When she falls in love with Blake, a mysterious boy online, insecure Shay doesn't want to tell him who she is. But with the help of her two best friends, as well as an assist by Kermit and Miss Piggy, ultimately Shay and Blake’s love prevails. Girls Like Me is a fun and fresh poetic take on teen angst, social media and online anonymity, and high school romance.

My Thoughts:

Hmm, I am not quite sure what to think of this book. The synopsis caught my attention mostly due the mention of an overweight character, but also the inclusion of an online aspect (which kind of sounds a lot like Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray) sounded interesting to me. While there were things about this book that I liked, in general, it was bit of a disappointment if I am being completely honest.

It has been a year since fifteen-year-old Shay lost her father. Ever since then, she has been living with her stepmother who continually tries to change Shay, mainly focusing on the way she looks through diet. At school, Shay is continually bullied, especially by Kelly, the most popular girl in the bunch. She is called a pig, people "oik" at her when she is around as a result of which she has learned a way to avoid possible embarrassing situations, like P.E. class. With a help of her two best friends, Shay navigates the halls of her high school like she's on a battlefield.

When Shay logs into an online platform recommended by her friend, she starts to chat with a guy with a username inspired by Waiting for Godot. The chats with this Godot guy make her happy and allow her to really be herself without the weight and all, but as Godot starts to suggest that they meet, Shay panics. Can he really like her because she looks a bit different than other girls?

Throughout the book, Shay struggles with her self-image and the way she is. She is at the most tender age when it comes to body image and such, and though I could feel for her struggle, I continually kept hoping that she would gain confidence and embrace who she is. I know it is not so easy (especially as someone who has gone through the struggle of accepting my body), but I feel like as this book processed, the way it probably wanted to express that "you are okay as you are" started to slip a little bit.

What I appreciated about this novel was the author's attempts to use the verse format to express the story. I often feel like this format allows the author less room to really flesh out the characters, and while St. Vil didn't completely succeed in my books, nevertheless, the verse format was probably my favorite thing about this book. As a media student, I also found the utilization of social media into the plot quite interesting, but that, for some reason, fell kind of flat towards the end of the novel.

I think Girls Like Me has a lot of potential, but unfortunately, I was left a bit unimpressed. The high school dynamics felt a bit too generic and the relationship between Shay and this mysterious online guy seems just a bit too underdeveloped. I raise my hat for the attempt to use the verse format though, which in the end, kept me reading until the last page.

2 snowflakes

Review: The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen

The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen
Release Date: May 10th, 2016
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

A passionate summer love story about a girl, her childhood best friend recently released from juvie, and the small-town lies that have kept them apart. A teen romance debut with a dark edge.

Liz Grant is about to have the summer of her life. She and her friend MacKenzie are getting invited to all the best parties, and with any luck, Innis Taylor, the most gorgeous guy in Bonneville, will be her boyfriend before the Fourth of July.

Local teen convict released early.

Jason Sullivan wasn’t supposed to come back from juvie. A million years ago, he was her best friend, but that was before he ditched her for a different crowd. Before he attacked Innis’s older brother, leaving Skip’s face burned and their town in shock.

“Everything is not what you think.”

Liz always found it hard to believe what they said about Jason, but all of Bonneville thinks he’s dangerous. If word gets out she’s seeing him, she could lose everything. But what if there’s more to that horrible night than she knows? And how many more people will get hurt when the truth finally comes out?

“You’re the one person who believes in me.”

Leah Konen’s southern romance swelters with passion as it explores the devastating crush of lies, the delicate balance of power and perception, and one girl’s journey to find herself while uncovering the secrets of so many others.

My Thoughts:

Oh my... I hate it when books that I have been excited about disappoint me. When I first heard about The Last Time We Were Us, statements like like "Southern small town setting" and "former best friend" instantly drew me in. I am a sucker for stories set in the Southern US (Southern guys are my absolute favorite) and I was so ready to fall in love with this book, but nope.... that didn't happen.

Liz, for so long just a "normal" high school student has finally entered the popular crowd with the help of her new friend MacKenzie. She is now invited to the best parties of Bonneville and it looks like Innis Taylor, pretty much like the prince of Bonneville, is interested in her. Liz's mother, who seems to be all about appearances, is over the moon - with a boyfriend like Innis, there seems to be no limit to what Liz can do. But then Jason Sullivan, Liz's childhood best friend, shows up after spending time in juvie, and while Liz tries to stay away from him, it is not that easy to just ignore a guy that knows her probably better than anyone else.

The Last Time We Were Us had all the ingredients for a YA contemporary I could love, but the way Leah Konen mixes those ingredients didn't work for me at all. Liz's family and her relationship with her mother and sister are aspects I would have liked to see more of, while the novel definitely could have been lighter on the love-triangle between Liz, Innis and Jason. Innis is a douche, there's no doubt about that, but unfortunately Jason is not really developed to be the charming, "right" choice for Liz. Yes, he is a better guy than Innis is, but I must admit that while reading this novel, I really felt nothing for him. I was so ready to swoon for this misunderstood, brooding Southern guy but unfortunately that didn't happen...

I am not quite sure what Liz makes me feel. I was annoyed by her actions towards Veronica, her previous best friend. I feel like when she is with MacKenzie, she is definitely not on her best. She is young and has just gained popularity, which is something she has wanted for a long time, so I do get why she acts in certain way, but at the same time, I was continually annoyed by her. There is a definite change to her thoughts and behavior when she is with Jason, but Konen never really develops that and thus the whole novel falls kind of flat. The synopsis mentions a "passionate summer romance", but nope... I did not find that from here.

Despite all these somewhat negative aspects, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Leah Konen writes extremely well, in my opinion, and it really was her prose that kept me reading despite the fact that I did not enjoy the story itself very much. Because of this, I am really looking forward to what Konen comes up with next! I hope that it also includes a Southern setting and romance, but also more well-developed characters.

The Last Time We Were Us was in no way horrible or something that I wanted to thrown in the wall of something like that. It just fell flat for me - the characters felt very one-sided and undeveloped, the main plot is often overshadowed by little side plots that don't add much to the overall story and just make things confusing. On the up side, the writing works and shows promise, and as I said, I am definitely interested to see what Leah Konen comes up with next.

2 Snowflakes

Review: The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry

The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: May 3rd, 2016
Purchase: Amazon

When Olivia's mother was killed, everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia's father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother died. That means there's a killer still at large. It's up to Olivia to uncover who that may be. But can she do that before the killer tracks her down first?

My thoughts:
I'm thinking I need to part ways with Ms. Henry.  This is my third book by her and while I loved the first one I read these past two have really left me feeling meh.  I'm used to "it's not you it's me", but in this case I really kinda think it was the book.

The first chapter was amazing, full of suspense, girl on the run from the killer, and terror.  I liked it and after reading it I was ready for this story, but it all fell apart rather quickly.  It all just felt very convenient.  From Olivia deciding to move into her mother's old house which just recently became available to the whole town opening up about this unsolved case that happened fourteen years ago.  I just didn't buy it.  The way the events happened also just seemed to work in Olivia's favor.  I mean she decides to go to a certain family members funeral but has no idea how she is going to get in because she wants to keep her identity a secret when in walks the elderly neighbor she used to know.  I can't imagine anybody asking a complete stranger to give them a ride to a funeral.  I know certain things were exposed later, but at this time the neighbor still had no idea who Olivia was so that was no reason for her to even ask. 

I also didn't like how Olivia just moved into her old town and started asking questions about her parents and what happened fourteen years ago.  Everybody in town thought she was a stranger so why in the world would they talk to her?  And when did Olivia decide to start looking for the killer? This was never explained all we get to read is her many inner monologues asking herself could it be this person, that person, what motive.  She was not a detective and she didn't have any clue who these people were.  How did she know this person would even still be in the town??  See very convenient.  I think way more ground work needed to be worked in for me to buy a lot of the things that the author was throwing out.  I also kept having to remind myself that Olivia was not an adult, but the way the adults kept treating her and telling her things that really shouldn't have been shared with a teenager it was hard to remember that she was only seventeen. It almost felt like a TV show where everyone gets stuck in their small town and everybody still acts like they are in high school.  It was so bizarre!

I don't know a lot of things didn't add up.  The ending especially didn't work for me.  The actual villain was out of nowhere and didn't make much sense to me.  I get the why's and how's but the author could have gone in a much darker path and it would have made me forget a lot of the things that bothered me. I know she's capable of this because of her previous book, but she just closed everything up with a weird bow that didn't even match her story.

So I am going to part ways with Ms. Henry.  After two disappointing books I can say without a doubt her stories are just not for me.

2 snowflakes...only because I loved Duncan and the way he didn't let Olivia run away from her past.

Review: The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt

The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt
Published: January 12, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins

This full-length novel by debut author Natalie Blitt is a pitch-perfect blend of Stephanie Perkins and Miranda Kenneally that proves the age-old adage: opposites attract.

Seventeen-year old Abby has only one goal for her summer: to make sure she is fluent in French—well, that, and to get as far away from baseball and her Cubs-obsessed family as possible. A summer of culture and language, with no sports in sight.

That turns out to be impossible, though, because her French partner is the exact kind of boy she was hoping to avoid. Eight weeks. 120 hours of class. 80 hours of conversation practice with someone who seems to exclusively wear baseball caps and jerseys.

But Zeke in French is a different person than Zeke in English. And Abby can’t help but fall for him, hard. As Abby begins to suspect that Zeke is hiding something, she has to decide if bridging the gap between the distance between who she is and who he is, is worth the risk.

My Thoughts:

I think there is always something really exciting in picking up a novel from a debut author, especially for review. Knowing that you are in a group of people who get to read a book before it hits the shelves (or releases online) feels like a privilege, and I always take it as an opportunity to find a book and a new voice that I can recommend to others. The Distance From A to Z was by first debut of 2016 and I approached it with high levels of excitement and anticipation. As I reached the last page of it, I might not have been as excited as I was while I started it, but still, I appreciated the effort and felt glad about the fact that I did pick it up when it was available. At least according to my Goodreads feed, I am in a minority when it comes to having slightly mixed or negative opinion of this one, and I hope this review will in some way explain why I feel that way.

The Distance from A to Z focuses mainly on Abby. Abby dreams of being fluent in French and attending a school in Paris during her senior year of high school. To get closer to that dream, she attends a summer school dedicated fully to immersing into the French language through lessons and extensive discussions with a designated pair. Abby is paired but with Zeke, a handsome jock whose spoken French is pretty much fluent, but who is at the summer school to get more versed in written French. In a true YA contemporary fashion, they of course start to connect in more ways than just through French and the rest is history...

I had a really hard time understanding Abby at points. I admired her for learning French on her own, for finding something she is passionate about and diving into it fully (I actually wish I would get that passionate about Swedish, a language I have to know to some extent in order to graduate from university). Abby's love for the French language (and culture) is explained as her way to escape her baseball obsessed family and the expectations that she should love baseball though. While I get and definitely relate with the search for something that's your own (for me, it was/is acquiring an academic knowledge of film and television), I had a hard time understanding WHY exactly Abby is so hostile towards baseball. Yes, her whole family is obsessed with it and the baseball schedule pretty much controls their lives, but at the same time, I just felt like throughout the book, I was not able to fully understand Abby's reasoning and thus a part of the book just felt kind of unexplained to me.

I should note here that I am someone who lets a sports schedule control my life. I am a massive ice hockey fan and at the beginning of every season, I mark down all of the games to my calendar and pretty much plan everything else around them. I suspect that it is partly because of this that I found it quite difficult to understand Abby. My family is really into sports too (my parents are season ticket holders and I would be one too if I lived in my hometown) and I have never felt like I want to escape that - I think it would be actually harder for me if they weren't into sports. Personal preferences and experiences have a tendency to sneak up into fiction and very often they have an effect on how we feel about characters. That certainly happened with The Distance from A to Z. I have a feeling that for someone who is not quite so into sports as I am (and certainly for someone who finds herself from a situation like Abby) this book will probably create very different emotions.

Zeke is a fairly interesting character, but I must admit I had a hard time feeling anything towards him. I usually am into the whole "jock who is not an asshole" character, because I usually love male characters who are athletes (okay...I love male athletes in general), but for some reason I just didn't find a connection with Zeke. There are some nice scenes here and there between Zeke and Abby, but I felt like too often those were interrupted by quite predictable drama and misunderstandings. The occasional dialogue in French (don't worry, there are translations) add a nice bonus to the book, and I think especially those who know some French might find them interesting (I have never taken French, so I really appreciated the translations).

The most interesting aspect (and very often the thing that kept me reading) was Alice, Abby's roommate at the summer school campus. Alice suffers from social anxiety and I was able to relate with her struggle in a way I have not related to a character in a while. She's a poet and as part of her summer school curriculum, she has to read her pieces out loud. Though I am not a poet, I have been in situations I have had to read my own words out loud (in journalism and play writing classes), so I know how those situations might feel for someone who suffers from (social) anxiety. I actually once started to cry in front of a classroom full of people when I had to tell about something bad that has happened to me - the situation was absolutely humiliating and I ended up skipping most of the classes from that semester, but at the same time it showed me that there still is a part of me that is willing to fight the anxiety - at least I went to the front of the room even though the whole thing kind of failed in the end. Throughout, I wished there would have been more of Alice and though this book wasn't really my thing, I would totally be into reading more about Alice if the author published something like that!

Though the story itself wasn't for me, there are good things to say about the writing and the pacing of the novel, because all and all, both worked quite well and kept me reading despite the fact that I had a hard time forming any sort of connection with Abby and Zeke. As I said, I am definitely in a minority when it comes to having somewhat negative thoughts about this book. And don't get me wrong - I did not hate it, I just really felt nothing about it for most of it, and in my books, that is a negative.

2 Snowflakes

Review: Tell the Story to it's End by Simon

Tell the Story to its End by Simon P. Clark
Publisher: St.Martins Griffin
Release Date: October 20th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

In this beautiful, haunting debut, a boy is whisked away to the country in the wake of a scandal, and finds a captivating creature in the attic whose attention comes at a sinister price.

"Tell the story to its end," says Eren with a grin.
His yellow eyes are glowing like embers in the night.
"When I reach the end," I say, "what happens? You'll have the whole story."
"Hmm," he says, looking at me and licking his lips with a dry, grey tongue. "What happens then? Why don't we find out?"

People are keeping secrets from Oli. His mum has brought him to stay with his aunt and uncle in the countryside, but nobody will tell him why his dad where his father is. Why isn't he with them? Has something happened? Oli has a hundred questions, and only an old, empty house in the middle of an ancient forest for answers. But then he finds a secret of his own: there is a creature that lives in the attic…

Eren is not human.
Eren is hungry for stories.
Eren has been waiting for him.

Sharing his stories with Eren, Oli starts to make sense of what’s happening downstairs with his family. But what if it’s a trap? Soon, Oli must make a choice: learn the truth—or abandon himself to Eren’s world, forever.

Reminiscent of SKELLIG by David Almond and A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness, EREN is richly atmospheric, moving, unsettleing, and told in gorgeous prose. A modern classic in the making.

My thoughts:
This was certainly a strange little book.  The summary sounded really interesting and I thought hmm this could be super creepy.  If I look at it one way it is creepy, but if I look the other way I just don't get it.

Oli and his mom have moved to the countryside for the summer and are hoping Oli's dad will join them sooner rather than later.  What Oli finds out though is that the reason behind the move isn't a good one and he seeks solace in the attic with a monster who just wants to hear Oli's stories.  Or so he thinks.

So the thought of a story eating monster intrigued me.  I knew this monster would only grow stronger with every story he was told and become creepier and creepier. I was right to a point, but I found out that creepier came with a side of strange.

I think what threw me off was that this book talked in riddles and in circles.  At some points it even sounded like a deranged Cat in the Hat from a Dr. Seuss book.  I kept tripping up on the strange lingo and punctuation.  I didn't know going in that this was written from an English author and normally I don't have any trouble settling in to the Englishesque storylines, but man this one really threw me for a loop. I've never seen so many exclamations points and "yes"'s thrown around.  I think the story probably would have still been a strange one but adding in the strangeness of the writers flow just increased the oddness.

The story itself was yes strange, but I felt bad for Oli.  He was kept in the dark about his father and then when the cat jumped out of the bag (a reference you will totally get if you read the book) he fell apart.  He didn't understand why things were kept from him and I have to agree.  The adults were not very adult and didn't see what was happening to Oli.  I ended up being frustrated and when the end happened I wanted more from the adults point of view.  I wanted to know what they thought and what they were doing.

One extra chapter would have been great because the story is left so open and well I just didn't get it.  I got the scary part of it, but I didn't get the overall point.  Well I guess that's not true I got what happened I guess it's more accurate to say I didn't get all the why's of each character.  If someone could please let me know all the why's I would be forever grateful.

2 snowflakes

Review: Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

Published October 27th 2015 by Balzer + Bray

Mattie shouldn’t be at the bonfire. She should be finding new maps for her collection, hanging out with Kris, and steering clear of almost everyone else, especially Jolene. After all, Mattie and Kris dropped off the social scene the summer after sophomore year for a reason.

But now Mattie is a senior, and she’s sick of missing things. So here she is.


And there’s Jolene: Beautiful. Captivating. Just like the stories she wove. Mattie would know; she used to star in them. She and Jolene were best friends. Mattie has the scar on her palm to prove it, and Jolene has everything else, including Hudson.

But when Mattie runs into Hudson and gets a glimpse of what could have been, she decides to take it all back: the boyfriend, the friends, the life she was supposed to live. Problem is, Mattie can’t figure out where Jolene ends and she begins.

Because there’s something Mattie hasn’t told anyone—she walked away from Jolene over a year ago, but she never really left.


Poignant and provocative, Marcy Beller Paul’s debut novel tells the story of an intoxicating—and toxic—relationship that blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy, love and loyalty, friendship and obsession.

My Thoughts

I don’t get it… I just don’t get it… After slowly trudging through 300 plus pages of Underneath Everything, I believe I might have missed the point somewhere along the way. Probably my most disappointing read in 2015.

From what I gathered, Mattie and Kris purposely removed themselves from the social scene back in their sophomore year after something went down between their Fabulous Four group that included Mattie, Kris, Bella and the core of this madness Jolene. Now that senior year is upon them, Mattie no longer wants to miss out, so she and Kris head to the high school bonfire where the wheels are set in motion for Mattie to get back what she lost… her social status, Hudson and Jolene’s attention.

It’s no surprise the ratings for Underneath Everything fall on two sides of the spectrum. I’ve seen some readers absolutely adore this book for pushing the boundaries using beautiful words and elusive writing. I will give it that… there’s a tone of eroticism that definitely doesn’t fit the Young Adult mold. The novel also dapples with topics around teen bisexuality, dysfunctional relationships, and obsessive personalities.

However, where others seem to easily connect with Marcy Beller Paul’s bold debut novel, I really feel this story will resonate with a specific niche of readers, and unfortunately, I don’t fall in that category.

Throughout the entire novel, I never felt fully engaged with the story. I constantly felt I was missing the point, sort of like walking into the middle of a conversation where the characters never desired to clue me into their story. The mystery to the novel felt a bit light and somewhat odd. <spoiler> From what I gathered, Jolene did some pretty shitty things to Mattie, like try to suffocate her, tie her up and gag her, and later when they reconnected, she got her drunk and stoned at a party and made a fool out of her. One big WTF IMHO. I could be wrong, but that’s what I gathered from Mattie’s vague narrative.</spoiler>

Overall, Underneath Everything was a story about a lot of things, but nothing very significant. Its major bragging right is that it’s a YA book that boldly depicts a story about a dysfunctional, borderline obsessive, bisexual teen relationship with lots of characters that are still trying to define themselves and their friendships. Not quite for me, but apparently it is for many others.

2 Snowflakes

Review: The Unquiet by Mikaela Everett

The Unquiet by Mikaela Everett 
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: September 22nd, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

For most of her life, Lirael has been training to kill—and replace—a duplicate version of herself on a parallel Earth. She is the perfect sleeper-soldier. But she’s beginning to suspect she is not a good person.

The two Earths are identical in almost every way. Two copies of every city, every building, even every person. But the people from the second Earth know something their duplicates do not—two versions of the same thing cannot exist. They—and their whole planet—are slowly disappearing. Lira has been trained mercilessly since childhood to learn everything she can about her duplicate, to be a ruthless sleeper-assassin who kills that other Lirael and steps seamlessly into her life.

An intricate, literary stand-alone from an astonishing new voice, The Unquiet takes us deep inside the psyche of a strong teenage heroine struggling with what she has been raised to be and who she really is. Fans of eerily futuristic and beautifully crafted stories such as Never Let Me Go, Orphan Black, and Fringe will find themselves haunted by this unsettling debut.

My thoughts:
The Unquiet was a unique look at what would happen if two Earths existed.  This intriguing world doesn't just stop at two Earths, Mikaela Everett brings up the question of what would you do if you had a copy of yourself on the other Earth and what would happen if on one Earth people were disappearing because only one of you can survive.

I was intrigued with the synopsis and then when I started reading I was captivated.  The beginning of this book is amazing and truly terrifying.  I loved the whole t"rain killer assassins to infiltrate the other Earth and kill your copy" thing this book provided.  It was fresh and new and so terrifying that I honestly had to keep every light on in the house just in case my other was waiting on the other side of the door.

Sounds amazing right??  Unfortunately for me the author took a weird turn after the first part of the book and things fell flat.  Lirael in the beginning was a bada$$.  She was the strong silent character in the crowd that I just knew was going to bring the pain to whoever stood in her path.  I never once thought of her as weak, but then like I said part two started and she just fell apart.  I'm not saying what she had to do was easy, but her character in no way in the beginning showed she might change and become someone else.  I'm honestly left a little baffled with her because in the last part she was a cold blooded killer.  It's like she kept switching out with her other throughout the story.  Lirael didn't feel right throughout the book and it honestly made me sad because I really liked her in the beginning.

As far as story goes I feel the same way as I do with Lirael.  The story was great in part one, but then in part two it slowed way down and I lost interest.  The war was coming fast enough and I didn't understand why the author chose to throw in so many side plotlines when the true story was strong enough.  About halfway through I was so confused as to where the story really was going and what point the author was trying to make. I feel like there was some underlying message that I just missed somewhere.

The ending was interesting though and even though it was way open ended I felt satisfied with it. At that point though I was done with the story so maybe others will feel different and want more. I wanted my original Lirael back and I wanted more destruction and mayhem.  What this book delivers though is a little blood in the beginning, an intense look at Lirael life and her family, and a war at the end that was brutal.  Take out the middle part and I would have been a happy camper.  I felt like the author tried to hard to make this into something thought worthy when it could have just been a hands down amazing thriller.  I'm going with a rating of two...one for the beginning and one for the end.

2 snowflakes

Review: Dreamland by Robert Anderson

Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson
Published September 22nd 2015
by HarperTeen

Odea Donahue has been able to travel through people’s dreams since she was six years old. Her mother taught her the three rules of walking: Never interfere. Never be seen. Never walk the same person’s dream more than once. Dea has never questioned her mother, not about the rules, not about the clocks or the mirrors, not about moving from place to place to be one step ahead of the unseen monsters that Dea’s mother is certain are right behind them. Then a mysterious new boy, Connor, comes to town and Dea finally starts to feel normal. As Connor breaks down the walls that she’s had up for so long, he gets closer to learning her secret. For the first time she wonders if that’s so bad. But when Dea breaks the rules, the boundary between worlds begins to deteriorate. How can she know what’s real and what’s not?

My Thoughts

I am giving up on dreams! I have now read quite a few books that involved the concept of "dream walking" and sadly all of them have fell flat for me. Dreams are such amazing beautiful things. I just don't feel this book captured what could have been. It was there but, just too little too late for me.

The characters in this book were okay. Mr. Anderson seemed to draw upon human insecurities and infuse them into Dea and Connor. Although I felt Dreamland was more plot driven, the character drive was absolutely apparent in it's own right. That being said I also felt Dea to be a bit boring and not to mention naive. I am harsh I know but REALLY GIRL!? As hard as I tried to empathize with her situation I just couldn't get behind her or her search. So much bad decision making!!!! Actually all the people in this book are less then believable. I mean the conclusions they jump to are just plain ridic.There are 3 simple rules you must not break while dream walking.

Don't be seen.
Don't interfere.
Don't visit the same person more than once.

Great job breaking all of those rules the second you get a crush on some guy. I liked Connor well enough but, I did not enjoy the whole boy next door bit...again. Can't he live like a block over or something?

When the big "reveal" finally happened, I was beyond the point of salvage. Also...how convenient! It felt like the cheap tie up with a string routine. As I said before dreams are infinite and can be anything. It gets to me how the books I've read involving them are so very lacking. I am left with more questions than I care to have upon completing a book. Don't get me wrong his dream world was probably my favorite part of the book and I will have nightmares of faceless men for weeks. Still not enough though.

2 Snowflakes

Review: The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

Published May 19th by Katherine Tegen Books

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak is Stonewall Book Award-winning author Brian Katcher’s hilarious he said/she said romance about two teens recovering from heartbreak and discovering themselves on an out-of-this-world accidental first date.

It all begins when Ana Watson's little brother, Clayton, secretly ditches the quiz bowl semifinals to go to the Washingcon sci-fi convention on what should have been a normal, résumé-building school trip.

If slacker Zak Duquette hadn't talked up the geek fan fest so much, maybe Clayton wouldn't have broken nearly every school rule or jeopardized Ana’s last shot at freedom from her uptight parents.

Now, teaming up with Duquette is the only way for Ana to chase down Clayton in the sea of orcs, zombies, bikini-clad princesses, Trekkies, and Smurfs. After all, one does not simply walk into Washingcon.

But in spite of Zak's devil-may-care attitude, he has his own reasons for being as lost as Ana-and Ana may have more in common with him than she thinks. Ana and Zak certainly don’t expect the long crazy night, which begins as a nerdfighter manhunt, to transform into so much more…

My Thoughts 

As someone who considers going to San Diego Comic Con as one of the major items on my bucket list, I was obviously extremely excited when I read the synopsis for The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak. Unfortunately, my excitement waded as I kept reading and the overall experience with the book was mostly "meh" rather than "awesome", which is what I expected it to be.

Ana and Zak are complete opposites in many ways, or at least that is how they see it. Zak is intelligent, but also bit a slacker, which means that his smarts are often clouded by his slacker lifestyle and easy sense of humor. Ana is the straight A girl every single high school drama has - uptight, goody goody and a bit annoying. When Zak is forced to skip his favorite convention to attend a quiz bowl with Ana and the rest of the team, he feels like he is made to skip Christmas. But then Ana's younger brother Clayton ditches the hotel during a free night at the quiz bowl trip and goes to the convention. Ana and Zak need to find him, which means that they need to delve into the world of the convention, the world of geeks.

Geek. Nerd. Geeky. Nerdy. Whichever way you want to put it, I am it. And I am proud of it. Because of that, one of the main issues that caused problems for me with this book was Ana's attitude towards the Con and the people that attend it. It feels like she pretty much believes every single guy who's there will end up being over weight and miserable. And that every girl there is just kind of weird in general. She is a geek/nerd herself, just in a different way, so I couldn't really understand what her issue was with the convention. Yeah, she does not fit in, but hey, she could try.

Zak is an alright character, but to be honest, I probably won't remember much about him in a couple of days time. All in all, my impression of the characters was left a bit flat - I did not hate them, but I did not like them either. I must admit that towards the end of the novel, when things start to get pretty ridiculous (there's for example fighting and guns involved), I skimmed a little. I wanted to see what happens in the end, but at the same time I did not want to spend too much time to reach that end.

Katcher attempts to touch on issues of family and relationships (Ana's estranged sister, Zak's father and stepfather), but unfortunately those story lines feel slightly unnecessary and underdeveloped. Maybe if the characters would have been more extensively developed those story lines would have left a bigger impression.

All in all, The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak was bit of a disappointment. It did not anger me or make me regret reading it, but at the same time, it did not really leave any kind of impression on me.

2 Snowflakes

Review: What We Knew by Barbara Stewart

What We Knew by Barbara Stewart
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 14th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

When a local myth starts to seem like a dangerous reality, two girls are set on a path that could change their lives forever

"When I was little, I imagined a monster: Scaly hands. Pits for eyes..."

When Tracy and her best friend, Lisa, were kids, stories about a man—a creep who exposes himself to little girls—kept them out of the woods and in their own backyards. But Tracy and Lisa aren't so little anymore, and the man in the woods is nothing but a stupid legend. Right?

But someone is in the woods. Someone is watching. And he knows all their secrets, secrets they can't tell anyone—not even each other.

"Monsters don't exist."

Lisa's just being paranoid. At least that’s what Tracy thinks. But when a disturbing "gift" confirms her worst fears, it sets the girls on a dangerous journey that takes them beyond the edge of the woods. But reality is more terrifying than the most chilling myth, and what they find will test the bonds of friendship, loyalty, and love.

"Once upon a time, two girls were lost in the woods."

In Barbara's Stewart's What We Knew, Tracy and Lisa can't destroy the evil they'll face, but can they stop it from destroying each other?

My Thoughts:
This really didn't work for me and I am honestly half blaming the synopsis.  I've found lately that with several books the synopsis given does not in fact match the book at all.  This is the case with What We Knew.  The synopsis in my opinion promises creepy stalker craziness and what this book delivers is actually troubled teenagers who have been abused.  Sooo not the same thing at all and I really wonder who writes those synopsis'!

I'm not saying this would have worked more for me if the synopsis actually matched the book, but it is hard for me to switch gears when I settle in to read something.  I am a mood reader so I pick my books based on what I want at the moment and I think I would have chosen to read this at a different time if I had known it was going to be incredibly heavy.  My previous book left me wanting something creepy and a palette cleanser and this just wasn't it.  It is a very heavy book that deals with very heavy issues.  Yes there is a creep factor sort of in it but it really takes a back seat to what's really going on with Tracy and her friends.

Like I said the whole going in and switching gears wasn't the only reason why this didn't work for me.  I found each and every character to be annoying.  Tracy was whiny and yes I know she went through something very traumatic, but she was just not somebody I could root for.  She ended up being very hypocritical by the middle of the book and when that happened I lost respect for her.  There was no reason to do what she did and she didn't even really feel bad about it until the blow up happened.  I just really couldn't connect with her.

The other characters weren't any better.  Lisa was mean and grouchy which again I now know the reason for her mood swings, but I just can't forgive some of her actions.  Gabe, Trey and Adam weren't likeable at all either.  They just seemed like your typical stoner high schoolers and while I am on the subject there is a lot of drinking and drugs in this. I was honestly appalled at how much substance abuse was used through this book.  Where were the parents??!  These activities actually happened in someones home!  That to me is a plot hole I would have liked explained more.

I think the author chose to focus too much on teenage drama in the beginning and lost me by the middle. The end of the book was actually brilliant and really made me wish the beginning would have been just as brilliant.  Looking back I can see clues to where the story was ultimately going, but the execution just stunk.  I adore Barbara Stewart and this won't be my last book by her, but man this was a let down.

2 snowflakes

Review: City of Fae by Pippa DaCosta

City of Fae by Pippa DaCosta
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Release Date: May 7th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

From the moment Alina touches London's hottest fae superstar, breaking one of the laws founded to protect all of her kind, her fate – and the fae – close in.

Below ground, the fae High Queen plots to claim the city as her own and places her pawns, ready for the battle to come. A battle she cannot lose, but for one small problem – Alina. There are four ancient keepers powerful enough to keep the queen in her prison. Three are dead. One remains … And to fight back, Alina risks sacrificing everything she has come to love. 

My Thoughts:
I love fae books with a passion, but this one just did not work for me at all.

They story is kind of a strange one and one I haven't read before which was a good thing, but it really fell flat.  We have Alina and she having just lost her job as a reporter spies the perfect story, Sovereign.  He is the resident bad boy rockstar and a fae.  The fae in this world are known and there are rules within the city.  One of those rules is not to touch them and what does Alina do almost instantly, yep you guessed it she touches him.  Now this normally wouldn't have bothered me but she goes on and on about the whys and how wrong it is and then BAM touches him.  The story from there gets a little strange and it all boils down to a few things...1. Alina thinks she is bespelled by Sovereign...2.She doesn't care at certain convenient times and just goes with her hormones...3. There are a whole lot of spiders around and nobody is telling anybody anything...and 4. So so many plots holes that center around what Alina actually is and what Sovereign is hiding.  I just can't look past all the negatives in the story.

I didn't care about the characters either.  I think the cop Andrew would have been a nice cast member, but he gets kind of pushed aside for the fae and well I don't like triangles so really it wouldn't have worked for me the other way either.  I think he was the one real part of this book and he was completely disregarded.

Sovereign and Alina were not enjoyable at all. Sovereign had too much of the bad boy always gets his own way attitude and Alina was too sarcastic with a wannabe edge.  They just didn't fit together.  The secondary characters weren't any better and like I said this story is filled with plot holes and the characters had them as well.  I don't get where Shay really fit and I don't understand any of the fae really.  I think the author tried to throw too much in and the story and cast were like a big ball of loose thread. Things really needed tightening up.

The biggest problem I had though was the whole star crossed lovers bit.  Alina and Sovereign have quite a bit of a struggle ahead of them for reasons I can't name due to spoilers and I just don't understand it at all.  Again major plot hole that was not in anyway explained.

This looks to be a series and normally I would give the second book a chance but I don't think I could live inside of Alina head again.  I didn't connect with her and I can't see spending another 300 pages hoping and trying too.

2 snowflakes...these are strictly for Andrew who got the raw end of the deal

Review: Center Ice by Cate Cameron

Center Ice by Cate Cameron
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Crush
Review Copy from Netgalley

The hometown hockey hero won’t know what hit him…

Karen Webber is in small-town hell. After her mother’s death, she moved to Corrigan Falls to live with strangers—her dad and his perfect, shiny new family—and there doesn’t seem to be room for a city girl with a chip on her shoulder. The only person who makes her feel like a real human being is Tyler MacDonald.

But Karen isn’t interested in starting something with a player. And that’s all she keeps hearing about Tyler.

Corrigan Falls is a hockey town, and Tyler’s the star player. But the viselike pressure from his father and his agent are sending him dangerously close to the edge. All people see is hockey—except Karen. Now they’ve managed to find something in each other that they both desperately need. And for the first time, Tyler is playing for keeps…

My Thoughts:

As a major hockey fan, this book sparked my interest right away. Since hockey is not as popular in US as for example football is, I find YA characters that play hockey to be a rarity that I am always willing to give a chance for. Unfortunately, Cate Cameron's Center Ice wasn't quite what I wished it would be.

After the death of her mother, Karen is forced to move to a small town called Corrigan Falls to live with her father, a man she has never really know, and his new family consisting of a wife and three children. Right away, Karen feels like she does not fit in - her father's new family seems too perfect, too put together and definitely not very interested about Karen and the problems her presence cause. During her morning jog, Karen meets Tyler and for the first time feels a resemblence of joy in her new hometown.

Tyler is on his way to NHL, at least according to his teammates. He is the captain of the team with talent and skill and the NHL only feels like the logical succession for him. But then he meets Karen and starts to question his future. Having bit a a player status, Tyler is put in a position in which he needs to prove himself to Karen, to show her that he can be serious too, that he is willing to commit. Can Karen trust Tyler? Can Tyler focus on both hockey and Karen?

Throughout, I felt like Center Ice was a bit too predictable. Tyler is the problematic star type, controlled not only by his talent but also those around him that wish to use his talent to their own gain. Karen is the sad, hurt girl who meets a guy that can make her forget her problems for a while. From the moment they connect onwards you kind of know what is going to happen - they fall in love, they face a problem and misunderstandings and then they fall in love again.

Center Ice attempts to tackle some issues related to families of both Karen and Tyler, but unfortunately is fails to go deep enough. In my opinion, Karen's grief over losing her mother is not discussed in enough detail, and though the author probably does not intend it, at points it feels like Karen is not of those girls that can forget all of her problems when a cute guy shows up. I found Tyler's family problems a bit more engaging, mostly because at those points the whole world of hockey reared up its head. I loved the locker room talk and the pressure Tyler has to go through to succeed, but unfortunately much of it is buried by the focus on the romance.

The narration of the book switches between Karen and Tyler, thus allowing the reader to get to know the characters better. This type of narration certainly opens up the hockey aspect a bit more, but I feel like often the thoughts and the feelings of the characters are a bit superficial. I also found it extremely difficult to relate to Karen in any way and I never quite managed to fall in love with Tyler. In addition, the relationship between Karen and Tyler lacks chemistry and tends to move forward quite fast.

Unfortunately, Center Ice wasn't a win for me. While it did not entertain me as much as I wished it would, I never felt like I wanted to give up on it and I did want to see what happens in the end, even though the ending was very predictable. I believe this novel is a start for a new YA series centering around the hockey team Tyler plays for and if I do get a chance, I might give the upcoming second book a go.

2 Snowflakes

 

 

Review: Don't Stay Up Late by R.L. Stine

Don't Stay Up Late (Fear Street Relaunch #2) by R.L. Stine
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin
Release Date: April 7th, 2015

Ever since a car accident killed her father and put Lisa and her mother into the hospital, Lisa can't think straight. She's plagued by nightmares and hallucinations that force her to relive the accident over and over again in vivid detail. When Lisa finds out that a neighbor is looking for a babysitter for her young son, she takes the job immediately, eager to keep busy and shake these disturbing images from her head.
But what promised to be an easy gig turns terrifying when Lisa begins to question exactly who — or what — she is babysitting.

R.L. Stine makes his triumphant return to Shadyside in the new Fear Street book Don't Stay Up Late.

My thoughts:
Oh how I used to love Fear Street as a teen.  I remember curling up with a blanket and reading a book a night just to reread them all the next month.  This was my first jump into thrillers and I will forever love R.L. Stine for introducing me to this genre.  Okay all that being said this installment did leave me wondering if I have finally grown up.

For those who don't know Fear Street has always had strange things happen to the people who live or visit there.  The street is pretty much cursed and Don't Stay Up Late brings us right back to Fear Street.  Lisa having just lost her Dad to a car accident is having trouble coping.  She was in critical condition and the doctors think she started having hallucinations due to her extreme concussion. After her therapist suggests she take on a new job to help get back to normal everyday life Lisa starts her new babysitting job on you guessed it Fear Street.

I remember Fear Street being super creepy and I know I had nightmares from a few of the books because I still remember them.  So I don't know if Stine has just gotten a little softer with his horror or if the thriller stories today have pushed that genre envelope and things are way scarier now.  I can't say its because this is middle grade either because I don't think they are supposed to be. The characters are sixteen so I am assuming this is still considered young adult.

I know I was supposed to be creeped out, but the overall storyline just didn't do much for me.  I thought Lisa wasn't a great main character because she snapped way too easy and yes I know no one believed her, but even before certain things happened she just seemed kinda rude and selfish,  especially with her parents.  The secondary characters I really didn't feel anything for either because they just didn't have enough page time.

I will say that there was a pretty interesting storyline after the reveal that I would have loved to of known more about. I felt like things got cut extremely short at the end and I was really bummed about it.  I wanted an explanation and we don't get one really at all.  I can't help but wonder why things were left that way.  I thought I remembered some sort of an explanation being presented at the end in previous installments, but maybe I am remembering wrong.

That last page was pretty creepy though.  After reading that I did get chills, but it was a little too late in my opinion.  I wanted way more thrills and chills from Don't Stay Up Late so I am guessing I am just growing as a reader and my tastes are just evolving.  I am going with 2 stars..1 for that last page and 1 for Harry who made this book bearable.

2 snowflakes

Double Review: Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca

Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Before:
Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey's parents decided to move away, she couldn't wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...

After:
Now it's senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David's family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey's second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

Told in alternating sections, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE is a charming and romantic debut about loving, leaving, and letting go.

Milka's Thoughts:

At the end of 2014, I listed Ciocca's debut Last Year's Mistake as one of my most anticipated books for 2015, which means that I was extremely excited to start reading it. Unfortunately, it seems like this “most expected” title did not do it for me this time...

Last Year's Mistake introduces us to Kelsey and David. After being friends for years, through misunderstandings and uncomfortable situations, they found themselves drifting apart. Then Kelsey moved away from Connecticut to Rhode Island and thought that her days with David were over. She thought wrong. When David shows up at Rhode Island and at her school, Kelsey's life turns upside down. She's reminded of feelings she had for David over a year ago and she does not know how to fit David into her new life.

I did not like Kelsey at all. Though she desperately tries not to be “one of those girls”, she is self-centered and has a tendency to think that the world revolves around her. She thinks that she is better/superior to the “sluts” and “skanks” David attracts and in general, it feels like she thinks that in comparison to other girls, she is better. I love opinionated characters, but I am not okay with slut shaming. NOT AT ALL. I hate the whole “those girls” vs. “me” comparison, especially when it makes it seem like “those girls” always equal something trashy. The way Kelsey acts and talks makes it very difficult to like her and I hated how the author had brought in issues with Kelsey's health to make her seem more likable, especially after she does not really delve into them but rather just mentions them to someone further divide her from “those girls”.

The relationship between Kelsey and David is fairly interesting at first, but it started to drag very quickly and eventually the whole “will they, won't they” scenario just gets old. The whole dynamic just feels very cliché, filled with silly misunderstandings and predictable twists and turns. In addition, I wasn't a fan of how the dynamic between the two affects people around them, especially the individuals they are in relationships with. By the end, I felt the presence of these characters, especially Kelsey, was so toxic that I did not care anymore what happens to them.

What really made me keep up with this novel was the structure of it with the alternating chapters following the life of Kelsey and David in the past and in the present. Through a structure like this, the reader gets to experience the first meeting between the two and what exactly made them to lose contact. With a structure like this, Ciocca adds context to the story and adds layers to character development. Unfortunately, though the structure was enjoyable for me, the way Kelsey is portrayed both in the past and the present made it very difficult for me to feel anything for her.

I think the main reason I found myself struggling with this novel is Kelsey. I find it so important to establish some sort of connection with the main characters and unfortunately with Kelsey, I did not even want to feel any sort of connection as more and more were revealed of her. Last Year's Mistake clearly wasn't for me, but I think that for a reader who does not interpret Kelsey quite the way I did, it could be a very entertaining contemporary read. So yes, not for me, but maybe hopefully for you?

2 Snowflakes

Tina's Thoughts:

Last Year's Mistake, is told in a before and after alternating chapters as we start off with senior year and Kelsey Crawford's life is just about perfect. Things at home are good, she has real friends and a boyfriend who adores her, but that all changed the minute she saw David Kerrigan walking down the hall at her school. Back up to the summer of freshman year and we see a younger David and Kelsey meeting for the first time at Kelsey's uncle's summerhouse. They become fast friends, best friends for the next three years, that is till something between them changed everything they had and the two haven't spoken to one another in more then a year. Two worlds collide from the past to the present as this story of first love and second chances unfolds. The heart wants what it wants, no matter how much they try to deny it.

Drama, drama drama! Man, this book is crazy with the drama and angst, but you know what? I actually enjoyed this because of it. This is a book that is filled with all kinds of stuff that would have me rolling my eyes and banging my head against the wall. We've got jealousy and head games and hateful and hurtful things said one minute only to go wistfully down memory lane the next. But despite the hot and cold and back and forth and the push and pull and the sole fact that I wanted to shake these characters straight from the minute we meet them, I still have to admit, this was crazy entertaining and I was absolutely compelled to see how everything would play out.

I've always been a huge sucker for best friends-turned-romance and second chance love and man, did Gina Ciocca ever nail that intense, uncomfortable and awkward energy but still manages to bring on the emotional feels and warm moments that pulled at my heart strings. She does such a fantastic job delivering complicated characters in a realistic, exhausting and heartfelt way. It made me remember that, this is what first love felt like. This is the stuff that makes young love what it is. It's messy and flawed and its tied up with moments of stupid mistakes, haunting regrets, the uncertain heart and the intangible what if's. It's twisted and unsure, crazy and perfect all wrapped up in one giant pulsing bleeding heart.

I really enjoyed all of these characters. They were easy to relate to and connect with, even if they did manage to frustrate me half the time.

Kelsey and David are great individually but stronger together. But dame if they didn't give the reader a helluva time. I loved seeing their history leap off the pages and I was so anxious to see where it all went wrong cause Kelsey and David were some solid besties that knew each other better then anyone and were there for one another in good times and bad. Seeing them now in senior year wasn't always easy, but weather they were ignoring it, fighting it or hiding it, they still had some of the best sizzling chemistry evah. Granted they had there share of issues and not with just each other but I couldn't help root for them throughout the story and love the sweeter and warmer moments that made my heart flip and grin a stupid grin. I also liked the secondary characters as well. Ryan was indeed an ass, but I liked that he always treated Kelsey like gold. You could tell he really did love her. I though Violet was a bit of a flake but Candy and Matt were good people and I loved what Kelsey's family and David's dad brought to the storyline.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It does have it's ups and downs, but I love how realistically it portrays the high school years and teenage trouble. This brought me back to my younger days and reminded me that even then, love is worth fighting for especially at it's messiest moments. A great debut and a fun escape. I look forward to seeing more from this talented author.

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