Review Of: The Force Of Gravity

"I blast the stereo in a vain attempt to drown out my thoughts. I don’t want to be thinking about him and analyzing every detail of first period. It makes me feel like a young, foolish girl, and I’m embarrassed that I can’t control the way my body reacts every time his eyes meet mine."

In a quiet town in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, everything in life is seemingly perfect for eighteen-year-old Kaley Kennedy. She has loving parents, loyal friends, and is dating the hottest boy in school. With only a few months left of her senior year, she’s looking forward to an epic summer before heading off to Los Angeles for college.

Without warning, a gorgeous new math teacher interrupts Kaley’s predictable little world, challenging who she is. Suddenly, parties, dates, and Friday nights with her friends seem empty and unfulfilling as she finds herself obsessing over his every move. Desperate for something more, but determined to ignore her fierce attraction, every single relationship in her life begins to crumble by forces beyond her control. Struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood, Kaley must choose between playing it safe or risking more than just her heart. . . 

At about the 50% mark I was standing on the edge trying to decide if I really wanted to finish this book or not.  I really thought I wouldn't but by some miracle I was able to push through and make it to the finish line.

I have no problem reading teacher/student relationship but the way TFOG is written made it really hard to trudge through.  Really I should say it was the characters that made it hard for me to accept their reality. Our MC Kaley is 18 and Mr. Slate is only 25 so the age gap isn't creepy at all.  Mr. Slate takes over Kaley's math class in March of her senior year so it's not as if they forever till Kaley graduates.  All of those facts combine to make it possible to read TFOG without feeling icky about it. What makes it hard to get through is the fact that Kaley is a very immature 18.  From her fights with her friends and boyfriend (yeah, she has a boyfriend who is very much her age) to the grudges she holds against her parents she shows how young her thought process really is.  There were a couple of instances where I really thought Slate would come to his senses and call her out on her child like tantrums. He didn't. Because he thinks she's amazing baby. *Eye roll*

If her immaturity wasn't enough, they're lust filled relationship definitely sealed the deal.  Remember how I said he took over the class in March? Yeah, from day one Kaley couldn't think or act straight around him, beginning the cringe worthy moments that would stay present for me throughout the whole book.  Which, this is one thing I don't understand.  Why is it these girls can't control themselves in the face of their crush? Pull yourselves together ladies, it is possible to lust after someone without revealing yourself and making yourself look a fool. Lordy.  Kaley isn't the only one to blame though because Mr. Slate falls head over heels for Kaley the moment she walks into class.  From that moment on they are both doomed.  They call it love but it is soo lust.  They know nothing about each other, not even by the end of the book! And the declaration he makes at the end? Ha! Give me a break.  I would give them maybe 6 months in the real world before the whole thing fell apart! And that's being optimistic!

Obviously,  I didn't like the Force of Gravity.  Does that mean you shouldn't try it? No, but don't say I didn't warn you!

Review Of: Anna and the French Kiss

Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's waiting for?

Oh Anna. How do I explain my feelings for you?

I really wanted to love Anna and the French Kiss as I've heard nothing but good things about the whole series.  I didn't hate it, but I feel pretty impartial to it.  I think that if the main couple weren't a bunch of cheaters and hypocrites I would have had a better bond with them resulting in me feeling a better connection to the story. 

If I separate the facts from the love story it is very charming, it's also in no way an instant love type of situation which helped with my opinion of the overall book. Anna and St. Clair's relationship builds up over time, from acquaintances to friends to best friends to love.  It was fun and heartfelt watching their relationship bloom, if only they would have waited until St. Clair had ended things with his girlfriend!

There were secondary characters present and while they don't completely fade into the background there isn't a whole lot of interaction between them and Anna.  I believe a few of them will pop up in the next books but I can't say that after Anna I'm left wondering what happens with them.

Overall, Anna and the French Kiss is an enjoyable contemporary romance about a girl making her place in a new world and gaining friendship as well as love along the way.  If you don't hold tight to your morals I'm sure you will enjoy reading Anna's story.

Review Of: What I Thought Was True

Gwen Castle has never so badly wanted to say good-bye to her island home till now: the summer her Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, takes a job there as the local yard boy. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

I absolutely adored Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door so I was super excited to get my hands on her next book What I Thought Was True.  I had to stop and start the book twice, a year apart, before I could finally force myself to finish it.  I don't know if it was that I didn't like the characters or the story itself but something kept me from falling in love with the book.

Gwen is trying to find herself, she's struggling with the fact that she doesn't have a set plan for the future whereas it seems like her best friend and cousin both have their future's mapped out.  All Gwen knows is that she desperately wants to leave town rather than find herself stuck like her parents and grandparents. At the end of the book, while a lot of things have changed, everyone still seems to know what they're going to do except Gwen.  In fact, Gwen doesn't really make a whole bunch of decisions aside from whether or not she is going to give Cassidy (love interest) a second chance, or really, a first chance.  The entire time she seems hell bent on thinking of Cass as an ass but at the same time pines after him like a love sick puppy.  When we have enough of a flash back memory to piece the whole story together (because to be truthful we as the reader have no idea what is going on for most of the book) it turns out that  Cass really didn't do a whole lot to deserve Gwen's wrath. And the advice from Gwen's dad? Not that fantastic....not even that much of a lead up to it other than the mention in the summary.

Whatever the reason, What I Thought Was True and I just didn't see eye to eye.  Even so I'm not giving up on Fitzpatrick, she has proven that she can write a book that I love, this just wasn't it.

Review Of: Roomies

Graham Malone is my roommate, my personal eye candy, the reason I get up in the morning smiling (that could be from the illicit dreams I have about him too, I suppose. Let's move on.). He's also beautiful to look at, but his heart is where his true beauty lies. Take away the exterior and the interior still shines. 

I love him. I mean, I'm pretty sure I do, having never been in love before. Anyway, it seems legit. 

And now his brother Blake is here, and, well, he's the complete opposite of Graham. Sarcastic, brooding, and totally available. But he's leaving soon, and Graham's the one I want. I shouldn't have to remind myself of this, right? I wouldn't have to if Blake would quit looking at me like I'm something yummy and he's starving.

Here's a toast to roomies; the ones you should never fall in love with. Or something.

Yes, Roomies could be classified as your generic, over done, love triangle contemporary but I can't hold that against it because it was so adorkable (yeah, I just made that up). 

Yes, it drove me insane that Kennedy and Graham could not see what was in front of them but they were so fun to watch/read that I can forgive them their shortcomings.  

Yes, Kennedy"s inner monologue took a couple of chapters for me to wrap my brain around it, in fact it borders on annoying, but she is so full of sass and attitude and sarcasm... I loved it and her.  

So while I don't have a lot to say about Roomies I do believe it's worth a read, especially if you're in the mood for a short and easy to get through story about two people who were made for each other.

Review Of: Something Real

There’s nothing real about reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

This book.  This booook.  Seriously, you all NEED this book.

I started Something Real in the afternoon, I didn't put Something Real down until I finished it at 12am that night...  a work night... That's kinda a big deal, considering now that I have kids and never get decent sleep, I don't allow myself to stay up late.

Chloe aka Bonnie, I frigging loved her. She was so real, she was so brave, she deserves a better mother. Which brings me to Beth. I flipping hate Beth.  Repulsive human being.

Luckily, Chloe has carved out a small place for herself in her new town so she has this amazing support system. Not to mention her amazing brother Benny and her hunk of a boy crush Patrick. What I'm trying to say is that the character relationships rocked and filled me with the warm fuzzies and helped combat the stabby feeling I was having towards Beth.

The whole premise of this book is that Chloe's family is the center of this "reality" tv show, Baker's Dozen. People everywhere spend their time watching, reading, and tweeting anything and everything that has to do with the Baker's Dozen. Chloe and her siblings have all grown up in the camera eye, as in from birth.  Much like our very own Jon and Kate Plus 8 phenomenon.  Chloe has grown to hate it and blames it for breaking up her family, rightfully so I believe.  Chloe brings to light a whole lot of reality about how warped our societies obsession with all things reality has become. I feel this quote in particular sums up everything in life right now. Seriously.

Granted, I'm agreeing with this quote as I sit here typing a review that I will eventually make public, after having just shot off an instagram picture about writing said post. Irony.

Something Real is full of witty and sarcastic conversations while touching on some serious issues.  It ends in a way that keeps it grounded and feeling relatable; things don't always wrap up nicely in life. I completely recommend this book to everyone and highly suggest you get to it sooner rather than later.

Goodreads Archive Review: Dont Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

DON'T LOOK BACK

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: 04/15/2014

Audience: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Romance

Goodreads Archive Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

WE WERE LIARS

Author: E. Lockhart

Publication Date: 05/13/2014

Audience: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery

 

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

 

Picture and Summary From Goodreads

 

 REVIEW 

 

This book was one heck of a ride.  There isn't a lot I can say about it without giving away spoilers so I'm going to stick to the basics.

 

The logistics:

The writing was crazy good, almost lyrical.  I actually had a little bit of a hard time getting into the rhythm of it but I'm glad I didn't let that deter me because before long I found myself captivated. 

 

We Were Liars is told from the POV of 18yo Cadence who has grown up in the lap of luxury where things aren't as shiny and happy as they appear.  For most of the story Cadence is trying to piece together what happened the summer she turned 15.  All she knows is that it was bad enough to cause her to suffer from amnesia.  There were a few times that I thought I was on to something only to turn the page and be left completely stumped again. I had no problems staying focused on the story but at the same time I couldn't wait to get to the end, just so I would know what happened.

 

It was a small book compared to some of the monsters on my shelf but I found that it took a little bit longer for me to get through.  I chalk this up to the fact that I found myself stopping and thinking about the story as I was reading it.  Not that I don't think about stories as I read them normally but there were parts of this book that required me to put more thought into it.

 

 

Bottom Line:

You really need to go into this book knowing nothing about it.  Give it a chance when you first start it, don't be scared off by the different (beautiful) writing.  And just enjoy it.