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.

Review Of: Shadow and Bone

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Recommended For:
People who enjoy fantasy aspects and who are ok with romance being involved.  Shadow and Bone has the same feel as Throne of Glass it just isn't as long.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I seriously loved this book....I seem to be saying that a lot but what can I say? Shadow and Bone was truly a remarkable story start to finish. 

Leigh Bardugo does an excellent job of painting the scene and immersing her readers into this world of fantasy.  From the characters to the rich Grisha aspect everything seemed completely fleshed out and well composed.

One thing I really kind of enjoyed is the fact that I never knew who to trust or what certain characters intentions were.  It actually left me feeling betrayed at times.. Weird thing to enjoy, I know, but what I'm saying is that I truly ended  up feeling like a part of the story.  Alina's suspicions were my suspicions, her betrayal my betrayal, her loneliness my loneliness.  I love books that can make me feel all the feels with the characters.

Shadow and Bone is just the beginning of Alina and Mal's journey and I can't wait to continue it with Siege and Storm.

Review Of: A Thousand Pieces Of You

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Recommended For:

People who like their romance with a side of sci-fi and adventure.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I must admit I didn't start out liking A Thousand Pieces Of You.   In fact, I started it several months ago only to put it back on the shelf.  I'm so glad I gave it another chance, it was well worth it.  

I feel like I should point out the fact that I don't like sci-fi....I mean cut and dry sci-fi.  It bores me. So what bothered others about this book didn't bother me.  Some readers were expecting more sci-fi and scientific explanations.  Whereas I was looking for a romance with a sci-fi feel.  I don't need explanations on how things work, if the author tells me the characters can fly then I believe them and I don't ask why or how.

The whole idea of dimensional travel is unique to me, so much so that I had to remind myself that they weren't just traveling back in forth in time but different realities.  At the same time it was relatively easy to follow along with so I didn't have to spend a whole lot of time thinking about it. 

It is my duty to warn you that there is a love triangle...of sorts...you'll see what I mean. However none of the love is instant, the characters have grown up, in a way, with each other so they have plenty of background to fall on.

While there were plenty of twists and turns that I had no idea were coming there was one fact that I guessed from the beginning and I'm so glad I was right!  Nonetheless it was a nerve wracking journey to the end, and the end was just the beginning!

Review Of: Ember X

**Mature Content Advisory** 

Recommended for readers 17+ due to sexual situations and language.

For nineteen-year-old Ember, life has always been about death. With a simple touch, she can see when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person that knows her secret is her best friend Raven. 

But that changes when she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous and mysterious and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. The silence he instills in her mind and body allows her to feel things she’s never been able to before, so despite her initial reservations, Ember lets Asher into her life and lets herself to get close to him. But the closer they get, the more Ember realizes that Asher is keeping secrets from her.

When unexplained deaths begin to surface in her town, Ember questions why she can’t see Asher's death and what it is he’s hiding from her...

Recommended For:

People who can overlook immaturity and grammatical errors and are much more forgiving than I am.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So apparently there is a YA version of this book,  as in it's the exact same story and POV but this version has a lot more steam.  Leave it to me to choose the steamy version... 

Well, steamy version or not, I just couldn't get into it.  I've read two other books by Jessica Sorenson and maybe it was my age and reading experience at the time but I thought they were world's better than Ember X.  To me the writing and characters in Ember came across extremely juvenile and petty.  

I had no choice but to chalk this one up as a fail. It had great potential, the idea behind the book really interested me, but it just didn't make it there.