Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

FANGIRL Author: Rainbow Rowell Publication Date: 09/10/2013 Audience: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary, Romance    

 

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.... But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she's really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words...and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

    Picture and Summary from Goodreads     REVIEW  

I absolutely adored this book!! Fangirl is filled with adorable, cutesy moments but also holds depth and meaning. The relationships that fill this book are complicated and deep but also full of love and emotion. I seriously loved almost ALL of the characters, I loved their interactions and banter, I could feel everything Cath was going through and felt like I was going through it with her. Following Cath on her journey to find herself, independently from her sister Wren, was at times heartbreakin...moreI absolutely adored this book!! Fangirl is filled with adorable, cutesy moments but also holds depth and meaning. The relationships that fill this book are complicated and deep, full of love and emotion. I seriously loved almost ALL of the characters, I loved their interactions and banter, I could feel everything Cath was going through and felt like I was going through it with her. Following Cath on her journey to find herself, independently from her sister Wren, was at times heartbreaking. She's kind of thrown into the situation by force and at times has a hard time staying afloat. Cath felt very real to me; her struggles, her anxieties, her fear of change..it all spoke to me. I felt like I was living through her. To me it's an amazing book when I can relate to a character so well that I feel like they are a part of me. Fangirl is beautifully written and when the end comes around you feel completed, even if you are sad that it's over. This has easily become one of my favorites of all time.   Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

Waiting On Wednesday: On The Fence by Kasie West

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It features books we are eagerly anticipating getting our hands on. My Pick This Week:   ON THE FENCE Author: Kasie West Publication Date: 07/01/2014 Audience: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary, Romance  

  She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.   MARK IT TBR ~ Goodreads ~   I have recently become a die hard Kasie West fan.  I have made it my goal in life to read each and every one of her books that she has written/will write.  But On The Fence itself sounds awesome so I'm sure I would have picked it up anyways.   What are you waiting on this week?

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

EVERNEATH Author: Brodi Ashton Publication Date: 01/24/2012 Audience: Young Adult Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Mythology

 

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

  Picture and Summary from Goodreads     REVIEW

 

I loved this book! I put off reading it for so long and I'm super mad at myself for it! At first I was completely confused thinking surely there was a book before this one but no the story just starts off after a century in the Everneath which turns out to be six months on the surface (Earth). Needless to say there is some catching up that has to take place and while that can be a slow process in this case it wasn't. I was instantly hooked from chapter one and couldn't stop until the end and now...moreI loved this book! I put off reading it for so long and I'm super mad at myself for it! At first I was completely confused thinking surely there was a book before this one but no the story just starts off after a century in the Everneath which turns out to be six months on the surface (Earth). Needless to say there is some catching up that has to take place and while that can be a slow process in this case it wasn't. I was instantly hooked from chapter one and couldn't stop until the end and now I'm counting down the days till the next installment shows up on my doorstep. Nikki is such a strong and selfless main character, I was dying for her to tell Jack EVERYTHING. While I normally don't like love triangles this one wasn't too bad because I could sense the substance between Jack and Nikki whereas with Cole it was obvious he's a slimeball who's suffering from puppy love. Team Jack all the way!! This was a super fast, suck you in, can't catch your breath read.      Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

THE HERE AND NOW Author: Ann Brashares Publication Date: 04/08/2014 Audience: Young Adult Genre: Science Fiction

 

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.

    Picture and Summary from Goodreads     REVIEW  

Ok, so this book!? Wow! The whole thing seemed so realistic (okay obviously time travel doesn't seem realistic but maybe someday?). The way the world fell apart seems very similar to the road we are heading down so that really upped my anxiety level. Also, mosquitos...that's all I'm sayin!

Aside from that The Here and Now was a quick paced, suspenseful read. It starts off with a prologue from the POV of Ethan but the rest of the book is told from Prenna's view. I've heard some describe the romance to be a touch of insta-love but I felt like it wasn't. The characters have had a couple of years to grow together that we don't witness so I feel like the relationship developed slowly but came to a head while we were reading. I really loved the relationship between Ethan and Prenna, I liked that they didn't rely on each other to do anything but that together they seemed to be stronger. There wasn't a whole lot of secondary character development but I'm okay with that because in my opinion the story didn't require it. While some of the story reads like any other dystopia-ish book (people in charge aren't necessarily looking out for the good of everyone) it still had its way of keeping me fully committed and interested.

The ending killed me! I read somewhere that this is a stand alone but  I'm really hoping that isn't the case! Because while I loved the book the ending has left me feeling empty and needing more answers!

   

 

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