Review: Drive Me Crazy

Drive Me Crazy
Author: Terra Elan McVoy
Publication Date: April 28th 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Buckle up…

Lana and Cassie have met only once before, at the wedding of Lana’s Grandpa Howe and Cassie’s Grandma Tess two months ago. They didn’t exactly hit it off—in fact, depending on who you ask, that first meeting was either an embarrassment or a disaster—but they’re about to spend an entire week together, just the two of them and their honeymooning grandparents, road-tripping in Cassie’s grandmother’s Subaru.

Lana thinks a summer road trip sounds like fun, but the backseat is a crowded place for two tween girls with two huge secrets to hide, and this bumpy road to friendship is full of unexpected twists and turns. Like it or not, they’re in this together, full speed ahead on the adventure of a lifetime.

This review is going to be short, so more of a mini review, mainly because it's a middle grade, there's not much to talk about. And swearing at said middle grade's review is probably frowned upon. I don't know how old Cassie and Lana are, it probably was said at some point-or maybe not-but I can't remember, but since it is middle grade, you get the age range. Which makes me realise, I do not miss being that age. At all. Nada. If I acted anything like Cassie did, I wouldn't blame anyone for slapping me-and believe me, this girl needed a slap-hell, I'd slap myself, because fu freaking hell, she was a bi challenge.

Review: Things We Know by Heart

Things We Know by Heart
Author: Jessi Kirby
Publication Date: April 21st 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

There are three things you need to know about Things We Know by Heart.

1) It will possibly break your heart.

2) It's not about moving on, or even moving forward, it's just about moving.

3) It's about learning to put it back together in a new way than it was. It's about evolving, reshaping, adapting to a missing piece that won't-and can't-be replaced.

DNF Review: How to Win at High School (AKA: How to be a Dick in High School)

How to Win at High School How to be a Dick in High School
Author: Owen Matthews
Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Using Scarface as his guide to life, Adam Higgs is going from zero to high school hero.

Adam Higgs is a loser, and he’s not okay with it.

But starting as a junior in a new high school seems like exactly the right time to change things. He brainstorms with his best friend, Brian: What will it take for him to take over Nixon Collegiate?

Adam searches for the A-listers’ weak spot and strikes gold when he gets queen bee Sara Bryant to pay him for doing her physics homework. One part nerd, two parts badass, Adam ditches his legit job and turns to full-time cheating. His clients? All the Nixon Collegiate gods and goddesses.

But soon his homework business becomes a booze business, which becomes a fake ID business. Adam’s popularity soars as he unlocks high school achievements left and right, from his first kiss to his first rebound hookup. But something else is haunting him—a dark memory from his past, driving him to keep climbing. What is it? And will he go too far?

How to Win at High School’s honest portrayal of high school hierarchy is paired with an adrenaline-charged narrative and an over-the-top story line, creating a book that will appeal to guys, girls, and reluctant readers of every stripe. Adam’s rocket ride to the top of the social order and subsequent flameout is both emotionally resonant and laugh-out-loud funny

Oh, How to Win at High School, should be appropriately renamed How to Be a Dick in High School. I will keep this unusually short for my ranting reviews, unlike this book, have you seen how many pages it has?  It wouldn't have been so annoying if it had been productive and given character development, or, you know, actually gave it some, you know, what's that thing books have? Oh yeah, a story to tell. A plot. Both were rather none existent.

Review: Even in Paradise

Even in Paradise 
Author: Chelsey Philpot
Publication Date: October 14th 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins

~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.

Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.

But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden... until now

I wasn't expecting Even in Paradise to be one of those books. You know, the ones that creep in by charming you, lulling you into a fun sense of security and happy and then laughs in your face for falling for it. I also wasn't expecting it to be what it was, this is a story that's already happened. The beginning, a message from after, reminiscing before the Beginning. The Middle. The End. And now. Ones like these you're either going to love or hate, I guess you've got to get the writing style to enjoy it, but it was done beautifully and had a melancholy feel to it- in a good way. It fitted it entirely, because even though you know on some level how it's going to end, it still draws you in and pulls you along to see how we get there.

Review: No Parking at the End Times

No Parking at the End Times
Author: Bryan Bliss
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Abigail’s parents have made mistake after mistake, and now they've lost everything. She’s left to decide: Does she still believe in them? Or is it time to believe in herself? Fans of Sara Zarr, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell will connect with this moving debut.

Abigail doesn't know how her dad found Brother John. Maybe it was the billboards. Or the radio. What she does know is that he never should have made that first donation. Or the next, or the next. Her parents shouldn't have sold their house. Or packed Abigail and her twin brother, Aaron, into their old van to drive across the country to San Francisco, to be there with Brother John for the "end of the world." Because of course the end didn't come. And now they're living in their van. And Aaron’s disappearing to who-knows-where every night. Their family is falling apart. All Abigail wants is to hold them together, to get them back to the place where things were right. But maybe it’s too big a task for one teenage girl. Bryan Bliss’s thoughtful, literary debut novel is about losing everything—and about what you will do for the people you love.

I give No Parking at the End Times props for being different. Different it definitely was. I don't read that many religious centred books, I usually stay far away from ones I know are going to be so, but every now and then they sneak up on me. What drew me to this one though is the cult-like fashion it was handled. The religious aspect wasn't bible-bashing, but in a way a little bible-bashing but not overbearing, and it's delves into faith verses religion. Can you have faith without having religion? When you think about it, faith and religion go together, but faith does exist out of religion. You don't have to have a religion to believe in God, to believe and have faith in something unknown. Whether that's God, life, the future, it's still faith.

Stacking the Shelves (#71) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

 

 

So, how was everybody's week? Mines been okay, I finished All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven last night and there might have been tears. A lot, a lot, of tears, but it is such a beautiful book in so many ways. I'm now going to go watch Mrs Brown's Boys because I need a good laugh right now, haha.

 

Stacking the Shelves (#64) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? Mines been good. So, my books didn't get here, so I WILL be doing my physical stack next week, honest. But, I've had some exciting review copies. :D Anyone in the UK been watching Hollyoaks this week?

 

 

For Review

Review: Blackbird

  

Blackbird
Author: Anna Carey
Publication Date: September 16th 2014           
Publisher: HarperTeen          
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.

The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists.

Blackbird, once you get to the end and realise what actually is going on, you figure out it's a little sick and twisted and...a little disturbing in a very human way. Let's call or main character Blackbird, shall we? She wakes up on the tracks with a train heading straight for her. She doesn't know who she is, and in the beginning, whether she's female or male. She doesn't know where she is, how she got there, what happened to her, etc, etc.

Review: Illusions of Fate

Illusions of Fate
Author: Kiersten White
Publication Date: September 9th 2014        
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray

You guys, Illusions of Fate is so freaking just as good as I thought it would be, and though I really enjoyed Kiersten White's Mind Games series, Illusions of Fate has taken the spot of my favourite of hers.  It's just so witty and fun and clever and whimsical.

There's no shortage of magical books being released this year, and don't get me wrong by saying that this is just one of them, but while it may not be the most unique one, it gives magic a different life and let's it breathe. We have feuding races and magical importance. It kind of reminds me of this one episode of Charmed in season six, episode five, Loves a Witch, but much more ingrained to the background of Illusions of Fate that set's the today of Illusions of Fate, if that makes sense. It's a huge part of the story and it takes in the actions of the characters.  The magic set-up here is a little different to what I usually find, Magic is based upon power in standards, it goes down into the line of Nobles of High Standards, it's in their blood and it depending on stature and position etc, it waters down, some have stronger power than others, and we see that mix with our supporting characters. The logistics of the magic can be learned but not obtained, power can't be taken, but stored in things (e.g books) that can be later used.

Review: Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Publication Date: September 9th 2014        
Publisher: Harper Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences

Rites of Passage is one of those rare books I probably would never have picked up, and the only reason why I did in the first place was because of the Dare behind it all. This is also one of those times I'd let someone slap me for being so stupid. This is probably going to be a rambling review because that's just how it goes with ones you love, you can never sit down and focus enough to write something that says just exactly what Rites of Passage means and is, because there's just so many things about it that I loved and right now, sentences are popping into my head and then leave.

Stacking the Shelves (#58) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? Mine was crap, good book and blog wise though!

 

 

For Review

 

 

 

Review: Feral

 

Title: Feral

Author: Holly Schindler

Release date:  August 26th 2014              

Publisher: HarperTeen 

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.
It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened. But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page

Oh Feral, what am I going to do with you? On one hand you were crazy and weird and pretty much what I love about these types of books. But then on the other hand, it was not at all where I wanted or thought it would go. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing it just really had this big build up that kept you guessing what was going on that by the time it was revealed it deflated.

Stacking the Shelves (#56) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? Mine was okay-ish. I was supposed to be doing a physical stack this week (as I said last week) but I'm ill, and that requires energy. :( So ebook stack it is, again. But hey, I got my first approval from Disney-Hyperion!

 

 

For Review

 

Stacking the Shelves (#55) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? The beginning of the week was good for me, and went downhill from there, so it's been a pretty crappy week. Mainly Friday, where the highlight was Starbucks. I had to go up the Hospital. my appointment was at 11, had to leave at 9 (since I don't drive) so had to get up at 7 on 3 hour sleep. Got up there, wasn't called until 11:15, which isn't so bad, you say...Yeah, so would I, if it wasn't just to wait in another waiting room. Didn't get called then until 12:15. And was out of there at 12:20 with nothing done for the reason why I was up there, which has happened TWICE now. So yeah, I was pissed. Know what's therapeutic though? Writing ranty reviews.

I was supposed to be doing a physical stack this week but I'm so tired, and new Harper titles were added to EW, so I'm going with that.

For Review

Edelweiss

 

 

 

The Last Time We Say Goodbye , Red Queen (AHHHHHHH!), Everything That Makes You , Liars, Inc , My Heart and Other Black Holes  and The Distance Between Lost and Found, 

(Thanks to HarperTeen, Katherine Tegen Books, Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss )

 

 

                                                        

                                                                 What did you get this week? :)
 

Recap

• Monday I reviewed: The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
• Teaser Tuesday: Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither
• Waiting on Wednesday: Captive by Aimee Carter
• Thursday: Cosplay Antics: MCM Part 1
• Friday I reviewed: The Moment Collector  by  Jodi Lynn Anderson

Stacking the Shelves (#54) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? The heat has been worse this week than it was last week and if the heat doesn't kill me, my hay fever will. I bought a few this week and received the best random surprise in the mail from Penguin, in the form of a little something new from Richelle Mead, which will be in my physical stack next week. Can you guess? ;) Yup. Silver Shadows. I was waiting until the series was finished to read them, but, but it's so tempting now.  I'm also rewatching Criminal Minds since I haven't watched it since season 7, and nothing says summer like serial killers, right? Also, how freaking cute was season 1 Reid?

For Review

Edelweiss

 

 

 

 The Bargaining , Remember and Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You  

(Thanks to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss )

 

 

                                                        

                                                                 What did you get this week? :)
 

Recap

• Monday I reviewed: The Young World by Chris Weitz
• Teaser Tuesday: The 100 Society by Carla Spradbery
• Waiting on Wednesday: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
• Thursday: Welcome Amber & Introducing two new Features
• Friday I reviewed: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Stacking the Shelves (#51) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

How was everybody's week? Mines been okay. and I got a few ones I've been wanting to read since I found out about them. I just finished The Girl from the Well, and although creepy, a little disappointed, and now I'm reading Feral. I'm choosing some real happy books lately. :/
 

For Review

Netgalley

 

 

 

 

The Cure for Dreaming 

(Thanks to Amulet and Netgalley )

 

For Review

Edelweiss

Illusions of Fate, The Perfectionists

(Thanks to Harper Teen, Harper Collins and Edelweiss)
 

What did you get this week? :)

   



 A recap of posts this week

• Monday I reviewed: Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill
• Teaser Tuesday: The Mission  by Allen Zadoff
• Waiting on Wednesday: Unmarked by Kami Garcia
• Thursday: A Q&A with Louise O'Neill
• Friday I reviewed: Unwept by   Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman

Stacking the Shelves (#43) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

How was everybody's week? So, I had my third auto-approval last week from Hachette Childrens, and I got my first approval from Tor, which I'm super excited about because it's one I was really hoping I'd get approved for, so yay! :)

 

For Review

Edelweiss:

 

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes  and  Jackaby.

(Thanks to  Spencer Hill Contemporary, Algonquin Books and Edelweiss)

 

For Review

Netgalley:

Unwept, Sweet Unrest and Of Scars and Stardust
(Thanks to Tor books, Flux and Netgalley)



  What did you get this week? :)

   



 A recap of posts this week

• Monday I reviewed: Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly 
• Tuesday I reviewed: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
• Waiting on Wednesday: Very Bad Things by Susan McBride
• Thursday I reviewed: Mutant City by Steve Feasey
• Friday: DNF Round-Up: April

Stacking the Shelves (#42) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

How was everybody's week? So... it's that time again. Yup, the Harper Collins edition.

 I do have some others too (including a new approval and an auto-approval), but I'll leave them for next time because this is going to be long enough as it is.  I really tried to only download a few. Honest.

 

For Review

Edelweiss:

 

 

 

 

                   

                 

 

 

   Even in Paradise  Blackbird, Forbidden, Get Even, Kiss Kill Vanish,  On the Edge,  Snow Like Ashes, Beware the Wild, Stray, and Exquisite Captive.
(Thanks to HarperTeen, Katherine Tegen Books, Harper Collins, Balzer + Bray, Greenwillow Books and Edelweiss)

 

  What did you get this week? :)

   



 A recap of posts this week

• Monday I reviewed: Tease by Amanda Maciel 
• Tuesday I reviewed: The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel
• Waiting on Wednesday: Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
• Thursday: Blogger Blast: Meet the Characters of Deep Blue & Giveaway
• Friday: Blog Tour: Don't Even Think About It: Mini Q&A with Sarah Mlynowski