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: Everything That Makes You

Everything That Makes You
Author: Moriah McStay
Publication Date: March 17th 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

One girl. Two stories. Meet Fiona Doyle. The thick ridges of scar tissue on her face are from an accident twelve years ago. Fiona has notebooks full of songs she’s written about her frustrations, her dreams, and about her massive crush on beautiful uber-jock Trent McKinnon. If she can’t even find the courage to look Trent straight in his beautiful blue eyes, she sure isn’t brave enough to play or sing any of her songs in public. But something’s changing in Fiona. She can’t be defined by her scars anymore.

And what if there hadn’t been an accident? Meet Fi Doyle. Fi is the top-rated female high school lacrosse player in the state, heading straight to Northwestern on a full ride. She’s got more important things to deal with than her best friend Trent McKinnon, who’s been different ever since the kiss. When her luck goes south, even lacrosse can’t define her anymore. When you’ve always been the best at something, one dumb move can screw everything up. Can Fi fight back?

Hasn’t everyone wondered what if? In this daring debut novel, Moriah McStay gives us the rare opportunity to see what might have happened if things were different. Maybe luck determines our paths. But maybe it’s who we are that determines our luck

In the style of Just Like Fate, Everything That Makes You is cut into two different stories, a what if scenario, only with Just Like Fate, I actually liked it and though Caroline made some rash and stupid decisions, you could understand her, sympathise with her. Fioana and  "Fi" not so much. Wasn't the whole what if scenario was a way of thinking that if Fiona didn't get her face scarred when she was younger, she would be a different person?

If Everything That Makes You meant to say, that no matter what happens to you, you were always meant to be a certain person, then it succeeded, Because she was a horrible person both ways. If you think I'm being mean now, hang around a while. Fiona is a spiteful little bitch. There we go. She's bitter, which okay, you can get, she's bitter at the world, at herself, she has low self-esteem, given all that: she's still a bitch. To her family, to her so called friends, to her boyfriend, self deprecating , selfish and completely takes things for granted. Isn't having something so horrible like this happen to you, supposed to make you have a real long look at yourself and see just how strong you are? To make yourself a better person? Even the "Fi" What If, she was still like this and because of that, even though we know which part is which, I had a hard time differentiating  the two, and considering the names are in the chapter titles, it shouldn't be that hard.

Review: The Orphan Queen (!!!!!!!!!!)

The Orphan Queen
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publication Date: March 10th 2015 (US) April 9th 2015 (UK)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. That was pretty much me through the last half of The Orphan Queen. I know, I know, I'm being amazingly subtle at how amazing The Orphan Queen is. I will try to resemble my thoughts into something coherent, but you know how it goes with books you love, you never know how to review it. So here's four words to accurately describe The Orphan Queen.

Damn, Jodi Meadows, damn.

Stacking the Shelves (#60) Harper Collins Edition: Part Two & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? The beginning of mine completely sucked, but it's gotten better. I FINISHED HEIR OF FIRE AND OHMYGOD.  It took me a week, since I was dragging my feet through it since I didn't want to finish it because now the wait- but you lovely book, you.

 

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

Review: The Things You Kiss Goodbye

The Things You Kiss Goodbye
Author: Leslie Connor

Publication Date:  June 24th 2014      
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

 

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when basketball star Brady Cullen asks her out, and she just about faints when her strict father actually approves of him.

But when school starts up again, Brady changes. What happened to the sweet boy she fell in love with? Then she meets a smoldering guy in his twenties, and this “cowboy” is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina.

Bettina knows that breaking up with Brady would mean giving up her freedom—and that it would be inappropriate for anything to happen between her and Cowboy. Still, she can’t help that she longs for the scent of his auto shop whenever she’s anywhere else.

When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.

Leslie Connor has written a lyrical, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about family, romance, and the immense power of love.

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I got invested in The Things You Kiss Goodbye, I don't how or when, but somewhere along the way, I was in. So I looked at the ending at 60% in and didn't want to finish it. Because that means this thing happened, and I didn't want this thing to happen, so lesson. learned. My advice, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ENDING. Promise me? Good. Otherwise you'll miss out of this amazing concept centred around the title. I'm also just going to put this out there and we'll never talk about it again. I have a thing for cowboys. The end. Never. Again.

Review: Vivian Divine is Dead

Vivian Divine is Dead and good riddance.
Author:  Lauren Sabel

Publication Date: June 3rd 2014               
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 

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

 

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Filled with surprising twists and poignant moments, Lauren Sabel brings a fresh new voice to contemporary fiction with Vivian Divine Is Dead. Creepy, clever, funny, and romantic.

When a death threat arrives with teen celebrity Vivian Divine's fan mail, Vivian has no choice but to go on the run to Mexico. She soon discovers, though, that her Oscar-nominated performance killing villains on-screen did nothing to prepare her for escaping a madman in real life. Some people say he's a hero, others tremble in his presence, but one thing is clear: he won't stop until Vivian is in his grasp. Why didn't she pay more attention during those judo lessons for her role in Zombie Killer?

Vivian finds an ally in the mysterious and charming Nick. He is everything Hollywood boys are not-genuine, kind, and determined to see Vivian for who she really is. But even he seems like he can't be trusted-what could he be hiding?

Beat up, hungry, and more confused than ever about who she's running from, Vivian is living in a real-life blockbuster horror flick. But there's no option to yell "cut" like there is on set....

Lauren Sabel's Vivian Divine Is Dead is a creepy, witty, fast-paced adventure about family, fame, and having the courage to save yourself.

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Vivian Divine is Dead started out really strong, I was loving it. And then it happened. You know, the thing that always happens in YA. The love interest gets introduced and BAM. The Insta-love starts. It's a very bad disease, people, it devours actual brains cells. The MC can't have coherent thoughts when the love-

What was that? Nick just walked passed.

What was I thinking again?...

I'm not opposed to insta-love, but it wasn't even good insta-love. The L-word was mentioned or thought in one day in meeting him, two, tops. I can't even remember, I actually skipped some passages because I was highlighting the shit out of it. There was no connection whatsoever and just kind of dull. That being said, I love mysteries, I love murder crimes, I love witness protection and though I'm not exactly obsessed with Hollywood, the whole fact a teen starlet being on the run because of her predicted death sounded too much fun and right up my alley.

Stacking the Shelves (#46) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

How was everybody's week? I was going to call this the Bloody Mary edition because I received the scariest book ever in the mail, but since I'm waiting on one more book, I'll leave that until next week. So this is the newest Harper edition!

 

For Review

Edelweiss:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Thousand Pieces of You,  No Place to Fall, Top Ten Clues You're Clueless,  Messenger of Fear, The Jewel, Falling into Place, Anatomy of a Misfit,

(Harper Collins, Harper Teen, Katherine Tegen Books and Edelweiss)

 

 

What did you get this week? :)

   



 A recap of posts this week

• Monday I reviewed: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
• Tuesday I reviewed: After the boring End  by Amy Plum
• Waiting on Wednesday: Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake 
• Thursday Blog Tour: Guest post by Christie Cote, author of Rain.
• Friday I reviewed: Paranoia by  J.R. Johansson
• Saturday: Branded:: Teaser & Excerpt

Review: Life By Committee

Life by Committee Life by Whatever strangers tell me to do next because I don't have one.
Author: Corey Ann Haydu

Publication Date:  May 13th 2014        

~A copy was provided by Katherine Tegen Books in exchange for an honest review~

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Some secrets are too good to keep.
Tabitha might be the only girl in the history of the world who actually gets less popular when she gets hot. But her so-called friends say she’s changed, and they’ve dropped her flat.

Now Tab has no one to tell about the best and worst thing that has ever happened to her: Joe, who spills his most intimate secrets to her in their nightly online chats. Joe, whose touch is so electric, it makes Tab wonder if she could survive an actual kiss. Joe, who has Tabitha brimming with the restless energy of falling in love. Joe, who is someone else’s boyfriend.

Just when Tab is afraid she’ll burst from keeping the secret of Joe inside, she finds Life by Committee. The rules of LBC are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment. Complete the assignment to keep your secret safe.

Tab likes it that the assignments push her to her limits, empowering her to live boldly and go further than she’d ever go on her own.

But in the name of truth and bravery, how far is too far to go?

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Secret: I want to hit this book.

Assignment: Do it.

Ohhh, there are a lot of things I have to say about Life By Committee. So, the good news or bad news first? Hmm.

The good news? It's short, and for a fraction there, you might think it has some deeper meaning.  Kudos.

Stacking the Shelves (#25) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


Firstly, and most importantly, you guys, the Veronica Mars trailer, that's what I'm talking about.

 I've added 7 books to my shelf since my last StS, (3 I bought, 3 gifts.(including my Secret Santa from the amazing Allie that I finally opened) and a surprise in the mail that's going to have to wait until next week because I'm re-organizing, fun.

But, though there's no pictures yet, I had an awesome Secret Santa gift from Allie over at Little Birdie Books, that included Ghost Flower by Michele Jaffe that I've wanted to read for ages, a dolphin holographic bookmark (because I love dolphins) a Deathly Hallows necklace (which I've been wanting to get for a while, but was always pushed back for more books) which I may have fangirled over :D. So thank you so much Allie!


 For review:
 

 

Paranoia, The Truth Against the World, Royally Lost and I finally caved and picked up Life by Committee and The Last Best Kiss.

(Thanks to Flux, and Netgalley, Harperteen, Katherine Tegen Books and Edelweiss)

 

   



 A recap of posts this week

 

• Monday I reviewed  Red by Alison Cherry
• Tuesday I done the End of Year Book Survey
• Waiting on Wednesday: Steadfast by Claudia Gray
• Thursday I reviewed Splintered by A.G. Howard
• Friday I reviewed Unhinged by A.G. Howard

Since my last StS, I have read:

 
• Anything to Have You by Paige Harbison
• Red by Alison Cherry
• Splintered (Splintered, #1) by A.G. Howard
• Unhinged (Splintered, #2) by A.G. Howard
• And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard