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.

Waiting on Wednesday (#83)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

 Expected publication: May 5th 2015 by HarperTeen

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

 I will read anything by Kasie West. A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G.


What're you waiting on? :)

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.

Review: A Wicked Thing

A Wicked Thing
Author: Rhiannon Thomas
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

A Wicked Thing is a perfectly okay book. The characters are okay. The writing is okay. The whole feel of a fairytale is good. But for me, that's all it was. Not great. Not bad. But good. Good. That's where the problem lies. There were a lot of doors that were open during the story that were never really closed, and if it would've taken one of those open doors and ran with it, I think it would've made it a lot stronger than it was, because I felt like it didn't go anywhere as such. Stuck in the palace. The Queen spewing some commands and lies at her. Aurora complaining and bitching in her head but nodding and acting like the doll they tell her to be. Sneaking out at night. Next day. Stuck in the palace. The Queen spewing some commands and lies at her. Aurora complaining and bitching in her head but nodding and acting like the doll they tell her to be. Sneaking out at night. How entertaining.

Review: Mr. Kiss and Tell (Rejoice, Logan!)

Mr. Kiss and Tell 
Authors: Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Publication Date: January 20th 2015
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

In the second book in the New York Times bestselling mystery series, Veronica Mars is back with a case that will expose the hidden workings of one of Neptune’s most murderous locations.

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

I loved The Thousand Dollar Tan Line, I'd put off from reading it for a while since I didn't think it could hold up to the show-or even the movie-and while it doesn't replace either, it was a good fix to be with the characters again, the snark and wit and the sleuth ways. But, it wasn't perfect. What was missing in The Thousand Dollar Tan Line was present in Mr. Kiss and Tell, and by "what was missing" I mean who. And by whom, I mean Logan. Logan, Logan, Logan. Also, Weevil has more of a role this time around too, since the beginning is all about his trial from the aftermath of what happened in the movie.

Waiting on Wednesday (#82)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

 Expected publication: September 10th 2015 by Bloomsbury UK

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world