abbyluvsfrogs444's Reviews (308)

"You suppose? What on earth could she possibly be lacking? Do you want bigger boobs or something? Is she not--?"
"She's not you."
"What?"
"She. Isn't. You."
I shut my mouth and looked at him, scared to believe he was saying what it sounded like he was saying.
"She's pretty, but her face doesn't transform into sunlight when she talks about music." He did that clench thing with this jaw and said, "She's funny, but not spit-out-your-drink-in-astonishment funny."
If felt like my heart was going to explode as his eyes moved down to my lips under the glow of the buzzing streetlight. He moved his face a little closer to mine, looked into my eyes, and rumbled, "And when I see her, I don't feel like I have to talk to her or mess up her hair or do something--anything--to get her to swing that gaze on me."
My hands were shaking when I tucked my hair behind my ears and breathed, "You haven't messed up my hair in a really long time."
"And it's been killing me." He took a step closer, which pressed me against the side of my car. "I fell in love with teasing you in the second grade, when I first discovered that I could turn your cheeks pink with just a word. Then I fell in love with you."

I loved almost everything about this book. It is pretty much a perfect romance. I adored Liz and Wes. They are adorable and I'm jealous of their relationship. I know they don't exist but seriously, I just about got a tooth ache from how sweet they were. Kill me now, my expectations for love have been raised, yet again.

Okay this was adorable. I loved almost every second of it. I will be honest, there were some moments that made me angry. Like when Liam was being stupid and ran away from Daisy...or when Daisy was being stubborn and refused to forgive Liam. These characters were both very stubborn and it peeved me just a little bit. Besides that, I did love this book. I love the childhood crush trope, the boy next door trope. It's so good and this book did it really well. I loved the tension, the banter, the tooth-rotting sweet talk. I swooned over Liam with Daisy. I loved Daisy's loyalty, intelligence, nerdiness, and her giant heart. I related to her in many ways. Overall, I highly recommend this book. It did exactly what I wanted it to do and I definitely did not waste my time reading it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I love the characters (especially Hannah because I relate to her all too well), I loved the premise of it (a gender swapped version of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), and I loved the ending. I didn't like how messy it felt. Yes, real life is messy, but this didn't feel like real life. Yes, I use literature to escape real life, but this book wasn't a good escape as I didn't find it very believable. The romance felt very forced. The ways that Jack tried to get Hannah to hate him weren't funny like in the movie, they were just downright cruel. So, I'm happy to be through with this book. I will not be reading it again.

I Wonder

Does the
man who wanders
the neighborhood, wearing
three heavy overcoats in the
swelter

of the summer, have a
little sister who lies
awake at night wondering where
he is?

This was a beautiful collection of poetry. I was completely engrossed from start to finish. I only have one qualm, and that is the issue of calling mentally ill people crazy. It doesn't sit right with me at all. But that's really it. The entirety of this book was perfectly written and I am so happy this book fell of the shelf in the library one day (true story).

My Sister's Christmas Eve Breakdown

One day
she was my big
sister, so normal and
well-behaved, the next she was a
stranger

rushing out the door to
Midnight Mass, a wild-eyed
Jewish girl wearing only a
nightgown.

One day
he was my dad,
so calm and quiet and
in control, the next he was a
stranger

dragging
my big sister
away from the door, up
the stairs, screaming so loud that my
ears stung.

One day
she was my mom,
so reliable and good in
a crisis, the next she was a
stranger

standing stock still with her
hands clamped over her mouth
and her eyes squeezed shut, not even
breathing.

That day
I sank into
the wall, wondering what
these three people were doing in
my house

and I
shouted that they
had to stop, even though
I wasn't supposed to talk to
strangers.

This was so fun! I went into this book, not knowing anything or expecting much. But I have to say, I was surprised by this book. I really enjoyed reading it. It is such a cozy read that doesn't use too much brain power. Reading is supposed to be fun, and this was exactly that. Also, there are recipes throughout the book??? If I wasn't already sold, that would tip me off.

"Remember to pick the boy that will plant a garden for you instead of just getting you the flowers."

I am in love with this book. I am in love with the characters. I am in love with everything about it. I squealed and laughed and yelled at the characters. I swooned over Lucas with Rosie. Seriously...why are fictional men better than men in real life? It's extremely frustrating. I just want a man like in the romance books I read. Is that too much to ask for? I don't think it is.

This book was kinda frustrating. Which made the resolution all the more satisfying. I can't rate this book higher because I found a lot of the characters unlikeable, especially Quinn. I hardly ever dislike the leading lady in romance books, but wow, she was a pain in the ass. I understand she has trauma and mental illnesses (I do too) but that never excuses her poor behavior. She does make up for it in the end, but I had a hard time rooting for her when I was so frustrated with her. I will commend the author for making it very realistic. People like Quinn exist in real life. People that don't communicate, that separate themselves from love because of one fear or another. And this book really talks a lot about those aspects. The thing is, I read romance books to have hope about love. This one made me despair. Yes, the characters end up together, but it was like pulling teeth to get there. I go into romance books wanting a short, fun, and lighthearted experience, not something that frustrates me. I am very aware that real life is not like that, but here's a secret, that is why I read these books because I hate real life and I read to escape it.

Anyway, long rant. I did like some aspects of this book, but for the most part...I did not enjoy it. I was not the target audience for this book.

"I don't understand. I don't understand anything about why people leave, and I don't understand what makes me so leavable. I think this is turning me into a meeker person than I already am, the kind of person who spends relationships spooning coffee grounds quietly into the garbage can, for fear of disturbing the peace."

All of the women in these short stories have my heart. I felt the heartbreak, confusion, anger, and betrayal that they felt. I read this book slower than I read other books and I'm glad I gave myself time to really digest it. I really enjoyed reading this and can see myself reading certain stories again. (Also the cover is gorgeous and I could stare at it for hours.)