This is my first book by *JUST* Jay Kristoff. I loved the Illuminae Files but that was a duo. I really enjoyed this book but I had some issues. 

Let me just get my issues with it out of the way... First, I figured out all the twists way in advance. It was really predictable and I was so sad that I couldn't be surprised. Maybe, I'm just too good of a detective. haha. I was surprised at the very end with one of the decisions of our main character. I am SO excited for the next book to see how it goes. I also had a hard time connecting to some of the characters. I just don't know, I couldn't really connect emotionally. By the time I got to the end of the book, it started to click a little more. 

I loved the relationship between Eve and Lemon! They were true friendship and it was one of the best things about this book. I liked how Lemon added some humor because this book can get intense and a little bit dark. I don't know how many times I had to read the flashbacks but gosh, they hurt. I think the prologue was the saddest thing I have ever read. 

Kristoff does a fabulous job with the world building and the characters in this book. There's more machine than human and you just love them anyways. For example, the dog Kaiser. I don't want to divulge too much more because there's a TON of spoilers that can easily slip. 

So, if you enjoy sci-fi or a great book that's a bit different, this is a great book to pick up! I enjoyed it a lot and I cannot wait to for the next one! I really can't wait to see where Kristoff takes these characters! I'm not a big sci-fi reader but I might be a fan now! 

I received a free e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, to Knopf Books for Young Readers and Random House Children's for letting me read this book! 

#Lifel1k3(lifelike) #NetGalley

You can find my review here: Books Are The New Black

~3.5 stars~

This was a great coming of age book. We have all these different kids who end up finding friendship in the most unlikely places/way. This book is about friendship.

Mattie is an outsider and only has one friend. She’s secretly in love with escapology but wants to do more. She has one friend, Stella, who is going away to a pre-college summer program. Since, she’s going to be alone, she decides to take things into her own hands and really get into escapology. She’s also snarky and I loved that.

Later we meet Frankie, who Stella befriends when she’s away at her pre-college program. I really liked Frankie. He was probably the most awkward but I loved how he just meshed into this group.

Will is your typical high school basketball star who has everything and a beautiful girlfriend. Except, he’s hiding a pretty big secret. He’s living a lie and really starting to unravel.

Mattie decided to go to Miyu and ask her to mentor her about escapology. It starts a bunch of actions that bring all these characters together. Will and Mattie end up making a deal but it blossoms into a friendship. This whole book is about friendship and finding yourself. I loved that there was romance but not between any of the main characters! How refreshing!! There’s a lot of different themes in this book.

Then there’s the story between Miyu and her mother Akiko. Akiko was a famous escapologist, who died at a young age, in a plane crash. Miyu is living in their house but has agoraphobia. I’m sorry but this story just crushed my soul. I don’t know if I’m in the right head space but it brought tears to my eyes. Okay, I’m definitely not in the right head space, I’m on a ton of fertility drugs. Anyways, Miyu has these journal/diary pages that kind of tell the story of her mother and herself. It was one of my favorite parts of this book.

I did have some issues with the book. There are some places where the writing wasn’t the greatest. I actually didn’t care for the dual perspective in this book. It wasn’t really needed. There were times that I would be confused about situations and find out that it was just Mattie dreaming.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and once I got into the book, I couldn’t put it down. It was fun, entertaining, yet tackled some tough issues.

I want to thank Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for giving me an e-ARC of this book for review.

You can see my review here: Books Are The New Black

~3.5 stars~

This was a sweet, quirky, steamy romance. I was not expecting how steamy it was going to be. I thought this was going to be a little more like, The Rosie Project. It was not. This was more like Pretty Woman in reverse, which is okay. I love Pretty Woman!

I thought there was a lot of humor and the characters were good I really enjoyed the autism angle, with Stella. I feel like there's been a few books lately, shining a light on autism. I really enjoyed Michael's family and it added some diversity to this book. The food they were always talking about made me so hungry! His sisters were pretty funny and a great addition!

Although, I enjoyed the story, I had some issues. First, I really felt like it was so predictable and the story just fell short for me. Secondly, I was really annoyed about how they felt with each other was so obvious, and they were just so adamant that the other person didn't care. This lasted so, so long and I was getting really annoyed. Several times, they both give hints to how they feel. I understand it more from Stella but come on, Michael knows better! It's just miscommunication, talk to each other and stop trying to guess what they feel!!! 

This was a cute book and for some reason I just didn't love it as much as I thought I would. I enjoyed it but there are definitely books that I've enjoyed more. Also, not to be weird but I really expected way more math in this book. haha! Come on, look at that cover! 

Thanks to First to Read -Penguin Books USA for a free e-ARC of this book!

You can see my review here: Books Are The New Black

This book was an improvement to the first book. There was a lot more substance and it was more about the plot than the love interest. 

I got to learn a lot more about the magic system and see Kalinda actually learn how to use her magic. We get a lot more of Kalinda fighting for her empire and putting love on the backseat, which is refreshing. I ended up liking her a lot more in this book and the side characters. I got sucked into the story and I can't wait to continue the series, to see what happens next. 

I did have some issues. My biggest issue was the whole tournament. This is her second one and I just kept thinking "hunger games, hunger games," over and over. It did add a lot of drama and this one was much better than the first but it seems like it's overused! It was more about their tests and trials than just killing each other in a bloody battle, unlike the first book. I liked the addition of all the girls who tried out and learning more about all the different types of magic. 

Now, I still did not like the duo POV in this book. I just have to come out and say that I don't really like Deven, at all. I just don't think he's a great love interest and he's pretty boring. I don't know why, I just can't get attached to his character, at all. I feel like his only role in this story is to worry about Kalinda and what she's doing, who she is with, and how much she loves/doesn't love him. Come on, you are supposed to be this big bad captain! Get over it. Sigh. 

Overall, I liked this a lot more than the first book. I will be continuing this story but I'm still a little disappointed in it. I hope that this continues and each book is better and better. 

You can find my review & other reviews here: Books Are The New Black

I enjoyed this book and I think that Marie Lu did a great job writing it. It was just a little underwhelming. I really thought that Bardugo did a great job with Wonder Woman. I probably had too high expectations on this one.

I think that Marie Lu did a great job writing but I felt like the story alone was a bit predictable. It was a really fast read but the characters were a bit one dimensional. I couldn't really connect to any of them. I did like the nods to a few of the original characters.

Madeline was interesting enough but then she was just way too predictable. I would have liked it better if she would have just stayed on the path she was on. 

This was just alright.. nothing special but I'm still glad that I read it. I can't wait for the next on though!! Sarah J. Maas is one of my favorite writers. 

Okay, I think this is a break up with Jamie McGuire and I. I loved her first couple of books but I just can't anymore. She also has this obsession with guys and their anger problems. This book was just all over the place. I wasn't quite sure what it was trying to be. A contemporary romance? Romance? Mystery? I'm still not even sure. 

Now that I know the ending, it had SO much potential. It could have shined a bigger light on mental illness (I wont say because of spoilers). Unfortunately, I had such a hard time getting through this book. It was really long and it didn't need to be. This book is definitely a YA, which could be part of the problem. I'm not used to that from McGuire. 

I had to get about 60% of the way through this book before I was interested. It was such an agonizing process. I'm a fast reader and this book has caused me to have a major slump. Ugh. 

Anyways, the first part of this book is about these teens, who are neighbors but the boy is only there in the summer. They meet, fall in love and he has to leave. He then comes back and all this chaos has happened while he was gone. Now, I get that there is a twist and I didn't really see it until the end but that was part of my problem. I really wish that I would have been let in on what was really going on before I hit 90% of the book. I think it would have been a bigger impact than having her say over and over, "I can't. It's a secret." I just got tired of being dragged along. 

The love between Catherine and Elliott was just ehh, and I didn't really connect to them. I found myself having to skip over so much of the love stuff. It was just too corny and I couldn't take it after I hit 30% of the book. There was so much redundancy too. I don't know how many times she had to bring up that Catherine was quiet and weird. Elliott is the high school football quarterback and his devotion for Catherine is more than breathing and food? I find that a LITTLE hard to believe. 

The story was just so slow and it felt like McGuire was trying to acheive way too much with this one. 

I was really disappointed in this book and I'm sad about that. I'm sure I'll be in the unpopular opinion but that's okay. Not every book is for everyone. 

I want to thank the publisher, Montlake Romance and Netgalley, for providing me with a copy of this eARC for review!

I just did my T5W for books that I read because of Booktube/blogging. I basically included social media too. This is one of them and I was not let down by all the fabulous people recommending it!

Eleanor struggles with social skills and will say exactly what she's thinking. She lives life to a strict schedule and only basic necessities. She doesn't care what other people think and doesn't care about extras. She's lived in her home for years and never decorated or changed the furniture that she was given. Then everything changes when she meets Raymond, her IT guy from work. Together they save a mans life and slowly Eleanor finds her schedule and life completely changing.

Oh, what a lovely book! Eleanor lives by her routines. She literally eats the same meals, on the same days, everyday. She doesn't really have a social life because everyone really annoys her or she just doesn't understand why people do what they do. Everyone at work makes fun of her and she knows that. She just doesn't care. Every Wednesday, she talks to her mom, like clockwork. We don't really know where her mom is just a home.

Then Raymond comes into the picture, the IT guy at work. They are walking together by accident after work and come a cross a guy who needs immediate medical care. They call the ambulance and save his life. Raymond coerces her to go to the hospital and then things start to slowly change for Eleanor. Mostly, it's her schedule at first. She's also trying to better herself for a musician she saw and believes will be her husband. She just needs to get a new wardrobe, change her hair and so on. She's constantly trying to find ways to stage a meeting with him but at the same time, being more social with Raymond.

Slowly, Raymond and Elanor become friends. We learn later on in this book that Eleanor has some hidden secrets that she has repressed. It really shines a light on how she is and why. She then slowly starts to come to terms with her past.

At first, I wasn't sure that I would like Eleanor. By the end of the book, I wanted to just give her a hug. I loved all the characters in this book and the growth that Eleanor has, is quite amazing. Even though, she started to become more social and have character growth, she stayed true to who she really was.

Okay, I know that most people love this because of Rhys and Feyre, which I do too. BUTTTT... I loved this for Nesta. Finally!!! The series is going to continue with her and I'm so excited. Rhys and Feyre have reached their story arc and this was just a pretty exclamation point from the series. I know, we will probably get more of them sprinkled throughout the rest of the series. I hope it's just small though. I'm ready for these other characters to take the lead. 

In this book, we get a peek at where are characters are, after the war. Things are still shaky and a lot of our characters are far from recovered. We also get a look at more of Velaris and how it's run. It was a little irksome how many times Feyre had to divulge at HOW much money they had. We get it. You are rich. No need to keep going on about it. Anyways... 

I love Cassian and I was so happy that we got some chapters in his POV. The one chapter with Nesta's POV was so dark. I love how all this is setting up for what is going to be an awesome book #4! I cannot wait!! 

This is a novella. I can't really go on and on. It was a super fast read and I loved it! It's really a lot of set up for these characters, which the author has stated. This is a story to connect the new series. 

I'm writing this really quick. My husband is on his way home and we have to get ready to leave tomorrow. It's wedding weekend!! My brother is getting married. So, I'm sorry that this is so rushed but I wanted to get it out before the weekend! :)

You can see my review here: Books Are The New Black

This book will make you cry. It’s heavy and intense but worth it.

Mara’s whole world comes crashing down, when one of her best friends accuses her twin brother, of rape. Who does she believe? Her twin brother, who is her other half, or her friend?

I really liked Mara. Her character was really complicated and I loved seeing her grow. She suffers from horrible panic attacks, anxiety and PTSD. As the story goes on, you learn that she has also dealt with her own trauma. You get to see her start to find her voice. There’s a part at the end that just broke my heart. Not only is she trying to deal with the current situation, she’s trying to deal with the past.

She has recently broken up with her best friend turned girlfriend, Charlie. What I loved about this whole relationship, was how hard they tried to stay friends. They are both in love with each other, but want to still be best friends. It wasn’t really an ugly breakup but two people who are trying to find themselves. I loved Charlie. She’s a non-binary character, who is also having trouble letting her parents know, who she really is. Throughout it all though, she’s there for Hannah and Charlie. I loved that.

Mara talks about how her mom is a big feminist but we see her mom totally take her son’s side. She even puts her mom on the spot, pointing out that she says, we should always listen to the girl. Yet, her mom is quick to jump on her sons story and that’s it. Talk is so much easier than action, right? What about when it’s one of the people you love most in the world? It’s hard to even fathom that he’s lying.

I think that Blake did a wonderful job representing so many different diversities and her writing was just beautiful. I loved the representation of the stars throughout the book. I applaud her for taking on such a heavy topic and exploring rape culture. Make sure to read her notes at the end of the book.

Now what I didn’t like..

Alex. I feel like that whole love triangle-ish thing was just so random and didn’t really fit into the story. It just felt thrown in there and I think it took away from the story a bit.

At times, I felt like Blake was taking on too much in this book. It’s a decently short book and there was a lot going on. Not only the rape, the past trauma with Mara, Mara and Charlie’s breakup, Mara and Alex, Charlie trying to let her parents know who she is, Hannah and a lot of other things too. It felt like the focus of the story was lost at times.

Overall, this is a great book. I think that we could have had a whole book based on Mara and her past. I think it’s great that I’m seeing books talk about rape culture more and more. It’s something that needs to be talked about. The ending to this book is what happens in reality a lot more than it should.

You can see my review here: Books Are The New Black

I picked this book up because I needed a fluffy romance after an intense read. This is definitely what I needed. It was cute and light.  

Megan is known as the class flirt and a serial date-r. She accepts this and rolls with it. She jumps from relationship to relationship because she believes they are never real. She believes that a guy will find who he's truly meant to be, after he dates her. She just doesn't take it serious.

I knocked a lot of this book because I had a hard time liking Megan. I think the author was trying to make it okay for her to jump from boy to boy but it got so tedious. The whole first half of the book is her basically trying to find a new boyfriend, flirting and talking about boys. It got to be a lot. Maybe it's just because I couldn't connect with her character. I applaud her for owning her sexuality but that's just not me. It was a little too much. 

Shakespeare and the play was supposed to be a big factor in this book and I don't really think it worked that way. I would have liked a little more about that being the focus. 

What saved this book for me was Owen. Owen was an amazing character. He's shy and kind of keeps to himself but he's so sweet and funny. Towards the end he makes Megan a bit more likable to me. She grows up a bit and becomes a nicer person, which is lacking in the first half or more of the book. 

The ending was really good. The last 1/2 of this book really was much better than the first. Overall, this was just okay for me. I didn't love it but it did fulfill it's purpose for me to feel good and light. :)

Books Are The New Black