This is a special review for me because I've been following C.G. Drews, also known as Cait Grace or @PaperFury on Instagram, since the early days. I watched her grow as a writer, scrolled through her Pinterest boards for novels she wrote in a day, and read snippets back when there wasn't a "am I allowed to give snippets" kind of thing attached. Needless to say, when she announced her debut novel would be published, I had to get it, even though I live in the states, and a U.S. publisher hasn't picked up this amazing, only-published in the UK and Australia, novel.

I will admit, it took a bit to get into the writing, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Drews has a unique way of writing and I really can't compare it to anyone else's. It feels so raw and I can feel her personality in her writing. The characters are so three-dimensional, so wonderfully crafted, and I fell in love with both Beck and August. Their relationship had its flaws, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

This is a short book (and yes, I wish I had more), but so much character development is squished in the 282 pages. Beck really grows as a person, comes into himself, and the decisions he makes at the end feel so right. I usually struggle aligning a character with their endgame decisions, but this worked really well. I could see the obvious jump from where he began to where he got, could understand his choices, and they felt like Beck. 

I would also like to say that as a pianist myself, this spoke to me on many levels. Sure, I didn't relate to Beck's hatred of it, but I appreciated the words thrown around, the idea of him composing music and how different it is from playing other people's, and the references to classical musicians.

Lastly, I will point out that this book is not for the faint of heart. I think Drews handled the child abuse well, though. I really felt for Beck, wanted him to be okay, and to admit everything, but I can understand why he didn't. That isn't logical character development for someone who went through such torture.

(But really, if that's something you can't handle, stay safe and don't read it.)

Anyway, I recommend this aggressively. Go read this wonderful, heartbreaking novel.

(And can I also just say as someone who saw all of her fantasy Pinterest boards, I expected something with more magic and more swords or dragons? I'm waaaaaaitinggggg.)

-Book Hugger

Blog: http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

I was listening to "Only Us" (which inspired the title) while I finished the epilogue and the book and the song ended at the exact same time. That's...something.

-Book Hugger

That was heartbreaking, but very good. At first, I worried the relationship would be unhealthy, but I liked what it grew into.

tears. in. my. eyes.

The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson-2 stars

This story was very unrealistic honestly, and I think that's why I had issues with it. The story itself was fairly cute, but I never connected to the characters or the plot. Though, I do have to say Stuart was really adorable. All in all, this one was just unremarkable.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green-1 star

This was a mess, to say the least. For starters, I predicted the ending within the first few pages, which is never good. On top of that, the blatant sexism was disgusting. I expected so much more from John Green that the "she's not like other girls" trope. I'm not kidding, there was an entire paragraph about The Duke (also what a stupid nickname) being Not Like Other Girls™.

"'You know, that you're not, like, a threat. Like, most girls, if they have a boyfriend, they don't want their boyfriend hanging out all the time with another girl. And Brittany didn't get that you, like, aren't really a girl.'

'If by that you mean that I dislike celebrity magazines, prefer food to anorexia, refuse to watch TV shows about models, and hate the color pink, then yes. I am proud to be not really a girl.'"

Um. Excuse me?

And beyond that, this entire story was about the two guys wanting to go to the Waffle House miles away in the snow just to see cheerleaders. What. The. Heck. That's not plot, that's sexism. And then later, there was a homophobic remark. By that point, I had already decided this story was and is trash.

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle-1 star

And if this book couldn't get any worse, we get 100+ pages of a bratty girl being bratty and wanting for boyfriend to take her back after cheating because she's "changed". To be effective, she would have actually had to change by the end of the story, but in my honest opinion, she was a brat at the end too. Just because she did something nice for her friend and an old lady doesn't mean she's a kind soul forever now. And also her boyfriend sort of changed? I feel like this story radiated the idea that you have to change for love and that's definitely not true. He really didn't need to change at all; she needed to learn to accept him as he is.

Ugh.

This set of stories was a waste of my time honestly. And it's also gotten to the point where if I don't see LGBTQ+ representation I get kind of sad. I know not all books will have it, but I'm just hopeful...

Anyway, take this as you want, for all I know, you could be the next big fan of this story. It just wasn't for me.

-Book Hugger

For actual reviews that I post on a pretty little blog, check out my site at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

What I Thought Was True, in all honesty, is a fluffy summer read. And the one thing most of you know about me by now is that I do not enjoy fluffy summer reads. I try, but usually I need something deeper and more influential when it comes to contemporaries. When it comes down to it, this is my fault for picking up a book with little expectations because it was cheap at the used book store. 

I do not regret reading this book because it was enjoyable for the most part, but I don't think my life is any different because of it. The deepest message from this is that 1-the best boys are the ones who care and 2-rich people assume poor people steal. Both are important messages, I won't deny it, but they were surface messages--nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering. Plus, they weren't shown through action, they came up a few times in conversation. I often prefer showing instead of telling (like all the high school English teachers I've ever had). Though, this is a preference I have, and not something that's certain for everyone.

As for the characters, we have Gwen, who does some fairly questionable things, such as making out with her boyfriend when she should be watching an elderly woman. Personally, that would not be the decision I would make, but you do you, Gwen. Cassidy, however, I do have a bit of a soft spot for. I'm not quite sure why he's still friends with that guy (the one whose name has left my memory) because he's not exactly nice and he treated Gwen horribly. Ditch the negative energies in your lives, guys, it'll be worth it. Nic and his girlfriend (Gwen's best friend, whose name I also cannot remember, oops) were adorable and I do kind of love that they showed the troubles of teenage relationships. However, I found this took too much of a sideline that it felt tacked on and confusing. The family aspect was rather interesting, but her father played a confusing negative role. I wasn't sure why this was and it was never really clarified. He just seemed really angry at essentially nothing and it came out of nowhere. Did I miss something?

In the end, this book was also far too long. Contemporaries shouldn't breach 350 pages, really, because the author runs out of material. A lot of this could have been trimmed down to make it a much simpler and sweet novel. It started to drag a lot toward the end, especially when I couldn't tell what was a flashback and what was present time. 

Lastly, Huntley Fitzpatricks's writing felt somewhat immature at times, such as when she wrote "didja" instead of "did you" to give more dialect to the speech. Maybe this is just me, but I can't stand when authors try to make the dialogue more phonetic. It doesn't flow and just looks awkward. 

I think, to be fair, that I am not made for romance novels. I cringe at Hallmark movies and laugh when teenagers (even though I'm one myself) think their love will last forever. I'm too much of a realist for fluff. Thus, I recommend not taking my opinion on this book as the sure thing because chances are, if you like romance, you'll like this. 

-Book Hugger

http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

Okay...this was disappointing, especially considering I love myself a good mystery and my mom and grandma hyped this one up so big.

Disappointments/Qualms:
-Kinsey called a twelve year-old boy's lips being open sexual. Stop sexualizing children. Please.
-The relationship/"romance" was insta-love and a huge nope from me. He was nice sometimes and also rather sexist others? Not to mention, the only consent was "groans". Like...ew.
-Waaaaaay too much going on. You can tell this is Sue Grafton's first because she tried to tackle far too much in one book. If it had been simplified, I probably would have liked this a lot more.
-Too many people died.
-I was confused.
-So confused.
-She described things too much. I do not need to know the color of the trees unless the trees murdered Laurence Fife.
-All of the men are pigs and disgusting.
-The ending was so abrupt and inconclusive. Maybe B is for Burglar will give some explanation but given these books aren't necessarily meant to be read in order, I kinda doubt it.

Approvals:
-I totally called it, but I didn't actually see that

there were multiple people at fault for the deaths

-It's set somewhat close to my home! It was kinda cool to see a, while made-up, city that resembled my own.
-It seemed to have more depth than other mysteries and I definitely liked that. It felt more mature, so yes!!
-I thought the whole part about Lyle and Libby Glass was rather creative...

Overall, I was disappointed, but still plan on reading B because I think her writing and plot's will only improve.

-Book Hugger

I'm having trouble putting into words how I feel about this book. It wasn't what I expected...at all. I'm glad Kiko grew by the end and realized she couldn't need Jamie. I'm glad she took time to come back to him. I think that was important and I'm glad it went there, acknowledged that everything else was unhealthy until then.

I just don't think I loved this book the way I wish I did. There was too much telling and not enough showing. It got really good toward the ending, but I still think this book tried to tackle too much and as a result, it didn't tackle any of its topics to their fullest potential. This book is the shell of what it could have been.

If you want to read about screwed up families, biracial families, healing and loving and living, I recommend Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng instead.

But in fairness, I think this story means a lot to some people, and fractions of it meant a lot to me, I just think that I could have connected more to it the way I did with other books.

I'm probably not going to write more of a review, just because I feel too emotionally fractured from it. Some parts felt too personal and writing a longer review would just break open pieces of myself.

The bottom line is: this book is important in its own way. I just think it could have been a lot more than it was.

-Book Hugger

While the whole novel is a three star read, the ending might just be close to five stars.

Review to come, I do hope.

-Book Hugger