Tag: kasie west

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2020

GoodeyReads2 Comments

Does March feel like it’s been going on forever? Even more than January? While practicing social distancing for the last 2+ weeks, I honestly haven’t seen the inside of anything but my house. Hence, a lot of reading happened.

A lot.

I broke my monthly record and it 26 books in never-ending March. Unfortunately, I also dolled out more 2 stars than I ever have too. But you win some, you lose some! Still plenty of good reads.

My favorites this month: House of Earth and Blood (NO SURPRISE), Undercover Bromance, Dragonfly in Amber, Until it Fades, The Giver of Stars, A Voice in the Wind, and Aurora Rising.

My least favorites this month: Five Dark Fates, Lucky Caller, Of Curses and Kisses and The Stars We Steal

Reviews will be out in the coming months!

  • [ARC] A Temporary Boyfriend (The Fake Love Series #2) by Summer Dowell – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Windwitch (The Witchlands #2) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Heart of Flames (Crown of Feathers #2) by Nicki Pau Preto – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Harvest (Call of the Sirens #1) by K.B. Benson – (☆☆☆)
  • House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Kay Adams – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake – (☆☆ 1/2)
  • On the Fence by Kasie West – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • [ARC] More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Bloodwitch (The Witchlands #3) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Until it Fades by K.A. Tucker – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Maybe This Time by Kasie West – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion #1) by Francine Rivers – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • Lucky Caller by Emma Mills – (☆☆)
  • Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1) by Sandhya Menon – (☆☆)
  • More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost #2) by Brigid Kemmerer – (☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Don’t Go Stealing My Heart by Kelly Siskind – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • [Re-read] Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Neighbors Like That (A Love Like This #1) by Carina Taylor – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • When You Ask Me Where I’m Going by Jasmin Kaur – (☆☆☆)
  • The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. #4) by Jonathan Stroud – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Dreamland by Sarah Dessen – (☆☆☆☆)

How did your month of reading go? Did we read any of the same books? Lets talk in the comments!

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review: Fame, Fate and the First Kiss (Love, Life, and the List #2) by Kasie West

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA contemporary romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 5th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Fan favorite author Kasie West delivers an effervescent story about chasing your dreams and following your heart, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.

But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.

As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.

With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

CUTE, BUT EH.

This was my first Kasie West book y’all. I feel I could have chosen better. This was a case of an audio book being available and I now realize my mistake. NOT enough to turn me off of picking up another West book, but to be more picky about it.

Audio notes: The narrator was fine, the only thing I didn’t love was that I felt she really played on the younger voice for the MC. Which in turn made me not love her as much. It made Lacy seem really young, rather than almost 18.

This was a cute young adult rom-com. Nothing flashy, nothing crazy, just a simple read. I did enjoy it. I was looking for more though. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something was missing.

I didn’t love Lacy as an MC. She did get better over time, it took a long time to get there though. Lacy was naive and purposely difficult while also trying to be everyone’s friend. It was an odd combo. I think Donovan in the picture helped her out. I did really love him (as I do usually prefer the book boyfriend). He was sweet, charming, and way more down to earth. I did love that this was a clean and young audience friendly romance. Some tender kisses was all this book needed to be pleasant.

Between each chapter were scenes from the movie Lacy was recording and I thought by the end I would understand why there were there…nope. Purely to add pages in my mind. I didn’t think they added anything other than us knowing what the movie was about, but it never pertained to the story. It would take me out of the real story every time it went to those scenes.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: some kisses
  • Trigger warnings: I felt like Lacy had an unhealthy relationship with food, a few sentences in there made me cringe about how she viewed food, this didn’t over take the book in anyway, just something I noticed

Instagram || Goodreads

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up!: February 2020

GoodeyReads2 Comments

FEBRUARY.

What a month. I read so much romance. Not even sorry. I love reading romance. It’s so good.

I also re-read FOUR books. This is a whole new world for me. I maybe re-read one book in a month and I got sucked in by some of my favorites and it was fantastic.

It was a solid mix of 3 stars and higher. Got through some big books, and really enjoyed February as a whole. I’m excited for March where I’ll be reading some BIG books!

I linked the reviews that have been posted. The other reviews will be out in May/June!

  • Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C. Cherry – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • A Temporary Marriage (The Fake Love Series #1) by Summer Dowell – (☆☆☆☆)
  • [Re-read] A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon – (☆☆☆☆)
  • [Re-read] The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • A Heart so Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kemmerer – (☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [Re-read] The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • P.S. I Like You by Kasie West – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Fallen Kingdom (The Falconer #3) by Elizabeth May – (☆☆☆)
  • [Re-read] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen) – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi – (☆☆☆)
  • All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Fine Art of Falling in Love by Ashley Shepherd – (☆☆☆☆)
  • Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
  • [Graphic Novel] Wires and Nerves (Wires and Nerves #1) by Marissa Meyer – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Dragons of Nova (Loom Saga #2) by Elise Kova – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • [Graphic Novel] Gone Rogue (Wires and Nerves #2) by Marissa Meyer – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Defiant (The Valiant #2) by Lesley Livingston – (☆☆☆☆)
  • The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen – (☆☆☆☆☆)
  • [ARC] Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett – undecided, will finish this on the 29th

Favorites this month: ACOWAR, Outlander, The Winner’s Crime and Kiss, Wild at Heart, The Bridge Kingdom and The Traitor Queen

Least favorites: A Heart so Fierce and Broken, The Fallen Kingdom and Emergency Contact

Instagram || Goodreads