ARC Book Review: Far From Normal by Becky Wallace

September 22, 2020July 29, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 240 pages
Author: Becky Wallace
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: September 22nd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Stealing Home author Becky Wallace comes a Devil Wears Prada-inspired YA romance, in which “normal girl” Maddie must repair the image of Major League Soccer’s bad boy to ace her internship. A perfect read for fans of Morgan Matson and Miranda Kenneally.

Maddie McPherson is sick of Normal—both her hometown of Normal, Illinois and being the ‘normal’ sibling. But when she lands a summer internship with a sports marketing firm, she finally has a chance to crawl out of her genius brother’s shadow. Not to mention, a glowing letter of recommendation could secure her admission to her dream college.

But Maddie’s nickname is “CalaMaddie” for a reason, and when the company tasks her with repairing the image of teen soccer phenom Gabriel Fortunato, she wonders if she’s set herself up for embarrassment. Gabriel is a tabloid magnet, who’s best-known for flubbing Italy’s World Cup hopes. As Maddie works with him to develop “pleasant and friendly” content for social media, she also learns he’s thoughtful, multi-talented, and fiercely loyal—maybe even to a fault. Falling for a footballer is exactly how CalaMaddie would botch this internship, but with the firm pressuring her to get the job done, perhaps her heart is worth risking?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

UTTERLY ADORABLE.

I basically read this in one sitting because of how flippin’ precious it was. I was completely smitten with this book and am going to sing its praises in this review.

Originally concerned about the length (under 300 pages), I didn’t know what to expect for my first book by Wallace. BLOWN AWAY sounds about right now. I found this quick, fast-paced young adult rom-com exactly what I needed at the time and had me grinning and laughing throughout. Don’t let the length deter you, this is an absolute gem.

Madeline was a great main character. She was under some intense pressure from multiple forces in her life and at only 17! I liked the way she handled herself, but also still felt like a teenager. It was a great combination that made me feel for and understand Madeline’s motives.

Now the precious soccer player, Gabe? I am SO HERE FOR bad boys with a heart of gold. I’m easy to please when it comes to books with this nature. Gabe and Madeline’s relationship moved well and the pace was steady and absolutely sweet. I love the little dates they went on and the support they were both giving each other.

I love the Devil Wears Prada aspects and started to see them more after I finished it when I sat there unable to think about anything else. There’s plenty of allusions that are fun and quirky that make me think this should be a movie, and that I also need to re-watch TDWP.

AH. I am just in love with this book. Think its the perfect, sweet, YA rom-com you should definitely read if you’re even the tiny bit curious. I can’t wait to read more books from her!

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: bike crash

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Book Review: Moment of Truth (Love, Life and the List #3) by Kasie West

September 3, 2020April 13, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

At sixteen, Hadley Moore knows exactly who she is—a swimmer who will earn a scholarship to college. Totally worth all the hard work, even if her aching shoulders don’t agree. So when a guy dressed as Hollywood’s latest action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet, she isn’t amused. Instead, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t bother her again. Only she’s not sure exactly who he is.

The swim meet isn’t the first event the imposter has interrupted, but a little digging turns up a surprising number of people who could be Heath Hall, including Hadley’s ex-boyfriend and her best friend’s crush. She soon finds herself getting caught up in the mysterious world of the fake Heath Hall.

As Hadley gets closer to uncovering the masked boy’s identity she also discovers some uncomfortable truths about herself—like she might resent the long shadow her late brother has cast over her family, that she isn’t as happy as she pretends to be with her life choices… and that she is falling for the last guy she ever thought she would like.

ADDED TO THE LIST OF FAVS.

P.S. I Like You is without a doubt, my favorite book of Kasie Wests’. I’ve already accepted I don’t think any of her other ones are going to come close. Moment of Truth is the closest I’ve read so far.

I connected a lot better with this MC, Hadley. I sometimes find Wests’s main characters to be way to naive and *high school* for me. Hadley, while definitely not perfect, was much easier to appreciate and enjoy as her character grew over the book. Her selfish, very competitive nature gave way to letting some walls down and understanding why she was struggling. Not to mention, Hadley’s best friend Amelia. I am always excited when I see a strong female friendship in a book. One that doesn’t need unnecessary drama. It was about being a good friend in tough times and lightening the mood when needed. Amelia brought that ten-fold.

There was yet again, another great bookish boy. Jackson Hall was utterly adorable. I looooved his personality, his go with the flow nature, and the deep heartache he felt for not knowing what he wants to do with his life (and I felt that because, dang, if we’re not the same person). The chemistry between Hadley and Jackson was cute. The best kind of high school rom-com. Not immediate attraction, but a gradual progression of just being there as a friend gave way to a dynamite ending.

This hit one some hard subjects, and I’m glad a resolution was made for Hadley’s parents. I can’t speak to that kind of pain, but letting grief take over is hard to recognize, and sometimes harder to overcome. As usual, Kasie West delivers an adorable story while hitting on some tougher subject matter.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult contemporary romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger warnings: loss of a loved one

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Book Review: More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost #2) by Brigid Kemmerer

August 5, 2020March 26, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult contemporary romance
Length: 410 pages
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: March 6th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay…until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid.

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling.

FEEL LIKE I’VE BEEN GUT PUNCHED.

This was one of those books where you ask yourself, why did I let it sing for so long on my shelves? I adored it. Even when it hurt my soul.

I loooove Rev and Emma together. They were adorable and so very sweet. Everything was slow and a high school romance that made sense for the story line (which always makes a book ten times better). I like how even when conflict arose there was still a chance for apologies and forgiveness. This all just felt real.

Emma struggled in this book. I went from liking her, to being annoyed, and back and forth. While everything was dramatized, I also could feel how this was a high school girl going through an awful situation (that I’ve dealt with too). So I really couldn’t fault her for her actions, because I also got to see Emma grow and evolve as the book progressed. She wasn’t a perfect character, which made her a great character.

Rev had my heart and soul. I wanted to follow him around and hug him. He needs all the hugs. I loved watching him grow over this book too. He and Emma had great arcs as they grappled with what was before them. Heavy on the drama, yet very easy to be involved and loving the drama.

This book read quickly. I finished this a lot faster than I thought [which was totally fine with me]. The story flowed up and down with a bit of action and quiet moments. I thought the ending wrapped up nicely and I really enjoyed getting to see Declan again.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult contemporary romance
Language: a little strong and vulgar
Romance: kisses
Violence: physical
Trigger warnings: cyber bullying, extreme child abuse, PTSD, sexual abuse, attempted kidnapping

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Book Review: Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

July 27, 2020March 21, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary
Length: 336 pages
Author: Emma Mills
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Release Date: January 14th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When Nina decides to take a radio broadcasting class her senior year, she expects it to be a walk in the park. Instead, it’s a complete disaster.

The members of Nina’s haphazardly formed radio team have approximately nothing in common. And to maximize the awkwardness her group includes Jamie, a childhood friend she’d hoped to basically avoid for the rest of her life.

The show is a mess, internet rumors threaten to bring the wrath of two fandoms down on their heads, and to top it all off Nina’s family is on the brink of some major upheaval.

Everything feels like it’s spiraling out of control―but maybe control is overrated?

With the warmth, wit, intimate friendships, and heart-melting romance she brings to all her books, Emma Mills crafts a story about believing in yourself, owning your mistakes, and trusting in human connection in Lucky Caller.

NOT FEELING LUCKY.

This book let me down in a big way. It’s been awhile since I gave a two-star review because I had a hard time finding things I enjoyed about it. Lucky Caller was overall nothing I expected, and nothing I wanted.

Everything was cringe worthy, awkward, and stilted. The main character, her love interest, side characters, the plot, everything. I don’t feel like anything flowed that well and was extremely choppy. I’m usually a fan of short chapters. These chapters felt like each one was only ONE tiny scene and it was weird. Granted, it made for a very quick read (of which I was happy for), but that’s it.

There was also a portion of the book dedicated to a made-up kids game that Nina, Jamie and her sisters used to play together. I didn’t care one moment about this. I felt it brought it down and made it more juvenile. The background story as to why Nina and Jamie were continually so awkward could have been written out differently.

I don’t really want to raze on this more, it just wasn’t a match for me this time. Which I’m sad about because this gorgeous cover and cute synopsis had dragged me in.

Overall audience notes: