REVIEW: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Publication Date: July 26, 2016

Publisher: Point Publishing 
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer 

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble


My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Signed, sealed, delivered . . .
While zoning out in Chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk, and added a message to her.

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters— sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery, and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out . . .

I cannot stress enough how much I absolutely loooovvveeeedddd this book!! I went in with high expectations because I heard so many great things about this author and this book and let me just tell you, I was not let down! I literally could not put this book down and I was so sad when it ended because it was over (even though it was the happiest of endings and so perfectly written I couldn't have pictured it any better.) Plus, don't even get me started on the poems/lyrics. Everything was so brilliant and perfect, my heart was on overdrive in the feels department.

Lily writes. She writes a lot. While in her chemistry class, her teacher takes away her notebook and demands to see her notes at the end of each class in an attempt to get her to focus only on her class notes. Well this doesn't have the effect he was hoping for because she soon begins writing messages and letters back and forth with another student who sits in her seat during a different class period. She finds herself falling in love with the person writing the letters and begins her journey to find out who that person is. 

Unlike many other books, I loved how we didn't have to wait until the end of the book for the big reveal of who Lily's pen pal was. We found out about half way through the book and had to go through the same worries and fears that Lily had to go through to figure out how she should handle it. All while still having a chance to fall more and more in love with the pen pal along the way. I think Kasie West did such an incredible job with slowly revealing to us the writer all the while dropping little easter eggs about who it was. This kept me feeling 100% connected and invested in the story.

Overall, I think Kasie West did an amazing job with this story and I can't wait to binge all of her other books because I am officially in love with her writing. If this book isn't on your TBR--It needs to be!

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1) by Katie McGarry

Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1) by Katie McGarry
Publication Date: May 26, 2015

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: ARC received from Publisher
Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

*This book was received from the publisher, but it did not influence this review in any way 

 My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father--the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent--but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're...family. And while Emily--the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member--is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

 I have to admit that i'm new to the Katie McGarry fan club...but i'm definitely in it for the long haul. Nowhere But Here was so beautifully written, that i'm officially adoring Katie McGarry. It's rare when an author can make a 500-page book feel like it's not 500 pages, but Katie McGarry did just that. The pacing of the story and events was perfect and reading this book just flows so naturally. I love that her writing has that effect.

We start out meeting seventeen-year-old Emily, who hasn't seen her biological family for years. After getting news that a family member has passed, Emily's mother decides that she wants to go to pay her respects and she wants Emily to do the same. Nobody wants to avoid this trip more than Emily, but she knows there's no convincing her mother to change her mind. Once they arrive, certain truths are revealed and the story begins with Emily having to stay a bit longer than she expected.

I loved the characters in the story so much but I have to admit that in the beginning I hated Emily's father, Eli. I just couldn't understand why he had so many secrets and what it was he was trying so hard to hide from Emily. After learning the truth about everything, it became clear to me that he truly did love his daughter, he just couldnt allow himself to show it so much.

There were SO many feels in this book. The chemistry between Oz and Emily was so deliciously yummy that I couldn't stand it. And I love that it didnt seem forced. They actually couldn't stand each other in the beginning and then they slowly ended up liking each other. And OHMAGOD those kissing scenes. I mean seriously, it was so yummy! Oz is seriously swoony!!! I love his loyalty and fierce sense of protection to Emily. And I LOVED that it was about a motorcycle club. Something about that was so sexy and exciting. I feel like i've missed my whole life knowing about this lifestyle and I need to find my way to be a part of it. It's an obsession, but i'm working on it.

So overall, I really loved this book and I can't wait for the rest of you to read it and love it as much as I do!!

GIVEAWAY:

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REVIEW: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor 

Publication Date: September 27, 2011

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Guest Reviewer: Doris aka La Chiquita

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she's prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When a beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

What is in a wish? We do it every day without giving it a second thought. I wish this traffic would clear up. I wish the speaker would just finish the presentation. I wish I hadn’t worn the same ugly sweater as my arch nemesis (who has those any more).I wish I was taller, skinnier, tanner, lighter, prettier, less intimidating, more aggressive. What if you found out that for the price of a few teeth these desires as small or large as you’d like could come true?         In the world Karou lives these thoughts are not fiction but stone cold truths, and though she cannot tell anyone about them directly, the two worlds find a way of meeting.

               

Karou is a slight teen with vibrant light blue hair who is on her way to art school for the day. In her messenger bag is one in a long series of sketchbooks she has collected that as soon as she gets to school will be viewed and looked over as just an extension of Karou’s imagination. Little do the observers know that within those pages there are sketches of real events, real traders bringing teeth for wishes and real creatures called chimera bargaining the wishes. So far Karou hides the truth in plain sight by ending her tales in a sly smile none are the wiser. Well that is until we meet Akiva.

              

I want you to imagine a tall handsome tan black hair muscular warrior. Got that image yet? Don’t worry I’ll wait. Now add tiger flame eyes and big 12 foot span of wings that are on fire; that my dear reader is Akiva. He’s the bastard son of the emperor and bad-ass member of the don’t- fuck-with-me club. Akiva comes to earth to hunt down the portals that the wishmonger uses to get his supply of teeth. Once a portal is found Akiva places his hand on the door and marks it to be burned later. Long Akiva has been waiting for this moment to come where he will exact his revenge on the very monster who has sustained the war that has taken Akiva’s love away from him 18 years ago. Driven by vengeance and empty to any remorse Akiva is confident that with the help of his brother Hazael and sister Liraz. The thousand year war between chimera and angel will soon come to a close.

               

Laini Taylor makes you root for both sides. That is until her little secrets start unraveling and you have that final AH-HA moment. Since the story is written in third person you are able to see understand the perspective of both main characters and the story couldn’t be layered better. You fall in love with the chimera because to Karou they are her family and all she knows. Then you get Akiva’s side of things and suddenly you’re wondering who is right? Who is the actual good guy? It really brings to life the adage that the right side is the side you’re on. This story is unique in that it also brings into the world the idea of the never ending soul. Karou, through the help of Akiva, finds out how she came to live with the chimera and why she feels this magnetic pull to this angry hostile angel.

              
Oh yes reader! In this tale the romance is HEAVY. Not Fabio hair in the wind heavy, but makes you want to cry heavy. The love story is one that quite literally has with stood decades to become once again and has been fought for by at least one person to be kept alive. Not that the other person hadn’t fought for it. It was just she didn’t know she was. Daughter of smoke and bone was a really good read. I laughed, I conspired, and I wanted nothing more than to get the second book ASAP once it was completed. I recommend this book for the fantasy lover since it really does incorporate two worlds really well.

REVIEW: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Guest Reviewer: Doris C. AKA La Chiquita

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The capital has fallen.

The Darling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction-and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she's fighting for.

She reached for the walls to stable her from the run. She opened her eyes expecting to find rubble at her feet and smell the thick air in the tunnels. Little did she know that she would be safe on her reading knook and only a crick in her neck to tell her of the length of time that has passed. Despair slowly set in as she remembered the chase. The feeling of loss as her heroine swam in and out of consciences and the fear that in the end the villain22 was not destroyed. No one is safe. All she can do is close her eyes shake off her feels and pick up the final chapter. Pouring herself a strong glass of wine and walking off the last bit of anxiety she turns her eyes on the cover of Ruin and Rising and dives into the end with no hopes for a life line but all expectations that she will survive. 

Can I start this off with a I just HATE the Apparat!! WTF can you make someone more slimmy? He’s not even trying and you want to push him down one of the tunnels never to be heard from again. I also was not a fan of the St Alina cult. I get the desperation to believe in something but even Mal takes a sip of the kool aid and at that I just want to scream. I’m with Alina, she is far from saintly but even if she is her place is not in the tunnels hiding but out there repairing the damage she has left behind.

By now you have either read the series or have been hiding under a rock because after reading book 1&2 how could you have waited not to read and digest book 3? I have a few confessions. #1 I don’t want Mal and Alina together. I am rooting for Stormhond! I know this is just in my mind but a girl can dream can I not? #2 I want the darkling to be killed by his mother #3 I want Toyla and Zoya to hook up #4 if I was in the compound I would have killed the king after Genya’s confession.   

The book opens up with Alina saved from the tragic destruction of the chapel and hidden under the city of Os Alta under the thumb of the apparat, with her is her team of Grisha and Mal at the ready. All of them are devoted to get her out of the tunnels and reunited with Stormhond who they assumed survived the attack and is just buying his time to bring down the darkling.

 I find myself wanting Alina to be able to do more with her power than lighting up a room and cutting things. I mean she can yield heavenly fire… shouldn’t she be able to burn things or bring life or take life at will? I feel like Leigh made her out to be one big light bulb. Where as the darkling has no limits. He is just full of surprises. Don’t get me wrong in book 3 we find out that the connection that draws the darkling to Alina can be used by Alina as well and of course the darkling has had more time to practice his limits but Alina should really be given a learning curve.

The love between Alina and Mal takes a turn too. Mal is desperate to keep his distance because he is convinced that Alina is meant to for so much more than he can offer. Where in book 2 we see him resigned to his role as guardian in this one hes just not there. Alina on the other hand has never been more in love with Mal than before. She knows that the choice she has to make is pretty much already made for her and she just has to find peace with it now. With that peace is the knowledge that this drive for power could be the very thing that waltz her back into the capable hands of the darkling.

He is too ready for that to be the case. The story faces a lot of what should be and what actually is. Each character has their own rendition of how this should play out. Alina wants all the amplifiers with hopes that all three of them will give her the advantage she needs to bring the darkling down. Mal wants Alina safe and feels he has to close off his feelings to protect her and serve his purpose of finding the amplifiers for her. The darkling wants Alina to stop playing saint and help him bring Ravka into the new world where he is king and the Grisha are no longer hunted but respected. Can we all just get along? Well in this world the answer is no… no we can’t.

The end to this story is lack luster. I will admit that I didn’t see it coming. I thought it would be bells and whistles and lots and lots of hope for the future but it wasn’t. It has a very simple ending and we find that the end is very much like the beginning. I did not have a book hangover on this trilogy but I appreciated the journey very much. In true form Leigh never let us believe that it would end in other way than it did. For all things in the end cannot be all powerful. Fears are faced, weaknesses strengthened and friendships are reinforced. In my heart Alina will shine as bright as the morning star, Mal will run free as Morosovas stag, the darkling will have his peace with his past, and Stormhond will fly with his wings spread through the world.  

REVIEW: Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Publication Date: June 4, 2013

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Guest Reviewer: Doris C. AKA La Chiquita

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk everything to the oncoming storm.

The girl could feel her heart beating again. She knew such books existed that could transport you but she never thought she would find one so soon. She placed her hand on the cover of the new book and closed her eyes to feels the pulse given off from the ink within. The characters called to her from the shores of unexplored lands and begged her to turn the cover and return to them. She knew this was crazy. How can she be so involved with lives that never took in a breath? Share dreams with a heroine that she knew so little of? And hope with all her strength that this tale would come to a happy ending even though she knew that no such thing could possible exist. Even though her brain told her it was just a simple tale, she drew in a deep breath and turned the page to read the tale of Siege and Storm.

Let take this moment to just draw in a deep breath because by the end of this book you would not have breath left. All thanks to the ever twisting plot and adventure that Leigh Bardugo puts us on. In the last book of Shadow and Bone our Alina and Mal are running for their lives and towards sunnier shores to start a new life away from the madness that has ensued in Ravka and the wrath of the Darkling. We start our tale on a boat as Alina and Mal cross the true sea.

Mal of course is being his usual best-at-everything self and just charming his way through crew and passing folly as our poor Alina is still the fly on the wall that would rather buzz on her own than let anyone into her world. I give her this if I was in her place I would be more worried with changing whatever I can about myself and not playing nice with the locals. I don’t want to give too much away but I will tell you NO ONE IS SAFE. Never let yourself fall into the false sense of maybe they will get away with this because the Darkling will have none of it.

In book two we are introduced to some of the most colorful characters that I can’t get over. We have the twins Toyla and Tamar, Stormhound, a fun loving crew of bandits, some of the royal family and not to mention the grisha. As you read you will have your own favorites but know that all characters show more of who they are and where their alliances lean towards. Of course never let yourself fall into the knowledge that you know who is who to whom. Leigh as always loves to play with your feels and you must keep them guarded or you will find yourself at the bottom of the tissue box before you know what hit you.

This book though faster moving than the first one has a lot of the meat of the story that we didn’t really get a chance at in book 1. We see more of the relationship between the two armies and the real extent of the Darkling's reach through out Ravka. Also we see the extent of the relationship between Alina and Mal. Though now it is out and in the open how they feel, they have to make really strong decisions about their feelings and not soley base those decisions on the well being of each other but the well being of Ravka. Mal grows up a lot and comes to a realization that I am still not sure that at the time Alina was ready for. Through thick and thin those two have always had each other and now they are faced with should that even matter or should they hold what is best in the end.

The roller coaster ride just never stops with these books. There are politics, romance, and constant humor that you cant get over and really brings home the emotions of the tale. You start questioning your own perception of the tale and whether how you want it to end really is the way you would want it to end. The whole book is just one decision away from just everything blowing up and you cant  help but want it to blow up just so you can see how it would be written. 

FAVORITE FRIDAY (#2)~ The Well's End (The Well's End #1) by Seth Fishman

Have a favorite book? Series? One that you've just read or are currently reading? Favorite Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Books and Swoons where they spotlight some of their favorite reads. Everyone is welcome to join. Just enter your information on their linky or leave them a comment.

This week's Favorite Read is:

The Well's End (The Well's End #1) by Seth Fishman

Release Date: February 25, 2014

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Synopsis:

Half a world away, the Chinese military has a target list of ten US cities in case of war. Most are obvious (DC, NY, LA) and some a little less so (Atlanta for instance has the CDC)…but one is an absolute mystery: Fenton, Colorado. Unfortunately for her, sixteen-year-old Mia Kish is about to find out what makes Fenton so special when emergency sirens start blaring and ritzy Westbrook Academy is out on lockdown. No students in or out until otherwise notified. For the rich boarders whose homes are safely states away, their concerns are missed vacations and trips home, but for the handful of townies, like Mia and her friends Jo and Rob, there’s no escaping the danger.

The situation becomes dire when students and faculty are stricken with a strange illness that ages them years in a matter of hours, the end result death, seemingly from old age. No one knows what to do, but Mia and her friends are not just going to sit there while their parents might be in mortal danger. They escape the school grounds in search of a cure and answers; answers they hope to find in the sealed off mountain bunker where her father supposedly runs Fenton Tech. but along the way, they discover that the military presence is not what it seems, and that the long buried secret of Fenton is a fabled object of myth and legend that may actually exist deep within the earth below. 

Why it's one of my Favorite Reads:

It took my totally by surprise! I mean the synopsis (as usual) is pretty far off from the book so I just never imagined that I would like it as much as I did. This book is definitely a top 10 for me...and the author confirmed there will be a second book so i'm really excited about that!

What's YOUR Favorite Book? Stop by Books and Swoons to share yours :)