Category: Reviews

Proposal (Mediator #6.5) & Remembrance (Mediator #7) by Meg Cabot | Review

Posted April 18, 2016 in Reviews / 3 Comments

After the success of Royal Wedding (the adult sequel to the YA Princess Diaries series) I have been beyond excited for the new Mediator books. I ordered this novella as a physical paperback (it’s tiny!) and it reminded me of the days I used to buy the Princess Diaries novellas at the bookstore, before e-readers were really a common thing. I had been seriously slumping since I finished Queen of Shadows, so switching up genres to paranormal and revisiting some of my favorite characters from the past (not to mention one of my first book boyfriends) seemed like the perfect […]

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas | The Ultimate Book Hangover

Posted April 13, 2016 in Reviews / 7 Comments

“You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live.” It was only a few weeks ago that I was shouting from the rooftop (of my blog) about how much I loved Heir of Fire, and how the Throne of Glass series has come to shatter all of my preconceived notions of it after reading the first book. Now four books in, I have given each book that followed the first novel a solid 5 star rating. I am completely, devastatingly in love with this series, these characters, this universe, and anything Sarah J Maas writes in general. […]

When We Collided by Emery Lord | ARC Review

Posted April 4, 2016 in Reviews / 20 Comments

I found myself lucky enough to acquire a copy of When We Collided last summer at ALA, when I chatted with a lovely Bloomsbury representative who recommended it when I told her I was interested in heavier contemporaries. I had of course heard Emery Lord’s name due to the success of her first two YA novels, but I hadn’t had a chance to read her work yet. I decided I wanted to go in blind and have my ARC of When We Collided be my first experience with Lord’s work, so I wouldn’t have any preconceived notions or expectations about […]

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West | Review

Posted March 21, 2016 in Reviews / 4 Comments

The Distance Between Us came highly recommended to me after my first, rather lackluster, experience with a Kasie West novel, The Fill In Boyfriend. There seems to be a consensus that The Distance Between Us is the best of West’s contemporary novels, so I decided to assign it my “lunchtime read” at work (which is where I choose a short novel to keep in my desk and only read exclusively on work breaks). I didn’t go into the book with that many expectations, and found it to be a cute and quick read with some plot holes and characters who […]

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas | Review

Posted March 14, 2016 in Reviews / 13 Comments

“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.” I never thought I’d be a Sarah J Maas fangirl. I read Throne of Glass and was underwhelmed. I read Crown of Midnight, and it was shockingly good, but I was suspicious that it was more due to certain plot elements rather than an overall love for the series itself. However after I discovered my love affair with A Court of Thorns and Roses, I decided it was time to give the Throne of Glass series another chance to wow me. And wow me it […]

Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu | Review

Posted March 9, 2016 in Reviews / 6 Comments

*Many thanks to Macmillan and Brittany @ The Book Addict’s Guide for my copy of Devoted! Jennifer Mathieu has managed to write a stellar sophomore novel that, like her debut The Truth About Alice, provides a riveting view into a social issue that might make most uncomfortable to look too closely at. While The Truth About Alice focused on slut-shaming and bullying, Devoted addressed modern day religious fundamentalist communities, and as a religious studies major I have to applaud Mathieu’s handling of the topic. Devoted focuses on Rachel, a nearly 18 year old living in a Christian fundamentalist community (the […]

Book Buddies Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Posted February 24, 2016 in Book Buddies Reviews, Reviews / 2 Comments

Cristina and Lauren Read: Book Buddies is a discussion style review I participate in every other month with my friend Lauren who runs the blog Bookmarklit. We choose a themed book for the month, read it, and the have a discussion where we both discuss themes and aspects that really stood out to us. Book Buddy Reviews are posted during the last week of the month.You can see our review in a Q&A format with half posted here, and half on Lauren’s blog! 1) Throughout the book, the impression is given that “Old Alice,” the 29 year old version of […]

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton | In Which I Trust NO ONE

Posted February 22, 2016 in Reviews / 7 Comments

“The Sugar Plum Fairy has the farthest to fall.” Tiny Pretty Things had all of the makings of a book that I thought would greatly polarize me into the camp of loving it for its darkness and beauty or abhorring it for its drama and pettiness. While the novel definitely did both, I found Tiny Pretty Things to eventually win me over as a compulsively readable story that featured a form of art so often associated with beauty, delicacy, and primness and contrasted it with its harsh realities of its demands, pressures, and feats of athleticism. Charaipotra and Clayton built […]

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio | Review

Posted February 17, 2016 in Reviews / 8 Comments

“The biggest difference between boy and girls is how people treat them” None of the Above is one of those books that I had on my radar constantly in 2015, but never got around to reading for some inexplicable reason. When I saw that my close friend Lauren from Bookmarklit was reading it this month, I figured it was the perfect time to move it to the top of my TBR. I found it to be an incredibly fast and easy read to finish while in my wisdom teeth recovery, which focused on the issue of intersex with what seemed […]

The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong | A Psychological Thriller Worth the Anxiety

Posted February 8, 2016 in ARCs, Reviews / 5 Comments

In the YA genre, it’s rare that you get a thriller that’s grueling and graphic, one that makes you wince as you turn the page because you’re not quite sure what you’re going to encounter and how it’s going to affect you. Yet that’s exactly what The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong offers. It’s a story that isn’t bound by genre in it’s realistic portrayal of the realities of a hostage situation, and doesn’t sugar coat the fate of most of its characters. While I times it may be an intense read, I am always one to appreciate when a […]