Format: Hardcover

To All The Books I Neglected to Review…

Posted December 28, 2015 in Reviews / 19 Comments

I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me. Life just got in the way and I forgot to flesh out my thoughts about you, with fingers to keyboard. With 2015 coming to a close, I realized I absolutely could not allow the new year to dawn without writing at least a mini review for you. Some of you were great, and some of you left much to be desired, but your lack of a previous review was due to my own frenzied schedule. I am now doing you your due diligence and letting the world know what I thought. I’m actually […]

An Unpopular Opinion on Winter by Marissa Meyer | Review

Posted December 21, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 30 Comments

I am an outlier. A black sheep. The reader who seemed to have missed the memo that this was an amazing, flawless, work of utter perfection. So I’m going to start with a disclaimer: I love Marissa Meyer. I’ve met her twice. I think her skill at writing fairy tale retellings is magnificent. Her characters have depth and feel like my own friends. I coveted the release of Winter. I dragged myself to Barnes & Noble after an eleven hour work day to buy it in person to ensure that I received a copy that was in pristine condition. And […]

Nantucket Red by Leila Howland | Review

Posted November 4, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

My Review There’s something about Leila Howland’s writing that makes it compulsively readable among the huge selection of YA contemporaries on the market today. I think it’s due to a combination of the dreamy, beachy setting of Nantucket along with her willingness to go just a little farther than other YA authors in her heavier content, from sex to grief to bullying. There’s a rawness around Cricket’s experiences that makes the narrative hit home a little more without compromising its status as a fun, beachy read. The first thing that I, (and many other reviewers, I’m sure), have to bring […]

Book Buddies Review: Nantucket Blue

Posted September 3, 2015 in Book Buddies Reviews, Reviews / 3 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) How big of an impact did the romance aspect of the book have one you? […]

The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski | Mini Review

Posted July 27, 2015 in Reviews / 11 Comments

“If you won’t be my friend, you’ll regret being my enemy.” This book took me a month and a half to read, and another month to muster up the motivation to write a review. If you know me, you know this amount of time and procrastination is unusual; however, my feelings for this book ended up being so completely opposite what I thought there were going to be that I dreaded revisiting them during the review-writing process. Don’t get me wrong, this novel was filled with Rutkoski’s beautiful writing style and lyrical way of describing everything from settings to emotions. […]

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia | Review

Posted July 22, 2015 in Reviews / 6 Comments

“There is no force in high school more powerful than one person’s blunt disagreement.” Made You Up was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year. I envied those who won ARCs of it at YALLWEST, and read many, many reviews raving about the story. However, I found that this novel was another victim of hype. While Alex’s story and disease captivated me, the plot, setting and circumstances were often so absurd and caricaturized that I found it hard to follow along. It’s no spoiler to mention that Alex has schizophrenia; it’s one of the major plot points […]

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan | Review

Posted July 15, 2015 in Reviews / 9 Comments

“A wave of intense happiness washed over me, and I told myself to carry this moment as a talisman of a time in my life when I was both truly content and lucky enough to realize it.” Do you like reading about royalty? Do you like witty, edgy, sometimes bordering on scandalous humor? Are you completely and unapologetically fascinated by the idea of a commoner and a monarch, an average person and a celebrity? If so, The Royal We is the perfect transcontinental novel for you, and you should be ordering it ASAP whether it’s delivered to you by USPS […]

Book Buddies Review: Even in Paradise

Posted June 22, 2015 in Book Buddies Reviews, Reviews / 4 Comments

Cristina & 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)Did the Buchanans charm you? Do you think the author achieved the desired effect of making them a […]

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen | Review

Posted June 12, 2015 in Reviews / 19 Comments

“You only really fall apart in front of the people you know can piece you back together.” If you’re an avid reader of YA, it’s no secret that Sarah Dessen is considered by many to be the Queen of Contemporary Summer Novels. I read a lot of Sarah’s work back when I was in middle school and high school, long before I started blogging, and I always appreciated the subtlety with which she wrote, while still making an impact with her plot lines and characters. I picked up Sarah’s newest book, Saint Anything, and though it’s been years since I […]

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas | Review

Posted May 13, 2015 in Reviews / 24 Comments

“I threw myself into that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn.” How do I possibly count the ways in which I ADORED this book? I finished it about 24 hours ago, and I have been unable to do anything productive. I have picked up the book again at least 3 times since then to flip through it and reread my favorite parts. I am a book-hangover mess. Once in a while I’ll claim in a review that a book was “My favorite in X genre for this year” or “The best at dealing with X […]