Tag: book reviews

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 […]

End of Days by Susan Ee | Review

Posted June 10, 2015 in Reviews / 8 Comments

“Power is best held by the ones who don’t want it.” I’ve been meaning to write this review for weeks, but for some reason have been unable to fully form my thoughts about this book into coherent sentences (a strange occurrence for me, as it’s common for my reviews to easily be 1000+ words). I think the dilemma of being able to form a concrete opinion about this book stems from the fact that I was equal parts satisfied and disappointed by the way that Penryn and Raffe’s story ended, an odd juxtaposition of individual scenes I really enjoyed that […]

Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot | ARC Review

Posted June 1, 2015 in ARCs, Books, Reviews / 17 Comments

*Many thanks to HarperCollins for this review copy! This was one of my most anticipated books of 2015. There were literally squeals of happiness when I found out I was getting more of Mia’s story. And it did not disappoint. I was thrilled to have gotten an ARC of this at YALLWEST considering I was in the middle of an entire series re-read in preparation for the new installment. I was over the moon and rushed home and binge read the last few installments so I could get to this one. I had 100% faith in Meg Cabot that she’d […]

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler | ARC Review

Posted May 29, 2015 in Reviews / 16 Comments

* Thanks so much to Penguin Young Readers for this review copy! The synopsis for Immaculate is evocative, instantly grabbing readers’ attention with its contradictory premise- a pregnant virgin- and its undeniable mystery. From the instant I came across the synopsis I knew I had to read it, despite a hesitation about how the topic of immaculate conception would be handled. Would it be preachy? Would it be a religious book, or rather a mystery to uncover a scientific explanation by the end? Would it be an “issue” book about the hardships and stigmas of teen pregnancy? Immaculate draws bits […]

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler | ARC Review

Posted May 28, 2015 in Reviews / 10 Comments

*Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy! I love fairytale retellings and adaptations, so when I discovered that The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was a contemporary story influenced by The Little Mermaid, I knew I had to read it. Contemporary novels that take influence from myths and legends are often so creative, and I deeply admire Sarah Ockler’s talent at weaving in influences of the famous tale into a beautiful and emotional contemporary novel. This book had a lot more depth than I was expecting. At first glance it may seem like a fluffy, beach read but […]

Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu | ARC Review

Posted May 12, 2015 in Reviews / 2 Comments

Making Pretty captivated me by throwing a curve ball at me within the first 70 or so pages that I could not ignore; a plot twist so disturbing that I had to keep reading the book even though there were several things about it that did not work for me. So instead of DNF-ing it, I plowed through 300+ pages of seventeen year old Montana’s narrative to find myself at the end of it feeling a lot of things, though “liking” this book is unfortunately not one of them. While Haydu crafts a story with intensely messy family dynamics and […]

Just One Night by Gayle Forman | Mini Review

Posted April 27, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

“The truth and its opposite are flip sides of the same coin.” I’m so glad I was able to read this series when it was completed, because if not the wait for finding out how Willem and Allyson’s story concluded would have been excruciating. This novella is short and sweet, and finally gives life to that agonizing ending of both Just One Day and Just One Year when Allyson and Willem are finally reunited again. The narrative is told through a third person perspective, which is a little jarring since the previous books were narrated by either Allyson or Willem. […]

Princess on the Brink (#8) by Meg Cabot- Reread Mini Review

Posted April 24, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 3 Comments

*This review will contain spoilers. This is the installment in The Princess Diaries where all of the long standing tensions and plot points really implode. While a lot of readers may see this as a tragic ending to a lot of long-standing features of the series, I found it really refreshing. Sure, Mia’s neurosis is in full force in this book, and she acts pretty immature about certain things, but I actually think beneath Mia’s obsessing she has some really valid points. Mia is faced with the earth-shattering proposition at the beginning of the installment of being in a long-term […]

The Princess Diaries Reread: Volumes 6-7

Posted April 22, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

This is the second installment in my Princess Diaries Re-Read self-challenge in order to prepare for The Royal Wedding, which comes out in June! In this post I’ll be bundling my reviews for books 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, and 7.75 Princess in Training (6): This book kicks off Mia’s sophomore year, and centers around another one of Lily’s insane plots she drags Mia into (nominating her to be class president against her will…for Lily’s own benefit of course). While I actually liked the presidency plot because it was nice to see Mia grow into herself more and become more confident […]

Why I Still Read and Write Reviews

Posted April 15, 2015 in Discussions / 48 Comments

Lately there seems to be a consensus that review writing is sort of the “chore” aspect of running a book blog. People seem to think have to do it to be a blog, but it’s not the “fun” part of being a blogger. Many complain that review posts don’t drive as much engagement to their blog as features or discussions, or they feel that readers are more likely to skip them. It seems more bloggers are turning away from writing reviews or trying to find alternative formats for review writing. There’s nothing wrong with either of these approaches, or having […]