Goodbye Days (Jeff Zentner)

March 31, 2017March 30, 201710 Comments

Can a text message destroy your life?

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths.

Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?

HEY!!! I read this book as a buddy read with Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Kat @Life and Other Disasters. Check out Kat’s review HERE.

I’m not sure how to go about reviewing this book, so I’ll try to keep it simple and on point, ok? First of, this was my first Zentner book, I still haven’t read The Serpent King, but Kat had loved it so much, that I ended up requesting this book from Netgalley, and I’m not sorry at all. I really liked Goodbye Days.

I actually loved the writing and Carver’s voice throughout the book. Carver is an amazing character, I loved this guy and the way the story was told. Even throughout all his pain, grief, guilt and fear, Carver was still a very funny and relatable character. That’s not to say that he didn’t have his bad moments, but he read like a 17 yo boy, and I loved him. Still, this book felt super slow for me for some reason, maybe I was just in the right mood for it, …

Either way, I really liked the premise and the plot. Grief and guilt are such complicated emotions, and I thought it was dealt with super well here. It sure as hell made me cry several times during the book. But I have to say that the “goodbye days” were weird at some points, and some parts were definitly not fair. But the thing is, it would have been impossible not to feel guilty on Carver’s shoes, and it’s also not fair to say that he’s blameless on this situation, but still, a lot of people put the blame solely on him – and I get it, he’s alive and the other are not – but from an outside perspective, it’s a tough pill to swallow.

I highly recommend this one, but be warned that this is a sad read, with heavy subjects, though the way they were dealt with didn’t make for a heavy book. Also, this book has such great elements of friendship and family, and those are always amazing to find in YA.

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Book That Relaxes Me

March 30, 20177 Comments

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Hello, welcome back to another Book Traveling Thursdays, which a weekly meme created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle @Danielle’s Book Blog. The goal is to share the covers of a book related to that week’s theme, which you can see at the Goodreads group, indicating the original cover, the one of your country, your favorite and least favorite.

This week’s theme is “It’s Take a Walk in the Park Day… choose a book that always relaxes you“. I loved Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and it definitly relaxed me while I was reading it 😀 .

Original COver:

I really like the original US cover.

COVER FROM MY COUNTRY (PORTUGAL) & COVER FROM THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN (SPAIN):

The book is still not out in Portugal, but it’s out in Spain and they kept the cover, and title is something like “I’ll die kissing Simon Snow“, eheh

FAVORITE COVER(s):

I love the original US cover, the new US paperback cover, and I think the Italian one is pretty cute too 😀 .

LEAST FAVORITE COVER(S):

My least favorite is definitly the UK cover.

WWW Wednesday: March 29th 2017

March 29, 201711 Comments

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @Taking On A World Of Words, where you have to answer these questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

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I’m reading Could You Love An Apple? by Becky Jerams and I’m hoping to finish it very soon, but this book is big, and it reads kind of slow…

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This week I finished Co-Wrecker by Meghan Quinn, Where I Belong by J. Daniels and Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner. This was a slow reading week…

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After I’ll probably read The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren and Twist by Kylie Scott.

Mack Daddy (Penelope Ward)

March 28, 20178 Comments

They called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for Mackenzie.

Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right?
So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen.

At the private school where I taught, Mack Morrison was the only man around in a sea of women.
Everyone wanted a piece of the hot single father of the sweet little boy. I was riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that — to me — he was much more.
They didn’t know about our past.
He’d chosen my school for his son on purpose, because Mack and I, we had unfinished business.

As my friend Lorelai so eloquently put it: “Unfinished business between two people who are clearly attracted to each other is like an eternal case of blue balls.” And I was suffering in pain from my case.

I was still intensely attracted to Mack. I tried to resist him, immersing myself further into a relationship with another man just to protect my heart.
Not to mention, getting involved with a parent was strictly against school rules. But seeing Mack day in and day out was breaking me down.

And soon I might be breaking all the rules.

Guys, I’m a sucker for single dads in books. It’s a problem! I see a guy in a book that has a kid, and I’m gonna love that book, almost guaranteed.

Once again, I really enjoyed Penelope Ward’s writing, I loved the dual POV on this book, and the different voices of the two main characters. Also, something that I felt was super well done, were the little flashbacks, that directly correlated to the events of the present.

This was a second chance romance, another trope that I’m a fan of. And this one was very well done, because of the connection between these characters in the past.

I really liked both Mack and Frankie. They had their priorities straight and weren’t deceitful. They are also both super fun, especially when together. But I had an issue on how, even though it was clear how in love with each other they were in both periods, they still took their time to actually be available for each other, even though I understood both their reservations.

I really really liked the connection between these two, the friendship and chemistry was evident, and very well explored. I also liked their relationships with Jonah, and I was happy when his relationship with Mack was stained, even though Mack did his best to connect with his child.

I also liked the plot, and it had a few elements that I didn’t see coming. It’s tough not to compare it to Egomaniac by Vi Keeland though… I did like that once they were together, they WERE TOGETHER.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. The only thing that didn’t completely work for me was the reason why they didn’t give in to each other before, but hey, that’s a personal opinion.

Blog Tour: Co-Wrecker (Meghan Quinn)

March 27, 2017March 27, 201711 Comments

We’re celebrating the release of CO-WRECKER by Meghan Quinn!

2017 NEW ADULT READING CHALLENGE | Book Set In the Summer

Goodreads | AMAZON | AMAZON UK | AMAZON CA

What do ice cream and Sadie Montgomery have in common? They’re both ice cold, but one taste is never enough.

I wanted to be friends — I would have even settled for her seeing me as anything but a nerd — but there was no getting through. So just like any hard-headed, red-blooded man out there, I made up my mind.

I’d make my coworker fall for me.

I’d like to say it was simple, but like every other epic love story, all it took was one drunken night and a lot of naked courage to get the girl. For a moment, at least.

Love with a coworker is never simple, especially since Sadie’s trying to keep us on the low. Not to mention her persistent ex-boyfriend who won’t leave her alone. But I’ve never been good at giving up, and I don’t plan to start now.

The whole thing is a recipe for a rocky road, but I plan to eat the whole gallon, no matter how bad the brain freeze.

I read this book as a buddy read with Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much, so go to her blog on the 30th to check her review of this book.

Guys, if you don’t know by now, shame on you, but I love Meghan Quinn’s books! And this one was no exception. I can always count on her writing to make me laugh like a crazy woman, even in the middle of the street. Co-Wrecker is told in dual POV, from Andrew and Sadie’s point of views, and both character have such distinct voices. The writing is witty and hilarious, even if some of Sadie’s chapters are a bit darker. AMAZING!

Andrew is without a doubt one of my favorites male main characters ever! He’s right up there with Hollis, eheh. I’m a sucker for hot nerds, and Andrew is definitly nerdy and he’s most certainly HOT. Also, he’s so much fun! He says the most absurd things and he cracked me up all the time.

Sadie was tougher to love, because she’s more reserved, and she also had a lot of bad stuff happening to her. But as she lightens up when she starts hanging out with Andrew, and her personality shines, it was impossible not to like her. She was sarcastic and self assured and she was the perfect complement for goofy Andrew.

The romance was pretty cool and hot. I really liked how Andrew saw right through Sadie, even when she tried to hide herself. But I also liked that they pushed each other, and that he wasn’t willing to let her give up on herself. This was the best kind of romance!

So, people, have you read any of Meghan’s books? No problem!

Read this one!!!! 😀 I’ll assure you that you won’t be sorry. This is a fun story with some harder tones and great, amazing characters. READ IT!

About the Author:

Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me (Mariana Zapata)

March 26, 2017March 25, 20175 Comments

Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she’s beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?

This has been the LONGEST contemporary romance I’ve ever read. It was massive! But it was such a great story.

This was my first book by Mariana Zapata, but it won’t be the last, for sure. I really liked the writing, it was intense and funny at the same time. It was pretty well balanced. The pacing was slow, but this is a very slow burn romance, so the pacing made perfect sense, and I couldn’t imagine the story being told any other way.

Vanessa was a great narrator. This book is told exclusively through her POV, and this girl has an amazing voice. She’s strong, and not afraid to say what she feels and what she wants, even if plagued by a dark past and a horrible upbringing. She fights for her dreams, but she always tries to be her best self. I loved her. She grows up so much during this novel, her confidence in herself grows so much too.

Aiden was a tough nut to crack, and even after finishing this book, I still have my doubts and reservations about when and how and why he truly started falling for Vanessa, because sometimes I thought that it came from way back, and other times it seemed a more recent thing. Not gonna lie, I could have used his POV sometimes… Still, he had a very unique personality and a very particular way to navigate the world. I have to say that even though it is never mentioned in the text, I actually thought that he showed some indications of being in the autism spectrum. In the end, I loved the guy. He didn’t love easily, but when he did, he would do anything, and oh my…

Like I said above, this was a slow burn romance… SUPER SLOW BURN! But I felt like it paid off. I liked seeing them getting to know each other and falling, but I did miss some conversations that I thought should have happened. Given their highly different personalities, I wish there had been more in the book AFTER they admitted their feelings for one another. Instead, once they get together, the story finishes and the epilogue starts, and while I really appreciated that glimpse, I needed more from how they started navigating their relationship.

Overall this was a super good book, though sometimes too slow for me, but full of tension and great moments. I’m glad I listened to it, because the narrator did a wonderful job and made it super enjoyable.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this one 😉 .

Twisted Palace (Erin Watt)

March 25, 201711 Comments

These Royals will ruin you…

From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all.

They may be right.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

Oh wow, this review is so long overdue… let’s see if I can still recall everything I wanted to talk about.

Like I said in my previous reviews of Paper Princess and Broken Prince, Elle Kennedy and Jen Frederick created something unique and highly addictive with this series. The writing is, once again, highly addictive, and just like the previous book, this book is told in dual POV, in Ella and Reed’s perspectives.

I was somewhat expecting more of this book, so while I truly loved it, I was kind of hoping for some more intrigue and intricacies on the plot.

The book starts off right where Broken Prince left off, and it is a wild ride for awhile. But then the plot kind of slows too much in the middle of the book, and nothing significant happens for a long time, apart from some pretty great Reed and Ella moments. This piece of the book felt kind of repetitive and way too slow.

There seemed to also be a little regression in Ella’s development in that middle portion of the book, and again, I wasn’t a fan of that.

Now, there’s a new character in this book, and I knew I was gonna hate him, but in the end, I thought he was too tame?! I thought they would stretch his character’s malice a little bit more.

Slight SPOILER ahead, be warned!!!

A lot of people say a lot how this character “likes them young”, and considering how uneasy Ella felt when she was around him, I truly thought the authors would go there. Overall I thought that if it wasn’t going to be relevant for THIS story, why mention that so many damn times?

Also, such a missed opportunity with Brooke’s baby daddy drama! I was not happy with who it turned out to be.

End of spoiler!

In the end I was expecting more of my questions to be answered. A little more complexity to this story. Instead, this book veers more towards a pure romance than either of the previous books, and while reading the Reed and Ella love fest was awesome, it still felt like something was missing.

I do hope Easton’s book answers some of my questions, because I was not completely satisfied by the end of Twisted Palace…

Have you read The Royals? What did you think of this end for this series?

Bookish Book Lover Tag

March 25, 20174 Comments

Hey guys! So, I’ve actually done this tag before, in the summer, and you can check out that post here, but because I’ve been tagged again, and this particular tag is very fluid, I’m doing it again. I was tagged by Deanna @A Novel Glimpse, Luci and Mariana @Book Is Glee. Thank you girls! The Bookish Book Lovers Tag was originally created by Shantelle @A Writer’s Heart.

What book are you currently reading?

At this moment I’m reading 3 books: Could You Love An Apple? by Becky Jerams, Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner (which I’m buddy reading with Cátia and Kat) and Where I Belong by J. Daniels (highly recommended by Deanna).

What’s the last book you finished?

I’m doing the last 3 I finished, OK?! So, they were: Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney Taylor, Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie and Co-Wrecker by Meghan Quinn.

Favourite book you read this year?

Yeah… I have to say Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde. This book just earned the highest place in my heart. I just can’t shake it.

What genre have you read most this year?

So…. looking at my read books, I have to say that I mostly read contemporary romances, either YA, NA or adult…

What genre have you read least this year?

Non-fiction, in this case biographies and memoirs. I’ve read The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, which is an amazing graphic novel, but I want to read more of the genre this year.

What genre do you want to read more of?

I want to read more Sci-Fi and Fantasy, because I’ve been lacking this year so far, and I’ve only read 2 books in this category, and I have so damn many of them on my TBR.

How many books have you read this year, and what’s your goal?

My goal for this year is 150 books, and I’m past the 1/3 of the goal, because I’ve read 52 books already. Yeah… I’m 19 books ahead of schedule…

What’s the last book you bought?

I had to go to amazon, but here they are: Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao, After Hello (You Had Me At Hello #1.5) by Mhairi McFarlane, Confessions of a Reformed Tom Cat (Wingmen #2) by Daisy Prescott, and Body Shot (Last Shot #1) by Kelly Jamieson.

What book are you saving up to buy next?

I can’t wait to get The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli, also Six of Crows and Gemina, and I don’t think those need any explanation whatsoever.

How many books did you check out last library visit?

I usually don’t use libraries, for obvious reasons, aka, they don’t have books in english that I would like. Either way, the other day I had to go to the Humanities library of my university in Barcelona, because I needed some references for my thesis, and this was one of the books I read. It translates to “The severed heads of Ullastret. Violence and ritual Iberian world“, and it’s pretty cool and about some skulls and remains I worked on 🙂 .

What’s a book you can’t wait to read?

I bought Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow awhile back and I’m dying to have some time to actually start it, because I’m sure this will take me MONTHS!

What’s a series you’d recommend to everyone?

Instead of series, I’m doing stand-alones, because the series you can find on my previous tag, ok? These are 3 books I LOVED this year, and I think everyone should get to them.

Who’s an author you’re hoping writes more?

MARLEY JACOBS! She has to write more books, because I really liked her debut novel, Goodnight, Nic, and I loved loved loved how she writes dialogues.

A few books your heart adores?

Some of my favorites of 2017 so far… 🙂

What series’ coming conclusion makes you sad?

I don’t know… I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary series, and they sometimes have spin offs, so…

What books are on your wish-list?

Here are some…

I Tag:

EVERYONE!!!

Definitions of Indefinable Things (Whitney Taylor)

March 24, 20175 Comments

This heartbreaking, humorous novel is about three teens whose lives intersect in ways they never expected.

Reggie Mason is all too familiar with “the Three Stages of Depression.” She believes she’s unlocked the secret to keeping herself safe: Nobody can hurt you if you never let them in.

Reggie encounters an unexpected challenge to her misanthropy: a Twizzler-chomping, indie film-making narcissist named Snake. Snake’s presence, while reassuring, is not exactly stable — especially since his ex-girlfriend is seven months pregnant. As Reggie falls for Snake, she must decide whether it’s time to rewrite the rules that have defined her.

Not gonna lie to you guys… when I first started this book, I wasn’t feeling it at all. It felt like it was romanticizing depression and that it would be one of those where “love cures all” and shit, and I was scared out of my wits, because I did not want to read THAT story. I’m pleased to inform you that in the end I didn’t feel like the book really did either of those things. Yes, there is a romance between two clinically depressed teens, and yes, they get “better” during the book, but not truly because of their relationship.

I can’t really talk about representation, because though I have been depressed during my life, I was never clinically depressed, but one of my favorite things about this book was how it shows many facets and forms of depression. There isn’t ONE cause, or ONE reason, or ONE way. Reggie and Snake are both depressed, both take their meds, but their underlying reasons, outtake and the way they experience their depression is completely different from one another.

The characters are definitely unique. The book is told through Reggie’s POV, and I found it hilarious, while super dark at the same time. Reggie comes across as not caring for anyone, and using a “hate” language almost. At first I thought it was a bit too heavy, the way she hated on the world and her mom and everything really, but then I started to get her, the longer she talked, the better it became. This book has a very dark and twisted way of humour though, and I’m guessing not everyone will like it or get it, but I thought it fit with Reggie’s view of things, and with the progress of the book, I also felt her voice change slightly.

I really liked Snake. Fair warning, there is a bit of instalove on his part, and not all his actions are well thought out, and some are not correct in the slightest, but to be fair, he did act his age, I believed I was reading the actions of a confused and scared 17 years old. I liked how he challenged Reggie, while understanding her completely. That’s what I thought was great about this book, honestly, the understanding. Yes, both these teens are trying to get better, but they both understand each other, and there’s no recrimination or anything of the sort. There’s acceptance and understanding, from both sides.

I also need to mention Carla, Snake’s baby momma. She has such an important role in this book, and I have to say that she’s probably my favorite character. She’s in such a tough situation, and yet she tries her best, and manages to help Reggie and Snake in the process.

There’s also a huge family element in this book, and a pretty important one at that.

So, overall I really loved this book, and the reason I can’t rate it higher is because I felt the beginning was a bit iffy. I thought this was a wonderfully written book, about a subject that so many people deal with on a daily basis, but there’s still such a huge stigma around it.

I would recommend it for sure, but beware of the topic. Make sure to read a few takes on this book, if you think that this might not be for you.

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Book With a POC MC

March 23, 20173 Comments

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This week’s theme is “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was a couple of days ago… Choose a book with a POC as a main character“. For today I’m choosing a book that I’m in love with :D, Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde, where one of the main characters is an australian-chinese kick-ass girl.