Review: Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet by Various authors

Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet by Various authors
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 2nd 2018
My rating: 4.5 stars 

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today’s most popular YA authors. Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard's glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon's imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno's story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants. This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

“All love ends”, she says. 
“Maybe” I say. “But it has to start somewhere”. 

This anthology was probably one of the best that I’ve come across, the stories were short yet sweet (sometimes too short in my opinion), but I ended up liking so many of them, and could imagine them being written as full novels and me just devouring them up. Here I thought I’d share some of my favourites. 

Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno 
This was such a cute story, but also made me feel quite mellow after finishing it; two classmates end up hiding out in the bathroom together when the police show up to break up a party. Despite barely knowing one another, I loved how with just the small amount of time Wolf and Hailey end up spending together hiding out, they end up forming some sort of meaningful connection. I liked how Cotugno gave us little snippets into their lives outside of the bathroom and party, how two people who’d formed wrong opinions about each other, but were exactly what they needed in that moment in time. I was really gutted when I came to the end of this story, as I was so left wanting more. 

Print Shop by Nina Lacour 
Again, this was another book that I loved the direction the author took the story in, Evie ends up taking a job in a print shop, the first day she starts work, she’s told to try and promote the shop through social media, they’ve never done it before, so want some sort of online presence. Evie’s never done something like this before either, but once she has the shop’s Twitter page going, she’s overwhelmed with negative tweets about the shop’s service. I loved this story from the get-go, I wanted Evie to do well at her job, but felt really sorry for her dealing with the wrath of these negative tweeters just because someone else had messed up with a customer’s banner. But like I said I loved the direction that Lacour took with this story, as she went onto show you really could find love in the most unexpected of places. And it was thrilling seeing Evie experience it first-hand. 

Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi 
This short story had so many things going for it, I adored the main character Cherish, her voice was strong and I admired her for sticking to what she believed in, (her best friend messes up, but Cherish still decides to go to prom on her own, and with a few days left still needs to get an outfit). It did take me a little longer to get into this story, but again I felt this story just ended so abruptly, what happened with Cherish? did she get her outfit? did she go to prom? and is she even talking to Stacy anymore? these are things I need to know! 

Click by Katharine Mcgee 
I think Click was probably my favourite story from this anthology collection, Mcgee gives us a great futuristic take on what dating could be like for us in the next few years and a wonderful chase over the city when our MC leaves her phone in the taxi and her date agrees to help her locate it. What I loved about this story was how our MC really thought her date wasn’t her typical guy, but as they spend time together in search of her phone, they get to know each other more. And that twist at the end was just pure brilliance! 

Meet Cute is one book I highly recommend reading, it was really the perfect book that reminded me of why I loved YA romance in the first place. The stories were ones that left a big goofy grin on your face and yearning for more, I know this is one anthology that I will go back to for re-reads especially when I need a quick pick me up.

Mini-reviews: More Than Words, When You Read This & Fame, Fate and the First Kiss

More Than Words by Jill Santopolo
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons 
Publication Date: 5th February 2019
My rating: 3 stars  

Nina Gregory has always been a good daughter, a good girlfriend. Raised by her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory Hotels, after her mother's death, Nina was taught that family, reputation, and legacy are what matter most. And her boyfriend Tim, thoughtful, kind, and honest, not to mention her best friend since childhood, feels the same. But after Nina's father passes away, she learns he may not have practiced what he preached. As her world falls apart, Nina begins to question everything she thought she knew and to see the men in her life--her father, her boyfriend, and unexpectedly, her handsome and attentive boss, Rafael--in a new light. Soon Nina finds herself caught between the world she knows and loves, and a passion that could upend everything.

I was the biggest fan of Santopolo’s The Light We Lost, it was a story which had me thinking about it for days after and Santopolo’s world building was majestically done. So, when I first heard about More than Words, I dived right in, going into books with the least amount of impressions works wonders for me, as I like being surprised by the different elements a book may bring. And whilst I loved Santopolo’s writing once again with this story; it really was beautifully done, I felt that More than Words wasn’t able to leave a big of an impact as The Light we Lost did. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy this book, I liked following Nina on her journey of who she was, with the way her life had been going, things were already expected of her; to take over her father’s firm and she was in a secure relationship with her boyfriend Tim. But then with her father passing away and revelations coming from all over the place, things really weren’t as they seemed, what did Nina really want to do with her life? I liked how Santopolo allowed Nina to really explore her options, yes at times there were difficult decisions to make, but if Nina really wasn’t happy with something then she really shouldn’t have to settle. Despite there being several bumps along the way, I was happy with the character that emerged in Nina at the end of this story.

More than Words, gave us in my eyes a truly different story from Santopolo; but one I really appreciated, she once again gave us a gorgeously written story, and although it was tinged with loss and sorrow, it was still a story I devoured in such a short period of time.

When You Read This by Mary Adkins 
Publisher: Harper 
Publication Date: 5th February 2019
My rating: 3 stars   

Iris Massey is gone. But she’s left something behind. For four years, Iris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyi, helping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has died, taken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleague, Smith is surprised to discover that in her last six months, Iris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eager, if overbearingly forthright, new intern Carl, Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris’s last wish. Before he can do so, though, he must get the approval of Iris’ big sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who’s been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggage, Smith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other. Told in a series of e-mails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, legal correspondence, home-rental bookings, and other snippets of our virtual lives, When You Read This is a deft, captivating romantic comedy—funny, tragic, surprising, and bittersweet—that candidly reveals how we find new beginnings after loss.

I went into When You Read This not really sure what I was expecting, and to be honest this book did end up surprising me in a lot of ways. Although the story was given to us from the main character Iris’ blog, I liked how despite Iris not being here anymore, the blog had an effect on all those left behind. Those individuals who were an integral part of her of life were bought together in the most unexpected of ways. I really liked the way the story was given to us in the form of emails and text messages, I’ve read a handful of books where this format has worked before, and I’m pleased to say that Adkins was also able to make it work with this book too. It is typically an unusual format, but once you got to know the characters, the story really begins to flow easily amongst them. Despite the story focusing on loss, I liked how Adkins was able to sprinkle some humour in the story too and gave us some lighter scenes to turn too when things became a little grim. I wish I had more of a connection with certain characters, that definitely would have made this story for me, but overall I did enjoy this book and how Adkins showed people dealing with a loss in their own different way. 

Fame, Fate and the First Kiss
Publisher: Harper Teen 
Publication Date: 5th February 2019
My rating: 3 stars    

Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part. But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her. As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction. With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

Kasie West’s last couple of books hadn’t really worked out for me, I’d struggled getting through them, or the MC’s just appeared too young for my liking. So, I went into Fame, Fate and the First Kiss with mixed assumptions. But I’m glad that I decided to give this book a go, because it started off great, Lacey, had finally got her big chance starring in a zombie movie alongside big time actor Grant. But Lacey had been struggling with her role, her dad was being over-protective and there was always seemed to be a negative press around her. I really was rooting for Lacey, I wanted her to do well in this role, and she was trying her utmost hardest. Then later it seemed like someone was sabotaging her all along, I must admit my interest was piqued here, and of course I had a couple of suspicions of who it could be. This aspect really did have me excited about the book, but then once the person behind it all was finally revealed, it felt like a big build up for no reason. Overall, I did enjoy this book, I was a fan of the cute love interest and the direction the romance went in, but again I felt like some of these characters were just too young for me, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve just moved away from YA books a lot in the last year, or that West’s books are just no longer working for me anymore. 

Review: My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2) by Cynthia Hand, 
Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows 
Publication date: June 26th 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
My rating:  2.5-3 Stars
Pages: 464
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD | Kobo

 

You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

My Thoughts:

I loved the first book in this series, My Lady Jane, which tweaked history is an entirely good way.  The actual story is pretty awful, and so the changes were quite welcome.  This second installment, which has nothing to do with the previous story other than it being a famous “Jane”, this time a tweaking of the original Jane Eyre. 

Since I loved the original Jane Eyre and the romance, I can’t say I was thrilled with the changes to the story and romance in this version.  Wasn’t really a romance at all except between Charlotte and Alexander, but that was Highlight for Spoiler left open ended, and I like my romances wrapped up nice and tidy, End of Spoiler so that was disappointing too.  The story was entertaining, the magical elements were fun, and I did have a laugh here and there, because seriously these ladies are very funny! Still, I have to say, the story felt a bit convoluted and went on longer than I would’ve liked.

Helen was an annoying character I could’ve done without, and Jane wasn’t my favorite character either. I enjoyed Charlotte (as in Brontë) and Alexander and their POVs the best.  While I was a bit underwhelmed by this installment I fully intend on picking up the next endeavor of this writing team: My Calamity Jane which promises to have a better ending than the original version. I am all for that!

 2.5-3 Stars

 

Blog Tour: Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Hi everyone today I'm pleased to be taking in part in the Save the Date by Morgan Matson blog tour hosted by Fantastic Flying Book Club. Before I share my review with you here's a bit about the book. 

Save the Date by Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 
Publication Date: June 5th 2018. 
My rating: 4 stars. 

Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend before the house issold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect. The only problem? The weekend is shaping uptobean absolute disaster. There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge. There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephewis unexpectedly, distractingly...cute. Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | The Book Depository | ibooks | Indiebound

I really do love books which put a family and its dynamics at the forefront, I have to admit I didn’t realise that this would be the case with going into Save the Date, I knew it was a Morgan Matson book and that I had to read it. But it was a lovely surprise, as Matson really made this family for me, yes, the Grant’s like any other family, didn’t come without the ups and downs, but I loved how despite the size of the family (8 if you include the son in law to be Rodney), I came to adore each member in their own way. With the Grant’s it could be hard to get your voice in edgeways, with everyone being such big individual’s, but Matson was able to give each family member their own personality and voice that made them stand out from the rest, but also took the time out for you to get to know each character too which I greatly appreciated. 

With so many quirky personalities, it was hard for me to choose a favourite character, as I said before I adored them all, but Charlie was a great MC, she was the only Grant sibling still living at home, and so was still figuring things out. I liked how through Charlie, we were able to experience this big anticipation of her family all being reunited together, it had been a long time coming. I liked how we were told there were some unresolved family issues but weren’t give insights into what exactly had gone down to bring this about, the way Matson decided to reveal this over the course of the story I appreciated, as it had me constantly guessing about what could have gone down to cause this rift in the first place. 

Save the Date in my opinion had everything going for it, amongst the family antics, there were the unresolved mysteries, heated gardening competitions and of course so much upheaval at Charlie’s sister’s wedding, that I had my doubts that she would even get married. But the Grant’s came through once again and went to show they could withstand almost anything. The Grant family thoroughly reminded me of the Baker family in Cheaper by the Dozen, they always had something going on, nonetheless, the Grant’s made this book a truly epic one!

About the author: ฀Morgan Matson was born in New York City and grew up there and in Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, but halfway through a theater degree, she started working in the children’s department of Vroman’s Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature. Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theater/English degree) she received her M.F.A. in Writing for Children from The New school and worked as an editor for YA novels. She received a second M.F.A. (for reasons that made sense at the time) in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California. Her novels have been translated into dozens of languages, and published all over the world. Morgan’s first novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, was inspired by her love of road trips, snacks, and the quest for the perfect playlist. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a Publisher’s Weekly Flying Start book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Book Prize. Her second novel, Second Chance Summer, was inspired by her experiences spending summers in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. It was the winner of the California Book Award (YA category) and was named to the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults List, selected for the Oklahoma Sequoya List, and selected as a School Library Journal Best Book. Her third novel, Since You’ve Been Gone, was published in 2014, and was a Publisher’s Weekly and international bestseller. It was named to the YALSA Teens Top Ten list, and the Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award List. Morgan’s fourth novel, The Unexpected Everything, was published May 3rd, 2016. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Murphy.

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Review: Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong

Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong
Publication date: May 22nd 2018
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
My rating:  3 Stars
Pages: 384
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD | Kobo

 

Three years after losing her brother Luka in a school shooting, Skye Gilchrist is moving home. But there's no sympathy for Skye and her family because Luka wasn't a victim; he was a shooter.

Jesse Mandal knows all too well that the scars of the past don't heal easily. The shooting cost Jesse his brother and his best friend--Skye.

Ripped apart by tragedy, Jesse and Skye can't resist reopening the mysteries of their past. But old wounds hide darker secrets. And the closer Skye and Jesse get to the truth of what happened that day, the closer they get to a new killer. 

My Thoughts:

Aftermath is a story that’s relevant to current times.  Living in the States, school shootings are sadly becoming more and more frequent. I’ve often thought of the family of the shooter, how they’re affected when one of their own commits such a horrible crime.  Often the family is shocked, blindsided and branded as villains as well.

Aftermath is a fictional story centering on Skylar, the sister of one of the school shooters of a shooting that took place three years ago.  My heart went out to her.  The brother she knew would never have done what Luka did, and with him gone she’s been left to bear the brunt of hate aimed his way.  More now than ever when she’s forced to return to her hometown where the shooting took place.  Skylar expects hostility, but not the sinister pranks, bullying and phone calls she experiences.  Is someone trying to punish her for her brother’s crimes or question his guilt?

I’ve enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s writing for quite some time, lately with her Casey Duncan series.  Love that series!  While I liked Aftermath, I can’t say it wowed me.  Skylar was a likable and sympathetic character and I liked Jesse as well, but their romance was a bit underwhelming.  It was sort of a second chance romance and they both had gone through so much, so of course I wanted them to be together, there just wasn’t really any spark to it, IMO. Kelley Armstrong usually has me on the edge of my seat with suspense, and there were a couple of tension filled moments in this story, but I think the danger was downplayed by the characters when the panic button should’ve been pushed!  They didn’t feel the urgency (stupidly, IMO) and so I think the story didn’t feel as suspenseful.  Maybe this was because the story is Young Adult?  I don’t know.  Still, I was entertained, and felt the need to push on and find out what exactly was going on.