Review: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
Publisher: Point
Publication Date: July 26th 2016.
My rating: 5 stars  

Signed, sealed, delivered… While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue! Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

I fell hard and fast for West’s books in the beginning, she’d help me get lost in unimaginable worlds found in Pivot Point and give me totally adorable reads such as On the Fence. But then a few books in between that her books didn’t work out for me as much as I’d hoped. This however didn’t take West off my auto buy list and I’m grateful for that as P.S. I Like You ended up being one of my favourite reads of 2016. It had everything in it that I love about reading; an MC who really reminded me of myself at times with her self-doubt, but she had so much potential! A cute romance tinged with mystery as our MC finds herself leaving letters for someone in her chemistry class, she has no clue as to who this person is, but over time Lily finds herself opening up to this person like she hasn’t done before. And a wonderful crazy family, West always does a wonderful job at including great family dynamics, and although Lily’s family could be a tough one, I couldn’t have chosen any other one.

From the very beginning I had my suspicions of who this mystery person that Lily could be writing to. I had hoped it would have been this person, as Lily deserved some happiness and love in her life and to be honest he sounded perfect for Lily. And the initial way they described his interests, to me it couldn’t be anyone else. So when the big reveal did come you could say I was slightly gob smacked. How could this be possible? And as the story progressed, I kept on trying to pick up for clues that would show it couldn’t be this person. I wasn’t disappointed when the reveal came, but I didn’t see it as possible, because I’d never seen this side of this person. But then as the story began to progress things started to make more sense; why things had always been the way they were between them and then when I started seeing changes in this person’s character and explanations as to why they did certain things. I totally got it and then by then I was a complete goner! I needed these two to get their act together and get together already.

Despite how long it took for both characters to realise, I didn’t mind the cute misunderstandings along the way, they just made me long for their happily ever after that much more. P.S. I Like You was such an adorable read, the constant back and forth of letters in chemistry class could be so tough to read at times, but at the same time they were so cute!. And then there was Lily’s family, they could be such a handful with Lily’s younger siblings running around all over the place, her parents and their quirky tendencies and Lily never been able to have a minute to herself. But the little things like Lilly’s mum forcing her to drop off a man bracelet and Wyatt starting off baseball really gave these characters the extra push that maybe they wouldn’t have had otherwise. And also they were such a fun bunch when they got together, you never could guess what could happen next, Bugs Rabbits being the prime example.

Overall P.S I Like You was full with constant surprises, a cute romance which I loved watching play out and a crazy family which never ceased to amaze me, what more could a girl ask for? Seriously though the love interest also exceeded in completely changing my opinion of him, in the end he clearly was the better guy with one of the biggest hearts. P.S. I Like You is a book as you can tell I cannot recommend enough!

Series Bundle Giveaway: Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue by Katie Ruggle

If you're a fan of romantic suspense, the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue series by Katie Ruggle is a must read! I've enjoyed all the action, mystery, suspense and just the right amount of romance in each story. I think my favorite to date is the last released, Gone Too Deep (book #3).  A good portion of the story set in the Rocky Mountain Wilderness.  Tracker and introvert, George Holloway guides a beautiful city girl through the rugged terrain as they search for her father not knowing they have a killer on their trail. Their attraction and connection grows as they spend this very intense time together!  I was stunned by the revelation in the end and I can't wait to pick up In Safe Hands to see how this running mystery turns out!

The lovely people of Sourcebooks Casablanca have decided to give a print copy of each of the books in the series to one lucky reader! Awesome, right?! The giveaway is open to US Residents only.

Mini reviews: From this Day Forward and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me.

From this Day Forward by Lauren Layne (The Wedding Belles #0.5)
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: June 6th 2016.
My rating: 4 stars  

Up-and-coming wedding photographer Leah McHale’s career is on the rise–thanks in no small part to the Wedding Belles, the elite New York wedding planning agency that always throws top-tier business Leah’s way. So when one of the Belles asks Leah to fill in at the former First Daughter's wedding, Leah is overjoyed to say yes–until she finds out who she’ll be working with. Jason Rhodes is the one man who was able to capture Leah’s heart and, once he had it, promptly stepped all over it and left her broken. Now he’s working side-by-side with her at the biggest wedding of the season and Leah is determined to give him the cold shoulder. Despite his persistence, she is not going to fall for his charming, impish ways again. Not even if he still has that killer, irresistible smile...

I absolutely adored Layne’s first book Blurred Lines that I read a few months back. I loved how she created her romances; two characters that had been together, but then something unfortunate gets in the way preventing them being together. But then when they meet together later the great sexual chemistry is still there and the fireworks between them are just waiting to go off. This is one situation I can never tire of, especially when done well the way Layne does. Once again she creates such a build up of sexual tension between our characters Jason and Leah, for reasons we’re not aware of things didn’t work out for Jason and Leah a year ago but it’s clear when they meet up and are forced to work together (aren’t these situations just the best) that their feelings are still there despite the misunderstandings along the way.

Oh my gosh you could cut the sexual tension between Leah and Jason with a knife, there was so much crazy build up that I needed them to get their act together already. The scenes that Layne wrote were hot! And I loved the setting that Layne set the story in, with both Jason and Leah being photographers, in the wedding scene, the setting added that much more romance to the situation. I also appreciated the dual pov that Layne gave us, it certainly gave us that better understanding of both characters and why they were holding back and things had gone the way they had. I totally loved this first instalment in this series that I ended up buying both books two and three in this series half way through this book. It’s been so long that I’ve been this excited about being reading a series so thank you Ms. Layne for that!

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

Publication Date: 1st March 2016.
My rating: 4 stars  

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 even 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?

I’m always a sucker for books which feature sports and a romance in them, especially if that romance starts off as the two characters not being able to stand one another. But with this book I could understand why Vanessa couldn’t be around Aiden, he came across as a guy with such a big ego, he wouldn’t even acknowledge her when she said good morning and the way that he would shut her down when other people were around, this annoyed me so much. So I was all for Vanessa quitting on Aiden, (she worked as his PA) and doing what she’d always dreamed of. But then when Aiden came out with that proposal out of the blue? I was really dubious about it. He’d never defended her, treated her with no respect but then urged her to come back. I really wanted Vanessa to shut him down, but of course Aiden was really insistent and sort of offered her something which was difficult to say no to. I was hoping with this arrangement Aiden would be a changed guy. Now I’m not going to ruin how things ended up or even if we’re given a glimpse into a new improved Aiden. But let me say the second half of this book was so worth it. There was heartache, lots of swoon and great character development (three things I’m a huge fan of). To be honest when I saw this book I really thought it wouldn’t be my sort of read but a big thank you to my cousin for book pushing this on me, it was exactly the sort of book I needed!                                              

                                                    

Review: Leave Me by Gayle Forman

Leave Me by Gayle Forman
Publisher: Algonquin Books 
Publication Date: 6th September 2016.
My rating: 3 stars. 

For every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to make dinner, for every woman who has ever dreamed of boarding a train to a place where no one needs constant attention--meet Maribeth Klein. A harried working mother who's so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn't even realize she's had a heart attack. Afterward, surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: She packs a bag and leaves. But, as is so often the case, once we get to where we're going, we see our lives from a different perspective. Far from the demands of family and career and with the help of liberating new friendships, Maribeth is finally able to own up to secrets she has been keeping from those she loves and from herself. With big-hearted characters who stumble and trip, grow and forgive, Leave Me is about facing our fears. Gayle Forman, a dazzling observer of human nature, has written an irresistible novel that confronts the ambivalence of modern motherhood head-on.

Unfortunately for me Forman’s latest books haven’t been able to leave that deep meaningful impression with me that her previous books have done in the past (If I Stay, Where She Went and Just One Day). I adore the gritty books that Forman writes and the heartache she causes along the way, you could say whilst her latest books have dealt with tough emotional issues, they haven’t overwhelmed me as much as I’d hoped.

Despite this however that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy her latest book Leave Me. Forman did really go out there with her take on things. I honestly didn’t expect Maribeth to just up and leave her family one day. But the more time I spent with Maribeth, the more I could perfectly understand her reasons for doing so. She’d just had a heart attack which led to further complications, she was meant to be recovering, but really with her mother and Jason her husband it seemed like she was being a burden for even asking for healthier meal options. And then when the lice incident happened I seriously wanted her to punch her mum in the face. So despite walking out on her kids, I think the space and the me time was exactly what Maribeth needed. Things could be quite scary, upping and leaving everything you’ve known and the long schedule you’ve followed. But this temporary reprieve although it was full of unknowns and so many unanswered questions, it was a journey Maribeth needed to experience to come to terms with herself as a person. I enjoyed the characters that she met on the way; they definitely contributed to the character that she became in the end. Janice was definitely one of my favourites. And with the revelations that were made along the way, you could say I was thinking that things would go a certain way for Maribeth, I was pleased with all that she had found out and how far she had come, but that ending was sort of unexpected to me.

Leave Me really left me with mixed sort of feelings, on the one hand I enjoyed following Maribeth on her journey in search of herself and her time in Pittsburgh, but there were some aspects which let me down, I guess you could say that emotional attachment to the story and characters was lacking for me and hence I wasn’t able to enjoy this book as much as I’d hoped.

Review: Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories

Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories
Edited by: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: May 17th 2016
My rating: 3 stars 

Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love. Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

This book was a lot more darker than I was expecting it to be, whereas My True Love Gave to Me was the perfect read for the Winter with its cosy make you want to curl up in a duvet with a hot chocolate sort of read, some of the stories in Summer Days and Summer Nights were darn right scary, and didn’t really come across as summery sorts of reads at all. Despite this there were a few stories that shone through for me;

In Ninety Minutes Turn North by Stephanie Perkins.

This is just the cutest story ever. I’m a huge fan of Perkins  work and I’m known to gobble up her books in one sitting, whereas I wasn’t feeling the first few stories in this anthology, this story really ended up being a favourite of mine. I’m a huge fan of second chance romances and the romance in here was done perfectly. It was cute, whimsical and left a big fat goofy smile on my face afterwards.

Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert.

This was one story I started off assuming I wouldn’t like but my sister told me to push through as it was one of her favourites and once I’d finished I absolutely loved it. The MC sort of reminded me of myself in a lot ways, she’d been through a lot and was now seeing a big piece of her life (her cousin) move away to another state. Because of what she’d been through I could understand why it could be hard letting people in and why she was worrying about her family members. But I was happy with the chance (route) she decided to take because it was so worthwhile in the end. This story really can be an eye opener in many ways as it deals with characters finally opening up about grief they’d had to deal with, but also opening up the chance for someone to enter their lives. 

“I think maybe saying goodbye isn’t all bad. Maybe it means I’m making room for someone new”.

Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare.

This story was actually one of the darker ones that ended up working for me; it was set at a carnival, with scary clowns and demons (so not my sort of read). But the unexpected surprises that came along the way in the forms of characters that you could rely on that you didn’t assume that you could and finally discovering what happened to characters who had supposedly run away and the realising who the actual real villain made this book such a fun read. Also the sweet romance set amongst the grim, darker scenes really brightened up the story for me.