Contemporary

Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

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Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire (UK cover)

Title: Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (2nd April 2013)
Blurb:

Travis Maddox lost his mother when he was very young. Her parting advice? Love hard. . .Fight harder . . .

Travis ‘Mad Dog’ Maddox is an underground fighter, from a family of tough older brothers. The original Bad Boy, he takes a different girl home every night. That is, until he meets Abby Abernathy . . .

Notorious around campus for his reputation with women, it is no surprise when Abby refuses Travis’s advances; the best she will offer him is friendship. However, Travis is determined to fight his way into her heart . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Walking Disaster is the second book in Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful series. It tells basically the same story as the first book in the series Beautiful Disaster, but has the events narrated through Travis’ eyes rather than Abby’s. Walking Disaster gives an insight into Travis’ character that is unavailable in Beautiful Disaster.

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Review: The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

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The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen (UK cover)

Title: The Secret of Ella and Micha
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult
Publisher: Sphere (11th April 2013)
Blurb:

‘The girl he thinks he loves needs to disappear. I don’t want tonight to be irreversible, so I pull away, breathing him in one last time.’

Ella and Micha have been best friends since childhood, until one tragic night shatters their relationship and Ella decides to leave everything behind to start a new life at college, including Micha.

But now it’s summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home. Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else. And he’s determined to win back the girl he lost, no matter what it takes.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen is a New Adult novel. It tells the story of Ella and Micha, two best friends who grew up next door to each other until one day when a tragic event occurs that sends Ella fleeing from her life. Ella cannot cope with the events of that night and the blame she feels, not even with Micha’s help, so she leaves everything and everyone behind.

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Review: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

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Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt (UK cover)

Title: Going Vintage
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic (4th April 2013)
Blurb:

Mallory loves her boyfriend and she’s sure he loves her back. Until she accidentally logs on to his Authentic Life profile, that is.

He’s been cheating on her … online!

Mallory’s relationship is ruined and the internet is to blame.

And then Mallory finds a list, written by her grandma as a teenager. Things were so much simpler in the 1960s – it was all about sewing dresses and planning dinner parties.

Maybe it’s time for Mallory to go vintage…

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt is a stand-alone novel. It tells the story of Mallory who discovers by accident that her boyfriend Jeremy has a completely different fake life on Authentic Life – he even has a cyberwife! When she breaks up with him, Mallory decides to break with modern technology and live a simpler life based on a list she discovers, that her Grandma wrote in the early 1960s. Going vintage isn’t as easy as Mallory thinks it is.

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Review: Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

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Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Title: Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3)
Author: Ally Carter
Genre: Contemporary, Crime, Young Adult
Publisher: Orchard Books (7th February 2013)
Blurb:

Kat’s never been afraid of a challenge – but now she faces the impossible . . .

Katarina Bishop’s family of loveable criminal masterminds couldn’t be less like the gorgeous Hale’s high-society relatives. So when Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion-dollar corporation, there’s no place for Kat. Kat won’t give up that easily, though, especially when she gets a tip-off that the will is a fake: an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. Only the most audacious plan yet can hope to rescue the situation. But is Kat willing to save her boyfriend’s company, if it means losing the boy?

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

Having loved the first two books in Ally Carter’s Heist Society series, I have been looking forward to getting my hands on Perfect Scoundrels for a while. I really enjoyed reading Kat’s adventures, but the blurb for this book really got me interested. It seemed like there was the potential that Kat could have a lot to lose in this book.

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Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

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Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Title: Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Publiser: Simon & Schuster UK (14th August 2012)
Blurb:

GOOD GIRL

Abby Abernathy doesn’t drink or swear and she works hard. Abby believes she has buried her dark past, but when she arrives at college, her dreams of a new beginning are quickly challeneged by the univeristy’s one-night stand.

BAD BOY

Travis Maddox, sexy, built, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs – and wants – to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight club, and his days as the notorious college Lothario.

IMMINENT DISASTER?

Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his charms, Travis tricks her into his life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain celibate for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time.

OR THE START OF SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL?

Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match. Or that this is the start of an obsessive, intense relationship that will lead them both into unimaginable territory . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

I have to admit that it was the cover which first drew me to this book, then I read the blurb and I was intrigued. It sounded like it had a lot of potential, and then there were the reader quotes on the back of the book compairing it to Twilight and Shades of Grey. . . If that is the kind of book you’re looking for, then I suggest that you look elsewhere.  There are no sparkly vampires, no Native American werewoves, and no BDSM. Beautiful Disaster is a dark, complex, messy story.

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Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Books (3rd January 2013)
Blurb:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kids Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

It took me a while to pick up The Fault in Our Stars, not because of the subject matter. Instead I hesitated to pick the book up because almost as soon as it appeared on the book blogosphere it became THE book to read, and seemed to be universally loved by everyone. I steered clear of the reviews for the most part, but seeing five star after five star review in my inbox made me a little leery. Could a book really be THAT good? Fast forward until the beginning of January, when the hype seemed to have died down, and I came across a copy of the book. I was still somewhat dubious, but I thought why not.

I’m glad I decided to pick up a copy of The Fault in Our Stars. It is honestly one of the most beautifully written books I have read. It made me laugh and it made me cry (literally in both cases), and it also had me reading out sections which I thought were awesome. I can totally see why everyone fell in love with it. I fell in love with it too.

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Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

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Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Title: Saving June
Author: Hannah Harrington
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (1st December 2011)
Source: Secret Santa
Format: ARC
Blurb:

If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

This was one of the books I got from my Secret Santa this Christmas. My Secret Santa got this book spot on, because I have been wanting to read this book for a while though for some reason I never did. I thought the premise of this book sounded like it could be an interesting read. I wasn’t disappointed.

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Review: Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

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Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Title: Something Like Normal
Author:Trish Doller
Genre: Contemporary, War, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens (26th October 2012)
Blurb:

I just came home from Afghanistan.

My parents are splitting up.

My brother has stolen my girlfriend.

(He also stole my car).

And I’m haunted by the ghost of my best friend.

Then I run into Harper.

(Technically, her fist runs into my face).

She’s beautiful, smart, funny . . .

. . . and wants nothing to with the messed-up Marine who ruined her life.

Sometimes the best thing you can hope for is something like normal.

Sometimes what you get might be even better.

Rating: *****(5 stars)
Review:

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while, ever since I saw the blurb in a Waiting on Wednesday post. There were a couple of reasons I wanted to get my hands on Something Like Normal. The first was that I thought that the blurb sounded interesting, and the second one was because of the topic. War isn’t an easy or a nice subject, but it’s something I wish was covered more in literature – both Adult and Young Adult.

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Review: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

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Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Title: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Authors: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (5th October 2012)
Blurb:

I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the self, please.

At the urge of her lucky-in-love brother, sixteen-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of dares on her favourite bookshop shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept.

Curious, snarky Dash isn’t one to back down from a challenge – and the Book of Dares is the perfect thing to keep him occupied this Christmas.

As they send each other on a snowbound scavenger hunt across Manhattan, they’re falling for each other on paper. But finding out if their real selves share their on-page chemistry could be their biggest dare yet.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

I picked this book up in my local bookstore on a whim. I’d heard over the blogosphere that this book is the perfect book to get you in the mood for Christmas, and whilst I was somewhat dubious about these claims I thought I’d give it a go. Instead of a book full of Christmas cheer, I found a charming, unputdownable contemporary romance that stole my heart a little.

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Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

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My Life Next Door cover

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Dial Books (14th June 2012)
Blurb:

“ONE THING MY MOTHER NEVER KNEW, AND WOULD DISAPPROVE OF MOST OF ALL, WAS THAT I WATCHED THE GARRETTS. ALL THE TIME.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer night Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase’s family embraces Samantha – even as she keeps him a secret from her own. The something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha’s world. She’s suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

I saw a lot of My Life Next Door in the lead up to this summer, and as I thought the cover was gorgeous and the blurb intrigued me I thought I would give it a go. My Life Next Door is a sweet, adorable read with hints of laughter and some darkness.

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