ARC Review: Life After Juliet

Title: Life After Juliet

Author: Shannon Lee Alexander

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Release Date: July 5, 2016

Genre: Teen, YA, Contemporary, Romance

Received: Netgalley

Pages: 304

Synopsis from Goodreads: Becca Hanson was never able to make sense of the real world. When her best friend Charlotte died, she gave up on it altogether. Fortunately, Becca can count on her books to escape—to other times, other places, other people…

Until she meets Max Herrera. He’s experienced loss, too, and his gorgeous, dark eyes see Becca the way no one else in school can.

As it turns out, kissing is a lot better in real life than on a page. But love and life are a lot more complicated in the real world…and happy endings aren’t always guaranteed.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: The Replacement Crush

Title: The Replacement Crush

Author: Lisa Brown Roberts

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Genre: Teen, YA, Contemporary, Romance

Received: Netgalley

Pages: 400

Synopsis from Goodreads: After book blogger Vivian Galdi’s longtime crush pretends their secret summer kissing sessions never happened, Vivian creates a list of safe crushes, determined to protect her heart.

But nerd-hot Dallas, the sweet new guy in town, sends the mission and Vivian’s zing meter into chaos. While designing software for the bookstore where Vivian works, Dallas wages a counter-mission.

Operation Replacement Crush is in full effect. And Dallas is determined to take her heart off the shelf.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I First Saw You Thursday (9/8/16)

When I First Saw You Thursday is a meme hosted by Sailing Through Books. Here’s how it works: You write a synopsis for the book with the cover and title as your only guide. Then, you compare it to the real synopsis and laugh at how off you were or congratulate yourself on your amazing deduction skills! I realize I’m a little late in posting this, but I wrote it while ago and forgot to post it! Sorry!

Made Up Synopsis:

At only 8 years old, Roshen is sent off to work in a factory to help support her family. She has run out of options, and she refuses to let her family starve. In the factory, she can earn just enough money for a meal a day, but the harsh working conditions throw many obstacles at Roshen. This is one girl’s brave journey to work hard and love her family.

Read More to see what the actual synopsis is!

ARC Review: Every Falling Star

Title: Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea

Author: Sungju Lee, Susan Elizabeth McClelland

Publisher: Amulet Books, ABRAMS Kids

Release Date: September 12, 2016

Genre: Teen, YA, New Adult, Nonfiction

Received: Netgalley

Pages: 336

Synopsis from Goodreads: Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his “brothers”; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

How To: Get Out of a Reading Slump

Hey guys! I’m back, and I know I was gone for way too long. I got super busy with other things and swimming and traveling. I was also in a slight reading slump that took forever to get over. Now I’m back in the swing of things but I thought I’d share my list of ways to get out of a reading slump! I hope this helps some of you that are stuck right now:

BOOK REVIEW: When We Collided

Title: When We Collided

Author: Emery Lord

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Romance

Received: Library

Pages: 352

Synopsis from Goodreads: We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…

Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world.

Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

July TBR

Hoping for another great reading month! Here’s what I’ll be reading in July:

 

When We Collided by Emery Lord-Library Copy

Life After Juliet by Shannon Lee Alexander-ARC

The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts-ARC

June Wrap-Up and Book Haul!

I never posted my June Book Haul so I thought I would put that together with my wrap-up for this month! You guys really already know everything I’ve read this month because I review everything but here’s the list in case you missed anything:

In the Hope of Memories by Olivia Rivers-5 Stars

With Malice by Eileen Cook-4 stars

Breakaway by Kat Spears-2 stars

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella-3 stars

And I Darken by Kiersten White-2 stars

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff-3 stars

Did I Mention I Love You? by Estelle Maskame-4 stars

Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young-3 stars

8 books is better than I thought, given that reading And I Darken took me ages and I traveled to Arizona for a bit for a swim meet.

Now here’s my book haul from this month! I decided to spoil myself a bit because I went on a book buying ban but decided to reward myself with some newbies to add to my shelves.

Do you spot any of your favorites? Or any books you want to add to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

BOOK REVIEW: Hotel Ruby

Title: Hotel Ruby

Author: Suzanne Young

Genre: Young Adult Mystery, Paranormal

Received: Library

Pages: 288

Synopsis from Goodreads: Stay tonight. Stay forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…

Welcome to the Ruby.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Top Ten Favorite Characters

The book meme Top Ten Tuesday is held by The Broke and the Bookish and this week we get to choose our own prompt! I decided to choose my top ten favorite characters because there are some characters I’d love to gush about! I also included my favorite quote by each character to make it more interesting.

Hermione Granger from Harry Potter!

“I mean, it’s sort of exciting isn’t it? Breaking the rules.”