Review: Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams
Series: Lost and Found #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 7th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.

Nicole Williams, I love you. You are one of my absolute favorite authors ever. I fell completely in love with your Crash series (Jude!!! <3) and when I found out about your new book, Lost and Found, I absolutely had to read it! And goodness gracious, it did not disappoint! I wholeheartedly loved every bit of Lost and Found. It’s got incredible characters who you can’t help but love and care for. My heart just went out to Rowen and Jesse, the Walker family, and even Garth. Nicole Williams writes characters that are just so well-written, and a story that is sure to entertain.

Rowen is who you would consider a bad girl. She’s slept with tons of guys, done drugs, gets into tons of trouble, etc. But she’s funny as hell, and I love her every time she cracks a joke. She’s just graduated high school, and is sent to work at a ranch by her mother (who is a total bitch and hag-bleh) to what she calls “Hicksville, USA.” Really, it’s just Montana, but there’s pretty much no difference to a city girl like Rowen. And she doesn’t expect to meet the one and only Jesse Walker, hottie and cowboy extraordinaire.

The fantastic thing about Rowen is that she’s easily relatable. Even though she’s what some would call “bad,” she’s still real and down to earth. She’s blunt and honest, and even a little lost. She doesn’t know who she is, what her purpose is in the world, and during her time at the ranch, she discovers parts of herself she never knew existed. Her self-discovery and self-awareness are what make Lost and Found so much more than just a bad girl meets a good guy (I’ll talk more about this yummy good guy later ;)). Rowen’s a teen just like any other who is struggling to find her place in the world. And she gets the chance to change her bad girl ways thanks to a heartwarming and welcoming family who shows her what it means to love and be loved.

Ahem. So. What do you get when you have a gorgeous blond, blue-eyed boy who’s also an all-around nice guy, and is a cowboy? Jesse Walker. *fangirls* I honestly can’t think of another book who has a guy as nice and good-natured as Jesse is. And I LOVE him for that. It’s endearing and sweet and wonderful how good he is. He has a heart of gold, but don’t worry, he’s not entirely perfect either. He’s got some secrets of his own, but they’ve done nothing but make him into the incredible man that he is. He’s the type of guy you wish existed, because he’d make the world a better place with his optimism and goodness. Not to mention the hot bod he’s got going on. *sighs* He’s a cowboy-so it’s muscles galore! 😉 Rowen falls for him so hard (how can you not?), and it’s the sweetest thing to see them growing to love each other more and more, to see Jesse break down that tough-girl wall Rowen has erected around her heart.

The characters and the story are just incredible, and I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but I won’t! Just read this book!

5 hearts!

Reading Order: Lost and Found series

#1 ~ Lost and Found: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Near and Far: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Finders Keepers: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Losers Weepers: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Heart and Soul: Goodreads (June 16, 2015)

2Aug2013

Review: Frigid by J. Lynn

Posted in 3.5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Frigid by J. Lynn
Series: Frigid #1
Publication Date: July 15th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn’t anything new. They’d been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the ‘man’ in man-whore. He’s never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn’t want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she’s perfect and she’s everything. But the feelings he has for her, he’s always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they’re stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor’easter, there’s nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

I have to admit that I’m a huge, huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope. Whether the couple is best friends already or become close friends during the book, it doesn’t matter to me. If it’s done well, if I’m rooting for the couple to end up together, then I’m going to love the book. In this case, Frigid is the story of best-friends-since-they-were-younguns Sydney and Kyler. So of course I had to read this book.

When I pick up a book by Jennifer L. Armentrout (or J. Lynn, her pen name), I know that I’ll for sure be enjoying the book, if not loving it. And though Frigid isn’t one of my favorites of her books, I did have a fun time reading it. I love the way Jennifer writes, which is so real, full of heart, and humorous. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with either Sydney or Kyler, so I couldn’t love the book very much. That’s not to say I didn’t like the book at all, because I did! Frigid was never boring, though it did get slow at times.

Sydney is the goody-two-shoes girl who’s always had to watch her best friend Kyler go through his manwhoring ways. And Kyler is one serious manwhore. I don’t really have an issue with guys who have slept with a ton of girls, but I did keep wondering why Sydney kept on loving Kyler even seeing him with hordes of girls. And eventually you get to see a sweeter side of Kyler that he never shows any girl but Sydney. The book is told from both their POVs, though most of it is told from Sydney’s POV, and it’s obvious to the reader that they’re in love with each other. The best part of Frigid is seeing Kyler and Sydney finally realize the depth of their feelings for each other, and yet still keep their friendship intact. They still argue, banter, and do everything that they did as best friends, but they also add the intimacy of being in love with each other.

The book was kind of weird, in that it moved too slow and too fast at the same time. Or I should say that Sydney and Kyler progressed to the hot and heavy stuff really quickly, too quickly for me, and yet their realization of their feelings for each other was just too slow. Most of the time, I was just wishing for them to just get a clue and admit their feelings for each other, because they honestly had no clue how one felt about the other! Of course, this is probably an important factor in stories with the whole friends-to-lovers thing, but still, Kyler and Sydney were just too clueless and oblivious.

There’s a bit of a suspenseful theme to the story that blows up towards the end of the novel, and I was really surprised that the suspense actually got that big and far. But besides this, the rest of the book is pretty lighthearted. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a couple who is best friends, then Frigid is for you!

3.5 hearts!

10Jul2013

Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Shirley

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Series: Standalone
Publication Date: June 4th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo’s sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she’s going?

Sarah Dessen’s devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

OHMYGOODNESS YA’LL. I DONT KNOW IF YOU GUYS KNOW OF MY OBSESSION WITH SARAH DESSEN’S BOOKS????? BUT YOU’RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT.

So throughout my reading career (hehehhhh), I have religiously read all of Sarah Dessens’ books thoroughly. Ever since 8th grade, I have been in L O V E and hooked. HOOKED. LIKE A WORM HOOKED ON A…HOOK.

Obviously, I expected this book to be absolutely amazing. AND IT WAS. Although I didn’t cry, which is really weird for me since I cried in every single Sarah Dessen book, it was an amazing book and I’d definitely categorize it as a chick-lit.

OKAY TIME TO GET INTO THE NITTY GRITTY STUFF (do people even say this, what does it mean).

Sooooo. Personally, I think Luke and Emaline are SO CUTE TOGETHER OMG. CAUSE LIKE THEO IS PRETTY CLINGY AND ANNOYING. SERIOUSLY. At first it was like Awwww he’s such a cute romantic! but afterwards it was just like, boy. PUH-LEEEAASE. LUKE IS LIKE AWAAHHAHHHH<3 HE’S SO CUTE OMG. LIKE HIS ABS OHMYYY. but what he did was like mmM. nope, bye.

Emaline’s name is so pretty too like HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THAT? And her step-brother is possibly the cutest thing that has ever walked on this planet. I’m glad that the book ended the way it did, and for SOME WEIRD REASON, as I am typing this review, I keep thinking about Second Chance Summer. Is that weird? Like I keep thinking about The Moon and More, but it’s actually Second Chance Summer. I’M GETTING ALL OF MY FACTS MIXED UP.

If you guys love Dessen too, this is a MUST READ.

And also, I love how Sarah Dessen always finds a way to put the title in the book. “I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND MORE” she’s amazing guys.

10/10 would recommend.

6Jul2013

Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Posted in 6 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 8th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

Shit.

I… I am speechless.

Utterly floored.

I honestly cannot even begin to describe the emotions that I’m feeling right now after just finishing Losing Hope. So I’m just going to rant. And yeah, there’s gonna be some curse words in here. Cuz you just can’t rant without a little bad word here and there.

Let me just begin by saying I had every expectation of l o v i n g this book. I mean, duh, it’s Colleen Hoover! And to top it off with ~~some sweet, sexy, 8-pack abs~~ a cherry on top, it’s DEAN. HOLDER. Like, SA-WOON.

Dean Holder. I like, live, love this boy. This boy and his book stole a precious piece of my heart. And I’m like, you can have it. You can totally have it. JUST TAKE IT ALL OKAY? This books is filled with emotions and I felt every. single. one. Colleen Hoover, I applaud you. Absolutely bow down to you. Because you’ve done it again. You made me feel so damn much, I felt my heart was breaking a thousand times, only to have it stitched back together by your incredible words and the amount of heart and love in this beautiful book. But still. What the hell, Colleen Hoover? Are you trying to kill me over here? It wasn’t enough that with Hopeless, you broke my heart into pieces, but you had to have the nerve to write Losing Hope and rip my heart to shreds? Thanks. Thanks a lot. No, I mean it. Thank you.

Thank you for writing the most beautiful, incredible, emotional, raw, heartfelt book I’ve ever read.

What’s especially different with Losing Hope, besides the fact that it’s Hopeless from Holder’s POV, is that it’s not just everything from Hopeless. Interspersed throughout the chapters are journal entries that Holder writes to Les. We get to feel how sad and devastated and shattered Holder is from Les’s death, but we also feel how crushed and hurt and angry he is at her suicide. We get to see the events prior to the beginning of Hopeless, starting with Les’s suicide. But not everything’s depressing in Losing Hope, thank god, because we get to see how Holder slowly heals from his sister’s death with the help of Sky and his love for her. And we finally get a glimpse of the happily ever after for Holder and Sky.

Reading how Holder falls in love with Sky is just the b e s t. It was written so incredibly, I felt like I was falling a bit in love with Sky too LOL.

My all time favorite quote in the whole wide world:

“Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.”

I cried. I cried so. damn. much. It was like waterworks. And it all happened towards the end of the book. The Letter. The Favor. And The Final Chapter. Those 3 parts made me bawl and sob and wail and flail and made me look like a freaking lunatic with my nasty, red, tear-stained face. With The Letter, Holder is finally, finally absolved of all his guilt, but there’s still all this overwhelming sadness. I was only tearing up while reading The Letter, especially at the very end, and I never expected to actually cry. But then. Dean Holder. He started crying and it was just a domino effect. I started crying so, so much, tears pouring down my face because of part with The Letter, because of the whole book, but mostly for Dean Holder. This boy has been through so ~~fucking~~ butterflying much and it’s just like, is it finally going to end for him? Is he finally going to be able to be free of his past and his guilt? I just wanted to pick Holder out of the book, give him a huge hug, and hold him forever and forever. Of course, he wouldn’t let me, because he’s a total bamf. The sweetest bamf, still, mind you.

And oh my god, The Favor. Let me tell you, the moment he asked Sky to do him a favor, I knew, I knew exactly what the favor was going to be. It just popped right into my head. And when he said it, I started bawling and tears were just streaming down my face.

There were happy tears, but there were sad ones as well. Because how could you possibly not be saddened by a story like this? Yes, I’m happy it was a happy ending, I’m happy they survived, I’m happy they’re together and have each other. But still. As much as I loved Hopeless and Losing Hope, the subject of these books are pretty horrifying. All I can say is that if you have ever been through anything like what Sky has been through, or any trauma at all, then I hope that you have your very own Dean Holder or at least someone very much like him to be with you.

I honestly can’t say whether I loved Hopeless or Losing Hope more. But I can say that Losing Hope completely captured my heart. You should definitely read Hopeless before tackling on Losing Hope though. But I promise that you will not regret reading either of these stories.

6 BEAUTIFUL FARKING HEARTS

Reading Order: Hopeless series

#1 ~ Hopeless: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Losing Hope: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Finding Cinderella: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

2Jul2013

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Shirley

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Series: Just One Day #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 8th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance ofTwelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

This book was absolutely AMAZING. I can’t believe I haven’t read any of Gayle Forman’s content before! (actually I’m pretty sure I did, but I don’t remember at all…) I love this book because it takes place in one of my favorite places; England. (P.S. GOING TO EUROPE THIS SUMMER HOLLAH) The journey that Allyson goes through is literally ah-freaking-mazing and I kind of wish it happened to me too, except not really. ANYWAYS.

The guys she meets is Willem and whew girl. The adventures that they both go on like OHMYGOODNESS CAN THAT PLEASE HAPPEN TO ME. WHY DON’T BRITISH GUYS APPROACH ME.

But anyways, Allyson is on a school trip, and she doesn’t want to go to a Shakespearian play with the rest of her class because she already saw it, so her friend and her go out and walk around the streets, WHICH IS WHERE THEY MEET WILLEM. And that is when sparks f l y. They decide to go to Paris together, and this is completely out of Allyson’s character because she’s that typical goody-two-shoes. So when they’re in Paris, they have amazing adventures, and she begins to fall in love with him. & he’s so so sweet to her toooooo (‘: And then they sleep and when she wakes up he’s gone. SO she goes back home, and thinks about it like FOREVER.

Eventually she goes back to Paris and tries to track him down. SO YEAH AND THEN THINGS HAPPEN; I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL IT FOR YOU ALL

BOTTOM LINE: READ. IT.

Ya’ll already know.

P.S. I’m sorry for my lack of reviews! I’ve actually kind of taken a hiatus on reading (brb sobbing) because of SAT boot camp. sigh I thought I would have more time because of summer vacation, but I actually have less time than I did DURING school. Anyways, I’ll try to get more reviews up though!

Reading Order: Just One Day series

#1 ~ Just One Day: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Just One Year: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Just One Night • Ebook • Goodreads

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