Review: Crash by Nicole Williams

Crash 2 by Nicole Williams

Crash by Nicole Williams
Series: Crash #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 19th 2012
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He’s got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now.

Jude’s everything she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she’s about to find out, is the only thing she’s incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love’s about to become the thing that tears them apart.

I LOVED this book. Crash is hilarious, cute, sweet, and intense all at once! I am SO glad that a friend recommended me this book. I had this series waiting for me on my kindle app for the longest time, and I’m a bit miffed at myself for not reading it sooner.

This book is PERFECT for those who love a good romance, a bad boy, a hilarious heroine, and huge plot twists. Yes, there is a freaking plot twist that you NEVER ever see coming, and oh gosh, it was great. Really, really great.

When I read the first couple pages, I was already hooked. Because Lucy Larson is the most hilarious heroine ever! She’s such a lovable, tough, sometimes infuriating main character. I was laughing my butt off from the start, and I knew I was going to enjoy the book. But it turns out I didn’t just enjoy it; I loved it so, so much. Lucy is a fantastic main character. She’s a girly girl, a dancer, and the new girl at her school. Yes, she can be a bit of a jerk and a bit mean, but who isn’t when her family is completely dysfunctional (her mom’s the coldest mother in the world, and her dad is just out of it all the time) and her school sees her as the school slut (even though she’s never even had sex)? BUT she gets through the day thanks to a special someone named Jude Ryder.

Jude. Ryder. Oh my. Jude Jude Jude. Can you tell how much I love this boy? Because I do. So freaking much. I’m kind of a bit obsessed, to be honest. Jude is the epitome of a bad boy. Everything you can think of a bad boy doing, Jude’s probably done it. He’s been to jail over ten times, dealt drugs, done drugs, nailed nearly every girl who’s met him, and on and on. He has a temper problem and uses violence to solve answers. So WHY do I love Jude even after knowing all these things? Because deep down, he’s alone. He has no one. His mother ditched him and his father when he was younger, and his father is in jail. He lives in a home for orphaned boys, has been beaten and bullied there, and has never known love. Until he meets Lucy.

When Lucy and Jude meet, they’re very antagonistic towards each other. It’s actually quite funny how they act towards one another, with Lucy being, You’re a bad boy so I’m staying away from you and Jude being I’m not a relationship guy or a good guy, so stay away from me. Then, it turns out Jude does want Lucy in his life, as his girl (omg, ack, when he calls her his girl, I was just swooning so. freaking. hard.). And Jude has the sweetest, most loving heart when he’s in love, and he gives his entire heart to Lucy (lucky girl). He puts everything into making their relationship work, because he knows that he’s going to eventually do something to screw it all up. He thinks of himself as such a piece of shit, but Lucy KNOWS he’s not. He does love and he does care, and he puts his whole heart into everything he does, including love.

There are the usual insecurities running through the couple’s minds, like Jude believing Lucy deserves so much better than him, and Lucy being jealous of his past with other girls. The story played out very well, although there were times when Lucy acts immature and juvenile. And, of course, can’t forget that Plot Twist that had me reeling and going, “WTF?” (All I can say is, good job with that Plot Twist, Nicole Williams. Thumbs up.)

Even though some people might think that Jude is insane (I mean, he kind of is, at least a little, but I still love him!), I thought that Jude was the most incredible guy ever. Yes, he’s never going to be the good/nice guy or that boy-next-door type of guy, but he’s Jude Ryder. He gets jealous and possessive, but never in a way I thought was obsessive or over-the-top. He gets jealous and possessive because he’s completely in love with his girl, and there’s never going to be another girl for him. Lucy is it for him, and he tries to better himself for her, and if that’s not the sweetest, most romantic gesture ever, I don’t know what is.

Of all the things he says (and there are A LOT), I thought this was the romantic one of all:

“I’ll be here, each day and every day on, as long as you want me to be.”

5 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Crash series

Crash 2 by Nicole Williams Clash by Nicole Williams Crush by Nicole Williams

#1 ~ Crash: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Clash: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crush: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Review: Tangled by Emma Chase

Tangled by Emma Chase

Tangled by Emma Chase
Series: Tangled #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 20th 2013
Links: Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything – or anyone – derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

This book. Was. Hilarious. I seriously COULD NOT stop laughing while reading it! And you know what happens when a book makes me laugh out loud constantly? I end up loving everything-the characters, the story, the entire book. Tangled was such a great read. It’s fun, light-hearted, dorky at times, and all told by a male-POV. It’s romance at its finest.

I love Drew Evans. Yep, I just gotta say it. I love Drew Evans. He’s funny, sarcastic, hot, smart, and sexy, so what’s not to love about him? Oh, except… he’s a manwhore. Yup, Drew is a manwhore, and it takes a special woman named Katherine Brooks to change his manwhoring (is that even a word?) ways. At the start of the book, Drew is a mess. Katherine has dumped him, and he doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore. But instead of making it cheesy and sappy, Drew narrates in such a way where he sucks you into the story and you just can’t stop reading-or laughing! And you can’t help but root for Drew and hope he gets his HEA.

It was so entertaining to see Drew slowly falling in love, and freaking out about it. He’s never felt that way before for any woman, and it’s just the funniest thing to see him to falling in love with a woman who takes no crap from him. Their relationship actually starts off as a hate-at-first-sight thing. Enemies to lovers! But when Drew realizes Katherine is IT for him, he goes all out to win the love of his life, and hilarity ensues. Honestly, the things Drew does are insane and would drive anybody crazy. But at the same time, he’s just so sweet and adorable.

I had such a fun time reading this book. It’s a perfect read for romance lovers, although, fair warning, Drew holds nothing back in his narration. He tells it like it is from a man’s POV. And oh my god, it’s freaking hilarious.

5 hearts
lacey


Reading Order: Tangled series

Tangled by Emma Chase Holy Frigging Matrimony by Emma Chase
Twisted by Emma Chase Tamed by Emma Chase Tied by Emma Chase

#1 ~ Tangled: Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
#1.5 ~ Holy Frigging Matrimony: My Review • EbookAudibleGoodreads
#2 ~ Twisted: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
#3 ~ Tamed: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
#4 ~ Tied: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads


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Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite by Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: April 23rd 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Iléa.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Ohmygoodness, I was SO excited to read this book! First off, whose team are you guys on!? Team Maxon for me because Aspen is just like…LIKE GET OVER HER OKAY JUST STOP PLEASE YOU ARE SO ANNOYING. But anyways, if you guys haven’t already read The Selection, I highly recommend it! & also if you haven’t, this review MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM THE 1ST BOOK. 

I was super ecstatic to start The Elite because I got such great VIIBES (omg why am I using this word so much idek) from The Selection so I was expecting The Elite to be similar, if not better. well, I’m going to be straight up with you guys-it wasn’t. America was so annoying in this one and her indecisiveness between Maxon and Aspen was just SO FRUSTRATING I JUST WANTED TO SLAP HER FACE. I hated how she tells Maxon that she chooses him, and then THAT NIGHT, she sneaks out to Aspen. LIKE UH GIRL WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU NO WONDER WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END HAPPENED.

However although I was quite frustrated throughout the entire novel, I do have to say that I did enjoy many parts of it!

Okay guys I guess my reviews are just going to be short and sweet. Or in this cause since it is a slightly negative review, short and bitter.

4 hearts
shirley

Reading Order: The Selection series

The Prince by Kiera Cass The Selection by Kiera Cass The Elite by Kiera Cass
The Guard by Kiera Cass The One by Kiera Cass The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass

#0.5 ~ The Prince • Ebook • Goodreads
#1 ~ The Selection: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Elite: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ The Guard: Ebook • Goodreads
#3 ~ The One: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
The Selection Stories (The Prince & The Guard): Paperback • Goodreads

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: January 10th 2012
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

The Fault in Our Stars is one of my top three favorite books! (Right after Harry Potter and before Divergent.) (:

I’ve read this book 1.5 times, and it is amazing! (I read it halfway through the second time because it was just SO INCREDIBLY SAD that I could not handle it. But I will reread it again one day!) (=

So TFiOS is about two star-crossed lovers, Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, who both have to deal with this terrible disease we all know and hate called cancer. Now, if you really don’t know anything about TFiOS, don’t brush this book off as merely, “another cancer book.” It’s incredibly touching, deep, and unique from any other “cancer” book you have read or will ever read, I personally guarantee it! (=

TFiOS is narrated by Hazel, whose dark sense of humor and oddities make her immediately likeable to the reader. Well, that’s an understatement. All the characters in TFiOS, Hazel, Gus, Isaac (Gus and Hazel’s friend), even the parents, are extremely loveable! Gus’ pretentious, grandiose personality is a perfect compliment to Hazel’s sarcastic and witty personality as well. Their conversations in themselves are interesting, and a lot of the times, even eye-opening, although they seem to not make sense half the time. While reading the book, I formed an extreme (maybe a bit excessive) emotional attachment to the characters. O_o

Another reason why I love this book so much, is that John Green was able to expose a side to cancer that most of us (as long as we’re fortunate enough to not have to experience cancer ourselves or through loved ones) don’t get to see. As discussed in the book, when most cancer victims pass away, we always say, “They fought a brave battle against cancer, and never wavered in spirit.” But John Green also revealed the dark side to cancer, when it exposes vulnerability within the family to the cancer patients themselves. Of course those with cancer fight the disease with everything within their power, because what other way would you fight it? Yet it’s nearly impossible to be strong all the time, so I believe John Green balanced the good and bad times that cancer patients must go through well.

Overall, The Fault in Our Stars is an incredible book because it tugs at your heart throughout the story. The characters are so funny and instantly loveable. Even after reading the book, the story itself sticks in your head, causing you to rethink what life in general is about. And to quote from the book,  “Live your best life today.” ❤

OF COURSE THIS BOOK IS FIVE HEARTS!

5 hearts
Cathy

Early Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: June 4th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a fantasy book. But let me tell you, fantasy is my THING. I know I can always enjoy myself with a fantasy book. Most of the books I read are actually not realistic fiction. And since I had such a hard time choosing a book to read next, I thought, Dude, it’s time for a fantasy book and Siege and Storm it was.

I received an advanced copy of Siege and Storm (which is so exciting) and ended up liking it much more than the first book. Shadow and Bone, the first book in the Grisha series, was a bit of a let down for me. I had expected it to be this amazing epic fantasy story, but to me, it fell a bit flat. I think it was mostly because I saw so much hype about Shadow and Bone that I had too high expectations for it. I still enjoyed reading it though, and would recommend it for big fantasy lovers.

Luckily, Siege and Storm turned out much better than Shadow and Bone. The plot was a lot more exciting and intense, and everything was more serious. The sequel focuses more on the consequences of Alina’s decisions from book one, and how Alina starts to grow, mature, and own up to her role as the powerful Sun Summoner. Oh, and of course, can’t forget how she has to save her world from the evil Darkling.

The Darkling is such an intriguing character, and I still don’t understand why. He’s terrible, evil, and cruel, yet I don’t hate him. And Alina doesn’t either, or at least not entirely, because he’s the only person in the world who understands her and her powers completely. So it kind of sucks that the person who connects with you the most turns out to be the most evil guy in the world. And I think that makes him the perfect villain.

My favorite part of the book is the new character that is introduced-Sturmhond! He’s hilarious, handsome, clever, annoying, and yet just a good guy at heart. He’s probably my favorite character of this series and the reason why I liked Siege and Storm as much as I did. But, ugh, the book started turning into a love square, with a Team Mal, a Team Darkling, and now a Team Sturmhond. I love choosing which team to root for, but when I don’t really think any of the love interests fit with the heroine, it turns out that I don’t really enjoy the book as much as I could. And even though I’m such a sucker for the best friends-to-lovers trope, I’m not a huge fan of Alina and Mal.

My biggest problem with Siege and Storm was the relationship strain between Alina and Mal. And it didn’t help that in some parts of the book, I wanted to throttle Alina. She kept being too indecisive and started keeping too many secrets to herself. If she had open up to Mal, I think a few, if not a lot, of their problems could have been worked out. But I hate it, absolutely hate it when the main characters’ relationship starts going downhill in the second book, especially after there was a (somewhat) happy ending in the first book. Gah, it makes me so angry sometimes when authors do this, because then I think, what was the point of them even having a HEA in the first book!?

I loved all the epic scenes in Siege and Storm, like when the Darkling goes all wacko or Alina becomes a badass and fights. Like the ending? SO. GOOD. And crazy. The book definitely ends with a bang. Hopefully, Leigh Bardugo will give us readers even more epic scenes in book #3, Ruin and Rising. Can’t say I’m dying to read it, but I’m definitely looking forward to it!

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: The Grisha series

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

#1 ~ Shadow and Bone: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Siege and Storm: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Ruin and Rising: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads