Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Shirley

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: February 5th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth…

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Hey guys! Sorry for not reviewing in a while, school and finals week just took over my life, but it’s summer now so I have all the time in the world to review and read(: {except for SAT school but let’s not talk about that}

I remember getting this book from Lacey and thinking that I probably wasn’t going to enjoy it as much as the first book, Cinder, because it had two different point of views (Cinder’s and Scarlet’s). Normally, I don’t enjoy books with many point of views because I just want to concentrate on ONE character and I start getting confused between what is happening in whose point of view because there’s just so many feels and information going through my head. SOOO, when I started reading Scarlet, I was kind of bored, but that was also probably because I was being bias with my only one POV thing and I really did not understand why we had to read Scarlet’s story. LITTLE DID I KNOW.

I honestly loved both point of views so so much and they were both very interesting! There wasn’t an imbalance, with one being more interesting that the other.

*ALSO, IS IT JUST ME, OR am I literally the last person on Earth to realize that Cinder = Cinderella & Scarlet = Red Riding Hood. like what is wrong with me I am literally the slowest person ever.*

Anyways, if you guys have that feeling too about too many povs, try checking this book out! You might ~~like~~ love it like I did! I JUST TOTALLY LOVED THIS BOOK AND I DON’T THINK I EVER WENT THROUGH A BOOK SO FAST BEFORE LIKE I FINISHED IT IN ONE DAY AND I STILL had homework but you know.

I honestly canNOT wait for the 3rd book to come out next year i AM SO EXCITED

DON’T WORRY GUYS I’M STILL TEAM KAI 5EVER, BUT I ALSO LOVE WOLF AND I ALSO FREAKING LOVE THE CAPTAIN/CADET HE IS LEGIT MY FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER AND HE BETTER NOT DIE OTHERWISE I’M GOING TO BE SO MAD AND SAD.

Reading Order: The Lunar Chronicles

#1 ~ Cinder: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Scarlet: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Cress: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Winter: Goodreads (Nov. 10, 2015)

16Jun2013

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

God, Katie McGarry. You are ruining my life. Not only did Dare You To cause me to not pay attention in class (because I just HAD to read during class. There was no way I was waiting til I got home to read), but also… my standards in guys are getting way. too. high. KATIE MCGARRY YOU ARE RUINING MY LIFE AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT.

In case you didn’t already know this, I loved Pushing the Limits. Like, loved loved loved it. It’s one of my favorite books of all time, and one of the few books that have made my cry a huge, sobbing mess. I rarely ever cry for books (I get teary-eyed more often than crying), but Pushing the Limits was just… incredible. Heart-wrenching. Absolutely fantastic. So if you haven’t read it, you should definitely check it out. But Dare You To is quite different than Pushing the Limits. It has a whole different feel to it that is still simply amazing. We have already been introduced to Beth in Pushing the Limits, and her story is with Ryan. I was pretty surprised when I found out that Beth wouldn’t end up with Isaiah (whose book I am SO EXCITED to read!!!). But of course Katie McGarry would find a way to make everything work out in the end. And it did!

Beth, at the start, is basically… a bitch. She’s very mean and pissy to everyone, including her uncle, Scott, and Ryan. But the thing is, I still liked her character. Yes, she gets very frustrating because of her hesitance and reluctance to have a relationship with Ryan, but I never hated or disliked her for her bitchy behavior. And honestly, her attitude is pretty reasonable, considering her mother is a drunk, a drug abuser, in love with her abusive boyfriend, and doesn’t give a crap about Beth. Beth’s deadbeat father left when she was young. She had no adult to take responsibility for herself and had to grow up on her own. So she’s definitely a tough girl. What I loved and was sad to see go away is Beth’s friendship with Noah and Isaiah. Once she moves in with her Uncle Scott, he wants her to cut all ties to her old life, including Noah and Isaiah. She meets up with them once or twice (and we get to see Echo!!!), but overall, she knows that she’s done with her old life. She’ll never have any best friends as awesome as Noah and Isaiah, but she can’t keep living in the past anymore. She has to move on, and Ryan is a huge part of that process.

Ryan Stone. *swoon* Ryan is probably one of the sweetest, most incredible boys I’ve ever read. He’s not a bad boy. He’s a good guy through and through. I never expected to like reading about a jock, and a baseball player at that, but Ryan is just… amazing. I fell completely in love with him and his heartwarming gestures. Katie McGarry is able to write him in such a way that he has depth, that shows us how much he loves baseball, and that he’s so much more than a jock. And he loves to write too! Rarely do I ever read about a guy who loves to write and can write well, so it was a nice and refreshing change, one that made Ryan all the more endearing.

And that bottle of rain. So. Damn. Sweet. My heart was going wonky for him during that scene.

One thing I love is that Beth is very straightforward. From Pushing the Limits, we know that Isaiah is in love with Beth, but we’re not sure if she feels the same way. In Dare You To, once she meets Ryan and finds a connection with him, she knows that she’ll never return Isaiah’s feelings, because she loves Ryan. And I was so glad that she got that. She shot Isaiah straight down, didn’t allow him to be strung along on a love that would never work. I really liked that about Beth, admired and respected her for it.

I loved seeing both Beth and Ryan grow and mature throughout the book. And the ending was so intense! So did not expect that. Basically, I loved everything about Dare You To, and am so so so excited for the 3rd book in the series to come out! I am 1000% sure that Isaiah’s story will be perfection.

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: Shirley’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: My Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads

9Jun2013

Review: Clash by Nicole Williams

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Clash by Nicole Williams
Series: Crash #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 18th 2012
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

Their Romeo-and-Juliet-level passion is the only thing Jude and Lucy agree on. That, and fighting all the time . . .Also not helping? Lucy’s raging jealousy of the cheerleader who’s wormed her way into Jude’s life.While trying to hang on to her quintessential bad boy and also training to be the top ballet dancer in her class, Lucy knows something’s going to give . . . soon.

How can she live without the boy she loves? How can she live with herself if she gives up on her dreams? If Lucy doesn’t make the right choice, she could lose everything.

I immediately started reading Clash the day after I had finished Crash, book #1. And guess what? I finished Clash in a day. Because it was so. good. I don’t know how Nicole Williams did it, but she brought the romance and the angst to the max in Clash. And I loved every second of it.

So. Angst. You know that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach when you know something bad is going to happen, or something bad is already happening? Well… I absolutely LOVE when a book makes me feel that way. Yes, it’s not exactly a good feeling, but when a book makes me feel that way? Or at least makes me feel something? Then that’s a damn good book. And that’s exactly what Clash did. It made me feel so much. I went from happy to anxious, from angry to giddy, from shocked to sad. God, just remembering how crazy I felt while reading this is reminding me of how much I loved this book.

Lucy and Jude are now in college, and with college comes some major drama. I’m not exactly a particular fan of drama (especially high school drama-bleh), but Nicole Williams worked it. She was able to bring out the best of the drama, the kind where you actually care what happens to the characters and hope they get their happily ever after. But there is SO much getting in the way of Jude and Lucy getting their HEA. The main focus of Clash is the jealousies and insecurities Lucy has. We already know that Jude is completely, over-the-top in love with her, so there really is no doubt about how he feels about Lucy, and yet she still can’t seem to trust that he loves her. Especially when a new girl tries to steal Jude away from her.

Unfortunately, Lucy lets her jealousies and insecurities get the best of her, and that’s where the angst comes in. And the angst is just unbelievably well done. Lucy’s feelings are all over the place, my feelings were all over the place. Practically the entire book, I was going, Oh my god Lucy, stop trying to find ways to not be together! You and Jude are MEANT TO BE. MTB. Jude and Lucy are one of my favorite couples ever, and they go through such a hard time in Clash, with tensions straining their relationship and themselves. And of course, something MAJOR happens. Actually, a couple MAJOR things happen, both good and bad. And AAHHHHH it’s just too exciting!

Jude is still his incredible, sweet, lovable self. He’s toned down the bad boy in Clash. And I fell completely in love with him all over again. If it’s even possible, he becomes even more swoon-worthy in Clash, because the things he says and does… Just… damn. It’s good stuff. Made me feel all giddy and cutesy and girly inside, because you can just feel the love he has for Lucy.

“I know I’m one royal screw up, and god knows there’s nothing I could ever do to deserve you… But I want you, Lucy Larson. Bad. I want you forever. The kind of bad I have for you isn’t the kind that goes away.”

And if you HAVE read Clash, you know what Jude says after this. And OH MY GOD. It is just the best. I was smiling so much towards the end of the book. It is such a sweet ending. And Jude is just major swoon material.

I just loved this book so much. Maybe even more than Crash. Clash just brought so many emotions out of me, and it is just the most amazing book. It’s a favorite, for sure. This entire series is a favorite. And ack, I can’t wait to start reading Crush! And if you haven’t started this series, get to it!

5 hearts!

Reading Order: Crash series

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

4Jun2013

Review: Crash by Nicole Williams

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

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.”

Reading Order: Crash series

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

29May2013

Review: Tangled by Emma Chase

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

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

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.

Reading Order: Tangled series

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

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