Tag: book review

Reviews, ya contemporary, YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal

Mini Book Reviews #1

Veronica Porras (TTB)

I’m starting a new series on here which I’m calling Mini-Reviews. Clever name right? Yeah, I know. I’m a genius. (The sarcasm is so strong.) The reason I’m starting this new series is because there are some books that I’ve read that I have things to say about them, but not enough to dedicate an entire post on them. Each Mini Review post will have 3 mini reviews. Here we go!

Mini Book Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

openroadsummer_hires_cover no quote.jpg

 

Kayla over at The Thousand Lives almost threw the book at me and said READ IT! I, like the good best friend that I am (see what I did there) did, and let me tell you I’m glad she said I had to read this book. I fell in love with summer again. The last time I was in love with summer was the year 2012. I truly cannot believe this is Emery Lord’s debut novel. The writing is impeccable and wonderful. I loved the main characters voice and the sass, oh my, I freaking loved the sass. Also, Matthew is the perfect boyfriend. Can he be real, please? If you are looking for a heart-clenching [in a good way] summer contemporary, then this is the book for you. 100% recommend this book to anyone.

Rating: 5/5

Mini Book Review: Coldest Girl in ColdTown by Holly Black

17333763

 

Vampires + Holly Black = perfection. What amazes me about this book is that it is a stand alone. I had never read a book that can build a new world, has all of the background information, action, plot twists, and just everything that we crave that is normally given to us in trilogies and series, in ONE book. Yes, you read that correctly. Holly Black does it all with one book. The ending satisfied me. This book does vampires justice and makes me sigh happily. These vampires can beat the crap out of any sparkly vampire’s butt.

Rating: 5/5

Mini Book Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

10859509

 

I saw polandbananasbooks book talk of Altered a long time ago and have been wanting to read it since. I went over to Kayla’s one day and saw that she had it in her possession. I of course begged her to let me take it home with me and she did. This book was not what I was expecting, and boy it was wonderful. I screamed, I jumped, and it stressed the heck out of me. The twists, the action, the science fiction nerdy-ness of it, I loved it all!

Rating: 4/5

Special Review, ya contemporary

ARC Review: Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Veronica Porras (TTB)

 

 

1379536238000-don-t-Even-think-about-itI was given an ebook copy through NetGalley by Random House via invitation for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

We weren’t always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn’t expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we’ve kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what’s coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We’re always listening.

Review:

This may be the shortest review I have ever written. We’ll see.

I have never DNF’ed a book. NEVER. Anyone can go through my reviews and see that I have read through all of them, even those that I disliked. My goal is to give my readers, authors, and publishers a fair review of a book. A honest review.

Originally, I was excited when I received an invitation to read this book. I’ve heard great things about Sarah and I was thrilled to finally read something by her. The plot of the story sounded very interesting which is why I said, YES, SIGN ME UP.

I tried reading it on three different occasions. I only reached about 10-15% of the story before I quit. Each time I started to read it, I couldn’t get a feel for the characters and the protagonist. There was just something that wasn’t clicking and even annoyed me. I feel absolutely horrible saying such negative things about this book, but I honestly couldn’t get past everything that annoyed me.

I try my best to read the entire book so that I can give both the good and the bad of a book. One of my goals is to always find something good about the book, even if the rating is a 1 or 2. I make it my mission to give reasons as to why I dislike a book if I do.

Today is a weird day on The Talking Bookworm because I can do neither. Here is my first DNF review and hopefully it will be my last.

Rating: DNF (Did Not Finish)

Special Review, ya contemporary

ARC Review: Worth The Wait by Laura Jackson

Veronica Porras (TTB)

9781938708268I was gifted a ebook in exchange for an honest review by HopeSprings Books through NetGalley.

Goodreads Summary:

Ellie Lansing has a picture-perfect life with a close-knit family and the perfect boyfriend. But her world is suddenly knocked off center when her drool-worthy boyfriend cheats, and her always-has-it-together mother is diagnosed with cancer. Ellie doesn’t get it. She always does the right thing—doesn’t God owe her a happy life? Through her heartache, Ellie learns that sometimes what seems like the end is really just the beginning and that what God has for us is always worth the wait.

Review:

Let me first start of by saying that this a Young Adult Christian Novel. This book is big on Christian morals and values. Now with that out of the way, let me get on with the review.

When I think of Worth The Wait in edible form (FOOD) I think of a fluffy angel cake. It’s sweet, it’s light, it’s fun. I would say this is chick flick material right here. At the beginning of the book I didn’t like Ellie at all. She was very annoying and actually made me dread to read the rest of the book because I thought to myself Is this the protagonist I’m getting stuck with?! Ugh. But overtime that annoying side to her started to fade away, and we finally saw why she was the way she was. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PEOPLE.

There were times where I loved Laura’s writing, and at others it felt a little forced and weird. The main issue I had with the novel was how quickly the tone changed at times that my reaction went a little like this: WAIT WHAT’S GOING ON. I THOUGHT WE WERE HAPPY. NOW WE’RE MAD. OKKKKAAAAYYYYY.

But honestly, there is more good than bad. Worth The Wait is Laura Jackson’s first published novel and I say for a first novel it is freaking good. Additionally, I really liked that HopeSprings Books, her publisher, let her write the novel in a different formula. In a lot of the big christian publishing houses tend to prefer a certain style of writing, and if you write in that type of style, great for you, but if you don’t, you aren’t getting published. At least that’s what someone told me from their personal experience.

I know my rating may leave some of you weary, wondering if you should pick up this book or not, and I say do it. It has its beautiful moments where you will get teary-eyed. I know the story sounds a little cliche from the summary, but give it a chance. It’s one of those worth reading cliche—type books.

 

Rating: 3.75/5

 

NA Romance, Reviews

Book Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Veronica Porras (TTB)

81rCityicgL._SL1500_

Goodreads Summary:

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

My Initial Thoughts:

All I knew was that Colleen Hoover is an author loved by many and that a few of my book tumblr friends were going crazy about it. So I bought it and thought to my self “My Body is Ready!”

Review:

tumblr_inline_ml88od3Tl81qz4rgp

Oh My Freaking Gosh. This Book. I just can’t. Dead.

Those are my fangirling thoughts of the book. Yes, it is as good as everyone says it is. Yes, it will leave you in a puddle of feels. Yes, it brings up a lot of issues that you are dealing with or makes you deal with them. This book is a music lovers dream come true.

First off, let me just say that I FREAKING loved that this was an interactive book and that every single one of the songs that was is in the book EXISTS. The songs were made especially for the BOOK. I have been spoiled and I want every book to be an interactive experience because it just made everything ten times better.

Secondly, two of the characters in the story had disabilities and they were not seen as less or inferior. They were portrayed as normal. NORMAL. I absolutely loved that Ms. Hoover addressed the fact that people who are deaf or that have any other disability are NORMAL. They are not different. They are human too. The social activist in me was just bursting with joy.

Third, I want to address the fact that the main female character, Sydney, is written as a strong female character. She finds out her boyfriend cheats on her and she breaks up with him and is all like GOODBYE WE AINT NEVAH EVAH GONNA BE TOGETHER AGAIN. When things get complicated between her and someone else (cough*my new secret lover*cough), she takes control of the situation and says BACK OFF I NEED SPACE and not only do we see a FEMALE character that says it, but we see a MALE character that LISTENS to what she wants.

applause2

Fourth, I want to say that I LOVED that this didn’t have sexy times (well except for that one scene towards the end, but it’s not really described soooo I don’t count it). Not everyone that is in college is having sex all the time or with a person they just met. I was so happy that this book was not “teens + lots of sex” like a lot of NA books out there that I shall not name. This was Young Adults in College + life issues = NA. THANK YOU COLLEEN HOOVER THANK YOU!

(Honestly, I have nothing against NA when it’s done right. I personally don’t like reading sexy times, but when people use the NA genre as an excuse to write a million sex scenes and hardly any plot lines, it pisses me off. Isn’t the erotica genre for that? Why do you have to go and RUIN a genre for me. Sigh. Okay, Rant over.)

(December 2022 Edit: Oh young naive little me in her early twenties that did not like reading about sexy times aka sex. This is hilarious to me now as someone who is married and in her early thirties. Totally okay with SMUT now but I will leave what I said above to keep the integrity of this review, and also to showcase that people can change and it is perfectly okay to do so as you grow older.)

The plot of the book was great. The plot lines were all believable. We had a ton of character development not just in the main characters, but in the secondary characters as well throughout the entire novel. There was also a good balance between the heavy moments and the lighter moments. Really I can’t say one bad thing about this book.

So my last suggestion to you is…

tumblr_n41w4rIAhG1tttkm7o1_500

Rating: 5/5

Special Review, YA Dystopian

ARC Book Review: Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

Veronica Porras (TTB)

16069167

I was given an ebook copy of this book by Scholastic through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she’s helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

My Initial Thoughts:

I originally requested this book because Kayla over at The Thousand Lives was really excited. She was like REQUEST IT, and I did. I’d also heard it was the NEXT dystopian book and you guys know how much I love me some dystopian novels so I was like this sounds good. But then… Kayla didn’t like it and I was bummed. I started reading it with very low expectations.

Review:

Let’s just dive into this review. The first half of the book, I would give it a 3. The second half of the book I would give it a 4. At the beginning, Tella was really whiny and I could not believe she was the main character or a contender. I kept thinking to myself do I really have to put up with her for the rest of the novel? I thought about DNF’ing the book right then and there, but I decided to persevere, and I was happy I did.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Guy’s and Tella’s relationship is a complicated one. Some see their relationship as insta-love, but when you think about it. People in such crazy circumstances need some normalcy, and finding a partner or maybe a love interest is a very good way to find comfort, normality, and companionship in such dire situations. The thing about Guy that I loved is that he isn’t completely sold on this “attraction” or whatever you want to call it at first and she doesn’t really exactly know what to do about it either. They both know there can only be one winner.

I also found the whole idea of each contender having an animal with them to protect them was a pretty good unique thing to add to the “let’s throw people in the arena and kill each other for the prize” dystopian trope. It added a twist I didn’t know I had been wanting until I read it.

*SPOILERS OVER*

In conclusion, I like the concept and plot of this book. I like where it is going. If you want to check it out, go ahead! You’ll just have to get past the first 20% of the book, which is where I almost stopped reading it and gave it a DNF. After that it gets better and the plot thickens.

Rating: 3.5/5

Reviews, YA Dystopian

Book Review: Independent Study (The Testing #2) by Joelle Charbonneau

Veronica Porras (TTB)

17165932

Goodreads Summary:

In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization.

In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.

My Initial Thoughts:

Honestly? I was freaking out. The Testing left off with a  HUGE cliffhanger that I didn’t know where this was going. I didn’t bring my hopes up just in case it wasn’t as good as The Testing. Sometimes sequels can be disappointing.

Review:

Oh Boy. Oh Boy. Oh Boy. I’m so giddy because this book surpassed my expectations. I’m internally jumping up and down right now. I’m really starting to like Cia. The development of her character was awesome and we also got to finally know what happened to Zendra and Tomas. Dun Dun Duuuuuun!  I’m not going to tell you guys, so go read the book if you haven’t.

Independent Study did not fall into the sequel slump category (or is it the sophomore category? I forget). It felt as an equal to the first book. Great sequel. The action, The politics, The Action (yes, I had to say that again) and The never ending tests. It was all brilliant! I started reading around 9 or 10 pm and finished it at 1am. I couldn’t even fall asleep because it had my blood pumping and the adrenaline rushing through my body.

I know a lot of people don’t like The Testing Trilogy because it has a few similar qualities to THG. I think being compared to THG is an honor and shouldn’t be a turn off if you’re planning on reading the book. Marketing is a tricky business and sometimes the marketing team of the publishing companies take risks and say stuff like “The Next Hunger Games” because they are trying to say, “Guys this is good and has some of the same traits as THG so if you liked THG you might just like this one too!” Sometimes slogans like these do get overused (I’m looking at Twilight and how it gave vampires a VERY negative light.)

Overall, read this book and read this series. It’s amazing!

Rating: 5/5

Special Review, ya contemporary

ARC Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Veronica Porras (TTB)

17258743I was provided a ebook copy by Harleqin Teen through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review

Release Date:

January 28th, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

Life. Death. And…Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

Review:

I requested Heartbeat because in the past I’ve enjoyed quite a few books by Ms. Scott. When I first started reading the book I had kind of regretted requesting a ARC of it because I saw Emma as whiny and just too full of grief to see anything. After the first 50 pages though, it picked up and boy am I happy I stuck it out at the beginning.

The raw feeling and emotion that is felt when you are reading the novel is intense. I feel like it’s more intense than the emotions felt when reading TFiOS. Emma is blinded by her grief and is practically alone. Her best friend Olivia tries to help her as much as she can, but Emma needs someone who can understand her grief and why she is so angry. Enter Caleb.

Caleb is also broken, but he has tried to put himself together as much as he can. He understands Emma. He is Emma’s wake up call making her see that life doesn’t get better or easier. You just learn to live with it and accept life, sour lemons and all. He basically tells her I can’t fix you nor do I know how to. I loved this because the guy doesn’t fix the girl, he is just there for moral support. Emma is the one who eventually finds a way to start living again.

Overall, I really liked this book. I loved the intensity of the emotions and how raw they felt. If you are a major crier, this might not be the book for you, but you can go ahead and give it a try.

Rating: 4/5

Adult Contemporary, Reviews

Book Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Veronica Porras (TTB)

11547291

Goodreads Summary:

“Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . ” 

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It’s company policy.) But they can’t quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe this is his job now- reading other people’s e-mail. When he applied to be “internet security officer,” he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth’s and Jennifer’s messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can’t help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

My Initial Thoughts:

The only RR book I had read so far is Fangirl and I wanted to check out RR’s adult fiction work. I was expecting her writing to be similar to Fangirl, but still be different if that makes sense. I honestly did not know exactly what to expect.

Review:

Really, I can only fangirl in this review. I stayed up until 12:30am last night just to finish this book. The last time I remember looking at the clock was around 10:20ish. I said to myself I’ve got time to read a little more… and a little more turned into finishing the book. You all know how that works.

Back in late October/November I read about 30 pages in a span of a week and it depressed me a little so I stopped. It was nothing like Fangirl and I knew the next time I picked this book up I had to be in an adult fiction mood. And that mood hit me last night.

Here are some of the reasons why I loved Attachments so much.

#1 The friendship between Jennifer and Beth.

The bond between these two is perfect. The way the talk, their jokes, how considerate they are of each other, and how real they are. It’s just one of the best friendships I’ve seen on paper.

#2 The D&D Crew

I just really love this bunch of married nerds that play video games once a week you can say almost religiously. They always accept Lincoln into their gaming family. Seriously, they are this big eccentric and weirdly awesome family.

#3 Lincoln

Oh, Lincoln. What have you done to my heart. I’ll love you for who you are. I promise.

#4 Lincoln’s mom

Even though she is a bit quirky and odd, she is still one of the best moms I’ve seen in literature these days. So caring and nice. (although she is a bit too attached to her children.)

#5 Doris

This woman cracks me up! With her stories about her marriages and life, she was exactly what Lincoln needed to stay at The Courier long enough to… figure things out. Yes, let’s put it that way. I don’t want to spoil you all!

#6 The ending!!!

Oh Dear Lord, that ending was just… perfect. The ending of this book left me on Cloud 9. I felt weightless, happy, and content. Just picture this: you know that warm feeling you get when you eat a really good meal and it just sits right? And you feel full, happy, and content? That’s exactly how I felt at the end of this book. I need more endings like that in my life.

Rating: 5/5

Reviews, YA Paranormal

Book Review: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

anjieeeb

infernal-devices-covers1

Goodreads Summary:

Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment. The Shadowhunters of the Victorian Age delve into all of these—in addition to darkness and danger—in the Infernal Devices trilogy.

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them….

My Initial Thoughts:

I had just finished reading The Mortal Instruments when I learned of this trilogy’s existence. I was a bit timid about getting to it because I fell in love with the shadowhunter world in the TMI series and I was worried that a historical prequel would ruin it. I was really nervous about it, but I did hear great things about the Infernal Devices so I thought, “What harm can reading the first book do?”

Review:

WOW! Where do I begin?! Clockwork Angel hooked me in and brought me all the way to Clockwork Princess and became my favorite trilogy of all time. I honestly loved this trilogy so much more than Clare’s Mortal Instrument series. The time period and setting was way more interesting. Even though there were less books, I felt that the characterization was more significant.

What really got me hooked was William Herondale! He is now and probably forever will be my favorite male character. He has so much depth within him and when he was first introduced with all his snarky attitude, glory, and sarcasm, I knew he had me. His back story was very heartfelt and explains his every action. Will wasn’t the only one who captured my heart. His parabatai, Jem Carstairs, did as well. I don’t love him as much as Will, but he is also a great character with his own heartbreaking story. What surprised me more was my love for the lead female character, Tessa Gray. I am usually frustrated with female leads because sometimes they make horrible decisions, but it was different with Tessa. I found that I could somewhat relate to Tessa. While I detested some of the characters from TMI, I absolutely loved all the characters in TID (and yes, that means the secondary characters as well. Those Lightworms). Of course, I’m not including the villains and cohorts.

This trilogy is definitely worth reading and if you weren’t too attached to Clockwork Angel, keep pressing on because the trilogy only gets better. Clockwork Princess was the most heartbreaking book I probably have ever read. I read it all in one sitting, and I went through a roller coaster of emotions and cried for about an hour after finishing. It was beautifully tragic and I felt that it did justice to the series. It was an amazing solid ending to the series.

Rating: 5/5

Special Review, ya contemporary

Book Review: Pretenders By Lisi Harrison

Veronica Porras (TTB)


4987dbb6f202800f460d694a56f514d2

I obtained a ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

Three girls, two guys, five secret journals.

The five most popular students at Noble High have secrets to hide; secrets they wrote down in their journals. Now one of their own exposes the private entries…

I am leaking these because I’m tired and I know you are too. The success bar is too high and pretending has become the only way to reach it. Instagrams are filtered, Facebook profiles are embellished, photos are shopped, reality TV is scripted, body parts get upgraded like software, and even professional athletes are cheating. The things we believe in aren’t real.


We are pretenders.

Review:

The summary of the book got to me. I love those exposure type stories. When I saw the book was diary-style, I was even more excited because we don’t see a lot of those in YA. After I started reading the book, I was sadly… disappointed.

All five characters in the novel think like seventh graders and not freshman in high school. If all five students were a part of the Phoenix Five, they should have been smarter, different. I think back to when I was a freshman and I thought differently, or it could just be that students nowadays are going backwards instead of forwards. That honestly is a very scary thought.

Since this book was character-oriented let’s focus on them. Some characters I felt bad for, while others I just didn’t care for. Finding out at the end of the novel that this will be a series was another turn off. The story built up and we never got a resolution, all we got was a “keep reading to find out.”

I’ve read other work by Lisi Harrison like The Clique series and her middle schoolers in that series are smarter than these freshman. This book had so much potential. At least it kept my attention until the end. That’s saying something.

Overall, Pretenders could have been something big. It could have been the next Pretty Little Liars. It had potential to get a TV show made out of it. One thing I did love is that the writing went with each character. The way each journal entry was written, the grammar, the style, it all matched the character. I applaud Ms. Harrison for that. Thank you for giving each character a distinct voice.

Rating: 2.5/5