Showing posts with label Stand-alone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stand-alone. Show all posts

Friday, August 30, 2013

Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

Goodreads Blurb
For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?
Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.
And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...
Oh you gorgeous, gorgeous, lying cover. When I saw the cover I imagined a sweet, possibly heartbreaking, story that I would love. Instead I got a romance that wasn't exactly my favorite and was more New Adult than Young.

I didn't really expect the rather...detailed sex scene that happened or the issues that ended up being mentioned. Namely from one Starrla character. Starrla really irritated for some reason. I think it was because she didn't really seem to have much depth. Yes, she was broken, and yes she had her issues. But beyond her issues and her pain, there honestly didn't seem to be anything else. It was like she was just written to drive a wedge between our two main characters, which she probably was. I just wish there was more to her than her bitchiness and cruelty.

Ah, but you want to hear about our main characters don't you?
Charlie wasn't exactly my favorite. He seemed a bit...obsessive with Wren and I found him a bit...awkward for the story. I really can't explain why, but something just nagged at me throughout the entire story. But he was otherwise a pretty sweet guy with a real voice. He cared about his family, his friends, Wren, and was definitely romantic enough to make one swoon. But I didn't really see him grow as a character--we were told he changed, but I wish we'd been shown this character development, however minor.
Wren was sort of the same, but she annoyed me a lot more. She never really treated Charlie right and she was definitely a bit clingy and needy. She did try to stand up for her parents, and I admired her for that, but she never really said what she wanted. She flinched back a lot and it definitely annoyed me. After so many years under her parents' thumb (who definitely didn't win any parent of the year awards) I felt like she should've been more...explosive with her feelings than the timid rebel she portrayed once. Twice?

The romance in this definitely had that insta-love feel to it and I just sort of hated it. I had no idea what they saw in each other. All I kept hearing was "You're beautiful." "You're gorgeous." "You're perfect." But beyond that? Why did they seem so in love? There was no basis of their love and there was almost nothing leading up to it besides their "touching of the souls." Wut?

I wanted to DNF this so many times, but I pushed on, wanting to see how it ended, which was rather abrupt for my tastes. The Infinite Moment of Us was rather disappointing and I honestly wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. Of course, I still want to read Myracle's Shine since it received so many rave reviews, but not this one, unfortunately.

But guys. Such a gorgeous cover. 

Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: Aug 20, 2013
Rating: 1 star


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore


Goodreads Blurb
Nora Henderson has been basting baby back ribs for as long as she could reach the counter of her dad's famous barbecue joint. When she's accepted to Taste Test, a teen reality cooking competition, Nora can't wait to leave her humble hometown behind. On set, run-ins with the maddeningly handsome and talented son of a famous chef, Christian Van Lorten, make Nora wonder if it's him or the win she really wants, but as she and Christian emerge as front-runners for the final prize, Nora can't ignore the mysterious accidents plaguing the kitchen arena. Someone is conducting eliminations of their own, and if Nora doesn't stop them, she could be next to get "chopped" for good. 

Taste Test was a delicious (I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it.) read that I enjoyed (and almost died laughing over.)

The number one thing that hit me was definitely the writing style. Or, rather, the other things included. We got "interviews" with all our characters that I definitely enjoyed and giggled over. It let us see what front some of them were putting up and how they felt about what was going on! It was both hilarious and sort of sad sometimes. In the way that I want to be "LET ME LOVE YOU" to them.  And then we got recipes. That I really want to try but would probably burn (even if it's not burnable.) I really love how Fiore included these little extras to make our reading experience way more enjoyable (and for all you actually decent cooks out there--can you pretty please make a few of them then send the food to me? I will love you forever, because some of these look absolutely scrumptious.)

The relationships between these characters also took center stage. Whether it was the absolutely amazing father-daughter dynamic Nora and her dad had, the unrequited love between her and Billy (BFF), or her hate/love (literally. Mainly hate?) with Christian, all of them were wonderfully written! Nora's weren't the only relationships that played a role though--Gigi (the new BFF) and her friendships and familial ties, Joy's little trysts, and Christian's own relationship with his dad were also ones that were pretty fleshed out! I do wish we spent a little more time on them though, rather than spending a majority of the book focusing on Christian and Nora's chemistry.

Of course, that doesn't mean I like it. Trust me, I was cheering these two on from the start! They were absolutely HILARIOUS by themselves, but together? I think I died of laughter several times. Their witty banter was filled with snarky remarks that had me crawling around on the floor clutching my stomach. Kelly Fiore definitely played on the phrase "There's a thin line between love and hate" because that was definitely true here! I never knew whether they were going to end up kissing or if it would end with Nora slapping him.

I did love the pacing, though I couldn't help but wish we focused more on the show in the first half. We glossed over several of the "incidents" and we only really read/experienced a few and it wasn't really the main focus. The culprit was also pretty predictable, though I really didn't expect the reason why! The ending, I loved though. (But can we get an epilogue? I DON'T WANT TO SAY GOODBYE.)

The characters were probably the thing I liked the least. Nora wasn't really written well and seemed a little flat and she seemed to judge harshly and quickly. She definitely wasn't my favorite character and I can't help but wish she was a little less...impulsive sometimes.
Christian, I loved, though he did seem excessively cruel at times. But his snark was absolutely HILARIOUS and I'm pretty sure I fell in love with him by the second time we met him. He was absolutely adorable and a fun character to read about!

Taste Test is a cute and fun read I'd definitely recommend to people looking for an laugh out loud book that brings out their Giggle Monster. A perfect read for anyone who needs a break from the paranormal and dystopian!

Pages: 352
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Release Date: Aug 27, 2013
Rating: 3.5-->4 stars