Book Review: This is All I Ask by Lynn Kurland

I almost judged a book by its cover here, if I did, I would have lost out on one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read

Rating: ★★★★ and 1/2

Synopsis: Gillian of Warewick knows no other treatment than the terrible physical and mental abuse issued by her father. When he arranges a match for Gillian with Christopher of Blackmour, she is fearful: Blackmour is rumored to be an evil sorcerer. When Gillian meets him, he proves to be far more of a man than her father is, yet he is unwilling to be a lover to Gillian. She finds that Blackmour has as many psychological scars to heal as she has physical scars.

Review: This book honestly makes me cry almost every time I read it. The emotions are so raw and visceral, I literally can’t help it. This book is very much an emotional rollercoaster, with a plot twist I was genuinely not expecting. Although parts of this book are truly painful and gut-wrenching, watching how each of them struggles with their identities and worth, I love this book. The wholesomeness is enchanting and the growth that each character goes through is inspiring.

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Book Review: Friended by Kilby Blades

Rating: ★★★ and 1/3 or 3.5 stars

Synopsis: Compared to life on tour with her wannabe rock star mother, finishing high school in Rye is a snooze. At least Roxy has her best friend, Zoë, her dad, and her music. When her standoffish Civics class partner, Jag Monroe, breaks ranks and randomly friends her on Instagram, Roxy swiftly declines.

Jag is Roxy’s total opposite: stinking rich, conceited, and hot in that obvious kind of way. Roxy’s sure that his repeated friend requests must be a joke. Then Zoë does the unthinkable: snatches Roxy’s phone, accepts Jag’s latest friend request, and follows him back.

As the posts (and sparks) fly, Roxy begins to suspect that Jag may not be as shallow as everyone thinks, and that he may be into more than just her music.

Review: Ooh this book is so cute! The characters were very lovable and the addition of music for each chapter actually helped make the book more immersive if you will.

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Book Review: The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

Rating: ★★

Synopsis: How do you know who to trust when you can’t even trust yourself?

I look at my hands. One of them says FLORA BE BRAVE.
Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can’t remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn’t, and the next day she remembers it. It’s the first time she’s remembered anything since she was ten.
But the boy is gone. She thinks he’s moved to the Arctic.
Will following him be the key to unlocking her memory? Who can she trust?

Review: I though would really love this book, the blurb was amazing and it had so much potential but… I just really didn’t like this.

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Book Review: My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Rating: ★★★ and 1/2 or 3.5 stars

Synopsis: My Life with the Walter Boys centers on the prim, proper, and always perfect Jackie Howard. When her world is turned upside down by tragedy, Jackie must learn to cut loose and be part of a family again.

Jackie does not like surprises. Chaos is the enemy! The best way to get her successful, busy parents to notice her is to be perfect. The perfect look, the perfect grades-the perfect daughter. And then…

Surprise #1: Jackie’s family dies in a freak car accident.

Surprise #2: Jackie has to move cross-country to live with the Walters-her new guardians.

Surprise #3: The Walters have twelve sons. (Well, eleven, but Parker acts like a boy anyway)

Now Jackie must trade in her Type A personality and New York City apartment for a Colorado ranch and all the wild Walter boys who come with it. Jackie is surrounded by the enemy-loud, dirty, annoying boys who have no concept of personal space. Okay, several of the oldest guys are flat-out gorgeous. But still annoying. She’s not stuck-up or boring-no matter what they say. But proving it is another matter. How can she fit in and move on when she needs to keep her parents’ memory alive by living up to the promise of perfect?

Review: This book had such a unique story that I was intrigued as soon as I read the synopsis. This book did not disappoint! The story line and characters were great!

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Book Review: #TheRealCinderella by Yesenia Vargas

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: A modern-day teenage Cinderella. An all-star varsity basketball player. Will the chemistry disappear when they go from anonymous to face-to-face?

Geeky Ella Reyes is at the bottom of the totem pole at Westwood High. Her ultra-popular stepsisters refuse to be seen with her at school, and every day she comes home to a mountain of chores.

Ella’s only friend (and maybe crush) lives on the other side of her phone’s screen. She and Baller929 know everything about each other, except their real names.

When they have a chance to meet at her school’s Halloween ball, Ella must figure out a way to get there without her stepmom or stepsisters finding out.

Is revealing her identity to Baller929 worth risking the one good thing left in her life? Or is he too good to be true?

Review: Another Cinderella retelling!!! This one is a modern retelling and I really liked it! So the main character named Ella (Daniela actually) has the whole Cinderella package,evil stepsisters, demanding stepmother and an online crush named Baller929.

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Book Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfieldmovie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Review: The Cinderella story retelling is one of my favourite types of books and this one is one of my favourites. It combines fandoms with fairytales and celebrity romances as well as the evil stepmother and stepsisters.

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Book Review: To Best the Boys by Mary Weber

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis:

The task is simple: don a disguise. Survive the Labyrinth. Best the boys.

In a thrilling new fantasy from the bestselling author of the Storm Siren Trilogy, one girl makes a stand against society and enters a world made exclusively for boys.

Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port have received a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. The poorer residents look to see if their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.

In the province of Caldon, where women train in wifely duties and men pursue collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.

With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone is ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the deadly maze.

Welcome to the Labyrinth.

Review: This was the perfect book to drag me out of my book slump! It was exciting and wasn’t as predictable as expected. There were a few twists that totally shocked me and the actual storyline of this book was incredible.

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Book Review: The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

I am neither monster nor man—yet I am both.

I am the Beast.

The day I was cursed to this wretched existence was the day I was saved—although it did not feel so at the time.

My redemption sprung from contemptible roots; I am not proud of what I did the day her father happened upon my crumbling, isolated chateau. But if loneliness breeds desperation then I was desperate indeed, and I did what I felt I must. My shameful behaviour was unjustly rewarded.

My Isabeau. She opened my eyes, my mind and my heart; she taught me how to be human again.

And now I might lose her forever.

Review: I definitely give this 5 stars! This book is incredible, there’s just one small thing but otherwise, this book is perfect. I was actually shocked by how much I liked it because this isn’t my usual kind of read but I’m trying more historical contemporary books ( I don’t actually know the genre name, don’t judge me) and so far I haven’t been disappointed by any of them.

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Book Review: Perfected by Kate Birch

Rating:★★★ and 1/2 or 3.5

Synopsis: Perfection comes at a price.

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows… and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.

But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving… and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.

For fans of Kiera Cass’ Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.

Review: So this book was not what I was expecting. It was kind of like ‘Wither’ by Lauren DeStefano but slightly less disturbing? I’m not sure but to me, this is kind of like The Handmaids Tale but PG/family-friendly. Continue reading “Book Review: Perfected by Kate Birch” →

Book Review: The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

Rate:★★★★★

Song: Gone 2 Long by PRETTYMUCH

These songs are personal to me, they remind me of this book (they may be songs that were popular during the time that I read this, with lyrics that relate to this book or it might just be random)

Synopsis: Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty–forced marriages and murder plots–for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall’s borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy’s life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she’s fought for.

**Spoilers for the Book of Ivy**

Review: This book I just devoured. I read it in one sitting. There is so much that could happen in this book, the possibilities were endless but this book wrapped up the story as a whole. And boy what a story that was. Continue reading “Book Review: The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel” →