Review: Finding Perfect by Kendra C. Highley

Title: Finding Perfect 

Author: Kendra C. Highley

Series: N/A

Publisher: Entangled Crush

Publication date: September 14th 2015

Format: Kindle | Netgalley 

Genre: YA | Contemporary 

Goodreads

How far will you go for perfection? 

For “Perfect Paige” Westfield, today is “D” Day. As in, she just got one on her calculus test. With her dreams of Stanford, her reputation, and her parents’ expectations at stake, Paige needs to find a way to save face before everything she’s worked for goes up in flames.

Ben Franklin (yes, he’s related) is from the wrong side of town, with the wrong clothes and the wrong kind of life. He also knows an opportunity when he sees one, and he’ll be happy to tutor Paige—if she makes him into the kind of guy her best friend, the hottest girl in school, will date.

It’s the perfect arrangement. And Paige is determined not even the inconvenient—and utterly imperfect—attraction simmering between her and Ben will ruin it…

My thoughts:

Paige is an amazing student with dreams of following in her Daddy's footsteps and becoming a neurologist and taking over the practice - easy right? Understandably Paige is stressed out to no end and a 'D' in calculus is the last thing she needed. Enter Ben, also a brilliant student, in need a bit of money. Wanting a new experience before he's off to college, Ben offers to tutor Paige in exchange for an introduction to Paige's best friend Zoey.

I loved how feisty Paige was. She wouldn't let anyone stand in the way of what she wanted and she worked so hard to get there. She had a goal in mind and she just wanted to charge ahead and achieve it without any distractions.

I did think Paige kind of lost that aspect throughout the read - it was understandable considering the direction the read was taking but I really wanted to see more of it because she was just awesome. I wanted her to stay true to herself and go for what she wanted in the end instead of just letting someone else handle it. She strayed too much from the character she started out as I think.

Ben was sweet. He was the opposite to Paige in the sense that he didn't know what he wanted. The book basically followed Paige and Ben both realising what they want throughout the read - Ben by finding romance and Paige by realising she is following everybody else and their plan instead of her own.

I thought the plot of the book was relatable in a lot of ways, and it made for an all round feel good read that I enjoyed. I liked the way things went down and the ending was satisfying. I really wanted more Ben and Paige time though.

My rating: 7/10

Kendra C. Highley:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter

 

Review: Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Series: Creative Hearts #1

Publisher: Entangled Crush

Publication date: September 14th 2015

Format: Kindle | Netgalley | 245 pages

Genre: YA | Contemporary 

Goodreads

When life gives you a blank canvas, make art.

Sloane Whitaker hates everything about moving to Texas. She hates leaving behind her friends and half her family in New York, starting over senior year at Austin’s NextGen Academy, and having to say she lives in Texas. Most of all, she hates that it’s all her fault. If she wants to earn her way back to the Big Apple, she has to prove she can still be the perfect daughter.

Which means no vandalism art, no trouble at school, and absolutely no Tru Dorsey, her serial screw-up neighbor, who loves nothing more than pushing her buttons.

But from the moment he vaults onto the roof outside her bedroom, there is something about him that makes her want to break every rule. Suddenly it’ s not the ten things she hates about Tru that are at the top of her list. It’s the ten reasons she doesn’t want to be without him. 

 

 

My thoughts:

 

After making a huge mistake which led to her being arrested, Sloane packs up her stuff and moves to Texas - with only half of her family. Thinking that the family split is her fault, Sloane is willing to do whatever it takes to move back home to New York and getting involved with bad boy Tru is not on that list. 

 

I liked this read. Sloane was a relatable character. She wasn't too over the top with her crazy antics like a lot of characters - she made a mistake a lot of teens could end up making and got caught. Sloane actually tries in this book. She is trying to make it up to her mother who has to get a new job, rent a new house, and be away from her husband and son for an entire year. Sloane basically has respect for her parents, despite their mistakes, which isn't something that's emphasised in YA nowadays. 

 

I felt the same about Tru. He wasn't the 'bad boy' I thought he would be going into this read. I thought he would be up to all sorts and constantly get Sloane into trouble but it was obvious from the start that he was seriously misunderstood. He didn't really do anything wrong throughout the whole book and what he did wrong was understandable considering his situation. Tru, like Sloane, was also a really relatable character. He was stuck somewhere he really didn't want to be, with people he really didn't want to be around, and through all of that, he stayed true to himself and was generally a really sweet guy. I thought he was a really strong character.

 

What I would have loved to have seen from this read though, is a slightly more complicated plot. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen with Tru and Sloane so the main plot wasn't about romance but this very  juvenile high school drama that slowly led to people being expelled from a great art school. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but for a read with such mature, understanding characters, I wanted something that reflected that and it didn't do them justice. 

 

That aside, I enjoyed this book just from the characters alone. I would love to read more from this series.

 

My rating: 7/10

 

Tera Lynn Childs:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter 

 

Creative Hearts:

1. Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru
2. N/A

Review: Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Waking the Witch

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld #11

Publisher: Orbit

Publication date: 07 Jul 2011

Format: Paperback | 336 pages

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Goodreads

When three young women are found dead - apparent victims of ritual murder - the small, fading town of Columbus is shaken to its core. But things are about to turn even more strange and sinister…

Pivate investigator Savannah Levine can handle 'strange and sinister'. As the daughter of a black witch, she has a lot of power running through her veins, and she's not afraid to use it. But her arrival in town has not gone unnoticed. Savannah may think she's tracking down a murderer, but could she be the killer's next target?

My thoughts:

Waking the Witch features Savannah Levine, the ward of Paige and Lucas. In previous books we've slowly been able to read about Savannah growing up, but now she's let loose as an adult, going solo and taking on her first murder case without Paige or best friend Adam breathing down her neck.

 

I love Savannah's character. I always have done. She's feisty, angry at the world and she doesn't care what anybody thinks of her - apart from Paige maybe. I love the strong heroine who puts up a front but knows she has so many flaws. Savannah is that girl - she offends people with no problem afterwords, but for her to disappoint those she loves? The guilty feelings come rushing out when she's alone with her thoughts. I love it.

 

What I enjoyed most about this read was the fact that it was the first book told through Savannah's eyes - in her point of view. I enjoyed reading how she got in trouble occasionally when she was younger and she did help out Paige a couple of times, but this book took it to a new level. She's 21 now where before she was too young to do much investigative work. I enjoyed her in the adult world where she voiced her opinions without anybody to tell her any different. She got her chance to shine and I loved reading all about it.

 

The plot was pretty much what makes a Kelley Armstrong novel. It was very heavy on the crime solving side of things which did have a couple of new twists involved and of course, full of supernatural elements. Also, par for the course, it was packed full of suspense and nail biting action. 

 

All in all I liked this addition to the series. I hope there's a lot more of Savannah to come.

 

My rating: 9/10

 

Kelley Armstrong:

 

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

  

Women of the Otherworld:

 

1. Bitten
2. Stolen
3. Dime Store Magic
4. Industrial Magic
5. Haunted
6. Broken
7. No Humans Involved
8. Personal Demon
9. Living with the Dead
10. Frostbitten
11. Waking the Witch
12. Spell Bound
13. Thirteen

Review: Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Frostbitten

Author: Kelley Arsmtrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld #10

Publisher: Orbit

Publication date: 06 May 2010

Format: Paperback | 416 pages

Genre: Urban Fantasy 

Goodreads

After years of struggle. Elena Michaels has finally accepted her life as a werewolf, and learned how to control her wild side.

At least, that's what she believes when she sets off to investigate a series of gruesome murders outside Anchorage. The truth, however, is more complicated. Trapped in a frozen, unforgiving terrain, Elena is forced to confront a deadly secret, and her own, untamed nature…

My thoughts:

A routine mission for the Pack soon throws Elena Michaels in the deep end as she travels to Anchorage, Alaska to apprehend the mutt responsible for multiple killings. Alaska soon turns out to be more than it seems when strange lights appear in the forest and talk of strange beast sightings has the resident werewolves talking. 

After reading 10 books in this series I have to say, Elena is by far my favourite character. I love her relationship with Clay, the rest of her Pack and the other 'women of the otherworld'.  I love her flaws and insecurities and how she hides them from most but is completely honest with her mate. She is what most readers love in a heroine - especially in urban fantasy. She's strong, knows how to kick butts and she's loyal. She is what made me fall in love with this series.

Because I was a little iffy on the last two books in the series, I was seriously excited when I saw the next book featured Elena. It really didn't disappoint me and it brought back to light all the reasons I love this series.

The plot made evident Kelley Armstrong's strengths in writing. The suspense and action had me reading this book only in two sittings - I only put it down to eat and then got right back to it! I loved how this book features something new in the supernatural community and how the world of werewolves and all things that go bump in the night is steadily getting bigger and bigger. 

All in all this was essentially a reminder of why I started reading this series. I loved it. There was a brilliant plot, amazing characters and action that has you biting your nails in anticipation. 

My rating: 10/10

 

Kelley Armstrong:

 

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

 

Women of the Otherworld:

 

1. Bitten
2. Stolen
3. Dime Store Magic
4. Industrial Magic
5. Haunted
6. Broken
7. No Humans Involved
8. Personal Demon
9. Living with the Dead
10. Frostbitten
11. Waking the Witch
12. Spell Bound
13. Thirteen

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall

Author: Susan Ee

Series: Penryn & the End of Days #1

Publisher: Hodder

Publication date: 23 May 2013

Format: Paperback | 336 pages

Genre: YA | Fantasy

Goodreads

It ha been six weeks since the angels returned to earth and destroyed the world as we know it.

When they fly away with a helpless little girl, her sister Penryn will do anything to get her back…

My thoughts:

How has it taken me so long to get to this book? I'm fangirling so hard right now...

I loved this read. I loved, loved, loved this read. Guys…I really loved this book.

Raffe was just yum and Penryn was such an amazing heroine. They both kicked backside to next Tuesday and it was awesome. This duo is seriously one of the best things ever.

I don't even know what to say…I just can't even.

This book had everything I like in a read. It had tension between characters, I mean, they're meant to be enemies but Penryn is desperate to get her sister back. There's suspense coming out of your ears, there's loads of action that has you reading pages over and over again out of excitement and there's a little humour thrown in for good measure.

I don't have a bad thing to say about this one and I know that I'll never get sick of rereading it. I can't wait to get the next two. Please check this one out if you haven't. It's something special.

My rating: 10/10

Susan Ee:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter

Penryn & the End of Days:

1. Angelfall
2. World After
3. End of Days

 

Review: Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon

Title: Blackmail Boyfriend

Author: Chris Cannon

Series: N/A

Publisher: Entangled Publishing | Crush

Publication date: August 10th 2015

Format: Kindle | 267 pages

Genre: YA | Contemporary 

Goodreads

Sometimes, blackmail is the only weapon a girl has...

Haley Patterson has had a crush on golden boy Bryce Colton for ages. But when she hears a rumor that he hooked up with her she gives him a choice: be her boyfriend for a month to show other guys that she's dateable-despite her overprotective and very intimidating brothers-or deal with the angry, cage-fighting boyfriend of the girl he actually did hook up with.

Bryce didn't know the other Haley even had a boyfriend. He was just trying to get his ex off his back. And now, not only is he being blackmailed, he's being blackmailed by an honor student. His new "girlfriend" has two three-legged dogs, her father mows grass at the country club, and she's...well, difficult. And different.

Can something so fake turn into something real?

 

 

My thoughts:

This review is going to be pretty short since this read really didn't really wow me in any way. It was alright but I'm finding it hard to have something to say about it which, in its own way, is exactly the problem.

I was on and off with the main character, Haley. Sometimes I thought she was a great, quirky character with a loving personality - she loves animals and does her best to help people out, but a lot of the time Haley came off really demanding. I think she was 'supposed' to come across as a strong female character that isn't afraid to ask for what she wants and work for it, but it was too strong and if someone behaved that way in real life you can guarantee they would push everyone around them away.

I felt the same way about Bryce but instead of being demanding, he was the opposite. Bryce couldn't seem to make any decisions and everything worked out in his way anyway. It was frustrating. To me, he was a poor character.

The ending also drove me crazy. I literally thought that 50 pages or so were missing. It was just way too easy - there was no fight involved and it made the characters look really weak.

Aside from all that though, there was a cute romance going. I like how Bryce changed throughout the story and I liked the secondary characters that helped him through it.

My rating: 5/10

Chris Cannon:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter

Review: Like Candy by Debra Doxer

Title: Like Candy

Author: Debra Doxer

Series: Candy #1

Publication date: July 28th 2015

Format: Kindle | Netgalley 

Genre: YA | Romance | Contemporary 

Goodreads

 

 

Revenge is sweet, just like candy.

Candy Seaborne knows she’s badass. She takes after her father, an assassin and possibly a spy, although he won’t admit to either. She idolizes him. Her dream is to follow in his footsteps. But first, she has to finish high school.

Biding her time, waiting for real life to begin, Candy craves drama and isn’t above manufacturing some. If you’re a classmate who wronged her or a boyfriend who cheated, watch your back. She’s no pushover, and revenge may be her favorite pastime. 

Jonah Bryson is the senior class heartthrob who breaks all the stereotypes. He’s a jock, but he isn’t the typical player. He’s moody and antisocial. No girl has gotten anywhere with him since his last girlfriend broke his heart.

Candy sees Jonah as a challenge and the perfect distraction. But she may be in over her head because unlike everyone else, Jonah isn’t buying her tough act. He sees the lost, lonely girl inside. He sees too much. When he looks at her that way, she wants to let her guard down and be vulnerable. But that’s the last thing she should do because her father’s world is spilling over into hers, and life is about to get real much sooner than Candy expected.

My thoughts:

I'm a big fan of cutesy reads like this - girl falls for boy next door kind of reads  that don't take themselves too seriously and are more reads to get you out of a funk rather than something that will be reviewed on world building and incredibly complicated plot lines.

 

This book was one of those that was divided into half with one half being annoying and making me want to give up and the other half having the potential of a great read.

 

The beginning was terrible for me. I didn't like Candy - she came across as a spoilt brat and, considering her circumstances, it really didn't fit well into the story. Instead of being a relatable character, she came off too unapproachable with her fake 'I'm a boss' attitude. Also, on top of a horrific attitude problem, there didn't seem to be any redeeming personality traits or at least at first, so the read wasn't off to a great start.

 

When Theo, secondary character and main love interest, was introduced, Candy changed. On the one hand that wasn't exactly best seeing as the introduction of a mysterious boy causes this whole new Candy to emerge…sigh. But on the other hand, I was too relieved to be rid of that annoying, grating personality that was getting on my last nerve. I really began to warm up to the characters and it wasn't too far into the read either so I managed to give it a second chance.

 

During the middle of the book there was a great storyline going and a good bit of tension between characters as well as some hilarious pranks that broke up the story a bit. All was good and I couldn't wait for all the secrets to come out.

 

The last third of the book was disappointing, especially the ending. A lot of the focus of the read was on romance and so Candy's father's profession seemed out of place to me. It wasn't believable enough. At times it was just plain weird for such a light hearted read.

 

Maybe it was because there was no progression involved, but the read as a whole with mostly unconvincing with characters I couldn't relate to. There were no hints interspersed throughout the read to give some indication as to what should happen at the end. Normally I would  say that's a good thing since it makes a read unpredictable, but paired with unconvincing characters, it didn't work for me. The ending came out of nowhere.

 

Overall this read was okay but only just. It had moments where I genuinely thought it was getting to be a great read but sadly, instead it took one step forward and about ten back, ending up worse that it started out.

 

My rating: 4/10

 

Debra Doxer:

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

 

Candy:

1. Like Candy
2. Sweet Liar