Review: The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young

The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

India is not thrilled with her mom, Hayley, right now, seeing as she is being forced to leave her life in California to move to Boston, to live with Hayley's fiance and daughter now. India was at the top of the food chain at school, and she loved being popular. No one looks at you too closely if you are the top-dog in the popularity aspect of school.

Now India is trying to find a way to become liked at her new school, but since her new sister-to-be, Eloise, is having a lot of hostility when it comes to the new people in her life, India hasn't been well received at school. And since this is an elite, high-society school, if you aren't liked by the popular group - the rich group - then you won't be liked ever.

And India really needs to be liked, because she can't let anyone know about her past. It would destroy her. India hasn't gotten this far in life without some sacrifices, so she is determined to be liked by Eloise. And her group, including her brooding, but observant and almost sad boyfriend Finn, who India is finding a connection with.

After awhile, and after Eloise's father sternly talks to Eloise, India is finally part of her group. But the longer she is friends with everyone, the more she realizes that she is not the only one with a dark, terrifying past. And the more she connects with everyone, the more danger they are of everyone else finding out about everyone's secrets, and essentially ruining everyone's lives in the end.

This was a really good book! I love Samantha Young (especially her Dublin series!), so I was very excited to venture into my first YA of Young's. And I was not disappointed! India seems to be a bratty girl, but she is really just trying to survive high school and the cruel world of teenagers and the bullying that comes along with that life.

And her past was so terrible. I can't even imagine going through what she did as a child, so I definitely understand why she doesn't let anyone close enough to hurt her. She only gives them a brief glimpse of the real India.

And Finn and Eloise? Those two broke my heart as well with their secrets and their lives. I would never want to be a daughter of a rich parent. It is too much pressure and then they expect certain things of you. Kids should be able to live their own lives and when they grow up, should be able to make their own decisions on what they want to do - where to live, what job to do, who to date, etc. Instead, the parents think, because they are rich and successful, then their offspring needs to do the same thing and be even more successful than they are. Such terrible expectations for anyone to grow up with, and that's what Finn and Eloise were partially dealing with.

There was a lot of different subjects in this book, and it was so evenly spaced out that the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed with all of the issues. Instead, Young was able to distinctly explain each of the characters and have the reader completely understand the characters and what they were going through.

I very much enjoyed this book, and I am very glad that I was able to get a copy from my local library to finally read it!

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Review: All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire

All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Elliott's parents fight. A lot. So much, that when summer comes, Elliott goes to his aunt and uncle's house in Oklahoma to get away from the yelling and screaming and things breaking. And Elliott loves going to her aunt and uncles place - so much so that he almost wishes that he lives there full time. Though his mother won't allow that, since she got bullied a lot about being Native American and got a lot of racial slurs that she doesn't want that life for Elliott.

And another thing Elliott enjoys? Photography. He's always taking pictures of things around town. When he decides to climb up an old oak tree, he stumbles upon a girl who lives on the property of the oak tree: Catherine. And Catherine is the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

The following summers after that Elliott always sees Catherine, but never has the gumption to talk to her. Only when it's the summer after their freshman year in college does he get to talk to her - because she caught him beating up the tree with anger and frustration.

Catherine's parents constantly fight as well. So much so, that she can still hear it from the outside of her huge, 7 room Victorian house. So when she sees a boy punching her tree, she decides to ask him what he is doing.

From that moment on, the two were attached to the hip that summer. They would walk everywhere - even though it was 100+ degrees outside, go to the ice cream shoppe, anything. They have a great summer, but the closer summer ends, the sadder they get. Both have promised to keep in touch and see each other as often as possible, but that's not what happened. In fact, they don't see each other again until the first week of senior year in high school.

Two years have gone by, and a lot of things have changed. The most changed thing, though, is Catherine. Her dad died, and her mom decided to make a bed and breakfast with their house in order to keep money coming in. Now she has cut everyone off, because she won't let anyone get near her secrets that she's been hiding for two years.

Elliott is determined to become friends with Catherine, no matter how much it takes. He sacrificed his senior year in high school to be the new kid in order to be close to Catherine. Because as much as everyone thinks Elliott is crazy, he is in love with this girl and will do anything to win her trust back after breaking his promise.

Disappearances and bullying and hostility occurs over and over in their little town, causing strain on Elliott and Catherine both. Secrets are about to be released, and life is about to explode for these two, and keeping a hold of one another may not be feasible by the end of their senior year...

This book...This author... I just love them both so much! I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, because this is one of the first books I've read that is not part of the Maddox family novels. But wow, I am so in love with this book!

There are so many twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the very end. I didn't guess EXACTLY what happened, but was along the same lines of the big reveal. And then when the reveal happened? It broke my heart in many ways. I can't even imagine going through that, and keeping my sanity in check.

Elliott is my favorite. He is so determined and dedicated. I mean, the poor boy got his car and his licence when he was 16 and instantly tried to drive to Oklahoma to see Catherine and explain. If that is not determination, then I don't know what is. He was driven to make himself a better person than his father, and a person that Catherine would be proud of. I would have definitely forgiven him the second he said he came to my school my senior year to be with me, because that is just swoon-worthiness if I've ever seen it.

And Catherine. She is a poor, confused, stressed out girl who seems like she is going to drop very quickly. Having to deal with school, being bullied by Presley day in and day out for basically her whole life, trying to cope with her father's death - even two years later - and having to take over most of the bed and breakfast herself because her mother has her good days and her bad days, is way, way, way too much for a 17 year old girl. And then to have to dodge the school counselor so she doesn't get taken by the DHS because her mother isn't being quite the mother-of-the-year that she should be? Too, too much.

The suspense was amazing. The secret was amazing. The reveal was amazing. I don't know what else to say about this book, because it was everything a reader will want, I think! Jamie did a fantastic job with this novel, and I cannot wait until May so I can buy my own physical copy to put in my personal library at home!

I am so glad that I was able to get an eARC of this book, and I will definitely be raving about this book to all of my friends and patrons!

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Review: One Small Thing by Erin Watt

One Small Thing by Erin Watt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

For the last 3 years, Beth has been walking on eggshells at home and at school. Ever since her older sister, Rachel, got hit by a car when crossing the street and died, Beth has tried to do everything perfectly to keep everyone happy. At school, classmates still give her the pity, sad looks, so Beth tries to pretend everything is fine. And at home, her parents act like Rachel just left for an extended time to another location, freezing everything in their house exactly how it was when Rachel died.

Beth hasn't been able to talk to anyone about how she feels about Rachel dying, because nobody wants to admit that it really happened 3 years ago.

What really triggered Beth to go wild, though, was when she found out her parents found her college applications and kept them - rather than letting them be mailed to the schools she wants to go to. Beth wants to go as far away from Darling as she can, because then no one will know about her sister and act weird around her. But her parents have decided that she is going to do just that - send her to Darling College and have her take over her father's business, making sure that she never leaves.

So on a feeling of recklessness and being in a prison, Beth decides to go to a party in another town, with strangers to feel some excitement and to feel alive. And then when she sees a gorgeous, aloof guy at the party, she decides that she wants to know this guy, possibly even make out with him.

When she sees him in school the next week, she didn't expect him to be revealed as the guy who killed her sister 3 years ago by running her over with a stolen car. Chase has been changed by being in juvie for 3 years, and just from the little bit she remembers from their night, Beth can't hate him for something that was an accident.

But with the harassment and anger Chase has stirred up by coming back to school for his senior year, the more Beth finds herself wanting to protect him and stand up for him, even though her friends and family think he should go back to jail.

Their forbidden friendship gets tested over and over, and with so many people against Chase because of his past sins, Beth may not be able to keep her new friendship and romance without inflicting even more anger and pain.

This was a good book, full of lessons learned and secrets. I liked it for the most part, but I did come to hate a lot of the secondary characters - who had no redeeming qualities by the end of the book, in my opinion.

For instance, Beth's parents are terrible. I know they are grieving, but they are treating Beth like she is going to break their hearts, when all she wants to do is be a teenager and live a great life for her senior year. They go way beyond the extreme to keep her contained to where they want her. To be honest, I probably would have ran away and joined the circus before staying in that house with those restrictions they were piling on her.

Then Beth's friends. They were getting so nasty about Chase being at their school, but they weren't really listening to Beth - Rachel's SISTER - when she said that she wasn't bothered by it and to drop it. They were making it harder for Beth, which wasn't helping her overall look on life when she had a bad home attitude and now a bad school attitude.

And then there was Beth. Don't get me wrong, I liked her, but she was always worried about what other people thought of her. I know there are a lot of people out there like this, but in my mind, she's in high school, so do what you want, because once you get to college, you can start over. Beth was always throwing a tantrum because she wasn't getting what she wanted, and that was getting old, very fast for me.

The only person who I loved, loved, loved in this book was Chase. He has had a crap of a life so far, but that has made him a better person - not worse. Instead of having juvie hardened him, he has learned what is important in life and is not going to take anything for granted anymore. He teaches Beth a lot of lessons that she takes to heart and starts inputting them into her life.

Overall, this was a good book. There were some flaws, but then again this is high school, so of course it will go through cycles to get to the great ending that Erin Watt is known for. I'm so glad I got a chance to read this eARC and I can't wait until it gets published so I can add it to my personal library!

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Review: Cracked Kingdom by Erin Watt

Cracked Kingdom by Erin Watt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After a brutal car accident, Easton finds his life in shambles. His girlfriend has amnesia and can't remember the last 3 years of her life - including the last few months with Easton - and his younger brother is in a coma and doesn't seem to be waking up soon. He is torn between wanting to be with Hartley to help her remember who she is and how much they care about each other, and having to be the adult and older brother taking care of his twin brothers.

Hartley is so confused. Everyone is telling her one thing or another, and she doesn't know what to believe. She is just trying to survive living at home and at school, but it seems that everyone has a vendetta against her, and she doesn't know why. But the more she learns about herself, the more she realizes that things are worse than she thought. The only person who really seems like they know her is Easton Royal, but she can't believe that she would be associated with Easton - with his reputation and all.

After finding out that both of their families are in danger, Hartley and Easton decide to take matters in their own hands to fix the situation. But it becomes more dangerous than they thought, and their lives could be at risk.

I feel like a terrible person... I gave this book THREE STARS!!!! :( I haven't given a 3 star rating to a book in this series because I love it so much, but I just didn't feel it as much as the other books...

Easton had to grow up fast and hard in this book, which I totally get, but it also changed his personality in the end, which is what I love about him the most. So losing that was losing a part of Easton for me.

And Hartley. Man, amnesia is terrible, but the way she let everyone walk all over her was terrible and broke my heart. She is such a strong character, and to see her put down by the snobby people in her life was just wrong. Thankfully she had a couple of moments where she put people back into place and shame them for being a bully, but it just wasn't the same.

I dunno, this book wasn't as much as I hoped it would be. It was rushed, it was full of information, it had too much going on with multiple characters and the reader didn't really get a book "this is the conclusion of the Royal family". Too many loose ends, to many questions at the end. I really want another book to talk about the issues that happened in this book and give me a warm fuzzy ending where everyone is happy with their lives. Because I can tell you this - the twins aren't happy. And we don't get to find out what happens with them, which makes me mad.

Overall, it was a good story, but it could have been better. I'm hoping that Erin Watt lied and will eventually give us more Royal books in the future - I'm willing to wait as long as necessary to get my happily ever after - for good.

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Review: Crossing the Line by Simone Elkeles

Crossing the Line by Simone Elkeles
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this eARC book from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.
Release date: June 12, 2018

Life for Ryan has not been kind throughout his 17 years. With no father around, and a drunk mother, growing up in Chicago was very rough, especially being bullied and beat up all of the time. But Ryan had enough and decided to learn how to fend for himself by learning how to fight - how to box.

Now his mom moved them to Texas when she remarried, and Ryan hates it there even more. He hates his stepfather, and his two stepbrothers. They are the epiphany of bullies, and his stepfather hates that Ryan won't conform to his ways and rules.

After being threatened one too many times, Ryan decides to go across the border to Mexico and find a famous boxer to train with. He is taking control of his life and needs to be better at boxing to survive on his own.

Dalila has grown up pretty privileged when it comes to families in Mexico. Her father is a well-known lawyer and has a great business that has provided her family with the funds they need to be able to have a great house and even security to walk their perimeter. And Dalila has gotten an amazing education, but only so she can become a heart surgeon like her older brother was going to do before he passed away from heart conditions. So now she has to live her brother's dreams because her parents are really pushing her to do so.

Even though Dalila looks like the perfect daughter, following all of the rules, she's actually a rule breaker through and through. In fact, she decides to go to Texas to a music concert with her two friends, Demi and Soona. And at this concert, she meets Ryan, who "saved" her from a mosh pit...

That's not the last time Dalila and Ryan meet, though. In fact, their lives become so intertwined with one another, and they find themselves drawn to each other. But their lives get incredible dangerous when shady cops, persistent detectives, and 2 cartels are out looking for these two for two very different reasons. With so much against them, their happily ever after may be in danger.

*Sad face*. I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I really did!!! I love Simone Elkeles and the fact that I just gave her book 2 stars is killing me inside a little bit right now. I thought that this book would be the opposite of Perfect Chemistry to the fact that the boy was white and the girl was Mexican, but there are so many things that are different, it can't even be compared to each other.

So, Ryan and Delila. I like them individually just fine, but when they are together, it just doesn't work for me. They are so awkward around each other and act like badasses and independent, but then all of a sudden they are confessing their love for each other. It went from 0 to 100 in a matter of pages, and that wasn't a gradual attraction to each other, but "the world is going to crap and you're here, so let's do this" type of thing. At least for me, anyway.

Then all of the different parties involved. There was SO MUCH GOING ON!!!! It was a bit hard to keep track of it, and then you throw in the Spanish language, where sometimes it wasn't translated that well for non-Spanish speaking readers, and I was confused. I don't tend to be confused that often because I am so engrossed into the novel that I follow everything to a T, but alas, I was.

And, lastly, the ending... I get it. I really, really do. But I just wish it didn't happen. I needed something more, because even though I didn't connect to the characters, I was still hoping for something more to happen at the end. It was a devastating ending that ended abruptly, and I was not pleased with it at all.

I feel like this could have been an amazing novel, but there were too many things I was struggling with. It breaks my heart that I couldn't get lost in this novel like I usually do, and the fact that I wasn't as emotional about the ending really showed me that I wasn't as invested in this book as I should have been.

I am totally a fan of Simone Elkeles, still, and hopefully this is the only dud for me out of her books. I may have to go re-read the Perfect Chemistry series to get this bad feeling out of me and keep her books as a fond memory for me.

I hope I am the only one that feels this way and that all of the other readers who get their hands on this book love it so much. It just wasn't meant to be for me, unfortunately :(

I am very grateful that I was able to receive an eARC novel of this book and look forward to seeing other readers get lost in the story when it is released!

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Review: One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cooper, Bronwyn, Nate, Addy and Simon have nothing in common. Except that they all had detention together one afternoon after school for the same exact reason: there was a cellphone in their bag that wasn't their's, and their teacher, Mr. Avery, has a zero tolerance for cell phones in his class.

So they all showed up, and were finding out that they were all played by someone. And then Simon collapsed, choking and not being able to breathe.

Turns out that Simon was poisoned and killed by someone. And that someone was in the room during the murder. All four teens have a secret to hide, and Simon was known for his app About That, where all of the students secrets at school were revealed, but they hadn't been featured on his app yet.

Now Cooper, Bronwyn, Nate and Addy are the prime subjects in this murder. They are being bombarded by the news, by classmates, and by their family as to what happened. When all of their secrets come out on the internet, the four of them are even bigger suspects in Simon's murder. Because each of their secrets are a major incentive on why they would want to kill Simon.

Pretty soon, it's just the four of them backing each other up, because they all know that no one in that room could have killed Simon. But trying to prove it before they are pinned by "new, anonymous" tips that keep showing up at the police's steps. No one seems to be able to help them, so now it's up to them to prove their innocence before it's too late.

This was great! I loved it! There was a bit of everything in this book - great romance, an amazing mystery, and a real-life story that anyone could relate to on some level.

Seriously, there was the murder aspect, then when all of the secrets came out, there was cheating on a class to pass, being secretly gay, being controlled in a relationship, feeling lost, insecure in life, and having to live in a household with no one to take care of you and love you. This book covered so many different, hard, real topics that I think any reader can find something to relate to and see how each of these characters came to overcome their problems.

And I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't completely guess who the culprit was until it was revealed to me. I had my suspicions, but I wasn't able to get all of the details down before the big reveal.

I'm so glad that I got around to reading this book finally and I think it will be a great book to discuss at my book clubs :)

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Review: Losing the Field by Abbi Glines

Losing the Field by Abbi Glines
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.
Release date: August 21, 2018

Tallulah has always been called the fat girl at school. She gets made fun of, laughed at, and is the focus of many jokes among her classmates. Through it all, she just ignores it and does her own thing. But when her crush, Nash - who has always backed her up and been really nice to her, even though his friends are making fun of her - laughs at a joke about her on the last day of school of junior year, it really crushed Tallulah.

That was the day she decided to walk for 5 miles, in the scorching heat, and she did that every day during the summer. She also stopped eating sweets and started eating more healthier. By the time she got back to school senior year, she had lost so much weight that she had to buy a whole new wardrobe to wear clothes that fit her. And all during summer, she was planning her revenge on how she was going to ignore everyone who made fun of her - especially Nash since he was the one that hurt the most.

Nash changed a lot over the summer as well - but in a different way. While playing football for fun, like he does every year, he messed up his leg with permanent damage. He can never play football again and he will have a limp for the rest of his life. Now, instead of being the easy going, fun guy, Nash is mad. He lashes out, he doesn't hangout with anyone, and he doesn't have any ambition for anything.

So when the two see each other again first day of senior year, they are both confused. Nash because he can't figure out why Tallulah is so mad at him - and how much she has changed in just a few months - and Tallulah because Nash is not the guy that she once knew.

And then there is a new teacher - the new football coach - and a new classmate, who is beyond popular on the internet. One will be a little too attentive to Tallulah, and the other will put Nash in a terrible situation.

At the same time, Tallulah and Nash are searching each other out, wanting to hangout with each other. But both still have their deep dark secrets, and once they come out, they may decide that they never knew each other that well in the end.

Okay, I am a huge Abbi Glines fan, but I'm finding that her new books/series that she has been writing is not really for me, which breaks my heart :(

This book was beyond annoying for me. I love that Tallulah decided to lose the weight, but I wish that she did it for herself and not because Nash hurt her, when he definitely didn't mean to. She was doing it all for the wrong reasons, and she should be doing it for herself, so that made me sad. Then she was going to get revenge on Nash for the way he hurt her, but none of that happened because she was still crushing on him and wanted his attention more than making him miserable. I mean, if you are determined to do something, don't back out of it because now you are getting attention from him.

Nash is somewhat of a jerk. I get that "his life is ruined" because he can't play football anymore, and that was his life, but he is still alive and well and he has all the time in the world to figure out what he is meant to do. And then when he sees Tallulah, he is suddenly attracted to her because she is skinny and pretty. It just blows my mind how self-absorbed these kids are. And the kicker is, they even think that themselves! But it doesn't change how they act, even when they know they are acting that way...

There are too many new characters, or characters who seem very important at the beginning and then fade away into nothing. Asa was all over Tallulah, but the second Nash decided that he wanted Tallulah, Asa was just gone, with no explanation until the very end of the book. I mean, really?

And then Tallulah. She is so ... aggravating. She plays the "I'm not naive" card and then she acts naive. She is used to being in the shadows where no one pays attention to her, and now that she is pretty, she is wondering why everyone is suddenly staring at her and wanting to hangout with her. She needs to decide what she wants and sticks with it. And then she gets cornered and "doesn't know what to do because maybe it's not as it seems" which is completely dumb and stupid to me. I would never have taken the crap that she went through. She was very mixed signals and it got on my nerves a lot.

Then a new kid shows up, is all over the place and everyone is freaking out, and then it suddenly comes to a stop with him.

I mean, can we stick with one storyline and not jump every which way? There was way too much in here, with not enough to keep it interesting, and then it suddenly slams shut on that storyline. I wish it was just about the two main characters and how they communicate to one another, because these two jumped to so many terrible conclusions, accused the other one, and then they miraculously forgave each other because they love each other... I'm all for a sappy romance, but this is too much for me.

I hope I am the only reader who feels this way, because I adore Abbi Glines and hope that other readers will find a different outcome of this book when they read it. I'm still going to snatch up as many Abbi Glines books I can afford, but I think I might be done with The Field Party series, if anymore are released in the future, because I just haven't been feeling these characters the entire time I've read this series.

I am very glad I got a chance to read this eARC, and I'm looking forward to see what else Abbi Glines will write!

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Review: Ace of Hearts by Chantal Fernando

Ace of Hearts by Chantal Fernando
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

Erin stumbled upon her birth certificate and, to her surprise, the name of her biological father is not the man that she has been calling dad her whole life. After confronting her mom, she found out where to find her real father and made it her mission to meet this man and get to know her father.

She knows that he is part of a motorcycle group, but Erin couldn't have possibly prepared herself for the party she walked into. Nor for the many crude proposals, or the intense feeling she gets toward one of the men who can't keep his eyes of her. And when she mentions the president's full name - something not a lot of people know - she finds herself being suspect of infiltrating their group.

But once she meets her dad, she is then treated like royalty. The unknown Princess of the Cursed Ravens MC has shown up, and she is not to need for anything. Her father is so happy to find out about her, and the guys are trying to make amends for how they acted toward her on the first night they met her.

And then there is Ace, the man who she kept watching, and who also kept watching her, that first night. Even though Erin heard her father say that no one is to go near Erin, she isn't keeping her own feelings quiet when it comes to how she feels toward him.

Erin has her own life and future goals to achieve, and will eventually need to leave to fulfill them, but she is realizing that she doesn't want to leave this new family she found. After finding out some information about what they have been hiding from her, though, Erin realizes that she may not know who these people really are. With her heart breaking, she is going to have to figure out what is best for her in the long run.

This was a great novel. I'm a sucker for motorcycle groups and bad boys who go after what they want - especially the girl they are falling for. There was enough mystery, romance, and suspense in this book that I was rushing through the story and finished it within hours!

I loved how feisty and dedicated Erin was. She wanted to know something? She came right out and asked it. She wanted to get something done? She damn well did it herself and made sure it got done. A motorcycle group didn't scare her - or at least she didn't let them know that they scared her - and she was so tough that it made sense that she was the president's daughter.

And Ace is just so swoonworthy. He was trying to avoid his attraction toward Erin because his Prez said to stay away and he must listen to all orders from him. But Erin was making it hella difficult to follow orders, and Ace was slowly caving into the connection and attraction they had for one another.

All of the characters were so fun and likable, so I think I may have to look for books 2 and 3 when they come out, because I absolutely love those guys who the book is about!

So glad I got a chance to read this and I am definitely going to keep this author on my radar! :)

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