What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum // Promising and... Good.

What to Say Next, by Julie Buxbaum
Publication: July 11, 2017, by Delacorte Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 292
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Rating: ½

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?

My Thoughts:

Julie Buxbaum's What to Say Next looks as promising a glass of iced, cold pink lemonade. No jokes. When I first saw its cover and read the summary, I discovered that this could be the cutest summer read ever. The word I can use to describe this book is "good." It surely was not amazing or phenomenal or *insert extremely positive adjective here* but hey — I enjoyed it. I loved the back-and-forth perspective change between the two protagonists, Kit and David, who were interesting, conflicted characters, who, by the end, I discovered were quite similar.

Buxbaum introduces us readers to this book by making it seem as if high school is like what we see it is in movies. That's acceptable; this is a chick-lit book, after all. However, learning who Kit and David really are helps us understand that everyone is conflicted in some sense - that we are all able to create different personalities that do not describe us well. Kit, the so-called popular girl at school who seems to be getting everything she wants in life, finds that her life completely changes when her father dies in a car accident. And everything starts crumbling. She finds that her friends are acting too fake, not wanting to address what actually happened, and that her mother is hiding more secrets about her and her father's relationship. 

Her life collapses until she starts to pay attention to the "weird" David Drucker. And I loved that David was Kit's remedy, and that she was his. That's the kind of love I want - the one that you do not expect and that fits so well in your life. Agh. I guess you can tell that I totally supported the characters' relationship and loved it.

But. 

There's always a but.

It felt forced. I felt that Kit kind of moulded herself into David's arms without really wanting to. Buxbaum wanted to create a relationship that was unlike others, so she put the 'weirdo and popular girl' together. And of course that will cause audiences to go mad and excited, because it's different than all of the other contemporaries out there. Yay for that - but meh. In addition, I was bored every now and then, which made me take around two weeks to finish this. *frowns*

What to Say Next makes me feel like I do not really know what to say next. It was DEFINITELY GOOD. I loved the concept and relationship, and aside from a few negative spots, I definitely recommend it.

*A review copy was provided by the author in exchange for a honest review. Thanks so much!*

What is the coolest, most atypical relationship you have seen in books recently?

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon // A Real Shocker Rating, That's For Sure

The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon
Publication: November 1, 2016, by Delacorte
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 344
Format: ARC
Source: BEA/Publisher
Rating: 

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

My Thoughts:

I'm kind of dreading to put this review up into the big, scary world right now. Every review I have read for this book, Nicola Yoon's newest contemporary romance that was supposed to be better than her debut, Everything, Everything, which completely stole my heart last year and made it onto my top ten favourite books of 2015, The Sun is Also a Star, was positive. Everyone is giving this a big fat five star rating, but to be honest, I'm just not feeling all of this "diverse romance." I appreciate it so much, though. Seeing two beautiful characters who each have their flaws and who each have struggled in different ways in the second biggest city in the world, New York City, seeing them fall in love is gorgeous. I love how Nicola Yoon based the romance of Daniel and Natasha off her own marriage with her husband. I love how much potential this book had. But now, I was completely disappointed with the outcome of this one. The Sun is Also a Star has proved that the sun is also a star, but nothing more, to be quite clear. 

Nicola Yoon is a talented author and I adore her writing completely. Something just fell apart when I read The Sun is Also a Star. I found the romance to be too good to be true, too much relied on fate (especially on those random appearances where they would find each other in the middle of a huge city) and I just didn't feel like fangirling or shipping Daniel and Natasha, because obviously, this is a contemporary romance, and they are bound to end up together. Bound to be together. This might have been my reaction because (A) I have been reading better contemporary-romances lately and (B) when I picked this up, I was on the plane heading on vacation. I might have been too distracted and excited that this ended up seeming... well, bland. I'm hoping that that was not the case at all, because I don't want to pick this one up again.

The thing is that I just didn't feel the romance. It didn't seem powerful, or rooted by something or a relationship that has been sewn together for a longer period of time. Daniel and Natasha meet, Natasha initially thinks that she's not ready for a relationship, and they end up making out and throw away all of their life's desires. It happened so suddenly, and I just don't get why anyone isn't commenting on the fact that this kind of was an instant romance, in a way. I love Yoon's writing most definitely because she easily transports readers into another world for a few hours, or at least, until we finish the book or decide to give reading a rest.

"Rob says I don't believe in true love. And he's right. I don't. But I might want to."

I adored Daniel and Natasha both as separate characters. They are so similar in so many ways and I loved how Yoon compared their struggles and made them stick together during their hardships. Daniel is used to be the son of Korean parents who has to be perfect, who has to go to an Ivy League school, who has to be a doctor, who will not disappoint his harsh parents, and remind them of his Harvard-dropout brother. Natasha, on the other hand, also has family struggles, but different ones. Her family is on the urge of possibility of being deported back to Jamaica, where they came from, and Natasha doesn't want anything to do with her father, who ruined their family. 

The setting of this book couldn't be in a better place: NYC. I have such a huge connection to NYC, after visiting it twice and adoring everything about the busy life. There are so many landmarks included here where I have personally visited, and I loved the city lifestyle incorporated into these characters' lives. It's so... personal. I feel like comparing this whole book to Everything, Everything, and if I seriously did that—everything would change here. Everything, Everything had things that this surely did not have. We had a real story that we have never read about before. This is nothing special, though I did fairly enjoy it either way because I like romance. We had a believable romance that makes me jealous because I'm nearly the same age as the characters in Yoon's books.

For some positives, I adored the ending and Natasha's obsession with science and stars. It makes us think, you know, that the title has so much meaning to it, unlike some books we read today, those books that make us sit and wonder why the title even exists.

One word I would use to describe The Sun is Also a Star is "meh." It was interesting enough to make me want to read and discover what is going to happen to the characters by the end of it (because we all know that relationships don't always last), but it lacked a lot of things that the author's debut definitely had (and had an overdose of). That gorgeous cover just wants to make me cry. I WANTED THIS TO BE 1000 STARS AMAZING. 

*A review copy was provided by the publisher via BookExpo America in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What did you think of Everything, Everything? What do you think of books just focused on romance? Do you support instalove?

Blog Tour: Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff

Places No One Knows, by Brenna Yovanoff
Publication: May 17, 2016, by Delacorte Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Rating: ½

For fans of Lauren Oliver and E. Lockhart, here is a dreamy love story set in the dark halls of contemporary high school, from New York Times bestselling author Brenna Yovanoff.
Waverly Camdenmar spends her nights running until she can’t even think. Then the sun comes up, life goes on, and Waverly goes back to her perfectly hateful best friend, her perfectly dull classes, and the tiny, nagging suspicion that there’s more to life than student council and GPAs.
Marshall Holt is a loser. He drinks on school nights and gets stoned in the park. He is at risk of not graduating, he does not care, he is no one. He is not even close to being in Waverly’s world.
But then one night Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall’s bedroom—and when the sun comes up, nothing in her life can ever be the same. In Waverly’s dreams, the rules have changed. But in her days, she’ll have to decide if it’s worth losing everything for a boy who barely exists.

My Thoughts:

Discovering that I was able to review this book was a dream come true. This, the lovely Places No One Knows, is the first book I have ever read by Brenna Yovanoff, and after hearing mixed reviews about her novels and method of writing, I had mixed feelings myself. But I must say that my feelings/anticipation was more on the hopeful side. Places No One Knows was not the best book in the world, but this story does have every single thing that every contemporary novel needs, and even a little bit more: SASS. FLAIR. LOVE. Those three words can describe my feelings, honestly. And that's a good thing. I normally have a difficult time deciding on what my opinion of a novel will look like, but this, the first work I have reviewed by Yovanoff, is a perfect example of what a good book looks like. Minus my dislike of the dreaming theme, of course.

From what I expected (especially from the cover), I expected an ordinary contemporary built with some coming-of-age theme. Don't get me wrong: this book is solemnly written about Waverly's difficulty of herself coming of age, but I must set a disclaimer straight: I was fooled yet again. Again. The last time this occurred was with Siobhan Vivian's newest, The Last Boy and Girl in the World. Listen, friends: I don't really like to read synopses thoroughly before I read a book, and this occurred with both of these two cases. There is nothing majorly wrong with these two books. Who knows, maybe the authors wouldn't have done such a good job with my original thought? Brenna Yovonoff captured the light and darkness of dreams and romance, whipped together as if they were created a secret recipe of a cake. We have two love interests, Waverly and Marshall, who legitimately have foil personalities (making the story even more scandalous), and I really enjoyed their love story that came together because of the unusual. THEY ARE SO CUTE.

"Let me tell you about blisters: they are irrelevant. They tear, they weep, they scar, but they do not keep you from getting to the finish line. Pain is a series of impulses. It helps from your nerve endings to your brain, telling you to move your hand off the burner, to get that gash stitched up. It's an evolutionary function, a language of survival. Pain as a concrete, factual thing does not exist." (45)

This is a witty story that seems legit. We have an intelligent protagonist, who, makes the right decisions and does not spend all of the pages of the novel thinking about makeup. Boys, maybe, but I really admired Waverly's sense-of-self throughout the story. It never changed, or deteriorated. Waverly simply had, and continued to gain her coming-of-age as she matured and overcame new experiences. Marshall was her exact foil, and the cheesy love quote of opposites attracting really does make sense when we compare these two love interests together. Marshall is your stereotypical guy who drinks, smokes, and doesn't care about school. Stereotypical. No opinions added, I promise. But he does have a dark side to his story that most people do not expect. This just shows how judgmental and prejudicial our society is. Another problem that leaves me for another blog post and another time. I admired his cycle of gaining positivity very highly.

I had major issues with the formatting. This book was written so absurdly, more weirdly than anything else I have read for years. Brenna Yovonoff has that unique style to her writing, absolutely, but, the way it was written just kind of made me dissatisfied and hesitant to continue. I've seen that this is also a big problem to other reviewers as well. We have a back-and-forth rotation of perspectives between Waverly and Marshall, but at the same time, the narration was completely confusing. This book was confusing itself. From the synopsis to the moment I flipped the last page, something was... off. It could have been just me, don't get me wrong. But Places No One Knows is a little too eerie for my liking. That was the only con, to be honest, but I was kind of laid off and a little tinkered with a bit too much by this.

The funny thing is as I was reading, I felt that everything was going downhill. I was on page 100 when I realized that this was not going to well. And something just switched. I grew to like Waverly even more than I initially had, and the romance and everything was put together beautifully. The dream thing... I cannot really still comprehend it, but whatever.

There are books that we will find in life that are just not for us and we end up a little hesitant with the outcome. Places No One Knows was kind of like that, but I felt more, much more satisfied than dissatisfied. If you like complex stories, then great. If you enjoy a novel with a good base of characters and romance, then great as well. Even if you normally do not pick up plain contemporary, for sure there are elements of other great authors such as John Green or Lauren Oliver that give us the vibe to absolute enjoyment.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What are your thoughts on romance, specifically contemporary mixed with dream-related themes? What are some books like this? (I do like books similar to this, to be honest!)

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir // I Actually Enjoyed This!

Suspicion, by Alexandra Monir
Publication: December 9, 2014, by Delacorte Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Seventeen-year-old Imogen Rockford has never forgotten the last words her father said to her, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family’s English country manor.
For seven years, images of her parents’ death have haunted Imogen’s dreams. In an effort to escape the past, she leaves Rockford Manor and moves to New York City with her new guardians. But some attachments prove impossible to shake—including her love for her handsome neighbor Sebastian Stanhope.
Then a life-altering letter arrives that forces Imogen to return to the manor in England, where she quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind Rockford’s aristocratic exterior. At their center is Imogen herself—and Sebastian, the boy she never stopped loving.
Combining spine-tingling mystery, romance, and unforgettable characters, Suspicion is an action-packed thrill ride.

My Thoughts:

Suspicion is the riveting tale about magic, labyrinths (agh, I remember discovering the definition behind that word), romance and a British empire and family who keep undergoing death and nasty (drama) things. I loved the main character, and just about every speck of gorgeousness that Alexandra Monir provided readers with from start to finish. This is a true gem at the bookstore, library or any other bookish provider that you know of. Weeks later, I am still shocked with everything that occurred, and everything is so new in my mind that it just keeps repeating truly like some endless labyrinth or cycle. This newbie has caught my eye for a long time, though not being captivated by Monir's time traveling trilogy, I had second guesses. If you are even not the biggest fantasy fan, this light read could seriously change that, as it is not a heavy duty read where you have to pry your eyes open and put that lame thinking cap on to make sure you understand every plot bit.

Alexandra Monir implants royalty and magic together, two things that go with each other like milk and cookies. We have our protagonist, Imogen, who never knew that she would one day become heir to her throne, and after spending many years in New York City with a foster family who loves her as if she was their own child, she decides to head back to London where her family's history resides beside her. 

Okay, there's romance, there's drama. I aspire to read books like that. If this did not contain any kind of romance whatsoever, I think my attention span would have died down, and this certainly could have been a DNF or close. The fling between Imogen and Sebastian just made complete sense with it all. I highly feel like promoting it. PROMOTE THE ROMANCE WITH FANTASY, PEOPLE!
The cover just makes so much sense and I feel this Selection by Kiera Cass vibe coming from this. Do not expect the actual selecting part though. This cannot compare to The Bachelor, my fellow rom-com obsessed friends. Instead, we had the kick-ass royalty thing coming along. Monir experiments this plot with a modern-day setting in London. I certainly have rarely seen high fantasy mixed with mystery mixed with contemporary. There goes the risk-taking that I love when authors take!

This just turned out to be such a great read that I highly recommend. I finished it in a sitting, devoured it instantly, and went around later explaining it to my friends. I have this itsy-bitsy feeling that they are hooked. This is not your Snow Like Ashes thing with elements or dragons. This is something that who knows, could exist somewhere. Think of death, parallel universes and a pretty garden with maids who fake things. Wow. *takes a breather*







What is interesting is that this apparently is a retelling of the book(?) Rebecca. We have myths and just about everything fitting in together to make this just the way we YA fans adore these kinds of books. Fall in love with this book, adore this book, make all of the positive things happen because this is truly one to remember.

Do you know any fantasy books that are retellings? Have you read Rebecca?

Teardrop by Lauren Kate // I've Outgrown This

Teardrop (Teardrop #1), by Lauren Kate
Publication: October 22, 2013, by Delacorte Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 441
Format: Hardcover
Source: Gifted
Rating: ½

Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean. And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense. Can everything you love be washed away?

My Thoughts:

I'M OVER BOOKS LIKE THIS, PERIOD. As you might've heard before, I am a total hater of paranormal books. It's the freaking worst genre. I've read tons of books in the past and I just can't stand to read about some forbidden romance where someone has some "cool" power to save the world. This isn't about superheroes either, people. It's just about a seventeen-year-old who goes through modern contemporary issues, like loss, and with that "extra-special" power of crying and flooding the world. Can this get even cheesier? I need something to help me forget about this. *jokes*

Lauren Kate delivers a novel, the start to a series that's completely not for me. It's not that I've read something like it, either. I just suspected that I'd enjoy it because... it was written by her, an author whose books I have loved in the past. I wonder if I gave Fallen a chance again, what would've happened this time around. It certainly would've been humouring, that's for sure.

Teardrop is boring, pointless and senseless. I don't see anything special about it, except for the beginning portion of the novel, perhaps. The writing is weak, the characterization and relationship-making is weak, and the romance is downright suspicious. The whole freaking novel is suspicious, for that matter. Some authors aren't meant to be writing about the same kind of concept over and over again after they had once succeeded. And first we should talk about how this was 'trying to be interesting.'

Look at the names, for goodness' sake. Eureka? Ander? Having to read about a girl who tried so hard to be different, though also trying to show that she was ordinary at the same time. It's like she complained about her being ordinary, but then didn't want to draw attention to herself. *shrugs* I was barely into this book, which somehow left me questioning why hadn't I DNFed it. I'm too much of a good person. 

SO I HAD HIGH HOPES. I was ready to adore it, make a special place on my bookshelf of read books for it, kiss the cover an endless amount of times. I can only dream about that. The story was weak, not really formed to a great "paranormal way" and it's like the concept of teardrops had come out of nowhere, only relating to the fact that Eureka was trying to get over her mother's death. That's just about it. The beginning started off well and strong, not really getting into the main storyline until Eureka met Ander, a weird stalkerish figure who thought that he actually "loves" her.

Love? Is that the author's definition of love? Watching a mysterious girl from afar, knowing everything about her and ready to take a quiz on her, her being okay with it all? That's completely downright outrageous. There was no connection, no nothing except weirdness and a strange context. I don't even feel like analyzing the story and trying to see what the characters actually represented because they were as plain as water, without any fizz or pizzaz.  

If this hadn't been written by Lauren Kate or had a great, stellar cover, I don't think that I would've picked it up. When I look back, I probably wouldn't have remembered anything about this bland story except for the fact that it was boring. The names? Nope. Thank goodness I read the summary again, because you would've been reading a review written by a confused woman, just saying. Teardrop isn't a book that's too raved about, so I'd go into it with a harsh tone, only expecting the worst possible route out of it. Good luck, because you should always remember that there are books in the world that are much worse than that one. *laughs* At least there were a few pros. 

Are you into paranormal-romance? I find that the whole Twilight and Vampire Diaries fandom kind of took the goodness out of it. I hope I don't have anything in the genre on my shelves now!

Reaching Through Time by Lurlene McDaniel // Time-Travel Portrayed Quickly and Interestingly

Reaching Through Time: Three Novellas, by Lurlene McDaniel
Publication: August 9, 2011, by Delacorte Press BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Time-Traveling
Pages: 240
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating: ½

What's Happened to Me?     Sarah finds herself in a strange place, and she can recall only one thing—her name. A young man, Heath de Charon, explains to Sarah that he found her unconscious on the grounds of his family's estate and has been caring for her. Sarah is thankful, but when she starts hearing voices that whisper for her to come back, she is confused, and desperate to find out where she really belongs.
When the Clock Chimes     Drake Iverson lands a summer job on Sandstone Mountain. There are no computers; he has to do all the work by hand in a large leather-bound book. He doesn't mind, as long as he can be near Gina, who is pretty and kind. But when Gina falls ill, Drake is asked to leave. He is determined to find out what happened to Gina and to uncover other mysteries he encounters on Sandstone Mountain.
The Mysteries of Chance     Dylan Sorenson offers his help to a girl who seems to be in distress. The girl, Maura, explains that she's simply overwhelmed by the heat and quickly runs off. But Maura is soon drawn back to Dylan and a friendship and budding romance begins. However, Maura doesn't reveal the whole truth about herself, and Dylan has secrets of his own. Can their relationship withstand the deception?

My Thoughts:

So for some reason, I was super excited for this book although I have not really been into the subject of time-traveling. I have read Lurlene McDaniel's work in the past, the amazing Hit and Run, but this? To tell you the truth, the only reason why I actually picked it up was because it was in the bargain section, and I recognized the author's name. Reaching Through Time was short, quick and a breeze, with one story that I actually adored. So, really, let me just break my thoughts of each story down to make it simpler.

What Happened to Me?: So this would probably noted as the worst of the three. How many stars would I give it? 3. So basically the concept is about a girl thinking she has woken up in a weird place. Readers first suspect that she is in the afterlife or in a parallel universe, trying to get back home. But then again, she has amnesia and barely remembers who she is, what is her name, where is she or what has happened to her. The person who "saves her" is named Heath, and he is filthy rich. Sarah then tries to solve the mystery and get back to her family, as she knows Heath certainly is not. 

I liked the revelation of who Heath really was and where Sarah is, but the points and details in-between were too storylike. Fairy-tale like. This is supposed to be a YA novel, not one about a teenage girl going on horses and someone falling in love with someone who is strictly forbidden in a way. I mean, there were some captivating things about this novella, but then again, it's not the right thing for me either. McDaniel's writing can either leave you obsessed or disgruntle. 

 It is evident that if you are a preteen, this short story might mesmerize you. Trust me.

   

When the Clock Chimes: YES. Reading this novella was like watching America's Got Talent or American Idol, watching the judges make certain individuals feel like they obtain the most memorable talent the show has ever seen. When the Clock Chimes was racing and left me aching for a full novel. It takes place in a span of fifty pages, and I was enchanted from the first one. This features a male protagonist named Drake, who has just moved to a small rural area of North Carolina where he immediately signs up for a summer job, working at the house of an ex-Harvard professor. He has a daughter named Gina, who Drake is attracted to, but as he sees that his boss feels weird with the fact that there's a romance between them, Drake tries to back off but his feelings make sure that he knows it's impossible. 

If you enjoy time traveling, this story has everything you've ever wanted. A pure, innocent love story, mystery and a time machine. I am glad that I actually got to devour this all in one sitting. I cannot get enough of it. 

The Mysteries of Chance: So as we read on, we're able to tell that all three stories focus on one kind of virtue: chance, forbidden love and finding yourself. Instead of the protagonist having to time travel and get into some mystery world, here we have the side character jumping into our male protagonist's world. Dylan saves a girl named Maura who he immediately thinks of as strange, but she quickly denies that nothing's wrong with her. I guess you can tell what is coming next. I wasn't too into this one either, but enjoyed the romance. 

Reaching Through Time practically can leave you bursting. Bursting to research and see if these kinds of stories are possible, because really, who knows? McDaniel portrays her writing with brilliant protagonists who just seem lost in modern day society and end up trying something new. It's not something I may want to read again, but I enjoyed it either way for a few hours and sittings.

What do you think of novellas being featured in a full-length novel?