Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall // The Fluffiest (And Cutest) Book You'll Ever Read

Signs Point to Yes, by Sandy Hall
Publication: October 20, 2015, by Swoon Reads
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

If only Jane’s Magic 8 Ball could tell her how to get through the summer. With her “perfect” sister, Margo, home for her “perfect” internship, Jane is not going to be able to spend the summer writing fan fiction, as she had planned. And her emergency babysitting job requires Jane to spend the whole summer in awkward proximity to her new crush, Teo, a nerdy-hot lifeguard with problems of his own. With his best friend out of town, Teo finds himself without anyone to confide in…except Jane. Will Jane and Teo be able to salvage each other’s summer? Even the Magic 8 Ball doesn’t have an answer…but signs point to yes.

My Thoughts:

Signs Point to Yes is like a batch of pink, fluffy cotton candy. Sometimes it only works to compare books to food, haha. This is such a fluffy, adorable story by Sandy Hall, an author who I really look up to, because she writes so magnificently, and with a concept that is easy to think of, she just mastered this grand story. This is even better than A Little Something Different, her first novel that was written in many perspectives—even that of a squirrel. Believe it. If you have never heard of Sandy Hall and her books, what are you doing here reading this review? Go out and purchase her beautiful stories, because when I read this one especially, I felt that love exists, even with teenagers. I read this in a jiffy (literally)—I read it in a sitting because I was too obsessed with it and after reading some hardcore HUGE books (some were even disappointing), I needed a quick read that carried fluff, instead of science-fiction that I have to deal with frequently. This is the perfect read for anyone at any time of the year. Agh.

I LOVED THE CONCEPT OF A MAGIC 8 BALL. Romance can be romance, love can be love and fluff, but adding some extra thing in is literally the best. Jane, our heroine, spends a big chunk of the novel wondering about her future and how things will end up to be, and for starters, she uses her Magic 8 ball to make these decisions initially. Afterwards, once her connection with Teo blooms and they start having feelings for each other (it's a no-brainer!), she realizes that she doesn't need the Magic 8 ball anymore and that she should just let life flow like water. That's inspiring and adorable. I LOVE WHEN BOOKS HAVE SPECIAL MESSAGES LIKE THAT. There are honestly some contemporaries in the world that are just so cheesy and the author spends the three hundred or so pages writing about making out. I swear, I have seen that before. This? Never. There is also a huge focus on superstitions and fear—Jane has a fear of thunderstorms, which I could really relate to because I'm downright terrified of them. FOR ONCE. FOR ONCE I CAN RELATE TO A CHARACTER IN TERMS OF FEAR.

I was afraid to read this one because I didn't want this to be a love-fest that is so cheesy that my throat will hurt as if I ate ten chocolate bars. I read many negative reviews prior to, and I was a little more scared than I should have been. Sandy Hall, you wrote this magnificently. I loved the simplistic writing, the fact that this takes place during the summer (which it is here in Canada) and how there wasn't insta-love. I swear, if there was an instant romance between Teo and Jane, I would've thrown this book out of the window. They have known each other since they were kids, which I always love to read about since the guys I was friends with when I was young go to a different school than me currently. THANK GOODNESS.

There is a big influence on perfection throughout Signs Point to Yes. For once, we have a protagonist who is in no ways perfect. Jane struggles with the subject of stupidity and perfection so much that I just felt so bad for her. She has to live with her "perfect" older sister, Margo, who actually has some secrets of her own that could change how other people look at her. Jane feels stupid and that she has no potential, no reason to go to college because she feels that she'll end up achieving straight C's. Even Teo's as*hole friend, Ravi (who I HATED), thought she was stupid and basically said it to her face. But Jane was like so many other characters I have read about: she was so intelligent and I admired the decisions that she made. Although I am not planning on doing the same things that she wants to do in terms of college and her future, it's a change from your ordinary perfect Harvard/Brown protagonist who still gets into so much trouble and is a character who is never doing schoolwork in the actual novel. Those books are seriously unrealistic, while this one absolutely is. 

I began enjoying it from the first page where Jane speaks of being antisocial over the summer. This is such a hilarious, realistic story that could honestly happen to anyone. Honestly, I'm thinking of seeking a babysitting job so I could find someone like Teo along the way, because hot damn, HE'S HOT. I loved Teo and his sweet, playful personality and aw. He has my heart. I say that with every male character I meet in books, but this is serious. JANE AND TEO ARE ADORABLE. I loved their shy personalities and how those two personalities mingled. They are legitimately perfect for each other. *heart skips a beat*

What made me not want to give this a perfect 5 star rating was Jane's (dumb) incident having to do with Teo's father. I would have never done what she did in this situation: snooped around in Teo's home, discovered that he was looking for his father, found his birth certificate, found his father's name, and tried to find him. I would've never done that. I was frustrated for about twenty pages, including during the fight that she and Teo had when she revealed all that she discovered to him. OF COURSE HE SHOULD BE UPSET, YOU WEIRDO. Hah, but I got over it. That was just a minor plot detail that could have been presented differently, in my opinion. I really did admire the whole theme of discovery, though. Teo seeking his father is something that is rarely written about in YA (or in books at all), and it gives us readers a first look at how life can be when you don't know anything about your family. 

We also see a SISTERLY RELATIONSHIP between Margo and Jane. AW. They eventually head on a road trip together (alongside Ravi, ew) and they are goals. I always admire sibling/parent relationships in books, and this was just another great one. Yay for diversity of Teo (Spanish) and Ravi (Sri Lankan) as well as the fact that JANE WRITES FANFICTION. Okay, so I'm not a fan of Doctor Who, but it was a great addition for the crazy fangirl audience we reviewers are these days. Yay for that, and yay for the whole book!

This is just a book for a teenager, you know? I sought that, and that's what I ended up getting. It's fluffy, cute, has a swoon-worthy romance (perfect since the publisher is Swoon Reads) and will make your heart flutter because it's so addicting, raw and real. It's more than just the relationship between Teo and Jane—it has so many messages that it would take me a year to explain.

Signs Point to Yes is perhaps one of the brightest, best contemporary-romance/chick-lit novels I have read this year. It's not for everyone, but if you were/are in the depressed sci-fi mood as I was before reading, this will be the uttermost perfect read for you. Now, if you excuse me, I'll be jetting off to find my own Teo and swoon over him. At least, I'll be doing that in my dreams. Currently, I'll be binge-reading Sandy Hall's next book, arriving in bookstores in August, Been Here All Along. Woo!

What is the best contemporary-romance book you read this year? What do you seek when reading chick-lit?

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland // Fun in the Sun (This Statement is As Cheesy As the Book)

Nantucket Blue (Nantucket #1), by Leila Howland
Publication: May 7, 2013, by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 294
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.
Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.
When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.
But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.
A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

 My Thoughts:

Nantucket Blue is one of those books that I added on to my TBR list ages ago when I underwent some kind of YA contemporary-romance chick-lit phase. It happens. I never stopped wanting to read it, either. I finally found a copy of it available when I went to the new library by my house. Seeing a copy in good condition also intrigued me, you know? I borrowed it, sat down in one of their uber-cool noise-cancelling chairs, and read half of it there. The other half? At home. It's currently summer vacation, and although I won't be spending any time on the beach until August, Leila Howland converted me from reality into Nantucket. You cannot imagine how much I want to visit Rhode Island, tour Brown University and take a ferry to this gorgeous island that I now know so much about. For some, this may be a cheesy chick-lit where we could all predict the ending. Yeah, it was extremely cheesy, but that's the fun of it. I really loved Nantucket Blue, and I am excited to read the sequel!

This story revolves around soon-to-be-seniors in high school, Cricket and Jules. They have been best friends since the eighth grade, and since Cricket doesn't have a good relationship with her divorced parents, Jules' home has become Cricket's, in a way. After a huge tragedy strikes, the two friends' lives change forever. This is right at the start of summer vacation, and Jules' family is still going to their summer home on a small island called Nantucket. Cricket follows Jules to show that their friendship still exists and gets caught in a summer fling in the midst of it all... yada yada yada.

You can most likely predict it if I tell you all about each of the characters and how Cricket gets involved with them. That's not why I read the book, to catch the predictability and make fun of the story. I read this book because I was looking for a book that will capture the great moments of summer and make me have this inexplicable feeling. This book is your perfect beach read, a book that you will fly by in a sitting and squeal over. 

Leila Howland is just such a good writer. This story was fast-paced, and although it takes place over a matter of two months, it never got boring. Boringness is a HUGE book pet peeve of mine, and if I get bored reading a book, I feel like it's a waste of time for me to read. Nantucket Blue was just so addicting and like bliss. It had this kind of 90210-like drama, but it was narrowed down a touch and made extra fun. 

Our protagonist, Cricket, was kind of the issue at times, but I liked her anyway. Overly attached characters are no fun. There were moments where I just wanted to slap the book and scream at it because Cricket never made the decisions that she should have made! Like seriously, making out with two guys in a day? Being nice and overly attached to your ex-best friend? NOOOO. Cricket Thompson is your stereotypical example of a bi*chy teenage girl. I honestly am so against stereotypes (they're the worst things possible), but Cricket Thompson fulfilled the ones that have been made for years because of shows/books like Gossip Girl. She had no respect for her parents, didn't care about anything she did, and was so boy-crazy that it blew my mind. 

At least the romance was cute when it came around. Screw Jay though. I can't believe that Cricket was obsessed with this douche-bag. ZACK, GUYS. I don't understand what was the big deal with the whole dating-best-friend-brother thing. I guess people have different opinions on all of this. The age difference kind of frustrated me, though. (Zack is a sophomore. Cricket is a senior).

My favourite thing was Nantucket itself. I've read books about The Hamptons, about Martha's Vineyard or Cape Cod, but never about Nantucket. I wouldn't have known about Nantucket if it wasn't for Leila Howland's duology. I WANT TO GO THERE. I want to eat fried clams, as well.

Nantucket Blue is one of the most summeriest books you could possibly read. Next time I go to the library, I'll have to grab a copy of the sequel and be introduced to another summer of Cricket's in Nantucket. Any lover of Melissa de la Cruz's contemporary novels should definitely go for this pretty. 

What is your favourite summer romance? What is an island that you would seriously like to visit in the future?

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig // Time-Traveling Awesomeness

The Girl From Everywhere (The Girl From Everywhere #1), by Heidi Heilig
Publication: February 16, 2016, by Greenwillow Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Time-Traveling, Romance
Pages: 443
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.
As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.
But the end to it all looms closer every day.
Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.
For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.
She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.
Or she could disappear.

My Thoughts:

This four point five star rating I am handing Heidi Heilig's debut time-traveling adventure romance (add in whatever genre you can think of and this book has it) is not exactly what it seems like. Honestly? Forget about that four point five and picture this book as a perfect ten. The Girl From Everywhere was mystical, dashing, magical, stunning and just oh-so-good, unlike my initial expectations. PEOPLE. I find that it's better to expect the worst than the best, even in reality. I initially expected a boring, un-understandable read for me with this one, but I flew through it in a sitting, and after it was over, I picked up my library copy and held it against my heart. (I get a little cheesy when I like a book so much). Oh, and why should you treat this as a perfect rating? Because the book was practically perfect. I will touch on a minor thing that set me off from granting this five stars, but it barely affected me in any manner. By the way, I just noticed the girl in the water on the cover of this book after reading. I LOVE THOSE SURPRISES. That's mega-cool.

The Girl From Everywhere has such a perfect title for the 443 pages that are stamped inside of this beautiful cover. It explains our heroine, Nix, so well. I'm so giddy with this book that I don't even know where my review should really begin. This is definitely one of the best books I've read this year, and perhaps ever. I cannot fangirl about it more than I already have and will.

For some reason, I expected this to be bad. Why? Because in the past, I have never enjoyed books about time-traveling mixed with historical events and myths. Okay, first of all, myths are rarely incorporated into YA these days, so that's a first... or second. Heidi Heilig writes about something that's deep in her heart, and I bet that she is seriously passionate about: Hawaiian culture. HOLY LEIS AND PINEAPPLES. I love Hawaii, I want to go there so bad. I mean, I always wanted to fly to the island of Oahu, be lei-ed (or whatever they call it), yell "Ohana means family" and say Aloha to every person I meet there. But now? This book introduced Hawaiian culture to me and it was so interesting to read about the most gorgeous islands in the world... back in the day, specifically in the nineteenth century. 

HOW DOES HEIDI DO EVERYTHING PERFECTLY? There's so much diversity in The Girl From Everywhere that I cannot stop squealing. We have Kashmir (HOLY I LOVE HIM, I'LL GET TO HIM SOON), who is from Persia when Nix and her father, Slate, find him, and there's also Bee, who is African. Bee's a crew member on The Temptation, the ship that Nix and her father time-travel or Navigate with. She's lesbian too, which shows us how DEDICATED this book is. I loved reading about each and every place that Nix Navigated to, including New York City and how she retold events from the past when they went to Scandia and how they saw dragons in the Baltic Sea.

"It was only the nervous shifting of his eyes that hinted at discomfort, but not with the city, nor with being on land. With his own skin. No matter where we went, he never felt at home. I recognized that feeling. I'd inherited it" (35).

Basically, The Girl From Everywhere is about our heroine, Nix, whose mother died when she gave birth to her. Her father, who is the captain of the ship that they, among others, time-travel, or Navigate with, called The Temptation, has never gotten over the fact that his true love is gone. He and Nix travel through time using maps that they find, going back centuries or millenniums into the past. Now, they are on the search for Nix's mother back in the past in Honolulu, Hawaii. That scares Nix, because she knows that she could possibly disappear if they do find her.

I was on the edge of my seat for the whole novel. Although it's about five hundred pages long, I couldn't stop reading from the moment I began the story. Heidi Heilig writes so casually, yet absolutely lyrically and different, perhaps more poetic than I would've expected. I loved everything about this story, how it teaches readers about culture, myth and the beautiful parts of loving life. I wish that I could GRAB ALL OF THE MAPS AND NAVIGATE MYSELF. It's a different twist on time-travel, and it's for a good reason.

You see, I always need some kind of description of the gears of time-traveling in a book I read. That's so important for me. Heilig did not info-dump on us, making up some weird explanations for why what Nix and her father do works. It was brief, yet unimaginable because no author has ever explored a bookish world like Heidi had. 

I don't understand the issues people had with this glorious story. It was racing, perfectly paced, and now? My life depends on the sequel. Honestly, a sequel isn't needed because the story ended off perfectly and we readers could imagine a continuing ending that works, but THERE IS ONE COMING AND DAMN, I NEED IT. I NEED HARPERCOLLINS TO SEND ME A COPY ASAP. I'LL TAKE A MANUSCRIPT THAT'S ALL WRITTEN OVER, IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES. Or, I could ask my favourite couple, Nix and Kashmir, to personally deliver it. *twiddles eyebrows*

Nix is your dream definition of a heroine. I loved her personality, and how she dealt with the situation she was in. She had every right to be confused and feel discomfort with her life, because she was taken away from what was supposed to be her future. It was interesting for us to get a first-hand look at the life she would've had if her father hadn't began Navigating for Nix's mother in the past, in nineteenth century Hawaii. She wasn't one of those protagonists who hated everyone around her for unexplainable reasons, you know? I found myself totally relating to her wanderlust, and NOW I WANT TO TRAVEL. People with severe wanderlust, this book is for you to take a trip with.

"Paradise is a promise no god bothers to keep. There's only now, and tomorrow nothing will be the same, whether we like it or not" (390).

KASHMIR AND BLAKE. Guys, we have a slight love triangle here, but unless you're really affected by them, you'll be fine. Blake is a character we are introduced to halfway through the novel, and he is living in the Hawaii that Nix visits with The Temptation. He hides this secret that he is also a mapmaker, and Nix is immediately drawn to his mysteriousness. I would be, too. I loved Blake and his mysterious character, but honestly? My heart is for the gorgeous Kashmir. Kashmir is Nix's best friend, and they have known each other for a long time. He is also a thief, and helps Nix's father to all of the deeds that Nix herself would never want to do. AGH. My heart flutters like hell when he's in a chapter. I need them to be together. She's kind of torn between the two, and I wonder how the next book will patch things up. AND GUYS. THE ENDING? Nix is well... *SPOILER* stuck with them both. Hah. *SPOILER ENDS*

So what I had a slight issue with was the ending itself. That was just chaotic and I found that it happened so fast that I didn't know what exactly happened. I still don't even know. I don't know how Nix's father made the decision that he did, and I had to go over the last chapter or so a few times, but it still was foggy. I need a greater explanation, PLEASE. But that's cool, fine. I LOVE THIS BOOK, OH EM GEE. 

The Girl From Everywhere is one of the most stunning debuts I have ever read. WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE (who cares about the love triangle? It works!), a heroine who is one of a kind, and a plot slash story that I cannot get out of my head. This book seems like a dream, I can't believe I was so fortunate to read it, because it's unlike anything that my brain would ever come up with in a million years. Who knows? Maybe I could Navigate into 2017 and grab a copy from the amazing Heidi herself. THAT WOULD BE THE BEST.

What is the best debut you have read recently? What have you heard about this amazing story?

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis // Hello, Marissa Meyer?

Stitching Snow, by R.C. Lewis
Publication: October 14, 2014, by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science-Fictiom, Fantasy
Pages: 338
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Princess Snow is missing.
Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.
Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

My Thoughts:

Stitching Snow is just like any other fairy-tale retelling, stemming from a classic Disney-created story that everyone knows and has seen somewhere else. I tried to not believe the other reviewers who said that this is very similar to Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, and I tried to believe that this would have some different effect, give me something else, but it turned out to disappoint more than I would have ever imagined. Stitching Snow is too similar to the Lunar Chronicles, and even the publisher promised that on the back cover of the paperback edition. You would think that I would rate this five stars then, because I loved Cinder. You're horribly wrong if you think so. This book could have been good in my opinion if I decided to read this when it was newly released in October 2014. Two years later, and you have a chick reviewing it who doesn't like science-fiction anymore, per se. 

Oh no, Princess Snow is missing. That kind of wasn't the point of the book. This was just about some intergalactic tension that the author found to be interesting to place a kick-ass heroine in. Listen, I liked Essie. I liked her character and how she was able to fight men and have confidence even afterwards. We need more heroines like her. Essie was the highlight of the story to me because I just adored her personality. Everything else seemed too unauthentic, including the romance that was begging to be made between Essie and Dane. I just didn't like the tension that existed. Like, it tried too hard to happen. I imagine the author thinking, "romance" and then stapling it into the story. Shouldn't it happen in a flowing, ordinary way? There's nothing "unusual" about romance, authors.

I imagine me liking this back in the day. My thirteen-fourteen year old self would have adored the way the world-building was placed, the amount of different gadgets listed and how the world wasn't necessarily in our world, our universe. It was interesting to read about the climate of the planet that Essie was on, but nothing was unique compared to other dystopians. Was this even dystopian? I don't even know. It's just fantasy or something.

Yes, there were comparisons to the original story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. First of all, R.C. Lewis' definition of dwarfs are drones, which is really cute. Snow White is less cool than Essie, let's just say that. Thank goodness there was that highlight in this story. The villain, or antagonist, is obvious. Read the first few chapters and you'll know. 

What also frustrated me was Dane. I LIKED HIM BUT I ALSO DIDN'T. You know that feel? He originally seemed like this unusual visitor to where Essie lived, but I liked his personality, and it seemed that he and Essie clicked... like friends. It's just that he reveals this secret that "SHOCKS" us fairly quickly. By chapter four, we knew... and it was like there's nothing left for us to read.

I liked R.C. Lewis' writing, but at times it felt forced and that's not necessarily the type of feel I want when reading a novel, especially science-fiction. Stitching Snow was very unnatural. 

Stitching Snow is the perfect science-fiction for new book readers of YA. I think that it's most perfect for readers new to the genre and are looking for something good. I've read too many like this and it's seriously getting boring. We have a lovely heroine who really does act like a hero and deserves the title, and a romance that isn't too great and seems forced, though. It's whatever your opinion on these kinds of books are. Fairy-tale retellings are always supposed to be pretty good, too. This? So-so. 

What is your favourite science-fiction fairy-tale retelling, if you know any others? What is your favourite Disney movie?

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick // Finally, A Good Becca Fitzpatrick Book!

Dangerous Lies, by Becca Fitzpatrick
Publication: November 10, 2015, by Simon and Schuster
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

A teen is forced to make a fresh start after witnessing a violent crime—but love and danger find her anyway in this novel from Becca Fitzpatrick, the New York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush saga.
Stella Gordon is not her real name. Thunder Basin, Nebraska, is not her real home. This is not her real life.
After witnessing a lethal crime, Stella Gordon is sent to the middle of nowhere for her own safety before she testifies against the man she saw kill her mother’s drug dealer.
But Stella was about to start her senior year with the boyfriend she loves. How can she be pulled away from the only life she knows and expected to start a new one in Nebraska? Stella chafes at her protection and is rude to everyone she meets. She’s not planning on staying long, so why be friendly? Then she meets Chet Falconer and it becomes harder to keep her guard up, even as her guilt about having to lie to him grows.
As Stella starts to feel safer, the real threat to her life increases—because her enemies are actually closer than she thinks…

My Thoughts:

Low expectations, guys, low expectations. Years ago, I read the highly recommended angel-love-story, Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick herself. I seriously expected a beautiful story that would have me obsessed as I was with, say, Divergent, but I ended up having mixed feelings about it all, especially because of the instant romance that fluttered with love and hate coming back and forth with each other. Later on, I was excited to hear that Becca moved from writing paranormal romance to thrillers. If you don't know me by now, I LOVE THRILLERS. Everything about them just make my heart flutter and I occasionally get these outbursts where I need to read a hundred of them in a row. I still need to read Black Ice, which I own, but for now, Dangerous Lies did it for me. I really enjoyed everything about it, and it's one of those books that you'll want to spend a day reading because you constantly feel this outrage of tension, making you feel like something could happen at any moment.

Dangerous Lies has been getting mixed reviews on Goodreads, and I expected the worst, because I rather be pleased than disappointed in the end. There is a strong romance in this book, mixed with real-life events that could happen to anyone. Our heroine, Stella, who I adored, is in the Witness Protection Program, and that could seem like a minor detail in the plot, but I loved how Becca centred the story around that. Stella moves to a small town in Nebraska, which is a setting I have seen for the first time in a book, and it makes us readers feel this tension that anyone could find her. It's interesting to read about settings like this because we don't know what to expect. Some would prefer to hide in big cities where they won't be found, while other prefer small towns in the middle of nowhere.

As mentioned, Stella is in the WPP after she witnessed a crime in her own house committed by her mother's "boyfriend" drug-dealer, after he shot another man in Philadelphia, her old home. She moves to Nebraska and lives with a woman who she immediately feels connected to. And then she meets a cute guy, Chet, and their connection becomes bigger but of course, there's a guy at home.

This book makes you think about how life brings surprises all the time. You could be living your life in a certain, ordinary way until something unexpected happens and everything you've ever known is taken from you forever, it seems. You could just have to move, like Stella had, out of nowhere for something that wasn't your fault. This novel was part mystery, part contemporary, and I liked how there was just a bit of everything: mystery, romance and the life of a senior in high school. There was the looming tension that Stella's mother would come out of nowhere, leave rehab and come and get there. There was the other part looming where Stella's boyfriend from home, Reed, would show up. Every chapter literally brought something new up and I couldn't take my eyes off the pages.

Becca Fitzpatrick's writing is very simplistic, and for this type of novel, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. I look for a pretty interesting plot, mixed with good characters and a mystery that's different—not your typical best friend murder story. 

Some people have mentioned how Stella's character is bit*hy. Yeah, she definitely is, but I actually loved that side of her, the arrogant, confident side that made readers be obsessed with her and wonder how she will solve her own problem. She's extremely independent, perfect for this small-town-setting. I loved how Becca made her have a relationship with her coworkers at the diner. Agh. This was just so great and refreshing, my friends.

Now, let's get to the romance. CHET AND STELLA ARE ADORBS TIMES A HUNDRED. Their relationship was not forced, as I have frequently read lately, and I love their carefree feeling, and how they could confide in each other. Go couples that tell each other their secrets and don't create drama that gets in the way of the real point of the book! *cheers*

Dangerous Lies, from its cover (which defines the book perfectly), to the last page, is just satisfying. It's one of the better mysteries I've read lately, and certainly one of the better books. I am seriously looking forward to what else Becca will be releasing in the future, and I just can see how this will make other readers go crazy. It took me long enough to read, though. By the way, there are tons of dangerous lies hidden in between the lines of the story, and you will be extremely shocked!

What do you think of Becca Fitzpatrick's writing and her books? What have you heard/thought about Hush, Hush?

The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry // Not For Me At All

The Love That Split the World, by Emily Henry
Publication: January 26, 2016, by Razorbill
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 396
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.

Natalie’s last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start... until she starts seeing the “wrong things.” They’re just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn’t right.
That’s when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls “Grandmother,” who tells her: “You have three months to save him.” The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.
Emily Henry’s stunning debut novel is Friday Night Lights meets The Time Traveler’s Wife, and perfectly captures those bittersweet months after high school, when we dream not only of the future, but of all the roads and paths we’ve left untaken.

My Thoughts:

DNF @ 150 pages

I usually do not have a problem with YA that includes characters who time travel. That has been done in Claudia Gray and Erica O'Rourke's work and their work is some of the best I have ever read, in all of Young Adult Fiction. WHAT HAPPENED HERE, MY FELLOW BOOKS AND REVIEWERS? I had a big problem with this book and I just did not want to keep reading after those 150 pages: strict boredom. 

Why do I, as a reader, have to force myself to read a book? For an in-depth review? To recommend/not recommend the book to other readers on Goodreads and on my blog? I do not want to waste my time reading books that are not my kind. The Love That Split the World was one of those. I fell in love with the cover ages before it was released, and I was just really excited to read it. I thought that the Grandmother concept would be different and exciting, but I just felt that Emily Henry has provided readers with a bland story. I do not know if I could pinpoint this one with another book, but I just did not enjoy it as much as I wish I had.

Listen, I liked the fact that our protagonist, Natalie, is Native-American. This provides diversity and it goes so well with what the book is supposed to offer. Supposed to. It was supposed to offer readers a chance and glimpse at what it is like to be at the point of your life where you do not know what is coming next. I am not there yet, so I couldn't relate. Aimee @ The Social Potato's review just summed my feelings perfectly. IT WAS TRYING TOO HARD TO BE NATURAL, INTERESTING. I just did not feel the contemporary, you know? I could not even point whether this is contemporary, fantasy, romance or something in between. I just gave up.

Possibly, if I had been in a different mood, I would have finished this. When my mind began to be distracted by other things (because of how boring this was), I decided that I wanted to move on to my next read. To be completely honest, I do not even remember what this was all about. It is just a girl who is trying to save some guy that an imaginary "Grandmother" told her to save. That's weird, if you ask me.

I have realized that I made a good decision with books (for once, in my life): I DNFed a book that disappointed me. Perhaps it will not disappoint you; there are many positive reviews out there, anyway. Emily Henry writes a little weirdly, if you ask me, but there is a lot of potential for this to be praised with its diversity and interesting heroine. The romance? I do not recall anything special about it. And trust me, I am a romance lover. The Love That Split the World really did split me apart.

What is the last book you DNFed? What was wrong with it? What are some NEW books that feature diversity?