Book Review: [ARC] My Riot by Rick Spears

Posted on 08/03/2020 by Lenn

Title: My Riot

Author: Rick Spears

Publication Date: October 20, 2020

Number of Pages: 188

Publisher: Oni Press

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis:

Set in the early ’90s, My Riot is about a trio of teen girls team up to form a rock band and shake off society’s expectations of what it means to be a young woman coming of age in the modern world.

1991—Val, a teenager from a conservative family, has grown up dreaming of becoming a ballerina, but recently something has changed. She’s begun feeling pressure to conform to a specific idea of beauty, body type, and a personality that just doesn’t fit.

Val meets Kat, a smart, witty girl that doesn’t take any crap off anyone. Kat introduces Val to punk rock. Along with Rudie, another new friend, the three form an all-girl punk band they ironically name The Proper Ladies.

Soon Val and her friends find themselves caught up in a movement with other girls also starting bands—also finding their voice. Collectively, these “riot grrrls” discover that their songs ring out loud and powerful, and for Val, there’s no going back.
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Book Review: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Posted on 07/22/2020 by Lenn

Title: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Date Published: September 26, 2006

Number of Pages: 396

Publisher: Crown Publishing Book

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Synopsis:

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming. Continue reading →

Series Review: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Posted on 06/22/2020 by Lenn

Series Title: The Mortal Instruments
Author: Cassandra Clare
Number of Books: 6 (See the full list here)
Prequel: The Infernal Devices
Sequel: The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours
Spin-Off(s): The Shadowhunter’s Codex, The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
Publication Dates: March 2007 to May 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Action, Young Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Synopsis for City of Bones:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…

Continue reading →

Book Review: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Posted on 05/20/2020 by Lenn

Title: Why We Broke Up

Author: Daniel Handler

Art: Maira Kalman

Date Published: December 27, 2011

Number of Pages: 354

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

I’m telling you why we broke up, Ed. I’m writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

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Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Posted on 05/10/2020 by Lenn

Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Date Published: April 1, 2014

Number of Pages: 319

Publisher: Abacus

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Synopsis:

As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

We are not quite novels.

We are not quite short stories.

In the end, we are collected works.

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died; his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history; and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island—from Chief Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who’s always felt kindly toward him; from Ismay, his sister-in-law, who is hell-bent on saving A.J. from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who persists in taking the ferry to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.’s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, he can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It’s a small package, though large in weight—an unexpected arrival that gives A.J. the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn’t take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J., for the determined sales rep Amelia to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light, for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.’s world. Or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn’t see coming.

Continue reading →

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Posted on 04/15/2020 by Lenn

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Date Published: December 2, 2010

Number of Pages: 372

Publisher: Speak

Genre: YA Contemporary, YA Romance, Realistic Fiction, Chick Lit

Synopsis:

Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she’s less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she’s waiting for? Continue reading →

Book Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

Posted on 04/06/2020 by Lenn

Title: You

Author: Caroline Kepnes

Date Published: September 25, 2014

Number of Pages: 422

Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery

Synopsis:

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder. Continue reading →

Book Review: Wicked Fox (Gumiho, #1) by Kat Cho

Posted on 08/21/2019 by Lenn

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Maybe it’s wrong for us to hold any one person as our whole world. Maybe it’s wrong of us to owe all of our happiness or sadness to one person.”

I finished reading this book early last month and I just finished writing my review about it. Now, where to start? Well, for one, I totally enjoyed reading this book. It’s about a girl who kills people in order to survive and a boy who was trapped in the forest and was captured by a dokkaebi. Ironically, the girl saves his life and both their worlds has never been the same since.

I’m not really that into K-drama, so I can’t say that I’ve been waiting for a book of this kind like everyone else. But I do love mythology of all sorts, so when I heard about this urban fantasy-romance book, I thought, “Why not?” And I ended up loving it more than I thought I would. All I can say is that for a debut novel, this has the makings of an awesome story. It’s a light, fun, fast-paced read that will surely keep you turning its pages. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House for providing an ARC of this book. ♡

Book Review: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Posted on 09/28/2017 by Lenn

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Read: August 2017

Another YA Contemporary Romance I’ve read is Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley and I swear I just digested the whole book in one sitting, it’s that adorable!

Here, we follow Rachel Sweetie and Henry Jones, who have been bestfriends for years and have been inseparable since they first met. Rachel has been secretly in love with him, but Henry has his eyes on Amy. Before Rachel leaves for Sea Ridge, she left a Henry a letter declaring her love inside one of Henry’s favorite books in the Letter Library, a section Henry’s family’s secondhand bookshop.

This book just gave me all the feels and I just can’t explain how much I loved it. I can drink up all the words Cath Crowley has written in this one. Her writing is astoundingly adorable which made this book so freaking endearing. The humor and the “drama” is balanced.

I just love books that talk about books. I’ve jotted down so many titles that were mentioned in this book that I wanted to read soon. I like how it also taught us that we should never let go of the things we love, even when it gets hard, especially when it gets hard. I loved, loved, loved this book to bits and I recommend it to everyone. Just read it!

“If we all gave up on the thing we love when it gets hard, it’d be a terrible world.”

Book Review: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Posted on 09/15/2017 by Lenn

Rating: ★ ★ ★
Read: August 2017

I’ve been reading YA Contemporary books recently and in this one, we follow Sam who’s grieving for his bestfriend’s death. They’ve been friends their whole lives and, well, each other’s the only one they’ve got. So when Hayden took his life, Sam was lost and the only thing he’s left with is a playlist. Throughout the book, Sam’s trying to figure out the answers to why Hayden did what he did using the playlist he’s left Sam with.

I liked the idea of this book and how lessons are thrown in chapter after chapter. I gave it a flat three stars because I just felt like I didn’t connect to the characters as much as I thought I would. The book entirely wasn’t dragging, but I feel like it lacked something along the way, like, there could’ve been more.

The cover was amazing and I liked it very much. Michelle Falkoff’s writing was okay, and I’m definitely going to read Pushing Perfect.

“People are going to say a lot of things. And some of it will be helpful, and some of it will be annoying, and lots of it will get on your nerves. But they’re saying it because they found it helpful when they lost someone. They mean well.”

Lenn of Spades ♠

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