Nerve Movie Review

If you know me you know how I feel about the book version of Nerve... If you don't click here to hear me rant and pick apart this book and all if awfulness. However, Lindsey and I just left the theater where we spent the last hour 40 minutes expecting to leave and do the same thing with the film. Let me breakdown for you what actually happened.

Okay, so Nerve is about a live action truth or dare game (minus the truth part). Where people can sign up to be either players or watchers. As you might have guessed the watchers pay to watch and film from a distance while remaining anonymous and the players perform the dares for cash prizes. After a Vee (Emma Roberts) gets passed over by the guy she's crushing on in school, and her friends basically tell her she's a wet blanket she goes home and signs up to be a player on Nerve. This is the first great change the movie had to offer. Vee might be "the wet blanket" of her friend group but at least she was no longer the whiny annoying one like she was in the book. They also changed the personalities best friends Sydney and Tommy as well, giving both of them a lot more character than in the book. Sydney is more than just a casual Nerve user in the movie and having her and Vee battle it out made their friendship oddly more real. Also thought the actor who played Tommy was stinking adorable... Even though for the longest time watching I thought he was the guy from Bates Motel and Sydney was Debbie Ryan from Disney channel... spoiler alert their not lol. Oh Oh! and before I forget there are appearances from our favorite prison power couple! Soso and Poussey! Anyways, after Vee enters the game of Nerve her first challenge ends up getting her tangled up with Ian (Dave Franco). Let be real though who doesn't have a complete crush on Emma Roberts or Dave Franco?!?! I know I do, so seeing these two together just made both of them even more adorable! Which I didn't even think was possible! I wont lie though, I was a little nervous about the two of them having on screen chemistry. This isn't an issue though. The two are great together and the relationship never feels forced or phony. Both Vee and Ian's character were interesting, charismatic, comical, and the writers did an amazing job taking them from how they were in the book and making them into fun on screen characters. After the two are introduced they go on a wild and crazy night full of dares and shenanigans! The dares they perform are 100% different than they were in the book, and I was beyond ecstatic about this!

The dares ended up being more interesting, daring, and intense than the book. While I was reading the book my main complaint was that the dares were lame! The movie they went from dares that had me laughing to ones that had me on the edge of my seat! There's a whole shopping scene with Vee and Ian that had me laughing so hard, blushing, and having me feel like I was there playing Nerve with them. Which made the movie more enjoyable to watch. Feel the whole film was a lot more put together than the book was.The start of the movie is cute, the middle is fun and wild, and the ending though predictable is still alright.

I got what I was really hoping to get out of this book becoming a film. I wanted something that took a book I hated and would turn it into a movie I would have a fun time watching. I'm not going to lie and say this is the best book to screen film ever, but I had a good time watching it. I went to see something entertaining and leave happy. The book was boring, sloppy, weird and full of moments that had me rolling my eyes. The movie was entertaining, fun, silly, and a little out there, but still a good time. The big changes the directors and writers decided to take really paid off. Also the complete change of the middle and ending were a good call on their parts. Nerve is a perfect summer flick if  you're just looking to get what you paid for. You'll go into this for the most part, knowing what you're going to get out of it, and for Nerve that works.

 7.5-8/10 Stars 
-Angela 

I asked Lindsey what she would have rated this film too. She gives it 
7/10 Stars 
 

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (ARC)

It Ends With Us... Wow I really don't know what to truly say about this novel. This review will be a little light because, like most CoHo books, you'll want to go into it with little to no information. I went into this book thinking it was going to be this one thing, and it turned out to be the complete opposite.

IEWU follows Lily, a girl in her early twenties, who has never had it easy. Though coming from a family that was better off she has always had to work for the things she's wanted. After graduating college she gets up and moves to Boston and hopes to start her own business. While there she meets and falls for Ryle, a thriving neurosurgeon who is determined to be the best in his field. The two hit it off hard, and things seem almost too good to be true. Ryle is everything that Lily is not. He is forward, assertive, and stubborn. He is also a lot of thing Lily is; he is strong, passionate, and motivated. Though the two have an immediate connections and sparks fly, the two decided to take their time getting to know one another. Lily is such a beautifully written leading lady. I loved getting to grow with her and be apart of her journey. I loved hearing her thoughts and seeing how she processed things. When I was first reading and got to the point where she does her journal entries, but she does them so they are letters to Ellen DeGeneres, I thought I wasn't going to like that aspect of it. The first few had me thinking "this is a little cheesy", but the more I got into it the more I started to enjoy them. They really tied Lily's past and present perfectly together. As Lily's and Ryle's relationship pushes forward she finds herself looking back at those entries and thoughts of her first love Atlas resurface. Atlas was her first everything and was the biggest impact on her life. Atlas was the homeless boy who found his way into the abandoned house next door. Atlas and Lily as teens formed an unlikely friendship. Sharing everything and having a bond that no one around them seemed to understand. Spending every possible moment together and having so many stolen ones the two were kindred spirits. When Atlas reappears in the story it truly threatens everything Lily and Ryle have. (not a spoiler it's given he eventually will). Both Ryle and Atlas bring such important and different aspects to this story. I think CoHo manages to make them both such polar opposites, but at the same time manages to make them mesh so well.The characters in the book, main or side, all feel so realistic and authentic.

When it comes to the plot there is almost nothing I can say about it. I hope everyone will do the same to keep things from getting spoiled. The story is an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. It's one of those books that you will have a thousand theories about and all of them will be wrong. I kept trying to guess what I thought might happen next and in classic Hoover style she managed to surprise me. This book was solid from page one and was steady throughout, but around the 80% mark is where things really took a turn (in the best way possible).  IEWU hit me on such a personal level. I didn't expect this book to impact me so hard. It had everything I wanted from a New Adult read. It's very classic CoHo, but it also branches out somewhere she's never been before, but she does it with such ease. She manages to weave these heavy moments with ones that will make you swoon, laugh, and then cry. My favorite part of this book though, was the author's note. Usually author's notes are at the beginning of the story, however it is so important that this one was left for the end. It took a book that was good and made it exceptional! God, this note effected me like so few books have. It made me cry fifty times harder than the entire book or anything Colleen's ever written.

Finding out how important this book was for her to write will hit you hard, but I hope she also knows how important it is as a reader to read. Knowing where an author gets their ideas from can change your whole outlook on a book, and this one... this one broke me.

Thank you Colleen Hoover for continuing to gift the reading community with your words.  

10/10 Stars
-Angela 

You Still Have Time...

You still have time to get on board with these!!! These are ongoing series that you still have time to catch up on before the next book is released or comes to an end! In my opinion (clearly) these are the must reads of must reads... and FOMO right! Basically go out and buy them right now! Okay read the post first, then go buy!

A Wicked Saga by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Currently out: Wicked
To be released: Torn July 19th

Ivy Morgan is a 22 year old demon hunter. Her life is The Order, especially after four years ago the creatures she hunts took everything from her. Ren Owens is the last person Ivy wants to come tearing into her life... but with all that mandsome going on it might be hard for her to resist. This book has a little bit of everything: kick butt female lead, hilarious side characters, steam, twist, and tons of action. If you've read anything by Jennifer than you know this is right up her alley.

This is one of those feel good read for fun series! Jennifer is amazing at writing lovable leads and this series just adds to it.

The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
Currently out: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, The Assassin's Blade (novellas)
To be released: Empire of Storms September 6th, Untitled 6th book

This is a series that if you're going to start you should very soon, because I wont lie, it's long! Almost all of them are over 400 pages.

Celaena Sardothien is the most known and feared assassin. After being betrayed she ends up being sentenced to life in a salt mine prison. After serving a hard year of labor she is dragged before the King and and offered a chance at freedom. The only thing she has to do is compete in a contest against other criminals to become the new royal assassin.

This series is hands-down one of the best things I've ever read. This series has everything you'll ever want out of a fantasy novel. The character development and world building are some of the best. Celaena will be a character you will be cheering for the entire time. Everything about this series will blow your mind.

Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
Currently out: Six of Crows
To be released: Crooked Kingdoms September 27th

With obviously only one book being out in the this Duo and the second and final book not coming out till September you have plenty of time to snag this up. Duologies are some of my favorite things. I think too
often authors try and go for a trilogy, and it's clear that the series was stretched too thin. It's safe to say when I heard this was only going to be two books I was thrilled.

Following six main characters, depending on how you look at it five plus perspectives, has breath-taking flashbacks, seamless world building, and twists that will blow you mind! All of the characters are working together to complete and impossible heist. "A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who has become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse."

It has one of my all time favorite male leads, it's super diverse, and my favorite part is it's strong females who aren't enemies. This is like the Oceans Eleven of Ya books. Six of Crows was also my top book of 2015.

Wolf by Wolf  Duology by Ryan Graudin
Currently out: Wolf by Wolf
To be released: Blood for Blood November 1st

Another duo! My heart is screaming "Yes please!". Wolf by Wolf is one of the most unique books I've ever picked up.

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. Yes, Hitler didn't lose in
this world. To commemorate their victory, Hitler and the Emperor host a tour. It's an annual motorcycle race across their continents. The winner is awarded an audience with Hitler. Yael plans on winning this year, and when she does she will kill Hitler. As a former death camp survivor she has seen what the world will continue to be if she doesn't end his reign.

This series has a writing style that is all it's own, soul gripping metaphors, and an idea that is so new and original. Come on, a girl enters a motorcycle race to kill Hitler! How can that not pull you in? And that is only scraps the surface of whats in this novel.
 

Broken Skies Series by Theresa Kay 
Currently out: Broken Skies, Fractured Suns
To be released: Shattered Stars January 2017 

If you know me than you know how much I love aliens... but with that love comes high standards. I'm very picky about alien books going into my favorites this. However, when it comes to this series I don't hesitate at Broken Skies was awesome, but Fractured Suns was even better! If you love anything with Aliens and amazing twist than pick this up!
all!

Thirty years ago civilization collapsed. Only a few humans survived. Ten years ago the aliens arrived. The E'rikon have ignored the few remaining humans up until they kidnapped Jax's twin brother. Now she will do anything, and nothing will stop her from getting him back.

This book has twist that will leave you speechless, and a romance that will do the same. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas 
Currently out: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury
To be released: Untitled 3rd book May 4th 2017

Yes, when i usually make a list Sarah J. Maas ends up on it more than once. What else can I say besides the woman knows how to write! This is another one of her series that kicks-butt in the badass female role. A Beauty and the Beast this series will knock your socks off.

dark twist on

When Feyre wills a wolf in the woods, and a beast like creature comes to demand retribution for it, she is taken to live in a world she's only heard about. When she arrives and find that the land isn't ruled by a monster but by something different. Tamlin. As she lives on the estate and spends more time with him, her feels for him changes from something cold to something burning. She also starts to discover there is so much about his people she didn't know. The first book in this series is jaw-dropping, but the second is a complete game changer for Ya/Na.

If you're a fan of high fantasy, story re-tellings, smutty goodness, and of books that straddle the like of Young Adult and New Adult pick these up. You wont be disappointed.
 
 -Angela

Fictional Book Boyfriends Pt 17

We've been a little MIA on the FBB front, but that all changes right now! We're so excited to be doing the 17th edition of Fictional Book Boyfriends (or dream-cast as some like to call it). This is one of our favorite post and you can check out our pervious picks here!

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Two polar opposites find themselves working at the same motel again.

Robbie Amell as Josh Mitchell

It's not even funny how perfect Robbie would be for this role. He has that military sway about him.

Too Late by Colleen Hoover

Girl will do anything to survive, but things get complicated when a new guy shows up.

Franky Cammarata as Carter

It should be illegal to be this fine... See what I did there?!

Bright Side by Kim Holden

Girl leaves everything behind to go to college, including her best friend.

The last thing she expects or wants to find is love.

Jay Alvarrez as Gus

When you think surfer sweet heart tell me you don't think of Jay?..

Tanner Zagarino as Keller Banks

This man is the definition of baby face. Heart-breaker.  

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Boy is sent a mysterious box of tapes explaining
why a classmate killed herself.

Dylan Minnette as Clay Jensen

Dylan has all the boy next door charm.

The Force of Gravity by Kelly Stevenson

Kaley Kennedy's life seems perfect: perfect parents, perfect friends, perfect boyfriends. Everything is going according to plan and with only a few months left before school ends nothing seems like it could go wrong... However, when a new gorgeous math teacher takes over things could get a little unpredictable.

Okay first off we can add this book to the list of my favorite titles, and to my list of books I cover-lust. Those might be the two things that drew me into this book, but it wasn't the reason I stayed around. What hooked me in was how this book was purely, oh so entertaining. I've been in one of the worst reading slumps ever, and this brought me right out of it! Just going to jump right into things...

When it came to Force's main character Kaley there was something that would usually bother me about her, but somehow ended up working in her favor. Kaley was an emotional lead, and I like my leading ladies to be human, but I also don't like when girls are big criers... Ok that might sound like a little much. She isn't balling on every page or anything she just going through so much, but her emotions and how much she really felt everything helped throw me fully into the story.  I felt she acted, reacted, and processed things like an eighteen year old girl would which gave this story, and her character and authentic feel. The best part about Kaley though, was her humor. She would sprinkle little one liners and they would have me rolling! I think she's funny, personable, and overall an enjoyable character to read. Then there's Mr. Slate (Elijah)... I had no problem at all liking him. As soon as he was introduced I knew I was going to be hooked. While Kaley is dropping her little one liners Elijah is never short behind to say something as equally adorable and witty. Their relationship too, yall I loved everything about it. Think some people will read this book and think these two are just physically attracted to one another, not emotionally attracted... and for those of you that you can get out of town!! because you missed the point. I even liked most of the side characters. They were another thing I was completely surprised by. I usually like my side characters to be closer to main characters than side ones, but in this case they all fit perfectly where they were.

When it came to the plot and pacing I was beyond happy. The pacing was so perfect I found myself waiting for the moments where I could sit in peace and read this. The way the events in this story played out felt realistic and were perfectly timed. Even with this book leaning closer to insta love and built on a lot of "build-up" I never felt like the story or romance were rushed. I'm not one of those readers who feeds off of a building romance, I'm completely content with things going down right away... If you know what I mean *wiggles eyebrows*, but I was feeding off this build up!!!

I love that Kelly Stevenson took a taboo idea and just went 100% for it! Reading The Force of Gravity is kind of like when you find a new favorite make-up item... A part of you wants to shout to the world how amazing it is, but another part doesn't want to tell a soul so you can keep it all to yourself!!! That reason might be why my review is shorter than usual. There's just so much I want to say, but so much I want to keep secret! (Also really sorry if this review is rushed or jumbled! I'm jacked up on caffeine and am so excited to write this review!)

Finding out that The Force of Gravity is going to be a series and not just a stand-alone completely made my year! This book is perfect for fans of forbidden student/teacher romances or for readers who enjoyed Unteachable by Leah Reader. I also think this would make the perfect winter read.

10/10 Stars 
-Angela  

Book Titles

Ever purchased a book just because of it's amazing title?.. Don't lie, you know we have. So we decided to post a list of 50 books with titles that had us falling all ourselves. These books were only chosen because of their titles and nothing more! So here you go, a list of books you should simply buy because of their titles.

Going Bovine- Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty- Libba Bray

The Smell of Other People's House- Bonnie-Sue Kitchcock

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight- Jennifer E. Smith

Under Different Stars- Amy Harmon

More Happy Than Not- Adam Silvera

History is All You Left Me-Adam Silvera  

They Both Die at the End- Adam Silvera

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close- Jonathan Foer

An Ember in the Ashes- Sabaa Tahier

Love in a Time of Global Warming- Francesca Black

The Law of Moses- Amy Harmon  

The Last Time We Say Goodbye- Cynthia Hand

My Heart and Other Black Holes- Jasmine Warga

This Song Will Save Your Life- Leila Sales

I'll Give You the Sun- Jandy Nelson 

The Sky is Everywhere- Jandy Nelson

In a Handful of Dust- Mindy McGinnis

Not a Drop to Drink- Mindy McGinnis

A Thousand Pieces of You- Claudia Gray

These Broken Stars- Amie Kaufman

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkin

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything- Janelle Brown

Snow Like Ashes- Sara Raasch

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake- Aimee Bender

A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess  

It's Kind of a Funny Story- Ned Vizzini

The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

The Fault in our Stars- John Green

Between the Devil in the Deep Blue Sea- April Genevieve Tucholke

Days of Blood and Starlight- Laini Taylor

The Spaces Between Heartbeats- Melissa Pearl

The First Time She Drown- Kerry Kletter

Not on Fire, but Burning- Greg Hrbek

Evidence of Things Not Seen- Lindsey Lane

The Things Around Your Neck- Chimamanda Adichie

Somebody Up There Hates You- Hollis Seamon

Even if the Sky Falls- Mia Garcia

The Love That Split the World- Emily Henry

The Impossible Knife of Memory- Huntley Fitzpatrick

A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams

I Was Told There'd be Cake- Sloane Crosley

A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaled Hosseini

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell- Tucker Max

The Forest of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan

Pretend You Don't See Her- Mary Higgins Clark

The Story of my Teeth- Vakeria Luiselli

The Sun is Also a Star- Niccola Yoon

Where the Sea Breaks Its Back- Corey Ford

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things- Bryn Greenwood 

Top picks: I think my top four favorites are... The Smell of Other People's House, History is All You Left Me, My Heart and Other Black Holes, and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I'm a total sucker for long pretty titles.

Angela's June Wrap-Up

Yall not even going to lie, this month really got away from me. I was super slammed and a little overwhelmed. So basically, reading took a backseat to being an adult (which we all know blows). First off I was transitioning jobs. Which is both stressful and a joy. Second my car had some scary recalls on it so I was having to juggle that as well. Third Game of Thrones has well got me all over the place! Seriously, those last two episodes!!!! they might just be the best two hours and nine minutes of television I've ever seen! All-in-all (is that a saying?) I took some real me time and my reading was more than light. Also going to be upfront it will be a lot lighter for a little while longer. New job=working a lot more hours.

The Crown- Kiera Cass
The Raven King- Maggie Stiefvater
A Court of Mist and Fury- Sarah J. Maas
Harley Quinn & Her Gang of Harley's Volume 2- Jimmy Palmiotti
It Ends With Us (ARC)- Colleen Hoover
This Is Where It Ends- Marieke Nijkamp
Bright Side- Kim Holden

Wow, guess I didn't do nearly as bad as I thought. Wish it was more, but glad it wasn't zero. As far as my favorites and flops this month they were very clear.

Favorites: A Court of Mist and Fury and It Ends with Us. These are the only two I gave perfect ratings this month. These two books were flawless! Everyone kept saying that ACOMAF is a game changing book, and it really was! This book is over 600 pages, and with so much heft comes the fear of second book syndrome... Thank the book Gods that that didn't happen. Everything about this novel- the feels, the twist, the romance was perfection. Trust me when I say I'm not overselling this book either. If anything I'm underselling it. Second and lastly, It Ends with Us. I was so fortunate to get an early copy of this book. Again the book Gods must be looking out for me. This is the new novel by Colleen Hoover set to come out early August. Lately I feel like CoHo has been taking bolder moves with her writing, and I think it's really paying off. She has been promoting this book as the only thing she's ever written that is personal. She never writes anything based off of her life, she writes purely to entertain us. So reading this book and knowing it's so personal had me setting high standards. She completely hit the mark. The book itself was amazing, but the author note had me balling my eyes out! Sitting on the floor straight sobbing!!! These two books are must buys for 2016. I also want to give honorable mention to Bright Side. Which fell just shy of getting a perfect rating.

Flops: I'm very pleased to say I didn't give a signal book this month a one star rating! I don't think this has ever happened. However there were several books that didn't meet my expectations. This is Where it Ends, The Crown, and The Raven King. This is Where It Ends wasn't in anyway a bad book. The set up of book was amazing, just something about it didn't emotionally move me like I had expected. The Crown, wow what can I say... I think this series should have ended with The One. The Selection series is one of my favorite guilty pleasures, but the two additional ones Kiera Cass has released didn't make the cut. Lastly The Raven King. This is going to be a very unpopular opinion, but going to say it anyways. This series and I never fully connected. I wish I loved it as much as everyone else does, but sadly I don't. I do want to say that this was my favorite book in the series, but the whole thing was really predictable.

I think at the end of these I'm going to start putting my next month TBRs. Or at least the books I want or hope to get to next month. So, my TBR for August are- Replica by Lauren Oliver (started), Wicked Heart by Leisa Rayven, The Force of Gravity by Kelly Stevenson, What Light by Jay Asher, and The Sun is Also a Star by Niccola Yoon. My goal is to start reading one book by a male author every month, to read one book a week starting the first, and to pepper in a little more graphic novels because I've really been slacking in that departments.

Till next month.
-Angela