Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

"Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago—the closest place she has to something like home—she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?" -Goodreads synopsis 

"Perfect days are for people with small, realizable dreams. or maybe for all of us, they just happen in retrospect; they're only now perfect because they contain something irrevocably and irretrievably lost."

I'm finding this review hard to write... That typically happens when I'm so angry at a book that I can't even see straight. This isn't the problem I'm facing with TMTT. I liked it so much that there is so many things I want to say. I've truly never faced this issue before with a contemporary book before. It's my least favorite genre to read. Not including John Green books, I don't think I've ever been excited to finish a contemp book before this... I really thought about it too and nothing comes to mind.

I'm going to do this review a little different and stick with the common theme that TMTT and I'm going to tell you the three things that made me love this book.

1) The "Dear Reader" note. It really isn't often I read these. This time I figured why the heck not. So glad I did. Julie explains why this book means so much to her, and why it was this book was so easy and so hard for her to write. She talks about the loss of her mother and how it really changed her whole life. This personally meant so much to me because I too lost my mother way before her time. What really hit home for me is when she quotes her main character Jessie. "She will never see who I grow up to be-that great mystery of who I am and who I am meant to be-finally asked and answered". This hit way to close to home. It's such a selfish/non-selfish reason to think this, but it is so very true. It took me years to realize that my mother wouldn't be there for events and that's when everything really hits you.

2) Jessie. She is an outstanding lead. She is the perfect combination of raw real human emotion and comical teenage girl. She gives the right emotions at the right time and talks to her age. She is beyond relatable and will completely pull you into her story. When Jess struggles, loves, gets lost you feel like you're right there with her. The funny dialog she manages to keep up through out this story is just great. Julie also hit the nail right on the head with how teenage girls think. Jessie's life has so many typical YA tropes in it that it could have easily taken this down a mundane path that would have ultimately lead to me having the same issues that I do with others. However Julie makes the typical something new and fresh. Jessie is a breath of fresh air along with all the other side characters.

3) The mystery. When you read the synopsis of the book you figure out right away that there is basically a "who done it" style plot. Jessie starts receiving emails from an anonymous sender going by the username Somebody/Nobody (SN). This style would normally annoy the crap out of me. I've read plenty of books that have done this and almost 100% of the time I find myself skipping ahead, not caring about the story, getting bored, just not caring, and sneaking to find out the answer. With TMTT this wasn't at all the case. I was so interested in the story and going through things with Jessie that I didn't want to find out until the last possible second. The mystery as you can tell is all about who is SN. You, like Jessie, will go back and forth about who you think it will be. I will say that I had a pretty good idea about who it might have been, but I often found myself second guessing. Second guessing made reading this book so much fun. Warning: Julie will leave you guessing until the last second. The only thing I will suggest is that you keep maybe a little scrap piece of paper to write down the names of the guys in this book. Once all the key players were introduced once or twice I had to stop and remind myself who was who and who had what traits. When I jotted it down I was right back on track. Also kind of made me feel like I was playing a game of clue or something.

Tell Me Three Things will without a doubt be my favorite contemporary all year. So thankful to have gotten an early copy of this, and am excited for others to get to read it too. This book has so much heart, so much fun to read, and left me with a huge giddy grin on my face.

10/10 Stars 
-Angela  

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

"You'll never be able to find yourself if you're lost in someone else." 

COLLEEN HOOVER YOU COLD HEARTED SHE DEMON!!! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO PEOPLE!?! I must seriously love abuse because I keep coming back for more of it when it comes to your books!  This could be the last book I read all year and I would be perfectly content with it. November 9 is stunning. 

All us book nerds have one serious thing in common when it comes to reading... We love book quotes! We love to say them, we love to share them, we love to make pictures with them, we just seriously love them. November 9 hands-down has some of my favorite book quotes in it. Not just from things I read this year, from things I've read in general. If I could, I would just copy and paste the entire book as my review and just leave it at that. It's all just so beautiful.

November 9 follows Fallon, a girl who meets a young writer (Ben) the day before she's set to move cross country. With a seriously silly introduction it leads these two characters to spend her last night in town with each other. This becomes the inspiration for Ben's first novel and for the two too met up every year on the same day. I seriously can't get over these two. They're both so easy to fall in love with. Fallon with her insecurities and Ben with his boyish charm will win your heart over within a few pages. Fallon is this character who is struggling to find her footing again in life, and Ben who knows what direction he wants to aim, but needs the arrow guided. I liked their ups and downs. I liked how their struggles became our struggles. We get to grow with these characters and we get to go through so much time with them. Fallon and Ben will make you feel every single emotion. One page these two would have me dying laughing then I would turn it and the next I would be crying so hard I couldn't breathe. Their relationship will have you second guessing your hate for insta love. That's all I'm going to say character wise... Vague I know, but if you've ever read a CoHo book (if you haven't where the hell have you been?!?) you know the last thing you want is to be spoiled on characters.

"What are you waiting for? He drags in a raspy breath. 'To wake up, I think.' He lowers his mouth and kisses my neck. 'I'm dreaming, right?'"

Okay, I'm just going to warn you now, the vague character description is going to be the only organized and put together part of this whole review. From here on out it's going to be a jumbled mess of spoiler free fangirl talk... You've been warned.

The plot... OMG the plot. It's a sucker punch from all directions. It's an uppercut to the face, an elbow to the stomach, a smack to the ear of pure emotion thrust upon you. Let me break this down for you... The first few pages I was all lah-tee-dah minding my own business being all swoony over all the possibilities of where this story could head... WHEN OUT OF NOWHERE I GET FREAKING THROAT PUNCHED BY THE MOST ROMANCE SCENE I HAVE READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE... AND THIS IS FROM A GIRL WHO'S READ A BUTT TON OF BOOKS!!! I mean good God and it's only 50 pages in!!! I wanted to lay a book worthy kiss on Ben so hard, because that moment is pure perfection. Every girl deserves a Ben! Maybe someone can invent a pocket sized version of him, and whenever were having an ugly day (ladies you know what I'm talking about) you can pull out your pocket sized Ben and he can pay you compliments and make you feel like the princess you are. If you can't tell by that bizarre thing I just said, then let me just come right out and say it, I was completely hooked. I was just sitting on the sofa sobbing. Then it's scene after scene of these perfect stolen moments, breathtaking events, and heart stopping romance that you'll be rooting for... But don't get too comfortable because you know one of those epic CoHo twist are going to happen... AND THIS ONE IS THE PITS! When it happened... I couldn't breathe and I swear I almost threw up. Feeling all emotions at once hit me so hard it almost induced vomiting... But mainly just caused me to do that heavy cry where you can't even function or form words and all your sentences come out in broken fragments. Pain swept my legs out from under me.

Yeah, safe to say overall I could barely function reading this. This story is just everything. None of that probably made any sense and I don't care. You know a book is good when you're so jumbled and have so many emotions that it's physically hard to get all of them down. Oh and don't get me wrong with this review. It's not just love and pain in this novel. CoHo has this hilarious thing where she pokes fun at the everything she is doing with this book. Not just that she has this fun way of poking at everything all of us secretively love in books. It's just great! If this wasn't all enough for you there's something a little extra special she puts in this novel that had me jumping all over the place that I can't freaking wait for y'all to read. You can really tell she put her whole heart into writing this book for fans and really set out to give them something to love. 

November 9 is a beautiful book with a wonderful message. It's a novel filled with so much passion, humor,  with such a dreamy aspect that leaps off the pages and pulls you in. November 9 was my most anticipated New Adult book of the year, and again Colleen Hoover didn't let me down. By the end of November 9 I promise your heartstrings will have been pulled in every single direction.

10/10 Stars 
-Angela 

Lev: Shot Callers by Belle Aurora

"From the moment Lev Leokov spots the young woman hiding behind her hair in the middle of the gentleman's club, he can't take his eyes off of her.
For the very first time in his life, he is affected. Having been told his entire life that he can't process or understand emotion, he considers it a big deal.

When Mina Harris gets caught red-handed with a wallet that isn't hers, she falls apart. She's tired, lonely and hasn't eaten in days.

Lev offers her an ultimatum... A nice warm bed, a hot meal and a job, or the cops.

Mina takes her chances with Lev.
After all, a person with nothing has nothing left to lose." -Goodread synopsis


Belle was gracious enough to send me an arc of her new book. This however didn't change the way I felt about it...  How did I feel about it??? I freaking loved it. Belle is just a horse of a different color. She is a writer that is so unique and fun.  

We follow two main characters. Mina and Lev. Mina is a runaway who became homeless just hoping to make it to the next day. Starving, living on the streets, and starting to turn desperate. I loved her character. She is a charismatic character with a slow start. When I say slow start what I mean is that at first she is this innocent lovable character and then throughout the novel she starts revealing all this little piece of herself. As Mina grows we really get to grow with her. I liked sweet Mina but I loved Sassy Mina. Sassy Mina was so on point. Speaking of on point characters, lets talk about my favorite... Lev. He was what made this novel so unique. I have never read a character like him before. Especially not a leading male. Loved everything about him. He has this whole Beautiful Mind-GoodWill Hunting thing going on. So perfect!

The way he reacted to both people and situations kept me hooked. It really didn't hurt that he sounded like a Nick Bateman look alike. Swoon! I even found myself liking his thoughts and view better than Mina's. There were so many layers to his character that it will constantly keep you guessing. These two have the most adorable relationship as well. It was refreshing to read a guy who was so sweet, without even knowing he was doing it. Sometimes I got a little annoyed by one or two things they did, but then one of them would do something that would recover the situation, and I would fall for them all over again. I knew I was sold when Lev pulled a total If I stay moment.

So so sold. The smutty moments between the two will also have you reaching for a fan and a glass of ice water... The ice water is to pour over your head, yeah they're that good. When it came to side characters there are only two I really want to touch base on. Those are Nas and Sasha, Lev's brother and sister. Nas is probably one of the best secondaries I've read in the longest. Everything she said had me in stitches. She suffers from HBIC syndrome and I loved it! Pretty sure we'll be getting a spin off from her POV in the future and I can't freaking wait! Sasha another character that I was really surprised I liked. He was suppose to be like the token dick, but after getting a small snippet of his POV I realized how much I liked him... and of course he has layers that we "didn't see coming". My first thought when we randomly got his point of view was "wow this is random and I don't think I like how it feels slipped in there (that's what she said)"... then after marinating on it for a bit I realized I actually liked the that it was placed in. This leads me into the plot.

Like I said, there were a few moments when other people's POVs were thrown in. This was a turn-off, but only at first. Some of the POVs, even though I understood their value, at first just didn't rub me the right way... Some later on I came to like more but some still sit in that "I don't know how I feel about this" unknown zone. The actual pace of this book mirrors that of a roller-coaster ride. It's up, down, left, right, and looping all over the place. My emotions and thoughts were ping ponging  back and forth. Action packed with tons of light hearted scenes. I like when authors can give a steady flow of predictable moments that are perfectly balanced with wtf events. I like when they can mash the unrealistic with realistic. And I like when an author can take characters that might not seem the most likable and then makes you fall in love with them, and that's what Belle does.  

Lev is a fun, wild, new adult book, and for sure drop kicked me out of my reading slump. If you want a good time read Lev is it. 

10/10 Stars 
-Angela 

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert

"Braden has always measured himself through baseball. He is the star pitcher in his small town of Ornette, and his ninety-four-mile-per-hour pitch already has minor league scouts buzzing in his junior year. Now the rules of the sport that has always been Braden’s saving grace are blurred in ways he never realized, and the prospect of playing against Alex Reyes, the nephew of the police officer his father is accused of killing, is haunting his every pitch. Braden faces an impossible choice, one that will define him for the rest of his life, in this brutally honest debut novel about family, faith, and the ultimate test of conviction." -goodreads synopsis

I wanted to write my own synopsis and even do a few quotes but I was very fortunate to have received an early copy of Conviction from Hyperion and it happens to be an uncorrected arc. SO when it came down to it I decided to leave this review unquoted and to just use some of the synopsis posted on Goodreads. The release date as of right now is May 19th, 2015.

Conviction was actually a surprise to me. I have a hard time relating too a male's POV. This wasn't at all an issue for me when it came to reading this. With the book starting out earlier in his life and sliding into what his situation became it made it a lot easier for me to get into his story. By the end of the book my heart was broken repeatedly for Braden. Braden lives a pretty simple life with his radio host father. His life takes a dramatic turn when his father is charged with the crime of killing a cop. That would throw anyone's life for a loop but being the key witness to the crime takes his situation to a new level. 

Braden is stuck in the position that puts both his fate and his fathers in his hands. What he says on the stand could change both of their worlds. If that isn't enough Braden's brother Trey comes back into the picture to take custody of Braden, and picks up emotionally right where their father left off. Braden is a male protagonist that puts other male protagonist to shame. He is what I wanted out of a leading male character in so many other books. It was crazy amazing to see a character both become so isolated and yet break out of his shell. There are some sub/back characters but hands down Braden over shadows them all.

The plot was perfectly laid out all leading up to what actually happened that night. The way things unfolded one after another will leave you breathless. I thought the title of this book was just about the court case in itself, but it's not. It turned out to be a witty turn of phrase that embodied so much more. It's a word that you forget can mean so many more things. It captured the case, his family, and his religion. Yeah, I know you just heard me say religion and if you are some people you might be turned off by that. I am not a religious person, so when I do hear a story involves a lot of  religious aspects it can put me off to reading it. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH CONVICTION! Religion never takes over the story. This is a book with lots of turns, and an extremely strong message and plot. I agree 100% with other reviewers, This book will win awards.

9/10 Stars 
-Angela 

(Conviction BookDepo) 

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkosi

"I leap without feet to land, my cloth head is filled with sand. I have no wings, yet try to fly... what am I?"...

The second and dramatic second book two of The Winner's Curse series perhaps mmmmm.....

I was very, very lucky to get an Arc of The Winner's Crime. This book is set to come out March, 2015. With the approach of this books release date coming up fast I figured I would re-post this review since 1) I got this ARC forever ago and 2) because I originally posted it right when our blog started.

I know that when it comes to reading books I only care about one true thing, and that is how the book ends. I REPEAT: IT'S ALL ABOUT THAT ENDING! Doesn't matter if it's the first book or last book in a series. If you don't bring a strong ending then don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya... The thing Marie Rutkoski doesn't disappoint on is book endings. The Winner's Crime is no different.

TWC starts off where the first book left off. Krestle is still set to marry the Valoria's crown prince in an ever so awk marriage arrangement. She's still struggling between what is right and what is wrong; who to trust and where her true alliance lies. (Even I still don't know whose side I'm on). Marie Rutkoski isn't just skilled at book ending she's amazing at dropping oh so subtle hints that are usually closely followed by "WTF" moments. This book is sprinkled like a cupcake with surprises that I can't wait for you all to get a taste of.

This book is however very much a second book in a trilogy. It has moments that are a little slower. As usual you know that they are there to lay so much ground work for what will be coming in the next book. The thing I love about this story is Krestle isn't at all your usual suspect as far as ya fem heroines go. She isn't a dagger slinging, muscle having, archery shooting wild women. What she has though is something I think we often overlook in stories, and that is brains. Krestle is oozing with smarts. She has a silver tongue and a quick wit that often lets her see things other over look. This make her even more like-able, believable, and more dangerous than most would think. Arin is still a strong, smart, and very like-able leading male in this novel. And yeah he is still as mysterious and grey eyed as in book one (swoon! grey eyes <3333). He also may or may not have several sneaky tricks up his borrowed shirt sleeves.

Something I absolutely loved about this whole novel is the brief and amazing moment Rutkoski has between Krestle and the father she fears she will never be able to impress. The moment is beautiful and is written to perfection. The thing I really craved was more Arin and Krestle moments. This one didn't have as many as I hope for BUT I'm hoping it's because book three will be overflowing with steamy star-crossed lover-ness and I can be super giddy and heart eyed  that whole book. I just want to shake them both and scream "come on and get together already and make beautiful piano playing babies!". Still the main thing I have to say about this book is THE ENDING THE ENDING THE ENDING!!! IT IS PERFECT, and is worth some of the more book building moments, and slower paced scenes. I have NO doubt that the ending of this series will knock my socks off. Add this series to you TBR list.

8.5/10 Stars
-Angela

(The Winner's Crime BookDepo)

The Winner's Crime: Marie Rutkoski

"I leap without feet to land, my cloth head is filled with sand. I have no wings, yet try to fly... what am I?"...
The second and dramatic second book two of The Winner's Curse series perhaps mmmmm.....

I was very, very lucky to get an Arc of The Winner's Crime. This book is set to come out March, 2015.

I know that when it comes to reading books I only care about one true thing, and that is how the book ends. I REPEAT: IT'S ALL ABOUT THAT ENDING! Doesn't matter if it's the first book or last book in a series. If you don't bring a strong ending then don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya... The thing Marie Rutkoski doesn't disappoint on is book endings. The Winner's Crime is no different.

TWC starts off where the first book left off. Krestle is still set to marry the Valoria's crown prince in an ever so awk marriage arrangement. She's still struggling between what is right and what is wrong; who to trust and where her true alliance lies. (Even I still don't know whose side I'm on). Marie Rutkoski isn't just skilled at book ending she's amazing at dropping oh so subtle hints that are usually closely followed by "WTF" moments. This book is sprinkled like a cupcake with surprises that I can't wait for you all to get a taste of.

This book is however very much a second book in a trilogy. It has moments that are a little slower. As usual you know that they are there to lay so much ground work for what will be coming in the next book. The thing I love about this story is Krestle isn't at all your usual suspect as far as ya fem heroines go. She isn't a dagger slinging, muscle having, archery shooting wild women. What she has though is something I think we often overlook in stories, and that is brains. Krestle is oozing with smarts. She has a silver tongue and a quick wit that often lets her see things other over look. This make her even more likeable, believable, and more dangerous than most would think. Arin is still a strong, smart, and very likeable leading male in this novel. And yeah he is still as mysterious and grey eyed as in book one (swoon! grey eyes <3333). He also may or may not have several sneaky tricks up his borrowed shirt sleeves.

Something I absolutely loved about this whole novel is the brief and amazing moment Rutkoski has between Krestle and the father she fears she will never be able to impress. The moment is beautiful and is written to perfection. The thing I really craved was more Arin and Krestle moments. This one didn't have as many as I hope for BUT I'm hoping it's because book three will be overflowing with steamy star-crossed lover-ness and I can be super giddy and heart eyed  that whole book. I just want to shake them both and scream "come on and get together already and make beautiful piano playing babies!". Still the main thing I have to say about this book is THE ENDING THE ENDING THE ENDING!!! IT IS PERFECT, and is worth some of the more book building moments, and slower paced scenes. I have NO doubt that the ending of this series will knock my socks off. Add this series to you TBR list.

8/10 Stars 

-Angela

Hello, World!

Hello out there! Angela and I have decided to finally combine forces and make a blog to give more in depth reviews of all the books we read. We are both super active on Goodreads (I'll post links to our profiles at some point... still trying to figure out this whole blog thing), so we wanted our own space to dedicate to our love for books.

 What an appropriate day to start a blog. Today, our awesome local bookstore Blue Bicycle (hosts of YALLFest)  hosted The Fierce Reads Book Tour featuring authors Marie Rutkoski (The Winner's Curse), Caragh M. O'Brien (Vault of Dreamers), and Ann Aguirre (Mortal Danger).To be honest, this was my very first book panel/signing so I was beyond excited. The event started at 5:30 so we were having to pull some Fast and the Furious driving to get where we needed to be since we don't get off work until 5pm... BUT WE MADE IT ON TIME! Oh my gosh, what a fun experience. All of the authors were so personable and had the group laughing the entire time. I really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing how each story came into works.

Angela was even awesome enough to thumb wrestle Marie Rutkoski for an ARC of her second book The Winner's Crime!! WHAT. You could probably hear her shriek all over Charleston when she saw the ARC. Needless to say, we had a killer time. I can't wait for Angela to finish the ARC so I can borrow it. Stay tuned for a review!

If you haven't had a chance to read The Winner's Curse, I would definitely recommend it. I'm going to go ahead and say up front that I was NOT a fan of the book at first. I enjoyed the main character but had a lot of problems with how she went about things, and I really didn't like the main guy. Most of all, I HATED the ending. OMG throw the book against the wall HATE. Angela was all like "OMG wasn't that the most romantic ending ever?!?!" I thought she was on crack because we interpreted the ending COMPLETELY different. Luckily we were about to reach out to Marie on Twitter and ask her to settle the score. Unfortunately for me, Angela was right and the ending meant what she thought it meant. This however completely changed the book for me, so I really am looking forward to reading the ARC and also purchasing the book when it comes out.

As far as Vault of Dreamers, I have not had a chance to read it yet. Angela has read it, so maybe she can swoop in and give a review or you can check our her GoodReads review about it. It is on my (neverending) To-Read shelf.

Mortal Danger was sort of a dud for me. I really liked the concept of it except I really hated how it was gone about. The main character basically makes a deal with the devil when she is planning to commit suicide. She is granted three favors, the first she promptly uses to turn herself into a super hot girl. The book landed itself on the Did Not Finish shelf for me. I made it to the half way point (which is the respectable point in which you can break up with a book) and had rolled my eyes so much at all the vanity that I just couldn't anymore. After speaking with the author about how dark the book supposedly finishes, I am re-interested and may have to pick it back up eventually to give it another whirl.

All in all, it was definitely a successful trip. We are really looking forward to YALLFest coming up in November at Blue Bicycle. If anyone out there is planning on attending, leave us a comment so we can see about meeting up! We love new book fangirl/boy friends!

That's all for now, guys. I am going to go try to work on this blog layout stuff (though it may as well be in French) so it looks as pretty as we hope it will. I'm also about halfway through Black City by Elizabeth Richards, so I am hoping to get a review up for that here soon!

-Leah

(I'll be posting a review for The Vault of Dreamers this week -Angela)