A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

When Rune’s family moves from Norway to Georgia, Rune never expected to love his time there. When he meets the quirky, talented, and shy girl that lives next-door things start to look up for him. Poppy knew the second she met Rune they were going to be best friends and didn’t hold back letting him know. Over the next few years the two spent every moment together. The two do everything together and as they grow so does their relationship. The two go from best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. 

“Live hard, love harder. Chase dreams, seek adventures … capture moments. Live beautifully.”

Sadly, Rune and his family knew that there stay in Georgia wouldn’t be permanent and that they would have to eventually have to return to Norway for a period of time. When his family gets word that they have to return Rune and Poppy decide that even with the distance that they will find a way to work. At first this works out well until one-day Poppy just disappears. Two years later Rune and his family are returning to Georgia and to the house that is still beside Poppy’s the girl he hasn’t spoken to since… Only when Rune returns he isn’t the same sweet boy that Poppy loved. Rune has turned into a bad apple. Smoking, staying out late, and going to parties.

I heard from every review that this book was a for sure tear-jerker and that the end of the book was going to wreck me… Well here’s what I have to say about that. This book did in fact make me tear up, but it wasn’t the ending, it was the beginning. I did enjoy reading Poppy and Rune’s story once they were older and he returned, but I honestly I preferred reading about their young age more. I loved getting to see these two grow up and how adorable they were as kids. There stolen moments and precious moments really got to me. I loved everything leading up to the night Rune leaves.

“because sometimes all we get are moments. There are no do-overs; whatever happens in a moment defines life—perhaps it is life.”  

Once Rune returns, at first, I really enjoyed it. I liked hearing about awkward Poppy and the new bad boy Rune. However, as things progressed and the two start to spend time together again, I found myself getting a little bored. At first things are heated because we are so drawn to know why Poppy all of a sudden vanished. That theme just keeps getting repeated over and over again. The other bad part is that I figured out kind of early on what the big reveal is. It could really only be one of two things… So you’ll probably figure it out too. So with everything being repetitive and the reveal not being that big for me I started to get a little sick of this book. Found myself rushing to the end, not to find out what happened, but to just get the book over with.

Rune and Poppy are also pretty generic YA book characters. She even plays the cello… Something we’ve seen several times before… I mean seriously how many people do you know that play the cello?!?! Rune, in my opinion, is the stronger character between the two. He feels more authentic than Poppy. Neither of them really gave me what I was hoping to get out of them. Also the fact that not only did the story repeat, I felt like their relationship in general repeated. By the end of the story I knew where everything was headed right down to events playing out how they did.

I didn’t hate A Thousand Boy Kisses but I didn’t love it either. I think this would be a great intro to YA, but those of you who are a little more seasoned with it might not find it as interesting.

6/10 Stars
-Angela

Favorite First Part Two

Sometimes all it takes is a killer opening line or paragraph to get you hooked on a book; and so we're giving you some of our favorites.  
For part one just click here. 

"The air in the room tastes sterile. The lingering scent of bleach is mixing with the fresh white paint on the walls, and I wish my teacher would open the window to let in a breeze. But we're on the third floor so the pane is sealed shut-just in case anyone gets the urge to jump." -The Program by Suzanne Young

"'Just breathe, my mother would say. Ten tiny breaths... Seize them. Feel them. Love them." -Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A Tucker

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.” -Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." -A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 

"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight, from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home." -The Outsiders by  S.E Hinton 

"I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war." -Red Rising by Peirce Brown 

"There used to be more of us. I'm certain of this. Not enough to fill a sports stadium or even a movie theater, but certainly more than what's left today. Truth is, I don't think there's any of us left. Except me. It's what happens when you're a delicacy. When you're craved. You go extinct." -The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda 

"My first memory of James is what keeps me here, smoothing hair out of a boy's blood-spattered face. The sirens screaming in the distance are too late. They're always too late. Forehead pressed to his, I choke on the burnt stench of gunpowder and try to hum the lullaby James used to sing to me. You are my sunshine my only sunshine... James is why I never left. I should have left." -Flawed by Kate Avelynn 


"There was a demon in McDonald's. And it had a powerful hunger for Big Macs. Most days, I loved my after-school job. Tagging the soulless and the damned usually gave me a mad case of the warm fuzzies. I'd even given myself a quota out of boredom, but tonight was different. I had a paper to outline for AP English." -White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

"Risking my life to steal an orange was a stupid thing to do, but today of all days, I didn't care about the consequences. If I were lucky, the Shields would throw me to the ground and put a bullet in my brain. Dead at seventeen would be a relief." -Pawn by Aimee Carter 

"You think it's easy to change yourself. You think it's so easy, but it's not. What do you think it takes to reinvent yourself as an all-new person, a person who makes sense, who belongs? Do you change your clothes, your hair, your face? Go on, then. Do it. Pierce your ears, trim your bangs, buy a new purse. They will still see past that, see you, the girl who is still too scared, still too smart for her own good, still a beat behind, still, always, wrong. Change all you want; you can't change that." -This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales 

"Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time thinking about death." -The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

"They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that’s not how it happened for me." -Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver 

"The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle." -Paper Towns by John Green

Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is. 
An invisible girl is the perfect weapon.

Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years. After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough.  

The main reason I wanted to read Transparent was because it is advertised as "The God Father meets X-men", right away I knew I had too have it. I'm a HUGE X-Men fan and thought maybe it would even be a sister book to Shatter Me... I think this advertisement is a little off.

Transparent follows the story of a girl named Fiona who was born invisible. She, is like many others in the world, were born with powers. This is my first problem with this book. It's never explained how people mutated too get this powers... was it evolution, radiation, something else??? We might never know. Fiona's father is the head of a Mob that sells a drug that is made to enhance your powers. And of course like any crime boss he uses both Fiona's powers and the rest of his family to his advantage. He has Fiona doing everything from spying on his competitors to doing simple pick pocketing. So when the story started out with her sneaking in to listen to a conversation and then going all mission impossible on people I was pretty excited to keep reading... But that experience was short lived.

Fiona and her mother run away to escape the life of crime and to start over again. They move too a small town where her fathers competitor actually lives. I figured that as the story went on Whipple would have it so that Fiona's back story was revealed here and there. It sadly never really happens. She mentions she's done a lot of bad things, but I wanted more of what she had done in the past. The story continues as Fiona and her mother hang out in this town. Her mom slightly works she slightlly goes to school. While at school she is picked on of course for being invisible (lets be real kids would think this was so bad-ass). She becomes friends with other outcast: Seth, Brady, and Bea. All who also have powers of their own. As far as Fiona's personality goes, it is terrible. She was SO annoying. And for a girl whose never seen what she looks like she is so full of herself. She's constantly saying she knows she has a good figure and that she knows she has nice cleavage, etc.... She also brings nothing else to the table. She has no personality, very little intelligence, and can't even offer us a sense of humor.

This brings me to my next issues, the sub characters. Brady is suppose to be a super hottie, but to me doesn't sound hot at all. He does seem sweet but that's it, her bff Bea is LAME! Then there's Seth. Seth the convenient character love interest. It is clear from the get go what Seth's purpose will be... And you might think I'm about to drop a spoiler on you but I'm not, it's obvious the second he is introduced that his power will be able to see her. TRUST ME IT WAS FAR TOO CONVENIENT!!! At first I thought maybe it would be like Adam in Shatter Me and that we would think he was just so convenient then he'd turned out to be something completely else. When it's "revealed" I rolled my eyes so hard they almost fell out my head. The worst part however is when she finds out he can see her she ask him what he looks like and he tells her AND SHE COMPLAINS ABOUT IT!!! The boy gives her sweet compliments and just like the average super B would do she turns them all to negatives!! This is both a real life pet peeve of mine and a book one as well.  JUST TAKE THE COMPLIMENT!!! LIKE SERIOUSLY!!!!!??? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!!!

(Pretty much how my face actually looked too.) I think that Fiona's over all attitude was just really what turned me off too this story. I would love to go into details about her brothers, because they are a "big part" of the story but I felt they were pointless. Hated them as much as the rest of the family. I would also love to talk about the plot, but I don't feel like there was much of one. The discription of this story had me thinking that this would be a non stop action packed book but nothing happens the entire time. I was never once WOW or shocked by anything that happened.

The concept of Transparent is amazing, original, and a book I was really looking forward too. Sadly it just didn't live up to the hype I built for it in my head. I wish this was a case of "it's not you it's me" but sadly I don't think it was.

3/10 Stars 
-Angela 

(Transparent BookDepo) 

Angelas 2015 Wrap-Up

220! Yes you read that right, 220 books this year!!!! I'm typing this up on the 28th and I don't think I'll be reading anymore while I'm on vacation. I think this is my final number and it has to be some kind of record. I'm even blowing my own mind right now! Guess you could say it was an amazing year reading wise. I have no clue how I'll ever be able to top these numbers. Next year I have more traveling planned so my reading wont nearly be as hardcore. This year my goal was 185 books, in 2016 it'll be 100. Hopefully it'll be more of a quality over quantity kind of thing.

Below is the list of everything I read this year  (I believe I got them all)! Enjoy the massive insane list that was my year. I bet you can guess who was my most read author was this year.... Yep, Colleen Hoover. It's also so fitting that the first book I read this year was Apollyon since Apollyon Con is the first event Leah and I will be going to this year. The last book I read was Manwhore. interesting title, I know, but it was super fun and a perfect read to end the year. 2015 you were alright.

Also don't forget to check out the list of our 2015 favorites!

The 5th Wave- Rick Yancey (Re-Read)
The Infinite Sea- Rick Yancey (Re-Read)

Elixir- Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Apollyon- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Sentinel- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Stay With Me- Jennifer L. Armentrout Broken Skies- Theresa Kay
Fractured Suns- Theresa KayRed Rising- Pierce Brown Golden Son- Pierce Brown Never Never- Collen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher Slammed- Colleen Hoover Maybe Not- Colleen HooverPoint of Retreat- Colleen Hoover  Never Never pt 2- Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher  Maybe Not- Colleen Hoover (Re-Read/Audio Book)
Ugly Love-Colleen Hoover (Re-Read)Confess- Colleen HooverHopeless- Colleen HooverThis Girl- Colleen Hoover

November 9- Colleen Hoover

Finding Cinderella (Hopeless 2.5)- Colleen Hoover

Friend-Zoned- Belle AuroraLev- Belle Aurora
Shatter Me- Tahereh Mafi (Re-Read)
Unravel Me- Tahereh Mafi (Re-Read)
Ignite Me- Tahereh Mafi (Re-Read)Bad Romeo- Leisa RayvenBroken Juliet- Leisa Rayven

The Red Queen- Victoria Aveyard

Glass Sword- Victoria Aveyard Obsidian- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-Read)Onyx- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-Read)Opal- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-Read)Origin- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-Read)Opposition- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-Read)

Every Last Breath- Jennifer L. Armentrout

Hardline- Michelle Wilds
Hardpressed- Michelle WildsHardwired- Meredith Wild

Lovely Vicious- Sara Wolf
Savage Delight- Sara Wolf
Brutal Precious- Sara Wolf

Sea of Stars- Amy Bartol

Darken the Stars- Amy A. Bartol

The Law of Moses- Amy Harmon

Making Faces- Amy Harmon 

Kaleidoscope Hearts- Clarie Contreras

Paper Hearts- Claire Contreras

Torn Hearts- Claire Contreras

Beautiful Stranger- Christina Lauren

Beautiful Player- Christina Lauren 

Beautiful Secret- Christina Lauren

Beautiful Beloved- Christina Lauren 

Sweet Filthy Boy- Christina Lauren
Dark Wild Night- Christina Lauren
Dirty Rowdy Thing- Christina Lauren

Unteachable- Leah Reader (Re-Read)

Black Iris- Leah Reader

Angelfall- Susan Ee
World After- Susan Ee

End of Days-Susan Ee

Clockwork Prince- Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess- Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel- Cassandra Clare

Because of Low- Abbi Glines

While it Last- Abbi Glines 

Until Friday Night- Abbi Glines
The Vincent Boys- Abbi Glines

Fallen Too Far- Abbi Glines

Never Too Far- Abbi Glines

After- Anna Todd

After We Collided- Anna Todd

After We Fell- Anna Todd

After Ever Happy- Anna Todd

Darkfever- Karen Moning
Bloodfever- Karen Moning

Faefever- Karen Moning
Dreamfever- Karen Moning
Shadowfever-Karen Moning

Clipped Wings- Helena Hunting
Inked Amor- Helene Hunting

Untethered- Jax Spenser 
Singularity- Jax Spenser 
Freefall- Jax Spenser  
Coherence- Jax Spenser 
Redshift- Jax Spenser

Saga Volume 1- Brain K. Vaughan

Saga Volume 2- Brain K. Vaughan

Saga Volume 3- Brain K. Vaughan

Saga Volume 4- Brian K. Vaughan 

Saga Volume 5- Brian K. Vaughn

Y: The Last Man Volume 1- Brain K. Vaughan

Y the Last Man book 2- Brian K Vaughn

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone- J K Rowling (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J K Rowling (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- Jk Rowling  (re-read)

Twilight- Stephanie Meyer (re-read)
New Moon- Stephanie Meyer (re-read)

Heir of Fire- Sarah J. Maas (re-read)

Queen of Shadows- Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses- Sara J. Maas The Devil's Intern- Donna Hoise

The Devil's Dreamcatcher- Donna Hoise
 East of West Volume 1- Jonathan Hickman
East of West Volume 2- Jonathan Hickman

Suicide Squad Volume 1- Adam Glass

Suicide Squad Vol. 2- Adam Glass
Suicide Squad Volume 3- Adam Glass

Harley's Little Black Book Issue 1- Amanda Conner

Harley Quinn Hot in the City- Amanda Conner

Inexcuseable- Chris Lynch

Hooked on the Game- C.M Owens

The Conspiracy of Us- Maggie Hall

Bound by Duty- Stormy Smith The Invitation- Roxy Sloane

Losing It- Cora Carmack Blackbird- Anna Carey
Reborn- Jennifer RushFlawed- Kate Avelynn

Ignite- Lily Paradis

Dark Places- Gillian Flynn

The Duff- Kody Keplinger

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs
Collide- Ella AdamsTen Tiny Breaths- K. A. Tucker
Let the Sky Fall- Shannon Messenger
Hexed- Michelle Krys
This Song Will Save Your Life- Lelia Sales

I'll Give You the Sun- Jandy Nelson

Snare- Clarissa Wild 

Invaded- Melissa Landers

Me Before You- Jojo Moyes

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe- Benjamin Saenz

Insurgent- Veronica Roth (Re-Read)Royal Saga- Geneva Lee
Transparent- Natalie Whipple
Conviction- Kelly Lou Gilbert
My Heart and Other Black Holes- Jasmine WargaBeautiful Disaster- Jamie McGuire
To All the Boys I Loved Before- Jenny Han
The Last Time We Say Goodbye- Cynthia Hand
Keep Me Safe- Maya Banks
Sisters of Shiloh- Kathy Hepinstall
We All Looked Up- Tommy Wallach

Chase Me- Tessa Bailey

Me Early and the Dying Girl- Jesse Andrews

Easy- Tammara Webber

Ready Player One- Cline Ernest

The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise- Matthew Crow

Aftermath- Tom Lewis 

3:AM Kisses- Addison Moore
Sweet Submission- Roxy Sloane

Silence- Natasha Preston

The Heir- Kiera Cass

Anomaly-Tonya Kuper
An Ember in the Ashes- Sabaa Tahir

Fangirl- Rainbow Rowell

Ugly People Beautiful Hearts- Marlen KomarVelvet- Temple West
Stargazing at Noon- Amanda Torroni
Hunted- Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki 

The Martian- Andy Weir  

Ugly People Beautiful Hearts- Marlen Komar  

The Wrath and the Dawn-  Renee Ahdieh

A Song of Ice and Fire- George R.R. Martin

White Bird in a Blizzard- Laura Kasischke
The Cage- Megan Shepherd

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close- Jonathan Foer

More Happy Than Not- Adam Silvera
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist- Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

Maud's Line- Margret Verble   

Warm Bodies- Isaac Marion

No Country for Old Men- Cormac McCarthy
Black Out- Robinson Wells

You- Caroline Kepnes

Stolen- Lucy Christopher

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

World War Z- Max Brooks

Amber to Ashes- Gail McHugh

Thicker Than Blood- Madeline Sheehan

Everything Everything- Nicola Yoon

The Paper Swan- Leylah Attarr

Illumiane- Amie Kaufman

Sleepless- Cyn Balog

The White Rose- Amy Ewing 

Steelheart- Brandon Sanderson

Room- Emma Donoghue

Romeo and Juliet- William Shakespeare
The Girl of Fire and Thorns- Rae Carson

Six of Crows- Leigh Bardugo
Addicted to You- Kristia Ritchie
Everything Leads to You- Nina LaCour

The Fall Up- Ally Martinez

Going Bovine- Libba Bray

Unravel- Calia Read

How I Live Now- Meg Rosoff

Revival Vol. 1- Tim Seeley

Day 21 (The Hundred 2)- Kass Morgan

Bared to You (Crossfire 1)-- Sylvia Day

The Deal- Elle Kennedy

Tell Me Three Things- Julia Buxbaum

Preacher Book 1- Garth Ennis

Green Arrow #46- Benjamin Perry

Six of Hearts- L.H. Cosway

Complicit- Stephanie Kuehn

The Scorpion Rules- Erin Bow

Love in a Time of Global Warming- Lia Block

Deathstroke #12-Tony Daniel

Wolf by Wolf- Ryan Graudin

Low Volume 1- Rick Remender

Manwhore- Katy Evans

An Abundance of Katherine's- John GreenThe Elfstones of Shannara- Terry BrooksBefore, During, After- Richard BauschThe V Girl- Mya Robarts

Soundless- Richelle Mead

Diamonds- K.A. LindeThe Heart of Betrayal- Mary E. Pearson

Till 2016

-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