Published: October 23, 2012 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 523
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery

The truth about Mara Dyer's dangerous and mysterious abilities continues to unravel. 

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
She can't. 

She used to think her problems were all in her head. 
They aren't. 

She couldn't imagine that after everything she's been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. 
She's wrong. 

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

 Holy. Crap. I--So. Many. Feels. 

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Published: May 5, 2015 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 416
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fae

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore. 

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. 

 As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. 

 Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

First of all, if you still haven't heard of Sarah J. Maas or read something about and from her, I don't know where you must have been hiding. This lady has her shit together and you can judge that only by the fact that she takes the time to make maps for her books. She takes the time to map out fictional regions and that's when you know stuff is about to go down.

Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Published: April 7, 2015 

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Author: Becky Albertalli

Pages: 303

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary

 

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Wow, I really enjoyed this story!

The characters were very real and relatable. The writing was exquisite and on point. The music choices were more than perfect (eg. Elliot Smith, Lennon, McCartney) and I want to hug Beck Albertalli for the effort and because this is one brilliant debut novel.

Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss #3)

Published: August 14, 2014 

Publisher: Dutton

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Pages: 400
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favourites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

Maybe my expectations for this book were way too high. I am still having trouble with how to rate this.

Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (Mara Dyer #1)

Published: September 27, 2011 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 456
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
 It can. 

 She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 
There is. 

 She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 
 She's wrong.

I can’t get over the amazingness of this book. 

 I was freaking out, it was so creepy. 

Book Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Published: September 1, 2015 

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Author: Nicola Yoon

Pages: 320
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

 

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

 But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

 Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Received from publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

 2.5 - 3 stars? 

Book Review: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Published: January 4, 2011 

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Author: David Levithan

Pages: 211

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary

 

A modern love story told through a series of dictionary-style entries is a sequence of intimate windows into the large and small events that shape the course of a romantic relationship. 

How does one talk about love? Is it even possible to describe something at once utterly mundane and wholly transcendent, that has the power to consume our lives completely, while making us feel part of something infinitely larger than ourselves? 

"The Lover's Dictionary is told in the way as it sounds - it's essentially in a dictionary format and the uniqueness come from the fact that the story is told within each of the word's definitions.

Even if you didn't necessarily know what a word meant in the beginning, you get the entire picture within the snippets of story that were told.

Book Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J.Maas (Throne of Glass #2)

Published: August 27, 2013 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Author: Sarah J. Maas 

Pages: 418
Genres: Young Adult, High Fantasy, Romance

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached. It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend." 

 From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. 

 Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. 

 Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

HOOOOOOOOOLY SHITTTT STUFF WENT DOWNNNNN. 

*this review includes a fair amount of gifs, beware

Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss #2)

Published: July 9, 2013 

Publisher: Speak

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Pages: 338
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. 

And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend - Max) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood. 

When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Stephanie Perkins is life!

I want to start off by saying that you can read this book separately, it doesn't contain major spoilers from Anna and the French Kiss, although Anna and St. Clair are seen throughout it.

This is a light, cheesy and summery book. All the characters are very well developed and every single one of them brought something to the story.

Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #1)

Published: May 7, 2013 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 404
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

 

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

I have a lot of thoughts on this book. Not all of them are positive.