Tag Archives: Romance

5 Books sure to “Woo” you this Valentine’s Day

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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single women in possession of a good fortune on Valentine’s Day must be in want of a man. However, if such a woman is unable to obtain a gentleman for the occasion, a good book is a wonderful (often better) substitute.

Therefore I introduce this post:

Valentines Day

For the true romantic…

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Who could possibly be more romantic than Mr. Darcy? Mr. Darcy. Just reading his name makes you swoon. Even if you have read this classic time and time again, pick it up this holiday–I am a firm believer that no woman could ever tire from the tale of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. William Darcy.

For those who remember their first love…

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. This heart gripping story is labeled as a Young Adult, but do not be fooled it is a book for all ages. Set in the 80’s this book will rendezvous with your heart transporting you back to cassette tapes, comic books, and the stomach-achy feel of first love.

For the misfit lover…

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. If you are a fan of The Big Bang Theory, science, and a whole lot of awkwardness you will love this one. Genetics Professor, Don Tillman will have you laughing to the end with his scientific approach on life and love. This romantic comedy will offer a bright spot on your Valentine’s Day and will have you reaching for its sequel, The Rosie Effect.

For those who like a little twist…

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay. What if the greatest love story you have ever known was a lie? What if there was far more to the story that encapsulates Romeo & Juliet? This twist offers a unique play on the biggest love story in history and opens our eyes on how to learn to love not only another but also how to love yourself.

For everybody.

How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan. Let’s talk about love.  All kinds of love. This book offers you 18 different love stories ranging from the “sweep you off your feet” to “standing on the roof top screaming at the top of your lungs” kind.  This one will fill your heart to the very brim this Valentine’s Day and may even encourage you to make a few declarations yourself.

All opinions are my own and are not endorsed or affiliated with any company or organization. 

Review | Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

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Synopsis: 

Outside Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair — the third most popular girl in school. 

Inside, she’s a freak. A mix of dark thoughts, diabolical plots, and, if false rumors are to believed, vampire DNA.  After all, her father is from Romania. Everyone else in Nebraska is about as American as an apple pie…wrapped in a flag…on the Fourth of July. 

Spider stew. That’s what Anika is made of. But she keeps it under straps to maintain her social position.  One step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life a living hell. 

So when former loner Logan McDonough shows up one September hotter, smarter, and more mysterious than ever, Anika  knows she can’t get involved.  It would be insane to throw away her social safety for a nerd.  So what if that nerd is now a black-leather-jacket-wearing-dreamboat, and his loner status is clearly the result of his troubled home life?

Who care if the right girl could help him with all that, maybe even save him from it….?

Logan. Who needs him when Jared Kline, the bad boy every girl dreams of, is asking her on dates? 

Who?

RATING: 9/10
FANTASTIC READ

For a book that offers you a lot of laughter at the turn of each page this one sure does leave you with a tear drenched face at the final flip.

For lovers of The Fault in Our Stars, We Were Liars, and even Mean Girls, Anatomy of a Misfit needs to be on the top of your to-be-read pile.

I am officially in love with Andrea Portes. She is now marked on my list of favorite authors and I am baffled this is the first read of hers that I have gotten my hands on. Her honest and comedic portrayal of Anika is a refreshing twist in the midst of so many YA contemporaries. She captures Anika so beautifully and so authentically it makes it very difficult to get her character out of your head.

Since The Fault in Our Stars I have been looking for a novel that holds a sense of power.  A novel that grabs my attention so firm that even after the last word I am not able to let it go. Anatomy of a Misfit is that story. I beg you to go pick it up-at the library, your local bookstore, or, heck, from Amazon. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and more importantly it will make you aware. It will make you fight for who you are and what you believe in. It will force you to bare witness to the futility of appearance and the extremity of holding what others think of you over your head. This is a coming-of-age story for everyone and it’s one I will not forget for a long time to come.

Quotes I Loved:

Honestly, Portes writes with such a comedic air it is hard to only serve up a handful of my favorites. Really the whole book is like one gigantic thrilling quote, but to write the entire story on this tiny blog would be absurd. So I’ll make due with only a few of my ultra favorites.

  • “If you turned a Labrador into a person you would make Brad Kline. He’s happy and gushy and about as interesting and complex as a tree stump.” (28)
  • “Our house kind of looks like a Pizza Hut, if you wanna know the truth.  We used to have the best house ever, this farmhouse on the outskirts of town, with a barn and everything, but we got kicked off of it so they could build a Walmart. So, now it’s Suburbs City and a house where you might as well just drive up and order breadsticks.” (34)
  • “I just want you to know, I hired a black girl. Don’t be scared.”
    It’s late afternoon at the Bunza Hut and Mr. Baum drops this news like he’s telling us the Rapture has begun. Shelli and I stand in silence at the soda machine.
    “Why would we be scared?”
    Nothing.
    “What’s she gonna do, eat us?”
    Mr. Baum and every other adult I know, seems to actually think this stuff makes some kind of difference.  Even smart people.  It’s weird. And you can never get them to talk any sense about it because it’s like it’s important to them, having something to hold themselves over. Someone to hold themselves over. (61-62)
  • This moment here. This is all you get. Before you are part of the sky. (328)

All opinions are my own and are not endorsed or affiliated with any company or organization. 

Review | Lux Series #4, Origin, by Jennifer L Armentrout

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source: Goodreads

Origin (Lux Series #4)
Jennifer L Armentrout
Entangled Teen

Synopsis via Goodreads

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything. 

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? 

And will they even be together?

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Rating: 7/10
GOOD READ

Jennifer L. Armentrout’s fourth installment in the Lux series, Origin, is so my favorite thus far.  The third book, Opal, left us hanging at the edge of a cliff with a white-knuckled grip, but Origin made us jump head-first in the pit.

The first half of Origin was rather slow-paced for me. Katy is trapped. Daemon is furious and out of his mind. Katy struggles with the truth. Daemon is still furious and out of his mind. Katy is tested. Daemon acts on impulse. Katy kills. Daemon is captured. They are both reunited in Daedalus headquarters. (Wayyyy sooner than I expected, by the way.)

Then, in Armentrout’s words, “poo hits the proverbial fan.”  Origins, hybrid-Luxen offspring, appear out of nowhere. Allies are made and an escape ensues. As soon as Katy & Daemon leave Area 51, I am pretty sure I yelled, “what?!…Oh my God…No WAY!”, every few pages. Holy plot twists, Batman!  

Hold on to your glasses, because this is one heck of a ride and at the end you will wonder if somewhere along the way you switched cars.

This is definitely a book you won’t predict and will have you scrambling for the 5th book in the series, Opposition.

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All opinions are my own and are not endorsed or affiliated by any company or organization. 

Review | Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

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source: Amazon 

Tate Collins and Miles Archer meet in an “ugly” way. Miles is incoherently intoxicated and comatose in front of Tate’s brother’s San Francisco apartment, the same apartment she is currently moving into. Nothing quite says, “Welcome to your new home”, like dragging your incredibly wasted (but handsome) neighbor into your living room and comforting him as he sobs and continues to call you “Rachel.” Awkward.

This is only the beginning. As fate would have it, Miles is a close friend to her brother, Corbin, and once he enters Tate’s life he does not quickly leave. Attractiveness turns to lust and lust turns into…well you know. The catch? Miles doesn’t do love. He can’t or he won’t. Tate doesn’t know which and Miles is a vault of secrets. A deal is made. Casual Sex with two rules attached:

1. Never ask about the past.

2. Don’t expect a future.

As anyone can possibly expect, this does not fare well. Rules get broken, hearts become ruined, and you spend the entire book rooting for something that may not in the end be possible for one of them.

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Rating: 8/10
GREAT READ

Colleen Hoover’s, Ugly Love, is a riveting testament that sometimes the hardest person you will ever have to forgive is yourself.  From the very first sentence I was captured and I wasn’t free until I reached the very last word. Hoover has a way of drawing her readers in and making it damn near impossible to put the book down. I purchased this yesterday at Barnes and Noble around 8 PM and kept reading until 4:30 AM this morning. Needless to say, if you like sleep start this book way early in the day, because once you start you will not stop.

It’s a love story, an ugly one, with a dash of mystery between the lines. You may not fall in love with this book, but you WILL finish it. And when you finish it, you will appreciate it for what it is. A story of a boy with a ruined heart who meets the very ugly side of love and struggles to find hope along the way.  

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QUOTES I LOVED: 

“Love isn’t always pretty, Tate. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it’ll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you’re back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way.” (P. 165)

“When life gives you lemons, make sure you know whose eyes you need to squeeze them in.” (P. 234)