Mini Review Monday – Ugly Love (Spoiler Free)

November 28, 2016November 28, 2016 chicnerdreads42 Comments

Hey everyone! Here I am with another Mini Review Monday created by me, where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.

Title: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Published: August 5, 2014
Read: August 2014
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

If you want to read a sucker punch New Adult novel, then you need to pick this one up. Cause this one will have you in all your feelings. I literally kept yelling at the book with all the wtf moments going on.

Tate and Miles meet and there’s an attraction, but neither want to get serious. Tate is busy moving in with her brother, trying to get her masters degree while Miles is a airline pilot. Miles ask her to never ask about his past and Tate is fine with that. Till things get heated between them and Miles past starts crawling along.

Ugly Love is told in dual prospective, Tate’s and Miles. One thing I enjoyed about Miles chapters were that sometimes they were told in verse. Also, Miles chapters are told in past tense while Tate’s is present. Which I thought was really great and heart wrenching because it started connecting and that’s when your heart gets broken.

I loved how relatable Tate was too, I feel like a lot of women can just connect with someone like Tate. Her insecurities, her doubts and worries were just the nail on the head for me. Especially in those moments when Miles was a total douchebag to her.

I also had my laughing out loud moments in this book too, don’t mind the title, there is some funny in here. The reader also gets to meet this elder man Cap and I looooooved him so much because he’s like a grandfather to everyone.

This book is about forgiving yourself and others around you when you’re a little too hard to love.

Character driven story? Yes
Plot twist? Yes
Recommend for first time New Adult readers? Yes!

“Love isn’t always pretty. 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.”

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Mini Review Monday – Dark Places (Spoiler Free)

October 31, 2016November 20, 2016 chicnerdreads29 Comments

Title: Dark Places
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Published: May 5, 2009
Read: August 2015
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice” of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

Happy Halloween!!!

Because of Halloween I thought “why not dedicate my mini review to a mystery thriller book that I loved?”

This was my first Gillian Flynn book and wow I was so impressed by her writing and giving me that ‘edge of the seat’ feel. The book follows Libby Day, main character, whose mother and sisters were murdered when she was only seven. A club who’s obsessed with notorious crimes reaches out to Libby, now an adult, to maybe prove that Ben (Libby’s brother) is innocent. According to Libby age 7, he killed their mom and sisters. Libby says she will be apart of this “opening investigation” IF and ONLY the club pays her. Once Libby decides to take part of the investigations of this club, people from the past come to the present and memories start resurfacing.

One thing I love about this book was that it takes place in the past and present. The past is about everything leading to the murders and the present is about adult Libby.

I enjoyed the setting as well. The murders took place in a small town and at the time of the murders people believed that Satan was possessing people and killing animals. To the town, this was so real that even the police believed it.

I enjoyed the characters, the suspense, and the mystery. I had about 4 theories going on with this book because I was playing detective while reading it and I was still taken by surprise in the end.

“I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.”

“I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it.”

Have you read this? What do you think?

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Mini Review Monday – Identical (Spoiler Free)

October 24, 2016November 20, 2016 chicnerdreads21 Comments

Title: Identical
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction, Verse
Published: August 26, 2008
Read: Autumn of 2008
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place?

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family — on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that’s where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she’s the misplaced focus of Daddy’s love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites — and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept — from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it’s obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is — who?

I will never forget my feelings and thought process while reading this book so many years ago. Till this day, this stands as one of my favorite books ever. It impacted me.

Ellen Hopkins is not only an author who writes in verse but she writes Realistic Fiction that has tons of trigger warnings. I’m not much into Realistic Fiction, however, Hopkins has always been an exception for me.

Identical isn’t only about twin sisters living this teenage rebellion. It’s about mental illness and survival. If you haven’t read any Ellen Hopkins books, please start with this one. You will not regret it.

Identical is told by both sisters, Kae and Rae. We the readers get to see the minds of these twins who look exactly like one another living separate lives with so many secrets. Family plays a really big role here too with their actions and way of living because the twins are trying to prove something to each parent. But is that ever enough?

Identical will make you think what is right and wrong. Will make you think outside the box. This is not a light and fluffy read. This is a painful read with hard truths.

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Mini Review Monday – Isla and the Happily Ever After (Spoiler Free)

October 17, 2016November 20, 2016 chicnerdreads22 Comments

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After (Book #3)
Series: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, YA
Published: August 14, 2014
Read: December 2014 (hardcover, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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-favorites 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.

All of Anna and The French Kiss are just one of my all time favorite YA Contemporaries. I hope one day in the future I get to reread them again.

In Isla and the Happily Ever After we meet Isla and Josh. Isla who’s always had a crush on Josh since she laid eyes on him in the Paris boarding school. However, when they bump into one another in Manhattan things will change for better or for worse.

Stephanie Perkins does it again with another amazing setting. This one so happens to be in my city, New York City and of course she was spot on. I am very critical when it comes to books taking place in NYC because I think about the readers who don’t live here and the accuracy of it all. This book not only takes place here in NYC but also in Paris, so we go back and forth with Isla and Josh in both places.

Isla is so relatable with her personality and insecurities that I have also encountered at her age. Josh, although being male is also relatable. He has family issues that stir a lot of drama in his life and relationship with Isla. This drama can also steer these two into different directions. Both Isla and Josh are also in their senior year of high school getting ready to go onto college and this shakes Isla a bit.

I must say though, for a YA, this one was a little hot and steamy. Which I’m not complaining about but I was very surprised that Stephanie Perkins had went there.

All in all, this was a great ending to the Anna and the French Kiss series. Plus we see all the characters from the previous books!

If you’re ever in a reading slump and need a quick laughing fix, pick this up.

Favorite Quotes:

“Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting. The way he looked at you? He wasn’t distracted. He was consumed.”

“A blank canvas…has unlimited possibilities.”

I smile up at him “It’s beautiful. But what comes next?”
“The best part.” And he pulls me back into his arms. “The happily ever after.”

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Mini Review Monday – Lola and the Boy Next Door (Spoiler Free)

October 10, 2016November 20, 2016 chicnerdreads34 Comments

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Book #2)
Series: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, YA
Published: September 29, 2011
Read: October 2014 (paperback, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. 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.

Lola Lola Lola! Another all time favorite!

Although this is the second book to the series, this could be read as a standalone just for Lola and Cricket alone. Even though I feel like in order to capture the essence of this whole series and all the characters combined, it should be read together.

We meet Lola who believes in dressing in costume every single day. She loves to stand out with her crazy sparkly outfits and different colored wigs. She lives with her two dads. Technically her adopted uncle and his husband but she considers them her fathers. Everything was going so well and dandy till her neighbors from childhood come back to move in next door. Then her rocker boyfriend starts giving her problems.

This book takes place in San Francisco and Stephanie Perkins does it again with making us the readers feel like we are apart of the setting. She makes us feel like we’re actually there.

Cricket, the boy next door who’s super tall and is an inventor finally steps away from his twins sister shadow. She’s a famous gymnast.

Feelings start to resurface between Lola and Cricket but she’s stuck in a toxic relationship. However, Cricket doesn’t give up. While Lola is eccentric and out there, Cricket is quiet and shy. Opposites extract? I think so.

Stephanie Perkins does not only have romance in this novel. We see family dynamics between Lola and her mother, Cricket and his family, Lola in a toxic relationship. We also meet Anna and Etienne again.

Plot, characters, and story = A+

Favorite Quote’s:

“And if I’m the stars, Cricket Bell is entire galaxies.”

“I don’t believe in fashion. I believe in costume. Life is too short to be same person every day.”

“Do you know my biggest regret?” She asks. “That you turned into this bright, beautiful, fascinating person… and I can’t take credit for any of it.”

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Mini Review Monday – Anna and the French Kiss (Spoiler Free)

October 3, 2016November 20, 2016 chicnerdreads49 Comments

Title: Anna and the French Kiss (Book #1)
Series: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, YA
Published: December 2nd, 2010
Read: October 2014 (paperback, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she’s less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she’s waiting for?

This book is added to my all time favorite books of my life. I feel like this is the perfect YA contemporary.

We meet Anna who lives in Atlanta but her father who’s an author (he gave me Nicholas Sparks vibes) sends her to boarding school in Paris. Anna isn’t looking forward to the move at all. However things change around once she meets people and gains new friends plus meets a boy in the city of love, Etienne St. Clair.

The only problem with Etienne is that he has a girlfriend and is also fighting his feelings with Anna. Which I found a tad bit problematic.

I loved how realistic Stephanie Perkins made these characters to be. Anna is taller than Etienne and she has a gap between her teeth. Etienne isn’t the best looking guy either, definitely not your typical buff built teenager we tend to read in YA. We also meet other characters who range in diversity.

What I loved most was the setting. Stephanie definitely made me feel like I was in Paris whilst reading the book. I imagined everything vividly. Stephanie had the characters visit different tourist locations of Paris that was awesome to read about and imagine.

Although this is a YA Romance Contemporary, Stephanie also touches on other topics like family, inclusion, and friendship.

This is definitely a light fluffy read that I would recommend on any given day.

A Favorite Quote:

“For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”

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Mini Review Monday – Attachments (Spoiler Free)

September 26, 2016November 20, 2016 chicnerdreads44 Comments

Hey everyone! I created this new meme titled Mini Review Monday where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.

Title: Attachments
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Adult
Published: April 14, 2011
Read: November 2014 (paperback, own)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . “

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It’s company policy.) But they can’t quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe this is his job now- reading other people’s e-mail. When he applied to be “internet security officer,” he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth’s and Jennifer’s messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can’t help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

One of my all time favorite books! I will never forget the feelings I had while reading this one.

In this book we follow 3 people: Beth and Jen through email interaction and Lincoln who get’s a new job reading the emails. Why is he reading emails? Because the Y2K era and everyone was freaking about what was going to happen when 2000 came in. Yes, this book takes place in the late 90s.

I loved reading Beth and Jen’s emails because they were utterly hilarious and real. When I say real, I mean it in the aspect of how two real friends can possibly interact with one another. They talk about pregnancy, periods, love, dating, dirty jokes, etc. I loved the way the book laid out the emails too. Regardless that it was in email form, we do see these two characters fully developed.

I equally loved reading Lincoln’s POV when it came to his chapters, I got to see him grow as a character. I enjoyed reading his thought process while reading Beth and Jen’s emails. Seeing him fall in love with Beth just through her email exchange was cute. He’s a total nerd!

Beth and Lincoln are both very awkward people.

There wasn’t much plot to this book, it’s more character driven than anything. If you’re into chick lit but need something light and fluffy that won’t make your heart wrench, then this is it for you.

Some of my favorite quotes are:

“I was so insecure, I needed him to bang my door and fill my room with flowers.”

“I didn’t know someone could love me like this,” she said. “Could love me and love me and love me without…needing space.”
Lincoln wasn’t asleep. He rolled on top of her.
“There’s no air in space,” he said.

“Every woman wants a man who’ll fall in love with her soul as well as her body.”

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Tag: mini review monday

Mini Review Monday – Ugly Love (Spoiler Free)

“Love isn’t always pretty. 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.”

Mini Review Monday – Dark Places (Spoiler Free)

“I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.”

“I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it.”

Mini Review Monday – Identical (Spoiler Free)

Mini Review Monday – Isla and the Happily Ever After (Spoiler Free)

Mini Review Monday – Lola and the Boy Next Door (Spoiler Free)

Mini Review Monday – Anna and the French Kiss (Spoiler Free)

Mini Review Monday – Attachments (Spoiler Free)