P.S. I Still Love You | Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

As a companion novel to To All the Boys I've Loved Before, I had high expectations going into this book. All of them were met until the end, which I'll talk more about in the Spoiler-Filled Discussion. We get to see more of Lara Jean and Peter, both struggling through this relationship of theirs, dodging different obstacles like Genevieve and John Ambrose. 

I think my favorite part of this book, besides the cute, cheesy romance, was the interactions between the characters. The relationship between Lara Jean and her sister, Peter and Genevieve, and Lara Jean and John all played significant roles in the arc of the story. 

All in all, I think it was a very well-written conclusion to the story, even though I did have some specific problems with it. 

It's a cute contemporary read, perfect for the summer weather. I'll link my review to To All the Boys I've Loved Before in case you want to learn a bit more about the storyline and characters. 

Spoiler-Filled Review

While the story was cute and adorable, there were bits and pieces that I just didn't love. 

My first issue was with Peter. I'm not going to lie, I never really liked Peter. In the first book I was Team Josh and in the second book I was Team John. Peter never seemed like the ideal boyfriend for Lara Jean and this book confirmed just confirmed my beliefs. 

Genevieve constantly disrupted their relationship both intentionally and unintentionally. Throughout the entire book Lara Jean felt insecure about Genevieve and Peter's relationship and while some people might say she's being unnecessarily jealous, I completely understand the place she's coming from. It's not the fact that Peter is talking to a girl. It's the fact that he's missing games and secretly talking and meeting up with his ex-girlfriend, who is secretly plotting to get him back. Peter wasn't in wrong, but I just think he should have been more open and honest about it with Lara Jean, especially if his relationship with her was in trouble. 

Near the end Lara Jean had told him that she deserves someone who'll put her first and I completely agree with that. I don't think Peter was the one to do that. He and Genevieve have too much history and too many ties to cut off. But I do think John would have been able to do that for her, which is why I liked him more than Peter.

At least in the first book there was some secret behind Josh and Margot's relationship that made me feel weird about Josh and Lara Jean. But in this book, nothing got between John and Lara Jean, leaving me wondering why John wasn't a viable candidate. 

I'm happy for Lara Jean but I still wonder what could have happened if she pursued something with John. I understand this was Peter and Lara Jean's love story, but I still preferred John. The ending is really what brought the book down for me, but I'm sure all you Peter fans loved it. 

Were you guys Team Peter or Team John? Let me know in the comments below! 

Girl Online | Zoe Sugg

I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...

Penny has a secret.

Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.

But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.

Before I even begin to discuss the book and how conflicted I am, I want to spend a little time talking about the author and the "scandal" that surrounded this book. Apparently, Zoella, YouTube beauty vlogger, decided to write and publish a book, a YA fiction book at that, and with over a million subscribers, she did just that. Girl Online has had record sales in its first week, comparable to those of Harry Potter, but of course there's a catch. This book was ghostwritten, meaning that while Zoe might have had the idea, there was a person (or a group of people) behind the scenes actually putting the words together. To be quite honest, I didn't know ghost writing was a frequented route for many authors, but it only makes sense when so many celebrities have their own book. I admit, I was hesitant to read her book. The plot seemed uninteresting, and the fact that Zoe didn't write the book herself yet took credit anyways is oddly unnerving. 

I will also admit that after reading this book I am pleasantly surprised. I think this would make a good coming of age book for girls between the ages of 11 and 15, anyone younger may not understand the "coming of age" aspect of this book, and anyone older might see through the plot and characters, finding the glaring gaps between the story and reality.

Even as I type this, I'm still conflicted about how I feel. Whilst I read it, emotions of giddiness and adorableness bubbled up inside me, due to the romance BUT the sharp deviations from reality really brought the book down for me. Do I recommend it? I have no idea. It's definitely not a bad read, but the lack of realism may be a turn off for some people.

Five Point Someone | Chetan Bhagat

Five Point Someone is a story about three friends in IIT who are unable to cope. 

The book starts with a disclaimer, “This is not a book to teach you how to get into IIT or even how to live in college. In fact, it describes how screwed up things can get if you don’t think straight.” 

Three hostelmates – Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT – they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize: If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. 

Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the end of their class. This GPA is a tattoo that will remain with them, and come in the way of anything else that matters – their friendship, their future, their love life. While the world expects IITians to conquer the world, these guys are struggling to survive. 

Will they make it? Do under performers have a right to live? Can they show that they are not just a five-point-somebody but a five-point-someone?

If you're Indian, odds are you've seen the ever famous movie 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan, and even if you're not Indian it's still possible that you've seen it. This book was the inspiration for that movie. Generally I believe that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie, but in this case, having read Chetan Bhagat's book Half-Girlfriend, I wasn't expecting much from this book, and this book just barely made my expectations. 

While this was immensely better than Half-Girlfriend, it was by no means an extraordinary read. Personally I enjoyed the movie more, which if you haven't seen I highly recommend, even if you don't speak Hindi (that's what subtitles are for). In this book, the plot, the characters and the romance were fairly bland, but I loved how the problems of the Indian education system were showcased, both in the book and the movie.

The one thing that really bothered me about this book was the romance. Hari would constantly disregard Neha, the protagonist's love interest, as "all girls". Whenever Neha was do something even mildly confusing, Hari would say/think something like "Why do girls do this?" and he simply kept grouping Neha with every other girl, which I just found really annoying. 

Overall, this was a pretty mediocre book. I didn't feel myself falling in love with any of the characters, nor did I especially love the plot or the setting, but I didn't hate it like I did in Half-Girlfriend. Though I don't necessarily recommend this book to everyone, I do highly recommend the movie, which does a fantastic job of integrating serious issues and humor. 

The Death Cure | James Dashner

It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. 

The time for lies is over.

I can't express how disappointed I am with this series. While the first and second books set pretty high standards, the third and final book completely fell under what I expected. Although for the other books I did a mostly non-spoiler review, for the concluding book I'm going to go into an in-depth spoiler filled review. If you haven't read the series, I really recommend the first book, but after that, for me at least, the series just went downhill. 

The Blood of Olympus | Rick Riordan

Though the Greek and Roman crew members of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

Words cannot explain how incredibly disappointed I am with this book. Everything about this book was not what I expected. Parts of it were written poorly, unnecessary parts were added and necessary perspectives were taken out. Certain parts felt rushed and the only thing I thought that kept this book together at all was the bits of humor scattered throughout. Other than that, the ending was nothing like the Last Olympian and for someone whose been with the series and the characters for the past six years, this was not how I wanted the series to end. 

Spoiler-Filled Review

Atancia | Wren Figueiro

After watching a young boy die, college freshman Atancia Clark begins to have panic attacks. Her heart flutters, her breath catches and she can’t control her emotions the way she always has. She wants to be strong, but lately she just hasn’t been living up to her own expectations. When she meets Ben Althaus, her breath starts catching for entirely different reasons. He helps Atancia discover the cause for her odd emotional reactions and the history she thought was lost when her mother left her. Atancia has power beyond that of an average girl, and Ben is by no means ordinary. He wants to help her hone her talents, but her focus is threatened by life-altering events. Thrust into a world where existence has a new meaning, Atancia’s lack of clarity could lead her down a destructive path. 

Atancia is a paranormal romance novel for young adults. It is the first book of The Durand Duology.

THE COVER: 

One thing I really want to highlight is the importance of a good cover. Unfortunately I don't love this cover and I think it really takes away from the story. A frequent saying is 'don't judge a book by its cover' and while that does hold true, there are so many books in the world, one of the factors inevitably becomes how good it looks from the outside. This cover feels haphazardly put together, and I feel like there are so many more ideas for it. For example, something having to do with energy could be on the cover, anything but this. 

THE PLOT:

Going into the plot and story line of the book, I thought this book closely resembled Twilight. I liked the entire premise of the book, including the whole species of Durand and the way they function. I just wish the world had been more developed and more happened within the book, because I felt like throughout the whole five hundred page book, the pace of the book is fairly slow and slightly boring. I thought the plot was picking up when Atty started to look for her mother, but as soon as Ben came into the picture she basically stopped looking and just followed him around. I understand that a lot of this book was going into training Atty and introducing this world, but I feel like too much of the book was spent describing her everyday life and not enough of it went into the seemingly dangerous plot. Several subplots were mentioned within the book but never fully explored, I'm hoping they're mentioned later in the series because otherwise they seemed out of place. 

THE CHARACTERS: 

Honestly, the characters were just meh. I didn't feel myself relating too closely or getting too attached to any of them. Atty reminded me a bit too much like Bella, too dependent and needy. Ben creeped me out a bit, as did the rest of his family. All except for maybe Matt, he seemed relatively normal. Looking back on it, there weren't all that many characters in the book, since we spent so much of the time focused on Atty and her daily routine, I feel as though we missed some foundation to this new species. 

Another thing I realized I didn't like because of this book. Older men with younger women. It happened in Carrie Lofty's Blue Notes and also in this one. Something about a an older man with a college student really makes me feel creeped out, which is probably why for most of the book I shipped Matt and Atty together instead of Ben and Atty. 

As much as I wish that there was more in this book, I do like where this book ended because it really makes me want to read the second book and learn where all of this is going. I think if you like Twilight, this is definitely a book you may like, it's a fairly slow read, but I'm hoping that it picks up in the next book. 

If you've read this book and want to discuss certain parts of it, let me know in the comments below! 

What I Thought Was True | Huntley Fitzpatrick

From the acclaimed author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle has never so badly wanted to say good-bye to her island home till now: the summer her Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, takes a job there as the local yard boy. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-you-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti

In the mood for a cute adorable love story, I picked this book up, expecting it to just as great, if not better then My Life Next Door. (MLND) Being completely honest, I wasn't satisfied. While the setting created a picturesque scene for a beautiful love story, I didn't relate to any of the characters and wasn't too fond of the setting. While in MLND I could picture myself as Samantha, good grade, only child, etc. I couldn't picture myself as Gwen. Many of her actions throughout the book made me think:

She was super contradictory and hypocritical throughout the whole book and I just really didn't like her. 

Another problem I had, although more of a personal preference, was the choice of names in this book. Samantha and Jase from MLND vs. Gwen and Cassidy. Cassidy? Cassidy is definitely a girl's name, which left me so confused throughout most of this book. 

I will admit that I usually am a bit harsh with love stories, there are certain things that just have to be perfect in order to work. And while MLND was perfection, this one wasn't. And although I didn't like it, you might! So don't let me discourage you! 

Let's Get Lost | Adi Alsaid

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. 

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. 

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love. 

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

I really disliked this book, with too many high expectations that simply weren’t met. Going into the book, I was told that this book resembled Papertowns by John Green, and although I can see the similarities, in my eyes Papertowns was a much better read.

Spoiler-Filled Discussion 

A successful contemporary story has a lot of different factors that need to be considered during the writing and editing process. These include the characters, the setting, the storyline, and the climax. All of them need to work in perfect harmony with each other to create the beautiful symphony of a story. In this book, each aspect had a different sound, creating a cacophony over a melody.

The characters were so bland. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them; it was that I didn’t know them. Over the span of a couple hundred pages, we were introduced to so many characters: Hudson, Leila, Sonia, Dee, and a few others whose names I don’t even remember. They all served for a singular purpose and then disappeared from the story altogether. Even Leila, our protagonist, was a complete stranger to me. As she interacts with all the other characters, she serves as just a side character, and rather than slowly learning things about her throughout the story, we learn nothing until at the end, within the short range of fifteen pages.

The storyline in this book was unenticing and boring. The story was literally this: a girl drives to Alaska in a red car. Along the way, she stops and makes a friend. None of it added up to make a cohesive storyline. Each event seemed separate and unrelated. While most stories have a plotline that builds towards a big finish, this book had no big finish. The ending was predictable and unrealistic. From start to finish, Leila is practically the same character, just a bit more disappointed and resigned by the end.

I think a better ending should have involved all of the characters, not just Hudson, because that would have been really interesting to see.

Generally, I was very disappointed with this book. BookCon, Barnes and Noble, everywhere I went, I saw this book and because of all it’s publicity I was convinced it was going to be great. Weeks later, with the book finished, I’m just not satisfied. Several factors could have been improved to create a better and more exciting read.

Reflections of Queen Snow White | David Meredith

What happens when "happily ever after" has come and gone? 

On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven's wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: 

The king is dead. 

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old. 

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means? 

Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White

---------

This book was an interesting take on the traditional Snow White tale. I'm not completely sure if this story is supposed to be an actual book or simply a short story but I personally think it would make for a better short story.  While the plot and concept of the story was interesting, the characters weren't developed as well as they could have been. For example, I didn't perceive Prince Charming with the reverence and admiration that Snow White did. Rather, to me, he seemed a bit creepy. 

The actual writing of this book wasn't bad but it wasn't great. In my opinion the author used too many complex words that were neither suited for his projected audience nor necessary to the story. There were too many concentrated throughout the pages of this book, which was just a bit too much. 

All in all, I think this was a good fantasy story, however this is room for improvement. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick fantasy read. 

Live by the Sun, Love by the Moon | J. T. Jackson

At first glance, Luna Stone seems to have a normal nineteen year old girl’s life. She goes to college, studying for psychology. Works at a coffeehouse. But Luna’s life is far from normal. In addition to her coffeehouse job, she also works nights at a strip club. Dancing and waitressing to keep up with her mother’s hospital bills. More recently, a old friend of Luna’s decides to pop up and beg for forgiveness. And to top it all off, her teacher recently offered her a internship at a law firm. Which is a opportunity she could not pass up.

Twelve weeks, personal assistant, no pay, but a good recommendation. Seemed easy enough. But what Luna didn’t know was the job wasn’t going to be the hard part. The hard part wasn’t even her new over-achieving, young, polar opposite boss Mr. Ian Hanson. The hard part, was not falling in love with him.

In the first book of the Live by the Sun, Love by the Moon Trilogy, we meet Luna at a time in her life when her world gets turned upside down and seems to be falling apart. But it isn't her world she's worried about breaking, it’s her heart.

Non-Spoiler Review

This book started off really well. I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the storyline, but the story seemed to progress very slowly. I really think this should have been a stand-alone novel not only because I'm tired of series, but also because I'd rather have one big book that's intense and awesome rather than several books that aren't as plot-driven. The characters were well-written. They were realistic and easily relatable. I especially loved Luna's backstory and her personality. 

One thing I was really frustrated by was Ian and Luna's relationship. It was extremely wishy-washy. I've read so many books where there's a constantly fluctuating relationship and I'm honestly so tired of them. Luna kept jumping back and forth between some of the male characters even though it was obvious all along she loved Ian. 

I think that the overall premise of the book was interesting, but for me the plot was a bit dull. Save for a couple of grammar errors, the book was well written. I'm really hoping the next books in the series picks up and becomes a little more exciting, but I'm still excited to read it! 

I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a light and fairly fluffy read. There are some darker themes to it, but it's not too emotionally draining. It's a pretty quick read. I finished it in a couple of hours. If this book sounds interesting to you, you should definitely pick it up! 

*This book was provided by the author to read and review. This is a 100% honest review.*