SEVEN PERCENT OF RO DEVEREUX By Ellen O’Clover

January 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SEVEN PERCENT OF RO DEVEREUX By Ellen O’CloverSeven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O'Clover
Published by HarperTeen on 1/17/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 319
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Ro Devereux can predict your future. Or, at least, the app she built for her senior project can.

Working with her neighbor, a retired behavioral scientist, Ro created an app called MASH, designed around the classic game Mansion Apartment Shack House, that can predict a person’s future with 93% accuracy. The app will even match users with their soulmates. Though it was only supposed to be a class project, MASH quickly takes off and gains the attention of tech investors.

Ro’s dream is to work in Silicon Valley, and she’ll do anything to prove to her new backing company—and the world—that the app works. So it’s a huge shock when the app says her soulmate is Miller, her childhood best friend with whom she had a friendship-destroying fight three years ago.

Now thrust into a fake dating scenario, Ro and Miller must address the years of pain between them if either of them will have any chance of achieving their dreams. And as the app takes on a life of its own, Ro sees that it’s affecting people in ways she never expected—and if she can’t regain control, it might take her and everything she believes in down with it.

Short and Sweet Review

Ro Devereux made an app that can predict your future and its 93% accurate. The app is called MASH and it’s based on the childhood game (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House). The app was only supposed to be for a class project but soon it starts taking off in the App Store and Ro is eventually backed by a company. Ro just wants to prove herself so she becomes the main face of MASH and she uses the app to match with her soulmate which she thinks is wrong when the app tells her its Miller, a boy she used to be friends with until something went wrong. We see Ro and Miller try to make the best of their fake dating scenario, and we see how people are affected by the app and the choices Ro has to make about her future.

First of all, this book was amazing. I haven’t played MASH since I was in middle school so this book brought up some good memories. If I could I probably would download Ro’s version of MASH just to see what the future has in store. Ro is smart, I mean she made an app that has a 93% accuracy rate. Ro did have a lot of character development throughout this book, we see her trying to justify the decisions she makes, but in the end she does realize that other things are important and tries to right her wrongs. We also see Ro become obsessed with trying to make MASH work and trying to have everything go perfectly and this is why I appreciated her support system because they would bring her back to Earth and ground her.

Ro does get backed by a company who tries to get her noticed by a bigger software company, unfortunately Ro’s quest for success gives this company 50% ownership of the app and they start making questionable changes to the algorithm, but more on this later. Ro gets matched with Miller, who used to be her childhood best friend but since then they’ve gone their separate ways, now they have to fake their romance. This romance was cute, the slow burn and the eventually realization that they were meant to be was everything. At first these two didn’t even want to share a space together but by the end they stole my heart. After the company starts making changes to the algorithm we see people become affected by their MASH results and how their futures would change. Ro knows this isn’t what she intended when she first created the app and now she has to decide what to do with an app she thought would give her a chance in the tech world.

This is my first five star read of 2023 and for a lot of reasons. The amazing concept of having a childhood game become an app to predict your future, a smart tech driven main character, and one of the cutest romances I’ve read in a while. Definitely get your hands on this book and enjoy the the magic that O’Clover has created.

Filed Under: Reviews

A THOUSAND BOY KISSES By Tillie Cole

January 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A THOUSAND BOY KISSES By Tillie ColeA Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole
Published by Tillie Cole Ltd on 3/13/16
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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One kiss lasts a moment.
But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime.

One boy.
One girl.
A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade.
A bond that neither time nor distance can break.
A bond that will last forever.
Or so they believe.

When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation?

Rune’s heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come.

Short and Sweet Review

Poppy and Rune meet when they’re kids and they vow to be best friends for ever. When Poppy is young her grandma gives her a jar to write down a thousand kisses that make her heart fill like it’s about to burst. Rune is Poppy’s first kiss and they decide that only his kisses are going to fill the jar. When the pair are 15, Rune’s dad has to go back to Norway for work and so the whole family has to go back. This is where things go downhill, I mean the beginning is ridiculous too because what eight year olds are saying “these lips are only for you.” Anyway this is where it goes downhill because Rune basically loses his mind about moving and he’ll never forgive his parents for making him leave the love of his life, it was just so dramatic and what’s worse was the way he was talking to his parents it was just so disrespectful. It just doesn’t end there because his family moves back to Georgia and he comes back with not a chip on his shoulder but a boulder and he’s still angry at the world. Like really? Two years later and he’s still throwing a fit because the world is just so unfair for all the Runes in the world. Anyway he’s back and he’s smoking cigarettes and has an attitude and he’s just not the same Rune that Poppy used to know. During the time that Rune was gone he and Poppy stayed in contact for a while until she cut him off for some unknown reason which just added more fuel to his fire. Now that he’s back it takes like less than a minute for these two to reconnect which was so stupid because Poppy was sitting in her room crying about him not being the boy she used to know. Okay so now they’re back together and he’s still a sucky person and she’s optimistic and in her eyes “quirky” despite her circumstances.

Honestly the dialogue was cheesy. Rune was one of the worst characters that I’ve read about and Poppy just made dumb decisions. The things that happened in this book were unrealistic and honestly the amount of times I had to put my kindle down and cleanse my mind of whatever ridiculous scene I just read was more than 10. Rune was insufferable and his redemption came in the end and at that point it was way too late. This will go down in my mind as one of the worst books I’ve ever read.

Filed Under: Reviews

FOUR DAYS OF YOU AND ME By Miranda Kenneally

January 7, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FOUR DAYS OF YOU AND ME By Miranda KenneallyFour Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 5/5/20
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 356
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Every May 7th, the students at Coffee County High School take a class trip. And every year, Lulu's relationship with Alex Rouvelis gets a little more complicated. Freshman year they went from sworn enemies to more than friends after a close encounter in an escape room. It's been hard for Lulu to quit Alex ever since.

Through break-ups, make-ups, and dating other people, each year's class trip brings the pair back together and forces them to confront their undeniable connection. From the science museum to Six Flags, New York City to London, Lulu learns one thing is for sure: love is the biggest trip of all.

Are Lulu and Alex meant to be, or are they better apart?

Short and Sweet Review

Four Days of You and Me follows the relationship between Lulu and Alex. It’s over the course of four years so I’m not sure why the title is four days but that’s a problem for another day. Each year their class takes a field trip and each year Lulu and Alex’s relationship gets a little more complicated.

The premise sounded cute but the more I read the more I thought that these characters were toxic! I like the idea of going on a new field trip each year and seeing how their relationship progressed but they were both dramatic and kind of self centered. I also didn’t like how it would alternate from past to present it just seemed all over the place. We see Lulu and Alex date to them breaking up to Lulu being jealous if he’s with someone else even though she broke up with him it was just a headache. It was a constant “he loves me he loves me not,” situation with the two of them. At the end of the book I thought they should have just gone their separate ways. These two are not a couple that I liked or even shipped, there was no connection it was just a hot mess.

Filed Under: Reviews

QUEEN OF SHADOWS By Sarah J. Maas

January 5, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS By Sarah J. MaasQueen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #4
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 9/1/15
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 653
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire-for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past...

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Short and Sweet Review

This book gets right to business. Dorian is being controlled by one of the magical necklaces the king has placed him in. Aelin has come back to Rifthold and she has plans but those plans are put on hold when she finds out that her cousin Aedion is set to be executed. Chaol is also here but instead of being captain of the guard, he has joined forces with the rebels. Manon’s witch friends have been selected to breed with the Valg demons which isn’t going well.

There’s always a lot going on in these books but it just makes so much sense. I love that Aelin comes back in and she basically has a team and even though people don’t always agree with her they’re there for her in the end. Aelin is smart and strategic and it’s amazing how she’s usually one step ahead of everyone. I still prefer her POV over everyone else’s. I also liked learning more about Lysandra and the friendship that she and Aelin form. The final battle at the end was pretty epic and we learn that the king isn’t the only enemy out there, there’s something even older and more powerful than any of our characters imagined.

These books are jam packed with action and they become addicting, I’m excited to start reading Empire of Storms!

Filed Under: Reviews

DASH & LILY’S BOOK OF DARES By Rachel Cohn AND David Levithan

January 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

DASH & LILY’S BOOK OF DARES By Rachel Cohn AND David LevithanDash & Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan, Rachel Cohn
Series: Dash & Lily #1
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on 10/26/10
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 274
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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16-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on her favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. Dash, in a bad mood during the holidays, happens to be the first guy to pick up the notebook and rise to its challenges.

What follows is a whirlwind romance as Dash and Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations all across New York City. But can their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions, or will their scavenger hunt end in a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Short and Sweet Review

It’s the holiday season and while at a bookstore Dash finds a notebook waiting for someone to accept the challenge and complete the dares inside. Lily is just trying to find the right guy and hopefully the notebook will help her succeed. These two end up leaving the notebook in different places and doing different dares and at one point it’ll bring them together, but are these two right for each other?

This book has a fun plot, two teens going around New York City around Christmas time completing dares and maybe finding true love in the process. The problem with this book is the characters. Dash is like a hipster or something and Lily is awkward and quirky and doesn’t really have friends her own age. Lily’s dialogue is childish she’s a child in a teenagers body. I didn’t connect with either character. This is the second book I’ve read by Cohn and Levithan and for some reason I just don’t connect with their characters and somehow end up regret the time I spend reading their books, that being said, I probably won’t continue on with this series.

Filed Under: Reviews

BREAKUP FROM HELL By Ann Dávila Cardinal

December 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BREAKUP FROM HELL By Ann Dávila CardinalBreakup from Hell by Ann Dávila Cardinal
Published by HarperTeen on 1/3/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 297
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.

It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.

Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.

She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?

Short and Sweet Review

Miguela Angeles (Mica) lives with her grandma in a small town in Vermont, all Miguela wants is to break free of the small town life, her grandma keeping her on a tight leash, and just being with the same people and seeing the same things all the time. During a normal Sunday at Church Mica has a run in with a new guy Sam who isn’t so bad looking, Sam is on vacation and Mica gravitates towards him. After meeting Sam Mica realizes that weird things are starting to happen to her and her friends including new abilities and end of the world type dreams. Mica knows she has to stay away from Sam but for some reason it feels like ending it with him will be the end of the world as she knows it.

Mica starts a relationship with the new guy Sam and sees that things with him aren’t what they seem. After being with Mica starts getting Buffy the Vampire Slayer like powers and she knows that this isn’t normal. Come to find out Mica is a descendent of the Archangel Michael and Sam is unfortunately the son of Satan. Their relationship ends up turning them into enemies.

The plot was interesting I mean its not everyday you end up dating Satans son. I liked that Mica’s friends were also special and that she didn’t have to go through things alone. The dialogue was a bit cheesy and it felt juvenile like something from a bad superhero movie. I think one of my favorite things was that each of the chapters started with a verse from Revelation which only makes sense because this relationship may cause the end of the world. I didn’t connect with Mica but I did like the whole angel aspect of the book. The relationship between Mica and Sam wasn’t really anything to look forward to it’s instalove and very short lived.

If you want a short book that involves angels and demons then this book is a good way to start off your new year.

Filed Under: Reviews

HEIR OF FIRE By Sarah J. Maas

December 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

HEIR OF FIRE By Sarah J. MaasHeir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #3
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 9/2/14
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 576
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak-but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth . . . a truth about her heritage that could change her life-and her future-forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of Crown of Midnight, Chaol manages to get Celaena sent to Wendlyn under the guise of killing the royal family. Celaena has no idea why Chaol would even suggest this but now that she’s in Wendlyn with no intentions of killing the royal family she doesn’t know what to do with herself until her aunt the queen of fae, Maeve sends for her. Celaena decides that this is the perfect time to learn more about wyrdkeys but her aunt won’t answer her questions until she deems Celaena worthy and now Celaena has to train with Rowan to learn to control the magic that she’s suppressed for all of these years. Meanwhile back at the castle, Dorian is learning to control his magic and Chaol starts exchanging information with Aedion who just happens to be Celaena’s cousin. Also there’s a new character Manon Blackbeak, an Ironteeth witch. She’s tasked with picking a wyvern and training him until he’s ready to fight in the kings army, Manon’s goal is to work for the king until she can reclaim her country.

There’s a lot going on in this book but in a good way. I enjoyed all of the POVs but my favorite is Aelin’s (Celaena) we learn so much about her and what happened the day almost everyone in her kingdom was slaughtered. Aelin has been suppressing her fae form for a long time so now that she’s training with Rowan she’s struggling to perfect the art of shifting and control her fire magic. These two had an interesting relationship because at first, Rowan wanted nothing to do with Aelin but we all know she knows how to work her charm and honestly I’m looking forward to see where this all goes. Also the king is up to some shady stuff and the magic he’s been working is dark like the kind of magic they tell you to stay away from. I felt bad for Dorian he has magic but his father banished all magic from the kingdom so he has to learn to use it in secret. I also liked the addition of Aedion when we read from his POV we see how much he cares about Aelin even though he hasn’t seen her since they were kids. Manon is okay she’s a tough character and lets people know she’s a boss but I’m interested in learning more about her because we mostly see her training her wyvern in this book.

Heir of Fire is exciting and offers so much backstory and interesting new characters. I can’t wait to see what happens in Queen of Shadows!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE BEAST WITHIN By Serena Valentino

December 13, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE BEAST WITHIN By Serena ValentinoThe Beast Within by Serena Valentino
Series: Villains #2
Published by Disney Press on 7/22/14
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 164
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

A cursed prince sits alone in a secluded castle. Few have seen him, but those who claim they have say his hair is wild and nails are sharp--like a beast's! But how did this prince, once jovial and beloved by the people, come to be a reclusive and bitter monster? And is it possible that he can ever find true love and break the curse that has been placed upon him?

The Beast Within follows Prince Adams transformation into the beast and his quest to find true love. In the beginning we see that the prince is engaged to Circe but once he sees her covered in mud he decides that she’s no longer good for him. What the prince didn’t know is that Circe is a witch and she curses him and turns him into the beast. The prince needs to find love before time runs out. We see the prince try to fall in love with a girl but he was just trying to use her to break the curse which is why it didn’t work. In the story we also see Belle and how it takes time but eventually falls in love with the beast. What was also interesting was seeing more of the odd sisters and how they meddle in peoples affairs.

This was a good book, I’m interested in reading more about the villains and seeing how they became who they are.

Filed Under: Reviews

A MILLION TO ONE By Adiba Jaigirdar

December 9, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A MILLION TO ONE By Adiba JaigirdarA Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
Published by HarperCollins on 12/13/22
Genres: Historical, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 367
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Josefa is an unapologetic and charismatic thief, who loves the thrill of the chase. She has her eye on her biggest mark yet—the RMS Titanic, the most luxurious ship in the world. But she isn’t interested in stealing from wealthy first-class passengers onboard. No, she’s out for the ultimate prize: the Rubiyat, a one of a kind book encrusted with gems that’s worth millions.

Josefa can’t score it alone, so she enlists a team of girls with unique talents: Hinnah, a daring acrobat and contortionist; Violet, an actress and expert dissembler; and Emilie, an artist who can replicate any drawing by hand.

They couldn’t be more different and yet they have one very important thing in common: their lives depend on breaking into the vault and capturing the Rubiyat. But careless mistakes, old grudges, and new romance threaten to jeopardize everything they’ve worked for and put them in incredible danger when tragedy strikes.

While the odds of pulling off the heist are slim, the odds of survival are even slimmer…

Short and Sweet Review

A thief, an actress, an artist, and an acrobat aboard the Titanic in hopes of pulling off a heist. Josefa is a thief and she enlists her friends Violet, Emilie, and Hinnah to help her because they all come with certain skills that’ll help this mission be successful. The goal is to get the Rubaiyat a book that is encrusted with jewels and is worth millions. Any little mistake could jeopardize this groups mission so they have to be careful not to this heist slip through their hands.

This was such a good book, I love mysteries and I also love a good heist. Each girl has a skill that would help ensure that they could pull this heist off. I will say even though Josefa was friends with each of the girls some of the girls weren’t friends with each other, Violet and Hinnah were weary of Emelie but her being artist was really helpful. We see these girls make plans and scope out the Titanic, I loved seeing the girls do recon and go off and make sure each step of the plan would go off without a hitch. There’s this guy named Lake and he’s the one who’s guarding the book but he also has an assistant, August who has history with Josefa so it just complicated things a little more. The setting of the Titanic was great because it just added to the suspense of stealing something and having nowhere to run when you get caught.

This book was one that I couldn’t put down. The heist was great, the friendship and bond that these girls eventually form was heartwarming and we see that each of these girls really had a reason to trust Josefa and try to make a better life for themselves when all was said and done. I will say the ending was kind of bittersweet but it didn’t take away from all the other amazing things that happened throughout the book.

Filed Under: Reviews

FAIREST OF ALL By Serena Valentino

December 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAIREST OF ALL By Serena ValentinoFairest of All by Serena Valentino
Series: Villains #1
Published by Disney Press on 2/14/12
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 268
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Why exactly is the wicked Queen so nasty, particularly to Snow White? Perhaps it has something to do with the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror who's not just some random spooky visage...

Short and Sweet Review

Fairest of All tells the story of the Evil Queen before she became the Evil Queen. We see the queen earlier in life when she marries the king and becomes Snow Whites step mother. Snow White and the queen have a good relationship she tries to be a mother to Snow White while also trying not to replace memories of Snow Whites mom. The King goes off to war but before he leaves he gifts the queen with a mirror that ends up being enchanted. I feel like we all know what happens from here but the Queen begins talking to the mirror and that’s when her descent into the Evil Queen begins. The Evil Queen wants more power and beauty and eventually she becomes unrecognizable to those who she used to love the most.

This was a short book and easy to read. It was an interesting retelling and I liked seeing the beginning of her story and how she became the villain we know her as today.

Filed Under: Reviews