Distraction (Westbrook #1) - Laura Clark

Goodreads summary:

Seventeen-near-old, Laila Patterson, would never describe her heart as fickle. She understands the difference between reality and fantasy, which is why Sam Woodson is not realistic boyfriend material. After all, he is in college, and college boys simply do not date high school girls. Plus, he is Laila’s older brother’s best friend. According to the unspoken bro-code, messing around with your friend’s little sister is pretty high on the list of forbidden taboos.

What happens when Laila discovers that her secret crush on Sam isn’t quite so one-sided? What if the only way to keep him is to keep their relationship hush-hush? Is Sam worth all of the lying and sneaking around?

As if things weren’t confusing enough with Sam, an old family friend suddenly shows up after being gone for more than three years. She isn't expecting Trevor Maddox to move back to Westbrook. She isn't expecting him to attend her high school, and she certainly isn't expecting him to be so damned gorgeous.

Laila doesn't want or need this unexpected distraction. . . or does she?

My review:

Quite a quick, fun read! I started this book knowing there would probably be a love triangle of some kind, but I never expected to fall for a particular character the way I did... It's actually the opposite of what I was expecting! No matter what this character could do or say, I loved him from the very beginning and I adored his chemistry with Laila. However, I quickly got tired of the triangle aspect of this love story. I've never been a hue fan of those anyways, so that was a given, but I gue3/5 Quite a quick, fun read! I started this book knowing there would probably be a love triangle of some kind, but I never expected to fall for a particular character the way I did... It's actually the opposite of what I was expecting! No matter what this character could do or say, I loved him from the very beginning and I adored his chemistry with Laila. However, I quickly got tired of the triangle aspect of this love story. I've never been a hue fan of those anyways, so that was a given, but I guess I hopef it would change my mind. I wanted to shout at Laila every time she was with the character I didn't want her to be with, because it was very clear in my mind who should be her boyfriend. I understood her being jealous of Avery to some extent, because I know what it's like to be best friends with a gorgeous girl, but I disliked how she acted because she simply couldn't make up her mind. I'm guessing that it's all because I would have stopped all relationships, if I had been in her place, instead of being confused and having misplaced thoughts all the time. I know it can't be everyone's reaction, but there were times when I simply couldn't stand it. I do think this is a lovely story, even though there were parts that felt out of place. There are sentences, and even chapters, that feel a bit like they're out of a textbook, because it's like they want us to think about them, but in an obvious way. Their message is good, but they're just not subtle enough, I guess. I think the entire world, like the characters and the places, created by the author is brilliant, though. Thank you Laura Clark for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Dog's Purpose - W. Bruce Cameron

Goodreads summary:

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, this touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8 year old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders, will he ever find his purpose? Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh out loud funny, this book is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.


My review:

5/5 (or more)

I absolutely loved it. To no end.

This book made me feel so much love and sadness, because let's be real, when a book's about a dog which lives four lives, you have to expect it to die once in a while. However, no matter how much I cried, I finished this book feeling so happy and like my life was complete, because the ending is the sweetest thing ever. I don't feel like writing an extremely long review, because there isn't much to this story at the same time as there's a lot to it. A dog's life isn't that interesting, although all four of this one's are special, but this book is filled with feelings that made me fall in love with the dogs and the book itself. I particularly loved Bailey's life, because there is so much love in this one, and I enjoyed seeing the characters grow.

This story is funny, touching and incredible, so I would recommend it to all animal lovers out there. I might even consider reading it again soon, because I want to live through the story once more. It's truly amazing.

Catching Jordan (Hundred Oaks) - Miranda Kenneally

Goodreads summary:

ONE OF THE BOYS

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?


My review:

4/5

Catching Jordan is about football, boys, first crushes and love. If that doesn't scream "perfect summer read", then I don't know what does.

Even though an entire football team is a lot of characters for a single book, Miranda Kenneally managed to make me remember the most important of them and love them to no end. I swear, if any of those teenage boys came to life right now, I'd want to date him without any doubt. Instead of being the usual stupid football players, each of the characters have a distinct personality, with qualities, passions and quirks. I discovered them as caring, kind and protective of Jordan, not only because she's a girl, but because they love her - not all in a platonic way. JJ is probably my favourite supporting character, because his dinners with Jordan always ended up surprising me. Of all the main characters, Henry was my favourite, because I love how he knows everything about Jordan and he doesn't care about looking stupid.

Although I have to admit I didn't understand much about it, I loved how important football is in this story. Books centered around a passion always make me want to work harder with mine and do everything I can to get better. Jordan's determination inspires me and I wish I had as much of it as she does. She makes great sacrifices because of her dreams and she doesn't care about the risks, except when they are about her football career. I liked reading about a teenage girl with so much courage.

I liked how feminism is important in this book, because girls playing football must not have an easy life. In fact, I was surprised that Jordan would play against boys, because it must be really dangerous, even though Jordan seems to endure it pretty well. Her difficulties when trying to find a college sounded very realistic and I enjoyed watching her realize many things about what she wants and what she doesn't want.

The thing I enjoyed the least was probably Jordan's relationship with Ty, because there isn't much to his character and he annoyed me. Also, I don't like when a girl starts acting in such a girly way because of a guy, no matter if she's already girly or not, because I think it simply looks stupid. 

I enjoyed reading this novel and I think if you're looking for a summer book, this one would be a great choice.

Dear November

Dear November,

You were quite a month. Every student has that horrible day/week/month when it gets to the end of the term and I can say I went through it quite victoriously, even though I struggled to stay awake (or alive) during many, many days. It was exhausting and my dark circles could prove it, but as I'm finishing my last essays and projects, I can't be happier to have more and more time to relax and finally sleep.

While everyone around me started decorating for Christmas, I couldn't help but feel out of it, which was incredibly weird for me, since I'm usually the first to start talking about Christmas. I guess finals put my mind somewhere else, but I really wish I could've started getting excited for the holidays sooner, because I'm not even sure if I'm in the Christmas spirit just yet, even though it's been December for a week. It's been lovely seeing all the Christmas lights, smelling all the spices and feeling cozy at night, though, so there is some good in this.

In November, I took the crazy decision to bring up my reading challenge to... 200! I didn't update it on Goodreads to feel less pressured, but it's been my goal for a few weeks now. It's absolutely insane, but with school almost done, I'm going to have much more time to read, so I'll do everything I can to read that many books.

I'm thankful for my friends' presence this month, because the distance that I felt growing between us completely disappeared. Since I went to college, I've started talking less and less to my best high school friends, which made me sadder than anyone could imagine. I'm always a bit paranoid, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought, but being together again made me realize how strong our friendship is. We did some crazy things over the last month, which made me go out of my comfort zone and it felt awesome. I feel like I finally started acting like a teenager, even though I'm almost too old to be one, but it's so exhilarating that I'm never going to regret it. As my group of friends is growing up, I think we're getting a bit more mature, but we can still have tons of fun and be as comfortable as ever together, so what else could I ask for? I'm feeling really lucky.

This month went by so quickly that it's hard to even realize it's over, but it's not a bad thing, now that it's over. I only hope that 2015 will end in a beautiful way and that December will bring me many wonderful things.

 

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Signs of Love (Series) - Melody James

Hi everyone! I'm doing a series review for once, because these books are so small that it was pointless to write huge reviews. If you think they look too childish, don't judge them too quickly! I personally loved this series so much that I finished it in less than a (busy) week, so I highly recommend it. It's perfect for readers looking for a light-hearted series and aspiring journalists, since it's the main character's dream, too. 

Signs of Love: Love Match (#1)

Goodreads summary:

For as long as 13-year-old Gemma Stone can remember she has dreamed of becoming an award-winning journalist. Unfortunately, as the youngest member of the Green Park High student e-zine editorial team, she's given the job of writing the horoscopes, under the pen name 'Jessica Jupiter'.


My review:

3/5

Ah, cute little books, what an amazing distraction you are. 

This book is sweetness times ten. It's adorable, funny and interesting, which is why I read it so quickly and decided to continue with the series. I'm not going to pretend it's the best book I've ever read, but it definitly is a nice distraction. It might be the book I read in the shortest amount of time this year, but it made it even better. If you're looking for a story to make you forget about school, work or life in general, this book would be amazing for you. Also, I love how it's about journalism, since that's what I'm studying right now.

Signs of Love: Stupid Cupid (#2)

Goodreads summary:

The path of true love never runs smoothly, and when Gemma is involved it can get exceedingly bumpy!

For as long as thirteen-year-old Gemma Stone can remember she has dreamed of becoming an award-winning journalist. Unfortunately, as the youngest member of the editorial team on the Green Park High student web-zine, she is given the job of writing the horoscopes, under the pen name 'Jessica Jupiter'. Not knowing the first thing about astrology, Gemma decides to make the most of her unexpected situation by using her new position to play Cupid with her friends, writing fictional forecasts to help their romantic dreams come true. But is Gemma to busy with her friends love lives to notice signs of love closer to home?

My review:

4/5

In this book, I feel like the romance started building up. While there were hints of it in the first book, this one had the confirmation that there was indeed some romance to be expected in the future, even though nothing really happened in it. If anything, this book made me desperately want to read the next one, because I knew I could expect more from it and I couldn't wait. It created an addiction (an innocent one, so it's alright), and I ended up going to the library the next day to find the next one... Pretending it was for my little sister (Sorry, Sis)! If I can get addicted to this at 18, I gess everyone can!

Signs of Love: Paris Crush (#3)

Goodreads summary:

The path of true love never runs smoothly, and when Gemma is involved it can get exceedingly bumpy! 
For as long as thirteen-year-old Gemma Stone can remember she has dreamed of becoming an award-winning journalist. Unfortunately, as the youngest member of the editorial team on the Green Park High student web-zine, she is given the job of writing the horoscopes, under the pen name 'Jessica Jupiter'. Not knowing the first thing about astrology, Gemma decides to make the most of her unexpected situation by using her new position to play Cupid with her friends, writing fictional forecasts to help their romantic dreams come true. But is Gemma to busy with her friends love lives to notice signs of love closer to home?

My review:

4/5

This book made me ache for the main characters. I could feel their emotions and all I wanted was to be thrown into the story to knock some sense into their heads. It was evident that the love story was bound to happen at some point, but it kept being pushed away and I hated it (in a somewhat good way). I ached to find some hints of the romance I knew there was and I probably felt way too much for such a book, but it was absolutely delightful. Also, I love the fact that it's in Paris, because I would LOVE to go there someday and seeing it through Gemma's eyes was really cool!

Signs of Love: Destiny Date (#4)

Goodreads summary:

It's the end of the school year and the prom is fast approaching. Gemma's friends all have dates and Gemma is destined to go alone. Gemma convinces herself that she doesn't care - it's great being single and free to mingle. But there's one boy who she secretly wishes would ask her - Sam. But Sam's dating Cindy - isn't he?
Meanwhile, when Gemma is asked to assist the school webzine's editor, Cindy, to review a top fashion show, Gemma somehow finds herself on the catwalk modelling for one of the nation's most talked-about designers. But strutting her stuff on the catwalk isn't exactly a breeze!
When the school invite Gemma's alter ego, astrologist "Jessica Jupiter", to be a guest speaker at the End of Year Assembly, Gemma has no choice but to agree. But Jessica's horrescopes have played cupid for half the school - if they discover she's not real then everything will be shattered. How will she dupe the entire school into believeing that Jessica Jupiter is for real?

My review:

5/5

Ahhhh, the end. I feel like everything that needed to happen finally happened in this, which made me very happy. I feel like the journalism part finally made its comeback and I couldn't have been happier, especially with the romance I had been waiting for so long (even though it only appeared so: I think I read this series in three days). I'm very glad with this finale and I would definitely recommend this series!

Somewhere in Between - Katie Li

Goodreads summary:

Two friends find a portal to another dimension and use this “in-between place” to avoid the stress of their everyday lives. What they don’t realize is that every time they enter, they alter reality. 

Pseudo-punk Magnolia and underachieving gamer-geek Rom are two unlikely friends who only hang out during their walks home together after school. When they find the a portal that leads to different worlds, they use the “in-between place” as an escape from their lives in high school, then later, after college. 

Their visits through the portal bring them teetering along a tight-rope of fantasy and reality, where they don't always believe what is in front of them, not even their feelings for each other. 

The book is about changes—the ones that you can control, and the ones that you can’t. It’s about commitment and friendship. It’s about the stages in between where you have nothing but the unknown ahead of you.

Inspired by the work of Haruki Murakami and films like Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind, Somewhere In Between is metaphysical coming-of-age story about defining love and finding yourself.

My review:

3/5

There were parts that I loved, but I'm not sure I understood much of the story, which isn't that good.

I started this book loving the chemistry between the main characters. I loved their interactions and the moment when they found the "in-between" place was just perfect. It was a mixture of simple YA and fantasy that I loved and I was really excited to continue reading. It became fine when it was a few years later, but I found there weren't many details about their lives or their past, so the story was harder to understand. Then came the ending, which I'm still not sure about.

I think I would have loved this story a whole lot better if it had been longer. It's an incredibly short book, but since it lacked details, in my opinion, I think it could've used a couple more pages.

(Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)