Tag: Dial Books

Review: The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Posted August 18, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 5 Comments

Review: The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley FitzpatrickReviewer: Rowena
The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Series: My Life Next Door #2
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: August 18th 2015
Genres: Young Adult
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

A surprising, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door—great for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To find the liquor cabinet blindfolded, need a liver transplant, and drive his car into a house.

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To . . .well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this novel is for readers of The Spectacular Now, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Paper Towns.

I really liked this book.

I didn’t re-read the first book before I jumped into this one so I didn’t remember all of the minor characters from that book until I dug deeper into this one. Tim Mason was Sam’s oldest friend from My Life Next Door and he was the party boy that was always getting into trouble but I remembered that I didn’t hate him. He proved to be a good friend to Sam and so I knew that I was going to like him. I just wasn’t prepared for how much I was going to love him.

I loved his crush on Alice. I loved his flirty spice attitude where Alice was concerned. I loved seeing his feelings for Alice grow into something bigger and stronger than even he was prepared for. And I loved seeing Alice crush and then grow those very same feelings…for Tim.

The entire time that I was reading this book, my heart went out to Tim. He had a domineering father, a mother who was self-involved and a sister who was crazy in her own way but at Tim’s core, he loved his family…and I loved seeing them rally behind him when he needed them most. Things just kept falling at Tim’s door and I didn’t think I could hold up under everything that was piling up but Tim surprised me with how big his heart was.

The whole thing with Cal broke my heart but Fitzpatrick did a great job of fixing that heart because the whole story ended the way that it was supposed to end. Seeing Tim connect with Cal and seeing their bond form from beginning to end made this story that much more heartwarming.

I really liked that even with everything that both kids were going through, the romance between Tim and Alice didn’t suffer. At least in my opinion. I adored their romance. It wasn’t traditional and it wasn’t perfect but in the end, it worked itself out. I loved that both Tim and Alice were able to be there for each other when nobody else could or knew how. I loved the support that they got from each other. Alice and her experience with kids and Tim with his experience with the rich. I loved that they worked their issues out and that being together made them stronger as individuals.

This was a great story from beginning to end. I enjoyed seeing the Garretts (all of them) again and it was nice to see Jase and Sam still going strong. Fitzpatrick did a great job of making me love the hell out of both Alice and Tim and I definitely recommend this book to fans of the contemporary YA romance but also of the first book in this series. It was a great and entertaining read. Loved it!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Dial Books. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-half-stars


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Review: Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman

Posted January 17, 2013 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Rowena’s review of Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman.

Main Character: Geena
Love Interest: Ben
Series: Triple Shot Betty’s #1
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Geena can’t wait to spend summer vacation with her two best girls: her friend Amber and her cousin Hero. All three are working at the Triple Shot Betty coffee shop together, but the moment Amber and Hero meet, the claws come out. They hate each other on sight. Geena’s dream of a girl-bonding summer flies out of the window, and then threaten to disappear completely when a few cute (okay, drop-dead gorgeous) guys come along to woo the Bettys. But all is not what it seems, and in a story of mistaken identities, crazy summer high jinks, and enough romance to make Shakespeare proud, Geena and her friends learn that when Bettys unite, they can take on the most powerful force in their world: a hot guy.

What a cute book this one turned out to be.

I must admit that the only thing that sold me on reading this book was the fact that the main character was a barista.  I wish I had been a barista when I was in high school but back then, I didn’t even like coffee and my parents wouldn’t let me get a job so being a barista just wasn’t in the cards for me.

In this story, Geena Sloane thinks that she’s going to have the best summer ever.  Her favorite cousin Hero was spending the summer in Sonoma and her best friend at work Amber was going to be around so having your two best friends together should be a blast, right?

Well, it didn’t turn out that way for Geena since Hero and Amber hated each other on sight. But still, working together should be fun, right?  Not really since Hero isn’t that good at making coffee and Amber still hates Hero.  And when you add parties, boys and a jackass who thinks he’s Gods gift to girls, the three bond of them bond and the action heats up.

I really enjoyed this book.  I thought it was so cute and I really liked getting to know Geena.  I’m all about the characters in a book and the characters in this book won me over. Geena was a good friend to both Hero and Amber and she always strived to do what was best.  She was fierce and she was loyal and the girls were lucky to have her in their corner.  I loved the way that she didn’t turn her back on her friends when things got ugly and I loved how she got good and mad and determined to bring that asshole down.  Friends like Geena are rare and I really liked her.

I liked that she was so normal (meaning, she was extremely shy and goofy) with Ben too.  She was different and she was refreshing and I thought their little romance was adorable.  Ben was a good guy and when he’s about to fight at Taco Bell, oh man I loved it.  Oh, Ben.

The secondary characters rounded out what I liked about this book.  I liked the friendships between Ben, PJ and Claudio.  They were all united in their anger toward whoever they felt wronged their friend and it was cute.

This book is filled with cuteness, with laughs and great characters who actually like each other (or come to like each other) and it was perfect for what I was wanting to read and I’m so glad that I read it.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Dial. This book was bought with my own money and these are my honest thoughts on the book.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Posted July 19, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments


Rowena’s review of My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Main Character: Samantha Reed
Love Interest: Jason “Jase” Garrett
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

I’ve been itching to read since before it came out so when my BBB got it for me, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to dig right in and I was happy that Fitzpatrick didn’t disappoint. This book follows Samantha Reed as she grows close to the family that lives next door to her, without her mother knowing. Her mother is not a fan of the Garretts from next door because they’re loud, messy and there are so many of them. Compared to the colorful family next door, Samantha has known a very strict upbringing. Her mother is a single mother, in politics. She’s got goals to go national with her politics and her new boyfriend, Clay, is helping her get there.

Her mother is turning into a completely different person and the more she changes, the more Sam clings to Jase and his family. With the influence of the Garretts, Sam finds herself changing but she likes the changes she starts to see in herself. The Garretts are good people and she has totally fallen in love with the whole lot of them, from the parents, all the way down to young George. Most especially with Jase Garrett. As the story progressed, you saw the relationship between Jase and Sam grow until it was bursting with love and I totally loved it.

I really enjoyed getting to know both Sam and Jase. Sam was one the people that grew the most throughout this book and I really liked the person she grew to be. The person that grew the most was Tim (a friend of Sam’s) and man, the transformation in him was both believable and adorable. I loved the person that he grew to be as well. Who knew that the total douche in the beginning of the book would turn out to be one of the best friends that Sam could have ever had in her corner. The way that the Garretts took the both of them into their fold was great and I really enjoyed getting to know each character in this book.

I thought Fitzpatrick did a great job of fleshing each character out and even though we only get Sam’s point of view, she did a great job of making the other characters in the story just as three dimensional as Sam was.

Sam’s Mom needed a swift kick to her throat with how dumb she was but alls well that ends well. I couldn’t believe that Grace let Clay control her the way that he did, for as long as he did. After everything happens and she just let Clay tell Sam what to do, threatened Sam the way that he did, I wanted to karate chop her in the neck and choke her the heck out. How dare she let anyone talk to her flesh and blood like that. But aside from Sam’s Mom being a poopy head, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Sam going through all of her imperfect moments to get to the ending that she deserved and I really enjoyed seeing her blossom into that happy girl at the end. Her journey was an emotional one but one that I enjoyed.

I definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA and to fans of Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols and Susane Colasanti. This was a good one.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Dial Books.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

Posted April 24, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 9 Comments


Main Character: Lennie
Love Interest: Joe (Highlight to see)
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Lennie plays second clarinet in the school orchestra and has always happily been second fiddle to her charismatic older sister, Bailey. Then Bailey dies suddenly, and Lennie is left at sea without her anchor. Overcome by emotion, Lennie soon finds herself torn between two boys: Bailey’s boyfriend, Toby, and Joe, the charming and musically gifted new boy in town. While Toby can’t see her without seeing Bailey and Joe sees her only for herself, each offers Lennie something she desperately needs. But ultimately, it’s up to Lennie to find her own way toward what she really needs-without Bailey. A remarkable debut novel perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block.

LOVE!

Ames read and reviewed this book not too long ago on the blog and she thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m happy to say that I loved this book just as much. This book was so full of awesome that I can’t even begin to know where to start this review at.

Lennie’s sister just died and she’s having a rough time of it. She doesn’t know how to move on from here and quite frankly, she doesn’t want to. She wants to go back to when her sister was alive and they were bickering over some sisterly thing. She doesn’t think anyone understands what she’s going through and in a lot of ways, nobody does. When you lose someone close to you, it’s hard for you to want to move on. Especially if that person wasn’t suffering from a sickness that made living hard for them. Her sister, Bailey was only 19 years old when she died, quite suddenly and Lennie wasn’t ready to lose her.

Lennie loses herself in her grief, pulling away from her best friend and family. She builds this cocoon around herself, making it really hard for those that love and care about her to be there for her. But there’s someone out there that does understand what she’s going through because they’re going through the exact same thing and that’s Bailey’s boyfriend, Toby.

Toby and Bailey were together and so in love. When she died, it was like a part of Toby died too and he can’t deal. He can’t function properly in public and he connects with Lennie on a level that nobody else does and their grief brings them together in ways that leaves them both feeling ashamed and heart broken all over again but there’s a force between them that keeps bringing them back together. With Toby, Lennie can remember Bailey and talk about her because she knows that he’ll understand. He’ll know exactly what she’s talking about or going through because he’s going through the same. It is with Toby that she remembers Bailey and she doesn’t ever want to forget.

On a completely different note, there’s a new boy at school named Joe and Lennie is mighty curious about him. He plays instruments like magic and he has an ear for music that is second to none. She feels a kinship with him (which doesn’t hurt since he’s super hot) but isn’t going to do anything about it because he’s snuggling up to the stuck up hag, Rachel and well, Lennie stays away. But when Joe starts showing interest in her, she’s torn.

She’s torn because she’s got this understanding thing going on with her dead sister’s boyfriend, something that she doesn’t understand but can’t stop and then there’s this budding relationship that she’s got going on with Joe. Watching her struggle with what to do and how to move on was interesting because her grief was real and I felt it. My heart was broken right along with hers and Toby and even though their relationship was wrong on so many levels, Nelson did a fabulous job of writing her confusion and her need for Toby into the book. I connected with Lennie’s character on so many levels and felt everything she went through. There was no judgments from me while reading this book. She needed to go through all of the things she went through in this book to become the person that she was in the end.

I thought Nelson did a fabulous job of writing the transition that Lennie went through. She was a totally different person in the end and that was a good thing. She went through some pretty dark stuff that she didn’t understand but in the end, she was on the right track to leading the life she always wanted to live. Out of the shadow of Bailey.

Her relationship with Joe was such a great part of this book. I adored the both of them and what they had felt completely real and not at all rushed or anything. It wasn’t perfect and that’s what made it so good. He understood her in a way that not even Toby understood her and I liked that. I liked that he was able to love Lennie for the person he knew her to be and not just the person that she thought she was. When she finally went after that first chair, I was so hot dang happy that I cheered out loud (I totally did).

Overall, this was a great story about a girl and her grief, and the people that loved her. Lennie was a fabulous and interesting character. She had so many different sides to her and I enjoyed getting to know them all. I’m definitely going to be reading more books by Jandy Nelson because I loved this book so much, how could I not? I definitely recommend this book because it’s just so hot damn good.

Read it!

..and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Dial Books.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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Review: Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler.

Posted February 22, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments


Rowena’s review of Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler.

Main Character: Piper
Love Interest: Charlie (highlight to see)
Series: None.
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Wary of romance following her mother’s second divorce and resisting her friends’ attempts to fix her up with the hottest guy in school, Piper’s life gets complicated when she receives a series of valentines from a secret admirer.

This book was such a delightful read and I’m oh so flippin’ glad that I read it. I read and adored The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler last year and was super stoked when this book was offered for review. I went into this book hopeful for fabulous characters and a story that I would be able to sink my teeth into and wasn’t at all surprised that Hepler delivered on all counts.

This story follows Piper as she tries to be there for her best friends and be apart of their whole Valentine’s Day plan even though she’s not a fan of Valentine’s Day. Piper has seen first hand what love can do to a person and she’s of the mindset of Peyton Sawyer from One Tree Hill. “They always leave”. Her father left and then her step father left as well. She’s not all that sold on the love thing and I totally understood why she thought the way she did. Plenty of times, I have understood why female leads felt the way they felt about certain things and still, their thought processes on that very subject were hard to take. Like, I understood the why’s but their attitude still grated on my nerves. That wasn’t the case with Piper, yes she was a bit on the cynical side but she wasn’t unlikable. She wasn’t annoying. She was blessedly normal about everything.

One of the main things that I really enjoyed about Piper was her relationship with her family and her friends. She tried to be the best person she could be, by being there for her Mom and watching her younger siblings even though it was the very last thing she wanted to do. She was really good to her friends and she didn’t feel the need to be perfect or change who she was at her core to please anyone. I really enjoyed getting to know her and the people around her.

Both of her friends were people that I could see myself being friends with at that age and they were both girls that I would hope my daughter would surround herself with. They were good people at their cores and I enjoyed getting to know the whole lot of them.

Hepler did a fabulous job of writing this story. Not once was I taken out of the story and not once did I want to put this book down to read something else. It was a quick read with fabulous characters and a cute storyline that had me turning the pages one after the other. The love interest was too cute for words and I loved his place in Piper’s life. Their teen love was totally believable and I ate it all up. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of contemporary YA and to fans of Heather Hepler. This was a fabulous book!

..and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Dial.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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