Tag: Hyperion

Review: The Darlings in Love by Melissa Kantor.

Posted January 12, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments


Rowena’s review of The Darlings in Love by Melissa Kantor.

Main Character: Jane, Natalya, Victoria
Love Interest: Simon, Colin, Jack
Series: The Darlings, Book 2
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

The Darlings have just begun their second semester of ninth grade, and love is in the air.

 

Victoria: The sweetheart Jack: The irresistible songwriter…but is he writing off Victoria?

 

Natalya: The overachiever Colin: The perfect match, if only the game were less complicated

 

Jane: The drama queen Simon: The Greek god… of mixed signals

 

In the face of both joy and heartbreak, the Darlings know that they’ll always have each other. Boys come and go, but the Darlings are still forever.

What a fun book this turned out to be.

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first book in this series but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book anyway. Kantor does a fabulous job of writing this story so that it seems like a standalone, even though it isn’t. In this book, we’re front and center as Jane, Victoria and Natalya go through obstacles surrounding the boys in their lives. Jane meets a new boy named Simon who sweeps her off her feet and seems to be too good to be true. Victoria and Jack are still going strong but they don’t have much in common and it’s becoming a problem that everyone is seeing except Jack. Natalya still likes Colin, the boy that she ditched and she’s regretting her decision to ditch him for his sister (the popular girl) and when Colin invites her to play Chess again, things start to get pretty complicated, pretty fast.

This book was cute. I really enjoyed getting to know all three of the Darlings and be a part of their love lives. Each girl is going through different things and I was right there with each of them. I can’t say that I had a favorite storyline in this book because I enjoyed all three storylines. I liked all three boys even when I wasn’t really sure where they loyalty was.

Victoria and Jack were going through a rough patch that isn’t really anything with couples their age but I still enjoyed getting to know both Jack and Victoria. I loved that Victoria had strict parents even though we didn’t get to see much of them because so many kids have strict parents these days and it made Victoria’s story come alive that much more for me because I know exactly how she feels. I was right there with her when I was in high school, strict parents and at a complete loss as to how to hang out with my boyfriend outside of lunch period at school. The way that her and Jack fought and then talked things out was too cute for words.

Natalya and Colin were a cute couple too. They’re not together or anything but their story hurt my heart. After Natalya ditched Colin in the first book (which is where I’m assuming it happened but I don’t know for sure since I didn’t read that book), the two of them didn’t really talk much. Natalya was all bummed about losing him because she really liked him but thought that it was a lost cause because that ship has sailed and she blew her chance. When he comes sprawling back into her life, she’s all excited until she’s not anymore and all of the drama behind this one had me connecting with Natalya because who hasn’t had their heart broken before? Too cute, these two were. I loved their texts back and forth and their chess game.

Last up is Jane. Jane is a drama student who’s being pursued by Mark, a guy that she is sold on being a poser. He said that he was a great actor and what not and then doesn’t even audition for the part. He comes back in this book and wants to direct so he asks Jane to act in a scene that he’s directing for school and only after she meets her hot co-star does Jane accept. Simon (the hottie co-star) and Jane were cute but for me, I was more of a fan of Mark. He just seemed more sincere than Simon was and even though I liked Simon, my heart hurt for Jane because it couldn’t have been easy for her to deal with all of that drama and then not talk about it since everyone else was going through their own personal drama’s.

Overall, this book was a great treat for me to read. It’s got a little bit of everything for lovers of contemporary YA. It’s cute and cuddly and I really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend it.

..and that’s your scoop!

This book was received through NetGalley.

Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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Review: Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern.

Posted November 8, 2011 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments


Main Character: Rosie
Love Interest: Alex
Series: None
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Sometimes you have to look at life in a whole new way . . .

From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can’t seem to get it right.

Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She’s pregnant by a boy she’d gone out with while on the rebound from Alex. Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn’t done with them yet.

From the gifted author of PS, I Love You comes this charming, romantic, addictively page-turning novel that will keep readers laughing and guessing until the very last page.

I’m going to shake things up around these parts for today. I started this blog to focus on my YA reviews and reviews for the chick lit books that I read. I haven’t reviewed very many chick lit titles but I’m going to review one today.

This book brought out all of the emotions inside of me. I laughed, I cried and I was frustrated all the while that I was reading this book. But through it all, I loved it.

I loved getting to know both Rosie and Alex through their life time of memories. Watching them grow up from the young children and then through their young adult and then adult lives, watching them always miss each other seriously brought on the angst. Cecelia Ahern did a wonderful job of making me connect with both Alex and Rosie. Seeing the trouble that they got into when they were younger and then seeing where both of their lives took them (in different directions) made for such a wonderfully engaging story that I just couldn’t get enough of.

I love reading stories about best friends that fall in love and this was one of those stories. I don’t even want to tell you how long it took them to finally get things right but when I closed the book, I was so freaking glad that it ended the way that it did that I smiled for a good hour or so afterward. This book really packs an emotional punch and there are lots of highs and lots of lows. There were times when I wanted to smack the heck out of both Alex and Rosie because all of the miscommunication and all of the missed opportunities literally broke my heart but Ahern picked up the pieces of my heart and went about putting it back together again and all was well when it ended.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was one of those books that will forever be on my keepers shelf. Alex and Rosie are characters that I know will stay with me for as long as I read, they’re memorable characters that you won’t be able to stop yourself from loving. Rosie was a riot and Alex was just so freaking good that I know this is one of those books that I’ll re-read and re-read over and over again. Yeah, it was that good for me.

..and that’s your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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Guest Review: The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Posted August 10, 2011 by Ames in Reviews | 4 Comments

Ames’ review of The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly.

The vast multi-generational epic that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose now reaches its dramatic conclusion in The Wild Rose.

London, 1914. World War I is looming on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and global explorers are pushing the limits of endurance at the Poles and in the deserts. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters:

– Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while climbing Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life.

– Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young woman back home in England.

– Max von Brandt, a handsome sophisticate who courts high society women, but who has a secret agenda as a German spy;

– and many others.

The Wild Rose is the engrossing conclusion to Jennifer Donnelly’s Rose Trilogy. I had the pleasure of reading The Winter Rose a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. The time period was different and the characters and writing were superb. The Wild Rose continues on with the same intricate layers of connectivity between engaging characters.

First the setting. The Wild Rose takes us from the foothills of the Himalayas to England and the deserts of Arabia. It starts right before World War I and takes us through to the end of that war. I am the first to admit that I don’t really care for books that take place during this time period. But it’s the mark of a truly gifted writer that still makes me pick up the book and read it as fast as I could. I had to know what happened to everyone. The time period is also a rich one – there’s not just the war. You also have the changing face of politics and women’s rights. The aristocracy doesn’t hold all the power anymore and now women from all walks of life want their voice to be heard. It’s all very interesting. There was one scene where one of the suffragettes was undergoing a force-feeding while in prison. If you’ve seen the movie Iron Jawed Angels, you’ll understand how grotesque a practice it truly was. *shudder*

Second are the characters. A few of the main characters are introduced in the previous two books but I feel that The Wild Rose could be read as a stand-alone if you didn’t have easy access to the previous two books. You’ll just end up getting the first two books anyway. LOL

So our main character is Willa Alden. Here is someone who has a lot going on. She’s in love with Seamie Finnegan, a man she grew up with. Seamie and Willa had gone climbing on Mount Kilimanjaro and hours after they revealed their love to each other, Willa fell and Seamie saved her life. Unfortunately, Seamie couldn’t save Willa’s leg and as soon as she could Willa ran away from him. Really though, she was running away from the fact that she could no longer climb. That was 8 years ago, now she’s in Tibet, roaming the foothills of Everest and taking pictures of that famous mountain. She also acts as the occasional guide, and that’s how she meets Max von Brandt, a german. Max falls for Willa, but he knows she loves someone else.

Meanwhile, Seamie has gone to the South Pole is something of an adventurer with a little bit of fame back in England. He is still in love with Willa as well but figures he’s never going to see her again. So when he’s back in England and crosses the path of Jennie, a suffragette with a heart of gold, he doesn’t fight his attraction to her. He is going to love her as much as he is able. And for a little while it is enough and they get married.

Unfortunately, Willa’s father is ill and she arrives back in England in time for the funeral. And a newly married Seamie cannot deny that he still loves her. And with the political climate in Germany so volatile, Max is also in town, and he’s not there for the reasons he says he is.

Ok, I’m going to admit it, I was shocked that Donnelly took the characters where she did – and here I’m referring to a married Seamie and Willa. I thought these two would painfully pine for each other from a safe distance but nope, the author totally went there. And that’s just the spark that set off a bomb. When the archduke of Austria is assassinated and world war I begins, our story really kicks off at that point. Willa is kind of forced to leave England by her brother and she sets off to France and from there ends up with freaking Lawrence of Arabia in the desert and doing her part in the war effort. Disguised as a man of course.

The Wild Rose was an engrossing, thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable conclusion to the Rose Trilogy. India and Sid from The Winter Rose make an appearance as well. Although I didn’t love this book as much as I love the Winter Rose, I still really enjoyed it. Fans of historical fiction definitely need to pick this one up if they enjoy excellent writing, intense drama and complicated characters. The Wild Rose gets a 5 out of 5 from me.

This book is available from Hyperion. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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Review: Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick.

Posted November 4, 2010 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments


Main Characters: Claire, Lottie, Will and Bennett
Series: None
Find the Author: http://elizabethrudnick.com

Claire is a #hopelessromantic. Lottie is determined to set up her BFF with Mr. Perfect. Will wants his #secretcrush to finally notice him. Bennett is a man with a plan.

Claire can’t believe it when her dream guy starts following her on Twitter. She never thought he noticed her, and suddenly he seems to understand her better than almost anyone.

But the Twitterverse can be a confusing place, especially when friends act differently online than they do in person. Things get even more complicated when Claire realizes she’s falling for someone else, the last person she ever would have expected….

Told in an innovative format combining tweets, emails, and blogs, Tweet Heart is a contemporary romantic comedy that will set your heart atwitter.

I received this book for review thanks to Holly over at the ARC Tours. I have been looking forward to reading this book because it reminded me of Meg Cabot’s The Boy Next Door and Boy Meets Girls. I adored both of those books and was hyped to enjoy more of the same kind of stuff with this story.

This story follows four teens with crushes, homework and articles for the school paper to write. The entire story is told in tweets, DM’s, emails and blogs. While I did enjoy this book quite a bit, I will say that this book started off slow for me. When I first started reading this book, it was really easy for me to put it down after reading a few pages. I chalked it up to me not being in the mood but once I got over that beginning hump, the story and the book flowed by fairly fast.

This book is a quick read and I enjoyed getting to know Claire, Will, Lottie and Bennett. The whole thing with Will and Claire was too cute even though I wanted to bean Will in the head for continuing with the whole secret plot business. This story is light, fluffy and a whole lot of cute. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and I enjoyed watching them bumble along until they get to the end. Will was an adorable hero and Claire was a clueless teenage young woman who was charming anyway.

Rudnick did a wonderful job of sucking me into the story and into the lives of these characters and I’m thrilled that I read it. As soon as I got over myself and got down to some serious reading, this book turned out to be a great way to spend a few hours and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Holly over at Good Golly Miss Holly for running a wonderful ARC Tour because I enjoyed reading this book and sending it off. So make sure you put this on your wishlists because this book is a cute gem of a book and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

..and that’s your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon|The Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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Book Watch: Misguided Angel by Melissa De La Cruz.

Posted July 9, 2010 by Rowena in Promotions | 5 Comments

Another book that I’m pretty anxious to get my hands on is the fifth book in the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz. The book is titled, Misguided Angel.

Check out the cover:

And now on to the blurb:

After inheriting the dark Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence–with her forbidden love, Jack. Now the two of them must embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the seven gates that guard earth from Lucifer, lord of the Silverbloods.

As the Blue Blood enclave weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler closer to a terrifying crossroads–and a choice that will determine the destiny of all vampires.

Sounds like it’s going to be another winner and I cannot frickin’ wait to get my hands on this book! With Schuyler and Jack on a journey together (for once) and Oliver heartbroken and alone, I’m dying to know what happens. Does Ollie find his own girl? What happens with Jack and Schuyler? What about Kingsley, does he come back from where he is right now? Why the heck does Kingsley fall for Mimi of all people? Why does Mimi, the hoe-cake get a happy ending? The questions are endless…and I must know so that is why this book is on my radar.

The release date is October 26, 2010 and I’ve got ants in my pants and I want to do a boogie dance but I’ll save that for the week before…hehe.

So tell me, who is as anxious as I am for this book? Anyone? Is anyone Team Oliver out there besides Haven, I guess? =P

Pre-order the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon


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