The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Publication date: June 4, 2019 Format: I purchased this book with my own money. *This post may contain affiliate links which does not affect the price for your purchase. Purchase from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ddPdN4 Summary: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a big-hearted, sweeping novel about a girl who reconnects with a part of her family she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl—and falls in love, all over the course of a magical summer. Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when Emma was twelve. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges. Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family that she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl. When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is also divided into two people. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her. Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well. For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her—Emma or Saylor—will win out? Review: When I say I could not wait to get my hands on this book, I mean it. I have loved everything that Sarah Dessen has written and this one was no exception. I purchased it on Kindle almost as soon as it came out and read it that day. In Sarah Dessen’s previous books, there are always little easter eggs from previous books, people who cross paths with each other that are main characters from other books. For this one though, Ms. Dessen creates a whole new world for Emma and her family. Of course, this new fictional town is just as amazing as the ones in her previous books but there’s something about it being completely new that is really refreshing. I mean, with the other books, when I was reading it for the 2nd, 3rd, or even 10th time (yes I’ve read some of her past books 10 times now) I was always looking for small details I missed. Did I happen to see that background character in a previous book? Did I miss a detail about that shop that the character just went into? Emma had only visited North Lake once before, before her mother passed away. Emma is also able to create new relationships with cousins she never knew she had and old friends. Through this, she’s also able to rekindle friendships with the people she once knew. Through photos Emma is able to learn more about her mother and her mother’s time in North Lake. I love how a lot of the book is about self discovery. Something that sets this book apart from Ms. Dessen’s other ones are the prominence of family. Emma Saylor is constantly surrounded by people that are her family, even though she is just getting the chance to learn who they are and to be able to live with them. She had for so long been living a certain lifestyle with her dad and never really learned about her late mother’s side of the family. Being thrown into these situations where she really had no other choice but to get to know her mother’s side of the family. Something else I really liked was the lack of modern technology. That’s not to say that there wasn’t any technology, but just that it didn’t play an important part. This really allows the reader to be able to really immerse themselves with Emma’s family. It’s too common now that teens just sit around all day and be on their phones and not be talking with each other. I really can’t wait to see the next book that Ms. Dessen writes. I hope more are set in North Lake because I want to discover more about life there, perhaps from someone who’s lived there her whole life. Overall I absolutely loved the book. I’ve said it a bunch of times in this review and lots of time before but Sarah Dessen books absolutely do not disappoint. I give The Rest of the Story a 5 out of 5. If you haven’t already read it, go and read it. Just make sure you have enough time to read it all the way through because trust me, it’s hard to step away during the middle. Until next time! Brooke
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I think I did this a few years ago, but I’m bringing it back. Today I’m building my ideal book nook (virtually of course, I’m too broke and don’t have space to actually build my book nook). *This post may contain affiliate links which does not affect the price for your purchase. *I do not own the rights to any of these photos. Most are pulled from the Amazon description photos. I think that it is only right that the girl with a blog called “The Cozy Little Book Nook” has a billion ideas of what she wants in her ideal book nook. With that being said, let’s get into the things I want in my book nook! For this, my idea is a mix of modern and cozy styles. I love the colors blue and grey together so those are the primary colors in this book nook. I want it to be a place where I can spend all day without even realizing that so much time has passed, but still modern and chic. With that, let’s get into the things I want to make my perfect book nook! Lots of pillows! The first thing of course is to have lots of pillows. It’s important to have good back support when sitting for long periods of time so this is a must. https://amzn.to/2ZS9ggn https://amzn.to/36RUqYI
And of course, lots and lots of books.
Let me know what you’d want in your book nook. If you already have a book nook, share some pics so I can be totally jealous. I can’t wait until I’m adult enough to be able to actually make something like this come true! Until next time! Brooke So I went ahead and got rid of the post that was supposed to go up this week and wrote something new. With everything else going on in the world and country, it only seemed fitting for this post. Gen Z should be feared. We were raised on a healthy diet of “overthrow the corrupt government” books. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look. We grew up reading books from the Hunger Games series, Harry Potter, and the Lunar Chronicles. And that’s only 3 series out of many many more. These books were full of YA revolutions and it was only a matter of time before we learned from it. If you haven’t read some of these series’, now’s the time! We’re all stuck at home anyways so might as well learn how to make a difference. And I want to discuss these with you. Reach out via email or comment below and let’s start talking!
So go and embrace your inner rebellious self and go out and do what you can (peacefully please though). If you’re unable to attend any protests, there are plenty of things you can do to support the BLM movement. Until next time, Brooke Yours in Scandal by Lauren Layne Genre: Contemporary Romance Publication Date: March 10, 2020 Format: I received a copy of the book in advance to review from the publisher. All opinions in this post are my own, and in no way was I compensated for this review. *This post may contain affiliate links which does not affect the price for your purchase. Buy from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gxjI2t OR read it now for FREE with KindleUnlimited Summary: A political golden boy and the woman of his dreams take the risk of their lives in a sexy romantic comedy of strange bedfellows and second chances by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne. Fresh off being named Citizen magazine’s Man of the Year, New York City’s youngest mayor, Robert Davenport, decides it’s time to strategize. Next move: a bid for the governor’s seat. In his way: an incumbent with a flawless reputation. He also has an Achilles’ heel: an estranged wild-child daughter with a past so scandalous it could be Robert’s ticket to victory. And a charm so irresistible it could be Robert’s downfall. Rebellion is a thing of the past for Adeline Blake. As New York’s premier event planner, she’s all about reform and respectability. Then she’s approached by Robert to organize the party of the season. Curious, considering he’s her father’s most formidable opponent. And alarming, too. Because Addie can’t help but fall for the righteously popular candidate with the movie-star smile. Now it’s Robert’s choice. Does he pursue a future that holds his legacy? Or the woman who holds his heart? Review: I honestly started reading this book on a whim. I had received a copy of it for review, but you know, I was in that year long hiatus and didn’t actually get around to reviewing it. I promise though, I’ve back! I picked it up and started reading it, without really knowing what the plot was, but by the end of the first chapter, I was hooked! This book was a sweet one. It mixed politics with a can’t-be-together couple with undeniable chemistry into a really nice story. Not quite Romeo and Juliet level of can’t be together, but they were somewhere on that spectrum of can’t be together. Robert is a highly regarded political figure (not to mention one of the most handsome guys in the city) and Adeline is a NYC party planner with high rolling clientele. However, Adeline has a little secret. Her father is the incumbent of the Governor seat that Robert just so happens to be gunning for. Of course, Addie fell off the face of the Earth years ago, I love anything that involves romance and politics. If there’s a scandal, even better. This book, of course, did not lack scandal. I won’t get too much into that, because that would just spoil the book. I particularly loved the character of Adeline. She’s spent a good amount of time discovering who she really is and has built herself to be a powerhouse in the party planning for elites' niche. Honestly, I aspire to be her. She does come with her secrets though, and it is through those secrets that Robert is hoping to exploit her. There were a lot of times where I wanted to scream at Robert. I mean, dude! C’mon, stop being dumb and just fall in love already. (too harsh? Whoops). You have an amazing girl in Adeline who’s smart and confident in herself, and you’re just going to make dumb decisions? Fair warning! There are a few NSFW scenes, but they were tastefully written and I loved it. It added a lot to the passion between Robert and Adeline and made it so much more intriguing. I find that the way these types of scenes have to be written in a way so that it pushes the story forward, and not just inserted because it had to be there. However despite all the parts that I loved of this book, at times the book was a little bland. Near like the 75% through point, the book seemed to hit a stop and everything that was happening was just static, as opposed to dynamic actions. Of course, if the entire book was action filled-that would make the entire book boring. And it wouldn’t be a Brooke Evans review if I didn’t touch on the cover. I love the little intricate details of the New York skyline and the femininity of the color pink. And I mean, the handsome dude that takes up a third of the cover is not bad either (*insert winky face, we’re going old-school here*). Overall, this was such a sweet read and really fun to get through. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. There were points where the dialogue moved slowly, but the action and fast-pace of NYC made up for it. I’ve seen other books by Lauren and I’m excited to get the chance to read some of them soon! Until next time ~Brooke Hello everyone!
I posted a quick blurb last week saying that I’m back to blogging, but I wanted to get back into the swing of things the right way and make an official announcement and go more into the details of what I’m planning to do. If you’re an old friend, I’d just like to say welcome back. If you’re just finding my site for the first time and probably thinking to yourself, “who’s this crazy woman and what is she doing here?” Let me introduce myself real quickly. Hi, my name is Brooke Evans and I’m from Texas. I started this blog, The Cozy Little Book Nook, almost 5 years ago and grew it to what you see today. I’ve read hundreds of books, posted dozens (if not over 100) reviews and made so many friends along the way. I took a break over the last couple of years to focus on other things in my life but I’m back now, and ready to blog again! At this point, I’m trying to schedule my posts at least a month in advance, and have a nice mix of reviews, promo posts, and some writing samples of my own. I have a lot of catching up to do, with over 5000 unread emails in my inbox, lots and lots of books from publishers that I need to catch up on, and still make sure that I have fun. I think that the main reason I stopped so abruptly last time was because this began to feel like a job, and one that I wasn’t getting paid for. I felt like I HAD to post a certain number of times a week (and at some point I think I was posting every single day) and I was putting in upwards of 40 hours a week doing research, reaching out to publishers and making connections with authors, and reading so I could write reviews. I’ve gotten into writing a little bit more. I know I took y’all along for a couple of Nanowrimo journeys a while back but writing was never consistent for me. I want to do more and share little bits and pieces, so sometimes I’ll share a prompt that I find (and give all the credit where it is due) and share what I wrote for that prompt, and I hope that some of y’all will join me in that. I want to see what you write as well! At least for the first few reviews, it’ll be older books and books that I’ve just loved for so long but haven’t gotten the chance to review. I’m not going to write them in order of when I’m posting, and honestly as of right now, I have no clue what my posting schedule will look like. I might be slightly out of practice for blogging, as you can probably tell by how all over the place this post is. Please let me know what you’d like to see more of. I’m excited to see where this blog takes me and I can’t wait to make more friends on this journey! Until next time ~Brooke |
About me!Brooke's a high schooler who loves to read all sorts of books. She's happy to be able to share all the books she's reading with all of y'all. Archives
June 2020
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