Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today, I have for you, a wrap up of this month, and a little bit of what I’ve been up to.
I was a little inactive on the blog earlier this month but I made up for it by reading a whole stinking lot. Like literally, I read 14 books in the first 21 days of this month, but I didn’t have as time to read because I went on vacation from the 24th to the 2nd. (Actually, this post was written before I left for my trip so some info on this may not be 100% correct). But I didn’t want to leave you hanging while I was gone so here’s the monthly wrap-up. Mostly, this month, I just pushed off a whole lotta things to do, and I didn’t feel the urge to blog as much as I had the previous few months. It was just the combination of finals, stress from studying for finals, binge eating to procrastinate from studying from finals, and some other stuff. Mentally, I wasn’t in the best spot either but I really don’t want to get into that now, (I may in the future) but it was all just a bad combination. But since I read so much, I thought I would share some of the books that I read this month: -Aimee and the Heartthrob -Mia and the Bad Boy -Daisy and the Front Man -Anya and the Shy Guy -Abby and the Cute One -The Ashes and The Sparks -Missing Parts -On the Fence -The Distance between us -How (NOT) to Fall in Love -Paper or Plastic -Racing Savannah -Things I Can’t Forget -Breathe, Annie, Breathe -The Quest -Return to Yesterday I celebrated my 1 year of blogging on the 16th, and since it was smack dab in the middle of finals week (which was from Thursday to the Tuesday), I wasn’t able to do anything big. I had a post about some things that I did this year, but in no way was that everything. I accomplished so much this year, and I just didn’t have time to celebrate all of that. The important thing to know, is just that I’m not stopping anytime soon, and I have plans on expanding The Cozy Little Book Nook beyond just a blog. Also if you’re interested, let me know if you want to see my christmas haul, which actually isn’t really a Christmas haul since I didn’t get much, but rather a compilation haul of everything I got in December. It’s mostly just a bunch of clothes and makeup but I got a few books. I gotta warn you though, it’s a LOT of makeup. I’m not sure if I want to put it on this blog though as it’s not really book related. Anyways, just let me know if ya’ll want to see it! Another thing, I’m just going to straight up let you know that the January TBR and what the new year will bring post will be up a couple days later than usual. Just thought that you might want to know that so ya’ll aren’t like, ‘why’d you abandon the blog over the new years?’ So let me know what you accomplished this month, as well as what you want to see on my blog in the future. I’m excited to see what the new year’s will bring and know that it’s going to be a great year already! And...if you haven’t already, you should follow me on my social medias, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. Now is also a great time to go back and read any reviews that you may have missed this year as they are all linked to the REVIEWS tab above. Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! ~Brooke
0 Comments
Hey everyone! I’m still on that after Christmas hype/energy surge right now, so I thought what better post than to talk about my favorite winter books! This is one of the last posts you will see this year but get excited for the new year! Who’s already written their New Year's Resolution??
Anyways, these are some of my favorites, collected from over a couple years, so some of them may not be in my usual genre or age range but that’s okay :). Anyways, keep reading to find out some of my favorite winter books! #1 Gold Medal WInter by Donna Freitas #2 All Laced Up by Erin Fletcher #3 The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark #4 Center Ice (Corrigan Falls) by Cate Cameron #5 Winging It (Corrigan Falls) by Cate Cameron #6 Playing Defense (Corrigan Falls) by Cate Cameron #7 Podium Finish by Beth Pond #8 Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill So there you go! Some of my favorite winter books to read, and as always, I’m pretty sure this list in incomplete as there are a lot of books out there that I’ve read. Tell me, have you read any of these books? What books should I check out next? Comment down below or find me on social media @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. ALSO!! If you didn’t already know, I have another instagram account that I’m currently using @OfficialBrookeEvans to post pics of what I’m doing, outside of the bookish world, and a YOUTUBE channel is soon to come with cinematic travel vlogs, booktube stuff, lifestyle videos, etc...and maybe even a FACE REVEAL?? Let me know if you want to see a face reveal and what else you want to see from my channel!! ~Brooke Hey everyone! So I've mentioned like a billion times now that I love ENTANGLED so of course, when another author reached out to me with interest to write a guest post for my blog, of course I said YES. So today's post is a guest post from Lisa Brown Roberts about her inspiration for writing the book, Playing the Player, and while I actually have not read the book yet, I've read her other works and cannot wait to read this one soon. Anyways, here's the guest post along with a special teaser from the author herself! Lisa Brown Roberts PLAYING THE PLAYER Some stories are easier to write than others, and that was definitely the case with PLAYING THE PLAYER. The idea started with a tentative title, Slacker Nanny Falls in Love (which didn’t stick), and an image of a teenage guy at a museum holding a kid’s backpack, two little kids dancing around him and raising havoc. I knew I had to tell his story. Of course he needed a nanny partner who thought she was better than him, and of course she’d drive him crazy with her bossiness. And naturally they’d fall in love…eventually…after lots of shenanigans with the little kids. I wrote this book during the summer, the same timeframe the book takes place, and I visited a lot of the settings around my hometown, including Coors Field, Red Rocks Amphitheater (the best concert venue in the world), and the Molly Brown House. Slade and Trina took over the story and I saw their crazy summer unfold like a movie in mind, writing as fast as I could to capture it all on the page. I was so thrilled when their story finally became a book, and the reader response to it has been tremendous, which thrills me. If you like lots of laughs with your swoons, I hope you’ll check out this lighthearted YA romance. First of all, can we talk about the hotness level of the guy on the cover? Seriously tho, where can I find someone like him? ;)
Anyways, what did you think about this guest post? Will you go and pick it up? Have you read it? Leave me all your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. I will be back soon with another post! Let me know what you want to see next from my blog, and what changes you want to see in the new year. ~Brooke Hey Everyone! First, MERRY CHRISTMAS to those of you who celebrate it, and I believe it’s the second day of Hanukah correct? Anyways, I’m currently on the road right now but I can’t just leave ya’ll stranded on here without any posts right? So since NANOWRIMO was last month, I haven’t gotten around to doing any reflection posts on it, and the year is almost over so I’m going to get to it now!
Today’s post is going to be about ‘what songs I listen to while writing’. People’s opinions vary as to whether you should listen to music or not while writing as it can distract you from your work and decrease the productivity, and others just can’t work with noise in the background. Personally, I like to listen to music as I work because after awhile, it turns into white background noise. So let’s get started on the list of artists/songs I listened to while writing during NANOWRIMO. BlackPink’s 2nd ‘album’ came out during November and a couple of my friends got me hooked on their music so a large portion of the time I was writing, I was listening to their music. I find that it’s actually easier to write to music that’s not in English for me, because have you ever done that thing where you’re typing and listening to someone talk and all of a sudden you’re typing whatever they’re saying? Yea, that happens to me when I listen to music and although I’ve gotten pretty good at not doing that, it’s still easier to listen to music in another language. I don’t know how I came across this next artist but I also listened to a lot of Josh Bogert’s album. Honestly, I have no idea why but I liked his songs so when I find something I like, I don’t switch away from it quickly. The next one I know I just followed the ‘related artists’ from Josh Bogert’s Spotify page and that’s Aviva. Aviva has such a powerful voice and her songs are so good. The EVOLution album by Sabrina Carpenter is another album I listened to during November. This is Sabrina Carpenter’s newest studio album and it’s freaking amazing! There’s such a variety in the album and I think there’s really something there for everyone. Again, when I find something I like, I don’t usually change away from it, especially if it’s proven to work. As you can probably notice, there’s a lack of pop songs on here, and while I listen to pop songs for most the time, it’s something that just doesn’t work for me while writing. That’s it for this post, and now I want to know, did you participate in NANOWRIMO? Do you listen to music when you write and if so what music? I hope y’all spent all day with your family and relaxing and got some great presents. I will be back soon with some more posts and until then, you can find me on Twitter @BrookeEvans2001, or on Instagram @thecozylittlebooknook. ALSO! I just started a personal Instagram which is going to be a lot of photography, and stuff along those lines and so if you haven’t going over and followed me there, you can now @OfficialBrookeEvans. A lot of you have been asking to know more about me, and so I will do a Q&A sometime soon and I will ask for questions on there! ~Brooke Missing Parts by Lucinda Berry Genre: psychological thriller Publication Date: Summary: Growing up abandoned by her father and raised by a single mother, Celeste was determined to create the perfect family but even perfect families have secrets. Celeste’s days are filled with a rewarding career, a devoted husband, and her four-year-old daughter. Only Celeste knows the precarious house of cards her family is built upon until the day her daughter falls critically ill. Celeste’s world quickly spirals out of control as her secret threatens to destroy her marriage, family, reputation, and sanity. She’ll go to any lengths to protect her family—take any risk, break any law—anything except tell the truth. My Thoughts: Just a quick thing before I get started with my thoughts, I read the book about 2 weeks before I wrote this review so some things aren’t as fresh in my memory but this means that what I talk about is the things that stuck for the past 2 weeks. I was not prepared when I started this book. I was asked by the author if I would like to read and review an advanced copy of the book, and I didn’t take a second look at it when I said yes until I finally settled down and read it. With that said, this book blew me away. As you can probably see, a book of this genre is not what I normally read everyday, and I kinda like this genre… It was really good and the concept was really great. It’s similar to the plots of TV shows with many twists and turns, although there were some parts you can predict. Celeste is a mother, and with her broken background, she is determined to do what it takes to keep the biggest secret of her life from her husband, until her daughter’s life is on the line. I have to say though, the middle part of the book where everything just falls apart and then Celeste runs away wasn’t the best, plot-wise because it all seemed like it was just a crazy thought she was having and none of it was actually happening. The ending made me cry. It was just so sad to see what had become of Celeste and what she lost because of this secret, and the people she trusted most turn on her. It was really sad and I want to talk more about it but I don’t want to give any spoilers so...imma leave it at that :) One thing that was hard for me to do was to connect with it. A good book usually has some sort of connection to me, and since I’m just a teen, a lot of the ‘bigger world problems’ were stuff that I just simply didn’t care about, because it’s not something that I have to deal with. Take for example, one of the opening scenes, where all the moms are out at dinner and talking/complaining about their kids and stuff. A mom reading this book may be able to connect with the book because it’s a thought they all have, but having never experienced something like that, there wasn’t that much there for me. There was also some cringing moments. The author really took risks when writing this book and covered a lot of topics that would be considered scary by most authors. They are very mature and real issues out there, and I think that Lucinda does a very well job covering them without a problem. Overall, I give the book a 7/10 (4/5 stars). The book was very well written, and I enjoyed most of it. It is definitely a mature book, with a lot of things that can mess with your head but I enjoyed it. The plot in the second part revealed some things that confused me with the storyline, but that’s the only part that confused me. If you haven’t tried your hand at a psychological novel, this is one that you should try to begin with. It’s good, and not as hard hitting as some other ones, while still giving you the full gut-wrenching experience. What did you think about the review? Will you go and pick it up? Leave me all your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. Don’t forget to check out the posts I had last week and come back soon for more content! ~Brooke Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've posted on here but good news is I'm back!! A little bit of bad news tho, I'm going to be on vacation from the 24th until the 2nd and wifi is going to be spotty, meaning that I might not get a chance to post but I have some posts scheduled so you won't be completely stranded on here :) Anyways, today I have a guest post from an author from one of my favorite publishers, Entangled. The post is by Jus Accardo, the author of Infinity and is about how she came up with the book's idea. Anyways, read on to find out! The Pull of Alternate Realities I’ve always been a sucker for scifi. My parents were huge Star Wars fans when I was a kid. Star Trek, Starman, Battlestar Galactica… The list went on and on. And while I grew to love the outer space based shows, books, and movies, it wasn’t until the television show Sliders rolled around that I realized my obsession to its fullest. Alternate reality stories have a special place in my heart. For those of you unfamiliar, the show Sliders revolved around a young scientist named Quinn who invented a device that allowed him to slide from one earth to the next. Most of the time, each new episode would showcase Quinn and his friends arriving on some new version of Earth. Sometimes the differences would be huge (a world where dinosaurs still roamed the earth or magic was common). Other times there would be only small differences, say a fence that on his home world squeaked, and on another, didn’t squeak. As if my obsession wasn’t bad enough, then came Fringe. In the first season, there wasn’t as much a focus as there was going forward, but that show also delved into alternate realities. I’ve always wanted to put my own spin on things, and so the idea for Infinity was born. I think the allure is the fact that the possibilities are endless. The same girl can be millions of things. She can walk down an infinite number of paths. She can have an endless number of personalities. I wanted to explode some of those possibilities. For example, a single choice, when made in even the slightest variation, can have life altering changes. The entire course of a person’s future could shift just from, say, staying five minutes later at work. I’m very excited to see where these characters take me. PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E3PS7OS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 What did you think about this guest post? Will you go and pick it up? Have you read it? Leave me all your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. I will be back soon with another post! I'm currently playing catchup on all the things I slacked off on in the past couple of weeks, and hope that I can get some of the posts for the new year written! Let me know what you want to see next from my blog, and what changes you want to see in the new year.
~Brooke HELLO WONDERFUL PEOPLE!! So if you didn’t read the title of this post, it’s been 1 year since I started this little blog on my corner of the internet! Honesty, I cannot believe that it’s been 1 year already and there has been some amazing things (and some not so amazing things) that happened in the past year and I’m just going to highlight some of those things here. I’ve also learned so much this year, Ok, I know I’ve been missing from the blog for the past week, and off of Instagram for longer but that’s because of Finals week at school and I’ve been working on a drivers ed course, and I just haven’t really been in the mood to write as much. School has really been sucking the life out of me and leave very little time for anything else. But nonetheless, I’m back and the semester is over by this upcoming wednesday so I’ll have time to read and write more. Anyways, I started the blog as a way for me to keep track of the books that I read and my thoughts on books, and then I discovered this entire community dedicated to books, and jumped on the bandwagon last year. It was a really rash decision and I wasn’t even planning on starting the blog until like January of this year but I was like, “why not start now?” so I got home and started it :) I think I’m planning on dedicating a post in the future about the entire process on how I started my blog so let me know what you want to know! Through blogging, I have also rediscovered another passion of mine: planners. I was really into them back in middle school and now that I have a commitment to post regularly, I needed a way to keep track of when I need to post and when guest posts and blog tour posts need to go up. On another note, I’ve also noticed that my writing for school assignments have also improved and I credit most of that improvement to writing more regularly. NANOWRIMO!! I participated in NANOWRIMO 2016 this year and it was a real challenge for me, especially since I had so many other writing assignments at school, but I managed to write 50,000 words. Of course, it’s a real rough draft and I haven’t had time to go back to re-write some of the parts I need to. I’ve met so many people this year from all over the country (and the world) and it’s been so fun to talk with them all. I really don’t want to make this blog post super duper long so I’m going to not list them all here :) Some stats for y’all if you want to know. In the past year, I have acquired 23,809 total page views and 7711 unique visitors, most of the stats happening in the past 6 months. It also equal to 178 blog posts which is absolutely crazy because there are a lot of blogs out there with 6-7 contributors and been on the internet for years and have less posts. Now I’m not saying all my posts are of top notch quality but I’m pretty proud of myself. One thing that I can guarantee for you guys, there is absolutely no way I’m going to stop blogging in the future, and I have hopes of expanding, and I have some HUGE plans for the next year, including growing out my ‘brand’. Maybe booktubing? More blogs like lifestyle, fashion, planners etc…? Book services? You never know what might happen with The Cozy Little Book Nook in the next year so follow me everywhere (links will be below) and tell me what you want to see in the future! I have hopes for a great next year and since it’s almost Christmas and the New Years, what’s your plans for the holidays! I will be back really soon with another review and a lot of guest posts in the upcoming weeks, and I have something planned for the New years! Leave me all your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. Also if you like my blog, in the holiday spirit, share it with your friends so everyone can join in on the fun! ~Brooke Today is the cover reveal for Four of a Kind by Kellie Sheridan. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The cover is designed by Katzilla Designs: https://katzilladesigns.wordpress.com/ Four of a Kind (Four of a Kind #1) by Kellie Sheridan Genre: Contemporary Age category: Young Adult Release Date: January 4, 2017 Blurb: The odds of giving birth to identical quadruplets: 1 in 13 million. The population of Fairview, a town where all anyone talks about is the Fairview Four’s return after fourteen years: 47,327. The chance of Reagan meeting a guy who sees her as one of a kind: better than she thinks. Following in her sisters’ footsteps—and, all too often, their shadows—is nothing new to Reagan. But a disastrous first day at Fairview High forces her down a new path, one that could lead to seeing herself as more than just someone else’s sister. Things aren’t going as smoothly for Reilly, Reece, and Rhiannon though. How can Reagan let herself be happy—or dare to fall in love—when she may be the only one who can bring her family back together? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets Gilmore Girls in the first novel of a heartwarming new series about first loves, family, and finding your way. You can find Four of a Kind on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33164988-four-of-a-kind Pre-order Four of a Kind for only 0.99$! You can pre-order Four of a Kind for only 0.99$ on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Kind-Kellie-Sheridan-ebook/dp/B01MTV2NW8 The Fairview Four on social media The Fairview Four have big plans for 2017 and we want you to be a part of it! Read the books, and get to know the girls by following them on Tumblr (https://4fourofakind4.tumblr.com/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/rayreeryerhi/)! You can also follow each of the Donovan sisters on their personal Twitter accounts—Reagan (https://twitter.com/RayStarrDonovan), Reece (https://twitter.com/ReecesPieces01), Reilly (https://twitter.com/ReillyDonovan6) & Rhiannon (https://twitter.com/RhiDonovan). The fun starts January 1st, 2017! And don’t forget to read the first book, currently available to pre-order for only $0.99! About the Author: Kellie Sheridan been in love with stories in all of their forms for as long as she can remember. Admittedly, sometimes that means falling into places like Stars Hollow and Sunnydale, but books have always been her true love. In early 2011 she began writing a book blog in order to share my favorite reads with book lovers. From there, the bookish community encouraged her to stop sitting on her own stories and share them instead. Her first novel, Mortality released in March of 2013, and she’s been publishing ever since. You can find and contact Kellie here: - Website: http://www.kelliesheridan.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelliewrites - Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kellie_Sheridan - Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6579646.Kellie_Sheridan Get Your Free copy of Where We Were! For a limited time, download the free ebook prequel of Four of a Kind, Where We Were! About Where we Were: Our entire lives have been shaped around our identity as identical quadruplets. Four sisters, all with the same face, but totally different personalities. We are four of a kind, and there has never been a time when we didn't have each other to lean on. But, when our parents announce that we'll been moving away from the city and back to the town where we were born, we can no longer be certain of anything but change. This is where we were. Get your copy at the Patchwork Press website: http://www.patchwork-press.com/freebooks/ What did you think of the cover? I really like the style of this cover and I think it goes really well with the summary of the book. I know I'm going to try and get a copy to review so let me know if you're excited for that! As per the usual, don't forget to follow me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram so you can keep up in real time! I will be back soon with more posts!
~Brooke The Ashes and The Sparks by Mary Victoria Johnson Genre: YA alt-history Fantasy Publication Date: October 18, 2016 Format: I received a ecopy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Sparks-Mary-Victoria-Johnson-ebook/dp/B01LX4BW9Q/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481168736&sr=1-4 Summary: Welcome to the age of airships. It is a world powered by steam and innovation, ruled by an elusive empress at its heart. Seventeen year-old Jorun is not part of this world. Hers is one of hidden tunnel networks and lights that dance across night skies, on that has remained separate from the rest of society for over a thousand years. This all changes when a boy appears from nowhere, raving about invaders from a faraway land. Purely by chance, Jorun soon finds herself in the middle of a struggle unlike anything she could have ever dreamed of, and must come to the realization that only she can stop an impending war. My Thoughts: First of all, I’m so happy to be able to review this book, written by a fellow teen. It’s always so much fun to read books by such young authors, and I feel like they really understand the viewpoint their audience would have on their book. Mary Johnson’s writing is so matured, and if you didn’t know she was only 18, you’d think that this book was written by someone much older (this is a good thing by the way). Ok so second of all, I don’t usually read books in this genre so I was a bit wary of what I would think of it going in. The prologue of the book really confused me for the longest time (until like chapter 4 when I finally understood what was going on) and it dragged for a little bit but finally picked up the pace around chapter 6/7. From there, everything happened so quickly that the book flew by. Every detail was covered, and the pace of the book was set really fast and it takes a lot of skill as a writer for that to happen. I fell in love with the characters, especially Jorun, the main character. She’s so determined but she also has a soft side which eventually comes back to bite her in the butt. She knows what’s best for her family and isn’t afraid of anything, even if it means giving everything up to go to a foreign land, with no idea what is in store for her or if she will ever see any of the people she’s known all her life ever again. I really liked her friends as well, and how well they all work together. Their tunnels are their secret hiding spot where no one else on the island know about, until one day they find an intruder claiming that foreign people came and invaded his island and killed everyone while he was able to get away. This was the introduction to Fredrick, and immediately, I didn’t like him. Something about his stories just didn’t match up, and I still don’t get what his intentions were but I just know that they weren’t good. He was in to do whatever it takes to get revenge even if it means killing everyone, doing the same amount of damage as the foreign people. The foreign people turn out to be from Britain, more specifically, Carrie the Empress and her people. A lot is explained about her past, and I found myself wanting to know more about her past. It’s not just adventure, a lot of the book touches on political issues, between conquests and between bordering empires. Carrie, the Empress does what she has to in order to get the people to cooperate with her orders, but it is still unclear what her intentions were with blowing up and killing all the people on the 4 islands. There is also the political issue of spies, and how quickly someone can turn against their own. Another thing I wanted to know more about is their scars, the orlegs, and what they mean, how it impacts them etc… It came true for one of Jorun’s friends and I want to see how hers impact her life and how she deals with it. The ending of the book was pretty good, while leaving room for more to be explored or explained. I believe there is to be another book in this series, set 20 years in the future and I know that I will be reading it. I want to know what happens next for Jorun and Carrie, and how they cope with losing almost everything. Overall, I actually really liked the book and I give it a 8/10 (4/5 stars). I recommend it for anyone who wants to break into reading the alt-history genre or if you already love it. It’s a really well written book, and the plot and the characters were all developed very well. So what are you waiting for? Go get the book now! So what did you think about this review? Will you go and pick it up? Have you read it already? Leave me all your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. Don’t forget to check back soon as I have posts going up almost every day! ~Brooke Hey everyone and happy Wednesday (or whatever day you’re reading this on)! Today I am very happy to be reviewing the boxed set of Backstage Pass as it was the re-release of it on Monday and they have NEW covers!! Also this post is a little late and formatted a little differently than how I usually review just because it’s a boxed set and I’ve never reviewed any boxed set before. I didn’t start reading the book until last Friday and then when I started, I realized how long it was going to take me to read all 5 books, and the write reviews for all 5 of them. (Yes, I realize that I probably didn’t have to write reviews for all of them but I don’t like leaving things undone). But there’s no way that I was able to get all 5 review done in time so they will be up shortly (like by this weekend). Anyways, here’s all the details for the book, and then my thoughts. I have my reviews linked to the name of the book :) Backstage Pass Box Set by Ophelia London, Lisa Burstein, Rebekah L. Purdy, Suze Winegardner, and Erin Butler Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Publication Date: December 5, 2016 Format: I received a copy of the boxed set as a ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase the set here for only $0.99 right now!! https://www.amazon.com/Backstage-Pass-Boxed-Erin-Butler-ebook/dp/B01N639LL9/ *WARNING, SPOILERS ARE IN THIS POST BECAUSE I AM TALKING ABOUT A BOXED SET AND IT WOULD BE HARD TO TALK ABOUT THE BOOKS OTHERWISE :)* I’m new to the series and I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high hopes coming into the series. With how it seemed to be set up, it seemed to be cut out to be one of those really random serieses with a bunch of random stories thrown in there. I’ve read some really bad boxed sets in my day (and with that I mean like 4-5 years ago, where chapter books usually came in sets of 5-10 each) and this is SOOOOOOO much better than those. First of all, it was an Entangled Crush book, and I have never been disappointed by them. Now of course with that being said, it doesn’t always mean that I love the book (more often than not, I want to punch something when the book ends just because I love it so much) and the dual point of view can get confusing and annoying at times but I think I’m used to them by now. I will also say that I usually steer clear of anything that screams BOY BAND just because they usually don’t suit my taste in music or books, but I’m so glad that I didn’t pass the chance to read them up. I was surprised about how coherent all the details throughout the 5 books were. It read so smoothly like only one person wrote it, and having experience working with classmates, it’s a hard feat to accomplish, and these lovely authors did it amazingly. The format of the books are all pretty similar but the actual events are all unique to each of the characters, and with each of the authors writing a different book, we really get a different tone for each set of characters. When the series ended, I really wanted to throw my phone across the room (because I was reading on my phone) but with a better judgement in mind, I chose not to. When the 1-4 books ended, I just told myself, oh no problem, there’s still another book after this one. I loved each and everyone of the boys and the leading ladies. It seemed like we were right there on the tour buses with them, going with them to all the cities they were touring in and sneaking around the hotels to meet up etc… Since I’m going to be talking about the actual characters themselves in the reviews for the individual books, I’m not going to be talking about them here. I want to talk about the character progressions of a few of the minor throughout the 5 books. This is primarily concerning the plot and has nothing to do with the authors or the writing itself. Let’s start off with LJ, their manager. He wasn’t that bad in the first book, Aimee and the Heartthrob but did show some signs of evil when he told Aimee that Miles was just going to ditch her again. He only got worse as the series went on, doing things that were so bad that if publicity got ahold of it, he would’ve been publicly humiliated. I was so happy when they finally banded together (get it, a band joke. Ok i’m done) and got him fired from the tour. I totally get why he did some of the things that he did, it was for the best interest of the band in his mind, and for his own career but still doesn’t justify his actions entirely. Also we meet Miles’ mom in the first book, and she pops up occasionally throughout the rest of the series but I really do wish we got to see more of her since she’s really the only family we see that’s on the tour with them the entire time. Ok another character that wasn’t exactly major but throughout the 5 books, we get to know him a lot better is Beau, their lead body guard. As you can probably imagine, the boys of S2J get mobbed by girls anywhere they go so a high security team is absolutely necessary. We see him a lot more when his daughter Daisy goes on the tour with him, and the falls in love with Trevin. It’s absolutely hilarious seeing Trevin walk on eggshells around Beau after that book, trying not to get him mad and forbid him from seeing Daisy. But Daisy is such a strong willed girls that I’m pretty sure that nothing would be able to stop her from seeing Trevin. I also like how Beau is able to see straight through the boys’ BS and help them in a way only a father could. On the topic of taking care of each other, I really love how each of the boys take care of each other, and are quite possibly the closest family they have at that point. They fight and argue like brothers, and also have bonding sessions as can be seen throughout parts of the series. They stand up for each other, and know each other’s weaknesses, and it’s especially funny when they call Ryder on his act. Nathan is also the baby of the group and he’s always being teased about his age but it’s all in the nature of brotherhood. Overall, If you love to read about a romance, that lasts for 5 whole books, this is a series that you do not want to miss. As a series, I have to give it a 10/10, even though the individual books may be lower. They all fit together so well that ahhh my heart. One thing I would love to see is a follow up to each of the books, from the girl’s point of view. That would just be absolutely perfect. Entangled, I have hopes for this so...can it happen? Nonetheless, you NEED TO get this series and just block out a day to read them all. So what did you think about this review for the boxed set? Will you go and pick it up? Have you read them all already? Leave me all your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. Don’t forget to check out all the reviews for the 5 books on their own pages! ~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
|