Girl on the Brink by Christina Hoag Genre: YA Romance/Thriller Publication Date: August 30, 2016 Format: I received a copy to review as part of a blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. You can purchase a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Brink-Novel-Christina-Hoag-ebook/dp/B01K9L996A Summary: The summer before senior year, 17-year-old Chloe starts an internship as a reporter at a local newspaper. While on assignment, she meets Kieran, a quirky aspiring actor. Chloe becomes smitten with Kieran's charisma and his ability to soothe her soul, torn over her parents' impending divorce. But as their bond deepens, Kieran becomes smothering and flies into terrifying rages. He confides in Chloe that he suffered a traumatic childhood, and Chloe is moved to help him. If only he could be healed, she thinks, their relationship would be perfect. But her efforts backfire and Kieran becomes violent. Chloe breaks up with him, but Kieran pursues her relentlessly to make up. Chloe must make the heartrending choice between saving herself or saving Kieran, until Kieran's mission of remorse turns into a quest for revenge. My Thoughts: I had never seen or read any of Christina’s other works so I wasn’t too sure what to expect from her writing style or how the story was going to pan out. For a book with the title like this one, the beginning of the book was way to calm. Like I expected the book to have way more of a bang to it’s beginning. But it had the underlying feeling that something bad was going to happen very, very soon. It starts off relatively calm, with Chloe interviewing the owner of the flower shop for a article in a small local newspaper/web station, and somehow meets this guy, Kieran, who works at the flower shop. Now, I’m not even sure how the story somehow turns to Kieran and Chloe’s relationship. Like it was totally out of the blue. Suddenly the story builds up relatively fast. Slowly, Kieran gets more and more aggressive in their relationship, and I have more of a reason to dislike him. I had the feeling that he was in the relationship for his own personal benefit, and that he didn’t mean anything that he said to Chloe, and he was going to take advantage of everything Chloe had to offer. He had Chloe telling him everything, but slyly didn’t tell her anything about himself. He was also lying a lot, and contradicted himself, for his benefit. Kieran wasn’t the best of influences on Chloe. He convinced her to blow off her friends on multiple occasions and constantly bothers her even when she deliberately tells him to give her space. Also did I mention that he followed her home one day just to see where she lived?? That’s just plain stalking. One thing that bothered me was the age difference between the two. I mean, I know it’s only a 2 year age difference but Kieran is 19 and is pursuing a minor, taking her to parties with his friends. It was an element that really bothered me but it helped drive the plot along. He is also super possessive of Chloe and not in a good way. (Actually, when is being possessive ever a good thing?) When I say that the book progresses fast, I really do mean fast. Like the book went by so fast and I didn’t even realize it. Also a lot of the things in the book happen a lot in reality, but there were things that Chloe could have done to prevent herself from the abuse. There were a lot of times where I just wanted to scream at Chloe and tell her to grow up and stand up for herself. I don’t get what she sees in Kieran, but to each, themselves right? I do love how the book ends, with Chloe solving the problem herself, using resources that she has. It’s pretty cool to see the case close, although I thought that Kieran did not get what he deserved. I’m just going to leave it at that to avoid any spoilers. Overall, this book passed by my original standards for it. I give it a 8/10 (4/5 stars). I enjoyed the author’s writing style and I felt like the plot was very well developed. There were a couple points in the book where I wanted to just quit halfway but I’m so happy that I didn’t because the ending was worth it. 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 all my other posts and review from this week! ~Brooke
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Beautiful Chaos by Alex Tully Genre: YA Romance Publication Date: June 13th, 2016 Format: I received a copy to review from the author through a review blog tour organized by YA Book Bound. You can purchase a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Chaos-Alex-Tully-ebook/dp/B01H0SXFLU Summary: While most seventeen year-olds work part-time delivering pizzas or whipping up frappuccinos, Brady O’Connell’s job is a little less conventional. Helping his dad with the family ‘business’ is a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly, especially when thousands of dollars are being exchanged. There are rules to be followed, timetables to be kept. But when his best friend Jay gets backstage concert tickets, and business interferes with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their favorite band, Brady decides to break the rules, just one time. And one time is all it takes to send his life spinning out of control. When an envelope full of cash ends up in the wrong hands—specifically in the hands of a pretty red-head named Vivienne—things get messy in a hurry. Where Vivienne goes, a whole lot of chaos seems to follow. But sometimes…chaos can be a beautiful thing. From the author of Hope for Garbage comes another fast-moving, emotionally-charged tale, full of plot twists that will keep you guessing, and true-to-life characters you will root for. Most of all, this is a story of first love—crazy, chaotic first love—love that hits us hard, and never lets go. My Thoughts: To be honest, I wasn’t that excited for the book going into it, but it didn’t take too long to change my mind. This book was intense, although I do love the little twists thrown in at the end, and everything came to a (more or less) happy ending. I really loved the romance aspect of the book. I felt like it was unique and versatile, a high tension, unlikely romance situation turning into one. It’s one of those romances where the two are forced to spend time with each other because a certain situation presented itself and is crucial for both to be involved until the problem is solved. The fact that Brady was distracting Vivienne’s friends with his best friend's brother was absolutely hilarious, especially because he was gay. (Just to clarify, the fact that the girls were going after him was hilarious, not that it was funny that he was gay.) To be completely honest, I didn’t think that this relationship was going to last. It was shaky from the start, and the two didn’t seem compatible together. They both had their own personal problems, leading up to them meeting, and even then it didn’t seem to be very strong. The ending was amazing. I liked the new surprises that popped up and were revealed to us, the audience. Also the very, very end was just the sweetest. I don’t want to spoil much so I’ll leave it there :) The writing was pretty solid, aside from a couple of transitions that I found to be weird. There were a couple that just jumped to the next scene and I found myself having to re-read several paragraphs just to try and figure out what was happening. I just have to talk about the cover, cus why not? I love the idea of the silhouettes of the two characters in front of the night sky, because it really shows that chaos can be beautiful. The background is so detailed and I love the ombre effect. Overall, I give the book a 8/10 (4/5 stars). I kind of expected everything to work out in the end, so the ending was not that big of a surprise. It was well written and well developed, and I’m looking forward to reading more works by Alex Tully. I recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a good YA romance book. 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. I’ll be back with more posts very soon! ~Brooke A Fabrication of the Truth by Katie Kaleski Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Publication Date: September 20, 2016 Format: I received a review copy of the book for a blog tour hosted by YA Book Bound Tour. You can purchase a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KPF96JU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Summary: The last time Lexie Stein saw Dalton Reyes he lay in a pool of blood, hovering somewhere between life and death. Now, five years later, he's the new guy in her high school. What happened between then and now is a mystery Lexie is afraid to explore. Just one lie uncovered from her past can cause the house of cards she's so carefully constructed to come crashing down around her. And Dalton is the key to that past. She doesn't need her grandmother's warnings to convince her that Dalton means trouble. But the bond they shared as kids seems to have only gotten stronger, transforming into something wonderful and powerful. When Dalton opens up about the intervening years and what they mean for his future, Lexie is determined not to let him get away a second time. My Thoughts: I was so excited for this book, when I saw the cover up on YA BookBound review copies up for grabs. The cover is so pretty and the lettering of it is unique and eye catching. But that’s enough about the cover (for now at least), let’s move onto the actual book. I have very mixed feelings about the book. There were certain parts that I absolutely adored, but then there were other parts that left me feeling very, empty. I like the idea and the connection of the main character, Lexie’s life and the title. All of her life, since she was a small child, he had always told her to make up lies, or more so, fabrications of the truth because no one can know about what he does or what happens. When a certain event happens to Lexie as well as Dalton, it scars both of them for life, one more than another, and Lexie has resorted to getting through life with her fabrications. So why wouldn’t Lexie totally freak out when she sees Dalton, the guy that she hasn’t seen since the day of the incident, and the one person that she thought she would never see again shows up at her school one day? It’s only natural and it probably didn’t help that he’s now known as the ‘cute new guy’ at school. Of course, it probably doesn’t help that he only notices her, not any of the other girls pining after him, drawing unwanted attention to Lexie. One thing that bothered me was the we, the audience didn’t get any of the crucial information until like the very last minute possible. Most of the time I spent on the book was just me thinking, what’s going on, what happened? One of the scenes that I liked the most, was the one where everyone finds out the truth, and Dalton’s family finally realizes that the past is in the past and that they should move on. Another scene that I liked was when the reader finally gets the truth about what happened that one day, and why it has led them to where they are now. It is one of the main things that advances the storyline forward. This wasn’t your average Contemporary book. There was a lot more of the mystery element incorporated and I actually really liked that. I don’t read a lot of mystery genres so this was a nice twist to it. It was fresh and fun while being emotionally tugging at the same time. There was also a lot of flashing backwards to events that happened years ago, to give us the full story. A lot of the book was like piecing a puzzle together, with the small amounts of information that we receive at a time. The ending kinda threw me off. It felt rushed to me, just kind of pushed together. You know that feeling when you reach the last piece of paper in your notebook and you’re only in the middle of the lecture feeling? That’s how I felt. But other than that, I felt that it was very well written. Overall, I give the book a 6/10 (3/5 stars). I enjoyed the writing and the plot idea, but there was something about that that bothered me a little. I recommend this to people who enjoy a ya romance with a little bit of mystery tied into it. Personally, I think it was missing an element that I can’t exactly place my finger on but overall, it’s a good book. 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 my post from yesterday about a update for Classic Fridays and I will talk to ya’ll very soon! ~Brooke Giveaway!You can find the giveaway at this link:
https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9e540ef9269/ Please note, this giveaway is hosted my YA Book Bound Tours, and The Cozy Little Book Nook is in no way responsible for it. Please direct any questions to them :) Thank you! Hey Guys, I come today with some sad news.
After much debating, I have decided that due to my packed schedule this month, Classic Fridays will be postponed until further notice. I’m hoping to take the time this month to focus more on my school work as October is particularly stressful as a Sophomore. I am planning on starting the meme up again in November and I have a few ideas already, I just need the time to write out all the questions. I really hope that you all understand and will join again once I start again. But no fear, I will still be posting for Top Ten Tuesday posts and reviews and cover reveals, etc… this month. This was just a short catch-up post for all of you to know what I’ve been doing, as I feel like I don’t let a lot of my personal life out, and I don’t want to feel as if I’m ignoring the blog. I love it very much and I love each and every one of you. You keep me going. Don’t forget to keep up with the latest from me and you can find me on social media, @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. I’ll be back tomorrow with a review! ~Brooke This post is just a little late, but here’s my Top Ten Tuesday post for this week! Today’s prompt is Books you read based on recommendation. This is an amazing prompt, there are so many that I read based on other’s recommendation, or because I saw them on someone else’s blog. Also for those who don’t know, this weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
These are just some of the books that I’ve read based on recommendation but of course, there are many others throughout the years. Tell me in the comments what are some of the books that you’ve read based on recommendation, and what books you would recommend! As always, let me know what you thought and all your thoughts in the comments section or find me on Social Media: @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. ~Brooke How to Be Someone Else by Rachel Del Genre: NA Contemporary Romance Release Date: October 20th 2016 Summary: Sometimes it is the one who knows you best who can love you best. Penny has lived her life letting others take the reins, leaving her to simply follow in line. After completing her senior year of College she’ll join her father’s marketing firm, get married and start a family. When her parents drop a bomb on her — that they are getting divorced — Penny decides it’s time to start living by her own rules. And when she meets mysterious P.J. Hawthorne, a published writer who seems to know much more about Penny than she lets on, she knows this is her chance to finally get her life moving in the right direction. But as questions about her new life overwhelm her, so do thoughts of sweet and gorgeous Alex — who just so happens to be her best friend. What follows is a series of poor decisions, each one more worrisome than the last, forcing Penny further and further away from not only Alex, but from becoming the woman she’s sure she’s meant to be. Add to Goodread About the Author Rachel Del is a head-in-the-clouds introvert, homebody and thirty-something writer currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and three-year-old son. Originally from Ontario, Canada she works in publishing, and spends her free time reading, writing and drinking far too much black coffee. Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook │Instagram Cover Reveal Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours So what do y'all think of the cover? I know that I will try to get a copy of the book to review so if you guys want to see that post, let me know! Also go over and follow me on Twitter @BrookeEvans2001 so you can get notified when I post! Let me know all you thoughts in the comments or find my on social media!
~Brooke My Unscripted Life by Lauren Morrill Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Publication Date: October 11, 2016 Format: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can order a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/My-Unscripted-Life-Lauren-Morrill/dp/0553498010/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471282635&sr=8-1&keywords=my+unscripted+life+by+lauren+morrill Summary: Sometimes love stories go off script. Another sultry Georgia summer is about to get a lot hotter. Dee Wilkie is still licking her wounds after getting rejected by the precollege fine arts program of her dreams. But if she’d gone away, she wouldn’t have been around to say yes to an unbelievable opportunity: working on the set of a movie filming in her small Southern town that just happens to be starring Milo Ritter, the famous pop star Dee (along with the rest of the world) has had a crush since eighth grade. It’s not like Dee will be sharing any screen time with Milo—she’s just a lowly PA. And Milo is so disappointingly rude that Dee is eager to stay far away from him. Except after a few chance meetings, she begins to wonder if just maybe there’s a reason for his offensive attitude, and if there’s more to Milo than his good looks and above-it-all Hollywood pedigree. Can a relationship with a guy like Milo ever work out for a girl like Dee? Never say never. . . . My thoughts: Ok this book is written by the same author who wrote Being Sloane Jacobs (which I will have the review up for that book in the winter) which is a book I absolutely love so I was beyond ecstatic when I found that out. Like I didn't know who the author was until I started the book. My first thought, lucky her, summer starts in May for them. Like seriously, no fair. I really like how there are scenes that are blocked out as it would be in a movie script. Not many books that I have read do that and I really think it adds to the book as a whole. They also add some comic relief. There's something unsettling about Milo’s character at the beginning. He just kinda shows up and then says about 3 words total. He's just a hot mystery. And then a little more into the book, another guy pops into the scene. I was almost 95% sure that Milo was going to be the only guy Dee had eyes for but of course, since this is a YA book, there's a twist thrown in there. Ok why is Milo so hot? I feel like it should be illegal for someone to be that hot. Also why can't I have Dee’s job? It sounds so fun (except for the constant possibility of someone hating her work and getting fired). I really wish that there were more scenes of Dee actually being on set and her running between the set and other rooms because I love reading about all the behind the scenes stuff that goes on. Another thing I wanted to see more of is about Milo’s parents. We never really hear anything about them, although Milo does say once that Dee’s parents are some of the good ones, maybe hinting about his own parents and how they aren’t there for him as much? Just my theory. I just absolutely love the progression of Dee and Milo’s relationship. It feels so satisfying just seeing them get along so well and moving along. But as every reader knows, nothing good ever lasts too long. Nothing ever good happened when the leading boy’s ex-girlfriend, Lydia shows up to star across from him, but I didn't expect Lydia to turn out the way that she did. I don't want to spoil too much of it so I'll let you read the book and find out what happens. This was just one of those books that you wish would last forever. I loved the epilogue and I only had one wish at the end of the book: for the author to write more about their journey. And can we talk about the cover? It is so pretty and reminds me of the cover for so many books but is unique in its own way as well. (I will admit this, I requested the book partially because the cover was so gosh darn cute). I cannot wait to read more books by this author. Her style of writing is one of my favorites, reading her books makes me feel like I have a friend on the characters and I belong among them all. There is just so much more I want to know about them. How was Dee’s time at college? What did she do after that? How's Milo and Lydia her boyfriend? What about the rest of the crew? I just feel like I know so much about them now that I can't forget them and move on. I really hope the author sees this and decides to write a sequel to the book. I give the book a 10/10 (I think this may be my first review to get a full mark). I loved every aspect of it and I recommend it to everyone. Literally everyone. Like if you don't normally like to read YA contemporary romance, I think this is the book that can change your mind. Also if you like Sarah Dessen and Huntley Fitzpatrick’s books, I can almost guarantee you will love this book. I love a small-town romance book and this is so perfect!! So what did you guys think about the review and will you preorder the book? I know I'm ordering one so I can have the final copy when it comes out. Let me know of all your thought below and I hope to be able to read more of Morrill’s books very, very soon! As usual, don't forget to follow me on the socials to stay updated outside of my blog! ~Brooke Just Friends by Monica Murphy Genre: NA Contemporary Romance Publication Date: September 13, 2016 Format: I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review from YA Book Bound Tour. You can purchase a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Friends-Monica-Murphy-ebook/dp/B01KSHL0BM/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475634847&sr=1-2&keywords=Just+Friends Summary: It’s the end of summer. Just before I start senior year with my two best friends in the whole world. Dustin and Emily are everything to me. We’ve been inseparable since middle school, and when we’re together, nothing can go wrong. But things aren’t always what they seem. Em’s turned into a drunken mess who parties too much. Dustin and I have hooked up a few times—and now he’s ready to take our relationship to the next level. Yet I’m not sure I want things to change. I’m scared if I take it any further with Dustin, our friendship will be ruined forever. Then there’s Ryan. The new guy. He’s hot. He flirts way too much. And Em has totally set her sights on him. So when my best friend betrays me in the worst possible way, guess who’s there to help me pick up the pieces of my broken heart? Ryan. But he’s so confusing. Annoying. Sweet. Sexy. I want to trust him, yet he makes it so hard. What I really want is for everything to go back to the way it was before. Before I found out that best friends make the worst kind of enemies. My thoughts: When I first got the book, I was excited because I’ve read a few of Monica Murphy’s other books and I’ve loved them all so I had hopes for this book. I was really surprised by this book, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, because all the other books that I’ve read by Monica Murphy have been super good and fun. So Olivia has two best friends, Emily and Dustin, and when she’s back from visiting her father in California with his new family. Naturally, when she get’s back, she assumes that everything would be the same as how she left. Instead, Emily has run wild without her parents’ supervision all of summer, and hooked up with Ryan, the new kid in their neighborhood. But, Ryan suddenly hits on Olivia and given the history behind Olivia and Dustin, things turn crazy. Olivia and Dustin are the best of friends, but a couple things happen and it turns out that they may be more than ‘Just Friends’. There was a lot of times in the book where I just wanted to put the book down and give up because I kept telling myself that the ending much surprise me and be good but I decided not to, but I kind of regret that decision because the ending wasn’t much better. There were a lot of unlikable characters, and a lot of the book was just one crazy scene, then followed by another, and then another. There were absolutely no breaks and just kept going and going and going. I’m going to put this bluntly, the characters were annoying af. It’s like, just figure out which of the two guys you want to stay with and JUST STAY WITH HIM!! It’s not that hard and it would make your life and my life as the reader soooo much easier. There was also those few interactions between Olivia and her mother’s boyfriend, which I found to be highly inappropriate. Actually, let’s be honest, most of the book was inappropriate. Overall, I give the book a 4/10 (2/5 stars). I really did not enjoy this book at all. There was not a scene that I liked. The book seemed very fast paced, yet was still able to drag on forever. I do not think that this book was YA. It was just absolutely gross. 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 my other psot for today, a cover reveal (I’ve been doing a lot of those lately) and I’ll be back tomorrow with a Classic Fridays post! ~Brooke Right Billionaire, Wrong Wedding by Victoria Davies Genre: Adult Romance Publication Date: October 10, 2016 Format: I received an advanced review copy from the publisher for review purposes. You can pre-order a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Right-Billionaire-Wedding-Victoria-Davies-ebook/dp/B01M0HQX9B?tag=entangpublis-20 *This book is in the ADULT Genre so younger audiences should not proceed with this review. Other than that, hope you keep reading and like it!* Summary: Darian King has never met a challenge he couldn’t handle. Running a billion-dollar corporation? Piece of cake. Hostile takeovers? A walk in the park. But when his little sister begs him to plan her wedding, Darian finds himself less than prepared for the task. Luckily, he knows just who to ask for help. Allison Reed wants nothing more than to leave King Enterprises behind. Being the personal assistant to a man like Darian is a 24/7 job. Asking her to help plan a wedding is simply the icing on the stress-filled cake but to leave she needs a glowing reference and will do anything to get it. Even plan a wedding with the man of her dreams. Stepping outside the office has unexpected consequences. Darian doesn’t believe in relationships, yet he’s starting to see Allison in a whole new light. But he doesn’t know her secret, and she fears that by the time the vows are exchanged, she won’t just be leaving her job behind but her heart as well. My Thoughts: Hey Everyone! Today’s post is another Top Ten Tuesday post and the prompt this week is Villains. This is an amazing prompt, there are so many that I like. Also for those who don’t know, this weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
For this week, I think I will be mostly focusing on DISNEY villains. So my favorite book of all time, featuring villains is The Isle of the Lost and Return to the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz, in partnership with Disney. If you haven’t heard the plot yet, I encourage you to do so immediately because it’s so amazing. So here’s my list of those villains: -Mal, the daughter of Maleficent -Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen (you know, the one who tried to poison Snow White) -Jay, the son of Jafar -Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil Then there are the villains themselves: -Maleficent -The Evil Queen -Jafar -Cruella de Vil This post was kind of weird, because I didn’t know which direction to take it in so yea… As always, let me know what you thought and all your thoughts in the comments section or find me on Social Media: @BrookeEvans2001 on Twitter and @thecozylittlebooknook on Instagram. I will have another post up tomorrow! ~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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