Review: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Title: Bittersweet

Author: Sarah Ockler

Reviewed by: Rafia

What we say: Deliciously amazing!

Summary from Goodreads:  

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...

So, I have this thing for cupcakes. And hockey players. And contemporary books. But put it together, BAM! You have a very happy Rafia ;). I've been eyeing this book for a while now and when I finally got my hands on it, I wasn't disappointed! The summary is a little inaccurate, but I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't an extremely emotional or intense book and it was a nice, light read for sure!

I gotta say, Hudson wasn't my favorite kick-ass character but she definitely sassy and held out on her own. She didn't really stick to ideals with Will which sorely annoyed me. Heck, Will just annoyed me in general, but that was probably the point of his annoying annoyingness. BUT Hudson was really cool with how she deal with the hockey players and she was pretty awesome on the ice. I was so glad when she finally came to her sense though! I liked her strong sense of family ideals and her "take no nonsense" attitude but she was a little annoying at times.

Josh... *swoon* can someone get me some smelling salts over here? He was so sweet, caring, and another Hockey Player. Yes, we must caps that for Hockey Player is a respect role around here ;).  But you must earn the caps! And boy oh boy, did Josh did or what? I wanted to smack Hudson over the head and get her to see the amazing guy in front of her! If a guy brings you music and skates with you on a lake, why not appreciate him?! I wish there was more depth to his character, because it seemed like there was a lot more to him than what met the eye. 

Bittersweet was a great book and a light read. There were parts that could have been improved but overall, it was a nice break from some paranormal and fantasy books! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to comment!

xox

Rafia

 

Liebster Blog Award

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you guys know, we got nominated for the Liebster blog award! Thank you Oana @ All Fantasy Worlds for nominating us!

What is this? Well:

Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers that have less than 200 followers and the purpose is to get to know them since we think that they deserve it. The world "Liebster" is German and means favorite.

In order to accept and participate there are some steps:

1. Tell 11 things about yourself.

2. Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.

3. Post 11 questions for those who will be nominated by you.

4. Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

5. Get in contact with those 11 bloggers in order to inform them that you nominated them.

Alrighty then! Let's start!

11 Things About Us:

Rafia:
1. I have three sisters and a baby brother who I love to death!
2. I have a popcorn addiction, quite strange. . .
3. I'm a volunteer at our local hospital and class secretary, but am actually not very social.
4. Call me cliche but personality in a guy matters the most to me, most pretty boys are douchey!
5. I want a white convertible Volkswagon Bug named Dixie, don't judge!
6. I get bored very easily but books are one of the only things that have stuck with me for a long time. The other? My bestie, Cassie :)
7. I get annoyed really easily but its hard for me to hate a person.
8. I've always wanted to travel but my parents are really overprotective.
9. I want to live in New York City or California.
10. I love music and listen to really random songs. . . my phone has more variety than most radio stations!

Cassie:
1. I have three cats, and someone told me he thought I'd end up as an old cat lady.
2. I have an older brother who I totally love, even if I don't show it, and hope he dates the sweetest girl out there.
3. I'd totally crush on a bad boy, but I'd have to be his princess :)
4. I absolutely LOVE alternative/indie/alt-rock music. Rafia makes fun of me for it, but I don't care ;)
5. If I could live anywhere, I'd either 1) have a farm in, like, New Zealand or Australia or something with my hubby or 2) have a white stucco, terra-cotta tile roofed house on a cliff overlooking the ocean in like Italy
6. Really weird but true- If I had a car, I'd get an electric blue Jeep and name her Hunter. (Pitch Perfect scene, anyone?)
7. I think girls who wear a lot of make-up, wear push-up bras, or tight clothes really shouldn't. If you can't find a guy that likes you for you, he isn't worth your time.
8. I love donuts, and ice cream is my comfort food!
9. My life's goal is to go cliff diving in Malta, Italy!!
10. My favorite color has always been blue, even when I was five.
11. If someone talked bad about someone I really, really cared for I would physically fight that person if it came down to it.

1. What other hobbies/ obsessions do you have besides reading and writing?
Rafia:Well. . .my obsessions are ramen noodles, attractive book guy characters (see below), and decorating my room! And Once Upon a Time, totally awesome show! And collecting random quotes.
I used to play soccer and I love it, but its too competitive and I'm not good at all!
I like cooking, sleeping, popcorn, and watching awesome comedy movies with my sisters.
Cassie: Ah, my strong point. Well. Kaiden Rowe, Will Herondale, that guy from Skylark (basically a lot of guy book characters), For Darkness Shows the Stars, and movies my dad and I watch together :)
I also do lacrosse, but I'm not great at it.
I used to run, but then I had a really mean cross-country coach so I quit.
I love painting and drawing, but usually don't get to.
I really want to cliff jump.
Andddddd...
Ice cream.

2. Do you lend your books to friends?
Rafia: Yes! I don't normally buy books, but when I do. . .
Cassie: YEAH! Well, if they want one. But a lot of the time just with Rafia :)

3. Have you ever convinced someone who hasn't read a book in their life to start reading? How?
Rafia: I have tried! Actually pestered my intense math buddie who doesn't read a lot but eventually read Crewel by Gennifer Albin. Check out Cassie's review on it!
Cassie: Err. . . No. I'm afraid not :(

4. What book did you hate despite everyone saying it was awesome?
Rafia: Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols. . . loved the concept but hated everything else.
Cassie: Oh boy. Don't hate me, but I couldn't finish Across the Universe. I just . . . Couldn't.

5. Which book character would like to date and why?
Cassie: OH MY GOSH. 
Noah Shaw from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer because he's SO sweet, funny, adorable, protective, amazing, and perfect.
Or, (but they wouldn't be so great boyfriends) Will Herondale, Gabriel from Spark, and Kaiden Rowe. They are SO swoon-worthy (and misunderstood).

Rafia: Ah . . . this is hard. . .but I have to steal Cassie's man and say Noah Shaw! He's sweet, overprotective, cares about Mara so much! And possibly Nathan from A Midsummer's Nightmare. I'm all for the good guy thing ;)

6. If your life could be turned into a movie, which actress/ actor would you like to play you and why?
Rafia: Definitely Zooey Deschanel! I love her quirkiness and bangs that I know I can't pull off.
Cassie: Ah . . . Well. I'd have to go with Emma Stone. She's pretty awesome.

7. Which is your favorite villain?
Rafia: Very difficult. . . But I love Warner from Shatter Me, especially after reading Destroy Me.
The Magister from Infernal Devices. . .weird but he's an evil genius.
Cassie: Ooooooh! This is good.
Warner from Shatter Me. OH YEAH.
The Darkling. I LOVE HIM.
Sebastian from TMI. He's so messed up, I love it.
SETH. From the Covenant series. At least, I'm hoping he's evil.
The list goes on . . .

8. Is there a genre you would never read?
Rafia: Hmm, probably not! I tend to go through phases with different genres and I don't think I've missed any yet!
Cassie: Ummm, not really. Although there are some I would TRY not to read, if possible.

9. Which is your favorite classic novel?
Rafia: Definitely Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre! I have a thing for Jane Austen and Bronte.
Cassie: I haven't read many, but I do like Jane Austen books

10.What magic power would you like to have and why?
Rafia:Mind reading, always wanted to know others thoughts and it'll keep me entertained in class ;)
Cassie: Being able to control the elements- so cool.

11. Who is your favorite author and what question would you ask him/ her if you had the chance?
Rafia:Taherah Mafi- How on earth did you come up with Shatter Me? And why am I so divided between Adam and Warner?! This has never happened . . .
Cassie: Leigh Bardugo- How did you even come up with Shadow and Bone?? And what about the Darkling? What's up with him? (I LOVE HIM [don't know what that says about me . . .])

We nominate the following bloggers for the Liebster Blog Award:

1. Liana @ Book Addict.
2. Heather B @ Owlnestly Book Reviews
3. Nuzaifa @ Say it with books
4. Rhomy @ I know that Book!
5. Carmen @Shadows of the Past
6. Fam Min @The Bookling
7. Kayla @ Ramblings of a Book Junkie
8. Gemini Rising @Gemini Rising
9. Raafia @ The Peanut butter Fairy
10. Annie & Demi @ Characterized Book Reviews
11. Anacrasia @ Reading with Anacrasia

And here are the questions for our nominees:

1. If you could choose one book to be made into a movie, which one would you choose?

2. When people ask you what your hobbies are, do you include reading/ writing in them? Why or why not?

3. If you could be the inspiration for one author's book/ series, what author would you hope to inspire?

4. Have you ever gone into a rant about a book with someone? If so, what book and what were you saying? If not, what book could you see yourself doing that with, and what would you say?

5. What's your favorite genre and why?

6. If you could get inside the head of one character/author, whom would it be, and why?

7. If you could meet one character you've always wished you could date, and there was an immediate spark between you two, whom would it be and what would you do?

8. Say your whole book collection got burned down, and you have only twenty dollars to spend on books right now. What books would you immediately buy?

9. If you could tell a heroine a piece of advice, who'd you tell it to and what would it be?

10. What part in a book do you secretly like, even though you shouldn't? (villain obsessed with the girl, good guy being snubbed, prude turned player...)

11. What's the funniest line you've read in a book?

Please don't forget to leave me a link to your post if you choose to accept the Liebster Blog Award! We're really looking forward to reading your answers!

Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Unravel Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Reviewed by: Cassie

What we say: fantastically fantabulous!

ARC provided by Pitch Dark for an honest review

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

tick, tick, tick, tick, tick

it's almost

time for war

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her--people with gifts--and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart--and Adam's life.

Unravel Me is a breathtaking read with an exhilarating plot and electrifying romances. Tahereh Mafi whipped up a masterpiece with countless memorable scenes, two sizzling hot guys, and one delightful plot.

So I just wanted to put out there that while I read this, my vocabulary consisted of: "Oh my God.", "OH MY GOD" and, oh! "OHMYGOD!"

Literally. I went on a freaking emotional roller coaster, and I think I almost cried I was so emotional. Because, must I say it?, WARNER. I always thought he was fascinating, and he's a star player in this one. I was so, SO happy when all these scenes with him popped up, and all I could think was, 

"Keep 'em coming."

Quite honestly, whenever I thought I was Team Warner, Tahereh Mafi would ninja-attack me and slam me with a scene with Adam and then I was like, Team ADAM. I kept going back and forth, which is REALLY impressive for me, and I . . . I just couldn't. I was in an hot guy emotional overload. And for all those Warner haters out there, I just want y'all to know we see a COMPLETELY different side of him, so don't hate! Seriously, I honest to God bit my fist I was so torn.

And, maybe it was just me but during Shatter Me the writing style for me was fascinating but overdone, but for Unravel Me, it was PERFECT. I really got a feel for Juliette, her feelings, her instability, her confusion, her desire, her hopes, all of it. And when she gets mad, it's insane. I love crazy-angry girls who pack a punch (they fascinate me), and in this book Juliette does it all. She's angry and violent, scared and lonely, hopeful and thoughtful . . . everything. It's insane.

The plot was delicious and kept the pages turning and turning and turning. The characters are extremely well done- their emotions are depicted flawlessly- and I really, really wish I could read the next book right now!

Yep, needless to say I am obsessed with it. I want more Warner!!

Me ^

Thanks for stopping by-

xoxo Cassie

Review: Shadows of the Past by Carmen Stefanescu

Title: Shadows of the Past

Author: Carmen Stefanescu

ebook provided by author for an honest review

Reviewed by: Cassie

What we say: mysterious and magical!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

When Anne and Neil leave on a one-week holiday hoping to reconcile after a two-year separation, little do they know that destiny has other plans for them. Their discover of human bones and a bejeweled cross in the hollow of a tree open the door to a supernatural realm and the anguished life of Genevieve, a nun from medieval England.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve her eternal rest?

The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

Shadows of the Past isn't a book I would normally read; I usually read only YA because I'm pretty picky. And my dad would throw a fit if he saw romance/adult book covers. That being said, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with this! Despite what the cover may suggest, this has few romantic aspects (you know, steamy hot scenes) which was kind of a relief to me. Why? Well, my older brother somehow saw my phone while I was skimming a romance book and never looked at his little sister the same way again.

Anyways! So.

Shadows of the Past switches back and forth from the past and the present. I'm fine with this, and it actually was a really good choice. It made me intrigued by the historical mystery, yet kept it so that I wasn't so fed up with it that I quit the book. Normally I don't do historical fiction, but the parts of this book that were historical fiction actually made me like the book more.

Now, we don't really get much look into the characters- an aspect I was 'eh' about. Usually the characters make or break the book for me. If the characters are really well done, I LOVE the book, and vice versa. In Shadows of the Past, it's done in 3rd person, so we don't really get much insight to the characters. I still felt pretty sad for Genevieve and Andrew, but I felt a bit detached from them.

With a refreshing plot, thought-worthy mystery, and sweet romances, Shadows of the Past is a book you should definitely give a try. I didn't even have an inkling as to what happened to the nun and priest in the past, and although I couldn't relate to the characters because they were older and pretty seriously in love, I still enjoyed them.

Thanks for stopping by! Review for Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi soon to come!!
Cassie :)

Review: The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook

Title: The Almost Truth

Author: Eileen Cook

Reviewed by: Cassie

What We Say: Fun and flirty (with a bit of a flair!)

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

From the author of Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick, a smart, romantic novel about a teenage con-artist who might be in over her head. Sadie can't wait to get away from her backwards small town, her delusional mom, her jailbird dad, and the tiny trailer where she was raised . . . even though leaving those things behind also means leaving Brendan. Sadie wants a better life, and she has been working steadily towards it, one con at a time.

But when Sadie's mother wipes out Sadie's savings, her escape plan is suddenly gone. She needs to come up with a lot of cash--and fast--or she'll be stuck in this town forever.

With Brendan's help, she devises a plan--the ultimate con--to get the money. But the more lies Sadie spins, the more she starts falling for her own hoax . . . and perhaps the wrong boy. Sadie wanted to change her life, but she wasn't prepared to have it flipped upside down by her own deception. With her future at stake and her heart on the line, suddenly it seems like she has a lot more than just money to lose . . .

The Almost Truth had sent me the vibes of The Heist Society (which I rather enjoyed) contemporary-ized, which really attracted me to read this. Unfortunately, the book wasn't really focused on her con-artistism, and rather was focused on her life and how she could improve it.

Don't get me wrong; I liked it. In fact, I think you lovelies would rather enjoy it. You just have to like contemporary books (which I don't, really) and not think this was about Sadie and her amazing con-artism.

The characters are diverse, but a bit bias. Our only POV is that of a poor girl who doesn't like rich people, and her dream of becoming un-poor. She's strong, stubborn, a bit naive, but a good POV. Different. She's troubled, hoping for the best but expecting the worst, and feeling unloved.

Overall, the plot was overused, cliche, and a bit predictable, but the story was light, sweet, and fun. This is more of a summer read, in my opinion, but if you wanna hit it up today, go for it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Cassie

Teaser Tuesday: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading!

To do this, you have to . . .

~Grab your current read

~Open to a random page

~Share "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T INCLUDE SPOILERS! (don't give too much away! You don't wanna spoil the book for others, do ya? :( )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Release date: 2-5-2013

Publishers: HarperCollins

tick, tick, tick, tick, tick

it's almost

time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her--people with gifts--and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart--and Adam's life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" 'You can go to hell," Adam shouts at Warner.

'Just because I'm going to hell,' Warner says, 'doesn't mean you'll ever deserve her.'

And Adam doesn't answer." -ARC pg. 295

Oh, Warner . . . How I've MISSED YOU.

So much.

Can't wait to read more of you and your villainous ways. ;)

Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

Title: Kill Me Softly

Author: Sarah Cross

Reviewed by: Cassie

What We Say: Sweet and sappier

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

"Clever fun."--Kirkus Reviews

Mirabelle's past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians' half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday--and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems--the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.

Kill Me Softly drew me in with its enchanting cover, strange title, and intriguing concept. As a reader, I find fairy tale retellings are the most difficult and challenging. On one hand, the author must get the main idea of the fairy tale across. On the other, she must adapt it to her own story.

For me, these are either blow your mind, or make you scream and pull out your hair. If you like most retellings, don't mind me at ALL. I find it hard to like them, personally.

This is because of the protagonist 75% of the time.

In fairy tales, the princess is mellow, demure, sweet . . . You know. And while I'm cool with that, Mira grated my nerves.

On one hand, people see her as pure, beautiful, and sweet.

But as a reader, I saw her as bratty, lamely violent, and false. She's interesting enough, but whenever she thought "I wanted to punch him", and never did, I wanted to punch Mira. And then she would, not only not do bodily harm to the guy, she would flirt with him. In my opinion, the princess should take one course.

Either she excels in being sweet/cute OR tough/sassy. When the author tries to mix them, I always get the feeling of the protagonist trying too hard to be something.

The actual modernized world was good, it's just the characters that bugged me. Mind you, I also usually don't like fairy tale retellings (unless it's Cinder by Marissa Meyer)

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo Cassie

Review: Mirage by Kristi Cook

Title: Mirage

Author: Kristi Cook

Reviewed by: Cassie

What we say: quick and cute!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Seventeen-year-old Violet McKenna is back for her senior year at Winterhaven, and thrilled to be with Aidan after a long summer apart. But when a violent and disturbing vision begins to haunt her, Violet suddenly feels unsure of everything: who to trust, if she is in danger, and --worst of all--whether she and Aidan are really meant to be together.

Mirage, as I now think about it, is actually a very clever and great title. So you know those books with random, half-related titles that seemingly sound cool but when you think it over you go 'oh... eh... ew'?
Yeah, that's not what Mirage is like at all.
But I can't spoil it, so I won't say anything.

Violet is just as confusing to me as ever, but still pretty enjoyable. She's determined and tries to see the best in things.
Aidan I felt that we didn't see as much. I do wish we saw more of him, because most of his scenes were him freaking out or them making out. I liked reading about him 'normal'.

As with Haven, this is enjoyable and a very quick read. If you aren't against the super-popular book trends, then you should be good with this series!
Thanks for stopping by
xoxo Cassie

Review: Nerve by Carrie Ryan

Title: Nerve

Author: Jeanne Ryan

Reviewed by: Cassie

What we say: fast-paced and fantastic!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it's exhilerating--Vee and Ian's fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they're directed to a secret location with five other players for the Grand Prize round. Suddenly they're playing all or nothing, with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?

Debut author Jeanne Ryan delivers an un-putdownable suspense thriller.

Nerve is a lightning-fast read and very exhilarating. It sucked me right in and had me experiencing the thrills firsthand. I know a few other readers said they were disappointed because the stakes weren't quite as deadly, but I wasn't expecting that right off the get-go. Either way, some of the hardcore Watchers (fans, who could turn into stalkers and creeps) added an edge to Nerve for me. This may or may not have been because of the very ambiguous prologue.

The only reason I had qualms about this is because of the characters. While we do get a decent look inside Vee, the main character, I didn't feel we got much insight into the other characters. They were sometimes stereotypical and predictable.

Hot guy falls for flawed girl? Check.

Flawed girl is in the shadow of her shining, glowing best friend? Check. [However, her desire and actions to get out of that shadow were well-written and explained)

Flawed girl is too afraid to take things into her own hands? Check.

At first, I really, really sympathized Vee. Eventually, I came to be more 'meh' towards her. Her inability to take control and be strong didn't sit well with me. Her other flaws I handled well. This? This bugged me.

Overall, I think it's an extremely enjoyable and thrilling read. I'm curious to see if there's a sequel, because I'll definitely read it if there is.

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo Cassie