BOOK REVIEW | Busted by Gina Ciocca

Title: Busted
Author: Gina Ciocca
Series? No, YA contemporary standalone
Pages: 352
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: I received a galley of Busted via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. :) Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks!

Marisa wasn’t planning to be a snoop for hire—until she accidentally caught her best friend’s boyfriend making out with another girl. Now her reputation for sniffing out cheaters has spread all over school, and Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys.

But when ex-frenemy Kendall asks her to spy on her boyfriend, TJ, Marisa quickly discovers the girl TJ might be falling for is Marisa herself. And worse yet? The feelings are quickly becoming mutual. Now, she’s stuck spying on a “mystery girl” and the spoken-for guy who just might be the love of her life…

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BOOK REVIEW | Our Dark Stars by Audrey Gray and Krystal Wade

Title: Our Dark Stars
Authors: Audrey Gray and Krystal Wade
Series? Yes, at least I assume so from the ending!
Pages: 316
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Blaze Publishing
Source: I received an e-galley of Our Dark Stars via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. :) Thank you to Netgalley and Blaze Publishing!

While she sleeps, the whole universe changes.

Princess Talia Starchaser has it all. Wealth. Status. Adoring citizens. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to publicly betray her best friend, a companion mock she’s had since birth, setting events into motion that lead to the destruction of the humans, and the princess floating through space, a remnant of a time when humans ruled over droids.

One hundred years later, half-mock captain Will Perrault and his ragtag crew discover a device floating in space. When a very human Talia emerges from its depths, Will suspects she’s the key to buying his way back into the regiment he once commanded against the last remaining rebel humans—and the ruling mock queen’s good graces.

Both Talia and Will would rather get space-tossed than trust one another, but with the queen’s forces chasing them across the galaxy and the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance, they’ll forge the unlikeliest of alliances to survive.

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AUDIOBOOK REVIEW | Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath 
Author: Brodi Ashton
Series? Yes, a trilogy
Publication Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: I checked out the audiobook of Everneath via Overdrive!

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Goodreads

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW | Frostblood by Elly Blake

Title: Frostblood
Author: Elly Blake
Series? Yes, a trilogy
Publiction Date: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Readers
Source: I checked out this audiobook via Overdrive!

The frost king will burn.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.

Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.

Author's Website | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW | Taming the Rebel by Dawn Klehr

Title: Taming the Rebel
Author: Dawn Klehr
Series? Endless Summer trilogy, written by different authors
Pages: ???
Publication Date: August 14, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Source: I received a galley of Taming the Rebel via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you!

Rebel Hart should be at home taking care of her father after his breakup with his boyfriend, not tromping through the woods at summer camp. He’s had his heart broken beyond repair, and the way she sees it, there’s only one person to blame—the boyfriend’s son. So when that infuriatingly gorgeous quarterback turns up at the same camp, she plans to make him pay.

Justice Brody isn't happy about trading training camp for actual summer camp. But if he wants to stay on the football team, he has to show that he can be drama-free. He welcomes the anonymity that comes with summer camp…until he realizes the one girl who knows him better than anyone is there, too. Rebel is off-limits, impossibly beautiful…and trouble with a capital T. Still, he can’t stay away. And even as Rebel exacts her revenge, in several very embarrassing and painful ways, neither can she.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains pranks, adult language, and kisses that will make you wish for a summer romance of your own.

Author's Website | Amazon | B&N |Goodreads

Book Review: One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank

*I recieved One Paris Summer via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All my opinions are my own and have not been altered.*

One Paris Summer was pure fun.

The novel centers around Sophie Brooks and her summer abroad when visiting her dad that left her and her brother the year before without warning. She's not that excited to go, as she hasn't spoken to her dad since she left and she doesn't get along that well with her brother. Sophie has to live with her brother, her dad, his new wife, and her daughter. The set up for this book was pretty simple. Sophie travels internationally and eventually falls in love with the city even when her step-sister Camille does everything she can to make Sophie miserable. 

There are two main reason why I liked this book: the music and the character development.

Music is portrayed so well throughout the novel. Sophie is a pianist, and even though she is on vacation, she still has to practice in order to maintain her skills. I loved how her passion didn't go on the back-burner just because she was meeting all these cute boys. Music is a part of her, and I really appreciated how much of an aspect it was in the book. I was able to connect with Sophie more because I am a musician myself (I play clarinet!)

The other reason this book was enjoyable was the character development. Not only does Sophie develop throughout the course of the novel, but so do the secondary characters and the relationships. However, Sophie's character development really stood out. In the first scene of the novel, she comes off as naive and somewhat weak. By the end of the story, she is sure in herself and what she wants. She grows into a character that I could not only relate to, but see myself being friends with. Her character development was paced so well and it wasn't just a big jump from her insecure self to her confident one. 

The only thing I didn't really like was the romance. I know, I know! Maybe I'm just picky, but I didn't like Matthieu that much. Sure, he was charismatic, but what sets him apart from the another standard love interest? Nothing, really. He has a bad ex, made a mistake in the past, jokes around, and has a great smile. Their relationship also progressed way too quickly for me. Sophie is just starting a relationship with him, and by the next month they love each other? It just wasn't believable to me. 

Besides that, I don't have any faults with the book. I liked the characters enough, but I didn't love them either. My favorite part was the growth of the cast of characters in the novel and the musical aspect. The familial tensions were also very well done. 

I would recommend this to anyone who wants an easy and fun contemporary novel. One Paris Summer isn't perfect, but it sure is fun. To put it simply, it's perfect for the summer. :D

With that, I give this book
3.5 out of 5 Stars!

 

What are some fun YA contemporaries that you have read recently?

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Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!