Tag: contemporary

Review: The Next Together by Lauren James

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23266378The Next Together by Lauren James
Genre: Time Travel, Romance
Published by: Walker Books
Pages: 356
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★.5

We read The Next Together in preparation for a signing and panel Lauren James was doing alongside Alice Oseman, author of Radio Silence, and absolutely loved it! Described as a ‘reincarnation romance’, this book is sweet, action packed and always has a hint of mystery surrounding it that encourages you to keep turning the pages at the speed of light. So, without further ado, here are all the things we loved about The Next Together and why it should be the next book on your TBR list!  Continue reading “Review: The Next Together by Lauren James” →

Review: Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

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22188Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Genre: Contemporary, Snobby
Published by: Little, Brown and Co.
Pages: 224
Format: e-book
Rating: ★.5

In the vain of me trying to read the novel versions of the TV shows I’m watching, (see my Pretty Little Liars review for the first instalment) I picked up Gossip Girl. We should also bare in mind that I’ve only watched five episodes, so know very little about the characters’ TV counterparts but what I can say about the book versions is this: Privileged, ungrateful and superficial.  Continue reading “Review: Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar” →

Review: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

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26042228The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Scholastic Press
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★

I’ve heard a lot about this author in the past, and I thought it was about time I read something by her. Everyone was hauling her latest book at BEA/BookCon this year, so it seemed like the perfect time. Now, everybody loves Speak and Wintergirls best, but this was one of the only LHA books my library had, so why not go for one that nobody talks about!  I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. I enjoyed the writing style, but the story wasn’t was I was expecting int he slightest. From the blurb it sounded like a mystery/ thriller but instead I got something completely different.

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Review: Far From You by Tess Sharpe

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20517739Far From You by Tess Sharpe
Genre: Mystery, Romance, LGBTQ
Published by: Indigo
Pages: 343
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★

Upon first picking up Far From You, I thought I was about to read another YA thriller mystery similar to all of the ones I’ve read in the past year. (I don’t know how I’ve read so many, it’s just happened!) When I mentioned this book in a library check out haul, someone told me it was so much more than my mystery/thriller assumptions, and I’m really glad I gave it a chance. Because what I was not expecting was the LGBTQ aspect, and without it this would’ve been a very cliche story.

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Review: Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

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17616412Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Magical Realism, Romance
Published by: Penguin
Pages: 358
Format: Paperback
Rating: It varies, but ★★★.5

When it comes to David Levithan I find that his co-written works are always the best, and Invisibility continues to prove this theory right. I absolutely loved the first 150 pages or so. They were so well written and I was completely absorbed by the characters and the situation. However, I do agree with the majority of the other reviews that this book lost its way in the middle, and began to feel like something completely different. Still, I really liked the magical-realism element, and I think you can explain away the majority of the strangeness to the situation. It’s still worth giving a go, and here’s why!

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Review: You Know Me Well by David Levithan and Nina Lacour

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29848950You Know Me Well  by David Leviathan and Nina Lacour
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Macmillan’s Children’s Books
Pages: 256
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★

I have come to expect a certain reading experience from David Levithan’s co-authored books, and I have to say that this was no exception. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing depends on how much you like to be surprised. I personally like it when an author’s books can be distinguished between one another by using different character types or different settings or ways to create plot/tension. So, although You Know Me Well fits perfectly into the David Levithan canon, maybe that’s not a good thing. Nina Lacour, on the other hand, had a jaunty style that was very similar to Levithan’s but they had their differences. I’m still not sure how I feel about her writing, but my previous experience of her work is limited to the short story she submitted to the Summer Days and Summer Nights anthology, so we shall see…

Continue reading “Review: You Know Me Well by David Levithan and Nina Lacour” →

Review: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

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17838528The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 519
Format: Hardback
Rating: ★★★★.5

I really wasn’t sure while reading this if I could give it five stars, but the longer I left it to write this review, I realised how much I adored it! Morgan Matson can seriously do no wrong, she’s my favourite author of all time, and if you’ve been following my reviews for a long time you’ll know that Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour is my favourite book of all time too. So, obviously, I went into The Unexpected Everything with ridiculously high expectations. I should also mention that I paid extra for the hardback US edition from The Book Depository so I could own this BEAUTIFUL cover! But I am really happy to announce that I loved it!

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Review: London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning

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26177619London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Hot Key Books
Pages: 272
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★
Note: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I was first drawn to this book because of it’s short timeline. It takes place over one night, and that would probably mean it would be a quick, fun read that could entertain me for a few hours. And I was right! London Belongs to Us is snappy and fast paced, the perfect read to start a summer of reading contemporary books. Continue reading “Review: London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning” →

Review: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

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20453480Two Boys Kissing by David Leviathan
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
Published by: Electric Monkey (Egmont)
Pages: 239
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★

This book was in my sixth form’s library, and I just never got round to reading it while I was there, which I obviously regretted because as soon as I spotted it in my local library I was checking it out without a second thought. All I knew about it was that it’s pretty much a staple in any list about LGBTQ YA and that was reason enough for me to want to read it. I’ve read a lot of David Levithan so far, and have found that I’ve enjoyed his co-written works with Rachel Cohn more than his own stuff, but I thought I’d see how it went.

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Review: You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett

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17205536You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett
Genre: Contemporary, Fame
Published by: Chicken House
Pages: 340
Format: Library Book
Rating: ★★★

My guilty pleasure reads usually have celebrities or the rise to fame in them. I picked up You Don’t Know Me thinking it was going to be a cookie cutter version of this trope; the classic ‘girl turns into something she’s not because of record label pressure’ kind of thing. While it did fulfil the stereotype to a certain degree, I was really surprised by how it defied my expectations. It covered body shaming, cyberbullying and being misunderstood way more than fame, and I’m so pleased it did.  Continue reading “Review: You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett” →