Review - November 9 by Colleen Hoover

 

November 9
By Colleen Hoover
Published November 10th, 2015 by Atria Books
320 pages

5 stars - AMAZING!!

Summary from Goodreads:


Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

  
Review:
 
This book has to be one of my top favorites of Colleen Hoover's! I wasn't so sure that I would enjoy it after reading some of the mixed reviews and because I didn't LOVE Confess. I was definitely not disappointed though. In my opinion, this was such an amazing book. There were a few times that I became annoyed with the characters but I could not put this book down. I'm pretty sure I read it in one day!

I think that some people might be under the impression that November 9 takes place in just one day. I'll let you know that is not actually what happens. The two main characters are actually supposed to be meeting on November 9th of every year for a set amount of years. Fallon and Ben meet up and recap on their year apart. I thought that this was such an interesting idea and I really enjoyed watching both characters grow, especially Fallon. I did wish that we could have learned a little bit more about what happened throughout each year but it was a great read regardless.

Fallon and Ben are both awesome characters together. I really loved reading through each of their POVS. Like any other Colleen Hoover character, they had a few secrets that I didn't see coming. Their stories were interesting and heartbreaking as well. I was just so invested in what would happen to both of these characters that I could not stop reading.

I cried, laughed, and sighed in frustration. This book was everything I needed to get me out of the reading slump that I had been in. I've said before that I don't always enjoy contemporary romance. Well, yet again, Colleen Hoover is able to change this for me. I definitely recommend that you give this a try. I know that not all of Hoover's books are for everyone but if you loved Maybe Someday and Ugly Love, then I think you'll definitely enjoy this one! Check it out soon!

Vanessa

My Favorite 15 of 2015

Hey Everybody, 2015 is almost over! Can you believe it? I know I can't. It seems like this year went by so fast and yet so slow at the same time. I actually started working retail in the summer so I feel like I haven't read as much as I usually did when I was babysitting. Work and school definitely kept me busy but I was still able to read so many great books! I was barely able to narrow it down to 15 books. I really did enjoy just about every book I read this year, but these are the ones that really hit me in the feels some way or another. Here are some of my faves in no particular order. 










November 9 
By Colleen Hoover
Published November 10th, 2015 by Atria Books

 Find summary on Goodreads.com.

I absolutely LOVED this book!! This was one of my most recent reads and I had been in such a reading slump until I read this book. It is just filled with Colleen Hoover awesomeness. No lie. (And it is probably my second favorite of her books as well). A review to come later so my love for this book will make sense. :) 

Oblivion (Lux #1.5)
By Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Published December 1st, 2015 by Entangled Teen

Find summary on Goodreads.com.

I absolutely love Jennifer L. Armentrout and I LOVE her Lux series. Daemon is just plain awesome and when I found out that he would get a whole book to himself, I was so excited. I really did enjoy reading Daemon's thoughts and the e-book has the first 3 books written in his POV! Definitely one of my faves of the year. :) 



Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4)
By Marissa Meyer 
Published November 10th, 2015 by Feiwel and Friends

Check out the summary  here!
Check out the summary for Cinder (#1) here!  

First, read this series because it is awesome! Second, Winter was just so awesome! It was such an epic ending to one of my favorite series and I had such a great time reading it. I'm going to miss my Lunar friends but it was fun while it lasted. :) 



 Sweet Temptation (The Sweet Series #4)
By Wendy Higgins
Published September 8th, 2015 by HarperCollins/HarperTeen

Summary on Goodreads.com.

This is another book told in a different character's POV. This is Kai's book and I absolutely loved it because I love all things Kai. :) Sweet Evil is the first book in this series and is told in the main character's POV. In Sweet Temptation we get to read all three books in Kai's POV and it is definitely worth it. Check it out if you sigh for Kai! ;)



Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3)
By Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Published July 28th, 2015 by Harlequin Teen

Summary on Goodreads.com

Yet another last book in a series. Again, Jennifer L. Armentrout is amazing and this is another YA series of hers. This one has to do with demons and gargoyles and is full of action, romance, and humor. Plus, Roth. :) I was very scared to see how this series would end but I ended up really loving it. Definitely check out the first book if you haven't yet! 



An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
By Sabaa Tahir
Published April 28th, 2015 by Razorbill

Summary on Goodreads 

This book!! This was such a great read and I love that it was a debut read this year. So many great characters mixed with some awesome action, fantasy, and suspense. Elias and Laia are some pretty cool characters. I cannot wait for the next book! Definitely check this one out if you love fantasy and awesome characters. ;)



The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)
By Renee Ahdieh
Published May 12th, 2015

Summary on Goodreads.

Another beautiful fantasy with an equally beautiful cover! The physical book is incredibly beautiful and I just absolutely love it! I cannot even explain how much I enjoyed this book. The setting is just so magical and the story itself is magical as well. The ending a complete cliff-hanger and I NEED the next book now! There is such a diverse and well written book that made me an emotional wreck. In a good way...;) Definitely read this one soon!!



The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)
By Jodi Meadows
Published March 10th, 2015 

Summary on Goodreads 

So I wasn't sure about reading The Orphan Queen because it didn't have stellar reviews. But I read it anyway because the cover is beautiful and it sounded intriguing. I really did enjoy this book despite the fact that it wasn't the best of the year. I loved the characters and I loved the ending. The ending is where things really picked up and the cliff-hanger had me wanting the next book now! The last book in this duo-logy has an equally beautiful cover and I really can't wait to read it. :) 


 Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
By Stephanie Perkins
Published July 16th, 2013 by Speak

Summary on Goodreads

This book is an older one and one that I had put off reading for awhile. I don't usually read too much contemporary romance and I was a tad bit wary with this book. Anna and the French Kiss was a truly enjoyable read. It was a contemporary book that really caught my attention and had me wanting to read more about these two awesome characters. This is just a feel good book that can be read in a sitting! :) 


Ugly Love 
By Colleen Hoover
Published August 5th, 2014

Summary on Goodreads

Another Colleen Hoover book because she is amazing! This was such an emotional read and I could not put it down. It is New Adult and I feel like Colleen Hoover is just one of the best New Adult authors out there. This book is also told in the present and in the past which makes such an awesome and emotional read! Plus, this is going to be a movie! Like, what?! So excited for that and I just really recommend that you read this. :) 


Mosquitoland
By David Arnold
Published March 3rd, 2015 

Summary on Goodreads


I read this pretty early on in the year and really enjoyed it. It was such an odd and unique read that stayed with me for weeks! I loved how the main character was real and honest about herself. This is realistic fiction and one that had me hooked from the beginning, which isn't common for me. :)


Ensnared (Splintered #3)
By A.G. Howard
Published January 6th, 2015 

Summary on Goodreads

This is the third and last book in the Splintered trilogy and it was awesome! The trilogy is basically an awesome re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. There are awesome characters mixed with an ethereal and magical world. I will definitely miss this series but I loved how it ended. 


 
Champion (Legend #3)
By Marie Lu 
Published November 5th, 2013

Summary on Goodreads

I actually read the entire Legend trilogy this year and absolutely loved each and every book! I was pretty skeptical at first but this was a dystopian trilogy that I truly enjoyed. The characters were so amazing and I really formed a connection with them so the last book was really hard to put down. I definitely recommend this trilogy because Marie Lu is amazing! 


Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)
By Sarah J. Maas
Published September 2nd, 2014 

Summary on Goodreads

Sarah J. Maas is another extremely talented author that I love! The fourth book in this series was published this year but I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I know that I will absolutely love it when I do read it though! This series has an insanely amazing female lead and a whole bunch of other great characters. The setting is awesome as is the plot as well. Can't wait to read the next book! 



A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR #1)
By Sarah J. Maas
Published May 5th, 2015

Summary on Goodreads

This book!!! This was one of my absolute favorites of the year. I already said that Sarah J. Maas is awesome but I have to say it again. First of all, this cover is amazing and so beautiful! The physical book is just stunning in my opinion. This is a loose Beauty and the Beast re-telling. It involves the Fey and a ton of wonderful romance. The ending was not too much of a cliff-hanger but I still have to know what will happen next. 


What were your favorites of the year?
Happy New Year! 
Vanessa

Review: Midnight Burning by Karissa Laurel

Midnight Burning 
By Karissa Laurel
Published July 7th, 2015 by Red Adept Publishing, LLC
280 pages

4.5 stars - Incredible! 

*I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!* 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Solina Mundy lives a quiet life, running the family bakery in her small North Carolina hometown. But one night, she suffers a vivid nightmare in which a wolfish beast is devouring her twin brother, who lives in Alaska. The next morning, police notify her that Mani is dead. Driven to learn the truth, Solina heads for the Land of the Midnight Sun. Once there, she begins to suspect Mani’s friends know more about his death than they’ve let on. Skyla, an ex-Marine, is the only one willing to help her.

As Solina and Skyla delve into the mystery surrounding Mani’s death, Solina is stunned to learn that her own life is tied to Mani’s friends, his death, and the fate of the entire world. If she can’t learn to control her newfound gifts and keep her friends safe, a long-lost dominion over mortals will rise again, and everything she knows will fall into darkness.

Review:

Midnight Burning was definitely a pleasant surprise. I was actually given this book a few weeks ago and have now just gotten some time to read it. I started this book without re-reading the synopsis so I had no idea what this book would be about. I have to say that the first few chapters were a little slower. Once I got past those few chapters I could not stop reading. 

I just had to find out what was going on this book. I had to figure out what had happened to Solina's brother and what was happening to her. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book had mythology in it.  I hope that this isn't a spoiler but I just wanted to share my excitement about this fact. I really enjoy reading about different kinds of mythologies and this wasn't any different. 

I did enjoy reading about Solina and I absolutely loved her friend, Skyla. Both of them were pretty great characters and I loved their friendship. Then there were the male characters. Val and Thorin had some pretty interesting stories as well. They knew Solina's brother and formed relationships with her because of this. There were some times where they could get pretty annoying with Solina but I enjoyed some of the ways that she handled those times. There were other times where they could be pretty caring and awesome as well though. :) 

Midnight Burning was definitely an interesting and suspenseful read. I enjoyed the characters and their relationships as well as the whole mythology part. I was intrigued and the ending had me wanting to know what was going to happen next! I would definitely give this book a try because the writing flowed well and the story was just plain intriguing. 

Vanessa

Review: Raining Embers by Jessica Dall

Raining Embers (Order and Chaos #1)
By Jessica Dall 
Published November 3rd, 2015 by Red Adept Publishing, LLC
280 pages

4 STARS - Awesome Start!! 

*I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!*


Synopsis from Goodreads:

Palmer Tash always follows the path of least resistance. He has an unusual disability involving his hearing. But in theocratic Latysia, being different isn’t a good thing, so he conceals his problem.

Brier Chastain’s malady is even more debilitating, and she often must take to her bed for long periods. Her days are spent in meaningless pursuits as she awaits an arranged marriage.

When Palmer and Brier are kidnapped on the same night, they meet and discover that their so-called disabilities are actually budding powers. They are the incarnations of Order and Chaos. With their country on the brink of war, the two must step into their predestined roles and learn to take control of their own destinies.


Review:

I just want to start by saying that I absolutely love this cover! I just love the colors. :) 

This book caught my attention from the beginning. It was an overall enjoyable read as well. I really enjoyed learning about Order and Chaos. I always love to read about different legends or myths and Raining Embers didn't disappoint. 

It was a little slow to start but once Brier and Palmer figured things out, things got interesting quick. Brier and Palmer had to learn about their abilities and how they came to have them. We get to see both of these characters grow in their abilities and grow as characters in general. I also really enjoyed Rosette, one of the other characters in the book. She is a young girl that Brier and Palmer come to care for. She also has a few abilities of her own and I'm quite interested in finding out more about her. I'm actually interested in learning more about all three of these characters. 

I think that Raining Embers was a great start to this new series. The idea is refreshing and the characters are pretty enjoyable. There is action, some romance, and suspense. The characters grow as the book goes on and the ending left me wanting more. There are definitely questions that need to be answered and I can't wait to find out what the answers are as the series goes on. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It was different and the characters, as well as their abilities/stories, were interesting. I enjoyed the fact that this book wasn't incredibly long and that it was pretty easy to understand everything that was going on in the world and with the characters. I love the fantasy genre but some of them are incredibly hard to get into or to understand. Sometimes there is so much detail that I can't really focus or comprehend what is going on. This is where Raining Embers is different and I really appreciated that. Definitely give this one a try! 

Vanessa