Review - The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

The Fill-In Boyfriend 
By Kasie West
Published May 5th, 2015 by HarperTeen
344 pages

4 stars - The perfect summer read!

Summary from Goodreads.com:

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship. 

Review:

It's a few minutes till midnight and I am typing up a review. 

The book responsible for this late night review? The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West. There is just something about all of Kasie West's books, at least in my opinion, that just get to me. I feel like they totally understand me or at least Kasie does. This book, like Kasie West's other books, is one that is able to make you feel lighter after a long and tiring day or week. 

The characters are pretty relate-able and the love interests are always interest worthy (again, at least in my opinion). I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really, really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect read for me right now. In fact, I don't think there is ever a time where I won't be in the mood for something Kasie West has written. I devoured this book in just about two sittings! 

 But what you really want to know is why I enjoyed this one, right? Let me tell you. Gia is our main character and at first glance I wasn't quite sure I would enjoy her character. She was the popular girl who wanted to have it all together for fear that her friends might not stick with her if she didn't. But that was just the first few chapters really. After the prom night, Gia really starts to evaluate her life and this is when we start to see her grow. I loved watching Gia learn more about herself and open her eyes to the people she surrounded herself with. She was also able to learn more about others and genuinely  care about them. It was all just pretty relate-able because even if you aren't popular, sometimes you just don't take the time to get to know others who are different than you. And I know that some people are going to be super annoyed by Gia and her personality/attitude in the beginning. Like I said, I kind of was too but she doesn't just stay that way. Growth is my favorite thing in a character and I saw it here. :) 

 Gia's new friends were totally awesome though.  Bec and Fill-In Bradley (I won't say his name because it's all part of the fun to find out with Gia) were just so supportive of Gia. They were understanding and they encouraged her to be her and to really look at who and how she had been. Plus they had some issues of their own and it was great to see them all work them out together.

The romance was just right and I really enjoyed how it started as a friendship and progressed to more. It was a pretty great buildup. ;) Plus it kept me smiling to myself almost all the way through. 

 Overall, The Fill-In Boyfriend was the perfect summer read for me! It was just what I needed to make me feel lighter. This book mainly centers on Gia learning more about herself and growing into who she is. That being said, it isn't all that exciting at times but it is definitely interesting and emotional. It's not heavy but it makes you pause and think a bit. :) 

I definitely recommend this one if you haven't read it yet! And while your at it, take a look at Kasie West's other books as well! 

Vanessa

Top Ten Tuesday #3

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post and, if you want to, add your name to the Linky widget on that day's posts (typically put up midnight EST on Tuesday) so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie topic. I had some trouble thinking of a topic but I finally settled on cover buys! So this week's Top Ten Tuesday is "Top Ten Cover Buys." These are some books that I've bought or picked up to read pretty much because of their covers. :) Their covers intrigued me before anything and I just had to have them!

Wow. I feel like Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman kind of sticks out but I had to include it! I have the physical copy and it just feels like home to me (I was born in Arizona but am currently in Illinois.) It's also pretty obvious that I like covers with dark colors...

Have you made any cover buys? Which books have you picked up just because of the cover? 

*Oh and I totally forgot to link the Goodreads pages to the books so I'm very sorry!*

Vanessa

Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon 2016

Hello everyone! I am going to be attempting to participate in this #MakeMeRead Readathon from July 9th to July 16th! I just recently found this readathon while on Twitter and thought that it was such a great idea. The Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon is hosted by Ely at Tea and Titles and Val at The Innocent Smiley. You can use the hashtag #MakeMeRead on Twitter and Instagram too! Read below for more info on the Read-A-Thon.

Look at the books you own, either physical, e-book or ones you’ve borrowed from the library and pick out a few you really want to read, or feel like you should read. It’s up to you how many you pick, personally I’d pick a few more than you expect to be able to read in a week. Example: if you think you’ll only read two, pick out five books or if you think you can read seven, pick out ten.

Make a list of these books on your blog, or make a video, or a Goodreads shelf or post a picture on Instagram—whatever is easiest for you. Then get friends, other bloggers/booktubers etc. to vote on which books you HAVE to read.

When the read-a-thon comes along, you read the books in the order of most votes. For example, if one book gets 10 votes—you read that first, then the one that got 7 and so on. If there’s a tie, then it’s your preference. The goal is to read as many as possible.

Sounds fun doesn't it?! I can't wait for the week to start but I'm kind of having trouble picking out some books. I'm not quite sure how many I will read that week but I'm thinking that you can pick up to 3 books for me to read. I'll also show my TBR on YouTube over at my Booktube channel if you want to hear what I have to say about each book. All of these books have been published with the exception of Nevernight by Jay Kristoff which is an e-arc! 

 I'll put the covers of the books with links to the Goodreads pages down below! 

Thanks so much for helping out and let me know if you are participating, what book you think I should read, or if you want to participate now! 

web polls

Review - The Story of Our Life by Shari Low

The Story of Our Life

By Shari Low

Expected Publication is July 1st, 2016 by Aria

316 pages

4 stars - Emotional Read!

*I received this e-copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!*

Summary from Goodreads.com:

Unwind, laugh, cry ... but feel uplifted with this bittersweet love story. Perfect for the fans of Jo-Jo Moyes and Marian Keyes.

So what would you do if your husband slept with another woman?

Colm strolled into my life fifteen years ago. If there's ever such a thing as love at first sight, that was it for us both.

A few weeks later we married, celebrating with those who cared, ignoring the raised eyebrows of the cynics.

We knew better. This was going to be forever. The dream come true. The happy ever after.

Until it wasn't.

Because a couple of months ago everything changed. We discovered a devastating truth, one that blew away our future and forced us to revisit our past, to test the bonds that were perhaps more fragile than they seemed.

So now I ask you again, what would you do if your husband slept with another woman?

Because this is what I did.

I'm Shauna.

And this is the Story of Our Life...

Review:

Gosh, I haven't read adult fiction in quite awhile. During middle school I kind of went through a Jodi Picoult phase and then went straight to Young Adult in high school. So aside from Jodi Picoult, Rainbow Rowell and the occasional adult fiction here and there, I haven't really found anything that's spiked my interest. But The Story of Our Life seemed like it would be interesting by the summary and it was. 

I'll also say, like I say every time, I don't usually read contemporary fiction either. So..yeah...that says a lot about this book I guess. :) 

The Story of Our Life was an interesting read. It was full of emotion from the beginning to the very end and it was completely real and honest. It was the story of, in my opinion, an incredibly strong woman and her relationships through her life. 

This book is a story of most of Shauna's life. It alternates between Shauna and Colm meeting, their early marriage years, and present day when all the difficulties are happening. And it's not just about Shauna and Colm and everything they've been through or go through, it's also about Shauna's friends and family. Shauna has two close girl friends that both help her through her ups and downs and occasionally have a few ups and downs themselves. While reading we get to learn a lot about Shauna and the rest of the characters. 

We also get to see all the ups and downs that Shauna and Colm go through together despite the fact that they seem like the perfect match in the beginning. They love each other and want to support each other but it doesn't always work out the way they hope. It was incredibly realistic of relationships or marriages. It showed that all marriages have good and bad times but that doesn't mean that those marriages aren't great or that those two people don't belong with each other. 

Overall this was an emotional and interesting read. I had a little trouble getting into the book at first and there were a few slow moments throughout, but I enjoyed it anyways. The ending was definitely full of surprises, heartbreak, and some enjoyable moments. I couldn't stop reading near the end and I definitely felt the end hit me in the feels. 

This was a great contemporary read for those that enjoy them! Also great for those that are interested in strong female characters that take on the weight of the world for their families. :) 

Vanessa

The Sunday Post #2

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 

Hello everyone! I have had such a busy week and because of that my blog plans didn't exactly pan out the way I had planned. I'm trying to get my blog back on track after I let things go this past year. I've decided to plan on at least two reviews a week as well as other meme posts or discussion posts. I've been doing pretty good and feeling good with the results but this week things just got super busy. I was only able to post one review this week but I did read a good amount of books. :) 

I also posted my first Booktube video on my new channel! My Booktube channel is called The Night Owl and I filmed a New to Booktube video which I will link later on in this post. 

So I'm hoping to get back on track this week with posting on this blog and YouTube as well. I'm currently in the process of moving with my family. We recently sold our house so things are starting to get hectic all over again but hopefully I can keep up with my blogging. :) 

Also my 4th year of blogging is coming up on the 29th! I won't be able to do anything fun for this anniversary because of all that is going on but it's awesome to know that I've been here for 4 years!

On to the fun stuff! 

Posts from June 13th - June 24th:

Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers (Review)

Top Ten Tuesday #2 - Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of the Year (Weekly Meme)

We Own the Night (Radio Hearts #2) by Ashley Poston (Review)

New to Booktube Tag/Booktube Newbie (YouTube Video)

Torn (Wicked #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Cover Reveal)

Gambit (The Prodigy Chronicles #1) by C.L. Denault (Review)

Books I purchased: Click on the pictures to see the Goodreads page! 

E-Books Borrowed from OverDrive Library:

Approved by NetGalley for:

Currently Reading - Just started this one!

Up Next - Not sure but here are some ideas...

Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier (Review)

The Story of Our Life by Shari Low (Review)

The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins (Review)

Top Ten Tuesday #3 (Weekly Meme)

Booktube Videos from The Night Owl 

 - Review of The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins?

 - Tag Video?

 - Readathon TBR?

Check out these reviews from the past!

Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush #1) by Becca Fitzpatrick (Review) (1st ever blog post)

The Fallen Star (The Fallen Star #1) by Jessica Sorensen (Review) 

Spellbound (Spellbound #1) by Cara Lynn Shultz (Review)

Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Review)

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2 by Katie McGarry (Review)

Thanks for reading!

How has your week been?

Vanessa

The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins | SPOILER FREE REVIEW

My first video review is up! Find out my thoughts on The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins. :)



Vanessa

Review - Gambit by C.L. Denault

Gambit (The Prodigy Chronicles #1)

By C.L. Denault

Published March 31st, 2015 by REUTS Publications, LLC

556 pages

3.5 stars - Enjoyable start to a series. 

*I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!*

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

In Earth’s battle-ridden future, humans have evolved. Those with extraordinary skills rise to power and fame. Those without live in poverty.

Sixteen-year-old Willow Kent believed she was normal. But when a genetically-advanced military officer shows up in her village and questions her identity, long-buried secrets begin to emerge. With remarkable skills and a shocking genetic code the Core and its enemies will do anything to obtain, Willow suddenly finds the freedom she craves slipping through her fingers. Greed, corruption, and genetic tampering threaten every aspect of her existence as she’s thrust, unwilling, into the sophisticated culture of the elite Core city. To ensure peace, she must leave the past behind, marry a man she’s never met, and submit to the authority of a relentless officer with a hidden agenda of his own.

Her life has become a dangerous game. How much will she sacrifice in order to win?

Review:

I was completely intrigued by the synopsis of this book when I found it on NetGalley. The cover looked cool and the synopsis just begged me to read the book. So I was pretty happy when I found out that I had been approved to read it. 

The beginning instantly hooked me and I was definitely intrigued by Willow's life. Her voice kept me interested in what was going on and I wanted to know more about her and her secret. I was looking forward to what was going to happen once she found out she was different. Unfortunately the whole book wasn't this way for me. There were moments where I couldn't stop reading but there were also moments where I became quickly annoyed with the characters. 

I'm going to use a different format than what I usually use for reviews because I feel like it might work a little better. 

What I enjoyed about this book:

 - Willow's personality (to an extent). Willow was independent and incredibly strong throughout this book. There were many obstacles that she faced and so many changes that she had to adapt to. She got through all of them even when she felt like she was alone. I admired her for that and I admired that she stood up for what she wanted and believed in. 

 - Willow's friends and family were also very enjoyable. Most of them were very supportive and loving. They were all great in their own way. 

 - The setting was also interesting because this book is set in the future. I completely forget how far into the future this book is but it is said at one point. There is new technology and there are new ways of living. It was all very interesting to learn about and felt kind of odd at the same time because the villages were more old fashioned. 

- Joshua was a very intriguing character. I liked the point of his character but I was also somewhat confused by it. I'm looking forward to learning more about him and his type of people in the future books. 

What I didn't enjoy about this book:

 - Willow's personality was, at times, difficult to deal with. She had just turned 16 and really seemed to act like it. This wouldn't be a problem but the whole feel of the book felt older and I think it would have made more sense for her to be older. There were times where she threw literal tantrums and I was somewhat annoyed with it. 

- The romance was something that I just couldn't fully get into. Reece and Willow just didn't always fit in my eyes. For me personally the age difference and the clash of personalities made it difficult to understand the relationship. I'm hoping that I'll understand Reece more in the books to come and that I'll start to enjoy the relationship between the two. 

Overall, I didn't have too many issues with this book. There were a ton of things that made it an interesting read and I'm looking forward to learning more about this world and the Prodigies. The romance and some of the characters fell a little flat for me but hopefully that will be different in the next book. 

If you are interested in Dystopian books, then definitely check this one out! Also great for those that enjoy strong female leads and interesting worlds! :) 

Vanessa

Cover Reveal - Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The highly anticipated second book in #1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout's Wicked Trilogy has a cover! The amazing TORN cover was created by Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations with photography by Kelsey Kukal-Keeton from K Keeton designs. Check it out below! TORN is set to release July 19th. Be sure to grab the first book in the series, WICKED, which is on sale for $.99 for a limited time!

TORN Synopsis:

Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in on Ivy, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans…

Don’t miss the first title in the series, WICKED, now just $.99 for a limited time only!

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

#1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

Review - We Own the Night by Ashley Poston

We Own the Night (Radio Hearts #2)
By Ashley Poston 
Expected Publication is June 28th, 2016 by Bloomsbury Spark 
250 pages

4 stars - Such a great read!

*An e-arc was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!*

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

"Happy midnight, my fellow Niteowls..."

As a candy store employee by day, and mysterious deejay "Niteowl" by night, eighteen-year-old Ingrid North is stuck between rock 'n roll and a hard place. She can't wait to get out of her tiny hometown of Steadfast, Nebraska (population three hundred and forty-seven) to chase her dreams, but small-town troubles keep getting in the way. She can't abandon her grandmother with Alzheimer's, or her best friend Micah--who she may or may not be in love with.

But for one hour each Saturday, she escapes all of that. On air, she isn't timid, ugly-sweater-wearing Ingrid North. She's the funny and daring Niteowl. Every boy's manic pixie dream girl. Fearless. And there is one caller in particular-- Dark and Brooding--whose raspy laugh and snarky humor is just sexy enough to take her mind off Micah. Not that she's in love with Micah or anything. Cause she's not. 

As her grandmother slips further away and Micah begins dating a Mean-Girls-worthy nightmare, Ingrid runs to the mysterious Dark and Brooding as a disembodied voice to lean on, only to fall down a rabbit hole of punk rockstars, tabloid headlines, and kisses that taste like bubble tea. But the man behind the voice could be surprising in all the right, and wrong, ways.

And she just might find that her real life begins when Niteowl goes off the air.

Review:

So I found this title over at Netgalley and, after reading the synopsis, knew that I had to have it! Thankfully I was approved for an e-arc of this book and I couldn't be more happier because of it. I also didn't know that this was the second book in what appears to be a companion series. Thankfully you don't have to read the first book before you read this one.

We Own the Night was such a relateable and endearing read. I just connected with Iggy so much and I enjoyed the fact that she loved music so much. If there is one thing I like just as much as a shelf full of  books, it's music. Concerts and books are my favorite things in the world (not counting french fries ;)). From the beginning I could tell that Iggy was my kind of girl. She isn't really accepted by most of the kids in her small town and she isn't one to fit in. But she has a group of great friends, her loving grandmother, and her radio show. 

Ahhh! I loved her talk show/radio show. I also loved the name Niteowl. I have always wanted to try to be a part of a radio show or talk show and I enjoyed reading about Iggy having her own. It was great to see her interacting with the callers and just giving great advice. The music she listened to was golden as well!

Then we have her friends. I absolutely loved L.D. and Billie, not so much Micah. The other two were so supportive of Iggy and stood up for her when the other kids would bully her around. They were unique in their own way and just great friends in general. Billie was the "golden boy" or the school jock but all around nice guy. L.D. was the spunky, supportive and musically talented best friend. She was her own person and was really brave. Micah was a generally good character but he was by no means my favorite. Oh, and Iggy's grandmother was so sweet! 

I just really felt connected to this whole book and Iggy as well. She wanted more than what her small town could give her and she was so talented. One of my favorite parts of the book was the part where Iggy describes the feelings that being at a concert gave her. I could fully understand that description! 

All in all, We Own the Night was such an awesome, humorous, and heartfelt read. I couldn't put it down and I loved connecting with Iggy and her friends! Definitely give this one a try! I'll be sure to pick up the first book soon.

Vanessa