Review: Becoming Rain by K.A. Tucker

 

Publication: March 3rd 2015 by Atria Books

Source: Purchased

Goodreads description: Luke Boone doesn't know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it-the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he's finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set—one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it's not exactly legal, Luke's never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game—at only twenty-six years old, she's one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington D.C. major crime unit, and she's just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the west coast's most notorious car theft rings. But, in order to do it, she'll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle's footsteps.

As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she'll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she'll even want to.

---

Becoming Rain is the second book in the Burying Water companion series. I absolutely loved the first book, Burying Water and immediately after finishing that book, I picked up this one. I am generally wary of sequels in a companion series because I tend to get very attached to the characters in the first book and become very invested in their story. I usually go into the second book not expecting too much at all because I just want more from the characters that I already know and love. (There was a brief appearance from Jesse and Water from the first book though, so that made me very happy.)

However, I was pleasantly surprised with Becoming Rain. The writing was just as amazing but this one had more of a suspenseful atmosphere to it which I loved. The undercover angle was something new and it made things so interesting. The plot in this one became so complex and had me completely hooked. I stayed up till the early hours of the morning because I just couldn’t stop reading.

There were a lot of characters in this book. A few had been mentioned briefly in the first book but a lot were new ones. Most of them were shady criminals involved in the organised crime rings and particularly towards the end, I found it difficult to keep track of who was working together and who were enemies. But I loved the two main characters.

I liked Luke in the first book, but I loved him more in this one as we got to know him better. He was a genuinely good guy who got just caught up in criminal activities thanks to his uncle. There was so much character growth that happened and I really liked the person that he was by the end.

Rain was a fantastic character as well, even though I thought she wasn’t the smartest person to get so emotionally involved with her target in the first place. She was not only putting herself and other in danger, but also risking the case they had invested so much in!

Having said that, I really liked the romance. Even more than the romance in the first book. I knew that an undercover cop getting involved with her target was a bad idea. A very, very bad, terrible idea. And yet something about K.A. Tucker’s writing is just magic because I found myself wanting them together anyway! Of course things blew up when everything came out into the open, as it inevitably would. But the ending made up for it and my only problem was that I wanted more! However it was such a wonderful change to have a romance without cheating or a love triangle. It can be done people!

Overall, I loved everything about this book. I was surprised that I ended up enjoying this one more than Burying Water because I really didn’t think I would. I gave it a 5/5 rating and now I’m actually scared to read the next book in this series in case it doesn’t live up to this one. Maybe I’ll be surprised again. 

Review: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

Publication: October 7th 2014 by Atria

Source: Purchased

Goodreads description: The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

---

The premise of this book sounded so intriguing to me, and having already read this author’s Ten Tiny Breaths series, I automatically knew that I wanted to read her new series.

Burying Water was such an amazing book. The writing was fantastic, the story completely pulled me in and I flew through it in no time. The mystery is actually revealed pretty early on to the reader and the book alternates between Water’s chapters in the present as she tries to regain her memories, and Jesse’s chapters in the past as we find out what happened and the events that led to her current situation in the first place. 
 

The story wasn’t the most original, but there were plenty of plot twists and I didn’t expect everything that happened. I did think that things were drawn out just a tiny bit and the book could have been shortened a little. Part of that was because I already knew the truth behind the ‘mystery’ of Water and her true identity.  I was impatient for her to regain her memories and to find out what actually happened to her. But this story was so cleverly written with the way that everything all came together in the end.

The characters were also brilliantly written. Water’s resilience and determination were what I admired most about her. Jesse definitely wasn’t perfect but I loved him anyway. I loved how sweet and caring he was and how much he tried to protect Water. Viktor was also a horrible yet believable villain. He was pretty damn terrifying and it takes a great author and some superb writing to be able to make the terror feel so real for me.

I really liked the romance in this book. It was actually kind of a new experience for me to see Water and Jesse slowly getting closer in the present, while at the same time learning how their relationship began in the first place with the chapters from the past.

What I didn’t love was all the cheating that happened, and this book had so much of it. Normally I would hate the fact that a relationship began with an affair involving someone who was married, but the situation wasn’t as simple as that as I learned later on. It still didn’t justify it, but I just found myself wanting them to end up together. Their romance actually made an emotional impact on me because they had to overcome so much to be together and they still find their way back to each other in the end.

I was super happy with how the book ended. I liked that everything was all wrapped up and I wasn’t left wondering about anything. Most of all I loved that happily ever after, which is half the reason why I pick up a new adult or contemporary romance read in the first place. I gave it a 4.75/5 rating and I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of new adult, especially if you have read K.A. Tucker’s previous series, Ten Tiny Breaths (or even if you haven’t). 

Review: No Virgin by Anne Cassidy

Expected Publication: November 3rd 2016 by Hot Key Books

Source: I received a free copy of this book from Hot Key Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads description: A raw, powerful, moving tale about a girl attempting to deal with the aftermath of a sexual attack.

My name is Stacey Woods and I was raped.

Stacey is the victim of a terrible sexual attack. She does not feel able to go to the police, or talk about it to anybody other than her best friend, Patrice. Patrice, outraged, when she cannot persuade her to go to the police, encourages Stacey to write everything down. This is Stacey's story.

A tautly told and important book, perfect for readers of Asking for It by Louise O'Neill.

---

As soon as I read the synopsis I was interested in reading this story. The topic of rape and sexual assault is such an important one that more people need to be made aware of. This is a shorter book so it was a very quick read for me. The pacing was excellent and the story pulled me in to the point where I didn’t want to put the book down.

However, I did find it difficult to relate to the characters, which is where the book was a little bit of a let down for me. While I sympathised with her situation, I just found Stacey to be very unlikeable. She acted childish and immature at times, had a tendency to overreact in certain situations and showed extremely poor judgement in trusting a complete stranger!

I also have mixed feelings about the ending. While a part of me thought that it was probably a fitting ending to this short book, a bigger part of me was left feeling unsatisfied at the end because I still had so many unanswered questions about how things ultimately turned out.

Despite that though, I still feel like it is an important book to read, particularly for teenagers because it depicts just how easily young girls can find themselves in a vulnerable position where they could end up a victim of sexual assault. The aftermath of the assault also felt like a very accurate portrayal of the victim’s feelings of shame, self blame, self doubt over whether it was her fault or not and why so many rapes go unreported to the police.

Overall, I gave this book a 3 out of 5 rating. While I had perhaps been expecting a little bit more from this book, I thought that the author did a great job in giving a realistic portrayal of the difficult but important subject of sexual assault, particularly within the shorter page length.

Review: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Publication: May 3rd 2016 by Simon & Schuster

Source: Purchased

Goodreads description:

Andie had it all planned out.

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected.

And where’s the fun in that? 

---

Morgan Matson is one of my favourite YA contemporary authors and after reading all three of her novels in 2015, I had such high expectations for The Unexpected Everything and I was hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed. Especially after such a long wait for it to be published! I needn’t have worried though because it was exactly what I had been wanting and hoping for from a Morgan Matson book.

I will say that this book focused a lot more on the characters and their relationships and felt like it was much less plot driven than her previous books. That may have been the reason why it took a little bit for me to really get pulled into the book right at the start. I was expecting to just love it immediately and that didn’t happen, but it certainly turned out to be an amazing read.

However, that allowed for a lot more character development and growth throughout the book, which was something that I loved. The main character Andie definitely had some emotional issues that she needed to work through rather than always shutting down and running because she was scared. Andie could be such a frustrating character at times, but by the end of the book she had definitely matured and learned a lot about who she is in the process. I really enjoyed seeing Andie’s personal growth and the change in her at the end.

I also loved the strong emphasis on relationships in this book. Not just romantic relationships between a boyfriend and girlfriend, but also the bond between a parent and child and family relationships. I really liked seeing the change in the family dynamic between Andie and her father throughout the novel. Also, this book featured one of the best female friendship groups I have come across. That’s not to say there wasn’t drama and conflict within the group though, because there definitely was.

And how can I not mention Clark? He’s probably too good to be true in real life, but he was just about the perfect fictional boyfriend. He has a successful career as a fantasy novelist, he’s sweet, respectful and can also charm the parents. What more could you want? 

Also, the dogs! They were such a big part of the storyline and I loved that the author took the time to develop their personalities just as she did with the human characters. 

The one small issue that I had was that the book had such long chapters accompanied with small font. This is purely just my own personal preference but I don’t like the combination of long chapters with tiny font. It didn’t change how I felt about the story itself, but the formatting just seemed to make the book drag out a little, even though I still read it pretty quickly.

Overall I ended up loving this book and Morgan Matson proves once again why she is the queen of summery YA contemporary romances and why she is one of my auto buy authors. I give it a 5/5 rating and would definitely recommend to read it if you’re a fan of this genre. However I do suggest to read her books in publication order because characters from the previous books appear again in the later ones.  

Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

 

Publication: March 10th 2015 by Atria Books

Source: Purchased

Goodreads description:

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

---

This book was amazing and without a doubt the BEST Colleen Hoover book that I have read so far (I have also read Maybe Someday, Maybe Not and Ugly Love) and I loved everything about it.

Everything about this book was perfect. The writing was captivating and there were a few plot twists that completely threw me. I did not see them coming at all and I like when a book can shock me like that.

I especially loved the idea of the confessions. That was such a unique concept and it really worked well with this book, as did the paintings that were specifically created.

Colleen Hoover is fantastic at writing believable characters that you just can’t help but love. Auburn was an amazing character. Her situation was heartbreaking and I couldn’t believe how strong and determined she was, especially at such a young age. But then again, she was tough because she had to be.

I also loved the character of Owen. He was basically perfection in every way and usually I have an issue with characters that are too perfect but that wasn’t the case here. The way he was written was believable and it just worked in this book.

I LOVED the romance in this book. Owen and Auburn were so adorable together and I liked that the relationship between them wasn’t forced. Auburn still could not fully let go of losing her first love and Owen wasn’t trying to take his place or make her forget him.

Of course the characters I hated were Lydia and Trey, but even as evil characters they were so well written. Colleen Hoover writes deranged creepy evil sinister psychopath really well! So believable. And even Owen’s father redeemed himself in the end.

The epilogue was perfect. It really did bring everything together and answered every question that I had. I loved how lines and small details that you don’t think mean much in the beginning actually do come back into the story at a later point. Everything was connected and I absolutely loved that. Especially when we finally learn the truth behind Owen and his history with Auburn. I lost it at that point. Colleen Hoover is definitely a master at writing the feels, I was an emotional wreck by the end of this book.

This book NEEDS to be a movie! Ugly Love is already being made into one, so maybe this one can be next.

Overall, this was a superb YA contemporary romance. I gave it a 6 star rating and I recommend it to everyone!

Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

(Goodreads description)

This book was so much better than the first one! I absolutely loved it! Jenny Han’s writing is just superb and I could not stop reading. There were so many feels with all the relationship and friendship drama going on, but I love that so I enjoyed the plot of this book a lot more than the first book. 

*** WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***

I definitely liked most of the characters in this book a whole lot more than in the first book. Lara Jean has definitely stepped out of her comfort zone, become more confident and sure of herself as a person. She does have her jealous and insecure moments, but I can forgive her for those because she did have a good reason! However, I did not like the fact that her friendship with another guy had become something more, and she knew this, and yet did nothing to stop it.

Kitty has also grown up a lot from the first book and was definitely nowhere near the annoying little kid from the first book. I love her attitude and the way she just tells it like it is. She is also quite resourceful and perceptive for a little kid.

The one exception was Gen. I have so much hate for her. She is without a doubt, my most hated character of this series. I definitely hated her in the first book but my hatred just kept increasing as this book went on. She is cruel, calculating and vindictive. We do find out some secrets in the end which may explain why she is the way she is, but definitely does not excuse it. I did have some sympathy for her in the end, but the things she did were completely unforgivable. Did I mention that I hate her?

There was yet another love triangle in this book (but that was to be expected). Not with who I had thought though. Josh was essentially written out of the equation fairly early on and I was so glad for that, as I shared my opinions about him in my review of the first book.

Cue the new guy in the equation, John. He was just eh. He wasn’t a bad character, in fact I think he was written the way he was so that the reader would have to like him, but I just didn’t. Solely because he was quite clearly supposed to end up being part of the love triangle and create more problems between the couple.

I really liked the way Peter changed and how his character grew throughout this book. He showed that he wasn’t the complete jerk he seemed to be, but could actually be genuinely caring and respectful. I loved seeing the protective side of him come out! What I didn’t like and what completely frustrated me about him though was that he was constantly with his ex-girlfriend and always rushing to her side, and yet he completely failed to see how that made his current girlfriend feel. I admire and respect the fact that he was comforting a friend, but the way he handled things with his girlfriend (lying and keeping secrets from her) was completely wrong.

Overall, there were some incredibly annoying and frustrating moments, but also some equally sweet moments that just made go warm and fuzzy inside. The author definitely did have me worried for quite a while, but I got the pairing that I was hoping for in the end so I was extremely happy. My only complaint was that it ended where it did. It was definitely a fitting way to conclude the series, but it did feel a little rushed. Also, I wanted an epilogue because I NEED more! This book definitely deserves the 5/5 rating that I am giving it. All the stars. It gets all the stars.

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

 

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

(Goodreads description)

I was so excited to finally read this book. I absolutely love Jenny Han’s writing and this book was no different. It was fast paced, had a whole lot of drama but also a strong family dynamic throughout this book which I liked.

I have mixed feelings about the characters though. I would have hoped that there would have been much more personal growth by the end, but that didn’t happen. Maybe that will happen in the second book though!

Lara Jean struck me as very naive and innocent from the start and remained that way for much of the book. While she did mature a lot, I feel like she still has some growing up to do. Kitty is the youngest child and she was just such a brat and very clearly used to being babied and getting her own way. She was extremely annoying at the beginning but she did get better towards the end.

Margot was the eldest sister and basically the one who held the family together after their mother died. Unfortunately I did not like her character and my dislike only increased as the book went on. When she left home, it felt like her family was now at the bottom of her priorities. Then when she came home for the holidays she didn’t like that things weren’t the same as they were before she left. She almost seemed upset that her family did actually manage to cope without her.

I also feel like the whole premise for the book, the love letters being sent out to all the boys, wasn’t really a main part of the book at all. They were sent out and Lara Jean was upset about it at first, but then that’s not mentioned much at all throughout the book. It is revealed who sent the letters out in the end, but even then that was just swept aside like it didn’t matter anymore. It just didn’t seem very realistic to me, that Lara Jean wouldn’t try harder to find out who sent them in the first place (and it really isn’t that hard to work out), and then in the end just say “Oh well, never mind.”

Now onto the love triangle. To be honest, I didn’t really think much of either of the boys. Peter was such a complete jerk for much of the book, except for those very few and brief moments where he could actually be a decent and caring person. What really annoyed me about him was that he was clearly still not over his ex-girlfriend, and the fact that he didn’t stand up for Lara Jean when his ex-girlfriend was spreading rumours about them and everyone was talking about them.

Josh was the nice guy that everyone likes, but what completely ruined him for me was the fact that he had dated Margot. What guy likes someone, then dates their older sister for two years, and then when they break up, suddenly realised that he never stopped liking the younger sister. Then there’s also the thought of kissing someone and doing other things with him that he’s done with your sister. No. Just no.

But despite all of the problems that I had with this book, I still loved it and could not put it down. That chapter with all the Harry Potter references! Amazing! Loved it! Ultimately, it was Jenny Han’s fantastic writing that made me absolutely love this book and I still had to give it a 5/5 rating.

Geek Girl by Holly Smale Review

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.
*Cats have 32 muscles in each ear
*Bluebirds can't see the colour blue
*The average person laughs 15 times per day
*Peanuts are an ingredient of dynamite
But she doesn't know why nobody at school seems to like her. So when she's offered the chance to reinvent herself, Harriet grabs it. Can she transform from geek to chic? (description from book cover)

This book is a breath of fresh air. It's been a while since I read a book that was not fantasy or dystopian.

Harriet is quirky and super smart. I love the inner dialogue that she has running through her head and I love the things she does when she's in panic mode, especially when she hides under tables. One day, she dove under a table and someone else was already there!

Harriet's best friend Nat is a bit of a fashionista who's dream is to model, so she drags Harriet along to The Clothes Show where Nat hopes to be spotted by an agent. However, due to Harriet's clumsiness trait, she draws a lot of attention, including the attention of Wilbur (remember: that's 'bur' not 'iam'), an agent to the biggest name in the fashion industry.

Wilbur is even more hilarious than Harriet. He's an eccentric, pink top-hat wearing, nickname inventing machine. I've never read a character like him, so that was something new and different.

Even Harriet's dad is a bit loopy, which just adds to the craziness that is Harriet's life.

The love interest in this book is Nick, who is also a model that Harriet meets along the way. Though she believes that he his way out of her league, she gets an incredible surprise at the end and it's... just... GOSH. I loved the ending!

This book really is a super quick read, and if you're in the mood for something humorous, then Geek Girl is a good choice. I give it a rating of 4/5.

Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

 

Second Chance Summer is a heartbreaking story about Taylor, a girl who deals with her problems by running away and not dealing with them. When her family receives some devastating and life-changing news, they return to their lake house for the summer and Taylor is forced to face the past she left behind 5 years ago. But this time, running away is no longer an option. 

I absolutely loved this book. I love Matson’s writing style, it’s so easy to read and I love the snippets of humour she inserts in every now and then. I loved the storyline, however there was a brief point in the book where I felt like Matson needed to stop dragging it out and just move on with the story. The ending was super amazing though. It couldn’t have been more perfect. I knew it was going to be sad, I was expecting it, yet it still managed to make me cry. That’s how amazing the writing was. 

I also loved the characters. While there may have been a few that had their annoying moments, I don’t think there was a single character that I hated, and it has been a very long time since I’ve read a book where that has happened. I really liked the character of Taylor and how she rebuilt her friendships and grew as a person over the course of the book. 

So basically, I loved pretty much everything about this book and gave it a 5/5 rating. I would recommend it for fans of YA contemporary romance. If you like Rainbow Rowell and Jenny Han, then you’ll enjoy this book.