ARC Review: Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider

Title: Kiss Me in New York

Author: Catherine Rider

Publisher: Kids Can Press

Release: October 3, 2018

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Pages: 200

 

It’s Christmas Eve at JFK in NYC.

Charlotte is a British student, waiting for a flight home after the worst semester of her life. Anthony is a native New Yorker, surprising his girlfriend at the airport after three months apart. Charlotte has just been dumped, and Anthony is about to be dumped, right in the middle of the holiday crowd.

Charlotte’s flight is canceled when a blizzard blows in, and Anthony can’t bear to go home. So, they set out into the city together, clutching a book Charlotte picks up in the airport gift shop: Ten Easy Steps for Getting Over Your Ex. For this one night, they’ll focus on healing their broken hearts … together.

Step-by-step, the two struggle to put the past behind them. But the snow is so enchanting, and the holiday lights are so beguiling, that soon their shared misery gives way to something else. Soon, they’re not only over their exes — they’re falling for each other.

Then a subway ride splits them up by mistake. Will they reunite before Charlotte’s flight leaves New York forever?

KISS ME IN NEW YORK is sweet, Christmas romance that takes place within 24 hours. Charlotte is on her way back home to London dealing with a break up when she meets Anthony, who just got dumped in the airport himself. When Charlotte’s flight is delayed, she and Anthony decide to spend the remaining hours of Christmas Eve going through the Ten Steps to Get Over Your Ex book. What comes next is a sticky sweet romance perfect for cuddling up to a fire and hot cocoa with.

What was really enjoyable about this book was it was fun. Charlotte and Anthony are realistic characters dealing with their heartache. However, what I didn’t like was that within nine hours of time spent together the “L” word was thrown out there. I know they spent a great night together and connected on an emotional level, (I mean I was really rooting for them to realize they’d be great together), but love? Way too soon, not very believable. But, you can’t deny how adorable it was that they pick up a little dog and she quickly becomes theirs. I loved all the scenes where they interact with the pup, Mistake.

The plot of this book was a bit slow and took a while to get into because Charlotte and Anthony were just walking around trying to complete these “steps”, but it was so cute at the end that it’s easy to overlook. I had fun reading this and look forward to reading Catherine Rider’s future novels.

This review is based on the eARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

ARC Review: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Title: Autoboygraphy

Author: Christina Lauren

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release: September 12, 2017

Format: eARC

 

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

AUTOBOYOGRAPHY is a coming of age novel about a bisexual teen who moves to a very religious Mormon town who must keep his identity in secret. However, things take a turn once he falls for the bishop’s son. What comes next is one of the most heartbreaking, but truly incredible love stories I have read in a while.

The book starts off with Tanner Scott and his best friend Autumn laying on her bed discussing their class schedules. Autumn challenges Tanner to sign up for the school’s Seminar course, a course where you must write a full novel within a single semester. The Seminar is very popular and even more so since the town’s very own Sebastian Brother’s novel he wrote during the class gained a publishing contract. Tanner is reluctant, but he eventually concedes. Writing this novel might have been hard until he lays eyes on the handsome Sebastian Brother.

Tanner and Sebastian have an undeniable connection. While they try to keep things strictly professional and tame, they soon find themselves falling in love in a town where every look, every word must be kept secret and cautious. Their secret romance is intense and you can’t help but root for them because you just want them to be happy. Tanner is strong. He knows who he is and doesn’t try to be anything other than who he is. He likes boys. He likes girls. That’s just who he is and his narrative about his identity is amazing.

On the other hand, Sebastian’s own struggle is so heartbreaking that I just wanted to hug him. You can feel how much he is struggling and in pain. He is the bishop’s son. He’s from a very LDS family. He prays to God about everything and asks for forgiveness. Sebastian builds houses on the weekends! He’s a very sweet, very compassionate guy, but he doesn’t know who he truly is. He’s fighting who he thinks he is, but can no longer achieve this when he sets his eyes on Tanner.

Everything about this book was truly amazing. Tanner’s family’s support and love for him. Tanner and Autumn’s relationship, Tanner and Sebastian’s love, and everything in between. I couldn’t get enough and can’t recommend it enough! Read AUTOBOYOGRAPHY immediately!

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Her Book Boyfriend by K.R. Grace ARC Review

Title: Her Book Boyfriend

Author: K.R. Grace

Series: The Awkward Duckling

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Release: August 25, 2017

Format: eARC

She believes the secret to love is in the tropes of her favorite romance novels. He’s the best friend prepared to prove her wrong.
Then comes the bet.
If she can’t land a boyfriend for prom by recreating the ten popular tropes in her favorite romance author’s books, she has to go to the prom with her.
The glitch?
They’ve been close their entire lives. He’s the rock god and school legend, while she’s the brainy sidekick who does all his dirty breakups. Thus, finding a guy who doesn’t think they’re already an item is going to be a lot harder than she thinks.
Will she land the book boyfriend of her dreams? Or will she be forced to go to prom with her best friend.
The truth is in the pages.

HER BOOK BOYFRIEND was a fast, cute read perfect for the summer. It centers around Macey Greere who is obsessed with reading Wendi Cooper romance novels and has convinced herself that to land her perfect book boyfriend she must follow all the rules laid out in Cooper’s novels. Only problem is, her best friend, the school’s rock God and her best friend, Cam Davis doesn’t believe she can do it. His bet? Land a boyfriend for prom or go with him instead. Sounds like the perfect friends to lover story that is my kryptonite!

While i enjoyed the story (particularly the ending), I had a few problems with it. Macey was a bit ridiculous in choosing which boys she should go after. She would literally pick any guy and make him her next target without even liking in the slightest bit. Also, Macey outs another student to someone else for no reason and no thought at all that it might be wrong. When I read that I couldn’t believe what I just read. It was offensive. Plus, her whole “guys aren’t working for me so I am going to try girls” was just awful to me. Also, spoiler, what was with all those promposals? Every single guy that asked her even if things had been terrible after their meeting asking her to prom made absolutely no sense and wasn’t even explained. I still don’t get why it was included at all.

What was really enjoyable was the ending though. Cam’s jealousy over Macey’s trying to date different guys was a little obvious that I can’t believe she didn’t see how he felt sooner. But I enjoyed their connection so much more when she finally got it. I would have liked if their friendship was showcased more so we could have had a bigger picture of them as a couple, but this was a bit of a short book.

Overall, it was okay. I don’t really know if I would recommend it. But if you’re interested in a quick read, maybe give it a try.

A copy was provided in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own. Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher.

Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry

Title: Waiting for the Storm

Author: Marie Landry

Released: April 9, 2013

Series: Angel Island #1

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Format: eBook

 

After the death of her mother, the last thing seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell wants to do is spend the summer on Angel Island with her family. Her younger sister hates her, and her dad is in his own little world. It’s a recipe for a disastrous summer on the island, until Ezra Rhodes walks into her life.

The boy next door makes Charlotte forget her almost paralyzing fear of really living her life. Stunted from taking care of her mother in her last months, Charlotte is drowning. With Ezra, she feels something again, and as he repairs her family’s summer home, she dares to think he might actually be fixing her, too. Ezra challenges Charlotte to leave her comfort zone, and as their friendship slowly blossoms into more, Charlotte begins to come alive again.

But Ezra has secrets…secrets he isn’t sharing with Charlotte. Despite her new-found happiness in Ezra’s arms, Charlotte can’t help but feel there’s a storm on the horizon. And she isn’t sure if she and Ezra can weather it unscathed.

WAITING FOR THE STORM is a realistic novel about the heartbreak and grief over losing someone you love. When Charlotte’s mother dies, it leaves her entire family in turmoil trying to deal with their own grief and trying to piece together their family. Her sister is acting out and her dad is walking around in a zombie like state. When they go to a summer house on Angel Island at her mother’s request it may be just what they need to finally be able to move on together.

I enjoyed this book until the later half. Charlotte was a good MC and I enjoyed her connection with Ezra. However, how she reacts to some of Ezra’s secrets bothered me. She got upset over him not telling her one of his biggest secrets because they were hanging out for “an entire month” and she told him everything so why didn’t he trust her?! But see, that was her choice. Ezra has the right to withhold information until he is ready and I didn’t appreciate that it was such a big deal. I do enjoy that the author did give Charlotte insight and clue about why she might be blowing small issues out of proportion (ie anxiety) so she was able to forgive and move on.

I enjoyed this book for the most part and loved the overall message. It was a good ending and I’m happy to see some healing from this family. Also, happy Ezra makes me happy too. He is such a soft, lovable guy. Who wouldn’t love him?

Thank you to Marie Landry for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own. 

My Birthday Month Wrap Up

Wow, Hi guys. Yes, I am still reading regardless of what my blog has looked like lately! Oops. So before I ramble on about how I haven’t found much motivation to run my blog lately, or that I  lacking the mindset to come up with new content, I’ll just jump right into the books I’ve read last month and also some special mentions.

Now July brought my birthday so of course that means NEW BOOKS! and I am so excited to finally get my hands on THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE by Mackenzi Lee. I am currently reading this book right now and it’s glorious ❤ Seriously, I have a new OTP and I don’t want this book to end.

   

ONE OF US IS LYING BY KAREN M. MCMANUS was awful. I couldn’t stand this book because of the awful mental health rep. I gave this book 1 STAR.. Here is my Goodreads review if you’re interetested.

This is a mediocre mystery/thriller at best. This book had so much potential that I was addicted to reading it in the beginning, however as the story progresses I found myself less interested. Bored even. What really bothered me with this book was the “plot twist” and awful ending. Please stop demonizing mental illness. It’s not pretty, yes, but it feels like it was just added as a plot device to cause shock factor in the end and I am so disappointed. Also, someone’s sexuality or how they choose to identify is not a plot device either! This is extremely harmful, so be warned.
The only saving grace about this book was Bronwyn and Nate (who was absolutely precious to me). The four different POVs all sounded the same as well. I was listening on audiobook and majority of the time I’d forget whose POV I was even listening to because there was no clear distinction between the four.

RUINED BY AMY TINTERA is such a great book! It was fun, easy to get into, cute slow build romance (maybe not, but it was slow to me!), and just a really good book. I can’t wait to read the sequel! 5 STARS.

ALEX APPROXIMATELY BY JENN BENNETT is the cute contemporary that helped get me in the swing of reading again. During the summer, I have the hardest time finding the urge to read because it’s so hot and I can’t focus, but ALEX APPROXIMATELY kept me hooked. I flew through it because it was just adorable. Easy, quick, and a perfect summer read.

   

WHERE SHE WENT BY GAYLE FORMAN | reread via Audiobook. Still prefer this book over IF I STAY. 4 STARS

SHADOWSHAPER BY DANIEL JOSE OLDER | GREAT urban fantasy! Diverse cast, unique, magical plot. I thought it was a bit too easy at the end, but I can’t wait to read more.  4 STARS

I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOU BY GABY DUNN & ALLISON RASKIN | dnf. I just couldn’t get into this one.

  

I have already wrote reviews for each of these ARCs so please click below if you are interested in what I thought of each 😀

THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END

THE RULES OF PERSUASION

THE BAD BOY’S GIRL

Well there you have it! All the books I’ve read in July. I know I haven’t posted a wrap up since February, but I will try to be better in the future! Thank you to all those who have stuck with me and my blog. You guys are the best ❤