Review & Giveaway: Airports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over

Aiports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over by Shani Petroff (May 15, 2018)

Length: 224 pages

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Source: I received a free copy for this blog tour. Thank you Xpresso Book Tours!

Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | iBooks | Kobo

My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: A bad storm, two canceled flights, stuck in an airport with a hot stranger and the guy who broke her heart... what could go wrong? After Sari caught her boyfriend Zev cheating on her, their romantic Florida vacation was ruined. She can't get back to NYC soon enough. Unfortunately, mother nature may have different plans. A huge storm is brewing in the Northeast, and flights all over the country are getting canceled—including Sari's. She winds up stuck at the airport for hours. With Zev! When another stranded passenger (a hot NYU guy) suggests a connecting flight to Boston, Sari jumps at the chance. But when her mom freaks out about her traveling alone, she has no choice—she has to include Zev, and somehow survive being trapped with the guy who broke her heart!

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My Review

Airports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over in Three Words: Musical. Stressful. Entertaining.

What I Liked

• I was a big fan of the overall plot of Sari trying to deal with her feelings about her boyfriend's cheating when she just can't seem to get away from him! Her Florida vacation turns into a nightmare as she struggles to get back home before a big storm hits. I loved this story line.
• Sari's best friend is pretty awesome, but I do wish she was in the book more.
• Sari's parents are present and aren't just in the background! Their worry for her seemed realistic.
• Fitz and Zev are both fun and sweet characters. 
• I was really transported into the various settings. Whether Sari was stuck in the cramped airport or in squeezed in the backseat of a car in the middle of a storm, the descriptions were spot on.
• The beautiful cover!

What I Didn't Like

• It was too short! I wasn't able to really connect or get to know Sari or her boyfriend as much as I would have liked, which is kind of a bummer.
• All the miscommunication. It is one of my least favorite romance tropes. This is a personal preference.
• Although the drama did remind me of my teenage years, it was a little too annoying to read as an adult.

The Verdict: I think teens will enjoy the entertaining plot, be able to relate to having overly worrying (and sometimes embarrassing) parents, enjoy Sari's passion for music, and like the cute romance.

The Author

Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. She’s the author of the “Bedeviled” series, which includes Daddy’s Little Angel, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress, Careful What You Wish For, and Love Struck, and is the co-author of the “Destined” series which includes Ash and Ultraviolet. She also writes for television news programs and several other venues. When she’s not locked in her apartment typing away, she spends a whole lot of time on books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and shopping online.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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Review: The Registry by: Shannon Stoker

The Registry by: Shannon Stoker (#1)

336 pages

Genre: Dystopian

Publisher: William Morrow

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: The Registry saved the country from collapse. But stability has come at a price. In this patriotic new America, girls are raised to be brides, sold at auction to the highest bidder. Boys are raised to be soldiers, trained by the state to fight to their death.

Nearly eighteen, beautiful Mia Morrissey excitedly awaits the beginning of her auction year. But a warning from her married older sister raises dangerous thoughts. Now, instead of going up on the block, Mia is going to escape to Mexico—and the promise of freedom.

All Mia wants is to control her own destiny—a brave and daring choice that will transform her into an enemy of the state, pursued by powerful government agents, ruthless bounty hunters, and a cunning man determined to own her . . . a man who will stop at nothing to get her back.

My Review

The Registry could have been so much more than what it was; it was such a unique idea but wasn’t well executed and in the end fell flat. Girls must marry or end up working a crappy government job and boys must serve in the army, and if they don’t do these things they will be severely punished. This sounded so promising and yet there was just something missing from the whole book.  I’m sad to say that although I liked this book, I didn’t love it.

I had no connection to the characters in The Registry. Not to a single one of them. (Okay I may be exaggerating just a little.) I didn’t get to know them, not the good guys or the “bad guys.” The characters were not memorable to me and I believe this was due to the fact that I never got a feel for who they really were. Mia was very niave, and she drove me crazy. It wasn’t her fault she lived a sheltered life, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t have any common sense. Andrew, a young man who worked on Mia’s family farm, ends up helping Mia and her friend escape from their duty to be married to whoever their parents chose for them. Andrew was the most interesting character and I did enjoy it when we got to see things from his perspective, he lived a hard life since boys are only raised to serve in the military and many families don’t even keep their male children, but give them to orphanages. Grant is Mia’s soon to be husband and one crazy dude. Although he fit really well into the evil husband category, there was something missing about his character too. Not to mention Mia’s parents, who only care about money. Everyone in this book was just strange and so out there at times that I really couldn’t understand why they would do and say the things they did which may be why I had such a hard time connecting to them. There is also some romance in the novel, but I don't think it was handled all that well and sometimes it seemed forced.

So now that I have complained enough I’m going to get to some of the good aspects of The Registry. Stoker knows how to write action scenes, so well in fact that the big show down at the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat. Not to mention how much I love that each chapter began with a brief excerpt from either The Registry Guide for Girls or The Boy’s Guide to Service, which brings me to one other great point about this book, no info dumbs. I can tell you that even though the characters were hard for me to connect with I am intrigued enough to probably read the second book. I actually think it will be better just because I do know the characters better now after reading the first book.

So The Registry isn’t the best dystopian novel but there are some pretty awesome action scenes. Plus, even though I didn’t connect with the characters doesn’t mean you won’t. Therefore I’m not sure how to recommend this book, you will have to figure that out on your own.

Review: When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) by: Ingrid Jonach

When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) by: Ingrid Jonach (Sept. 2013)
312 pages
Genre: YA/Sci-Fi
Source: I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon
**This review may contain some small spoilers.

Goodreads Summary: Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind — memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger — and much more terrifying and beautiful — than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein’s theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

My Review

When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) was an okay book, but it could have been amazing.

Jonach took on the challenge of writing about parallel dimensions and scientific theories and sadly didn’t quit make it out on the other side unscathed. I would have enjoyed this book more if it focused more on the science side of things and less on the semi insta-love crap. I know I should have gathered from the title that this would be more of a romance than a sci-fi book, but I wouldn’t even call it a great romance book and there sure wasn’t enough sci-fi in it to satisfy me. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book but I was just hoping for more.

The beginning of the novel reminded me a little bit of Twilight and way too much of the Fallen series by Lauren Kate, which I really didn’t like. Although it started off kind of slow it really started to pick up and slowly I began to appreciate the story more and more, until I got to the ending of course. The ending didn’t seem right and didn’t really fit. I can say that there is a great secret reveal in the book that was handled excellently. The last half of the book was better than the first half by far, but I’m really getting tired of books that take so long to captivate me.

The characters were okay, nothing too outstanding but at least they did seem realistic. Lillie was kind of rude and her friends were stereotypes but they were okay. Tom is frustrating and not really all that unique of a character, he is just typical and reminds me a lot of Edward (Twilight) and Daniel (Fallen). Lillie did grow on me and so did the other characters, but they still were not legendary. There was also a a good amount of slut shaming which was aggravating and not needed.

Overall, When the World Was Flat (and we were in love)  wasn't the best well written novel and could have been a lot better, but I did still like it. I do love how it is a stand-alone because we just don’t get a lot of those in young adult books, too bad it wasn’t fantastic.

This is one that I recommend you borrow from a friend, get from the library, or buy cheap on your reader, it isn’t one I would go out and buy at full price because it just wasn’t that good. Also, I just want you to know that because I enjoyed the reveal and other small things so much in this novel I may have given it a slightly higher rating than maybe I should have, it was just hard to decide on a rating.

**I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

Review: The 5th Wave by: Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by: Rick Yancey (#1) (May 2013)
457 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Genre: YA/Survival/Aliens/Sci-Fi
Source: I won a free ARC from goodreads' First Reads and Penguin.
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Synopsis: The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

My Review

I kept putting off writing this review. I'm still not even sure exactly how I feel about this book. Giving it a star rating seems to be almost impossible. I guess I'll just start by telling you the the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly and go from there, and then maybe I will be able to give this one a solid star rating.

The Great: Cassie is a really kick ass heroine with her human flaws and all. Seriously, this chick rocks. I love her crazy/snarky narration. It actually reminded me a lot of the movie Zombieland. She was the best part of The 5th Wave. (Yes, she has one scene where I really wanted to strangle her and be like "you are making no sense," but besides that she is great.) The other great thing is the high creep factor in this book. 

The Good: The different view points. We get to see and feel what several different characters are going through and this added a lot of depth to the novel. The only downside, when the point of view was first switched I was really confused and had to reread a few pages to get a grasp on what was going on. It would have been nicer for a little heads up. Oh and another good thing, there are some pretty cool action/survival scenes and totally unrelated... a good evil person, although way too obvious.

The Bad: This book is pretty predictable. I didn't feel like there was a whole lot of new ideas being brought to the table. It was kind of overly easy to tell what would happen next and who you could and couldn't trust, which was ironic since Cassie keeps saying over and over again that you can't trust anyone. Anyway, after all the hype I was just expecting more twists. I just didn't get the feel of this being a unique alien novel and I don't even read that many alien books. Also, it could be confusing at times, in a bad way, and too unbelievable even though "I know I'm reading a book and this isn't real." .

The Ugly: The ending was no good. The worst part about this is that I can't even tell you why it sucked so bad. Let's just say that if the ending is really going where I think it is then I won't be reading the next book. I mean come on...it is totally unnecessary and doesn't really make a lot of sense. Plus, it didn't leave me wanting more and didn't have a good set up for the next book. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.

The Cover: I really liked it before I read the book and I loved it after. I think it works perfectly for this creepy book.

In the end I still say to give this book a shot. If you don't like it then you don't have to finish it, but so many other people have loved this book and just because I am not in that camp doesn't mean you won't be. I will say that this book kept me hooked and interested enough to keep me reading to the very end. That counts for something. So if you are a fan of aliens or survival books in general you will probably enjoy this.

** Thanks goodreads and Penguin for a free ARC of The 5th Wave. Receiving this did not affect my honest review.


My Rating 3/5

ARC Review: The Sisterhood by: Helen Bryan

The Sisterhood by: Helen Bryan (April 30, 2013)

Publisher: Amazon Publishing

402 pages

Genre: Fiction

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Menina Walker was a child of fortune. Rescued after a hurricane in South America, doomed to a life of poverty with a swallow medal as her only legacy, the orphaned toddler was adopted by an American family and taken to a new life. As a beautiful, intelligent woman of nineteen, she is in love, engaged, and excited about the future — until another traumatic event shatters her dreams.

Menina flees to Spain to bury her misery in research for her college thesis about a sixteenth-century artist who signed his works with the image of a swallow — the same image as the one on Menina’s medal. But a mugging strands Menina in a musty, isolated Spanish convent. Exploring her surroundings, she discovers the epic sagas of five orphan girls who were hidden from the Spanish Inquisition and received help escaping to the New World. Is Menina’s medal a link to them, or to her own past? Did coincidence lead her to the convent, or fate? Both love story and historical thriller, The Sisterhood is an emotionally charged ride across continents and centuries.

My Review

I’m giving The Sisterhood three stars. I would give Menina’s story, the one that takes place in the 21^st century two stars, but I would give the story of the different ladies from the Spanish convent that took place in the 16^th century four stars. Hence the three star rating.

This book may seem slightly daunting at first. At 400 pages a good portion of which are about historical events, and with the first 80 pages sort of slow it was hard to like this book right off the bat. Don’t worry though, if you have the patience to stick it out you will be rewarded.

Menina’s Story: Although I liked Menina her story was very lackluster for the most part. The part I disliked the most of her story, how unbelievable her plot line was. The part where Menina falls asleep and misses her bus in a foreign country and her bag gets stolen and she doesn't run after the kid, it is more complex than that, but let me tell you that it the scene was totally unbelievable. I don’t know about you but I don’t like it when something happens in a story that is so crazy that you just can’t get over it. That was me, but this happened relatively early in the novel so I kept trudging along and I’m glad I did.

16^th Century Spanish Convent (stories written down in the Chronicle, along with the medal, the only things Menina has of her heritage): Although I think there are too many interlocking convent girls’ stories and it was at times hard to follow, this was the most interesting part of the novel. It was great to read about the past and see all the little connections between these different girls/women and Menina in the 21^st century. It was a fun puzzle to put together, even if it was occasionally obvious.

I really loved the format of the book, the switching back and forth between the 21^st century and the 16^th century was done really well and at a good pace. It was a really nice story about a book that preserved the ladies of the 16th century's lives. I love the emphasis on the importance of a book and the written word. The only part I didn't like about this was the ending. When we are finally switched back over to Menina for good we don’t get a lot of time with her before the book is over, leaving a couple of loose ends and an overly quick wrap up. Although I did like the very end of the novel, even if it was once again a little far-fetched.

In the end this is a pretty interesting read. It has a good amount of mystery and secrets that may be hard to follow at times, but kept my attention.

I would say that if you have some extra time to give this book a chance. It would be a great library pick.

** I received a free e-copy of this book from netgalley and Amazon Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!

RATING 3/5