On the Fence by Kasie West

Publication:July 1st 2014 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Description:
For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

My thoughts:

I absolutely loved On the Fence. This was my first Kasie West book and I am so excited to delve more into this authors works! On the Fence was so much fun I didn't want to stop reading it, I was addicted from the first page! I read it in two sittings and I know if I had started it a bit earlier in the day I would have read it in one. Don't pick this up unless you have the time to read it in one sitting because trust me you will not want to put the book down. It is great!

I loved the main character Charile. I found it so easy to connect to her as we have similar personalities. She is me in so many ways but so not me on others and I really liked that; that she wasn't 100% like me. I really admired her courage to do what she wanted and it was so interesting watching her trying to balance her more tomboy side with her more girly side and the internal struggle that comes with that.

Braden was cool but nothing out of the ordinary for a YA contemporary love interest. I think there was a missed opportunity to develop his story more. His family life is hinted at but I think it could have been explored more.

The romance was cute. The best friends to lover trope is what I live for in books like these, it is just such a fun trope ( I mean Percabeth is my OTP and they are the epitome of best friends to lovers trope in MG/YA) I knew going in I was going to enjoy the romance and I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't OTP material but the tension was there and it was very enjoyable to read. It was well paced and while it had it's cliche moments it was good.

I loved the family element but felt that Charlie's brothers weren't very fleshed out, they were pretty flat and I wanted more from them. The same with her dad. Their relationship is touched on but I wanted more.

The ending was a bit quick but it is under 300 pages so what was I expecting really?

Overall I had such a fun time reading this quick read and definitely recommend it if you are looking for something cute to pick up this summer! I am excited to pick up more of Kasie West's books over the coming summer!

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Series: Pushing the Limits, #2

Publication:May 28th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads Description:
Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.... 

My Thoughts:
Firstly I am not putting a picture of the book cover in this post because it is completely deceiving! Do not judge this series by it's book covers. It is one of those great series that is cursed with awful covers (like Jennifer L Armentrout's books). This is a companion series but you can definitely read Dare You To without having read Pushing the Limits but I would recommend reading Pushing the Limits (you can read my review here!) 

I absolutely loved Dare You To! It was such a fun read but had some heavy emotional parts too. I love going into Katie McGarry books knowing next to nothing and being surprised and that's what I did for this one and I was so excited when I figured out what kind of story it was going to be. I liked it even more than Pushing The Limits and so much that I don't know i the next book in the series can top this one!

Beth was my favourite character in Pushing the Limits so I partly loved this book so much because Beth was the main character. I loved how complex and layered she was. In the story she really struggles with her more girly feminine side and how she represses it in favour of the more tough I-don't-care attitude. Her character arc was paced perfectly and there was some lovely character development evident in Dare You To. I loved her in Pushing The Limits but admired her so much more in Dare You To; she slowly changes over the course of the story and it is great. Dare You To is essentially the story of Beth learning about herself and growing up.

I also really liked the main male character, Ryan. He was just such a nice guy; it was hard not to like him. I did have an internal struggle for a good part of the book about Isaiah because I felt like I was betraying him because I wanted Ryan and Beth to be together even though I shipped Isaiah and her in PTL. I loved how Ryan was portrayed as this perfect person until we started to get to know him and then we realised maybe his life isn't as perfect after all. 

I loved the romance between Ryan and Beth; it was so much fun because they are both so different from each other. Their personalities complemented each other so well and made it so interesting to read their dynamic. I also liked how well paced it was; there was no inst love here! It was also great how they had storylines going on that were completely separate from each other.

Dare You To definitely has its emotional parts and I there were bit and pieces here and there that were hard to read. There are some heavy topics to be aware of before reading such as domestic abuse and abuse in general are a big aspect of the story. I can't speak for the representation but I felt like they were handled well. 

Echo and Noah (from Pushing the Limits) do pop into the story but only for a few pages which I was grateful for. This is Beth and Ryan's story and they didn't need to play big roles. They were just thrown in there to keep fans happy and to connect the books as this is a companion series.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading Dare You To and can't wait to pick up the next book in the Pushing the Limits series; although I don't know how it can beat this instalment!

Thanks for reading,
A :)

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

*Trigger warning in this book for anxiety and suicide*

Publication: May 30th 2017 by Greenwillow Books

Goodreads Description:

Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart. 

My thoughts:

Eliza and her Monsters is absolutely fantastic. It is A new favourite book of all time for me for sure! I was only a few chapters in and I was in love with it. It is a super quick emotional read that I really identified with.

I related to Eliza straight away- I was so happy to be reading about a character who is just like me. I was constantly saying "yes!!! She gets it!!" Her thought process is exactly like mine. I haven't found a character I related to as much as I had with Eliza since I read Fangirl in 2014. It's so wonderful to find a book with a character that 'gets' you. Francesca Zappia took every single anxious feeling I've ever had and somehow took it from my brain and put it in paper. 

I loved how online friendships played a big role in the story as this is not something we see often in books but  is very prevalent in today's world. I loved hoe supportive and helpful Max and Emmy to Eliza and how it showed even though they had never met in real life it didn't mean their friendship wasn't real.

Family is another big theme I loved in the story. Eliza's family are by no means perfect, her parents don't understand her and her two brothers annoy the hell out of her but I loved reading about their relationships. I loved how Church and Scully interacted with Eliza and showed how siblings usually understand each other better than parents do. I loved how Eliza and her parents work through their issues and their relationships are developed at such a nice pace.

Eliza and her Monsters is a super emotional read, especially towards the end. I am not a big crier in general and hardly ever cry at books but this one got me. The story is much darker than you might think it is before reading and deals with some very heavy topics, especially towards the end. 

I loved the illustrations scattered throughout the novel! It was fun seeing Monstrous Sea. I loved the character designs. The illustrations didn't add much to the story but as someone who loves art i really appreciated them. 

I also loved how the story portrayed what it's like to be a creator and how it feels to work on something you love and what it's like when you get stuck and feel like you can't create anymore. 

Overall, I think Eliza and her Monsters is absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend it! It even made my list of favourite reads of 2017. It definitely lives up to the hype it got last summer.

My rating: 5 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #3

Publication:May 2nd 2017 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Description:
Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the New York Times bestselling To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You.

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.

When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

My Thoughts:

Always and Forever Lara Jean is Jenny Han's best work. I absolutely loved it to pieces. I was such a giddy mess from page one. These books make me so happy it's a bit ridiculous! I was smiling so much while reading Always and Forever my mouth hurt!  I had so much fun reading the last instalment of what is one of my all time favourite series. 

Lara Jean goes on such a journey over the course of the series and in this book alone she does some tremendous growing up. A big part of the book focuses on college and Lara Jean making big decisions about where she wants to go. I loved the college aspect of the book because we don't have the same system here in Ireland so it was interesting reading about how in America they do applications and find out where they are going to college before they even graduate high school. What Lara Jean is going through in this book is very relatable and anyone who is in their final years of school would definitely see themselves in Lara Jean. I am already in college and could still relate to her though. There is even more baking in Always and Forever which I loved! I love reading about characters who have hobbies and actually get to see them doing it; same goes for her scrapbooking!

Lara Jean and Peter K are everything. I have been a hardcore Peter K supporter since book 1 and I don't want to spoil it for people (I know a lot of people love John) but there is so much Peter K in this book I loved it. Lara Jean and Peter are just so freaking adorable I can't. I love rounded Peter is; his character has been fleshed out so well over the course of the three books and I loved getting to know him. 

While this series is known for having a cute romance it is also known for it's strong emphasis on family and that is no different in Always and Forever. In this book we have all three Song sisters together since Margot is home, and I loved seeing how they all interacted with each other and how her being home changed the  dynamics we are sued to between Kiity and Lara Jean. I also liked how we got to see how Margot was dealing with her dad and Ms Rothschild getting married and how that effected the rest of the family.

I am so sad this series is over; these books are so special to me and I don't want to say goodbye; I want to read about Lara Jean and Peter forever. Jenny Han wrapped everything up nicely but I wouldn't say no to more! 

My Rating: 5 stars
Thanks for reading,
A :)

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs the Homo sapiens aganda

Publication: April 7th 2015 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Description:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My thoughts:

Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda is a wonderful, heart-warming story about friendship and family with an adorable romance thrown in and a mystery that will keep you so engaged you can't stop reading! I read Simon in one sitting and as soon as I was finished I wanted to start again immediately I loved it that much!

It was so cute I had the biggest smile on my face while reading.

Simon is such a normal character. I loved how he sounds and thinks like a teenager. He's so normal but also weird at the same time and I loved it! His narration was just so honest! He has such a loveable personality it's impossible not to like him. I loved how he loves Harry Potter and references it all the time and how funny he is. I found myself relating to him a lot. This is definitely Simon's coming of age and self discovery story.

There is a whole slew of friendships and I think they were a fantastic portrayal of what teenage friendships are like. I liked how there was conflicts and everyone didn't get along all of the time but in the end they always forgave each other because they were friends. Simon and Leah, and Nick's relationship was super realistic. But my favourite was Simon and Abby- I loved Abby, she's such bubbly and supportive character and her interactions with Simon were some of my favourite scenes.

I loved how big a part family had in Simon's story. We get to see him interacting with his sisters a lot which I loved. The sibling interaction spot on between the three. I loved how supportive they were of each other and just how good their relationship was. Simon's parents are also very present in the book which I appropriated since they are usually absent from YA books. 

Blue and Simons relationship was the most adorable thing I have ever read. I absolutely loved reading their emails back and forth. They were so cute to read! And the mystery of not know who Blue was was driving me crazy while reading. I had so much fun trying to figure out who he was, I kept changing my prediction every few pages but about half way through I decided on someone and stuck with them and I was right!

Note on the diversity: of course the LGBT element is at the forefront of the story but there is some representation of race and interracial relationships too!

Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a fun lighthearted read I'd highly recommend if your looking for something cute, fast and entertaining!

My rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Publication:September 17th 2013 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Goodreads Description:
Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, This Song Will Save Your Life is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

My thoughts:

This Song Will Save Your Life is a good book but by no means amazing. Personally I didn't love it.

I usually love a book if I love the characters so I think a big reason why I didn't like This Song Will Save Your Live was because I didn't like Elise. I couldn't relate to her at all and she was so annoying in the beginning with the whole 'I need to change to be cool and impress people' thing going on. Maybe if I'd read this when I was younger I might have liked her better. But I just think you should never change to impress people so her thoughts in the beginning were so irritating to me. She was so judgy as well- she constantly made judgements about people who she didn't even know-it annoyed me so much. She bashed on music she wasn't into, musicians, her classmates, everything! She was so hypocritical- she didn't want other people to judge her and she was going around judging them!

I felt like the story was way too short. The characters were not fleshed out enough for me to care about them and the relationships weren't developed enough. I didn't care about Elise's new friendships with these people because I didn't know these people.

I didn't like the ending. A lot stuff was just left hanging and I wanted more closure.

I did like the message of the story but I wanted more from it. It is a story about finding yourself and doing what makes you happy regardless of what others think but I felt like it could have been executed better. I think it's  great message but it's more aimed at younger teens which is why I don't think I enjoyed it much.

Overall, This Song Will Save Your Life, didn't leave a lasting impression on me. I thought it was okay but nothing special. 

My Rating: 3 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

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More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Publication:June 2nd 2015 by Soho Teen

Goodreads description:
In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving debut—called “mandatory reading” by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely. 

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is. 

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

My Thoughts:
More Happy Than Not is a hard hitting thought provoking story that I think everyone should read. I was surprised how much I liked this book. It was such a quick read. The writing was super easy to get into. I fell into the story straight away and finished the book in 2 sittings.

I really liked the characters.They all have internal struggles they are dealing with. They are all flawed and that made them seem real. Also there is lots of diversity!

Aaron is an easy protagonist to relate to and his train of thought is easy to follow. He's a very likeable character. I appreciated how he was dealing with real life situations teenagers deal with. I loved going on this self-discovery journey with him.

My favourite character is probably Thomas. I just found him the most interesting.

Though the title had the word happy in it; this is a dark book. It explores themes such as depression and suicide and homophobia. There is lighter themes woven into the story as well, such as friendship, which I really liked.

More Happy Than Not is not a cute teen romance which was refreshing to read about. 

My only problems were there was a lot of swearing and personally I don't like that, and I would have liked a bit more about the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure.

I highly recommend this thoughtful and touching debut. I will definitely be picking up more books by Adam Silvera in the future!

My rating: 4 stars

Thanks for reading,
A :) 
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Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Goodreads description:
From the Flying Start author of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, a powerful novel about hope in the face of heartbreak.

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

My thoughts:
Second Chance Summer is one of the saddest books I've ever read. It is an absolutely heartbreaking story about love and loss and I think it's one everyone should give a go.

It's not a summery feel good romance like Morgan Matson's other books but that doesn't mean it doesn't have all the charm her other stories have. Like all her books there is a big focus on family and friends.

I loved getting to see the family dealing with the situation and how each member of the family reacted differently. I liked how we slowly get to know them as they start getting to know each other. There's a big focus on parental love as well as love between sibling. I liked reading about how they learn means to be there for each other in times of need.

My favourite relationship that is explore in Second Chance Summer has to be Taylor's relationship with her father. It's incredibly heartwarming while also being incredibly heartbreaking. I think it's definitely the relationship that was developed the most.

Friendship is another big aspect of the story particularly how childhood friends are sometimes the ones that mean the most. Taylor gets a second chance at trying to fix a friendship that fell apart years ago. She's learns how to go about this and how to rebuild the relationship after the falling out.

I really liked Taylor, I found her to be super relatable. Her character development is amazing. She's a very different person by the end of the book. She grows and changes so much over the course of this one summer. The changes in her are so subtle you don't even realise how much ha changed until you think back to how she acted at the start of the book.

Henry, the love interest, was linkable. Usually I love Morgan Matson's male characters but I didn't love Henry. Personally I would have liken more from him.He didn't stand out to me as a character I'll remember. He felt a bit 2 D to me.

Overall I would highly recommend Second Chance Summer to everyone but be warned have tissues at the ready because you'll need them!!

My rating: 4.5 stars
Thanks for reading,
A :)
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Publication: February 21st 2012 by Simon & Schuster

GoodReads description:
This Printz Honor Book is a “tender, honest exploration of identity” (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship.

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

My thoughts:
Now I understand why this book has received so many awards, and after reading it I can say it deserves each and every one of them. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is such a simple yet beautiful story that's just stunning. It's about family, understanding those around you, understanding yourself, growing up,  friendship, identity and lots more. It's a powerful read I'd recommend for everyone to give it a go.

I loved that it surprised me. The story was nothing like I was expecting. I thought it was going to be this cutesy adorable YA romance but it wasn't. There was nothing really cutesy about it. It had it happy moment and sad moments but essentially the story was about Ari finding himself. Growing up. Learning to be okay. It's a story of self discovery and I loved that!

I think Aristotle and Dante is one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read. The writing can seem so ordinary and then suddenly there's these sentences that you have to stop and read multiple times because it is just so beautiful. It makes you think. I think those are the best kind of books; the ones that made you wonder about things. Benjamin Alire Sáenz scatters these beautiful messages in throughout the story an it's wonderful.

Aristotle and Dante is definitely a character driven story but even though there wasn't much of a plot I still managed to read it in one sitting. Ari, the main character,is such an interesting boy, he has a lot of internal struggle going on and that made me fly through the book, I wanted to see how he was going to grow throughout the story. He's sad and angry and he doesn't know why. He doesn't have friends, he prefers to be alone. He's just as teenager trying to live his life and I really appreciated his character because he felt real. I related to him in some ways, which made reading from his point of view easy. His development was perfectly paced and well done.

The friendship between Ari and Dante was developed well but the relationships I enjoyed most reading about was the relationship between the boys and their parents. What I really appreciated was how big a part both sets of parents played in the story. I loved that both Ari and Dante's parents where so present in this novel. Parents are non-existent in  YA and I think they should be in the stories we read because our parents/guardians play an important role in our lives.

I really enjoyed this book. I will probably revisit it when I'm older to see what I think of it a few years down the line.

My rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.