Month: September 2020

Blog Tour Review: Smash It!

Title: Smash It!
Author: Francina Simone
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 22, 2020
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Refreshingly authentic and bold… Don’t miss this smashing #ownvoices novel from Francina Simone! Filled with heart, humor and a heroine to root for, Smash It! is a perfect read for fans of Julie Murphy, Ibi Zoboi and Ashley Poston.

Olivia “Liv” James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does…

After Liv shows up to a Halloween party in khaki shorts–why, God, why?–she decides to set aside her wack AF ways. She makes a list–a F*ck-It list.

1. Be bold–do the thing that scares me.

2. Learn to take a compliment.

3. Stand out instead of back.

She kicks it off by trying out for the school musical, saying yes to a date and making new friends. Life is great when you stop punking yourself! However, with change comes a lot of missteps, and being bold means following her heart. So what happens when Liv’s heart is interested in three different guys–and two of them are her best friends? What is she supposed to do when she gets dumped by a guy she’s not even dating? How does one Smash It! after the humiliation of being friend-zoned?

In Liv’s own words, “F*ck it. What’s the worst that can happen?”

A lot, apparently.

#SMASHIT

Review:

Olivia James is ready to leave her insecurities behind. She’s inspired by Shonda Rhimes’s book “Year of Yes” to make a list of things she wants to do to smash her junior year of high school. She auditions for the school play, which is something she’s always wanted to do. She also falls into a “love square,” when she starts crushing on three different guys, two of whom are her best friends. Olivia tries to make this the best year ever, but with so many mixed feelings, someone is bound to get hurt.

There were a lot of feelings in this book. Olivia and her friends had to figure out their own feelings while also discovering the complicated relationships of the adults around them. They experienced a lot of “firsts” that go with teenage love. The love triangle Olivia had with her two best friends was very uncomfortable. They all seemed to have feelings for each other but didn’t speak up until it was too late. These were awkward situations, but they also felt authentic.

I read some reviews for this book when I started reading it, and there were many negative comments about the racism in the story. One character is half Israeli and half Palestinian. This was a controversial choice, and I’m not sure why the character had this background because it didn’t really have anything to do with the plot. I found that the characters made a lot of racist comments about the Black characters. Even though the characters and author are Black, these comments were offensive. The characters briefly pointed out that these comments were offensive, but I think there could have been a firmer stand against these racist comments.

I wish some of these sensitive topics were treated more delicately in this story. However, this was an authentically emotional teenage story.

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

About the author:

Francina Simone believes in one thing: authenticity. She writes YA stories full of humor and hard life lessons with sprinkles of truth that make us all feel understood. Her craft focuses on stories about girls throwing caution to the wind to discover exactly who they are and what it means to love. Francina is also known for her BookTube channel, where she discusses controversial topics in books.

Have you read Smash It? What did you think of it?

TBR Thursday – September 17

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is Blood and Honey (Serpent and Dove #2) by Shelby Mahurin.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

After narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Dames Blanches, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are on the run from coven, kingdom, and church—fugitives with nowhere to hide.

To elude the scores of witches and throngs of chasseurs at their heels, Lou and Reid need allies. Strong ones. But protection comes at a price, and the group is forced to embark on separate quests to build their forces. As Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, the dastardly Morgane baits them in a lethal game of cat and mouse that threatens to destroy something worth more than any coven.

The hotly anticipated sequel to the New York Times and IndieBound bestseller Serpent & Dove—packed with even steamier romance and darker magic—is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review: My Riot

Title: My Riot
Author: Rick Spears, Emmett Helen
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Oni Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 8, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

“Full of raw noise & 90’s angst, MY RIOT delivers an electric gut-punch of a tale that will have you aching for the return of the riot grrrl movement.” — Kim Liggett, New York TimesBestselling author of THE GRACE YEAR

Set in the early ’90s, My Riot is about a trio of teen girls team up to form a rock band and shake off society’s expectations of what it means to be a young woman coming of age in the modern world.

1991—Val, a teenager from a conservative family, has grown up dreaming of becoming a ballerina, but recently something has changed. She’s begun feeling pressure to conform to a specific idea of beauty, body type, and a personality that just doesn’t fit.

Val meets Kat, a smart, witty girl that doesn’t take any crap off anyone. Kat introduces Val to punk rock. Along with Rudie, another new friend, the three form an all-girl punk band they ironically name The Proper Ladies.

Soon Val and her friends find themselves caught up in a movement with other girls also starting bands—also finding their voice. Collectively, these “riot grrrls” discover that their songs ring out loud and powerful, and for Val, there’s no going back.

Review:

Val is a girl from a conservative background who has always wanted to be a ballerina. When her ballet teacher tells her she needs to lose weight, she suggests she start smoking. Val gets the cigarettes from Kat, who becomes her new friend. Kat introduces Val to punk rock. They form a band called The Proper Ladies, and Val’s life is changed forever.

This was a great story about girl power. Val gained confidence from performing in her band. She had been restricted and limited in what she was allowed to do when she was a dancer. With punk rock, she could make the rules and become her true self.

A trigger warning for this book is eating disorders. It was disturbing to see how Val’s teacher told her and other dancers to lose weight any way they could. That included taking up smoking cigarettes. Some of them developed eating disorders. I was glad to see Val take up music so she could develop a healthy body image.

This is a great punk rock graphic novel.

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Queen of Kenosha by Howard Shapiro and Erica Chan

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

Have you read My Riot? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – September 16

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore. The expected publication date is September 22, 2020.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history. But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or why her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world—and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands. So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough—they are everything.

Witty and heartfelt with characters that leap off the page, Miss Meteor is acclaimed authors Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first book together.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: The Wrong Mr. Darcy

Title: The Wrong Mr. Darcy
Author: Evelyn Lozada with Holly Lörincz
Genre: Romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Rating: ★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz’s lightly inspired Pride and Prejudice romantic comedy, two unlikely people discover the error of judging by first impressions and the beauty of family, friendship and love. This book will entice you through the last page.

Hara Isari has big ambitions and they won’t be sidetracked by her mother’s insisting that she settle down soon. She dreams of leaving her small-town newspaper behind, as well as her felon father, and building a career as a sports writer, so when she is chosen to exclusively interview a basketball superstar, she jumps at the chance. It’s time to show the bigwigs what she’s truly made of. 

At the same time, she meets a rookie on the rise, Derek Darcy. Darcy is incredibly handsome, obnoxiously proud, and has a major chip on his shoulder. Hara can’t think of a man more arrogant and infuriating. However, fate keeps bringing them together—from locker rooms to elegant parties, to the storm of the century—and what begins as a clash might just be more complicated than Hara anticipated. When she begins to see Darcy in a new light, Hara is not quite sure if she should drop the ball or play the love game.

Review:

Hara Isari is an aspiring sports journalist. She gets the chance of a lifetime when she is chosen to interview the elusive Charles Butler, a rising basketball star. When she travels to Boston to meet Butler, she also meets his best friend, Derek Darcy. They instantly can’t stand each other, but they keep getting pushed together as Hara follows the team to research her article. Soon Hara realizes there is a dark secret between Butler and Darcy, and she won’t stop investigating until she figures it out.

This story followed the general “enemies to lovers” plot of Pride and Prejudice, with Hara and Darcy not liking each other but slowly starting to fall in love. However, the other subplots of Pride and Prejudice were changed. Hara’s father was in prison, not a steady role model like Mr. Bennet was to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Butler was hiding some scandalous secrets, such as cheating on his girlfriend. I can’t imagine Bingley from Pride and Prejudice ever doing anything like that. I was disappointed that the original characters were changed so much in this adaptation.

There were some dramatic scenes at the end of the book. There are also some trigger warnings, such as suicide, abortion, murder, and assault. These events seemed to be just thrown into the story for a shock effect. These things didn’t add to the plot, and they didn’t make sense for a Pride and Prejudice adaptation.

This book didn’t work for me.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Intercepted by Alexa Martin

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Have you read The Wrong Mr. Darcy? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Spooky Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is a Cover Freebie, so for the start of fall, I decided to do Spooky Covers. Here’s my list:

1. It Begins (The Unseen #1) by Richie Tankersley Cusick

2. A Werewolf in Riverdale by Caleb Roehrig

3. The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh

4. Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso

5. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

6. Some Kind of Animal by Maria Romasco Moore

7. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

8. Your Life is Mine by Nathan Ripley

9. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack

10. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Review: The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #1)

Title: The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

WELCOME TO THE FOREST OF GOOD AND EVIL.

A DREAM COME TRUE…AND A LIVING NIGHTMARE.

Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future.

Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real-life fairy-tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors.

Look. See… What will one peek hurt?

Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.

With powers beyond her imagination or control, Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As the prophecy unfolds, Everly faces one betrayal after another, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Can she resist, or will she become the queen—and villain—she was born to be?

The battle between good and evil is on.

Review:

Everly Morrow has lived her whole life in the mortal world with her sister and mother. One day, she begins to see something in the mirror, which is her special magical ability. Everly is actually from a fairy tale world, Enchantia, where she is fated to play a role in the fairy tale of Snow White and the Evil Queen. Everly has to travel to Enchantia to fulfill her part in the prophecy, but no one knows which role they are supposed to play. They have to figure out who will be Snow White, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen.

This was an exciting twist on the fairy tale adaptation. It wasn’t clear which character was playing which role in the Snow White fairy tale. At different parts of the story, any of the characters could be either Snow White, the Huntsman, Prince Charming, or the Evil Queen. This was a clever way to keep the reader guessing until the end.

This story was a little long and complicated at times. It got confusing when the roles in the Snow White kept changing, though it kept me wondering who was going to eventually fulfill each role. Some of the scenes were repetitive, such as when they traveled in the forest. The same things kept happening to the characters in the forest, like being chased by different creatures and bathing in the lake. I think some of these parts could have been condensed to make the story more fast paced.

I really enjoyed this fairy tale story. I’m excited to read the next one!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford

Other books in the series:

  • The Glass Queen

Have you read The Evil Queen? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – September 14

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #1) by Gena Showalter.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada with Holly Lörincz.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Smash It! by Francina Simone.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – September 13

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 9 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?