Category: Contemporary

Title: Red, White and Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 14, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him. 

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Review:

This book definitely lived up to the hype!

I loved this parallel universe with a queer romance between a prince and a first son. They were such a cute couple! It really didn’t feel that far off from the future. Things are changing everyday, and I can imagine these kinds of changes in these historical institutions. However, it was heartbreaking that these two boys, who were perfect for each other, could have been kept apart because of some people’s prejudice.

Some of the parts were predictable, but that’s what I loved about the story. I could tell that Alex and Henry would get together, because of the tension between them. I also predicted that they would be caught in some way because that was the danger of their relationship becoming public.

I’m so glad I read this story! I loved it!

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

What to read next:

Have you read Red, White and Royal Blue? What did you think of it?

Title: My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant
Author: Laura Dockrill
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 16, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This honest, laugh-out-loud novel brimming with body positivity, bite-sized nuggets of feminism, and commentary on eating will have readers rooting for sixteen-year-old BB as she navigates her world while maintaining her plucky zest for life even in the most trying of times.

It’s a food diary. I have to tell the truth. That’s the point.

Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, also known as BB or Big Bones, lives her life unapologetically. She loves life! She loves food!

When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.

Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn’t just document what she’s eating, she documents what she’s feeling–and she has a lot to say!

Review:

This story was both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Bluebelle is told that she is obese and needs to lose weight after a serious asthma attack. A nurse gives her a food diary to keep track of her diet. The diary ends up turning into a journal where she talks about everything in her life. It takes a serious accident for her to rethink her life choices.

There was so much delicious food described in this book! This is definitely not a book to read when you’re hungry. There was a paragraph that described toast, which made me crave it. I’ve never read toast described in such detail before!

The only thing that bothered me about this book was the cover. The character is supposed to be so obese that she is unhealthy, or at least that is the way she is described. However, the girl on the cover looks like she’s a healthy body weight. I wish her size was represented with a more appropriate model on the cover.

I really enjoyed this story!

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

What to read next:

Have you read My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant? What did you think of it?

Title: Royals (Royals #1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond. 

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

Review:

I’m so glad I finally read this book! It was everything I thought it would be and more!

I loved the plot. Daisy is suddenly thrown into the spotlight when her sister becomes engaged to the Prince of Scotland. She had to deal with this new fame, which led to many scandalous photos in the British press and damage control by the royal family’s press secretary.

The story had some examples of the press stories throughout the book. There were more of these at the beginning, and I loved them. They were a funny little break in the main story that showed how the royal family was described to the rest of the world. These stories tapered off towards the end, and the stories were just described by Daisy. I wish there had been more of these press stories, because they were very entertaining.

I loved this book! I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

What to read next:

Have you read Royals? What did you think of it?

Title: Ordinary Girls
Author: Blair Thornburgh
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 4, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski, this heartfelt and humorous contemporary take on Sense and Sensibility follows two sisters—complete opposites—who discover the secrets they’ve been keeping make them more alike than they’d realized.

For two sisters as different as Plum and Ginny, getting on each other’s nerves is par for the course. But when the family’s finances hit a snag, sending chaos through the house in a way only characters from a Jane Austen novel could understand, the two drift apart like they never have before. Plum, a self-described social outcast, strikes up a secret friendship with the class jock, while Ginny’s usual high-strung nature escalates to pure hysterics.

But this has always been the sisters’ dynamic. So why does everything feel different this year? Maybe because Ginny is going to leave for college soon. Maybe because Plum finally has something that she doesn’t have to share with her self-involved older sister. Or maybe because the girls are forced to examine who they really are instead of who their late father said they were. And who each girl discovers—beneath the years of missing their dad—could either bring them closer together…or drive them further apart.

Review:

This was a great story about sisters.

I flew through this book. I loved the way that Patience narrated it. She was very mature. It sounded like a Victorian novel, though the subject matter wouldn’t have been in a novel in the nineteenth century.

I enjoyed the family dynamic of the story. Their mother was an artist who often had too much on her plate. The house was also an important part of the story, because it was falling apart, which kept interrupting their lives when they had to fix it. The relationship between the sisters was also important. Though they are very close, they kept big secrets from each other, which only come out after they are threatened with a tragedy.

I really enjoyed this story!

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

What to read next:

Have you read Ordinary Girls? What did you think of it?

Title: Call It What You Want
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.

Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.

When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship…

This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?

Review:

In this story, Maegan and Rob are suddenly outcasts at school. Maegan was caught cheating on the SATs, even though she was a straight-A student. Then, her “perfect” sister came back from college, pregnant with her professor’s baby. Rob’s father was caught embezzling money from his financial company, and everyone thinks that Rob knew what was happening. They are brought together in their calculus class, where they form an unlikely friendship.

Morality was a big theme in this book. The main characters and their peers have to ask if Maegan and Rob deserve to be punished for what they did, or what their family members did. Maegan cheated on her test, but it affected everyone else in the testing room whose papers had to be scrapped. Rob’s father stole money from many of his classmate’s families, so they take it out on Rob by ignoring him. They both end up suffering for these actions, until they can open people’s eyes up to the truth.

This book was very touching. Both Maegan and Rob had to look after their family members. Maegan helps her sister deal with her unplanned pregnancy. She ends up stepping up to look after her. Rob’s father attempted suicide, but now he can’t do anything on his own. Rob and his mother have to look after him, including feeding and bathing him. It was heartbreaking to read about his father, and the way that the people he hurt the most had to look after him. This made me sympathetic to Maegan and Rob, even though they had both made mistakes.

This is a great story!

Thank you Bloomsbury YA for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read Call It What You Want? What did you think of it?

Title: Saint Anything
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Viking
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Peyton, Sydney’s charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion’s share of their parents’ attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton’s increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.

Review:

I’m in love with this book. It was an amazing rollercoaster of emotions.

I was fascinated with the premise of this book. It begins with Sydney’s brother being convicted for hitting a boy while driving drunk. This affected her, even more than just losing a brother, because she was suddenly restricted in what she was allowed to do. Her parents wanted to protect her from taking the same path as her brother, but it led to her being restricted so much, it was like she was being punished. Once, after Sydney made a small mistake, all of her privileges were taken away. I was so empathetic for Sydney, because she didn’t deserve her extreme punishments.

There was a character that was creepy right from page one. However, Sydney’s parents, in particular her mother, trusted him. It was sad to see her parents trust him, while he was being inappropriate in many ways. It was upsetting to read, but he ultimately got the justice he deserved.

I was craving so many different foods while reading this book! The food they ate was described in detail. Sydney’s friend, Layla, was a connoisseur of french fries. She had a routine of eating them with different ketchup mixtures. Layla’s family owned a pizza store which sold pizza and garlic knots, which sounded delicious! This is definitely not a book to read if you’re hungry!

I loved this story!

What to read next:

Have you read Saint Anything? What did you think of it?

Title: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1)
Author: Louise Rennison
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HaperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 24, 1999
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

There are six things very wrong with my life:

1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.

2. It is on my nose

3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.

4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.

5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.

6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.

In this wildly funny journal of a year in the life of Georgia Nicolson, British author Louise Rennison has perfectly captured the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. In the spirit of Bridget Jones’s Diary, this fresh, irreverent, and simply hilarious book will leave you laughing out loud. As Georgia would say, it’s “Fabbity fab fab!”

Review:

This book quickly became one of my favourites as soon as I started reading it. It is hilarious!

Georgia is an ordinary girl, suffering through her teenage existence. She is so relatable because of her flaws. She documents her life in this journal, including all of her embarrassing moments, such as her first kiss.

One thing that I’ve always loved about this series is that the characters around Georgia are very important to the story. Georgia, like most teenagers, feels like she should be the centre of attention. However, her family and friends are prominent in the story. Her parents deal with problems including her father losing his job. Georgia acts as her friend’s wing woman so she can start dating a boy who works at a grocery store. In my opinion, the funniest character is Libby, Georgia’s toddler sister, because she has no filter when talking!

I love this series! If you haven’t read it yet, you have to pick it up!

What to read next:

Have you read Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging? What did you think of it?

Title: The Exact Opposite of Okay
Author: Laura Steven
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 11, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Bitingly funny and shockingly relevant, The Exact Opposite of Okay is a bold, brave, and necessary read for fans of Louise O’Neill and Jennifer Mathieu. 

Eighteen-year-old Izzy O’Neill knows exactly who she is—a loyal friend, an aspiring comedian, and a person who believes that milk shakes and Reese’s peanut butter cups are major food groups. But after she’s caught in a compromising position with the son of a politician, it seems like everyone around her is eager to give her a new label: slut.

Izzy is certain that the whole thing will blow over and she can get back to worrying about how she doesn’t reciprocate her best friend Danny’s feelings for her and wondering how she is ever going to find a way out of their small town. Only it doesn’t.

And while she’s used to laughing her way out of any situation, as she finds herself first the center of high school gossip and then in the middle of a national scandal, it’s hard even for her to find humor in the situation.

Izzy may be determined not to let anyone else define who she is, but that proves easier said than done when it seems like everyone has something to say about her.

Review:

I really enjoyed this story.

It was sometimes upsetting. Izzy was severely bullied after compromising photos were posted online. It escalated all the way to national news. While Izzy was bullied, the boy featured in the images was not, which demonstrated a gender bias when it comes to sex. Girls are punished for being sexual, while boys are rewarded.

This story had a strong feminist theme. Izzy did put herself at risk by taking the photos, but the media and her peers escalated it by “slut-shaming” her. Even her teachers held it against her. She had been through a lot, but she definitely didn’t deserve that. It made me angry while I was reading the story, because it is so realistic and I could imagine this happening in real life.

On a lighter note, Izzy was a hilarious narrator. I laughed out loud many times. I particularly loved a pick-up line she used: “What’s your patronus?” She said that the question would tell her if a guy is worth her time, because he would know what she was referring to (Harry Potter) and he would already have an answer. I think that’s a great line!

This is a powerful story with a strong feminist message.

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

What to read next:

About the Author:

Author Links:

Website: https://www.laura-steven.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17054622.Laura_Steven

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurasteven

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurasteven/

Giveaway:

Prize: Win (1) of (2) copy of THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF OKAY by Laura Steven (US Only)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9681b86373/?

Blog Tour Schedule:

June 5th

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club – Welcome Post

June 6th

The Night Faerie – Review + Favourite Quotes
Book-Keeping – Review
A Dream Within A Dream – Promotional Post
Pages and Pugs – Promotional Post

June 7th

TBR and Beyond – Review + Playlist + Favourite Quotes
Flipping Through the Pages  – Review
Staircase Wit – Review + Favourite Quotes
Luchia Houghton Blog – Promotional Post

June 8th

Kait Plus Books – Review + Favourite Quotes
Maddie.TV – Review
Confessions of a YA Reader – Promotional Post
My Bookish Escapades – Promotional Post

June 9th

Bookish_Kali – Review + Favourite Quotes
Little voids – Review
Bemused Bibliophile – Review
Literary Meanderings – Promotional Post

June 10th

Jill’s Book Blog – Review
The Book Thief Without Words – Review
Twilight Reader – Review
The Reading Life – Promotional Post

June 11th

Belle’s Archive – Review
The YA Obsessed – Review
The Traveling Inkwell – Review
BookCrushin – Promotional Post

Thank you The Fantastic Flying Book Club and HarperTeen for letting me participate in this blog tour.

Have you read The Exact Opposite of Okay? What did you think of it?