A Reader in Time

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
# of Pages: 338 (Paperback)
Challenge: 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door

My Thoughts:

First off, I have to say that I liked this much more than Anna and the French Kiss.

Lola was such a fun character with her love of costume design and not being afraid to express her individuality. Lindsey is a great friend to Lola. She was always there when Lola needed her most. I loved Lola's dads. They were very supportive of her costume designing, but they were also strict, especially when it came to boys.

Lola's boyfriend, Max, was a total jerk. I just didn't get what Lola saw in him. He treated Lindsey like crap and I was mad at Lola for not defending her. Cricket, on the other hand, is very sweet and kind. It was easy to see why Lola liked him so much.

Anna and St. Clair appear many times in this book and I liked seeing them together from Lola's perspective.

I really enjoyed this book. It was cute, funny, and unputdownable.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Book: Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
# of Pages: 372 (Hardcover)
Challenge: 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
Rating: 3.5 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

My Thoughts:

I did like this book, though not as much as I hoped I would.

I loved that it was set in Paris, and Perkins does an excellent job of depicting it. It felt like I was actually there.

I really liked Anna. She's funny and very relatable. In the beginning she does not want to go to Paris, but as the story progresses the city starts to grow on her. I also really liked Anna's boarding school friends Meredith, Josh, and Rashmi. I just wish we could have gotten to know them more.

Etienne St. Clair frustrated me. The one thing that I did like about him was his and Anna's friendship. It was cute and I enjoyed watching them grow closer. But, St. Clair's constant back and forth between Anna and his girlfriend was really irritating. He'd flirt with Anna, compliment her, and then back away and go to his girlfriend. And it happens several times. I actually stopped reading the book for a while because I got so annoyed by this.

So, while I wasn't crazy about this book, I am glad that I finally read it.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Book: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
# of Pages: 248 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, 2014 Ebook Challenge, 2014 Dystopia Reading Challenge
Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Thoughts:

Why? Why? WHY did I wait so long to read this book?! It was absolutely amazing!

The thing that made this book for me was the writing. Tahereh Mafi's writing is beautiful. It's vivd and poetic and addictive. I envy her talent.

I loved Juliette. She's smart, brave, and manages to maintain a sense of positivity despite all the hell she's been through. Her touch is deadly. She wants to prove to the world that she isn't a monster, but The Reestablishment is determined to use her as a weapon.

Adam is kind and supportive and does everything within his power to help Juliette. Warner is manipulative and controlling and also a bit creepy. Though I have a feeling there's more to him than meets the eye.

I would have liked to see a bit more action. But, other than that, I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Gasp by Lisa McMann

Book: Gasp (Visions #3)
Author: Lisa McMann
# of Pages: 273 (Hardcover)
Challenge: 2014 Series Enders Challenge
Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:
After narrowly surviving two harrowing tragedies, Jules now fully understands the importance of the visions that she and people around her are experiencing. She’s convinced that if the visions passed from her to Sawyer after she saved him, then they must now have passed from Sawyer to one of the people he saved.

That means it’s up to Jules to figure out which of the school shooting survivors is now suffering from visions of another crisis. And once she realizes who it is, she has to convince that survivor that this isn't all crazy—that the images are of something real. Something imminent.

As the danger escalates more than ever before in the conclusion to the Visions series, Jules wonders if she'll finally find out why and how this is happening—before it's too late to prevent disaster.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great ending to the Visions trilogy. Though I'd love to see more of these characters.

As always, I loved Jules's relationship with her siblings, Trey and Rowan. They along with Sawyer, Jules's boyfriend, are very supportive of her and stick by her side no matter how crazy things get.

The action is non-stop as Jules tries to find the person who is now having visions and works tirelessly to help decipher the vision. And although things are pretty chaotic, the story wraps up nicely without any loose ends creating a very satisfying ending.

Overall, Gasp was a great read. If you have not yet read the Visions trilogy, I highly recommend it. With funny, likable characters, mystery, action, and romance, it has something for everyone.