Review: Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood

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3.8 Stars 

Wild Swans was an enjoyable read, and it had lots of layers. It was entertaining, and something that I would recommend. 

I’m surprised with how many important social issues were tackled in this book. It does definitely get you thinking, and the Milbourn curse/legacy was interesting. I think that the Milbourn curse/legacy might actually be my favorite thing about the book, and it’s actually something that I think made the story unique. 

It definitely does have an impact on Ivy and that impact is showcased throughout the entire book. Also, it adds a solid background to the story. 

One thing I enjoyed about this book is that at the end, not everything is resolved. It doesn’t have a definitive ending for everyone, and you are left wondering what will happen next to some characters. I felt like the ending went well with this type of story because it shows that not every relationship can be fixed and life isn’t perfect or fair. 

I really appreciated the dialogue. It felt real and like someone was actually speaking those words. 

Characters 

The characters in this book are well developed and diverse. I like that the family and friendship aspect is very present. I enjoyed that this book wasn’t dominated by romance. However, I felt that the Ivy’s character development wasn’t as prominent that I had hoped it would be. Also, I felt that the love triangle added unnecessary drama. If this book solely focused on Ivy’s romantic life, it would've felt more in place. 

The romance sort of felt flat to me. Connor was a nice guy, I just wasn’t as interested in Ivy’s love life as I was with her family life. 

I liked that Ivy didn’t have it all figured out and that she was ordinary . This aspect made her more realistic and relatable. She was a mature main character, and I was rooting for her the entire way. I mentioned friendship earlier, but I loved how she had two strong friends supporting her all the way. I also, loved Ivy’s voice. It was unique and different. 

And with the supporting characters, I enjoyed how we got to hear about their problems going on in their life. They weren’t just two dimensional characters who only seemed to come around when it was convenient to the plot. They actually had personal things going on in their life, which made it real. 

Final Analysis 

Wild Swans is a realistic story about family and self-discovery with a hint of romance. This book doesn’t stray shy of covering important issues like gender identity, sexuality, or feminism. The ending is sort of open ended, however, it stays true to the notion that not everything in life is going to work and sometimes you don’t know about the future.  

Review: An Officer and a Rebel by Cindi Madsen

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About the Book

Doing the wrong thing has never felt so right…

The last person police officer Nate Walsh expected to discover stranded in a snowstorm is his brother’s ex—and former town rebel—Kelsey Cooper. His complete opposite in every way, Kelsey’s the girl he never allowed himself to want. But when she agrees to stay with him until the storm passes, he definitely finds himself wanting the gorgeous, tattooed woman. Too bad Nate’s sure his brother is still in love with her…

Kelsey had only meant to drive through her tiny hometown, not end up spending time there. With a cop. But despite her issues with authority figures, even she can admit Mr. Serious looks pretty hot in his uniform. Unfortunately, she’s sworn off relationships—and she’ll never be the girl for a nice guy.

Review

Let me first start this by saying how much I love Cindi Masden, she’s one of my favorite authors but I feel very conflicted about The Officer and a Rebel. I’m not saying that I didn’t like it because I did in the end. Usually with her novels, I just fall in love with the characters and I adore her books. This one, despite being a novella, it fell a bit short in the instant attraction for me. Going into the book, I just felt like something was missing, then about maybe past the halfway mark, the spark kicked in and it took off. 

For me personally, some elements dragged on and others felt rushed especially when it came to Nate and Kelsey getting together. I wanted more time with them and then in the end everything happened so fast for me but I’m not complaining because once I got into them, I really enjoyed where it led.

I will say that I enjoyed the characters and the premise of the book overall, but just wish things could’ve a little developed more. I’d still recommend because I think it’s worth reading because the story is still good and who doesn’t love it when the good guy gets the girl? 

Review: Seven Ways to Lose Your Heart by Tiffany Truitt

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About the Book

In the span of seven days, Annabel Lee will lose her heart.

Kennedy Harrison, as reckless with life as Annabel is obsessed with order, never could commit to anything—not to a person, not to a job, not to a path. But he’s got a history with Annabel, and for once Kennedy doesn’t want to run. Determined to spend time with her before she leaves for college, Kennedy dares her to join him on a road trip to a music festival.

And neither of them could ever say no to a dare.

But Annabel’s got a plan. She’ll complete seven dares in seven days—if Kennedy applies for one writing internship per dare. Because Kennedy needs to be pushed just as much as she does.

What follows is a dizzying week of music, shady hotels, comical dares, and a passion neither one knew existed. But when it ends, Annabel and Kennedy will realize the biggest dare of all might just be falling for each other.

Review

Seven Ways to Lose Your Heart by Tiffany Truitt, her debut in the new adult category, is definitely one that I dare you to read in one sitting. I’m always super critical of authors with books that transition genres, not that you are bound to one but it’s always interesting if the leap meets the expectations. Well, considering this is my first book reading from her, not only do I think her book was fantabulous, I see great things for in this category as well as a lot of back reading for me.

Seven Ways, introduces us to Annabel and Kennedy. Once great friends, tragedy strikes leaving space and time, separating their unbreakable bond. Just like in life, it wasn’t the right time, a chance encounter fused with fate brings them back to potentially healing old wounds. In the spirit of something they once commonly shared, the loves of dares, leads them on a road trip that dares them to leap, love, dream and forgive.

Let's just start this off by saying I loved the book. She had me at the first chapter. There was something special about the quality of her writing and storytelling that is for me is reminiscent of some of my favorites like Matthew Quick, J.A. Redmerski and Colleen Hoover, who gives us characters to love and feel and take their journey with them. She makes you fall in love with the characters and their story. I loved the dynamics of their relationships and their personalities complemented through their dual povs. It really gave depth to their back story as well at the one being told.

Some of my favorite parts of the book were the familial connection between Annabel and her grandmother. There is something special about that kind of relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild where wisdom and life experience are always so inspiring. In conjunction with her past and her current situation, the influence of that relationship on her own personal decisions really resonated with me. I love the transition of people who grow up together, lose touch and can reconnect as if life never parted. To an extent this happens but there is much more to this that you will read but it just makes you feel good because it fulfills that cliché if things are meant to be, they will. The whole concept of the dare aspect of the book was so much fun. As you get to know them, such a big part of their past and current, it brings out the adventurous side of you that allows you to ride along with them. 

Overall, this was a good read. I would love for this book to be revisited because I’d love to see what happened to them because I feel like there is so much more to them that we could explore. I thought the book wrapped up nicely. Wonderful characters, great writing and a story that will woo you and be fun at the same time. I’d definitely recommend adding to you summer TBR!

Review: Wanderlost by Jen Malone

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4 Stars
Even though the plot was farfetched, I enjoyed this book. It was a nice, funny, and cute read. And within the story there is a lot of discovery. You discover so many wonderful places, as well as the main character, who in a sense is lost. 

It does have a simple storyline, however, it’s interesting and something that you don’t want to stop reading. Like mentioned earlier, the plot is little farfetched. There is no way that Aubree and her sister would have been able to pull that off, but because the story is good you sort of just roll with it. 

It’s a good summer read. It’s refreshing, and I couldn’t stop smiling while reading it. The pacing was good. Everything played out extremely well and nothing happened too fast or too slow. 

Because this book is mostly centered on a road trip, it feels like an adventure while you read it. The road trip aspect didn’t blend into the background, it was present throughout the plot. It was a nice feeling to have a balance between the different aspects of the book. 

There was just the right amount of angst to keep it interesting, but not enough to be overbearing and unnecessary. However, I wasn’t expecting to almost be brought to tears by this book. But I felt like that heartbreaking moment was needed. It brought out another set of emotions. 

I’m a little disappointed with the ending, because I feel like there was more story to tell. It felt incomplete because the ending sort of was a start of a new journey and that would have been interesting to read about it. 

Characters

Aubree was a great main character. I enjoyed her and also her character development. Her character development was noticeable and made sense. She was well development and relatable. 

Sam was adorable. I really liked him as a love interest and supporting character. He and Aubree were cute and I enjoyed them together, as well as when they were separate. Their phone conversations were enjoyable, and it was interesting that most of their relationship had developed from them. You could really sense the chemistry between them during those phone conversations. 

However, because of the ending feeling incomplete, I felt like their relationship was left hanging. I would have loved to read a 'One Year' later about them. 

I really enjoyed the senior citizens. Every one of them were unique and funny. And they also interacted with Aubree in a different way. They were very present in the book, and brought a little something extra. 

Aubree’s older sister, Elizabeth was another story. I did not enjoy her character. Her actions were not really justified in the end. She was rude in the beginning, and I felt like the reader’s and Aubree deserved a better explanation. I would have loved to see Aubree’s and her relationship explored more. I felt like the author was trying to make them become closer towards the end, but it fell flat for me because of Elizabeth’s actions. 

Final Analysis

Wonderlost is a book that will make you want to start your own adventure. It’s entertaining, as it is light and fun. Both the main character and supporting characters are great. The ending is a little unsatisfying and the plot is farfetched, however, Malone’s storytelling will captivate you. 

Review: The Night Buffalo by Guillermo Arriaga

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About the Book

Award-winning, internationally acclaimed writer Guillermo Arriaga weaves a luminous, insightful story of love and friendship, passion and betrayal, lunacy and mental illness. Set in Mexico City, The Night Buffalo revolves around the mysterious suicide of Gregorio, a charismatic but troubled young man who was betrayed by the two people he trusted most.

Review

Guillermo Arriaga's novel The Night Buffalo is a lot to deal with. Not only is it an intense character study, but it is also a tense, dramatic struggle for coping with suicide and also a very in depth look at suicide itself. This book is recommended for lovers of thrillers and character pieces, otherwise, I'd shy away from it.

Arriaga does a fine job at pacing and keeping the reader interested to a certain extent in the characters, but there's something very lack-luster about this book as a whole. I think it may be the bluntness of the language, which may come through because of a poor translation, but after looking into the book at the start, I was interested and unfortunately it didn't live up to any sort of small expectations that I had. 

This book seems to feel like it has a lot of depth, but in reality, that depth doesn't come through very often. It may be an issue because of the choice of a love triangle at the center of the piece, but more often than not, I did not feel very much for anyone. 

The most interesting part of this novel was showcasing and understanding the reverberations that are felt after the death of a person and how one life lost can have a monumental effect on other lives closely involved with it. This novel allows for some reflection, but over all, it does little other than take up precious reading time.

Review: Winner Takes All by Erin Kern

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About the Book

Money. Fame. Endorsements. Blake Carpenter had it all -- before his professional football career spiraled out of control. Determined to rebuild his life, he takes on coaching the high school team in his Colorado hometown. Despite a few fumbles, Blake knows he can lead these boys to victory. As long as he can keep his eyes on the prize and off the team's distractingly gorgeous physical therapist.

Annabelle Turner knows all about the scandal that cost Blake his NFL career, and she'll be damned if she's going to let his mistakes hurt her team. What she doesn't count on is the intense attraction that turns every heated run-in they have into a wildly erotic competition. Point by point, play by play, kiss by kiss, they try to keep things professional for the good of the team. But when the score is this close-and the passion this fierce-it's anybody's game . . .

Review

If there are ever two characters that I wanted to smack, they’d be Blake and Annabelle. Why? Have you ever come across two people who you know were meant to be with each and everyone knew it but them? Well, let me introduce you to this pair that will definitely add some spice and everything nice to your summer TBR! Kern’s upcoming novel, Winner Takes All, the first in the Champion Valley series, will really gives readers a workout earning that ending!

Kern’s upcoming novel was one that I found myself with many love hate moments with the characters. I say that as the biggest term of endearment because the more I got into the characters, the more their chemistry drove me crazy. I’ll just say it was a fun and interesting ride.

Let me introduce you to Blake. Let me first say how much I hate football. So, going into a novel that was surrounded by football was not the greatest appeal for me but it’s all good because I was more than entertained by the overall story. He’s definitely someone that I felt at first impression was the biggest tool. I will admit as the book went on and I got to know him a little better that I softened to his struggle but the jury is out overall how I really feel about him. 

Here’s a guy who was a professional football player whose career came to end through a scandal. Trying to pick up the pieces, he returns to his hometown and is given a one shot chance of redemption teaching high school football. He’s got a couple of problems. One, he inherited a team that hasn’t won since he was there and knowing that he’s got only one chance, there isn’t anyone or anything that is going to get in the way of him reaching his goal. Then his other problem is Annabelle Turner.

Annabelle is the team’s physical therapist. She really loves the boys and wants the best for them. So, when Blake encounters her working with his team, he doesn’t take to kindly someone interfering with his prize. Trying to show her concern, Blake sees her as an interference and annoyance to his end goal. Despite Blake’s opposition to her being around, she determined to do whatever it takes to help the team regards of what he says. As the tension mounts between them professionally, there is an intense attraction that is drawing them near personally. The more they resist each other, the closer there are being drawn to each other. Which way do they decided to go? I’m not going to tell you, you are just going to have to find out!

Overall, I enjoyed the book. What I really appreciate about the book is how Kern gives readers something to hold onto that really makes the story worth it in the end. She could’ve went the cheesy predictable way but then it wouldn’t have been as good. Their struggles and back story really gives you a chance to understand them and the love/hate buildup between them not only give moments that make you want to laugh but make the ride along with them fun. This is one that will make you laugh, grab your heart and make you want rush things but be patient because it will be worth it. Definitely a fun one to add to the summer TBR!