Review: Shame: Conception Pt. 1

Title: Shame: Conception: Part 1

Author: Lovern Kindzierski

Artist(s): John Bolton

Series/Standalone: Shame Series (Vol. 1)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Adult Fiction, Horror

Pages: 60

Publisher: Renegade Arts Entertainment

Year Published: 2011

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"When the purest woman on earth allows herself one selfish thought it is enough to conceive the most evil woman the world has ever known.

From the imaginations of award winning creators: Lovern Kindzierski, John Bolton and Todd Klein, is born the dark faery tale trilogy of shame."

My Rating: 1/5

I don't think I realized what this graphic novel was going to be, and after reading it, I'm still not sure I can describe it. The feeling of, "What the hell did I just win?" is still rattling around in my skull. I didn't find it to be in my wheelhouse and for that reason, I won't be continuing on with the series.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Review: Everything Vol. 2: Black Friday

Title: Everything Vol. 2: Black Friday

Author: Christopher Cantwell

Illustrator(s): I.N.J. Culbard, Steve Wands

Series/Standalone:

Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror, Science Fiction, Adult

Pages: 128

Publisher: Berger Books

Year Published: 2020

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"Things in Holland, Michigan are stranger than ever: while some of the townspeople fall deeper into the mysteries of the disturbingly alluring and increasingly inescapable Everything mega-store, a growing array of renegade citizens form an underground resistance against its masters. Murky answers to bizarre questions finally surface... who, or what, is really in control of Everything... and why? Monstrous villains will be revealed, all out war will explode out in the parking lot, and deep beneath the store, the remaining few will venture forth into an unfathomable- maybe even inhuman- horizon as the American Dream gets derailed in a nightmarish turn."

My Rating: 1/5

I don't know why I expected this to be able to hit all the plot points that I hoped it would. This felt rushed and I was hoping for a bigger build-up of what was going on with this company, this town and this science fiction setting. It was not all I hoped.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: My Sweet Audrina by VC Andrews

Title: My Sweet Audrina

Author: VC Andrews

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Horror, Adult Fiction

Pages: 403

Publisher: Pocket Books

Year Published: 1982

Format: Physical Copy

"VC Andrews, author of the phenomenally successful Dollanganger series, has created a fascinating new cast of characters in this haunting story of love and deceit, innocence and betrayal, and the suffocating power of parental love.

Audrina Adare wanted so to be as good as her sister. She knew her father could not love her as he loved her sister. Her sister was so special, so perfect- and dead.

Now she will come face with the dangerous, terrifying secret that everyone knows. Everyone except....

My Sweet Audrina."

DNF @ 60%

My Rating: 1/5

I bought this book after I read Flowers in the Attic when I was in high school and finally decided to pick it up. This book did NOT age well. While I understand that language choices have changed over the past 40 years, I'm curious how this book was reprinted in 2011. I'm also curious as to how people didn't see where the twist was. After reading the first chapter I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was going to happen and after reading the spark notes I was correct about the twist. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Fade Out Act Three

Title: The Fade Out: Act Three

Author: Ed Brubaker

Artist(s): Sean Phillips 

Series/Standalone: The Fade Out Series (Vol. 3)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Graphic Novel, Historical, Mystery

Pages: 128

Publisher: Image Comics

Year Published: 2016

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"The final act of the bestselling Hollywood noir comics from the award-winning team of Brubaker and Phillips."

My Rating: 1/5

I feel like this whole series was wasted on me. Maybe it just wasn't for me, or maybe it just wasn't long enough for the kind of stories that I enjoy. Nothing to add from other reviews. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: On These Black Sands by Vanessa Rasanen

Title: On These Black Sands

Author: Vanessa Rasanen

Series/Standalone: Aisling Sea Series (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Pirate, Romance

Pages: 436

Publisher: Crab Apple Books

Year Published: 2021

Format: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

"He doesn't mind killing people... he just prefers to do it on his own terms.

But the pirates have no say in who they kill on this island.

The council orders. The pirates obey.

This arrangement has kept Declan from setting foot on these shores for years... until a bit of bad luck forces him to return.

But it may prove a lucrative stop, if the rebel's information is true.

Find the dagger. Escape this life.

But only if this damn stowaway doesn't ruin everything first."

DNF @ 43%

My Rating: 1/5

I really thought that I would enjoy this book, but I didn't expect it to read so Y.A. When I read something on Kindle Unlimited I'm here for adult romance or smut so the fact that this read so Y.A. made it not for me in the slightest. Every time I picked it up I put it right back down. The pining wasn't there, the plot was just ok and the characters didn't seem to have much personality other than being naive. Overall, not for me.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Open Season by C.J Box

Title: Open Season

Author: CJ Box

Series/Standalone: Joe Pickett Series (Book #1)

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Western

Pages: 278

Publisher: Putnam

Year Published: 2001

Format: Audiobook

"Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a town where nearly everyone hunts, and the game warden- especially one like Joe who won't take bribes or look the other way- is far from popular. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally. There had to be a reason that the outfitter, with whom he's had run-ins before, chose his backyard, his woodpile to die in. Even after the 'outfitter murders,' as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate, uneasy with the sy explanation offered by the local police.

As Joe digs deeper into the murders, he soon discovers that the outfitter brought more than death to his backdoor; he brought Joe an endangered species, thought to be extinct, which is now living in his woodpile. But if the word of the existence of this endangered species gets out, it will destroy any chance of InterWest, a multi-national natural gas company, building an oil pipeline that would bring the company billions of dollars across Wyoming, through the mountains and forest of Twelve Sleep. The closer Joe comes to the truth behind the outfitter murders, the endangered species and InterWest, the closer he comes to losing everything he holds dear."

DNF @ 58%

My Rating: 1/5

I honestly have no idea why this was on my TBR at all. I thought I knew what I was getting into. I started it, I thought I would like it and the whole time I was just bored. Since Chick-Lit (unfortunately) is still a term we use, this is Boy-Book. This is something I think my friends' dads would like but I wasn't interested in the least. I would not recommend it if you like the style of books I enjoy, but if it intrigues you, you might as well try it!

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Grumpy Romance by Nia Arthurs

Title: Grumpy Romance

Author: Nia Arthurs

Series/Standalone: Billionaire Dads Series (Book #1)

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Adult Fiction

Pages: 414

Publisher: Independently Published

Year Published: 2021

Format: Kindle

First Line: "I know something's off when I walk into my apartment."

"Holland Alistar is the gorgeous computer prodigy who took the real estate game by storm. 

Arrogant. Surly. Eyes of steel.

He meets me on the worst day of my life and gets his fern kicked. Literally.

I'm sure I'm getting sued. Instead, I get a job offer.

Turns out, managing Allistair's schedule- and temper- is actually his revenge. 

In the office, his eyes follow me everywhere. Is he going to fire me or devour me?

I can't decide what I want either. I plan his death on my off-time. I kiss him senseless in my dreams.

Hate and want. Push and pull. All we do is tiptoe around what' between us.

Until on chance meeting with his adorable daughter changes everything.

Suddenly, I'm seeing the softer side of Alistair.

But falling for him wasn't in my job description. And neither is stealing kisses in the office stairwell.

Can I keep my head on my shoulders when the office grump sets his sights on me? And what will happen if news of our forbidden romance gets out?"

DNF @ 85%

My Rating: 1/5

I know that this series is for someone. I've just determined it wasn't me. While I like a single-dad romance, and I don't hate the billionaire boss play, I didn't love a lot about this book. I feel like if you're dipping your toes into romance this might work for you. I would also like to make this clear for people reading THIS IS FADE TO BLACK ROMANCE! Which is perfect if you're not into smutty writing. Just not perfect for me. Classy, I know! I don't forsee myself reading any of her work in the future, but again if you want written like a rom-com romance, it might be worth giving a shot.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Review: Blood on the Tracks Vol. 13

Title: Blood on the Tracks Vol. 13

Author/Artist: Shuzo Oshimi

Series/Standalone: Blood on the Tracks 

Genre: Manga, Horror, Adult

Pages: 224

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Year Published: 2022

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"It's been 20 years since his mother told Seiichi that she renounced motherhood, since she thanked him for being a killer, since he tried to strangle her there in the courtroom- and somehow he made it through. living alone, working the night shift at a commercial bakery, barely speaking to his father, Seiichi's life is solitary and empty, and he likes it that way. But nothing lasts forever....

The grand preface is over- and now the real story begins!!!"

My Rating: 1/5

I think this is where I will be leaving the series. I don't care to continue on, the time jump did nothing for me, and the direction the plot is taking isn't for me. I doubt that I will continue at this point but I would still recommend the series for anyone who wants to be a bit unsettled. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Title: Ruby Red

Author: Kerstin Gier

Series/Standalone: Edelstein Trilogie (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance

Pages: 322

Publisher: Square Fish

Year Published: 2009

Format: Audiobook 

"Although I had never seen him before, I recognized him immediately. I'd have known his voice anywhere. This was the guy I'd seen on my last journey back in time.

Or more precisely, the one who'd kissed my doppelganger while I was hiding behind the curtain in disbelief.

Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended- and rather eccentric- family in exclusive London neighborhood. in spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to 'the mysteries' and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesly. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past. 

She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century..."

DNF @ 80%

My Rating: 1/5

This was something that had been on my TBR for so long that I thought I should get to it to see if it was a series that I want to continue with or if it just wasn't for me. It wasn't what I wanted it to be. I felt like things were supposed to be happening but nothing was happening and we were already almost at the end of the book and nothing was happening. I felt like it was a lead-up to nothing. Super boring. Wouldn't recommend reading now when YA has expanded so much.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

DNF Review: Eating Her Christmas Cookies by Alina Jacobs

Title: Eating Her Christmas Cookies

Author: Alina Jacobs

Series/Standalone: Frost Brothers Series (Book #1)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Pages: 408 (Made it 35% of the way through)

Publisher: Self-Published

Year Published: 2018

Format: Kindle Unlimited

"Jack

In my perfect world, it would always be winter and never Christmas.

I despise the holiday. I hate carols, shopping and pretending to be a perfect family

I walked away from my family, or rather they walked away from me.

My heart is like ice-

See it creeping up the walls.

Oh, wait, no, that's royal icing.

I never should have allowed the Great Christmas Bake-Off to film in my tower.

And I never, ever, should have agreed to be a judge.

Chloe

I love Christmas! I love sparkly window decorations, heartwarming holiday movies and themed coffee.

Most of all I love Christmas baking.

Even though is company is sponsoring the bake-off show, billionaire Jack Frost claims he hates sweets.

But after he tastes my goods I know he'll come begging for more.

And wouldn't you know it, that night Jack Frost asked me to come up to his penthouse and give him a special taste of my Christmas cookies.

Against my better judgement, I went...

I baked him my signature gingerbread cookies and of course, he ate them up!

It should have been a Christmas miracle, but Jack Frost couldn't have come into my life at a worse time.

Not only am I broke, but this was my first Christmas after my Oma died.

Someone is trying to sabotage me in the Great Christmas Bake-Off.

I'm being stalked by a mall Santa.

Sleeping with one of the judges is a disaster waiting to happen. I needed Jack and his washboard abs about as much as I need that third sticky bun.

But when he says in his deep, sexy voice, "Can you make me some more cookies?" well stick a candy cane in me I'm done."

My Rating: 1/5 (DNF at 35%)

I'm starting this new review series because I can't keep forcing myself to finish things I know I'm not enjoying. Things like this. I normally would have pushed through but I was finding myself not reading because this was putting me off books. I just couldn't handle it. With all respect to the author, this was the worst thing I've ever read. This was far too long for what it was, there were stalkers that were never properly addressed, I didn't buy the romance, it was too cliche and none of it worked for me.  This book is 400 pages of going nowhere as far as I could tell. I made it 35% of the way and that was more than enough for me. Would NOT recommend it.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Review: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender

Title: Reagan Youth

Author: Rick Remender

Artist(s): Wes Craig, Lee Loughridge

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fiction, Crime

Pages: 160

Publisher: Image Comics

Year Published: 2014

Format: Paperback Copy

"It's 1987. Marcus Lopez hates school. His grade sucks. The jocks are hassling his friends. he can't focus in class. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin's top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he's failing is 'Dismemberment 101' and his crush has a double-digit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world's top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deady Arts, the dagger in your back isn't always metaphorical."

My Rating: 1/5

I love trying different graphic novels on a whim. Sometimes those graphic novels are winners and other times, they just aren't for you. This one fell into the latter category. It just wasn't what I expected it to be. It was a lot of drugs, and a bit of killing. I was hoping for those two things to be switched. I doubt I'll continue the series, but I may be persuaded if someone can tell me it gets a lot better. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Series/Standalone: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire Duology (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Retelling

Pages: 437

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Year Published: 2016

Format: Hardcover (Library Copy)

"When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city's most powerful- and warring- families, Mahyanai Romea and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan- and Romea has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong- killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy... and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo just wants to protect her city- but she's the only one who believes it's in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death- and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting..."

My Rating: 1/5

This just wasn't it for me. While there were things happening I felt bored for most of the book. There wasn't chemistry between characters and I just didn't feel like I was interested in anything that was happening. The world was built up but I felt like I had no connection to any of the characters and other than the final plot twist I understood where we were going. I will not be continuing the series.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Title: Blood Red Road

Author: Moira Young

Series/Standalone: Dust Lands Series (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Pages: 464

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

Year Published: 2012

Format: Paperback Copy

My Rating: 1/5

DNF @ 70%

I won't bother wasting anyone's time with the description of this book. This book states that it is fast-paced though I've never been so bored. It says that the characters are smart and savvy though I've never felt that way. I guess some might believe it. There were no real plot twists and while there was the main goal, it didn't seem to be that urgent as our main character gets sidetracked frequently. The world is not well fleshed out. And it is completely two dimensional.

Needless to say not a fan.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

Title: The Memory Police

Author: Yoko Ogawa

Translator(s): Stephen Snyder, and Markus Juslin

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Magical Realism, Adult

Pages: 274

Publisher: Pantheon Books

Year Published: 1994

Format: Audiobook

"On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses- until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocation fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language."

My Rating: 1/5

I don't know how I didn't know this was a mix of magical realism and science fiction. I need to do more research when I pick up books such as these because as I've previously stated magical realism is not for me. I just want more answers than it can give. I want to know more about the world, and why things function the way they do. Maybe I'm not smart enough to read books like these but I'm going to try to avoid them in the future. Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author: Neil Gaiman

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Magical Realism, Young Adult,

Pages: 181

Publisher: William Morrow Books

Year Published: 2013

Format: Paperback Copy

First Line: "I wore a black suit and a white shirt, a black tie and black shoes, all polished and shiny; clothes that normally would make me feel uncomfortable, as if I were in a stolen uniform, or pretending to be an adult."

"Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. he hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie- magical, comforting, wise beyond her years- promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a string, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark."

My Rating: 1/5

I want to start this review by saying that I get why people like this book. I do understand that it is well-loved, and I understand why people loved it. It just 100% was not for me. And here is why. First, I really like to be connected to our characters and get an idea of who they are, they are what helps carry me through stories. Second, I needed more information throughout the story it was both too long and not long enough for my enjoyment. And finally, I don't think I like magical realism. Looking back I can't think of a story in that genre that I just adored. I either want fantasy or not, not some in-between trying to figure out what is real. It's just not for me. And that's ok. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Review: Alex + Ada Vol. 3 by Jonathan Luna

 Title: Alex + Ada Vol. 3

Author: Jonathan Luna

Artist(s): Sarah Vaughn

Series/Standalone: Alex + Ada (Book #11-15)

Genre: Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Romance

Pages: 136

Publisher: Image Comics

Year Published: 2015

Format: Ebook (Library Copy)

"The last thing in the world Alex wanted was an X5, the latest in the realistic androids. But after Ada is dropped into his life, he discovers she is more than just a robot. Alex takes a huge risk to unlock Ada so she can think for herself and explore life as a sentient android. As Alex and Ada spend more time together, they become closer. But as restrictions tighten on artificial intelligence, Ada feels unsure about her place in the world, and Alex questions being with an android.

In this final Arc, Alex and Ada struggle against the growing hatred for sentient robots and their human allies. Can they survive what's around the corner?"

My Rating: 1/5

I really thought that this series would get more interesting as time went on but I just felt like there were too many things that the author was trying to do. Things weren't laid out well enough with enough weight to them to feel any of the consequences that took place in this final instalment. I really don't think that there was enough time spent on dramatic aspects of the story. They were glossed over just as quickly as causal conversation throughout the first 2 volumes. I wouldn't recommend this series unless you have read this description and are sure this is something you "have" to read.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Reverie by Ryan La Sala

 Title: Reverie

Author: Ryan La Sala

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBT

Pages: 397

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Year Published: 2019

Format Audiobook

"Inception meets The Magicians in the most imaginative YA debut of the year!

All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can't remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it's not just Kane who's different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different.

As Kane pieces together clues, three almost-strangers claim to be his friends and the only people who can truly tell him what's going on. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere- the gym warps into a subterranean temple, a historical home nearby blooms into a Victorian romance rife with scandal and sorcery- Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident. And when a sinister force threatens to alter reality for good, they will have to do everything they can to stop it before it unravels everything they know. 

This wildly imaginative debut explores what happens when the secret worlds that people hide within themselves come to light."

My Rating: 1/5

I just don't understand the enjoyment that some are finding from this story. Yes, there are LGBTQ characters, but the plot is all over the place, the characters are not well described/laid out. And I honestly just don't think that the villain just wasn't what I needed it to be. Villianizing someone in drag just didn't feel right for me. I didn't think that the idea behind the book was bad, it just needed either more time to develop relationships with the characters, and a build-up to the world, or it needed to have fewer characters. It was just trying to do too much for what it was.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Ends of the World by Maggie Hall

Title: The Ends of the World
Author: Maggie Hall
Series/Standalone: The Conspiracy of Us Series (Book #3) 
Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 309
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Year Published: 2017
Format: Audiobook

"The Circle is hers. But Avery West has lost everything: her mother, the family she'd just found and the one boy she trusted. In their place are unfathomable power, a staged relationship that makes her question every real feeling she's ever had, and a mission to find the cure to the virus that's made her own blood a weapon.

Then disaster strikes, turning Avery, Stellan, Jack and Elodie into the most wanted people in the world. To clear their names and the growing rift between the families of the Circle before the world dissolves into World War Three, they'll have to make a desperate, dangerous final race for Alexander the Great's tomb. What they will find inside will mean the world's salvation- or destruction.

Avery will have to decide how much she's willing to sacrifice- for the world, for family and for love-in this conclusion to the Conspiracy of Us series."

My Rating: 1/5


I rarely hate a book series. But here it is the series that I kept thinking must get better, but it just didn't. There was one plot point that I thought could have been interesting in the very end of the book, one character I was intrigued by and guess what, they got killed off. I didn't think that this was logically or atmospheric, it was corny and straight-up stupid to me. I don't think I will bother reading anything else by the author. Maybe it was the plot or the writing but this whole series was just not for me! I don't understand the praise that it's gained from some of the booktubers I follow. I just literally don't get it. First 1 star of the year!

Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Book Review: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Title: Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings
Pages: 292
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Year Published: 2012
Format: Hardcover Copy 
First Line: "She stands on the cliffs, near the old crumbling stone house."

"Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair...

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthrals her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything- her family, her future- to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up."

My Rating: 1/5

Starting this out maybe wrong, I read Peaches in high school and I freaking loved it! I saw that there was another book she had written a while ago and bought it. It sat on my shelf for a while and when a prompt for a book with orange on the cover came up in the Winter  Magical Readathon. So I decided to read it. And the description tells the whole story. The characters were unrelatable for myself and I felt that there were no real stakes. I think that the plot wasn't paced well things that should have been weighed more weren't were as poetic writing took up many pages. It just wasn't for me. I hope that upon rereading Peaches series I can relive some of the original writing that I liked. Realizing that I am older and more skeptical makes me think that I might not enjoy that as much either. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: When It Happens by Susane Colasanti

Title: When It Happens
Author: Susane Colasanti
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 310
Publisher: Speak
Year Published: 2006
Format: Paperback Copy
First Line: "'So.'"

"A boy, a girl, and the possibility of something real...

Seniors in high school, Sara and Tobey couldn't be more different. She wants to get into her first-choice college; he wants to win Battle of the Bands. Sara's other goal is to find true love, so when popular Dave asks her out, she's thrilled. But Tobey always creeps into her thoughts. Lucky for Sara, one of Tobey's goals is also to make her fall in love with him. Told in alternating point of view, Sara and Tobey's real connection will have everyone rooting for them from the minute they meet."

My Rating: 1/5

This is a low rating, even for me. This is a book that's been sitting on my shelf for years on years on years. So I pulled it out of my TBR jars and that forced me to read it. And I freaking hated it. It reminded me why I hated YA Romance books in the 2000s. This book was so hurtful to read and used so many tropes. I hated the way the characters acted, were portrayed and the writing just overall. This book uses slut shaming in many aspects of the book and I just couldn't relate to the characters. In my opinion, the author seemed to be writing about teens without knowing anything about teens.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny