Book Review: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

SYNOPSIS:
Ruby, where is your mother?Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future; it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.

MY REVIEW:
As you all know, I have a love/hate relationship with Sarah Dessen. I loved Just Listen, disliked That Summer and thought Along For the Ride was okay. So as you would think I was not excited to get into this book, I just read it to get it off my shelf. I was comparing this book to Dare You Toby Katie McGarry and that was probably a bad idea considering I loved Dare You To. This book, not so much. I thought Ruby was not as mad as she should have been towards her sister. If I had a sister and she left me, I would be beyond pissed off. I would not even want to look at her. I know how Cora (her sister) wanted said she should have tried harder to get Ruby back but still... Id still be mad. And I cannot even believe they payed for their mom's rehab. She freaking left you and treated you like shit. How are you paying for her mistakes? And then there's Nate. I really like how he didn't give up on Ruby. I really liked their relationship too. It wasn't too fast paced and they were really into each other. I loved the character development in this book as well. But, unfortunately, I wasn't connected to the characters. I wasn't sad because the book was over like I usually am with characters Ive fallen in love with. I also felt there were loose ends and I was always asking myself questions. The book was okay as a whole and I gave it a 3/5 stars. 

Birthday Book Haul! 2014

So, on February 6th, I turned 18! Woohoo! I am officially an adult! And, I had $80 worth of Barnes and Nobel gift cards to use! These books are the top ones I had on my to-read list! I cant wait to read all of these great reads. :)

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Fat Cat by Robin Brande

I've heard so many good things about these books, so I'm super stoked to start reading them...after the whole pile I have to finish... Time to get reading!

Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

SYNOPSIS:
Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the accidents” of fate,Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.


MY REVIEW:
Well, what a disappointment. I expected such good things from this book and got nothing. Everyone (on Goodreads) said it was a good book and I was sooooo not impressed. I feel the story had nothing to do with the synopsis. This is not a love story. Okay, maybe the first 150 pages, but I'm pretty sure after that, its a coming of age story. Willem leaves and of course Allyson goes back to her normal life as if nothing happened. Blah, blah, blah. We all know how that goes: She wants to know what happened, what happened to him and wonder if it was her fault. Honestly, after the first part of the book, I was bored. I didn't enjoy the story line and feel like it dragged on. This book was boring as hell. After the first part, it didn't feel like a love story anymore. It just felt like those 24 hours spent with Willem, Allyson's life changed. And I guess that part of the synopsis is true. But other than that, she doesn't even freaking see him until the end! She spends like forever looking for him. And then it just ends...and then nothing!  I just think this book was all over the place. It didn't really hit my love feelings and does not make me want to read the next book. I didn't feel connected to the characters and just didn't click for me. 2.5 stars for an overall rating.

Book Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

SYNOPSIS:
"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

MY REVIEW: 
Well, this book was sure as hell not like any other book Ive ever read. This was my first Rainbow Rowell  book and I quite enjoyed it. (Fangirl is on its way in the mail...) I loved this book from the start. I loved Beth and Jennifer's quirky attitudes and e-mails. I really loved Jennifer, I feel like shes an older me. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bag thing... I read thing in one day and just couldn't put it down. Even at boring parts, I just needed to be reading it. I didn't like Lincoln's mother until the very end. She was just really controlling and he didn't even stick up for himself. Hes freaking 28 years old. He shouldn't put up with his mother's BS. I also hated Chris, Beth's boyfriend. How he acted at the wedding and told her he would never marry her. I would have hit him at least 10 times. And threw his guitar out the window. I was getting bored with just waiting for them to meet, but I figured this is what could happen in real life. I am always comparing the book to reality. If it could really happen in real life or not. And even though it dragged on, it was real. I could totally picture myself falling for a boy for his looks. Even though you don't know a lot about him. I also didn't like how it took nine months for them to meet after he quit. I was sooooo waiting for him to not quit and go to her cubicle. I just loved this book. I cant wait to read more Rainbow Rowell. Overall rating 4/5 stars. 

Book Review: Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

SYNOPSIS:
Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, a powerful Broadway producer, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewellery at Tiffany's. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He's the perfect man in every way. Unfortunately, only Jane can see him. 

But Michael can't stay forever. 

On Jane's ninth birthday he leaves, promising her that she'll soon forget him. Years later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets someone; a handsome, comforting, funny man. He's the perfect man all over again.


MY REVIEW:
After having this book on my shelf for a while, I decided to pick it up. I saw good ratings on Goodreads for this so I was excited to read it. I really enjoyed the younger Jane way more than older Jane. I didn't like the fact that she just dealt with her mom issues. How can you not stick up for yourself? And, not just her mom, her boyfriend, too?! He was a total asshole. I would have punched him at least 6 different times. I didn't like that it took 150 pages for them to actually meet again. Like, really? It needed that much time to meet again? And then when they met, it was insta-love! Yeah, I know, they knew each other before that, so they only had a little bit of catching up to do, but they met and then they went on dates. And then it became really serious. Personally, I would have had like a million questions about what happened when he left me the first time. I also didn't like (I know, this is sounding like a rant, but hold tight) how Michael never even told her that he had a feeling she was dying. What kind of person just doesn't tell you something like that. Like oh, I'm becoming more human and you're dying to take my place. I'm pretty sure I would want to know that! But, I did like how Jane didn't die. I really enjoyed Michael's character, when he wasn't lying. He was the sweetest boy and like the synopsis said, "perfect." I did think this book was cute and was a quick read. I gave it 3/5 stars, considering there were more negatives and positives. 

Book Review: This Girl by Colleen Hoover

SYNOPSIS:
Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache. 
Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.
In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.


MY REVIEW:
I fell in love with Slammed and Point of Retreat last year, so I couldn't wait to read this book. I did enjoy this book, but it is just like Losing Hope in the Hopeless duology, a retelling. I liked the parts about the honeymoon and the ending, but I just don't like when they look back in flashback. I feel like I'm rereading the whole first book. Yes, I know I just said I loved the series, but I get really bored with things Ive already read. I don't know, I guess I'm weird like that. Rereading the Slammed parts, I actually thought about going back and changing the rating for Slammed. I just feel like what they had was insta-love. They met and BAM! They went on a date and fell in love with each other. And rereading what Layken did, I just feel like shes got this child-like quality to her. She acted immature throughout a lot of the book and Will was wishy-washy, too. So moving back to the positive things about This Girl, I did love the ending! It was so cute and I cried good tears. It was so sweet and loved it. It was a great ending to the series. I feel like I'm never going to forget this group of people (even if they are fictitious)! I rated it 4/5 stars in the end.

January Warp Up and February TBR! 2014

I set a goal to read 60 books for the year of 2014 and am rather impressed by how many I read this month! I read a total of 9 books and had a good reading month!

Dare You To by Katie McGarry--> 5/5 stars!
Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens--> 1/5 stars
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead--> 4/5 stars
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead--> 3/5 stars
The Paparazzi Project by Kristina Springer--> 2/5 stars
Crank by Ellen Hopkins--> 2/5 stars
Wait For You by J. Lynn--> 3/5 stars
Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson--> 3/5 stars
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton--> 3/5 stars

It was an okay reading month for me, not by the books I read, but how many books I read. I managed to read a lot that have been on my shelves for quite a while. I also participated in the BoutofBooks Reathathon and read a total of 3 books which totaled to about 946 pages. It wasn't the best amount of pages, but I enjoyed doing it! So for February, I plan on reading a lot of romance. I didn't read any in January because I was saving them for this month! Here they are:

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
This Girl by Colleen Hoover
The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
One Year by Gayle Foreman
My Life In Black and White by Natasha Friend
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I hope to get through all these lovely books! Have a happy reading month!

P.S. I am behind on reviews, so I will get those out asap.