Top Ten Clues You're Clueless (Book Review)

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless

by Liz Czukas

Published December 9th 2014 by Harper Teen
Synopsis via Goodreads:
Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day

5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market

4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi

3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm

2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)

1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000

Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments


Review:

This reminded me of the movie (I haven't read the book) Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Reasons?
This is pretty much the story of a girl (Chloe) having an awful day. EVERYTHING goes wrong.

The Characters:
I can't actually comment much on the characters, as you only get to spend a day with them. But I will say that that one day packed a big punch! I liked watching everything happen through Chloe's eyes, and honestly wish I had had more time with her. However, Chloe makes a pretty stupid decision (as a matter of fact more than one), but I do think that this was pretty realistic in terms of how old she was. Just be prepared to yell at Chloe at a few points in this book.
Also, if you are looking for a book with diverse characters, this is definitely one for you!

The Plot:
As I said above, the entire plot is just one very bad day. One very bad CHRISTMAS EVE day. Chloe has to work early, early in the morning Christmas Eve at a grocery store. Her day starts off terrible because she sleeps through her alarm, it continues being terrible through different incidents at work, and to top it all of, her and the other "minor" people who work at the grocery store are accused of stealing $10,000 (or about that).
I would call that a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Also, the whole thing about the boss making Chloe and her friends stay at work even though it is CHRISTMAS EVE and even though there is no legal reason to make them stay there (they let the adult employees go home) REALLY bugged me. I mean COME ON. This is not OK to make the minor employees stay around and let all of the adult employees go home. And then something happens (sort of an emergency!!!) and they don't call an ambulance??? I just don't get it.
So, don't go into this expecting a realistic plot.
However, I was very entertained the entire book. At no point was I ever bored, and I definitely wanted to know what happened to that money (which made me read the entire book in one sitting).

Although this book was completely unrealistic, and I kept on yelling in my head at Chloe. Top Ten Clues You're Clueless was actually really entertaining. So, if you just want to be entertained, and are not looking for a realistic book, I would definitely recommend this one!

Joyride (ARC Review)

Joyride
Anna Banks

Hardcover, 288 pages

Expected publication: June 2nd 2015 by Feiwel & Friends

A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

Review:
I have conflicted feelings on Joyride. Joyride is definitely a diverse book, the main character Carly is Mexican. Her family is definitely a big plot point in this book. And I loved that part of it.
However, this book also lacked some things that I love to see in my books.

Starting with Carly, I really liked her character. She felt real, she was hard working, and she had a great loyalty to her family.
However, her character didn't go through much character development through the book. By the end of the book, it left me wondering, did Carly really change at all?

Moving to the romance, one word, rushed. I know that there is a plot point that makes Arden notice her. But it felt really sudden. Other than that, their romance is kind of cute. Arden obviously cares for her, and it was a nice romance. Just a bit rushed.

The plot is good, it has a great synopsis and some great things that you don't see in books often. And I really liked how those things were brought up. Tough subjects, but important. However, again, I do have a complain with the plot. And that is, some points are seriously unrealistic. Some things work out in Joyride, that probably wouldn't work out that way in real life.
So, after finishing Joyride, I did have conflicting feelings. In some ways, Joyride is an awesome, diverse book. In other ways, I just couldn't believe it, and it had a serious case of insta-love.
Joyride probably won't go on any favorite contemporary lists, but I would recommend this to someone looking for this kind of book. And I did enjoy reading it. I would probably give it a 3/5.

***I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book in exchange for a review. I was in no way compensated for this review***

Hold Me Like A Breath (ARC Review)

Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family #1)
Tiffany Schmidt

Expected publication: May 19th 2015 by Bloomsbury

Synopsis via Goodreads:
Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.

All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.  



Review:

The idea for this book is amazing. A crime family that sells black market organs AND a princess and the pea retelling?
It is a recipe for amazingness. And it worked, kind of.

The Characters:
Penelope Landlow (from now on known as Penny) is the only daughter to the crime family that sells black market organs. And she happens to have a health problem that makes her very fragile, the slightest touch can make her bruise (making this book apparently a Princess and the Pea retelling, but I feel like making this a Princess and the Pea retelling was a last minute thought because other than the health problems there really weren't all that other similarities.)
I couldn't connect to Penny. Half the time she drove me crazy, and I honestly could not get how she was so naïve. This alone wasn't enough to REALLY bug me though. Slight things here and here made me want to have a talk with her, but it wasn't that annoying. At least for the first half of the book. Her character went WAY downhill in the last half of the book. (Mostly because of something I can't reveal because it would be a spoiler)
I am not going to talk about the romance in this book because it would also spoil things. But there is a sort of love triangle, and a serious case of insta-love. Insta-love is one thing that I cannot stand. And this book has more than one case of it.

The Plot:
The plot felt a bit haphazard to me, like some things were thrown in at the last minute. The first half of the book (or so) was interesting and I was enjoying sort of liking it, but after that, I felt like everything went downhill fast. The book's pace changed, the entire book's plot changed, and it actually felt like the author changed. I am all for plot twists and game changers, but this just felt like the last half of the book came from a different book as the first half! To elaborate, the first half of the book was interesting and I was enjoying it. Then something big happened and suddenly I didn't understand anything and everything was messed up and it felt like one really really long paragraph with no punctuation whatsoever and like plot points were thrown in at the last minute and everything was SO MESSED UP.
There was a great story going here, and having it all fall apart like that was awful.

If I was rating this book on the first half alone, it probably would have ended up being something I would have recommended. Because I know that some of the things that bugged me in the first half were just pet peeves of mine. However, that last half ruined the book for me.  I have no idea why any of that happened and I still can't wrap my head around it.
I think that this is supposed to be a series, I'm not sure, but I probably will not continue.

Waiting On Wednesday (The Boy Most Likely To)

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is-

The Boy Most Likely To

(Companion to My Life Next Door)

Huntley Fitzpatrick

Expected publication: Fall 2015

 

 

 

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:
- find the liquor cabinet blindfolded
- need a liver transplant
- drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:
- well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Lion Heart (Book Review)

Lion Heart (Scarlet #3)
A. C. Gaughen

Expected publication: May 19th 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

 

Check out my review of Lady Thief here.

There may be minor spoilers for Scarlet and Lady Thief below.

Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape from the Prince's clutches, she learns that King Richard’s life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine demands a service Scarlet can’t refuse: spy for her and help bring Richard home safe. But fate—and her heart—won’t allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long, and together, Scarlet and Rob must stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England. They can not rest until he’s stopped, but will their love be enough to save them once and for all?





Review:
Scarlet and Lady Thief are two of my favorite historical fiction YA books ever!
So, Lion Heart as the final book in this trilogy, had HUGE shoes to fill.
And this ended up being one of the best endings to a trilogy that I have ever read.
I actually think that Lion Heart is my favorite book in the series
(a very rare thing for last books in a series)

Characters:
Scarlet is awesome (as usual) her character continues to be incredibly strong and I
absolutely love reading about her!
One complaint I do have with this book is that I wish that we could see Robin more,
but that definitely didn't ruin the book! (Just a wish of mine)
Other than Scarlet, Lion Heart shines through the secondary characters!
Allan's character is pure perfection! He is awesome, I loved his character in every way!
And Kate? Although she is barely mentioned in Lion Heart, I LOVE her character! She is amazing,
and I would read an entire book just about her! (*Pretty please?*)
Awesome romance, amazing main character, wonderful secondary characters...
No complaints at all with the building or portrayal of the characters!

The Plot:
I would recommend a re-read of Scarlet and Lady Thief before reading Lion Heart.
I believe that it would enhance your reading experience greatly, because I was a little
lost for the first few chapters.
Other than that, the plot  was just like the characters! Awesome!
There was a lot of crying involed in reading this book. SO AMAZING! Only when you read it will you understand.
Again, I do have a small complaint, I do of wish that there was one more chapter as an epilogue for Robin and Scarlet....
because I felt like their story had something missing in the end, maybe another chapter would have wrapped things up better
for me.

This is the kind of book that you read all the way through in one day, finish it, and then want to read all over again.
It was THAT good. Pure perfection in every way.
I don't give 5/5 stars out very often. But honestly, by the time I finished Lion Heart and was thinking about what rating it should get,
I couldn't think of anything else to give it. There was practically nothing lacking!
An awesome main character, a love interest that is perfect, brilliant secondary characters, terrible villains, and an awesome plot.
It was also really hard to say goodbye to these characters. I first read Scarlet a little while after release date in 2012.
After Scarlet, I waited the TWO WHOLE YEARS for Lady Thief, and read Scarlet again in anticipation.
I am planning on re-reading this entire series probably later this yet, when I can have all three books in hardcopy form.
So, yes, I recommend Scarlet, Lady Thief, and especially Lion Heart. READ THIS SERIES.