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.

Kalahari (ARC Review)

Vitro
Jessica Khoury
Expected publication: February 24th 2015 by Razorbill

When an educational safari goes wrong, five teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide. It’s up to Sarah, the daughter of zoologists, to keep them alive and lead them to safety, calling on survival know-how from years of growing up in remote and exotic locales. Battling dehydration, starvation and the pangs of first love, she does her best to hold it together, even as their circumstances grow increasingly desperate.

But soon a terrifying encounter makes Sarah question everything she’s ever known about the natural world. A silver lion, as though made of mercury, makes a vicious, unprovoked attack on the group. After a narrow escape, they uncover the chilling truth behind the lion’s silver sheen: a highly contagious and deadly virus that threatens to ravage the entire area—and eliminate life as they know it.

Review:

I don't like Science Fiction, it's really not my thing. However, when I got my hands on Jessica Khoury's Vitro, I surprisingly really enjoyed it!
When I heard about Kalahari, I was super excited to read it.

Kalahari brings everything that I have come to expect in Jessica's books. Danger, excitement, an awesome unique main character, great secondary characters.....Literally everything.
Kalahari is easily one of the most original books I have ever read. Nothing even comes close to the ideas in Kalahari.

The main character, Sarah, to say the least is awesome. I loved reading about her.
The secondary characters are all unique and interesting to read about, their different backgrounds are explained and I came to connect with them almost as much as Sarah.

But the main thing that shines in Jessica Khoury's writing is her descriptive ability. I could FEEL myself in Africa. Even if the characters were flat, and the plot was dull, the beauty in the describing of Africa alone would make this book worth a read.

If you liked Jessica Khoury's earlier books, then you definitely should read this one. And even if you have not, the awesome thing about these books is that they don't have to be read in order! Read them in any order you want, whether you want to explore the jungle (Origin), an island (Vitro), or Africa. These books are the cheapest ticket there you will get.


***I received this book through the First Reads program for review, I was in no way compensated for this review***