Book Review: Bittersweet

Book: Bittersweet
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Simon Pluse
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Source: Borrowed from my sister!


Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last..

[Goodreads]

Review:

Hudson Avery used to be a competition winning figure skater, until one night when she threw one of the most important events of her skating career.  This night brought many changes to Hudson’s life, and now years later she is known as the Cupcake Queen, working at her mother’s diner.  But as things unfold she realizes that she misses skating and may want to start again.

I really enjoyed this book and liked it quite a bit more than Twenty Boy Summer, Sarah Ockler’s other novel. I think that this mainly had to do with my feelings for the characters. I mostly liked Hudson the main character. I felt bad for her at many times throughout the novel. At times she got on my nerves and some of the choices she made me want to say WHY? Especially regarding her relationship with her best friend Dani. Dani was another great characters and I loved her spunk and personality. I did get frustrated with her often as well, but that had to do with her relationship with Hudson. Hudson’s family was a very important part of the book and I really enjoyed her relationship with her little brother Bug. He was super cute!! I didn’t really like Hudson’s mother to much, but I felt for her situation and understood her motives.

 My favorite part of this book was probably the romance. Lately I have not enjoyed many romances I have read about.  But I really loved the two boys in this book Josh and Will. I honestly couldn’t choose which guy I preferred but Josh was the sweeter of the two.   I didn’t feel like this was to much of a triangle though because I think it was clear who Hudson would prefer to be with.

If you enjoy cute romances, cute boys, and fun little brothers you should definitely pick this up! I will be picking up more of Sarah’s books soon! 

What I Rate it: 4/5

Book Review: The Rose Throne

Book: The Rose Throne
Author: Mette Ivie Harrison
Publisher: Egmont Usa
Publication Date: May 14th 2013
Source: Netgalley

Ailsbet loves nothing more than music; tall and red-haired, she's impatient with the artifice and ceremony of her father's court. Marissa adores the world of her island home and feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise, good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power--or the magic--to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess will end up ruling the joint land? For both, the only goal would seem to be a strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne. But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live?

[Goodreads]

Review:

The Rose Throne tells us the story of two very different kingdoms and the two very different princesses who inhabit them.  Ailsbet is the princess of Rurik and Marlissa (Issa) is the princess of Weirland. Rurik values the magic of Taweyr the man’s magic of power and death. Weirland is more concentrated on neweyr the magic of growing and life. Both these princesses believe they are meant to help fulfill a prophecy that will unite their lands and magic as one.

The Rose Throne was an enjoyable book and I liked many aspects of it. The princess though very different where strong in their own ways and they both wanted what was best for their kingdoms. Ailsbet was especially strong and unique. She at times can be unlikable and does not make friends easily but you can tell she does care, especially for her brother and the kingdom. She is not a unkind person but she has to keep a strong shield of indifference surrounding her, for reasons I will not give away. Issa was the complete opposite of Ailsbet, but was strong in her own ways. Her magic of newyr is one the most powerful in the lands. She is also has a strength in her because she is willing to put aside her own feelings and needs for those of her country and the future of all her subjects.

Ailsbet’s father the King was a maniac and would go to any length to get what he wanted.  But he is one of the parts that made The Rose Throne interesting. He was a great antagonist for all the main characters in this book. I did hate his many of the actions he took in this book but they made the story more interesting and I had fear that the main characters might not have a happy ending because of him. Not being able to guess the ending and what would happen to these characters was a definite plus. 

There was no insta-love in this book but I still could not enjoy the romances at all. Issa’s romance seems to be random and as if the author had no one else to pair her with so she choose a character. I also did not like Issa’s love interest at all and felt as if he didn’t truly care about her, just the kingdom of Ruirk. Ailsbet’s romance is not as central to the novel as Issa’s but that made me glad because I felt that she didn’t really care for her love interest and that he just annoyed her more than anything.

The beginning I found to be a little slow as I had a hard time getting the names of the magic and the kingdoms straight. All the names where unusual but I didn’t find they made the story better, just confusing.   There were also some slow parts throughout the book and I would have enjoyed there to be more action.  Then the ending really bothered me because it seemed to be cut off. I expected there to be just a little more to explain what happened to a certain character at the end but was left with nothing. But even with the abrupt ending what happened to some of the characters at the end was different than I expected which made the book overall more interesting. 
  

I think this book is worth a read but maybe borrow it from your library if unsure.  With an unexpected but lacking ending, I do think it will hold many readers interest.

What I Rate it: 3/5 Stars 

Book Review: The Goddess Test

Book: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: February 26 2013
Source: I purchased this at my local bookstore! (Indigo)


Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

[Goodreads]

Review:

The Goddess Inheritance begins around nine months after the events of Goddess Interrupted. Kate is still a prisoner of Calliope and Cronus and she is ready to give birth at any moment. Calliope still is jealous of Kate and wants nothing more to see her dead, and to have Henry. Cronus has other plans in place for Kate… He will spare humanity if Kate promises to become his and leave her life with Henry and the Gods. 

I overall enjoyed the Goddess Inheritance more than both the previous books. The plot had more action and had more intense moments then in the last two books.  I felt plenty of different emotions while reading this book, anger, frustration, annoyance, excitement and happiness. Even though I feel the plot was more interesting than the past books I still had some problems with other parts of the book.

Kate has definitely become a more interesting and strong character over the course of this series.   She was really protective of her family and was willing to put them before herself. She would not back down without a fight and wouldn’t let the other Gods make her seem insignificant or incapable of fighting for her beliefs. But I did have some problems with her. The way she treated Ava throughout most of the book really got on my nerves, and I found her very annoying during these parts. For all her talk of doing whatever was needed to protect her family, she would not accept Ava’s reasons for doing the same thing. I truly believe Kate would have done exactly the same thing if she was in Ava’s situation. Even more, just by the other actions she took in The Goddess Inheritance.

 I liked Ava in this book and I really felt for her situation. She did what she had to and you knew from her actions that she was very sorry for it.  She tried her best to make Kate understand and to gain her forgiveness. I also enjoyed James character and wish he had more parts in the novel. He brought some lightheartedness to a novel was full of intense unhappy moments. 

Henry is a character that I really did not like and is one of the main reason I lowered my rating. I don’t see him as having a very big personality. He seems pretty bland to me. I have never been a big fan of his throughout the series anyways so I didn’t expect that to change in this book. He seems like he is never fully formed, and I hate how his life is all about one person… 

Overall I did enjoy this series and I will pick up the next book Aimee Carter writes.  There was actually the first chapter of her next book printed in the back of the Goddess Inheritance and it seemed pretty interesting! But I would say this is more of a series to borrow for me then a series I need to have on my self .

What I Rate it: 3/5 Stars

 

Book Review: The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

 The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

Publisher: Candlewick Press
 Publication Date: September 6, 2009
 Pages: 223
Source: I purchased this on my Kobo.

Review:

Set in Victorian England The Agency tells us the story of Mary Quinn. Mary Quinn was orphaned as a young child and as a resort has to turn to thieving.  Mary gets caught thieving and is sentenced to death.  Fortunately before that can occur Mary is taken by the women who run Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. When she turns 17 she learns that the school is actually a cover for an all-women’s spy agency, and she learns that she will be given her first assignment!

I liked the character of Mary quite a bit. She could keep care of herself and did not allow others to walk all over her. She also acknowledges when she has done wrong and made a mistake.  The only problem I had was I do not believe in the times this book was set in Mary would have been able to all she did in The Agency.  James the other main character in The Agency was also an enjoyable character. I liked his and Mary’s relationship and how it developed very slowly. At first James is very frustrated by Mary but learns to care for her. They had some great banter and knew how to push each other’s buttons.

The Agency was a little predictable at times. I knew pretty early on who was responsible and how the mystery would fit together.  I also knew how many of the characters relationship where going to develop and what would happen to them. This caused me to take off a star. I know it would have been more enjoyable had I not been able to guess what was going to occur in these situations. 

If you want a quick read , that might be predictable The Agency would be a read to check out.

What I rate this : 3/5 stars. 

Mini Book Review :If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I have been so busy with school I have not been able to write any reviews or read very much.(Well other books then the ones I have to use to write my research paper on.) So I decided to post a mini review of a book that I read last year!  I  really want to re-read If I Stay so if I do I will be writing a longer review.

I definitely liked this book! I usually tend to enjoy dystopian/paranormal/fantasy books, but If I Stay was so good that I went on to my good reads and added a ton of more contemporary books to read!

I liked all the characters in this book. They all seemed so real, like the could be your friend or neighbour. My favorites were Adam, Mia, and Gramps. I really felt for Mia in the book and kept thinking what if this was my family? I am close to my family so I honestly don't know what I would do in Mia's situation to stay or go.

But I am happy with the choice she made! I have to read what happens next. I am going to the bookstore on Friday when I get payed to pick up Where she Went!!( I have read it since this review. I enjoyed it but I liked If I Stay better.)

If you haven't read this definitely pick this up!

I rate it: 4/5

Book Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: September 5, 2011
Pages: 288
Source: I purchased this myself at my local Indigo.

Review:

 Shut Out tells the story of Lissa. Lissa is a highschool student and works her local library. Lissa is sick and tired of her school’s rivalry between the soccer team and the football team. The reason for this? Well mainly she feels her boyfriend Randy is paying less attention to her when the rivalry is taking place. She also does not agree with the rivalry because some members of the team have gotten hurt due to the fact that the rivalry has gotten more intense and the pranks the players have been playing have gotten more serious.  Lissa decides the best way to solve this is to, with the help of the other girlfriends of the team members, to go on a sex strike! 

Lissa was mainly a good character but I did have some annoyances with her. But those mainly had to do with her relationships with the guys in her life.  Randy was an annoying character and when he and Lissa where together I did not enjoy their relationship. A lot of the issues that Lissa and Randy have are due to Lissa being unable to open up to him. I understand why Lissa acted like this but I wish she would have opened up more… 

Which brings me to the main love interest!  Who I did like (But I have to say that I did not like him as much as I did Wesley from The Duff)! Cash is a soccer player and one of the players involved in the school rivalry. He was really sweet and I loved how he enjoyed reading! Lissa feels like she can be herself and open up to Cash and I definitely enjoyed their interactions. 

The other characters in the book consisted of the girls in on the sex strike with Lissa and her dad and brother. I didn’t have to big of an opinion of most of the girls that where in on the strike, but that’s because they did not have too big of a part in the book.  Lissa’s one main friend in Shut Out was Chole. I loved Chole she was funny and I loved that she didn’t care what other though about her. She also was the only girl who was on the strike who did not have a boyfriend. 

I enjoyed Shut Out. It was a really quick and fun read. I think that anyone who loved The Duff and enjoys cute stories will enjoy Shut Out.

What I rate this : 4/5 stars.