The Tru and Sloane Series by Tera Lynn Childs

Posted on by lynndellwatson

26101040

Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru by Tera Lynn Childs is contemporary realistic fiction with romance thrown in to make a well rounded story. Sloane is a new resident of Austin, Texas and she misses everything she left behind in New York. Tru is Sloane’s new neighbor who is dealing with troubles that he hides well. Sloane’s mom has told her to stay away from Tru; supposedly he is a troublemaker. On Sloane’s first day at her new school, the principal asks Tru to show Sloane around. All of the faculty seem to respect Tru. The story explains why Sloane and her mother left New York and the same thing happens in Austin, only this time it wasn’t Sloane. Dynamic characters and relationships make the story unpredictable in a good way – 4 stars!

fftgnd_500-1

“Received an advance reader copy for a fair review”.

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Falling for the Girl Next Door by Tera Lynn Childs! This story begins right where Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru leaves off. Tru admits he has a drinking problem and breaks off his relationship with Sloane until he can fix the problem. Sloane wants to convince her family that they should live together in Austin, but she finds out that her parents’ marriage might be in jeopardy. Sloane is also the victim of a blackmail attempt because she is receiving emails from someone claiming to know she’s the creator of Graphic Grrl and threatening to expose her unless she bargains with him. Tru and Sloane mature and learn to deal with the feelings they have for each other while trying to keep their relationship strong no matter how many “bumps and turns” get in the way. This story has depth and dynamic main and side characters and includes young adult romance – 4 stars!

falling-for-the-girl-next-door-tera-lynn-childs

The Bad Boy Bargain

Posted on by lynndellwatson

30415027

“Received an advance reader copy for a fair review.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review The Bad Boy Bargain by Kendra C. Highley!

Kyle keeps his distance from everyone and he enjoys the reputation that has been created about him, the playboy delinquent. Faith is in a relationship that she wants to end. She is ready to find love, not popularity. Faith walks in on her boyfriend, Cameron, cheating with another girl. Cameron then starts rumors about Faith and how cold and horrible she is. At this point, Faith decides to seek revenge. She strikes up a bargain with Kyle to get revenge on Cameron because it just so happens that Cameron and his friends bullied Kyle horribly in middle school. Kyle wants revenge just as badly as Faith does. The revenge doesn’t work exactly as planned and a lot of things change for both Kyle and Faith. Family dynamics, personal secrets and vulnerable characters make this story endearing. 4 stars!

Overdrive by Dawn Ius

Posted on by lynndellwatson

28226318

“Received an advance reader copy for a fair review.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review Overdrive by Dawn Ius! Julia, a teenage car thief living in a foster home with her ten year-old little sister, is busted during a car grab. Julia has been trying to become independent enough to raise her sister, Emma, on her own. She does not want to be separated from Emma and will do whatever it takes for them to stay together. I admire Julia because she loves her sister tremendously and by choice, wants to take care of her. Roger Montgomery wants to give Julia and Emma a place to live. Julia is suspicious, but feels like she has run out of options. A “Gone in Sixty Seconds” young adult story involving teenage foster kids and all the thrills and car chases as the movie. Eleanor, the amazing Mustang from the “Gone in Sixty Seconds” movie, even has a cameo appearance! Since I am a fan of the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed this! It takes a while for the foster teenagers to mesh and get along, but after Roger tells them his secret, they get to know each other better and work well together. Roger seems a bit strange and the teenagers are cautious around him and unsure of his intentions. The teenagers figure out Roger’s secret and things change dramatically after that. Overdrive gets a 4 star rating because of its complex emotions, teamwork and the thrill of the chase!

Forget Me Always

Posted on by lynndellwatson

forget-me-always-cover

“Received an advance reader copy for a fair review.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Forget Me Always by Sara Wolf! This second book in the Lovely Vicious series is as wonderful as the first!

Isis puts her memories of Jack together slowly and bit by bit, while Jack believes he should have been quicker to stop Leo from harming anyone. Isis and Sophia become friends and it seems that even more secrets are hidden with Sophia. Isis is released from the hospital and tries to get back to normal life. Jack has taken up boxing to deal with the frustrations and guilt he feels in not keeping Sophia or Isis out of danger. Leo’s trial is coming up and Jack wants to testify so Leo will be put away and unable to harm Isis or her mom again. Kayla and Isis keep trying to figure out what happened all those years ago with Jack, Avery, Wren and Sophia. Suspense, intrigue, loyalty, clever wit and endearing charm and humor round out this book – 5 stars!

The humor Isis brings to the story helps to lighten the darkness that the group has been dealing with. I appreciate the author adding the bonus content and writing in Wren’s point of view to give readers a glimpse of what’s to come and we don’t get to know what Wren is thinking most of the time. The author’s note shows empathy and personal experience with tragedy.

love-me-never-cover

I reread Love Me Never by Sara Wolf before I dove into Forget Me Always and the book had me laughing out loud all over again!  When Isis is having a mini rant and Kayla tells her that she’s thinking out loud again, it’s too funny to contain!  Isis’ rants are amusing because she is such a clever and witty character.  Some swearing, just a warning for people who don’t like that.  The swearing is humorous and fits with the dialogue and sometimes silliness of the characters.  Clever writing and intelligent characters bring a myriad of backgrounds to the book and make it hard to put down, even though this was my second time reading Love Me Never.  I appreciate the strong character that Isis is and how she doesn’t feel sorry for herself, even though she went through something terrible.  Isis knows it could have been worse, but she also knows how it made her feel.  Oh, that ending is a tremendous cliffhanger, but now I have the sequel in my hands!

author-photo-sara-wolf

Sara Wolf, the amazing writer of the Lovely Vicious series with her two books Love Me Never and Forget Me Always ready to read.  I am anxiously awaiting the third book in the Lovely Vicious series: Remember Me Forever.  I just spotted it on Amazon and it will be available May 2, 2017!

Chapter by Chapter Blog Tour Button for Forget Me Always

forgetmealwaystour

Forget Me Always Tour Schedule

forget-me-always-by-sara-wolf-blog-tour-digital-assets

Enjoy this wonderful series!

The Last True Love Story

Posted on by lynndellwatson

the-last-true-love-story-9781481429887_hr

“Received an advance reader copy for a fair review.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely! “The point of living is learning how to love.” This quote from The Last True Love Story sums up the plot perfectly. Teddy is visiting his grandpa, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Teddy is full of integrity and loyalty and he shows this as he helps keep bullies off of his friend, Corrina. The two of them take grandpa on a road trip and it isn’t always easy going. Some swearing (the “f” word); just a heads up. This beautifully written story of a grandson trying to help his grandfather relive and remember his best memories before Alzheimer’s disease takes the memories away for good, is a touching story. A family theme with love being the most important of all. Romantic and inspiring, also. 4 stars.

All Laced Up

Posted on by lynndellwatson

9781633757684

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review All Laced Up by Erin Fletcher! This cute romantic story starts on a Saturday when Lia is helping Mr. Kozlov at the skating rink by teaching young skaters. Her co-teacher is Pierce Miller, local young hockey hero. Lia is immediately annoyed by Pierce because he seems distracted by his fame and all of the attention he receives. Little does Lia know that Pierce helps his parents with his younger brother, Carson, who has sensory issues. Lia and Pierce begin to have two relationships – one online and one offline. Lia uses a pseudonym to talk to Pierce online on the hockey chat room forum and they develop a friendship that way. Since teaching skaters together, they get to know each other face to face also. They both have struggles to overcome and friendships to keep. This clean-read romance involves family dynamics and character development that makes the characters realistic. 5 stars!

Chasing Truth

Posted on by lynndellwatson

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Entangled Teen for the arc of Chasing Truth by Julie Cross! Wow, what a ride! This adventure, mystery, thriller, romance, young adult story held my attention from beginning to end.

Chasing Truth is cleverly written, with complex main characters and side characters, and mysterious because the main character has hidden agendas and a secrecy surrounding her. I like Ellie (Eleanor) with her clever, quick wit and the fact that she seems to care about people and also values integrity in others. Ellie’s friend, Simon, supposedly committed suicide but the investigation into his death is ongoing. This book is hard to put down and I just wanted to keep reading, but alas, life needs to be lived;).

I loved this line, “This makes me hate him 2 percent less, which is useful when I have to pretend not to hate him”. I laughed out loud! It’s priceless! Out of context, this line doesn’t make much sense, but when you get to know Ellie and how she is dealing with her con-artist background while trying to be normal, it makes great dialogue!

The mysterious background of Ellie and the mystery surrounding Simon’s death kept me riveted throughout the book, 5 stars!

Stalking Jack the Ripper

Posted on by lynndellwatson

28962906

I thoroughly enjoyed Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco, with fantastic writing that delves into the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. Audrey Rose, a strong willed young woman in the late 1800’s, enjoys science and learning from her uncle, who teaches medicine with passion bordering on obsession. Audrey Rose is allowed to attend her uncle’s class if she dresses as a boy and speaks to no one. Another student, Thomas Caldwell, is working with Audrey Rose to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper. The two of them become friendly rivals who grate on each other’s nerves. The twists and turns leave Audrey Rose not knowing who she can trust and the mystery keeps getting more personal than she feels comfortable with. Unbearable suspense and intense plot equal 5 stars!

Shadow of a Girl

Posted on by lynndellwatson

cr7jy6gwcaavmry

Thanks to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Shadow of a Girl by Shannon Greenland! Eve has never felt love from her family or the people she has grown up around. Her only friend risks everything to help Eve escape her horrible and tragic life. Once she escapes, Eve is continually hiding from her prison like past while trying to learn how to enjoy life with her new acquaintances. She never truly feels free. West is interesting and entertaining from the first time Eve meets him and West has secrets of his own… Shadow of a Girl deals with difficult issues, such as abuse and overcoming it and how much of a struggle that can be and even more. Amazing character development! This realistic story will empower! 5 stars!

All These Perfect Strangers

Posted on by lynndellwatson

all-these-perfect-strangers-9781925310726_hr

Thanks to NetGalley and Alibi for the arc of All These Perfect Strangers by Aoife Clifford! This adult mystery thriller begins with Penelope, Pen, visiting her therapist to receive a written report of how he feels she is doing after a tragedy has surrounded her. Part of the deal is, before Frank will write the report, Pen has to write down the truth and discuss it with him during future visits. Pen recounts her University days, as well as her days as a young girl in a different tragedy involving her best friend. The story unfolds spinning several more people into the problems on campus including drugs, deceit and murder. Suspenseful and heartbreaking, making All These Perfect Strangers a great read!