Books to Buy – Page 4 – Zakiya N. Jamal

ARC Book Review: I Hate Everyone But You

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Dear Best Friend,
I can already tell that I will hate everyone but you.
Sincerely,
Ava Helmer
(that brunette who won’t leave you alone)

We’re still in the same room, you weirdo.
Stop crying.
G

So begins a series of texts and emails sent between two best friends, Ava and Gen, as they head off to their first semesters of college on opposite sides of the country. From first loves to weird roommates, heartbreak, self-discovery, coming out and mental health, the two best friends will document every moment to each other. But as each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship be able to survive the distance?

I Hate Everyone But You, the debut novel by two emerging major talents in YA, Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn, is a story about new beginnings, love and heartbreak, and ultimately about the power of friendship.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on September 5, 2017.*

Going into this novel I didn’t really know what it was about. I just love the authors, Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin, who started out at BuzzFeed before starting their own YouTube channel, Just Between Us. When I heard they wrote a YA novel together I knew I had to read it and was very excited to receive an eARC copy. I was even more excited when I realized this book is told in emails and texts, my favorite form of story telling (I love dialogue more than plot, fyi!).

I Hate Everyone But You, follows two best friends, Ava and Gen, who are starting their first year of college. While Ava is staying close to home by going to the University of Southern California, Gen is moving to the east coast to attend Emerson. Thus, the emails and texts are how they keep in touch, and I absolutely loved their friendship.

Ava has anxiety and is constantly battling that. Even though she’s still close to home she’s moved far enough where she must find a new therapist that can help her, and that’s sometimes easier said than done. Moreover, because of her anxiety and her personality in general, she struggles to make new friends and live in a world without Gen.

Differently, Gen is diving head first into her new life at Emerson. She’s writing for the school newspaper and aiming for a staff writer position, and her TA, Charlotte, seems eager to be her mentor. Additionally, Gen is exploring her sexuality in a way that surprises Ava.

While it’s clear Ava and Gen love each other, they also fight and have disagreements about a lot of different things. They discuss mental health, gender, sexuality, and more. They also challenge each other. Gen constantly corrects Ava, who struggles to understand that sexuality is fluid, and Gen has to come to terms with the fact that Ava will sometimes say things that Gen really needs to hear, even if she doesn’t like it.

Possibly my favorite thing about this novel is that Ava is clearly Allison and Gen is obviously Gaby, and the fact that the novel didn’t try to hide from that, but instead joked about it. BuzzFeed is mentioned as is their YouTube series, and Gen even calls Ava an “Allison,” at one point. I really liked that the authors weren’t afraid to poke fun at themselves.

Overall, I thought this was a great read and shows a realistic friendship, while also covering very real topics that aren’t talked about enough. Even if you’re not a fan of Allison and Gaby (though you really should be), you should definitely pick up this book.

Borrow or Buy: Buy it!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Never blame yourself for the physical failings of a man. Their infrastructure is designed for malfunction.”

Other Reviews
Book Blather
Readasaurus Reviews
Hello, Chelly

Book Review: Poison Study (Reread)

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Murder, mayhem and magic…

Locked in a coffin-like darkness, there is nothing to distract me from my memories of killing Reyad. He deserved to die—but according to the law, so do I. Here in Ixia, the punishment for murder is death. And now I wait for the hangman’s noose.

But the same law that condemns me may also save me. Ixia’s food taster—chosen to ensure that the Commander’s food is not poisoned—has died. And by law, the next prisoner who is scheduled to be executed—me—must be offered the position.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

I first read Poison Study back when I was in high school (over six years ago), and I absolutely loved it. When I read it the first time, the series was only a trilogy and I immediately read all the books and the read the spinoff Glass trilogy, which was also amazing. Then the author, Maria V. Snyder, decided to bless us with three more books in the series.

However, since I hadn’t read the first three books in years I knew I would have to reread them before I dived into the new books, but I put it off for a while because WHO HAS TIME TO REREAD?! Thankfully, audiobooks exist and I was finally able to listen to Poison Study, and it turns out that I still really enjoy the book.

The main character, Yelena, is still just as amazing and kick ass as I remember, and her love interest, Valek, is just as swoonworthy (though I was trying to figure just how old he is since Yelena is 18 at best). I liked how their relationship was a little bit of a slow burn, but totally worth the wait. I also forgot about a lot of characters that I loved like the magician, Iris.

All in all, I’m so excited to be rereading this series and getting to see how Yelena and Valek’s story continues in the new books. The only issue I had was on the audiobook, music plays at the start of each chapter, which I thought was annoying. It was totally unnecessary and while I’d like to listen to the next book, Magic Study, I don’t know if I can deal with that music again. We’ll see what happens.

If you haven’t given this series a read yet, I definitely recommend it. It’s a great fantasy series filled with intrigue, mystery, plot twists, and a bit of romance. You’ll love it!

Borrow or Buy: Buy it!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”

Other Reviews
Dear Author
The Nocturnal Fey
Written Word Worlds

ARC Book Review: Genuine Fraud

Posted on August 22, 2017August 21, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book at BookCon. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel was released on September 5, 2017.*

The only book I’d ever read by E. Lockhart was How to Be Bad, which she cowrote with two authors. I also didn’t enjoy it. However, I’ve heard mostly good things about We Were Liars so when I had the opportunity to snag an ARC of her newest novel and get it signed, I decided to go for it. Thankfully, I ended up really enjoying Genuine Fraud.

The novel is told in the third person and follows Jule, but the chapters go backwards in time. I don’t want to spoil anything because half the fun of this novel is the mystery, so I won’t go too much into the plot. What I will say is I really enjoyed the twists in this novel and was kind of surprised by a lot of what happened. Additionally, I really liked the main character, Jule. She’s definitely an antihero who sometimes does bad things, but I still liked her anyway.

What I really loved about this story was learning more about Jule and her friendship with Imogen. Since the story works backwards, it was interesting to see how everything came to be at the beginning of the novel. Moreover, I really liked that while the novel answered most of my questions, I was still left with questions by the end of the story. Usually, I don’t like that kind of thing, but I really liked how it added to the mystery and left me still questioning what was true in Jule’s story and what was not.

Overall, I highly recommend buying this book when it’s released, because if you’re like me, you’re going to want to reread it from back to front once you’re done.

Borrow or Buy: Buy it!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“[Jule] believed that the best way to avoid having your heart broken was to pretend you don’t have one.”

Other Reviews
Book Reviews by Ava
The Loud Library Lady
Between the Pages

Book Review: Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here

Posted on August 10, 2017August 8, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Meet Scarlett Epstein, BNF (Big Name Fan) in her online community of fanfiction writers, world-class nobody at Melville High. Her best (read: only) IRL friends are Avery, a painfully shy and annoyingly attractive bookworm, and Ruth, her pot-smoking, possibly insane seventy-three-year-old neighbor.

When Scarlett’s beloved TV show is canceled and her longtime crush, Gideon, is sucked out of her orbit and into the dark and distant world of Populars, Scarlett turns to the fanfic message boards for comfort. This time, though, her subjects aren’t the swoon-worthy stars of her fave series—they’re the real-life kids from her high school. Scarlett never considers what might happen if they were to find out what she truly thinks about them…until a dramatic series of events exposes a very different reality than Scarlett’s stories, forever transforming her approach to relationships—both online and off.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

I’ve had this book on my shelves for at least a year and I don’t know why it took me so long to read it. As I told someone on Instagram, this book gave me serious Fangirl vibes, but I actually liked the story Scarlett was writing, unlike the Carry On snippets in Fangirl (note: I love Fangirl, so no shade).

Scarlett is a teenager who fluctuates between being a realist and a pessimist. Her favorite TV show was just cancelled and she’s currently in a mild state of depression. To make matters worse, her favorite thing to do, writing fan fiction, now seems pointless without the show. Until she comes up with a new concept.

Rather than writing about her favorite characters, she begins writing about the students at her high school. There’s her longtime crush, Gideon, who’s become one of the “populars,” and Ashley, one of the popular girls and Scarlett’s archnemesis. Ashley also happens to be the sister to Scarlett’s best friend, Avery, and is, of course, dating Gideon.

As Scarlett starts to blur the lines between the fictional world she’s created and the real one, her life gets way more complicated. There may be something more than just friendship blooming between her and Gideon, but she’s not exactly sure. Meanwhile, Avery’s starting to take an interest in high school activities that have nothing to do with her regular academic studies. Additionally, Scarlett’s mom is dating someone new… again. The only constant in Scarlett’s life at the moment is her elderly neighbor and good friend Ruth, who’s a BAMF in every way you can imagine.

I really loved the characters in this novel, especially Scarlett. She’s snarky, funny, and unafraid to stand up for herself. I also like that even though she’s a “nerd,” she’s not the kind that is super intelligent. In fact, Avery often does Scarlett’s homework for her, which I loved. Often times in novels like this, the characters that geek out about comic books or TV shows are also insanely smart and are heading to Ivy League schools. While there’s obviously nothing wrong with that, it sometimes seems like these books about fandoms and geek culture skip over the outcasts and the people who don’t fit in with the academically inclined or the “popular” people; they’re just different.

That’s what I loved about this novel. Even Ashley, the “popular mean girl” character, really surprised me, as she wasn’t exactly that typical mean girl that often exists in these types of novels. These characters were all complicated and had their own issues that really reflected what high school is actually like and I loved it.

In summary, Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here is a must read in my book.

Borrow or Buy: Buy it!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“…the importance of trying to understand people who are different from you, even though it’s so much harder than writing them off, because it might make you admit something to yourself that’s painful.”

Other Reviews
Fourth & Sycamore
Across the Words
Book Wish

Book Review: Inked Armor

Posted on August 8, 2017August 8, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story continues between Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

In the wake of losing Tenley Page, tattooist Hayden Stryker’s tumultuous past is haunting him. Plagued by nightmares about the murder of his parents, Hayden reaches out again to Tenley. Having run from the man she doesn’t believe she deserves, Tenley finally lays her guilt to rest. Despite their intense physical attraction, Hayden and Tenley struggle to repair their fragile emotional connection. As Hayden gets closer to the truth, he must find a way to reconcile his guilt over his parents’ death in order to keep the woman who finally cracked his armor, and found her way into his heart.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

Inked Armor picks up two weeks after the end of Clipped Wings. Tenly has returned to her hometown to get her affairs in order and to figure out all her complicated feelings about her past so she can be in a real relationship with Hayden. Of course, she went about this all wrong, and really hurt Hayden.

Once Tenley returns to Chicago, fixing their relationship is much easier said than done. They’ve both been hurting because of their dark pasts and while Tenley has finally begun to come to grips with hers, Hayden must now face the ghosts of his.

I really liked that this book took more of look at Hayden’s issues, because they were definitely hinted at in the first novel but weren’t ever really explored. In this book we learn more about Hayden’s parents, the night they died, and how that one night really altered Hayden’s life. I also really enjoyed the kind of mystery surrounding that night as well. I started making my own guesses at who could’ve killed Hayden’s parents and while I was right, I was also still surprised, which I loved.

Besides that, this book also didn’t disappoint in the romance/smut department. The scenes between Hayden and Tenley were just as steamy and interesting. They can really just hook-up anywhere, honestly. More than the smut though, their relationship was incredibly cute, as were the other couples in this novel.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent sequel and perfect end to this duology. I’ll definitely still be reading all the short stories in this series, though. I already bought them all on my Kindle. Can you tell I’m obsessed?

Borrow or Buy: Buy it!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“The most dangerous criminals are the ones who appear the least threatening.”

Other Reviews
Love & Other Bookish Things
Bookish Temptations
The Good, The Bad, & the Unread

ARC Book Review: Wonder Woman: Warbringer

Posted on August 3, 2017August 31, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .

Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Purchase From:

Amazon Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

If I’m being totally honest, I didn’t really have any interest in this book. If Leigh Bardugo didn’t write it, I probably wouldn’t have read it. I’ve never really been a big fan of Wonder Woman and still haven’t seen the new movie. I don’t know why, I just never got into her story and therefore didn’t really know much about her.

However, I decided to finally give this book a read because I’ve only seen good reviews of it thus far and I love the Six of Crows duology by Bardugo. Though this book started out slow, I ended up really enjoying it and couldn’t put it down.

The novel begins with Diana, who, if you are even less familiar with Wonder Woman than I am, will one day become Wonder Woman. Now, though, she’s the Princess of the Amazons, trying to prove herself to her sisters. Unlike all the other Amazons, Diana was created by her mother, Hippolyta, with the help of the gods. She was never mortal, like the other Amazons, and has never seen war, a man, or the human world in general.

That is until a boat crashes near Diana’s home, Themyscira, with Alia on it. Alia is a mortal human, but she’s also a Warbringer, meaning she’s a descendant of Helen of Troy. Alia’s power will bring an age of war so great that it will even reach Themyscira, a land of peace. That is, unless Alia and Diana can team up to stop it.

Diana learns what she must do to bring the age of Warbringers to an end, but of course it’s not something simple, and it leads Diana and Alia to the mortal lands, which led to a lot of action and adventure, but also some hilarity. Because Dianna has never been anywhere besides Themyscira, there was a lot she didn’t understand about the world, like cellphones or the fact that to “kick someone’s ass” didn’t mean you literally kick them in the ass.

I also liked that Alia is half-black and this novel looks at issues of race and how that shaped who Alia, and her older brother, Jason, were. The novel had a lot of diversity actually, with Alia’s best friend, Nim, being Indian and queer, and Jason’s best friend, Theo, also being a person of color.

Warbringer also had some twists that really surprised me, which I totally loved. I like being caught off guard and this book did that for me. There were also little bits of romance, which were just enough that I liked it, but it didn’t take away from the story at all.

Overall, I definitely recommend giving this book a read when it comes out. Even if you’re not all that familiar with Wonder Woman, like me, you can definitely still enjoy this novel. And if you love Wonder Woman, I think you’ll definitely like this novel.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“It’s the people who never learn the word impossible who make history, because they’re the ones who keep trying.”

Other Reviews
Brittany’s Book Rambles
Carina’s Books
Literary Dust

Book Review: Clipped Wings

Posted on August 1, 2017July 28, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Their body art is hot. Their chemistry is even hotter.

From her dark hair sweeping below her waist to her soft, sexy curves, Tenley Page intrigues tattoo artist Hayden Stryker in a way no one else ever has…especially when she asks him to ink a gorgeous, intricate design on her back. Yet for all her beauty, there is something darkly tragic and damaged about Tenley that Hayden is everything.

Covered in ink and steel, Hayden is everything Tenley has never dared to want, awakening a desire to explore more than the art adorning his stunning body. Trapped by a past that leaves her screaming from nightmares, Tenley sees Hayden as the perfect escape. Although he has secrets too, if they both keep themselves guarded perhaps their intense physical connection will remain only that.

But nothing, not even passion, can keep them safe from their pasts…

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

Clipped Wings took me by surprise. I was given this book and it’s sequel and decided to randomly give them a try because I was in the mood for a romance and I absolutely loved them.

The novel is told in alternating points of view of Hayden and Tenley, both of whom have dark pasts. Hayden has made a family out the people he works with in his tattoo shop, Inked Armor, and his Aunt Cassie, who’s more like an older sister to him than an aunt.

Tenley works at Cassie’s bookstore, across the street from Hayden’s tattoo shop. Tenley just moved to Chicago in attempt to move on from a terrible plane crash that took the lives of those closest to her. She’s also trying to get her degree at Northwestern, which comes with it’s own complications because her advisor is the absolute worst.

When Tenley goes into Hayden’s shop with an idea for a back tattoo, the chemistry between the two of them is palpable. Eventually, they let their lust for each other overwhelm all their senses and start to get to know each other on a very physical level and then an emotional one. However, they’re both keeping secrets and unfortunately, all secrets eventually come to light.

I really liked the relationship between Hayden and Tenley and I could understand why they weren’t being completely honest with each other, though it still frustrated me. The smut scenes were great and not repetitive like some other romance novels I read. I also really liked the side characters. Besides the awesome people at Inked Armour, Tenley’s neighbor, Sarah, was the best. Cassie and her husband were also really cute and fun.

Clipped Wings gave me serious Confess (by Colleen Hoover) vibes but there were enough differences that it still felt like it’s own book to me. Still, if you loved Confess as much as I did, I’m confident you’ll love this book. There’s even an antagonist named Trey and an asshole cop, though in this book those characters are two different people.

My point is, you should definitely give this book a read if you’re looking for a dark romance that will give you all the feels.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Hope was a dangerous emotion; it gave false confidence and made a person do unconscionable things.”

Other Reviews
Aestas Book Blog
The Honest Book Club
Badass Book Reviews

Book Review: Big Little Lies

Posted on July 27, 2017July 24, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal…
A murder…a tragic accident…or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

I’ve actually had an ARC copy of this novel since 2014, but it wasn’t until my book club decided to read it that I finally picked it up. I don’t know why I waited so long; it was so good!

The novel is told in the third person POV and follows Madeline, Celeste, and Jane, three moms whose kids are all starting kindergarten at the same school. At the start of the novel, you know someone ends up dead in two months at trivia night. At the start and end of the chapters there are other characters telling their own recollection of events, seemingly to the detectives investigating the case.

I loved those little snippets because they often differed from what really happened and they were also often funny and ridiculous. Moreover, I loved these characters. Madeline, Celeste, and Jane are all flawed but I loved them anyway, though Madeline was definitely my favorite and because of the show I pictured her as Reese Witherspoon, who I love.

Madeline loves conflict but can’t stand the fact that her daughter will be starting school with her ex’s daughter.To make matters worse, Madeline’s eldest daughter, Abigail, seems to be choosing her dad (Madeline’s ex) and his new wife, Bonnie, over Madeline and her new husband, Ed. Of course, Madeline can’t stand it.

Meanwhile, Celeste’s perfect life is anything but perfect, but how can she possibly tell anyone that? Besides, Celeste can’t help but feel like maybe her life isn’t all that bad and if she just sticks it out a little while longer, what’s the worst that can happen?

Jane moved to town looking for a fresh start but before her son, Ziggy, even begins school he’s painted as a violent bully and although Jane can’t believe it she also can’t help but wonder if it’s true.

I really liked Madeline, Celeste, and Jane’s friendship and I loved all the twists in the book (there were so many!). Though I suspected most of them, I was still pretty surprised to be right. I was also surprised by how dark this book was at times, but how it also made me laugh and smile a lot. I was happy with the ending and I highly recommend giving this book a read if you haven’t already. I can’t wait to watch the show!

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Reading a novel was like returning to a once beloved holiday destination.”

Other Reviews
BitchyFantasy
Aestas Book Blog
Under the Covers Book Blog

Book Review: The Hating Game

Posted on July 25, 2017July 24, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.

2) A person’s undoing

3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

I’d been hearing about this novel for a while and decided to finally give it a try when I needed a new audiobook for my run. Even after I finished running I couldn’t stop listening. I was totally hooked.

The story is told in Lucy’s point of view and she hates Josh, mainly because when they first met she gave him her best smile and he did not return it in the slightest. These two are polar opposites. While Lucy is tiny and aims to please everyone, Josh is tall, a little stand offish, and every one thinks he’s mean. It’s pretty easy to see why these two clash, especially since their desks face each other so they have to deal with each other often.

Their little childish antics in the office were cute and funny and the sparks between them were pretty obvious from the very beginning. The romance aspects of the novel were pretty steamy and Josh totally made me swoon. Moreover, I liked getting to learn more about Lucy and Josh’s personalities and why they are the way they are. The novel delves into both Lucy and Josh’s family lives and their pasts, which I found really interesting.

Besides the obvious romance, the main conflict of the novel was Lucy and Josh fighting for the same promotion. I was really happy with how it was resolved in the end because I wasn’t sure how it would be. Overall, I loved this book from beginning to end and highly recommend it if you’re looking for a quick and cute romance that will make you laugh.

I can’t wait to see what Sally Thorne writes next!

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“The trick is to find that one person who can give it back as good as they can take it.”

Other Reviews
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Vilma’s Book Blog
Harlequin Junkie

ARC Book Review: Lucky in Love

Posted on July 11, 2017July 10, 2017 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Maddie’s not impulsive. She’s all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment —

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie’s life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she’s talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun… until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn’t sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn’t seem aware of Maddie’s big news. And, for some reason, she doesn’t want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from Scholastic via Edelweiss. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on July 25, 2017.*

Kasie West has become my go to author for YA contemporary romance novels. Her books are always so cute, fun, and quick to read, and Lucky in Love was no exception. This novel is told in the first person point of view of Maddie, a high school senior who’s very focused on school. She’s so focused that she and her best friends, Blair and Elise, have a pact that they’re not allowed to date in high school.

Maddie believes nothing comes easy and you have to work hard for what you want, which is why she’s not interested in entering the lottery at first. However, when her friends bail on her birthday party Maddie decides to spend the rest of her money on a lottery ticket and surprisingly she actually wins.

Suddenly, her life goes from kind of boring to very exciting. Everyone wants to be her friend and every one wants her money. Her friends and family start acting differently and Maddie soon questions who she can and can’t trust. Except for Seth, her cute coworker at the zoo. Seth was grounded when the news of Maddie’s lottery win broke and rather than tell him about it, Maddie likes that there’s someone in her life who presumably doesn’t know about her lottery win, so she keeps it to herself.

My favorite part of this book was definitely Seth. First, I loved that he’s Vietnamese American. As far as I can tell this is the first time the love interest has been a person of color in West’s novels and I thought that was great, especially because Seth opened up to Maddie about what it’s like to be Asian in America. There were multiple points where he and Maddie had open conversations about race and I really liked that a lot because while it wasn’t the main topic of the book, West also didn’t shy away from it.

I also really liked Maddie as a character. Though I was frustrated that she wasn’t handling her new wealth very responsibly I also acknowledged the fact that she was 18 and truthfully she did win $50 million ($30 million once you take out the taxes). It wasn’t like she was actually going to use up all her money but it still stressed me out every time she bought something extravagant, especially because it was so out of character for her. Overall though, I was more upset with her parents for not stepping in when they saw how much she was spending.

That small frustration aside, I really enjoyed this novel. It was a quick read and I loved Seth from the moment he was first introduced. I highly recommend picking up Lucky in Love once it hits stores. It’s definitely worth a read.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line: