Mini-Reviews: What I’ve Read Recently
Just because I haven’t been writing reviews recently doesn’t mean I haven’t been *reading.* I’ve read several great books in the last few months, and I decided to do mini reviews for them. I’m breaking away from traditional reviews. I may still do silly ones, or “love letters” to an author from time to time, but I want to write more discussion/general/book love posts.
ALIENATED by Melissa Landers
ALIENATED was exactly what I was hoping it would be: super cute, funny, and sweet. I loved the cultural clashes, and that it made me question how humans would react if aliens suddenly were all “what up, here we are!” I’d hope we would react better than people did in ALIENATED, because that was scary!
I liked the pacing (it felt really natural and smooth) and the characters. For the most part, most if not all of the characters felt fairly developed, which is always a good thing. Plus? PARENTS WHO CARE. And of course the romance was very well-done, up until the end. Cara + Aelyx FOREVA. Lots of fun exchanges, lots of chemistry. (Also I LOL’ed at the L’eihr groupies.) Very much a slow-burn which we KNOW I like. It lost me at the end when it went a bit Twilight-y (ie. “I’m-17-and-I-know-what-I-want-for-the-rest-of-my-life, because whoa. I did not have A single clue at 17. Not ONE clue.) But I’m excited for the sequel.
LOSING IT by Cora Carmack
I thoroughly enjoyed LOSING IT, Bliss, Bliss/Garrick, the supporting characters, and basically everything about Cora’s book. LOSING IT made me laugh so many times, from the dialogue, to the hilarious awkward-ness between Bliss and Garrick. I knew from the premise this book would be great, and it was. SUCH an amazing example of what I love about New Adult — the fear of and hope for the future, friendships, adult’ing, and a nice dash of a character boldly discovering her sexuality. LOSING IT really MADE me want to get lost in a book again for the first time in awhile, and it didn’t hurt that Bliss and Garrick had AWESOME smokin’ hot chemistry. I also loved the side characters (*coughs*CADE*coughs*), and Cora’s writing style is really nice.
UNTEACHABLE by Leah Raeder
So, UNTEACHABLE. It’s not a sugar-coated book. It’s not a nice book. It’s not a meek book. UNTEACHABLE is a brave book about a flawed, brave, REAL girl. Maise is possibly the BEST heroine I’ve read about in a LONG time in YA, NA, etc, because Maise doesn’t front. She knows she has issues, and it takes her some time, but Maise grows and starts to do things FOR HERSELF. She changes the parts of her life she doesn’t want. And she’s unflinchingly honest about her relationship with Evan, her teacher. YA and NA — and hell, adult — needs Maise. And many more characters like her. (YES to unapologetic characters who aren’t portrayed as ice-queens/etc. FUCK YES to books that are sex-positive. I could write an essay about this.)
UNTEACHABLE is incredibly well-written; the prose is beautiful. Stark when it needs to be stark. Lyrical when it needs to be lyrical. The characters are all incredibly developed, and the plot, despite some escapist moments that feel unreal, is solid. And the romance. It gave me so many feels. And yes, there WAS romance, and seduction, and lust. And it was brave and perfect.
Bravo, Leah Raeder.
BROKEN HEARTS, FENCES, AND OTHER THINGS TO MEND by Katie Finn
Going into BH, I knew I’d enjoy it, because it’s Morgan Matson. *takes a moment to bow* But guys, I LOVED BROKEN HEARTS. LOVED. I laughed until I almost cried. I craughed. I flailed around. I despaired. I fell in love with Josh. I wanted to be awkward BFFs with Gemma (our MC.) I wanted to hug this book. Through SO many mishaps and missed chances and revenge-y moments, BROKEN HEARTS, FENCES, AND OTHER THINGS TO MEND is a hilarious, touching summer story. Read it at the pool or at the beach, and I dare you to NOT fall for Katie Finn’s adorable book. There’s friendships (a positive one!), a strong hint of the most precious romance, sunshine, fun, and heartache, all in a gorgeous package. (THAT COVER THOUGH.)
I’m already dyyyyying for REVENGE, ICE CREAM, AND OTHER THINGS BEST SERVED COLD — and after reading this, you will be too!
SPLIT SECOND by Kasie West
I had SUCH a strong reaction to PIVOT POINT that I was expecting that again. And I ALMOST got it with SPLIT SECOND, but there was just a small something missing. I’m still not sure what I wanted. More emotions? More danger? I’m not sure. I LOVED SPLIT SECOND a great deal, of course. We got to go back to Addie’s world, and see her trying to muddle through being around Norms without messing up everything. I love Addie so hard; her challenges always feel so genuine and relatable, despite her abilities. As always, I love the set-up and the world Kasie has created. It seems really plausible, especially because we get some more info in SPLIT SECOND, and see how deep some corruptions and efforts to keep that fine balance go.
What I loved the most: getting to see Addie and Trevor together again, especially getting to see them fall for each other again, and Addie’s abilities growing. What I didn’t love: honestly, Laila’s chapters were a huge miss for me. I didn’t like her like/love interest for me, because it verged on insta-love, and I think the entire book could have been Addie’s POV easily. In fact, I wish it had been. I LIKE Laila, but I don’t think her POV carried her parts, and I wasn’t nearly as invested in what was going on with her.
All in all a great addition and a nice bit of closure to the story PIVOT POINT began, I wanted more from SPLIT SECOND. But I got to swoon a LOT and cry happy tears over Addie/Trevor, so I’m happy.
THE WINNER’S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski
Oh THE WINNER’S CURSE, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1. AMAZINGLY strong and fierce lead female character, who knows what she wants, and who doesn’t want to be who society thinks she should be.
2. Mysterious love interest who WILL break your heart, but you won’t even mind. I’m STILL swooning over Arin — his rebellious nature, his heart, his strength.
3. A slow-burning romance. I was JUST as swept off my feet as Kestrel was — both by the gradual building of emotions, and the way it all happened. This romance verges on unhealthy but only because of the circumstances. There are REAL emotions here.
4. A lush, beautiful writing style. Rutkoski’s prose is magical, transporting you into the world of THE WINNER’S CURSE.
5. Fleshed-out supporting characters who you’ll feel sympathy for and want to know more about.
6. World-building that’s focused less on the entire scope of the world, and more on what we see through Kestrel’s eyes. Her world and customs felt REAL. This is akin to light fantasy, and I loved the mix between customs, politics, slavery, and romanticism of barbaric ways and wars.
7. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK.
ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART by Tracey Martin
It’s been some time since I read this book, but it was REALLY cute. I loved Claire a lot, and really enjoyed watching her growth over the course of ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART. I liked seeing the dynamics to Claire’s family, and their interactions, even though the storyline with her dad was kind of blah. This was a classic “old lovers are thrown together again” trope but with the twist that Claire breaking up with Jared led him to become a famous musician with the breakout hit song he wrote about them. I was looking for a bit more OOMPH from them seeing each other again, and more emotion out of them coming back together as friends and potentially more. The pacing felt a bit too quick — I think I would have enjoyed ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART more if it were a little longer, and more time given to Claire/Jared’s progression. But it was a cute read, not as deep as I’d hoped, but a great summer read, and I would read more from Martin.
Have you read any of these books? Did you like them? Dislike them? Do you like this review format?
