Uncategorized

Review: Out of Breath, by Rebecca Donovan

Posted by

0

What an amazing end to a powerful and emotional series!!

I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to finish it, but I knew I had too. The first two books were quite draining and pushed me way over. I’m glad I didn’t read them back to back. I don’t think I could’ve handled that. My nerves would’ve been shot. That being said, I’m glad this is over. 🙂

The book starts off about two years after Emma walks out on Evan and leaves him barely conscience. She is trying to move on, but still, she will never be the same. Her friends have tried to help her. They even encouraged her to date. But her heart’s not really in it. Her heart’s back in Weslyn, but she won’t admit that.

Unfortunately, life has a way of pushing us to do things and face things we really don’t want to. When Emma finds herself back in Weslyn, she can’t face it.

Evan and Sara find her passed out, from alcohol, and they realize that she is not the girl they knew and loved. They decide to spend all summer trying to put her back together. Emma doesn’t think she is worth the trouble. She still thinks that she has done unforgivable things and that no one should love her, especially not Evan. She wishes everyone would just leave her. But they know they can’t.

I wasn’t happy to see how she was behaving, in college. Part of me wanted her to be waiting for Evan, but I know that was unrealistic. So seeing her with someone else was hard. I don’t think she was very smart about her choices. She needed a good whack across her noggin.

Evan has had a horrible two years, since she left. He never understood why. But he wants closure and the truth, from her. He is determined to get it, even if he has to go through the hurt again. He wants her to be honest, for once. He spends all summer trying to crack her shell and see what she’s hiding and how she’s feeling.

Their friends are super supportive and don’t wanna see either of them hurt again. But they do try and help push things along. And not very subtle either. 🙂

I don’t wanna say anymore, at the risk of spoiling it. However, this ended just like I’d hoped. I was so very happy. It was a long time coming, but I’m glad I stuck around. Now I can put my Xanax away. 😉

-Melpomene

Buy it now Out Of Breath (The Breathing Series, #3)

Review: A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Branon Halpin

Posted by

0

17288907A Really Awesome Mess is told from 2 different points of view, with each author writing one. Emmy is struggling with being adopted and fitting into what she perceives as her perfect family. She’s dealing with being a minority in a white family and trying to become super thin in any way possible. An incident at school leads to her being accused of bullying and having the police involved. Her life is basically not going so great at the moment.

Justin is dealing with some depression and anger issues at his divorced parents. His father walks in on him in a compromising situation and things don’t go well from there.

Both Justin and Emmy end up at The Heartland Academy, a reform school that is meant for kids who need to clean up their act and need more than just regular school. Their parents are hoping it will help them to deal with their issues. There, they meet a cast of characters with their own issues and we get to see them interact with other teens as well as therapists and teachers.

I found this book to be a really funny and touching book. Parts of the story were hilarious as we got to see the kids interact with each other and what they thought of the others issues. Parts were intensely touching as we see exactly why Emmy was accused of bullying and why Justin is so angry.

Seeing the teens come together and form a close group was the highlight of the book for me. They come together to help each other, first in not so healthy ways and then eventually in slightly better ways. Having them interact at the Fair in particular highlights each of their issues and how they are actually seen by other people. The group of teens are such a random group of misfits they almost reminded me of the movie The Breakfast Club at one point.

I think this is a great book that teens could get a lot out of – it’s funny enough they should want to read it all the way through but with enough of a lesson in perception versus reality that they could learn something at the same time.

At the same time as someone who reads a lot of Young Adult books yet is not exactly a Young Adult herself, it’s also a book that people of different ages can enjoy. We can all relate to most of the feelings that the teens went through in this book. The authors did a great job of fleshing those out and making me relate to the characters.

4 stars.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

– Clio

Buy it now A Really Awesome Mess

Review: Losing Hope, by Colleen Hoover

Posted by

0

Give me a moment to collect myself……

5 stars isn’t enough. It’s a 10!!

I fell in love with Holder all over again. I remember being heartbroken when he talked about Les, in Hopeless, but hearing it from his POV was downright overwhelming. It broke my heart watching as he went through the loss of his twin, while still dealing with the loss of Hope. The poor boy.

I wasn’t expecting to feel any different than I did when I read Hopeless, but I was wrong. Holder lived and breathed his sister and finding Hope. But when she is taken from him, “It was like all our hope was taken right along with our Hope.” *wipes eyes*

When he meets Sky and starts hoping she’s not Hope, I started to lose it. I really didn’t want her to be Hope either, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it.

The best first kiss without even kissing…WOW! That was so very hot! “I need to know for sure that you’re feeling every single thing that I’m feeling the moment my lips touch yours. Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses.” *swoon*

When he found the notebook and starting writing letters, I felt my heart break after every one.

When he found the letter…I had to step away. I knew, but yet I didn’t know. I wanted to reach in and hold onto him and never let him go.

“In order to miss someone, that means you were privileged enough to have them in your life to begin with.”

Holy cow. I just can’t get myself together. This was an amazing book. Colleen Hoover just made my heart break and then slowly put it back together. I will never be the same though. This book did a number on me. As do all of her books. I don’t know how she does it, but I am thankful she does.

-Melpomene

Buy it now Losing Hope: A Novel

Review: A Good Time by Shannyn Schroeder

Posted by

0

This book is combination of a bad soap opera and The Maury Povich Show. Almost every clichéd trope that you can think of is in here.

The heroine, Indy, has a lot of TSTL moments that make me not care for her. Example? Indy is a real estate agent during the day and a server at a bar in the evening. She’s waiting for that large commission to get her career going. She has an opportunity with Griffin, a millionaire, who hired her as a favor for his best friend. For their first meeting, she shows up late and hungover.

Another example? She keeps telling him that she doesn’t sleep with her clients. Guess what she does almost immediately?

Now, let’s talk about Griffin. He has a tragic past that includes his father, whom he doesn’t want around. He is described as video game developer, but you don’t see him doing this in the book. It’s more about him trying to establish a charitable foundation to help troubled youth.

Indy broke up with her boyfriend and decides that Griffin would be the perfect rebound guy. Despite them having lots of sex, I really didn’t feel the chemistry. I was also very bored by the blandness of Griffin and the stupidity of Indy that I didn’t care if they made it as couple.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

~Thalia

Buy It Now A Good Time (O`Learys)