Tag: YA Romance

This Chick Read: The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

Every century an Everwitch is born who has power over the weather of each season. Clara was born an Everwitch but after her powers killed her parents and her best friend she is afraid to use her powers to her full potential afraid she will lose the people she loves the most. When Sang arrives on campus to help her train his calm Spring powers help give her enough control to try to help repair the climate but as she gains feelings for him she again fears she will bring him harm. Will Clara’s struggles between gaining control of her powers an her feelings for Sang collide?

I have read fantasy novels with witches who control weather but this is the first world where a witches personality is tied to the Season of their powers. As an Everwitch Clara’s personality changes with each season the most difficult transition being from Summer to Autumn. This difference, along with the climate change story really held my interest. I felt for this young girl who wanted to help the world but also just wanted to be “normal” and not accidentally kill her friends.

What I liked the most about this novel was how each season had it’s own magical elements and the descriptions of their magic and emotions during those seasons matching the heat of summer or the coldness of winter made these characters even more interesting. The romantic trials of a bunch of teens who grew giddy during their season could have easily been comical but Rachel Griffin gave them a serious threat to fight which balanced the plot nicely.

I really enjoyed this novel and can only hope for more from this author. I could easily see a series about Clara’s evolution and discovery about her talent and her love for Sang. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Nature of Witches

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Friday YA: Love and Olives (Love and Gelato #3) by Jenna Evans Welch

Liv’s father left she and her mother to go back to Greece and search for the lost city of Atlantis. I know, it sounds crazy, right? Well, Live thinks so too. She’s so embarrassed by it that she hardly ever mentions him to her boyfriend. She has dropped the O-L and E from her name and re-invented herself as smooth and chic when underneath she’s rather a geek like her father. When she starts receiving post cards from him out of the blue it’s totally upsetting and she shoves them away physically and emotionally until her mother makes her accept an invitation by her father to visit him in Greece. A father that she hasn’t seen or spoken to in eight years. This unplanned vacation interrupts her plans for the summer and she starts off the trip resentful but she soon discovers life is a journey and sometimes the unexpected trip is the greatest journey of them all.

I have read all of the books in the Love & Gelato series and enjoyed the first two Love & Gelato and Love & Luck. I can say with all seriousness that Love & Olive is by far my favorite of this series. That the teen finding herself trope that this author has stuck with was fine tuned and wonderful making Olive and her father’s reunion an emotional and eye opening book. Her love interest Theo was pretty unexpectedly wonderful too.

First and foremost, yes, there is a great deal of hunting for the lost city of Atlantis. A tale that Olive and her father bonded over in her youth and something that Liv is totally cringing about now. BUT she still remembers all of those facts about this city and she finds herself being drawn into that story again. Her father brought her out to Greece to work on a project with him for National Geographic and as Olive and Theo run around following clues and getting b-roll she can’t help but think her father may be slightly delusional but well, maybe he’s onto something.

The majority of this story takes place on Santorini, and that island and setting are a character unto itself. The white buildings with painted blue roofs, the churches, the blue waters of the ocean surrounding it. In my mind it wasn’t such a bad place to be stuck for 10 days, especially with a father who so obviously loves her and with a charming, cute Greek boy. I think Olive starts to think the same thing. Of course, there is a bit of emotional trauma that rocks the boat, some sour searching Olive must do, but in the end with hard work Olive’s world turns out alright.

You do not have to read any of the previous books in this series before reading this novel, AT ALL. So if you are looking for a quick, fun vacation read please download, purchase the paperback, or borrow it from a friend. This one is charming, fun, and has an emotional kick that will surprise you. In this bloggers opinion Love & Olives is a five star read. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this novel!* Love & Olives

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this novel through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Friday YA: How to Fall Out of Love by Emily Martin

Aubrey’s parents do not get along. Always fighting, she’s been stuck in the middle wondering why they stayed married if they hated each other that much. When a new neighbor moves in next door Aubrey befriends him and Webster Casey becomes not only her second best friend, but she thinks they could be something more. Going out on a limb despite not believing in love Aubrey asks Webster to Homecoming but when the night comes he stands her up. When she finds out he’s at the dance she figures there was a misunderstanding and drives to meet him there just to be humiliated in public, destroying her hope that love actually does exist. Fast forward a year later and she meets this cute guy at a party who just happens to be Webster’s cousin AND Webster becomes her lab partner for a year. Does she take a chance again on love?

I liked this premise and Aubrey. I can remember also living in a house where my parents fought but unlike Aubrey I didn’t let their relationship taint all of my own. As the book starts a year after the incident Aubrey and Webster are NOT friends, in fact they go out of their way to antagonize each other. I was kind of surprised that she was willing to give his cousin Holland a shot because she was so down on romance. As her relationship with Holland progresses I was surprised that she tried so hard to not like him too much. In fact it became apparent that she wasn’t going to allow herself to really like anyone. This is when I started to get a little tired of her character. Aubrey was a big downer and it took her entirely too long to come face to face with her little problem.

At first I really didn’t like Webster. I mean he was not a very nice guy to Aubrey, and when I still cared about her character it was hard to overlook him standing her up. However, I quickly realized there might be a little more to this story. Aubrey had just too many problems. Granted, they were both pretty immature, hello they were in high school, but he seemed to be so much more together. He was bi, had come out to everyone at school, and seemed to have a good relationship with his mom and friends. Other than Aubrey. Needless to say there was another reason, which I won’t spoil for you all if you’d like to read this book.

Now, I will say the book wasn’t all bad. The story entertained me and I enjoyed some of the side characters. I also think there were some great lessons Aubrey learned by the end of the book that slightly redeemed her down on love attitude. For that reason I gave this novel a 3.0 rating. I never gave up on it despite it making me mad at times and I did like how the book ended. Do I think everyone will feel the same way I do? No. So, please, if this book looks good give it a shot and make your own judgement. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley from the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Five Ways to Fall Out of Love

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn

Vada Carsewell’s music knowledge serves her well working at the Loud Lizard and writing her reviews of bands on their music blog. What she really wants is to get into Berkeley’s music program and become a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. Luke Greenly, podcaster and son of an aging punk rocker, doesn’t factor into her life until they get paired up on an assignment at school and she finds out they share a love for lyrics and music trivia. When his brother releases one of Luke’s songs on their podcast, and it goes viral, she can’t help but dream that the song is about her, but is it?

When I read this author’s debut novel, You’d Be Mine, I knew I was going to keep an eye out for her next release. I wrote in that review about “my love for the poetry in her lyrics” and she again captures those same emotions with her lyrics in More Than Maybe. However, More Than Maybe has a completely different tone and got to the heart of the love story sooner which made me love it just a tad bit more.

What can I say about these characters? I can’t help but start with their names. Vada Carsewell and Luke Greenly sound like they should be the hero’s in a Cassandra Clare novel wielding magical swords, instead of magical lyrics. Despite those otherworldly names, I found these characters very down to earth. Vada’s vast knowledge of music and lyrics was fascinating to a woman (me) who can’t remember the titles of her favorite songs. I loved how she and Luke used song titles and lyrics to hint at their emotions and level up the tension to their romance. Luke’s shy charm and interest in composing rather than performing only made him an even more perfect fit for Vada. They were a very easy pair to fall for and from their first text exchange I was all in.

The title ‘More Than Maybe‘ coincidentally was exactly how I felt as I settled into this novel. I had medium expectations from having read Erin Hahn’s first novel and some hesitations over whether she could follow up such a great debut with another hit. My hope for a ‘More Than Maybe’ story quickly changed as I got caught up in this music themed YA novel. Maybe this author should re-title the book ‘Better Than Good’? Or Much Greater Than Average? Just kidding, the title is more than apropos for what happens in the story, but my feelings upon finishing it were “Much Greater Than Expected” and I was very pleased with that discovery. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* More Than Maybe: A Novel

Copyright 2020 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you should purchase this novel through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Blog Tour and Review: Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

It’s not often that I do blog tours anymore, but when I read the synopsis, below, I was immediately curious. Well, you read it and you’ll see what I’m talking about!

Synopsis:

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming — mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account. 

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time. 

All’s fair in love and cheese — that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life — on an anonymous chat app Jack built. 

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate — people on the internet are shipping them?? — their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

Review:

Totally cute, right? Pepper and Jack both reminded me of myself when I was in high school. On the surface sure of who they were, but inside they had all of these feelings and insecurities. Total teenage angst with their personal problems feeling larger than life. It created a personal tension that paralleled their tweet feud and budding romance that amped the tension moving the plot along and keeping me turning the pages. Ah, sassy, teenage love.

The thing that I loved the most about this novel was that despite their parents business rivalry the two manage to build a friendship that each of them needed and looked forward to. Yes, there was the alt plot of an anonymous online romance, but it was the real one that held my interest. These two needed a best friend and it seemed they found that in each other. In a totally “tweet cute” kind of way.

No surprise that I enjoyed this novel. It was light hearted fun, but also had a depth to the relationships, both teen and parental. I sped through these pages like a kid ripping wrapping paper off my gifts eager for the happy ending. My rating? I’d give it 10 adorbs for cuteness but since that’s not on my rating bar, I’ll give Tweet Cute a ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️!

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest!

Author bio: Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, grilled cheese, and a whole lot of love. Her sun sign is Hufflepuff, but she is a Gryffindor rising. TWEET CUTE is her debut novel. You can find her geeking out online at @dilemmalord on Twitter.

Click this link to purchase!* Tweet Cute

Review Copyright 2020 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserve

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Friday YA: The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

Brought up by a treasure hunting father Theodora is used to researching historical artifacts and adventuring through foreign countries. When her father goes missing while searching for an artifact of Vlad the Impaler, she joins forces with her childhood friend and teenage love, Huck. Together they retrace her fathers path and dodge the enemies who are closely following them. As each clue is uncovered and the danger gets greater Theodora and Huck rediscover their feelings for each other.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. When I read the synopsis about searching for a relic of Vlad the Impaler’s I’d expected a darker mood to be set, almost gothic. Even with danger following their every footstep the mood seemed a little lighter than I expected. That was a little disappointing. Despite that disappointment, I did really like Theodora and Huck. She was the perfect heroine, intelligent, sassy, and brave. Actually, I thought she outshone Huck in the bravery department! To give him credit though, Huck was the more emotional of the two and wore his feelings on his sleeve. It was a nice change in a YA novel.

I love historical fantasy novels and the Lady Rogue had all of the elements that I look for in that genre. There was action, danger, and romance as well as historical tidbits that kept the story flowing. The mystery involving Vlad’s ring let me down just a smidge, but the romantic elements made up for that lack. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“Folklore, hidden family secrets, romance, adventure, mystery, castles, cursed artifacts – this book is a wild romp.  It’s a little lighter on fantasy than I expected; instead, it ventures into historical fiction, and the setting descriptions are vivid and rich.  I’m not sure if the author plans a series, but if she does, I’ll be adding the next book to my list.” Books and Such

“Overall I am a little disappointed because after I loved Starry Eyes so much I thought that I would love Jenn Bennett writing fantasy even more. If you are looking for a fantasy adventure novel I might look elsewhere, but if you enjoy romance or are a big fan of Jenn Bennett I would totally give this one a shot.” Devouring Books

Click this link to purchase!* The Lady Rogue

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you click the above link and purchase the book I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Friday YA: The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh

Lacey Burke is a self professed musical geek, want to be composer, and walking sex ed factoid. Brought up by a mother who was pregnant at 16, Lacey has been given educational safe sex tips by her now nurse mother, since she achieved “that” age. Now, due to her frustration with the abstinence based sex education at her high school this virgin is giving safe sex tutorials in the rest room at lunch. All she wants to do is play music with her band and maybe get her first kiss out of the way!

I really enjoyed the contradiction between virginal and slightly naive Lacey with the girl who can spout facts about condom usage and how-to instructional’s. I can honestly say I learned something useful while reading this YA novel, all while enjoying a tale about a girl who has a crush on one of her best friends! The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me was a different kind of YA novel. Full of safe sex conversations, but also eye opening about how clueless this fictional school system was in how to speak to the teens of today.

I loved Lacey. She was a great main character surrounded by zany friends who were sexually active and different. She has two best friends, both of whom have hooked up with each other, but still remain best friends. Evita identifies on the ace spectrum and is President of their high school LGBTQIA group. Theo is their third, definitely hetero, and has a girlfriend that neither Evita or Lacey like. He’s an all around nice guy, but there are moments when he deserves a swift kick! When Lacey’s feelings for Theo change, the book also introduces Lacey’s own sexuality into the mix. For a girl who had never kissed a boy until Theo, she was very well informed and prepared.

I love stories where an underdog gets to fight for her beliefs and gets the chance to turn the tide towards something good and right. This novel pits Lacey and her friends against an aged school curriculum and at the same teaches young adults about safe sex, without it being a tutorial. I thought the author did a good job at avoiding a massive dump of information, and instead allowed Lacey’s advice to speak for itself.

The author also did a good job of introducing a diverse cast and making their interactions relatable and real. It seemed especially applicable to the world we live in today and I can only think this novel would have a broad appeal because of it. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard more mentions about this one? Hopefully, if it has been on your radar, my mention will push it to the top of your list!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“I think the main reason why I didn’t give The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me a full four star rating is that I wasn’t 100% invested in the relationships. I did enjoy Lacey’s relationship with her mom (who is a nurse and SUPER open with her daughter, in a way that sometimes provides comic relief), but overall, the relationships weren’t super exceptional for me, and I was sort of wishing for less of the friends and dating drama.” Blossoms and Bullet Journals

“Overall, I loved the characters. They were entertaining, funny, and passionate. I loved the message the story was sharing. It’s one I really could have used in a book when I was young and learning. I loved all the parental support the kids had from their parents. I only wish this book had been longer. ” Classy x Book Reviews

Click this link to purchase!* The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me

Copyright Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Friday YA: 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

When Sophie’s parents head off to her sister’s to help with a difficult birth, she’s supposed to go off to her Nonna’s to spend the holidays with her extended family. What she really wants is to spend the time alone with her boyfriend Griffin. When she overhears him speaking to a friend about their possible breakup she’s devastated and arrives at her Nonna’s hoping for a distraction from her heartbreak. What she doesn’t realize is that her family would take her mind off her ex by setting her up on 10 blind dates. This novel is a tribute to large families who are slightly crazy but have huge hearts….and I loved it!

Through the telling of these 10 dates, we learn the personalities of her family members. The dates themselves are funny, crazy, kooky and heartwarming, as is Sophie’s connection to the people who sent her on them. I laughed at their antics and relished the telling of each date.

Sophie, her cousin’s Charlie and Olivia, and the boy next door Wes were all best friends until two years ago. There are hurt feelings on both sides and through these 10 dates they reconnect and realize how much they all mean to each other. Their friendship is the kind a person always hopes to earn and I was totally jealous of their history and of their futures with each other.

If you are looking for a book where you can laugh and also be touched by the emotion in the characters you are reading- 10 Blind Dates is the book you need to pick up. I think it’s a departure from Ashley’s Elston’s normal genre as it is a true YA contemporary novel with a hint of romance, yet the emotions run deep. This is a novel I’ll read again when I need a laugh and pick me up! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* 10 Blind Dates

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Say You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker

Piper Calloway works as her father’s right hand as an executive in his real estate development firm. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she has fought for the approval of her father and the other executives in a mostly male world. When she see’s her girlhood crush, Kyle, working at the front desk of her building as a security guard all of her life’s ambitions get pushed aside and memories of her first love takes over. Will this be her second chance at love?

I have enjoyed K.A. Tucker’s books in the past and while Say You Still Love Me isn’t my favorite of hers it’s still an interesting and kind of different style of romance. Piper and Kyle’s story was told through a series of flashbacks to when they fell in love while camp counselor’s over a summer when they were teenagers. The innocence and fun of that story contrasted well with the more adult version of their re-connection. The minor problem for me was that I was much more interested in them when they were teenage camp counselors than I was with them as adults.

Piper’s mom wanted her to have the experience she did as a “normal” girl at camp. Normal meaning middle class I guess. Rather than being a fish out of water because of her moneyed background, Piper actually fit right in, made friends and caught the eye of the rather rebellious and tattooed teenage Kyle. While her personality was pretty consistent from teen Piper to adult Piper, Kyle did a 180º. He was flirtatious, fun and kind of a mystery as a teenager, but adult security guard Kyle? Not as much fun….

I did enjoy the emotional punch of their re-connection but didn’t buy into a fantasy romance with a high powered executive woman and a building security guard. Well, at least a security guard that wasn’t part of an ex elite military squad who would swoop in and rescue his damsel in distress. This just wasn’t that type of romance. So, it became a little vanilla for me. Huh. I’m a little surprised, but I have to go with that statement.

Since this was both a YA Contemporary and an adult Contemporary Romance built into one book, I’m going to give it two scores. The YA Contemporary novel gets a 4.5 and the Contemporary romance a 3.5, which rounds this one out to a four. A good solid book, but didn’t hit it out of the park for me.

I received a free copy of this ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“This has been quite a negative review, but I obviously liked the book if I gave it 4 stars. I fell in love with teenage Piper and Kyle. I loved their innocence and sweetness, I just wasn’t a fan of their adult selves. It’s as simple as that.” Sapphic Library

“Overall, I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief for this book. I know romances are sometimes over the top, but I prefer ones that are more grounded in reality. I didn’t think this book had a whole lot going for it outside the romance and since that didn’t cut it for me, it didn’t have a lot to offer.” The Paperback Princess

Click this link to purchase!* Say You Still Love Me: A Novel

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Friday YA: Romanov by Nadine Brandes

The story of Anastasia Romanov has been re-written several times, including as a Disney musical. Romanov by Nadine Brandes puts a different twist to the possible survival of our favorite Russian princess. Given the task of carrying a magical relic through their captivity by the Bolshevik’s, we see a different side of Anastasia (Nastya) Romanov. Through her eyes, we see the fear, despair, and love that Nastya feels for her family and the hope that this matrushka doll she carries has a spell that can help her overcome all odds.

If Anastasia was anything like the Nastya on these pages, it was no wonder the world loved her. This Nastya was sassy, sweet, mischievous, and clever. A story that could’ve very easily been gray and dull was filled with an ebullience and light because of her character. Not to say that there wasn’t a lot of heartache in this tale because, of course, there was. However, her character embodied hope and determination and as the reader, I couldn’t help but buy into this alternate ending to the traumatic end to the Russian dynasty.

If I had anything critical to say about this novel it would be that I wished there’d been a little bit more magic and fantasy elements to the story. At the same time I was glad that the author kept the details historically accurate. Yeah, I know those two things kind of contradict one another, but I felt it was almost in the fantasy genre, but fell just short. I wasn’t too disappointed because I did get a happy-ish ending for Anastasia which she most likely didn’t get in real life.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a free ARC of this novel through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“I was disappointed by this book because it has so many things that I did enjoy, the writing style, the magic system, the characterisation, the pacing – all of these things were great. But I couldn’t get past the things that Brandes opted to bring to the forefront (the romance).” Chain Interaction

“I loved this tale of the Romanovs. The magical elements provided a source of hope in really dark times ant the story revolves around the importance of family. I was a little hesitant to picked this up because I knew how the Romanovs met their demise, but Nadine Brandes’ story telling made this sad story a hopeful one instead.” Devouring Books


Click this link to purchase!* Romanov

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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