Tag: YA

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: February ’19 Wrap Up!

It was a short month but I still managed to read 16 books. Some of them were audio books that I listened to while driving or working out and yes, I am counting those too! Not all of them were talked about on my blog in February and some of them are posts scheduled for the future release dates.

What happened on my blog in February? Here’s a recap!

GREAT FEBRUARY READS!

Fall (VIP #3) by Kristen Callihan

“This was not a lighthearted novel. Yes, I did laugh, but I also cried a bit and stopped to think about how this portrayal could parallel a lot of people’s lives that read it. Not that we’re all rock stars, well at least outside my own head, but the fact that we all have moments of darkness and that dream that being needed and loved can help us overcome despair.”

On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls #3) by Julie Cross

“On Thin Ice explores a lot of tough subjects; bullying, depression, and suicide but the novel does a great job of putting a spotlight on these problems and allowing it’s characters to work their way to a solution in a very real, unforced way. “

Circle of the Moon (Soulwood#4) by Faith Hunter

“Circle of the Moon advances Nell’s journey away from her Churchwoman background towards a “city” life. Her magic gets stronger and she has to constantly fight the urge to kill for her land, Soulwood, but she is also in a more maternal role with becoming the guardian of her younger sister Mud, who also has earth magic tendencies similar to Nell’s. Her tentative feelings for Occam resolve into want and his feelings for Nell into love.”

BLOGGER TO BLOGGER SERIES

If you missed learning a little bit more about these two book bloggers, here’s your chance! They are both wonderful and very different from each other.. Click the link to take a look.

Jill @ Jill’s Book Blog

Rachel @ Rae Reads

THIS CHICKS SUNDAY COMMENTARY

If you missed my January Wrap Up post you can see that yes, I did read my most anticipated book. LOL

January ’19 Wrap Up!

If you know what a Mash-Up is then you probably understood my other post in this category. A Mash-up in music is when you combine two different genre’s to create an original flavor of music. What I was shooting for in this next post was to describe a book blogger using the books they had read recently on their blog. If you missed this one click the link and let me know if I missed the mark or not.

Book-Blogger Mash-up!

I have started to contribute to a weekly Meme called It’s Monday, What are you Reading? I’ve always liked reading what my fellow bloggers are reading because I’m nosy and curious. My taste in books varies so much that I thought you may enjoy seeing what I’m reading each week. I created this graphic, so when you see it, come visit and let me know what you think about my book choices!

ELIMINATING MY TBR

I only read one of the books I listed in this category last month. Since I’m a mood reader it’s really hard to set a list and stick with it. Here are a couple I’m looking forward to reading in March.

A Dangerous Collaboration (A Veronica Speedway novel) by Deanna Raybourn

Synopsis:

A bride mysteriously disappears on her wedding day in the newest Veronica Speedwell adventure by the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey series.

Lured by the promise of a rare and elusive butterfly, the intrepid Veronica Speedwell is persuaded by Lord Templeton-Vane, the brother of her colleague Stoker, to pose as his fiancée at a house party on a Cornish isle owned by his oldest friend, Malcolm Romilly.

But Veronica soon learns that one question hangs over the party: What happened to Rosamund? Three years ago, Malcolm Romilly’s bride vanished on their wedding day, and no trace of her has ever been found. Now those who were closest to her have gathered, each a possible suspect in her disappearance. 

From the poison garden kept by Malcolm’s sister to the high towers of the family castle, the island’s atmosphere is full of shadows, and danger lurks around every corner. 

Determined to discover Rosamund’s fate, Veronica and Stoker match wits with a murderer who has already struck once and will not hesitate to kill again.…

The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets

Synopsis:

From the national bestselling author of Breaking Wild, here is a riveting and powerful thriller about a woman whose greatest threat could be the man she loves.…

Marian Engström has found her true calling: working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. Her first assignment takes her to northern Alberta, where she falls in love with her mentor, the daring and brilliant Tate. After they’re separated from each other on another assignment, Marian is shattered to learn of Tate’s tragic death. Worse still is the aftermath in which Marian discovers disturbing inconsistencies about Tate’s life, and begins to wonder if the man she loved could have been responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four women.

Hoping to clear Tate’s name, Marian reaches out to a retired forensic profiler who’s haunted by the open cases. But as Marian relives her relationship with Tate and circles ever closer to the truth, evil stalks her every move.…

OK, I may be cheating a bit because both of these are ARC’s so I MUST read them! LOL. We’ll see if the month gets away from me again.

Enjoy your March everyone and Happy Reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

Friday YA: An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker

The setting is Elizabethan England when it is treasonous to be a practicing Catholic. Lady Katherine’s father is killed right before her eyes when he is discovered harboring a Catholic priest, his secrets revealed. Escaping imprisonment, Lady Katherine travels to London dressed as a young man intent on revenge against those responsible for her father’s death. Intent on killing the Queen of England. Overhearing Shakespeare and his players in a tavern talking about a secret play they will be putting on for a private performance for the Queen, Kit decides to try out and lands one of the leads. Little does she know that she is playing opposite a young man named Toby who is a spy and the mastermind behind the plan to catch those plotting to kill Elizabeth.

In Elizabethan England women’s roles in plays were played by men or boys so when Kit gets cast as Olivia in Twelfth Night the humor of her success at playing a boy playing a girl is remarkable in that no one has figured out that the girl is actually a girl. Our spy Toby who is trying to catch a potential killer finds himself drawn to Kit the boy a fact that is punishable by death and when Kit seems to return his regard? That is when the plot truly becomes interesting. Even as Kit is one of his suspects, are their feelings for each other more important than saving the Queen’s life?

I really enjoyed Kit’s evolution. As Katherine she was restricted to a woman’s life but as Kit so many things were available to her. I think this combined with her feelings for Toby helped her to make the decision revealed at the end of the book. No spoilers here, but the line between life and death was trod very closely and the conclusion was just as dramatic as one of the plots in a Shakespeare play.

I am a fan of historical novels and The Assassin’s Guide was right up my alley. A devious plot and a romantic sub-plot set in a Shakespeare play? It had me asking questions about the era and I used Wikipedia a few times to fact check my own knowledge. I was surprised by many things but nothing as much as how enjoyable I found this novel. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“..although it is unique and not at all a chore to read, there was something missing, the same thing that, if I remember correctly, was missing in The Witch Hunter too. The reason for my inability to give it four stars or more. And that thing is… seriousness.” Hit or Miss Books

“Overall, it was an okay-ish read for me! It was a decent YA historical novel filled with drama, conspiracies, and forbidden romance. I liked the ending part which is why I gave it a three and a half star instead of three stars. ” Dreamy Addictions

Click this link to purchase!* An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

Friday YA: On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls #3) by Julie Cross

In the city of Juniper Falls hockey reigns supreme. When Brooke Parker’s father goes to jail, she and her mother return to her mom’s home town to live with her grandmother. With her mother’s downward spiral into depression Brooke turns to hockey to take her mind of her troubles and joins the brand new girls hockey team. Jake Hammond, captain of the Varsity boys hockey team, finds himself on the wrong side of the law when a 100 year old hockey tradition goes wrong. As punishment he has to be the assistant coach to the girls hockey team and finds himself drawn to Brooke, a girl who has obviously never played hockey but has some serious talent.

On Thin Ice explores a lot of tough subjects; bullying, depression, and suicide but the novel does a great job of putting a spotlight on these problems and allowing it’s characters to work their way to a solution in a very real, unforced way. Brooke’s family has gone through some really tough times and her life has been turned upside down, including moving to a small town. When she meets Jake after witnessing his teams traditional pre-season hazing she fights an attraction to him and who wouldn’t? Jake is also immediately curious about the “new” girl and when he finds himself her coach they take the time to explore a new friendship but also to help each other work their way through a land mine of adult responsibilities and feelings. Julie Cross did a great job of portraying these scenarios and as an adult myself I forgot I was reading a teen romance. The emotional impact was that good.

If you like sports novels/romances, this is a great one! There’s a good bit of hockey being played and those sports scenes were very well written. I could picture the action and feel the tension in those on the ice moments. Sports action scenes are not easy to portray and it really felt like Julie Cross had either played the game or was a huge fan. It was that good!

I highly recommend this novel if you are looking for a YA contemporary romance. It has some serious subject matter but an uplifting ending. Even though this is the third book in the series, you don’t need to read the first two. I didn’t, but I’m definitely going back to read them now. I’ve found a new author to love, yeah! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a free copy of this ARC for my honest review and it was honest

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“Cross ties all the pieces (the romance, the hazing, parent issues) together to make a story that was both sizzly and heartfelt and left me hoping that this is not the last time that we get to visit Juniper Falls.” Bickering Book Reviews

“Overall, I just really loved On Thin Ice. I enjoyed the characters, the friendships, the romance, and the addictive writing. I really never wanted to put this one down. I recommend this one to fans of YA Contemporaries.” Stephanie’s Book Reviews

Click this link to purchase!* On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads4 Comments

It’s Monday! What are you Reading?

Happy Monday everyone! I ran across this post on Book Date and liked the idea of sharing what I’m currently reading.

JUST FINISHED

Undying: An Unearthed Novel by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

First Sentence Read: The darkness is close and still, and absolute.

CURRENTLY READING

Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4) by Faith Hunter

First Sentence Read: The night sky was a wash of cerulean blue over the trees and the roofline, with a trace of scarlet and plum on the western horizon.

I can’t wait to curl up on my couch and spend my day reading!

What are you reading?

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Book-Blogger Mashup!

At work the other day someone described a friends personality as you would describe a fine wine. You know “she’s bold with an undertone of ripe raspberry’s growing on the coast of California, with a hint of salt”. It got me thinking, I have been following many of you for a few years and after reading some of your reviews, can almost provide my own Book-Blogger Mashup.

First, I’ll start with myself. because why the heck not?

THE READING CHICK: She is as inquisitive as an In Death novel, has an undertone of snarky Hating Game dialog, and is rounded out by her From Lukov with Love of romance.

Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricanes: She writes with The Astonishing Color of After drenching the pages, her words throw light in The Dark Vault while her heart screams This is What it Feels Like!

Bree @ In Love & Words: Her writing voice is as smoky as A Week of Mondays while she tries to use Hopeless Magic to Listen to Your Heart and find her next book boyfriend.

Jill @ Jill’s Book Blog: Her book worlds collide in Serious Moonlight with her virtual eyes reflecting Cinder as she is bound by ‘no spoilers’ but wanting to scream “They Both Die at the End”!

That was so much fun! So, ladies (Marie, Bree and Jill) I challenge you to create your own Book-Blogger Mashup!

Here are the rules: 1) You have to Mashup up your own blog, 2) pick three of your fellow bloggers to Mash and please tag them, and 3) tag me because I want to read them too!

Of course, if you don’t want to do the Book-Blogger Mashup, you don’t have to but I thought it was fun and kind of a neat exercise. I really got to know your blogs and reading style’s better!

If I didn’t tag you but you think this sounds like fun, feel free to join in! Please tag me so I can have fun with you and read your own mashups.

Until next Sunday,

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads6 Comments

Friday YA: Just for Clicks by Kara McDowell

Claire and Poppy grew up in the social media limelight. Their mother blogging about their lives until the three of them became household names. Now in high school Claire discovers her history isn’t all as it was blogged and as she researches past facts she realizes her life’s ambitions may not be the same as her sister’s. When she meets Rafael and learns his story he helps her realize that her definition of family may not be as pretty as the blog posts but her feelings and ties to her sister are real.

Even though Claire and Poppy were internet stars they had the drama and emotions of normal high school teenagers. Claire was the more introverted of the two sisters and so felt each emotion and comment cut deeper. That sensitivity made her afraid to speak her feelings until they grew so large in her own head they overwhelmed her. I’ll admit I grew frustrated with most of the characters in this novel because a little communication would have allayed so many of their fears, but then I guess we wouldn’t have had much of a novel to read!

Rafael ended up being my favorite character, yet, he too was not 3D. Having lived all over the world with his father with Doctors without Borders should have given him a broader frame to draw his experiences from, yet he never got past the drama and his own teenage insecurities. My expectations may have been set a little high, but I was really looking for a reason to love this novel and instead never got past like.

As a blogger myself, I thought I should have found this plot more interesting. Their life as bloggers was actually kind of fun and I’d have liked to see more of that. Part of the problem was that some of the subject matter, while deep, was written with a lighter touch that seemed to de-emphasize the importance of what was happening in that scene, so the tone of the novel was too light for the drama it was trying to represent. It kept me from connecting with these characters in a way that I needed to do to enjoy their journey. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a free copy of the ARC for my honest review and it was honest.

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

” …read this in a day and enjoyed it SO much. It feels really timely, with how many mommy bloggers and instagrammers there are in the world- it makes you think about their kids and how they might grow up to view everything (including invasion of their privacy).” the bookish beagle

“Overall, this was a fascinating read with an insightful look into the private lives of social influencers and I think it’ll be quite enjoyable to younger readers. I think it’s a great debut attempt which could have done with better execution.” My World of Books

Click this link to purchase!* Just for Clicks

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads4 Comments

Friday YA: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Slight Spoilers Ahead.

“Don’t live to please the starfish, especially when their happiness is at the expense of yours. That is not love. That is narcissism. There’s an entire ocean out there, Kiko–swim in it.”

Kiko Himura has a narcissistic mother who has consistently beaten down her self confidence until she can only see herself through her mother’s eyes. Her only escape is through her art, something that she excels at and enjoys. Against her mothers wishes she applies to Prism, an art school, and sets all of her hopes and dreams upon getting in.

Despite her social anxiety Kiko’s best friend Emery talks her into going to a party where she runs into Jamie, the boy who was her best friend from childhood. He and his family had moved to California and their friendship had not survived the distance. Pretty quickly their friendship resumed but Jamie could see that this Kiko was not the same happy, friendly girl he had left behind years ago.

OK, I’ll be honest. This was a really difficult novel for me to read. Knowing a little bit about narcissistic relationships I recognized those signs immediately. However, my own relationship was not desperate and hurtful as Kiko’s was, but I could feel her pain because it easily could have been. It’s hard to read about a subject that is familiar and see that character take a different path than your own. I’ll admit that I was really frustrated with Kiko. I wanted her to be immediately stronger than she was but found the patience to keep reading because I wanted to see if she found her happy ending.

Jamie was just wonderful. As soon as he saw Kiko again he knew they were meant to be together. He was infinitely patient and old beyond his years, but then his household had it’s own difficulties. His treatment of this girl who was obviously fragile was to lend her his strength and the knowledge that despite everything he would be there for her, in whatever manner she desired. That is true love.

Although this was a difficult read for me, I did enjoy how the author slowly gave Kiko strength and through that she found her own self. I loved that.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“I think the emotional journey of the characters was the strength of this book; I definitely had a lot of feelings about Kiko and her relationship with her family and her heritage, the latter important because of her mother’s constant undermining of the value of it. I got to the end and was just… emosh. And like I said, I thought the way the romance was handled was really important and sensitive.” Miriam Joy Reads

“I loved the way this story was written, with stunning descriptions that really sparked my imagination. All the descriptions of Kiko’s art actually made me want to start painting again, which I haven’t really done in years. All in all, this book was gripping, emotional, dark, emotional and hopeful. I really liked it, and will definitely be reading future books by this author.” Reading Sanctuary

Click this link to purchase!*Starfish

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

Friday YA: The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

The Dead Queens Club takes the historical facts of King Henry VIII and his six wives and translates it into a Contemporary Young Adult novel set in a high school. No, high school Henry is not married to six girls, but he has had six girlfriends in the last two years. Including our main protagonist, Annie Marck “Cleves”, girlfriend number four, and best friend to Henry. When she hears a rumor that Henry is possibly responsible for the deaths of two of his ex-girlfriends, Cleves investigates to help clear his name. Is the most popular boy in school the funny partner in crime she knows? Or is he a guy with anger management issues who takes revenge on his cheating girlfriends?

The Dead Queens Club cleverly names all of it’s characters after their true life namesakes and incorporates familiar places from Tudor history into this small town. I’ll admit to once again using Wikipedia to give myself a quick history lesson on each wife (and if they kept their head or not) and found that I relished watching the mystery unfold more because of that knowledge. Setting Henry VIII’s relationships in a high school certainly had it’s challenges but I thought Hannah Capin did a GREAT job at intertwining and creating original scenarios while still maintaining their historical references. It wasn’t just the names and places that were similar, but each person’s relationship with Henry, down to his advisors who fed him false information to turn him against his wives, were represented in this book. Once you know the history (as I did with my quick Wikipedia exploration) you have a few aha! moments where you stop and admire the machinations and manipulations the author took to make that reference happen.

Lancaster High had all of the drama and gossip you’d imagine from a high school setting and even though the pace was kind of slow I was surprised at how well the political intrigue of the Tudor court translated into the cliques and capers of high school life. Cleves rides on the edge of any clique although her friendship with Henry puts her in the elite circle. She is blinded for a long while by that friendship, his magnetic personality, and his lies, but the other girls, even though catty and mean, help her see the truth.

Even though The Dead Queen’s Club had a contemporary setting I found myself enjoying it like I do historical fiction, yet it was easy to read and didn’t bog down as some historical fiction does. Cleves was probably one of Henry’s least impressive wives, yet in this novel she was the catalyst for the readers emotions to dip and surge. She was so torn between her “best friend” Henry and this other Henry that her friends were trying to make her see. Who was the real boy? Well, if you know your history you know the answer to that question. But there is so much more to this novel than the historical facts. There are emotions, discoveries, and the realization that people just sometimes suck. The story, however, didn’t. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“If you are like me and are a fan of The Tudors and every scheming person affiliated with them, chances are you will love this book. It kept me wanting more and I just didn’t want to put it down. Hats off to Hannah Capin who was able to make me love these characters even more than I already did. ” TBR and Beyond

” I didn’t enjoy this read as much as I’d hoped, but that’s more me than the book.  I’m not a big fan of Mean Girls and erratic high school drama, but judging by other reviews, many readers thought The Dead Queens Club was fabulous.  This book is scheduled for publication January 29th, 2019.” Books and Such

Click this link to purchase!*The Dead Queens Club

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads4 Comments

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: How I Love YA Trends (and tropes!)..Let me Count Thy Ways

Book Bloggers are an opinionated lot. When we find a trend in fiction that we love we talk about it to death until one day that love turns into dissatisfaction, the tide turns, and we start talking about how much we hate that trope. I guess that’s human nature but well, I hate it. Just because the newness has worn off doesn’t mean we should get rid of it. There are still many things to love!

THE LOVE TRIANGLE-

I’m not sure why this trope has become unpopular? There is nothing better than the exploration of a character seen through two people’s eyes. One of my favorite examples of this is….

This series is a favorite for so many people, yet it started out as a love triangle. Through Tamlin’s eyes we saw Feyre’s weaknesses and her fight to overcome them. Through Rhys’ eyes we saw her strength. Yes, Tamlin didn’t treat her very well, but without that plot point would we like Rhys as much as we do? Would we like them together? In fact, wouldn’t it be interesting if Tamlin overcame his ways and fought to recapture Feyre’s love? I’d almost like to see a return of the love triangle. It might bring a spark back into this now overwrought love story.

THE FAIRYTALE RE-TELLING

I’ll be the first to say that I am overwhelmed by the number of fairy-tale re-telling novels that were re-leased over the last couple of years. Some were not so good, but when one is written well, the fairy-tale re-telling is so much fun! I read quite a few last year but these two stood out because they were different.

The Wrath & The Dawn is a re-telling of Scheherazade’s One Thousand and One Nights. The prince marries and kills his princess every night until he marries Scheherazade and she keeps him up all night telling a story with a cliff hanger that keeps him coming back. The Wrath and the Dawn’s Shazi marries the prince for revenge, but falls in love. It’s full of intrigue, romance, and Renee Ahdieh’s beautiful prose.

Hunted is a re-telling of probably the most re-told story, Beauty and the Beast. What makes Meagan Spooner’s rendition different is that she mixes Russian folklore into the main story of Beauty and the Beast. It is beautifully told and Yeva is a strong heroine. Interestingly enough, both Yeva and Shazi from the Wrath and the Dawn, survive by telling stories, so maybe there is a touch of Scheherazade in Yeva as well!

Not to speak ill of fairy-tale re-tellings, but I have read plenty that did NOT hit the mark. But as with all novels, they are subjective and I’ve read plenty of reviews for those books I didn’t really care for where those readers were overjoyed with the outcome. That’s the beauty of reading, isn’t it?

THE HISTORICAL RE-TELLING

My discovery of this trend is pretty new and so far I am loving it. Admittedly, I know enough about history to think, ‘hmmm, this sounds familiar’ and then look it up. Wikipedia has become my best friend! I have just read two YA novels back to back that followed this trope that were done really well. My reviews are scheduled to post soon, but here’s a brief note on both.

The Dead Queen’s Club is the story of King Henry the VIII and his six wives, in a high school contemporary setting. Henry is a charismatic young man, popular, and has a steady stream of girlfriends. Two of whom are dead. Cleves, our protagonist, is his best friend and also one of his exes, who is determined to figure out who was responsible for his girlfriends deaths. Her voice is snarky and there are plenty of past and present cultural and historical references. It was a roller coaster ride and I really enjoyed my emotion sickness.

Set in Elizabethan England our heroine is a Catholic whose father was killed for his faith. Wanting revenge, she joins a treasonous plot to kill the queen. Little does she know, that play (written by Shakespeare -‘Twelfth Night’) was a plot to capture the assasin’s. I loved the historical references, the treasonous plot, and of course, Shakespeare.

HEROINE WITH POWERS THAT SAVE THE WORLD

Admittedly, this trope is usually found in YA fantasy novels, although I’d love to see a contemporary heroine have super powers and save the world. That could be a great twist! Admittedly, I have a soft spot for fantasy novels, and LOVE to root for the underdog. So, while many of you hate to love our heroine’s that save the world, if done well I find myself believing and rooting for them almost EVERY time. I’m a softy, I know! Here are a couple that struck the right chord.

Our heroine Britta is a Channeler and has developing magical powers. Through this two book series (well, there is a third but it’s unrelated to these main characters) we see Britta go from fearful of being discovered a Channeler, to solving the mystery of what happened to her father, finding her best friend and crush and absolving him of the crime, to saving the king. She doesn’t save the world, but through her actions she brings Channelers out in to the open, ending their persecution in her country. Oh! I should mention that these two books also use the Love triangle trope. It’s kind of minor, but does add some tension into Britta and Cohen’s relationship that was probably needed. That sub-plot would’ve been as dull as dishwater otherwise!

There are any number of other YA novels that use this trope, and actually combines the Love Triangle and Heroine with Super Powers tropes to success. The other one that jumps out at me is the following…

Yes, the Red Queen. Every book blogger who has read this series has an opinion. BUT, this first novel was very well done. A political thriller that pits those with common “red” blood against the elite, those with “silver” blood. Our heroine, red blooded Mare (God, I hate that name!), has the powers of a silver blood. She becomes the face of an uprising, the fixation of an evil King, and the lover of a fallen hero. This series has it’s ups and downs, but as a whole, Victoria Aveyard writes a spirited political thriller with a heroine that always sacrifices herself for the greater good. I haven’t yet read the last novel because King’s Cage kind of pissed me off, but it is overall a good series. Oh and I love Maven. You gotta love an evil Prince/King.

There are so many other YA trends and tropes that we book bloggers just love to love and love to hate. It depends on our mood, how many we’ve read in a row, and as always if the character and plot draw us in. In my opinion we shouldn’t be too quick to write off a book just because the trope has been overdone. There are still some GREAT books out there that we don’t want to miss, right?

What’s your favorite or most hated YA Trend or Trope? Or are you like me and secretly like them all? Let me know in the comments!

Until next Sunday!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

Friday YA: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

I grabbed a copy of Saint Anything off the sale pile at my local bookstore. I had recently read another novel by Sarah Dessen, Once and For All and had really like how much substance and character building she had written into that novel and wanted to try another and see if this was her signature style. Sure enough, Saint Anything matched the depth and her heroine Sydney was complex. Yeah! I know I’m late to discover this author, but I’m excited to find her and will probably quickly get through her backlog of books. 🙂

Saint Anything is about Sydney and her search for a voice and presence in her family. Sydney has always been second to her older brother Peyton. He was charming, good looking, and the apple of her mothers eye. As he grew older, he began to act out until one day he drove drunk, got in an accident and hurt another teenager. Peyton goes to jail and leaves Sydney’s life in pieces. Having to change from private school to public school Sydney has to start all over. In some ways this was a wonderful thing to be among people who didn’t know her past. When she meets Layla Chatham, she gets embraced by her family and finds the support and love from them that was missing at home.

Sydney went through so many emotional ups and downs in this novel. She is angry at her family, feels guilty about the teen that her brother hit, and tries to balance new friends and old friends while still maintaining her own personal identity. Then, of course, she falls in love too, and Mac’s that boy that all mothers should want for their daughters. A prince among teens. LOL.

Sarah Dessen must have gone through every emotion in her teen life to be able to write with such depth and feeling from a teenage girls point of view. Sydney’s self revelations are inspiring for teen girls I’m sure, but also for myself at a (much) more advanced age. I really enjoy how her characters grow into great people and forget I’m reading about 16 year old’s. It does help that the romances are sub plots, at least in the two Dessen books I’ve read so far.

If you haven’t read this novel and are looking for a quick read with depth, look for Saint Anything. It will fill that bucket, for sure. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“I’ve read several Sarah Dessen books and always found them perfectly good summer reads. Nothing extraordinary but never a disappointing read, and Saint Anything fell right into that category. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about this book. I enjoyed the characters and their development, something Sarah Dessen absolutely excels at. But in terms of story and romance, it was lacking.” Pagefuls

“I absolutely loved this book! Sydney’s character was very relatable because like her, I also lost touch with some of my friends when I changed schools. The only event that made me uncomfortable while I was reading was Ames’s character because from his first scene I knew he was creepy. It really annoyed me when Sydney’s mother kept encouraging Ames to come around, but by the end of the book I was happy to read about her change of heart.” The Night Owl Book Blog

Saint Anything

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On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments