Sometimes when you read as much as us, you don’t really get the urge to write super-detailed reviews about some books… sometimes you realize that you’re really behind and still want to share some quick thoughts about things you’ve read. That’s where this post came about. Check out some books we had shorter reviews written for and wanted to share!
Nearly Found by Elle Cosimano – 4 Stars
The sequel to the highly praised and intricately plotted Nearly Gone–a YA urban mystery that’s perfect for fans of Bones, Numbers, and The Body Finder
When Nearly Boswell starts working as an intern at a crime lab, she’s hoping it will give her an advantage when it comes to college applications. But on her first day, a girl from her trailer park turns up dead. Then the corpse of a missing person is discovered, buried on a golf course, with a message for Nearly etched into the bones. When Nearly finds out the corpse is the father of Eric, a classmate of hers, she starts to worry that the body is connected to her father’s disappearance five years ago. Nearly, Reece, and Nearly’s classmates–Vince, Jeremy, and Eric–start a dangerous investigation into their fathers’ pasts that threatens Nearly’s fragile romance with Reece, and puts all them in the killer’s path.
Jaime’s Thoughts
Nearly Found is the second in a duology… I think that’s all there will be. I really ended up loving the first book in this series so I was excited to get my hands on the ARC of book 2.
This picks up shortly after book 1 ends and I liked that there wasn’t a huge gap in time here. As I read, I found that while enjoyable and suspenseful… it just didn’t keep me invested in the story quite as much as the first book did.
First of all, Nearly and Reece… I really adored these two together and with their relationship still in its early stages, there are things happening that really have Nearly questioning where she stands with Reece. And this in turn sucks because it ends up keeping these two apart for a lot of the story, or at least on edge with each other and questioning their relationship and I didn’t want that. I wanted to love them together and I wanted to swoon over Reece and I wanted more kissing. Yes, I said it.
The mystery here is solid and by that I just mean that I was guessing who was involved and what was going on until the very end. Nothing was predictable and I was suspicious of everyone!
Jeremy and Ahn… I have thoughts about these two, but none of them are pleasant – I was super pissed off about how they treated Nearly for most of this book. But we have lots of other secondary characters to enjoy like Lonny! I loved him and his relationship with Nearly a lot.
Overall, a fantastic read… not quite as engrossing as the first book in this series, but still worth a read if you love mystery and suspense.
Thank you Penguin Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly – 2.5 stars
Of course I didn’t like Digby when I first met him. No one does.
The first time Philip Digby shows up on Zoe Webster’s doorstep, he’s rude and he treats her like a book he’s already read and knows the ending to.
But before she knows it, Zoe’s allowed Digby—annoying, brilliant, and somehow…attractive? Digby—to drag her into a series of hilarious, dangerous, and only vaguely legal schemes all related to the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. A kidnapping that might be connected to the tragic disappearance of his little sister eight years ago. When it comes to Digby, Zoe just can’t say no.
But is Digby a hero? Or is his manic quest an indication of a desperate attempt to repair his broken family and exorcize his own obsessive-compulsive tendencies? And does she really care anyway?
This is a contemporary debut with razor-sharp dialogue, ridiculously funny action, and a dynamic duo you won’t soon forget.
Jaime’s Thoughts
I wanted to love this book more. I really, truly did. I mean what book touted as a mashup of Veronica Mars, Sherlock Holmes & Ferris Bueller’s Day Off wouldn’t be amazing?
For me… it was this one.
It started out wonderfully, but as the story progressed I just found myself losing interest more and more.
What did I like? I thought that at times, this was actually really funny, and witty. I truly enjoyed most aspects of Zoe & Digby’s friendship and the development of their characters. I would probably say that their scenes together probably saved this book from being a total bust for me.
What didn’t work for me? Ugh, I hate to say this because of what I said up there, but I think Digby kind of creeped me out. I mean, I really enjoyed him as a character, but he seriously has no boundaries and no qualms about invading people’s personal space. This really threw me for a loop because I can typically look past this kind of thing, especially because he and Zoe become friends, but I think I just found myself not all that invested in the story as a whole and that just added to my ‘meh’ feelings about this.
Additionally, some of the story itself really didn’t work for me. Zoe & Digby are investigating a missing teen and this leads to a few different ‘situations’ along the way… I felt like even though they were each separate, we were experiencing the same thing repeatedly… encounter bad guy, get into trouble, get out of trouble… repeat.
All that said above, I definitely urge you to give this a try. I’m somewhat in the minority on my feelings as you’ll find quite a few higher ratings out there. Fans of witty dialogue, a fast-paced story, and characters who are a little bit out of the ordinary should definitely check this one out.
Infinite In Between by Carolyn Mackler – 3.5 stars
Zoe, Jake, Mia, Gregor, and Whitney meet at freshman orientation. At the end of that first day, they make a promise to reunite after graduation. So much can happen in those in-between years….
Zoe feels like she will live forever in her famous mother’s shadow. Jake struggles to find the right connections in friendship and in love. Mia keeps trying on new identities, looking for one that actually fits. Gregor thoughthe wanted to be more than just a band geek. And Whitney seems to have it all, until it’s all falling apart around her.
Echoing aspects of John Hughes’s The Breakfast Club, Carolyn Mackler skillfully brings the stories of these five disparate teens together to create a distinct and cohesive whole—a novel about how we can all affect one another’s lives in the most unexpected and amazing ways.
Jaime’s Thoughts
I was definitely excited to read this one and I wasn’t exactly disappointed, I just feel like maybe something was missing for me… OR it could be that I am just so far removed from High School that I just couldn’t connect as much as I normally like.
Infinite In Between explores the lives of five teens who officially meet on the first day of high school, they don’t exactly become friends, but over the four years of school, their lives twist and turn and weave in and out of each other’s orbits. Told from each characters perspectives (five POV’s!!) fans of multiple pov’s may find this amazing, but for me, I think I just ended up feeling like we never really got enough story to connect with each of the characters.
I will say that Mackler did an amazing job of capturing the ups and downs and drama that is high school. Her inclusion of some really diverse characters was a great addition and while there is drinking, drugs and some sex, nothing that teens today most likely don’t experience or know about already. I really think that I enjoyed Senior year best as it finally had the characters connecting a bit more. Overall, I think that this would be an amazing read for teens in high school… at least I think they might enjoy it and relate to it a bit more than I did.
Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn – 3.5 stars
Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.
Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.
When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.
Jaime’s Thoughts
Mercedes… or Mercy to her friends, wants to help the girls at her school have something she didn’t… the best and most amazing first time they could imagine, and she thinks she’s found the perfect way to make it happen.
She coaches and guides the boys through that awkward first time, offering them tips and suggestions to make their girlfriends feel special and make that first time absolutely perfect.
From the very first page of this story I basically was waiting for the shit to hit the fan… because you know it will, because how does something like this … involving teen boys… remain a secret?
There are a lot of issues at play here… not just a lot of teenagers having sex. Mercy also has to deal with a very uninvolved parent… parents if you count the father who up and walked out of her life, and yes, eventual slut-shaming.
I’m not sure what I should say here. I get it… I understand why Mercy wanted to do this, but I also don’t think she really thought about what she was doing. The idea that everyone else deserved this and she was going to be the one to let them have it is all well and good, but what does it cost her each and every time she does it? Not to mention the drama that arises when the shit does hit the fan.
Ultimately, it was hard not to feel sorry for her in all aspects of her life. I really liked Zach but I was totally on the fence with Faye. I wasn’t sure ultimately what her role was supposed to be until the very end.
Firsts definitely pushes the envelope on a lot of different points and realistically portrays a lot of what I imagine kids are experiencing. I feel though that I sometimes lived a million years ago when I look at the issues kids are facing today vs the ones that I had to deal with all those years ago, so it makes it hard for me to relate… yet it scares me for what my child will be dealing with in 5 years as he enters high school!
Definitely an interesting read and one worth checking out if you are looking for a complex flawed character who truly grows from beginning to end.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Crosstown Crush by Cara Mckenna – 4 stars
When he’s working, Mike Heyer is all business—every inch the alpha male, with the hard, capable body to back up his persona. But at home he can be a different man entirely, harboring appetites only his wife gets to glimpse…
When Samira first learned of her husband’s fantasies, she was reluctant, even alarmed. But after witnessing the way they set him on fire, she yielded, and happily indulged. As their games have intensified, so has the rush. And now so has the risk—they’re poised to take Mike’s indecent desires to the next level, by opening their bed to a sexy, brazen stranger. A man seeming custom-made to grant every last one of Mike and Samira’s sinful wishes.
Welcoming someone new into their lives was always a dangerous proposition, but the couple imagined if anything was at stake, it was their privacy…not their hearts.
Jaime’s Thoughts
Well … Holy crap. Hot, sexy and crazy complicated.
So yeah… there is this book. It’s totally NOT my normal kind of read. If you aren’t sure what cuckholding is, maybe google that before you pick this up. I knew what it was and I was completely intrigued at that idea that this book explored it.
Cara Mckenna always seems push the envelope in her erotic romance and this is no exception. I really appreciate the way she wants to explore the kinky side of things… while it’s certainly not my kink, it doesn’t mean it can’t be incredibly fascinating and Mckenna does an excellent job of going deeper (haha) and getting below the surface as to the whys and the hows.
I really enjoyed that Samira, Mike, & Bern went into this with a plan and the amount of discussion that went into Sam and Mike’s move to this step was really well done. I like that they didn’t just dive right in and let things happen without a plan because you just know that a situation like this is a breeding ground for relationship issues.
I won’t talk about the ultimate outcome, I won’t tell you anything about the ups and downs of the relationship that builds here, but I will say that I was really happy with the end of this story.
If you’re a fan of erotica and looking to expand your horizons a bit, definitely pick this up. I think it really explores some not so vanilla stuff in a way that even someone who isn’t interested in this kink, can truly appreciate it. Also… HOT. Seriously. I couldn’t put it down!
Thank you to Berkley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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