Review: Lucky Girl by Amanda Maciel

Title: Lucky Girl 

Author: Amanda Maciel

Expected publication: April 25th 2017 by Balzer & Bray

GOODREADS |

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You know I hate trashing books. That's just not classy. But I also hate not being honest. So I am going to take the easy way out:

This book was not for me.

I guess I just thought this book was going to be something entirely different. Somehow I pictured a story about redemption. You know, because the main character is supposed to be this super gorgeous girl, so I thought, I don't know, that the book would focus on agreeing why looks are meaningless.

But no. I basically had to sit through ten thousand paragraphs that were a variation of "I'm so gorgeous", "Everyone stares at me because I'm so gorgeous", "I wish everyone would stop reminding me how gorgeous I am". And I'm not even kidding. I was like, I got it the first time you said it can we move on?

But we hardly moved on so I basically endured the journey of "accepting that I am such a beauty" and then finding a boyfriend who doesn't care I am the prettiest.

And I thought, there has to be someone good in this book, some character has to be a little less shallow. But everyone, every single character at some point (mostly all the time) talks about the main character's beauty/gorgeousness. And I would have (maybe) forgiven it, if they weren't all so clueless and disappointing. None of them felt like characters at all, more like story fillers.

The only redeeming quality I found was the part about *SPOILER ALERT* the assault. The main character is assaulted and she goes through the very hard to read about but also very real process of realizing that, yes you were assaulted, and no, it wasn't your fault.

But honestly, this book was not for me. I wish I hadn't read it, if only for saving me the embarrassment of having to write a bad review. It's nothing personal, I'm sorry.

And lastly, I just want to say, don't let anyone else's opinion stop you from reading something if you are really interested in it. That's all. Peace.

Review: Fireworks by Katie Cotugno

Title: Fireworks 
Author: Katie Cotugno
Expected publication: April 18th 2017 
by HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray
GOODREADS / AMAZON 
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I have a love/hate relationship with Katie Cotugno. I love her books but I hate that I do. I hate it because she writes about everything I hate, like love triangles or siblings fighting or best friends falling out and all that stuff that makes me sad.

I don't like that I enjoy everything she writes even though her stories tear me apart. But I keep coming, like a dumb moth to a flame.

I grabbed an ARC of Fireworks as soon as I saw it, without knowing anything about it. Zero knowledge about the story except that it was written about Cotugno and apparently that was enough.

Now onto business. Honestly, I enjoyed every second of this book. From the fact that it was set in the 90's, to the fact that it was about girl bands and boy bands (that makes it larger than life, you know?) it was all so bloody entertaining.

It's been a while since I have been this invested in a story but from the moment I met Dana Cartwright, the heroine*, I was a goner. I loved the girl to bits, I rooted for her every step of the way. She was so well crafted that she felt like a real, live person who shared the same sentiments of self-doubt and fear that I felt--that everyone feels at eighteen.

But like every time I invest myself on a Katie Cotugno story, I got my heart broken again. Yes, I did. But somehow it's starting to feel less like a painful hole in my chest and more like learning. 

This book was amazing, I swear. I don't even know what I can say (that I haven't already) to make you try it. It has the perfect amount of living the dream and staying grounded, of friends and enemies, of love and heartbreak. I loved every second and I hope you do too.

*Heroine indeed. I would have kicked something in a rage induced madness.