Review: Eight Hours by Lia Louis

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I consider myself to be a (non) certified holidays specialist. I love the Christmas season. I love every movie, song and story. Therefore I was 100% ready to dive right into Eight Hours, a book that promised all the feel-good stuff.

It’s about Noelle Butterby, a girl who’s spend all her life putting herself last, who suddenly finds herself in a traffic jam that lasts eight hours, where she meets the guy in the neighboring car, Sam Atwood.

This seemingly random encounter starts a chain of events in Noelle’s life that makes her reconsider all the aspects of her life she has been neglecting. She was a really likable main character, grounded and loving, you can’t help but root for her.

The book is full of “too good to be true” encounters and accidental meet-ups, but hey, that’s all part of the magic, isn’t it? *wink*. Although I do confess that I felt it was a little slow in the middle, but the romantic aspect of it was fantastic and it kept me going. The pieces falling into place were the best part for me, really gave you that “it was FATED” feeling.


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One Night Only by Catherine Walsh

One Night Only by Catherine Walsh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has been ages since I’ve gotten so hooked on a story, on a pair of characters (or I guess in a whole group of characters) that I actually fly through the book like a hungry miss pac-man. One Night Only brought some fresh fun and romance to my life this weekend and it deserves its corresponding good review.

Sarah is a commitmentphobe who is living her worst nightmare, her one-night stand turns out to be Declan, the brother of her best friend’s fiancé. That puts both of them into all kinds of awkward and hilarious situations they can’t escape.

Now of course this had the potential to be wonderfully messy, but both Sarah and Declan are so funny and wonderful that I just wanted them to turn out to be perfect for each other. So I spent a few hours completely engrossed in what was one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while. I am so totally reading whatever Catherine Walsh puts out next. Until then catch me wearing my copy of One Night Only down to the bone.

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Review: Well Met 🎈🍗🌹 by Jen DeLuca

Well Met by Jen DeLuca
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was a ren faire virgin before this book. I had heard of them of course, who hasn't?, but I never considered them enough to hold an interest to me but this book looked so charming that I just had to dig in.

And cute this was *yoda voice*.

Emily Parker is freshly dumped and homeless, so she travels to Smalltown, Maryland to help her sister and niece get themselves together after a horrible car crash. There she finds herself signed up to volunteer at a local renaissance faire being a taver wench.

Everything goes wrong from the start since the one in charge is no other than English teacher, Simon Graham--who is super serious and uptight, thanks to a family tragedy but we don't know that right away.

This ensures that Simon and Emily start off of the wrong foot and snowball into a complicated mess. But you know what they say, love is not that far from hate, right?

I liked both Emily and Simon in their own personas. But were well developed and I totally got were they were coming from. I also liked the idea of a romance between them, but I somehow felt the actual development of a relationship somehow lacking. I don't know, I feel they so seldom interacted to really make me feel their mutual attraction. I mean there was attraction, and there was romance, it just felt to me like it was rushed and a little lacking.

There is plenty of romantic gestures *after* they decide they are in love with each other. And they were really cute and had me smiling for real. So I might be the only one who didn't feel the connection with Emily and Simon as a couple. So try for yourself! :)

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Review: The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt

Title. The Distance from A to Z Author. Natalie BlittPublished January 12th 2016 by HarperCollins[[ Goodreads ]] [[ Amazon ]]

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I picked up this book because I read that it was about baseball and french and romance. It wasn't until I was actually reading that i remembered that I actually hate the French language and I can't stand baseball. Okay well, not entirely true, I liked French until it got hard and I dropped it, and I liked baseball when I was young, before I understood that the Cubs never win. 

So moving on, I was a little reluctanct once started. But thankfully the sweet romance and the cute story saved it. They more than saved it actually, because the book made me remember that maybe French and even the Cubs, aren't so bad. 

I have always been a fan of "enemies" turned "lovers" so to speak, and Abby and Zeke won me over immediately. Even if at times it was a little infuriating that Abby kept driving Zeke away for dumb stuff, I was almost like is this a Pride and Prejudice retelling? Why are you so proud girl? Thankfully it all worked out and I applauded and swoon at the end like the romantic I am.

Definitely a cute, romantic story for those of us who need a break from real life heartbreak and are up for a sweet story of opposites-attract-while-learning-the-most-romantic-language-in-the-world.

PS. It's only $1.85 on kindle right now!

Review: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

 

Title: All The Bright Places 

Author: Jennifer NivenPublished January 6th 2015 by Knopf ADD ON GOODREADSYA Contemporary, romance, mental illness,Summary:Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

 I knew from the start that this was a book that dealt with suicide, which isn't an strange topic in Young Adult Literature and I have had my share amount of reading about it and experiencing it in the hospital. But you know you never really know everything about it, it´s impossible. It's a whole new world behind each case, each person.

At first I wasn't very into it. I liked the main characters enough. Finch seemed all over the place and his recount of things hinted his diagnosis at me right away. But it wasn't until he really began to tell his story that I became attached to him as a character. He wasn't a diagnosis anymore, he was a person and a ticking time bomb.

I feel like I could have liked Violet a lot more. To me she was a little bland and a little too passive. I know she was having a horrible time and I cannot begin to think how I would feel if I lost my sister, but I feel like I was just sitting there witnessing everything go to sh!t and it made me feel helpless and restless.

At the end it happened. And I guess it was inevitable and we all need to learn from it. Although it wasn't my favorite book on the topic, I will applaud and support every book that tackles on mental illness, especially in our youth. I don't have any statistics on where you live but when I did my Psych rotation I´d say around 50% of the people in the ward were teenagers. It literally shredded my heart. 

Talking to them you realize they know exactly the stigma that will follow them for most of their lives after they leave the hospital. These books are doing us all a favor. The more we educate ourselves the less weight we put on the shoulders of these people. So if I could advice you to give this one a try I would, even if it's no your cup of tea, at least it would be a good learning experience. I know it will stick with me. Now I can´t think of the words The Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect without feeling like I´d burst into tears.