Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance by Danielle Younge-Ullman

Title: Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance

Author: Danielle Younge-Ullman

Release Date: May 5, 2015

Publisher: Entangled Teen Publishing

Source: Publisher

Synopsis (Goodreads): Lola Carlyle is lonely, out of sorts, and in for a boring summer. So when her best friend Sydney calls to rave about the fun she’s having at a luxurious Malibu rehab (it’s basically a spa!) and reveals that the love of Lola’s life, Wade Miller, is being admitted, Lola knows what she has to do. Never mind that her worst addiction is decaf cappuccino; Lola is going to rehab. Lola fakes her way into Sunrise Rehab, only to discover she’s actually expected to be an addict. And get treatment. And she has insane roommates, and an irritatingly attractive intake advisor, Adam, who’s determined to thwart her at every turn. Worst of all is the strictly enforced NO ROMANCE rule.  Oh, and Sydney? Is gone.  Turns out Sunrise is more jail-like than spa-like, and it’s going to take more than Lola bargained for just to get through the program. 

My Review

I really enjoyed Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance. I thought that it was a really cute, summery type of book that had a lot of good things in it. 

The plot moved by really quickly, with a lot of crazy things happening. It was basically Lola's story of her time in rehab, which was very interesting. The main problem I had with this book though was that it was hard to believe. I didn't think Lola faking her way into rehab was something that could really happen. Other than that, this book was really cute and fun. 

I thought that the characters were a major part of this book, and were a huge positive. Lola started out kind of snotty and rude, but throughout the book she grows as a character into someone that everyone can relate to. I really loved Adam, because he was dorky and adorable, and I thought Wade was perfect for his role in the story. 

The dialogue in this book was hilarious. There were a lot of references to social media and everyday technology, and teenagers my age would use a lot of the same references and talk like the characters in Lola did. 

Rating: 4/5 worms

Dating Down by Stefanie Lyons

Title: Dating Down

Author: Stefanie Lyons

Release Date: April 8th, 2015

Publisher: Flux

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis (Goodreads): When a good girl falls for a bad boy

She thought she loved him. She thought she could change him. She thought if she just believed in him enough, his cheating and his drugs and his lying would stop, and she'd be his and he'd be hers and they'd love each other forever.

But for Samantha Henderson, X-the boy she will not name-is trouble. He's older, edgier, bohemian . . . and when he starts paying attention to Sam, she can't resist him. Samantha's family and friends try to warn her, but still she stays with him, risking her future and everything that really matters.

As moody and vivid as it is captivating, Dating Down is told in scenes and bursts of poetry that create a story filled with hurt, healing, and hope.

My Review

When I found out that this book was told in verse, I was ecstatic. Having read all of Ellen Hopkins' books, I had very high hopes for this one. While it did deliver some good points, I was still slightly disappointed. 

Verse books, in my opinion, are very character oriented. It's hard to have a very intense plot told completely in poetry. Thus, characters are a very important part of verse stories. I didn't feel a major connection to any of the characters in this book. Sam is our main protagonist, but I felt very distanced from her. I didn't feel any emotions toward her or her situation, which is something I look for in books told in verse. I also didn't get to know any of the other characters very well. The main event in this book is Sam's romance with X, and I felt really indifferent to him as a character. He was just kind of there. 

Plot in verse is always interesting, and I think Stefanie Lyons did a good job of showing Sam's relationship really well. One of my favorite things about books told in verse, is that they are quick reads, and this one was no exception to that. I read this really quickly, even though I felt that this book was pretty predictable. 

I applaud Stefanie for writing in verse, because it is truly an art form. She did a great job, with a new style on each page. I love books in verse, and the writing of this one was very well done. 

Rating: 3.5/5 worms

The Bottom Line: A nicely done verse book that tackles the subject of teenage relationships. 

March Wrap Up & April TBR

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

Title: A Corner of White

Author: Jaclyn Moriarty 

Release Date: April 1st, 2013

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Format: Audiobook

Add it: -Goodreads

Synopsis (Goodreads): The first in a rousing, funny, genre-busting trilogy from bestseller Jaclyn Moriarty!

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot's dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds -- through an accidental gap that hasn't appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called "color storms;" a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the "Butterfly Child," whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses...

My Review

I knew that I was going to love this book. I just knew. This book is so original, and it's unlike anything that I've read from the Young Adult genre before. 

This book was incredible. I'm just going to say that before I start. It was so original. The world, or should is I say worlds, in this book is incredibly well developed. This book reminds me a lot of a fairytale retelling, except it's not a fairytale and it's not a retelling. The plot of this book isn't crazy, which gave the book a sense of perfect balance. It is essentially the story of two people who are dealing with some problems in their lives, but in two different worlds. I think this book is best to go into without any synopsis, so I'm not going to go into any more details. 

The relationship between Elliot and Madeleine is really what this book is about. Sure, there may be other things that intrigue you, but Elliot and Madeleine have such a true relationship. It's not romantic, which made this book a breath of fresh air. These two characters are forming a friendship across two worlds, and they are able to help each other with their problems. That is incredible. 

Jaclyn Moriarty, your writing is incredible. This book sucked me in instantly, and the writing was beautiful. As I said above, this book reminded me of a fairytale retelling because of the writing; it was fabulous. This book made me feel nostalgic, and I felt like I knew each of the characters on a personal level. Bravo. 

Rating: 5/5 worms

Read it. You won't regret it. 

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Title: Vanishing Girls

Author: Lauren Oliver

Release Date: March 10th, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: Edelweiss

Add it: Goodreads

Buy it: Book Depository

Synopsis: Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

My Review

I had never read anything by Lauren Oliver before, but I had heard great things, so I was looking forward to reading this. And while I did enjoy it, it didn't blow me out of the water as much as I was hoping it would. 

I had a little trouble getting into this book. The characters were intriguing, it was just the slow nature of contemporary books in my opinion that kept me from being sucked into this story right away. However, I did enjoy the plot. It had a nice pacing to it, and lots of little details that came back and brought the whole story together at the end. 

The characters are what this book mainly focuses on. The two main characters of Nick and Dara are really struggling. They were in a terrible accident, and now they aren't speaking, and this story is really the two sisters trying to make up after their accident. 

The ending. I wasn't shocked, but it wasn't predictable. The thing about this ending was, I had a read a book with the exact same ending. I'm not going to say what that book was titled, because it would ruin this one for you. Bottom line, while I thought it was a clever ending, it didn't have the same affect on me that it would someone who hadn't the book I previously mentioned. 

Rating: 4/5 worms

The Bottom Line: A very nice contemporary that deals with the relationship between sisters. 

Giveaway and Interview with author Laurie Wetzel

Hey guys! So this Saturday I was lucky enough to interview author Laurie Wetzel over Google Hangouts! We discussed her book Unclaimed (which is one of my favorite YA paranormal romance novels), the sequel, life, and all sorts of fun stuff. In addition to that, we also mentioned that we are hosting a giveaway for a signed paperback copy of Unclaimed! All you have to do to enter is comment on the interview on YouTube that I have linked below! Anyways, I'll have the interview linked down below for you guys to watch. Enjoy!

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Title: Let's Get Lost

Author: Adi Alsaid

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: July 29th, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Source: Harlequin Teen Panel

Synopsis: Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. 

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way. 

My Review