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Contemporary-Romance

Blog Tour & Review: “The Problem With Forever” by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: The Problem With Forever

Author: Jennifer L. Amentrout 

Published: June 1st, 2016

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Find the Author: Goodreads

Other Reviews by this Author: Cursed, Don’t Look Back, Half Blood


I received this book for review! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.




For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.

Anyone who has read my blog for the past few years knows I can’t go long without a Jennifer L. Armentrout book. Not only does her writing entertain and grip readers, but her plots are always unique and interesting. I was definitely excited to see what kind of book The Problem With Forever would be, stepping away from the Fantasy genre I had always linked Jennifer to.
I thoroughly loved this book. Usually, I save my more praising notes for the end when I wrap up my review, but it had to be said: this book was perfect. The lead character, Mallory, or Mouse as she had been nicknamed, had been through hellish and bad times. Now, since those times had gone she had been home-schooled for years with loving and incredibly caring adoptive Parents, but now it was time to go to school for Senior Year to prepare for College, back into the open world. It was not only a scary experience for her, but for me as a reader, watching her go through this inner struggle. When Mallory gets to school, she doesn’t expect to run into Rider. His face brings back a whole lifetime of memories, mainly the ones of him defending and protecting her back then.
She doesn’t expect to find that the tethered connection isn’t as broken as she thought it was between them and it’s easier to reconnect than met the eye. But Rider’s life isn’t perfect and before she knows it, she’s watching it run away with him and cast him into bad ways. The only way she can help is to step out of her shadow and silence and into the freedom to grasp the life she deserves after her past neglect and childhood terrors. It’s the only way to save herself, Rider, and secure the lives they both so desperately need.
The Problem With Forever is a love story, a friendship, a whirlwind masterpiece and a deep, true-to-life book. It’s everything you want in a book. It didn’t take me long to finish it and it will be with me for a long time yet. Every time I read something new by Jennifer I am blown away and this was truly no exception. I’m wonderstruck (as Taylor Swift says) by this amazing story, these beautifully flawed characters and how effortlessly it has become such a winner in my eyes. Truly beautiful, five-star worthy YA read. Anyone who doesn’t read this is truly missing out on something so special.

 Young Adult readers.


Amazon | Website | Facebook | Twitter | #TheProblemWithForever

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.
She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
 

What did you think of The Problem With Forever?


Check out the other stops on the blog tour to the right of this post!


Let me know your thoughts in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!



happy reading!

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Book Review: “Hello, Goodbye and Everything Inbetween” by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: Hello, Goodbye and Everything Inbetween

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Published: September 1st, 2015

Publisher: Headline

Find the Author: Goodreads

I recieved this for review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbias!


On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan have only one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. 

Over the course of twelve hours, they retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night leads them to family and friends, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

Charming, bittersweet, and full of wisdom and heart, this irresistible novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that arise when life and love lead in different directions.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Jennifer’s “one night” novels. As soon as I read the synopsis for Hello, Goodbye and Everything Inbetween, it sounded like another hit and I couldn’t wait to delve in.

This night is particularly important for Clare and Aidan. It’s the night before they go away to College, and on their check-lists of final things and decisions to be made, there’s only one thing left: break up or stay together. They love each other and there’s no doubt about that, but the question still hangs in the air.  Over the pan of twelve hours, Clare and Aidan take a trip down memory lane to the best moments of their relationship, trying to find some kind of sign to point them in the right direction – the direction that they should follow for their future.  This fast-paced, wonderment of a night leads them to their closest friends and family, places around town and most of all, an epiphany of sorts. All that was left to do was choose goodbye forever, or just for now. 
Full of friendship, emotion and sentiment, Clare and Aidan’s relationship is a flame that is on the verge of being blown out, but their affection for each other leads to a brighter fires despite the risk of being expelled. Overall, Jennifer’s newest novel was brilliant, bursting with wisdom and enchantment and even though it’s not my favourite that she’s written (This Is What Happy Looks Like shoutout! My favourite), it was still a great read that kept me wrapped around it’s finger for a whole day of reading, that I would recommend to fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han! 

YA fans of Contemporary Romance!

Have you read Hello, Goodbye and Everything Inbetween?


What did you think?


Let me know in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!

happy reading!

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Book Review: “I Was Here” by Gayle Forman

*May contain spoilers*

Title: I Was Here

Author: Gayle Forman

Published: Janurary 29th, 2015

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Find the Author: Goodreads


I bought this book myself. As always, my reviews are fair and un-bias.



From the bestselling author of If I Stay – this summer’s YA blockbuster film.

This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend’s shocking suicide.

As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness.

A phenomenally moving story, I Was Here explores the sadly all-too-familiar issue of suicide and self-harm, addressing it in an authentic way with sensitivity and honesty.

Cody has just lost her best friend Meg, to suicide. She found out in an email, detailing the vague reasons why and how it isn’t her fault. But that’s all Cody can think – is this her fault? Did she push Meg away when they went separate ways in life? How did she not know Meg was suicidal? A thousand questions rush around in Cody’s head as she tries her best to comprehend a world without her best friend, this piece of the puzzle that makes up who she is. Now it’s gone, there’s this emptiness like a hole in who she is now. That’s why she searches for answers, knowing this can’t just be a straightforward thing. 
With the help of Meg’s roommates at college, Cody learns more about Meg than she even thought possible. How desperate she was to end her life and how very little she actually knew about her best friend. I was enthralled by the determination that Cody had in finding out the reasons why and if anyone had known about how Meg felt. She had a courageous spirit, not just getting answers about Meg but about discovering who she was herself – how love came into the equation – and how to understand the cards that life had dealt her. 
Gayle Forman is one of those authors who just knows exactly what to write, how to give us the feeling that we’re reading something that isn’t a work of fiction, but real life. For the characters in I Was Here, that is the case. 
Many people lose friends, family and people they know, to suicide. The journey that Cody took was a brave one, to try and get justice for her best friend; Meg. She learnt more about the friend she thought she knew so well, and even found a piece of herself she lost along the way. She learnt strength, forgiveness and how unexpected life can be at throwing us a curve-ball of disastrous chaos. 
I Was Here moved me, changed me and opened up a world behind closed doors that I hadn’t really read a lot about. It made me question my own life and how sacred and precious our family and friends are to us, and how we treat people and assume things that we know about them. And most of all, just how unpredictable life can truly be, how we have the power to help people who were like Meg, if we just opened our eyes more to the possibilities of knowing not everyone is doing okay. That sometimes, everyone needs help. 
A five star novel that was compelling, tragic and powerful, one I know I will never forget. Reading this will change you, too. It’s a novel you can’t miss out on.

You. 

 What did you think of I Was Here?

Did you think reading it changed you too?

Let me know in the comments!

happy reading!
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Blog Tour: “Perfect Couple” by Jennifer Echols (+Giveaway)

 *NO SPOILERS REVIEW*


Title: Perfect Couple (The Superlatives #2)

Author: Jennifer Echols

Release date: January 13th 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Purchase: Amazon


I received this for review from Simon Pulse for review/blog tour. As always, my reviews are fair and un-bias.


Synopsis via Goodreads:
In this second book in The Superlatives trilogy from Endless Summer author Jennifer Echols, Harper and Brody think they’re an unlikely match, but the senior class says they belong together.

As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents’ bitter divorce left her wondering what a loving relationship looks like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody ‘Perfect Couple That Never Was’, her friends have been pushing her to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn’t lack female admirers, but Harper can’t see herself with him. He’s confused about the match too. Yet they find themselves drawn together; first by curiosity about why the class paired them, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they’re attracted to each other, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating well. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But they feel so changed from making the effort, they can’t forget each other. What if this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.

Jennifer Echols is one of the best YA Contemporary Authors out there, and if you’ve picked up just one of her novels, you would know that straight from the start. Her mix of humor, romance and capturing the drama and realistic aspects of life in High School are just a few of the things that make me love the Superlatives series in particular. 
The second book in the Superlatives series is Perfect Couple, which is my favourite so far. Harper is yearbook photographer and it’s her job to capture the memories of the times that everyone will one day look back on. She’s great at that, except her life is anything as perfect as the pictures she takes. Her parents divorce have left her at a loss for any relationship in her own life even though the senior class voted her and Brody, the quarterback, “The Perfect Couple That Never Was”. Harper can’t see herself with him, even though her friends pester her to ask him out. 
Although Brody is startled as to why they were deemed a “Perfect Couple” too. They’re opposites, and have nothing in common. Except being labelled as the Perfect Couple That Never Was, that is. And that’s what ignites the fire between them, the hesitation over their senior class giving them this label, and then, they discover that maybe they’re not as far apart as they thought. But even the “Perfect Couple” get lost along the way and Harper and Brody do before long. Still, they can’t seem to forget each other no matter what’s happening in their lives. Almost like a magnetic pull, they can’t seem to stay away from each other in thoughts or in person. 
Perfect Couple was everything I expected it to be. Dramatic, realistic and utterly flawless. Jennifer never fails to deliver a romance that swoons, surprises and lights up like fireworks on the pages. Anything less than five-stars would be criminal. 

Perfect Couple is perfect for YOU.

Check out the other tour stops for Jennifer here. 


Favourite Quotes

But if the purpose of a picture was to capture the memory of a moment, I didn’t need one. I would carry this feeling in my heart forever. For once I honestly didn’t care how this looked. I put my hand on his wet hair and kissed him back.


“Because he’s a local celebrity and I’m not?” 

“No, because he broke his leg in sixth grade, trying to jump a palmetto grove in his go-cart.” 

“I see your point.”


“Then you get elected Perfect Couple, and you realize that other people see you as something more than a walking, talking brain. Or, something different. That’s how I felt when I was voted Biggest Flirt. I mean, hello? I was so worried about what my parents would think.”


“Ah-ha,” he said. “See? You don’t know. You think you prefer to work alone because you’ve never had a good-looking guy to carry all your camera equipment.”

 “It’s a tripod and one small bag,” I said. “You just want to grovel to me all afternoon and talk me out of being mad.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What’s your perfect couple in literature?


Have you read Perfect Couple?


Let me know in the comments!


happy reading!

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Book Review: “Isla and the Happily Ever After” by Stephanie Perkins

+ Plot references, no major spoilers – but be warned that hints are given away. If you haven’t read ISLA yet, be warned that this review will give away references to the previous books: ANNA and LOLA. +

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 14th, 2014
Published by: Dutton (US) Usborne Publishing (UK)


I bought this book myself! As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias. 


The café is boiling. The atmosphere is clouded with bittersweet coffee.
Three years of desire rip through my body and burst from my lips: “Josh!”
His head jolts up. For a long time, a very long time, he just stares at me.
And then…he blinks. “Isla?”

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on brooding artist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And, after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer break, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to face uncertainty about their futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Set against the stunning backdrops of New York, Paris and Barcelona, this is a gorgeous, heart-wrenching and irresistible story of true love, and the perfect conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

I am going to say it now: THIS SERIES IS THE BEST EVER. I didn’t even have to read Isla to know that, because it’s pretty known in the YA literature genre that Stephanie is one of the most amazing authors out there. Isla was very highly anticipated for me (and about a million others!) so when it was next in my TBR pile I tore it open and read it in a very short amount of time.
Isla is a hopeless romantic stuck in a very realistic world that seems to shut down her feelings for Josh (from Anna and the French Kiss, remember?!) and she feels like every time she ran into him last year, she made a huge fool of herself and that he probably thinks she’s insane. So when she spots him back in Manhattan over the summer, she’s not quite over some side-effects of a dental appointment and fears she’s made things even worse. 
But little does she know, things are actually about to fall right into place. 
When they meet again, Josh and Isla are thrown into a roller-coaster of missed opportunities that both of them were too blind to see before. Josh thought Isla was taken and Isla thought Josh didn’t have a clue she didn’t exist. But now things are out in the open, it gives them a future neither of them imagined could exist. One that is maybe, just the beginning of everything. 
In Anna, we went to Paris, then in Lola, we went to San Francisco – now, in Isla, we’re in three of the most beautiful places on earth. Paris, Barcelona and New York. Those cities were the pages of Isla and Josh’s love story, while they were writing it together. Stephanie Perkins shows us yet again how to give us a realistic, heart-breaking, joyful and enchanting story that I’ll remember forever. I was ecstatic to see my favourite characters return from the previous books for the most amazing twist in the story I hadn’t even imagined in my book-loving dreams. 
Overall, anyone who doesn’t own this series is missing out on something absolutely mesmerizing and awe-worthy. I couldn’t put it down, and even if I had to, the story never stopped in my head. Isla’s story is now my newfound favourite novel of this series, but also, maybe of all time in Contemporary YA lit. It blows the competition out of the water with the charismatic, real characters and plots to make your heart race. Anything less than 5 stars wouldn’t be acceptable – this is THE book of the year!  
Totally worth waiting for.
I’m torn between the very last line of the series and a part that I was not expecting at all with some surprise characters. If you’ve read Isla, you could probably figure this out!

One word: EVERYONE.

Have you read Isla and The Happily Ever After?


What did you think?


Tell me in the comments, on twitter or by using the hashtag #IslaAndJosh


happy reading!

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Book Review: “Better Than Perfect (Wild Cards #1)” by Simone Elkeles

Title: Better Than Perfect (Wild Cards #1)

Author: Simone Elkeles 
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 4th, 2014
Published by: Bloomsbury Childrens


I received this from Bloomsbury Childrens in exchange for an honest review. As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias. 



Ashtyn’s life just got complicated. Her boyfriend is being distant and her sister’s back at home after ten years – with a stepson in tow!

 Derek has a perfect body, THE sexiest smile and a car – Ashtyn’s only way to escape from her crazy life. But Derek likes to play by his own rules and is keen to take Ashtyn on a ride she’ll never forget. As they spend more and more time alone together, will Derek’s flirty games drive Ashtyn wild?

 A sweet and steamy romance from New York Times bestselling author Simone Elkeles.

I was immediately intrigued when I stumbled upon Simone’s novels a little while ago because I had heard so many amazing things about her Perfect Chemistry series, so I jumped at the chance to read this! So ultimately I was going into Better Than Perfect searching for a new favourite Contemporary YA Author!


Ashtyn isn’t your typical girl and her life is far from perfect. She’s a football player for a start, and it’s really important to her that she is treated as equal and not because she’s a girl. Derek, on the other hand, is your typical bad boy. Expelled, he’s sent to live with his Father’s new Wife back in her hometown, walking right into Ashtyn’s life and shattering it into thousands of complex little pieces. 
At first it seems like this is your usual bad boy meets good girl, but when Better Than Perfect gets going, it headed right into my favourite reads right away. Ashtyn and Derek’s connection is lively and they weave straight into each others lives, the game of back and forth glances and flirty conversations become more inevitable. Ashtyn is a very driven, hardworking girl and all she wants is to be noticed doing what she loves in football, maybe even to get a scholarship. But Derek isn’t driven for anything like Ashtyn is, and he knows her type just like she knows his. They’re not “supposed” to be meant for each other, but their fiery chemistry begs to differ. From the nicknames to the addictive, enchanting romance, Better Than Perfect played all it’s cards right for me. Simone’s writing style was charming and distinctive, and I can see how she is easily one of the best YA Contemporary authors out there. 
Overall, Better Than Perfect couldn’t have been better – it was perfect. For fans of Katie McGarry, Simone’s novels are on my TBR list for sure now! I can’t wait to read more from her. 


I think there were so many little moments that were my favourites, it would give away WAY to many spoilers if I even dared. But when you read them, they’ll become your favourites too, definitely. 

Like I said above, for fans of Katie McGarry and anyone who loves a YA Romance with an unique spin on it. 

Have you read Better Than Perfect?


What did you think?


Tell me in the comments, on twitter or by using the hashtag #BetterThanPerfect

happy reading!

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Book Review: “Take Me On” by Katie McGarry

Title: Take Me On

Author: Katie McGarry
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 6th, 2014
Published by: Mira Ink


I received this from Mira Ink in exchange for an honest review. As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias. 



Acclaimed author Katie McGarry (Pushing The Limits, Dare You To, Crash Into You) returns with a new story about love, loss and what winning really means…

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she’d never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can’t stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she’d stay away from. Yet he won’t last five seconds in the ring without her help.
West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping him fighting for her is a shot at redemption. Especially since it’ s his fault her family is falling apart. He can’t change the past, but maybe he can change Haley’s future.
Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they’ll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

 Having been a HUGE Katie McGarry fan since Pushing The Limits, I was over-the-moon happy to get to read Take Me On (thank you, Mira Ink!). I was looking forward to seeing how West was introduced into the story being Rachel’s brother from the last in the series; Crash Into You – a.k.a. the most amazing book ever. And Haley sounded like a tough girl, but I could see there was going to a soft side to her. 

Haley – fierce yet loyal – was just trying to live her life, although going through hell, still trying not to draw attention to herself. After quitting being a champion kickboxer, she didn’t look back once. Not until she met West, that is. He’s everything she swore she would never get involved in again, but she felt like she owed him something after standing up for her from her idiot ex-boyfriend in a fight that starts off a ricochet of events that would change both of their lives forever. 
Violent fights and standoffs lead to West getting challenged to a fight – and Haley gets wrapped into training him. He’s all-talk and she had her work cut out for her, but the more they melt into each other’s lives and secrets, the closer they become and the harder it becomes to ignore their strong connection. After swearing not to step in the ring again, Haley finds it hard at first, but once she does, she feels the adrenaline that she used to feel and how doing what she loved made her feel. But with her ex-boyfriend stepping out from every shadow and West creeping into her thoughts, Haley’s life is far from perfect, not to mention how her family is falling apart with every passing day. 
West’s life is far from perfect, also. His sister; Rachel, was in an accident that he knows he had a fault in. The guilt weighs heavy on him and a dark shadow appears over his life like a rain cloud. But when Haley comes into his life and starts to change him for the better, he starts to realize that she helped not only his fighting but the ways of everything, with every new unveiling of his life leading to a shock unveiling in his family secrets. 
Take Me On challenges Crash Into You for having two of my favourite characters. If you loved Rachel and Isaiah, then you’ll fall for Haley and West over and over. They were each unique in the way Katie wrote their back-story and the pain and heartbreak behind every secret kept from each other. I turned pages as fast as I could, sinking into the story with every new chapter. Katie McGarry writes what we all want in a YA novel; a bittersweet story, a complex relationship and addictive characters. 
Overall, Take Me On is a five-star addition to the Pushing The Limits series that no fan will want to miss. A seriously compelling story with characters to pull on your heartstrings. I’m SO excited for Noah and Echo to return for their second story…and I’m dying to read a story about Abby! Bring on that book and I’ll be first in line. 


I’m all for chance meetings and a story that evolves equally as amazingly, so Take Me On obviously had countless favourite parts for me.


YA Contemporary and Romance fans, and New Adult fans will find Katie McGarry’s books are perfect also. 

Have you read Take Me On?

What did you think? 

Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!

happy reading!

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Book Review: “The Geography of You and Me” by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Geography of You and Me

Author: Jennifer E. Smith 
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Published by: Headline (UK) 

*Contains very minor Spoilers*


Thanks to Headline for the ARC of this book! As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias.


 Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.
Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and — finally — a reunion in the city where they first met.

 A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel shows that the center of the world isn’t necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

If you looked in my About Me section on my blog, you would see that Jennifer E. Smith is listed as one of my favourite YA writers out of the whole genre pool. And The Geography of You and Me looked just as appealing and even before opening the pages, I had this feeling that this one was going to end up as a favourite of mine by the time I’ve finished it.

Lucy lives in New York City and she is a dreamer, always wishing that she could travel the world and be anywhere but stuck in the city, although she considers NYC a great love of hers, and even though she’s always being left behind there while her Parents travel the world, she still loves it regardless. Owen is fairly new to the city. His Dad is the new Building Manager of the building Lucy also lives in, and he isn’t so keen on the city after moving around quite a lot after the loss of his Mom. 
The two of them are thrown together when they are stuck in an elevator in their building one day in the midst of a wide-spread blackout of the city and further into other cities. It’s then that Owen takes off his headphones and him and Lucy talk, unveiling more about their similar lives, surrounded by the emotion of feeling like they’re always searching for something and are stuck in one place. After being let out of the elevator, the blackout is still surrounding the city and Lucy and Owen explore up to her apartment in display of the postcards her Parents send her from their worldly travels, discuss life and how they ended up where they were in life and up to the roof where Lucy had never been before, but still shows Owen just how beautiful the city is, in the only place they can see the stars that are usually hidden by the skyscrapers. It’s then that he starts to see the city isn’t what he thought it was and starts to see more into the wonder of it all.
Those moments kick off the events and story that follows through the countries, postcards and meetings for Lucy and Owen, showing how what they had defied miles – their connection and how that rare moment of the blackout changed their lives – and I truly couldn’t help but fall head over heels in love with it all. The characters…the beauty of the travelling aspects and cities…the writing…Jennifer E. Smith has definitely outdone herself yet again with what could only be described as one of the best YA books I’ve read this year, and maybe even more than that. 

 The Elevator Moment, of course. That is the moment that kick-started everything enchanting about the story. 

Anyone who loves Young Adult Contemporary Romances, for Adults and Teens/Young Adult’s alike. Especially if you like road-trip books, this would be a change with the postcard aspect with travel, instead of a typical “travel” story. 



Did you love this as much as I did? 


Don’t forget to tell me in the comments or on twitter; @LittleMemoirs. You can also use #YouAndMe on twitter if you’re reading it! 


happy reading!

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*Check out my YA Contemporary Romance playlist!*

                                                                                   

Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 9th 2013 (first published September 28th 2011)
Also by the Author: Anna and the French Kiss, Isla and the Happily Ever After (Coming Soon!)
Published by: Speak / Dutton (USA)
Purchase at: Amazon, Book Depository 

I purchased this book myself and as always, my reviews are fair and non-bias. 

In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

 For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door. When the family returns and Cricket—a gifted inventor and engineer—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
I adored Stephanie’s Anna and the French Kiss back in 2013 and knew that soon enough I would break and read Lola’s novel, too. I was trying to spread Stephanie’s novels out over a few months so I could read them not far off from each other (because this series is just, UH, addicitve and sweet….) but then I heard Isla’s novel was getting pushed back until August…so I grabbed it off my bookshelf and started!
I don’t even know what was keeping me from reading them back-to-back, because as soon as started those first few pages…I was hooked. 
There are so many brag-able things about Lola and the Boy Next Door that it’s going to be hard to keep this review so short and not give everything away! It is seriously one of those books that even though it’s pretty popular in the YA community, it’s a rare gem among others in it’s competition, alike Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie’s first novel (and we do get some snippets from Anna and St. Clair! It totally surprised me and I loved how they fitted into Lola’s story). 
Lola practically is fashion. She’s always making new outfits and putting these awesome themed pieces together and not caring what people say about them. I imagine her as this girl with colourful wigs and a wild imagination that’s hard to tame. Lola, at first, is skeptical when the Bell’s move back into the house next door. The twins in particular – one; Cricket Bell, the boy who broke her heart and then left for years. Now he’s back, she has a boyfriend, and things were about to get really awkward – but at the same time, blissfully magical – because, this novel…just completely shattered my heart and put it back together. 
Lola and Cricket’s relationship takes a while to get back to a certain normality, I guess. It’s hard for them because he knows what he did was wrong, just leaving like that, but their wires are crossed because of a certain interfering twin-sister; Calliope. But by the end of the novel, Stephanie sheds some light on her behaviour and to some extent, we can understand why she did things the way she did. 
Lindsay was such an interesting character and she brought so much to the story, even though she was just Lola’s best friend. Lindsay is the kind of ‘Nancy Drew’ type who loved mysteries and solving things. I definitely saw her like a Nancy Drew-type character with depth, and not just another character fitted in. 
Max, Lola’s boyfriend…there were three versions of him that spread out over the novel as Cricket re-entered her life. There was nice Max, who we saw at the beginning, although he was still kind of irritating. Then, there was off-Max, who was half-nice, half-bitter. We end with the I-hate-you-Max, because by that time, I did hate him. I’m so glad that Lola and him drifted, because they just weren’t’ meant to be – and I know Lola thought that he was her forever, but as readers, we know that isn’t true, because there is only ONE person who fits Lola like a glove. Cricket Bell. They were written for each other and it definitely shows. 
And it sure was the best novel that I’ve read in a long, long time. 

Can I say all of it?! No? Okay then. Maybe all the parts where we get to hear Lola say about the writing on Cricket’s hands, or the moon-and-stars scenes? And OH, that ending! Just so many amazing parts that finished that perfect jigsaw. 

Anyone who loves love. Or YA novels with sweet and unique characters. This book is for someone who wants to go on a sweet adventure with some bittersweet moments in love and life. 

5 STARS
happy reading!

Speed Review: “Letting Go” by Bridie Hall


Title: Letting Go

Author: Bridie Hall
Genre: Young Adult – Novella  
Release Date: Janurary 24th, 2014 (UK/USA)
Published by: Evernight Teen
Purchase at: Amazon

With thanks to Bridie for the copy of this novel! As always, my reviews are non-bias and fair.






One girl. Two Brothers. Three broken hearts.


Isabelle is left stranded at the airport, and her only chance of getting home is with her boyfriend’s older brother, Harper. 
When this good girl and bad boy set off towards home, it turns out that maybe she’s not such a good girl after all. And even bad boys have reasons for their bad behavior.

The road trip is full of shocking revelations and unexpected emotions, bringing the two of them closer than Isabelle ever thought possible. 
Maybe too close.

When Bridie offered a copy of Letting Go to me for review, I knew this was going to be a special kind of read for me. I haven’t read that many Novellas but straight from the synopsis, this looked like the perfect afternoon read for me. 

def: a “speed review” is a new meme on Pretty Little Memoirs, specialized for short reads, galley copies or novellas!

Isabelle is returning from Paris after some time away, and was looking forward to being picked up by her boyfriend Jamie. But there were many things Isabelle didn’t expect was going to happen that day, or the days to follow. First Jamie is unable to pick her up, so she’s stuck with Jamie’s older brother; Harper – who she has a bittersweet relationship with, her luggage was gone when she landed in Atlanta, and to make things worse, she’s got two guys vying for her affections.
The thing is, they’re brothers. And she’s only just finding out how heartbreaking and whirlwind the next few weeks will be for the three of them. 
Isabelle was a great narrator and character, and I loved that there was a lot of dialogue in the novel, because I think it really set the tone and kept me interested more than usual. She was very different to Harper, and I think because he had a slightly troubled background, Isabelle was very judging of his actions and past before she really got to know the real Harper. 
Letting Go is a novella I could read over and over. I was captured by the storyline and was taken along for the ride for the whole car “road-trip” and the days that followed. It was addictive and fun, and I was especially drawn in by Harper and Isabelle, no matter the things that came in-between them. She knew all along when she was with Jamie that there was something between her and Harper and I think that until those early pages of the book when we really get to see them together, interacting, does she really think; we have a connection. 
And I know that she was with Jamie first, but torn still, and I honestly thought that Harper brought out something special in her. 
The whole romance was cute and light, perfect for a Novella…but I wanted more! More than a Novella! I wanted to find out what would happen after the “the end” and more. There was a sheer brilliance about the whole setting of Letting Go and I’m actually so happy that I had the chance to get to read it, because I know if I hadn’t been offered to read it, I would be missing out completely. 
Pure sweet-romance, emotions and heartbreak, but ultimately, a love story that I loved. Perfect for Valentine’s Day! And speaking of Valentine’s Day, Bridie Hall has a Valentine’s themed giveaway going on over on her website, so click here for a chance to win!


Have you read Letting Go?

What did you think? 

Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!

happy reading!
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Review: “Crash Into You” by Katie McGarry

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Title: Crash Into You
Author: Katie McGarry
Genre: YA- Contemporary Romance
Release Date:  November 26th, 2013
Published by: Mira Ink / Harlequin Teen






 

Many
thanks to Mira Ink for the copy of this novel! My opinions are all
non-bias and I received this from the publishers in exchange for an
honest review. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From acclaimed author
Katie McGarry comes the explosive new tale of a good girl with a
reckless streak, a street smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance
forged in the fast lane.

The girl with straight A’s, designer
clothes, and the perfect life – that’s who people expect Rachel Young to
be. So the private school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents
and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list.

One
involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT.
The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker – a guy she has no business
even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense
gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.

Isaiah
has secrets too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about
Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl
who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks – no matter how angelic
she might look. But when their shared love of street racing puts both
their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out.
Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

 

 

  When I first heard of Katie McGarry, way back when Pushing The Limits was released, I had no idea that Katie would become one of my favourite authors, especially for the Contemporary Young Adult genre, since I’m more of a Fantasy/Sci-fi girl. But I fell in love with the series and haven’t turned back since.

I was over the moon to get a copy of Crash Into You (thanks to Mira Ink!), still knowing I’d read anything Katie wrote, whatever the characters or plot. 

 Where we’ve seen Noah have his story in Pushing the Limits, and Beth having her time in Dare You To, it was Isaiah’s time to stand in the spotlight, and accompanying him was the complex, enthralling character; Rachel. And they were more alike than first thought.

Isaiah’s background is cluttered, and he knows it. Living in an apartment that’s less than amazing, with Noah and the occasional guest Echo, his life revolves around school, working with cars, and trying not to get caught up in the wrong crowd.

Rachel couldn’t have a more different lifestyle. Her family is wealthy, living in a gated community, where she lives with her parents and four brothers–one who’s her twin, and also in the shadow of her dead sister, who…she’s never met, but is pressured into being like her in most ways. Rachel suffers from anxiety, and especially from stage-fright and public speaking. It’s been dangerous to her in the past, and feeding her mother’s need for another person to be the person her sister; Colleen, was, is only making things worse.

They meet in a way they could’ve never expected. Illegally racing cars, on the verge of police catching them, suddenly thrown into a world of street fights and people so highly known in the racing game, of which they now have to re-pay for the damage they’ve caused by that one crazy night, where everything started…

I’m a huge fan of Isaiah and Rachel. They were very suited to each other, and I think there was a gap in both their lives that needed a spot filled. With Isaiah’s broken heart over Beth, he was still reeling from the hurt she had caused. He no longer loved her, but there was something that only love brought out in him. Rachel made him forget who Beth was, and find himself something more hopeful and lasting. Whereas Isaiah gave Rachel a lifeline, someone who distracted her from the world of living under a shadow, and going home to secrets and lies. They were both Car-mad and had undeniable chemistry and mutual interests in their Car-talk and ways of knowing each other so well, that they seemed to be a perfect match.

 The fast-paced excitement and romance roller-coaster will have you holding on for a breathtaking ride of love, deception and thrills. Isaiah’s love for Rachel is reciprocated and multidimensional, real and something they’ve both been waiting for. But holding on to the happiness they both deserve is challenging along the way, and you’ll surely hold your breath as Crash Into You comes to a heart-stopping end.

Katie’s writing reeled me in from the start, and both POV’s were so uniquely demonstrated and foolproof. A beyond amazing addition to the Pushing the Limits series. I can’t wait to read the next in the series, where we’re entwined into Rachel’s life again…with someone very close to her…YAY. More than 5 star worthy!

 


Are you excited for Crash into You to be released, or have you already got your hands on a copy?!

 

What did you think? Tell me in the comments!

 

I would love it if you could  Follow on Bloglovin  on bloglovin’! I love getting new followers and I promise there will always be a book here that you love.

 

Happy reading!

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Review: “Sia” by Josh Grayson

 

 

  

Title: Sia

Author: Josh Grayson
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary
Release Date: November 20th
Published by: Josh Grayson
Format: NetGalley ARC 

I recieved this NetGalley ARC for
a fair and honest, non-bias review on
my blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When seventeen-year-old
Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet
after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At
school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her
dreams.

 But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family
is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse
yet, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she
embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she
once tormented. 

Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories
return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle.

 

 

 Being totally in awe of the cover, I was intrigued by that at first; which is a really terrible trait of mine that I am a very picky person of covers and the overall presentation of the book (and I am so obsessed with fonts, which is really bizarre..). 

Then, I read a little into what Sia was about and saw it in a different sort of light. There seemed to be a deeper meaning and a real coming of age story beneath the words, so I was delighted when I got a copy from NetGalley! 


Seventeen year old Sia wakes up one morning on a park bench and has literally no idea who she is or where she is. She quickly figures out her name from her iPod, but spends quite a little time going over the motions; what happened to me, why can’t I remember who I am?

First, she ends up living on the streets, homeless. She gets help from another homeless woman; Carol, who guides her for a while until she is found by her family. 

Turns out; Sia is the rich daughter of an Ex-Model and Hollywood Producer…far from the life of homeless and a long way off from keeping her baggage behind her. Now her old life is thrown back into the spotlight of her mind and she has to face everything she tried had forgotten, because now; she’s been diagnosed with fugue amnesia, which literally meant; the girl she used to be; Mean, Horrible and seriously Stuck up, was gone, and a lovely, baggage-free girl was left in her place, with no memory at first of just how much hurt she had caused at her High School. 

And she doesn’t want to go back to that way.

Going back to that old life being head of the cheerleaders with a handsome boyfriend and all the money a girl could want really makes Sia feel out of place and just a passerby of her old life, especially when she’s told by Kyle just what old Sia was like.

With Sia now being a completely new and different person, she decides to turn this life around, something she must correct. She knows that it won’t be easy and that it’s going to be tough to prove just how selflessly sympathetic she is now, and how much she just wants to be different to her old self. 

I think this story was very observant of the rules of Karma; what goes around, comes around. But Sia was given a second chance almost, by her memories being wiped. I loved how the author gave an intriguing and hypnotizing premise to the novel, and how unique he played out the characters (who were all very well-made and structured and believable) and the twist on Mean Girl goes Nice and get’s a hint of romance to her life that she prays she won’t lose if her memory returns.

This was a total breath of fresh air, and I adored the story of Sia. This book was inspiring and motivational, like a story within a story, about how we should all look at our lives and think about how we can change for the better. A total five star read, with a spark that lights up the words on the pages.

 


A unique and inspiring Young Adult novel, with energy and amazement of an original plot and fascinating life of a girl who turns her life around for the better, in an uplifting, five star read with a touch of romance.

 

 

I would love it if you could  Follow on Bloglovin  on bloglovin’! I love getting new followers and I promise there will always be a book here that you love.

 

Happy reading!

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