Review: Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: March 3rd/2016
Pages: 389
Type: Hardback
Rating: 5/5
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What It's About! 

“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

Review

I absolutely LOVED Love & Gelato. It was the perfect mix of romance, secrets, friendships, and adventure! Once I started reading it, I could NOT put it down, it was just such a sweet and breezy read!

One thing I really liked about this story, was we got a small glimpse of her mother in the very beginning of the book, and we know her as the main character knows her. Or what she THINKS she knows. I loved how things didn't go how she thought they would, how they turned out BETTER than expected. I also loved the way she got to know her mom, about her past, and how certain people had come to be in her life.

The story takes place in Italy, and I have never really thought about going there, but after reading this book, it made me immediately want to jump on a plane and go! Honestly I didn't really have any expectations going into this book, and didn't really know much about it, so it was a very pleasant surprise by the time I got to the end of the book. I cannot say enough good things about Love & Gelato. However, if your looking for the perfect, easy, light summer read, this would definitely be it!

Ghost House

Ghost House (The Ghost House Saga #1) by Alexandra Adornetto

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: August 26th/2014
Pages: 320
Type: ARC
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What It's About!

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger…

Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.

To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever… and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own.

Review

I honestly don't even really know how to start this review. I liked it, and I WILL read the second one (there better be a second one from the way this one ended!), buuut..the writing. It was readable, but felt like a 10 yr old wrote it. If it wasn't for the fact it was a ghost story, I probably would have never bothered reading after the first chapter or two.

Ghost House was okay-good. It had a lot of potential. I really loved the idea of the story. The author could have done SO much better with this book. I actually kind of wish another author had wrote it...

Maybe if your 15, you'll love this book. I'm a huge ghost story lover and I could have liked it a lot more than I did. The characters were pretty flat, they did have their moments throughout the book though. Also, the "chemistry" between Chloe, the main character, and the ghost, Alex, was practically non-existent, yet they're supposed to have had this whole romanitcal commitment or something...still not sure on that.

Then there's Joe, who I guess is supposed to be "the other guy" and suddenly she seems like she can't choose between either guy but none of them have built up any chemistry and it was all so bland and flat. Like, I don't understand how you can have this undying love for this ghost you just met and know nothing about, haven't spent barely any time with, and then start to become friends with Joe and he's got this some-kind-of-love thing for Chloe--When did this happen again?

Another thing I didn't really get was the ghosts in the beginning, what did anything have to do with them? I thought at least by the end of the book we would get some kind of explanation, but nada.

The only reason I gave it 3 stars was because it was a good effort trying to write this book and I love ghost stories.

Secondly, the only reason I'm even going to read the second one is because                                                     **SPOILER ALERT BELOW**

 

Chloe moves back home and goes back to school and somehow Alex the ghost shows up as an actual boy at her school. ? ?! ???!!! 

Rating

♥Cover Candie of the Month♥

On The Fence by Kasie West

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 1rst/2014
Pages: 320
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What It's About!

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

 

Feature Friday #5

Act Of Will by A.J. Hartley

Act of Will was originally published four years ago by a traditional publisher as an adult novel, though the author felt it fit more into the young adult genre. It has now been self-published as a YA novel. It is available in both ebook and paperback formats.

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 What It's About!

Will Hawthorne is in trouble. He had been looking forward to his 18th 
birthday because that meant he’d finally be a professional actor, but 
Will has a knack for screwing things up royally. He winds up on the run 
from the authorities and into the arms of a party of principled 
adventurers who represent everything Will doesn’t believe in—principle, 
self-sacrifice, maybe even magic—but they seem to be his best chance of 
staying alive and free for a few more days…

But when his new “friends” take a job investigating a band of ruthless 
and mysterious horsemen who have been devastating a land far from all 
Will has known, he encounters an altogether different level of danger. 
Soon it is not clear which is more likely to get him killed, the party’s 
nobility, the enemy’s merciless efficiency, or his own special talent 
for fiasco.

Can Will get used to this world of vanishing adversaries and magic 
swords? He will have to if he’s going to survive it. And to wind up rich 
and in the good graces of the beautiful Renthrette, he’s going to have 
to do rather more than that…

Praise for 'Act of Will'

“Hartley’s prose is so graceful, his narrative so taut and his 
battle-scenes so exciting and well-described… This is especially true of 
the compulsively readable second half which unfolds with remarkable 
grace and power.” -Booklist

A “clever page-turner” -Publishers Weekly (Starred review)

“Fast paced and beautifully written” -R.A. Salvatore

“I was amazed by these vividly knowledgeable adventures of a youth 
living by his wits in a world much like Elizabethan England.” -David 
Drake

“Adventure meets a hero who just won’t shut up in this fast-talking 
charmer of a novel” -Kate Elliott

2014 Releases

Now that Christmas has come and gone (for the most part), and the new year is well on it's way, I thought I'd put a list together of some AMAZING books that are going to be coming out. Hope you enjoy! :) Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! 

Click on the books to check them out on Goodreads.

Book Release

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 15/2014
Pages: 416
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What It's About!

From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.A magnetic, push-me-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.

 

Feature Friday #4

Toxic Heart (Mystic City #2) by Theo Lawrence

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: April 8th/2014
Pages: 368
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What It's About!

A city in flames. A trust betrayed. A perfect love destroyed.

Has Aria lost Hunter, her one true love?

Ever since rebellion broke out in Mystic City, pitting the ruling elite against the magic-wielding mystics, Aria has barely seen her boyfriend. Not surprising, since Hunter is the leader of the mystic uprising, and he'll do whatever it takes to win freedom for his people—even if that means using Aria.

But Aria is no one's pawn. She believes she can bring the two warring sides together, save the city, and win back the Hunter she fell in love with.

Before she can play peacemaker, though, Aria will need to find the missing heart of a dead mystic. The heart gives untold powers to whoever possesses it, but finding it means seeking out a fierce enemy whose deepest desire is for Aria to be gone—forever.

Consume

Consume (The Clann #3) by Melissa Darnell

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: August 27th
Pages: 384
Type: ARC
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What It's About!

Tristan Coleman has survived the change from Clann magic user to vampire, much to Savannah Colbert's joy—and despair. By changing the Clann's golden boy and newly elected leader, even to save him from death, she has unleashed a fury of hatred and fear that they cannot escape.

As the Clann and the vampire council go to war, Tristan and Sav face a new threat—a fracturing of the all-consuming bond they share. To fight for peace, they must forge a new trust and risk everything to take down their deadliest enemy, even as they must run for their lives. Soon they will learn that some bonds are stronger than love—and some battles cannot be won without sacrifice.

Review

Having loved the first two books, I was really excited to get my hands on this one. However, it just didn't live up to my excitement. Compared to the first two books, Consume felt flat, drawn out, and rushed at the end. There was all this build up to a big war between the vampires and the descendants, just for it to be over in a chapter or two. It was really disappointing.

The whole book was basically Tristan and Savannah not getting along, they all go on the run, then a quick war and the books over. There was almost no chemistry in this book with the characters and the story.

Overall, I enjoyed it somewhat, probably only because I loved the first two books, but other than that, it just wasn't the big ending I was hoping for.

Rating

Feature Friday #3

                                                               

Fragile Spirits (Souls #2) by Mary Lindsey

Publisher: Philomel

Release Date: January 23rd/2014

Pages: 311

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What It's About!

Paul has always known he was a Protector, fated to serve a Speaker who could hear the voices of spirits lingering after death and help those souls find peace.

Vivienne ignores the voices of the dead.

Paul has always followed the Protector’s rule book, preparing diligently for the day when he’d be matched with his Speaker and fulfill his destiny.

Vivienne never does what she’s told.

So when Paul is matched with Vivienne, they both find the pairing less than satisfactory. But a kidnapping, a malevolent spirit and power stronger than both of them may just prove that they are two halves of the same whole.

 

Crash Into You

Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Novemeber 26th/2013

Pages: 474

Type: ARC

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What It's About!

The girl with straight As, 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.

Review

Each Pushing the Limits book that comes out, I love, get a book hangover, and curl up in a corner rocking back and forth like a crazy person until the next one comes out.

To say I loved this book, would not be enough. I loved this book times a trillion! This one was by far my favorite, which is really saying something, considering how much I freaking love the other 2 books in the series! I just LOVE how in each book we get to see the view of an old character from the previous books, and they all live in the same world but each book is so different. I'm not even really sure how to explain it, but I'm sure if you've read the books then you know exactly what I'm talking about. If not, YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

This time around, we got to see Isaiah's and Rachel's point of view. I was ssssooo excited to read about Isaiah, since we had met him in a previous book (Dare You To, I believe?). Man, their chemistry was SO INTENSE but with such a simple and realness to it. I got so swept up into Rachel and Isaiah's world, I felt like I knew them as real people. Both of them grew, conquered and came together to conquer some more. They each had their own set of problems and love of cars, which made for such an exciting book. Rachel learned to ask for help and deal with her illness, and Isaiah came to finally realize he can trust people, and so on.

There was SO MUCH packed into this 3rd installment in the Pushing The Limits series, so I'm not sure what else to say without totally giving everything away to those of you who haven't read it. 

Rating