Megan @ The Book Babe's Reads

Stripped was an okay read for me - I liked it. But it was very predictable, and the romance was just a tiny tad bit cliched. I liked the main character, Quinn. She had a bit of fire to her - I wouldn't be able to do the modeling thing, no matter how much I needed the money. So I respect her for doing what it takes to keep her spot at that school.

But I don't respect some of her other decisions. I mean her "decision" to go "heartless" is ridiculous. It's not even a decision - I'm pretty sure that no one can just shot off their feelings like that, so I'm kind of tired of seeing the heroines who don't want to fall in love. Where are the girls who want to fall in love? I'm tired of this trope, especially in new adult. It's getting a little bit old.

In spite of that, though, Quinn was still an okay sort of character. I just wish she hadn't fallen into that group of characters.

On the opposite spectrum, I really liked Torrin. He was a freaking sweetheart, and he was very... innocent, I guess. His secret, though? It was very cliched. I had it figured out way before Quinn did - and it was obvious.

Their romance was okay, I guess. But I didn't feel like it was all that great - it could have been better, that's for sure. Maybe the next book will help that, though? All in all, Stripped was a likable read, but it's not the greatest new adult I've read. It's far too cliched for that.

"I think there could be different versions of truth," he says. "You choose your truth, and then you build your life around it."

The Museum of Intangible Things was exactly what I expected from Wendy Wunder - a depressing book, but not a bad one. I'm not sure if it was the way it was written, or the situation that it described, but it was definitely an interesting read.

Our main character, Hannah, was very pliable, but she was likable. She was just a bit misguided - and I imagine the reasoning behind that was the simple fact that she chose to follow Zoe. Hannah made a lot of bad decisions, but I think in the end she really grew up.

I didn't care for the romance between her and Danny, though. I didn't feel any chemistry, and there was a bit of instalove going on, to be completely honest. I didn't feel the development of any actual feelings between them, which was sad. I was hoping for a good love story. (Although, in the end, there was a great explanation to some of this.)

You remember how I mentioned Zoe earlier? Well, we're going to talk about her now. While I don't approve of a lot of the things that Zoe did, I think she did her best to be a good friend to Hannah. And I understand that Zoe had a lot of problems, but she really helped Hannah to break out of her shell, and that was a great achievement. She was okay, really.

All in all, The Museum of Intangible Things was an interesting read. I didn't expect the ending, but it was actually really perfect for a read like this one: completely unexpected.

I've been wanting to continue Charlie and Kevin's story for a long time - but what I didn't realize was that Kiss Me Again would leave me with just as many questions as the first book! I mean, really. I was hoping for this book to resolve their romance - but I just have more questions about how they're going to make it work! That ending honestly felt like a cop out to me.

Kevin and Charlie were absolutely perfect together - they're the greatest mix of awkward and adorable. Just like their situation. The story was super light and cute, with a just a couple of tense moments, which was pretty nice.

I enjoyed all of the character development that we got from Charlie in this one - I had forgotten that she was so funny! I love her sense of humor, and though she can be a bit immature, her heart is in the right place. I also thought it was cool that Kevin is color blind. And an artist. That's something that you never see in YA fiction, so it was awesome to have a main character with those issues. On top of that, Kevin is super sweet! I think that's adorable.

The introduction of Anya and Charlie's new job was cool - I enjoyed all of Charlie's coworkers and their quirks. And I love, love, love Kevin's dad! He's so very dense, and he's always interrupting the moment - and never even realizing it! I loved that. It made for some really fun awkward moments.

Let's talk about Charlie's best friend, Tess, though. I didn't care for her at all in Kiss Me Again. I'm 98% sure that the girl is a liar, and she's not a very good friend. I honestly wanted to beat her with a stick - she would have deserved it for some of the things she did.

All in all, Kiss Me Again was a fun, light book. A bit of fluff, to tell you the truth.

Thousand Words is one of those books that I think every teenage girl should read. Because as a teenager myself, I've never really thought about the implications of sexting (it's not really my thing), but reading this book was a huge thing. I never could have imagined how something so simple could spiral out of control! I mean, her boyfriend (she thought) was the only one who was ever going to see it. And then everyone saw it. It was viral on the internet, and people she's never even met have seen her naked.

How embarrassing is that? In Ashleigh's situation, I would truly be freaking out. And you've got to give Ashleigh points for how she handles it - she does her best to ignore it all, even when it's hurtful. So many nasty things get said to her, and she just keeps on trucking. She does her best to move on with her life, which is really the best thing that she can possibly do in her situation. Ashleigh projects her feelings very well as a character, and it was really easy for me to put myself in her shoes. I'm glad they didn't fit.

I honestly thought that Thousand Words was very realistic - I can imagine this all happening, and that's the scary part! Everything was very well thought out and written, in my opinion.

I will say that I looked forward to the community service chapters more than the flashbacks, though. I liked seeing how she was doing now, as opposed to then. At least she was on her way to happy in the present, whereas in the past she was very, very sad. And I don't blame her. But those chapters had such a feeling of hope being snuffed out - I just couldn't take it.

All in all, teen girls everywhere should read Thousand Words. I would never have imagined how one single act would follow someone forever.

I really expected How My Summer Went Up in Flames to be different. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but... for lack of a better choice of words, my ship sank. My OTP didn't happen. I feel slighted. I'm pretty sure this has never happened to me like this. I mean, of course my ships have sank before... but it's never felt this ridiculously off. Like, why did she even go for the other guy? I don't even understand the appeal, you know? But I've got to talk about something else for a bit.

I wasn't sure I would like Rosie in the beginning. Sometimes she seemed okay, but other times she was just out of nowhere impulsive and kind of annoying. She was definitely 900% high strung, that's for sure! She could be hard to deal with, even for me.

I love love loved the character of Matty, who was a my ship. I freely admit that I wanted Matty and Rosie to happen - because the guy she chose is nothing in comparison to Matty, who was super sweet. He could also be super nerdy, and he was just ridiculously adorable. He seemed like a little kid sometimes, but then others he acted like an adult. It was part of his charm.

Logan and his brother were okay, but they didn't really stand out as characters. They had a few moments, but most of the time they were kind of in the background. All of the boys were super endearing, though. As a group, they really worked well together, and I liked the dynamics of it.

The road trip was fun too - it's always fun when you squish a group of people in a car for a trip! I always love road trips. The time progression was a bit weird, though. It felt like the trip went on forever, and that everything that happened was months old. Which is not necessarily a bad thing!

All in all, How My Summer Went Up in Flames would have totally been better if my ship had sailed, but it really wasn't a bad book in spite of it. Just a bit sad.

In all actuality, I have next to nothing to say about This is What Happy Looks Like. Sure, it was super cute and sweet, but it wasn't much more than that. It was an ultimately forgettable, fluffy kind of book. Which is totally okay, because I've been in a really fluffy mood lately.

Ellie and Graham were both okay kind of characters, but nothing really stood out about them. It was fun to read the alternating points of view, and to see how two completely different people handle their lives, but the reality is that neither of them was very unique.

I liked the romantic tone of the story, but I feel like most of it was just filler. There wasn't any real angst to speak of, and the story kind of trotted along on one hind foot. The ending was super sweet, but this is really all I've got. It reminds me of one of those chick flicks that are okay, but just don't live up to their full potential.

All in all, it was a cute read, but I didn't love love it like I hoped I would.

I'm in a book-tearing-apart kind of mood. And it's all The Infinite Moment of Us's fault. I want to paste every single line of the synopsis down into this review and state every single reason for why it isn't true. But I am mature. So I will not do that. Though I am, at this very moment, fantasizing on doing that very thing.

I WILL CARRY ON AS IF THAT THOUGHT HAS NOT ENTERED MY MIND AT ALL.

Let's start with the length. Normally, if the writing is good - length is not an issue for me at all. But this one was just ridiculous. It was like a hundred pages before anything even remotely related to the romance happened. And while that's okay in a lot of books, it is NOT okay when that's what the entire storyline is based around. I mean, really.

When something finally did happen on that front, it was like an instantaneous kind of love. No feelings developed, nothing. Suddenly they're just falling all over each other in love, with none of it being shown. All we got was a lot of telling, which as you all know is the worst thing you can do in a fictional relationship. Words mean little to nothing, actions mean everything. And their actions were screaming "we're not ready for a relationship".

I didn't think that Wren and Charlie were good for each other at all. They didn't communicate enough, and their relationship really focused more of the physical than the mental. Why couldn't they talk to each other? Really. Their relationship was... gah I promised I wouldn't do this, but here!

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

<--- You read that, right? Well, none of those things is really true. I mean, I can't speak for the writer, because I've enjoyed some of her other books.

But oh-so-true-to-life? No. Just no. If anything, it was nothing like real life. (It wasn't romantic, either. But we're skipping over that for reasons.) In reality, teenage relationships don't work like the one in this book, unless both people are irrevocably screwed up and over, with no chance of redemption. This relationship read more like a new adult book - and we all know how those go. There are some true diamonds, but most NA is all sex.

And in reality, that is not what an entire teenage relationship revolves around. Teens talk and hang out too. Not to mention the fact that the ending was completely too-good-to-be-true. Real life doesn't work out like that.

All in all, The Infinite Moment of Us just wasn't for me. I didn't like the characters all that much, the ending was a grotesque parody of life, and really the romance was just ridiculous. I was conned into reading it by the pretty cover. Can you really blame me?

I'm not sure if it's these things or something else, but it makes that kiss, which I get was just platonic - a friendly, cheek handshake thing - feel momentous. A kiss from all of Paris.

Just One Day was a new kind of read for me. While I thought I would like it more than it did, that doesn't mean that it didn't hit me in a good way. From reading the synopsis, I thought it would be more like Anna and the French Kiss. I freely admit that. And while it was little to nothing like it, I still enjoyed it for what it was: a good read.

I liked the adventure of going to Paris for just one day - I love all books with travel, so it wasn't a stretch that I would like a trek across Europe. It all felt very romantic, even though I did question Willem's motives a couple of times. It wasn't hard, with Allyson/Lulu being kind of scared of his motives as well.

In fact, Allyson herself wasn't so bad. I actually ended up liking her more than I thought I would. At first, she comes off as a little uptight, but as you get to know her you realize that she's actually a sweet girl. She's just a little bit too safe, a bit scared. She was unsure.

Which is why Willem really balanced her out - if anything, he was overly sure of himself. He was also very compulsive, and honestly just a little bit crazy. In a good way, of course. I think it takes a strong person to travel around a country by themselves.

There's also something romantic about that, but let's not go there. I guess I just find travel of any kind romantic. The story itself was romantic, but I also feel like it was very nostalgic - and I was slightly disappointed when Allyson came back from Paris in pieces. She went through a bit of depression, and it was sad. I also didn't really care for the ending - it was depressing too. I've ordered Just One Year, to see if we can get a happy ending - but I'm not going to lie.

The end of this one just really made me want to cry. Even for days after, when I glanced at the book - all I wanted to do was cry. All in all, Just One Day was a good read. Depressing and romantic - but you've really got to be in a mood to enjoy that, don't you think?

She had almost laughed at how absurd it all was, how water made mud of the ground. How hearts made mud of the world.

And We Stay is one of those books that's hard to explain - there was a lot of emotion and a lot of tragedy, but it's really hard to say why it hit me the way it did. I'm usually not a huge fan of poetry, but I really enjoyed Emily's. It flowed very well, and even the normal writing of And We Stay was beautiful and poetic.

But let's talk about Emily herself. I didn't really connect with her, but this is a different case than usual. It's not that she's flat. The reason that I couldn't connect with her was very simple - she doesn't connect with herself. She's so lost in her grief and even her solitude that it just kills her personality. And let me tell you, it's hard to read about someone who's dying inside. But she regains a little of her life throughout the book, and that's what's so great about it. You get to see her journey from one moment in her life to the next. And it's interesting.

As I said before, the writing was gorgeous, and it made it all that much easier for the past and the future to intertwine seamlessly throughout And We Stay. I never felt jarred or anything like that, which is very rare for me.

The biggest thing that And We Stay communicates is an overwhelming sadness - and honestly, sometimes it's great to be sad. I liked being sad for this book, and figuring out the mysteries of how and why that it left behind.

All in all, And We Stay is a good read. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a sad, heartfelt read.

The same sky that once held her dreams has stolen her story. And the stars will know just how to tell it: night after night, over and over.

The boy I loved had the veins of the ancient. He was eighteen, but also a hundred and eighty, Biblical and stubborn as stone lodged in the earth.

I hate to be a hater, but honestly - I didn't really care for this one. I was more interested in the alien abduction story that Summer Experiment was based on/with than the actual book. I even went so far as to research the Allagash Abductions on Wikipedia and everything - and they're still more interesting than this story.

I found the main character, Roberta, to be ridiculously pretentious and annoying. A know-it-all, if you will. And I hope that's not the kind of characters that middle grade readers are looking for... because, well, I'll feel slightly bad then. I didn't care for any of the characters, to tell you the truth. They were all a little too naive, or too annoying, etc.

The ending was okay, but I was just hoping for more from this book. There just wasn't enough detail to keep me interested, and the storyline, along with the characters killed me. All in all, Summer Experiment REALLY wasn't the book for me. Sorry you guys had to read this super awkward review!

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Sometimes, (not always but sometimes) you find a book that leaves you in a stunned world where nothing can touch you for a day or two. We book lovers like to call that a book hangover, and it's a perfectly acceptable term to use for this feeling. We Were Liars was that book. I spent the next few hours after reading this trying to duplicate the awesome high that it gave me. I thought about it for the rest of the day. I called up my reading friend, and told her all about it while I tried to convince her to read it. I started a new book, knowing that it would probably be nothing like what I had just read - and was still processing. It wouldn't be a lie to say that We Were Liars totally and completely blew my mind.

It was one of those books where you knew what was coming, but you couldn't stand to think about it - so you blocked it out. And you hoped against all logical thought that maybe you were wrong, maybe it wouldn't all end in the way it was going to. Sometimes books are perfect, even if maybe they aren't perfect in the literal sense.

Honestly, all I really want to do with this review is quote line after perfectly poetic line. But I won't, I talk about some other things too.

We Were Liars started off with a real bang - an instant "I need more" kind of line.

Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family. No one is a criminal. No one is an addict. No one is a failure.

 

From that first line, I knew I wanted to know everything about this family. I knew immediately that they were going to be screwed up, and that there was going to be a tragedy - but I still wanted to know it. And most of all, I wanted to know all about Cadence. At first I thought I would dislike her, but it only turns out that I pity her, in a large way. I assumed that she was probably bipolar, and that she was for sure depressed.

But I didn't know everything about her right away. I liked that I had to work my way through the book, waiting for every single new fact to reveal itself. I lived for those reveals. Each little hint came out of nowhere, and somehow it all fit together into a beautifully crafted mystery. Some things were obvious, but most were hidden under the surface.

In many ways, We Were Liars was one of the saddest books I've read. I wanted to love Gat as much as Cadence did, but I couldn't get him. I thought that he was a jerk of the highest quality for most of the book, but when the end came... let's just say that I've never apologized to any fictional character as much as I did to him. I thought that he was so back and forth and up and down, but really, he's just a normal kind of guy. He doesn't deserve to be scorned, because his story is tragic.

Now, he was free to go forth and make a name for himself in the wide, wide world. And maybe, just maybe, he'd come back one day, and burn that fucking palace to the ground.

 

All of We Were Liars was tragic. And I never wanted it to end. I guess I'll leave you with one final line, to whet your appetite for this book - if I haven't already. And honestly, I'm already hoping that you've dropped everything and ordered this book - because it's simply beautiful.

My full name is Cadence Sinclair Eastman.

I suffer migraines. I do not suffer fools.

I like a twist of meaning.

I endure.

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It really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I liked Two Roads. I like the author, I like angsty premises... so in the end, what's not to like about it? My answer to this question is a little complicated, I guess. Because I liked it, I really did. And I don't know what's keeping me from giving it four stars. So maybe, just listen to my words instead of my rating - four stars is still really good!

The main character, Cali, was really complicated. Most of the time, I really wasn't sure whether I liked her or hated her. She just brought out a lot for me to think about - sometimes, it seemed like she was undeniably cruel; but other times it was like she was stamping down the soul inside of her. Because she has a lot more feelings than she would like. She projects this image, the image of a cold ice queen, but really I don't think she's all that bad. She's just dealing with her problems in the only way that she knows how to, and that was one of the things that finally endeared her to me. I realized that she was flawed, and she made mistakes - just like the rest of us.

And Logan? He was his own brand of interesting. Because, well, unlike Cali, he took a completely different route to try and get over his grief. While she got mad, he tried to be happy. And it was actually kind of nice - I was rooting for them from the very beginning. I thought that maybe, just maybe they could have a chance at happiness.

But lets not talk about that - let's talk about how mean these two were to each other! I'm not ridiculously soft-hearted or anything (as you all know, I can't cry at books) but the pranks that they pulled... I would have cried over some of them. Because I don't really understand how the pranks helped. They honestly just made me sad, which is maybe why I liked this book so much - because Logan and Cali overcame so many issues together.

One of my notes says "I don't even have words for how much I love this", and I really don't. It's been about two weeks since I've read this book - and I still don't completely know how I feel about it. All I know is that Two Roads is good. Like the kind of good that you call your friends about good. It's happy and sad and romantic and poetic and it's one of the best New Adult books that I've read so far.

All in all, Two Roads is a book that you need words to describe - not ratings. There's nothing about this book that doesn't hit you where it hurts, but that's all part of it's charm.

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She's brave enough to be who she is. She embraces her inner weird and flies her freak flag with all she's got. And for once, I'm smart enough to see what a wonderful thing it is.

#16ThingsIThoughtWereTrue wasn't a perfect book. Not at all. But it was an interest book with a good message - and it was true to life. Bad things happened. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, and I think that you have to respect an author for that.

I liked it. I loved the road trip elements, and the humor - and the little hint of romance near the end. And I liked the characters. I liked the fact that Morgan was obsessed with Twitter - just like I am. And the fact that she has more online friends than real friends - because let's face it, a lot of us do. Morgan was just a normal girl, and she reacted in normal girl ways. I was proud to see it.

As for Amy and Adam... both of them stole my heart. In totally different ways. Amy stole it because she's just so true to herself - and she doesn't possess a word filter at all! I love people who just say what they feel or think, all the time! They make my life better.

And Adam? He stole my heart because he's a sweet guy - he's only hiding behind that jerk facade. He was freaking adorable, and sensitive... and heck, he was even funny. I really liked him. This group of people - Morgan, Adam and Amy - were perfect together. They just mesh right, and I loved that!

All in all, #16ThingsIThoughtWereTrue is one of those books that you like - you just don't love. In my opinion. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't a really good book - it just didn't hit me in the right way for five stars.

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Honestly, I'm sure you all remember how much I missed Percy, so I won't go into details - but I missed him. A lot. But in The Son of Neptune, we get him back. And really... it was kind of strange.

Imagine knowing every detail of the characters background - while they don't know anything. You know every move that they make, and why they feel strange about certain things - always. And they don't - it's just very... trippy, I guess. When I said I missed Percy, I meant the one who remembered everything - and while it was great to have him back, even sans memories... I still missed him. He was there but he wasn't, you know?

And on top of that... Camp Jupiter is a totally different world than Camp Half-Blood. You can see the similarities, but Camp Jupiter is much more war driven (versus fun), and there was actually a city type set up. Once you're of age, you can stay. Interesting, but I think I'd still take Camp Half-Blood - they're a lot more chill about everything.

I liked Frank and Hazel. They both had very complicated histories, but they both show exciting promise. They're braver than anyone. I'm positive! I loved the sweet romance between the two, and I think that they're perfect together. Both of them are adorable in an underdog way, but especially Frank. He's just a big huggable bear! (hee hee)

Everything that happened in this book was interesting, but I'm just not completely sure at where I stand on this series. It feels like something very big is going to happen, and I don't know what. Which is killing me. All in all, The Son of Neptune is a good book. I'll definitely give it that.

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My thoughts on The Lost Hero can pretty much be summed up like this: I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO PERCY! Huh. Interesting, I like this Leo boy. Jason and Piper are okay, I guess. BUT I MISS PERCY. Wow. I'm in love with Coach Hedge. BUT IT DOES NOT CHANGE MY LOVE FOR PERCY.

Basically, I missed Percy. I think that's a little bit on the expectations of a spinoff - you want to love it just as much as the original, but.... you miss the original characters. It's kind of a let down, honestly. I absolutely missed Percy throughout every second of this book, and I kept waiting for him to just... pop up or something. His character being missing... it just takes a little bit of life out of the series. He's obviously my favorite, and I felt so bad for Annabeth! (BTW, I'm totally waiting for Annabeth's POV.)

Honestly, I'm not sure that multiple points of view was the right way to go with this. It's not that I didn't like it, but... I don't know. It didn't really grab me. The characters were all good in their own ways, but I really think that the only reason I liked Jason is kind of dumb... he reminded me of Percy. And Piper? I didn't care for her very much. I can't trust the girl, that's for sure. Leo was a fun character, but sometimes... he annoyed me a little bit.

The one character that I loved to death? Well, that would definitely be Gleeson Hedge. The love that I feel for this faun is absolutely ridiculous - and well deserved! His sense of humor was freaking amazing - he's like a really old version of Grover! I really liked him!

All in all, The Lost Hero really wasn't bad. It just wasn't Percy Jackson, you know? I'll still be continuing the series, because I know that Percy does show up soon, but I'm not sure what my end thoughts on this series will be.