You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith | Book Review | Spoiler Free

Title ; You Are Here

Author ; Jennifer E. Smith

Genre ; Young Adult, Contemporary, Travel-Road Trip, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Pages ; 251

Publisher ; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers                          

Synopsis ; Have you ever felt like something was missing? Well Emma feels like that all the time, she doesn't fit in with her family and she doesn't make any friends. One day she discovers a birth certificate for a boy, on the same day she was born, a twin brother, but following that she finds a death certificate. Now Emma knows why she's always felt like something was missing and she sets out to find something she lost years ago that she never even knew she had. For Peter, it's always been his dream to escape his small town, his love for maps doesn't help the urge to leave. His father want's him to stay, go to college here, he never could understand why Peter was so obsessed with maps and travel when his mother had loved their small town. Can Peter escape or will he be stuck there forever? Emma and Peter are complete opposites, so they think, but they end up together on a trip of self discovery but they run in to a lot of problems on the way, will they reach their destination or be sent home before their even halfway there?

First Impression ; I'm a sucker for contemporary novels so I was excited to read this book. The blurb seemed interesting and I've never read a Travel-Road Trip book so I figured this book would be great. From the blurb I figured this book would be pretty emotional.

Rating ; 

Review ; This book was emotional but not a book I needed tissues for. I loved that even though this book was classified as romance, there was very little romance and the story focused more on the two teens discovering themselves while also learning more about each other. I liked the details in their traveling. it made me picture their situations better and long for a trip myself.

 This was a pretty fast read, I finished it in around 3 days, it definitely was a sweet and short read. I enjoyed both characters and how different they were yet so much alike, even their lives were different. Emma grew up in a family full of geniuses which she never could relate to so she always felt out of place. Peter grew up with just his father and while Peter always dreamed of traveling his dad just didn't see the point, Peter got along with Emma's family more than his own but both teens still felt alone.

Cover Rating ;

Judging a Book by it's Cover ; The cover is pretty simple and goes with the story. I like that all of my Jennifer E. Smith books look pretty similar minus the fact that this cover is glossy while the others are matte which is why this cover gets a 3 star rating, it's not horrible but it bothers me.

Quotes ;

“But how could she tell him that the reason she always acted so disinterested in everything was because of the worry that she herself wasn't all that interesting?”  

"and there was nothing more to be done except kick herself for always choosing the wrong time to be silent and the wrong times to make a fuss"

The Convenient Escape by Robert Downs | Book Review Suspense Mystery

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway, while this book was free, Goodreads doesn't expect me to leave a book review although authors do offer books in hopes of getting reviews. My opinion is my own.


Judging a Book By It's Cover ;

I like the look of this book, the cover goes with the book but it is lacking in quality, I'm not sure if they done this on purpose or not but it's nothing major.

First Impression ;

To me this book seemed very interesting, I was wanting to read more suspense/mystery books and this one seemed perfect to read. After reading the blurb I was eager to see how Veronica's story went and how Pete tied into the story.

Rating ;

Review ;

This book follows Veronica Baird's story as she escapes from being held captive for 2 days in an underground dungeon. She doesn't know who took her or why but she knows she has to escape but escaping isn't so easy when the person that abducted you is still at large and you have no idea who they are, you can't trust anyone but you have to run. Upon escaping the dungeon Veronica runs into Pete, a former classmate from high school, even though she's not sure she can trust him she doesn't have much of a choice and so their story begins.

This book started off pretty fast paced with a lot of action and I really liked that but soon to follow I ran into some problems.

1. Some parts seemed unbelievable, after Chapter 4 I started to dread reading the book because I just couldn't believe Veronica didn't go to the police after escaping and I also didn't see this woman overpowering/tricking a grown man that also happened to be in the military. Both of these problem for me were explained way later in the book but it was so close to the end that it ruined the book for me.

2. I didn't like a few characters, mainly the bad guys which makes sense but I found Anthony's character was portrayed quite unrealistically. The fact that he could seduce a woman into being with him just for sexual favors and have her almost kill someone seems completely far fetched. I also didn't see him hiring the hitmen that he hired, they were both pretty dumb and not someone I would see someone hiring for the task.

This book gets 3 stars from me because it wasn't as great as I'd hoped it would be but it was still a good book. The author did an amazing job describing each scenario in this book so that you could literally picture it.

Recommended For ;

Adults that like suspense and mysteries. Also Young Adult but there are some rated X moments I the book, very little but still to be noted.

After You by Jojo Moyes | Book Review | Me Before You Book 2

 Judging a Book By It's Cover ; My opinion for this book was pretty much the same as for Me Before You, because they are a set and match pretty well. The difference is the colors were switched. So I loved this cover as well.

First Impression ; I was still a little upset with the ending of the first book when I started this book and I knew this was continuing Lou's story which I was both happy and curious about. The blurb made me more interested in her story because of "Reluctantly she joins a support group and meets Sam Fielding" who is this Sam and will he replace Will!? How could she be over him in such a short time!? And then there's this "Then a figure from Will's past appears and hijacks all of Lou's plans, propelling her into a very different future" who is this person!?

Rating ;

Review ; I loved that Lou's story got to continue. I was eager to see how her life changed and I wasn't disappointed. There was so much action in this book and I got to see into everyone's life a bit more after Will. I loved that Jojo tied in the rest of Will's family in this book so that we got to see how they coped with Will being gone. You saw how things ended and how some things began. You also got to see Lou's family grow as well, her sister in college and her mom stepping out of her comfort zone. This book had it all, action, romance, and a bit of mystery. I want to read more into Lou's life, I saw in the back interview where Jojo Moyes talked about leaving room for another book if the readers wanted and yes, yes we do!

The way the book ended I can definitely see this being turned into a trilogy and I'd love to see Lou growing more.

Huge Decemeber Thrift / Christmas Gift Book Haul

I'll start off this post by saying this haul is insanely huge, for two reasons.

Reason number 1 ; I recently started recollecting books, so I feel the need to get a lot.

Reason number 2 ; these books were all SO cheap. Most of them were 10 cents each and I think the most I spent on any of the books was $2 for a book set and maybe $1 each for a few.

Every book I purchased myself was second hand, from Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, or online. I also got a few books for Christmas as well, so let's get started.

I'll start with Christmas, I got a total of 15 books for Christmas. Including quite a few books by Ellen Hopkins, who I absolutely love, my boyfriend got a bundle of books of hers for $22, which is quite a steal! He also got me an autographed copy of If I Stay by Gayle Forman from Book Outlet which is also where he got the other (minus The Glass Castle) books. 

Next up are the books I got from Habitat for Humanity, I got a lot because they were all 10 cents each with the exception of the Vampire Academy 4 book set, which was $2, still an amazing deal. Most of these are books I just picked up because they sounded familiar or because they seemed interesting, so we'll see how that goes.

Now we're on to the Goodwill books, the most I paid per book was $1, the rest were 50 cents each because of Goodwill's end of the year 50% off sale and I'm definitely not complaining. I was pretty excited to find the Outlanders first 3 books but not so much now because I'm afraid to start such a long series, but in time I will read them. I was also insanely excited to find the Jane Austen books, I want to find the person that donated and thank them.

Books I forgot to mention that I got in December was Me Before You which I purchased online and After You which I got from Goodwill but forgot to post it in the photo because I am currently reading it.

And the last two books that I got this month were an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) and a book from a publisher to read for reviews. I've already posted a review on the ARC of Romeo and What's Her Name and I'll be reading The Convenient Escape.

 Here is a photo of all the new books I got in December, there is a total of 92 books!

My favorite book out of this haul would have to be ;

Thanks for reading, did you receive any books for Christmas? If so which ones? If there's too many to post, just comment which was your favorite?

<3/Bella

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Book Review

Judging a Book by its Cover ;

I love this book cover, it's minimal and gorgeous. Because this cover is so simple, there's not really to much to say about it.

I know there is also a movie cover for this book which is cute but I prefer the original red cover of this book. There was also another cover (middle image below) that is pretty cute but I just prefer the red cover, it also looks nice with the second book which is After You. They also have an After You version of the middle book as well but again I prefer the simple covers. Maybe because its around the holidays and the red and white spines remind me of candycanes.

First Impression from the Blurb and Movie Trailer ;

So I saw the movie trailer before I got the book and this story seemed pretty cute and I love a good romance novel. So I looking into getting the book. I prefer reading a book over watching a movie and if I know a movie that I'm interested in seeing has a book I like to read the book first.

"They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart? "

This blurb enticed me so much, I immediately added it to my TBR, then I found After You at Goodwill for $2, so of course I bought it, then I ordered Me Before You online. I knew as soon as it got here that this book would be the next book I would read.

Rating ;

Review ;

Me Before You is a five star book for me, I absolutely loved this book. This book was so emotional for me, I felt happy, sad, depressed, and understanding throughout this book.

I love how Lou and Will got along, they didn't at first but even when they were being rude to each other they couldn't help but smile. Will is depressed (understandably) and quite rude but with Lou he has met his match because she's not one to just back down, she's just as sarcastic and witty. I thought this book would be Will and Lou together in a relationship with mushy moments which I love but it wasn't instead it was more a friendship (although there was some random romantic moments, mostly towards the end) and it made me love this book even more. Once I got to page 180 I couldn't help but read the rest of the book. Today I sat for hours reading this book and I didn't even realize how long it had actually been I was so lost in this book.

Jojo Moyes did such an amazing job writing this book, the way she described scenes and how she let other people share their thoughts about Will and sometimes Lou. The only thing really missing from this book is Will's thoughts. I would have loved for there to be more about him  and at least a chapter from his point of view, although the book revolves around him (and Lou) you do get to know a lot about him through the other people in the story but as he mentions in the book everyone has him do what they want him to do, he has no control for his life, everyone does what they think is best for him without really asking him, he doesn't get to share his thoughts in the book which is a bummer for me. Nonetheless I still adore this book. I loved that Will and Lou brought out the best in each other, they made each other happy. Lou made Will's days brighter and Will pushed Lou to realize the potential she had in herself. It's a very moving book that I  recommend to others. I'm actually going to start After You tomorrow, I would start today but I need to sort my emotions after finishing Me Before You. 

Then I'll look in to watching the movie.

Romeo and What's Her Name by Shani Petroff Book Review ! Advance Readers Copy

Judging a Book by Its Cover ;

I actually received an Advance Reader's Edition of this book. It's not the actual cover but it does have the actual cover on the book, left picture. Even with it being an ARC, this book is so cute. The right picture shows the actual cover art which is listed on Goodreads. It's adorable with the little heart doodles. I think it fits the story quite well.

First Impression from the Blurb ;

"Understudies never get to perform

. . . which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly "Evening with Shakespeare" is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it's just:
a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show.
Then, Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?"

Going into this book, I already assumed I'd like it, it seems like a cute love story and I'm a sucker for romance. I was also curious as to how the play would turn out, would Emily rock the play and get the guy of her dreams or would she totally ruin the play, I couldn't wait to find out.

Rating ;

Review ;

I loved this book, it definitely was a funny, cheesy love story. You have Emily, the main character who is a complete klutz, she's always embarrassing herself but she doesn't let it get to her, she just laughs it off. There's also Jill and Kayla, Emily's best friends, who help out with getting over embarrassing moments with her crush Wes. Jill and Kayla are the perfect friends, they are always there for Emily even when she messes stuff up for them. Wes, of course is the guy Emily has a crush on and let me tell you, he seems close to perfect. He's so sweet and caring. Then there's Amanda the mean girl, she just so happens to be perfect as well, she's pretty, popular, and she get's what she wants, and she wants Wes. This book is a fast read with a lot of funny moments that you can't help but to laugh out loud about. Romeo & What's Her Name is a great book if you love romantic comedies, you'll love this book. You get to see Emily try to get the boy of her dreams while she not only keeps embarrassing herself but she has to ace the play for her best friends, her grade, and so that she doesn't embarrass the rest of the cast (including Romeo, Wes) but how can she when  "a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show. " but can she do it?

---

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Book Review

Judging a Book By Its Cover ;

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover.. but I do. I like an aesthetically pleasing book cover, I love how it looks on my shelf, etc. So for The Girl on the Train I got this book cover ;

I like how simple and cute it is. I love the font, it suits this cover very well. I also like the train tracks going up the cover with part of a face showing, it comes off as a mystery type book just based on the cover and it is, so it works well. I know there are at least two other covers for this book and I think this one is my favorite.

First Impression from the Blurb + Movie Trailer ;

"EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?"

This sounded so intriguing to me. This is the first suspense thriller/mystery book I've actually read which is shocking to me because I love mysteries. I also saw the movie trailer way before getting the book and I really liked it so when I saw this book at Goodwill for $1 I immediately got it and I'm so glad I did.

                           Rating ;  

           Review ; For the first few pages this book was a slow read to me it didn't seem that interesting then around page 6-7 the book began to pick up a bit. I liked the style of writing, how it was from three different peoples perspective, like it's their journal/diary. But early on I felt like I already knew how the book would end but boy was  I wrong and I realized that just pages later when a plot twist ruined my prediction. After that I was hooked and I kept trying to guess how it would end and boy was I surprised. I didn't love the characters but they were realistic, I know people like this exist and everyone fights their own demons, I liked how Paula Hawkins gave some back story to the main characters that lets you in on why they are the way they are. I know a lot of people didn't like the "hot mess" characters but I  felt for them. I didn't like all of their mindsets and I didn't approve of most of their actions but I was still hoping things would work out for them in the end. What I took from this book is people are not always what they seem to be, looking into somebodies life from the outside you might think they are perfect or they have the perfect life but you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. Also you could know somebody for years and never really know them. All in all I really enjoyed this book, I loved the thriller aspect and how I didn't want to put the book down, I wanted to know what was happening with each character.

Character Review ;

Rachel ; At first I didn't like Rachel, she was so weak and felt she needed her ex, I didn't like the way she acted after 2 years of being separated from her ex she was obsessed with his life and other people. Also I didn't like that she was an alcoholic. She relied on alcohol daily but she knew she became a different person while she was drunk. I loved the writing because it was accurate on how some alcoholics black out and don't remember things, etc. I'm on the fence on how much I liked her in the end, I mean she had a gut feeling and she went with it but again she was obsessed with other people's life to find the truth out in the end. With all that being said I was rooting for Rachel to stop drinking and get her life together to move on and try to be happy which I like to believe happened after the book ended.

Anna ; I didn't really care for Anna, she was the other woman and was perfectly fine with it, in fact she liked it. I also didn't like how she hated the house she lived in and the way Rachel acted, Anna felt scared of Rachel and that she might hurt the baby but she didn't leave the house, she stayed, I feel like most mothers would automatically leave if they felt their child was in danger. In the end of the book Anna definitely shocked me.
Megan ; At first when you read about Megan through Rachel's thoughts you couldn't help but like the picture perfect "Jess" but later on you actually get to see that Jess is actually Megan and Megan's life isn't so perfect. I liked that Megan wanted to experience life, she needed that rush but I quickly changed my opinion on that when I realized how she wanted to get the rush. Also after learning her big secret I was disgusted, even knowing it was an accident and she was young I just couldn't get over it. But yet again I was rooting for Megan, she wanted to get her life together, she wanted to come clean.

"Life is not a paragraph, and death is no parenthesis"