The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 464
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

"I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next."

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

My Thoughts:
Oh my word!!!! This book was epically good. It put me through the ringer, made me a complete emotional mess. The Royal We took me from giddy to butterflies in the stomach to anxious to angry to heartbroken to hopeful to happy and everywhere in between. I can honestly say this is the best book I've ever read involving royalty and involving dealing with the press and paparazzi.

What surprised me most about this book is that it has some serious weight to it. Just based on the genre you’d expect a story like this to be on the shorter side, but nope, this is an extremely long book. Despite the length I could not set it down: I just kept reading and reading, which shows you how involved with the book I was.

The Royal We is a linear story with five different sections, set at different times. The story starts with Bex meeting Nick at Oxford and their friendship that becomes more. We see different stages of their courtship and all the aspects that come with that. I loved Bex and Nick together but this book made me question whether being with him was worth it for Bex: the expectations, the judgment, the ceremony, the never having a normal life. This is really the big question of the novel: is it worth giving up so much to be with someone you love? & Can you make it through the horrible and still have something worthwhile left?

This book does such a good job at showing us a royal family that we can easily identify as a version of our own, while equally making the characters different and truly themselves. It has some incredibly amazing secondary characters, some you'll love (Freddie!!! Oh gosh, I could go on and on about Freddie), some you'll loathe (Richard!! aka Evil Prince Dad), and some it's so complicated you're not even sure (Bex’s sister, Lacey). I mean, these characters are totally layered and complicated. Even Richard you can feel a twinge of sympathy for at times, though mostly he's just Prince Dick.

If I had one complaint about this book it would be that I wanted more cute Bex/Nick scenes to make up for the angst and/or a longer ending so we could see people’s reactions and how everything went down (do these things missing mean there'll be a sequel? *optimistic*). However, the way it ended was perfect too. It felt like a very Nick and Bex ending, instead of an ending for HRH and Future Duchess Rebecca.

By now it’s clear that this book made me feel So Many Feelings. I just loved every bit of it, even when I was so tense it made my stomach upset or when tears were continually streaming down my face. This is the first book in a while where I've felt SO strongly about loving it. The Royal We is an AMAZING read, one I would highly recommend to all contemporary romance fans, New Adult fans (after all, this book is truly about growing up and finding yourself, making those tough decisions), and to fans of books about royalty and/or celebs. I honestly can’t recommend this book highly enough.

The Cover:
Amazing!!

Rating:
[5/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble

The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 304
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

My Thoughts:
My first thought upon finishing The Truth About Us was “wow!!”. I found it to be a very strong book with an incredibly interesting premise and great character transformation. I think I say this every time I read a Janet Gurtler book, but she does such an amazing job of telling stories that balance friendship, family, and romance. Those are my favourite types of contemporary YA, and I always enjoy what Janet has to offer.

Jess is the main character of this book, and she’s dealing with family issues -- or rather she’s not dealing with them. Bad things have happened and Jess feels ignored, so she just checks out. She acts out and has "friends" who she doesn't really seem to like. Jess is playing this part until she takes it too far and her uber strict dad steps in.

Flynn is someone who is so opposite from Jess in many ways, and yet he's so similar too. There’s a connection there between them that no one else seems to see. Flynn comes from completely different circumstances than Jess, and I think this book is very realistic about how differences of class can matter even now, when there's so much disparity between the two. I understood everyone being concerned about Flynn and Jess, and yet I also raged at how heavy handed people were at trying to keep them apart.

This is the story of Jess and Flynn, but it's also the story of Jess, of her finding her way back to who she wants to be. It’s the story of Jess’s family growing back into place, but especially of her mom trying to move past what's happened to her. I loved how Jess changed as she worked at the shelter, how she learned about the world and connected with people she normally wouldn't. I loved the granddaughter/grandfather banter relationship she had with Wilf, and the sister/brother and friend one she had with Flynn's little brother, Kyle.

The Truth About Us is a truly lovely book that made me feel so many things. It made me feel the butterflies of a crush and the feelings of it becoming something more. It made me feel the anguish over lost friendship. It made me feel disgust at people's horrid assumptions and rage at people thinking they knew everything and trying to control Jess and Flynn.

I highly recommend this book to all fans of contemporary YA, especially to fans of Sarah Dessen, Morgan Matson, and Emery Lord.

The Cover:
Honestly not a fave at all.

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 334
Series: n/a
Review Source: eARC for review through Raincoast Books

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine… until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted.

Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.

But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again…

My Thoughts:
For a writer who has predominantly made her career in the SF/F category, Ann Aguirre sure knows how to pack a punch in the contemporary genre. I've loved her New Adult stories, and this first contemporary YA offering impressed me just as much. Two things all of Ann's books have in common, regardless of genre, are a well developed protagonist and strong, interesting relationships between characters.

The Queen.. is so many things. It's a fun book, a sweet book, a sad book, a borderline angsty book. It encompasses all of those strong emotions that go hand in hand with being a teenager. Sage is someone who has had an incredibly rough past (things are hinted at, but you don't get a completely clear picture of her past until close to the end), and she's determine to be The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things: someone who is known for being nice and showing kindness to others. She's genuinely a good person, but she's always scared of going back to the scared and angry person she was, so she hides the "bad" parts of herself.

A big part of this book is the relationship between Sage and Shane, and I absolutely adored them. Shane is a little bit damaged from his own less than ideal past, but he's also very sweet and hungry for affection. I think both Sage and Shane are desperate for someone to love them, which could turn out badly, but instead they come together in a very healthy way, becoming a couple who support each other and build each other up. There are so many cute moments between these two, and so many realistic little fights that (shocker for the romance genre) they resolve quickly, using the experience to learn about each other and how to communicate and interact.

Of course this book is also about Sage as a person, learning about herself through this romantic relationship and through new friendships. I especially loved her friendship with Lila and how supportive they were of one another. Sage also has a great relationship with her Aunt Gabby, who she lives with, and what she learns about herself and her environment make this bond even stronger.

I highly recommend The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things to all contemporary YA fans. It's a book which I fell for right in the first couple of pages, and that connection never let go. I mean, I actually burst into tears and got goosebumps at one of the parts close to the end of the book (minor spoiler: the scene when Sage gets the post-it's from everyone else /end minor spoiler), I was so overwhelmed with emotion. Bottom line: this is an incredibly well-written book filled with realistic teenage characters. At this point I think Ann Aguirre could write anything and I would love it.

The Cover:
GORGEOUS!! I absolutely adore it.

Rating:
[5/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Books-a-Million | Powell's | IndieBound

About Ann:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.

Where to find Ann:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Newsletter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt from The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things:

When I walk past the music room, I hear something that stills me in my tracks. People push past; I've become a rock in the middle of a rushing stream, but I can't move. Then someone shoves me from behind, not on purpose, but the result is the same. I slam into the lockers past the classroom and bounce. The underclassmen who were wrestling don't even notice that my brain has stopped firing.

Shane Cavendish plays like it's his reason for living.

I don't write that on the Post-it, of course. That would just get him beaten up even harder. Instead I scrawl, You’re awesome on the guitar, because the jocks might think that’s cool and leave him the hell alone. It's a long shot, as I don't have any particular cred with their crew, but being a musician is pretty spectacular. I can't breathe for how good—how remarkably talented—he is. And I suspect that if he found out anyone was paying attention, he'd stop playing.

Backtracking to his locker will make me late for class, but it's worth it. I stick the note just below the vents, as I always do, but this time it feels weightier, more somehow, like this is a turning point. Shaking off the odd sensation, I dodge into Econ with a mumbled excuse. Sadly, it holds no weight with Mrs. Palmer. Unlike the male teachers, she isn't impressed with talk of 'female problems', so I get my first detention of the year, only the second I've ever had.

Since tomorrow is Friday and I have standing plans with Ryan, I ask, “Can I just get it over with tonight?”

I calculate; school lets out at 2:45. An hour of sitting in silence, and I’m supposed to be at work at four. If I hurry, I can still make my shift at the Curly Q. Which sounds like a diner, but it's actually a hair salon. I'm not qualified to do anything but wash hair, sweep up, and answer the phone, but it's better than fast food. I work two afternoons a week from four to eight, which earns me spending money for the week. Since I'm under eighteen, I get paid fifty cents an hour less than an adult; that makes me a bargain. After detention ends, I’ll just need to ride hard to keep Mildred from yelling at me.

Mrs. Palmer glances up from scribbling down my doom. “Can you get a ride home?”

“Yeah.”

I’ve always got my bike out front, and the town is small enough that I can ride anywhere I need to go from school. This is the one positive aspect of living in a tiny berg like this, especially given my opinion of privately-owned fossil fuel burning vehicles, which covers nicely for my lingering fear.

Losing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux (Tour Review & Giveaway)

Losing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux
Release Date: February 23, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 132
Series: Ice #2
Review Source: eARC from author

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

Courtney and Josh are in love and excited to finally compete as skating partners. When they take the ice for their first competition, they want to show everyone, especially Josh's family, they are the perfect pair.

But ice is slippery, and one misstep puts all their dreams in jeopardy. Now they must show each other both their love and their partnership are strong enough to survive.

My Thoughts:
Losing the Ice is an exceptional novella. Seriously, it’s just so, so good: exactly what I’ve grown to expect from Jennifer Comeaux. Courtney and Josh are interesting, layered characters, and their story is told through clear, engaging writing. Jennifer is perfect at writing both sweet moments for the characters and total crises. She’s a pro at making her readers feel the emotions of her characters. Whenever I pick up a book from her I completely identify with the characters and feel like I’m on the journey along with them, feeling their anguish and their love.

Another thing Jennifer is great at is writing moments on and off the ice that have to do with skating, training, etc. You can tell that the author is a super fan of skating, because all the descriptions of Courtney and Josh’s work feel real. Admittedly I’m not into watching skating, but I love books about any type of sport, and Jennifer’s works always draw me in to the competition and artistry of skating.

This book is a sequel to Crossing the Ice, which is definitely something you should read to get the full picture of the characters and their situation. Here we have Courtney and Josh partnering in skating for the first time, but it's not at all smooth sailing for them. Beyond skating issues and emotional issues which I won’t get into (because reading about them yourself will be so much more fulfilling), Jennifer has done the most amazing job at creating a character you'll positively loathe. All of Josh’s family is pretty terrible, but no one can beat his mom. I already knew that Jennifer was a pro at writing characters you absolutely despise (see: Elena, for most of Edge of the Past), but Josh’s mom takes the cake, because I can’t find anything redeeming in her. She’s not exactly warm and welcoming to Josh, but she is beyond evil in her dealings with Courtney. As hard as these scenes are to read, I love how they show Josh’s loyalty and how much he’s grown as a character. He stands up for Courtney and he’s strong in his convictions, no longer willing to sit back and let life happen to him.

If you hadn’t already gathered, I absolutely loved this novella, probably even more than the first book in the series. Its short length just made me want more of the characters, so I’m glad that there will be a third book featuring Josh and Courtney. I love these books, just as I loved Jennifer Comeaux’s Edge series. If you haven’t read her amazing novels, I highly recommend you start with Life on the Edge and go from there.

The Cover:
Not bad, but it doesn't reflect how awesome the book is.

Rating:
[5/5]

Purchase Links:
Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble

About Jennifer:
Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a die-hard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is traveling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing. Jennifer loves to hear from readers!

Where to find Jennifer:
Website & Blog | Twitter | Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to follow along with the rest of the tour on Itching for Books.

Loving You is Easy by Wendy S. Marcus

Loving You is Easy by Wendy S. Marcus
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Loveswept
Pages: 276
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

She’s a survivor of the front lines of politics. He’s a wounded soldier returning home from the battlefield. Can they place their trust in the power of love?

Nobody plays the role of perfect politician’s daughter better than quiet, respectable math teacher Brooke Ellstein. But she won’t be caught swimming with the sharks again, not after the son of a wealthy donor sinks his teeth into her and gets away with it. Still, political connections have their perks, such as heading up the governor’s “Support Our Troops” pen-pal initiative—and getting first dibs on the smoking-hot sergeant whose picture shakes her right down to her goody-two-shoes.

When corresponding with sweet, classy Brooke, Shane Develen instinctively hides his commando tattoos and blue-collar roots—and he can tell that she’s hiding something, too. But Shane knows he’s gained her trust when Brooke gives him a blisteringly sexy photo. Then he’s injured in an ambush and a fellow soldier posts the snapshot online. Overnight, Brooke’s reputation turns to ashes. Even though he’s totally wrong for her, Shane shows up on Brooke’s doorstep, determined to set things right—and discovers that right or wrong has nothing on the chemistry they share.

My Thoughts:
Loving You is Easy is one of those books that contains a lot of tropes. The ones I found include: the girl with a mysterious damaged past, the girl with family issues (bonus points: her father is in politics), the injured young vet fresh back from war, and the sex scandal. Now, if I see a book that is too much like every other book out there I get a bit cautious. There's a reason why tropes are tropes, though, and that’s because when they’re done well? They’re irresistible. In this case I loved the characters in Loving You is Easy and I adored the way the story played out. It was deeply emotional -- as in, I had actual tears streaming down my face several times. I could really feel for the characters and their circumstances.

Our main character Brooke is tough. She’s very determined and self-aware. Brooke falls in love with Shane and is willing to wait for him to be ready for the relationship. When Shane comes back from war injured she’s not scared of the situation and is willing to love and support him no matter what. As I mentioned, Brooke has had a hard time with her family, but she’s very strong and brave, distancing herself from a poisonous situation.

Shane first appears to be the typical good time guy, a guy’s guy, but since this is a romance novel, he’s definitely using bravado to cover up the major feels he’s feeling. He doesn’t think he’s good enough for Brooke, and it’s even worse when he comes back injured and his ego is bruised along with his body. On top of that he has PTSD and thinks of himself only as weak. Shane is actually dealing pretty well, considering he has no idea where his life is going now that his chosen career is over, and on top of that he’s dealing with the death of his best friend. He’s pretty strong, considering all of that, but Shane only sees the negative: the weakness of his leg and his vision, the nightmares he has, etc.

I really liked that Shane and Brooke had a background of writing letters and emails to each other for years. This gave them a real chemistry straight away that made sense. They knew each other’s deepest secrets, so it was logical that they worked so well together in person. I got a little angry at Shane constantly thinking he wasn’t good enough, but I liked that even when he was trying to push Brooke away he didn’t go into unforgivable territory. So often “heroes” do and say horrible things in the name of “saving” the woman they love, so I’m glad it didn’t go to that level.

Besides the romance, there’s also a whole side plot about sexy pics being leaked online, which actually turned out to be less of the story than I expected. It’s this huge mess of false accusations of Brooke, who is a middle school teacher, sexually abusing her students. I wasn’t sure how I liked the message overall, about the dangers of false reporting and why it’s so dangerous to use just witness testimony, and also how you automatically assume the guilt of the adult in these situations. It worked in the case of the book, but it seemed a dangerous topic to explore, considering how many actual abusers get off scott-free in situations like this. I was afraid this story line would go to the side when the romantic conflict came to the forefront, but I thought the way it was wrapped up was satisfactory, if a bit convenient.

I loved this story for the most part, and found both the main and secondary characters to be interesting. Brooke’s BFF is kind of insane, but I love their relationship. I’m sure we’re getting a book with her and Shane’s army buddy, considering they were pen pals as well, and had some crazy incident between them. I also thought Shane’s family was a hoot, with his mother being lovely and his one sister being absolutely crazzzy. Overall, recommended.

The Cover:
Not bad.

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Release Date: February 3, 2015
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Pages: 400
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

My Thoughts:
Wow. If you’re looking for a beautifully written book, I suggest you check out I’ll Meet You There. When I first started this book I hadn’t read the description in a while, so I had forgotten that the love interest was a wounded veteran. Considering this character (and the related subject matter) the book got pretty deep and sad at times, but it was so well done.

As much as this is Skylar’s story (more on her later), this is also a book about Josh and his journey. Josh has a lot to deal with: the death of his friend, the loss of his leg, just being home, etc. That’s heavy stuff, but I feel like Heather Demetrios did his story justice and told it with respect. It’s not that I haven’t read books about similar scenarios (Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins comes to mind), but Josh himself felt unique and real. I was very moved by his character and his circumstances.

Skylar’s story was also tough to read about at times, and was sadly realistic. Her character deals with poverty, a deceased dad, and a mom with drinking problems. Skylar has had so much responsibility in her life for so long, and just when she thinks she’s getting out for college, things start going wrong. It was sad to read about, but I also liked that it put me out of my comfort zone.

I think what was tough about this book and what was great about this book at the same time is that both characters make bad decisions (or fail to make decisions). They both did things that drove me crazy. For instance, Josh doesn’t seem like a great person for Sky to rely on at times. On the other hand, Sky is often too willing to sit back and use her mom’s situation as an excuse. She’s almost too giving and doesn’t prioritize her own well being. These were great characters, they were flawed characters, and I empathized with and cheered for them even more because of that. I would also be remiss not to mention the chemistry between Josh and Sky. Woah. Like seriously. Major, major sparks.

There were so many other great things about this book, including the setting and the secondary characters. The motel setting was a lot of fun, especially with the themed rooms. The owner of the motel was an amazing character, a steady influence on both Josh and Sky.

I highly recommend I’ll Meet You There to all YA contemp fans, especially to those looking for a moving, meaningful story and an incredible romance.

The Cover:
Gorgeous!

Rating:
[Strong 4/5]

Purchase Links:
Kobo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Chapters-Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository