He's So Not Worth It by Kieran Scott

Release Date: June 7, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 360
Series?: He's So/She's So Trilogy #2
Review Source: eARC from S&S GalleyGrab

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Ally Ryan, come on down to the Jersey Shore and forget your troubles!

Have you recently been humiliated in front of your friends and family at your former best friend's birthday party? Was your almost boyfriend partly responsible for that humiliation by withholding some vital information about where your estranged father is? Did you come home to find said estranged father sitting on your stoop?

If so, then it sounds like you could use a vacation! The Jersey Shore is the place to be. Your mother may be living with her boyfriend of only a few months, but at least the stunt Shannen pulled has put some of your friends back in your court. Even so, you're still angry and what better way to get over Jake than to blow off some steam with local guy, Cooper? People will hardly recognize your new attitude, but the old one wasn't getting you anywhere, so who cares!

Jake Graydon, an exciting opportunity is waiting for you in the service industry!

Are your grades so low your parents have grounded you for the summer? Did you the girl you really like unceremoniously leave you behind? Would you rather eat dirt than see your friends again? Then a job at the local coffee shop is just the ticket! Surprisingly, Ally's father is the new manager so you get to be reminded of her nearly every day. Maybe it's time to start flirting with your best friend's ex or even taking school a bit more seriously. Especially when you finally see Ally and she's hanging around with some loser and it's couldn't be more clear that she is over you.

Have a great summer!

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately this one failed to dazzle me like its predecessor ‘She’s So Dead To Us’ (SSDTU) did. SSDTU was smart, funny, and witty, and Ally, while not perfect, was spunky, strong, and fun. In this volume, however, Ally is suddenly whiny and rude, and she treats almost everyone completely horribly. This character transformation was incredibly hard to digest. Did bad things happen to her? Yes. Were the things that happened an excuse for her to behave this way? Absolutely not. There were times when I could understand Ally’s attitude, and certain people in certain situations deserved her ire. However Ally treated basically everyone in her life terribly, even those who were trying to care for her, and then she refused to show anger toward her father, the person who actually deserved it. To see Ally make all kinds of bad decisions and have such a bad attitude was so disheartening because in the previous book she almost always took the higher road.

Jake’s voice, in contrast, was a lot more appealing. He seems like such a real teenage guy, which doesn’t always make him the ideal YA love interest, but it does make him interesting and true to life. Jake makes some mistakes in this book as well, but unlike Ally, he seems to fall into them. That’s not to give him an excuse for the things that happen, but at least his narrative shows that he wants to do the right thing. I loved seeing him excited about school, as well.

The best part of the story, I found, were the in between chapter notes from Ally’s friend Annie. Annie has been obsessed with the popular Cresties since her best friend Faith dumped her, and her observations and questions about the elite of her town are absolutely hilarious at times. Is her stalking of them slightly weird? Definitely yes. In fact, at first I thought I would be annoyed with her comments, but as Ally’s voice got more and more irritating, Annie’s lighthearted tone really made the book for me.

Will I read the third book in this trilogy? Yes, absolutely. I still adore Kieran Scott, and I have faith that Ally’s character will be redeemed in the third book as she (hopefully) deals with the anger she has toward her father, and adjusts to the changes in her life. I’m also looking forward to seeing how the cliffhanger from the last page works itself out. I actually saw the ending coming, yet it still shocked me, just the way it was written. I have my suspicions of what actually happened, but it will be absolutely delicious seeing it all play out. If you liked the first book it's worth checking this one out, but I would go into it with a bit of trepidation: at least that way you might be a bit less disappointed than I was.

Rating:
[3/5]

Find He's So Not Worth It by Kieran Scott on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Atheneum
Pages: 320
Review Source: eARC from S&S GalleyGrab

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Agnes Wilkins is standing in front of an Egyptian mummy, about to make the first cut into the wrappings, about to unlock ancient (and not-so-ancient) history.
Maybe you think this girl is wearing a pith helmet with antique dust swirling around her.

Maybe you think she is a young Egyptologist who has arrived in Cairo on camelback.

Maybe she would like to think that too. Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.

This is the start of it all, Agnes’s debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It’s also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn’t just a mummy. It’s a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain.

Get wrapped up in the adventure . . . but keep your wits about you, dear Agnes.

My Thoughts:
So first of all, let's comment on that GORGEOUS cover. Love it! It's not often that a cartoon/illustration cover can look YA, but this one completely does. So pretty! Second of all, I don't read a lot of historicals, but this one was great. It contained so many of my favourite things! It had a cool, forward thinking girl who I still found to be time-period appropriate. She was modern enough that readers can identify with her, but she wasn't just a modern girl transported back into a pretty dress. This book also contains a very cute love interest who just happens to appreciate an enterprising girl who can take care of herself. Plus there's the whole class difference thing that makes their feelings for each other tres forbidden and, in turn, a lot more fun to read about.

Love isn't the only thing this book contains, though. This book is all about Egyptology and Mummy curses, which I happen to find fascinating, and a lot of the action takes place at the British Museum, which is quite possibly one of the coolest locations ever at which to try and solve a mystery. Then there's the whole attitude of British Imperialism cloaking the characters' world views, and all the threats on England from Napoleon, and soon the whole book becomes full of conspiracies, with spies and everything.

Basically this is a super cool historical mystery. The characters are fun (it's lovely when a heroine can be super smart, brave, and sassy without being annoying or over the top), the writing is engaging, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end. I like how the storyline was wrapped up (ouch, no mummy pun intended), yet it left potential for more books. I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, but if there is I will absolutely pick it up and read more about Agnes and Caedmon. In the meantime I have no qualms with recommending this book -- I wholeheartedly enjoyed it.

Rating:
[4/5]

Find Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca

Swag winners! + Poll Results

I have two winners to announce!

The winner of the bookmarks signed by Jeri Smith-Ready is...

LiLi from ChicaReader

& winner of the other (unsigned) pair is...

Syki from knižní doupě

Congratulations, LiLi & Syki!

I've sent out emails, so you have 2 days to get back to me with your addresses -- otherwise I will pick a new winner.

Thanks to everyone who entered! =)

ALSO: Remember how the giveaway form had a required poll you had to answer? I asked you if you preferred Logan or Zachary. The results are in, and they are as follows...

Zachary = 62.5%
Logan = 37.5%

As you all know I am a massive Zachary fan. Logan has just done a couple of things that don't sit right with me at all. However I can understand why Aura loves him, and I'm glad to see he has a lot of fans as well, because - let's face it - all of Jeri Smith-Ready's characters are awesomely well-written.