Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks

Title: Fireworks  Author: Katie Cotugno Expected publication: April 18th 2017  by HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray GOODREADS / AMAZON  ___________________________ I have a love/hate relationship with Katie Cotugno. I love her books but I hate that I do. I hate it because she writes about everything I hate, like love triangles or siblings fighting or best friends falling out and all that stuff that makes me sad. I don't like that I enjoy everything she writes even though her stories tear me apart. But I keep coming, like a dumb moth to a flame. I grabbed an ARC of Fireworks as soon as I saw it, without knowing anything about it. Zero knowledge about the story except that it was written about Cotugno and apparently that was enough. Now onto business. Honestly, I enjoyed every second of this book. From the fact that it was set in the 90's, to the fact that it was about girl bands and boy bands (that makes it larger than life, you know?) it was all so bloody entertaining. It...

Title: Puck (A Twisted Lit Novel)  Author: Kim Askew and Amy Helmes Expected publication: November 15th 2016 by Doublet Press GOODREADS . AMAZON ________________________________________ I was very excited to jump into Puck, the new story on Amy and Kim Shakespeare retellings aka Twisted Lit series. I'm glad to inform that I wasn't disappointed. Puck as you'd expect, is a really good heroine. She's had a tough life, and it has made her maybe a bit too cynical. But she was still likable, and it might have to do with her awesome sense of humor. The story revolves around a group of misfits thrown into the wild mountains of Utah for a rehabilitation camp of sorts. As you could imagine, Puck was very wary of everyone, maybe I was a little bit too, but it took less than a quarter of the story for me to see so many good qualities in the group that I ended up loving every single one of those guys. There is a twist in there that I don't think I saw coming even though in retr...

Title:  Conspiracy Girl  Author: Sarah Alderson Published February 12th 2015 by Simon & Schuster Goodreads .   Amazon __________________________ Why didn’t I know about this book sooner? Was my first thought upon finishing Conspiracy Girl by Sarah Alderson. It was that amazing. Honestly it was action-packed and the pace was neck-breaking. It even starts right away with a break in, one that happens to be in the bunker-style apartment of Nic, a girl who was the lone survivor of a horrific crime where her mother and stepsister were murdered. And not even in the next chapter we are introduced to the conflict. Now Nic has to trust Finn—the same young computer genius that is responsible her mother’s murderers walked free—to help her figure out who is following her and what do they want. What this ensures is an awkward, uncomfortable but very, very interesting story development. The mystery/thriller aspect of this book is also awesome, though I did figure out what was...

Title. A Walk In The Sun  Author. Michelle Zink Expected publication: May 3rd 2016 by HarperTeen [ goodreads ] [  amazon  ] ___________________________________________ What I loved about A Walk In The Sun is that it transported me to another place, and I don't mean only to a hard-lived, sun-kissed farm; but to the thrill of being young and in love. It's the story about a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Rose's mom just died and her dad is in such a depression that she has to take over all the chores at their farm, all by herself. That's how she meets Bodhi, the recently hired hand that's going to help her run the farm this summer. And that's where the similarities with those Harlequin novels you're thinking about, end because this is not a story about the rich daughter of the boss falling for the working class guy. This is more about finding love when (and where) you didn't expect it. A Walk In The Sun did a fantastic job at portrayin...

Title. The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1)  Author. C.J. Redwine Expected publication:  February 16th 2016 by Balzer + Bray [ goodreads ]  [ amazon ] ________________________________ Though fantasy is not my thing, The Shadow Queen proved what I've always known but sometimes need a reminder of, a good book is always entertaining, no matter the genre. And The Shadow Queen definitely was. I loved the story. Yeah, I know it's supposed to be a retelling of Snow White but what I liked about it was that it was also original and unexpected. I swear I wasn't reading the same story I knew as a kid, even though I was, it was new. The author added a lot of new layers to the story, like our MC possessing magic just like the wicked witch. And our hero being half dragon, which absolutely rocked. The characters were awesome. Each of them have all the qualities a good character should have, honest and awesome. I loved everyone, even the annoying wicked witch, she was very well crafted ...

Title: Truest  Author: Jackie Lea Sommers Published September 1st 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books ADD ON GOODREADS YA Contemporary, Romance, Mental Illness   Truest was deep, and contradictory, and philosophical, and I don't think I have ever read a YA book with as many metaphysical dilemmas. So it´s safe to say I loved it. I don't know what I was expecting because the summary does not share much, so I dove in practically blind. Turns out it's the story of small town girl, West, and her summer before senior year of high school, when she meets newcomers, the Hart twins. The Hart twins are not only new to town, they are different, they are attractive and mysterious and West can't help her curiosity. She ends up befriending Silas first, and through her friendship with him she realizes something is not right with his sister, Laurel. Laurel. She is kind of Don Quixote. Reminds me of a story in the Bible, in Acts 26, when King Festus says to Paul, "Paul, many letters turn ...

Title: The One Thing  Author: Marci Lyn Curtis Expected publication: September 8th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion From Goodreads:  Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal. Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional-soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory. Then Maggie's whole world is turned upside down. Somehow, incredibly, she can see again. But only one person: Ben, a precocious ten-year-old unlike anyone she's ever met.Ben's life isn't easy, but he doesn't see limits, only possibilities. After awhile, Maggie starts to realize that los...

Title: Emmy & Oliver  Author: Robin Benway Expected publication: June 23rd 2015 by HarperTeen Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, drama Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depo   According to my goodreads account, I have been waiting for this novel for almost two years. Two years of anticipation that built up a lot of expectations. And to be totally honest, this novel did not disappoint. Emmy & Oliver is about two childhood friends reunited ten years after Oliver was kidnapped by his father. If that isn't enough to catch your attention I don't know what you're doing reading this. It was an emotional roller coaster, there's no other way to describe it. Robin did an amazing job at capturing what each of the characters went through because of this horrible experience. Which made me connect with everyone in the book and really see the reasoning behind their actions. I absolutely loved that this book doesn't tell you how to feel but instead questions yo...

Title: My Best Everything  Author:  Sarah Tomp Young Adult Contemporary Published March 3rd 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository ________________________________________________   Unexpected. Brilliant. There are quite a few adjectives that come to mind after reading 'My Best Everything' but I don't plan on writing them all and use all my space. Instead I want to tell you how amazing this story will make you feel. Lulu's idea of selling moonshine to furnish her way to college. She is a smart girl in a small town; we've seen it before, right? Not like this. Never like this. Because Lulu is about to find out she is smart, but not in the way she always thought. So she enlists the help of her best friend Roni and her boyfriend Bucky, who she has known all her life, and of course the mysterious, older bad boy Mason. And it all goes downhill from here (or uphill, depending on how you see it) because you ...

Title: Rites Of Passage Author: Joy N. Hensley Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Expected publication: September 9th 2014 by Harper Teen Goodreads | Amazon | _____________________________________ I was absolutely thrilled to be reading Rites of Passage. A story about a girl in a previously all-boys military academy? Hmm yes, I'd take it. I always knew life in a military academy would not be an easy feat but man, did Ms. Hensley crafted it to perfection! It was almost as if I was living the hell alongside this girl and the rest of the newcomer boys. I am amazed at the amount of discipline all these young adults have and I have gained a whole new respect for the people who train all their lives to defend freedom. And not only that but the autor definitely added a new dimension to the story by making some of the kids "military brats" or children of military parents. Their combination of pride and despair, the constant worry, wanting to belong and...

Title: On The Fence  Author:Kasie  West Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by HarperTeen Genre: YA contemporary Goodreads | Amazon | ____________________________________ I am completely in love with Kasie West and her ability to write the most adorable stories. So far I have loved every single one of the books she has ever put out. So I was beyond curious to see if she would do it again, and she totally did! On The Fence delivered. It was a cute story that went beyond fluffy, summery writing but still didn't take itself too seriously. It featured West's now signature style of amazing, relatable heroines and a supporting cast that was more than just added secondary characters, to the point that you learned everyone's name and cared for their individual stories. I loved Charlie. She was the strongest of the whole book to me, just so easy to like and her point of view made the book completely captivating and hilarious. I loved the dynamics between her and ...

Title: Maybe Someday Author: Colleen Hoover Published March 18th 2014 by Atria Books Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Goodreads | Amazon | _______________________________________  I didn't know what to expect when I started Maybe Someday. It's because I've heard some much and yet so little about it, for the various reviews I knew it was great but I also didn't really know anything about the story that went on. It was a leap of faith. I'm glad I took it because it paid off. The whole aspect of the book is that it combines musicality with prose. A new way of enjoying a story. I made sure I could listen to the songs at the same time I read the book so I could have the whole experience. And it added so much! It felt even more intense even though I tell you, the book was intense enough without the heartbreak of the songs. I am a fan of contemporary lit and I have pretty much reading anything and everything yet I didn't expect that particular thing wi...

Title: Heartbeat Author: Elizabeth Scott Published January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen Goodreads | Amazon Contemporary Young Adult Fiction ___________________________________ Heartbeat was my first experience with a book by Elizabeth Scott. I am kind of ashamed of myself for never trying out anything by her because I absolutely loved her newest story Heartbeat . I was super excited to read this book because I’ve never read something quite like this before. I mean you hear of “issue” books but it’s not often that said issue is having to deal with an unborn baby alive inside of your brain-dead mother’s uterus. I know, I know, you can say whatever you think it’s right and we can definitely argue about our opinions but when you have a relationship like the one Emma and her mother had, the decision is way more difficult than you would think. I got Emma, I really did. I don’t think there’s another human being I love more than my mother, and what happens to Emma is so terrible...