SUMMARY
A heartwarming story about an unlikely friendship forged between a straight-A, classical musician and a bad-boy guitar player told through notes, lyrics, texts, and narration.
REVIEW
Awww such an amazing story. I simply wanted it to go on and on and on. :D
Guitar Notes starts with the beginning of the school year where we meet our lead characters Lyla (Ms.Even) and Tripp (Mr.Odd). These two couldn't be more different but find themselves coming together on the basis of their love for music.
Tripp and Lyla are such well thought out and admirable teen characters. Lyla begins our story laying in bed almost paralyzed with the fear and stress that comes from having to be perfect, and she quite literally begins to blossom as she sets aside that which has been pressed upon her and embraces that which speaks to her soul. And Tripp is a charismatic young man with deep thoughts about life and music, yet he has a fun, snarky, sarcastic wit (It was hilarious how he refers to his mother as The Termite in his head).
Tripp and Lyla develop a slow building, intimate friendship and musical partnership that may or may not eventually develop into something more, and that something more doesn't matter. This is just truly a beautiful friendship and musical partnership. In ways they save each other, but they are also saving themselves by being true to themselves as they learn to be honest with one another through their music.
Guitar Notes was a refreshing and uplifting read. At the end, I felt satisfied and inspired and just moved. Guitar Notes by Mary Amato gets without a doubt 5 out of 5 stars.
FAV QUOTES
“Her checkbook catches his eye. He takes it and hides it in the back of the freezer, underneath a bag of frozen lima beans. If she can freeze his account, he can freeze hers.”
“They were lucky to find each other. Nobody could take that away.”
SUMMARY
Seventeen-year-old Zoey needs an escape from some personal drama, like her mom’s depression and taking care of her four younger siblings. She finds the perfect distraction in a frenemies-with-benefits arrangement with irritatingly hot football captain, Matt, during their class trip to Paris. There’s no chance of falling for someone whose only ambition in life is to stay in their hick town and one day take over his parent’s tire store. But far from home and personal responsibilities, his cocky grin and easy attitude start to grow on her as they explore the seductive city of Paris together.
Once they’re back at home, Zoey finds herself texting him for a secret rendezvous whenever she needs an escape. Though she’s been explicitly clear she’s using him for one thing, whenever Matt picks her up, he acts more like it’s a date-date rather than a backseat playdate –making sure she has eaten, or stopping to color with her little sister before they go out. Despite her best efforts at keeping their arrangement physical only, Zoey begins to realize – with fear and disgust – that she’s falling for him. When things fall apart with her mom, letting Matt see her real life takes more courage than she has – but if she’s brave enough to let him, he might be just the one person who can help.
Bound Together is a 53,000-word YA contemporary romance told in alternating chapters from Zoey and Matt’s points of view.
REVIEW
Zoey is the oldest child in her family. At the age of seventeen, Zoey is supposed to have fun with friends, go to party, and dating. But she couldn't do any of that because she needs to take care of her four younger siblings. Zoey herself already feels like a mother to them. Their parents are still alive but they barely act like one. Her mother has depression and her father works all the time. However, all Zoey needs is a time to herself. And a class trip to Paris will certainly help her to forget her duty even just for a while. Not to mention she's paired with football captain Matt to their assignment.
Sticking together throughout the trip, they form their own little bubble; just the two of them. They both feel something spending time together, hence the frenemies-with-benefits, but they know everything must return to how it was before Paris when they fly home.
Except things don’t change, minus Zoey trying to ignore Matt when they get back, he slowly worms his way into her life, no matter how much she tries to stop it. She doesn’t want to fall in love with someone who wants to stay in their town, when she wants to get far away.So they make a deal. Secret meetups to hook up and when Zoey wants to stop it, Matt tells her they can have one phone call each then they can stop all contact. Can they really stay away from each other though?
I loved both the characters of Matt and Zoey. They seemed so different yet so in tune with one another. Matt suffers from migraines and Zoey turns into mother mode to help him out whereas Matt is so kind and lovely to her siblings, even going as far to help her mother out.It was a breath of fresh air to see someone like Matt admitting he doesn’t want the popular status that he has to keep up, trying to be happy when he’s clearly not and it doesn’t feel like him at all.Zoey doesn’t like anyone seeing the real her – someone who keeps the family running – so it takes courage for her to let Matt see that side of her, especially as he witnesses it firsthand. But she accepts his help even though she wants to be the strong one.They both show their weak sides to one another, Matt with the migraines and telling Zoey about his brother’s death and Zoey with her family. It was really nice to read them help each other out and be tormented over their feelings for one another, finally succumbing to them later on.All in all, a great read to pass the day.
SUMMARY
The vamps have been out for years, and now the weres and shifters have decided to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world. Sookie Stackhouse already knows about them, of course - her brother turns into a panther at the full moon, she's friend to the local were pack, and Sam, her boss at Merlotte's bar, is a shapeshifter.
The great revelation goes well at first - then the horribly mutilated body of a were-panther is found in the parking lot of Merlotte's, and Sookie agrees to use her telepathic talent to track down the murderer. But there is a far greater danger than this killer threatening Bon Temps: a race of unhuman beings, older, more powerful, and far more secretive than the vampires or the werewolves, is preparing for war. And Sookie is an all-too-human pawn in their ages-old battle ...
REVIEW
As with all of the books in the Sookie Stackhouse series a mystery lies at the heart of the story. In Dead and Gone it’s another dead body in the Merlotte’s parking lot. And, as is the case with previous stories, the murder turns out to be just the start of Sookie’s troubles.
Sookie has always managed to survive bad things by being straightforward and pragmatic, and in this book, those qualities are pushed to the limit, perhaps beyond the limit. Indeed, really bad things happen to Sookie in Dead and Gone, things that take the series to a much darker place than ever before. Darker, richer, more powerful than perhaps any of the other books in the series save the first, where Sookie discovered a whole new world practically in her back yard. A devastating book, one in which Sookie faces a number of life changing crossroads.
Dead and Gone begins with the public revelation of the weres, an event that has the potential to catalyze worldwide violence. It was one thing to accept vampires, the but existence of more than one supernatural being raises many questions about how many more there might be. Charlaine Harris pulls her influences from a number a genres and mixes them up to create a genre and writing style that is uniquely her own. The resulting fast paced novel is written with a light touch that encourages readers to speed through the story in one-sitting .The last fifty pages of Dead and Gone make truly compulsive reading as the story reaches its climax.
FAV QUOTES-
“The vampire is not a bad man, and he loves you”
“He picked some unwise words. Saying, “I’ll enjoy killing you for my lord”, is just not the way to make my acquaintance.”
Summary
Violet’s sure of three things:
• Its senior year and its time to date
• She’ll have to lie to do it
• She wants to date the hot new guy – Kai
Kai’s sure of three things:
• He has amnesia
• He’s recuperating in secret in America
• He wants to date Violet
Ever dated a hot guy with amnesia who turns out to be a prince in disguise?
- Welcome to Violet’s senior year.
REVIEW
The Prince with Amnesia. I think the title already describes what the story is all about..dont you agree? :D
So now the story is basically about a guy who lost his memories due to an accident in their palace and he forgot who he was, his family and the fact that he is actually a Prince of Halterra, a small country in Europe.
Due to that ill-fated incident, he was sent in Texas to live a normal life with his mother and that’s where he met the girl whom he fell in love with. But unfortunately, that girl is not allowed to date. SO, how will Kai make his move with Violet? That’s one thing that you need to find out in this story.
The next thing that you need to find out is what will happen to Kai and Violet when Kai’s memories came back to him? Will he live Violet and go back to his own country and take his position again as the Prince of Halterra? or will he continue his life with Violet and turn his back to his country and forget that he is a Prince?
I’m always a sucker for forbidden love, and this story certainly made me happy. It’s wonderfully written and is a fun, light read. The only complain that I have about the story is the ending. I think a couple more chapters would have been better. I felt the ending was a bit abrupt.
Other than that totally loved the story, the chemistry between Kai and Violet and I would recommend it if you want an entertaining but light read. It's romantic, sweet, and heartwarming.
SUMMARY
Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight every day, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.
Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He's the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she's playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.
Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both.
REVIEW
Knee Deep by Jolene Perry is essentially about a young girl in a very intense and very committed relationship, despite her youth, who comes to realize the person she’s loved for most of her life has ceased to be the real person and has become a faraway memory. Her relationship has caused her to lose self-confidence and independence, and her loyalty to her boyfriend, Shawn, puts her in a place to be abused, verbally and physically. One of the most powerful aspects of this book is not only how it shows the quickness in the harmless turning into the harmful, but also about how withholding and secreting something as harsh and dangerous as abuse can not only effect the victim but all those he or she cares about. I am not usually a fan of love triangles, but the relationship between Luke, Ronnie and Shawn really worked. They have all been best friends for years. Shawn and Ronnie are together, and Ronnie considers Luke her best friend. They all live close together, as well. Sometimes Ronnie's secret nighttime visits to Shawn's house are preceded by a stop at Luke's house just to chat. I could tell right away that Luke and Ronnie had a good, positive relationship. I liked Luke a lot, and knew that there was a lot more depth to him than met the eye.Shawn, on the other hand, was a different story. I knew he was trouble from the start. As soon as he said something about Ronnie not wearing heels around him (since they are the same height) I knew there was going to be trouble with him.Knee Deep by Jolene Perry has the author’s telltale charming, expressive writing style and fabulously portrays the struggles of a young woman in an unexpected, horrible situation, and her work to overcomes the scars left behind.
SUMMARY
Are you wearing something your mom picked out?
Do you need a way better date than the one seated beside you?
Yep, you need an Epic Escape…
Megan and Veronica watch the latest slasher flick while seated one row away from the two hottest guys in school. That’s when magic hits them, sucking the four seniors right into the film. Trapped, they race through genres fighting slashers, vampires, superbugs and hoop skirts.
If they ever want to see home again, and maybe get a date out of this, it’s time for an Epic Escape.
REVIEW
Loved the title. Loved the concept of the book but it did seem a bit fast paced near the end. The romance was cute. Many scenes made me laugh for sure. Overall a fun, quick read.
