Book: On The Fence by Kasie West

Published July 2014 by Harper Teen|293 pages

Where I Got It: I own the paperback!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find On The Fence on goodreads & Kasie West on twitter and her blog

Goodreads Summary: 

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she’s spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can’t solve Charlie’s biggest problem: she’s falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

What I Thought:

On The Fence is such a cute book!  I really did love it!

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about it at first, but as I kept reading, I found that I really started to love it.  I really liked Charlie, and how she changed throughout the book- going from a tomboy who feels like she doesn’t know how to be a girl, to be a tomboy who’s still a tomboy, but a little less so.  I really could relate to that, because sometimes, the world of make-up and clothes seems so overwhelming and confusing.

I also really felt for Charlie, who lost her mom as a small child, especially since she was in the car when her mom committed suicide.  I don’t blame her brothers and dad for not telling her, because she didn’t take it well the one time she tried.  I also totally understand Charlie’s reaction too.

I LOVED the relationships that Charlie has with her brothers.  It’s so clear that they look out for each other, and I like that Charlie was included in so many things her brothers did.  While I’m not completely in love with Braden and Charlie, they are cute together, and I really liked their middle of the night talks by the fence.  I did like that Braden was part of their family. And the people that Charlie meets because of her new job!  I liked seeing her make some new friends, and that she decided she wanted to keep working at the boutique.

Let’s Rate It:

On The Fence was such such a cute, fun and heartwarming read.  On The Fence gets 5 stars.

Book: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Published October 2013 by Random House Children’s Books|304 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Teardrop #1

Genre: YA Paranormal/Re-telling

You can find Teardrop on goodreads & Lauren Kate on twitter, facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

An epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic…a world where everything you love can be washed away. The first book in the new series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series

Never, ever cry…Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth…and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.

What I Thought:

I was really intrigued with Teardrop, and I like that it’s a modern re-telling of Atlantis.  Raising Atlantis is pretty unique, and while I feel like it’s come up before in books I’ve read, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything where Atlantis comes back.

There’s a lot going on, and there were times when things didn’t make a lot of sense, but as the story unfolded, everything started to fall into place, and you begin to understand why people did the things they did, particularly Ander and Brooks. I really liked that Ander and Eureka were on opposite sides, but that he did everything he could to protect her and keep her safe.

There is a love triangle in Teardrop, and unlike most books that feature love triangles, there is no clear love interest yet.  I actually really like that it’s not clear who she’s going to end up with (since move LT’s are super-obvious) and that it could go either way.  Given the love story between Leander and Selene that caused Atlantis to be banished, and that it very much connects to Ander and Eureka…and even Brooks connection to everything…I honestly don’t know which way I want it to go.

While we don’t get too much on Atlantis in this book- only why Atlantis disappeared, and the people it left behind- I really hope we see more of Atlantis and what kind of place it was in the coming books.  And I want to know more about the Sandbearers and Selene’s line!  I have so many things I want to know.

I really was surprised by so many things that happened, and Kate did a great job at revealing things at the right time.  It kept me guessing, and I liked that I wasn’t completely sure what was going to happen next.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Teardrop, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  Teardrop gets 4 stars.

Book: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Published November 2013 by Little Brown Books For Young Readers|223 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Finishing School #2

Genre: YA Steampunk

You can find Curtsies & Conspiracies on goodreads & Gail Carriger on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia’s first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won’t Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers’ quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship’s boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot–one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this bestselling sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail’s distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

What I Thought:

I really liked Curtsies & Conspiracies!  It really is a Gail Carriger book, and it was a fun book to read!

Sophronia has quite a few adventures in this book, mostly because the school goes to London!  We see quite a few characters from her Parasol Protectorate series, and I really liked seeing them well before the start of that series.  I really do like Sophronia, who is such a great, adventurous person.  She has a lot to deal with, like being ignored by her friends, and realizing that she really does need them around her in order to do well as an intelligencer.

I have to say that I loved seeing an appearance from Lord Akeldama- he is the Lord Akeldama that I know and love from the Parasol Protectorate, and I’m glad he (so far) hasn’t changed much.  I really hope we start to see more of a connection to that series in some way.

I’m not completely in love with the characters, even though I really like them, especially the relationships that Sophronia has with Vieve and with Soap.  I already know where Vieve’s story is headed, but I still like seeing her before she becomes the Vieve that we see in the Parasol Protectorate.  And I really want to see where Soap’s story is headed, because I find him so interesting!

I really do love the combination of steampunk and paranormal, and Carriger does it so well.  Especially in this book, where we get more about this world- all of the inventions, and things that all of these different groups want.  I also love that we see fashion and etiquette, and it gives the book a very historical feel.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Curtsies & Conspiracies!  I have no idea where this series is going, but I am glad to be along for the ride, because this is such a fun series to read.  Curtsies & Conspiracies gets 4 stars.

Book: Beauty by Nancy Ohlin

Published May 2010 by Simon Pulse|118 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Re-telling

You can find Beauty on goodreads & Nancy Ohlin on twitter, facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Ana is nothing like her glamorous mother, Queen Veda, whose hair is black as ravens and whose lips are red as roses. Alas, Queen Veda loathes anyone whose beauty dares to rival her own, including her only daughter. And despite Ana’s attempts to be plain and earn her mother’s affection, she’s sent away to the kingdom’s exclusive boarding school.

At the Academy, Ana is devastated when her only friend abandons her for the popular girls. Isolated and alone, Ana resolves to look like a true princess to earn the acceptance she desires. But when she uncovers the dangerous secret that makes all of the girls at the Academy so gorgeous, just how far will Ana go to fit in?

What I Thought:

I liked Beauty!  It’s such an interesting take on Snow White, and it makes me want to read more re-tellings featuring Snow White.

I was struck by what Ana did to stay plain in order to earn her mother’s love, and what her mother did to stay beautiful, including sending away her own daughter to an Academy and giving out orders to have Ana killed. It definitely makes you think about how obsessed with beauty and youth some people are, and what people will do to retain that beauty and youth. Potions and pills and sending away girls to the Academy, only to give them pills that make them beautiful before making them sick.  Queen Veda really will do anything she feels she needs to, even it means taking the beauty and youth from the girls at the Academy.

I also liked the Academy, which wasn’t what it seemed- the Academy was interesting but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

The one thing about Beauty that made it hard to love (or even really like) was the length.  It’s not much over 100 pages, and I felt like the idea, the world and the characters weren’t as fleshed out or as detailed as I would have liked.  It seemed like nothing really got the attention it deserved, which is sad, because the story itself is really intriguing and different.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Beauty, and while it does make you think, I also wish it were a little longer, because not a lot was explained.  Beauty gets 3 stars.

Book: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Published July 2013 by Gallery Books|225 pages

Where I Got It: from the Nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Dirty Little Secret on goodreads & Jennifer Echols on twitter, facebook & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

From the author of the “real page-turner” (Seventeen) Such a Rush comes an unforgettable new drama that follows friends-turned-lovers as they navigate the passions, heartbreaks, and intrigue of country music fame.

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.

Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…

What I Thought:

After reading (and loving) Such A Rush last year, I knew I had to start reading Jennifer Echols’ other books, so I started off with Dirty Little Secret.  I did like it, but I didn’t completely fall in love with it.

On paper, it seems like the kind of book I would love.  It’s set in Nashville and focuses on country music, and is about a girl trying to deal with being pushed to the background while her sister’s music career takes off.  I totally understand why Bailey acted the way she did, given her sister got a record deal, and all of a sudden, it was like she never existed.

There is a certain simplicity in this story, and there’s something very quiet about it too, which I really like. But there’s also a part of me that wishes it were a little bit louder.  I love that Bailey and Sam are following their dreams, and that Bailey decides that she is going to follow hers, no matter what, and even when it something that the people around you don’t want for you.

I did like that it’s set in Nashville and focuses on country music, because I love country music.  I was actually reminded of the t.v. show Nashville, and there’s something about going for your musical dreams in both shows that are really similar.

Back to Bailey and Sam: they are interesting on their own, but I didn’t really like them together- I just felt no spark or chemistry between them.

I love the relationship that Bailey seems to have with her grandpa, but I really wish we got to see a little of what her life was like before Julie got her record deal.  I felt like I didn’t have enough context for how bad things were between Bailey and her parents, and even Julie and Bailey before they seemed to work it out.  I think things would have made a lot more sense if I had that history.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Dirty Little Secret, mostly because it’s set in Nashville and is about country music!  It didn’t have the emotional impact that Such A Rush did, but it was still a fun and slightly dramatic read.  Dirty Little Secret gets 3 stars.