Top 5 Beach Reads!

Everyone loves a light contemporary novel that you can read and not think too much while doing so. That way you can soak up the sun while reading. We label these as "Beach Reads" and I love them, even though I typically read them in the winter. #CanadianProbz

But for those of you getting ready to hit the sand and the surf in the near future (or maybe even right now!), here are some of my top choices for books you should bring along...

SUMMER OF SLOANE

Author: Erin L. Schneider
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Summary:
Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.

These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she’d be spending at her mom’s home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.

Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there’s no reason Sloane shouldn’t enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn’t always play by the rules, she knows he’s the perfect distraction from everything that’s so wrong back home.

But it turns out a measly ocean isn’t nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane’s carefree summer might not be as easy to find as she’d hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

REVIEW: DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL by Liane Shaw

DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Frederick has a lot of rules for himself. Like if someone calls him Freddy he doesn’t have to respond; he only wears shirts with buttons and he hates getting dirty. His odd behavior makes him an easy target for the “Despisers” at school, but he’s gotten used to eating lunch alone in the Reject Room.

Angel, in tenth grade but already at her sixth school, has always had a hard time making friends because her family moves around so much. Frederick is different from the other kids she’s met - he’s annoyingly smart, but refreshingly honest - and since he’s never had a real friend before, she decides to teach him all her rules of friendship.

But after Angel makes a rash decision and disappears, Frederick is called in for questioning by the police and is torn between telling the truth and keeping his friend’s secret. Her warning to him - don’t tell, don’t tell, don’t tell - might have done more harm than good. 

Title: DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL

Author: Liane Shaw

Source: Purchased from Bryan Prince Bookseller

Publisher: Second Story Press

Publication Date: April 5, 2016

Rating: 2.5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I did like this one but I had a couple issues with it. I always have a hard time getting into books that use stream of consciousness to tell the story but this one wasn't too bad until we switched from Frederick's point of view to Angel's. One of the main problems for me was the scene were Frederick finds Angel was very confusing. I had to read it three times until I fully understood what was happening and even still I have some questions. It didn't flow the way the rest of the story did and was really jarring.

ARC REVIEW: ANY OTHER GIRL by Rebecca Phillips

REVIEW: ANY OTHER GIRL

Summary:
After a disastrous, reputation-destroying party at the end of junior year, Kat Henley has a new plan. When it comes to boys—especially other people’s boys:

Don’t touch.
Don’t smile.
Don’t charm.

In the past, drawing attention to herself helped distract people from what really makes Kat different—having two gay parents. But it’s also cost her friendships. Kat can’t afford to lose any more of those, especially not her cousin, Harper. They’re spending one last summer together at the lake, where they run into an intriguing newcomer named Emmett Reese. After years of trying to prove she’s just like everybody else, Kat has found someone who wants her because she’s not. A boy who could be everything she wants too—if Harper hadn’t liked him first…

Author: Rebecca Phillips

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: January 26, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

I fell head over heels with Phillips' writing when I read FAKING PERFECT so when I saw she had another book coming out, I knew I just had to read it. And I'm so glad I did because ANY OTHER GIRL was so good. It was the perfect summer romance novel and I loved every second of my reading of it.

REVIEW: SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Title: SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA

Author: Becky Albertalli

Source: Purchased from Kobo

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: April 7, 2015

Rating: 5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

This book was just wonderful. It was so honest and perfect. It was everything I didn't realize I needed to read until I did. The characters, the plot, and the voice were just amazing. You could really tell that Albertalli GETS IT. Because it didn't feel like an adult writing a YA novel, it felt as though there was some kid out there named Simon writing down the shit that was happening to him.

ARC REVIEW: NOT OKAY, CUPID by Heidi R. Kling

NOT OKAY, CUPID by Heidi R. Kling

Summary:
Her wicked revenge, or his wicked heart...

Hazel McCallister loves her life. Perfect grades. Perfect best friend. Perfect boyfriend. Until her perfect boyfriend cheats on her with her perfect best friend. Now Hazel’s in free fall—until her best friend’s brother, Felix, gives her the perfect idea. Reclaim her power by taking revenge on her cheating ex.

Felix James loves his life. Casual relationships. Loads of surfing. He’s as drama-free as they come. But he can’t stand by when his sister steals her best friend’s boyfriend, and the dude insists it was Hazel’s fault. So Felix vows to help turn Hazel into a girl her ex can’t resist—so then she can break his heart.

With an alliance in place, Hazel’s revenge is all but assured. But with each piece of payback, she feels a stronger attraction to Felix, even though revenge will turn her into a girl Felix could never be with. And soon Hazel has to make an impossible choice: revenge...or Felix, the boy who’s stolen her heart.

WARNING! This book contains betrayal, revenge, and that most tempting vice of all, the bad boy you know you can't have.

Title: NOT OKAY, CUPID

Author: Heidi R. Kling

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Entangled: Crush

Publication Date: January 11, 2016

Rating: 3/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Kobo

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the summary of this one I should have ate this one up: fake relationship, perfect girl falling for the bad boy, FAKE RELATIONSHIP. It was a recipe for success...except, it wasn't. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and thought that there was too much in between the fake relationship stuff that made it kind of blah. 

ARC REVIEW: DID I MENTION I LOVE YOU? by Estelle Maskame

ARC REVIEW: DID I MENTION I LOVE YOU? by Estelle Maskame

Summary:
When sixteen-year-old Eden Munro agrees to spend the summer with her estranged father in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, she has no idea what she’s letting herself in for. Eden's parents are divorced and have gone their separate ways, and now her father has a brand new family. For Eden, this means she's about to meet three new step-brothers. The eldest of the three is Tyler Bruce, a troubled teenager with a short temper and a huge ego. Complete polar opposites, Eden quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences as Tyler's group of friends take her under their wing. But the one thing she just can't understand is Tyler, and the more she presses to figure out the truth about him, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't – her step-brother.

Throw in Tyler's clingy girlfriend and a guy who has his eyes set on Eden, and there's secrets, lies and a whole lot of drama. But how can Eden keep her feelings under control? And can she ever work out the truth about Tyler? 

Did I Mention I Love You is the first book in the phenomenal DIMILY trilogy, following the lives of Eden Munro and Tyler Bruce as they try to find their way in an increasingly confusing world.

Title: DID I MENTION I LOVE YOU

Author: Estelle Maskame

Series: Did I Mention I Love You #1

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: December 1, 2015

Rating: 4/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I super enjoyed this one. I was a little skeptical because I was like "Am I going to find it weird that stepsiblings fall in love?" but it was handled perfectly. I loved *almost* everything about Eden and Tyler and their complicated relationship.

Waiting on Wednesday: SUMMER OF SLOANE by Erin L. Schneider

This week's Waiting on Wednesday features one of my favourite activities that I always wish I would have tried when I was on vacation in California. Say hello to... 

SUMMER OF SLOANE by Erin L. Schneider

 

Title: SUMMER OF SLOANE

Author: Erin L. Schneider

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: May 4, 2016

Summary:
Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.

These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she’d be spending at her mom’s home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.

ARC REVIEW: THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS by Marieke Nijkamp

Summary:
10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Title: THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Rating: 4/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I don't even know what to say right now. I'm an empty shell of a person after finishing that one. I don't know if I can put into words how great this book is; it was beautiful and heartbreaking. A definite recommended read.

Waiting on Wednesday: THE SERPENT KING by Jeff Zentner

This week's WoW is a book that I have preordered twice from two different places in hopes that one will get to me faster. I hope you guys are ready for...

THE SERPENT KING by Jeff Zentner 

Title: THE SERPENT KING

Author: Jeff Zentner

Publisher: Crown Books For Young Readers

Publication Date: March 8, 2016

Summary:
Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

REVIEW: SUGAR by Deirdre Riordan Hall

Summary:
I’m the fat Puerto Rican–Polish girl who doesn’t feel like she belongs in her skin, or anywhere else for that matter. I’ve always been too much and yet not enough.
 
Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn’t always fat, but fat is what she is now at age seventeen. Not as fat as her mama, who is so big she hasn’t gotten out of bed in months. Not as heavy as her brother, Skunk, who has more meanness in him than fat, which is saying something. But she’s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is: at the grocery store, walking down the street, at school. Sugar’s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home—cooking, shopping, and, well, eating. A lot of eating, which Sugar hates as much as she loves.

When Sugar meets Even (not Evan—his nearly illiterate father misspelled his name on the birth certificate), she has the new experience of someone seeing her and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother.

Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her.

Title: SUGAR

Author: Deirdre Riordan Hall

Source: Audiobook via the Author as part of a giveaway

Publisher: Skyscape

Publication Date: June 1, 2015

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this audiobook in a giveaway.

So this one was really intriguing to me. I'm a big girl, I'm overweight. I know that. I'm chill with it. But I also love myself. Now. There was a time I did not. And Sugar does not love herself in the beginning of this novel. So seeing her go from "I hate myself" to "I may be okay with myself" was really great.

Actually, everything about Sugar's character was great. I loved her as a character and I loved her story. Her familial relationship and the interactions she had with other kids at school were so real and raw. I felt like I WAS Sugar and going through all this with her. I think it was smart of have this book in first person because you felt like Sugar and could experience everything as if it was happening to you.

I did, however, have a problem with Even. He was literally too good to be true. I don't think he said one mean thing the entire novel. Which, like, come on. I get that we should look for more than physical beauty but you still NOTICE. And it was as if he was blind to it, which just didn't feel realistic to me.

As well, it felt like there was lots of filler between actual events. There seemed to be one huge important plot point then a couple trips to the mall or a school day in between that didn't really add much before we got to another plot point. It got a little boring at some points, but to be fair, that's life, right?

There was a lot of this that I thought could be taken out and the story would still make sense, but it was a good story and I really enjoyed seeing Sugar transform throughout this ovel. It was inspiring. It also made me eat a lot more McDonald's because it was ALL SHE TALKED ABOUT.

REVIEW: LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD by Ava Dellaira

 Summary:
It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person.

Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to the dead—to people like Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, and Amy Winehouse—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating the choppy waters of new friendships, learning to live with her splintering family, falling in love for the first time, and, most important, trying to grieve for May. But how do you mourn for someone you haven't forgiven?

It's not until Laurel has written the truth about what happened to herself that she can finally accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was—lovely and amazing and deeply flawed—can she truly start to discover her own path.

In a voice that's as lyrical and as true as a favorite song, Ava Dellaira writes about one girl's journey through life's challenges with a haunting and often heartbreaking beauty.

Author: Ava Dellaira

Source: Owned (Purchased from Kobo)

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication Date: April 1, 2014

Rating: 4/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE MENTION

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I liked that each letter meant that Laurel would be talking about a different character or point in her life. I also liked that you could see Laurel's character development in the way that she addressed the people she was writing letters to. It started out with praise for their lives, work, etc. and then turned into "I get that you were awesome, but did you realize what you left behind?" especially with one of the Kurt Cobain letters at the end of the novel. That one really struck me.

I thought that the depiction of grief was SO GOOD. Like, so good. You could see Laurel going through all the different stages and what that meant. I thought that her character was just extremely well written. I liked her interactions with Sky and that they both realized their relationship was toxic at a certain point because it was not healthy.

The only thing I would have liked was a clear definition of whether or not May committed suicide. I felt as if the author skirted around that and I would have rather known whether or not it was a definite. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this one. And would recommend it for a good contemporary read.

ARC REVIEW: FIRSTS by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes nrver had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

Title: FIRSTS

Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Source: eARC via NetGalley

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
 
I went into this one knowing I was going to love it and I was not disappointed. This is the type of contemporary story I love: one that is gritty and raw and leaves you feeling something after you finish. If you are a fan of Sarah Dessen or Gayle Foreman, you're going to love this book. 

Waiting on Wednesday: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY by Cat Winters

My Waiting on Wednesday for this week is one that I am highly anticipating. It is a Hamlet retelling, which is my favourite Shakespeare play. I cannot wait for this one and I'm showing it to you now so everyone can nod in agreement with me and talk about how this is going to be a big one next year. Without further ado, I give you...

THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY by Cat Winters

REVIEW: ADRIFT by Paul Griffin

Summary:
Five teenagers. One boat. Who will come back alive?

Matt and his best friend, John, only came out to Montauk for the summer to make a little extra cash and then head back home. A seemingly basic plan for two guys from Queens.

And then Matt meets Driana.

Because it’s always about a girl, right?

The girl leads to a party, the party leads to a boat, which leads to being adrift at sea with three rich kids who have no clue about how to navigate a boat, let alone actually survive.

Matt and John are used to creating stability in unstable situations, but Matt’s busy falling in love at the worst possible time, and John can rub people the wrong way when he’s focused on survival. Driana is trying to keep the peace, but her friends JoJo and Stef aren’t making it easy. The longer they are out there, the lower everyone’s reserves of mental and emotional strength, which is a problem since the biggest mistakes can happen when people are tired and hungry and have no hope.

How far will each of them go to survive?

And what happens when old tensions and past ghosts rise to the surface?

Author: Paul Griffin
Source: Owned (Won a Copy)

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: July 28, 2015

Rating: 4/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD