Waiting on Wednesday #129

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights highly anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: To Best the Boys 
Author: Mary Weber 
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: March 5, 2019

Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Why I'm waiting on To Best the Boys: Girls pretending to be boys? A kickass girl scientist? A dangerous labyrinth? Holy cow, I want this book bad. Plus, it has a gorgeous cover. I could look at it all day! Although I wasn't a huge fan of this author's first series, I'm excited to see if I enjoy this book more!

Have you read anything by Mary Weber before? If so, did you like it? I'm excited to hear what people think of this book; there isn't a whole lot of talk about it yet but I have a lot of hope for it!

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

Top Ten Books I Want My Kids to Read!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which we share out top ten lists relating to the bookish topic assigned that week.

This week's topic is...

Top Ten Books I Want My Kids to Read!

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling || The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

 

Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios || Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

 

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman || Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia 

 

Sold by Patricia McCormick || The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton || What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

What are the books you want to share with your kids/nieces and nephews|grandkids/etc?  Do we share any of the same books on our lists?  I'm really exciting to be able to share these important stories with younger generations!  Leave a link to your posts below!

Waiting on Wednesday #123

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights highly anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: Love, Life, and the List 

Series: None 

Author: Kasie West 

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: December 26, 2017 

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.
Which is where the list comes in.
Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.
This is the first in a set of three standalone books with crossover characters. 

Find Love, Life, and the List online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository 

Why I'm waiting on Love, Life, and the List this Wednesday: I want to like this author's books so much!!  I've heard such awesome things about them but the only one of her books I've read was Lucky in Love and it was a flop for me.  I'm hoping this one will be better and I'll enjoy it more! 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?  Have you read any books by Kasie West?  Which one was your favorite?  Let me know in the comments below and leave a link to your post!

Waiting on Wednesday #120

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights highly anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me

Series: N/A

Author: Carrie DiRisio, Ilustrated by Linnea Gear

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humor

Publisher: Skypony Press 

Publication Date: October 17, 2017

Have you ever wished you could receive a little guidance from your favorite book boyfriend? Ever dreamed of being the Chosen One in a YA novel? Want to know all the secrets of surviving the dreaded plot twist?
Or maybe you're just really confused about what "opal-tinted, luminous cerulean orbs" actually are?
Well, popular Twitter personality @broodingYAhero is here to help as he tackles the final frontier in his media dominance: writing a book. Join Broody McHottiepants as he attempts to pen Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me, a "self-help" guide (with activities--you always need activities) that lovingly pokes fun at the YA tropes that we roll our eyes at, but secretly love.
As his nefarious ex, Blondie DeMeani, attempts to thwart him at every turn, Broody overcomes to detail, among other topics, how to choose your genre, how to keep your love interest engaged (while maintaining lead character status), his secret formula for guaranteed love triangle success, and how to make sure you secure that sequel, all while keeping his hair perfectly coiffed and never breaking a sweat.

Find Brooding YA Hero online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Why I'm waiting on Brooding YA Hero this Wednesday: I've been following the Brooding YA Hero twitter for a while and also find it hilarious and accurate.  I'm not sure exactly what to expect from this book but I'm sure it will be entertaining and funny! 

 What book are you waiting on this Wednesday?  Are you looking forward to Brooding YA Hero?  I can't wait to see what you all are excited for this week!  Leave me links to your posts below :) 

Review: Geekerella

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of posts last week.  A lot has happened in the last few weeks and I've been prioritizing my family and my mental and emotional wellbeing!  Post will be back up like normal this week!  

Title: Geekerella 

Series: None 

Author: Ashley Poston 

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Retelling, Young Adult

Publisher: Quirk Books 

Publication Date: April 4, 2017 

Source: Gifted.  Thank you! 

Anything can happen once upon a con…
When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield, she has to enter. First prize is an invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her stepmother’s back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all—not to mention a fangirl’s dream come true.
Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s ExcelsiCon. He used to live for conventions, but now they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the diehard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. 

Find Geekerella online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository 

This book was so cute and a lot of fun!  I love books that really celebrate and focus on fandoms; they're always so relatable and easy to get myself into.  Geekerella was no different!  This book was engaging and interesting and I found myself rooting for Elle the whole time (even the times when she made me want to pull my hair out).  Even though this book took me a bit to get into, I ended up really enjoying and appreciating the story!  

For the most part, I really liked Elle!  I thought she was a hard worker and just a nice person in general.  She was so passionate about Starfield and her parents (her dad especially).  It was both heart warming and heart breaking reading about how much she loved and missed her dad.  Reading about her and her dad made me appreciate my own dad and all the common interests we share.  One thing that did drive me crazy about Elle was how willing she was to just . . . take the crap people gave her.  I wanted to see her stand up for herself!  Like, her step sisters and step mother were so terrible to her.  They did somethings that made me wish would make Elle finally stand up to them.  I understood that she felt like she couldn't do anything without making her situation worse for herself but . . . I just wished she would stand up to them once.  

Darien was the other main character and Elle's love interest!  The story was told between their point of views.  Darien was a really nice guy and super genuine; I loved how he cared so much about Starfield and was just as much a fan of it as Elle was.  He cared so much about representing the character of Prince Carmindor and making the other fans happy.  The one thing I found a little unbelievable about him and Elle though was how quickly their friendship turned into a relationship.  It wasn't quite instalove but it was close.  

The plot was pretty predictable.  I mean, it is a retelling but it stuck really closely to the original story.  There wasn't much variation in it at all but I still enjoyed it overall!  Despite some problems, I closed this book feeling pretty good about it!  It was a fairly quick and fun read and I loved the fandom culture in it!  Those who are apart of their own fandoms absolutely should read this book!    

  

 “My dad said that the impossible is only impossible if you don’t even try. So I want to try.”

Three out of Five Teapots!

Review: Lucky in Love

Title: Lucky in Love 
Series: None
Author: Kasie West 
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult 
Publisher: Scholastic 
Publication Date: July 25, 2017 
Source: Bought

Can’t buy me love…
Maddie’s not impulsive. She’s all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment—
She wins!
In a flash, Maddie’s life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she’s talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun…until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now Maddie isn’t sure who she can trust.
Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn’t seem aware of Maddie’s big news. And, for some reason, she doesn’t want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

Find Lucky in Love online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository

Oh gosh.  Okay, so this was my first Kasie West book and I think it may have been a mistake to start with it because I did not like this one at all.  I feel terrible saying that because I wanted to like it so much and so many of the book bloggers I know did like it.  But I just couldn't do it.  I'm definitely going to try to read one of the other books by this author and give it a fair shot.  

Lets get what I did like out of the way first.  One thing I will say is that this book was really easy to read.  I finished it in about four hours.  Like, that definitely says something about the way the author writes.  It was easy to get pulled into the story.  Another aspect that probably helped with this was the lottery aspect.  I was really interested in this and was excited to see how it would affect Maddie and her family.  There were some parts of it that I definitely enjoyed reading about and that kept me engaged and interested but others that honestly just made me want to tear my hair out.  

Okay, so the problems I had . . . my biggest problem was Maddie, honestly.  She just made such stupid choices.  She was supposed to be this really smart girl with a 4.25 GPA, awesome with math, going to UCLA or Stanford, and she was just.  So.  Stupid.  With.  Her.  Money.  I honestly couldn't believe it.  I was so frustrated with her that it got to the point where I went downstairs to my dad and ranted about it for a good thirty minutes.  Maddie got all this money, of course, and suddenly all these really popular people who were mean to her before are acting like they're best friends and she thinks that these people are genuine?!  She starts picking them over her old, true friends??  This made no sense to me.  How would anyone not be able to see through the false niceness of those people?  

And just what she bought!  It was like she was just throwing away money on things that were so irresponsible -- things no eighteen year old should have.  Her parents were just so irresponsible, too.  They thought it was a good idea to just let their teenage dollar run wild with 50 million dollars?  They didn't even check up on her or see how she was doing and handling things.  It was so irresponsible and infuriating.  

The other characters were okay.  Seth, the love interest, was just kinda . . . there.  I didn't feel the spark between them at all but I appreciated that Seth was generally a nice guy and made a good impact in Maddie's life.  But still, no chemistry.  The only character I really even liked in this book was one of her friends and I can't even remember her name :( 

Maddie was just so naive and made so many decisions that made me want to scream.  I was frustrated with how irresponsible and checked out her parents were and annoyed with the rest of the characters (aside from one).  This book was definitely not a good introduction into Kasie West books but hopefully the next one will be better.   

"School, and college, were the most important things in my life at the moment. Nothing—I looked at Seth—or no one would change that."

One out of Five Teapots

Review: Wesley James Ruined My Life

Title: Wesley James Ruined My Life
Series: None
Author: Jennifer Honeybourn
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: July 18, 2017
Source: Bought

Sixteen-year-old Quinn Hardwick’s having a rough summer. Her beloved grandmother has been put into a home, her dad’s gambling addiction has flared back up and now her worst enemy is back in town: Wesley James, former childhood friend—until he ruined her life, that is.
So when Wesley is hired to work with her at Tudor Tymes, a medieval England themed restaurant, the last thing Quinn’s going to do is forgive and forget. She’s determined to remove him from her life and even the score all at once—by getting him fired.
But getting rid of Wesley isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. When Quinn finds herself falling for him, she has to decide what she wants more: to get even, or to just get over it. 

Find Wesley James Ruined My Life online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository

I wanted to like this one so much.  It had all the components that I normally like in a YA contemporary; a hate-to-love romance, a cute guy, a seemingly strong heroine.  Unfortunately for me, only two of those three things were true.  Quinn, the main characters, was anything but strong in this one and she infuriated me throughout this book.  While it was still entertaining (I finished it in roughly three hours if that tells you anything), I would have enjoyed it so much more had Quinn not been so horrible.  

Okay, I'm just going to air out all my frustration toward Quinn before getting to anything else.  Quinn was exactly the type of main character that makes me want to rage.  She was so whiny and blamed everyone else for her problems.  And I hated how she manipulated and took advantage of other people without any thought for how it would affect them.  Actually, she did think about it occasionally.  She'd do something horrible and be like "I'm a bad person" but then continue to do exactly what she was doing previously.  It was so frustrating -- it felt like she just never learned.  Even at the very end of the novel, it felt like she was still exactly where she had been at the beginning -- making rash assumptions about other people and using them for her own means.  Ugh.  

Had it not been for Quinn, I would have really enjoyed this one.  Her friends were great and Wesley was so sweet -- I honestly couldn't understand how she could hate him so much.  He was never anything but nice to her, even after she was rude and cold to him for seemingly no reason.  It also didn't feel very much like a romantic relationship.  I didn't feel any chemistry between them and there was really no romantic moves made.  

I wish Quinn had been a better character -- I might have liked it more if she were.  As it is, my opinion of this book suffered due to Quinn.  Besides her, the other characters were good and the plot was entertaining enough that I read the whole book in one sitting. 

"I may not be able to do anything about Wesley going to my school or being a part of concert band or even having the same circle of friends, but there is one thing I might be able to do.

Get him fired."   

Three out of Five Teapots

Review: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue 
Series: Guide #1
Author: Mackenzie Lee 
Genre: Historical, Romance, LGBT+, Young Adult
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: June 27, 2017
Source: Gifted.  Thank you!

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Find The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue 

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository

Like so many other people who have read this book, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!  Not only is it fun, hilarious, and full of diversity, it's also incredibly informative and well researched.  I learned a lot about this time in history from reading this book, things that hadn't been taught before or known about.  There's a reason this book has been getting such high ratings -- it's totally engaging and the narrator, Monty, has a voice that pulls you into the story.  

Okay, so this book was an emotional rollercoaster and I'm still not totally over it.  There were so many scenes and things we learn about what Monty, Percy, and Felicity have gone through that just made my heart break.  Monty was so precious and so vulnerable -- he really puts up a front, though.  He acts arrogant and narcissistic but in reality, he has such a horrible self image and is in a position that makes him feel ashamed about who he is.  I really, really hated this situation for him.  He's been beaten up and abused his entire life and it really just pulled on my heartstrings.  He's such a complicated character an there was so many times within the novel that he really didn't give himself enough credit.  I mean, of course he's flawed and there were some moments where he made me want to roll my eyes and scream in frustration but he grew so much throughout the novel.  Even when he was pigheaded or entitled, the other characters and people around him called him out on it and he began to learn, which is honestly the best thing a character can do.  

Speaking of other characters, there was such an amazing cast in this book.  I especially loved Percy and Felicity.  Percy is biracial and epileptic, two things that society shuns him for.  I felt so much for him and it made me so angry and sad to see the way he was treated for things he couldn't control and shouldn't be thought any less of for.  And he was such a great person for Monty; their relationship was so perfect and I loved it.  Felicity was an amazing character; as a woman, she was expected to have good manners and submit to being a wife and mother.  I loved that she was so interested in medicine, though, and wasn't afraid of speaking her mind and pursuing the things she was passionate about.  I'm really excited about reading from her POV in the next novel.  

The plot was exciting and fun, though there were times when I felt certain scenes were a little too long.  Only a few times did I find I didn't want to pick the book back up.  Once I did pick it up and started reading though, I was sucked back into the story.  

I really enjoyed this book and I'm so glad to see it doing so well.  Seeing so much diversity in it makes me so happy and I can't wait to see what else this author comes out with.  The next book in this series is told from Felicity's POV and with the way her story left off in this one, I know it will be just as exciting as this book is.  I can't wait! 

“We are not broken things, neither of us. We are cracked pottery mended with laquer and flakes of gold, whole as we are, complete unto each other. Complete and worthy and so very loved.”

Four out of Five Teapots!

Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

Title: When Dimple Met Rishi 
Series: None
Author: Sandhya Menon 
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon Pulse 
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
Source: Gifted.  Thank you!

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

Find When Dimple Met Rishi online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository

This was really, genuinely, just so cute.  Really, Rishi Patel was so cute.  While I had a few problems with this book, for the most part, it just made me happy.  This was the type of book that I would read to put a smile on my face.  I loved learning more about Indian culture through Dimple and Rich's interactions with their families and with each other.  The diversity and Rishi Patel was what really pushed this book up to four stars for me.  

Like I've said, Rishi was definitely my favorite character in this book.  He was so sweet and kind.  I loved his goofy side and how sweet and protective he was of Dimple.  He wasn't shy when it came to standing up for himself or for Dimple.  The only problem I kind of had with him as a character was how he sometimes seemed to be two different people?  Like . . . one moment he's a goofy, unsure, shy guy and the next he's prim and proper and saying exactly the right thing.  While I liked both aspects of his personality, the changes were sometimes jarring.  

I didn't warm up to Dimple as well as I did Rishi.  To me, she came off as rude and sometimes a little Mary Sue-ish.  Like, she judged other people really harshly and basically forced herself to be angry and rude to Rishi when they first began getting to know each other, despite how kind and apologetic he was.  It felt like she was trying really hard to be a "strong female character" by forcing certain traits, despite the fact that there is many different ways in which a female (or any) character can be strong.  She was also very adamant about making sure the reader knew that she did not wear make up (repeating this fact frequently) and that she didn't like clothes and at times made it seem like she believed that girls who did like those things weren't as good?  I don't know, this was a vibe I got from her while reading.  

As far as the plot goes, it kept me entertained and I had a fun time watching Dimple and Rishi work on their project.  There were a few subplots that felt a little under developed to me and that I wish were explored further, but overall, I had a really good time reading this.  

Despite a few problems with Dimple's character and some under developed subplots, I enjoyed this read a lot.  I loved learning more about Indian culture and I adored Rishi so much.  I'm excited to see what else this author comes up with and I look forward to reading her next novel!

“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.”

Four out of Five Teapots

  

Review: Eliza and Her Monsters

Title: Eliza and Her Monsters 
Series: None
Author: Francesca Zappia 
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance 
Publisher: HarperCollins 
Publication Date: May 30, 2017 
Source: Gifted! Thank you!

Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.
In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.
Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.
But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart. 

Find Eliza and Her Monsters online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads | Book Depository 

Okay, so, um . . . THIS IS THE BEST EVER.  Seriously, this book is full of so much awesomeness I can barely handle it.  I mean, the main character, Eliza, was just so relatable.  She spent like, 95% of her time on the internet, interacting and talking with the friends she made there and staying comfortable and safe within her room.  Plus, this book focused so much on the process and pressure that comes with creating art, and dealt with themes of depression and anxiety so well.  I just loved everything about this book.  Read it.  

The characters in this book have made themselves very comfortable in my heart.  I just adore them all so much and love how excited and passionate they were about Monstrous Sea and their other interests.  I felt such a sense of kinship with them; like, these would be my people if I were in this world with them.  They would be the people I wanted to be friends with, who I gravitate toward.  Like I said before, Eliza was especially relatable -- she just felt so much more comfortable behind a screen, when she was creating and sharing her work anonymously.  I felt so much for her.  Even when I saw her making mistakes and even when I wanted to scream in frustrating at some of her decisions, I still got it.  I got where she was coming from.  Wallace, Eliza's love interest, was so precious and so amazing.  I loved how much he cared about Elia and how they worked together to overcome some obstacles.  Their slow growing friendship and slow burn romance was just so cute.  I love it and them.   

ALSO, I just loved Eliza's little brothers.  They were seriously such an amazing and important aspect of the story and they made me want to go hang out with my own little brother.  I love sibling relationships in novels and this one was so true and felt real.  I wish they had been features more prominently in the story.  

Oh my goodness, this review is getting long but I just have SO MUCH TO SAY.  A unique and super cool aspect of this novel was the illustrations throughout.  Obviously, Eliza's webcomic, Monstrous Sea, was such a huge part of her life.  So it was neat to see some of the illustrations and excerpts from the comics throughout the novel.  While I didn't *totally* understand the overall premise of the comic, I still appreciated the detail and skill that went into the comics.  It was a vital part of the story and the character's lives so I liked getting a peek at it.  I also liked the role it played in the main conflict in the book.  It was a unique problem and one I enjoyed reading about.  

This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The characters were what really drew me in, but the writing style, the plot, the illustrations were all so amazing.  I read this book in a whirlwind and I can't wait to see what's next from this author.  

“How can I want something so badly but become so paralyzed every time I think about taking it?”

Five Teapots

Waiting on Wednesday #109

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights highly anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: Wesley James Ruined My Life 

Series: None 

Author: Jennifer Honeybourn

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary 

Publisher: Swoon Reads 

Publication Date: July 18, 2017

Sixteen-year-old Quinn Hardwick’s having a rough summer. Her beloved grandmother has been put into a home, her dad’s gambling addiction has flared back up and now her worst enemy is back in town: Wesley James, former childhood friend—until he ruined her life, that is.
So when Wesley is hired to work with her at Tudor Tymes, a medieval England themed restaurant, the last thing Quinn’s going to do is forgive and forget. She’s determined to remove him from her life and even the score all at once—by getting him fired.
But getting rid of Wesley isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. When Quinn finds herself falling for him, she has to decide what she wants more: to get even, or to just get over it. 

Find Wesley James Ruined My Life online!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads 

Why I'm waiting on Wesley James Ruined My Life this Wednesday: I've been really into fluffy, cute contemporary reads lately and this one sounds like it will fit those categories perfectly.  Plus it definitely seems like it will deal with a hate-to-love relationship which I am weak for.  I can't wait to get my hands on this one!  Less than a week left to wait.  

Are you excited for this book?  What books are you most excited for this week?  This also sounds like it will be a great summer read, which is perfect since I plan to spend my days by the pool or on the beach reading this!  Let me know what you're waiting on this week and leave links to your posts below so I can check them out!