If you haven’t read Mechanica – the feminist, steampunk Cinderella retelling – yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously, it’s so so so good. I’m obsessed with Cinderella retellings and it’s my second favorite one of all time (Ella Enchanted will ALWAYS be number one to me, sorry Betsy!). If you have read Mechanica, then I’m guessing you are already so enchanted by the amazing world building and nuanced characters that you don’t need me to tell you to read this sequel. But I had some thoughts I wanted to write out and this is my blog, so … here we go!
Also there will be some necessary SPOILERS for book one in this series. Proceed with caution. Continue reading “Venturess, by Betsy Cornwell”
I’ve been reading a lot of books in the last month and I’ve really liked a lot of them. But Love and Other Theories, by Alexis Bass, stands out in particular. The back of the books makes the story sound like it’s going to be perfectly straight-forward YA contemporary romance. Seventeen-year-old Aubrey and her friends have figured out the secret to dating in high school. Not dating. Hooking up. Seeming un-interested and unavailable. Sticking to a mutually agreed upon set of rules. Sharpening their cynicism like it’s a sword their about to go into battle with. And that works until earnest, new boy Nathan throws Aubrey off her game.
I really liked Open Road Summer, Emery Lord’s first novel. And I loved 
I read this book in one sitting, in one night, in a yurt in Southern Oregon. When I picked it up I expected to read a few chapters an go to bed. But Rob Schneider had different ideas. With familiar, but well-drawn, characters and a pretty unique premise, this book hooked me. The book mixes a few of my favorite things together. (1) A unique, near future, slightly apocalyptic vibe. There’s a new strain of completely drug resistant TB. People with it are being shipped off to sanitariums – to try to heal, but also to keep them from spreading the disease to others. (2) Boarding school books. A sanatorium for teenagers is basically like a boarding school, but without much emphasis on school. Even though they have a terminal disease, that doesn’t stop the teenagers in this book from getting up to antics that don’t seem all that different from Looking for Alaska, by John Green. (3) Romance. Lane goes to Lantham House with two goals in mind – healing as fast as possible and keeping up with his AP classes while he’s away. These goals, and his entire life, will change when he meets Sadie. Let me tell you this book is swoon city. 
I was really excited to get my hands on an ARC of Bookishly Ever After, by Isabel Bandeira. The book was released earlier this month and I think it will appeal to lots of YA book lovers for one reason -it’s all about being in love with books. Genius! There are things I loved about the book and things that bothered me. To be totally honest, the formatting of the ARC was really wonky, which I think could have messed up my reading experienced. But I’m trying not to let that biased me. But before I give more of my opinions, here is the book blurb: In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn’t even qualify for a quiet contemporary. But when Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. Phoebe overhauls her personality to become as awesome as her favorite heroines and win Dev’s heart. But if her plan fails, can she go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing? 
As a teenager I was a chick lit queen, and I love love loved the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella. So naturally I was excited and intrigued when I heard about her first YA novel, Finding Audrey, which came out over the summer. Because the description from 
Alison Doherty 