Contemporary

ARC Review: Breath Like Water- Anna Jarzab

Title: Breath Like Water

Author: Anna Jarzab

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5

As a person whose only known swimming all her life and wanting to be in the olympics, Susannah fears her body is slowing her down as she gets older. She thinks about the championship she won at 14 years old and if she can reach her potential again. Swimming demands so much out of young people and she’s scared to fail. Two people enter her life that will rearrange her life and career around. A coach that could help her reach that dream and a new fellow swimmer named Harry.

Susannah is such an amazing character. She’s mature, strong, and trying to fight those nagging demons in her head. Harry on the other hand is dealing with his own demons. He’s bipolar. Dealing with constant mood swings and anger throughout his life. He falls in love with Susannah but, he’s afraid his mental condition might scare her away.

This book is far from swimming competitions and the stress from it. It’s about friendship, hope, being opened to new experiences in life and trusting people. I loved how Susannah and Harry connected despite their differences. Sorta hit close to home as my significant other also is bipolar. What an amazing story of two young people and their struggles with life and family. I truly enjoyed the ride this book took me on. Special thanks to NetGalley, and Harlequin Teen/ Inkyard Press for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review: As Much As I Ever Could- Brandy Woods Snow

Title: As Much as I Ever Could

Author: Brandy Woods Snow

Publisher: Files Vertes Publishing

Pages: 300

Rating: 5/5

This is my first Brandy Woods Snow novel and I have to admit she’s easily become a fave author of mine now. The story was amazing. Snow is a great writer. Her descriptions throughout her writing were simply invigorating. The characters she brought to life left me speechless and I just wanted to learn more about them. This novel had a little bit of everything to satisfy your needs…romance, humor, sadness and so much more.

We meet CJ whose gone through a traumatic event in her life. After getting into a fatal car accident that took her mother and sister’s lives, CJ has been feeling pretty guilty because she survived and they didn’t. After that accident she became afraid to drive a car ever again.Her dad also felt some type of way towards her because of the accident, and that just made her feel even worse. As a result, CJ decided to go and live at her grandmother’s home in Edisto beach. A tranquil place to get away. All she wants to do is to be able to heal from the tragedy and finally come face to face with the person who was behind the wheel of the car who claimed her mother and sister’s lives. She meets handsome and dreamy Jett Ramsey who turns her life around and makes her face her fears of being behind the wheel again. After all he is a race car driver.

I really just loved this book. I love CJ’s and Jett’s chemistry. They supported each other in such a beautiful way. It’s amazing how tragedy can bring two people close together, especially when both of those people have experienced it. That love for each other also helped bring down those stubborn walls that they both had put up for so long. Join CJ and Jett on their journey of love, healing, and facing your fears. Huge thanks to Files Vertes publishing and Candace Robinson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly enjoyed it.

ARC Review: Tweet Cute- Emma Lord

Title: Tweet Cute

Author: Emma Lord

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 368

Rating: 5/5

Big League Burger was a family owned restaurant that somehow blew up overnight in success. They quickly became popular and they started to open many more locations. Pepper is a normal kid. She goes to school, she’s on the swimming team, and is on social media…but not how some people make think or know about. She’s actually the mastermind behind her parents’s twitter account for their restaurant.

We meet Jack and his brother. Everyone praises Jack’s brother and Jack always seems to be in his brother’s shadow. He just wants to feel special too. He still however helps out his family in their deli. When he discovers that a family recipe for grilled cheese has been stolen by Big League Burger, he gets upset and begins a twitter war with BLB. But, what no-one knows is that Jack has invented an app where he talks to Pepper on and pretty soon….sparks start to fly between them.

It’s a cute read with lots of social media referencing and yummy treats mentioned. I am a total sucker for a good book with yummy treats. It’s pretty cool seeing a book with two restaurants going at it, when realistically you see it in today’s society as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review:Scars Like Wings- Erin Stewart

Title: Scars Like Wings

Author: Erin Stewart

Publisher: Delacorte

Pages: 352

Rating: 5/5

TW: Burn survivor story and flashbacks, Suicide Attempt

Based on her friend who has dealt with what Ava has dealt with, Erin Stewart gives us a glimpse into the life of a burn survivor. Ava has been through a traumatic experience in her life, one that has haunted her since the day it happened. Ava lost both her parents and her cousin Sara in a house fire. Fortunately, Ava made it out alive, however, she had 60% of her body burned which resulted in 19 surgeries. Ava lives with her Aunt Cora and her uncle Glenn. They have provided for Ava and cared for her ever since their daughter Sara died. Ava attends a support group for burn survivors and she meets Piper. They start forming a bond and pretty soon Ava starts school and meets Asad. Ava soon gets wind of drama club and Piper and Asad convinces Ava to join them. After all Ava has an amazing voice and was active at her previous school’s drama club as well.
Of course, with every new school comes new drama, new romances, and new personalities. Kenzie is your typical drama queen who enjoys being a mean girl to everyone, especially when it comes to Ava and Piper. Ava soon learns that Piper was the one responsible for the car accident that caused Piper to be in a wheelchair because of a drunken mistake. Then there’s Asad whose a delight, and Ava agrees. She realizes she likes Asad and hopes he feels the same way about her.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It really is emotional and takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. This book teaches you about empathy, friendships, self-love, and being a survivor.

Finally, thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in a exchange for an honest review.

Review: I Wish You The Best- Mason Deaver

Title: I Wish You All The Best

Author: Mason Deaver

Publisher: Push

Pages: 329

Rating: 5/5

Benjamin DeBacker decided to tell their parents that they are non-binary. As a result of them being honest, their idiotic parents kicked them out of the house and they are forced to move in with their estranged sister (Hannah) and their brother in law (Thomas) that they barely know. Thomas is a teacher and a result was able to help out Ben register for school. Even though Ben isn’t ready and their anxiety disorder is working overtime, and why wouldn’t it? They’re living with a sister and a brother in law they barely know, and they have that worry in the back of their mind that their parents hate them. After Ben has a panic attack, Hannah suggests that Ben go see a therapist. Ben accepts and begins his therapy sessions.
So Ben, Hannah, Thomas, and Ben’s therapist start this journey and attempt to be low-key about Ben’s issues, but in comes Nathan and disrupts all that (in a good way of course). Even though Ben say’s they don’t want any friends, they can’t help but take a liking to Nathan…and possibly like him more than just friends. With the love of art and the support of Ben’s friends, this book will take you on a emotional rollercoaster.
I’m so glad Mason chose to write this book, as they too are non-binary. It’s so important to have queer writers write queer stories. Their experiences is the type of representation we need to read and see. There’s so many you people out there who are struggling with their sexuality. Books such as this one teaches them courage, acceptance, among other things. I really wish the book was longer. Perhaps a more in depth look into the lives of the other characters.

WE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT BEN’S SISTER!

After reading : “I Wish You All The Best”, I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot about non-binary people. We need more books like this.

Thank you to my bookclub Pages and Prose for choosing this book as one of the reads for the month of July

Review: With the Fire On High- Elizabeth Acevedo

Title: With the Fire On High

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5

And when he leaves
all you have is the oversized
empty-the gap in
your heart where a
parent should be.

Emoni Santiago is a single mom whose had it pretty rough. Balancing school, work, taking care of a child, and trying to accomplish your dreams at the same time can be very challenging. But with the help of her abuela…she’s not alone. Even with all the stress that consumes her life, Emoni still has her love of cooking. When she is in the kitchen Emoni gets lost in the recipes, the spices, and the different concoctions she comes up with.
When Emoni starts the first day of school, she gets wind of a culinary class that’s going to travel to Spain for an experience in the cooking world, and Emoni right away feels like it’s a great opportunity, but at the same time it seems like a far away dream. While in her culinary class she meets Malachi. Malachi is a caring young man and warms almost immediately to Emoni, but Emoni doesn’t want any friends and definitely not a guy friend. She doesn’t need any more distractions and besides there’s her baby daddy Tyrone. Honestly this book was an emotional one for me because I used to call my grandmother abuela. Just like Emoni my grandmother raised me and unfortunately passed a year and half ago. I used to love being in the kitchen and watching my grandmother cook (it was so DELICIOUS). I will cherish this book forever because of the beautiful sentiment to it. I really wish she could continue with it and see how her life turns out at her new job and how far her dream of cooking takes her.