Review: If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She's ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.
Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.
Now Lena isn't looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.
For what she let happen.
With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends' entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?

Emotional hard hitter. Enjoyed the characters and romance just like I do other JLA books. Def worth the time, though I will say that it was a lot of characters to hit me with at once. 

I connected with Lena on a personal note because of the way that she avoids confrontation and of course her love of reading. I totally feel her that sometimes a book can easily trump a party. 

I loved the romance between her and Sebastian. The friendship built into love over so much time. Its hard to see that they are both in denial, but it draws things out and it gets them closer.

This is a close look at guilt, grieving, realizing that every choice has a consequence, falling prey to the mindset that mistakes never catch up to you, and that sometimes even when you think that 

"it'll never happen to me" that bad things always happen to other people, that one bad choice, one time of not speaking up or listening to your gut instincts can effect much more than yourself. 

Bottom Line:

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Do you think its mostly young adults with the mindset of "it will never happen to me"?

Series Review: The Sookie Stackhouse Novels aka The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas (book 2)
Club Dead (book 3)
Dead to the World (book 4)
Dead as a Doornail (book 5)
Definitely Dead (book 6)
All Together Dead (book 7)
From Dead To Worse (book 8)
Dead and Gone (book 9)
Dead in the Family (book 10)
Dead Reckoning (book 11)
Deadlocked (book 12)
Dead Ever After (book 13)

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse

    Two days in a row baby! So I watched True Blood and then knew that I wanted to give the books a try again. I did try a few years back when I was just in my teen fiction mood, and basically only wanted Twilight again. 

    I enjoyed the series and binge read them. I loved Sookie's strength, dedication, loyalty, and down to earth. The poor girl goes through a lot. I can't imagine being a telepath and then having to go through life like everything is normal. People guess at what is going on with her, but no one wants to really admit that it's possible. But with vampires "coming out of the coffin" it does open up minds a bit to the supernatural. Sookie meets vampire Bill, and throughout the series I had a love hate relationship with him, and to some extent she did too. 

   Since I did binge read, at times it felt like there were too many guys too close together, but she really did hint at who she will end up with, even though I did not agree. Harris defends herself against a lot of unhappy fans, saying that they are mystery not romance. And while I could sort of accept the way that things fell apart in the last few books, and that Sookie made a choice for herself, in some aspects I wish that I would have stopped reading at book 11, but that is just not in my nature, so I ploughed through, and at times wanted to throw the book or hit some certain characters upside the head. I guess that Sookie made the right choice for her given that (spoiler, highlight to read) she didn't want to be turned, and she loved the sunlight too much, but that is not the choice I would have made for myself. (spoiler, highlight to read) I adored Eric and the whole bad boy but his soft spot is Sookie. He really did care for her, and wanted to protect her though of course his methods often could be considered manipulative. It's not that I didn't like Sam, I do, but to me, it seemed that it should have stayed best friends, unless there was more lead up. Yes, she gave us plenty of hints, but it just developed in last book and didn't really give me a chance to really cheer for their relationship. I do kind of side with some that say that it felt like she gave up on the series and just kind of threw everything together in the last books. 

     Overall, 4, 7, and 9 were my favorites and if you've read that shows if you can't tell which team I am on. Oh, and After Dead was a huge disappointment. 

Bottom Line: Addictive, binge read it.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you read this? Have there been times where the main character didn't end up with who you wanted them to? If you've read, then which "team" are you on?

Review: Boys South of the Mason Dixon by Abbi Glines

Boys South of the Mason Dixon (South of the Mason Dixon #1)

The only thing hotter than the weather South of the Mason Dixon line are the boys. Worn, faded blue jeans, slow Southern drawls, and those naughty moments in the back of pickup trucks a girl never forgets. 
Welcome to the world of the Sutton boys. 
Five brothers who fight, party, drink a little too much, but more importantly, they love their momma. Nothing can tear them apart… until the girl next door wins more than one of their hearts.

Publishes in US:May 15th 2017 by Abbi Glines Publishing
Genre: na
Source: borrowed
Series? South of the Mason Dixon #1

    Whoa. Yes. Its me. I've still be mostly reading fanfic. But my friend loaned me this one and I enjoyed. It was an easy read for me and I flew through it. Although I am sometimes a fan of the love triangle, this one def has a new spin with them being brothers. And then there is the whole mystery of Asher and why he broke Dixie's heart as well as his own. The reason actually occurred to me, but I wasn't sure of it. 

    It was set up in dual perspective as well as having flashbacks, but it worked for me, and I wasn't confused. It really tied the story together. I liked the family setting, not only the sutton boys and their personal dynamic as well as their relationships with their mom. I also loved the connection between Dixie and her dad. 

    I will def be on the lookout for more in the series to get the stories behind the other brothers. 

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Ever been attracted to a set of siblings?

Talk to me: True Blood

I just did a True Blood marathon and liked it. The first 4-5 seasons the best. I almost could have done without the finale, I totally wanted something else to happen. I was Team Eric, and there were so many ways that I could have done it better in my mind.
I have tried to read the books before, but something just didn't work for me, but after the show, I am in withdrawal and I am trying to read the first again.
Did you watch? Did you read the books? Which guy do you like? (and yes, I know that the books did differently than the show) Did you like how either ended?


And just to make me happy:

Where's Brandi?

Hey peeps! I just wanted to let you know where I have been. I have been burnt out on YA lately, and can't find NA or adult novels that are working for me right now. So, I have been reading a lot of Twilight fanfic, and its been making me happy.
As of right now, I have no intention of quitting blogging indefinitely, its been a nice break and will stay on hiatus until the reading (nonfanfic) bug hits me again.

Meanwhile, my health has been doing good, and I have been spending a lot of time with the family. My older is in 3rd and younger is still in prek, but will start kindergarten in July. It's unreal how fast kids grow and time passes.

If you want to see which fanfics I am reading, feel free to check out my goodreads, most of them are on there, but not all. I don't do reviews of them, but would be glad to let you know a rating for any that may catch your eye if that is your cup of tea.

Review: Sad Perfect by Stephanie Elliot

Sad Perfect by Stephanie Elliot

The story of a teen girl's struggle with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and how love helps her on the road to recovery.Sixteen-year-old Pea looks normal, but she has a secret: she has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). It is like having a monster inside of her, one that not only dictates what she can eat, but also causes anxiety, depression, and thoughts that she doesn’t want to have. When she falls crazy-mad in love with Ben, she hides her disorder from him, pretending that she’s fine. At first, everything really does feel like it’s getting better with him around, so she stops taking her anxiety and depression medication. And that's when the monster really takes over her life. Just as everything seems lost and hopeless, Pea finds in her family, and in Ben, the support and strength she needs to learn that her eating disorder doesn’t have to control her.

Publishes in US: February 28th 2017 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Genre: ya contemp
Source: earc via netgalley from macmillan
Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC (advanced review copy). I am not paid for this review, and my opinions in this review are mine, and are not affected by the book being free.
Series? no

Buy it: Amazon

Author stalk away: ~site ~twitter ~facebook

    I wanted to read Sad Perfect because I am drawn to books about eating issues as well as depression, and I liked the sound of the main character and the romance. 

   I'd never heard of her issue with foods, and it was interesting to get a new perspective on a type of eating disorder. But it wasn't so much her choice, more an issue of taste, texture, and not craving foods, and certain ones, or even watching people eat certain things making her gag or feel nauseous. 

   Family is present in this one, and you can tell that her mom wants the best for her, but there are still some issues. Her and her brother don't connect the best. 

   I liked how her best friend was so understanding and still there for her through her issues. 

   I felt for her feeling nervous about a new relationship, enjoying the feelings, enjoying being kissed and taken out, but also still hiding her issues with food. She had a previous relationship that fell apart in part because of food issues, which makes it even harder for her. 

   My biggest issue with the book was the perspective. It was 2nd person (I think--its where it says for example you are floating down the river and you are hot.) Sometimes I can't handle this, but I was able to get over it because it still had voice of the main character and I was intrigued by premise. 

Bottom Line:

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Are there any foods you just can't eat?