After Hours by Claire Kennedy | Book Review #106

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
After Hours by Claire Kennedy

Are there spoilers?

A few ones may have escaped me.

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Title: After Hours

Author: Claire Kennedy

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Pages: 256

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Published: 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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Date Read: Sep. 28, 2017

Rating: ★★★✩✩

Scandals and hook-ups abound in a summertime restaurant drama where four teens are all willing to do whatever it takes to make it through the workday and hopefully to win the money in the after-hours dare-based game of Tips.

Isa, Xavi, Peter, and Finn know that a job at the high-end Waterside Cafe isn't just about waiting tables. It's about the gossip, the hook-ups, the after-hours parties, and, most of all, it's about Tips.

Tips, the high-stakes game based on dares. Whoever completes the most dares wins the collected money. A sum that could change a wasted summer into a Summer to Remember.

Isa is the new girl with an embarrassing secret, and as long as she stays on top of her game, she sees no reason why anyone could ever find out.

Xavi will do anything for the money, absolutely anything.

Peter, Xavi's stepbrother, has been in love with her for years, and he thinks the game is the perfect time to confess his feelings.

Finn is in the game just for the thrill. He has enough tips coming in to keep him happy, even if those tips come with some conditions.

From seduction to stealing to threats, the dares are a complete free-for-all, and only the best can win.

The Rating:

My Review:

I first got attached to this book because of the cover. And after I read the blurb I thought it was going to be a cute Hate-to-Love romance set in a restaurant work environment, But after I started reading it I quickly caught on that it wasn't going to be what I expected. So the cover deceived me.

With 4 Points of View, Finn, Isa, Peter and Xavi; and all of them being well-written characters. I loved that. They all dealt with very heavy issues. All of these 4 characters grew and learned from what they had to go through in this book. My favorite characters are, Xavi, for working hard for the money and not letting others get I the way of that. Despite some (I think) illegal thing that went on.

The romance in this was both all over the place and lacking in all the right ways. For me, there weren't swoon-worthy scenes. It just wasn't for me. 

After Hours is fun, a fast read and different than I was used to reading. Lets also not forget that I just so happen to have started reading this book while waiting in my mom's car under full sun with no A/C while she waited in a long ass line for gasoline.
Guys, I had to drink a really hot and disgusting can of grape soda because I almost got dehydrated. And yes, the windows were all rolled down. It didn't make a difference since there was no wind. 
P.S. I read this shortly after Hurricane Maria passed by us here in Puerto Rico. 

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How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days by Kerrelyn Sparks | Book Review #103

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days by Kerrelyn Sparks

Are there spoilers?

I don't think there are any.

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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books. I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 8 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.

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Title: How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

Author: Kerrelyn Sparks

Series: The Embraced #1  

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Pages: 396

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Published: 20l7

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Historical

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Source: Goodreads Giveaway win.

Date Read: Oct. 16, 2017

Rating: ★★★★☆

Luciana grew up on the Isle of Moon, hidden away because of her magical powers. But when her father arrives, he offers her a choice: remain on the island or return with him and marry the Beast of Benwick in order to save their legacy—and her father's life.

Lord Leofric, the Beast of Benwick, has not been touched since he was a child. Born with the power to harness lightning, he is a danger to everyone he touches. When he meets his betrothed, he expects a loveless, lonely marriage...until he discovers she's vastly more powerful than he realized. But is she strong enough to withstand his touch?

If they can survive, their love will alter the future of the kingdom. But will their extraordinary powers cost them everything?

The Rating:

My Review:

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

This is also one of the books I managed to read all in one day. And I loved the story. It just has the right mix of drama, romance, fantasy and steamy sex scenes. But despite this being the first book of this kind that I've read, I didn't mind it at all. It was beyond what I thought it would be like. Yes, there was a few clichés; insta-love, easy resolutions, etc... But I didn't mind that. In fact, I finished the book wanting there to be a sequel. And there is.

As for what I thought about, in regards to the character. Luciana our heroine wasn't always in distress, and she managed to not act like a baby for most of the book like I thought a character in this kind of book would act like. So I didn't hate her. Is she my favorite? No. But maybe her ghost/twin sister, Tatiana is. Not only did she help spy for her sister, but she had sass. And just the perfect amount.

There's also the world. The map at the beginning which is cool. Elves, dragons, curses, shapeshifters, and royalty along with magic and our male lead is a cursed weather controller who just so happens to be hot. What's not to love about all of that.

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Sisterhood is Deadly by Lindsay Emory | Book Review #100

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Sisterhood is Deadly by Lindsay Emory

Are there spoilers?

There could be.

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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books. I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 7 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.

I read this book on November 6. All in one sitting.  Mostly because it was a mystery and I thought I would love it. 

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Title: Sisterhood is Deadly

Author: Lindsay Emory

Series: Sorority Sisters Mystery #1  

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Pages: 288

Publisher: Witness Impulse

Published: 20l5

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Women's Fiction, Contemporary

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Source: Goodreads Giveaway win.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

"We'll be sisters 'til we die…"

Margot Blythe is a professional sorority girl. As a Sisterhood Mentor for her beloved Delta Beta, she travels to colleges around the country, advising on serious sorority issues (and picking up all the gossip along the way). Margot is thrilled when she's invited back to her alma mater to assist the Delta Betas—but tragedy strikes when their chapter advisor drops dead during a meeting, sending shockwaves down sorority row.

Shaken by the death—especially when foul play is suspected—Margot has to step up. Appointed the honor of serving as temporary chapter advisor, she now must manage the drama of fifty frazzled sorority women with secrets to hide; protect the house from the annual fraternity pledge pranks, which are more ominous than they seem; and worst of all, combat the ruinous rumors surfacing about a Delta Beta phone sex ring. If she wants to keep rival sororities and a suspicious (but dangerously cute) local policeman from bringing Delta Beta's reputation down, it's up to Margot to find out the truth—about whether a sister could have committed such an unimaginable sin as murder.

A sassy debut for fans of Susan McBride and Meg Cabot.

The Rating:

My Review:

I was disappointed by this book. I was expecting humor and drama. But I got a lot of terms I didn't understand, and I found myself forgetting what was happening with the murdering.


But there were good parts. Like the police officer, Ty. He was the only character I actually tolerated. Don't get me wrong I liked Margo. She was so dedicated and strong. Margot's a lot like Nancy Drew in this book. She wanted to keep her girls safe and solve the case fast. Get it over with so everyone can breath and feel safe again. Which I totally admire, but something about her made it hard for me to understand her. At times she acted immature, and that probably is what makes me feel a little annoyed by her.


In regards to the murder. I actually didn't get what was going on. I remember that a girl was found dead and that mid book another one died. Heck. I don't even know if that's true. Which doesn't bode well for the story. I did not expect who it was that was doing all of that though. I just didn't picture that person to be the one doing all those things because they just didn't seem like they'd get their hands dirty.

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The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester | Book Review #98

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester

Are there spoilers?

No.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.

I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 6 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.  

Title - The Boy Who Knew Everything
By - Victoria Forester
Publication - October 25th 2016 by Square Fish
Copy -  Paperback, 416 pages

Genre - Middle Grade, Adventure, Fiction, Fantasy

An epic modern fantasy about an unforgettable friendship.

There is a prophecy.

It speaks of a girl who can fly and a boy who knows everything. The prophecy says that they have the power to bring about great change . . . .

The boy is Conrad Harrington III. The girl is Piper McCloud. They need their talents now, more than ever, if they are to save the world-and themselves.

Victoria Forester does not disappoint in The Boy Who Knew Everything, the long-awaited sequel to New York Times-bestselling The Girl Who Could Fly, which Stephenie Meyer praised as "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men."

The Rating:

My Review:

I started and finished this book on September 30, 2017.

The day after Hurricane Maria passed by Puerto Rico I was supper stressed and freaked out. And I was very worried about my cat, Yang. Because I had left her behind and went upstairs to safety cause the whole first floor had flooded. I was crying, hysterical and again, freaking out. Both because I felt I failed Yang and my moms bird Juan, for leaving them behind and because I was losing everything that I had.
Mom was frantically trying to get water out of everywhere and taking care of my grandma who was having mini heart attacks and seeing that the neighbors who are mostly older people were okay. And I felt like I was useless because I couldn't do anything. So I read the book I had randomly picked out and cried as I read the book in the middle of the night. I started having a panic attack about Yang being all alone and surrounded by water. No one understood. Especially my grandmother. Her pet was comfy in the corner of the kitchen, dry and warm. While Yang was in an over 5 inches of water house with no place but the sofa to be on. But its not moms house so we couldn't say anything. And she also reassured me that Yang is really smart and she would climb up something higher than the water and be safe. But my mind was set on worrying, so I just cried and cried and by the morning the next day I had read The Girl Who Could Fly. It was my good place. To be in that world with those characters helped me take my mind off reality. So it obviously has a good spot in my heart. And I already had the second book in the series so I read it next and it didn't fail me.
So I totally recommend this book and the first one. They are middle grades but it doesn't feel like a kid story. Its really good.

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My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten | Book Review #97

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten

Are there spoilers?

I don't really think so.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.

I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 6 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.  

Title - My Faire Lady
By - Laura Wettersten
Publication - June 2nd 2015 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers                           
Copy -  Paperback, 352 pages

Genre - Young Adult, Cotemporary, Romance

Rowena Duncan is a thoroughly modern girl with big plans for her summer—until she catches her boyfriend making out with another girl. Heartbroken, she applies to an out-of-town job posting and finds herself somewhere she never expected: the Renaissance Faire.

As a face-painter doubling as a serving wench, Ro is thrown headfirst into a vibrant community of artists and performers. She feels like a fish out of water until Will, a quick-witted whip cracker, takes her under his wing. Then there’s Christian, a blue-eyed stunt jouster who makes Ro weak in the knees. Soon, it’s not just her gown that’s tripping her up.

Trading in the internet and electricity for stars and campfires was supposed to make life simpler, but Ro is finding that love is the ultimate complication. Can she let the past make way for her future?

The Rating:

My Review:

I started and finished this book on November 6, 2017.

My Faire Lady is by the author Laura Wettersten.
This was my first ever online purchase and the first book I ordered from book outlet.
I knew nothing about this book or even read any of the reviews on Goodreads or anywhere else. I just got it. Mostly because I had earned some money and was saving it. So I spent it on a book.

My Faire Lady is about a girl named Ro who had just been dumped by her girlfriend because he wanted to be with someone else. Not only does that suck but her ex is also going to be working at he mall where she was going to be working over the summer vacation with her friends. Last minute she decided she's not going to be able to handle that so she reads the paper and finds that someone is looking for a face painter. And that's the start of this cute contemporary set in a Ren faire (Renaissance faire).

I loved how I even though I didn't know what a Renaissance faire was or what it looked like and stuff, I could totally visualize it thanks to Laura's descriptions of the clothing and events.

It was a book full of cliché YA contemporary romance stuff. With love triangles, hot guy vs. nerd boy. When you know from the beginning she will end up with the nerd who actually likes her as opposed to the hot guy who just wants to sleep with her. I knew what was going to happen with the romance from the start but I still liked this book.

I would totally read another one of the authors books if they are like this one. Just no more dumb love triangles please.

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman | Book Review #95

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Are there spoilers?

I don't really think so.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.

I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 6 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.  

Title - American Gods
By - Neil Gaiman 
Publication - March 28th 2017 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Copy -  Paperback, TV Tie-In, 541 pages

Genre - Contemporary, Fantasy

Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what - and who - it finds there...

This is the author's preferred text, never before published in the UK, and is about 12,000 words longer than the previous UK edition.

The Rating:

My Review:

I started reading on June 3, 2017 but I stopped reading it. Then started again on October 31, 2017 and finished this book on November 6, 2017.

Who is it by?
American Gods is by the author, Neil Gaiman.
I've not read anything by him before so I was doubting whether I would like his writing or not. But I was glad I got to read this book because even though it is amongst the longest books I've read I didn't completely hate everything that was going on.


What is it about?
This book follows the character Shadow who has been recently let out of jail after his wife Laura dies. And how with that he is forever changed. A strange man comes into his life, his wife may not e dead, and he discovers that his world is bigger than he thought. And a lot stranger.


Why did I read it?
I have two reasons why I started reading this book. First of all is the fact that I started watching the series when it came out. It was so cool, with a different than I'm used to, story-wise, and it was beautifully done. So you could say that I loved it and wanted to know more about these characters and this world. 
It also didn't hurt that I had just recently, to the show coming out, won a copy of the book via Goodreads giveaway. I was so happy that I got it but then so intimidated by it because the pages were so thin and it was over 500 words. Becoming one of my biggest books, page-wise.


&
Did I like it?

It was a lot more than the show. So I don't know if I like it as much. I just know that I was never bored. And that I managed to read the entire thing so that must mean something. It was wordy and a lot to take in but I didn't hate it.
So now that month have passed since I read it I think I don't completely agree with my original star rating. And that I might be somewhere between 3 stars or 3 and a half stars. Because I didn't hate the ook but I also think the show is better. Don't get me wrong I like Neil Gaiman's writing and how creative this story is. Using real mythology and mixing it with his own way of telling the stories of these gods in modern-day America.
But if I take into account the show and how it brought to life the characters in a really awesome way. Then I don't like the book as much.
Does that make sense?

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No Love Allowed by Kate Evangelista | Book Review #93

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
No Love Allowed by Kate Evangelista

Are there spoilers?

I don't really think so.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.

I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 4 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.  

Title - No Love Allowed
By - Kate Evangelista
Publication - April 19th 2016 by Swoon Reads
Copy - Paperback, 256 pages

Genre - Young Adult, Cotemporary, Romance

It's all fun and parties until someone falls in love in this modern fairy tale from author Kate Evangelista.

Caleb desperately needs a fake girlfriend. Either he attends a series of parties for his father’s law firm with a pretty girl on his arm, or he gets shipped off to Yale to start a future he’s not ready for and isn’t sure he wants. And sadly, the last unattached girl in his social circle has just made the grievous mistake of falling in love with him. Fortunately, Didi, recently fired waitress and aspiring painter, is open to new experiences. As the summer ticks by in a whirl of lavish parties, there’s only one rule: They must not fall in love!

The Rating:

My Review:

Started this book on December 29, 2018.
I finished reading this book on January 1, 2018.

For me its much easier to divide reviews in parts. I don't know if it has anything to do with my English or that it just looks cleaner and aesthetically pleasing. Like the way I used to do it last year. But I stopped doing it that way to easily write a quick review and post it. So I'm going to go back to the 2017 version but much smaller. Using 4 questions.


Who is it by?
No Love Allowed is by the author Kate Evangelista. I haven't read any of her other books but I can already tell I like her writing. It was easy to follow so I could understand what was going on in the story without getting confused. Which for me I a big thing since I often get lost when I read a book I don't understand. So Kate wins big points in my book.


What is it about?
No Love Allowed is threw story of Caleb who is the son to this big and serious lawyer who has his own law firm. And how in order for his father to let him go freely to Europe he has to get a solid girlfriend to parade around him in the parties his father throws. That's when Didi comes in. Didi is the daughter of a single mother and its just the two of them against the world sort of situation. Also they are poor and have multiple jobs. On top of that Didi also has Bipolar Disorder and has to keep that in check by taking her meds and not being around impulsive situations.
Right, so. Then she's working at a country club as a server/waitress and is serving at the table Caleb and his "girlfriend" are sitting. Also he is breaking up with. Except they were never girlfriend/boyfriend cause he doesn't believe in love. On top of that Didi's not in a great mood so she accidentally pours her drinks on the girl. Didi looses her job and Caleb dives in(literally) and gives her the opportunity to be his fake girlfriend. She agrees


Why did I read it?
I had been given the opportunity to read this book before. But as always I didn't get very far. I just read 10 pages of it. Still I liked it enough to get myself a copy and read the whole thing.

I think what attracted me to this book was the whole fake girlfriend aspect of the story. I had previously read Kasie West's The Fill-In Boyfriend which has a similar theme and liked it a lot so I thought I would like this book too. And I did.


&
Did I like it?

I liked it. Not only was Didi's mental health written well but I loved that Caleb didn't just turn around and run. He loved her regardless and even wanted to help her out. There was also Didi's artistic nature that I adored. Because I get her obsessive nature when it comes to her paintings. She was driven by it and I get like that too. I obsess.

Caleb was such a rich kid, asshole with daddy issues. And I hated him trough most of the book except in the very, very end.

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Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen | Book Review #87

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen

Are there spoilers?

I don't really think so.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.

I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 4 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.  

Title - Nine Women, One Dress
By - Jane L. Rosen
Publication - July 12th 2016 by Doubleday

Copy -  ARC, 261 pages

Genre - Chic Lit, Fiction, Romance, Cotemporary

A charming, hilarious, irresistible romp of a novel that brings together nine unrelated women, each touched by the same little black dress that weaves through their lives, bringing a little magic with it.

Natalie is a Bloomingdale’s salesgirl mooning over her lawyer ex-boyfriend who’s engaged to someone else after just two months. Felicia has been quietly in love with her happily married boss for twenty years; now that he’s a lonely widower, she just needs the right situation to make him see her as more than the best executive assistant in Midtown Manhattan. Andrea is a private detective specializing in gathering evidence on cheating husbands—a skill she unfortunately learned from her own life—and can’t figure out why her intuition tells her the guy she’s tailing is one of the good ones when she hasn’t trusted a man in years. For these three women, as well as half a dozen others in sparkling supporting roles—a young model fresh from rural Georgia, a diva Hollywood star making her Broadway debut, an overachieving, unemployed Brown grad who starts faking a fabulous life on social media, to name just a few—everything is about to change, thanks to the dress of the season, the perfect little black number everyone wants to get their hands on… 

The Rating:

My Review:

Started this book on December 4, 2017.
I finished reading this book on January 22, 2018.

The Cover:

Although they say never judge a book by it's cover I believe the cover should represent what the book is going to be like or at least some aspect of it.

The cover of this book is simple an pretty but I like the other covers better. Check the Goodreads page for this book to see the other covers.

The Story:

Nine women that are united by one little black dress.


Overall:
I loved this book so much. Specially chapter 35. Its so good. Creepy but good.

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