Confess by Colleen Hoover (a book with a one word title)

If you haven't read anything by Colleen Hoover yet, shame on you. Colleen Hoover is the queen of the new adult genre. I absolutely love all of her books and this one wasn't any different. 

THIS POST HAS MAJOR SPOILERS! DO NOT READ ON IF YOU WANT TO READ THE BOOK, BECAUSE THIS BOOK THRIVES OFF OF THE CONFESSIONS THAT ARE REVEALED.

 I find it really amazing that Colleen Hoover can create a heart-wrenching relationship in just a few pages like she did in the prologue of this book. This book had a lot of mystery in the beginning that kept me completely absorbed in the book trying to figure out how everything connected. I only figured out one secret before it was revealed. I figured right off the bat that Owen had to know Auburn from the time when his dad was in the hospital. I was beyond surprised when I found out that Auburn had a son with Adam. I was not expecting that at all. I loved how Owen handled that situation and was willing to sacrifice his relationship with Auburn because he saw how much she loved AJ. I also was not expecting that the drugs that Owen was arrested for possession of were his fathers. I thought that maybe they were Harrison's or that he was a drug dealer to try and make money. I was so mad at Owen's dad for letting his son take to the blame and get arrested for his mistakes. I understood why he wouldn't take the blame but he should have gone into rehab or something to avoid the situation in the first place. 

Seeing the struggle that Auburn was going through with AJ and Lydia broke my heart. Lydia was a huge (pardon my French) BITCH! I get that she loved her grandson because he could "replace" the hole her dead son left, but she had no right to take him from his mother. She made it seem like she was the one helping Auburn but really she was taking AJ and making up excuses not to left his mother visit him. I hated how Auburn felt that she had to date Trey in order to get to her son, even though she felt nothing for him. When Owen said that Trey was a bad person I believed it, but I wasn't sure how Trey was a bad person. Owen said that Trey was the first person her ever punched and I assumed that they knew each other from high school or just from around town. When Trey tried to assault Auburn and then she still tried to justify his actions I hated him even more. Then he ruined Owen's paintings and framed him just so he could have Auburn! I trusted Owen's judgement but i never believed that Trey would turn out to be that bad. I liked how all of the issues were resolved because it was realistic and it made sense. Auburn finally got custody of AJ and Trey dropped the charges against Owen. I loved that Auburn was finally able to stick it to her terrible mother-in-law. 

The final chapter of the book is what pushed this novel up to the top of my favorite Colleen Hoover list. When I was looking through the paintings I noticed that the one that Adam gave Auburn was in the same style as Owen's paintings. I thought that was because maybe Owen recreated the painting for her after they fixed all of their problems. I did not expect at all that Owen had painted it and given it to Adam when he was still in the hospital. This chapter had tears pouring down my face. I loved that the reason Owen punched Trey was because he wanted Adam and Auburn to have more time to say goodbye. It fit so well with what I expected of Owen and it was heart-breaking and heart-warming all at the same time. 

I wouldn't change a single thing about this book. It was absolute perfection and I completely loved not just the romance but the secrets and the plot. This book was packed full with all the emotions that I expect when I read one of Colleen Hoover's books. The only "negative" comment that I have is that I wish I got to find out what the confessions were that Auburn and Owen wrote when they first met and Auburn shoved them in the box. I would have loved to know what thoughts they had before they really knew each other. 

MY RATING: *****

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist (a nonfiction book)

The reason I chose this for my nonfiction book was because of the Booksplosion read-a-long that is happening this month. For those who don't know, Booksplosion is a group on Goodreads and YouTube that does monthly read-a-longs and reviews them at the end of the month. Three of my favorite YouTubers of all time, Christine (PolandBananasBooks), Kat (Katytastic), and Jesse (JesseTheReader), are the creators of this group. I also really like Josh Sundquist, so I figured this would be the perfect nonfiction book for me to read. If you are interested in joining the discussion you can visit the groups Goodreads page here... https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/123821-we-should-hang-out-sometime-booksplosion-read-along
Also, if you participate the live show discussion will be on March 28th @ 7 PM EST. This live show will be extra epic because Josh (the author) will be joining them to talk about his book!

Now for the actual reviewing part. This review will contain some spoilers but won't really ruin your experience with the book because it is obvious that none of the relationships in the book turn out well.

Even though this book was nonfiction (which I tend to usually find boring) this book was hilarious and entertaining. I would compare this book to An Abundance of Katherines by John Green because of the overall nerdy awkwardness of Josh Sundquist and the footnotes that he includes. I really like the premise of this book because it seems like the perfect mix of awkward encounters and hilarity that Josh normally includes in his videos. I found myself laughing out loud at points in this book because it was just outrageously funny and it was made better by the fact that these are real events. My favorite chapter in the book was the Francesca Marcelo one. It was the perfect combination of weird high school relationships and Josh Sundquist awkwardness.

Another reason I really liked the book was the math jokes that occur throughout the novel. I happen to be a HUGE math nerd myself, and I really enjoy that type of humor. If you have ever watched any of Josh's videos, you know that he does math nerd videos where he explains everything in graphs. He incorporated these types of graphs into his novel and they made it really unique.

If oyu have read the book, then you know at the end the last chapter is about a successful relationship that Josh had. What you may not know, is that a few months after this book was published Josh proposed to this girl using his book. It is literally the cutest proposal that I have ever heard of. He printed another copy of this book titled We Did Hang Out Sometime, and he uses it to lead his girlfriend to the place where he is waiting to propose to her. If you want to watch the video where Josh talks about it and shares pictures I will link it below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzo8-3LqvqA

MY RATING: ****

Made for You by Melissa Marr (a book that scares you)

I am not scared easily, especially by books so it was hard to find one that fit this criteria. I wouldn't necessarily call this book scary but it was definitely creepy so I am going to count it. There isn't a lot that I can say in the non-spoiler part about this book besides the fact that I really enjoyed the mystery and I wouldn't recommend it to people who get freaked out by serial killer or stalker novels.

Spoilers...(mostly about who the killer is)

The thing that made this book creepy was the serial killer. His chapters were so twisted and the reasons that he killed his victims just creeped me out. He kept trying to justify his murders by saying that it was what God wanted him to do. What really scared me about this part was the fact that there are people out there that really think that way. The other thing that scared me about him was the fact that he was friends with his victims. He was young, only a junior in high school, yet he was able to kill a bunch of his friends and mutilate them after their deaths. When I went into this book I wasn't expecting it to be that graphic or actually go into detail about the kidnappings and murders because its young adult. That aspect of the book surprised me because I wasn't really expecting it.

About halfway through the book I had a few theories about who the killer was. I thought it was either Reid or Jamie. I figured it was one of Robert's friends but the killer disguised his personality so well when he was in public. I figured out it was Reid the second that Eva saw his death vision. I knew that it wasn't Madison screaming because the killer shot him but that Reid was the killer and he was shot because he was trying to hurt someone else.

I really liked the mystery in this book and I didn't mind the romance either. The romance wasn't really the focus of the book and I liked that because I was really caught up in the mystery of the killer. I tend to like friends turn boyfriend-girlfriend relationships so I liked that aspect of the romance. Overall, I thought it was a good book. If you get freaked out by serial killers, stalkers, or anything like that I wouldn't recommend reading this book because even though it is young adult it still has some very realistic scenes in it.

MY RATING: ****

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (book by a new to you author)

The explanation for how this book meets the criteria of my book challenge is pretty obvious, so I don't really have to go into that for this book.

This book was marketed as the Titanic in space but I didn't really get that. The space ship does "sink" but it is at the very beginning of the book. The book is actually more of a survival story on an unknown planet. Also I was expecting a lot of romance because the book instantly begins with a connection between the two main characters but there wasn't really any romancy stuff until close to the end. I liked the idea of the book but I think a few parts could have been changed or explained more to make the book even better.

Spoilers...

I know some people have issues with Lilac as a character but I really enjoyed her. I loved that she was kind of princess-y but at the same time she was an awesome mechanic. She also understand the reality of her situation. It isn't her being bratty she just doesn't want Tarver to be hurt because he gets close to her. I liked Tarver's character too, but I don't think he had quite as much personality as Lilac did. 

Most people that I hear criticize the book don't like the ending. I have to agree with them on some level. I didn't like that right after Lilac and Tarver finally connected, Lilac is killed lighting the fuse. I think she could have been smarter and made a longer fuse or used something else to light it. Then after Tarver grieves for just one day, Lilac "comes back to life". I just think it felt like the ending was rushed and Lilac died and was brought back to life in such a short amount or time. I did think the explanation of how she was brought back to life though. I thought it made sense and it worked out nicely because I was pretty upset when Lilac died. Overall I liked the book but I had some issues with the romance and the way the book was marketed as the Titanic. 

MY RATING: **** 

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (a book based solely on its cover)

Well now I know why they say not to judge a book by its cover. The cover of the book was beautiful but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Since I read this book based only on the cover, I should probably add a picture of it...

If I had read the synopsis, instead of basing my purchase solely on the cover, I probably wouldn't have bought the book. I have read a few parallel universe books before and I never really liked any of them. I didn't really connect to any of the characters in the book because they were constantly changing and I wasn't all that interested in the plot until the very end. 

Spoilers...

The biggest problem I had with this book was the "romance". Marguerite fell in love with a man that wasn't even from her dimension in about a week. Then when Peter admitted his feelings for her, she said she couldn't return them because she felt like she was cheating on the other Peter. I thought the whole thing was ridiculous but I was already halfway through so I decided I might as well finish it. I thought the ending of the book was decent because the twist made up for a bit of the ridiculous romance from the beginning. The reson I didn't really like the characters was because with each dimension they went through they changed based on the new world they were in. Overall, I was very disappointed and wouldn't recommend it, unless you want a pretty cover for your bookshelf.

MY RATING: **

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (a book that takes place in high school)

This afternoon I finished To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Even though I mainly read YA, I don't read a lot of book set in high school because I mostly read fantasy or dystopian or new adult, which is normally set in college. This book was literally a rom-com in book form. I think this book would make a great book-to-movie adaptation because I love rom-coms but there aren't enough of them anymore. I really liked Lara-Jean; i thought she was the perfect high school character that had some experience in the world but was still a bit naive. She was funny and adorable and I loved her sense of fashion. I also liked the family dynamic and I was able to relate to her feelings towards her sisters.

Spoilers...

The whole book I wasn't really sure which boy she would end up with; Josh or Peter. At the beginning of the book I was thinking "screw Margot, go for Josh" because he was just so sweet but after she found the letter Josh wrote to Margot I realized that it would never work out between them. At that point I wasn't exactly sure how things with Peter would turn out but every time he hung out with Lara-Jean and Kitty I began to like him more. When Josh kissed Lara-Jean, I got kind of mad at him because he had his chance to date her but he passed her up and instead dated Margot. It was unfair of him to put her in that situation, knowing that Lara-Jean would respect her sister and not pursue Josh. I was happy when Lara-Jean finally told Josh no and decided to finally go for Peter. I was beyond excited when Peter admitted that her liked her even though it was obvious he still had feelings for Gen. Lara-Jean was jealous of Gen but I understand how Peter still talked to her because after you date someone for that long, you can't just cut them out of your life if you see them everyday. When Peter came to the Christmas party to talk to Lara-Jean I was hoping they would work out their problems but then Josh had to barge in and Margot had to overhear the argument. I thought that Margot responded in a pretty shitty way. She was the one that broke up with Josh, so she really had no claim to him, yet she reacted terribly when she found out that he kissed Lara. I thought that she was a bit of a hypocrite and a bitch when she told their dad about the hot tub rumor. I am happy though that the sisters were able to work it out because the problem was a minor one. I hope in the next book that Lara and Peter have the talk that they need to have. I read the synopsis for the next book and I am not thrilled to hear that there will be another boy in the next book that Peter will have to compete with. I think he came a long way in this book and I think he and Lara just need to work a few things out. That being said, I can't wait for May 26th!

MY RATING: *****

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (a book a friend recommended)

I have read a few books this week but haven't had time to write a review, so today I am going to be playing catch-up. Early this week I finished The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, which I am using for a book a friend recommended. I had been considering reading this book for awhile but a friend's insistence was what finally got me to pick it up. I had been dissapointed before by Maggie's books but this was surprised me. Many people say it is hard to get into but I didn't really have any trouble. I thought that the first few chapters ended with some surprising sentences. They left me hanging and I couldn't help but to read on. The concept of the book is very original and though I have read books that have mentioned ley lines, none of them have taken the approach that this book did. I loved the characters because they were all unique and you kept learning new things about them and seeing different sides of them. Blue is a very unique character and her situation is even more interesting.

Some spoilers may follow...

 The fact that if she kisses her true love, he will die is nothing short of an attention getter. Even though Steifvater insinuates that Gansey is Blue's true love I was still leaning towards Adam for most of the book. I think there will be a twist and Gansey won't be her true love and her will die some other way. When they found the body in the woods with Noah's wallet I was hoping there was going to be some reasonable explanation and wasn't expecting the twist at all. When it was revealed that Noah was actually dead it was like The Sixth Sense all over again. I was so into the book but the last few chapters of the book were really confusing to me. When Adam said he was sacrifice himself I thought that he was going to die but he didn't and the ley line still woke up. Also, the last line of the book didn't mean anything to me at all but the friend that reccomended the book t me assured me that the line is explained more in the next book. I am anticipating reading the next book because I want to find out what happened to Adam and what Ronan's cryptic comment meant.

MY RATING: ****