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We're an Open Book
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.211 pages | Knopf Books For Young Readers | Contemporary | 4/10/2018
*sigh*
I’m sad to say this book was a huge disappointment. I’ve read and enjoyed nearly everything this duo has put out and I was so ready to like this but it was a hot mess.
18-year-old twins Sam and Ilsa are known for the dinner parties they host in their grandmother’s luxury rent-controlled Manhattan apartment. When their grandmother decides to finally sell, the twins host one last dinner party before everything changes.
I honestly don’t want to spend too much time trashing this book. There are multiple Goodreads reviewsfor that. This book has one of the lowest Goodreads ratings I’ve ever seen and while I noticed that going in I also liked Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List--which most people hate.
Reading this felt like someone put Cohn and Levithan’s previous books through an algorithm and had a computer write this book.
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I’ve never DNFed an audiobook, but let me tell you Fairest came *this close*. It wasn’t so much that the book was bad it just didn’t have the heart or fun I’ve come to expect in this series. The plot threads and world-building elements that hold the series together started to unravel for me.
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The story of an American woman who discovers she is a duchess sounded a lot more interesting when I started this book than when I finished. This concept of normal women finding themselves mixed up with royalty is nothing new with movies like The Princess Diaries and The Prince and Me but I couldn’t find the same charm in Suddenly Royal.
Samantha Rousseau is a graduate student working towards her PhD and taking care of her cancer stricken stepfather. Her life is turned upside down when it’s discovered she is a long lost duchess from the France-expy country Lilaria. Suddenly this American girl is plucked from obscurity and into the world of royalty, paparazzi and fame all while keeping her eyes out for Prince Alex aka Prince Yummy.
Chase executed the premise well, explaining how the families are being brought together but there wasn’t much of a follow through as far as plot was concerned.
I don’t know if it was the cookie cutterhero or the low ball conflict but the more I thought about it the more I realized this wasn’t the kind of story I expected. We get a lot of Sam going to Lilaria and about her responsibilities, but honestly it wasn’t that interesting. . . just a lot of people telling her things. I wanted something more akin to the first season of Downton Abbey. I wanted more awkward dinner parties, culture shock, witty banter and actual tension between the leads.
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Audiobook : The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Jim Dale, infamous for narrating the Harry Potter audiobooks, brings dynamic performance to The Night Circus. This is my second time encountering this story of a magical circus told through the eyes of a romance. Once you get away from the idea of “main characters”, this book has so much to offer. The Night Circus has a way of breaking down the usual
fantasy elements; magic, glamour, spells, and clairvoyance and lets them shine in a new light. While probably not historical accurate once you step into the settings and watch Morgenstern perform her storytelling, you might just be ready to run away with the circus. –★★★★
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
It’s sequel time! Honestly, I wasn’t sure Insurgent could hold up as a sequel, but Insurgent is an action-packed novel with plot twists and surprises around every corner. I read this book over the course of a few months and I was able to easily get back into the plot each time. I enjoyed how the relationship developed between Four and Tris. I found them to be the only characters in this book who I could really care about. There were so many side characters I couldn’t remember who was who. Either way the stakes are higher in this novel and I officially can not wait for Allegiant! – ★★★★
How To Ruin A Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
Amy Nelson’s summer vacation has been ruined. Instead of attending tennis camp, she will be spending three months in Israel with her estranged father to meet her paternal family for the first time. Like most American teens all Amy expects to find nothing but deserts, guns and bombings but what she finds instead is love, family, and respect. Amy’s narrative is snarky, headstrong and carefree as she deals with the culture shock. This book has a few good moments that touch on the difference between American and Israeli teenage life, but overall the book keeps a light tone with little conflict. I found Amy’s voice a little less charming and in the middle of the book and at some point she came off as a bit ignorant. The romance was sweet but overtly predictable. ★★
Synopsis :It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.…