Book Review: The Way You Make Me Feel

Title: The Way You Make Me Feel
Author: Maurene Goo
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind (goodreads)? 

The beginning was a bit rough, but I quickly fell in love with Clara's transformation. 

Book Review: One of Us is Lying

Title: One of Us is Lying
Author: Karen M. McManus
Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Murder
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
Source: Publisher
Format: Audiobook

Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them (goodreads). 

One of Us is Lying is a refreshing mystery with complex characters. 

Waiting on Wednesday [#110]

Title: I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Author: Maurene Goo
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: May 30, 2017

Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She's for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It's a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Rules for True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and fake car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama (goodreads).

Book Review: The Winner's Kiss

 Title: The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fiction | Romance
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Publication Date: March 29, 20 16
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased (Author Event)

Some kisses come at a price.
War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.
At least, that’s what he thinks.
In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.
But no one gets what they want just by wishing.
As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win (goodreads)?

It's so hard to say goodbye, but The Winner's Kiss delivered. 

[Meme]Waiting on Wednesday[#84]

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3)

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux

Publication Date: March 29, 2016

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He’s finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can’t quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that’s what he thinks.
But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win (goodreads)?

Who wants to hold me aftere I read this one? 

[Discussion]The Publisher's Crime

I'm trying to be clever guys! Get it, The Winner's Crime, the Publisher's Crime? 

Oh well, I tried. 

Book Review: The Winner's Crime

 Title: The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy#2)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Genre: Young Adult // Fantasy // Romance
Publisher: Farrar Staux and Giroux
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Format: Physical
Source:  Purhcased (Bookstore)

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.
As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them (goodreads).

The Winner's Crime has shown me that we are all gluttons for punishment. 

[Book Review] The Winner's Curse

Title: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's  #1)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Genre: Young Adult // Romance // Fantasy
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased (BN.com)

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart (goodreads).

I know it's only October but I'm going to call it, this is my favorite read of 2014. 

Plot: I read this book over six months ago and I still remember every little detail about this book! The Winner's Curse is a book that stays with you forever (if you're me it does).  The one thing that readers might complain about is the pacing. Marie Rutkoski takes her time building the world and all of the characters, this means main characters and secondary characters. There are times where the story takes a turn from the overall conflict, but the purpose it to build character and show development. There are times when I wondered why there was no action in the book, but I was wrong. You just have to be patient. Marie Rutkoski writes a beautiful story that flows wonderfully with a pseudo-cliffhanger that makes you want to know more immediately!

Characters: You can tell that Rutkoski loves her characters, all of them. She puts so much heart and personality into each character. The Winner's Curse is told through the perspective of Kestrel and Arin who both have very distinct voices and guess what, they function without the other person as well! There is no dependability, there is no instant love, these are two independent characters who have their own conflicts and backgrounds. The love story between these too is a simmer. Kestrel purchases Arin at a slave auction and they pretty much have no interaction with the other for several weeks which is really refreshing (not to mention, probably more realistic). I absolutely adore these two as a couple and what's beautiful is that they each still have to work at their relationship, this book does not end in sunshine and rainbows, which again, is more realistic. 

World Building: A-frickin Plus! I was immersed in this world and could imagine everything vividly. This is in part that the book was told by two people from different social classes. We get to see the world through Kestresl, the warrior's daughter, and Arin, the slave who seems to have lost everything. The book takes place in Kestrel's world, but if you want to know more about Arin's childhood you can read the novella Bridge of Snow for $.99.

Short N Sweet: The Winner's Curse is utter perfection and it's a must for all fans of books. Seriously, go read this, you will not regret it!