Mini-Reviews: If I Tell and Tempestuous

Time for another set of mini-reviews! The books featured here are If I Tell by Janet Gurtler and Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston.

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If I Tell by Janet Gurtler 

It was like watching a train wreck. I wanted to look away but couldn't take my eyes off them.
Her best friend and her mom's boyfriend. Locking lips. This is the secret Jasmine Evans has to keep at all costs. Because her mom is pregnant, and Jaz doesn't want to ruin her life-again (just being born did it the first time). But the harder Jaz tries to pretend everything is okay, the faster her life spins out of control. Until Jackson. He doesn't care about the popularity of her friends or the color of her skin. But can she really trust a guy who just transferred in from reform school? She might be willing to chance the heartbreak, but telling him everything and risking the truth getting out is a whole other level of scary.

Review: 

I really enjoyed Janet's first book, I'm Not Her, but I had a hard time connecting with If I Tell. I love a good contemporary and the plot intrigued me right away. The fact that the main character, Jaz, had a secret that was weighing her down was very interesting and I wanted to know more about this girl and what she had seen. Unfortunately, I found Jaz hard to connect with because of her poor attitude. I understood that she felt confused about her racial identity, but I wish she didn't complain so much and rather tried to find herself in a different way. I felt for Jaz because it must be hard growing up bi-racial with two white grandparents and no one else to relate to, but she seemed to never want to try and fit in but always just pushed people away. The plot was fast paced and I liked the uniqueness of Jaz's character, as well as the large role her family played in the story. All in all, I enjoyed Janet's second novel, but I wish I could have connected with Jaz more. I will definitely be picking up more by Janet in the future because her novels always deal with very real and contemporary issues. 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

October 1, 2011/Sourcebooks Fire/244 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher

Other books by this author: I'm Not Her, Who I Kissed, How I Lost You (2013)
Links: Author Website/Goodreads 

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Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston 

"I don't love Sonny Flannery."
That's the lie Kelley Winslow told to protect the boy she loves from a power he doesn't know he possesses. Devastated, Sonny retreats to a haven for Lost Fae that's hidden deep underneath New York City.
But Kelley's not about to let things end in heartbreak. To get Sonny back, she's got to find out who's after his magick—and how to use her own. She's got to uncover who's recruiting Janus Guards to murderously hunt innocent Faerie. She's got to help rebuild the shattered theater company she called family. And she's got to do it all without getting dangerously distracted by the Fennrys Wolf, whose legendary heart of stone seems to melt whenever he's around Kelley.

Review: 

I flew through the first two books in this series and was beyond excited when I got a copy of Tempestuous. But, for some reason, it has just been sitting on my bookshelves for way too long! I wanted to catch up on some series over my winter break, so I finally read Tempestuous! It took me a little while to get into this one, but it soon picked up and I was caught up in the action and adventure I had come to love in the Wondrous Strange series. I kind of wished I had re-read Wondrous Strange and Darklight first because some aspects of the magick and different characters were a little fuzzy to me. Still, a lot of things came back to me the more I read and the last 100 pages or so had me on the edge of my seat. There were a lot of twists and turns and revelations in Tempestuous and while this wasn't my favorite of the series, it was a satisfying conclusion to what I feel is one of the best written YA series. Sonny and Kelley are two of my favorite characters and I will certainly miss them! I highly recommend this series even if you are not normally a fan of faeries and I can't wait to see what's next for Livingston. 

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

December 21, 2010/HarperTeen/368 Pages/Young Adult/Book Three

Source: Publisher 

Other books in this series: Wondrous Strange, Darklight
Links: Author Website/Goodreads 

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Look for more mini-reviews soon! 

Mini-Reviews: Across the Universe and I'm Not Her

I posted mini-reviews of Where It Began and Incarnate last week, now I'm sharing my thoughts on two more books I read awhile back and never wrote full reviews for-- Across the Universe and I'm Not Her. 

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Across the Universe by Beth Revis 

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. 

Mini-Review: 

I feel as though I was one of the last people to read Across the Universe, but I just was worried because I am not always a huge fan of science fiction. But I definitely had nothing to worry about. This book was awesome! It was packed full of mystery, romance, and death and always had me on the edge of my seat. The whole premise was fantastic and it was apparent Beth put a lot of thought into every inch of this book and especially the ship, Godspeed. I was immediately drawn into this book and had a hard time putting it down for a second. I love a good mystery and Across the Universe certainly had that. The book is told from alternating points of view between Amy and Elder (the future leader of Godspeed) and it allows the reader to get to know the characters extremely well. Amy is one of those characters that I know I would like in real life. She is very strong and independent and I felt for all that she was experiencing. Across the Universe definitely lived up to all of the hype and it was such a unique and original debut. I am extremely excited to pick up the sequel because I still have so many questions. One advantage of starting the series late is that I don't have to wait for A Million Suns!

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

January 11, 2011/Razorbill/416 Pages/Young Adult/Book One

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books in this series: A Million Suns, Shades of Earth 

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I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler 

“For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel envy…”

Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that’s okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. Yet the smiles of her picture-perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn’t hold it together, who will?

Mini-Review:

I can't deny that contemporary novels have a special place in my heart and I'm Not Her was no exception. This was an emotional and intense read that will impact every reader in different ways. Although I am an only child, I could understand Tess's and Kristina's relationship. Cancer is a topic that is not often dealt with in YA today, but I think it is an issue that most likely affects many of us. Unfortunately, cancer is something that has probably touched every person in some way and Janet Gurtler did a wonderful job of showing not only how it affects the victim, but how it affects the entire family. I'm Not Her was told from Tess's point of view, and we were able to witness her come to terms with the fact that her perfect older sister was dealing with a life-threatening disease. My heart went out to Tess, because even though people at school were suddenly talking to her, she was still alone. Especially because her parents were not handling things well. Tess grew as a character over the course of the novel and the reader gets to see just how Kristina's cancer affects not only her family, but her friends and classmates. My only complaint was that sometimes I felt a disconnect from certain characters and wanted to see more of the family's interactions with Kristina. Overall, Janet is a great writer and certain scenes made me so emotional. I am extremely glad I read this novel and I am anxious to pick up more of Janet's novels. She doesn't seem afraid of tackling serious issues and her future releases all sound just as interesting.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

May 1, 2011/Sourcebooks Fire/285 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher 

Other books by this author: If I Tell, Who I Kissed

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Look for more Mini-Reviews soon!