Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publication Date: April 23rd 2012
POV: Male - First-person, Present tense
Smut-O-Meter: 3 out of 10
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Howie gets a job at Artie Kraft's Arts 'N Crafts hoping to score with his lady coworkers. After all, girls love a sensitive guy, and what's more sensitive than dedicating your life to selling yarn and ... stuff? (Okay, so maybe it'd be a good idea to actually learn what one sells at an arts 'n crafts store.) But things don't go exactly according to plan. Coworker #1 is Cora: tiny, much-pierced, and way too fierce to screw with in any sense. Coworker #2 is Kristy: blonde, bubbly, unattainable perfection. And Coworker #3 is, well, Arthur. It goes without saying that he’s not an option. Right?

… Right?

Yeah, Howie’s life just got straight up confusing.

Pun intended.

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I loved this book so much. Howie made this book! I am telling you right now, if you start this book and don't instantly love Howie, just give up. His constant sarcastic and sometimes self-deprecating monologues do not stop or even slow down, and you either love them or you hate them. But personally? I loved them, and I loved Howie. He was so much fun. Even in the beginning when you was still somewhat immature, he was an endearing immature. He was so quick witted, he kept me on my toes. I never knew what nonsense he was going to spew next, but I knew it would still be relevant and make an odd kind of sense.

Howie was a really great guy. Even before he realized he might be gay and he was hoping to hook up with Kristy, he always felt guilty about his lewd thoughts afterwards. It was adorable. It was like he was just going through the motions of what he thought a guy should act like, even in his head. I don't think his heart was really in it when he was trying to seduce her. He was just too sweet to go through with it, as Amber pointed out.

"Come on, Howie. Your skeezy-talking skills are matched only by your inescapable decency. That's going to get in the way, Don Juan." 

And Arthur was funny in his awkwardness. When we first met him I was thinking, "Really? This guy?" But he really grew on me. It's not as if it took long, but for the first meeting or two, yeah, I was a bit baffled about what could be attractive about him. But he is funny in his own way. It doesn't define him like it does Howie, but he knows how to laugh. I almost always imagined Arthur talking in a British accent because of the way he used such big words and formal speech. I knew he was not British but I had trouble stopping myself. Its also hard to remember that he was only about 25. He seemed so much older than Howie. They seem like the epitome of an odd couple, but they work so well together. Howie helped loosen up Arthur, and Arthur helped steady Howie. They were both lost in life before they found each other.

This book is also full of amazing supporting characters. Every single one! Kristy and Cora! Amber and Mitch! Howie's mom and Emily! I really loved Howie's mom. She is definitely where he got his sense of humour and I loved knowing that he always had her support. I also surprisingly loved Emily. She was a bit odd, but kind and wise. A bit like Arthur but even more awkward. I felt bad for her and how she was being treated by Howie's mom. I hope she comes around soon.

I really highly recommend this book to fans of humourous romance. The humour is really its defining feature. Even if you are not really into M/M romance, you should give this one a shot. Its just too cute. Fall in love with Howie and Arthur with me!

"You're funny and quick and interesting and aggravating and attractive. Its such a wonderful relief to be with you." 

A little wonderingly, he says, "You're exactly who I never would have picked out for myself."

It's A Bookworm Makeover!

It's a Bookworm makeover!

New cover!

(I have to give HUGE HUGS AND THANK YOUs to PepperJack Photography and Jolene Perry for my amazing design and pictures, and the FANTASTIC models, Dalton and Tanna.)

New blurb!

Getting kissed for a birthday present should not be a big deal. Especially for Brea Mason, who doesn’t think of her best friend, Adam Silver, in any way other than… well, a friend. But after the liplock she can’t seem to get him off her mind. And she has to, because Adam is a senior while she’s stuck in high school for another two years.

Then BAM, the perfect distraction comes along in the form of a new, hot sophomore who actually seems interested in Brea, despite her anti-social personality. And with the stress at home, stress at school, and ignoring the reality of all her friends leaving come June, Brea welcomes the distraction.

But when she sees four fat Fs on her report card, Brea needs a study buddy, and the best candidate is Adam, book nerd and math whiz. So she enlists his help, hoping the birthday kiss was just a fluke. After all, she has a boyfriend now. It should be easy to ignore the butterflies and fizzy feelings that arise with the bookworm… right?

And new release day!

A lot better than June, yes? Happy dance! 

It will be up for pre-order shortly. :) But you can add it to your Goodreads HERE. 

Spell for the day:

Protego!

Friday Night Alibi by Cassie Mae

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publication Date: July 29th 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation. For a generous fee, she will be every trust-fund baby’s dream: a Friday-night alibi, the “girlfriend” or “BFF” that parents dream about. With college approaching in the fall, Kelli’s services are in demand more than ever, which means that her social life is nonexistent. But Kelli is A-okay with that. She’s raking in cash for school. Besides, relationships are tricky, and sometimes very messy. She’d rather be at home on Xbox LIVE, anyway. Then the unexpected happens: She meets college stud Chase Maroney.

Chase isn’t like the preppy, privileged guys Kelli usually meets in Sundale. For starters, he’s twentysomething, always wears black., and he shoots back one-liners as fast as she can dish them out. But Kelli’s attempts to drive Chase away falter when she realizes that he treats her like he really knows her, like he cares about knowing her. When Kelli finally gives in to the delicious kiss she’s been fighting for so long, she faces a tough decision: make Chase a real-life boyfriend and risk her heart... or keep her clients and lose her first true love.

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It took a while for this one to grow on me, but in the end I really loved it. I enjoyed the whole scenario with Kelli's alibis. It was an interesting and unique story. I also really liked Kelli and felt a lot of sympathy for her. Her parents were ridiculous and she had been alone for so long, she turned to drastic measures to find a place for herself in her stuck-up town. She was also really fun, and I really loved Sades. They were a cute BFF pair.

I had trouble getting pulled into this story because I really didn't like Chase for the longest time. Kelli kept going on and on about how he was a perv and really egocentric. I thought she was sort of exaggerating that, but I did find him super annoying and lame and immature. It probably took me until about 70% before he started growing on me, and a good portion of my feelings for him are pity.

I feel like we never really got to know him well enough, just like Kelli kept pointing out. They just made out all the time, and in the end when Kelli finally decides she wants more, she asks him about his brother, but nothing else. I still feel like we didn't get to know him enough to really be able to understand his behaviour. He was so annoying in the beginning and it doesn't make sense to me now. But they were still super cute and I loved seeing them together eventually. I loved how he was so head over heels for Kelli. Even in his super awkwardness, he was kind of cute, in a way.

As with Switched, this felt like a YA, not an NA. The characters just didn't seem to be on the maturity level of NA characters, and it didn't cover anything that needs the NA label. But overall I was very happy with this book. I enjoyed reading it from the beginning even when I wasnt 100% invested in the characters yet. It was still funny and had a super cute ending so it gets my seal of approval.

"He's not saying anything, but in a way, he's saying everything. That he's in just as übergooby love as I am."

How to Seduce a Band Geek by Cassie Mae (How To #2)

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: May 6th 2014
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense.
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Sierra Livingston’s got it bad for her sister’s best friend, Levi Mason—the boy who carries his drumsticks in his pocket, marches with the school’s band, and taps his feet to whatever beat runs through his head. Sierra racks her brain for ways to impress the sexy drummer, but the short skirts and bursting cleavage don’t seem to cut it.

When Sierra gets paired with Levi’s sister, Brea, for a mentorship program, they strike a deal. In exchange for Sierra keeping her mouth shut about Brea ditching the program, Brea lets Sierra dig for more info on Levi to help get the guy of her dreams.

But when Sierra discovers Levi no longer plays the drums, his family has moved into a trailer, and he’s traded in his Range Rover for a baby blue moped, Sierra’s not sure if she can go through with violating his privacy. She’ll have to find the courage to ask him straight out—if he’s willing to let her in—and explore other ways to seduce the school’s band geek.

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This book was adorable, as I knew it would be. I think this is now my second favourite Cassie Mae book. Since reading Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend I have kept reading all her books hoping they would be as good. They have all been great (except for maybe Switched which I wasn't a big fan of) but this one came the closest.

Levi was adorable, which I knew from How to Date a Nerd. But what I didn't know was that Sierra was so awesome. I love her weird style and how she made her own outfits. I would never wear any of it myself, but at least she was creative and unique. I liked that about her.

I loved how to story was so simple and straight forward. Sierra didn't need to hatch an elaborate plan to win Levi. They just clicked. Probably the only reason it didn't happen sooner was because Sierra was younger than him, and I know from experience that even if you are friends with someone for years, you just have to look at them from the right angle or in the right situation before seeing them as a love interest. I assume the same will go for Adam and Brea, since 2 more years will pass before the next book.

“Levi is made from the beautiful pool of people, but its his good-guy-ness that makes him the most gorgeous man alive.”

And Adam was totally awesome in this book. I am kinda sad that he goes from being Sierra's best friend to Brea's, but of course he will be something different for Brea. :P But I think Adam has the potential to be even more awesome than Levi. He was like the best friend in the world to Sierra. I think its funny that he was so short in this, but he was only 16 and guys are still growing at that age, so maybe he will have a growth spurt before How to Hook a Bookworm.

Sidney was a monster! Oh my gosh I cant believe what she did to Sierra! I was so happy when Sierra yelled at her. She deserved worse.

And again I loved the ending. I love the big public scenes. It reminds me a lot of teen movies. I think these would all make great movies, and I cant wait to read How to Hook a Bookworm! Why is the release date so far away!?

“My eyes travel up red slacks, a white marching band shirt with a red sash that says ORCHARD HIGH, and finally reach the top of Levi's head fashioning a red and white hat that straps under his chin. He gives me a half smile, and taps his leg with his piccolo.
He is without a doubt, the sexiest human being alive.”

The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: May 2nd 2013

POV: Alternating - First-person, Past tense.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

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When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

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This book was so much fun. And it reminded me so much of Cassie Mae books, if someone had told me it was written by Cassie Mae I would have believed them. It had elements that reminded me of both Switched and Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend.

Avery is just so adorable. I want to put her in my pocket. And Grayson? Oh my gosh! He's like perfection. They were amazing together since the first naked shower. ;) It was so inevitable. I cant imagine how they could have known each other all their lives and never noticed how perfect they were for each other until now. Or how she could have spent so much time with Aiden when there was Grayson to be had! He would bend over backwards to make her happy, and he was so patient with her social awkwardness. He was the perfect cure for what ailed her, from her broken heart to her anxiety. He never pushed her to do more than what she was capable of, but he also never let her become complacent with her life. He was just so unbelievably amazing!

I also loved seeing Grayson try to win Avery over. I really enjoy when things are changed up and it is the guy who is pining for the girl. It doesn't happen that way as often and I just love seeing that side of a guy. But Grayson was patient as ever and just so good natured and fun and kept making Avery laugh no matter what. He was so hilarious and sweet! I also loved the added side story of Avery's friend Libby, and Grayson's friend Owen. Oh my! What an odd pair! Hahaha, love the photo booth scene. I wish we could see more of them.

The prologue to this book was the absolute best. It was perfect! I wish I could just quote the whole thing. I cant pick a favourite line from the prologue. Grayson just doesnt know how to quit being amazing! I will definitely be checking out more of this author's work.

“Somewhere between the shower and the Red Bull I fell in love with you, Aves. I’m talking epically. There is no coming back from a fall like mine.”

How to Date a Nerd by Cassie Mae (How To #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: September 24th 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense.
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Zoe has a great pair of legs, perky boobs, and wears exactly what she needs to show it all off. She works hard for the easy sleazy ‘you only wish you were me’ reputation, burying who she really is—an all-out nerd.

The only time Zoe gets to be herself is when she hides under her comforter to read X-Men comics, sending jealousy stabs at everyone who attends Comic-Con. Keeping up her popular rep is too important, and she’s so damn insecure to care about the consequences. But when Zoe’s sister takes her car for a ‘crash and burn into a tree’ joyride, her parents get her a replacement. A manual. Something she doesn’t know how to operate, but her next door neighbor Zak sure as heck does.

Zak’s a geek to the core, shunned by everyone in school for playing Dungeons and Dragons at lunch and wearing “Use the Force” t-shirts. And Zoe’s got it bad for the boy. Only Zak doesn’t want Popular Zoe. He wants Geek Zoe.

She has to shove her insecurities and the fear of dropping a few rungs on the social ladder aside to prove to Zak who she really is and who she wants to be... if she can figure it out herself.

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Although I was pretty frustrated with Zoe in the beginning, this turned out to be pretty good. Not as good as Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend, but better than Switched.

I hated Zoe at first because of the way she behaved at school. She may have been just pretending to care about nothing but fashion and boys and herself, but in the process she put herself before everyone, she hurt people's feelings and she was willing to do it, so that makes her a bad person for real.

Zak was a total sweetie pie who she did not deserve. I was making constant comparisons to Trevor from Geek Girl while reading this, but in the end I think I liked Zak more, although its been awhile so I'm not sure. Zak was such a nice person who gave Zoe so many second chances. Even after all the times Zoe hurt him and turned her back on him, he agrees to help her out and accepts her back again and again. He claimed to not have much forgiveness left in him if she failed him again, but he had already forgiven her more times than she deserved.

"I'd let it go because I knew it wasn't the girl at school under this blanket. It was my friend."

But I gotta admit they made a cute couple. When Zoe wasn't being a bitch and they were just hanging out, they could be pretty adorable. And I loved how Zoe described Zak playing with his lightsaber key-chain when he got nervous. That's so cool! I have a few Star Wars key-chains myself, but not a lightsaber one. :P I'd imagine its one that lit up.

I enjoyed Zoe's dramatic speech at the end. It was very much like a teen movie. Like Never Been Kissed or Easy-A. I think this would make a good movie. I wish her speech would have been longer though, and that she had said something about herself. The speech she made showed that she was willing to become the nerd she used to be again. But if she had said more she could have made it clear that she had never really stopped being Geek Zoe.

"I march right up to a table in the center of the cafeteria. People are sitting at it, but I don't care. I climb on top and look at my audience, which is now half the student body. Everyone is telling their friends to look in my direction, some already laughing, but most are gaping at me.
I unzip my jacket and toss it on the floor. Here I stand in my bright blue Superman shirt.
"The Star Trek franchise includes six series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, totaling 726 episodes..."

From reading the Acknowledgments at the end of this book, I would guess that Cassie Mae is a true nerd herself, but perhaps not a Whovian. She kept writing Doctor Who as Dr. Who, which is just wrong and doesn't make sense. A true Whovian would know that. But this book has encouraged me to continue reading more of her books. I love her writing and characters and humour, although I may not always like the weird twist she always has in her stories. But I am looking forward to reading How to Seduce a Band Geek because the male lead is Levi, a friend that Zoe made in this book. He was really nice and super hot. He always reminded Zoe of Zak and made her miss him. :P But Levi was a few years younger so it makes sense that he could be a love interest for her sister. Although Sierra was only 14 in this book. A few years better have gone by by book 2.

"His lips form words, but I don't hear them. His scent is intoxicating, pulling me under. Holy crap! I'm going to pass out!"

Switched by Cassie Mae

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: December 2nd 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense.
My Rating: 3 out of 5

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Ever since high school, Kayla has been crazy for gorgeous football player Talon. But before she could muster the courage to tell him, he became a hot item with her beautiful BFF, Reagan. The only person who knows Kayla’s secret is Wesley, Talon’s best bud—and he’s got it bad for Reagan. Now they’re all in college together, hanging out 24/7. For Kayla, seeing the two lovebirds together is absolutely unbearable. So Kayla and Wesley hatch a plot to drive them apart before Talon has a chance to give Reagan the Christmas gift she’s been waiting for.

Soon enough, the once happy couple is fighting. Reagan suddenly can’t get enough of Wesley’s goofy sense of humor, and Talon seems to be paying more attention to Kayla than a guy who’s “only a friend” ever should. But just when everything seems to be falling into place, Kayla and Wesley accidentally spend a night together and discover a hitch in their plan they never considered: that switching partners may not lead to a perfect ending after all.

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This book still had Cassie Mae's writing style, great humour, and cute characters, but the whole concept and the story just did not work for me.

So, to start out, there is a love-square. Reagan and Talon are together, but Reagan's best friend, Kayla, is also in love with Talon. And Talon's best friend, Wesley, is also in love with Reagan. So Kayla and Wesley get together and make a plan to break up Reagan and Talon and steal their best friends' significant others. Horrible people and worst BFFs of all time? Yep.

So not only was this a horrible plan for moral reasons, but its pretty obvious from the beginning that Kayla and Wesley have great chemistry. So I could see from a mile away where this was going to lead, even though I hadn't read the blurb before starting the book.

The best part of this book was definitely Wesley. There is no denying that Cassie Mae is great at creating adorably awkward male characters with great senses of humour. Her books are for people who enjoy realistic stories with real guys. Her books don't have larger than life, too-good-to-be-true love interests. Every scene with Wesley was worth reading, and I enjoyed seeing him and Kayla falling in love. But it just took too damn long!

Even while Kayla was thinking, "Has Wesley always been that cute? Why does he give me butterflies?" she still refers to Talon as her soul mate. It really got tedious after like 20%. Not only was the obvious shouting in their faces, they were pretty much admitting it to their own faces, and still not realizing what it was they were admitting! Gah! I wanted to pull my hair out. And at the end, they both admit that they want each other several times more than they ever wanted Reagan or Talon. Yet they wanted Talon and Reagan enough to fight dirty for them. To come up with their evil plan. Yet they never really fought for each other until now. It didn't really make sense.

Then of course there is the little twist. [I cant really believe that Reagan and Talon planned everything. It was ridiculously far fetched. And they would have to be like the best actors of all time to fool their best friends for months. And Reagan was seriously bawling her eyes out when she "broke up" with Talon. Did she fake that too? Its just too much for me to swallow. Not to mention the fact that it is almost as evil as what Kayla and Wesley did. They only get a little credit for the fact that they had better intentions. But if my friends ever fooled me so completely, plotted and lied and put me through so much pain on the hunch that we would make a good couple, I would have crucified them. Not to mention how stupid and embarrassed I would feel. Seriously, maybe I am just not a good person, but I think if I had gone through that, and even given that I did end up with the guy they were trying to force me on, I don't think I would ever be able to be friends with them again. Setting friends up on a date, maybe lying about it being a group outing, and then all opting out at the last minute, that's one thing. But this level of deception is not something I am ok with. ]

Not to mention the fact that I hated Reagan. She was so annoying! And kind of a bitch. Seriously, what did either of those guys see in her? Although Kayla clearly belonged with Wesley, I could still kind of see her with Talon. He was a nice guy. But Wesley or Talon with Reagan? Not really.

This book is listed as NA, but I am listing it as YA. Even though the characters are all in their first year of college, it reads like a YA, and the immaturity level is pretty extreme. There is nothing graphic either. Lots of making-out, but that's it. I really would have loved this book if it was about Wesley and Kayla in a completely different scenario. And I still really look forward to reading How to Date a Nerd, because I really enjoy her writing style.

“I love my best friend’s boyfriend. But I swear, I saw him first.”

 

Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend by Cassie Mae (writing as Becca Ann)

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: January 7th 2013
POV: Male - First-person, Present tense.
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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It’s stupid to fall for your brother’s ex. It’s even worse to enlist another’s help to win the ex over. But Brody is desperate and Hayley, his partner in American Sign Language, is more than willing to lend him a few tips.

She’s the school’s matchmaker,’ and with her bizarre and positive personality, Brody finds her easy to talk to, even about the most awkward situations. Hayley’s tips seem to be working, but as Brody learns more about his matchmaker, he starts finding reasons to spend time with her, and not the girl he thought he was in love with.

But Hayley isn’t ready to fall for anyone. Labeled the “Funny Fat Friend” within her group, her self image makes it impossible for Brody to share his feelings without Hayley shrugging it off as a joke.

Convincing her Brody can, and did, fall for the “Funny Fat Friend” turns out to be harder than simply falling in love.

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I have had some fairly good luck with contemps lately. This and Losing It getting 5 stars from me within a month? Thats monumental! I think maybe the trick is for me to stick to the funny contemps.

Reason 1: You know how to sign the word 'balls'
Reason 2: You walk with a book on your head
Reason 3: You know how to make awkward less awkward
Reason 4: Its easy with you
Reason 5. You know how to make a guy feel pretty good about himself
Reason 6: You give the best hugs
Reason 7: I think about you before I think about her
Reason 8: You slaughter me at Ghost Recon
Reason 9: You turned me into a psycho

The title says 'Funny Fat Friend', and they were right about the funny part. Hayley is hilarious, amazing, and totally "awesomesauce". :P And when she told Brody he had to make a list of reasons why he chose her over a skinny girl, he actually found it extremely easy, and was daily adding new things to the list as he discovered more and more reasons to love her.

Reason 10: You are the FHF--Freaking Hot Friend
Reason 11: You are perceptive
Reason 12: You don't let my jackass jerk brother get to you
Reason 13: I'd beat the crap out of my own flesh and blood for you
Reason 14: I need crave you
Reason 15: You rock some sexy ink
Reason 16: You make me feel all that gooey shit crap I'm supposed to feel
Reason 17: You're a cute little cheater
Reason 18: You make me nervous, but not nervous

Brody was a great guy. He felt totally genuine and realistic and just the right amount of sappy. He fell for Hayley fast and hard. When it started, I thought the book would be about the process of him falling for her, but he was almost instantly in awe of her, from the first chapter. The rest of the book was mostly him trying to prove it to her. Making her realize she deserved it.

Reason 19: Pictures of bleeding people don't make you want to puke
Reason 20: If eyes can be hot, yours are smoking
Reason 21: You can put boob marks in all my shirts and I wont care
Reason 22: You smile when you kiss
Reason 23: You're as horny as I am
Reason 24: I cant lie to you
Reason 25: When you're pissed at me, I turn into a depressed slob who cant stop listening to pop crap

This book was totally sweet and heartwarming, and fun, and just the right amount of drama to not piss me off. Lovable characters, a YA-appropriate touch of hot, and an HEA. What else could you ask for? :) This is definitely one that I'll be re-reading in the future.

Reason 26: I want to shout it to the world that I'm in love with you
Reason 27: You are THE girl

Losing It by Cora Carmack (Losing It #1)

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: October 12th 2012
POV: Female - First-person, Past tense
Smut-O-Meter: 6 out of 10
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible - a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

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This book was so much fun and I could not put it down! It's been too long since I read a book I enjoyed this much. I don't know if my expectations are higher now because I have read so many books, or if I have just been having a bad year. This is only my 5th 5-star review this year, while last year I rated 21 5-star books. I am not even close to half way, as I should be at this point.

"Heaven help me, but I wanted my professor to be my boyfriend."

I am not usually a fan of contemporary romance. The unnecessary drama drives me crazy. I hate it when the only thing standing between a couple is themselves and their issues. I love that there was none of that in Losing It. Garrick and Bliss didn't waste too much time dancing around each other, and even though he was her teacher and they were not supposed to be together, it never really came into play. In any other book, they would have been caught and it would have been turned into a big scandal. I can't even say how happy I am that that did not happen!!

"He took my hand, and pulled me into his living room where a book was open on his sofa. It was poetry, of course, because he was perfect."

And I loved Garrick and Bliss. I love that Garrick was a nice, genuine guy who did not mess around. He was straight-forward and real. Bliss on the other hand was clumsy and awkward and prone to verbal vomiting. She was a lot of fun, whether I was laughing with her or at her. She was so relatable and far from perfect, but it's still believable that Garrick loved her because she was awesome and vulnerable and brave at the same time.

"Whoever said one-night stands were supposed to be simple with no strings attached had clearly never met the disaster that was me."

And the ending was ridiculously perfect and adorable and swoon-worthy. I can't say enough how much I loved the ending! I also enjoyed the supporting characters Cade and Kelsey, and I am glad that the series continues with their stories. I will be reading them soon.

"Then, slowly, like the sunrise peeking over the horizon, she smiled. She didn't scream. She didn't run. She didn't faint. There might have been a little crying. But mostly… she danced."

Geek Girl by Holly Smale (Geek Girl #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humour, Romance
Publication Date: February 28th 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Past tense
My Rating: 3 out of 5

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Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.

She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

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This was a typical coming-of-age story. Very predictable. Harriet is picked on in school and when she is offered a modelling job, she accepts hoping it will change her life for the better. But she soon realizes that there are bullies wherever you go, and the trick is to ignore them, be yourself, and remember what is really important.

 

This felt very brief and not much really happened. Her modeling career consisted of one photoshoot, one catwalk, and one interview. It took up a very small part of the book. Most of the book focused on her home life and her relationship with her best friend, Nat. Harriet was not a real geek, but a nerd. Maybe the lingo is different in the UK. But for me, a geek is a person interested in pop culture, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, manga, comics, cosplay, etc. A nerd is a person who is extremely smart and enjoys school and studying, and stereotypically has glasses and is socially awkward. That is Harriet. She is quirky and I appreciated her character. There was a bit of humour between her and her adorable stalker, Toby.

There was also a barely-there romance. We know absolutely nothing about Harriet's love interest besides the fact that he is gorgeous, part Asian, and he likes Harriet. There isnt a lot of depth in this. Its definitely for a younger audience than general YA, who would perhaps appreciate the simple message of the story: Be yourself.

“Have you been sniffing glitter again?”