Monday, July 27, 2015

Review: The (Almost) Perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys

Review: The (Almost) perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys by Barbara Dee

In Finley's middle school, kissing frogs might lead to princes--if there were any frogs! Categorizing classmates leads to a battle of the sexes in this M!X novel from the author of Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life.

According to Finley and her BFF, Maya, middle school boys can be put into three separate categories: tadpoles, croakers, and frogs. Per their official Life Cycle of Amphibian Boys, while tadpoles are totally not developed yet (read: boys who still love fart jokes and can't have a normal conversation with girls without making fun of them), a frog is the top of the boy food chain--evolved and mature. Sadly, not many boys have reached that elusive frog status at Staunton Middle School.

Finley thought she had everyone pegged, until Zachary Mattison enters the picture. After suddenly leaving the year before, Zachary's surprise reappearance at SMS forces Finley to see him in a new light. And when the official life cycle list falls into the wrong hands, it causes a battle between the boys and girls that turns into an all-out war--one that Finley isn't sure anyone can really win...

-summary and cover via Goodreads


Plot: Fun! The whole idea of this was fun and I really enjoyed it!

Characters: Finley was very easy to relate to! And I enjoyed getting to know the other characters in this book as well!

The cover: I like it!

Overall: I had read the authors first two books not long after both of them had released (Yep, I was actually in the intended age range for Middle Garde books at that time.), really enjoyed them, but for some reason never read her others. But I just knew I wanted to read this book a lot and I'm glad I did! Very fun and easy to relate to! Would gladly read more about these characters, too! This was the first book I read this year and I'm happy to say it started my reading year off good! I recommend it! :)

I checked this book out from my library.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: Neverseen

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog


This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Neverseen (Keeper of The Lost Cities #4) by Shannon Messenger

(There are major spoilers for past books in the summary below!)


Sophie Foster is on the run—but at least she's not alone.

Her closest friends from the Lost Cities have gone with her to join the Black Swan. They still have doubts about the shadowy organization, but the only way to find answers is to start working with them. And as they settle into their new lives, they uncover secrets far bigger than anything they’d imagined.

But their enemies are far from done, and unleash a terrifying plague that threatens the safety of an entire species. Sophie and her friends fight with everything they have—with new allies joining them—but every choice has consequences. And trusting the wrong person could prove deadly.

In this game-changing fourth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must question everything to find a truth that will either save her world—or shatter it.
-summary and cover via Goodreads

This is one of my favorite series and after the ending of the last book? I NEED this next book! :) (If you haven't read these books yet, why not?! They are amazing!) :)

This book releases November 3rd

Monday, July 20, 2015

Mini Review: A Posse of Princesses



Mini review: This was a book that I had known of for awhile now, but for whatever reason just hadn't read. When I finally got it from the library, I was hoping I would enjoy it, but I didn't realize how much I would! This was a wonderful book! At the end of it, when it went forward a few years, I felt like I was visiting with old friends! And I love how the second to last chapter was letters between Rhis (The main character in the book.), and her friends getting to see what was happening to them, in between what happened in the final chapter that was set a few years later! Would gladly read a sequel with these characters to find out more about them all! Highly recommend this book! And now I go to find more books by this author! :)

I checked this book out from my local library.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: Lock & Mori

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine


This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty

In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students, one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James "Mori" Moriarty, meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.

Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more.

FACT: Someone has been murdered in London's Regent's Park. The police have no leads.

FACT: Miss James "Mori"Moriarty and Sherlock "Lock" Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.

FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.

FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock's one rule--they must share every clue with each other--Mori is keeping secrets.

OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can't trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.

-summary and cover via Goodreads

I love the idea of this book! A teenage Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty?! Love! :)

This book releases September 15th

Monday, July 13, 2015

Mini Review: Breaking the Ice

Mini Review: Breaking the Ice by Gail Nall


Mini Review: This was a book that I enjoyed reading a lot! I would gladly read more about Kaitlin and the other characters in this book! If you love figure skating, sport books, or just a good Middle Grade book, I recommend reading it! :)

I checked this book out from my library.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog


This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith


On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.
-summary and cover via Goodreads


This looks good! And I love the cover of it! :)

This book releases September 1st

Monday, July 6, 2015

Mini Review: Meet the Marvel Super Heroes

Mini Review: Meet the Marvel Super Heroes


Mini Review: This was a lot of fun to read! From finding out more about my favorites (Rogue, Captain America, and Hawkeye!), to learning about super heroes I had never heard of before (Did you know there's a superhero named Squirrel Girl?), I enjoyed reading this book a lot! And the graphics in it are awesome! Highly recommend if you are a Marvel fan, or are just new to superheroes and want to learn more about them! :)

Who is your favorite super hero? :)

I checked this book out from my library.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Happy 4th of July 2015!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!



God Bless America!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful, safe, and happy 4th of July!!!!!!! :)

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Game Review: Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness

I thought I would post something a little different on the blog today! I think everyone reading this blog knows I'm a fan of books, and love talking about them! But another thing I love are the Nancy Drew computer games, which are AMAZING! They have the best characters, writing, and the graphics are awesome! (Honestly, don't get me started talking about ND unless you have a lot of time on your hands.) And I thought it might be fun to post a review of the newest game on the blog today! If you're not interested in video games, or Nancy Drew, I totally understand you skipping this post. But if you love them as much as I do, or you're just wondering about them, I thought this would be fun! :)


Game Review: Nancy Drew #32: Sea of Darkness (Bonus Edition)

(standard edition cover art.)

Rating: E10+
Maker: Herinteractive
Website Link: Nancy Drew #32: Sea of Darkness

Plot: Good! Without spoiling the game, I thought the plot was fun, and had good twists in it!

Characters: Interesting! While these characters are not going to be in my Top Five of All-Time (A post I would be happy to write if anyone would like to read it.) (Though I may write it anyway, just for fun!), I think they were all interesting and different! My top two in this game would be a tie between Elissabet and Dagny. But Alex Trang (Who you only get to talk to on the phone.), was a favorite, too! (Would love to see her return in another game!) And I liked Ned more in this game than I have previous games!

Locations: Iceland was different from previous game places, and I thought it was fun! (Though honestly, with how dark it was? I would NEVER be able to live there full-time.) I loved exploring the ship, it was beautiful! (A personal favorite was getting to climb up to the top!) And everywhere else in the game was well done!

Graphics: Excellent! Every game just gets better in graphics! And I love getting to see the Northern Lights in the game!

Writing: I like the writing in this game a lot! The humor was very fun, and found myself laughing a lot, which was something I didn't expect with this particular game. Because I thought the tone overall would be more serious (Which I'm pleased to say that there is humor to lighten the more serious moments!). And I didn't think there would be many jokes in it, which I'm pleased to write I was wrong about! (And as always, I love the little references to previous games!) The writing was very strong in this game!

Puzzles: Good! Fun! Not too easy, but not too hard either! (I have to admit that I was very bad at the animal puzzle game, though!)

Music: Good! And the song with lyrics, The Word I Couldn't Keep was very pretty, even though it was sad.

Ending: Not my favorite ending overall, but still good!

Will I Replay It?: Um, it's a Nancy Drew game. I'm obviously going to replay it!

Game cover: Very neat and pretty!

Overall: A very good ND game! Definitely in my top ten, and after replaying it, it might go into my top five! Excellent writing, amazing graphics, wonderful characters, fabulous music, and overall good plot make this a must have game for a Nancy Drew fan! And if you have never played ND before, or it's been awhile? This is a wonderful game to begin with! :)


This next part might be a spoiler to you, if you don't want to know what the next game is about/what the title is before you play!

Next Game: Looking forward to having Deidre back again! And while the next game kinda looks terrifying, I also think it looks really good! (And if the voice at the end of the trailer is Nancy's new voice, I like it!) :)

Are you interested in more game reviews? Do you like Nancy Drew games, too? :)

Review of game I bought.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: A School for Brides

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog


This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: A School for Brides by Patrice Kindl

The eagerly awaited companion to the award-winnng Keeping the Castle.

The Winthrop Hopkins Female Academy of Lesser Hoo, Yorkshire, has one goal: to train its students in the feminine arts with an eye toward getting them married off. This year, there are five girls of marriageable age. There’s only one problem: the school is in the middle of nowhere, and there are no men.

Set in the same English town as Keeping the Castle, and featuring a few of the same characters, here’s the kind of witty tribute to the classic Regency novel that could only come from the pen of Patrice Kindl!
-summary and cover via Goodreads

This looks fun! :)


This book releases July 14th