The Litaku

Review: 'Being Friends with Boys' by Terra Elan McVoy

Monday, August 17, 2015

Being Friends with Boys

Terra Elan McVoy

Charlotte and Oliver have been friends forever. She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more. When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

I got this book off Pulse It. Arigato, Pulse It!

Note: Throughout this review, I mention shoujo mangas. Shoujo mangas are the light and fluffy mangas. They're the 'girl' mangas. (But anyone can read them.) They're mostly contemporaries with lots of romance and cute boys!

Want more information? Click here.

The Big Picture:

I first thought I'd like this book. After all, a lot of my close friends are perverted males. I thought, 'Oh cool! Maybe I'll be able to connect to the MC better.' Wrong. I didn't feel any connection to the MC Charlotte. She writes songs and sings and has so many problems with her guy friends. I didn't feel any connection to her.
I felt oddly disappointed by this book. The book wasn't what I expected at all. It was a girl who was completely confused by her feelings for multiple guys. I swear, this was some messed-up shoujo manga with a reverse harem! (That means a lot of guys.)
The main character wasn't the best. I thought she was interesting, but she wasn't someone I would befriend. The romance threw me off. She was extremely indecisive. She had, in total, three crushes throughout the entire book. That doesn't make sense. And it's not like any of those crushes really went anywhere. The plot was slow and dull. It was a lot of teenage drama. And while I like some drama, this was too much for me.
I'm happy this was a quick read. I got over with it quickly.

The Dirty Details:

This girl was interesting. She was a pretty creative girl. I liked her random song making. Her lyrics were pretty good. ('Hansel and Gretel Crumbs'? Amazing.)
She was adamantly one of the guys. She wanted to be one of the guys. Then, she wasn't. Then, she was. It was utterly confusing. I felt like she kept flipping back and forth between extremely girly and one of the guys.
And...she has so many crushes. I swear... It was crazy. She was liking guys left and right. Your father is understandably worried. He meets so many guys, and he doesn't know who you are dating!

The book was entirely about romance. That was a given because the premise states that there will be romance. Romance can be written well. This was...okay. There were so many crushes, though. Too many boys. Too many. Just choose one! I was overwhelmed by the boys and all the crushes or assumed crushes. One guy is okay. Two is pushing it. The three or so in this book was killing me. (Metaphorically.)
I guessed who she would end up with. The author left little hints all throughout the book. Little bread crumbs. (Get it? Get it?) It was kinda obvious.

The plot was extremely dull. It was slow. It didn't have much happening. There was no action at all. There was a lot of boy drama, but that wasn't interesting at all. I wanted more drama. Maybe her dad and stepmother break up. Or maybe Oliver secretly loves her. Bring on the shoujo manga plot twists!

The book was a quick read. I didn't need to think about what was happening. It was like a short read. It was light and fluffy. I wasted a few hours reading this, but it was a lighthearted book to interrupt all the action books I typically read.

Rating:

2/5

ARC August Recap

Friday, August 14, 2015

Yo yo yo, everyone!
Here's my recap of ARC August so far.

So far, I've read two ARCs. I feel so accomplished. It's not like everyone else has read a lot of their ARCs. (Heavy sarcasm.)

I'm gonna say this, though. I wasn't in the US until the 14th of August. I didn't have access to Tonight the Streets Are Ours or The Rest of Us Just Live Here or Another Day. Those books are at home in the US. I had access to my NetGalley eARCs only. So yeah. I couldn't read the other ARCs I wanted to read for ARC August.

They are:

The review will come out on August 18th.
I was a little disappointed by this book. I really wanted it to be something special. Something fantastical and amazing. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't dazzle me as I expected.

The review is here.
I was definitely shocked by this book. It was surprisingly good. The friendships were interesting. The characters were complex. I definitely was interested in this book.

Ask the Blogger: Lauren from Bookmark Lit

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Ask the Blogger

This time on Ask the Blogger...

I'll be interviewing Lauren owner of Bookmark Lit.

Who is Lauren?

Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Tumblr

Hello! My name is Lauren and I’m obviously the creator and updater of Bookmark Lit. I graduated from a small business college in 2013 with a Marketing degree. I minored in Literary & Cultural Studies and Sociology. I spend my days at a small recruiting firm in Connecticut, working on their marketing, account management, and recruiting. I live with my boyfriend Chris and we’ve been together since 2012. He doesn’t read nearly as much as me, but he’s been going crazy with audiobooks while he works. We have an apartment full of Lego and young adult books, so clearly us 23 year olds have no intentions of growingup any time soon! My ultimate dream would be to go back to school for a Master’s/PhD to become a professor. I love cultural studies and gender studies and would kill to teach those subjects at a college level. I love the Carolina Panthers more than anything in the world. I can’t explain how crazy I get when I watch them play; I inherited my football insanity from both of my parents. I scream, swear, cheer, and jump off the couch constantly. My overall mood from September through January depends solely on the Panthers’ record. I love drinking a coffee while I read in bed, or lounging outside with a slurpee and a book. I love the TV show Friends more than anyone. No really, I do, don’t even try to challenge it. I’ve gone through a DVD boxed set already because I watched the discs too much. I used to sneak out into the living room while my mom watched the show and it was WAY too inappropriate for my eight year old self.

NOTE: I do not own any of the photos. All rights go to their respective owners.

Why did you start book blogging?

I started many blogs in the past but none of them stuck. I wasn't sure what I wanted to blog about, but always had a weird draw towards blogging. I tried lifestyle, fashion, beauty... none of it was really anything I was interested in. When I graduated college, I started reading again like crazy. I was finishing Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and started to look at reviews on Goodreads. I kept seeing people link to their blogs and it hit me that book blogging was a thing I could do and would never lose interest in. A few months later, I started up Bookmark Lit!

What's the best thing that happened to you because of blogging?

I think going to BEA and meeting bloggers in person was pretty amazing. We only went for one day, but I was able to meet so many online friends and spend time with them in real life. Finding people that you have so much in common with is such a great feeling. Otherwise, I just think the whole community in general is so much fun and welcoming.

What are your top ten favorite series?

Oh jeez! I'm really bad at finishing series, but here are my favorites that I've read. Honestly, some are more guilty pleasure reads from high school, but they totally count, right?! These are in no particular order!

Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Private by Kate Brian - I technically have two books left to read, but I know this will always be one of my faves
Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Hundred Oaks by Miranda Kenneally - still ongoing too! Love these companions
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
A Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy by Libba Bray
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Shadowlands trilogy by Kate Brian
HARRY POTTER.... but that goes without saying.

Where's your favorite place to read?

My favorite place to read during the summer is in the pool. I've been doing it since I was old enough to know how to read, so I'm an absolute pro at not dropping my book in the water. I love walking around the water with my book in my hands. I also love reading in bed, on my porch, and on the beach (even though I'm not a big beach fan in general!)

What's one book that has changed your life?

Hmm. Aside from Before I Fall getting me into blogging, I have a whole post of these books that inspired me to DO something: http://bookmarklit.net/2015/04/14/top-ten-tuesdays-36-inspiration/

What book-turned-movie/show is your favorite?

I loved the way The Fault in Our Stars was adapted. I think it was incredibly well-done and emotional. I cried for the last half hour straight, probably. For TV shows, I ENJOY the Pretty Little Liars show... but it's essentially nothing like the books at this point. I can barely consider it an adaptation!

Would you rather meet your favorite character or meet your favorite author?

I feel like a weird bookworm for not really having a favorite character. I'd love to meet plenty of them, but I'm not obsessed with anyone like a lot of people are! I'm sure my day will come for that. So, by default, I'd say my favorite author. At this point I have quite a few of these... but I think the one I'd genuinely most like to meet would be Kieran Scott, aka Kate Brian. I've loved all of her books that I've read and she helped pull me out of countless reading slumps. Again, though, JK Rowling is a given, right?

When you're not reading, what can people find you doing?

My boyfriend and I collect and build Lego. We make mostly our own creations and art, but we also build and collect sets. We have a local group we're in and it's a lot of fun! Otherwise I've been getting back into binging Netflix a little bit, which is amazing. You can find me doing those things, or doing absolutely nothing on my butt on the couch.

Would you rather be able to read only one book whole for the rest of your life or read only the first lines of millions?

That's tough! I'd have to say one book. Any of the Harry Potter books, probably. I don't think I could get sick of them!

What three things would you bring to a deserted island?

My boyfriend for someone to talk to and hang out with, lots and lots of food, and probably as many books as the rule-makers would allow me to bring :)

Thank you, Lauren!

Review: 'Breakaway' by Kat Spears

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Breakaway

Kat Spears

Goodreads / Amazon

From Kat Spears, author of Sway, comes a new novel that asks the question: when a group of four best friends begin to drift apart, what will it take to bring them back together?

When Jason Marshall's younger sister passes away, he knows he can count on his three best friends and soccer teammates—Mario, Jordie, and Chick—to be there for him. With a grief-crippled mother and a father who's not in the picture, he needs them more than ever. But when Mario starts hanging out with a rough group of friends and Jordie finally lands the girl of his dreams, Jason is left to fend for himself while maintaining a strained relationship with troubled and quiet Chick. Then Jason meets Raine, a girl he thinks is out of his league but who sees him for everything he wants to be, and he finds himself pulled between building a healthy and stable relationship with a girl he might be falling in love with, grieving for his sister, and trying to hold onto the friendships he has always relied on.

A witty and emotionally moving tale of friendship, first love, and loss, Breakaway is Kat Spears at her finest.

I got this as an eARC from NetGalley.

The Big Picture:

Don't be fooled by this cover. It's not a sweet romance. It's a book about the rough and gritty. It's about the poorer part of the city. The book is a complete flip of what you would think it's about. It's not cutesy. It's not about insta-love. It's well-developed characters who are snarky and human. It's a slow plot and a slow romance. It's taking things steady. It's, simply, a bunch of teenagers in high school.
I was surprised by this book. It really was good. It was well-written. The story and characters felt real. The plot was a little slow, though. The romance wasn't too bad. It wasn't insta-love which was great. The ending could have been better, but it wrapped things up.

The Dirty Details:

The characters felt real. I felt like Jaz could be anyone I know. I felt like he was right there, talking to me. They felt like actual teenage boys. They drank beer. They teased each other. They had erections. (Which was...odd but it made the story real. Because dudes get erections a lot. My friend once said they get it around seven or eight times a day or something like that. I imagine it's like, 'Whelps. There it goes again.') They made out with girls. The guys acted the way teenagers act. I felt like that made the story more realistic.
This book had great humor. The guys made 'yo mama' jokes. They teased each other. It was lighthearted humor. I loved it. It made them feel real. They weren't uptight, stick-in-the-mud types. They joked. They teased. They made fun of each other. They didn't take each other seriously. People do that in real life as well.
The story felt real. I felt like it could be anyone's story. It felt so common. Dead sibling. Disappearing dad. Young mother. Etc etc etc. The reactions felt so common. I felt like I could go to NYC and ask someone, 'Tell me your story,' and this would be it.

The plot was actually quite dull. Not a lot happened. It was slow. The exciting things weren't too exciting. Finding Jaz's dad. Jaz being beat up by Brian. Etc etc etc. The twists weren't too shocking. It wasn't that you expected it or guessed it. They just weren't that shocking.
I was bored about halfway through. If you want the girl, get the girl. That's what I think. I wanted more about the friendship. I wanted more about the dynamics in the group or lack of dynamics. Give me more friendship! Less awkward flirting!

The romance was okay. I didn't mind it. I liked that it was slow and steady. It was cute seeing the two of them act so innocent around each other. I was like, 'Aw... Jaz is being so innocent and nice. Even when he's not innocent or nice at all!' It was definitely a change. Most romances are quick. The lovers have no chemistry. They have no reason to be together at all. The romance doesn't fit the book at all. The romance in this book was part of the story. It changed Jaz's personality. He lost his friends but found one in Raine. And then she wasn't his friend. (-wink wink-)
The future didn't matter. It was just the present. (Such a teenager-ish thing to say...)

The ending wrapped things up. The story ended nicely. There weren't anymore questions. There weren't anymore loose ends. It was a nice present wrapped up and tied with a tiny bow.
I'm not saying it was the best ending. I wanted things to be better. I wanted to undo what happened to Chick. I wanted to make things right between the friends. Smack them around a bit and put Mario in rehab, you know? But life isn't happy endings. Life takes you into its arms before kicking your butt and shoving you onto the street.

Rating:

4/5

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I've Read The Most Books From

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Week's Topic:

Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most Books From

Man. Just thinking about this topic made my head ache. I really had to dig down.

Thankfully, I found this cool Goodreads gadget that did the calculating for me. Sadly, some of the authors wrote mangas, so I had to discount those. These are the results. (Of course, I could have chosen other authors. I've read a lot of books.)

This post is organized from least to greatest.