Review: Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

26050845 Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: February 11th 2016
Publisher: MIRA
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 15+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller, Suspense

BLURB:

The 2016 debut bloggers can’t stop raving about. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and The Ice Twins

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace.

He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. Though, you’d like to get to know Grace better.

But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.

Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.

Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie. Continue reading →

Review: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

25486998 P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: July 26th 2016
Publisher: Point
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, High School, Love-Hate Relationships

BLURB:

What if the person you were falling for was a total mystery?

While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has written back to her on the desk! Soon enough Lily and the mystery student are exchanging notes, and lyrics, and even sharing secrets. When Lily finds out that her anonymous pen pal is a guy, she’s flustered — and kind of feels like she’s falling for him. She and her best friend set out to unravel the identity of the letter writer — but when the truth is revealed, the guy is the LAST person Lily could have ever imagined it to be. Now that Lily knows the truth, can she untangle her feelings and gather the courage to listen to her heart?

From beloved author Kasie West (The Distance Between Us) comes an utterly charming story about mixed messages, missed connections, and the magic of good old-fashioned secret admirer notes. Continue reading →

Review: Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice, #2) by Christina Henry

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

27246122 Red Queen by Christina Henry

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publicatio Date: July 12th 2016
Publisher: Ace
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Dark, Magic, Romance

BLURB:

The author of Alice takes readers back down the rabbit hole to a dark, twisted, and fascinating world based on the works of Lewis Carroll…

The land outside of the Old City was supposed to be green, lush, hopeful. A place where Alice could finally rest, no longer the plaything of the Rabbit, the pawn of Cheshire, or the prey of the Jabberwocky. But the verdant fields are nothing but ash—and hope is nowhere to be found.

Still, Alice and Hatcher are on a mission to find his daughter, a quest they will not forsake even as it takes them deep into the clutches of the mad White Queen and her goblin or into the realm of the twisted and cruel Black King.

The pieces are set and the game has already begun. Each move brings Alice closer to her destiny. But, to win, she will need to harness her newfound abilities and ally herself with someone even more powerful—the mysterious and vengeful Red Queen… Continue reading →

Negative Review: Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

23587107 Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Edelweiss
Publicatio Date: May 31st 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Point of View: 1st Person Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult Contemporary, LGBT

BLURB:

When Frannie Little eavesdrops on her parents fighting she discovers that her cousin Truman is gay, and his parents are so upset they are sending him to live with her family for the summer. At least, that’s what she thinks the story is. . . When he arrives, shy Frannie befriends this older boy, who is everything that she’s not–rich, confident, cynical, sophisticated. Together, they embark on a magical summer marked by slowly unraveling secrets. Continue reading →

DNF Review: Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publicatio Date: April 5th, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Point of View: 1st Person Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, High School, Death, Humor

BLURB:

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends. Continue reading →

Review: Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

26245098 Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group
Publication Date: May 31st 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 1st & 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Romance, Life, Society, Individualism

BLURB:

Nanette O’Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hardworking student, and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bugglegum Reaper–a mysterious, out-of-print cult classic–the rebel within Nanette awakens.

As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young troubled poet, and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that rebellion sometimes comes at a high price. Continue reading →

Review: You Know Me Well by David Levithan & Nina LaCour

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

27158835 You Know Me Well by David Levithan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: June 7th 2015
Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, Love, Friendship

BLURB:

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other — and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.
Continue reading →

Review: The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy, #3) by Marie Rutkoski

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

20443235 The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: March 29th 2016
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, War Setting, Romance, Fantasy
Book One Review: The Winner’s Curse
Book Two Review: The Winner’s Crime

BLURB:

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? Continue reading →

Review: The Siren by Kiera Cass

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

25817407 The Siren by Kiera Cass

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: January 26th, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mermaids, Sacrifice, Soul Mates, Sisterhood

BLURB:

Love is a risk worth taking.

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny…and Kahlen doesn’t want to.

Falling in love with a human breaks all the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart. Continue reading →

Review: Ruined (Untitled, #1) by Amy Tintera

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

26074185 Ruined by Amy Tintera

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Revenge, Royalty, War Setting, Magic

BLURB:

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake. Continue reading →