Review: What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass

Title: What's Broken Between Us                               

Author: Alexis Bass

Publication: December 29th 2015, HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC, 304 pages              

Source: Edelweiss (Thanks to the publisher)        

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:   

A year and a half ago, Amanda Tart's brother got behind the wheel drunk and killed his best friend. Today, he's coming home from prison.

Amanda's been the one living with the fallout, made worse by her brother's recent unapologetic TV interview. People think he's a monster. Still, she loves him. It's her dark secret, until she starts getting close to Henry again--whose sister is paralyzed from the accident. 

A year and a half ago, her brother destroyed his life. Now Amanda has to decide if she'll let his choice destroy hers.

                                 

Review:

I don't really like writing negative reviews because it leaves a bad after taste in my mouth and I feel like I'm gonna be sick but I've always been honest with everyone when it comes to my reviews and this books is the first of probably a few that's going to be coming along the way, that I did not enjoy very much.

What's Broken Between Us is probably one of those books that started off really mysterious and cool and then got slapped in the face by an array of characters that felt a little too over the top.

TOP 15 Reads of 2015

2015 isn't exactly a wondrous year of books for me, reading wise at least. I've only read 30 books this year. CUT ME NOW. I wish to have read much more but with all the hiatuses and the hell holes I've been through this year, I think that 30 is a fair number. I promise to do better this 2016! But here's the list of books I really enjoyed in 2015!

15. A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT by Sandy Hall

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. 

But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

DNF: '89 Walls by Katie Pierson

Title: '89 Walls                                

Author: Katie Pierson

Publication: June 5th 2015, Wise Ink 

Format: e-ARC, 264 pages               

Source: Netgalley (Thanks to the publisher!)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:                                      

College is not in the cards for Seth. He spends his minimum wage on groceries and fakes happiness to distract his mom from the MS they both know will kill her. It’s agony to carry around a frayed love note for a girl who’s both out of his league and beneath his dignity.

Quinn’s finishing high school on top. But that cynical, liberal guy in her social studies class makes her doubt her old assumptions. Challenging the rules now, though, would a) squander her last summer at home, b) antagonize her conservative dad, and c) make her a hypocrite.

Seth and Quinn’s passionate new romance takes them both by surprise. They keep it a secret: it’s too early to make plans and too late not to care. But it’s 1989. As politics suddenly get personal, they find themselves fighting bare-fisted for their beliefs—and each other—in the clear light of day.

Misfit Review:

36%

I really wanted to finish this book, with all of my heart, but it just got too complicated and I dunno, threw me off almost immediately.  I think what made me like it, first and foremost was the talk on American politics, but it was also the reason why I didn't continue it. I'm quite curious about how politics was, especially how it worked in other countries. And in this sense, it was also set in 1989, a time I wasn't even born into, and Taylor Swift was probably still trying to get out of her Mom.

{BLOG TOUR} Review + Giveaway: This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

Title: This Monstrous Thing                                

Author: Mackenzi Lee

Publication: September 22nd 2015, Katherine Tegen Books

Format: e-ARC, 384 pages              

Source: From author through Fantastic Flying Book Club       
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:                                      

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

Misfit Review:

Take the essence of Frankenstein and mix it all up with elements of steampunk, then you've got yourself one interesting rendition of a classic novel.

Alasdair loses his brother and decides to bring him back to life. And with a life that you take, consequences are bound to come for you. I love how edgy and gritty this novel is. It does present a very dark ages of sorts, set in old European bound culture, yet adding the element of clockwork. 

Review + Giveaway (US + INTL): The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

Title: The One Thing                               

Author: Marci Lyn Curtis

Publication: September 8th 2015, Disney-Hyperion

Format: ARC              

Source: Won from giveaway! (Thank you so much Erin Dealey on Twitter and Marci Lyn Curtis!)   

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:                                      

Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.

Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional-soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.

Then Maggie's whole world is turned upside down. Somehow, incredibly, she can see again. But only one person: Ben, a precocious ten-year-old unlike anyone she's ever met.Ben's life isn't easy, but he doesn't see limits, only possibilities. After awhile, Maggie starts to realize that losing her sight doesn't have to mean losing everything she dreamed of. Even if what she's currently dreaming of is Mason Milton, the infuriatingly attractive lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band, who just happens to be Ben's brother.

But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future... before she loses everything she has grown to love.

Misfit Review:

We take a lot of things for granted, that's for sure. And if we lose a thing that means a lot to us, then we'd feel like nothing else matters anymore, that we're incomplete and we cannot function anymore. The One Thing serves as an eye-opener, that even in times of pain and obstacles, there is hope and you are not alone.

Review: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Title: Never Always Sometimes                               

Author: Adi Alsaid

Publication: August 1st 2015, Harlequin Teen

Format: ARC Paperback, 320 pages

Source: Pinoy Book Tours (Check out the tour)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:                                      

Never date your best friend

Always be original

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids — the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school.

Some of the rules have been easy to follow; like No. 5, never die your hair a colour of the rainbow, or No. 7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule No. 8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule No. 10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember.

Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

Misfit Review:

Things I NEVER got to do in high school:

1. I NEVER had a lunch spot.

2. We didn't have prom, so I NEVER got to be prom queen (WTF?) and I NEVER got into student council.

3. I NEVER attended any beer parties coz I NEVER got invited into any of them.

4. I NEVER hosted a BEER party coz my Dad would've killed me or disowned me by then.. Plus I don't drink liquor. HA!

5. I NEVER dyed my hair a different color. Catholic private schools weren't lax about that kinda stuff.

6. I NEVER got to streak, skinny dip, or do anything else that could result in a viral nude pic, coz why? LOL

7. I NEVER hooked up with a teacher coz hello, Catholic school... The horror. (We also never got substitutes, so... too bad)

9. I NEVER got to go on a "life-changing" road trip coz I never looked for myself then.

10. And, I NEVER dated my best friend... coz well, I didn't swing that way... also, I didn't have male best friends in high school.

{BLOG TOUR} Mini Review: All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder

Title: All We Have Is Now                              

Author: Lisa Schroeder

Publication: July 29th 2015, Scholastic (Point)

Format: Paperback, 272 pages

Source: Pinoy Book Tours (Thank you Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again)         

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:

What do you do with your last day on earth?

Just over twenty-four hours are left until an asteroid strikes North America, and for Emerson and everyone else who didn’t leave, the world will end. But Emerson’s world already ended when she ran away from home. Since then, she has lived on the streets, relying on her wits and on her friend Vince to help her find places to sleep and food to eat.

The city’s quieter now that most people are gone, and no one seems to know what to do as the end approaches. But then Emerson and Vince meet Carl, who tells them he has been granting people’s wishes—and gives them his wallet full of money.

Suddenly, this last day seems full of possibility. Emerson and Vince can grant a lot of wishes in one last day—maybe even their own.

                                      

Misfit Review:

I'll be keeping this short and sweet since I don't literally have the time to be doing reviews... (why do I do this to myself?) All We Have Is Now discusses the issue of "What if the world ended? What will you do?"

The Misfit Interviews: Lance Rubin

So yeah! Hi there Misfit Booknerds! Been a while, yeah? I know! Oh right, yes, I'm doing an interview with one of my new favorite authors, Lance Rubin! He's new, so be nice to him, okay? Okay! Let's continue!

1. What is your favourite color? 

• Blue. That’s such a boring answer. But it’s the truth. 

Review: The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

Title: The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak

Author: Brian Katcher

Publication: May 19th 2015, Katherine Tegen Books

Format: e-ARC, 336 pages 

Source: From the publisher (Thanks HarperCollins!)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak is Stonewall Book Award-winning author Brian Katcher’s hilarious he said/she said romance about two teens recovering from heartbreak and discovering themselves on an out-of-this-world acciantal first date.

It all begins when Ana Watson's little brother, Clayton, secretly ditches the quiz bowl semifinals to go to the Washingcon sci-fi convention on what should have been a normal, résumé-building school trip.

If slacker Zak Duquette hadn't talked up the geek fan fest so much, maybe Clayton wouldn't have broken nearly every school rule or jeopardized Ana’s last shot at freedom from her uptight parents.

Now, teaming up with Duquette is the only way for Ana to chase down Clayton in the sea of orcs, zombies, bikini-clad princesses, Trekkies, and Smurfs. After all, one does not simply walk into Washingcon.

But in spite of Zak's devil-may-care attitude, he has his own reasons for being as lost as Ana-and Ana may have more in common with him than she thinks. Ana and Zak certainly don’t expect the long crazy night, which begins as a nerdfighter manhunt, to transform into so much more…

Misfit Review:

Refreshing and a little maze of new knowledge on geekdom, The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak is something that you should read. Here are more reasons why you should dive into it.

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Title: Emmy & Oliver                               

Author: Robin Benway

Publication: June 23rd 2015, HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC, 352 pages

Source: From the publisher (Thanks HarperTeen!)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.

Misfit Review:

When someone important in your life comes back after many years, knowing that them disappearing has caused great trauma to a lot of people, is it alright to just go back to the way it was or will the change be too much to handle?

Emmy & Oliver is a rollercoaster of feelings, brought about the traumatic experience of Oliver being kidnapped by his Dad one day, at age 7. After 10 years, Oliver comes back home and Emmy, his best friend, is both happy and worried. Things have changed. Oliver's mom won't rest till his Dad is arrested, Emmy's parents are way too overprotective of her and Caro and Drew, Emmy's best friends (Oliver's friends once), are gonna have to learn to adapt to everything again. It's a mixture of happiness and uncertainty for everyone and on whether everything should be done-over or should it be a start over.

{BLOG TOUR} Review: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Title: We All Looked Up

Author: Tommy Wallach

Publication: March 26th 2015, Simon and Schuster UK

Format: Trade Paperback, 384 pages

Source: Pinoy Book Tours (Thanks again, Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnesand Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:

Before the asteroid, we let ourselves be defined by labels:

The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever.

But then we all looked up and everything changed.

They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end.

Two months to really live.

Misfit Review:

Many times, I find contemporaries tiring and repetitive in formula, while some just go beyond my expectations. We All Looked Up proved that it will definitely go beyond my expectations indeed, but it did bring up some casualties.

So the plot goes around as an apocalyptic few months left for the world because an asteroid called Ardor is going to fall from the sky and presents distress among people, especially the focus of the story, the teens in Seattle, who try to make the coming of the end worthwhile by throwing a party and making sure that they didn’t leave the world with any regrets.

Review: Summer on The Short Bus by Bethany Crandell

Title: Summer On The Short Bus

Author: Bethany Crandell

Publication: April 1st, 2014, Running Press Teens

Format: Paperback, 256 pages

Source: A Christmas Gift from Bethany Crandell! (Thank you Manager!)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnesand Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis: 

Cricket Montgomery has been thrown under the short bus. Shipped off to a summer camp by her father, Cricket is forced to play babysitter to a bunch of whiny kids—or so she thinks. When she realizes this camp is actually for teens with special needs, Cricket doubts she has what it takes to endure twenty-four hours, let alone two weeks. Thanks to her dangerously cute co-counselor, Quinn, there may be a slim chance for survival. However, between the campers’ unpredictability and disregard for personal space, Cricket’s limits get pushed. She will have to decide if suffering through her own handicapped hell is worth a summer romance—and losing her sanity.

Misfit Review:

Trying to change for the better seems to be a challenge for most people because they think it might break a ritual, a sense of self or a characteristic they hold. For the protagonist of Bethany Crandell's Summer On The Short Bus, Cricket, it holds very true.