Review: Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt

Title: Aces Up
Author: Lauren Barholdt
Published: August 2010
Source: Won
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old high school senior Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. She's been admitted to Wellesley, but her dad just lost his job, and somehow she has to come up with a year of tuition herself. But Shannon's dream of making big bucks waitressing at the local casino, the Collosio, disappears faster than a gambler's lucky streak. Her boss is a tyrant, her coworker is nuts, and her chances of balancing a tray full of drinks while wearing high-heeled shoes are slim to none. Worse, time is running out, and Shannon hasn't made even half the money she'd hoped.

When Shannon receives a mysterious invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of highly talented college poker players, at first she thinks No way. She has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max. But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteen-year-old leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.

Soon Shannon's caught up in a web of lies and deceit that makes worrying about tuition money or a high school crush seem like kid stuff. Still, when the money's this good, is the fear of getting caught reason enough to fold?

This fun, sexy, recession-proof story is a bubbly summer read with surprising depth—great for fans of Sarah Mlynowski.

After thoroughly enjoying Barnholdt's Two-Way Street I had high expectations for this book. Sadly, it didn't live up to them. Shannon was a character that I couldn't seem to connect to, and the situation was just too out of this world for me to believe. It did have its moments though, and is good if you're looking for a book that's not too serious.

All of the characters fell a bit flat for me, especially Shannon. I definitely understood her motives for working illegally at the Collosio, and even for gambling there. What I don't understand is how such a smart girl could put herself in the dangerous situations that she did. Being alone in a hotel room with a complete stranger is not smart, it's downright idiotic. The fact that nothing terrible comes of it really doesn't set a good example.

Another thing that I didn't like about the book was how completely unlikely everything was. Shannon was out until the early hours of the morning almost every night without her parents noticing. She was out until long after midnight frequently on school nights, and yet managed to get through her days at school and go to work that night. The only negative thing that happened was that her grade in math slipped to a C. Show me someone who can do that and not completely fail out of school and I'll bow to them.

It definitely wasn't all bad. If you can suspend reality for a while you'll probably enjoy it. It has some cute scenes and a few suspenseful parts. The scenes between Shannon and her sister are cute, and her friend MacKenzie is really funny. I think that I chose the wrong time to read this, because I might have enjoyed more in the summer.

Basically, it wasn't my cup of tea, but it has its moments and if you can suspend reality while you read it you'll probably enjoy it.

Characters: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
Originality: 8/10
Plot: 7/10
Ending: 8/10
Overall: 39/50 C+
Cover Comments: Really cute cover! The title is also cute, and relevant.

In My Mailbox (35)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristy at The Story Siren.

For Review:

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Two copies: One for review and one to giveaway!

Thanks to Knopf and Teen Book Scene Blog Tours!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

 

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

I'm assuming these are for review since they came directly from the publisher, but I didn't know they were coming...Thanks anyway Simon and Schuster!

Won:

Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt

from Brooke at Brooke's Box of Books! Thanks Brooke!

That's it for me this week! What did you get?

Blog Tour: Freefall Deleted Scene and Contest!

Hey all! I have a treat for you today! Mindi Scott, author of the fabulous debut Freefall, decided to share a deleted scene from the book with us! It's definitely a scene that I'm sorry didn't make it in and I'm glad that I get a chance to read it! This all thanks to the amazing Teen Book Scene blog tours, so be sure to check them out! If you want to visit the rest of the stops on the tour they are listed here.

From Mindi:

It took a long time for me to settle on a first chapter for the book that would eventually be called Freefall.  Months and months and months.  But when I finally came up with an opening that I loved, I intended to stick with it forever.

As it turned out, my agent had another idea.  He thought that maybe the very first scene in the manuscript wasn’t the best introduction to the narrator, Seth, and that it felt a little “extra first chaptery.”  I decided that he was right and ended up cutting it.

And now I’m sharing it with you!  Everything below still takes place in the book. The difference is that these events are told in a paragraph of narrative several pages into it instead of being shown as a scene.

I hope you enjoy it!

Please remember that this scene is copyrighted by Mindi Scott and it would be a crime to claim it as yours!

Saturday

September 1st

1:17 p.m.

      Scratchy sheets were twisted around my legs, a lumpy pillow was tucked under my head, and some damned annoying mattress spring was poking into my side.  Yeah, I was very definitely at home in the bed where I wake up every day.  The screwed up part is I had no clue how I’d gotten there.

      All I could remember of the night before was this:  Drinking.  Playing with the band.  Drinking.  Falling off the stage.  Mikey glaring.  Daniel swiping my keys.  Jared yelling at me to get my shit together.  Drinking.

      And then… what?

      I’d made it home somehow.  My shoes, socks, jeans, shirt had come off.  I’d crashed in my boxers.

      Yet another night erased from my memory.  No big loss there.  Forgetting sucked when I happened to miss something good, but I could count on one hand the number of times that had been rumored to have happened.

      I yawned, ran my tongue over my teeth.

      Mouth: stale from beer, sour from puke.

      Head:  dizzy, pounding, cloudy.

      It could be worse, right?  Things could always be worse.

      I rolled over.  Wavy hair as red as a stop sign was spread across the other pillow.  The hair belonged to a long-legged girl wearing black panties and a striped T-shirt.  My striped T-shirt.

      Jerking straight up, I hit my head on the metal bedrail. “What the hell?”

      As she turned to stare back at me, the pain in my head increased.  Of all the chicks in this town, in this country, on this planet, it was my miserable luck that this one would be the first to wind up in my bed.

      She smirked.  “Hi, Lover.”

      Things had just gotten worse.

--

About Freefall:

Title: Freefall

Author: Mindi Scott

Synopsis from Goodreads:

How do you come back from the point of no return?

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .

My review should be right below this post if you want to check it out!

Now it's contest time! Do you want a signed finished copy of Freefall all to yourself? You know you do! All you have to do is fill out the form below.

Rules:

Contest Ends October 27th 

US Only

You DO NOT have to be a follower to enter!

Review: Freefall by Mindi Scott

Title: Freefall
Author: Mindi Scott
Published: October 5th, 2010
Source: Received for review from S&S(Thank you!)
Synopsis from Goodreads:
How do you come back from the point of no return?

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .

Have I ever mentioned how much I love books that are from a guys POV? Because I really, really like them. When it feels like all that I'm reading are variations of the same girl it's a welcome change to see things from a guys perspective. Plus, if it's accurate I might gain a little bit of insight while I'm at it!

I think that Mindi Scott did a fantastic job with Freefall. I thought that Seth seemed like a very real character, and as far as I could tell like a real guy. It was pretty easy to be in his head. I'm not saying that his head was a good place to be, just that I didn't feel like a complete outsider while I was in it.

The plot as a whole wasn't really what I was expecting. I think that I was expecting Seth to be more messed up than he was, not that he wasn't messed up. I was also expecting his dead friend Isaac to be an actual character in the book, if only for a chapter or so, but we only knew him through flashbacks. Though it wasn't what I was expecting I really enjoyed the plot and the direction that it went. I also really liked how it was divided by days and times. 


My only complaint is that even though I thought that it was pretty easy to be in Seth's head, I never completely connected with him. I mostly connected with him but that extra little push to practically become him while I was reading never happened. Which definitely isn't a huge deal.


Basically I really, really liked this book. If you like contemporary books and guys POV's then you'll love this.


Characters: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Originality: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Overall: 45/50 A-
Cover Comments: I love, love, love this cover. I'm not really all that sure why, just that I do. Something about the broken glass and black backround just really catches my eye.

Review: I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

Title: I Now Pronounce You Someone Else
Author: Erin McCahan
Source: Received for review from Publisher
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver doesn't just want a family. She has one of those, and there's nothing terribly wrong with them apart from bickering grandparents, an image-obsessed mother and a brother she describes simply as Jesus. But there's no natural sense of connection between Bronwen and her family, leaving her with the belief -- and the hope -- that she was switched at birth, that she was never supposed to be Bronwen Oliver but someone else entirely.

When she begins dating college senior Jared Sondervan, she finds herself thoroughly embraced by the loving family she has always wanted and does not hesitate to say yes when Jared proposes on her 18th birhday. Plans for the Perfect Beach Wedding before her junior year of college become plans for the Perfect Beach Wedding before her freshman year of college. And a wedding so soon isn't exactly what Bronwen wants. But Jared is. And his family is. Or so she thinks.

Before Bronwen can determine what she truly wants, she must first determine who she truly is, and the answer, she discovers, is only partially what she thought it was. She wasn't switched at birth, but she's also not Bronwen Oliver and hasn't been for a very long time.

Though it may seem like it, this book isn't about marriage, or getting married young, or how relationships change with marriage. It's about a girl trying to figure out what's right for her. I really, really liked this book. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, actually. It was a very pleasant surprse.

From the beginning I was drawn in by Bronwen's voice. It was such a distinct voice. She' honest, but doesn't give too much information, she's funny, but also sincere. I loved being in her head. Jared is, well...if he's not your dream guy then there's something wrong with you. In fact, I think that he was almost too perfect to be realistic. 

The relationship between Bronwen and Jared was very sincere. I loved reading about them together. I also loved the big role that Bronwen's family played in this book. There wasn't anything obviously wrong with her family, but like any family they had issues. Some issues went pretty far back. Seeing them work through them was kind of uplifting.

Teen marriage is a large part of this book, but as I said before it's not everything. It was interesting to read about though, both because it's not common in YA and because it's not something that I would do. I thought that what Bronwen chose to do and the end were perfect for her. Not for anyone else. And that's really the point, isn't it? You have to do what's right for you.

Basically this book took me by surprise and I loved it! Read it if you're looking for chick-lit with a lot of heart!

Characters: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Originality: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Overall: 48/50 A
Cover Comments: I love it! I think that it's really cute and very fitting. The title is so great, it makes a ton of sense once you read the book.

Review: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Title: Some Girls Are
Author: Courtney Summers
Published: January 2010
Source: Bought
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be. 

Wow. That's my immediate reaction to this book. The writing is wow, the characters are wow, the horribly realistic things that girls do to each other in this book is wow. From page one I was sucked in and I had to finish it as fast as I could, had to know what happened next, had to know more of what Regina's life was like before. It was compulsive.

Regina Afton is a major bitch. She's not that girl, but her right hand, the one who would do anything for her. That makes her almost as bad. Until she isn't her right hand anymore. In fact, she's Public Enemy #1. Then she starts to feel remorse for the things that she's done to people. How twisted is that? She's basically saying: I did horrible things to you, but I'm not going to feel bad about it until I'm not at the top of the food chain anymore. And yet, the entire time I was on her side. Yeah, I knew that she'd done bad things, things that I definitely don't agree with, but for some reason I didn't care. I wanted things to go well for her. That is the genius of Courtney Summers.


Regina was wonderfully developed, as were all of the other characters. I really got a sense of their personalities, and how unique they were. I really, really hated Anna and Hana. And I really loved Michael. Honestly? That I remember their names without looking them up is a really good sign. It doesn't happen all that often.


I'm not really sure what to say about the plot, because this book is so character driven. The writing though, is superb. There were times when I wanted to put down the book because I just got this terrible feeling about what was happening to Regina even though it's just fiction. Some of it really got to me. 


Basically, I absolutely loved this book. If you are a fan of contemporary fiction, this is definitely one that you need to pick up. Excellent.


Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Overall: 48/50 A
Cover Comments: It's just kind of "eh" for me. I don't love it but I don't hate it.

In My Mailbox (34)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Only one book this week, and it's for a blog tour:

Split by Swati Avasthi

What I've read so far is really good! 

What did you get this week?