Wildlife by Fiona Wood

Title: Wildlife

Author: Fiona Wood

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: September 16, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

During a semester in the wilderness, sixteen-year-old Sib expects the tough outdoor education program and the horrors of for life, but friendship drama and an unexpected romance with popular Ben Capaldi? That will take some navigating.

New girl Lou has zero interest in fitting in, or joining in. Still reeling from a loss that occurred almost a year ago, she just wants to be left alone. But as she witnesses a betrayal around Sib and her best friend Holly, Lou can’t help but be drawn back into the land of the living.

Fans of Melina Marchetta, Rainbow Rowell, and E. Lockhart will adore this endearing and poignant story of first love, true friendship, and going a little bit wild.

Every so often, I get really excited about a book and it feels like I'm the only one who's even heard of said book. That's kind of what happened with Fiona Wood's Wildlife. I've seen a few things here and there about the book, but for the most part I haven't heard all that much about it. In reality, lots of people should be talking about Wildlife because it was a really great read about friendship, first love and grief.

Sib isn't particularly looking forward to spending a whole semester out in the wilderness, even if it means spending a whole semester away from her family. But things are looking up after her face appears on a billboard thanks to her godmother and an unexpected kiss from popular boy Ben. Now if only she knew how to navigate her new found popularity and the potential for a first love with Ben. Lou isn't interested in fitting in at her new school, she only wants to get through this semester in the wilderness and go home. She doesn't want to get dragged into anything, but as drama starts to unfold in front of her, she can't help be drawn into it. The semester doesn't turn out anything like Lou and Sib thought it would, but they learned a lot more than they thought they would.

I feel like Fiona Wood's Wildlife has pretty much flown under the radar. Maybe it's because the book has already been out for over a year in Australia, but I just haven't heard all that much about it on this side of the world. Or maybe I just haven't been paying enough attention and people have actually been talking about Wildlife. The point I'm trying to get to here is that more people should really be talking about Wildlife because it was a great book. It focused on everything I like my contemporary stories to to focus on. There was romance, there was friendship, there was drama, there was grief. Really, this book had it all. But it didn't feel as heavy as you would think. Through it all, there was a good dose of humour, from both Sib and Lou. Each girl had their own way of telling their story and that's part of what made Wildlife so interesting to read. While parts told from Sib's point of view were written in what I would consider traditional first person narrative, the parts from Lou's perspective were written as if she were talking directly to the reader. And in a way, she was. Lou's part of the story was written as if she were writing her journal, and that journal is all about what she would be telling Fred, if she still could. There were moments when what Lou was "writing" would simply break my heart. But then a few sentences later, she would make me smile through the tears that were threatening to fall. All that to say, it was all written a way that always managed to pull at my heartstrings.

Sib and Lou were very different. For a good chunk of the story, it felt like they were complete opposites, or at the very least, that they had completely opposite goals for their semester away from home. It felt like Sib was doing whatever she could to try to fit in, to make sure she was doing the right thing so she could continue going out (or as much going out as you can do when spending a semester in the wilderness) with popular boy Ben. But it never seemed to be enough, or that's what her best friend (and I use the term loosely) Holly would lead her to believe. Sib and Holly's friendship was the definition of toxic. The whole time I was reading, I was just waiting for Sib to finally realize that the last thing Holly had in mind was Sib's best interest. On the flip side of all this, there was Lou who was pretty much determined to be a wallflower. She definitely had a lot to deal with and I loved seeing her work her way through her grief and join the world of the living again. Through it all,  I found it interesting to see that despite their different goals, Lou and Sib actually had a lot more in common than they would have originally thought. It just took them a little longer than me to realize it.

Fiona Wood's Wildlife was a different kind of book, but in the best way possible. It was a great story that dealt with all the subjects you come to expect from contemporary YA: friendship, first love, loss, and finding your way in the world, all with nature as a backdrop.

Five Ways to Fall by K.A. Tucker

 

Title: Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths #4)

Author: K.A. Tucker

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: June 24, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intension of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plan and leave that mistake behind her. 

Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s read to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about.

If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumour has it she’s trouble. The only problem, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…

I'm a complete sucker for K.A. Tucker and her New Adult stories. I've loved every one that I've read, and each time I get more excited about the next one. By the time I got my hands on a copy of Five Ways to Fall, I was pretty much dying to read this book. And it most certainly didn't disappoint me.

Reese MacKay has a long history of bad decisions. When her latest bad choice, an impulsive marriage, ends in heartbreak, she knows she has to turn her life around. So Reese packs up her bags and moves to Miami, with all the good intentions in the world. But a one night stand in Mexico with a bouncer named Ben quickly derails her plans. Reese never thought she would have to see Ben again after that humiliating night. That is until he walks into her office a few days later. Ben Morris is ready to put his days as a bouncer at a strip club behind him and start his career as a lawyer. But when he walks in to work on his first day and comes face to face with the crazy girl he hooked up with in Mexico, Ben knows this is going to be interesting. Both know they should stay away from each other, but Reese and Ben can't help but be drawn to trouble. After all, both know the other is trouble.

It's no secret that I have loved every other one of K.A. Tucker's New Adult books. So believe me when I say that I was excited about Five Ways to Fall. And I mean, counting down the days and checking available stock at nearby book stores for days before the official release date, excited. I wanted this book. Badly. When I got my hands on a copy of the book, it took all the willpower I had to not just start reading it at my desk at work. Needless to say, when I got home that night, I jumped right in. And I loved every last page of Five Ways to Fall. With this series, I love each book more than the last. It was no different with this one. I enjoyed seeing Reese and Ben's story develop. I loved that they were totally not on board with each other at first. This is a story that made me laugh and put a huge smile on my face, but at the same time, it also made me tear up. Both of these characters have so much baggage that's so important to who they are and I loved the way it all played out in the story. And of course, the romance was just perfect for me. It made me laugh, while at other times it frustrated me to no end (and I mean that in a totally GOOD way), but in the end I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Going in to Five Ways to Fall, I knew Ben. I already loved him and I couldn't wait to finally read his story. I had gotten glimpses of him in Ten Tiny Breaths and Four Seconds to Lose and I just knew that there was more to him than just his good looks and arrogance. And I was totally right. I absolutely loved seeing the other sides of his personality that I saw in Five Ways to Fall. He could be a total Mama's Boy and I loved him for it. His softer side is just as great, if not better, than the side of himself he typically shows the rest of the world. But as much as I knew about Ben, and as much as I was looking forward to reading his story, I didn't know anything about Reese. And I enjoyed getting to know her. Reese was the perfect match for Ben. She wasn't afraid to call him out on his bullshit, and she was more than willing to go toe to toe with him. I really enjoyed seeing this relationship play out and go from two people who are basically using each other, to two people who truly belong together.

I absolutely LOVED K.A. Tucker's Five Ways to Fall though I was sad to see this series come to a close. Just like the previous books, this one gave me a great story with characters I won't be forgetting any time soon. I can only hope that I'll get to see some of them again in the future.

Blog Tour - Stay With Me by J. Lynn

Title: Stay With Me (Wait for You #3)

Author: J. Lynn

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Release Date: September 23, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo / B&N

At 21, Calla hasn’t done a lot of things. She’s never been kissed, never seen the ocean, never gone to an amusement part. But growing up, she witnessed some things no child ever should. She still carried the physical and emotional scars of living with a strung-out mother, Mona—secrets she keeps from everyone, including her close circle of college friends.

But the safe cocoon Calla has carefully built is shattered when she discovers her mom has stolen her college money and run up a huge credit card debt in her name. Now, Calla has to go back to the small town she thought she’d left behind and clean up her mom’s mess again. Of course, when she arrives at her mother’s bar, Mona is nowhere to be found. Instead, six feet of hotness named Jackson James is pouring drinks and keeping the place humming.

Sexy and intense, Jax is in Calla’s business from the moment they meet, giving her a job and helping her search for Mona. And the way he looks at her makes it clear he wants to get horizontal…and maybe something more. Before Calla can let him get close, though, she’s got to deal with the pain of the past—and some very bad guys out to mess her up if she doesn’t give them her mom.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that I absolutely love everything that Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn writes. And In the past year, I've been loving her New Adult contemporary romances. Unsurprisingly, the latest one, Stay With Me, did not disappoint me.

Since leaving home at 18, Calla hasn't looked back. She wanted nothing to do with her hometown and all the bad memories it brought up. In the years since leaving, Calla has made a new home for herself in college, with friends and a future. But that all threatens to fall apart when Calla discovers that her mother has stolen all the money she planned to use for college and accumulated a large amount of debt in her name. Now, Calla has to go back home, to the place she thought she would never return. But when she walks in to her mother's bar, it's not her mom she finds but Jax. Jax immediately gets in Calla's business, whether she wants him to or not. But the most time she spends with Jax, the more Calla realizes that she's got to deal with everything that's happened in the past, it's the only way she'll ever be able to move forward.

Stay With Me is one of those books that kept me up until the early hours of morning because I just couldn't bear to put it down. No matter how late (or early) it got and even if I knew that I had to be at work the next day, I just kept reading. It's no secret that I love J. Lynn's books, I've devoured every one of her NA contemporary romances. But every time I know there's a new one coming out and I pick it up to read, there's always this concern in the back of my mind that I won't enjoy it, or that it won't be as good as the other ones were. This was definitely true with Stay With Me. But, as per usual where J. Lynn is concerned, I really shouldn't have worried. I got sucked in to Stay With Me just like I did with the previous two books in this series. Like I mentioned in my review of Be With Me, it helped that I already knew some of the characters in this story. I had seen Calla in the background of Be With Me and I really enjoyed getting to read her story and find out more about her. And I'm not going to lie, I really enjoyed seeing how her story fit in with Jax because he was completely new to me. And the romance between these two was just what I've come to expect from J. Lynn and her books. It was just the right mix of sweet, hot, intense and complicated. If I'm being honest, those are kind of my favourite kind.

I had previously gotten a glimpse of Calla in Be With Me, and all I really knew about her was that she was friends with Teresa and she had a pretty obvious scar on her face, which isn't all that much. But once I started reading and she began describing Cam, Jase and Ollie as the Hot Guy Brigade, I knew I would like her. And the more I read about Calla and her story, the more I liked her. She had a difficult past that led to her understandably having some trust issues. And no one brought on the trust issues more than Jax did. I'll admit that I wasn't sure how to feel about Jax at first. He just seemed so pushy and intent on getting involved in Calla's business without her inviting him to do so. He just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. But the more I learned about him, the more grew to like him. I don't really want to say that he took me by surprise, but he was worth sticking around for. And of course, I loved getting a glimpse of the couples from the other books (including a surprise appearance!)...though I'm still waiting for Ollie and Brittany to get their own.

As you might have guessed by now, I loved J. Lynn's Stay With Me. It was another great NA contemporary romance that sucked me in and made me fall for some new characters. I already can't wait until the next book in this series.

Sway by Kat Spears

Title: Sway

Author: Kat Spears

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: September 16, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

In Kat Spears’s hilarious and often poignant debut, high school senior Jesse Alderman, or “Sway,” as he’s known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specializes in getting things people want—term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. He has few close friends and he never EVER lets emotions get in the way. For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions.

But when Ken Foster, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all-around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things. While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her ice, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget’s belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy. Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him. Could the tin man really have a heart after all?

A Cyrano de Bergerac story with a modern twist, Sway is told from Jesse’s point of view with unapologetic truth and biting humor, his observations about the world around him untempered by empathy or compassion—until Bridget’s presence in his life forces him to confront his quiet devastation over a life-changing event a year earlier and maybe, just maybe, feel something again.

I love books that are told from a boy’s perspective and there just aren’t enough of them in YA. Because of that, I was really excited about Kat Spears’s Sway. It was even one of the boys I was most excited about this fall. And I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint me.

Jesse Alderman is the person to go to no matter what you need. He’s made quite the name for himself when it comes to getting people what they want. But he never thought that would mean having to get Ken Foster, football captain and major meathead, a date with Bridget Smalley, the nicest girl in school. It shouldn’t be a difficult job. After all, Jesse is an expert when it comes to reading people. And everything would be going according to plan if Jesse wasn’t suddenly developing feelings for Bridget. Now Jesse finds himself spending time at an old folks’ home and in an unlikely friendship with Pete, Bridget’s belligerent younger brother. No one expected this to happen less than Jesse. Especially since he’s supposed to be getting Bridget to go out with Ken, not himself.

Have I mentioned that I loved books that are told from a boy’s perspective? Because I do. I really do. And it often feels like there just aren’t enough of them in YA. Or at least I’m not finding and reading them (as a side note — if you’ve any recommendations, just leave them in the comments). All that is to say that I was initially really excited about reading Kat Spears’s Sway because of the boy perspective. But it also sounded like it had the potential to be quite an interesting story, considering the main character is trying to get the girl he’s in love with to fall in love with someone else. And that definitely turned out to be true. It definitely led to some interesting situations. What disappointed me a little was that there wasn’t as much humour as I thought there was going to be. Considering the premise, there definitely could have been more honour injected in the story. Instead, the humour that was there was more dry and the story was more angsty than I thought it was going to be. And though at first that disappointed me, by the end I really loved that about the story. Because angst, when done well, really makes for some awesome stories. And Jesse brought all the angst. Granted he had his reasons, but he was on angsty boy.

In case you missed it ten seconds ago, Jesse Alderman was one angsty guy. From the bits and pieces I got about his family’s past over the course of the story, I totally understand where the angst came from. In his situation, I probably wouldn’t have been the happiest person ever. At times, though, Jesse was borderline self-destructive. And I don’t know what it says about me, but I kinda liked this angsty, slightly self-destructive boy quite a bit. I really wanted him to get over himself and actually fell something for a change. Because of that, I really enjoyed seeing him come to terms with everything that was happening between him and Bridget, and almost even more so between him and Pete. The friendship between Jesse and Pete was kind of an unexpected relationship, but it might just be my favourite relationship in the whole book. In a way, Pete challenged Jesse to actually feel something, and in return, Jesse didn’t treat Pete in a special way just because he has cerebral palsy. And those two together led to some of my favourite moments in this story. 

I really enjoyed Kat Spears’s Sway. It was a great story that had just the right balance of humour, heart and angst. And to make it even better, it was a great story that also happened to be told from a boy’s perspective. So if you’re looking for a book with any and all of these things, than Sway is the book you should be reading.

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Title: Anatomy of a Misfit

Author: Andrea Portes

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: September 2, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

This emotional, hilarious, devastating, and ultimately triumphant YA debut, based on actual events, recounts one girl’s rejection of her high school’s hierarchy—and her discovery of her true self in the face of tragedy.

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair—the third most popular girl in school. Inside, she’s a freak: a mix of dark thoughts, diabolical plots, and, if local chatter is to be believed, vampire DNA (after all, her father is Romanian). But she keeps it all under wraps to maintain her social position. One step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life hell. So when former loner Logan McDonough shows up one September hotter, smarter, and more mysterious than ever, Anika knows she can’t get involved. It would be insane to throw away her social safety for a nerd. So what if that nerd is now a black-leather-jacket-wearing dreamboat, and his loner status is clearly the results of his troubled home life? Who cares if the right girl could help him with all that, maybe even save him from it? Who needs him when Jared Kline, the bad boy every girl dreams of, is asking her on dates? Who?

Anatomy of a Misfit is a Mean Girls meets Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Anika’s hilariously deadpan delivery will appeal to readers for its honesty and depth. The so-sad-it’s-funny high school setting will pull readers in, but when the story’s dark foreboding gradually takes over, the devastating penultimate tragedy hits like a punch to the gut. Readers will ride the highs and lows alongside funny, flawed Anika—from laughter to tears, and everything in between.

Andrea Portes’s Anatomy of a Misfit is one of those books I had really high expectations for, it was one of the books I was most looking forward to getting my hands on at BEA earlier this year. Though it didn’t quite meet those expectations, Anatomy of a Misfit was still a very interesting read.

To the outside observer, it would look like Anika Dragomir has everything going for her, after all she is the third most popular girl in school. All she has to do to stay in that position is stay in line, otherwise Becky Vilhauer will make her life miserable. On the inside though, it’s a completely different story. On the inside, Anika has the makings of a freak. Dark thoughts, evil plots and even the DNA of a vampire is rumours around town are to be believed. And that all leads Anika to Logan McDonough. Previously a loner, Logan comes back at the start of the school year looking better than ever and he seems to want Anika. Anika knows what will happen to her social position if she shows interest in Logan, but she can’t help but be drawn to this mysterious nerd. There’s something more going on with Logan, Anika just knows it, but will she do something about it and risk being miserable the rest of her high school life. 

As I’ve already mentioned, I had pretty high expectations for Anatomy of a Misfit. It was one of those books that when I first heard about it, I knew I absolutely wanted to read it. To the point that it was one of a few books that I most wanted to grab when I was at BEA earlier this year. So needless to say that I was really excited at the prospect of reading Anatomy of a Misfit. When I started reading, I quickly realized that it was going to be different than what I thought it was going to be. That’s not to say it was a bad kind of different. I really enjoyed this story. Granted, I had some issues with it at times, but it still didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. This story is to the point. Anika is blunt in the way she tells her story, but she’s also quirky and has a rather dry sense of humour. I will say this though, the story ends up packing quite a punch. Though there were many hints dropped along the way, the ending still took me by surprise. As emotional as it was, it was the appropriate ending for this story. And much like it was a good ending for the story, this story wouldn’t have worked with someone other than Anika as the narrator.

Anika was interesting. As I’ve already mentioned, she was quirky and had a rather dry sense of humour. But I liked the way her brain worked. The only thing that really bugged me was the amount of emphasis that was put on keeping things hidden in the name keeping her social standing. Granted that was kind of the point of the story and she needed to go through that to where she got by the end, but at times I felt like I was being hit over the head with that aspect of the story. My other complaint would be that I could have gotten to know the other characters a little better. As much as I could see the appeal of both Logan and Jared, but I feel like I didn’t know them well enough for everything that happened with them to make complete sense. Though I feel like that could be said more about Jared than Logan. In a way, it felt like Jared kind of came out of nowhere, just to make Anika rethink everything to do with Logan. But again, that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

I really enjoyed reading Andrea Portes’s Anatomy of a Misfit. Though the story wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, it was a story with a message that is ultimately an important one. If you’re looking for something a little different with a quirky narrator, than this is the book for you.