Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Amazon Description: "On-stage beauty. Backstage drama. 

As a dancer with the ultra-prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward juggles intense rehearsals, dazzling performances and complicated backstage relationships. Up until now, Hannah has happily devoted her entire life to ballet. 

But when she meets a handsome musician named Jacob, Hannah's universe begins to change, and she must decide if she wants to compete against the other "bunheads" in the company for a star soloist spot or strike out on her own in the real world. Does she dare give up the gilded confines of the ballet for the freedoms of everyday life?"

My Review: Not the best book in the world. That sounds harsh, considering the positive reviews this book got, but I personally thought it fell kind of...flat. I mean, it wasn't horrible, not by any means! I liked it well enough. The drama and lives of the ballet dancers was pretty interesting and I liked reading about their world. But personally? I felt like it wasn't enough. There wasn't enough detail about the world of ballet dancers---especially dancers at the prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company! Hannah had such a cynical and jaded view towards her world that she didn't really give an accurate representation of what it was. I realize it's a lot of hard work and perseverance---she shows that bit very accurately---but she BARELY shows any of the glamorous aspects! Also, some aspects of the book left a bad taste in my mouth, such as the light way they talked about girls starving themselves. Even at the end of the book, no one really seemed to mention just how WRONG it truly was! They just glossed over it. Also, Hannah and Jacob's relationship seemed really fake. I'm sorry, but it did. They met, like, maybe a few times---and suddenly Jacob was getting all possessive and mad when she canceled on their plans? And the book did a poor job of really communicating how and why Hannah was discontent with being a ballet dancer. Flack didn't build up to it; it was like, boom. You open and the book and basically in chapter one, Hannah sounds flat and dull and unhappy. Of course, not ALL parts of the book were bad. Like I said, I really did find it interesting reading about the ballet dancers and what kind of work and stress they went through...but this wasn't enough to make this book a really good one, unfortunately. A less-than-stellar debut.

Cover: The cover, unlike the book, is actually sort of inspired and cute! I love the topside image of the ballet dancers in formation; it's unique and clever and cute! 

Overall Grade: C+

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Goodreads Description: "Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name. 

But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim."

My Review: I loved Deadly Cool! The plot was fun to read and while it wasn't the most INSPIRED of plots, it was still a lot of fun. The book as a whole was really funny and interesting, and I absolutely loved Hartley and Sam! Sam was a great best friend, very funny, and Hartley was a truly great female character. Smart and sassy, but also very funny and girly---which is how I feel REAL teenage girls are. We're very in the middle---not too smart and unfeminine, and not too stupid and girly...but a good mix of both. I laughed aloud several times while reading this book. The plot was part serious-and-scary, and part funny-and-clever. The thrill of murder threw a slightly dark aspect over an otherwise funny book, which made it really...well...COOL. Anyway, I loved Hartley's character and her voice of narration. There's not much else to say except that this is a great, quick read for anyone who likes chick-lit or humor, or even teenage books about murder, I suppose! I can't wait for the sequel, Social Suicide!

Cover: SO pretty! The girl is really pretty (doesn't she look like Hayden Panettiere?) and her eyes are gorgeous (yeah, yeah, I know they're fake; who cares? Still pretty!). The whole look strikes an eerie air---is the pretty girl dead? Or...? 

Overall Grade: A+

The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten

Goodreads Description: "If there’s an upside to having your heart broken, it’s this: A broken heart makes you brave.

The first day of sophomore year doesn’t go the way Lucy planned. After a summer apart from her boyfriend, she’s ready to greet him with a special surprise and instead gets a shocking one in return: He’s breaking up with her. Beyond devastated, Lucy has no idea how she’s going to make it through homeroom, let alone the rest of her life.

Enter three stunning girls with the unnatural ability to attract boys and an offer Lucy can’t refuse: They can heal her heart in an instant. And then she’ll be one of them—a member of a sisterhood that is impervious to heartbreak and has access to magic distilled from the tears of brokenhearted boys. But to gain their power, Lucy must get a guy to fall in love with her the old-fashioned way, and then break his heart in the next seven days.

While the sisterhood may need another Heartbreaker, Lucy’s only desire is to get her ex back. But how far is she willing to go, and who is she willing to cross to get what she wants?"

My Review: I'm back! Haven't reviewed in a month, because I've been so busy with school! I actually read this book about two weeks ago, but didn't have time to review for a while. Finally, I've gotten to it. And, let's see...The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers...yeah, not a fan of this book. Don't get me wrong, the plot seemed great---broken-hearted girl, magic, witches... I picked up the book and started to read it eagerly, expecting a bright, fresh, and funny chick-lit. And the farther I read, the slower I was turning the pages, because my eagerness was dying out. This book isn't that great. It's main problem is with the main character, Lucy. She's just WEIRD. She's obsessed with her ex-boyfriend (when any reader can see he doesn't really care about her), to the point where I started to wonder if she maybe had some brain damage. (I mean, at one point, she draws a hangman board on her STOMACH for him; who does that?!) She was also strangely blank and impersonal. Her character was flat---except for her insane obsession with her ex-boyfriend---even when she was joining the Heartbreakers. Nothing she did made sense, and nothing she did made me care for her. The Heartbreakers also weren't that interesting; easily the most interesting person in the book was Lucy's best friend. The plot also seemed really random and scattered to me, almost as if the author had no idea where she was going with the story. And the ENDING! Gah, don't get me started. It got chopped off so abruptly...it made no sense! As far as I know, there is no sequel...so why the heck is the ending so blunt? And what Lucy did at the end, to her best friend, made me dislike her even more. WHAT a gal---even by the end of the book, she's barely matured at all. Nice. 

Cover: Yeah, the cover IS cute. That's why I actually picked this book up. The sparkles---so cute!

Overall Grade: D-

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Goodreads Description: "I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite."

My Review: (*Spoiler alert*) Pandemonium is a great sequel! It was much more fast-paced than Delirium and had a good mix of action and adventure tossed in. It felt realistic---Lena didn't suddenly turn into some sort of warrior, but you could see how she was GETTING there. I loved hearing about how the world was progressing and all the new info on the Invalids and their world was great. Simply plot-wise, the book was great. I finished it in a day because it was that good. I also thought that the relationship developed between her and Julian was great and I was pretty amazed---and excited---at the plot twist thrown in right at the end of the book, leaving me desperate to know what is going to happen in the third book, and who she's going to pick: Alex or Julian? Usually, with love triangles, it's pretty obvious who the girl is going to pick, but in this case, I'm seriously NOT sure...which is what makes it so much fun! Lena also developed a lot as a character. In the first book, she was very timid and shy and romantic, very Cassia-like. In this book, she had much more of a spine and got a lot tougher and braver, and more independent. It was cool. Her emotions were also portrayed really well---you could really FEEL what she was feeling. I also enjoyed the two different tenses the book was written in; it gave more meaning to the book and made reading it all the more fun. All in all, it was a GREAT book and I can't wait for the third book!


Cover: Eh. It's...just meh. I'm not a fan. It doesn't seem to fit the story well, in my opinion. It looks like a tacky effort to make the cover pretty and tempt all the paranormal romance fans to read it...


Overall Grade: A-

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Goodreads Description: "Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. 

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door."

My Review: This is a great companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss! It was charming, funny, and an all-around great romance novel. I didn't like it AS much as Anna's story---probably because I like the setting of Paris better than San Francisco---but the book itself was still pretty great. Perkins has a gift, a certain way with words where she describes them and you can picture them perfectly in your head. Lola was a great heroine---spunky and fresh and energetic, and also very funny. I loved that she loved fashion and I loved reading the descriptions of her crazy outfits. Cricket was also great! I laughed every time Perkins described his height. Lola's family dynamic was amazing; I love that Perkins actually created a unique family, different from the typical mom-dad-kid-and-dog type of family. I also thought it was great that you got to still see Anna and St. Clair a bit! (I will always call him St. Clair. Etienne just sounds weird to me.) I liked seeing that their story got a happy ending. In a way, these books remind me of the Perfect Chemistry novels by Simone Elkeles---great romances with characters from previous books popping up in the new ones. It's nice! Who doesn't like to see old characters they liked show up again? I do like to see secondary characters more well-rounded---Perkins fell a little short in doing that in this novel, because she didn't really flesh out Lola's best friend or Cricket's sister or even Lola's mom that much, and I wanted to see more of that. However, this WAS a fun and sassy book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I can't wait to see what Perkins writes next!

Cover: I think this cover is way cuter than Anna and the French Kiss to be honest; I love the pastel-colored typical San Francisco houses in the background, and I love the girl supposed to be Lola! Her outfit is adorable, as is her wig, and for some reason, she reminds me of Katy Perry, who I like. So I just think this cover is really cute. 

Overall Grade: A-

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Amazon Description: "Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?"

My Review: Anna and the French Kiss is one of the best romances I've read in a long time, and here's why. Most romance books, they don't really show the chemistry between the girl and guy. It's like, they meet and insta-attraction! Which is so fake and cheesy and clearly aimed at Edward Cullen fangirl types. However, this was not the case for this book! Anna and Etienne had great chemistry. The book was fairly long for a fluffy chick-lit book and it really went into depth about their relationship: how they met, how they slowly became friends and then best friends. It showed all the highs and lows of their friendship and relationship, and it basically just felt like their relationship was very realistic! It had its highs and lows, its ups and downs, its amazing moments and its complications. Aside from their relationship, I like how there were several other plot lines in the book: the problems with St. Clair's mother and father, the relationship struggles between her friends, the issues Anna had with dealing with her family and friends back in America, the struggles and joys Anna found in dealing with living in another country. It all was very well-developed, realistic, honest---and funny! It never became too brooding. I loved how all the characters were very well-developed and well-rounded; they really added to the story and made it more enjoyable. And I loved the descriptions of Paris, and how they totally added to the fun atmosphere of the book. Lastly, I just loved Anna in general. She was smart yet silly at times, nice yet she could get unkind, shy yet she had her hobbies and passions, funny yet she could be lame and awkward---in short, she seemed like a REAL girl. That's what truly made this book a keeper.

Cover: This cover is cute. The font is sweet and I like the Eiffel Tower in the background, and the pink and green colors. Pink and green always seem so fresh and preppy, don't they? However, while browsing, I found this alternate cover, and I liked it a lot better; it seemed to capture the romantic Parisian mood a lot better. To see it, click here!

Overall Grade: A+

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Amazon Description: "The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart."

My Review: The Night Circus is, without a doubt, the most beautiful book I have ever read in my life. The writing is unbelievably amazing. It rivals the cadence of old-fashioned classics from the past, in a way. The writing is polished and poised, and it describes everything in a beautiful way, refined and elegant---and so detailed that you feel like you're really AT the circus. And speaking of the circus...the way it was described was my favorite part. The plot was amazing and the characters were highly interesting---but it was actually the circus, Le Cirque de Reves, itself that intrigued me the most. I have a strange obsession with circuses---the more beautiful and strange, the better. And this is exactly the kind of circus that was in the book. Not a traditional carnival-like circus, but a strange, ethereal, haunting one. The way it was described was so amazing that I wanted to jump into the book and walk around the circus myself. In the book, fans of the circus are called reveurs and as I read the book, I found myself becoming a reveur as well. The circus was enchanting and strange and displays, acts, and tents it described seemed so magical that it almost made me want to cry---THAT'S how much I wished the circus was real. (See? Told you. I have a thing about circuses!) The plot itself was intricate and sometimes confusing and twisted, like a long-winding yarn, but it was very interesting in the end. The characters themselves were very refined and closed-off---not characters you could see through easily, but characters you slowly found out more about, bit by bit, as the book trailed on. I loved how there were several different views of narration going on through the book---it put a fresh spin on the book---and I loved the different and elemental way Morgenstern took magic to be. Not the usual wand-waving and spell-casting, but deeper and less logical and neat and clean. Overall, this was one amazing, beautiful, and brilliant book that I plan to buy right away and re-read over and over again. 

Cover: This cover is very enchanting and pretty, but there is an alternate, sweeter cover that I like a lot more (and I'm going to try and buy it with that cover instead). It describes the mood of the circus perfectly. Here is the link to it.

Overall Grade: A+