Category Archives: Romance

Review: The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,
Inkyard Press Tour The Code for Love and Heartbreak

The Code for Love and Heartbreak
Jillian Cantor
Inkyard Press
Published October 6, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Code for Love and Heartbreak

From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

My Review

As a contemporary romance, I really enjoyed CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK. I tend to like smart heroines, so it was a pretty strong possibility that I’d love Emma going into the book. And it turns out, I totally loved her.

I’m also a pretty big fan of sister relationships, so I loved the relationship between Emma and Izzy. I loved that they were so different from each other and that sometimes that caused sparks to fly and other times, they needed each other in ways that only sisters truly do.

As an update of Jane Austen’s EMMA, though, I have much more mixed feelings. I missed some of the dynamics in some of the relationships. I missed the Miss Bates of Austen’s version, in all her sweet, trying chattiness. I missed the connection between characters– the Westons and Frank (Sam) Churchill, and between Jane and Miss Bates.

In fairness, I don’t know how someone could bring all those relationships and the complexities they add AND tell CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK without adding like 100 more pages. Which I probably wouldn’t have minded once I was into the story, but I imagine the average reader might not feel quite the same! Ha.

All in all, I think this is a super cute romance with smart characters and interesting relationships. Fans of friends to lovers or of sister stories will find lots to love here. I think the story will appeal to fans of WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU by Marisa Kanter and TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Some minor characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Couples hold hands. A group of senior class boys who make a bet on who can have sex with an underclass girl first. This behavior is pretty strongly condemned. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Emma remembers a party her sister threw that someone brought alcohol to. She hid upstairs and didn’t participate in the party.

Note: I received a free copy of THE CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

About Jillian Cantor

Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Website

Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Review: Smash It! by Francina Simone

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Smash It!
Francina Simone
Inkyard Press
Published September 22, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Smash It!

Refreshingly authentic and bold… Don’t miss this smashing #ownvoices novel from Francina Simone! Filled with heart, humor and a heroine to root for, Smash It! is a perfect read for fans of Julie Murphy, Ibi Zoboi and Ashley Poston.

Olivia “Liv” James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does…

After Liv shows up to a Halloween party in khaki shorts–why, God, why?–she decides to set aside her wack AF ways. She makes a list–a F*ck-It list.

1. Be bold–do the thing that scares me.

2. Learn to take a compliment.

3. Stand out instead of back.

She kicks it off by trying out for the school musical, saying yes to a date and making new friends. Life is great when you stop punking yourself! However, with change comes a lot of missteps, and being bold means following her heart. So what happens when Liv’s heart is interested in three different guys–and two of them are her best friends? What is she supposed to do when she gets dumped by a guy she’s not even dating? How does one Smash It! after the humiliation of being friend-zoned?

In Liv’s own words, “F*ck it. What’s the worst that can happen?”

A lot, apparently.

My Review

SMASH IT! is a lot in some great ways and a few problematic ones. First, the great stuff:

I love that the story tackles body image but isn’t about conformity. Liv faces her own insecurities about her body and learns some lessons about the value of having friends who celebrate you for you rather than tear you down, even if it is meant to be teasing.

SMASH IT! really celebrates girl friends in a way that I love as well. At the beginning of the story, she mostly spends her time with Eli and Dré, two boys. She reluctantly makes friends with two girls and, though it’s not always easy to navigate those new relationships, she comes to really value the way they affirm her and check her behavior when she needs it.

The writing is solid. I always struggle with books that have as much profanity as this one does, and so that’s true here, but I feel like Francina Simone’s writing is strong and her characterization is super consistent through the course of the story. Liv is funny and vulnerable and flawed, and I loved reading about her journey.

I also struggled with some of the racial comments, particularly those directed at a Hawaiian character and an Israeli-Palestinian character. Though they were uttered by pretty irreverent characters, and Liv sometimes frowned on the insensitive or racist comments, they were just hard to read, and I don’t think they were necessary.

On the other hand, I felt like some of the conversations about race that the story explored were great for opening up discussion on things and showing some nuance that’s often overlooked. When Jackie gets into it with a white theater kid because she’s using the N-word and he calls her out, Liv serves as a referee, giving another perspective on the conversation.

The story also explores a lot of ideas about sex. Liv wants to have sex, but hasn’t yet. One of her friends encourages her to sleep with someone she doesn’t care about but who’d be a good lover to get the experience. Another friend doesn’t believe in casual sex and encourages Liv to wait until she’s found someone she wants to be with. Liv views having sex as taking ownership of her body in a new way, but the motivation to do it seems to overtake other reasoning. Ultimately, she causes some hurt, and at first is super unrepentant about that– as though feeling bad for her choice is synonymous with feeling guilty or ashamed of sex and of her body.

Though she does stop and re-examine those feelings and take another look at how her actions have affected others, I felt like the emotional fallout sort of fizzled if that makes sense? Like everyone kind of shrugs and says it’s all cool. Could that happen? Maybe, but in my experience, it usually takes a lot longer for people to feel okay for something they initially viewed as a huge betrayal.

At any rate, on the whole, I loved some things about this book a huge ton. Liv is a flawed character, for sure. But she’s also trying to learn and grow as a person and willing to face her mistakes, and I loved that.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Liv is black. Her best friend Dré is Puerto Rican. Her other best friend Eli is Israeli-Palestinian. One of her newer friends is bisexual. Liv dates a boy who’s Hawaiian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity and crude comments used lots.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to masturbation. Explicit descriptions of sex between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Liv briefly wonders if Eli wants to practice Judaism like his dad or Islam like his mom.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
Some racist and insensitive comments about a Hawaiian character (objectifying and sexualizing him because of his race). A racist sexual comment about an Israeli-Palestinian character.

A boy throws things at his dad. His dad slaps him. Two boys get into a fist fight.

Drug Content
References to teen drinking and one reference to smoking pot.

Note: I received a free copy of SMASH IT! in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Never Look Back
Lilliam Rivera
Bloomsbury YA
Published September 15, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Never Look Back

Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria–and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there’s this boy . . .

Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes when he meets Eury. All he wants is to put a smile on her face and fight off her demons. But some dangers are too powerful for even the strongest love, and as the world threatens to tear them apart, Eury and Pheus must fight for each other and their lives.

This Own Voices retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice is perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi’s PRIDE and Daniel José Older’s SHADOWSHAPER.

My Review

The thing that drew me to NEVER LOOK BACK was the spirituality of it and the fact that it’s a retelling. I feel like I have so much to say.

First– I really enjoyed the story. The characters feel so real and Eury and Pheus are so different that I could always tell whose point-of-view I was reading, even if I just flipped to a random page.

I liked that Eury’s curse was a complex problem with multiple pieces. (I’m being vague because there’s some of this that doesn’t get revealed until later in the story.) She keeps Catholic faith, praying every day, and finds comfort both in her belief that she is “beloved of God” and in the rituals of prayer and mass. It’s sincere and sweet, and I loved that.

But that’s not the only spirituality in the story. She also sees a spirit, whom she calls Ato, who is a spirit of the dead. He wants to take her to the land of the dead, El Inframundo, to be with him forever. Pheus, in trying to help Eury break the power Ato holds over her, encounters other gods and goddesses like Guabancex, the goddess of chaos.. I thought this was really cool, because though it’s a retelling of a Greek myth, NEVER LOOK BACK pulls in and celebrates some Afro-Latinx mythology.

In both Pheus and Eury’s points-of-view, the setting is rich and vibrant. Eury has a deep connection with Puerto Rico as her home– with the forests and the birds and flowers that brings those things to life. Pheus feels at home in the Bronx, with his friends, going to the beach, hanging out in the stairwell of his apartment building.

I also loved seeing the growth in both characters. Pheus begins to see himself as others have seen him and to see where he misjudged or to recognize his selfishness or the parts of his life where he’s living in fear.

Eury has spent so much energy running from Ato, trying to hide what’s happening to her, and trying to distance herself from others so that Ato can’t use them to hurt her. Watching her come out of her shell, to begin to trust and to find her own strength was so amazing. I loved that she plays and active role in the outcome of the story.

Bottom line: I really recommend this book. I loved so many things about it. It’s a rich story that celebrates faith and heritage and love. Definitely a win, and a perfect story if you’re looking for an escape from reality right now.

If you enjoyed DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE, be sure to check out NEVER LOOK BACK.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Pheus is Afro-Dominican. Eury is Puerto Rican.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to hooking up.

Spiritual Content
See my review above. Eury practices Catholicism and is haunted by a spirit of the dead. Pheus meets other gods and goddesses.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for hurricane, depression, mentions of suicide, and sexual assault.
Some description of Hurricane Maria and Eury’s house collapsing and the trauma this has caused her. Pheus hunts for Ato, intending to beat him up. A man touches a woman’s arm suggestively even though she’s asked him to leave her alone. He follows her and corners her, seeming to intend to assault her. A woman hits a man over the head with a bottle. A woman slips and falls, hitting her head.

Pheus’ uncle, a veteran, had PTSD and died by suicide. (Happens off-scene.) More than one character has depression. Pheus visits the gateway to the underworld and sees creepy attendants who are rotting/dead or being tortured.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol in a basement at a party. A man offers a alcohol to teens at a club. One drinks with him.

Note: I received a free copy of NEVER LOOK BACK in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

These Vengeful Hearts
Katherine Laurin
Inkyard Press
Published September 8, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About These Vengeful Hearts

Anyone can ask the Red Court for a favor…but every request comes at a cost. And once the deed is done, you’re forever in their debt.

Whenever something scandalous happens at Heller High, the Red Court is the name on everyone’s lips. Its members–the most elite female students in the school–deal out social ruin and favors in equal measure, their true identities a secret known only to their ruthless leader: the Queen of Hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Ember Williams has seen firsthand the damage the Red Court can do. Two years ago, they caused the accident that left her older sister paralyzed. Now, Ember is determined to hold them accountable…by taking the Red Court down from the inside.

But crossing enemy lines will mean crossing moral boundaries, too–ones Ember may never be able to come back from. She always knew taking on the Red Court would come at a price, but will the cost of revenge be more than she’s willing to sacrifice?

My Review

It took me a few chapters to get into this book. Revenge stories aren’t really something I typically enjoy, but this seemed like it might be more of a reckoning type situation rather than revenge, so I really wanted to give it a chance. Something about it reminded me of PANIC by Lauren Oliver, which I really liked.

Once I was a few chapters in, I started to get really into the story. I love the sisterly devotion between Ember and April. They respect each other’s autonomy, but they love each other and desperately want to protect each other, even when it hurts them.

I also found myself really drawn to Ember’s friendship (which I guess I use loosely?) with Haley. I liked that they have this transactional thing on the surface, but I totally sensed Haley’s loneliness and the potential for Ember and Haley to really bond over normal stuff.

As Ember gets in deeper and deeper with the Red Court, she faces some ugly truths about herself. I liked that she struggled with those parts of herself and even felt disturbed by some of the things that excited her.

On the whole, I felt like this was a pretty engrossing story– I read it in less than 24 hours– and though it explored some darker territory in terms of power and revenge, I didn’t feel like it glorified revenge.

I think fans of PANIC by Lauren Oliver or SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers should definitely put this one on their reading lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ember’s best friend, Gideon, is Korean and gay. Ember’s sister is paraplegic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two adults having an affair.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Ember’s sister was injured in an accident which caused a broken femur and a broken spine and left her unable to walk. The story includes some brief descriptions of that accident.

Drug Content
Ember and a friend swipe glasses of wine at an art gala. Ember takes a sip of beer at a house party where other teens are drinking.

Note: I received a free copy of THESE VENGEFUL HEARTS in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

About Katherine Laurin

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Katherine Laurin lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, and tiny dog. When she’s not writing, Katherine enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and listening to true crime podcasts. These Vengeful Hearts is her first young adult novel.

Review: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

What I Like About You
Marisa Kanter
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published April 7, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About What I Like About You

There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.

My Review

I have so many feelings about this book. First, I thought the story was great– I’m pretty much a total fan of the whole they fall in love but don’t know who the other person really is trope. (If you love that, too and haven’t read them, I recommend P.S. I LIKE YOU by Kasie West and ALEX APPROXIMATELY by Jenn Bennett– review coming soon.)

I thought the stuff about the book blogging sphere and how painful the drama can be as well as how amazing it is when you get to share the excitement about a favorite book or author were super real. All of that definitely hit home for me.

If I’m honest, I really struggled with Halle’s comments about adults reviewing YA. At one point she vents frustration at adults who review YA and forget that they’re not the target audience. At another point, she makes it clear that she feels YA reviews need to be written by teen book bloggers, and that once she’s no longer a teen, she’ll stop reviewing and instead elevate other teen review voices. Which I think is a good thing– teens who review YA should get that platform.

I guess it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way, especially when she was so hurt that an author was offended by teens liking her book and basically told them to calm down, the book isn’t for you. Then she kind of did exactly the same thing to adult reviewers who read YA?

Honestly, it was not at all the main point of the book, and really, I think, was meant to highlight that there are lots of strong opinions and values within the book blogging community. It makes sense that as a leader, she’d have thoughts on who belongs and what best practices were.

I guess it just felt weird then as a not-teen reviewer to then have to decide how to review this book without it being colored by my feelings about those parts, because to be honest, I did find it hurtful, even if that wasn’t the author’s intent.

At any rate, I felt like I couldn’t honestly review the book without including this as part of my reading experience. I liked the story, the romance, the humor. Also, I loved seeing the Jewish rep, because there is so not enough of that in the book world. I think fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett will really enjoy WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Halle’s family (and several of her friends) are Jewish. One friend is Black. Halle’s brother has dated both a boy and girl, but doesn’t want to be labeled.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. At one point they remove their shirts. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Halle and her family celebrate several Jewish holidays and Shabbos with other community members.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Not Your #LoveStory by Sonia Hartl

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Not Your #LoveStory
Sonia Hartl
Page Street Kids
Published September 1, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Not Your #LoveStory

Macy Evans dreams of earning enough income from her YouTube channel, R3ntal Wor1d, to leave her small, Midwestern town. But when she meets a boy named Eric at a baseball game, and accidentally dumps her hotdog in his lap, her disastrous “meet-cute” becomes the topic of a viral thread. Now it’s not loyal subscribers flocking to her channel, it’s Internet trolls. And they aren’t interested in her reviews of VHS tapes—they only care about her relationship with Eric.

Eric is overly eager to stretch out his fifteen minutes of fame, but Macy fears this unwanted attention could sabotage her “real-life” relationships—namely with the shy boy-next-door, Paxton, who she’s actually developing feelings for. Macy knows she should shut the lie down, though she can’t ignore the advertising money, or the spark she gets in her chest whenever someone clicks on her videos. Eric shouldn’t be the only one allowed to reap the viral benefits. But is faking a relationship for clicks and subscribers worth hurting actual people?

My Review

Lots of things about this story are so much fun. Macy is spunky and surrounded by fierce and loyal friends and family members. I liked the circle of quilters her grandmother was part of best of all, I think.

NOT YOUR #LOVESTORY doesn’t shy away from the gross awfulness that the internet can be. Macy becomes obsessed with her social media feeds and the need to boost her income from her YouTube channel even further. As her story with Eric goes viral, the trolls come out in droves, insulting her clothes, her looks, and shaming her for things they assume she did.

Her friends rally around her, but it’s clear they’re not fans of the fake dating relationship with Eric. Like it or not, though, her internet fame has changed things between them, and Macy has to figure out how much of her real life she’s willing to give up for her YouTube stardom.

Underneath the explorations of the cost of social media fame and the pressure of growing up poor in a small town, this is a simple story about a girl falling in love with her best friend.

I think readers who enjoyed WILD AND CROOKED by Leah Thomas will enjoy the small town setting and exploration of harmful assumptions. Fans of Hartl’s first book, HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME, will find another sex-positive, spicy romance layered with social issues.

Lots of things make this a great read, but there is a lot of mature content. Check the content section for details.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 17 up.

Representation
Macy’s best friend is dating another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used throughout the book.

Macy also spends a great deal of time reading through nasty comments about her on her social media streams. There are some really ugly, shaming comments on there.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to two girls kissing and being intimate. Macy’s mom raised her to be proud of her sexuality and reject any attempts at shaming her for wanting to have sex. At the same time, her mom also expects her not to have sex while she’s in high school. (Macy already broke that rule with a past boyfriend.)

There’s also some reference to masturbation while fantasizing about a different sexual experience.

After Macy meets Eric at the baseball game, rumors that she hooked up with him in the bathroom go viral, and Macy’s social media feeds fill with judgment and cruel comments.

Late in the story, Macy shares, in detail, having sex with her boyfriend.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys bully and threaten Macy. She later learns that one boy’s dad brutally beat his mom and sometimes him.

Drug Content
Macy and her friends drink alcohol. Macy’s grandma and her friends smoke pot outside the house. Macy hangs out with them for a few minutes.

Note: I received a free copy of NOT YOUR #LOVESTORY in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.