The Upside of Unrequited

 

The Upside of Unrequited is by Becky Albetalli.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. 

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

The Breakdown:
1.  This book was adorably wonderful.  I loved most everything about it.  The story, the characters, and even the setting. This book made me both laugh and cry.  It really does it me right in the feels sometimes, but I loved every minute of it.

2. Molly was wonderful.  She was awkward and funny, and little shy, especially around boys.  She was a character I could totally relate with.   I love seeing her interact with both her family and her friends. Plus her inter-monologue at times is especially hilarious.   My favorite was her inter stress over having to buy condoms one day and all that could possibly go wrong.

3.  I enjoyed the family dynamic in this book.  I liked that is was realistic, the family loved each other but they also had their fights.  Plus Molly's moms, yes moms as in a lesbian couple, were funny and sassy.  Then the grandmother who does not filter herself at all is amazing.  When I am old, I want to be that way.

4. I adored Reid.  Being a geek myself, I definitely have a soft spot for geeky love interests.   Plus the way he and Molly awkward dance around each other is cute, and so terribly realistic especially in high school.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

The Battlemage

The Battlemage by Taran Matharu is the third book of the Summoner series.

After the thrilling cliffhanger at the end of book two, we rejoin Fletcher and his friends in the ether, where they must undertake a mortally dangerous quest, all the while avoiding capture by enemies and facing foes more terrifying than anything they have yet encountered.

But this is nothing compared to what truly lies ahead for Fletcher, as his nemesis, albino orc Khan, is on a mission to destroy Hominum and everything and everyone that Fletcher loves.

The Breakdown:
1.  This book fell flat for me. I was expecting something a little more exciting for this book, but Matharu spent a lot of time on the little details but the big action seemed very condensed.  I was looking forward to getting to know Alice Raleigh, but she was just a shell of a person for most of the time when she was present, and the the rest of the book she was hidden away getting treatment.

2.  I seriously felt that Matharu pulled and than this in this book. As in the story went and then this happened and then this happened, and so on and so forth. It made the flow of the story very choppy much of the time.   The lack of flow made it hard for me to really get into the story.

3. I did like that finally Matharu reveals what is so special about Ignatius.  It lead to an interesting confrontation with Fletcher and the Orcs.  I will say that I found Khan an intriguing antagonist, and wished there had been more of him.

4. For me, the ending felt very rushed.  It was almost like Matharu decided the book needed to end in this many pages and had to find a way to wrap it up quickly.

To Read or Not to Read:
Skip it, especially if you haven't started the series.

Between Two Skies

Between Two Skies is by debut author Joanne O'Sullivan.

Hurricane Katrina sets a teenage girl adrift. But a new life — and the promise of love — emerges in this rich, highly readable debut.

Bayou Perdu, a tiny fishing town way, way down in Louisiana, is home to sixteen-year-old Evangeline Riley. She has her best friends, Kendra and Danielle; her wise, beloved Mamere; and back-to-back titles in the under-sixteen fishing rodeo. But, dearest to her heart, she has the peace that only comes when she takes her skiff out to where there is nothing but sky and air and water and wings. It’s a small life, but it is Evangeline’s. And then the storm comes, and everything changes. Amid the chaos and pain and destruction comes Tru — a fellow refugee, a budding bluesman, a balm for Evangeline’s aching heart. Told in a strong, steady voice, with a keen sense of place and a vivid cast of characters, here is a novel that asks compelling questions about class and politics, exile and belonging, and the pain of being cast out of your home. But above all, this remarkable debut tells a gently woven love story, difficult to put down, impossible to forget.

The Breakdown:
1.  I am just going to say it, I loved this book.  It felt real, and dealt with real issue that people go through in times of tragedy.  It easily displayed all the emotions one goes through when their life changes forever.  I also loved that it showed how different people deal with things like this differently.

2.  I liked getting to know Evangeline.  Seeing the girl that was before Katrina and then watching her change and grow after Katrina.  She is strong and smart, and learning to deal with the changes in her friendship with her best friend Danielle.  I like that this character shows that is is okay to be depressed and learns ways to help herself, and I like that she is one that loves her small town and wants nothing more than return to it.

3. I like that this book follows from the days leading up to Katrina, through the evacuation and dealing with being a refugee.  I felt that Evangeline's desperation to find out what happened to Danielle was something that many dealt with during this time.  I also loved seeing how Eveangeline and Tru find a peace with each other.

4. One of the best things about this book was the ending. Without spoiling to much, it showed how resilient the human spirit is, and still how much time and work it takes to rebuild after an event like Katrina.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

The Ghoul Vendetta

The Ghoul Vendetta by Lisa Shearin is the latest in her SPI files series.

The agents of Supernatural Protection & Investigations (SPI) are paid to keep the peace. But that’s not so easy when an endless evil threatens to tear that peace to pieces...

A vampire gangster’s nephew is abducted off his yacht by a bunch of low-rent Creatures from the Black Lagoon. A slew of banks are knocked over by what looks like the cast of Night of the Living Dead. All of this may seem like the movies, but, I promise you, it’s not.

I’m Makenna Fraser, seer for SPI, and I know the culprits aren’t wearing disguises or makeup. They’re real. Deadly real. Especially their leader—an ancient shapeshifter who leaves a trail of chaos and blood in his wake. Now, he’s taken my partner, Ian—and his intentions aren’t pretty.

The worst part? This is only the beginning...

The beginning of the end of the human race.

The Breakdown:
1.  Shearin's SPI files are quick, fun reads with lots of action and plenty of witty dialog, plus a little romance thrown in.  The characters are great and have interesting talents and backgrounds.  The story is a wonderful but suspense with magic.  This may have been my favorite book, yet. I loved the character development in it.

2.  My favorite thing about this book is finding out who the Ghoul that killed Ian's NYPD partner is and why he hates Ian so much.  It was great story with some wonderful Irish folklore mixed into it. Plus, it really showed how close of friends Mac and Ian are.  I like that Shearin is not pushing sexual aspect between them.  They each have their own love interest, and together have more of brother/sister relationship.

3. Speaking of love interest,  there is some great chemistry between Mac and Rake.  Their relationship takes a big step forward in this book.  I really like them as a couple. Plus, I like the combination of Rake's bad boy vibe that has a little bit of good to it.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read