Music of the Heart by Katie Ashley (Runaway Train #1)

• Title: Music of the Heart
• Author: Katie Ashley
• My Rating: 4/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 

I saw Music of the Heart when I was looking around on GoodReads and as soon I read the synopsis I knew I had to get my hands on it. My expectations were pretty high for this book because of my love for everything involved in the story. I'm extremely happy to say that this book definitely did not disappoint.

 

Music of the Heart is about Abby Renard, who plans on joining her brothers' band towards the end of their summer tour. While Abby is trying to find her brothers' tour bus at Rock Nation, she ends up being sent on the wrong bus. Abby finds herself on Runaway Train's bus, where she accidentally falls into the bed of lead singer Jake Slater. After everyone realizes what has happened, Abby starts arranging a meet up with her brothers. That's when Jake bets her that she couldn't last a week on the band's bus. Abby is a competitive girl, so of course she takes the bet.

 

Jake Slater is a womanizing, ego maniac. He's your typical rock star who let all the fame get to his head. Jake thinks that the world revolves around him and doesn't like it when he gets turned down. Although he is a total jerk most of the time, his sweet and caring moments will melt your heart.

 

Abby Renard is a sweet, innocent girl with a sassy side. I loved her attitude and the fact that she doesn't take crap from anyone. I also liked how she was so open about everything and wasn't afraid to be who she was, even on a bus filled with famous rock stars.

 

I loved all of the characters in this story. My favorite character, besides Jake and Abby of course, would have to have been AJ. He had me cracking up in just about every scene he was in. I also really like Jake's other band mate, Brayden because he was always so loyal and sweet to his wife; he would never do anything to hurt her or their relationship.

 

I enjoyed the storyline in this book a lot. I loved the music aspect of it and basically just everything about it. Don't be surprised if you shed a tear or two while reading Music of the Heart, because there are some extremely heartbreaking scenes. But, to make up for it, there are tons of happy, fun scenes as well.

 

I gave Music of the Heart 4/5 stars because I absolutely LOVED the characters and the plot, but I felt like there could've been more to Jake and Abby's story.

 

Favorite quote: "Thank you- for all your compliments about the general badassery of my family's DNA."

 

Do I recommend this book? Yes! It's a wonderful, steamy, exciting book and I loved it!

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams (Lost and Found #1)

• Title: Lost and Found
• Author: Nicole Williams
• My Rating: 4/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 

When I first heard of Lost and Found I was a little bit hesitant to read it because I wasn't too sure if I would like it or not. There was a part of me that thought that I should at least give it a chance though because it got really great reviews. I really like the cover so that definitely helped draw me to this book.

 

Lost and Found is about a girl, Rowen Sterling, who has to spend her summer at a place called Willow Springs Ranch in order to prove to her mother that she is good enough to go to art school. Staying at Willow Springs Ranch is the last thing Rowen wants to be doing during her summer vacation. Then comes along the handsome, swoon-worthy Jesse Walker. Jesse is a cowboy who works at Willow Springs Ranch. Rowen end up having feelings for Jesse, but tries to hide them because she thinks that things could never end happily for them.

 

Lost and Found was an extremely enjoyable book. The characters were great, the setting was awesome, and the overall story was incredible. I really loved how the characters developed throughout the story. It made me happy to see Rowen become more comfortable with herself and to actually start to open up to people.

 

The characters in this story were very interesting. I liked most of them, but there were those ones that I was just like "No. Get out of here. No one likes you. Go away. Now." Especially Rowen's mother. Rowen's mother is insane, in my opinion. There is a secret that gets revealed in the story about one of her mother's boyfriends and it really made me angry. Basically, I wanted to slap Rowen's mom into next year. Anyway, other than a few of the characters, I really did like most of them and loved their personalities.

 

I loved the storyline in this book as well. I thought that the story was very relatable and extremely entertaining. The heart-breaking scenes will make you tear up, while the steamy scenes will make your heart race.

 

I gave Lost and Found 4/5 stars because it was very enjoyable and entertaining. I would've given it 5/5 stars, but I just felt like there was something missing from the story, but I'm not sure what. Overall, this book was a wonderful read and I can't wait for the next books in this series!

 

Favorite quote: "Every morning we get a chance to be different. A chance to change. A chance to be better. Your past is your past. Leave it there. Get on with the future part, honey."

 

Do I recommend this book? Yes! It's such a fun and entertaining read. It has gotten incredible ratings and reviews and most people seem to really enjoy it!

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski (The Edge of Never #1)

• Title: The Edge of Never
• Author: J.A. Redmerski
• My Rating: 5/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 

I first heard of The Edge of Never when I was just browsing around on GoodReads. The cover didn't really draw me to the book, but I do like it. I read the synopsis of this book and I thought it sounded like it would be a really fun read. I also looked through some of the reviews and the majority of them said great things about this book so that was a plus.

 

The Edge of Never is about a 21-year-old girl named Camryn. One day, Camryn decides that she is going to hop on a bus and go wherever it takes her. While she's on that bus, she meets a guy named Andrew. Andrew is someone who lives in the moment and he doesn't really care what everyone else thinks about him. When Camryn and Andrew become friends, he teaches her to live in the moment and say what's on her mind, no matter what it is. Camryn and Andrew have feelings for each other, but they hide their feelings because they don't want to feel vulnerable.

 

The Edge of Never is the type of book that sucks you in and you never want to put it down. I loved reading from both Camryn and Andrew's POVs. Being able to understand what both of them were thinking and feeling really brought the book together for me. Also, the banter between them had me cracking up.

 

This book will make you feel so many emotions you won't know what to do with yourself. One minute you'll be laughing so hard, then you'll be crying, then you'll be angry with one of the characters.

 

Speaking of the characters, I thought they were all wonderful. Camryn and Andrew were well developed and I love how they started really becoming their true selves as the story progressed. The other characters, such as Camryn's best friend Natalie and Andrew's family, were great too. Although sometimes they made me mad, I still liked their personalities and how they were all so different from each other.

 

I gave The Edge of Never 5/5 stars because it was a really fun, exciting page turner. I loved this book from start to finish. I only put it down when I absolutely had to. I had never really read a story about a road trip before and I think that little aspect appealed to me. This book was extremely entertaining to me and it definitely kept me wanting more.

 

Favorite quote: "I hate to say it, but sh*t really does happen. You just have to get over it. Beat the hell out of it by doing things that make you happy."

 

Do I recommend this book? Yes! It's such a great book! If you think you might like it, chances are you probably will. You should definitely give it a chance!

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry #1)

• Title: Perfect Chemistry
• Author: Simone Elkeles
• My Rating: 5/5 Stars
• Format: Paperback

 

 

Perfect Chemistry is one of the first books that really got me into reading. After I read a few books before this, I realized that I really enjoyed romance novels. I searched for different romance novels for days and finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to buy this one. I read this book in 9th grade and I can still remember every day when I got home from school I couldn't wait to pick it up.

 

Perfect Chemistry is basically your typical good-girl-bad-boy story. The main female character, Brittany, is a cheerleader with the perfect boyfriend and tons of money. However, her life isn't as perfect as it may seem. The main male character, Alex, is a bad boy and a member of the Latino Blood.

Alex and Brittany are forced to be lab partners in their chemistry class. The two of them basically hate each other because they are nothing alike. Alex ends up making a bet with his friends that he can get into Brittany's pants before Thanksgiving without thinking that he might actually fall for her.

 

I really, really enjoyed reading this book. It's still one of my favorites today. I loved how it switched back and forth between Brittany and Alex's POV so you could get a glimpse of what both of them were thinking in that moment. I enjoyed the chemistry (see what I did there ;P) between the two main characters and I felt like it was easy to relate to both of them.

 

Although the storyline wasn't very original, I still fell in love with this book. It is very typical but it does have some twists and turns that will really draw you in and keep you wanting more. Perfect Chemistry is a definite page turner and I think a lot of people will enjoy it.

 

I gave this book 5/5 stars because I instantly fell in love with it. I loved the characters, the story, and basically just everything about this book. Simone Elkeles became a favorite author of mine after reading this book.

 

Favorite quote: "If there's one thing I learned, it's that nobody is here forever. You have to live for the moment, each and every day...the here, the now."

 

Do I recommend this book? YES. It is still one of my favorite books today, and I read it almost 3 years ago. It's such a great book and you should definitely read it!

Book Haul #1!

I've decided that I want to start doing book hauls. They won't be very often because when I buy books it's usually just one at a time. I'll do these whenever I feel that I've gotten enough books worth hauling.

 

Over the past couple of months or so, I've bought these books:

 

 

•  The 1st book is Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I've already read this book and really liked it!
• The 2nd book is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I borrowed my cousin's copy of this book and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to buy my own copy.
• The 3rd book is The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I haven't read it yet, and I'm a little bit hesitant to do so because I'm not really sure about it.
• The 4th book is Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This is the 2nd book in the Caster Chronicles. I haven't read it yet, but I will soon!
• The 5th book is Beautiful Chaos also by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. It's the 3rd book in the Caster Chronicles.
• The 6th book is Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. It's the 2nd book in the House of Night series and I will read it soon!
• Now, the last book! The last book is Paper Towns by John Green. I just finished reading it yesterday and I absolutely love it!

If you know of any books you think I might like, please let me know! I'm always looking for new books so it would be greatly appreciated! :)

 



Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson

• Title: Scribbler of Dreams
• Author: Mary E. Pearson
• My Rating: 5/5 Stars
• Format: Paperback

 

 

Scribbler of Dreams is a book that I had to read for 9th grade Honors English. At the end of 8th grade, we were given a packet with lists of books to choose from and instructions for projects for our summer reading. I originally didn't know what book to pick from the list because I wasn't into reading at all, but my cousin had to do the same thing for summer reading when she was entering 9th grade. She had Scribbler of Dreams and told me she really loved it and that I should give it a try, so I did.

 

Scribbler of Dreams is about a girl named Kaitlin Malone and a boy named Bram Crutchfield. This book definitely goes along the lines of Romeo and Juliet because it has the idea of forbidden love. Kaitlin and Bram come from families who hate each other. They were both raised to hate each other's family. When they first meet, Bram doesn't know that Kaitlin is a part of the Malone family, so you can kind of imagine how things go from there.

 

I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Kaitlin and Bram. I thought the character's personalities were very creative and amusing. I didn't like that Kaitlin didn't tell Bram sooner that she was a Malone, but with a relationship like theirs, I guess I would've held off for a while too.

 

I thought the storyline in this book was very entertaining. While it is does have the Romeo and Juliet feel to it, Scribbler of Dreams definitely had its own aspects that make the book really enjoyable.

 

I gave this book 5/5 stars because when I read this, I was completely in love with it. I read it in one sitting, staying up past 2 a.m. to complete it. It's a definite page turner and I enjoyed it all the way through. It's a wonderful book, especially for such a quick read.

 

Favorite quote: "On a small planet where minute follows minute, day follows day, year follows year, where tradition marches on with a deafening orderly beat-sometimes the order is disturbed by a dreamer, an artist, a scribbler-sometimes the beat is changed by one person at a time."

 

Do I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy romance and some drama, you should totally read this. Also, it's pretty short so it's definitely a cute, quick read.