bookreviews – Page 39 – Sincerely Karen Jo

Breaking the Ice

Juniper Falls #2

Julie Cross

breakingtheice

4.5 ★ – UNDOUBTEDLY SWOONY, FUNNY AND ADORABLE

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 26, 2017 ENTANGLED TEEN

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, CONTEMPORARY, ROMANCE, SPORTS

PAPERBACK 341 PAGES

synopsispic

The second book in the Juniper Falls series from NY Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Cross, perfect for fans of Miranda Kenneally and Abbi Glines.

Haley Stevenson seems like she’s got it all together: cheer captain, “Princess” of Juniper Falls, and voted Most Likely to Get Things Done. But below the surface, she’s struggling with a less-than-stellar GPA and still reeling from the loss of her first love. Repeating her Civics class during summer school is her chance to Get Things Done, not angst over boys. In fact, she’s sworn them off completely until college.

Fletcher Scott is happy to keep a low profile around Juniper Falls. He’s always been the invisible guy, warming the bench on the hockey team and moonlighting at a job that would make his grandma blush. Suddenly, though, he’s finding he wants more: more time on the ice, and more time with his infuriatingly perfect summer-school study partner.

But leave it to a girl who requires perfection to shake up a boy who’s ready to break all the rules.

review

Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross is hilarious, entertaining and absolutely adorable! I enjoyed every minute and honestly cannot wait to read more from this series and author.

This book had my heart melting from the start. It’s super cute, fun, and filled with sweet moments that made me smile. I thought the writing was fantastic. It had a nice flow and was easy to read. The plot wasn’t as predictable as some other YA contemporaries and I found myself pleasantly surprised with how everything played out. Once I really got into the story, I could not stop reading. I don’t want to give too much away, but there were some insanely steamy scenes that had me glued to the pages. I actually reread some of them a few times just so I can enjoy the FEELS because I wanted MORE! Not that there weren’t enough, but who doesn’t love going through some AMAZING GOOD FEELS!?!? I sure do and loveeeee to experience it over and over again.

I definitely shipped Haley and Fletcher and thought they were perfect for each other! She’s popular, sweet, a bit stubborn, and totally lovable. He’s quiet, smart, talented, mysterious, and undeniably charming. Together, they have this exhilarating chemistry that will make you swoon like cray cray! I loved all their interactions and the push and pull between them was just so darn adorable. Really loved them together! Their relationship was incredibly cute and endearing!

This was a fluffy, funny, and exciting book. I loved the writing, the characters, the friendships, the romance and the ridiculously delightful push and pull between Haley and Fletcher. I adored this book with all my heart and can’t recommend it enough.

If you’re looking for something fun to read with a little steam, some laughs, and a lot of swoon, then add this book on your TBR!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the Publisher, Entangled Teen via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

abouttheauthor

Julie Cross is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin’s Press). She’s also the author of Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You, Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, Chasing Truth, Off the Ice and many more to come! Julie Cross was a longtime resident of central Illinois but has recently moved her entire family across the country to continue her academic studies at Stanford University.

Follow and Connect with Julie Cross

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Hope you enjoyed reading my review. Take care and have a wonderful day!

sincerelykarenjo2

The Book of Whispers

Kimberley Starr

1 ★ – DNF, NOT FOR ME

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 23, 2018 TEXT PUBLISHING (FIRST PUBLISHED 10.3.2016)

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, FANTASY, HISTORICAL FICTION

PAPERBACK 386 PAGES

Tuscany, 1096 AD. Luca, young heir to the title of Conte de Falconi, sees demons. Since no one else can see them, Luca must keep quiet about what he sees.

Luca also has dreams—dreams that sometimes predict the future. Luca sees his father murdered in one such dream and vows to stop it coming true. Even if he has to go against his father’s wishes and follow him on the great pilgrimage to capture the Holy Lands.

When Luca is given an ancient book that holds some inscrutable power, he knows he’s been thrown into an adventure that will lead to places beyond his understanding. But with the help of Suzan, the beautiful girl he rescues from the desert, he will realise his true quest: to defeat the forces of man and demon that wish to destroy the world.

The Book of Whispers by Kimberley Starr had an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, I just did not find anything exciting about the story.

I tried to read this a few times, but it never did work out. At first, I thought I just wasn’t in the mood, so I set it aside. I’m a mood reader and sometimes I like to read more contemporary than fantasy or sci-fi. However, that was not the case at all with this book. While I thought the synopsis was kind of interesting, I just wasn’t a big fan of the storyline. I wasn’t captivated or into the story at all. I read up to 11% of the book and finally decided to DNF.

I really don’t like not finishing a book and I did try to give this one a chance. I thought the writing was decent and the world building was okay from what I read, but it just did not fascinate me.

This book initially drew me in with the premise, but at the end of the day, The Book of Whispers just did not hold my interest. I wasn’t excited or entertained at all, so I sadly had to DNF. (My first DNF for 2018).

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you read did book? If so, did you like it or not? Do you think I should try to reread it again? Let me know in the comments below.