netgalleyarcs – Page 13 – Sincerely Karen Jo

blogtour

Hello loves and Happy Friday!!! Welcome to my Blog Tour Stop for MY ALMOST FLAWLESS TOKYO DREAM LIFE by Rachel Cohn hosted by RockStar Book Tours. Today, I’ll be sharing my review and a giveaway so don’t forget to stay until the end.

MY ALMOST FLAWLESS TOKYO DREAM LIFE

divider3

flawlesstokyo

Pub. Date: December 18, 2018

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 384

purchaselinks

Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

synopsis

“I’m here to take you to live with your father. In Tokyo, Japan! Happy birthday!”

In the Land of the Rising Sun, where high culture meets high kitsch, and fashion and technology are at the forefront of the First World’s future, the foreign-born teen elite attend ICS-the International Collegiate School of Tokyo. Their accents are fluid. Their homes are ridiculously posh. Their sports games often involve a (private) plane trip to another country. They miss school because of jet lag and visa issues. When they get in trouble, they seek diplomatic immunity.

Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahari, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Um, yes, please! Elle jets off first class from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hyper-critical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn’t exist. In an effort to please her new family, Elle falls in with the Ex-Brats, a troupe of uber-cool international kids who spend money like it’s air. But when she starts to crush on a boy named Ryuu, who’s frozen out by the Brats and despised by her new family, her already tenuous living situation just might implode.

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life is about learning what it is to be a family, and finding the inner strength to be yourself, even in the most extreme circumstances.

divider4

mythoughts

A Wonderfully heartwarming tale of family, forgiveness, friendship and love.

4hearts2 (1)

This book was surprisingly really good. My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn was a lighthearted and delightfully fun read that kept me entertained until the very end.

I really enjoyed reading this book and getting to see Japan through Elle’s story. I think that was my favorite part of this book. I liked the gorgeous sceneries, learning a bit about the culture and traditions, and just reading everything about Tokyo. Without a doubt, this novel definitely made me want to visit Japan now more than ever and the food… don’t even get me started on that. I was literally so hungry the entire time I was reading.

I liked the author’s writing style a lot. It was illustrative and engaging. I liked that I could picture myself being at certain places and almost tasting the delicious food. I also really liked the plot. I thought it was fast-paced, entertaining, humorous, and emotionally affecting. The story moved pretty quickly and if I didn’t have to sleep, go to work, and take care of my newly spayed pup, I absolutely could have finished this in one sitting. It’s totally one of those books that easily get you hooked and you’re so into the story that you don’t even realize when you’re almost finished. At least it was for me and I love when books can do that.

The characters were all pretty great. I thought they were realistic, genuine and relatable. Elle was a fantastic lead and I really enjoyed her character development. From the beginning, I just had this feeling that I would like her, and I honestly really did. Even though I didn’t always agree with Elle, I liked that she was determined, strong, and had a great sense of humor. For a teenager who went through so much, I admired her strength and perseverance, choosing to better her life, and fighting for what she wants.

So, this book was mainly focused on family, but there was a bit of romance. As a romance addict, it surprised me that I was not a fan and I honestly could care less. There were some good moments, but it didn’t work for me and I wouldn’t have minded if there was none of it in the book. But, if you do like stories with romance, then you’re in luck. It just wasn’t my cup of tea in this book.

There were some minor flaws and the ending was a bit rushed, but overall, I really liked this book. My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life was a beautifully written, satisfyingly entertaining, and wonderfully heartwarming tale of family, forgiveness, friendship and love. It’s sweet, short, charming, and a fun novel that will engross readers from beginning to end. Definitely recommend you check this book out.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher and Rockstar Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

divider4

abouttheauthor

Rachel Cohn is the bestselling, award-winning author of many books. She lives in Los Angeles with two very cool cats named McNulty and Bunk.

authorlinks

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

divider4

entergiveaway

3 winners will receive finished copies of MY ALMOST FLAWLESS TOKYO DREAM LIFE, US only.

Rafflecopter Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2864/?

divider4

Week One:

12/3/2018- Novel Novice– Excerpt

12/4/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review

12/5/2018- A Court of Coffee and Books– Excerpt

12/6/2018- BookHounds YA– Review

12/7/2018- A Gingerly Review– Review

Week Two:

12/10/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert– Review

12/11/2018- Do You Dog-ear?– Review

12/12/2018- A Dream Within A Dream– Excerpt

12/13/2018- Daily Waffle– Excerpt

12/14/2018- The Reading Corner for All– Review

Week Three:

12/17/2018- Lisa Loves Literature– Review

12/18/2018- Eli to the nth– Review

12/19/2018- Dani Reviews Things– Review

12/20/2018- The Pages In-Between– Review

12/21/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo Blog– Review

Week Four:

12/24/2018- Falling For YA– Interview

12/25/2018- Smada’s Book Smack– Review

12/26/2018- All the Ups and Downs– Excerpt

12/27/2018- Confessions of a YA Reader– Review

12/28/2018- Wishful Endings– Excerpt

Week Five:

12/31/2018- Under the Book Cover– Excerpt

divider3

I hope you enjoyed reading my review! Don’t forget to join the giveaway.

Have you read this? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!!!

sincerelykjologo

arcreview

divider3

youaretheeverything

aboutbook

Publication Date: October 30, 2018

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Pages: Hardcover, 272 pages

purchaselinks

AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – KOBO – INDIEBOUND

divider4 synopsis

Can you want something—or someone—so badly that you change your destiny? Elyse Schmidt never would have believed it, until it happened to her. When Elyse and her not-so-secret crush, Josh Harris, are the sole survivors of a plane crash, tragedy binds them together. It’s as if their love story is meant to be. Everything is perfect, or as perfect as it can be when you’ve literally fallen out of the sky and landed hard on the side of a mountain—until suddenly it isn’t. And when the pieces of Elyse’s life stop fitting together, what is left?

divider4

mythoughts Delightfully Weird, Amazingly Unique, and Emotionally Engrossing

4hearts2 (1)

Wow! I don’t even know how to explain what I’m feeling. YOU ARE THE EVERTYHING was such an interestingly well-written and beautifully affecting story about love, loss, life, death, and everything else in between.

Having gone through losing someone recently and dealing with my own grief, this book was not an easy read. I was actually kind of afraid once I realized it wasn’t the lighthearted romance I was expecting. But, the author’s writing style and second person POV sucked me into the story. As if I was the character — going through everything, experiencing all these emotions and just feeling EVERYTHING. It was excruciating and quite overwhelmingly sometimes that I felt like I couldn’t breathe, but I had to keep going. I had to know what would happen next. I had to know that there’ll be a happy ending somewhere. I just had to know. And I did. I can’t say a lot about the plot without giving anything away, but it was very strange and surreal. The ending was just so INSANE. I mean I had my theories while I was reading, but I honestly never saw it coming. So so shockingly good it hurt.

Character wise, I really liked Elyse. She was quirky, funny, adorable and a beautiful mess. I had such an incredibly weird, but fascinating experience being in her head. I can’t say much about the other characters though. I feel like I’d spoil it for you and I just can’t do that. BUT, I will say this. I really enjoyed getting to know the supporting characters in every way.

YOU ARE THE EVERYTHING by Karen Rivers is a wonderfully written story about EVERYTHING. It was exciting and also terrifying. It was sweet, entertaining, and sometimes even funny, but also heartbreaking. Some parts were a bit slow and somewhat annoying, but that didn’t really bother me that much cause I was intrigued and really into the story. I found myself dizzily floating through a whirlwind of emotions and I LOVED IT. So, yeah, this book wasn’t without flaws, but it really got to me and had me feeling and thinking… about EVERYTHING.

If you’re looking for a quick addictive read that’s delightfully weird, amazingly unique, and emotionally engrossing, then I highly recommend you get this book right now. Definitely think it’s not going to be easily forgotten.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review. All feelings, thoughts and opinions are my own.

divider4

favoritequotes

Spoiler Alert: Some may give away clues to how the story ends, so read at your own risk.

“You know it isn’t real, but it’s real enough.”

“We hold on to two types of memories the hardest – The good ones and the bad ones. It’s the ones that aren’t extreme that we lose most easily.”

“Two truths. Something is a lie. But which one is the lie?”

“The thing is that there isn’t a choice, there isn’t always a choice, sometimes the choice is made for you…”

“What could have been, what isn’t, what wasn’t, and what will never be.”

divider4

abouttheauthor Taken from the author’s website.

karenrivers

I was born, grew up, and currently live in British Columbia, where I take a lot of photos, walk a lot of paths, and write books for children, teens and adults.

The stories I tell are emotionally honest, but they aren’t about real people. Fiction has a way of telling the truth though, don’t you think?

I believe that readers are always asking the question, “Am I OK?” I write characters who suspect that they are not OK, but who eventually find inside themselves the strength to change that belief.

Growing up is harder than ever. The world is often egregiously unfair. Things can seem impossible.

How do we go on?

I believe in the power of stories. I think that stories will save us. They can show us the way.

Novels are magical. Books can be mirrors or windows. We sometimes need to see ourselves. We always need to understand others.

Stories are all secret passages to alternate worlds where we can be safe to explore the unsafe, the unsettling or the unfair hands some people have been dealt.

In the pages of a book, we can be braver than we are, we can go further than we’d normally dare, we can understand more than we know.

Books make us better, period.

I believe in magic. Do you?

Be brave. Be kind. And believe this: You are OK.

I believe in you.

authorlinks