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Book Review: The Natural History of Us by Rachel Harris

Mar 30, 2016

The Natural History of Us by Rachel Harris

Pages:297
Publish date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
ISBN: 1633920682
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

One class assignment. One second chance at love. The school player is all in. Now he needs to win back the sweet commitment girl who’s forever owned his heart.

Justin Carter has a secret. He’s not the total player Fairfield Academy believes him to be. Not really. In fact, he used to be a one-woman guy…and his feelings for her never went away. Too bad he broke her heart three years ago and made sure to ruin any chance she’d ever forgive him.

Peyton Williams is a liar. She pretends to be whole, counting down the days until graduation and helping her parents at the family ranch. But the truth is, she’s done everything she can to get over Justin, and salvation is just around the corner. With graduation one short month away, she’ll soon break free from the painful memories and start her life fresh. Of course, she has to get through working with him on one last assignment first.

For Justin, nothing ever felt as right as being with Peyton, and now that fate’s given him a shot at redemption, he’s determined to make the most of it. And for Peyton…well, Justin Carter has always been her kryptonite.

The Natural History of Us:

I received an e-arc of The Natural History of Us by Rachel Harris from Spencer Hill Press via Inkslinger PR in conjunction with The Natural History of Us Blog Tour. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This is the first YA book from Rachel Harris that I have read, which is totally wired because I love her stuff. I have only read her NA books before this one. So when I received this for review, I was very excited and I loved it.

The Natural History of Us was a fun, emotional read that is sweet and adorable. You want to find out what happened? What is going to happen? And how everything is going to be fixed?

The Natural History of Us follows protagonist Justin and Peyton. Two people that were torn apart and with a school assignment are brought back together. They have their ups and their downs it’s not just about their relationship, but so much more.

The Natural History of Us is told in two coinciding parts. The first is before the incident. We don’t know what the incident is, we just know one part and as the novel goes it slowly unfolds. Then we have the ‘now,’ the pairing of Justin and Peyton for the assignment and how everything goes from there.

It was certainly a smart way of doing this. Instead of telling how Justin and Peyton used to be, it’s shown. At first it was a little confusing just to get used to the two time placements, but I quickly got used to it.

I loved the characterisation and character arcs of both Peyton and Justin through The Natural History of Us. The characters grow throughout the novel and we can see it.

Peyton, was a likable character and protagonist. She wasn’t annoying, though at some points I wanted to give her a knock on the back of her head, as a ‘come on,’ however we all have those moments.

I loved Justin, I just want to be his best friend and he needs one. I am not saying that his friends are horrible, because they are not. But he needs someone to be there for me, for him to tell everything. He had that in Peyton, until everything went south.

I liked that setting of The Natural History of Us. I don’t know what it’s like to live on a farm, but the way that it’s presented in the book, let me use my imagination and it was fun.

Nevertheless, there were also some amazing things that happened in The Natural History of Us. That made you want to cry. They weren’t the amazing that is the best thing in the world, but the amazing, that I am glad that Rachel Harris used them in her book.

I love Rachel Harris’ writing style, it’s easy to read and you know that when you start her books, you are going to finish them pretty quickly because you want to know what is going to happen next.

Overall, The Natural History of Us tells us a story of how two people that have been torn apart can be brought back together. With writing that is captivating, a story line that is intriguing and characters that you want to be friends with, The Natural History of Us is a book for every contemporary fan or not.

Have you read any books from Rachel Harris? Have you read The Natural History of Us? Are you going to read it? Let’s Chat.

About Rachel Harris:

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls-next-door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Vibrant settings, witty banter, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books…and kissing. Lots of kissing.

An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romances, and LOVES talking with readers!

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Book Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry – Blog Tour

Mar 25, 2016

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Pages: 384
Publish date: 29th March 2016
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
ISBN: 0373211627
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That’s seventeen-year-old Breanna’s role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully’s line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas “Razor” Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don’t belong. But when he learns she’s being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it’s time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he’ll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she’ll help him seek answers to the mystery that’s haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they’re both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they’re going from here.

Walk the Edge:

I received an e-arc of Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry from Harlequin Teen Via Inkslinger PR in conjunction with the Walk the Edge Blog Tour. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

If you know me well enough then you would know that I love Katie McGarry’s books, her books were one of the first contemporary novels that I read and I let me tell you, I am so glad that I did.

Last year when I read Nowhere but Here, I fell in love with the characters and the world. There is something have guys and bikes that is so fun to read.

Walk the Edge is quite different in relation to the themes that it contains compared to Nowhere but Here. It is quite dark at times, but that is what I love about Katie McGarry’s writing, she can talk about things that are dark, but do it beautifully.

Walk the Edge follows protagonists Breanna, who is quite, shy and hella smart and Razor member of The Reign of Terror motorcycle club. Brought together by something that was a beautiful moment, but made to look like something more. Breanna and Razor join forces and make a pact; find out who is blackmailing Breanna and what really happened to Razors mother.

I adored both protagonists in Walk the Edge. They are both so different, but just work together so well.

Breanna is the shy type. She does what she has to do and is always there for her family, even when they are not there for her. And as the novel went on we get to see her grow. I enjoyed Breanna a lot, she wasn’t annoying or whiny, and she felt normal.

I cannot explain how much I loved Razor. You just feel for him so much. He had this fire about him, however he also had a wall and we slowly see him soften as the book went on.

I really enjoyed the plot of Walk the Edge. It was intriguing and had me turning page after page. I wanted to know what happened to Razors mother, why the club was being so secretive.

We also get to see how the town feels about the club in this book. We see the hatred that most of the town has and gosh, it broke me at times. They all have this outlook on how the club or they liked to call it sometimes gang work.

Walk the Edge has a sense of family. Good and bad, mostly bad. I love how Breanna had a big family, but they were just horrible. They were never there for Breanna and again, it broke me. Breanna has given up so much for them and they give nothing back. They infuriated me, I wanted to throw my book (well phone) across the room, whenever they were in scenes.

We also see a side of the club that we didn’t see in the previous books and I didn’t like it at all. They way that they treated Razor at times…no please.

I love the writing style of Katie McGarry, it’s easy to read and flows so nicely. You are never confused about what was going on. You just along on the ride.

I adored the romance in Walk the Edge. It was slow burning at first, but we could also see the attraction between the two and I loved it.

This has to be one of the most intense endings of a Katie McGarry book, and that is saying something, because the ending of Nowhere but Here is pretty heavy. There was just something about the ending that made it more jarring.

Overall, I loved Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry. It has a steamy romance, dark issues, sweet love and protagonists that pulls you right in. Walk the Edge by Katie MaGarry is a brilliant second novel in the Thunder Road series that is for lovers of YA Contemporary and anyone else who loves romance in dark times.

Have you read Walk the Edge yet? What did you think of it? Are you going to? Let’s chat!

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

Book Review: The Winner’s Kiss by Maire Rutkoski

Mar 21, 2016

The Winner’s Kiss by Maire Rutkoski

Pages: 496
Publish date: 24 March 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
ISBN: 1408858746
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

The Winners Kiss:

This review will have spoilers from the previous novels in the trilogy.

Bloomsbury Children’s sent me an e-arc of The Winner’s Kiss via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I loved the first two books in this trilogy – I adored them. I was intrigued by the world, by the characters, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I read both The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime in a day each and it was no different when I read The Winner’s Kiss.

The Winner’s Kiss was action packed, emotional and also kept me on my feet. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, it was full of blood, secrets and revenge. If Kestrel and Arin will ever see each other again? If they will ever come back together?

The Winner’s Kiss starts off no far from where it finished in The Winners Crime. Kestrel is being held prisoner in a brutal work camp. When the book start she is just arriving at is not prepared for what is in stall for her. She is hoping that Arin will come and save her, but as the days go on and on her hope lingers.

The work camp scenes were very hard to read at times. I just wanted to hold Kestrel in my arms. Her whole life she hasn’t had to deal with things like this and now she is doing them herself. She is being drugged so that she works hour after hour and it’s tearing her apart. She is being mentally and physically tortured.

One of the hardest things about these scenes throughout the book was that I knew that her father was responsible for this. Her own father put her there.

Arin is not physically being tortured, but he is mentally. He thinks that Kestrel has betrayed him, she cared more about the empire than him. He is trying to convince himself that he no longer loves her, that he no longer cares. But we can see right through it and all we want to do is hug him nice and tight.

This might be a spoiler here, but we cannot go nearly 500 pages of a novel and Kestrel still be in the prison. She does escape with the help of a special someone. But she has changed and this broke my heart.

There were countless twists and turns throughout The Winner’s Kiss that I didn’t know when anyone was going to be safe, I couldn’t know till the last page.

The Winner’s Kiss is much darker than the previous novels. Both protagonists have gone through so much and they have both been hurt. Arin is swoon worthy and gorgeous, but he has been hurt and he doesn’t trust anyone. Kestrel is broken, but her love is what gets her through it all.

The writing of Marie Rutkoski is exquisite, it just takes you write into the story and you are lifted into another world. The world building in these books is also taken to another level.

The Winner’s Kiss has everything; romance, friendship, battles, and heaps of banter that helped realise the tension, and it was brilliant.

One thing that I have loved about this series from the start is the strategies. It is about, okay let’s fight. It’s well thought out, well planned and very interesting to read.

The romance in The Winner’s Kiss just broke my heart. I adore Kestrel and Arin together, from the start they captured my heart. Throughout The Winner’s Kiss they are tested, they are broken, they are torn apart, and they are pulled in many different directions.

I could go on and on, about how I feel about The Winner’s Kiss, but I finish with, The Winner’s Kiss was a near perfect ending to a brilliant series that blew my expectations. It deals with many things from politics, religion, war, and love. It takes you’re a journey that you near want to stop.

The Winner’s Kiss is about love, betrayal, friendship and what would people do to do for their empire. The Winner’s Kiss takes you on a journey like no other, it captures your heart, but wreaks your emotions, and it will break you and put you together over and over again until the last page.