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Book Review: Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny by Cindi Madsen

May 7, 2017

Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny by Cindi Madsen

Pages: –
Publish date: May 8th, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Embrace
ASIN: B06XW22BPK
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Confession #1: I used to be a puck bunny, but after a hockey player broke my heart, I gave up all things hockey. Now I’m just focused on finding a way to pass my math class so I can graduate college.

Confession #2: Ryder “Ox” Maddox’s deep, sexy voice sends fuzzy tingles through my entire body, and I’m powerless to stop it. Which is a big problem since the hot, surprisingly funny hockey player is my new math tutor.

Confession #3: I can’t stop thinking about how ripped Ryder is from all his hockey training. And how fun it’d be to cross lines with him.

Confession #4: I kissed a hockey player and I liked it.

Confession #5: If I’m not careful, I might relapse and fall for Ryder. And then I’ll be totally pucked.

Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny:

I received an e-arc of Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny by Cindi Madsen from Entangled Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This is Book #5 in the Taking Shots series. However you can read it as a standalone. I’ve been reading Cindi Madsen’s books over the last couple of years. And while this series it’s of high quality, it’s one of those that I can get through in a couple of hours and enjoy what I am reading. And that’s why I liked reading Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny.

If you’ve been around for a while you know that I like my sport books – you can even check out some of my favourite Ice Hockey books here. So I already had a sense of this book before I picked it up.

Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny follows protagonists Lindsay Rivera and Ryder “Ox” Maddox. One’s an Ice Hockey player and the other a former puck bunny who swore she would never fall for another hockey player again. But, Ryder is different and it’s taken Lindsay by surprise. Will she be able to lock her heart, or will this hockey player wrap her up in his world.

If you have read the previously books in the series then you would have meet both our protagonists before. But we see them in a different light in Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny.

Lindsay is a hard protagonist to get along with a times. She is very determined in what she wants from life. And while I love that, she does let her feelings get in the way. I connected with Lindsay a lot, in the sense of her career path and I loved that. The reader is able to see how much she wants to work in the industry and she would do anything to get there.

Ryder is different to the other male protagonists in this series and that alone intrigued me. I mean, yes he is a hockey player, but he was quiet and sensitive. I enjoyed this narrator and liked that he wasn’t the alpha male type. His passion for both Ice Hockey and Lindsay was adorable.

The romance was adorable. Like I said I loved how much Ryder cared for Lindsay and would do anything for her. Even getting turned down again and again. Lindsay is very hesitant about Ryder, but I love how he breaks her walls down and she starts falling for him slowly. It was beautiful at times and I just loved reading then together.

There was some very cliché moments in Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny, but I could totally see by it because of how much I enjoyed reading these characters. We get to see our previous protagonists and I loved that we got to see where they were on their journey.

Overall, Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny is a fun read. Sometimes it’s emotional and you just want to hug Lindsay and Ryder, pushing them together. There were parts that annoyed, where I wanted to scream at the characters. Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny explores the notion of finding love where you least expect it, family and friends and what it’s like to let yourself free. It’s fun, sexy and was just a good read.

Have you read this series? What do you think of it? Have you picked up Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny yet? What did you think of that? Are you planning on reading it. Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Mar 31, 2017

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Pages: 480
Publish date: April 1st, 2017
Publisher: Hot Key Books
ISBN: 9781471406362
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Noemi is a young and fearless soldier of Genesis, a colony planet of a dying Earth. But the citizens of Genesis are rising up – they know that Earth’s settlers will only destroy this planet the way they destroyed their own. And so a terrible war has begun.

When Noemi meets Abel, one of Earth’s robotic mech warriors, she realizes that Abel himself may provide the key to Genesis’ salvation. Abel is bound by his programming to obey her – even though her plan could result in his destruction. But Abel is no ordinary mech. He’s a unique prototype, one with greater intelligence, skill and strength than any other. More than that, he has begun to develop emotions, a personality and even dreams. Noemi begins to realise that if Abel is less than human, he is more than a machine. If she destroys him, is it murder? And can a cold-blooded murder be redeemed by the protection of a world?

Stranded together in space, they go on a whirlwind adventure through Earth’s various colony worlds, alongside the countless Vagabonds who have given up planetary life altogether and sail forever between the stars. Each step brings them closer – both to each other and to the terrible decision Noemi will have to make about her world’s fate, and Abel’s.

Defy the Stars:

I received an arc of Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray from Allen and Unwin in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Claudia Gray was one of the first authors that I read when reading YA, and when I heard about this new series I couldn’t wait to pick it up. And I wasn’t disappointed. The characters were intriguing, the plot kept me on the toes and everything else just worked.

Defy the Stars follows young protagonist Noemi who is a fearless soldier of Genesis. Genesis is a colony planet of a dying earth, but as the citizens of Genesis growing, Earth settlers want to destroy it. In the midst of war, Noemi meets Abel, a robotic mech warrior from earth. And she releases that he might hold the key that she needs to save her home. But, there is something different about Abel, something unique and oh they are in for an adventure.

Noemi was an interesting protagonist and I really enjoyed her. I liked her strength and the power that she holds. Noemi doesn’t have much of a family, but those that she has – she cares so much for them. She would do anything for them. But, I also liked as the Defy the Stars goes on we find out more about her, and she learns more about herself. I really enjoyed her character arc, and even though it wasn’t a dramatic change, but it’s also the first book in the series.

Abel – I loved him. Abel is a robotic mech in many ways, but not like others. He has emotions, feelings, intelligence. His personality that is entertaining and fun, but he also is innocent. He lived alone for a long time so when Noemi arrives – it’s a shock to his system. I loved his hesitation, I liked that he fought with himself, and I also loved his strength.

At first, Defy the Stars was hard for me to get into. Not because it wasn’t good. But, because I am not a massive science fiction fan. I took me about 80 -100 pages to get into it. However, after that I was in I couldn’t stop.

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Because it’s science fiction, world building is very important for the book. As the novel goes on we find more and more about the world of Defy the Stars. It’s complicated yes, but also intriguing. I was taken by the world and I wanted to know more as the novel went on. Obvious we didn’t find out a lot in this book, but it also works. It leaves room for more and all the information wasn’t dumped onto the reader.

Defy the Stars is intense. You don’t know what is going to happen next, you don’t know who to trust. You just want to turn page after page because you want to know how it’s going to end – what is going to happen.

There wasn’t really a romance in this book, however, there is friendship. I liked that even though Noemi and Abel are so different. But, as the novel goes on and they spend their time together – they get to know other. I liked the banter, the secret looks and how they worked so well with each other.

Overall, Defy the Stars is a fun, heart-stopping and heartbreaking at times. The characters were interesting, the world intriguing and the plot kept me on the edge of my toes. Defy the Stars explores the notion of family, friendship, believing in yourself and standing up for what you believe in. It explores humanity, intelligence and war. It’s a fun, exciting read and I cannot wait to read more in this series.

Have you read Defy the Stars? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read other books by Claudia Gray? Let’s Chat!

Book Reivew: Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik

Mar 26, 2017

Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik

Pages: 320
Publish date: March 28th, 2017
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0544829697
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

From the author of Epic Fail comes the story of Chloe Mitchell, a Los Angeles girl on a quest to find love for her autistic sister, Ivy. Ethan, from Ivy’s class, seems like the perfect match. It’s unfortunate that his older brother, David, is one of Chloe’s least favorite people, but Chloe can deal, especially when she realizes that David is just as devoted to Ethan as she is to Ivy.

Uncommonly honest and refreshingly funny, this is a story about sisterhood, autism, and first love. Chloe, Ivy, David, and Ethan, who form a quirky and lovable circle, will steal readers’ hearts and remind us all that it’s okay to be a different kind of normal.

Things I Should Have Known:

I received an e-arc of Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik from HMH Books for Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I was really looking forward to Things I Should Have Known. It sounded intriguing and pulled me right in with its autism exploration, but, overall I was let down and left hanging for more. I was expecting something powerful and was left in the dust.

Before I keep on going, I would like to acknowledge that no one in my house suffers from autism. However, I have cousins and family friends that do. And some of those I do spend a lot of time with. So even though I don’t know everything, I do understand somethings.

Things I Should Have Known follows Protagonist Chloe Mitchell as she goes on a mission to help her older sister, Ivy, find love. When Chloe realises that her autistic sister wants to find love, she does everything in her power to help her find it. I have a love/hate relationship with Chloe. Overall, I found her to just be okay. I loved that she cared about her sister so much, that she would do so much for her. I loved that she would stand up for Ivy no matter what. But, sometimes her attitude really didn’t sit with me right. Chloe’s voice also wasn’t for me. I found that she sounded quite young – too young at times.

I loved Ivy, she was such a brilliant and complex characters that I wanted to find out more. She was innocent, but the kind that is beautiful and works so well with the story being told. I loved that Ivy wanted to find out things, see what love is, and feel love. It was so beautiful. At one point when Ivy realised something and confided in Chloe, I didn’t know wheatear to cry or smile – in the end, I did both.

The romances in Things I Should Have Known are very different. I am not sure how I feel about Chloe’s, but it still made this novel work. They were real. Ethan, oh my, he is such a sweetheart. I cannot even begin to explain. I just wanted to hold him and tell him everything is going to be okay. David, I’m not too sure how I feel about him, even after finishing the book.

From what I know and understand about autism, I thought that Things I Should Have Known explores an honest and real representation. The struggle, the heartbreak, the ups and the downs. It was all there.

One of the things about Things I Should Have Known is that it’s honest and real. Things are sugar coated. Heartbreaking events happening throughout the book, and they are raw. But they are also real and so important for people to understand.

Writing: While I thought that the story was beautiful and so important. I wasn’t a massive fan of the writing style and even the voice of the protagonist;

Overall, Things I Should Have Known is a raw book. It’s real and the story is beautiful. The novel explores the notion of family and finding love. It’s about not just looking after those you love, but yourself. As well as learning that sometimes you need to let go. While I wasn’t a fan of the writing or the voice of the protagonist, Things I Should Have Known is so important and should be read.

Have you read Things I Should Have Known? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read anything else by Claire LaZebnik? Let’s Chat!