Tween Tuesday Review: Sink or Swim

 * Whatever After Series #3- read my reviews of the first two books*

Abby and Jonah have been pulled into another fairy tale - this time it's the Little Mermaid's story. They arrive underwater and immediately loose their luggage.

Abby doesn't like the water and flails about to get to land.  Unfortunately she interrupts Lana as she's rescuing the prince. As far the the prince knows, Abby and Jonah saved him. He invites them to stay at the palace in the kingdom of Mustard - where everything is yellow and food is always served with a side of mustard. 

Abby tries to stop Lana from making a bargain with the Sea Witch, but she's too late. Now, Lana must marry to Prince or face the consequences of her bargain. Abby's busy planning a wedding and she's determined that the show must go on!

My Thoughts: I've always been partial to the Little Mermaid tale and I really enjoyed the changes to this story. I like how Abby and Jonah met Lana before she became human. I loved the siblings trip to the underwater kingdom and meeting  Lana's family. I thought the royals of the kingdom of Mustard were very relaxed and their attitude added humor to the book. I like how Abby watches out for Jonah - who has a knack for getting into trouble and for meeting new friends.  Another fun fairy tale adventure that leave me waiting for the next chapter.

Cover Thoughts: really cute

Source: My Library

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is I Was "Forced" to Read (either by teachers, friends, other bloggers, book club) -- doesn't necessarily have to be a BAD thing. Could be required reading, yes, but also book club, or just super enthusiastic friends "making" you read something! This one is kind of all over the place with adult and teen books. 

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

 

  My Husband:

1. Game of Thrones (seriously one of my favorite authors of all time)
2. Ender's Game
3. Steelhearts


Library Book Club:
4. On the Run
5. Dying to Meet You


Blogging/Twitter/BEA Raves:
6. Summer I Turned Pretty
7. Lucky Harbor series
8. The Bridgerton series

Because it won an award:
9. Bomb
10. One and Only Ivan

Review: It's Not Summer Without You

 * Book 2 in the Summer series * 

Summer will never be the same again. When Susannah relapsed and died, everything fell apart.

Now Belly's at home - missing every summer that's come before - missing the beach house, Susannah, and the boys.

She and Conrad haven't been together for months, but she can't stop thinking of him. When Jeremiah calls with the news that Conrad's gone missing, Belly wants to help find him. Maybe seeing him again will finally bring her closure.

My Thoughts: I loved this book; I tore through it not wanting to put it down. It made me have all the feels - sadness, heartache, heartbreak, and a smile through the tears. I liked the timeline and how it unfolded. I liked uncovering the details of what happened between Belly and Conrad.  I liked seeing the summer house again, even under these circumstances.  I wanted the final book in the trilogy immediately after reading this one!

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Mini Review: Craft-a-Doodle

18 artists put together 75 different exercises to help you create better art work.

The Good: This book is pure fun - lots of drawing ideas. The instructions look great and the use of different drawing tools makes it a more well rounded book. When I think about doodling - it's mostly boring ideas (lines and cubes) on meeting agendas, but this book takes it to a whole new level. I'm eager to try some of these ideas: the owls, the pug faces, the yarn inspiration, the cupcakes, the framed lines, hearts, and the village for drawings on cards.

The Bad: Directions are not there for all the designs, but you can figure it out from the directions that are there and adapt them. Some of them are a little strange - but I think there was only one who's work I didn't like at all.

Library Idea: Use this book to prompt an art night or a several night art workshop. Lots of a great ideas to create fun unique drawings. The visual diary would be perfect!

Mysterious Saturday Review: The Bride Wore Size 12

* Heather Wells Series #5 *

Heather and Cooper are getting married - if Heather can survive the first few weeks of school starting. This year, Death Dorm is the coolest place to be because of a very important resident. 

When one of the R.A.'s is discovered dead in her room, the start of school becomes a nightmare for Heather and her team.  No one seems to know what happened - but the security cameras in place for the VIR tell a very different story.

Heather's trying to figure what really happened that night, especially since Jasmine was murdered. Plus she's trying to plan a wedding, deal with her long lost and unwelcome mother, and deal with parents wanting more for their kids during the first week of college. Will she be able to juggle it all?

My Thoughts: I love this series - it always makes me laugh. So I saved this book for a tough day, where I had a lot of waiting going on. And it helped. It made me smile and laugh. It made me share tidbits of the story with my husband. It brightened up my day and made a horrible day better. I devoured it, knowing that it would be just what I needed. And it was. 

I loved the reappearance of Heather's mom. I thought Cooper's sisters were horrible, but pretty funny. I really liked Cooper's friends. I really liked the parents trying to cope with leaving their sons or daughters off at college. Their interaction with their kids was really entertaining.  I love Heather. She tries so hard to be nice to everyone that she ends up telling all sorts of lies, sparing their feelings. She's very good hearted.  I love that she has Cooper to make her laugh after a rough day. I loved the ending of the book.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: Bought

If you missed my post on meeting Meg Cabot - check it out.

Review: Steelheart

Everything was normal - before super humans. When they started taking over the world - everything changed.

Now humans live in fear. Sometimes without electricity, food, water, or sunlight.

David knows something can be done to change the world. He saw Steelheart bleed. He spends all his free time researching and waiting for the perfect opportunity. 

Now it's here - if only he can convince the Reckoners to listen to his plan. It's a great plan, but he'll need their help to pull it off. Will they trust him enough to agree and try to bring down the most powerful Epic?

My Thoughts: A fascinating read that's very different. I got an ARC at BEA thinking my husband would like it, and he did. But then he made me read it next. I devoured it too. I like how David spent his time researching the Epics for their weaknesses, collecting data on them, and creating theories. I confess it made my nerdy self sigh. I never saw most of the twists and turns coming, which was perfect.  I enjoyed watching the revolution spark and the ideas catch fire. I really liked David and how he found and infiltrated the Reckoners. I enjoyed Cody's banter and Abraham's thoughtful words. A great dystopian novels that stayed in my mind for days after.

Cover Thoughts: Cool
Source: BEA ARC

Mini Review: Sweet Legacy

The end of the trilogy where three sisters not only decide the fate of their world, but the fate of the monster world too.

The Good: I love the sisters and their relationship - including how they're changed since learning about each other. I love the romances and the surprise of Grace's brother (and his past - which broke my heart.) I loved their quest and how the worked on it - together. Plus that monkey always makes me laugh - even when tensions run high. I love the ending and what it means.

The Bad: It's over :(

Overall Verdict: If you haven't read this trilogy, what are you waiting for? Go Now!