Make It Count (Bowler University #1) by Megan Erickson

Make It Count (Bowler University #1) by Megan Erickson

Release Date:  July 8, 2014

Publisher:  William Morrow Impulse

Age Group: New Adult

Pages: 336

Summary:  Kat Caruso wishes her brain had a return policy, or at least a complaint hot-line. The defective organ is constantly distracted, terrible at statistics, and absolutely flooded with inappropriate thoughts about her boyfriend’s gorgeous best friend, Alec…who just so happens to be her brand new math tutor. Who knew nerd was so hot?

Kat usually goes through tutors like she does boyfriends—both always seem to bail when they realize how hopeless she is. It’s safer for her heart to keep everyone at arm’s reach. But Alec is always stepping just a little too close.

Alec Stone should not be fantasizing about Kat. She’s adorable, unbelievably witty, and completely off limits. He’d never stab his best friend in the back…

But when secrets are revealed, the lines of loyalty are blurred. To make it count, Alec must learn messy human emotions can’t be solved like a trigonometry function. And Kat has to trust Alec may be the first guy to want her for who she is, and not in spite of it.

My Thoughts: Cheating is never OK! But I always find myself reading about it, wanting the main character to end up with the other guy. He’s usually the sweeter, sexier one.

We are introduced to Kat who has her own problems. She has trouble really staying focused and learning. She tries her best in school but always has difficulty. And its nothing new, things have always been like this.

Kat gets tutor after tutor but she finally gets one that helps her. Alec. The trouble? Alec is her boyfriend Max’s best friend. I never really liked Max very much. But I think that was the point. He never paid her attention or even was really that nice to her. But of course we’ll get to know another side of him in the next book I bet!

Well, Kat and Alec start their study sessions and he really helps her. But, soon after they both find themselves attracted to each other.

I loved the chemistry in this one! HOT SMOKING SEXY! I loved Alec and Kat together. I loved how witty they were and sarcastic. I liked Alec’s nerdiness! I really enjoyed this novel and flew right through it. Of course, there was also a deeper meaning a lot of drama went on! Some of it I seen coming, but it still surprised me and I felt for all the characters.

Alec Stone is HOT!

Overall:  Loved this one! I can’t wait to read the next one in the series and see what happens next. I hope we see Alec and Kat again! This book was hot but also very sweet! I read mostly Young Adult but will throw in a few New Adult and this is one you should read too!

Loved the plot and the characters!

Cover:  Like it! I’d definitely pick it up to see what it was about! Cute!

What I’d Give It:

On The Fence by Kasie West

On The Fence by Kasie West

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages:  304

Summary:  She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.

My Thoughts: We are introduced to Charlie who is such a tomboy. She’s grown up in a family of boys. She has a father and brothers. Her mother died when she was young so its always been boys boys boys. Even the neighbor is a boy, and one of her best friends. She hasn’t had too much contact with girls either. She’s had a few girl friends but she is usually hanging out playing sports with her brothers.

Charlie gets a job and starts being a makeup model.  This is such an alien concept for Charlie. She knows nothing about wearing girly clothes or makeup.

I loved all the characters in this one! I loved the way Charlie was. I’m not too into sports but this book made me want to be around them, to watch them, to yell at the screen, plus she gets to hang out with boys. Nobody dare date Charlie because you’ll have to suffer the wrath of her brothers.

Charlie starts talking to the next door neighbor more. His name is Braden and he’s always been around, another brother to her. But they start to see each other in another light, and its weird for both of them. I loved their nightly chats. They got each other.

I don’t want to say much about this one but its a WINNNNNNER! I loved all the banter and I loved how realistic it was. I just enjoyed this one to sprinkles!

Overall: Loved Braden, Loved Charlie, Loved the brothers, Loved the modeling, I just adored the whole thing.

If you’ve read West’s other work, you’ll enjoy this one! I adored it! I’m a little sad it had to end but now I want her to write another story I can read! She writes amazing books!

Cover: Another pretty Cover!! Love it! Its sexy and smoldering, yet cute!

Amazing characters and plot! I highly recommend this one!

What I’d Give It:

Firelight (Firelight #1) by Sophie Jordan

Firelight (Firelight #1) by Sophie Jordan

Release Date: September 7, 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 336

Summary:   A hidden truth.

Mortal enemies.

Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki, a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away;if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

My Thoughts: Why did I wait so long to read this one? I loved it!

We are introduced to Jacinda who is a draki. She basically turns into a dragon-like creature. Its hard to explain but I loved it. She lives with other people who are like her but she has one quality they don’t! She was also promised at a young age to a boy named Cassian. I didn’t really like Cassian very much but he made things interesting that is for sure.

When something happens with Jacinda that could threaten her life, her mother takes her and her twin sister away. They move to a town and try to be normal. They attend high school. And, Jacinda gets more than she bargained for. The little thing that happened to her before just happens to be around now.

Oh Will, how I loved you! You were so sweet yet you also had this crazy side to you. I loved how you were different from your family and you understood things better.

I loved Jacinda and Will together. I loved the little moments where she had to try to hide her identity but it sure wasn't easy.

I loved the plot of this one and I loved Jacinda as a character. She was brave but also very sweet. I loved how she did think of others before herself but she also knew things had to change and she couldn’t kill her draki side.

And the ending, whoa. Now I need to read the next one in the series. I’m glad I already have it!

Overall:  I really enjoyed this one! I can’t wait to finish the series! I hope they are just as good as this! I loved the whole draki aspect and I loved learning more about both Jacinda and Wills family! Very cute romantic story but also had more depth to it than I expected!

Highly recommended!

Cover: Like it! Love the orangeness to it! Also could picture her looking like this!

What I’d Give It:

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

Release Date: May 22, 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages:  240

Summary:  Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life.

Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now.

Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart?

Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

My Thoughts:  We are introduced to Clem who just lost the boy she likes and her best friend. Clem did a bad thing and flirted with him. He was her best friends boyfriend. She spent time with him but nothing much really happened. We see a lot of flashbacks to what went down and I liked that, so I felt like I was part of the story.

Clem is spending the summer on a boat with her family. Her mom, dad, and younger sister. At least she gets to get away for a while but she’s also really depressed and angry at herself.

Clem meets a boy named James along one of the docks they stop at. James and Clem run into each other a lot as the story progressed. He and his dad are basically on the same route. So, Clem starts healing with the help of James and she starts to fall for him and realizes it doesn’t have to be such a complicated mess.

This was a nice contemporary. I really enjoyed it a lot. I was hoping this was going to be a 5 cupcake rating for me but I felt like something was missing. I’m just not sure what. I liked both James and Clem and I was happy to watch them get to know each other.

I also did like knowing what happened back home between Clem and her friend. It made me feel like I knew the characters more.

Overall:  I enjoyed this one! I also liked how most of the story took place on the water and they made it more fun. I liked seeing them fish, and swim.  Perfect summer novel to read in the actual summer!

Cover:  I like it! Its romantic and would draw me right in!!! Like how she’s just sitting there and such pretty colors!

What I’d Give It:

Fire And Flood (Fire and Flood #1) by Victoria Scott

Fire And Flood (Fire and Flood #1) by Victoria Scott

Release Date:  February 25, 2014

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 320

Summary:Time is slipping away....

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

Victoria Scott's breathtaking novel grabs readers by the throat and doesn't let go.

My Thoughts: So, I started this one and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. At first, I felt like the main character Tella was kind of annoying. She rubbed me the wrong way. But, as I started reading and got farther in, she grew on me and I started really enjoying it!

Tella is participating in the Brimstone Bleed. Its basically a competition where people can win a cure. A cure for any illness to save someone they love. The cure can make anyone better. Doesn’t that sound interesting and something worth fighting for?

Tella goes into this competition knowing almost nothing about it. All she knows is her parents tried to hide it from her. Each contender also gets a Pandora. It is basically something to protect them. I loved Maddox but I also loved meeting all the other characters, and their Pandora's.

In this novel, they race through the jungle and the dessert. Once they complete these rounds, they will move on.

I can’t even rave enough about this one. I could say so much more about the plot and everything that happens but I want you to experience it yourself. This one was a weird one but in a great way. It really made me think and made me have lots of feels! I felt so sorry for the Pandora's at times but I was also surprised there a few times and I burst out laughing and screaming!

This one was definitely creative and unique.

Fire and Flood surprised the heck out of me. I can’t believe how much I enjoyed it. And I loved meeting all the characters and learning their back-stories. I had so much fun reading this one and I raced right through it. And I loved all the Pandora's!

Overall:  I enjoyed it so much!!! And the ending, now I want more!!! I would probably give this more of a 4.5 but I’m rounding it up to a 5 because I enjoyed it that much.

Cover:  Like it! It would make me pick it up but I don’t think it does the novel justice!

What I’d Give It: