Review- The Fill-In Boyfriend (Kasie West)

Synopsis

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.               
  - Goodreads.com

My Review 

Kasie west is by far one of my favourite contemporary authors. While the fill-in boyfriend was not my favourite book by her (nothing can beat ‘On the Fence’). The Fill in Boyfriend provided all the delightful entertainment and mishaps I was hoping for. 

When Gia’s College boyfriend Bradley dumps her outside the doors of her senior high school prom, she’s at a loss. All her friends were expecting to meet him, some even doubting his existence at all. So walking in empty handed is out of the question. Enter Fill-in Bradley who is minding his own business after dropping off his younger sister to the prom. Suddenly he’s swept into a blur of lies and pretending to be Gia’s boyfriend for the night. But will their whirlwind end after just one night….not likely.

Gia is a hard character to like at the start, she places far too much importance on what her friends think. Even going to the extent of ‘hiring’ a guy to be her prom date for the evening in an effort to save face. (The irony being that she was dumped for the exact reason that she cared too much about her friends opinion). Personally, I feel like real friendship shouldn’t be based on such superficial elements. But that is what makes this book so good. Gia starts to realise this, her character grows and so in turn dawns the realization that she may have outgrown her friends.

Of course, there is also the light romance between the two protagonists to look forward to. With Gia being instigated to repay the favour of pretend girlfriend for the evening when Fill in Bradley is invited to his ex’s party.

Fill in Bradley was the perfect mix of sweet and funny.  Not only is he willing to help a girl in need out on prom night, little questions asked. But when you find out his back story, you wonder how a guy can be so nice after the shit he’s been through.

Romance aside, this story has a lot of good messages around friendships and growing up. Learning to be happy with who you are is probably the one thing that most people struggle with growing up, usually seeking the acceptance and approval of others as a way of self-validation… Even in my 20’s I’m still learning this lesson.

My rating: 4/5


Credit: None of the above images belong to me and were found on Pinterest.
Credit is attributed below when possible
Pic 1 originally found here
Pic 2 originally found here 
Pic 3 originally found here

Mini Review- Graphic Novel Compilation

The Wicked + The Divine (Volume 1 & 2)

Gillen McKelvie & Wilson Cowles

2/5

Graphically this book is stunning the colours are vivid and the characters are so beautifully portrayed. Unfortunately the story is hard to follow, with a lack of background or proper introduction. The main character is an obsessive fan of the gods (who every 90 years get reincarnated into the bodies of teenagers) and gets wrapped up in their political battle. She goes on a mission to find out who framed one of them for killing a citizen, but it’s all rather confusing and nothing really seems to be explained.

The second volume is a continuation of the first. With the same main character. The plot seems a little bit more cohesive, maybe because I’ve come to expect its format from the first book. But it’s still rather confusing.

Bone Yard (Volume 1)

Richard Moore

4/5

Michael has inherited a piece of land in the small town of Raven Wood from his recently deceased grandfather. But little does he know that the land is actually a cemetery, and one that the local mayor wants to see gone. However Michael is determined to make an informed decision, and goes on to befriend some of the ogly booglies that reside in the ‘boneyard’ only to find that they’re not that evil after all.

The graphics and colours are simple. But the characters definitely make up for it, especially the supporting spooks. Definitely recommend if you want a bit of a spoof comedy with vampires and werewolves and the mix. Bonus the series is finished, with 7 volumes available in total.

Zombillenium (Volumes 1 & 2)

Arthur De Pins

5/5

As far as I know there are only 3 volumes currently out, but no news of anymore being made. Which is disappointing, as this series is great! Another spoof comedy about the lives of vampires and other nasties, who all happen to work at a theme park by the titles name ‘Zombillenium’. The attraction of the park is its scariness, although none of the parks visitors are aware that the employees are actually undead ghouls.

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There are a lot of antics, interlaced with sarcastic and sometimes dark humour. The graphic design is something I haven’t come along often, which is all done in adobe illustrator which gives it a unique feel. If you want a quick, quirky read then I suggest grabbing a copy, the only disappointing aspect is the lack of follow up with more volumes.

 

Top Ten Tuesday (26)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.

Top Ten Books On my 'Fall' (actually Spring) TBR

So the weather is getting warmer, and I've got a list of books I have been saving for the right moment. I love spring, even though it tends to be rather rainy where I am during this time, when the suns shining its beautiful. There's nothing like finding a nice place to read for the afternoon soaking up the suns rays. Anyway on to the list....

Sequels

     

I've read the first books in both these series, and with the recent releases of their next books I'm keen to dive in this spring and read them. Not to mention they both have some awesome reviews.

2015 Debut Authors 

  

These 4 are all by debut authors that I have been hearing a lot of good stuff about. Everything Everything has been getting a lot of hype lately and so did Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda when it was released. Also these will make great additions to my debut author challenge, which I am seriously behind on.

Other

So with the release of the new Maze Runner movie, the scorch trials I feel its about time that I actually give the series a go. I mean they have been sitting on my shelf quite neglected for some time now. I've been told the books are much better than the movies, and I thought the first movie was relatively good, so I'm hoping to jump into this series this Spring. 

Also a random addition to my TBR is Alice by Christina Henry, which is dark and twisted retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I'm a huge sucker for re-tellings, and Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorites (hence the blog name).

What books are on your seasonal TBR? 

Movie Monday (7)

Movie Monday  can be found here @ Mindful Musings. It’s where  two of my favorite things come together: books...and movies! We've got everything from ideal castings for your favorite book to movie recommendations based on the books you've read and liked or even just a review of a movie you've seen recently.

So this weeks Book Casting is..

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

My Cast

Cinder is half human half cyborg. She lives in the eastern commonwealth working as a mechanic for her family, who for the most part resent her existence. She has plans of escaping her family life, but when devastation hits a loved one she is forced into staying behind, and helping to uncover the secrets of a deadly outbreak. All the while being caught up in a political battle, where she becomes closer to Kai. But can someone of her standing be worthy of him?

Prince Kai, is to be the next in line for the throne. But with it come decisions which could bring upon war from the Lunars and affect the entire population of New Beijing. Not to mention his growing feelings for Cinder, which make his decision even harder. But should he sacrifice his own happiness for the good of his empire?

 If you've read the book, Who would you cast as these characters? I’d love to hear your thoughts (and see your pictures) Or link back with your own Movie Monday post with a book of your choosing.

Credit: None of the above images belong to me and all credit is attributed below.
 Kai originally found here
Cinder originally found here 

Review- Lies My Girlfriend Told Me (Julie Ann Peters)

Synopsis

When Alix's charismatic girlfriend, Swanee, dies from sudden cardiac arrest, Alix is overcome with despair. As she searches Swanee's room for mementos of their relationship, she finds Swanee's cell phone, pinging with dozens of texts sent from a mysterious contact, L.T. The most recent text reads: "Please tell me what I did. Please, Swan. Te amo. I love you."

Shocked and betrayed, Alix learns that Swanee has been leading a double life--secretly dating a girl named Liana the entire time she's been with Alix. Alix texts Liana from Swanee's phone, pretending to be Swanee in order to gather information before finally meeting face-to-face to break the news.

Brought together by Swanee's lies, Alix and Liana become closer than they'd thought possible. But Alix is still hiding the truth from Liana. Alix knows what it feels like to be lied to--but will coming clean to Liana mean losing her, too?                    
  - Goodreads.com

My Review 

The book started out well. Right from the beginning there was a lot of emotion. After Swanee dies suddenly, Alix's feelings are so relatable and palpable. I could feel the emotion and heartbreak of the main character, putting myself in her shoes and imagining how I would feel losing a loved one.

Unfortunately, my feelings after this were mostly disappointment and disgust. Alix is not an easily likeable character. I know she’s a self-absorbed teenager finding her place in life and testing the boundaries etc. But the way she treats her family is just horrible. She lies, is deceitful and overall just disrespectful to her parents. Who I feel are trying to give her the space and time to adjust to Swanees death, but are also trying to keep her off the path of destruction.

In addition to this she alienates her best friend Bethany. Purely because while she was in a relationship with Swanee, she was jealous and asks her to stop hanging out with Bethany. Which is pretty hypocritical when you find out Swanees secrets from the grave.

Which brings me to Swanees character. Also highly unlikable, and deceitful, with very little to redeem her character. Spoiler (highlight) She's secretly dating Alix and another girl a town over, Liana, at the same time. Promising them both futures with her at university etc. Even going as far as getting ‘engaged’ with Liana.

Part of me actually likes the fact that the author wrote such complex and flawed characters. But there's a difference between being flawed and having almost no redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, most of the people in the book were the later. 

My rating: 3/5

August Wrap-up

August was actually a super good month for me. I managed to finish 5 books in total and got out of my dastardly reading slump. I didn't have much going on, so it helped me to catch up on my Ggoodreads challenge, and I am now 6 books ahead of schedule.

Finished

   

My favorite books of the month were either Cinder or On the fence, both which I got reviews up for. Cinder was the book that got me out of my reading slump. It's a mash up of Cinderella, but like you've never seen it before. On the Fence was a great contemporary read, which had a onderful family dynamic which was what really sold me on the book. Lies My Girlfriend Told Me and The Truth about Alice were not as good as I had hoped. While they were not terrible, I just felt it difficult to relate to the characters, and the plots were a little on the light side. Both will have reviews to come.

Up Next In September

SO this month it is graphic novel/comic book month at my local library. So I thought I would continue with that theme and try and read/catch up on some manga's and Graphic novels this month. So far I plan to read...

    

 If you have any suggestions for graphic novels/comics I should read I would love to hear them down below. 

Other Favorites

The 100 is my TV pick of the month. I am loving this series, and I love that it is a book series as well. Although I have heard multiple mixed reviews about the books. If you've read them let me know what you thought. But anyway, I totally ship Clarke and Bellamy. Despite their tense relationship, I see a lot of chemistry there.

 

Let me know your thoughts and who you ship if you watch the show.

Music wise, I've been listening to a lot of Lana Del Ray, especially while I'm blogging. It's easy listening to have in the background when I'm trying to focus. But I'm also addicted to this once cover of 'Hold On, We're going Home' by Drake, sung by an artist called Laykn. I urge you to look him up on Youtube and check it out.

Top Ten Tuesday (25)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.

Finished Series I have Yet to Finish

These are by no way the only series I have yet to finish, but the only ones I feel like owning up to haha. I have a terrible problem of starting series and never getting around to finishing them. By the time I actually decide I want to finish the series, I usually need to go back and read the whole series again. 

    

Twilight

I honestly don’t have much of a problem with this series, but the hype got so big around it at one point that it put me off finishing the last one. I really want to go back and finish it though (even though I know what happens).

Hunger Games

So Hunger Games suffered at the same fate as Twilight for me. The over-hype around it got so much that I lost interest in it. I only have Mockingjay to read though and I did really enjoy the books, so I might add it to my Summer TBR.

   

Mortal Instruments

So the main reason I haven’t finished this series, is that it got a little long winded for me. The first 3 were the best in my opinion. I originally went into it thinking it was only a trilogy but then 3 more books appeared. I think I got about half way through the 5^th. I do really need to go back and reread from the last 3 books on, just so I can say I’ve finished it and finally have some closure.

Shatter Me

I wasn’t blown away by the first book to be honest, and it was a while till the sequel, so it just kind of got forgotten about. But I know a lot of people enjoyed the series as a whole, so it is my mission to 

finish it.

Chemical Garden

I really enjoyed the first 2 books in this series and devoured them at an incredible pace. But once the final book was released I heard that the last book was heart breaking and a lot of people were upset with the ending, so I put it on the back burner.

Harry Potter

Ok so this a big confession. I have not read the last book in the series….but I feel I have a very valid reason, so please don’t hate me. My reason, despite how silly it sounds is that I’m not ready to give up that part of my childhood. I feel once I’ve read the last book, it’s all over. They’re no more adventures to look forward to, and I’m just not ready for that.     

What series do you still need to finish?