Review: Sincerely, Carter (Whitney G.)

Sincerely, CarterSincerely, Carter
Series: Sincerely Yours, #1
Author: Whitney G.
Publication Date: April 29, 2015
Publisher: WGW Books
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Just friends.
We’re just friends.
No, really. She’s just my best friend…

Arizona Turner has been my best friend since fourth grade, even when we “hated” each other. We’ve been there for one another through first kisses, first “times,” and we’ve been each other’s constant when good relationships turned bad. (We even went to colleges that were minutes away from each other…)

Throughout the years, and despite what anyone says, we’ve never crossed the line.

Never thought about it.
Never wanted to.

Until one night changed everything.
At least, it should’ve …

Just friends.
We’re just friends.
I’m only saying this until I figure out if she’s still “just” my best friend…


I love, love, love this book. I love it. Sincerely, Carter was everything I like a book to be. It was funny. It was sweet. It was hot. It brought out the all the “feels”. I adored Arizona and Carter’s relationship. I loved watching their relationship change and all their uncertainty. This book was just so much fun to me. I didn’t want to put it down. I wish I wasn’t finished reading it because I want more!  I am going to have to go through Whitney G.’s back list and read more of her books.

Review: Split Second (Kasie West)

Split Second (Pivot Point, #2)Split Second
Series: Pivot Point, #2
Author: Kasie West
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

In Pivot Point, Addison Coleman was forced to choose between living with her mother in the Compound or her father in the normal world. After Searching for the best potential future, Addie chose to stay with her mom. She can’t believe she chose to stay because this future seriously sucks.

First, her boyfriend used her. Then, her best friend betrayed her. Now, she’s the object of the entire high school’s gossip. Things really couldn’t get any worse.  Luckily, Addie’s going to get a break from it all when she visits her dad for the winter break. She’s hoping everyone will have forgotten her relationship with Duke by the time she returns.

After just a couple of days in Dallas, Addie meets this guy, Trevor. He’s cute, but she can’t help but wonder why she’s so attracted to him. It’s almost like she’s met him before. Addie wants Trevor to like her, too, but it seems like he has something against her.

Back home, Leila can’t help herself and opens the letter Addie gave her before she wiped her memory. Leila needs to learn how to restore memories. She’s not sure how to do that, so she enlists the help of a guy named Connor.

As Addie starts to get to know Trevor, the normal and Compound world start to collide. Leila and Addie are doing everything to they can to get Addie’s memories back, but someone may not want that to happen.


Split Second was an awesome follow up to Pivot Point. It was the same, yet different. Instead of alternating between two potential futures like Pivot Point does, it alternates between Addie and Leila’s POV. When I started reading, I was wondering if I was going to like that. I didn’t really care for Leila in the first book. She didn’t seem like a very good friend by the end. Leila totally redeemed herself in Split Second. What she was willing to do for her best friend was awesome. I also liked seeing more of her relationship with her family. And I loved her interactions with Connor. He was a really great addition to this story.

Reading Addie’s one POV was so much easier in Split Second than it was reading two of them in Pivot Point. I got the Addie I liked in this one. Which was weird considering she picked the potential future I didn’t enjoy reading the first time. It was fun to see how she dealt with meeting Trevor again. I do wish I got a little more Trevor in this book, though. He was such a great character in the first book.

As for the storyline, Split Second was just as interesting as Pivot Point. It started right where Pivot Point left off and kept going. It was faster paced than the first book, but I think that was because you weren’t alternating between potential futures. I honestly couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved it. I would highly recommend reading it if you liked all or parts of Pivot Point.

Review: Bright Side (Kim Holden)

Bright Side
Series: Bright Side, #1
Author: Kim Holden
Publication Date:
 July 4, 2014
Publisher: 
Do Epic, LLC.
Genre: New Adult, Fiction, Love Story

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Kate Sedgwick is the epitome of optimism. Nothing seems to get this girl down. Which is a surprise coming from a such tough childhood. Her disposition is so sunny that she’s even earned the nickname “Bright Side” from her best friend, Gus.

Kate is about to fulfill one of her dreams. She’s leaving sunny California to go to college in cold Minnesota. It’s hard leaving her best friend, Gus, and everything she’s known, but Kate has no doubt it’s going to be amazing.

What Kate doesn’t count on is meeting Keller Banks. She’s having a really hard time not falling for him. It’s hard when he’s cute, funny and smart. Kate’s never felt this way before. She’s starting to rethink her no falling in love stance.

The closer Kate and Keller get to each other, the more each worries that the secrets their hiding may ruin everything they have with each other.


EPIC. Kim Holden does epic.

Seriously. Bright Side is one of the best books I’ve read in my entire life. It was incredibly funny, smart and sweet. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. I don’t think I have ever laughed so much or cried so hard reading a book. I haven’t read a book this inspiring since I read Me Before You by Jojo Moyes a couple of years ago. I’ve already purchased its sequel, Gus.

I’m not going to say anything more about the story. I think Bright Side is a book best read without knowing too much. What I will say is this:

READ THIS BOOK NOW! 

Oh, and grab a box of tissues while you’re at it. You’re probably going to need them.

Review: The Deal (Elle Kennedy)

The Deal (Off-Campus, #1)The Deal
Series: Off-Campus, #1
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publication Date:
 February 24, 2015 
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis:

Hannah Wells is crushing on Briar University’s star football player in a major way. Making eye contact with him in their Ethics class is enough to turn her to mush. She just needs to get up the nerve to talk to him. If only Hannah’s past experiences with men weren’t keeping her from doing just that.

Hockey player Garrett Graham cannot afford to fail his Ethics class if he wants to keep playing for Briar. It looks like that’s exactly what’s going to happen, if he can’t talk Hannah Wells into tutoring him. Garrett was hoping his way with women could help him sway Hannah, but she’s the only girl at Briar who seems able to resist his charms.

When Garrett notices Hannah’s crush on a Briar football star, he knows he can use the knowledge to his advantage. Garrett convinces Hannah that he can help her win her crush. The plan is fool proof — until one kiss turns into more.


The Deal will be going on my list of favorite New Adult romances. It was so much fun to read! Garrett and Hannah’s bickering was too funny.  I found myself laughing so many times.  I liked that Hannah didn’t put up with his “king of hockey” attitude and didn’t fall all over him like all of the other girls he was used to. They were so cute together. I also liked that not only was this a romance, but each of them was dealing with a deeper issue. It was cool to see them help each other through those issues.

Another thing I really loved was Garrett’s hockey team roommates. Their interactions with each other couldn’t have been more perfect! It was exactly what I would have expected from a bunch of players living together. I can’t wait to get to read more of their stories in the future! I’m starting on the next book in the series, The Mistake, right after I finish writing this!

The Deal is definitely a book I would recommend. Just a warning to readers — It is a New Adult and not YA read. There is sexual content and alcohol references, so it is for mature readers only.

Review: Pivot Point (Kasie West)

Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1)Pivot Point
Series: Pivot Point, #1
Author: Kasie West
Publication Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis: 

Addison Coleman is a Searcher. A searcher is someone who, given a choice, can look into the future and see both outcomes. Her ability has been really helpful in making good decisions. She’s hoping it will do the same with her latest choice.

When Addie’s parents tell her they are getting a divorce, they want her to use her gift to decide which one of them to live with. Choosing wouldn’t be a big deal if both of her parents planned to stay in the Compound, a secret paranormal society created for those with special abilities. But her dad is planning on living five hours away in the “Norm” world, while her mom is staying put.

Addie’s Search suggests two very different potential futures. If Addie chooses her mom, she’ll stay at the compound and continue to develop her special ability. Duke, the popular high school quarter back, will take an interest in her. She will get to hang out with her best friend for the past ten years, Laila. Nothing will really change. It should be the perfect choice, considering she loves her life.

If she moves to the Norm world with her dad, she’ll be the new girl at a regular high school. She will have to hide her abilities and make new friends. Addie will meet Trevor, an injured football player and aspiring artist, and his friends. Trevor will become her new best friend and, for the first time, she’ll feel like someone really gets her.

It’s a tough choice made tougher when her dad starts consulting on a murder case that has an effect on both futures. Addie will have to decide between the lesser of two evils.


Pivot Point is a hard book for me to review. I have a love-hate relationship with it.

It starts out in present day with Addie being given the choice to make between her parents. Once she Searches the future, the book alternates back and forth each chapter between the potential futures. When I think about it, it’s actually a really cool idea — BUT (and that’s a big but) I liked one potential future way more than I liked the other. That made it very annoying each time I switched from the future I liked to the one I didn’t. I would just be getting sucked into the story, only to have to read one I didn’t really like. It was frustrating. I hated it.

That being said, after reading the entire book, I get why Kasie West set it up the way she did. It was actually perfect. I was able to see how the same events could affect both futures. It made the ending all that more powerful. Kasey West just might have used her special abilities to make me like one side of the story more than the other…

Now for what I absolutely loved: Kasie West’s writing. She had me laughing from the beginning with “hotlicious.”  I loved Addie and her parents. I liked how they were a bigger part of the story than most YA fiction parents. I don’t think Kasie West could have picked better abilities for them. I know this was more of a fantasy/science fiction YA novel, but I found it to be a really great contemporary romance read as well.

When I finished reading and closed the cover, I felt torn. I loved so much of this book. I totally would have given it 5 stars, but I just kept thinking of my frustration at times. Even though I know the parts I hated help make the story stronger, I couldn’t get past the fact that I didn’t like them. That’s why I took away a star. I still highly recommend reading it. I think it has a little something everyone will like: romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, family relationships.

I’m looking forward to starting on the sequel Split Second soon. I can’t wait to see what is in store for Addie next.