Backstage Review

This time I am reviewing Backstage by: Jacqueline E Smith! (This is the second book in the series, so there are bound to be spoilers from the first book. Duh.)

Melissa Parker briefly enjoyed the high of her new relationship with her best friend and member of the hottest boy band, Sam Morneau, before being knocked back down by discovering a scandalous affair involving other members of the group. Sworn to secrecy, Mel is now holding information back from her best friends, information that could rip the band apart. Lies and half-truths begin to pile up. More and more, secrets are invading the group and everyone wants Mel to keep her mouth shut.

I cannot fully express how much I love this book. I’ve been desperately (and somewhat patiently) waiting for Jackie to write this book and release it. This one is just as good (if not better) than the first book and well worth the wait.

Like I’ve said in a previous review of Jackie’s work, she has an amazing knack for breathing life into all her characters. They all have so many quirks and feel so real. This book lets us learn even more about all the guys in the group, The Kind of September, and their personalities all shined in it. I just love all the guys! Sam, of course, is my favorite member of the group (more on him a bit later.) Oliver and Josh are great too! Josh is the life of the party and I always laughed whenever he entered a scene. He would brighten anyone’s day. Oliver is so sweet and courteous. He’s dependable and so many times I wanted to give him a hug. Jesse tries so hard to be funny (and he’s just not). I really enjoyed seeing his growth in this book. Cory is, sadly, so blinded by his love for Terrible Tara. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention Joni. She’s so strong and blunt. I love the friendship she has with Mel and how protective she is of the group.

Now, onto the real stars of this novel: Sam and Mel. I love both of them so much! Their relationship is beautiful, breath-taking, sweet, and just so adorable. I might have fallen in love with Sam right along with Mel over the course of this book. He’s just so amazing to her. Ever since reading the first few lines of Boy Band, I’ve loved Mel and her personality. Her voice is so unique and her wit is spot on. I also loved that she didn’t enjoy keeping secrets from everyone. She knew if the truth came out, especially that she knew something and didn’t tell, it would blow up in everyone’s face. It’s so refreshing that she was realistic about it and didn’t delude herself into thinking keeping secrets was okay.

The song lyrics were stunning in this book and each time I read them, my mind started putting music behind them automatically. The tweets from fans always made me laugh. #TOKS #Meliver #JoshAndPizza I’m so glad they were included in the book, it really added an amazing dynamic and made it feel so real.

All throughout this book, I found myself hiding a smile or attempting not to burst out laughing. So many emotions played through me while reading this and kudos to Jackie for really making everything so palpable. The whole time, I felt a kinship to everyone and they felt like great friends I got to spend a few amazing hours hanging out with.

Drama, drama, drama. That’s all I can say about some of the later events in this book. Well, really the whole book is filled to the brim with drama. I’m so glad that the ending gave us a moment to breathe after the crazy, wild ride the book took us on. I really can’t wait till the next installment in the series.

Their Fractured Light Review

This time I am reviewing Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

Sofia Quinn lost her father a year ago and has been on the run ever since. She knows how to read people and has pulled off more than one successful con. Gideon Marchant is better known as his online hacking persona: The Knave of Hearts. When Gideon and Sofia find themselves close to being caught in LaRoux Industries (for different reasons), they end up needing each other to escape.

I loved this book so much! This is probably my favorite of this whole series because so much happens! All the players come back from the previous book and it’s like one big amazing reunion (but it’s not really a reunion for the characters who are all coincidentally tied together in many ways).

I could not get enough of the snippets between the chapters. Those passages kept building on each other. Each time I would be swept away by the beautiful writing. All of those pieces continually weaved into a stunning masterpiece and I was blow away. So many times I stopped and reread those paragraphs because they were so good.

I really enjoyed the pairing of Sofia and Gideon. Out of all they guys in this series, Gideon is probably my favorite. His sense of humor was great and I laughed so many times, but I also was drawn in by his goodness. He acted arrogant, but underneath he is a great guy. He’s also quite intelligent and he sticks up for his friends.

Sofia was so much fun to read because she knew how to work people to get what she wanted. She really felt like the most flawed and damaged character in this whole series. Unlike everyone else, the pain she holds is fresh and she’s still reeling from her father’s death. Her journey throughout this book was amazing to witness because she grows so much. She starts out so hardened by the world and it’s spectacular to see her change into something beautiful.

This book was the perfect end to this series and it made me finally come to terms with (and almost enjoy) what I didn’t like in These Broken Stars. I never wanted this book to end, especially with the full cast from the series joining in.

My one complaint to this book is the resolution to the main conflict (not the ending). I didn’t expect the end to come easily, but I thought it was a bit unnatural. The authors really made it into something beautiful, but it felt just a bit too simple.

The ending was great and perfect for this series. I really can’t wait to see what these amazing writers will come up with next.

This Shattered World Review

This time I am reviewing This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

Captain Jubilee Chase is known by many as Stone Faced Chase. Her soldiers respect her and she watches out for them, but she refuses to show too much emotion so the nickname doesn’t bother her, too much. Flynn Cormac leads the rebels on Avon and fights on the opposite side of Jubilee. An unfortunate encounter forces Flynn to kidnap Jubilee in the hopes of getting information about a secret base. As they learn more about each other, they find their views aren’t so different and they might be forced to find a side of their own, between the rebels and the military.

Having enjoyed the first book in this series, I really wanted to read this one and I am so glad that I did. I thought this one was even better than the first book.

Jubilee’s wit sucked me in from the moment I started reading. She’s tough as nails and knows how to read people. She’s a strategist. She’s strong on the inside and outside, but she has a trauma from her past that clings to her. I loved seeing her come out of her shell throughout the course of the story.

Flynn was also a great character. Throughout this book, I had times where I wondered how he managed to be the leader of the rebels and then he would open his mouth. He’s a skilled speaker. I really loved that he wanted to find a non-violent way to go about the rebellion.

I didn’t care for the snippets between chapters nearly as much as I did in the first book. They felt a bit too random. Once I got to the end of the book and they tied in closer to the story, I understood why the authors choose this. I still wished it had almost been something else, but they didn’t take away from the book at all.

Lilac and Tarver make an appearance in this book and I really appreciated that the authors didn’t just forget about them. I almost wished they could have had a larger role, but, then again, it wasn’t what this book needed.

The ending was satisfying and just made me want to jump into the next book. Once again, there was the sweet relief that there wasn’t a cliff hanger. Overall, I loved this book.

These Broken Stars Review

This time I am reviewing These Broken Stars by: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

Lilac LaRoux is accustomed to living a life of wealth. Her father owns the largest company in the galaxy and she hides deep pain behind the mask of an heiress. Major Tarver Merendsen finds himself on the Icarus’ maiden voyage after his heroic actions lurch him into the spotlight. Tarver and Lilac couldn’t be more different and they’re thrown together as the Icarus plummets from the sky, leaving them as the sole survivors of the crash. As much as the two can’t get along, they have to figure out a way to work together to survive on this strange planet.

I have been wanting to read this book for quite awhile. The cover is stunning and I will guiltily admit that it first drew me to want this book. Then, I read the synopsis and it sounded like just my kind of book. I will admit, it was way less space opera than it was made to sound, but I didn’t mind. The romance is really the focus of this book, but I did expect as much from the synopsis.

Something I really loved about this book is learning the main characters’ back stories. The authors did an amazing job of slowly revealing bits and pieces of Lilac and Tarver that I felt intrigued the whole time. There is so much pain and uniqueness to both these characters that they became so much more real.

Lilac is tough, but not in the way so many female leads are these days. She has so much inner strength. She’s smart, which she hides well, and determined. At the same time, she grew up in the upper crust of society, so she struggles when she’s deserted with Tarver on an unknown planet. She falls apart and puts herself back together so many times throughout this book. She may not be the strongest physically, but she has so many qualities I admire. It’s refreshing to read a strong female lead that isn’t the typical amazing-at-everything girl.

Tarver is also a great character to read. I was so fascinated by his story, especially his mom and his poetry. He wasn’t just the heroic soldier, but he also had a soft side. I really wish the authors would’ve included more of his poetry into this book. At times it was so easy to forget he wrote because we never got to see any of it.

I also really enjoys all the snippets between the chapters. It was so fun to guess what was going one throughout them and I loved seeing them build into something great. They flowed so nicely with each chapter and it was great that they eventually connected closely with the story.

I really loved this book until about 75% percent through it. I won’t spoil it, but some things happen that really upset me. At that point until the end, it just felt like a big scramble and it didn’t feel natural to me. I kept expecting the twist to turn into another twist, but that never came and I was pretty disappointed.

The ending to this book was great, even with the stuff happening that bothered me. Each novel in this series focuses on a different cast, so each book has a pretty clear ending with no cliff hangers. Once I read this book, I just wanted more and I immediately pick up the next book.

I just finished the whole series in just few days and I definitely think each book is better than the one before it.