The Romance Bookie

 Hey! Here for another review! This one for the third book in the Dash and Lily  series, Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily  by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan! From Goodreads: For Dash and Lily, it's beginning to look a lot like...distance! Just in time for the series release of Dash & Lily on Netflix comes a new helping of love -- this time across the pond as best-selling authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan send Dash and Lily to England. Dash and Lily were feeling closer than ever...it's just too bad they're now an ocean apart. After Dash gets accepted to Oxford University and Lily stays in New York to take care of her dog walking business, the devoted couple are struggling to make a long distance relationship work. And when Dash breaks the news that he won't  be coming home for Christmas, Lily makes a decision: if Dash can't come to her, she'll join him in London. It's a perfect romantic gesture...that spins out of Lily's control. Soon Dash an...

 Hey! This might be my last book of 2021!  I'm really glad I was able to get this one in, because I meant to finish it before Christmas, but just didn't have the chance, because I was more listening to books than reading physical copies, but I did it! This review is for My True Love Gave to Me , an anthology of 12 Holiday stories written by 12 different Young Adult authors; ranging from contemporary romances to fantasy.   From Goodreads: If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you're going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories  by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. Y...

 Hey Everyone! I am really excited to write this review.  I didn't think I would I would be able to read another book this year, let alone two, and then also have one of them be a favorite of the year!  I am on a roll this month and trying to keep the momentum going! For my review today I have an audiobook I got to listen to, for American Royals  by Katharine McGee. From Goodreads: What if America had a royal family? When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne. As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America's first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare except when she's breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn't care much about anything, either...except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her. And then there Samantha's twin, Prince Jefferson. If ...

 Hey! So last book from my weekend reading binge, for now! This is for the novel I actually read this weekend.  Truly Truly enjoyed this one! My review for To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin! From Goodreads: Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her sister goes off to college.  But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too.  What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats. Between her mom's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about.  And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here ...

 Hey Everyone! My husband and I recently moved our little family to a new town, and last week we decided to go for a walk together and check out our new (to us) local library.  It was such a great experience, because for one, I haven't set foot in a library in quite some time (both due to Covid, but also because my old local library wasn't really all that great), and two because we have such a great library now.  They have a beautiful children's section, decked out with a giant pirate's ship, columns holding up the building that look like giant books, and a wonderfully stocked Young Adult section.   They had an ample supply of graphic novels, and because of my newly found obsession this year, on graphic novels, I found myself filling the stroller with those initially.  I ended up with four graphic novels, and two regular chapter novels.  To which my husband said, "That's probably enough."  Well, challenge was accepted apparently, because I finished all...

 Hey! I know it's been a while!  It's been super busy in my house.  We will be moving this coming Monday, and some HUGE changes coming to my family.  My husband and I are very excited, but of course with moving comes stress.  It's taken us a few months to get ready, and my head just hasn't been there for reading.   But anyway, I FINALLY finished a book yesterday!  This one caught my eye this summer during a rare solo trip to Barnes and Noble, where I actually had time to browse at my leisure.   So here's my review for Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade! From Goodreads: Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fan fiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, whose secretly posting fan fiction of his own. Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates,  he's know...

 Hello Everyone! It's been a minute! I have not been able to read much lately, but finally finished a book!  July was not a good reading month for me, hopefully this month will be a bit better!   I ended up finally finishing Tokyo Ever After  by Emiko Jean yesterday! From Goodreads: Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in -- it isn't easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, Northern California town.  Raised by a single mother, it's always been Izumi --or Izzy, because "It's easier this way" -- and her mom against the world.  But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father's identity... and he's none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the county she always dreamed of.  But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hung...

 Hello Everyone! I finally finished a book that I truly truly enjoyed! I'm so excited! This is a new one, that was just released last month!  It's called What's Not to Love  and it's by the authors Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka!  Who are a real life couple and this book, I believe, is semi-based on their life! :) From Goodreads: An academic enemies-to-lovers YA with all the nerdy drama, high school antics, and heart pounding romance of the Netflix original series Never Have I Ever. Since high school began, Alison Sanger and Ethan Molloy have competed on almost everything. AP classes, the school paper, community service, it never ends. If Alison could avoid Ethan until graduation, she would. Except, naturally, for two over-achieving senior with their sights on valedictorian and Harvard, they share all the same classes and extracurriculars.  So when their school's principal assigns them the task of co-planning a previous ...

 Hey Everyone! I finished another book! I'm on a serious roll, and I don't want to lose my momentum!  Three books in April, so far!  That's crazy, unheard of for me, in the last few years.  I'm really excited, to have possibly gotten out of this long a** reading slump I've been on for way too long!  And I finished a NEW Book!  Like from this year!!!  I know crazy, right?! 😄 I finished Crystal Maldonado's debut novel, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, which came out in February.   From Goodreads: Coming of age as Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard.  Harder when your whole life is on fire, though. Charlie Vega is a lot of things.  Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one.  Especially her mom.  Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help.  The world and everyone in it ha...

Yay for Weekend! Okay I finished another book...the second book in the Bridgerton series, The Viscount who Loved Me .  I needed to know what is to come in Season 2 of the Netflix show, and I couldn't wait an entire year!   So I ended up listening to this one, because Amazon has this awesome thing where you can get a really nice discount on the audiobook, through Audible, when you buy the e-book.  And while I was going to read the e-book at times, and listen to the audiobook when I wasn't able to read, I ended up just listening to this book in its entirety.   From Goodreads: Image from Goodreads 1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.  And in truth, why should he?  When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better... -Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814 But this time, the gossip columnists...

 Hello Everyone!! I have read officially read my first book of 2021!! YAY!!  This is a huge accomplishment for me!  Being a new mom, does not give me a lot of me-time, but I have an amazing husband who allows me some time for myself every so often, so I have been using bath-time to get some reading in. By the way, before I get into my review, I found this really awesome feature through the Kindle App on my phone!  I'm sure most people have figured this out, but I found it really neat!  So I bought the first six Bridgerton through Books-A-Million.com.  However, I'm going to just say it, they are awful with their customer service, sending books, etc.  The only reason I ended up buying through them this time around is because the Bridgerton  novels were buy 2 get 1 free, and they were supposed to be in stock.  This is actually the second time I've had issues with them, the first time was when I preordered Midnight Sun  last, which was signe...

 Hey! Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely Holiday season!  2020 was such a rough year for so many, as we all know, and I just hope everyone was able to make the best of the last little bit, and come into the New Year with positive thoughts, and blessings.    The holidays for my family and I were both very busy, but also very relaxing.  Unfortunately, due to having a new baby, and with the pandemic going on, we had to make some tough decisions; and ended up not being able to celebrate with a lot of our family.  But we made the best of it, and video chatted, and had a few delicious meals, and enjoyed it the best we could.    I also completely spaced, and realized the other day that The Romance Bookie just hit its 10 year blogaversary!   Yeah, I started The Romance Bookie a DECADE AGO!   How crazy is that?! I'll do a post separate from this, if I get a chance, and share my memories with The Romance Bookie!  But t...

Hey Everyone! Finished another book, and just in time for the end of the summer!! Before I continue though, I just wanted to share some super exciting news that I just found out...I have been awarded a Grant for this school year and a $1000 scholarship!! Not only will this semester be COMPLETELY covered but also NEXT SEMESTER, so that means MY ENTIRE SCHOOL year is taken care of!!!!!!!!!! :) I cannot even tell you how much of a relief that is!!!!!!  I am so excited!!  This will be my first year at a university (I am transferring from a community college), so it's a bit nerve wracking, but also exciting to be one step closer to my bachelors! Anyway, time for the review! :) I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING BOOK FOR REVIEW FROM THE PUBLISHER!  So thank you Poppy for the opportunity! And thank you Pasadena YA Fest for hosting the event where Poppy had donated these copies to! :) From Goodreads : On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only ha...

Hi Everyone!! I've got a review today of a book I'm super excited about!! The Bone Season  by Samantha Shannon! As you may know, I met Samantha Shannon earlier this year when she was on tour for her new book, The Mime Order , the sequel to The Bone Season.   This was definitely a book I was really looking forward to and I am happy to report I was not disappointed!! Here's my full review below!! :D From Goodreads : The year is 2059.  Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man name Jaxon Hall.  Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds.  For Paige is a dream walker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes forever.  Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly ...

Hello!! I have a review for The Orphan Queen  for you!  I love Jodi Meadows! She is such a sweet person and so, so kind to readers!  She's absolutely amazing and I adore her! That said, The Orphan Queen  was one of my most anticipated reads of 2015 and I can say that it certainly lived up to my high expectations! From Goodreads: Wilhelmina has a hundred identities. She is a princess.  When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne. She is a spy.  Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader...

Hey Everyone!! So this marks the last day of #ReadTheDUFF Read-a-long! I am currently in Florida, enjoying a much needed vacation with my amazing boyfriend at Walt Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but I still wanted to share with you guys once again, a book that is very special and close to my heart! So this is the first time I've ever done this, but for the first time ever I, The Romance Bookie, will be RE-Reviewing a book!!!  Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this! But when you feel so passionate about a story, and it's been years and years since you've reviewed it, why not?! Anyway, I reviewed Kody Keplinger's debut novel, The DUFF back in 2011 ( HERE is that review), shortly after it first was released, and it was one of my very very first reviews! No joke! One of the reasons, why I'm Re-Reviewing The DUFF , is because back in 2011, The DUFF did not get a proper review on it's own.  It was put together with a bunch...