Review of The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill

Title/Author: The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill
Publisher/Date published: Delacorte, December 8th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey...

With her trusty baton and six insanely organized clipboards, drum major Liza Sanders is about to take Destiny by storm — the boat, that is. When Liza discovered that her beloved band was losing funding, she found Destiny, a luxury cruise ship complete with pools, midnight chocolate buffets, and a $25,000 spring break talent show prize.

Liza can’t imagine senior year without the band, and nothing will distract her from achieving victory. She’s therefore not interested when her old camp crush, Lenny, shows up on board, looking shockingly hipster-hot. And she’s especially not interested in Russ, the probably-as-dumb-as-he-is-cute prankster jock whose ex, Demi, happens be Liza’s ex–best friend and leader of the Athenas, a show choir that’s the band’s greatest competition.

But it’s not going to be smooth sailing. After the Destiny breaks down, all of Liza’s best-laid plans start to go awry. Liza likes to think of herself as an expert at almost everything, but when it comes to love, she’s about to find herself lost at sea.

So I went into this with pretty low expectations because one of my friends did not care for it at all. Which might be why I did end up enjoying it, and also because I really liked Meant to Be, but wasn't over the top in love with it.

I liked Liza, obviously she's way uptight and doesn't know how to share her problems, but she's also willing to go the extra mile for something she believes in and on this occasion, that's the school band. And also, I love how being in the band isn't immediately classified as beeing a 'band geek', like in so many series/movies/etc. I mean, being into music and performing in something that's not a rock band isn't something to be ashamed of right? I get that it's not the 'cool thing', but as I'm musically challenged, I'm always in awe of people who know how to put out a decent tune. So I appreciate how Lauren Morrill handled this.

The shenanigans on the boat were pretty funny, I mean, who would have thought that a bowling ball can break a cruise ship? And there's this whole rivalry going on between Liza and her ex-best friend, of which I particularly liked how in the end you can see it from both sides and that's not something that happens with every story.
And yes, there are a lot of misunderstandings that fuel most of the plot, but honestly, I didn't mind that much, because I could see it happening like that because Liza is just a teensy bit clueless and doesn't know what's in front of her nose unless it's spelled out. I also really liked Liza's friends, though they don't get enough screen time in my opinion.

If you couldn't tell from the summary, there's sort of a love triangle going on, and from about halfway through, I started rooting for the guy who turned out to be in the ship of the book, but I hadn't really expected to be cheering him on. But obviously my instincts were right, cause the other guy is a real douche. And Liza is so clueless, so I couldn't really see why he liked her so much, but I did really like the last couple of scenes, they were very cute!

My expectations were REALLY low, but this turned out to be an enjoyable read, not the best of the best, but a light read that had me smiling at the last couple of scenes. There's awkwardness galore and it didn't give me all the swoony feelings, but it was fun.

My rating: 3 stars

Review of How To Seduce a Scot by Christy English

Title/Author: How To Seduce a Scot (Broadswords and Ballrooms #1) by Christy English
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Casablanca, December 1st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley, thanks!\

Goodreads summary: He's the terror of the ton...

The plan is simple:
1. Descend from the Highlands to face the aggravation of a London Season;
2. Foist his wild sister off on some gullible English lord;
3. Retreat before the ladies of the scandalized ton can get any ideas.

Determined to see his hellion of a sister wed, Highlander Alexander Waters is willing to face anything — even the English. He just didn't expect his own rough manners to cause such a riot... or for a blooming English rose to catch his eye.

Gently bred Catherine Middlebrook must find a respectable man to marry or her family will be ruined. She won't allow herself to be distracted by Highland barbarians... no matter how her body may thrill whenever Alex is near.

Catherine wasn't part of the plan, but as their battle of wills escalates, Alex comes to realize this "proper" English girl is as wild as the Highlands themselves... and nothing will stop him from having her.

I'm always looking for that next historical romance that will make me swoon and feel all the things, but I'm sad to say that How To Seduce a Scot wasn't it.

It's not that I didn't enjoy it, cause I did. I mean, I liked Catherine, she's a lovely girl who feels a lot of responsibility for her family. She's lost her father and because her mother doesn't always make all the sensible choices, it's fallen on her to pick up the pieces. And she does, for as far as her influence reaches. I actually liked that she put what was best for her family before what her heart may want most, because that's just how it was back then and without a man in the family to provide some sort of income, marriage is really the only option.

I also really liked her little sister and Alex's sister, she was spunky! Catherine's mom was a bit of a puzzling mix of silly and very much a mother who cares for her children. She made some weird choices, but I did like about her that she truly wants her daughter to be happy. But I did feel that there was an adult lacking to take control of the situation other than Catherine. I get that her mom might have been very sheltered and not really know how to handle money, but seriously, stop spending money you don't have!

So far, so good, I liked the setting and most of the character. But then we get to the romance part and I'm a bit iffy about that part of the novel. I mean, I'm not someone who really likes it when people have never spoken and then the man goes on to think of her as 'his angel'. I mean, seriously?? HOW?? There was just a bit too much insta-love from his side of things and it just did not work for me.
The thing is that if this had been the only problem, I probably could have gotten over it. But he really does not treat her all that well, I mean, he's kissing her and in the same breath telling her they can never marry. He's taking a lot of risks with her reputation and he has a sister of his own, so how can he not see that this is not ok? I mean, I know that this happens a lot in historical romances and that's not really the issue, it was just the way he does it didn't feel ok to me. I'm not sure I can express exactly what bothered me about it, but in the end I found myself rooting for the other guy. And that's not a thing I want.

Like I said, I was rooting for the other guy, because there was one, who was respectable and a gentleman and was in my opinion a much better choice for Catherine. Towards the end it was a bit awkward and we are shown why he is not the right choice after all. And seriously, I was kinda annoyed with Catherine for making the choices she did towards the end. But I did feel that Catherine and Alex truly loved each other and in the end I can say that it's the right thing that they're together, but I could have done without all the misguided behaviour.

I sound really negative and I did have some serious issues with how the romance was handled, but I also did enjoy reading this, but I wasn't really rooting for the couple to get together and that's what I want when reading a romance.

My rating: 2 stars

Review of Forbidden by Eve Bunting

Title/Author: Forbidden by Eve Bunting
Publisher/Date published: Clarion Books, December 1st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: In early-nineteenth century Scotland, sixteen-year-old Josie, an orphan, is sent to live with an aunt and uncle on the rocky, stormy northwest coast. Everything and everyone in her new surroundings, including her relatives, is sinister, threatening, and mysterious. She's told that Eli, the young man she's attracted to, is forbidden to her, but not why. Spirited, curious, and determined, Josie sets out to learn the village's secrets and discovers evil, fueled by heartless greed, as well as a ghostly presence eager for revenge. An author's note gives the historical inspiration for this story.

Forbidden should have been something that I could fall in love with in theory. I mean: it has a historical setting with a mystery and a forbidden boy, what's not to like? Well, it kinda didn't turn out as enjoyable as I'd hoped.

I never really connected to Josie. I mean, she's obviously been through a lot and then she arrives at her aunt and uncle's house and it's AWFUl, and I did like that she's curious to find out what exactly is going on, but other than that, I was just a little 'meh' about her. And maybe it's the fact that the story doesn't span a very long time, but I never really felt like we got to know her very well, I'm still not sure what kind of person she really is.

I had really big issues with the romance. I mean, Josie is really rude to Eli for no reason, while he's only trying to help, which bothered me. And then all of a sudden she's in love with him?? And she wants him to come with her when she leaves the town after only having known him for what? Two days?? I mean SERIOUSLY??? WTF?? This was such a huge intsa-love happening and I could not for the life of me figure out what they liked about each other and UGH! I mean, she was basically ready to die for him, WHERE IS YOUR BRAIN??

I was also pretty annoyed by Josie's aunt and uncle, they were cruel and the only reason we get is that the uncle was disfigured as a kid and he didn't like his brother, Josie's dad. I mean, what? So your ears are weird and that's the reason your a nasty person? I just cannot. And I'm still not sure what her aunt's deal was. And their dog, SO CREEPY! That thing was nasty and then it attacks a human and you don't take care of the wound an discipline the dog? WHAT THE WHAT??

I was horrified by the thing that goes on on the island that is the big mystery and I am even more horrified by the fact that this is actually something that used to happen way back when. But everything gets resolved so quickly and there was no real build-up for me, so the whole mystery isn't much of a mystery after all.

Basically this just didn't work for me, there were too many issues and WTF moments in a bad way and I don't think I would have finished this if I hadn't been stuck in a car for 7 hours driving back home from Berlin.

My rating: 1 star

Review of For the Record by Charlotte Huang

Title/Author: For the Record by Charlotte Huang
Publisher/Date published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, November 10th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like... until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything

Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen heartthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level — not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.

Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band — and their fans — love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule... Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

So I am totally in love with shows and books about the music industry and the people in it. Music is such a part of my life and I wish I had the skills to actually make music myself, but the most I can do is sing along (WAY out of tune) while in the car/alone in my home/at clubs. So I was super excited to read For The Record, cause it sounded really cute and just my kind of thing.

The thing is, I did like For the Record, but from the summary I would have thought that there would be more swoons. And it was sadly lacking in swoony moments for me. I mean, I liked Chelsea, I did feel like she could have stood up for herself a bit more while the whole band was being a jerk to her. I mean, wow, I get that they don't like that she's been pushed on them by their label, but that's not really her fault and just GROW UP ok? So it sucks that your last lead singer didn't work out. I felt that they should really just have given Chelsea a fair chance from the start or that they should have told their manager they weren't ok with a label-picked new lead singer and that they wanted to pick one themselves. The problem with their attitude was that I wasn't really feeling any of the guys. I can get where they're coming from, but it's not endearing, and it's also what made me a bit iffy about the feelings Chelsea develops for Beckett (as alluded to in the summary), one of the guys from the band.

While Beckett may not have been the one who was nastiest to Chelsea, he's not really supportive either and so he seems like a nice guy underneath, but I was just over it and needed a whole lot of convincing to start rooting for them. Add in the REALLY bad choice Chelsea makes by hooking up with Lucas Rivers, who is just a little too smooth for my liking and also just an arrogant douche. This does not make for swoony reading for me.

Another problem I had with For the Record is that Chelsea's best friend joins them on tour as the merchandise girl and then breaks one of the rules and after that makes a huge NO-NO that made me question whether she was actually Chelsea's friend. I mean, WOW. I can't imagine doing that to my best friend. Or any of my friends. Or even one of my lesser known acquaintances. That was just crossing the line WAY OVER. The line is not even in sight anymore.

I did like reading about the band being on tour and all of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. I liked the backstory about Chelsea's hometown and what happened to her with her former boyfriend, though it did make me wonder if EVERY boy she meets has douchebag potential, I mean, there are some good ones out there. I liked the whole insight in to what it's like to live on a bus with the same people for months and getting cabin fever and all that, that was pretty fun. And I liked discovering that there's a whole lot more to the band drama than we get at first sight, I'd sorta guessed some of it, but OMG it was WAY worse!

I just wish that there had been more swoons, cause I was really counting on this to be a cute contemporary with a huge swoonfactor (I mean, how can making music with a guy you like be anything less than romantic??), but it never fully got there for me.

My rating: 2,5 stars

Review of Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

Title/Author: Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Fire, November 3rd 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: They exist in two different centuries, but their love defies time

Cassandra craves drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants is to spend her summer marooned with her mother and stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger shows up on their private beach claiming it's his own — and that the year is 1925 — she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making.

As she searches for answers in the present, Cassandra discovers a truth that puts their growing love — and Lawrence's life — into jeopardy. Desperate to save him, Cassandra must find a way to change history... or risk losing Lawrence forever.

I was SO hoping to love this book, and while I did enjoy it, it wasn't all that I'd wanted it to be.

I'm a sucker for time-travel romance, there's just something about the whole idea of going back in time, I'd LOVE to be able to do that. So I was a little disappointed by the fact that Cassandra and Lawrence really only meet on the beach. I mean, it owuld have been so much more interesting if they'd be able to visit each other's homes and the beach pretty much looks the same 90 years later, so... And somehow I would have thought that there'd be more to work out manner-wise between a girl from 2015 and a guy from 1925. I mean, lots of things about what is appropriate and what's not and manner of speech and everything, but I wasn't feeling that this was really an issue aside from a casual mention of it every now and then.

I liked Cassandra and how she's not immediately like OMG you're so hot, so it's totally cool that you're on this private beach that you should not be anywhere near when she meets Lawrence for the first time. She's suspicious and hesitant and I liked that. I kinda didn't like that she's also being pressured by her mother to date this other guy and she goes along with it. I felt that she was leading him on and it was just not very nice. I also really had a problem with her mother's behaviour, I mean come on, Cassandra does a stupid ass thing at the beginning of the novel, but she's not a bad kid in general and I felt her mother was being too hard on her and pushing her in directions that I didn't really get.

So Lawrence is basically a good guy, but I never really got a very good feel for his character beside that. He says all the right things, but at the beginning of the book he's a bit of a pushover and that's not very attractive. I did like that he writes poetry and that's secretly a career that he wants to be pursuing instead of being a lawyer.

I did like Cassandra and Lawrence together, but I was never really shipping it. And I was having a WTF moment towards the end when Lawrence says that Cassandra is 'the love of his life', I mean, SERIOUSLY??? You're what, 17? And you've known each other for a month? REALLY??? That is just. Wow. I mean, NO. Just NO. I cannot deal with this and it's probably what soured my opinion about the rest of the book because it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I feel like I'm sounding really negative about Until We Meet Again and it definitely had it's flaws for me, but I did like seeing how Cassandra and Lawrence were trying to figure everything out, though I felt that Cassandra was fighting harder for Lawrence's life than he was himself. There's a whole lot of shenanigans going on and I did not see coming how it would all play out in the end.
So Until We Meet Again was an ok read for me, but I feel that it could have been so much more and the 'love of my life' bit was just not working for me.

My rating: 2 stars

Review of Falling Into Bed With a Duke by Lorraine Heath

Title/Author: Falling Into Bed With a Duke (The Hellions of Havisham) by Lorraine Heath
Publisher/Date published: Avon, October 27th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: After six unsuccessful Seasons, Miss Minerva Dodger chooses spinsterhood over fortune-hungry suitors. But thanks to the Nightingale Club, she can at least enjoy one night of pleasure. At that notorious establishment, ladies don masks before choosing a lover. The sinfully handsome Duke of Ashebury is more than willing to satisfy the secretive lady's desires — and draws Minerva into an exquisite, increasingly intimate affair.

A man of remarkable talents, Ashe soon deduces that his bedmate is the unconventional Miss Dodger. Intrigued by her wit and daring, he sets out to woo her in earnest. Yet Minerva refuses to trust him. How to court a woman he has already thoroughly seduced? And how to prove that the passion unleashed in darkness is only the beginning of a lifetime's pleasure?

So yes, I am very much actually writing a review again, nobody panic!

Ahem.

So as a rule I tend to enjoy Lorraine Heath's books, they're full of romance-y goodness and basically just make me one happy girl. And the premise of this one sounded SO good, so I was definitely ready to settle down and just fully immerse myself in Falling Into Bed With a Duke.

And that is what happened. I mean, I pretty much just read most of this in one blissful afternoon in which I just had a really strong motivation to keep sitting on the couch and see if everything would work out for Minerva and Ashe in the end. I totally loved that Falling Into Bed With a Duke has a very bold, very strong heroine and she's not taking risks just for the sake of it, but because she's weighed the pros and cons and decides to go through with it. She believes that she's firmly on the shelf and will therefore never know what it's like to be with a man in the biblical sense, so she decides to try this outside of wedlock, obviously a very big no-no in that time. And I thought she actually was pretty smart about this, hiding her face behind a mask. The only thing that sort of puzzled me was how she could possibly Ashe wouldn't recognize her outside of the club, when she kept putting herself in his way. But yeah, in light of the plot moving forward and such, it was kinda necessary.

I was slightly jolted every time Ashe's sort of reliving his parents' deaths came up, because I can get having a vivid imagination and these images popping up the first while after their accident. But after so many years, if he hasn't been there, it felt a bit weird. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I'm just slightly skeptical about this. I did really like that he's got dyscalculie, which is quite possibly not recognized enough these days, and it surely wouldn't have been back then. It added another layer to his character and made me want to shake him for not telling anyone about his troubles.

The chemistry between Minerva and Ashe was amazing! And I loved that Lorraine Heath didn't go for the insta-love, even if they did have insta-lust. The love part really came after they started getting to know each other outside of the Nightingale Club and it was so incredibly sweet to watch! And also, the sexytimes were very sexy indeed. And I totally loved how they worked out their differences and how Ashe grovels because he has wronged Minerva. I'm a sucker for a guy doing the groveling. Also, I SO much love both the appearance of Minerva's brother and her father, they have the alpha male protectiveness thing going on and it's awesome. But mostly I loved how her parents both just want her to be happy and don't really care if she marries a duke or a baker, as long as it's who she wants to be with.

But most of all, I just loved the hero and heroine and was in full support of their romance developing and for them to start their happily ever after!

My rating: 5 stars

Iiiiiit's READATHON DAY!

It's that time again, the time when I try to clear my whole weekend in honor of Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon! It's one of my favourite events ever and it's double fun now because I have the awesomest book club in book club history and we're doing this together! YAY! Last time we were at my house, a week after the official event, but today we're joining in with all of the other amazing people who will be reading up a storm today.
Because I'll be at Debby's, I probably won't be blogging much during the event, so I'm posting the start of the event questionaire thingy early :)

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'll be reading from Debby's home in Rotterdam, which I'll be leaving for in less than an hour and OMG STILL NEED TO PACK THINGS. *panicks*

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
This is the stack of books I'll be bringing:

As usual, I'm mostly just looking forward to getting to read some of my physical books, though my pretty new ereader is tempting me with all these books too...

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
From the look of things, we'll be having ALL the snacks, I'm really looking forward to trying Debby's guacamole and I made Oreo cheesecake cupcakes, which are yummy :) I think I won't really have to eat for a week after this.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Hello everyone! :) I'm Daisy, 28 years old, resident of Holland, proud kitty momma and during the day I'm a GP in training, currently doing my psychiatry rotation. I've been blogging for about 6 years I think and try to always make time for the readathon, cause it's awesome. Other things I love include the boyfriend, cooking/baking, READING obviously, pirates and lots of TV shows (including but not limited to ANTM, Nashville, Awkward, Downton Abbey, Suits).

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
I'll be going over to Debby's, which is a change cause I've only ever read at my house or my parents'. Aside from that, I'm just gonna chill, read books, enjoy my awesome bookclub's company and wear a bunny onesie, which is also new.

Happy read-a-thon-ing everyone!!