Nerd Girl

Goodreads Summary
Everyone knows that office romances can be risky, but how much are you willing to sacrifice for love?

Julia Hayes is beautiful, successful, sometimes nerdy, and perpetually single. She lives in Seattle and just landed her dream job at one of the most iconic technology companies in the world.

When Julia embarks on a new career opportunity, a serendipitous event literally throws her in the path of Ryan McGraw, the hot and charming VP. As the attraction grows between them, it's not long before Julia realizes that things are more complicated than they appear.

Nerd Girl is a heartwarming love story about a woman at the crossroads between true love and her career. It's about deciding what’s most important in life and taking chances to get it. But most of all, it's about not letting your mind prevent you from following your heart.

My Thoughts
This book was cute. I read a lot of boy meets girl stories, don't I? Ya I need to read a wider selection in 2014. Anyway...

Julia meets Ryan in an unconventional way and just can't stop thinking about him; we've all been there.
The beginning of their "relationship" was cute, but as time progressed their courting reminded me a little of this toothpaste commercial. You know the one where she sees her entire future with the guy because he smiled at her.


I must note that I don't have anything against fan fiction. I love it and was a reader for years, but this story felt a little bit like a fan fiction to me. The drama in this book never seemed to end. Just let these two be happy already! Fan fiction writers had a tendency to do that too. Maybe that's just the norm in adult fiction these days. Also there was some scenes with forced dialogue, but nothing that I really bothered me.

However, this book did have a lot going for it too. The connection between these two was undeniable. It's this kind of connection that women dream of. Not only that, but the book was funny. Nothing that had me rolling on the floor, but funny. The characters were pretty damn good too. I found Julia to be adorable. She was a nerd, but also a powerful woman. Her twin sister Anna is the free spirit that I wish I could be. Ryan was sexy and sweet. The love scenes were...believable and there were weren't so many that I felt like I should have just picked up a book with Fabio on the cover.

At the end of the day this book was good. I would recommend it to those that like a love story and don't mind a little drama.

Bevel Down: The Absurd Tragic Memoir of an Okie Meth Head

*This book was sent to me, but I will give an honest review. *

Goodreads Summary 
This is the story of Todd, an intravenous meth addict that lived in Logan County, Oklahoma in the mid 1990's. Written in his own words, the story chronicles the intense events surrounding the tragic climax of his life when he was only nineteen years old. It is an edgy tale of crime, friendship, and love. He relays his story with dark humor and unflinching candor. Some of it is to be believed, some of it surely is not. All in all, Todd paints a stirring and brutal picture of poor young people striving to get by in a world where the odds are stacked against them. He even fancies himself to be a bona fide outlaw, a renegade philosopher among a population of sheepish sycophants. However, his care free philosophy is no match for the harder realities that must inevitably accompany this lifestyle. Everything and everyone will collapse around him, even the woman he loves, until Todd must finally face his demons or be consumed by them. Such is the life of a junkie.

So What Did I Think?
When I first finished this book I wasn't really sure how I felt about it. I knew I liked it, but it wasn't without its flaws. It isn't the typical book you see on my blog. This isn't a boy meets girl story or a young adult novel by any stretch. This is a gritty memoir about a group of young addicts. The reader gets to a chance to see inside the mind of a methamphetamine user.  And before you get all Million Little Pieces on him, the author says up front that not all of the story is 100% true.

When we first meet Todd he is removing the nuts and bolts on a convenience store window so that he and a friend can come back later to rob the place. He's on a five day drug binge at this point. Todd and his friends need money to feed their addiction, so they do what's necessary to make that happen. Is that the right thing to do? No, but they weren't really thinking rationally. These characters are flawed, but that's what made them interesting. They didn't have the best upbringing and maybe that played a part in how their lives turned out. Todd seems to blame society at times. "All too often I found myself dwelling on the injustices of the world. It fed my addictions and provided validation for all of my actions." 

 In the end I found that I wanted more. More Todd. More of his story. We see such a small time frame that I would have loved to know how his addiction started. I just wish I could have been a fly on the wall of this story for just a little bit longer.

**spoiler**


 I wonder if Desmond really did get clean; I hope so. 

Losing It

Goodreads Summary
Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible - a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

  
My Thoughts
I have to start by saying that I hate this book cover. Garrick is supposed to be her college professor. The guy on this cover looks like a 13 year old model. My apologies to the man who was used for this. If you forget about the cover than you will love this book.

This book was hot! It's an amazing contemporary romance about two people who cannot be together. Bliss is self conscience about starting her last semester of college a virgin, so her friend comes up with a plan to help her lose it. She meets Garrick in a bar and it's electric. They instantly hit it off and she takes him home.


The next morning they both learn about their teacher/student relationship. Uh oh. It wasn't just the sexual tension that made me love this book though. Bliss' nervousness made her hilarious. She said things out of fear that just made me laugh out loud. Yes it's a typical plot, but the characters were so well written that I didn't care.

Exciting News

I was recently approached by Bostick Communications with an exciting opportunity.  They wanted to know if I would be interested in being sent books to review.  I of course jumped at the opportunity.  I love books and this will give me a chance to read books that maybe I wouldn't have had access to.  I wanted to make a post on my blog before writing any such reviews.  I will review the books the same way as I do all other (summary followed by my thoughts and a rating), but I will also let you know that it was a copy sent to me.

I know some people may have issues with bloggers reviewing work that they were sent, but I have every intention of giving an honest review. I don't think an author would want me to praise their book up if it wasn't an honest review. If they do than I am sorry.

I just thought I'd let you all know.

Renée

Crash

Goodreads Summary
Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now.

Jude's everything she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she's about to find out, is the only thing she's incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love's about to become the thing that tears them apart.

My Thoughts
I will start by saying that I give this book 4 stars. This will not be a book for everyone. Those who understand that cyclical relationships are not healthy will not like this book. I get that. It's why I can't watch The Notebook the same way I did in high school. However, the love between these two was so palpable that I couldn't help loving this book.

Lucy is a typical teenager. She starts a new school her senior year due to some money issues, but she is determined to not let this drag her down. She isn't a whinny 17 year old like we see in so many books these days.

Jude is a mess. He is just a flat out mess, but when he meets and gets to know Lucy he softens a little. He's had a really (I wanna swear, but I wont) life. He is the reason he and Luce break up so many times. He's insecure about his past and uses the whole "I don't want to ruin you" routine. If I didn't completely believe that these two loved each other, I wouldn't support this (fictional) relationship. If she were a friend I would tell her to run and never look back. Hell even Jude told her that.

I could have done without some of the characters though. Sawyer was an unnecessary element to this story. He just added so much animosity between Jude and Lucy that didn't strengthen the story at all. Then there was Taylor. I would have preferred it if Lucy made no friends than hang out with someone like Taylor.

Nevertheless, this book was written well. I could have done without some of the drama, but that's what you get when you read contemporary. 

If You Find Me

Goodreads Summary

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.


My Thoughts
This book was really really good.

Carey basically raised her sister, Nessa. The then 9 year old little girl basically took over parenting her younger sister when she realized that her mother couldn't/wouldn't do it. Not only that, but she did it in the woods in Tennessee.  Can you even imagine?

This story picks up right before they are rescued and we see how the two little girls deal with a new family, school, peers, and just the normal everyday routine. There were struggles and at times I wondered if they were coping too quickly, but then I didn't care.

Carey was such a strong girl. She raised her sister, taught her to read and write, and then helped once they reached the "real world". She was an incredible character. She not only had to deal with normal teenager issues and feelings, but a past in the woods that changed her. I know I wouldn't have survived what she did. I don't think most people could. 

I would definitely read a book about these characters 10 years later. Will she and Ryan be together? Are Carey and her new sister be close? It would be an interesting read.

Check this book out!

Bout of Books 9.0 Wrap Up

If you ask me the Bout of Books read-a-thon 9.0 was a great success!

I finished 7 books in a week.

Plus one novella.

I also read pages from Iron's Daughter (but I lost interest) and started If You Find Me Sunday afternoon. Both have been counted in my page count even though I never finished them.

My final page count was ... 2,128.


I hope you are as proud of me as I am.

Did any of you read anything good this week?  Got recommendation?  Do share!