Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

“Penny believed with her whole heart that there were moments - crucial instances - that defined who someone was going to be. There were clues or signs, and you didn't want to miss them.” 

Emergency Contact was originally a cover buy. I added it to my TBR/Most Anticipated Reads of 2018 solely over its cute cover. Kidding. Mostly--although, the cover is what initially caught my eyes. I am a total sucker for coming of age stories set within that awkward just-out of high school age bracket. Choi captures the very essence of this age beautifully--crafting us a tale of friendship and romance; the connection and disconnect of family and much more. I am always appreciative towards YA novels that take on this task--it feels very genuine and Emergency Contact embraces that feeling.

Ultimately, it's sweet and witty and still remains realistic to life. Emergency Contact is the sort of contemporary that won't necessarily blow your mind, but it will keep you warm and stick with you. It's a definite reread waiting to happen and highly enjoyable, even in the moments where it nearly trips over itself or puts its flaws on display. Fortunately, the flaws of the novel don't bring the story down in terms of quality; instead, it brings it down to earth and remains charming. If we're going to be picking one-worded reviews for novels, that's what this one would be: charming.

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon | Rating: ★★★★★

Ah, Sandhya Menon just knows how to tug at my heart! I cannot recommend her work enough to fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins. Last year's When Dimple Met Rishi was such a fun read and I felt like Menon was only just getting started. Spoiler alert: she DEFINITELY was and brought on the fluffy, warm and fuzzies with her latest book. Right now, if you were to ask me which I preferred, I would flinch and then run and hide from the question because they are both so... fun.

Menon's prose is just as sweet and to the point as it was in When Dimple Met Rishi, showcasing a very different, but still sweet, story. From Twinkle, with Love pulled me in from the start and I genuinely loved the characters we met throughout. I loved, loved, LOVED, the brief letters scattered throughout the novel. I feel like whereas When Dimple Met Rishi was a little more serious, but still quite lighthearted, From Twinkle, with Love, was a bit more soft and feel good.

What I loved most about From Twinkle, with Love, was that the two main characters were exactly as you want them to be: passionate and alive, but still flawed teenagers. There were many moments in the book where I scoffed at their actions, and more than a few moments of secondhand embarrassment for them, and I loved it!

Witch's Pyre by Josephine Angelini | Rating: ★★★★★

"I believe our choices make our experiences and our worlds."

Can we all take a moment to appreciate the fact that I did not explode when I finally got my hands on this book? I am shocked! I was beginning to think I'd never get the chance to sit back and read it. Then, I procrastinated a bit because I didn't want to say goodbye to the series. It was just too good!

Nearly two years after its original publication, I finally read the highly anticipated conclusion to Josephine Angelini's vastly underrated Worldwalker series. And honestly? I'm a mess. I'm a pile of emotions.Witch's Pyre exceeded all of my expectations and I adored it. Like the previous two books in the trilogy, Witch's Pyre was intense and full of magical intrigue and highly addictive.

Like the pyre itself, Witch's Pyre was a fiery sort of read that will absolutely leave readers breathless long after they flip to its final pages. As far as finales go, this was one of my favourites because it was packed with action and romance and friendship, as worlds collided and fates were sealed. I loved the worldbuilding once more and found myself in awe over how enthralling the plots and settings were. Angelini is BRILLIANT at tying things together and I loved nearly every inch of this book.

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi | Rating: ★★★★★

"I cannot let the broken girl inside of me inhale all that I've become. I cannot revert back to another version of myself. I will not shatter, not again, in the wake of an emotional earthquake.”

I'll be honest: I was skeptical of this book when it was announced. I absolutely adored the original trilogy and was hesitant about Restore Me. In spite of my initial "eh" reaction to the continuation of the series, I had faith that Mafi wouldn't let the fans down and she truly didn't. I was mostly concerned that everything that was built up in the first three books would be pulled apart in the worst way possible.

Plus, I had it in my mind that the previous book was the conclusion. It takes me a while to adjust to changes. But, at the end of the day, Restore Me isn't a change. It honors the beginning and end of the original run, expanding both the world and its characters; their relationships and the politics. Restore Me makes the series richer in tone and detail and proves to be Mafi's best release to date.

First things first, HOLY CRAP HER WRITING. It just keeps getting better. Pick up Shatter Me, reread the first three books, and then look at how much she has grown right there with the characters. I'm stunned. This was definitely one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and one of the only books I literally could not put down, even if I wanted/needed to.

The Regulars by Georgia Clark | Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

“She was a road trip without a map.” 

This... wasn't for me. To put it simply? Not my cup of tea. I wanted to like The Regulars. So. Much. Because, the plot is utterly unique and magical, it relies on societies view of what makes someone beautiful and the lengths women will go to just to feel pretty; Georgia Clark's prose is great and everything about the novel had potential.

The problem was that everything just fell short. While I did find myself relating to bits and pieces, highlighting various portions of the narration, I found everything else to just be missing something. None of the characters are especially likable, not even in the unlikable way that circles back around to 'likable' and there were so many layers to The Regulars that bordered on problematic instead of social commentary or satire. 

Which felt sloppy and not very enjoyable. I'm not typically the type of person who has secondhand embarrassment in literature but there were so many moments in this book where I felt awkward about something. For example, trying not to spoil it, there's a scene with a, uh, trophy, that was--well, err... awkward. Further, a lot of the so-called feminism in The Regulars didn't quite feel like feminism and instead was just... out of place.

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

It's easy to judge those in power over making difficult, if not impossible, choices. It's even easier to form your entire opinion on a single action of someone. As someone who's pretty heavily immersed in politics, but still quite young and not always fully aware, I will admit straight away that I judged James Comey during the presidential election of 2016.

After all, so many of us did just the same. I don't know if it ever dawned on me how unfair it was to judge the former FBI director so harshly. What I do know for certain is that due to the outcome of said election, I didn't quite think of Comey as he was. Human. A Higher Loyalty is the perfect biography because it shows us the man; not he former FBI director. His questionable moves in 2016 remain but now the general public gets the not-so gentle reminder that James Comey is only as human as the rest of us.

A Higher Loyalty explores James Comey's origins, what shaped him into the man he is today, flaws and all. It explores his passion for his job. The desire to do what he feels is right. His love of his wife and family. The little tragedies in his personal life. The ups and downs of his career; the rise and fall of his position as FBI director. As with anyone in the public eye, what we see is only a fraction of what is actually happening behind the scenes and Comey tries his damnedest to explain, and rationalize, his actions throughout the presented timeline.

#FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar | Reviews: ★★☆☆☆ (2.5)

As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.  

Don't let my two start rating lure you into a false comfort--this novel was deliciously evil and is the textbook definition of guilty pleasure. It's witty and biting, it's dark and disturbing, it's utterly stylish and blasé while hitting certain topics right on the nose. It is fun and vicious.


#FashionVictim is highly reminiscent of Gossip Girl: Psycho Killer and I love it all the more for this reason. The story begins at a Vogue-like office setting; paired with one deliriously messed up narrator, Anya, and her Blake Lively-esque co-worker, Sarah, who Anya not only wants to be BFFs with, but who she also--ahem--stalks. And this is only the beginning.

At its core, the novel is about wishing for something more. Also high-fashion and murder. In other words: readers are in for a wildly absurd ride that they are either going to love or hate. Much like Anya's worship or kill tactics... there are no inbetweens for reader and #FashionVictim.

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

“When you meet someone who is good for you, they won’t fill you with insecurities by focusing on your flaws. They’ll fill you with inspiration, because they’ll focus on all the best parts of you.” 

There's something truly special about how Colleen Hoover writes love stories. All Your Perfects is a definite show of this and reminds readers what makes her novels so beloved.

We read to feel. Hoover is more than happy to oblige us in a story packed with intensity and emotion. I laughed, I cried, I swooned and I hoped. If anything is to be said about this particular release, it's this: keep tissues on hand and prepare yourself for every emotion possible. All Your Perfects is a book that will leave you wrecked in the best way possible.

Hoover captivated me from the start of this one and I didn't give myself much of a chance to part with this book. It was nearly a read-in-one-sitting book. Even the weather seemed to fit the mood with All Your Perfects; it was sunny, then rainy, then back to sunny. For every high, there was a low--but there was always a bit of optimism found within the pages of All Your Perfects that reminds readers of the resilience of the human spirit.

Tempting Little Tease by Kendall Ryan | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

You guys know that Kendall Ryan is totally my girl. If you've been following my reviews over the last year, you already know that I adore Kendall Ryan's work and that Forbidden Desires has been one of my go-to romances since I first picked it up. While Tempting Little Tease has the signature of a good novel by Ryan--teasing, steamy--it is probably my least favourite in the series.

This isn't to say that it's not a good read. I enjoyed it! It was entertaining, frothy and bubbled with the intimacies Kendall Ryan is a pro at portraying. I was entertained. I swooned multiple times. I just wasn't as attached to the coupling of Alessandra and Quinn, despite liking them both as individuals and together.  

Tempting Little Tease felt like it was missing something on some levels and that's a personal preference, not an attack on the story itself. I think what it is, is that the novel itself is pretty short. Readers are left wanting more and more from the stories. They're addictive. They're impossible to put down. You just can't stop. And when the story ends, you automatically want a dozen more novels--ASAP.

If there's one thing you should know of me, by now, it's that I have a massive amount of love for the duo of writers, and twins, Krista and Becca Ritchie. They are to my twenties what J.K. Rowling was to my childhood, which is to say that they have shaped my love of literature in different ways. When I first heard that the two were releasing a new series in the young adult world, I knew I had to jump at any chance that may come my way.

Their latest offering, The Raging Ones, was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018. The novel, out August 14th, is their first published YA novel and, well, can you guys feel my excitement? Yes? No? Maybe?

Regardless, I am so excited to be participating in the official blog tour celebrating the novels release.

Spoiler alert, guys: it's probably definitely one of my favourite (!!!!) YA books of the year. #BUTWHOSSHOCKED