[Book Review] Camp Utopia and the Forgiveness Diet by Jenny Ruden

Camp Utopia and The Forgiveness Diet
by Jenny Ruden

Sixteen-year-old Baltimore teen Bethany Stern knows the only way out of spending her summer at Camp Utopia, a fat camp in Northern California, is weight-loss. Desperate, she tries The Forgiveness Diet, the latest fad whose infomercial promises that all she has to do is forgive her deadbeat dad, her scandalous sister, and the teenage magician next door and (unrequited) love of her life. But when the diet fails and her camp nemesis delivers the ultimate blow, Bee bids sayonara to Camp-not-Utopian-at-all to begin what she believes will be her “real” summer adventure, only to learn that running away isn’t as easy—or as healing—as it seems.  

Her wry and honest voice bring humor and poignancy for anyone, fat or thin, tired of hearing “you’d be so pretty if…[insert unwelcome judgment about your appearance from loved one or perfect stranger].”

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

First things first - Camp Utopia and the Forgiveness Diet does have fat jokes in it. Yes, it is about fat camp. About a very insecure, overweight girl who focuses way too much on her weight and avoids the problems that are going on in her life. Throw in a trip that she didn't want to fat camp, her neighbor that she had crush on doesn't want her, and a dad who left years ago and never contacts her? Oh yeah, let's not forget her mother who always talks to her about losing weight and eating less. 

So, yes. Fat camp. The place where kids dreams go to die because their parents have other things to do other than show their children how to control their diet. Story started out funny enough, with Bethany being an innocent girl who just wanted to be happy and felt ignored and out of place. So when she gets to Camp Utopia, she's the heaviest girl there. Again, soooo out of place for a sixteen year old. I found it very interesting that the author never actually tells us her weight. 

Long story short, Bethany rebels and runs away with her new friend Cambridge and refuses to go back and follow the camp's routine that's been set in place. The problem with this part of the book is that I take my fitness and nutrition very seriously, so for her to completely ignore it and turn back because it's "too hard"? I don't do excuses when it comes to getting your body healthy and in shape. 

But then Bethany opens up and I see her from a completely different side. The struggle that she went through, how everything in her past effected her decisions and why she is insecure. & I started to feel more respect for her. Actually seeing the change at the end was incredible and I'm glad that I stuck around longer to find out how it ends. 

I received this book free from  the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence my opinion in any way.

About Jenny Ruden

Jenny Ruden has published short stories and essays in Nerve, Salon, Eclectica Magazine, Literary Mama and High Desert Journal. She won an Orlando award for creative nonfiction, was named a finalist in Glimmertrain’s short fiction contest, and has been nominated for the Pushcart prize two years in a row. She has worked with teenagers for over ten years as a teacher of Reading, Writing and GED, and has an MFA in Fiction from the University of Oregon. She lives with her husband, two daughters, two basset hounds and cat in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visit her website jennyruden.com, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

[Book Review] Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones
by Holly Black 

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them.

Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences.

Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . . .

AMAZON | GOODREADS  

“I thought you needed to be tougher. But I've been thinking that protecting somebody by hurting them before someone else gets the chance isn't the kind of protecting that anybody wants.”

A middle grade horror novel, Doll Bones tells a story about adventures and friendship that gets mixed with creepy events and different emotions. This was very age appropriate and even though it was horror story, there wasn't much scary things about it except the old china doll. 

Friendship that was presented between Zach, Poppy, and Alice was incredible. It's that kind of friendship that you have with people who you've known since you were 5 and probably will be going to each other's kids birthdays. Their emotions and feelings were very well portrayed. With Zach being 12, it was interesting to see his confusion about girls and anger about his dad leaving their family and then coming back. 

I did think that adventure aspect of it could have been more intensified and not so much left to the imagination. The bus ride, the park, and even the boat - give me something more creepier! But overall it was a good story line, except I wasn't much a fan of writing and didn't connect with the story as much as I wanted to.

[Book Review] Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Don't Even Think About It
by Sarah Mlynowski

Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

Don't Even Think About It is a fun story about twenty two sophomores that got interesting side effects from getting a flu shot. Every single one of them started hearing other people's thoughts and as well as communicate with everyone else who had it through thoughts. But every single secret that people had around them will have to come out and it's up to them how they deal with it. The only thing that can help them is getting everything out there and putting trust into each other. 

This was a very fast but pretty enjoyable read. It's been awhile since I read any of the high school books but this is just as high school as it gets lol Author really showed all the teenager's problems with the gossip, boyfriend-girlfriend problems, and even teachers. This wasn't anything special for me but I guess it was good read to pass time.

[Book Review] White Space by Ilsa J. Bick

White Space 

by Ilsa J. Bick

Ilsa Bick’s WHITE SPACE, pitched as The Matrix meets Inkheart, about a seventeen-year-old girl who jumps between the lines of books and into the white space where realities are created and destroyed – but who may herself be nothing more than a character written into being from an alternative universe, to Greg Ferguson at Egmont, in a two-book deal, by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Amazon | goodreads 

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Due to complete mind-f#ck that this books brings, this will be a very short review…

Before I started reading White Space, I saw some of the reviews and wasn’t sure if I was going to like or even understand the meaning of it. But after starting it and getting more invested in those teenager’s tragedy, I was really surprised. I am a big fan on dark fantasy and even though sometimes it’s a little hard to get into the world-building and vocabulary concept, this was a complete and utter, like I already said – mind-f#ck. 

Different POVs of this book made sure that you paid attention to every little detail and even made me re-read the previous chapter. But I honestly didn’t mind because of the tension that was put on every single page. Some chapters stopped in the middle of the sentence (which is referred to the concept of White Space book passage) and made it more thrilling to find out what happens. 

White Space is that kind of dark, twisted fantasy story that will test your mind and make you question everything you know about writing. Once you think you have a grasp on what is going to happen: BAM! A guy is on the windshield, clawing at the window without his tongue and his eyeballs popping out.. yeaaaaa… you’re in for a scary ride my friends. 

[Book Review] Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Madman's Daughter 

by Megan Shepherd

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

 GOODREADS

Madman's Daughter is the kind of story that makes you want to stop reading it but you can't because you just have to know how it ends. And it ends.. wow. Won't spoil it for you.. 

Story takes us to old London where women were married off based on their social status that seems to follow them everywhere they went. Juliet Moreau used to be one of those girls but after then scandal with her father and her mother dying, she had to find a job and survive on her own. After finding her father's notes, she tracks down her childhood servant that tells her that her father is still alive and lives on an island. 

When she gets to the island, she sees a man scientist that will do anything just to discover something new. Like making animals into humans and throwing away his "failures" that got a taste for blood and want revenge. 

“We're going to die, aren't we?" I asked bitterly. 

He held me so tight I could hardly breathe. But I wanted tighter still. "Not here. I swear it.”

First things first - I hate her father. He was selfish, arrogant, mad, and had no respect for women. I'm not a feminist but he was seriously a pig. Juliet's character really surprised me and I did not expect her to be so clever. There were a hint of love triangle but when you mix that with a hint of adventure and monsters - that's when it gets interesting. Great read, a little slow but I'm planning on reading the second book in this series

[Book Review] Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge

Love Water Memory

by Jennie Shortridge

If you could do it all over again, would you still choose him?

At age thirty-nine, Lucie Walker has no choice but to start her life over when she comes to, up to her knees in the chilly San Francisco Bay, with no idea how she got there or who she is. 

Her memory loss is caused by an emotional trauma she knows nothing about, and only when handsome, quiet Grady Goodall arrives at the hospital does she learn she has a home, a career, and a wedding just two months away. What went wrong? 

Grady seems to care for her, but Lucie is no more sure of him than she is of anything. As she collects the clues of her past self, she unlocks the mystery of what happened to her. The painful secrets she uncovers could hold the key to her future—if she trusts her heart enough to guide her.

 GOODREADS

"What is love, she wondered, and what is memory? Where did the two intercect, and when would it no longer matter what came first..?"

This wasn't a thriller or the type of book that you may consider as an adventure. This is a heartfelt, deep story filled with raw emotions that makes you think about your own actions.

When Lucie Walker found herself at San Francisco Bay not remembering who she was, she knew that something terrible had happened. She had no memory of who she was but the things around her made her feel real. As in she could find out who this Lucie really was. But then she finds out that she has fiance and they are supposed to get married in just few months.

Lucie finds herself trying to remember the person she's supposed to love while Grady finds himself trying to love a person who is the same but completely different. With slow pace but honestly, Love Water Memory is the kind of book that wants you to look at the person next to you and think about what would happen if that happened to you. It's not a fun little read that you can breeze through, it is a story of a mental battle of woman who has a second chance to find herself and start from blank slate.

About the Author

Jennie Shortridge has published five novels: Love Water Memory,When She Flew, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe,Eating Heaven, and Riding with the Queen. When not writing, teaching writing workshops, or volunteering with kids, Jennie stays busy as a founding member of Seattle7Writers.org, a collective of Northwest authors devoted both to raising funds for community literacy projects and to raising awareness of Northwest literature.

[Audiobook Review] Rush by Maya Banks

Rush
Maya Banks

Gabe, Jace, and Ash: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Gabe, it’s making one particular fantasy come true with a woman who was forbidden fruit. Now she’s ripe for the picking...

When Gabe Hamilton saw Mia Crestwell walk into the ballroom for his hotel’s grand opening, he knew he was going to hell for what he had planned. After all, Mia is his best friend’s little sister. Except she’s not so little anymore. And Gabe has waited a long time to act on his desires.

Gabe has starred in Mia’s fantasies more than once, ever since she was a teenager with a huge crush on her brother’s best friend. So what if Gabe’s fourteen years older? Mia knows he’s way out of her league, but her attraction has only grown stronger with time. She’s an adult now, and there’s no reason not to act on her most secret desires.

As Gabe pulls her into his provocative world, she realizes there’s a lot she doesn’t know about him or how exacting his demands can be. Their relationship is intense and obsessive, but as they cross the line from secret sexual odyssey to something deeper, their affair runs the risk of being exposed—and vulnerable to a betrayal far more intimate than either expected.

“Some crushes just never went away. They built, instead, into something permanent, obsessive and all consuming.”

Gabe wanted Mia for years just as she wanted him. When he finally decides to take that step, he makes her sign a contract to ensure that his public figure will not be compromised. Things between them heat up fast and as soon as Mia signs it, she’s expected to be in his will. But what scares her the most is that she loves it. and she might not ever recover after a man like Gabe Hamilton. 

“He kissed her as though he were starved for her. Like he'd been held away from her and had finally broken free. It was the kind of kiss that lived only in her fantasies. No one had ever made her feel so..consumed.”

The story was a little much for me since I’m not very big on erotica. But since there was a lot of story to it, I still enjoyed reading about Gabe and Mia and how their relationship progressed. I wish I could have seen more emotions throughout the book and not just dirty, rough sex scenes that were getting boring very fast. 

“You can't control everything. You can't control how someone feels about you. Or what makes them tick. You can only control how you react, how you act, how you think and feel.”

Best part of the book was definitely the ending. It was emotional, beautiful, and sweet. Something that the rest of the story lacked. I hope that second book in Breathless Trilogy will be better.

[Book Review] Selling Scarlett by Ella James

Selling Scarlett
Ella James

Elizabeth DeVille doesn't belong at a party like this - one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.

Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail. 

When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it.

Follow Elizabeth - code-named Scarlett - to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

**ARC courtesy of Indie Inked via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

3.5 Suspensful stars! Selling Scarlett is a story full of action, blackmailing, hot women, expensive suits, secrets, kidnapping, and lies.

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Elizabeth DeVille had a crush on Hunter for years. He is the only man who she has ever been interested in but she knows that a bourbon heir and successful poker player could not even know that she exists. But being at one of his parties makes her see him as a different man. Since her family lost all their money and while her mother is in the rehab, Elizabeth needs to figure out how to help her friend Cross. Getting an idea about selling her virginity for a high price tag may resolve everything but when she sees a family face in the crowd, she is not sure she can go through this. Finding out Hunter’s past may also be a deal breaker but in order to escape the evil b*tch Priscilla and not get caught by the FBI, she would need to remember to guard her heart. 

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Selling Scarlett was very confusing for me at first. The whole “disappearing hooker” thing was a little too confusing for me and it wasn’t until about 25% of the book that I finally understood what was going on. As the story went on, I couldn’t connect myself with characters as much as I wanted to and thought that man characters were always focusing on the wrong things. Hunter and Libby ‘s relationship was very… weird. It seems like most of the time Hunter was saying “go away” while Libby doubted herself, say that she was done, and then ran back to Hunter. & I never understood what was going on in her head while she was a virgin. Dirty dirty girl! Overall, the ending definitely made story worth my time but I wish that it was more thought-through and not so rushed.