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It's Behind You by Kathryn Foxfield

4/5 STARS

I was so intrigued when I picked this book up at Waterstones and read the synopsis, “Welcome to It’s Behind You!, the reality TV game show that will scare you to death…” How could I not buy this?!

All of my latest reads have been fluffy love stories and I love a good old murder mystery now and again. This book had me on the EDGE of my seat. Every chapter ending left me needing more and I couldn’t put it down. Don’t get me wrong though, reading at night before bed was majorly creepy and I felt like my heart was beating faster in my chest with every page I turned. I kept thinking I was going to look up and see The Puckered Maiden in the corner of my room.

The twists and turns had me thoroughly engaged an I was impressed with how much anticipation was building up inside me. Towards the end I had started to suspect a certain character was suspicious and I love having the ‘I knew it!,” feeling when all the truth comes out.

Lets talk about Lex and Python. I loved how their unsuspecting friendship grew, despite how hard they were trying to not actually be friends. You could see how good they were for each other. In my opinion, Lex’s character development was heartwarming. How she was able to admit to herself the real reason she entered the TV show and even told Liam that he made her want to be a better person.

Now… the ending, sigh. I understand what the author was trying to do, I really do. Leave us wondering and guessing. But I really wanted to know what happened to Lex. I’m guessing she made it out alive? UGH. But, I have to say it was nice to see Python being Python, back to doing his thing. I loved seeing all of the five contestants reveal their true selves, I just think that the epilogue could have been better.

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The Risk by Elle Kennedy

4/5 STARS

Brenna and Jake…I have so much LOVE for these two. I adore the trope of fake boyfriend to real boyfriend and the ideas of a ‘fake date for a real date.’ Although, there was only really one fake date and I have to say I would’ve liked to have seen more of this. I guess I didn’t expect Brenna to fall so quickly for Jake, though I don’t blame her. Brenna Jensen is a fierce bad ass and I felt like her and Jake’s character complimented each other so well. He is the confident, cocky jock on his way to stardom but not afraid to show his affection towards Jenna. I love it when they are so straightforward.

I really appreciated the growth of Hazel’s character in this book. I think we could all see from the outside looking in that she had more than platonic feelings for Jake and it was driving me crazy when she made him question his feelings for Jenna. But I felt a sense of pride when she knew she ultimately had to put her friend first and do this right thing.

Side note - Was it just me that felt annoyed that Jake’s parents didn’t attend all of his games? That really rubbed me up the wrong way.

Brenna and Georgia being bad ass women in the sports journalism field made me super happy to see. It makes me sad to know that people like Ed actually exist and share his sexist views.

Can we talk about Brenna and her dad? I had actual tears in my eyes when he broke down in front of her. The man who she thought was ashamed of her for showing any emotion in the hospital when she was 16. The character development of this strained father/daughter relationship was the sweetest thing. And the fact she had on Jakes lucky bracelet while having this heart to hear with her dad. THE cherry on top. I was a mess.

This book is the second instalment of Briar U and I’ve gotta admit, it felt really weird wanting to support Jake but feeling like I was betraying the Briar hockey boys. Did anyone else get that feeling? This book felt a lot more fact paced which I enjoyed, and I loved that we got to see Summer and Fitzy too.

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The Chase by Elle Kennedy

4/5 STARS

Let me start off by saying this book was FUNNY. Its not intentionally written as a comedy book, but some of the lines thrown in here had me cackling to myself. So much so that my roommates were probably wondering what I was doing at 2am because like the rest of Elle Kennedys books, I could not. put. this. down.

This is the first book in Elle Kennedy’s spin off series Briar U, and we follow the journey of Summer and Fityz’s story. Though, throughout most of it I wanted to shake Fitzy and slap him on the head in hopes that his feelings and emotions would just tumble out and make Summer happy.

It’s clear that his character struggles to handle his emotions, and with good reason - but I couldn’t help but always feel so bad for Hunter. I was gritting my teeth each time Summer flirted back with him and I knew it wasn’t going to end well after they went on a date. At times I felt like Kennedy was tourturing us. They seemed to get on so well but I KNEW she was destined to Fitzy. Not to mention the side of him that Summer brought out. She truly helped this shy gamer guy flourish and it made me so happy to see his growth in the end. Him making Summer sit down and listen to him talk about his feelings? Chapter 1 Fityz could never.

Can we also have a moments appreciation for Summer? This girl, she deserved happiness and sunshine. I adored her easy friendship with Brenna and her love and knowledge of fashion. She knew she was privileged, but still worked for what she wanted and fought her own battles.

Once again, Kennedy tackled real life issues that are always still SO present in society today. Summer preached equality and women not tearing each other down and it was so nice to see two women sticking together at the end, even though they were never friends and had zero intention of becoming friends after the incident either.

Compared to Kennedy’s other novels this one felt slow paced, due to Fitzy’s character development, which isn’t a bad thing. But I would’ve liked to have saw Fitzy and Hunter patch things up, and a conversation with Summer too. Since I think that unintentionally playing with peoples emotions is also very relevant in todays generation.

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Loveless by Alice Oseman

Loveless by Alice Oseman

4/5 - Stars

“Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush - but, as a fanfic-obsessed romantic, she’s sure she’ll find her person one day. Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?”

The moment I picked up this book I knew Georgia was going to be my girl, but she was so much more. Georgia Warr was funny, witty and the girl had BALLS. God, I just loved this book. The way that Georgia and Rooney’s friendship blossomed was so beautiful and pure. Honestly, I hadn’t expected Rooney to play such a huge part in Georgia’s life, but I’m so glad that she did. I loved how they both needed each other at exactly the right time.

Reading this book opened my eyes to so much. I’ve always known that sexuality is never just black and white, but it does delve deeper than I think the average person realises. Reading this book makes you feel like you’re going through Georgia’s journey with her, and you feel all of the frustration and sadness along side her. There were so many moments where I felt like I could relate to Georgia, like never wanting to cry in front of anyone and feeling uncomfortable with deep, emotional conversations.

So many times I wished I could reach into my book and give all of the characters a big hug and tight squeeze. Every one of them was on their own journey of self acceptance and identity and at the end I actually felt like a proud mother to them all. Loveless really makes you appreciate your own friendships even more, which I’m assuming was one of Oseman’s goal too. We should all take our friendships as seriously as any relationships.

My absolute favourite moment of this book was when they dedicated the Shakespear Soc’s play to Georgia. I had actual tears and a huge smile on my face. Such a beautiful act of true friendship. Thank you, Alice Oseman, for giving us this incredible book.

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The Deal - Elle Kennedy

I have no complaints against this book… except maybe more of Hannah and Garret. What more could I want? Its cute, flirty, romantic and easily became a comfort read for me. When I first read this book I couldn’t put it down and I think it only took me about two days and very late nights before finishing it. There was so much humour to Hannah’s character. She always had a witty comeback for Garret to put him in his place. I know she was the stereotypical “not like the other girls,” as usually woman are falling at Garrets feet. But, Elle Kennedy knew how to make it work without being cringeworthy. And I just ate it all up.

I loved how ‘The Deal’ dealt with more serious issues too and wasn’t all about the fluff. Hannah and Garret both had dark pasts and secrets they kept that were explored throughout the novel. But, it wasn’t something that really held them back either, they used it as a tool to help them grow together and as individuals. Hannah and Garret are both such strong and independent characters on their own and I thoroughly enjoyed reading their own stories and battles.

Whats even better, is there are three follow up stories after this book and there’s a new one coming too! Don’t you just love when that happens?!

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Wait For You by J Lynn

Follow my blog with Bloglovin *Opens book for the hundredth time* Honestly, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read this wonderful book. It was my first toe dip in the pool of New Adult back in 2013 and ever since then I’ve been hooked. One of the things I love most is that this book is the first in a 6 part series but you don’t necessarily have to read one in order to read the rest. BUT I would definitely recommend that you do for the most sweetest, fuzzy, smile-in-your-pillow feelings. That’s pretty much how I felt after this book, even after re-reading for the tenth time. Despite being only 16 when I first read this book and being in awe of Avery’s strength and courage I love how at 24 I’m still able to relate and even more so understand her thought processes, which I guess goes hand in hand with myself now being older too. Wait For You follows the story of Avery Morganstern who’s trying to escape her traumatic past which is revealed throughout the book. What I love about J Lynn’s writing is that nothing ever feels rushed, nor dragged out either. Everything just slots into place at a timely pace. Then bring in Cam, our love interest of the novel and everything kicks up a notch. Cam is the standard perfect guy who’s “insufferable lopsided grin” paired with his pet tortoise makes him such a loveable character. Featuring many side characters such as Avery and Cam’s friends and family, you never feel as though there are too many names to remember which is another aspect that I love, especially when I first found out that the next book to follow was about Cam’s sister and best friend… Anyway, I could go on and on! But this book will always be an all time fave and I would definitely recommend!