Review – She Laughs in Pink by Jessica Calla

I have actually had the privilege of reading and editing the next two books in the Sheridan Hall series for BookFish Books, but She Laughs in Pink is the first installment and I’ve just now gotten around to reading it.

(I may be procrastinating reading my actual TBR by reading a bunch of [unlisted] romances instead…)

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Four years after her twin is murdered, Juliet Anderson still struggles with guilt, her parents, and her relationships. Two things keep her from falling into a deep, dark place—dancing and her best friend, Ben. So when Ben decides to play football for New Jersey University, Juliet doesn’t hesitate. She follows. Finally away from her past, there is nothing to stand in the way. Juliet will win Ben’s heart.

Then she meets Ben’s roommate, Chase.

On probation and hell-bent on adhering to a “new life plan,” aspiring artist Chase leaves his New York City home for New Jersey University and meets Juliet before even stepping foot on campus. For him, their connection is instant. She’s the most vibrant girl he’s ever seen. Her colors explode on his canvas, and he’s never been more inspired in his life.

Too bad she’s madly in love with his seemingly perfect, good guy roommate. (Goodreads)

Review – The Island by S. Usher Evans

I read The Island quite a while back. Like, when it was still being polished up for the official release. I realized that despite my excitement and love for the series, I haven’t actually written a review. So, I re-read The Island as part of the S. Usher Evans Street Team competition, and composed my thoughts about the final version to share a reader’s review of the book.

Oh, and I’m totally #TeamTheo! ❤

#RockMyTBR – November Recap

The #RockMyTBR Reading Challenge is hosted by Sarah K, The YA Book Traveler. Click here for more info.

[My #RockMyTBR list]

I’ve made a little progress this month. For the #RockMyTBR challenge I’ve read:

Stupid Girl by Cindy Miles [Review]

Relentless by Karen Lynch [Review]

I may not make it through all twelve on my list, but I’m 1/3 of the way through it now.

Have you been participating in the #RockMyTBR or other reading challenges? How are you doing so far?

Review – Stupid Girl by Cindy Miles

I read this book as part of the #RockMyTBR challenge.

I enjoyed reading Stupid Girl by Cindy Miles. That doesn’t mean that it didn’t have its problems, though.

Stupid Girl, to me, really showed what holding in a secret and not communicating about it can do to a person. It also shows how easily life can sway people from their plans and how easily focus can be destroyed. I really liked that Olivia came from a family that was close-knit, and the things that affected them affected her as well.

Despite the problems I highlight below, I enjoyed watching the relationship between Brax and Olivia.

I think it’s only human to hope for the best in people, but I also think it lends itself to problematic relationships, especially in literature. Here is this character with obvious anger and jealousy issues, but it never gives Olivia pause, because she just knows she’s safe with Brax, despite his constant fighting and bowing up at other males. I feel like this trope sets an unhealthy ideal for relationships. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy reading them, but as time goes by, I find myself noticing such things more often and they give me pause.

I really try not to allow basic typos/punctuation errors sway my reviews unless they are super-present. Aside from some terrible comma usage, I didn’t notice an abundance of these, but I really felt like the story could have used some more content editing/revising/something. Sometimes I felt like I was seeing a scene for a second time. Other times there were inconsistencies when moving from one scene to another. And sometimes the pace was really slow/repetitive. Also, while a majority of the story is told from Olivia’s POV, there are a few places where it is switched to Brax’s. Because these were so few and far between, they were rather jarring. I’d have preferred to not have them at all, or to have more of them more consistently.

Overall, I’d give this book 3 stars.