Daisy's Review of Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

Title/Author: Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett
Publisher/Date published: Sweetwaker Books, December 8th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: ""Think I can turn that boy bad?" 17-year-old Jen turns her life upside down when, out of boredom, she makes a bet that she can turn school geek Trevor into someone like her. Instead, the goth girl finds herself sucked into his world of sci-fi movies, charity work, and even-ugh!-bowling. To truly belong with him - and with her new foster family - she must first come to terms with her violent past."

Sometimes I misread summaries. Sometimes this means that I expected more of a book. This time, it meant that all I was expecting was a cute lovestory and it turned out to be SO MUCH MORE!!!

Seriously, I LOVED this book! Geek Girl is not only a cute lovestory, but it deals with some serious subjects. At first I needed to warm up to Jen, but as the story progressed and I learned more about her backstory, her attitude of somewhat bitterness and the trust issues she had all made perfect sense!

And I really liked Jen! I felt everything along with her and I had the urge to give her a big hug, even though she probably wouldn't have welcomed the gesture. She was so real and it all just felt so natural! I got totally sucked into the story and I felt like I became Jen while reading the book. To me this is the sign of a wonderful, well-written book, so major brownie points to Cindy C. Bennett for accomplishing this! Jen goes through a LOT of character growth and experiencing this along with her was wonderful!

And THE BOY!! I LOVED Trevor I'm sure I'm not even remotely coherent about this! Trevor sounds exactly like the boy I would have fallen in love with in high school! Or actually, he sounds like the boy I did fall in love with: my boyfriend. Really, smart guys rule FTW!! Also, I got pretty much all the 'geek' references and of the movies mentioned, I think I've seen about 80% or at least know of them enough to understand all the geeky jokes. Yes, I'm a geek and proud of it! Trevor is just a really good guy and a wonderful brother and loyal friend. He's my kind of guy!

And of course there's some heartbreak, because what would a good lovestory be without some roadblocks? EXACTLY! But it didn't once feel artificial, I could imagine this happening exactly the way it did in Geek Girl. And the tension-filled moments between Trevor and Jen totally brought tears to my eyes, I LOVED it!

So yes, I'm saying READ THIS! It is absolutely not just a fluffy romance as I expected from the summary and it deals with some really dark and serious stuff. The lovestory in Geek Girl is amazing and real and tear-inducing! The writing completely drew me in and I didn't want to put this book down unless absolutely forced to! I'll be sure to check out anything Cindy C. Bennett manages to come up with after Geek Girl!

My rating: 5+ stars

Kimberly's Top Ten Historical Fiction Novels

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

For future Top Ten Tuesday topics, check them out here!

Okay so some of these may not be strictly 'Historical Fiction'... I cheated a bit on a few of them. ;) But they take place in the past, or have characters from the past... That counts, right?

1- The Book Thief- I know I'm just repeating myself now, I think this has made it onto at least 3 of my TTTs. But it really is a fantastic book.

2- Travel to Tomorrow- I read this book several months ago, the publisher sent it to me. I even got to intereview the author! Then my computer died and I lost the review, the notes I'd taken during the interview... I'm was slightly traumatized. However, thank heavens, one of my wonderful neighbors saved my computer and the document! I'll be able to post it soon. Check this novel out, it's not strictly historical fiction... But seriously, read it.

3- Time for Andrew- This has been one of my absolute favorite books since I was 12. It's 'children's' fiction, but a delight to read for ANY age. Promise.

3- Stepping on the Cracks- Wonderful WWII novel, another children's fiction (same author as Time for Andrew, actually) but a wonderful book.

4- Memoirs of a Geisha- Excellent book. Loved learning even more about the Japanese culture. (Though there are a couple of mistakes...but that's beside the point) I love unique cultures, I really enjoyed this one.

5- The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Not only does this book have one of the most engaging young protagonists I've found, but it's an all around good mystery novel laced with plenty of humor as well as suspense.

6- The Thief Lord- I actually do not have the slightest idea when this takes place, but it's at least many years in the past. I've heard this book compared to 'Neverwhere' by Neil Gaiman. So if you like that, you'll probably like this. The descriptions... I fell in love with Venice even more. It made my wanderlust even worse, I wanted to go there and see what the author was describing.

7- The Help- By now everyone has heard of this book, so I need not say much about it. Excellent book, powerful story that can truly change how you look at life. If you like audio books, check this one out. It's fantastic.

8- Sarah's Key- (Ok, so I actually haven't read all of this yet...)I received this as a gift a little over a year ago and just now had a chance to start reading it. It's fantastic so far.

9- The Secret Life of Bees- Rather similar to The Help. I came across this book back in my sophmore year of High School. We had our 'reading time' in English and I'd finished my book. 15 minutes to read and no book to read. So I went begging to my teacher. She handed over her own copy of this book for me to borrow, she'd just finished it and loved it. Fantastic book. After I finished it a couple days later I got to chat about the book with my teacher, we sat and talked about what we loved, what had made us cry, etc... It was so great! (Thank you Mrs. Young, you were my absolute favorite English teacher!!!)

10- Anne of Green Gables- Okay okay, I know, this may not exactly count because it more or less takes place within few years of when it was written. However, I adore these books and I say they belong on this list.

Can't wait to see what every one else has! I actually had a difficult time putting this list together. Share your list below!

Daisy's Review of How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long

Title/Author: How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long (Pennyroyal Green #6)
Publisher/Date published: Avon Books, January 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "The Scandal Sheets call him Lord Ice.
Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.
She's not afraid to play with fire...
But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone: this quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy façade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous: for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted."

So if you guys follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me doing all kinds of gushing about this novel already! When I started this book, it had been 3 weeks since the last time I felt really absorbed in a story and it was just all kinds of amazing! I went off-pile for this one because I'd been having some meh reads and had really enjoyed another book in this series before and I'm SO glad I did it!

From the first moment I felt a connection to Phoebe, the main character. She's a schoolteacher and as such not your typical romance novel character. She's smart and can hold her own and I appreciated that about her. Phoebe's going places even if she doesn't have a man to support her.

And then we have Julian, who is just a swoonworthy man and who made me want to whack him on the back of the head and give him a hug at the same time. He's got a HUGE sense of responsibility and was completely trustworthy and just basically a good guy. I mean, I love me some rakes, but a good guy wins my heart every time. And seriously, when he chased after Phoebe's cat when it slipped out the door onto the dangerous streets of London, looking all kinds of ridiculous, he earned himself a special place for all time. (Oh, and the cat is awesome too!)

But no matter how amazing they were in their own rights, together they blew me away! The chemistry was amazing and I had goosebumps all over. And the tension! It was FANTASTIC! Plus, brownie points for totally making me cry! It's been so long since a book brought me to tears, but this one did the trick and it was wonderful! These two actually have real conversations and real problems! And gosh, can I just say how much I was annoyed by the heroine's rival? Seriously, that girl turned out to be EVIL!

But mostly, what I meant to say was that I absolutely, completely LOVED this book! I think I've found myself a new auto-add historical romance author! If you like the genre, be sure to pick this one up :)

My rating: 5+ stars

Book tour: The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau + giveaway

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

Reviewed as a part of Historical Fiction Book Tours

Nancy Bilyeau's Website: http://www.nancybilyeau.com

Nancy Bilyeau on Twitter: @TudorScribe

Book Trailer

Tour Event Twitter Hashtag: #TheCrownVirtualBookTour

My thirst for books set in 16th century England is absolutely insatiable. Nancy Bilyeau's new (and FIRST!) book just helped whet that constant need. What appealed to me was the relatively unfamiliar settings and perspectives in her book. The Crown takes place in the midst of the Reformation. Henry VIII is trying to rid England of Catholicism - mainly by emptying out the abbeys and taking the wealth there for himself. Monks and nuns being forced from their lifestyles and beliefs in these abbeys were left in helpless and pitiable situations.

Our heroine in The Crown is Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun who is also of royal blood. She sneaks away from Dartford Priory when her cousin Margaret Bulmer is sentenced to burn as a traitor for resisting the Reformation. At the execution site, she and her father are arrested for causing a ruckus and are sent to the Tower. There, Bishop Stephen Gardiner (that old grumpy guy who always wears purple robes on The Tudors) offers her a deal in exchange for her release and her father's life. Joanna must search and find him the legendary Athelstan crown, supposedly hidden in her abbey. This crown is said to offer the rightful owner great power and defeat against enemies; Gardiner desires to use the crown to sway the Reformation in his favor. In her search, Joanna meets a mysterious monk named Edmund, a charming civilian (creating an odd love triangle of sorts), and runs into more murders, sickness, and betrayl than I think the average nun did. The action and mystery is nonstop!

One of my first impressions about The Crown was how great it was to read a book that takes place in Tudor England but does NOT focus on Henry VIII or one of his wives. Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn both do play a part, but Prince Arthur and George Boleyn are the main focus of their stories, respectively. It was interesting to get a fresh perspective on the events I've already read so much about. I also loved all of the various characters we met along the way. I specifically liked finding out the reasons why some of the nuns and monks decided to join the church; some were truly pious to God, others simply traumatized in their childhood for various reasons. There was such great characterization and variety! The only lingering feeling that is still bothering me is the ending: I wouldn't say it's exactly a cliffhanger, but it didn't feel completely wrapped up. I wanted to know specifics! Readers may be me left demanding a sequel - not that that's a bad thing!

If you like history, religion, and mystery (from that description, this book sounds similar to The Da Vinci Code...it's not.) then this book is for you! 4 stars to a great debut novel.


Giveaway!

Due to limited space and an impending move later this year, I am giving away my copy of The Crown to one of you! Open to US residents only, enter by filling out a short form HERE! You have until March 16th. Good luck!

Natanya Reviews For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Title/Author: For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Publisher/Date: Hyperion, 2006

Where I got it: Library on ebook

Why I read it: I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven a couple months ago and loved it, so I wanted to read another Mitch Albom book

Summary (from Goodreads):

For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that lasts a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?

Charley (Chick) Benetto, his life ruined by alcohol and regret, returns to his hometown with plans to kill himself. There, he makes an astonishing discovery: His mother, who died eight years ago, is still living in their old house, and she welcomes him back as if nothing had ever happened.

For One More Day follows the one ordinary day so many of us yearn for: a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain family secrets, and to seek forgiveness.

In November, after reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven, I spent so long trying to figure out what to write about it in a review that I eventually gave up and never reviewed it. Fortunately, I have a bit more to say about For One More Day, but, again, it’s pretty difficult to review. The novel, told from Chick’s point of view, flips back and forth between his memories of his parents and what he calls the “ghost story,” which depicts his experiences with his mother following his attempted suicide. Albom seamlessly weaves together all of these memories, throwing in a number of mementos, like little notes from Chick’s mother, which fit in well and provided a nice way of switching between the stories.

Albom is a fantastic storyteller, and he knows how to really make you feel the emotions of the character. Even though Chick really isn’t a likeable person, it was a great experience getting to watch him transform and recognize his faults and everything he did to make his mother’s life difficult. I enjoyed slowly learning about his mother, his father, and his sister, and watching Chick gain different perspectives on his life and learn after many years what really happened to his family.

For One More Day is a touching and heartbreaking account of a son’s regrets and a mother’s sacrifices. It’s short and sweet, with a really great ending. Definitely a worthwhile read.

4 stars

Jana's Top Ten Covers of 2012 (that we know of so far!)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

For future Top Ten Tuesday topics, check them out here!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Hi everyone! It's Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl! If you've been paying attention over there to my posts about good and bad covers, not to mention my Top Ten Tuesday here on my top ten favorite covers (which have changed since that post!) then you know why I'm the perfect person to do today's TTT! I decided to narrow things down to my favorite covers on the books of 2012 (both released and upcoming). 2012 is full of some absolutely amazing covers, so it's going to be hard to narrow this down to just 10! I selected some that I'm sure all of you have seen a lot, but I was also hoping to select some of the less popular ones.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

I'm not usually a huge fan of covers with faces on them, but this one is just so pretty that I've changed my mind. I love the colors, the butterfly mask, the typography. It's wonderful! I actually mentioned this cover in my review of the book on my blog. Unlike some book covers, this cover tells so much about the story itself. I really appreciate art that is done for a better reason than to "just look pretty". This is one of the best examples I've seen of a cover that very subtly opens a window to the story. I'm sure you understand what I mean if you've read it. 

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

I love mermaid books, and this one appears to incorporate some mythology too! I haven't had the pleasure to read this yet, as it comes out in June, but I'm dying to read it. This cover has grabbed me so many times while browsing Goodreads and other blogs. I love the font and the layout, and I LOVE the mystical feeling this cover exudes.

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

I love the incorporation of the profile view of the face along with the frontal view. I've never seen that before, but it sounds cool. The main girl in the book has two souls. One of them was supposed to die, but hers didn't and they have developed a very close bond. Having two souls (or being a hybrid) is illegal, so they have to keep it a secret. I think the cover nicely symbolizes this idea. And it's pretty too!

Gravity by Melissa West

I love outer space, and this picture is gorgeous! I also really like the font choice for the title, as well as the flourishes on either side. This book is a sci-fi fantasy, and it sounds pretty good! It involves aliens and romance and people hovering and saving the Earth. I'm excited to read it!

The Statistical Probability of Love at First sight by Jennifer E. Smith

This cover is mainly typography-based, but I love the feeling the photo give off--of two people who are seizing the moment in the middle of a busy world (with fuzzy people rushing by). Seeing as how this entire romance takes place in an airport, I think it's rather fitting. I love that it's black and white. Black and white covers are not all that popular right now, so this one stands out. All you do is focus on the the lovebirds inside the red heart. That pop of red makes me happy. And I love the typography too! It's just cute.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

I love everything about this cover: the rich colors, the upside-down person looking at us, the flowers, and the typography. The typography is actually my favorite part of this cover. From the looks of it, it's a custom font, and I love it when covers have custom fonts! It gives us something new to look at. The cover gives off a feeling of mystery and magic, which is what the book seems to be chock full of!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I think my very favorite covers have been the ones that were predominately vector design. No photography... just pure design. Like the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater, for example. It's easy to grab a photo and stick it on a cover, but it takes pure artistry to draw a design like this one. The typography and ligatures, intertwined with the branches is really pleasing to look at. 

A Greyhound Kind of Girl by Roddy Doyle

Oh my. I think this is my favorite of all the covers I posted today. I might just have to buy this book for the cover. I don't even know what it's about. Please go find a bigger version of this so you can really see all the intricate details in the flowers and leaves. Again, this is all vector design and I LOVE it.

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

I love the heart cut-out. I think that just makes the cover for me. I'm not sure why I like it so much, but I think it's because it's so simple and well-done. And I am SO excited for warmer weather right now. This dreamy cover shows a girl on a sailboat, and I have always wanted to go out on one. All elements work well together, and I just think it's really pretty!

Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson

This is so cute! And mostly, I am just dying to read this one. I love the purple moped, and her boots with the argyle socks popping out of the top. I like the fact that their heads are cut off so we can imagine what our characters look like. And HELLO. It's Italy! I love Italy. 

:)

Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly

Sorry! I had to add #11. I love this cover so much. The bright colors, the attractive-looking man with the bouquet of flowers he's come to give me, and that cute little town drawing behind him. Just love it! 

So, there you have it! These are certainly not ALL my favorite 2012 covers. I've got many more like A Million Suns by Beth Revis, Everneath by Brodi Ashton, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder, etc. I could go on and on! What are some of your favorites? Link up you favorite covers of whatever (all time, paranormal books, books with dresses on the cover, etc.) Be creative! I can't wait to see what you picked!

Tahleen reviews: "Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Speak, 2011 (paperback)

Okay, okay, I know. What took me so long. Life got in the way, kids. But I finally made it, months after everyone else. And of course, everyone was right.
Anna is being sent to France against her will for her senior year of high school. At least it's an American boarding school, but still, she's pissed at her dad (a famous author who sounds suspiciously like Nicholas Sparks) for taking her away from everything she knows and sending her to some foreign country on her own. But she eventually settles in, makes friends, and is forced to get to know the city by said friends, especially St. Clair (that's his last name, first name Etienne). Friendship gets complicated between these two though, when both start to feel something more but, oh hey, St. Clair has a girlfriend. Then throw in a mean girl, another dude, and the excitement only Paris has to offer and you get one awesome book.

There's really not much more I can say about this book that hasn't been said, but I'll do it anyway. Yes, St. Clair has a British accent and is a super nice guy and is extremely attractive (and short—my fiance would approve), but he also has his baggage. This includes a truly awful father and the inability to be alone at this time in his life (you'll see why). Anna is equally down to earth, and she has an appreciation for film that is rarely seen in YA novels—her aspiration is the be one of the few female film critics. Their relationship is incredibly real and exactly what a friends/more-than-friends relationship is like. Anyone who's ever been in that sort of situation will feel the same way, I'd guess. And I love that it takes the appropriate amount of time for them each to fall for the other.

Did I mention there are serious issues in here too? No? There are serious issues. Bullying, for one. At one point Anna has to deal with some truly terrible people and I actually cried at how they were treating her. That's not the only real-life issue in here, but that's where I'll stop because I don't want to give any spoilers for the few who have yet to read it.

And how could I forget the setting? This book made me want to go back to Paris, since hey, I was there for only 7 hours between trains. The food, the people, the excitement are all intoxicating. Even though it rained most of the days in the book, I still wanted to be there.
I stayed up late to finish this, something I wasn't expecting to do, and that doesn't happen very often for me. So yes, this book is everything everyone has been saying it is. It's truly worth the read, not only because of how utterly delightful it is, but because of it's depth and the truth behind every relationship.
I know the American cover isn't the best, one of the reasons I didn't read it sooner, but let me show you an alternate cover I found:

Isn't that so much cuter?
Side note: Did anyone else think the way Anna was described sounded exactly like Anna Paquin in X-Men? Gap between the front teeth, bleach in the hair, her name is Anna...

Disclosure: I got this book from the library.