I wanted to write quick reviews of these books since they’ve been out for quite some time, but they deserve some more attention! Hopefully these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction!
The last two books counted toward my Shelf Love Challenge!
Their Fractured Light by Published by Disney-Hyperion on 12/1/15
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 425
Source: Purchased
My rating:
A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.
Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.
Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.
When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.
I have absolutely adored this series!! In this final installment, we get a new romance between Sofia and Gideon, but we also get all of our favorite characters back and LOTS of tie-ins to the previous two books. The first half of the book (or so) focuses on Sofia and Gideon – both of them have been trying to fight back against LaRoux Industries, but Sofia has also been running from an unknown entity who is stalking her, making her life a living hell at every turn. Gideon has lived his life in secret in a different way – hiding behind technology to do his worst to LaRoux. So neither of these two are able to trust easily, and the road to romance for them is paved with heartache.
Just when I was starting to get worried that the romance was going to be dragged out too long for my tastes, the story did a complete 180 and changed focus almost completely. I won’t tell you exactly what happens, of course, but I will say that there’s a catastrophic incident and everything goes haywire. Plus, this is when old friends are reintroduced. From that point on, the book was action-packed and exciting and full of pretty much everything I’ve loved about the series (but lighter on the romance at that point, which bothered some people – I was okay with that). One other noteworthy point – I loved the little snippets that we get at the beginning of each chapter from the Whispers’ POV – this not only gave us lots of their perspective on the humans they’d been dealing with for three books (and before), but also brought us to the eventual thrilling end! I did feel like this book moved a little slower than the others for me at first, so I give this installment 4.5/5 stars.
Overall, this series has easily made it onto my All-Time Favorites list!!
Published by HarperTeen on 7/2/13
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 312
Source: RT
My rating:
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.
So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she’s beginning to enjoy his company.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
I only have two major complaints about the book. The first is that this was another one of those cases where almost all of the conflict was caused by people simply not talking to each other. Caymen thinks that Xander has a girlfriend but doesn’t actually ask him about her. She also doesn’t talk to her mom, and her mom hides a lot of things from her (even though they’re supposedly really close). My second issue was with how quickly and easily everything was wrapped up. There were some major revelations, and then like ten pages later all of the problems were solved (or at least on their way to being solved) and the book was over! I kept looking at how close I was to the end, thinking, There’s no way this can all get wrapped up this quickly! It was. Still, the book was overall a really enjoyable read and I flew through it.
***Disclosure: Confession time. I got this book at RT last year, but I honestly don’t remember if this is one of the ones I bought so I could get a signed copy or if it was one of the ones I got free from the publisher. Either way, all opinions are my own and my rating was not affected.***
The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae MillerPublished by Entangled Teen on 5/7/13
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 258
Source: Won It!
My rating:
On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl’s body isn’t just unknown, it’s anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.
Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.
I picked this book up because I was in the mood for a light, quick read, and it pretty much hit the spot! In middle school Maddie got made fun of (very publicly) because of her love of comic books, and so she’s been hiding that part of herself – and anything else she worries might be deemed geeky – for years. Even though she’s dating the high school quarterback, she’s not that into him, and she’s been secretly crushing on a fellow comic book nerd, Logan. When she gets the opportunity to spend more time with him (and with the geeky pursuits of comic books, LARPing and more!) she can’t resist – even if it could lead to social suicide if anyone finds out. Maddie was endearing, even though I sometimes wanted to shake her and tell her to just confess already! (Especially to her best friend, who was sweet and understanding, and there was absolutely no reason why Maddie shouldn’t confide in her). But, at the same time, I realize that the pressure to be “cool” in high school is real, and I could definitely see how Maddie’s past embarrassment had shaped her fear of letting anyone know the real her. The pressure we put on ourselves to fit in (in any scenario – not just high school) can sometimes be way more powerful even than pressure put on us from any outside source. Oh, and I loved the LARPing scenes – SO much fun!!
If I had one complaint, it would be that Maddie’s issues with her best friend and boyfriend were settled really quickly and easily. She had to work a little harder for Logan, but in all of those cases I would have liked to see just a little bit more of the repercussions of her actions. Still, this book was just what it was meant to be – lighthearted and entertaining and sweet.
I have been meaning to read the summer I became a nerd for SO long because I thought it sounded so cute and nerdy and I love all things nerdy, haha. I’m glad that you enjoyed it! I’ll have to put it on my list for light summery books for this summer!
I won that one a long time ago, but never got around to it. But I just recently saw that Entangled was offering review copies of the companion novel that’s coming out in April (I think) – and it inspired me to pick this one up to see if I was interested in requesting the next one. (I was!)
Great mini reviews! I began the These Broken Stars trilogy a while back but never got around to the second book and I’ve been kicking myself ever since the third one came out but there’s just been so many books to read and so little time. I will eventually get to them though. The Distance Between Us I had the same initial thoughts that you have about the book in regards to it being your typical YA contemp romance with nothing new to offer so I might give that a miss and The Summer I became A Nerd – I actually ahdn’t heard of before but it sounds cute and a nice YA quick read.
I know – it’s so hard when there are SO many amazing books to read. I definitely recommend the Starbound Trilogy, obviously!!
I haven’t read the second book of Amie and Meagan’s because I have worried that we would never meet the characters again. Now that I know that we get to meet them all again, I am much more interested in reading the rest of these books! The Distance Between Us doesn’t really interest me, but The Summer I Became a Nerd does, and I am glad that you enjoyed it!
Yes – you will definitely see your favorite characters again! They pop up in book two and then everybody shows up in the third book – and all of the storylines tie together too!
I’m excited to get started on the Starbound trilogy I’ve heard wonderful things and the author also co-wrote the huge hit novel Illuminae so I’m sure to love it!
Yes – I loved Illuminae, too, but I love the Starbound Trilogy even more!
The Summer I Became a Nerd sounds really fun. Love geeky characters!
It was great fun! I’m looking forward to reading the companion novel soon.
I really liked The Distance Between Us but it wasn’t super original or too different so I get what you mean. The Summer I Became a Nerd sounds like a perfect quick read. Great reviews!
I definitely liked it, but there were just certain things that bugged me when I thought about them too much. Better not to dwell on them. LOL!
oh I love your review of Their Fractured Light! I’d had this series on my TBR lost for a while. I’ll bump it up 🙂
You had me at “180” and “catastrophic incident” lol
Definitely bump it up!
I really need to read Their Fractured Light. I adore the series, so this makes me happy that it’s a fav!
The Distance Between Us was super cute but not a read for your average ME lol I think this is perfect example of a book I would have LOVED at that age. 🙂 Great reviews!
Yes, there are some books that you can imagine loving as a teen, but they just don’t work for you now.
The Summer I Became a Nerd sounds right up my alley. Sometimes, I need a break from all these fantasy tomes and just read something lighthearted and quick. Adding to my TBR list, thanks!
Yes – that’s definitely true. Sometimes you just need to mix things up a bit. 🙂
I still need to read my copy of These Broken Stars BUT it’s one of those series I just know I’ll enjoy (and saying that I’m like: WHAT is the holdup then?! LOL) anyway, I *had* to see how you made out with the conclusion Nicole! I’m SO excited that it made it to your all-time favorites 😀 I can’t wait to compare notes with you when I get all caught up!!
There are lots of series like that for me – ones I know I’ll love, but I keep putting them off anyway. Sigh. (Stiefvater is a perfect example of that – I know you love her!)
From those books, I read The Distance and The Summer.
I remember being angry at Caymen’s mom so much when I finished it. I still kind of am.
The Summer I remember having a great time while reading it, but I don’t remember most of the story now.
I just remember she liked comics so much and I was like: why hiding it?? It is nothing to be ahamed of…
Yes, what’s so wrong with comics? You’re so right? I do know that teenagers have a harder time ignoring those pressures, though. And, yes, I was really aggravated with Caymen’s mom too.
Oh I’ll have to order Their Fractured Light once, I read the first book and really enjoyed it. I own the second book, but haven’t read it yet. I thought the pace of the first book was slow, but mostly in a good way.
I own a copy of The Summer I Became a Nerd, I bought it years ago I think and didn’t get around to reading it yet. I am glad to hear you enjoyed it! It sounds like a light and fun read
The Whispers POV in the chapter interludes was fascinating and haunting and very fitting for the final book. I absolutely love Their Fractured Light and I love how plot points from the previous books made it’s way back into the plot. Lilac and Tarver remain to be my OTP but I did enjoy the connection between Sofia and Gideon.
The Summer I Became a Nerd sounds like the perfect easy reading book I’ve been looking for so I’ll definitely check that one out. 😀
I’m so glad you loved Their Fractured Light Nicole! I want to go back and reread TBS and then read the last two! I’m super excited there’s lots of tie-ins to the previous novels too, because I love when companion books do that!
I felt the same way about The Distance Between Us. It was a cute read, but I didn’t like how the ending made me feel all ‘what? it’s over?’ And I’m with you: miscommunication between couples is my enemy. LOL.
I’ve had The Summer I Became a Nerd forever! It sounds like my cup of tea, so I really should try and jump on reading it soon!
Great reviews Nicole!
Oh I need to get caught up on the Starbound series. I loved the first one so much but I suck at series and didn’t continue. I own them all though! I’ve read both The Distance Between Us and The Summer I Became a Nerd. I really enjoyed both of them!
These all sound pretty interesting but I’d probably only try the Starbound series, those covers are sooo pretty!
Looks like you’ve had a good reading spree!
I’ve been meaning to get around to These Broken Stars for so long!! I really need to get around to it, seeing as you liked Their Fractured Light! 🙂
I’ve also been meaning to read the other two…but I guess that’s to be expected, with the never ending TBR list! xD
I have to buy THEIR FRACTURED LIGHT! I have read the previous two books either in February or over spring break the last two years so I’m due. 🙂 I’m especially glad to hear that you liked it because I always worry about last books in series.
Your review of The Distance Between Us has me a little nervous. The Fill-In Boyfriend (Kasie West) was adorable but that ending, gah, I wanted so much more! It quickly wrapped up, but there was still a lot that needed to be addressed. BUT I just finished On The Fence (Kasie West) and there was a solid ending and it was super cute again. I wasn’t left wanting to change anything about On The Fence. I’ll eventually read The Distance Between Us, so thank you for letting me know about the ending!