Genre: Contemporary

Oct 13

Realistic Depiction of Mental Health in YA: Let’s Discuss.

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Let's Discuss 14

Recently, Kelsey Macke contacted me and asked if I’d help her promote the 3rd anniversary of her book, Damsel Distressed. I loved the book, so I jumped right onboard and agreed! But I didn’t want to just post a spotlight that most people would completely overlook (I probably would, if I’m being honest). So, I thought back to the book and wondered why it sticks out in my mind so much. After all, I read it over two years ago. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering a book two months later, much less two years. It didn’t take me long to realize that the reason I loved this book so much was because of how honest it was when it came to the issue of depression. I might not remember every detail of the plot, but I remember how Imogen struggled with deep feelings of depression, even though she… Read more »

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Sep 13

The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle: A Black Sheep Review

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Reviews 16 ★★½

I have to start off by saying that I’m definitely the black sheep with this one. Lots of people loved it. And I can see why—we need stories about underrepresented illnesses like epilepsy. Unfortunately, there were a few issues that kept pulling my attention away from the main thread of the story, and those issues chipped away at my enjoyment of the book until I found that I really wasn’t enjoying it much at all anymore. What Fed My Addiction: The exploration of an illness that we don’t see often. I thought that Hoyle did a fantastic job of helping us to understand what it’s like to live with an illness like epilepsy. From that perspective, this book was great. Emilie’s embarrassment over the idea of being exposed in front of her classmates is very real. She is mortified at the idea of letting people see her at her most vulnerable… Read more »

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Sep 07

If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout: When One Mistake Changes Everything

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Coyer, Reviews 10 ★★★★★

I’ve loved many of JLA’s paranormal books, but I never really delved into her contemporaries until last year—not because I didn’t think they’d be good, but just because they didn’t stand out to me and make a huge impression. That all changed with The Problem with Forever. That book not only caught my interest enough to force me to read it, it wrecked me in all the best ways—I LOVED it! So, when If There’s No Tomorrow came out I was eager for more! And this book did not disappoint—JLA delivered on all the feels and true-to-life pain that resonated with me, and I think will resonate with almost all YA readers. What Fed My Addiction: Peer pressure. How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you knew you should react in a certain way, but you didn’t want to rock the boat? Even as adults, I think we still find… Read more »

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Aug 24

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas: A Shockingly Spooky Read! (Review & Giveaway)

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Coyer, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 26 ★★★★

This is another one of those books that I can’t say much about because it would be way too easy to give things away. Little Monsters is something between horror and a contemporary thriller—wrapping a small-town ghost story around the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl. Throughout the book, you find yourself wondering if there’s something paranormal going on or if the answer is much simpler than that. Kacey herself wonders that too, and the mystery becomes all-consuming for her. The more she unravels, though, the more convoluted things seem. I have to tell you that I did not in any way guess how this book was going to turn out—I had about a hundred different theories, a few of which had some shred of partial truth to them, but I was nowhere close to figuring out what was going on. And I was blown away when it was all revealed! In… Read more »

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Aug 22

Bite-Sized Reviews of Hello Sunshine, In 27 Days, Love and First Sight, and Oishinbo a la carte: Volume 1

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Coyer, Reviews 8

I’ve got four bite-sized reviews today—for four great books! One of them (Love and First Sight) is a review written by my mom (Gay), and then I just added my two cents. 🙂 I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I was a theatre major in college, so this book called to me. Reading the Leila Howland’s bio, you’ll find that she spent five years acting in New York, so she knows a thing or two about how tough it is to make it in the acting world, and it shows in the book. It takes a good mix of talent, luck, hard work, and knowing the right people to be successful. Howland gives us a realistic view of that—at first I was worried that everything was going to fall into place a little too easily for our MC, Becca, but that wasn’t the… Read more »

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Jul 20

Lucky in Love by Kasie West: Review, Giveaway & West’s Top Ten Addictions (with a Twist!)

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Author Top Ten Lists, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 25 ★★★★

I don’t even know what to say about this book except that it’s adorable and SO Kasie West (which is a very good thing, mind you). Believe it or not, the themes in this book have been a topic of conversation in our household many times. My husband insists that he would absolutely hate to win the lottery because it would completely change us. And if it somehow didn’t change us, it would, at the very least, change how everyone around us perceives us and acts toward us. He’s probably right (that was certainly the case with Maddie in this book). Actually, I knew someone personally who did win the lottery—when I was in high school, my biology teacher (and her sister) won 17.5 million dollars! And I can say from experience that things actually did change for her a lot—and people did treat her differently. In fact, I had people coming… Read more »

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Jul 12

The Lake Effect by Erin McCahan: Review of a Perfect Summer Read!

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Coyer, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 12 ★★★★

This is one of those perfect summer reads—the type of book you can read all in one sitting on a sunny morning (which is exactly what I did!). What Fed My Addiction: Good balance of light tone and heavy topics. This book covers some serious topics like death, chronic illness, class differences and family pressures, but Briggs’ voice is light and funny enough to make the read enjoyable rather than plodding. Plus, there are some really funny circumstances and secondary characters in this book. I found myself laughing out loud several times while reading this book, and chuckling for much of the rest of the time. Somehow this made the serious parts of the book that much more effective—I also found myself tearing up a few times. Briggs. Briggs isn’t a typical snarky teenage YA voice; he’s more sardonic and self-deprecating, which makes him very relatable. It was hard not to… Read more »

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Jul 05

Bite-Sized Reviews of The Upside of Unrequited, The Unlikelies, Dead Ed in My Head, and Bang

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Coyer, Reviews 24

I know I’ve been relying on bite-sized reviews a lot lately, but I feel like it’s the only way I can get them all in. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! This book was all sorts of adorable and it reminded me of me as a teen. Though I didn’t struggle with weight issues, I was very afraid to let a boy know I liked him—much better to avoid being hurt or embarrassed, which is exactly how Molly feels in the book. My friends who have struggled with weight issues have said that they connected to this book even more deeply—Molly thinks about her weight a lot, and in some ways, she lets it define her. Her insecurities lead to a complete unwillingness to take chances. She leaves the risk-taking up to her twin sister, who is daring enough in the area of romance for both of… Read more »

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Jul 03

Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally: Review of the Final Hundred Oaks Hurrah!

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Coyer, Reviews 14 ★★★★

I actually didn’t realize when I started reading that this was the final Hundred Oaks book. In fact, it wasn’t until I got to the epilogue and read an update on many of our favorite past characters that I realized that Kenneally was wrapping the series up with this one. I’m sad to see the series go, but I’m glad that I had the opportunity to read these books! (By the way, they can all be read as standalones, so if you haven’t dived into the series yet, feel free to jump in anywhere.) What Fed My Addiction: Feel-good reading. This is one of those romances that just makes me happy, you know? Kenneally always manages to tug at my heartstrings and make me swoon, and the book feels like perfect summer reading when you just need a little pick-me-up! There are all sorts of little details that Kenneally handles… Read more »

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Jun 15

Bite-Sized Reviews (and a Giveaway!): Eliza and Her Monsters, If I Fix You, The Gauntlet, Goodbye Days, and The Sun Is Also a Star

Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction Giveaways (Ended), Reviews 34

Today I’ve got bite-sized reviews of a few of my recent reads. There’s also a giveaway at the end of the post, so make sure you check it out. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! This book was adorable and made me want to read fanfiction. I loved the story behind this one—Eliza has created a webcomic that went viral. She now has over a million fans, but no one knows who she is. When a new boy named Wallace starts at her school, she discovers that he’s a MEGA-fan. He’s even writing fanfiction for her creation. But he has no idea that she’s the face behind the comic. And the closer the two get to each other, the harder it is for Eliza to tell him the truth. Of course, this does not end well (surprise, surprise). There were a few things… Read more »

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