Mini-Reviews

It's been awhile since I've done any mini-reviews. Sometimes I don't have enough thoughts/feelings about a book to write a whole post, so mini-reviews can be easier and more fun to do for those books.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
This was Kinsella's first YA book, and while I did enjoy it, I had some problems. I was not a big fan of the romance. It bothered me that a boy was so pivotal in helping her with her anxiety. He did not 'cure' her, which I appreciated, but it seemed like he had a lot more influence over her than her family. Audrey's mom was hilarious. She was neurotic and totally not helping Audrey's anxiety, but I thought she was funny. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
I really love Kelk's novels. They're light, funny, and all feature relatable characters. This one was about Angela who catches her fiancé cheating on her at her best friend's wedding, causes a scene, and flees to New York City. Who hasn't thought about doing that? I sure have. Angela meets a cast of awesome people while in NYC, including Jenny (who I love) who decides she needs to date around to get over her fiancé. Plus, she's a writer and writes about it in her blog. I loved this book. I loved the setting, characters, and all the random things she gets up to. Can't wait to read the others in the series. 4.5 out of 5 stars for this one.

In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
I feel like I'm in the minority here because I did not LOVE this book. I didn't read Blume growing up. I was more into The Babysitters Club, Little Sister and Goosebumps books. I read Summer Sisters years ago, and liked it, but I didn't have those nostalgic Blume feelings like many others. Perhaps that affected my rating because I didn't feel nostalgic. I thought the book was good, but not amazing. I was a little bored at times, and all the characters were a bit confusing in the beginning. I read this during a crazy heat wave, so maybe I was just hot and cranky. 3.5 stars.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
This was a case where I should have listened to my gut. I resisted reading this for a long time because it just didn't sound like my thing, but then I gave into the hype and read it. Shazi volunteers to marry the king who kills his brides every morning at dawn because she plans to kill him. Sounds decent, right? I didn't love it. Part of what bothered me was that I didn't know how to pronounce many of the names, so I was spending too much time trying to figure them out. The romance was also not for me. I struggled to get through the first half, though it did pick up during the last half. I haven't decided if I'll continue with this series. 2.5/3 out of 5 stars.