Audiobook Review + Giveaway: The Next Best Thing by: Jennifer Weiner

Goodreads Summary: 


Blockbuster #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns with an irresistible story about a young woman trying to make it in Hollywood…

At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to be hired as a television writer. Four years later, she’s hit the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the show-runner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on a boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear and eye for writer’s rooms, bad behavior backstage and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood rollercoaster and a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.








Audiobook Review: 

ReadingNook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I grew up reading Jennifer Weiners' novels and I think i've read almost all of her books that are published, listening to the audiobook of her story was a different experience but one that I really enjoyed!! I loved the narrator and found her voice to match the story perfectly.It felt like it added to the story instead of taking away from it, which sometimes is a concern with audiobooks.


This book had everything you could watch from a contemporary fiction novel. It had drama, romance, and ups and downs along the way. I loved Ruth Saunders' character and felt that the relationship between her and her grandmother was real and relatible to anyone who was/is close with their grandmother. You really felt for Ruth's character after all she's been through, she still is a strong and confident woman, and that to me is a message in and of itself.

I loved the Hollywood life that she lived and the behind the scenes action of television and production. Onto the romance although Ruth had her share of up's and down's and mostly down's in the romance department Ruth's relationship with her boss was sp swoon-worthy!! I felt like it wasn't predictable and I liked the dynamic and imperfections of their relationship.


If you're a fan of Jennifer Weiner or just like contemporary fiction then you need to get this book on your radar. I don't think i've ever read a Jennifer Weiner book that I didn't enjoy, but this was a nice fill of her work, after not reading/listening to anything of hers in a quite a while.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: The List by: Siobhan Vivian

Goodreads Summary: 

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two










My Review: 

ReadingNook Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The List By Siobhan Vivian was the first book i've read by her although I do have a few others on my TBR shelfs. I don't really know what I was expecting from this story as far as expectations go, but it fell a bit flat for me. I think I wanted more drama if that's possible, but felt that the drama that did ensue because of the list was very predictable. 

I understand why everyone was saying that it was hard to follow along with all the different perspectives that flipped back and forth. It took me a good 1/3 of the book to be able to figure out who was who without flipping back to the actual list in the start of the book, without that I think I would have even been more fustrated and probably would have put the book down, if I didn't have that reference to check back on. 

The characters were just ok, and most of them were borderline annoying and even the ones I thought I liked in the beginning of the book annoyed me by the end (Jennifer). I also felt like the story was a bit far-fetched in the respect that the list went on for as long as it did without having school authorities or parents intervene. I believe they said it's been at least six years with the list being a tradition, so I found it hard to believe that the new principal was the only one who tried (and I say that loosely) to figure out who was behind the infamous list. 


This book was just ok for me, I wouldn't say definitely don't read it, but it wasn't anything i'll be jumping up and down about to tell everyone to run out and grab a copy either. I still want to give Siobhan Vivian another chance becase I have heard great things about her, but this one just fell a bit short for me.

Waiting On Wednesday (25)

Goodreads Summary: 

Find your voice.

Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies’s head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she’ll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it.

But there is another voice: Ever’s singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Partly in the hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.

With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own.

Preorder Your Copy: Here!!

Expected Publication Date: Oct. 1st, 2012 from Scholastic

Why I Cannot Wait For This Book:  My Friend Kate from Literary Explorations loved this book and raved about it. Being that i've been struggling with my weight for as long as I can remember I love reading books about girls that are struggling with the same issues, because I can relate to them very closely. This book sounds brillant and I cannot wait to read it.

Audiobook Review: About Average by: Andrew Clements

My Review: 

ReadingNook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I've just started getting into audiobooks, and this was the first middle grade audiobook I've listened too. It was short and sweet and only two discs long but I was able to listen to it in one commute to and from work which was nice to get the full story in one day. I feel like most girls have felt like they were just average at one point or another in life whether it be in looks or abilities or talents. That being said it made the main character Jordan that much more relatible.


She made a goal for herself that by the end of the year she would find something that would make her more then ordinary. In fact, she was aiming for extraordinary. Her big moment happens for her at a time completely unexpected and in way that she would never assume would be her shining moment.


I loved this story, it was so cute, and had a great message to it as well.I didn't expect the twist that the book turned in at all and for that I really enjoyed it that much more. I liked Celia Keenan-Bolger who was the narrator of the audiobook, her voice was easy to listen too, and it fit the story. I would recommend this audiobook to anyone with younger kids, as well as adults that enjoy a good middle-grade story every once in a while.








Expected Publication Date: July 24th from Atheneum Books 
Purchase Your Copy: Here!!

Chick-Lit Plus Blog Tour: Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons By: Denise Grover Swank

Goodreads Summary: 


When Rose reports for Fenton County jury duty she figures she’s lucky to get out of a morning working at the DMV. Instead, despite a disastrous encounter with the new assistant district attorney, Mason Deveraux, she’s picked as a juror on a murder case. As the trial progresses, she realizes an ominous vision she had in the men’s restroom proves the defendant is innocent. And there’s not a cotton picking thing she can do about it.

Or is there?

As if things weren’t bad enough, Rose’s older sister Violet is going through a mid-life crisis. Violet insists that Rose stop seeing her sexy new boyfriend, Arkansas state detective Joe Simmons and date other men. Rose is done letting people boss her around, but she can’t commit to Joe either. Still, Rose isn’t about to let the best thing in her life slip away








Order Your Copy: Here!!! Only $3.99 for Kindle!!
Visit other stops on this tour: Here!!




My Review: 

ReadingNook Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Ever since I read the first book in this series, I was dying for more, and this book did not let me down either. I never thought mysteries were a genre that I could love as much as I love this series. In fact, Twenty Eight and a Half Wishes made my Top Ten list for 2011, and I have a feeling Book Two will make my list for this year as well. Denise Grover Swank just has a writing style that keeps you turning the pages, and sucks you right into the story from page one and dosen't stop until the last page. Her books are always read in a few short sittings, because I get so engrossed in the story, that I don't even realize how much i've read. 

Rose's character is one my favorite literary characters EVER, honestly. She's brave and fearless, but real and relatable. I love the romance between Joe and herself, and find that they balance themselves out very well. All the characters are very well-rounded and well-developed which makes the story move as smoothly as it does.

The mystery is great too, There not super predictable and even though sometimes I figure out who it is before the characters themselves do, it's not clique and obvious from the beginning, There's still a lot of figuring out clues.  I think the mix between the romance and the mystery are what keeps the story moving forward and in such a way that keeps the reader engrossed in the book. 

Denise Grover Swank is an astounding writing, and now having read three of her books she's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Passing by her books would be a disjustice if you like anything Chick-Lit or Mystery. 

Contact Denise: 

www.denisegroverswank.com

www.rosegardnermysteries.com

https://www.facebook.com/deniseswank 

https://twitter.com/DeniseMSwank 

The Unquiet By: Jeannine Garsee

Goodreads Summary: 


Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?






Expected Publication Date: July 17th, 2012 from Bloomsbury


Preorder your Copy: Here!!






My Review: 

ReadingNook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Unquiet was just what I was hoping it would be. It was twisted and creepy and also touched on the psychological aspects that really draw me into novels. Rinn is a very interesting character, she's very complex and I felt like her character was very strongly developed. Rinn is bipolar and blames herself for her grandmothers untimely death.

Rinn and her mother move to the town where her mother grew up and Rinn attends the same High School her mom attended. Lies, murder, and deception all lay dormant in this town and come to life as soon as Rinn and her mother return and Rinns curosity is peeked. The school is said to be haunted by a girl who was found dead in the swimming pool of the school back when her mother was in high school, and Annaliese's ghost is said to haunt the tunnel that leads to the pool, as well as the pool.


When Rinn moves into Annaliese's grandmothers' house where Annaliese grew up and moves into the room where Annaliese's grandmother hung herself after her granddaughter's death, that her curiosity hits a new and obsessive level. I feel like im not describing this book in a way that justifies the book at all, but it's so complex and has so many twists and turns that keeps the story moving along, that I feel like my words can't do justice to the storyline.


If you like ghost stories this one should definitely be added to your to-read list. Its creepy, and a bit of a psychological thriller. If you like The Body Finder series it has the same tone and was similar in the creepy/ghostly aspect, but the story itself is completley unique in concept. Jeannine Garsee has a great writing style and knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat!