Friday, January 12, 2018

In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Layover
Amy Andelson, Emily Meyer
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Rating:  3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Flynn: At first we were almost strangers. But ever since I moved to New York, Amos was the one person I could count on. And together we were there for Poppy. (I mean, what kind of parents leave their kid to be raised by a nanny?) I just didn’t expect to fall for him—and I never expected him to leave us.

Amos: I thought I was the only one who felt it. I told myself it was because we were spending so much time together—taking care of Poppy and all. But that night, I could tell she felt it, too. And I freaked out—you’re not supposed to fall for your stepsister. So I ran away to boarding school. I should have told her why I was leaving, but every time I tried, it felt like a lie.

One missed flight was about to change their lives forever….

I must admit, I was sucked in by the cover and synopsis. I am always up for a good forbidden romance type of thing, but I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a lot more to this story than I anticipated.
  • Pro: At its heart, this is a sibling story, and I really enjoyed watching all three of them interacting together. I especially liked seeing the older siblings dote on their little sister, because she really needed to shown she was special. 
  • Pro: Poppy, the youngest sibling, just lit up the page. She had such a precious, youthful exuberance, and she was in a league all her own. I just imagine fast forwarding 10 years to where she is an "it" girl, because she is finally appreciated for her off-the-norm tastes. 
  • Con: This story features those not present YA parents, that I am not a fan of. 
  • Pro: BUT, I was glad with the way things played out, because we did get evidence that these parents did actually love their children. I was really proud of some of the decisions they made towards the end, and they were sort of able to redeemed themselves a little.  
  • Pro: I grew up in NYC, but I really need to go there as a tourist, because I want to visit the whisper bench in Central Park. How do I not know about these things?


  • Con: The middle, the actual layover part of this book, was where my feelings became a little muddled. There seemed to be a lot of things going on during the layover portion of the book that did not really move the story forward. I wish the focus had stayed on the feelings between Amos and Flynn and the siblings. 
  • Pro: However, the beginning and ending of this book were great. In fact, the ending was really strong, and it left me completely satisfied.   
  • Pro: I thought the story flowed well. I was a fan of the three POVs, and liked that they were kept short and we constantly flipped from one to the other. The rapid changes kept me in the moment while allowing me to get input from each character. 

Overall: This story was really complicated and so were my feelings about it. There was enough there to keep me reading and wanting to find out what happened next,  but it didn't quite have the impact I was hoping for.


As You Wish
Chelsea Sedoti
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Rating:  3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
In the sandy Mojave Desert, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. But Eldon wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, because in Madison, everyone gets one wish—and that wish always comes true.

Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but Eldon has seen how wishes have broken the people around him. And with the lives of his family and friends in chaos, he’s left with more questions than answers. Can he make their lives better? How can he be happy if the people around him aren’t? And what hope is there for any of them if happiness isn’t an achievable dream? Doubts build, leading Eldon to a more outlandish and scary thought: maybe you can’t wish for happiness…maybe, just maybe, you have to make it for yourself.
I love books with magical realism and was really intrigued by this premise. I was curious to see where Sedoti would go with this idea, and while I was not disappointed, I was not blown away either.
  • Pro: I was immediately pulled in this story. I thought Eldon had a great voice, which was perfect for this story, and I liked being in his head. 
  • Con:  I don't exactly know why, but the middle of the book seemed to drag a little. Maybe the book was too long?
  • Pro: I was really surprised and pleased with the ending. 
  • Pro: This wish was probably the biggest decision Eldon ever had to make, and it was important that he struggled with it, because it was about more than the wish. This was him making a grown up choice and marking that passage from childhood to adulthood. Eldon's immaturity was addressed in many different ways, and I did think that he grew some during the story. He had a long ways to go, but he was slowly making progress.  
  • Pro: Ebba! I adored all the things I learned about Eldon's sister and wished with my whole heart that we could have gotten to know her better. 
  • Pro: The Wish Histories were fabulous! It was an interesting way for us to examine the cause and effect related to other people's wishes. I found these passages very insightful, and they left me really contemplating the saying, "be careful what you wish for". 
  • Pro:I did find myself feeling quite a bit of sympathy towards Eldon, when his life was so negatively impacted by the wishes. He lost his social status, athletic status, and even more due to wishes. I could totally understand his reluctance to embrace his wish.
  • Pro: There are some really touching moments shared between Eldon and his family and friends. 

Overall: I enjoyed being a part of Eldon's journey as he struggled with how to use his wish. This concept was intriguing and left me with a lots of things to consider.


Poison's Cage
Breeana Shields
Series: Poison's Kiss
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
A single kiss could kill. A single secret could save the kingdom.

Iyla and Marinda have killed many men together: Iyla as the seductress, Marinda as the final, poisonous kiss. Now they understand who the real enemy is—the Snake King—and together they can take him down. Both girls have felt as though they were living a lie in the past, so moving into the King's palace and pretending to serve him isn't as difficult as it sounds. But when you're a spy, even secrets between friends are dangerous. And each girl has something—or someone—to lose. Does every secret, every lie, bring them closer to the truth or . . . to a trap?
I was a big fan of Poison's Kiss and was eager to see how the series ended. I was extremely happy with this sequel and almost wish it was not the end.
  • Pro: In my review for Poison's Kiss, I stated that I wanted more of the Iyla-Miranda friendship in this book, and you know what? Shields delivered. I loved getting to the root of their relationship and watching each of them make sacrifices for the other. 
  • Pro: Shields gave us so much more of the folklore in this book. We learn more of the origin story and I found it all quite fascinating. 
  • Pro: We got more of the beautiful writing I admired so much in the first book as we delved further into this world. 
  • Pro: Good things finally happen for Iyla. I don't want to say too much, but the fates finally did her a solid, and I was simply overjoyed that Shields gave Iyla a little happiness. 
  • Pro: So many ends were tied up quite nicely. I am a closure-ho, so you know I was loving all the answers I got, and let me tell you, there were some fantastic reveals. 
  • Pro: This book was much more emotional for me than Poison's Kiss. Some many good, bad, and in-between things happen in this book, and as I was celebrating some amazing beginnings, I was mourning some heartbreaking endings. 
  • Pro: I just want to take this time to give Breeana Shields a standing ovation for that ending. She may have broke my heart, but she more of less put it back together with that conclusion. I am getting chills just thinking about it. 
A round of applause for that ending!!!

Overall: A beautiful, emotional, and satisfying ending, which gave me closure and left me drying some happy tears. 



**I would like to thank the publishers for the advanced copies of these books.









Have you read any of these books?
Let us know in the comments!

22 comments:

  1. As You Wish is on my TBR - I like the concept, and like you, I think it will give me a lot to think about as I'm reading and maybe even after.

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    1. Lots of interesting things to think about in terms of if our wishes became reality.

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed that last book. I've been curious about As You Wish, it's got an interesting idea for sure. It's a shame the book drags a bit though.

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    1. There was no way for me not to have a lot of love in my heart with the ending of Poison's Cage. It was just beautiful! I cannot quite pinpoint what didn't work for me with As You Wish, because there were a lot of things I really liked. It was actually really frustrating review to write, because I was unable to put my finger on it.

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  3. Poison's Cage looks great! I love that the author was able to expand on what was somewhat missing in the first book. Great review! I will need to check out that series.

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    1. I love when characters get a chance to redeem themselves and a strong ending goes a long way with me.

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  4. Poision’s Cage looks like the winner. I totally know what you mean about books dragging in the middle. I keep running into that and wondering is it me??

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    1. I enjoyed the Poison's Kiss duology, and I cannot stop smiling from that ending. My heart! I am pointing a finger at length with As You Wish, but not quite sure what didn't work, because I was fond of many elements of the story.

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  5. Layover is one that I was thinking of, I have to say the cover and premise appealed to me too.

    Poison's Kiss certainly has a distinctive cover! Glad it was good too.

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    1. The best part of Layover was the bond between the siblings and Poppy. She was fantastic!

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  6. I don't know that I will pick up any of these. As You Wish would probably appeal to me the most since I do enjoy magical realism. Glad you enjoyed Poison's Cage as much as you did.

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    1. I liked the magical elements in As You Wish and really appreciated the exploration of wishes and the town's history with how some of them came to be and how it all turned out.

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  7. How have I not heard of any of these books? Normally I know at least one of them that you review. Layover sounds interesting, I like the forbidden romance aspect of it although I do hate absent parents in YA. As You Wish sounds cool, the magical realism is interesting and the idea of making your own happiness is best but I reckon it might not be one for me. Poison's Cage, I remember Poison's Kiss coming out so I definitely think I need to get around to reading that.

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    1. Layover was good, but I feel like it could have been great, because there were these parts that just adored, and the parents do the right thing in the end. As You Wish had some fabulous parts too. I am not sure what was missing for me, but there was something that kept me from going gaga over that book.

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  8. I am happy to hear you enjoyed Layover a bit more than I did. The story's idea was great and I liked Poppy a lot - I was just bothered by the siblings relationship in this story to fully connect with everything and... I don't know, my experience with this book was a bit... mixed, because of that.
    Lovely reviews! :)

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    1. I liked how Flynn and Amos were with Poppy. It was the actual layover in California that didn't quite work for me.

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  9. i'm also drawn to layover because of its amazing cover, but sadly i've heard mixed reviews on it. same with as you wish, people also felt the story dragged and it just doesn't live up to their expectations...

    great review! :)

    Tasya // The Literary Huntress

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    1. Both those book had a lot of potential to be great, and I was entertained enough to finish them, but they could have been fantastic, but weren't. I knew exactly which part of the story went wrong for me in Layover, but I cannot think what could be stripped out in As You Wish to keep it moving along.

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  10. My mom read As You Wish, but she hasn't told me what she thought yet. I'll have to check with her. Poison's Cage sounds really awesome, though!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I just think As You Wish could have been fantastic with a little editing or something. Not sure. I want to know what your mom though. Poison's Cage was a great sequel. I probably bumped it up a half star, because the ending was just that good.

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  11. I think the only one I planned on reading was Poison's Cage, because I did enjoy the first one. I was sucked into the idea and cover of Layover, too, but then I saw meh reviews and it probably isn't even a "me" book, so. I also liked the idea of As You Wish but I'm also nervous because I reaallllyy hated the author's first book haha. Great reviews!!

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    1. I really thought Poison's Cage was a great sequel, and like I said, there is something in the middle of Layover that keeps it from being great. I loved the beginning and the end, but the middle didn't quite work for me.

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