Cherry by Lindsey Rosin

– SPOILER FREE REVIEW –

Title: Cherry
Author: Lindsey Rosin
Genre: YA, Romance
Release date: August 16th, 2016

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Description:

In this honest, frank, and funny debut novel, four best friends make a pact during their senior year of high school to lose their virginities—and end up finding friendship, love, and self-discovery along the way.

To be honest, the sex pact wasn’t always part of the plan.

Layla started it. She announced it super casually to the rest of the girls between bites of frozen yogurt, as if it was just simply another addition to her massive, ever-evolving To Do List. She is determined to have sex for the first time before the end of high school. Initially, the rest of the crew is scandalized, but, once they all admit to wanting to lose their v-cards too, they embark on a quest to do the deed together… separately.

Layla’s got it in the bag. Her serious boyfriend, Logan, has been asking for months. Alex has already done it. Or so she says. Emma doesn’t know what the fuss is all about, but sure, she’ll give it a shot. And Zoe, well, Zoe can’t even say the o word without bursting into giggles.

Will everything go according to plan? Probably not. But at least the girls have each other every hilarious, heart-warming, cringe-inducing step of the way.


When I was a teenager, I never encountered a YA book that dealt with sex as openly as Cherry does. In fact, some of the ones I read might have included very subtle sexual references, but never actually gave a true look into what cis girls around those ages might be thinking, experiencing, or even feeling about this topic. Cherry does this without fears and with other important themes as backdrop, like graduation and what it means for high school friendships, relationships, moving on, forgiving, and, most importantly, finding themselves. Continue reading “Cherry by Lindsey Rosin”

Book Traveling Thursdays: One of my favorite reads of the year

Every week, Danielle (from Danielle’s Book Blog) and Cátia (from TheGirlWhoReadTooMuch) host a feature called Book Traveling Thursdays on Goodreads. They give you a topic each Thursday and you choose a book that you think fits. Then comes the fun part: a cover showdown! You post the original cover, the cover from your country (which I won’t be doing because the books aren’t published here), and then your favorite and least favorite cover from any edition around the world.

This week’s topic is one of my favorite books of 2016. I chose The Key by Sara Bergmark Elfgren and Mats Strandberg, which is the third book of the Engelsfors trilogy. I read it this year, but it was published in 2013. The series didn’t get a strong start for me, but each book got better and, in the end, I didn’t want to part from the characters! The trilogy deals with a group of very different girls who have to come together as witches and fight evil in a little town in Sweden called Engelsfors. Now, let’s check out the covers!

Continue reading “Book Traveling Thursdays: One of my favorite reads of the year”

Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#7)

Welcome to Diversity Spotlight Thursday, a feature created by Aimal @Bookshelves and Paperbacks to shed light on diverse literature. I’ll be sharing three different books: one that I’ve read, one that I want to read, and an upcoming release. Let’s check them out!


Continue reading “Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#7)”

Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#6)

Welcome to Diversity Spotlight Thursday, a feature created by Aimal @Bookshelves and Paperbacks to shed light on diverse literature. I’ll be sharing three different books: one that I’ve read, one that I want to read, and an upcoming release. For this week, I decided to go with a theme: women of color in space. These books have been written by and about women of color. Let’s check them out!


Continue reading “Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#6)”

Book Traveling Thursdays: By an author from a country I don’t read that often

Every week, Danielle (from Danielle’s Book Blog) and Cátia (from TheGirlWhoReadTooMuch) host a feature called Book Traveling Thursdays on Goodreads. They give you a topic each Thursday and you choose a book that you think fits. Then comes the fun part: a cover showdown! You post the original cover, the cover from your country (which I won’t be doing because the books aren’t published here), and then your favorite and least favorite cover from any edition around the world.

This week’s topic is a book by an author from a country I don’t read that often. I chose Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, as she is from Nigeria (and the book is also set in Nigeria) and I’ve read maybe just a handful of books set there. I’ve really enjoyed learning about the country and its culture, so I definitely want to check some other books from there more often. Now let’s check the covers out!

Continue reading “Book Traveling Thursdays: By an author from a country I don’t read that often”

Review: The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín

– SPOILER FREE REVIEW –

Title: The Call
Author:
Peadar Ó Guilín
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Release date: 30th August, 2016

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Description:

Thousands of years ago, humans banished the Sidhe fairy race to another dimension. The beautiful, terrible Sidhe have stewed in a land of horrors ever since, plotting their revenge . . . and now their day has come.

Fourteen-year-old Nessa lives in a world where every teen will be “Called.” It could come in the middle of the day, it could come deep in the night. But one instant she will be here, and the next she will wake up naked and alone in the Sidhe land. She will be spotted, hunted down, and brutally murdered. And she will be sent back in pieces by the Sidhe to the human world . . . unless she joins the rare few who survive for twenty-four hours and escape unscathed.

Nessa trains with her friends at an academy designed to maximize her chances at survival. But as the days tick by and her classmates go one by one, the threat of her Call lurks ever closer . . . and with it the threat of an even more insidious danger closer to home.


The Call is a pretty grim novel with a unique, twisted and nerve-racking concept that hooked me from page one. It introduces Nessa, a kick-ass main character that can’t walk quite well as the result of contracting polio as a child. Having a disabled character in an action-packed story such as this one is something we hardly see and I really enjoyed how the author did it.

I thought the concept had a lot of potential, but, by being so fast-paced and having so many points of view, there was hardly any time to explore all the themes or characters I would have wanted. Still, it was a very entertaining read that I’ve seen people describing as gruesome and not for the faint of heart, although I didn’t find it that graphic or gory (that might be my seemingly heart of stone talking).

Continue reading “Review: The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín”

Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#5)

Welcome to Diversity Spotlight Thursday, a feature recently created by Aimal @Bookshelves and Paperbacks to shed light on diverse literature. Each week we’ll be sharing three different books: one that I’ve read, one that I want to read, and an upcoming release. Check that link if you want to join us!

Continue reading “Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#5)”

Review: The Key by Sara B. Elfgren & Mats Strandberg

– SPOILER FREE REVIEW –

Title: The Key (The Engelsfors Trilogy #3)
Authors: Sara Bergmark Elfgren & Mats Strandberg
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release date: November, 2013

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Description:

The final installment of the Engelsfors Trilogy—an international sensation with rights sold in 29 countries—The Key combines thrilling action and dark magic with all the passion and drama of teen life. The result is nothing less than explosive.

By the end of the second book, Fire, the remaining Chosen Ones know they are the last defense against the mysterious, demonic forces that have been plaguing Engelsfors.

The Chosen Ones are still coming to terms with their loss when evil strikes again, barely a month after the showdown in the school gym. They have no chance to recover, and no choice but to rally together to try to prevent the apocalypse—even while their personal dramas threaten to tear them apart.

Time is running out for the Chosen Ones to fulfil the prophecy and save the world, but whether they succeed or not, one thing is certain: Everything will change.


– REVIEW FOR THE CIRCLE (#1) AND FIRE (#2) –

A fantastic ending for a great trilogy. The writing, the plot, and the characters all got stronger with each book, resulting in a story that I never wanted to end. Was this book perfect? No, not really. It started of slow, it was probably longer than necessary, and there were unecessary moments here and there, but I was so involved in the plot and the girls’s lives that I didn’t mind. So I’m giving it all 5 stars and know that I’ll carry the characters with me for a long time.

Continue reading “Review: The Key by Sara B. Elfgren & Mats Strandberg”

Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

– SPOILER FREE REVIEW –

Title: Poison Study (Study #1)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Release date: October 1st, 2005

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Description:

Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…


This book was. So. Much. Fun. The perfect start for a fantasy series. It’s fast-paced, with great characters, and with an interesting world that the author brings to life little by little throughout the novel. I can see it becoming one of those comfort books I turn to when others have disappointed me.

Continue reading “Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder”

Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#4)

Welcome to Diversity Spotlight Thursday, a feature recently created by Aimal @Bookshelves and Paperbacks to shed light on diverse literature. Each week we’ll be sharing three different books: one that I’ve read, one that I want to read, and an upcoming release. Check that link if you want to join us!

Continue reading “Diversity Spotlight Thursday (#4)”