It's Not Summer Wtihout You (Summer #2) by Jenny Han

Synopsis: Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

Title: It's Not Summer Without You
Series: Summer #2
Genre: Romance, Beach Read, Contemporary, YA
Pages: 275
Ages: 12-17
Date I Finished: July 10th, 2013
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
My Word: SUMMERLICIOUS, #TEAMJEREMIAH

Review

Seeing that I haven't gone to the beach yet this summer, (that's too long for me :O) I am starting to have vivid dreams of sand in my toes and water rushing through my ears.

I'm going through beach withdraw :O.

I TOTALLY relate to this book though because my grandma just sold the beach house I've been to ever since I was born last year, and last summer was the first summer I've had without going there :'(. That is the reason I added .5 stars to the rating haha :).

Anyway, this book totally brought all my beach memories back. I've always wanted that 'Summer Story' to share with my friends once school started again, yet that seems impossible because my family is kinda a little overprotective of where I go in the summer. LOL

OK I'm getting off track here. It's Not Summer Without You was definitely more depressing than the first book. It kind of made me super sad when I was supposed to be all happy this summer. Any book that made me cry will get at least 3 stars by me, and this book did the job. Everything was so sad; all except the ending.

I actually think this book would've got a better rating if I didn't compare it to the first book so much. The first book was definitely better with all the romance and twists. Or maybe it was because I read this book in 4 continuing hours and I didn't digest each chapter enough haha! I'm BORED.

This book just gave a reality check to all of the characters. :(

CHARACTERS... I love who Belly picks in the end, but I just wish she wouldn't run away all the time. Like when she said "I don't hate you" then she runs away to the beach. Aside from that, though, she's a good main character, and I envy her for talking to boys that easily haha.
Now Conrad. He's unpredictable, and he totally hides his emotions which makes me like him and not like him at the same time.
Jeremiah: I love his funny, uplifting personality, and I'd totally want him as a best guy friend.
WHY WASN'T CAM IN THIS BOOK? I kind of liked him, and I was kind of curious where he went haha!
AND I wish Steven were at the summer house too with them because I liked him :(.

Anyway, the plot was very depressing obviously, and, like I said, I cried a lot during it. But, there was just something missing. I feel like there could've been a little more action throughout the story. (Maybe I'm just a sci-fi romancy freak LOL)

I already have the third book in my hand, and I'm positive it will be better than the second! Let's hope...

★★★.5

Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis

Synopsis: "Fifteen-year old Vinnie isn't having a good year. He's recovering from the worst case of galloping acne his dermatologist's ever seen. His girl moved to California without even saying good-bye. And the ink on his parents divorce papers is barely dry, when his mom announces that they're moving from Queens to Long Island.

The silver lining in all this is that they move next door to Patsy—everyone's dream girl. Not that she'd ever notice him. But when Vinnie calls Patsy one night, it leads to a chain of anonymous midnight conversations. Under the cover of darkness, Vinnie becomes Vincenzo, Patsy's mystery caller, and the two share a side of themselves they would never reveal in daylight and develop a surprisingly real connection (despite the lies it's built on). As Vinnie gets to know Patsy in real life though, it becomes clear both identities can't survive and he'll have to find a way to hangup the phone and step into the daylight. Fraught with complications and crackling with witty dialogue, and all the angst and electricity that comes with always being just a phone wire away from the one you want, acclaimed author Audrey Couloumbis's YA debut is a smooth-talking Cyrano meets Saturday Night Fever and tells a quirky, flirty, and smart story that will appeal to fans of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Frank Portman's King Dork, Natalie Standiford's How to Say Goodbye in Robot, and John Green's An Abundance of Katherines. It's not exactly a love story . . . but it's pretty close."

Title: Not Exactly a Love Story
Series: None
Genre: "Romance I guess" Fiction
Pages: 288
Ages: 12-16
Date I Finished: March 20th, 2013
My Rating: 3 Stars
My Word: BOOOORRRINNGGGG haha...jk....actuallyitwasboringshhhdon'ttell

 AWKWARD MOMENT WHEN THE LAST POST WAS POSTED IN NOVEMBER. :/ Sorry guys I've had SO MUCH homework, and now it's spring break so hopefully that means more book reviews!

Review:

The only books that I give five stars to have at least one of the following: -Funny -Suspenseful -Romantic -Or just plain INTERESTING Don't get me wrong, this book was interesting at least, it just wasn't interesting ENOUGH for my five-star standards. I never really liked average life stories. I am more of ascience fiction, romance, or suspensefully person. Even though it may sound like a romance novel; it wasn't really. Ok, so I know the title is NOT EXACTLY a Love Story, bust still, it should have...more The only books that I give five stars to have at least one of the following: -Funny -Suspenseful -Romantic -Or just plain INTERESTING Don't get me wrong, this book was interesting at least, it just wasn't interesting ENOUGH for my five-star standards. I never really liked average life stories. I am more of ascience fiction, romance, or suspensefully person. Even though it may sound like a romance novel; it wasn't really. Ok, so I know the title is NOT EXACTLY a Love Story, bust still, it should have been more interesting and romantic right?! I thought since the words "love story" were in the title, it would have more romance. Not bad of a book, it just took me a while to finish because it was more boring than I hoped. I was in a romancy mood and decided to check this book out of the library. It was the first time I read a book set in 1970s, but it didn't even seem like it was in that time period without looking in the summary saying "in the 1970s". This book was great, but I felt it was too damn slow. It had an awesome background plot. The guy calls every day at midnight and all, but I thought there would be a twist or something. It was all straight forward, which isn't my favorite type of writing. I don't know, I just didn't fall for this book at all. Also, if I received an obscene phone call who's first words are "Wanna fuck?" I would be like "Get the hell away from me and don't call again!" And I would hang up the call and never answer again if he called back to apologize. Luckily, it worked out for Patsy because the person who called wasn't a freaking pedophile. Patsy kind of did that the first few times until she started liking him. So unrealistic!

 Sorry for this boring review, it's been a while :'(.
★★★

This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

Synopsis: It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

Title: This Is Not A Test
Series: None
Genre: Paranormal, Fiction
Pages: 323
Ages: 13+
Date I Finished: August 16, 2012
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Book Format: Paperback (I own)
My Word/Phrase: ZOMBIES.

Review:

"She thrashes under me and then suddenly she stills, seems to focus. She sees me. Her eyes get wide and there's something in them but I don't know what and I try so hard to understand it; I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. Tears spill over my cheek and drip onto hers. The look in her eyes fades. She digs her hands into the sleeves of my shirt and rinds her teeth together. Her gaze flickers around the room as she tries to figure out a way she can be free from me, always. Even though she knows I'll die without her.
But maybe that's how it's supposed to be.
I drive the crowbar into her face." (307)

One word: Zombies.
Two words: One school.
Three words: Try to survive.

Here's a shortened summary if the book: Surviving. Zombies. Lots of death.

Review: First off, SO many people died. It was sickening to think of this story coming to LIFE. Every time someone died, it broke a little piece of my heart. But, the people who survived, I just KNEW would survive and I'm happy they didn't die at least. I love romance so I'm also happy Summers put a little in the story.

Secondly, SUSPENSE. The first 50 pages reminded me of the movie The Breakfast Club, but instead of the teens trying to escape the school, they're trying to keep zombies from coming in. Also, instead of Saturday detention they are trying to hide from the zombie apocalypse. Once they left the school it was all SUSPENSE. I couldn't put the book down. And OMG the characters were AMAZING. I loved Rhys from the beginning okay. ;) I loved the difference between all characters and I loved the whole zombie-stuck-in-a-school idea. I especially liked Mr. Baxter's part in the story aha. :)
★★★★1/2