Lucky in Love by Kasie West

Lucky in Love

by Kasie West

Source: bought

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

Can’t buy me love… 

Maddie’s not impulsive. She’s all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment—

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie’s life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she’s talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun…until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now Maddie isn’t sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn’t seem aware of Maddie’s big news. And, for some reason, she doesn’t want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

****

How can I not love a Kasie West book if she’s the queen of cute contemporary romances. I read Lucky in Love in one of those “sad days” and it amazed me how her books always make me feel better.

Even though her main characters are starting to feel too similar for me (I know, I’m going to hell for saying this), Kasie West brings to life Seth, one of the cutest love interest I’ve seen.

I loved Maddie and Seth’s relationship and how cute they were together and while I felt like Maddie was a little dramatic and sometimes even did not deserve Seth, I still loved how everything turned out to be.

You see, this book is about money and money is almost always a hard topic, because not everyone feels the same. So, half of the book I was really angry with Maddie decisions, they felt too childish and self centered, and sometimes I kept thinking it was unrealistic, but I can’t know for sure, because it obviously never happened to me (you know, to be millionaire). The other half, I kept feeling bad for her and I just wanted her to be happy.

While money stuff wasn’t my favorite part to read, the romance was EVERYTHING, I still haven’t found any other author that makes fall in love with a romance as much as Kasie West does. I want all her couples to live happily ever after.

Overall, I enjoyed Lucky in Love, it didn’t disappoint at all, and now I can’t wait to read what’s next from her! 

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What's New? Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

 

OMG! A new Kasie West book and I didn't know about it! Forgive me a little, but I just saw the cover and I'm in shock. I have NEVER heard about this book before and now I want it. Here and Now, Please and Thank you! 
Look at this beauty!

Expected publication:  March 27th 2018 by HarperTeen

 

 

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

This is the first in a set of three standalone books with crossover characters. 

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Waiting on Wednesday: Lucky In Love by Kasie West

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine

 What I'm waiting for...

 

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Maddie doesn't believe in luck. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment --

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love.  

*****

Why am I waiting on this book? 

IT'S KASIE WEST!!!!! So far the only Kasie West book I haven't loved to pieces is By Your Side... but I still liked it. So, I'm not even afraid to read this book. It sounds like the lovely and cute love stories she writes. Can't wait! 

 

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ARC Review: By Your Side by Kasie West

By Your Side

by Kasie West

My rating: 3 stars

Source: eARC provided for review, thank you!

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

***

I’m a huge fan of Kasie West. I’ve loved all of her books, ALL OF THEM. That’s why when I got the chance to read By Your Side I did it right away.

Sadly, I didn’t love this book as much as the previous ones. I liked it, yes, because it’s a Kasie West book and Kasie West characters. They were cute, the dialogues were fun and the family dynamic was lovely.

But… aside from the other Kasie West books I felt like By Your Side was a little cliché.

For starters, I was really disappointed that this wasn’t a bookish romance. I know this is my fault because I assumed it was, since Autumn and Dax were trapped in a library. But most of the time they were there, they only talked, watched TV… I don’t remember if they did more than that. But no love for those poor books.

I liked Autumn and Dax, they were good characters and I think their struggles were realistic and well portrayed (I don’t know for real, I just can compare with other books I’ve read).

My problem, however, was not with the characters. I don’t know how to explain it, I just didn’t feel the emotional connection I felt when I read her other books.

I didn’t like the cliché of the rich girl and the loner bad boy. I didn’t like Autumn friends, or the almost-love-triangle. And to be honest, I found it a little boring.

Now I have to say that I read P.S. I Like You as soon as I finished By Your Side. I LOVED P.S. I Like You, I loved the cute and fun plot and every one of the characters. Sadly I can’t say the same about By Your Side.

I’m not saying this book is bad, because it isn’t. It just wasn’t for me.  If you love Kasie West and her books you’re probably going to love this one.

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Top Ten of 2016: Best Contemporaries of 2016

Hello, lovelies! It's already the third day of Top Ten of 2016. I picked "BEST CONTEMPORARY BOOKS" for today since most of the books I read this year were contemporaries.
I have to say that I tag books as contemporary even if they are thrillers or books about mental issues. I'm never sure if that's right, but it's easier for me.
Anyway, these are my fave contemporary books of 2016, again, by reading date.


1. Girl Against The Universe by Paula Stokes.
2. Mosquitoland by David Arnold

  

3. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

4. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (so-not contemporary, I know)

  

5. Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff

6. You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

     

7. When We Collided by Emery Lord

8. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

    

9. Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glassgow

10. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

    

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Waiting on Wednesday: By Your Side by Kasie West

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine

 What I'm waiting for...

 

Add to Goodreads

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

*****

Why am I waiting on this book? It's Kasie West!!!!! I LOVE her contemporaries. I still need to read PS I Like You, but I'm sure I'll love it, too, because I've loved all her books so far. Oh my, is it 2017 yet?

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The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West

The Fill-in Boyfriend

Author: Kasie West

My Rating: 4 stars

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship. 

****

I’ve always been a huge fan of Kasie West, specially her contemporary books.

I adore The Distance Between Us. It’s probably my favorite contemporary ever! That’s why I was so excited to finally read The Fill-in Boyfriend. I knew I’d find all those things I love about her writing there.

And I wasn’t wrong.

I love Kasie West’s dialogues. I think her characters are always charismatic and smart. And as I started reading The Fill-in Boyfriend I couldn’t help but smile like a little girl when the main characters meet each other.

The characters in this book were well created and real. I loved the dynamics between them even when I knew something was wrong. 

I loved to read how Gia grew throughout the story. Though, I think the change was too fast and sudden.

Anyway, that didn’t make me like the book less.

Also, Kasie West writes the cutest book boyfriends ever! I adored the easy relationship between Gia and “the boy.” Since I didn’t read the summary before I started to read it, I didn’t know what his name was, and I enjoyed so much trying to guess it along with Gia.

The only problem I had with The Fill-in Boyfriend was the ending. It felt rushed to me, and it didn’t give me the feeling of a real closure.

However, I did enjoy The Fill-in Boyfriend and I can’t wait to read more Kasie West books! 

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What's new? The Fill-in Boyfriend & Every Last Word

 

 I'm a huge fan of Kasie West! she's my favorite contemporary writer right now, so when I read about her new book I added it to my TBR pile right away!
That day, I discovered as well the new book by Tamara Ireland Stone. It sounds really unique and great. Can't wait to read them!

THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND

Expected publication: May 5th 2015 by HarperTeen

 

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

EVERY LAST WORD

Expected publication: June 16th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion

If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be smiling.

Samantha McCallister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can’t turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn’t help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she’d be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam’s weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet’s Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more “normal” than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

 

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