The Upside of Unrequited
Author: Becky Albertalli
Published: April 11, 2017
336 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 24-31, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.
Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.
There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?
Jessica’s Review:
Please Note: To shorten the review instead of saying the entire titles throughout the review, I have shortened them to one word:
Upside- The Upside of Unrequited
Simon- Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Leah- Leah on the Offbeat
Upside is not part of the ‘Simon’ series, but it is in the same universe as Molly is Abby’s cousin. I listened to the audio of Upside after listening to Simon and Leah.
I liked Molly; she is what Leah could have been. Also being a ‘fat girl’, Molly has had many crushes (26 exactly), but nothing ever came about them. Then suddenly two guys come into the picture: One Molly meets via work and the other via her friends. I know who I was rooting for Molly to end up with by the end.
I enjoyed how Upside was connected to the other books through Abby; She and Simon even make some appearances throughout the novel! I did not like the narrator’s portrayal of Abby: she made Abby seem whiny with the way she narrated Abby’s voice. I enjoyed the narration of Abby’s voice much more in Simon.
I really liked Molly’s moms and enjoyed hearing from them; they are just as important to the story as Molly is.
As with the other two novels, Upside has foul language including the ‘f’ word. The language is not as extreme as it was in Leah. Of course, Of course, this series is about teen drama so be prepared for lots of it; if that’s not your thing it may be disappointed.
I enjoyed reading these three books, Simon is my favorite. If you read and enjoyed Simon, give Upside a read. Becky Albertalli: Please write more books with these teens! I really enjoyed them over the course of the three novels!.
The Upside of Unrequited is recommended.
Book Birthday Blitz: The Secret to Falling in Love
Today I am part of the Book Birthday Blitz for The Secret to Falling in Love by Victoria Cooke. Today is this book’s birthday! This is one I really enjoyed. And a bonus for those of you in the UK: There is a giveaway going on!! Lucky you!
Book Description:
Lifestyle journalist and thirty-something singleton Melissa hashtags, insta’s and snapchats her supposedly fabulous life on every social media platform there is.
That is until she wakes up on her birthday, another year older and still alone, wondering if for all her internet dates, love really can be found online? The challenge: go technology free for a whole month!
Forced to confront the reality of her life without its perfect filters, Melissa knows she needs to make some changes. But when she bumps into not one, but two gorgeous men, without the use of an app, she believes there could be hope for love offline.
If only there was a way to choose the right guy for her…
Author: Victoria Cooke
Published: February 9, 2017
198 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 17-23, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
This was a fun to read chick lit novel! In this day of social media, we are attached to our phones 24-7 and more caught up in it than real life. We miss out on the beautiful everyday things. Now, what would we do if all of a sudden we can’t access ANY social media, internet, and apps? Melissa experiences this not by choice, it’s for her job. Then she meets Scott AND Joseph without the help of an app or social media. Is either one of these men for her? I know who I was rooting for! And there is a little bit of a twist that happens.
This is a very quick read under 200 pages and worth it! The novel gives a great message and proves a point about social media: How much of real life are we missing out on in favor of something that we hold in our hands? All I can say is this: Put the phone down and pick up this novel!
Buy The Secret to Falling in Love here
About the Author:
Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.
Contact Victoria:
Twitter @victoriacooke10
Instagram
**UK ONLY GIVEAWAY**
Win an ARC of The Secret to Falling in Love and a box of Belgian Truffles
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
[Top]Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: August 28, 2017
364 pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Daughter of immortals.
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.
Daughter of death.
Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Together.
Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
Kim’s Review:
I was so afraid to read this book! I love Wonder Woman and I love Leigh Bardugo so what happens if I don’t like this book?? But I worried for no reason, because I loved it. Bardugo captured the spirit of Wonder Woman perfectly! I saw Gal Gadot acting out every page in my head! Themyscira sounds like paradise and I’d like to live there. The Amazons are badass and brilliant.
Diana is the perfect combination of innocent and tough. Alia and her friends so accurately embody today’s youth, just without being insufferable. The story was well thought out and believable. I was completely satisfied with the ending; all strings were tied and everything made sense. My only issue with this book was the little political jabs that Bardugo put in. I’m not gonna get into how I hate politics in fiction, y’all have heard me complain before. I also acknowledge that they were indeed little and just because my views don’t align with Bardugo’s, they annoyed me more. But I still loved this book so much. It stuck in my brain and I had a great time contemplating and chewing on it. I would absolutely recommend this book to pretty much everybody! I cant wait to read more of the DC Icon series!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
