Review: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Published: September 20, 2016

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Format: audiobook via Overdrive

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.

Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.

As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

My Thoughts

I didn’t know exactly what to expect from this book but I really liked it. We meet Alex who is trying to deal with her sister’s death and we see what it has done to her family. From the beginning we know that she is a killer, really she is she killed her sister’s killer. We also know that she doesn’t have any remorse, she is simply a cold-hearted killer and she makes no excuses for it.

We see her open herself up to make friends and while she tries to fit in she knows that darkness she has will never go away. She becomes friends with PeeKay and she even falls for Jack but she can't suppress all that anger and she knows those feelings aren’t normal. Meanwhile, Jack is falling for Alex but feels bad because he knows something about the night her sister died and is scared to tell her knowing she may never forgive him. As they get closer Alex wants to be honest with Jack and tell him her secrets but knows if she confesses she will lose him forever. What is she to do?

I found this read dark and at times very uncomfortable to read but I get it. I get that Alex has issues and that it has more to do than just her sister's death. These issues come from deep within her and she has to deal with them. This novel was a good read even though it deals with dark issues but I liked how they were dealt with and its one read that you should take a chance on.

Review: Love & Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen

Love & Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen

Published: January 2, 2018

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

A twenty-four-hour romance about two teens who meet—and perhaps change their minds about love—on a train ride to Upstate New York in the middle of a snowstorm

One train ride. Two strangers.

Noah is a hopeless romantic. He’s heading back home for one last chance with his first love, whom he broke up with when he went off to college.

Ammy doesn’t believe in true love—her parents being prime examples. She’s escaping from a mom who can’t take care of her to a dad who may not even want her. That is, until one winter night when Noah and Ammy find themselves in the same Amtrak car heading to Upstate New York.

After a train-wreck first encounter between the two of them, the Amtrak train suddenly breaks down due to a snowstorm. Desperate to make it to their destinations, Noah and Ammy have no other option but to travel together. What starts off as a minor detour turns into the whirlwind journey of a lifetime, and over the course of the night, they fall in love. But come morning their adventure takes an unexpected turn for the worst. Can one night can really change how they feel about love...and the course of their lives forever?

My Thoughts

Love and Other Train Wrecks is about two strangers who meet by chance on a train while both are trying to get to other people. Ammy is trying to make it to her father’s commitment ceremony after he left Ammy’s mom for a yoga instructor. Noah is trying to make it to his ex-girlfriend in hopes of winning her back.

After hours of things going wrong, Ammy and Noah decide to leave the train in hopes of making it to their destinations by other means. They slowly get to know each other and well not by surprise they, of course, start to like each other. Noah was the first to fall since Ammy has issues of letting her feeling go. She definitely has walls around her and is less likely to just let go and follow her heart, especially after a secret is revealed and definitely changes what might be a great relationship.

I did like this read even though I had my issues with Ammy. I get that she has trust issues but I just wanted her to live it up a little and just enjoy things for once. Not everything has to mean something sometimes its just fun to live in the moment, plus I honestly just found her a little annoying at times. This was a quick and easy YA read and one that was a middle of the road read for me.

Late to The Game [2]: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Late to the Game is a little feature I’ve been doing that focuses on books that seems like everyone’s read but me. This one features…

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Published: February 28, 2012  

Format: Kindle purchased

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Rating: 4/5

Seeing how it seems like everyone has read Divergent but me I won’t do this as a review so much but just some rambling about my thoughts on it.

I must admit I was a tad apprehensive when it came to reading this. I was back and forth if I wanted to start another series. Was I going to like it and feel as crazy about it as so many others seemed to be? Most importantly did I really want to invest the time to read that huge of a book? lol Well I went for it and what can I say I loved it!

I loved how Tris wasn’t your typical heroine. She just represents your average girl who was just trying to find her way and find out who she was. In the process she finds out she is more powerful then she could ever imagine. What wouldn’t be a great read without a little romance? Although I love the other parts a little more I love the interaction between her and Four.

Now seeing how the movie comes out today I must admit when I heard it was becoming a movie that made me want to read the book more. I know book to movie adaptations can be god awful! So when I first heard about the actors cast I was a bit scared. Though I like Shailene Woodley I didn’t see her as Tris. However when I finally saw the previews I totally bought it, I can’t wait to see it! The trailer looks so cool and very true to the book... dare I say it even looks better than the Hunger Games?? *GASPS* I know it’s not fair to compare the two they are totally different so I won’t.

So to wrap it up… I’m a Divergent believer now. I got sucked in once again by an amazing story and characters that leap off the page and take you on a ride you will never forget. Now I will admit I haven’t read the complete series…yet…but I will…if anything the movies put pressure for me to finish.

Do you have any wildly popular books you can suggest that I haven’t read it?