Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

Nothing in life ever came easy to Liberty Jones.

At fourteen she and her mother move (her father died when she was a small girl) to the small town of Welcome, Texas; to live at a trailer park where her life changes forever. There she meets the one boy that changes everything: Hardy Cates. After their first meeting, Liberty falls in love with him even though he does everything to keep a small buy crucial distance between them. Hardy wants to go places and he knows that if he's with Liberty neither of them will ever go far from their trailer park life.

Eventually, Hardy walks out of Liberty's life, taking a piece of her heart with him and Liberty finds herself in the position of raising her little sister all by her self. She makes the best out of it, not in that charming, optimistic way that sometimes gets annoying, but in a real, down to earth manner: knowing it was going to be hard as hell but willing to fight till the end.

Life takes her to Houston, to work at an upscale salon where she meets old tycoon Churchill Travis who takes and interest on her. Everyone thinks he's her Sugar Daddy, specially after she quits her job in the salon and goes to work for him. Then she meets Churchill's oldest son: Gage. Handsome, smart, rich Gage... who doesn't like her at all... or does he?

To top it all off, after years of absence, Hardy is back. He made something out of himself and he wants Liberty back.

Who will she chose?

Well, you're going to have to read to find out. I can only say that this is not a typical romance novel, and it certainly isn't a classic Cinderella story where the rich guy sweeps the girl off her feet and makes everything all right. Liberty fights for herself, even if she does get a bit of help.

I would say that, more about romance, Sugar Daddy is about Liberty's life and the choices she makes.

And it will have you rooting for her every step of the way.

Grade:
1/2

Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks

First day of SATs prep, Daisy, Max, Leo and Jane walk out for different reasons at Daisy's instigation, and they end up hanging out and forming their own study group. They all go to the same super competitive school, but aren't exactly friends with each other.

Daisy is a jock who needs to bring her SATs up to get financial aid for college and she's known for dating jerks and playing basketball; Max is Daisy's best friend, he did well enough on his PSATs but his Dad thinks he can do better; Leo WANTS IT and he's willing to do all sorts of studying to get The Top Grade; Jane is the pretty daughter of a famous actress for whom everything should be easy but its not.

Through the craziness of junior year these four people bond, in a weird way, they all hate the SATs but know there is no way out. They prep, they study, they obsess together. Then The Day comes and they all present their SATs... all good, for a moment, then one of the smart seniors of their school confesses someone in the junior class paid her to take the test in their stead.

Who was it?

Everyone has a suspect, more than one has a motive... but Who was it?

Well, I'm not going to tell you, sorry, you'll have to read to find out.

Solid book, not my favorite Mariah Fredericks.

Grade:

The True Meaning of Cleavage by Mariah Fredericks

"Cool is Cool and Geek is Geek and at Eldridge the two definitely Do Not Mix"

Jess and Sari have been friends forever, bonding over the fact that they are the only two sane people at their school, Eldridge Alternative. They could not be more different but love each other anyway.

On the verge of their first year as high schoolers, Sari is excited, she thinks something is finally going to happen; Jess doesn't expect much out of freshman year, she just hopes to survive it and live to tell the tale. And both things end up happening though maybe not in the way the girls expected.

Something did happen to Sari: David Cole, hottest senior around. Sari not only likes him, she falls madly, psycho in love with him, and mayhem ensues there after, changing things forever. Jess, on the other hand, finds her self struggling to cope with it all.

The True Meaning of Cleavage is told from Jess point of view and her voice is fresh and honest, she is honest with herself even when it hurts. I liked that about her. I loved that she's captures the anguish and craziness that comes with being fourteen and changing, yet she's not whiny or over the top.

And most of all, this book is about how, when you're growing up, somethings you lose and it's better... and how somethings you keep.

Basically, Mariah Fredericks gets it.

Go read this book then share it with someone else. It is that good.

Grade:

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania the most ugly secrets hide behind the most beautiful faces.

That's the premise of Sara Sheppard's Pretty Little Liars (Book 1 of the series, followed by Flawless, Perfect and Unbelievable, soon to be released).

Once there were five best friends: Ali, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer until one day one of them, Ali, vanished taking with her all their secrets, even the ones they didn't tell to each other. Ali was the glue that bound them together; and once Ali was gone, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer drifted a part, each mourning Ali and feeling relieved at the same time.

But the secrets of the past rarely stay there, and now their secrets have come back to haunt them. Secrets only Ali knew and which could destroy their carefully constructed lives.

It all starts with a note, maybe an email or text message... and it goes down hill from there: Spencer covets her sister's new boyfriend and it might not be the first time; Hanna is sick but no one can see beyond her beautiful, perfect image; Emily isn't sure of what she wants or who she wants; and Aria's secret could destroy her family to pieces.

Someone, the mysterious A, knows these secrets and many more... and she's telling.

Welcome to the world of the Pretty Little Liars, once in you won't be able to leave.

This book is carefully constructed and well thought out, it's engaging and intriguing. I couldn't put it down. It sets the series beautifully without leaving you feeling like it was just a set up.

Highly recommend.

Grade:
1/2

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

Young Elaine of Ascolat is surrounded by men, after losing her mother as a child, her father - a soldier in Arthur's army - brought her to the encampment. Now, at sixteen, she's the sole girl among all these men she knows and loves, including her father, brothers, Arthur, Gawain, Tristan and Lancelot... specially Lancelot.

Song of the Sparrow picks up Elaine's life at a crucial time, Arthur has just been selected to lead the Britons against the Saxons, and a new girl, Gwynivere, arrives at the camp to become Arthur's bride. At first Elaine is thrilled, thinking she's finally getting a girl-friend but it's not long before Elaine and Gwynivere clash. Tensions run high in the encampment and a Saxon invasion is imminent.

Romance, danger and even a little bit of adventure, you'll find all in this book.

I had never picked up a verse novel before, but this one was just brilliant adding pace and lyricism to a story that has everything we have always loved about Arthurian Legends and so much more.

Lisa Ann Sandell takes these women - Elaine, Gwynivere, Morgan - and treats them fairly, making them real and strong as they fall in and out of love and find happiness. She also does a fair portrayal of the men - Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan - which makes the story twice as good.

There are no dumb damsels in distress or silly men with hero complex in this book.

Grade:

Welcome To Book Blogging

AnimeGirl is here to blog! Yay!
Well, mostly I'm here to talk about books, so that's what I'm going to do.

Fell free to disagree or agree, in any case let me know.

Any book suggestion is welcome.