I love Dahlia Adler, yadda yadda yadda, so yeah, I needed to read Out on Good Behavior the instant it was available to me. And man. This does i4 stars
I love Dahlia Adler, yadda yadda yadda, so yeah, I needed to read Out on Good Behavior the instant it was available to me. And man. This does it. The Radleigh University series is one of the best and most solid new adult series out there. Consider this my vehement recommendation to anyone who has ever expressed any interest in new adult books.
Whereas the previous books in the series have been a combination of romance and familial drama, Out on Good Behavior is pretty much pure romance - and not that drama-filled either. This would be the fluffy and bantery book of the series. If you like banter like I do, you need to meet Frankie, because she is hilarious and a delight. Her wit is just absolutely top notch, and the one-liners and puns are exactly the kind of grade A humor I expect from Dahlia. So yeah, from the very first page I adored her voice and couldn't wait for her romance.
If you read Right of First Refusal, you saw Frankie and Samara meet for the first time. And there were already crazy sparks and everything there, but just wait, because it gets so much hotter. First off, props for having a F/F new adult romance, because I really don't see them often enough. But damn, these two girls are pure magic together. I shipped it since those few scenes in RoFR, but I liked how they still had a good fight for their relationship. Frankie is not one to ever go on a date - she's a pure hook up kind of girl. And Samara isn't. She's still in the closet, to be honest, and she'd only give that up for a good reason. They have to really grow towards each other and discover what it means to be dating - monogamously - in and out of the public eye. But the result is that they have way too many cute moments to count. And then, well, there's plenty of hot moments too.
Shout out to Samara as well, for being a representation of basically all of us. Samara is a young adult reader. For people in the book blogging community, you'll know Dahlia as one of the biggest advocates of YA books, and Samara could easily fit into our circle. She loves to read. She'd rather read than go out sometimes - and she's pretty unapologetic about that fact. And she's occasionally prone to fangirl outbursts, because oh my god that book gave her a book hangover and she's basically dying. This girl is so adorable. If you are into YA, you should also read this book because Dahlia's hidden hints to actual YA books in there, which is like the most exciting scavenger hunt.
Obviously, there still has to be a bit of drama, because no book is complete without a story arc. I wouldn't say that this book is big on character growth but arguably Frankie discovers a lot about herself and relationships. She starts off basically not really believing in love and blanching at her best friends who are now all "committed" (*shudder*) but eventually realizes that if it's to the right person, then that is a path to an even greater happiness. Frankie and Sam are great together. She just need some time to figure that out. As in most cases, this drama could have been avoided if the two just communicated a little better, but... well. It's a new adult book. You can't have it all.
What you can have, though, is heaps and heaps of diversity. I loved seeing Frankie - who is pansexual - navigate through the LGBT community at Radleigh. You see characters of all sexualities and gender identities from different ethnic backgrounds. This tapestry is rich AF. And there are good discussions about some of the terminology so if you, like me, aren't always aware of what certain terms mean or how people want the world to see them, it can be a good eye-opener. Above all, it's written and incorporated into the story with so much respect and positivity that it just makes me happy.
But my favorite part of all of the books in this series still has to be the friendship between Frankie, Lizzie, and Cait. They know and understand each other so well. They support each other through everything, even giving confrontational reality checks when needed. They are obviously friends for life, and I am just so jealous. And they have some of the best banter ever, as illustrated by my favorite quote.
"Expecting someone?" I tease, as if Connor's not here just about every night she isn't at his grad dorm. "Not if I don't finish my homework," she says, picking the pen back up and tapping the course packet with it. "Even when he's not my teacher, Connor's a pain in my ass." "They make lube for that, you know." "Francesca?" "Yes?" "Get out." ARC of Out on Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler
I'm not quite sure what it says about me that that quote made me laugh out loud for a good five minutes... maybe that I have the maturity of a 12 year old? But okay. I can live with that.
Summing Up:
Out on Good Behavior is delightful. I am all for hot girls kissing (and more than kissing) and being able to get a happy ending without the typical drama of coming out of the closet, losing friends and family, facing bullying, or what have you. No, Frankie and Sam are pure magic together, and the people around them recognize that and cheered them on. There was so much banter and so many cute moments that this book just had me smiling all over the place. If you haven't read the Radleigh University series yet, I honestly don't know what's wrong with you.
GIF it to me straight gay AF!
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Recommended To:
New adult readers and fans of F/F romance.
*An electronic advance review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review....more
As awesome as Dahlia is as a person and a Twitter presence, it makes me so happy to confidently say that I don't think she can write a book I w4 stars
As awesome as Dahlia is as a person and a Twitter presence, it makes me so happy to confidently say that I don't think she can write a book I wouldn't like. With Just Visiting as a fourth success in my book, I am a very happy bookworm indeed. This college visit road trip novel, with its excellent focus on friendship, put a definite smile on my face.
Just Visiting tells the adventures of Reagan and Victoria - two best friends in their last year of high school, going out on college visits, desperate to get out of their way-too-small town. It's a story about friendship, family, romance, and finding (and earning) your independence. In addition, there's so much diversity that there will be something for everyone to relate to (or be enlightened by) - social class, disabilities, race, it's basically all there. I especially loved seeing Victoria's interactions with her deaf mother. Loved that her family felt so normal!
Now, I should say upfront that this book isn't all rainbows and butterflies and happy times. Reagan has been dealt a pretty shitty hand in life, and some of the stuff she has to go through made me legit so uncomfortable and tense. Her family situation is obviously not the best. Her mother is a total nightmare. The betrayal of her ex-boyfriend turned out to be about 20 million times worse than I suspected it would be and almost made me sick to my stomach. But all that just served to make me feel involved in her life and connected to her. I was right there with her, hoping for her to break free and find happiness, because goddammit she deserves it. Her character is so fleshed out and real that even though she comes from a totally different walk of life than me, I felt that connection anyway. Her distant behavior and negativity might ward off some readers, but it's easy to see the reasons for it.
Luckily, on their adventures, Reagan meets a certain guy who manages to bring some lightness and happiness into her world. Dave is super geeky, but completely lovable. They quickly fall into an easy banter and there's an undeniable attraction between them. I very quickly started bouncing up and down, chanting for a kiss, but I was denied for quite some time. They were just so cute together! Then, you know, there had to be a modicum of drama because Reagan is not uncomplicated. And the result was that I shipped it a bit... less. The drama is real, and even a good guy like Dave logically would get pissed, but I dunno. My happy feels fizzled out a little.
Victoria's almost the polar opposite to Reagan. She has a happy family, she has a clear goal in life (fashion designing), and her general disposition is a positive one. She's vivacious and her voice is fierce, and she definitely helps to balance out Reagan. And though it seems like compared to her biffle, Victoria has everything figured out, she's still finding herself this year too - in life and in love. I found it a bit harder to connect to Victoria, to be honest, because of her sheer extroverted nature and her casual hook ups (which is fine, but not something I can personally identify with). Incidentally, she does get a sweet ship in the end, but not one that gave me a billion feels.
However, the focus of this book is on friendship, and that was excellent. I mean, I appreciate romantic feels whenever I can get them, but the fact that neither of these ships were my top ships of all time did not really take away from the brilliance of the book. The friendship and support between Victoria and Reagan is truly beautiful. It isn't uncomplicated, as they keep quite a few more secrets from each other than you would expect from best friends, but they both invest time, effort, and emotion into the relationship. That's freaking beautiful to see.
The other thing that I will praise endlessly about this book is the absolute realism. The college visits were so nostalgic to me - it felt like I was walking across campuses again myself. The worries about majors and finding the right place for you were also extremely relatable. It's so easy for communities to latch onto one walk of life as being the right one - the expected one - for everyone, and I love that Just Visiting makes it clear how many options are out there.
Now the fact that this book didn't get a perfect rating from me is not something that I can pin down to a concrete reason. While I love the focus on friendship - one that is so healthy and positive - and I feel like the book makes some great points about growing up, it didn't fully resonate with my heart. It might be because of how the romance kind of fizzled out towards the end for me, or it might be because the ending skipped over what I felt would be crucial moments, decisions, and conversations between Reagan and Victoria. But I feel like Just Visiting is a great, entertaining read anyway - and one important to the YA readersphere: we need more positive female friendships like this one.
Summing Up:
I'm so glad that Just Visiting exists to counteract the very many toxic friendships we see in YA. It doesn't need to be like that. Reagan and Victoria are two flawed, real characters, fighting for freedom, and forever finding comfort and support in each other. These college visit trips were so true to life - so much so that I almost want to push it into the hands of every high school senior. Yeah I didn't get all the romantic feels I wanted, but there was happiness, banter, and a touch of spice. Add in all the diversity, and this is a book I would heartily recommend.
*An electronic advance review copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review....more
Let me start by being completely upfront with you guys. I first read this book last year as a beta readeBeta read: August 2015 Reread: July 2016
4 stars
Let me start by being completely upfront with you guys. I first read this book last year as a beta reader, and I am now writing my review after having read an advance review copy, so I'm familiar with this story and have seen it develop over time. Paula Stokes is a dear friend. But my blog is nothing if not honest, and I am not lying when I say that this book blew me away.
I'm not a typical mystery/thriller reader, and a simple whodunnit is not something that attracts me. But Vicarious is definitely different. I would still describe it as a mystery/thriller, but there's a strong sci-fi action-packed element and a heartbreaking emotional element to the point where I think this book is suitable for a broad category of young adult readers.
Perhaps my favorite part of it is the sci-fi aspect. I love the ViSE technology. It's new and different, and in that sense, it's a sci-fi element that takes this story into our near future - but it definitely doesn't seem that far away considering the rise of virtual reality tech at the moment. I totally see this happening: people recording exciting adventures and activities and others getting to live through those recordings. I had a pretty big geek moment about that, not gonna lie.
And the characters, particularly Winter, are what take this story to the dark and emotional route. Yes, Winter was a victim of human trafficking and was forced to be a sex worker. But please note that that's not what this story is about at all (and parents - you don't need to worry about particularly explicit or R-rated content). This story is about the aftermath - the mental effects and the consequences of living through such traumatic events. Winter definitely suffers from PTSD, but it's also interesting because you see how different people react to the same situation and the same trauma. Winter is scared of men, crowded places, and intimacy. She learns a variety of martial arts and self-defense techniques, and she doesn't let anyone get really close to her. Meanwhile, her sister is sexually active with multiple partners because that lets her feel like she's back in control. Paula's research shows in the complexity of her characters.
What I felt a little less excited about was the romance between Winter and Jesse. He's a great, sweet guy. He's patient and kind, and given the events of the story, he's arguably exactly what Winter needs. But it's just the sweet kind of romance that I don't get very many butterflies for. And at times, it felt a little forced. There was so much going on with Winter's own character growth and development and the mystery of her sister dying, which she obviously isn't in the best position to cope with. So to switch between all those things and keep getting pulled back to "budding feelings" and "omg do I like him, well yeah, but I'm scared", it made this book more typically YA. On this rare instance, I feel like this story would have worked better with less (or no) romance.
But the main question is: do you like getting your mind blown?
If so, you need this book. Honestly it has one of the most thrilling and heart-stopping twists that I've read in basically ever. I did not see it coming. And it damn near broke my heart. I sat with my jaw dropped for a good 10 minutes. And on that rare instance that I do venture out and read a mystery thriller, that's exactly the effect I want the book to have. I had a great time rereading this book and catching the foreshadowing - so yeah, there's definitely reread value in this - but the first time I didn't pick up on that at all. That just means the concept and its execution were masterfully done.
I won't say much more, because this is a book you need to experience for yourself. Any extra information about the plot will pull you this way or that and mess with your expectations. But know that this is a story with great (lite) sci-fi elements, excellent pacing, action-packed scenes, deep and heartfelt character arcs, and a shocking ending. There's something here for everyone.
Summing Up:
With Vicarious, Paula Stokes really shows off her versatility. She can write amazing fluff and heartstopping thrillers, because every story from her starts with her characters. She does spectacular research and adds so much depth to them that they definitely become 3-dimensional characters that flow naturally within the story and draw in the reader. In Vicarious it's diverse, dark, and extra deep. This excellently paced thriller will keep you on your toes and leave you feeling breathless. It can stand on its own, but I'm pretty excited that there will be a sequel.
GIF it to me straight!
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Recommended To:
Fans of (psychological) thrillers and character-driven novels.
*An advance review copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review....more
How dare you write a book as flawless as this. We both know I was incredibly enchanted by The Art of Lainey and, as a devoure5 stars
Dear Paula Stokes,
How dare you write a book as flawless as this. We both know I was incredibly enchanted by The Art of Lainey and, as a devourer of fluff, there was a big chance that I would fall in love with this book too. But, okay, even I did not expect the level of delight and adoration that Girl Against the Universe brought to me. This book is literally the total package, and then to have my name in the acknowledgements... I repeat. How. Dare.
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Reasons why Girl Against the Universe is basically perfect:
1. The depiction of anxiety. When I first heard about this book, I thought it sounded right up my alley, but that the mental health part would kind of straddle a quirky Disney-like magical realism line with the whole fact that Maguire believes that she's cursed. I was wrong. This book takes a heartbreakingly realistic look at anxiety. With all of the past events in Maguire's life, sure, she believes she's cursed. But through her narrations and her vivid voice you can tell how that belief is firmly grounded in reality and how hard it is to let go of. And the "side effects" manifest themselves in such realistic ways that I was just filled with empathy the entire time. I hated putting this book down and being parted with it.
Maguire's "bad luck" makes her fear being around other people. She develops compulsive habits of always checking her surroundings to make sure there are no hazards or potential dangers. She forces isolation onto herself with the hope that then nothing bad will happen. And the story actually brilliantly dissects psychological theories that explain her behavior, since Maguire is actually in a Psychology class, and that teaches her a lot about herself. Paula, woah. Seriously, woah. I feel like I learned so much about mental health, for one, and just about human nature in general too. I think if you have ever dealt with anxiety, this is easily the kind of book that will make you feel like your whole life has been justified.
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2. The excellent therapy-positive "recovery". Like many readers, I think, I have been kind of put off stories dealing with trauma or mental health elements because the recovery part often feels so cheap. Therapy is commonly brushed off, if it's even mentioned at all as an option, and more times than I'd care to take note of a love interest swoops in and "his love" fixes everything. This was totally not that book. Girl Against the Universe actually shows real therapy sessions with real step-by-step progress towards recovery. And yeah, it's a slow battle, and there are some setbacks, but that makes it totally realistic and even more meaningful. It made my connection to Maguire that much stronger. The character development was top notch, and you know characters are like my #1 thing.
Of course, there is a romantic element to the story (which is OMGSQUEE -- no Debby, control yourself, you're getting to that), but it doesn't at all dominate. Jordy is absolutely wonderful, and sure, him being there for Maguire helps her recovery, but she does the heavy lifting, and it's not all over and done with the moment he bats his pretty eyes at her.
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3. Jordy. Wheeler. Oh man, Paula. You unleashed Jordy Wheeler onto the world, but I don't know if the world is quite ready for Jordy Wheeler. How can I even... Jordy is patient, understanding, and kind. Those are traits you wouldn't normally expect from a popular, well-off tennis star who basically has 10 million reasons why he could understandably be the most arrogant man on earth. Here's a kind of shocking reality check: even the people you think have everything can have issues. Jordy is in therapy too, which is how he and Maguire meet. His issues are hardly on her level, but this is another reminder that mental health issues exist on all levels of severity, and everyone deserves help.
But boy did I swoon for this boy. There are so many yummy scenes. I mean, just the whole, "I'll help you practice your serve, here let me put my arms around you to show it how it's done" thing? Catnip for basically any hopeless romantic. That first kiss, during an adrenaline rush? I felt that adrenaline. Fooling around interrupted by parents? So many stomach flutterings. There may have been some truly unapologetically loud giggling on the bus. But what I love most of all is just how supportive Maguire and Jordy are for each other. Even though there was basically some level of attraction from the start, they built up a super heartfelt friendship first, which grew and grew until I yelled "NOW KISS!!!" at my book, and bless their little hearts, but they did listen ♥
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4. This family gave me so many feels. Character development and awesome romance would usually already be enough for me, but you outdid yourself by adding this awesome layer of family to the story. You'll know, because I ran to tell you right away, that a certain scene with Maguire and her stepfather gave me ALL OF THE FEELS. But yeah, you did that. You actually took the time to make these really 3 dimensional parental units with their own worries, quirks, and funny personalities. This is not a family full of drama - this is a family that, despite drama, supports each other out of a pure sense of love. There were tears in my eyes. Yeah. There were.
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5. Best friends forever. To round out this list, I have to talk about the friendship, because this is also evidence of the tremendous character arc that Maguire undergoes. Yeah, she started off with basically no friends and so isolated and afraid of people that she hardly knew how to make friends again. But she meets Jade and Penn (who I'm secretly wishing are totally into each other because I didn't make that chemistry up right?) and they are so understanding and awesome about everything. When Maguire actually talks about her issues and anxiety, they support her, don't doubt her for a second, and take the time to patiently sit next to her and help her any way they can. And when Maguire's feeling okay, they just have a ton of fun together.
Now I just feel like hugging this book to my chest and wishing that I had friends as awesome as this. I mean, I guess I do now - at least more so than in high school. But there were just such heartwarming moments that I wanted to yell at the sky with tears in my eyes and say, "See, world?! If you just are yourself, there are people who will accept you as is!!! No games or concessions, just heartfelt friendship!!"
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Girl Against the Universe is awesome. You are awesome. This book made me feel all of the things. Can I go again?
*An advance review copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review....more
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