Fool Me Twice // Book Review

Author: Carrie Aarons
Published: 2020
Genre: New Adult/Contemporary
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Synopsis
When my best friend died of cancer just before her eighteenth birthday, she left her coveted bucket list to me. The things she already crossed off? Skinny dipping, going to Paris, completing the local hot wing challenge, road tripping to the ocean, and sending out a message in a bottle. So, it falls on me to finish it for her, to honor her memory. In the next year, it’s my mission to:

1. Dye my hair
2. Have sex
3. Camp out in a tent
4. Go bungee jumping
5. Get revenge on Lincoln Kolb


When I read the synopsis for this book, I figured it would be something that I would enjoy. The plot reminded me of ‘John Tucker Must Die’, which is a great movie. I hadn’t read anything by this author before, and (correct me if I’m wrong) I believe she is an indie author. Being an indie author myself, I always love to support other small time authors.

Going into this book, I assumed it fell into the YA genre, yet I found that the book leaned more towards new adult. This wasn’t a big disappointment, but it came as a shock to me, because I don’t typically read that genre.

I found the overall plot to be enjoyable, but there wasn’t much revenge plotting in the story. I wouldn’t even classify it at hate-to-love. It was more of a girl meets boy and they fall in love story.

However, the main female, Henley, was very conflicted throughout the book, because she was supposed to hate Lincoln for breaking her best friend’s heart. She was a tough and stubborn girl, which is probably why she decided to keep the ridiculous and immature revenge promise. A more mature college student would have just confronted Lincoln about the breakup.

I think the moral is that there are three sides to every story – his, hers, and what actually happened. And revenge is never the solution to your problems. As for Lincoln, he was as a cocky jock who never got attached. But he had a sensitive side that he didn’t let anyone see, too. I have read this type of male character before, and I honestly don’t mind them. Given a choice between Henley and Lincoln, however, I was much more a fan of Lincoln.

“You never know if you’ll be breathing in the next second after this one. Which is why I take every chance those precious seconds give me.”
Something that thoroughly surprised me was the amount of steamy scenes in the book. I wouldn’t classify this as smut, and the sex scenes weren’t that intense at all. But, sex was a big factor in the book. There was a bathroom scene at a party that was a bit spicy. I would probably give this book as 17+ rating.

I didn’t have many cons  from this book, but it seemed to move very slowly. I found myself at the halfway point, and the plot hadn’t progressed much. Nevertheless, the book was a pretty quick read, which made up for the slow-moving story.

Overall, this book was a good time, and made me question whether or not I could handle the truly smutty books. Still, I don’t know if I would pick anything else up from this author. I am unsure if her books and writing style is for me.

Let me know if you have read this book, because I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Please give this post a like and share it with others. In case you didn’t know, you can follow the blog to get notified whenever there’s a new post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

12 In 2022 // Yearly TBR

Hi Friends,
I knew that I wanted to do some kind of 2022 TBR, but I decided not to include any new releases. Of course, I will be reading many 2021 and 2022 releases throughout the year, but I wanted to do more of a backlist TBR for the year. If you read my resolutions post, then you know that one of my bookish goals is to read more older titles. I want to read all the books that came out years ago that I have forgotten about. So, here are the 12 books I would like to read this year. Also, keep in mind that I am counting a book series as one book.

Divergent by Veronica Roth: I have heard a lot of mixed things about this series. But, I really want to read it this year. My husband read the entire trilogy, and we’ve seen the first two movies. I would like to read all the books, and possibly the companion novel ‘Four.’

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: I started this series a while ago, but never finished it. I attempted book two, ‘Catching Fire,’ but I put it down and never picked it back up. Now I think it’s time to see if all the hype about the series is true. I have seen the final two movies in the film adaptations, weirdly enough, so I kind of have an idea on how the books end.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: In 2020, I got the boxed-set for Christmas. Last year, I started the first book on audio, but I loaned it from the library, and had to return it before I was finished. I would like to at least read two or more books in this vampire romance series.

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian:

I haven’t read a Jenny Han book in a minute. I would love to see what this trilogy is all about. It is the only Jenny Han series that I have yet to read, yet my opinions on her books have been fairly mixed. I hope that I enjoy this one as much as I did the ‘To All The Boys’ trilogy.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi: I have heard nothing but good things about this book, and love the premise of it. This book follows a Muslim-American teenage girl. Although, I was born in American, I was raised Muslim. Today, I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself Muslim, but it was a big part of my upbringing. We don’t get a lot of Persian and Muslim representation in books, so I’m excited to read a book that deals with a character that I can relate too.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo: I have been very intrigued by this author since I discovered that she writes some books in verse. I am trying to learn more about this type of writing, because it is something I am very interested in. Now I don’t know much about this story, except that people love it. I would also like to read ‘With The Fire On High’ from her as well.

Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali: This is a Muslim teen romance that sounds very sweet and wholesome. I have had this on my overall TBR for a while, but never got around to it. However, I would love to pick it up this year if only because I just learned that the female character is named Zayneb. Fun fact that is my older sister’s name just spelled slightly different.

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord: I am shocked that I haven’t read this yet. It is an adorable YA contemporary that I know I am going to love. I need to read this as soon as possible, because I love all things cute and contemporary. Honestly, I haven’t seen one negative review of this book.

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland: I used to be in love with this book cover, because it is so different. But then I found out the plot, and knew it was going to be a crazy read. It has sister and mystery elements, with maybe a touch of horror. I haven’t seen too many people reviewing it, so I will be going into it with an open mind.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig: I am going to be honest, but this book sounds an awful lot like the one before. However, I have been wanting to read it since it was released two years ago. It is supposedly a ‘Twelve Dancing Princess’ retelling with a dark twist. I have become a big fan of horror and thriller books, and this one sounds pretty good.

American Royals by Katharine McGee: I cannot explain why I desperately want to read the series. Everyone in my life knows that me and royal plots don’t mix. But for some reason I am dying to jump into this trilogy. I have heard that the first book is great, but the second book falls flat. All I know is that this book has a cute romance and drama, and I am here for it.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken: This book was very hyped, leading up it’s release in January 2021. After the book came out, I noticed the hype died down quite a bit. There have been a lot of mixed reviews, with some recommending the book. Others, not so much. It is a YA Greek Gods story, that, despite the polarized opinions, I would still like to read.

I am going to stop myself here, so that this post isn’t novel length. Let me know any of the books on your yearly TBR in the comments. Don’t forget to follow my blog before you go to get notifications on all my new content.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Book Review: You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson

Title: You Should See Me In A Crown
Author: Leah Johnson
Published: 2020
Rating: 5.0/5.0 Stars

Synopsis: Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black,
too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay—Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down, until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.
Source: GoodReads

I am a huge fan of YA contemporaries. I would go as far as to say they are my favorite genre to read, so when I heard about this book from multiple Booktubers and book bloggers I knew I had to pick it up. The main character of Liz is not only POC, but part of the LGBTQ community. She has overcome the death of her mother, her brother’s chronic illness and anxiety all while living with her loving grandparents who are struggling to get by paycheck to paycheck.

Liz’s life was very relatable, and though I don’t deal with all her struggles I understand her anxiety and fears about not affording college. The main character has such amazing growth, which didn’t happen all at once, but progressed naturally throughout the the book. She ran for prom queen with the hopes of getting a scholarship and nothing more, yet it turned into something greater. She set free a part of herself that she was too sacred to show and learned to stand up for her rights. I feel that the anxiety representation was done well and I connected with her fear of other’s opinions.

“I’m so tired of the way this place treats people who are different, tired of feeling like I exist in the margins of my own life. I deserve better than that.”

She did face friendship struggles, which was probably my least favorite aspect of the story. I enjoyed the fact that she reconnected with an old friend, still I wish that it showed how friends change and grow apart especially at a young age. Instead it went another route, which was completely fine just not my favorite. Also, there was some major conflict between Liz and her best friend that was mended by the end of the book. However, I feel as though it was resolved rather quickly and there wasn’t much closure to it.

The romance was one of my favorite aspects of the book. It was so cute! Of course the girls go through some ups and downs, but you cannot deny how adorable they are together. I will say that the romance had an instant love feel, but probably very relatable to high-schoolers. I have never been to high school, home schooler here, still in every teen movie there is an instant crush. The love interest was a perfect contrast to Liz since she was outspoken and quirky, and helped Liz come out of her shell.

Someone compared this book to a 90s teen movie and I completely agree. I got all those classic teen romances flick feels that I love so much. If you are in the mood for a super cute contemporary than I recommend you give this one a chance. I hope that you liked this review and please let me know your thoughts on this book. If you want to support me please share and like this post. Also, follow the blog to get notified when I post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny