The Summer I Turned Pretty By: Jenny Han

Synopsis from Barnes&Noble.com:

Some summers are just destined to be pretty

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer — they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

This is the first book in a trilogy. I finally decided to pick up this first book because I have heard really good things about the trilogy as a whole and I was really in the mood for a summer-y read. And, I have to say that my expectations were met throughout the book. It was such an easy, quick, and enjoyable read and I found myself smiling at all the sweet moments in the book. The main character, Belly was very relatable and made the story interesting and worth reading. Her character was so real and true to life that it made the story all the better. Though, sometimes, I felt that Belly acted a bit immaturely for her age in certain situations. But, although sometimes a little annoying, it did add to Belly’s character’s “realness”. As for the other characters, I applaud Jenny Han for making them all so common like people really are, but still unique from any other book’s characters that I’ve read. I easily gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars, and I look forward to reading the other two books in this trilogy.

Rebel Belle By: Rachel Hawkins (Rebel Belle Series #1)

Synopsis from Barnes&Noble.com:

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts. Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

When I started to read this book, I instantly fell in love with everything about it. It was so much fun to read! I loved the author’s writing style and the way both the action and humor, especially in the beginning of the story, tied together wonderfully. Throughout the story I found myself laughing out loud at some points as I flew through the pages. The amusing style only added to the story in a good way. Next, I have to say I loved the main character, Harper. She was hilarious and I loved how she dealt with the situations that she was forced into. I also liked how much her character developed throughout the story. She started out being a prissy, homecoming queen, and ended up becoming an amazing girl with a relatable and engaging personality. To continue, I loved the beginning of the story and I also loved the end and the subtle, but interesting twist presented. But, I have to say I only just liked the middle of the story. It was a bit slow at times and I wish that the author had thrown more into the story to give it a little bit of the kick that it needed, like the beginning and end of the book. But, overall I still had a ton of fun reading this book and gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to anyone that wants a light read that still has interesting action and humor mixed in.

These Broken Stars By: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Synopsis from Barnes&Noble.com:

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder-would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

I have heard some good things about this book, and although you’re not supposed to “judge a book by its’ cover” the gorgeous cover art really sold it for me. I was intrigued by the concept of the space ship and its crashing in the story, leaving the two main characters to ultimately fend for themselves. I started the story on the space ship really enjoying it. I was interested and hooked especially when the ship started going down (not a spoiler)and I was worried for the characters. What’s going to happen??? So I kept reading. Throughout the characters’ time on the planet, nothing really happened. Some weird, but uninteresting things do pop up in the story that didn’t really make the story any more enjoyable. At first I was interested in the daily life of the characters trying to do the best they can with their given situation. But, after awhile, this got old and the story’s happenings were like “wash, rinse, repeat’, until the end. When it comes to the characters themselves, I also really wasn’t blown away. Both Lilac and Tarver (the two main characters) weren’t very interesting and even annoyed me at times throughout the story. Overall this book was just okay. I gave this book a 2.75 out of 5 stars, but I would recommend for anyone interested to still give it a try, as I have heard pretty mixed opinions about this book with some people enjoying it more than I did.