Review: The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Author: Katie Sise

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Page Count:  312 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: April 30th 2013

Find it on Goodreads: The Boyfriend App
Source: Received ARC for review from publisher in exchange of honest review... Thank you!!

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.
But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

While I loved the idea of a super-smart, tech-savy girl main character who creates an app, I didn't end up being too big a fan of this book. During the first bit of the story, I was totally into it all. It was a cool idea and I just loved how awesome Audrey was, but after a while, I started getting a little bit annoyed by the whole concept of the app and all the boy-craziness that went along with it. AND then, Audrey's second app came out and that's when I gave up on trying to go along with the book. I just couldn't attach myself to the concept.. It was way too far-fetched for me to enjoy, at least for a contemporary that was supposed to be a fun and easy read. I mean, it's not that I don't believe it could happen, I just wanted something else to happen instead. I really wished Audrey had dug a little bit deeper inside herself like her teacher wished and realised that you can't manipulate someone's feelings through an app. I really wished I had liked this book more, but it ended up going way too all over the place for me to really enjoy. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy

TGIF: Catching Up on Game of Thrones (Guest Post)

 Hey guys! As many of you probably know, the hit HBO show Game of Thrones based on the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin is is starting up its fourth season on SUNDAY! I don't know about you, but I am super excited. And in that excitement, I was contacted by a fellow GoT fan, Spencer, who asked if he could recap the show for us here on the blog! So, for any of you who need a quick refresher before Sunday on what has been happening in the world of Westeros, read on and catch up!

(I feel like this shouldn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway just in case: FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT SEEN GAME OF THRONES, THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 3.)

Catching Up on Game of Thrones

The massively popular medieval fantasy drama Game of Thrones returns to HBO for its 4th season on April 6, and continuously gathering a fan base of male and female viewers over the first three seasons, the show may become the most watched series in cable history. The series is based on the five “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels (of which A Game of Thrones was the first) written by George R.R. Martin. The adventure, scheming and drama occur in the fictional realm of Westeros, with more than two dozen characters comprising a cast who representing various socio-economic classes ruled by noble families vying for control of the entire kingdom and the right to sit upon the infamous Iron Throne made of molten swords.

Here’s a look at what’s happened on Game of Thrones so far; beware if you haven’t caught up on past episodes, though (go stream them from HBO Go, Direct Ticket or rent the DVDs from Netflix now before its too late!) - big spoilers follow!

To the shock of millions of viewers, the third season climaxed with the horrific Red Wedding where two more members of the Stark family met their demise. However, another wedding also occurred this season, with the unexpected nuptials of Sansa Stark and Tyrion Lannister. The wedding takes place at the insistence of the Lannister patriarch Tywin, who also played a role in the deaths of Catelyn and Robb Stark during the Red Wedding. Though successfully spared the indignities and dangers of becoming wife to the twisted King Joffrey, Sansa must now contend with being married to the much older Tyrion and the news of the deaths of her family members.

Meanwhile young Arya Stark escaped the Lannister castle during season two, only to find herself in an uneasy alliance with the hulking (and hated) knight known as the Hound. Originally having plans to return to her home at Winterfell, she learns of the deaths of her mother and brother from the mockings of Frey soldiers and vows to exact revenge. However, for her protection, the Hound (whose real name is Sandor Clegane) renders her unconscious before fleeing the site of the Red Wedding, in order to spare the young would-be warrior from certain death.

Jon Snow, the illegitimate son of the late Ned Stark, endures capture and then befriends female warrior Ygritte and the Wildings as they make their way cross country in the ice and snow. Though initially vowing his devotion, Snow betrays Ygritte and the clan. He determines to return and rejoin the Night's Watch. The end of season 3 has him overcoming his physical challenges, arriving at Castle Black and reuniting with friends. The Wildlings are now fully in preparation for an attack on Westeros.

Following Catelyn Stark's orders, the imposing female knight Brienne of Tarth returns the despicable Jamie Lannister to his family at King's Landing. However, this does not happen before the two happen upon a group of ruthless cutthroats who pose a threat to them both, but especially to the female Brienne. In a rare act of gallantry, Jaime sacrifices himself and, most horrifying for him, loses his sword hand to protect her. Now that he is back home, season 4 will undoubtedly reveal whether or not the incestuous relationship between Jamie and his sister Cersei remains the same.

Also having eyes on the throne, fan favorite Danenerys Targaryen (an IMDB poll has her second only to Tyrion Lannister in popularity) now has an army in the form of the Yunkai warriors that she saved from a life of slavery. Equipped with ships and now the fearless soldiers, the “mother of dragons” will prove a powerful foe to the powers that be in season 4.


If you'd like to hear more from Spencer, follow his twitter!
          

Thanks so much Spencer, for that awesome recap! I'm SO excited for Sunday! 

Do any of you guys watch GoT? Read the books? What do you think of the series? Any predictions for next season? (If you haven't read the books already :P) Let me know!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Count:  293 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: May 19th 2010

Find it on Goodreads: Forgive My Fins

Source: Purchased Second-Hand

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it's not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you're a normal teenage girl, but when you're half human, half mermaid, like Lily, there's no such thing as a simple crush.
Lily's mermaid identity is a secret that can't get out, since she's not just any mermaid--she's a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn't feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been living on land and going to Seaview High School ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems--like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher--but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating type--the instant they "bond," it's for life.
When Lily's attempt to win Brody's love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

I picked this book up wanting a light read and that is definitely what I got. Forgive My Fins is a fun, easy book about a boycrazy mermaid who is living on land, determined to make her crush fall in love with her. I was not expecting much depth, to be honest, and well, it's a good thing. While I found some things about this novel adorable, there were many other things that annoyed me to no end about Lily and the whole story in general.

First of all, let me just say that I predicted the ending from simply the synopsis. I guessed what was going to happen and in the end... well, I was right. And that's kind of always a bit of a disappointment, because I love it when a book surprises me. But alas, it did not. As I was reading, I couldn't help but shake my head at Lily's antics and her complete lust over Brody, a boy she hardly knows. I've never been a big fan of books where basically the only thing in the main character's head is a boy and that's all this really was. Lily hardly ever thought about anything other than one boy or another and I just wanted to scream at her "YOU'RE A MERMAID! THAT'S SO COOL, GO SWIM AND FORGET ABOUT THE GUYS FOR A MOMENT." I mean I understood that she had to find her "mate," but it just seemed like all that was really on her mind was how much she "loved" Brody. I suppose I didn't mind the rest of the story, but I really wanted Lily to dig a little deeper. I did like Quince though! He was a funny character and ultimately pretty sweet.

If you're in the mood for a light, romance-y read with a little supernatural twist, this book would probably be great! I just don't think I was in the right mindset for a book like this. I'm not sure I'll be reading the rest of the series, unless I can get it from the library or something like that.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

What the How I Met Your Mother Finale Reminded Me About Writing

Hey everyone! So, I don't know about you guys, but I am a fan of the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which had its series finale last night. The finale was a bit disappointing, in my opinion, but it did remind me of something important about writing. This all probably won't make much sense if you haven't seen the finale, but if you have, well... yay coherency! If you don't know what the show is about, well... think sitcom.  A group of friends who hang out in a bar, getting into relationships and mischief and all that fun stuff. This particular show was based around Ted Moseby, telling his kids the story of how he met their mother... Over a period of 9 seasons. 

Now, I won't get into much of the details over what happened in the finale, so as not to spoil it for anyone, but I just wanted to talk a little bit about an important thing about writing that the finale reminded me of. And that is the idea that when you write, your characters take a life of their own and really lead the author down the path that they want to go. Now, I'm not saying I know much at all about writing professionally and while it's my absolute dream, I have never written a full length novel, but man oh man do I have dozens of un-finished stories. And it took me a little while to realise that as I was writing with a specific ending in mind, sometimes my characters and story had another ending in their vision and as I wrote, I usually ended up going closer to their way than my own. 

With How I Met Your Mother, there are a lot of different things to take into account, especially in terms of the different relationships and the growth and development of these characters. But when the series finale seems to completely dismiss so much of what the rest of the show has lead up to, it's hard to take it seriously and not wonder if it's some sort of sick April Fool's joke. I think the How I Met Your Mother writers forgot about the fact that, no matter how much you want your story to end the way you planned it to, characters grow and develop on their own, which sometimes leads you down a different path than you had originally mapped out. Sometimes, it really is okay to scrap that pre-filmed footage and work with the wonderful character development that we've seen over the past 9 seasons. I understand that there needs to be some realism to the show, especially about certain relationships not working out and not always a 100% happy ending, but there also needs to be an observation on the writer's part about where the characters should go NOW instead of where they should have gone in 2005. 

I do know that writing for a TV show so beloved like this must be incredibly difficult, as well as different from writing a book, as your characters literally come to life on screen, instead of simply on the page, however they are still characters with a background and hurt and memories that do not simply disappear because of a pre-filmed scene from the start of the series. These characters grew so much more than I think the writers probably imagined during the series and it showed, when we saw so much of that growth disappear in the span of one hour long episode. 

This is of course, simply my opinion and I really just wanted to open up this discussion with you guys about writing characters and letting the characters lead you at times. Also, if you did happen to watch the finale, what did you think? Let me know!


Happy reading!
~Kristy

Top Ten Tuesday: Gateway Books/Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.This week's topic  is: Top Ten Gateway Books/Authors in my Reading Journey.

Ok, so there's my top eleven for this week! oops! If you did a TTT this week, leave me a link and I'll check it out!

Happy reading!
~Kristy