Ash Reads Stuff

So, February was a tough month for me all around. If we're friends in real life or any type of social media you know why, so I won't go into it. Reading is usually my solace but this month it was difficult to find that. I did, however, manage to get some reading/down time and was pretty happy with the books I picked up. I only read about nine books this month compared to my twenty-something last month. I'm only going to share the good ones, because there were some that I DNFd or just didn't like. Five Star Reads: Four Star Reads:         Three Star Reads:    So, there's a little bit of what I've been up to this month. Hopefully March will bring lots of good reads and swoons and all things like that.  What are you reading? 

The Last One  by Alexandra Olivia Publication Date: July 12, 2016 Pages: 304 (kindle) Genre:  Adult Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 Stars NetGalley Synopsis: For readers of Station Eleven and The Passage comes a dazzling and unsettling novel of psychological suspense. In Alexandra Oliva's thrilling fiction debut, survival is the name of the game, as the line blurs between reality TV and reality itself—and one woman's mind and body are pushed to the limit. She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far. It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens—but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it man-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them—a young woman the show's producers call Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she...

The Art of Not Breathing  by Sarah Alexander  Publication Date: April 26, 2016 Pages: 288 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Since her twin brother, Eddie, drowned five years ago, sixteen-year-old Elsie Main has tried to remember what really happened that fateful day on the beach. One minute Eddie was there, and the next he was gone. Seventeen-year-old Tay McKenzie is a cute and mysterious boy that Elsie meets in her favorite boathouse hangout. When Tay introduces Elsie to the world of freediving, she vows to find the answers she seeks at the bottom of the sea My Review:  I was super excited about this because NetGalley compared it to two of my favorite YA novels that also deal with grief in mysterious ways. This debut by Sarah Alexander did not disappoint.  Elsie is a sixteen-year-old girl whose family is still reeling over the loss of Eddie, Elsie's twin brother. It's been five years since E...

Act Like It  by Lucy Parker Publication Date:  November 30th, 2015 Pages: 199 (kindle) Genre: Contemporary Adult/Romance My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis :  This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre's Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Elaine Graham. Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard's antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city. Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man? Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance. Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all? My Review:  As ...

Morning Star   by Pierce Brown Publication Date: February 9, 2016 Pages: 518 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction My Goodreads Rating:  5 Stars Red Rising Recap: Darrow, a lowly Red, is Carved by the Sons of Ares to become a Gold. He is sent to train at the Institute and take down Society from the inside. Golden Son Recap: Darrow begins a civil war, Gold against Gold. But in the end, it's him who suffers. Morning Star Synopsis:  Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society's mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come. But devotion to honor and hun...

This week's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and the Bookish is a Valentine freebie. Yay? I decided to break this up with my favorite OTPs from books, movies, and TV and my favorite quotes about my favorite OTPs from books, movies, and TV. We'll see how this goes. OTP: St. Clair and Anna, Anna and the French Kiss Quote: St. Clair is one of my favorite book boys. Forever.  OTP: Ron and Hermione, Harry Potter Quote:  I loved reading this part. Through the darkest times in this book, this one made me smile.  OTP: Feyre and Tamlin, A Court of Thorns and Roses Quote:  THIS BOOK. OTP: Cath and Levi, Fangirl Quote:  Seriously, but Levi is so cute.  OTP: Will and Lou, Me Before You Quote:  Come, cry with me.  OTP: Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, Tangled Quote:  Like, how perfect are these two?  OTP: Dean and Jo, Supernatural Quote:  I will forever mourn.  OTP: Piper...

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda Publication Date: June 28, 2016 Pages: 384 (ebook) Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive , Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse. It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is ...

Girl Last Seen  by Heather Anastasiu & Anne Greenwood Brown Publication Date: March 1, 2016 Pages: 288 (ebook) Genre: Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating:  4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Kadence Mulligan's star was rising. She and her best friend, Lauren DeSanto, watched their songs go viral on YouTube, then she launched a solo career when a nasty throat infection paralyzed Lauren's vocal chords. Everyone knows Lauren and Kadence had a major falling-out over Kady's boyfriend. But Lauren knows how deceptive Kadence could be sometimes. And nobody believes Lauren when she claims she had nothing to do with the disappearance. Or the blood evidence As the town and local media condemns Lauren, she realizes the only way to clear her name is to discover the truth herself. Lauren slowly unravels the twisted life of Kadence Mulligan and sees that there was more to her than she ever knew. But will she realize she's unknowingly playing a part in an elaborate game to cov...