Ash Reads Stuff

P.S. I Like You  by Kasie West Publication Date:  July 26th, 2016 Pages:  336 (paperback) Genre:  Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating:  4 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Signed, sealed, delivered… While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue! Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out… My Review:  I am a HUGE fan of Kasie's work and was super excited to finally get to sit down with this one. I've been really good this year about not running out ...

The Secrets We Kept  by Lily Velez Publication Date:  November 8th, 2015 Pages:  366 (paperback) Genre:  Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating:  2.5 stars Goodreads Synopsis: One year. That's how long it's been since childhood sweethearts Sully Graham and Cadence Gilbertson broke up, since one adoption and one out-of-state move turned their worlds upside down. Suddenly, Cadence is back in New York City, but something's different about her. The light in her eyes, the music in her laughter, the warmth in her smile—all of those things have entirely vanished. In their place stand the makings of a girl Sully can't even begin to recognize, much less understand. Still, despite the collective history of heartbreak between them, he’s convinced he can win her trust again, and he’s committed to proving the invincibility of their love no matter what it takes. But Cadence is quietly harboring secrets of her own. Dark secrets. Ugly secrets. Secrets that could br...

The Secrets We Keep  by Deb Loughead Publication Date:  December 10, 2016 Pages:  184 (ebook)  Genre:  Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating:  2 Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  First she blamed herself. Now she doesn’t know who to trust. When Kit disappeared at a party and was found drowned in the quarry the next day, Clem knew who to point the finger at: herself. She was the last person to see him alive, the last person who could have helped. If she had just kept a closer eye on him instead of her crush, Jake, maybe Kit would still be here. She knows she made a mistake, and wishes she could just forget about it — but Clem’s friend Ellie says she’ll expose Clem’s secret if she doesn’t play along with Ellie’s lies. Jake seems to have his own difficult secrets, and when he and Clem start to talk, they make a plan to help themselves move on. But when an unexpected discovery at the quarry makes everyone question what they thought they knew, Clem ...

The Summer I Wasn't Me  by Jessica Verdi Publication Date:  April 1, 2014 Pages:  346 (paperback)  Genre:  Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating:  3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Lexi has a secret. She never meant for her mom to find out. And now she's afraid that what's left of her family is going to fall apart for good. Lexi knows she can fix everything. She can change. She can learn to like boys. New Horizons summer camp has promised to transform her life, and there's nothing she wants more than to start over. But sometimes love has its own path... My Review:  This was my second book by Jessica Verdi, but definitely not my favorite. I had the privilege of reading What You Left Behind  as an ARC and loved it. This one was kind of difficult for me to love.  I guess it all begins when Lexi's father dies and her mother finds out she's gay. To appease her mother and save their relationship Lexi agrees to go to New Horizons, a s...

Swear on This Life  by Renee Carlino Publication Date: August 9,2016 Pages:  320 (paperback)  Genre:  Contemporary Romance My Goodreads Rating:  3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer. Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio. That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being...

Sweet! Another Top Ten Tuesday , a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish ! This week is all about villains and, while I tend to root for the good guys, this one was kind of fun. Let's get started! Draco Malfoy ( Harry Potter ) He makes Harry's life miserable, but he's kind of miserable too. Not that it makes anything okay, but at least he's cute.  Rhysand ( A Court of Thorns and Roses )  Maybe he's a villain. Maybe he isn't. Maybe he's just misunderstood.  Baz ( Carry On ) Again with the villain or not a villain. Who really knows?  Hades ( Percy Jackson ) I feel like Hades has a soft spot for Percy even though he's always trying to kill him. Maybe that's just me.  Tracksuit Mafia ( Hawykey: My Life as a Weapon ) The losers kill me, bro. Hopper ( Never Ever ) This book is full of twists and turns and Hopper is one of them.  Rowan ( Unhooked ) Pirates. Swoon. President Snow...

I have been so bad at reading lately. I blame that job of mine. Wrangling children is exhausting and mainly I read papers that I grade. Hopefully things will settle down soon and I'll be able to catch up on my Reading Challenge. I'm currently at 146/200 books and I'm four books behind schedule. It's October! Yikes! Anywho, here are some of my reads from the past couple of months. I've had some good and bad, but you'll only see the good here. If you want to see the bad (maybe you'll like them...) you can follow me on Goodreads by clicking here . Five Star Reads: Four Star Reads:   Three Star Reads: Happy reading!

We Were On a Break  by Lindsey Kelk Publication Date:  January 3, 2017 Pages:  416 (paperback)  Genre:  Contemporary Romance My Goodreads Rating:  2 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: LIV and ADAM are in love. LIV and ADAM are supposed to be getting engaged. Until ADAM accidently suggests they take a break. And LIV starts thinking Friends, family and bystanders all have an opinion and one complication leads to another as Adam and Liv try to muddle through in this hilarious, heartwarming comedy. Are they split up - or are they on a break? What exactly are they allowed to get away with? And, most importantly, what do Liv and Adam really want? My Review:  I went into this one with high hopes of a cute little romance and a getting-back-together story, but it came be a little more than that.  Liv and Adam are having a great time on vacation and Adam is all ready to propose until it gets all screwed up and their night ends in a huge fight....