Ash Reads Stuff

The Raging Ones  by Krista & Becca Ritchie Publication Date: August 14, 2018 Pages:  400 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction My Goodreads Rating:  4 Stars Synopsis: An edge of your seat sci-fi romance with twists and turns that you will never see coming! In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all odds. Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday. Until the day she does. Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him. Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions ...

Beautiful Mess  by Claire Christian Publication Date: August 27, 2017 Pages: 304 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating: 1-2 Stars Synopsis: Since Ava lost Kelly, things haven’t been going so well. Even before she gets thrown out of school for shouting at the principal, there’s the simmering rage and all the weird destructive choices. The only thing going right for Ava is her job at Magic Kebab. Which is where she meets Gideon. Skinny, shy, anxious Gideon. A mad poet and collector of vinyl records with an aversion to social media. He lives in his head. She lives in her grief. The only people who can help them move on with their lives are each other. My Review: Do you ever wonder if you've read the same book as other people? That's how I feel about Beautiful Mess .  This book had a lot of potential. I love a story that brings characters out of grief with the help of love, but this didn't really feel like that kind of story.  Ava i...

Brighter  by Rochelle Allison Publication Date: December 3rd, 2017 Pages: 247 (kindle) Genre: Contemporary Romance My Goodreads Rating:  4 stars Synopsis:  Sometimes the detour gets us home faster than the main road ever could...  Overachiever Alina Wright has two goals: blaze through grad school, and snag a job in marine conservation. Her academic career has always been meticulously planned and executed, so when a summer internship fall through, she’s at a loss.  Until her friend-with-benefits, Theo, invites her on a trip to the tropics...no strings, no expectations.  Days of glimmering beaches and nights dancing beneath the stars, a vibrant culture and a community of close friends, life on St. Croix is meant to be savored. Things with Theo cool, but other passions fire up and it doesn’t take long for Alina to fall in love with the island—or with Jude Larsen, the irresistible bartender downtown.  All vacations come...

LIFEL1K3  by Jay Kristoff Publication Date: May 29th, 2018 Pages:  416 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 stars Synopsis: On an island junkyard beneath a sky that glows with radiation, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap. Seventeen-year-old Eve isn't looking for trouble--she's too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she spent months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, she's on the local gangster's wanted list, and the only thing keeping her grandpa alive is the money she just lost to the bookies. Worst of all, she's discovered she can somehow destroy machines with the power of her mind, and a bunch of puritanical fanatics are building a coffin her size because of it. If she's ever had a worse day, Eve can't remember it.  The problem is, Eve has had a worse day--one that lingers in her nightmares and the cybernetic implant where her memories used to be. Her discovery of a handsome android named ...