Ash Reads Stuff

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas Publication Date: October 3, 2017 Pages: 705 (hardcover) Genre: Fantasy (New Adult) My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places. In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all. My Review: This series... I love when a series pulls me in with magic and swoons and everything in between. When I first read A Court of Thorns a...

The Year We Fell Down  by Sarina Bowen Publication Date: March 20th, 2014 Pages:  270 (kindle) Genre:  New Adult My Goodreads Rating:  4 stars Goodreads Synopsis:  The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now? She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead. Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league. Also, he’s taken. Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto” of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands. They’re just friends, of course, until...

I'd like stop complaining about not having time to read and how these recaps are kind of boring, but I just can't. November was a pretty busy month but I had a couple of great weekends to work on some ARCs I'd received and to pick up some purchased books, too.  I also changed my Goodreads Reading Challenge from 200 to 175. I'm currently sitting at 163 and I know there's no way I can reach 200 by the end of the year. (Unless I count picture books read to my class, of course.)  Okay, enough whining. Here are some of the things I read in November. Five Star Reads: Four Star Reads: Three Star Reads: Two Star Reads:   So, there we have it. The next recap post will probably be my end of the year one. I hope you've had a great year reading! 

Something Like Normal  by Trish Doller Publication Date: September 24, 2013 Pages:  214 (paperback)  Genre: Contemporary My Goodreads Rating:  3 Stars  Goodreads Synopsis: Sometimes the best you can hope for is something like normal. Sometimes what you get might be even better. After Travis returns home from serving in Afghanistan, adjusting to his former life is anything but easy. Especially since his brother stole his girlfriend (and his car). then he runs into Harper - a girl he wronged who wants nothing to do with him. But there's something different about her now. She's beautiful, smart, strong, and funny... and she might be the only one who can show Travis that there's more to his future than just his past. My Review:  For a few years now I've seen this book on display at my local Barnes & Noble and I always just kind of pass it by. It was literally everywhere you turned in the store and finally, after buying and reading it, I kno...

Well, another year has come and gone and here I am (again) with nothing but a big pile of books that I've read. Trust me, though, I'm not complaining. Last year I read just over 150 books so I feel like I'm slacking a little bit this year because, as of today, I'm only at 133. Yeah, play your tiny violin, Pine. Anywho, here are some of my favorite books for 2015 and some things I'm looking forward to reading in 2016. All books have My Goodreads Rating and a Quick Review   of why I enjoyed it. These books are mostly my four and five star reads from this year. Also, just because I read these books in 2015 does not mean they were published in 2015.  Code Name Verity My GR Rating: 5 Stars Quick Review: If you know me, you know I love to read about WWII and strong women (or girls). This book has both of those things. To me, this was an amazing story about friendship. It was one of the first books I read in 2015 and one of the first books to ever make me ...

This Book Will Change Your Life  by Amanda Weaver Publication Date : September 27, 2015 Pages: 193 (kindle) Genre:  New Adult/Contemporary My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Take a chance and change your life… College was supposed to be where Hannah’s hard work paid off, but the major in honors chemistry she’s been working towards since childhood is slipping away. Worse, she’s not sure she wants it anymore. Salvation comes from an unlikely place—a used bookstore and Ben, the passionate college senior who works there. Ben’s trapped in a life mapped out for him. Trapped in a future career as a lawyer to make his father happy. Trapped pursuing a girl he doesn't even like because she fits into a world he doesn’t want, but can’t escape. But then he meets Hannah. And for the first time, he knows what it means to truly want something. So he gives in to being her friend. Then to wanting her. Then to kissing her. And within the freedom of his impulsivity, ...

Fearless  by Shae Ross Publication Date: August 17, 2015 Pages: 208 (ebook) Genre: New Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 (2.5) Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Every fighter has a weakness... Devi Dalton won't let anyone hold her back. With the help of her friends, she's taken control of her future and traded her messed-up family life for a new job in Manhattan. Her only obstacle? Ben Winslow, the sexy friend she's desperately trying to resist. If she's going to succeed, she can't afford to be distracted, no matter how hot the chemistry burns between them. Cage fighter Ben spent six months trying to convince Devi to take a chance on a relationship. Now that they've reunited in New York, he's not letting her push him away again. They're more than friends-always have been-and he'll do whatever it takes to prove it to her. First, he has a few demons of his own to slay...one of which could ruin his chances with her for forever. But every figh...

99 Days by Katie Cotugno Publication Date: June 2, 2015 Pages: 384 (Hardcover) Genre: Young Adult/New Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 (2.5) Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done. Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.” Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s sup...

Pretty Smart Girls: Lace Up by Shae Ross Publication Date: January 6, 2015 Pages: 268 (Kindle) Genre: New Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Synopsis :  Team Ryan Ryan Rose and her fellow Spartans are finalists in a high-profile entrepreneurial competition. They're competing for life-changing money and for their futures. They have a solid plan to win. All they need to do is trounce the competition: rich frat boys from an archrival university. Easy, right? Team Jett Jett Trebuchet's first mistake was not realizing that Ryan and her friends were the competition. His second was expressing his unabashed confidence in his team’s ability to win. After all, everyone knows the only thing MSU does better than U of M is produce beautiful, easy women…oh, and he almost forgot to say “dumb.” And boy, does his team pay for that one. Game On As each side tries to game the other, something else seems to be getting in the way—attraction. Now Ryan and J...

Olivia Christakos and Her Second First Time by Dani Irons Publication Date:   June 1, 2015 Pages: 244 Genre:  New Adult My Goodreads Rating: Three Stars Goodreads synopsis: My perfect life… True, I’m in the hospital waking up from a coma, but my loving parents and adorable boyfriend, Wyatt, are here by my side. It’s weird that I don’t remember them—thanks, amnesia! Wyatt’s an amazing person. He’s a Big Brother, volunteers at soup kitchens, delivers food to the hungry—your basic angel. Your basic filled-out-in-all-the-right-places, naughty-thoughts-inducing angel, that is. Might be the perfect lie… In fact, the more I get to know Wyatt the harder it is to believe he’s my boyfriend. The more I find out about my life before the accident, the more I don’t like who I used to be. I can’t understand what a guy like that—kind, considerate, generous—would see in a girl like me. I don’t know what’s worse, living in the darkness of amnesia or discovering the ...

Just Little Kiss by Renita Pizzitola Publication Date: August 25, 2015 My Goodreads Rating: Four Stars All the l-words! This book was super sweet and a little sexy, which is how I like my fluffy reads. I loved the relationships between Felicity and all of her friends. They didn't feel forced or superficial at all, not even with the boys trying to protect her. Felicity was a great character, too. Her fears weren't absurd and she definitely wasn't a damsel in distress. I loved her resoluteness about her former relationship and how she overcame it.  Mason was, of course, perfect. He didn't come on too strong and I loved that about this book. The banter was great between the two of them and their relationship didn't happen overnight, another plus! I didn't care for the drama at the end, but I understood it to a point. I'm just glad it wasn't long and drawn out.  I loved that Felicity managed to overcome her fears and that Mason was ...