Ash Reads Stuff

Something Like Gravity  by Amber Smith Publication Date: June 18th, 2019 Pages: 400 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating:  3 stars Goodreads Synopsis:  Chris and Maia aren’t off to a great start. A near-fatal car accident first brings them together, and their next encounters don’t fare much better. Chris’s good intentions backfire. Maia’s temper gets the best of her. But they’re neighbors, at least for the summer, and despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other. The path forward isn’t easy. Chris has come out as transgender, but he’s still processing a frightening assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her older sister and trying to find her place in the world without her. Falling in love was the last thing on either of their minds. But would it be so bad if it happened anyway? My Review:  When a book is compared to Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda , count me i...

The Last Hope by: Krista & Becca Ritchie Publication Date: August 13th, 2019 Pages: 400 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars NetGalley Synopsis: A stunning conclusion to the sci-fi romance duology by writing duo Krista & Becca Ritchie, The Last Hope is filled with twists and turns you'll never see coming. Sacrifice all you have to survive. Imprisoned for weeks on an enemy starcraft, Franny, Court, and Mykal have sat with an unfathomable revelation. But as they fight to stay alive, escaping prison means trusting a young mysterious stranger. He knows everything about their lost histories, and when answers aren’t given freely, the bonded trio are forced to join a mission. One that will determine the fate of humanity. Legend says, a baby—the first of her species—has the power to cloak and teleport planets. Tasked with retrieving the infant, Court fears the baby is just a myth, and if they fail, they’ll never find the truth about t...

The Rising Gold by Ava Jae Pages:  424 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: A new world ruler is crowned. Plunged into a crumbling world of foreign politics that is desperate for a leader, Eros chooses a loyal prince to help him navigate the hostile sands of Safara. But not everyone is happy to see a half-blood become the most powerful person on the planet. A queen must restore her nation. In power once more, Kora faces new challenges and a difficult decision that puts someone close to her in mortal danger. The wrong choice could destroy her relationships, her right to rule, and her life. A rebellion is brewing. With their world collapsing around them, new threats spreading across the globe, and their loved ones at risk, the people of Safara―Sepharon and human alike―depend on Eros and Kora to fix their bleeding world. But with generations of hate stacked against them, the two young monarchs may be doomed to...

How Far We Go and How Fast by Nora Decter Publication Date:  September 25, 2018 Pages: 264 (paperback) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 stars Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Jolene, named after the girl in the Dolly Parton song, is from a long line of lowlifes, but at least they're musical lowlifes. Her mother is a tanning-salon manager who believes she can channel her karaoke habit into a professional singing career. Jolene's dad, a failed bass player, has gone back to the family demolition business and lives by the company motto: "We do not build things; we only tear them down." But Jolene and her big brother, Matt, are true musicians, writing songs together that make everything Jo hates about their lives matter less. When Matt up and leaves in the middle of the night, Jo loses her only friend, her support system and the one person who made her feel cool. As it becomes clear that Matt is never coming back, Jo must use music to navigate her loss. ...

Order of Protection  by Lexi Blake Publication Date: June 5, 2018 Pages: 336 (kindle) Genre: Contemporary Romance My Goodreads Rating: 3 stars Synopsis: To high-end defense attorney Henry Garrison, Win Hughes is a woman he met during one of the most trying times of his life. She's soft and warm, and he finds solace in their brief relationship. But Win has a secret. She's actually Taylor Winston-Hughes--born to one of the wealthiest families in the country, orphaned as a child by a tragic accident. Win moves in the wealthiest circles, but her lavish lifestyle hides her pain. When her best friend is murdered in the midst of a glittering New York gala, Win's charged with the crime, and the only person in the world she wants to see is Henry. Henry is shocked at the true identity of his lover, but he can't reject the case. This trial could take his new firm into the stratosphere. Still, he's not getting burned by Win again. And yet every turn brings ...

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine  Publication Date: December 31, 2013 Pages: 370 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 stars Goodreads Synopsis:  Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how. Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how. One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complica...

Release  by Patrick Ness Publication Date: September 19, 2017 Pages:  288 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  Inspired by Judy Blume’s Forever and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway , this novel by award-winning author Patrick Ness is a new classic about teenage relationships, self-acceptance—and what happens when the walls we build start coming down. Adam Thorn doesn’t know it yet, but today will change his life. Between his religious family, a deeply unpleasant ultimatum from his boss, and his own unrequited love for his sort-of ex, Enzo, it seems as though Adam’s life is falling apart. At least he has two people to keep him sane: his new boyfriend (he does love Linus, doesn’t he?) and his best friend, Angela. But all day long, old memories and new heartaches come crashing together, throwing Adam’s life into chaos. The bindings of his world are coming untied one by one; yet in spite of everything he has to let go...

The Border  by Steve Schafer Publication Date: September 5, 2017 Pages: 364 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating:  3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: One moment changed their lives forever. A band plays, glasses clink, and four teens sneak into the Mexican desert, the hum of celebration receding behind them. Crack. Crack. Crack. Not fireworks―gunshots. The music stops. And Pato, Arbo, Marcos, and Gladys are powerless as the lives they once knew are taken from them. Then they are seen by the gunmen. They run. Except they have nowhere to go. The narcos responsible for their families' murders have put out a reward for the teens' capture. Staying in Mexico is certain death, but attempting to cross the border through an unforgiving desert may be as deadly as the secrets they are trying to escape...  My Review:  This book is a little out of my genre of YA simply because of the subject matter. While interesting, the writing was ...

Girl in Snow  by Danya Kkafka Publication Date: August 1, 2017 Pages:  368 (ebook) Genre: Mystery My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  WHO ARE YOU WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING? When a beloved high schooler named Lucinda Hayes is found murdered, no one in her sleepy Colorado suburb is untouched—not the boy who loved her too much; not the girl who wanted her perfect life; not the officer assigned to investigate her murder. In the aftermath of the tragedy, these three indelible characters—Cameron, Jade, and Russ—must each confront their darkest secrets in an effort to find solace, the truth, or both. In crystalline prose, Danya Kukafka offers a brilliant exploration of identity and of the razor-sharp line between love and obsession, between watching and seeing, between truth and memory. Compulsively readable and powerfully moving, Girl in Snow offers an unforgettable reading experience and introduces a singular new talent in Danya Kukafka. My R...

Once and For All  by Sarah Dessen Publication Date: June 6, 2017 Pages: 358 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that's why she's cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm's length. But Ambrose isn't about to be discouraged, now that he's met the one girl he really wants. Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humor, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself. My Review: I'll have to admit to being a little disappointed with this one. Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors and I've read all o...

Ready to Run by Lauren Layne Publication Date: August 22, 2017 Pages: 175 (ebook) Genre: Contemporary Romance My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Jordan Carpenter thinks she’s finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: Luke Elliott, a playboy firefighter who’s left not one but three brides at the altar. The only problem? Luke refuses to answer Jordan’s emails or return her calls. Which is how she ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It’s not Manhattan but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly . . . except for Luke, who’s more intense—and way hotter—than the slick womanizer Jordan expected. Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York. But before he can send her packing, Jordan’s everywhere: at his favorite bar, the county fair, even his exes’ book club. Annoyingly, everyone in Lucky Hollow seems to ...

Into the Water  by Paula Hawkins Publication Date: May 2, 2017 Pages: 388   (hardcover) My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged. Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return. With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiv...

The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan Publication Date: May 2, 2017 Pages:  414 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy My Goodreads Rating:  3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Zeus has punished his son Apollo—god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more—by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo do anything about them without his powers? After experiencing a series of dangerous—and frankly, humiliating—trials at Camp Half-Blood, Apollo must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships—with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and ...

Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner Publication Date: September 13, 2016 Pages: 368 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3   Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  How do you move on from an irreplaceable loss? In a poignant debut, a sixteen-year-old boy must learn to swim against an undercurrent of grief—or be swept away by it. Otis and Meg were inseparable until her family abruptly moved away after the terrible accident that left Otis’s little brother dead and both of their families changed forever. Since then, it’s been three years of radio silence, during which time Otis has become the unlikely protégé of eighteen-year-old Dara—part drill sergeant, part friend—who’s hell-bent on transforming Otis into the Olympic swimmer she can no longer be. But when Otis learns that Meg is coming back to town, he must face some difficult truths about the girl he’s never forgotten and the brother he’s never stopped grieving. As it becomes achingly clear that he and Meg...

Well, it seems like I haven't posted one of these SINCE DECEMBER and now that 2017 is almost halfway over I figured I should?  Reading has seriously taken a backseat to life lately and I'm looking forward to summer break so I can get back in the swing of things. Below you'll find my four and five star reads since January. Most of them have been released since the ARC flow has been slow as well (come on NetGalley/Edelweiss). The majority of them have links back to the review if you just click on the book! I hope you find something you like! Five Star Reads:   This book was beautiful.  I cried and stayed up past my bedtime.  Releases in October 2017. Love. This. Series.  Check out Rebel of the Sands  first. I reread this.  Still swoony. Four Star Reads:                   Happy reading! 

The Sun is Also a Star  by Nicole Yoon Publication Date: Novembe 1, 2016 Pages: 384 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating:  3 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us. The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true? My Review:  This...

What Light by Jay Asher Publication Date: October 18, 2016 Pages:  272 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating:  3 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other. Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other. By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love. What Light ...

Replica  by Lauren Oliver Publication Date: October 4th 2016 Pages: 544 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult/Science Ficion My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 stars Goodreads Synopsis:  Lyra From a distance, the Haven Institute, tucked away on a private island off the coast of Florida, looks serene and even beautiful. But up close the locked doors, military guards, and biohazard suits tell a different story. In truth, it is a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed. But when a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape. As they make their way through a new and menacing environment, they meet a stranger named Gemma, who has embarked on a perilous quest of her own. And as Lyra tries to understand Haven’s purpose, she uncovers earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls. Gemma Gemma has been...

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear by Paul Crilley Publication Date: July 26th, 2016 Pages: 296 (hardcover) Genre: Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 stars Goodreads Synopsis : A guilt-ridden father. A harsh mentor. A passionate lover. What drives the Man Without Fear? Matt Murdock was raised by a single father, an over-the-hill prizefighter with one last chance to make good - a chance that cost him his life. Taunted and tormented by other children, Matt's life was irrevocably altered after he was blinded by radioactive materials while saving the life of an old man. The payoff? An unbreakable will and a keen intelligence, helping focus the super-senses with which he was blessed during the accident. His story is one of love, pain, disappointment, and strength. In this brand-new adaptation, witness the strange machinations behind the life of one of Marvel's most beloved heroe s. My Review:  I've been mildly obsessed with Daredevil since Netflix aired season...

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!