Tag: 4 stars

Fireworks by Katie Cotugno | Review + Playlist

April 19, 2017 / 10 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
Fireworks by Katie Cotugno | Review + Playlist

Review: Fireworks by Katie Cotugno Fireworks by Katie Cotugno features Olivia and Dana, best friends who live in small town Georgia in the 90s. Dana is poor, with a mother who drinks too much, and no prospects after high school. Meanwhile, Olivia has been dreaming of being famous her whole life. When the opportunity to audition for a new girl group by a famous producer comes up, Dana accompanies Olivia to Orlando – and ends up being picked as part of Daisy Chain as well. I’m a sucker for any kind of music story, especially ones where people have to […]

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Highly Recommended: Letters to the Lost & My Lady Jane | Mini-Reviews

April 10, 2017 / 6 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Review
Highly Recommended: Letters to the Lost & My Lady Jane | Mini-Reviews

Review: LETTERS TO THE LOST by Brigid Kemmerer Letters to the Lost is a captivating book that delves deeply into two characters’ lives. Juliet Young is a girl who lost her photographer mother in a car accident a few months ago. She is still deeply grieving. Meanwhile, Declan Murphy is an angry guy who is currently doing community service after a traumatic and dangerous incident. The book is beautifully narrated, switching between Juliet and Declan’s perspectives. There’s also really strong dialogue between the characters and their best friends and families, who are well-rounded and real. The romance between Juliet and Declan […]

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Recently in Romance #6 | New Sarina Bowen, Lucy Parker, and More!

March 24, 2017 / 0 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Recently in Romance, Review
Recently in Romance #6 | New Sarina Bowen, Lucy Parker, and More!

Since becoming a romance reader a few years ago, I’ve struggled to figure out where romance reviews belong on my site. I don’t usually write full reviews of romance books, and I’m not sure if all of you like the X-rated books! Recently in Romance is my mini-review feature where I bundle my recent reads and buys for those of you who are fans. Recently Read: 4 stars. As a lot of you know, I am a huge, ginormous Sarina Bowen fan. I love all of her books, but her male/male romance writing is where she really shines. This romance […]

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The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee | Review

January 2, 2017 / 5 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee | Review

Review: The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee The Secret of a Heart Note follows Mimosa and her mother, the last two aromateurs in the world. They are perfume specialists with high senses of smell who traffick in love – that is, love elixirs and potions. With this power, though, comes great responsibility. Mim and her mother must adhere to a lot of rules: to help everyone who needs help with love (within reason). To not accept payment for their services. To not divulge their secrets. And to do everything in their power not to lose their nose […]

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The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon | Review

December 6, 2016 / 3 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon | Review

Review: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon You guys. I don’t usually like insta-love books. I don’t normally like books where characters meet and immediately know that they are going to be together forever. Hopeless romanticism often frustrates me. But look, if you’re going to write an insta-love book, then it should damn well be written like The Sun is Also a Star. It should have layered, complex characters with crystallized beliefs who banter super well. Characters who are influenced by more than just each other, and who, in one extraordinary day, share their vulnerabilities and their […]

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Recent Sci-Fi Reads: The Diabolic and The Handmaid’s Tale | Book Reviews

November 30, 2016 / 0 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Review
Recent Sci-Fi Reads: The Diabolic and The Handmaid’s Tale | Book Reviews

The Diabolic is the story of Nemesis, a biologically engineered bodyguard programmed to protect one person against anyone around her. Nemesis is the Diabolic for Sidonia, the daughter of an intergalactic Senator under investigation for treason. The Galactic Empire decides to force Sidonia to come to their planet instead as a punishment. Scared for her life, Sidonia’s mother sends Nemesis in disguise, where Nemesis must traverse the political establishment while pretending to be human. I wanted to like The Diabolic, but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. The main issue was that Nemesis’ voice was kind of robotic and completely devoid […]

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“Fighting Evil by Moonlight” Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley | Review

November 24, 2016 / 2 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
“Fighting Evil by Moonlight” Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley | Review

Review: Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley Is Fate of Flames is sci-fi or fantasy? I’m not sure it matters. The book has elements from both genres, with a lot about celebrity, teamwork, and memory thrown in. In the near future, the world has been overrun by phantoms, shadowy beasts who wreak havoc wherever they go. Most major cities on Earth have anti-shadow technology that keeps the phantoms outside of the atmosphere. Sometimes, though, they break through, and that’s where the Effigies – four girl superheroes who can each control an element – come in. The Effigies are able to battle […]

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Middle Grade Reads #1: Gertie’s Leap to Greatness and Rebel Genius

October 13, 2016 / 2 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Feature, Middle Grade Reads, Mini-Reviews, Review
Middle Grade Reads #1: Gertie’s Leap to Greatness and Rebel Genius

Hi guys, today I have some middle grade recs for you, courtesy of my husband, Evan! Evan is a mostly comic book reader, with lots of literary fiction interspersed. That said, he’s really interested in the middle grade age group – his favorite cartoons (Adventure Time and Steven Universe) explore that age. So when we saw that Gertie’s Leap to Greatness was illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (one of the artists on Adventure Time), and Rebel Genius was written by the creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra (the cartoons), he volunteered to read and review. Read […]

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Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz | Review

October 10, 2016 / 6 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Diversity, Review
Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz | Review

Review: Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz is the sensitively told story of Jasmine de Los Santos: straight A student, cheer captain, and junior class president. She’s poised for greatness, earning a National Scholarship, when her parents drop the bomb: she can’t accept it because she and her family are undocumented immigrants, in America illegally. Something in Between was my first Melissa de la Cruz book, and I really enjoyed it. I know that Melissa has written dozens of other books in the past, but this one that really appealed to me. […]

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Girls With Guts: Girl Mans Up and Overdrive | Gritty Canadian YA

September 21, 2016 / 1 Comment / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Review
Girls With Guts: Girl Mans Up and Overdrive | Gritty Canadian YA

Hi all, I’m back from Asia! I know I promised more reviews than I managed to post – the vacation totally sapped all my reading and blogging time. To make up for it, today I have two mini-reviews of two gritty Canadian YA contemporaries – both are contemporaries, and both deal with kick-arse girls – girls with guts who take on some really hardcore situations. Hope you enjoy, and I promise I will have more reviews and a recap of my awesome vacation soon! I was really excited to read Girl Mans Up by M.E. Girard because I’ve never read a […]

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