Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West (Goodreads Author)
Fan favorite author Kasie West delivers an effervescent story about chasing your dreams and following your heart, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick.
Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.
But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.
As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.
With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.
My review:
It’s been awhile since I read this book! I was reading it on the car ride to Florida at the end of February when I went on the cruise. I had so many reviews due at once that I got a little behind on these.
I was super excited about the idea of this book, buuuut it ended up falling a little bit flat for me because Lacey was in a zombie movie and I just don’t get into zombie stuff. That was a little bit unexpected. I thought it was kind of cool seeing parts of the movie script too, but I still skimmed over that part due to having no interest.
This was a three star rating for me because it was just okay. I’m still looking forward to Kasie West’s next book!
***
Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson (Goodreads Author)
It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.
On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?
Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.
Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?
Kiss a stranger? Um…
Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane’s list. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go skinny-dipping? Wait…what?
My review:
It took me a day to find that perfect book to read on the cruise and when I did, this one was just soooo obvious with the title and all that. It was a four star rating when I first rated it, but I changed it to five stars because I am still thinking about the book over a month later.
I really liked all of the friendships in this book, and that cover was simply GORGEOUS. I also really liked Frank and Emily, how they started out as friends and then their friendship developed from there. The plot of the story was also well done. It took me four days to read this book even though I was on vacation because I didn’t want it to end. Now I’m hoping we will get glimpses of these characters in other books.
This was rated five stars because I also now want to try her other books again, including Save the Date, which was a DNF book last year I believe. I have that book checked out from my library as an ebook.
***
Part of Your World (Twisted Tales #5) by Liz Braswell (Goodreads Author),
My review:
This story was unique from most other Little Mermaid stories. I liked Ariel and Eric and I thought Ursula’s character was well done. This story just wasn’t as memorable as others were for me and I still didn’t have a connection with the characters. It was a three star rating for me since it was just okay for me.
***
Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren (Goodreads Author)
My review:
Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren was one of my top anticipated reads for 2019 because everybody should know that I love a good hockey story.
I loved the plot of the story and how there was a girl playing on the boy’s varsity team. It was a cute read. I just wish we saw more Holland and Wes and that the story could have been longer. This was a four star read. I definitely recommend it still.
***
Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
For Sophie, small town life has never felt small. With her four best friends—loving, infuriating, and all she could ever ask for—she can weather any storm. But when Sophie’s beloved Acadia High School marching band is selected to march in the upcoming Rose Parade, it’s her job to get them all the way to LA. Her plan? To persuade country singer Megan Pleasant, their Midwestern town’s only claim to fame, to come back to Acadia to headline a fundraising festival.
The only problem is that Megan has very publicly sworn never to return.
What ensues is a journey filled with long-kept secrets, hidden heartbreaks, and revelations that could change everything—along with a possible fifth best friend: a new guy with a magnetic smile and secrets of his own.
My review:
Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills was a five star read because this gave me Since You’ve been Gone by Morgan Matson vibes. The plots were similar, but they still each had their own plots that made them different. This book was about friendship, and I liked Sophie and August and her other friends. The story line about her sister did get a little confusing when they revealed a spoiler I don’t want to mention here. I definitely recommend this story if you’re looking for a young adult contemporary book about friendships.
Sorry I have so many books listed here, I just wanted to get caught up since I know I got a little bit behind. I hope everybody has been reading some amazing books lately! Feel free drop a recent favorite book in the comments!
Colleen's Conclusions 
Some of these books sound quite interesting. I’m going to have to add them to my TBR. I don’t read a lot of YA, but I would like to add them to my regular reading.
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Good luck when you do read them! Young adult is great! 😀
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Recommendation : one in a million by Lindsey Kelk if you are into Romance novels or in YA Always Never Yours .
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I have read Always Never Yours! It was good. I’ve also read I heart series by Lindsey Kelk..it’s been awhile! I saw there’s a Hawaii one coming out soon!
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I am always happy coming across more people who have read always never yours 💖. I haven’t still reads the I heart series and yea you right a news one is coming.
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