Review: Charade (Games #1) by Nyrae Dawn

Book: Charade (Games #1)

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Published: October, 2012

My Rating: 5/5

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Book Description:

Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne tries to portray the perfect life to mask the memories of her past. Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection.

Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom’s dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it’s what he wants too.

Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne’s past isn’t what she thought? Soon they’re trading one charade for another—losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real.

Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever.

My Review:

Oh my god, I loved this book!

It reminded me a little of Beautiful Disaster at times, but it’s so much better. And this is said considering that I did like Beautiful Disaster quite some.

Charade is about this girl and this boy getting together in an attempt to hide themselves. Cheyenne needs to show her cheating ex-boyfriend that she’s better off. And Colt needs money to overcome his mother’s medical expenses. But neither are being truthful, with each other or themselves.

Review: Back to You by Priscilla Glenn

Book: Back to You

Author: Priscilla Glenn

Published: October, 2012

My Rating: 5/5

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Book Description:

When Lauren Monroe first laid eyes on Michael Delaney back in high school, she had every reason to stay away from him; within minutes of their first encounter, his volatile actions confirmed his notorious reputation. But Lauren saw something in him that caused her to question his bad-boy persona, and against her better judgment, she took a chance. She had no way of knowing that the unlikely friendship they formed would become so important to her.

Or that it would end so painfully.

Eight years later, when Lauren begins her new job at Learn and Grow Day Care, Michael is the last person she expects to see. Refusing to revisit the hurt and confusion of their past, Lauren vows to keep her distance from him. But staying away from Michael proves to be more difficult than she thought, despite her lingering grief and her instincts for self-preservation.

As Lauren and Michael recall the friendship that changed them forever and the events that tore them apart, will they finally be able to heal? Or will the ghosts of Michael’s past prove to be too much to overcome?

My Review:

I think all the studying I’ve been doing, plus the excitement of finally having vacations burned my brain cells, hence why it took me so long to write a review… or trying to do it…

Here we go…

Wait. No. Before we get into it let me just say one thing: I fucking LOVED it. There. It’s done. Now I can move on.

Back To You was beyond amazing. An emotional rollercoaster on the best sense possible. It’s been a while since I finished it, like half a month, and I’m still all over the place just by remembering the amazingness of it all.

Well, I read it again between then and now actually, just so I could remember every detail perfectly, and cry again. I’m such a woos!

Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Book: Between Shades of Gray

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Published: March 2012

My Rating: 4/5

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Book Description:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously–and at great risk–documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

My Review:

To say I was hesitant to read this book is pretty much an understatement. I bought it on a book fair here in my city, it was the only book cover that I recognized, but I didn’t remember what it was about, and the back cover summary wasn’t giving much away, so I took a chance and bought it.

When I later read Goodread’s description I was freaking out a little. It was way far from my usual reads. In fact, I’m not a fan of history. At all. So yes, I was scared of reading it and hating it, even more when I heard a few people saying they were disappointed with it.

As it turns out it wasn’t so bad after all, and if I’m being completely honest, it was way more than just “not bad.” It was amazing and beautiful.