Lefty's Lowdown: Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt

Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt
(standalone)
Published: August 10, 2010 by Ember
Source: Purchased

Summary from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old high school senior Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. She's been admitted to Wellesley, but her dad just lost his job, and somehow she has to come up with a year of tuition herself. But Shannon's dream of making big bucks waitressing at the local casino, the Collosio, disappears faster than a gambler's lucky streak. Her boss is a tyrant, her coworker is nuts, and her chances of balancing a tray full of drinks while wearing high-heeled shoes are slim to none. Worse, time is running out, and Shannon hasn't made even half the money she'd hoped.

When Shannon receives a mysterious invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of highly talented college poker players, at first she thinks No way. She has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max. But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteen-year-old leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.

Soon Shannon's caught up in a web of lies and deceit that makes worrying about tuition money or a high school crush seem like kid stuff. Still, when the money's this good, is the fear of getting caught reason enough to fold?

This fun, sexy, recession-proof story is a bubbly summer read with surprising depth—great for fans of Sarah Mlynowski.

I picked this book up because I had just finished Me Before You and I wanted something short and sweet to get me through all my emotions. Well, it was short, so there's that. I typically love almost-in-college books, so I was intrigued. Plus, SECRET POKER SOCIETY HOW COOL AMIRITE?

I wasn't right. The premise is the only thing this book has going for it. The execution was miserable. I'm not trying to be one of those people who get super bash-y in my negative reviews, but I'm not sure how to put it nicely: this is the most annoying book I've ever read in my life. 

I thought the narrator was judgmental, irritating, stupid, and selfish. She treated people like crap for no reason. By the end, she learns her lesson or whatever, but I didn't care. I literally started banging my head against this book several times because I got so freaking annoyed by all of it. Maybe I should take into consideration that this was written 6 years ago, but I found the writing to be forced and try-hard (with the use of the word "obvi" and "probs" and several instances of "BFF" it sounded like a middle-aged mom trying to be "hip"). 

Aside from the protagonist, I thought the rest of the characters were flat. We literally don't know anything about them. The only character I even liked a little bit was Robyn, the protagonist's sister. Max, the love interest, had potential, but again SO FLAT. 

I didn't care about anything that happened, but, like I said, it's a short book, so I forced myself to push through, but if it had been any longer I would have DNFed it. About 20 pages in, I started tabbing all the parts of the novel I found especially irritating, but once I started tabbing multiple spots on one page, I gave up on that. 

A few years ago I read another book by Barnholdt and, at least back then, I enjoyed it. I'll most likely try one more book by her (mostly because I own one more of her books), but if that one doesn't work for me, I'll probably never re-visit this author. I initially gave the book 2 stars, but I am lowering the rating half a star. 

ACTUALLY 1.5/5 

Lefty's Lowdown: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
(standalone)
Published: May 4, 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: purchased

Summary from Goodreads: 
Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

 I feel like a broken record, spouting over and over again how marvelous Morgan Matson is. But you shoukd blame Matson, not me--it's not my fault Matson has never disappointed me. Not with the other books I've read by her, and not with this one. Morgan Matson set a high standard by putting the word "epic" in the title, and while I don't know that I'd actually describe this novel as epic, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour has so, so, so many special qualities that make it absolutely wonderful.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Morgan Matson is a master of characterization. She has a way of creating interesting, flawed characters that you can't help but root for. Such was certainly the case for Amy and Roger. Amy is struggling to deal with her father's death, and blaming herself for it. Her brother is in rehab. Her mom has been in another state for a month. She's lonely and she's completely broken in the beginning. And Roger begins the trip broken-hearted and idolizing some beautiful, bitchy girl. But they both grow so much over the course of the novel, and it is just an amazing transformation. Matson also has a knack for creating mmorable secondary characters, like Bronwyn and Lucien, who flash through the story and leave their mark on me and the other characters. Her characters are always an absolute delight to read.

Now, I, personally, am a sucker for road trip stories. Probably because I live in a perpetual state of wanderlust. And this is one of the most interesting road trips I've ever read about. I loved reading about the different stops they made, especially considering all of the stops were personal. What's incredible is that Matson has actually made this trip a few times, so all the details are not only accurate, but vivid. I felt like I was actually on the trip myself.

My absolute favorite part of this novel, though, are all the inserts. There are receipts, brochures, photographs, and more. It's just so cool! It makes it feel more realistic, and it adds something special to the story that you don't find in a lot of road trip stories. Also, THE PLAYLISTS. Matson always makes sure that music is a huge part of her novels, and, as an avid music nerd, I just adore that. In this novel, she makes actual playlists that have little doodles on them and funny alternate titles. Those playlists and inserts are what really stole ,y heart.

Although this book deals with grief, loss, familial issues, and other serious subjects, it is a fabulous summer read that will leaveyou feeling good. It has humor and kissing and diners. This is not your typical road trip story. It's better, I assure you.

4/5

Flashback Friday #1: Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Left-Handed Book Lover's first Flashback Friday. I'm not sure if this feature has been done on other blogs. I haven't seen it, but if it has been, let me know so I can give some credit! 

FF is a feature here where I talk about books I read a while ago but still want to give major love to. This feature is designed to give some exposure to books that may have been forgotten about or that some people haven't heard of, even though they're really great! 

This week's FF goes to...

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

(Hex Hall #1)

Published: March 2, 2010 by Hyperion 

Summary from Goodreads:
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

When did I read this?  

I'm pretty sure I read the first book in this series in ninth grade, which was probably about 2010. It's crazy that I read this five years ago, but I still remember sitting on the couch reading it, still remember specific phrases that stuck out to me while I was reading. There are three books, and I am not sure when I finished the series, but I'd guess around 2013. 

Why did I pick this book? 

This book is so much fun! It's got a magical boarding school, demons, romance, and sarcasm everywhere! And honestly, the books get better as the trilogy progresses. The characters in this series are fantastic. A feisty protagonist, a lesbian vampire best friend. a talking mirror, and cute boys that will both steal your heart. It's an awesome combination. Add to that some pretty good worldbuilding and you've got yourself a zinger of a series. 

This used to be pretty popular, but as the third book came out in 2012, it has kind of fallen off the radar and that is a damn shame. Reading this series was truly an adventure, and I can remember that adventure, and think fondly on it, even years later. 

There is also a spin-off book that I am absolutely crazy about! 

I'm telling you, this series is so worth a shot. I know it's just another one of those paranormal books that was released during the paranormal craze, but it really is tons of fun and addicting. Honestly, writing this post has made me want to go re-read the entire series because it's so fracking goooood!

Also, look how cool the covers are!

READ ITTTTT!

Other info--

Books in the series:

Hex Hall (#1)

Demonglass (#2)

Spell Bound (#3)

School Spirits (spin-off)

Author info:

Rachel Hawkins was born in Virginia and raised in Alabama. This means she uses words like "y'all" and "fixin'" a lot, and considers anything under 60 degrees to be borderline Arctic. Before deciding to write books about kissing and fire (and sometimes kissing while on fire), Rachel taught high school English for 3 years, and is still capable of teaching you The Canterbury Tales if you're into that kind of thing.

She is married to a geologist, which means that they have incredibly strange dinner conversations ("So today at work, I wrote a chapter where killer fog, like, ATE PEOPLE." "Huh. Well, I was chased by an angry reindeer while trying to map parts of Norway." "Um...okay.")

Rachel also has a little boy whose main hobbies are playing video games, running around in circles, and plotting his Future Intergalactic Take-Over.

When not writing books, Rachel enjoys reading, travelling, and knitting (very terribly.)

~ follow her on the twitter ~