Lefty's Lowdown: Game On by Michelle Smith

Game On by Michelle Smith
(Lewis Creek #2)
Published: August 16, 2016 by Bloomsbury Spark
Source: I received this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not impacted my opinion of the novel in any way.

Summary from Goodreads: 
As king of baseball in the small town of Lewis Creek, Eric Perry can have any girl he wants and win every game he plays. But when a fight lands him in jail, he’s only got one more strike before his baseball career is over for good. His only chance for redemption? The girl next door, Bri Johnson.

Bri hasn’t talked to Eric in months—for starters, she’s been too busy dealing with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, not to mention the fact that Eric’s been preoccupied trying to drink every keg in the country dry. But when he needs a way to stay on the team, she proposes a plan: if he helps her out with community service, he can stay on the team. At first it’s a nightmare—Eric and Bri stopped being friends years ago, surely that was for a good reason, right? But as volunteering turns to bonding over old memories of first kisses under the stars, they start to have trouble remembering what pushed them apart.

In a town as small as Lewis Creek, nothing stays secret for long and their friendship and romance might mean bad news. But in this final, tumultuous spring before graduation, Eric and Bri are about to realize that nobody’s perfect alone, but they might just be perfect together.

 Well, this book marks my final cute-sy contemporary read of summer break 2016, and while it wasn't the most spectacular book I've read this summer, it was still enjoyable!

I was sucked in from the very beginning. Told in dual points of view, Eric and Bri both have interesting & engaging voices, and they were both well-developed characters. They are both struggling with the pressures from the people around them. They both undergo significant change by the end of the novel, and, for the most part, I really loved reading their transformations, but there were definitely some points where I got frustrated. I thought both of the characters could be a bit over-angsty and dramatic at times. Also, I thought Eric made some really stupid decisions. Let me revise that statement—he makes the same stupid decision multiple times. He has a hot head and he constantly relies on his fists to ease his anger, even though he'd literally been put in jail for fighting and had been warned by multiple people if he didn't stop he'd basically be screwed. Like honestly how hard is it to just walk away when someone pisses you off when everything you care about is on the line?

I thought the romance was really cute. It built pretty slowly, but I was rooting for it the whole time because who doesn't love the classic neighbors/long-time friends falling for one another. Also. They do volunteer work together which is so cute and, as someone who loves volunteer work, definitely the dream.

I do wish that Bri's point of view had been a little more fleshed out. We get to see a lot more of Eric's life than we do of Bri's, and I almost wonder if her perspective was absolutely necessary. I feel a lot of what was revealed through her narration could have easily been disclosed through Eric's eyes.

Like I said, this wasn't a particularly earth-shattering novel, but it was a cute & light contemporary that is perfect for people who like sports and small town settings (which, if you didn't know, I just adore small town settings). This is the second book in a companion series, so you can read it on its own without reading the first one! I'm definitely interested in checking out more books by Michelle Smith, though, so I will keep an eye on this series!

3/5

Lefty's Lowdown: We Own the Night by Ashley Poston

We Own the Night by Ashley Poston
(Radio Hearts #2)
Pulished: June 28, 2016 by Bloomsbury Spark
Source: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. That's exactly what this review is: honest. My opinions have not been influenced in any way.

Summary from Goodreads:
"Happy midnight, my fellow Niteowls..."

As a candy store employee by day, and mysterious deejay "Niteowl" by night, eighteen-year-old Ingrid North is stuck between rock 'n roll and a hard place. She can't wait to get out of her tiny hometown of Steadfast, Nebraska (population three hundred and forty-seven) to chase her dreams, but small-town troubles keep getting in the way. She can't abandon her grandmother with Alzheimer's, or her best friend Micah--who she may or may not be in love with.

But for one hour each Saturday, she escapes all of that. On air, she isn't timid, ugly-sweater-wearing Ingrid North. She's the funny and daring Niteowl. Every boy's manic pixie dream girl. Fearless. And there is one caller in particular-- Dark and Brooding--whose raspy laugh and snarky humor is just sexy enough to take her mind off Micah. Not that she's in love with Micah or anything. Cause she's not.


As her grandmother slips further away and Micah begins dating a Mean-Girls-worthy nightmare, Ingrid runs to the mysterious Dark and Brooding as a disembodied voice to lean on, only to fall down a rabbit hole of punk rockstars, tabloid headlines, and kisses that taste like bubble tea. But the man behind the voice could be surprising in all the right, and wrong, ways.

And she just might find that her real life begins when Niteowl goes off the air.

I definitely didn't know what to expect going into this novel. I'm not sure why, but I just kinda thought it would be not-great, and I wasn't actually looking forward to reading it. But WOWZA BUDDY WAS I WRONG. I'm incredibly impressed by this novel. I loved every second of it! 

So, I had a tough time thinking up a rating of this book, because it isn't necessarily the most original story, and it's probably not a book that I'm going to constantly fangirl over and shove in people's hands. This is the type of book that is just so perfect in the moment. It was cute and fun, but it also dealt with some really meaningful subjects, and it had some touching moments. 

This novel follows Iggy, who received some bad news the end of her senior year of high school and distanced herself from her three best friends. However, that doesn't stop Iggy from being in love with one of those best friends--Micah. But then Iggy agrees to go to a party with her friends, and she sees Micah kissing another girl, and things just kinda go downhill from there as she struggles to unravel who and what she wants in life. I really liked Iggy. I didn't necessarily love her, but I found her to be good-intentioned and relatable. I was rooting for her a ton, and I really enjoyed watching her grow and figure herself out. 

As for her friends, I freaking adored LD. She was my favorite character in the book. She was such a good friend to Iggy, even when she didn't necessarily deserve it, and she was just so kickass. Billie, the "golden boy" best friend was adorable! I liked him a lot as well. I didn't like Micah, though. He was, scientifically speaking, a giant douche spoon (I'm pretty sure that was the point). Poston did a fantastic job of giving her side characters depth and fleshing out their character arcs. 

Now, I don't want to say too much, but this book deals with some serious stuff, like Alzheimer's, body image, homophobia, and death of a loved one. Poston handled those topics wonderfully. There were a couple points that I got really choked up, and I was on the verge of tears. 

Also, the radio aspect was really cool. I can't overlook that. 

All in all, this book was downright addicting! There wasn't a single point when I was reading that I felt bored, and that's something I've been struggling with a lot lately. By the end I was grinning like Cheshire cat, and I was actually rooting for the characters out loud (I kid you not, I sat up in my bed, placed a hand to my chest, and chanted, "Holy crap. HOLY CRAP. Yes, this is great! Yes!") This is a fantastic, feel-good summer book. 

P.S. - Even though this is the second book in a series, it is a standalone (it's a companion series). I didn't read the first one, but, obviously, that did not hinder my enjoyment of this novel. 

5/5

Sunday Post #10

• Hi everyone! Happy Valentine's Day! I personally am not doing anything special today, but last night me and a few of my friends celebrated Galentine's Day and we had a blast! We did makeovers, had a dance party, and watched a scary movie. Who needs a romance when you have fantastic friends! 
• Other than that, I'd call this a mostly un-noteworthy week. I pretty much ALWAYS have homework to do (but I don't always do it), and yoga and Zumba are both really fun! My roommate and I are going to start getting into meditation. We've done super beginner stuff and it's really nice! After we finished, I actually felt pretty energized. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten OTPs
Just Write #1 (A new feature I'm using to incorporate my writing into the blog. Check it out!)
Would You Rather #1: Book Boyfriends (Another new feature. This one, I think, will be lots of fun!)

Amber at The Book Bratz posted a helpful How-To for Edelweiss and Netgalley. This is really awesome for new bloggers! 

Jen at Pop! Goes the Reader wrote a beautiful review of The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker. I've not read this book, but her review definitely makes me want to! 

From Netgalley: 

The Trick to Landing by Jenny Kaczorowski - Thanks Bloomsbury Spark!

Won:

(sorry for the crappy quality)

I won 2 ARCs from Confessions of a Book Addict! Thanks, Christina, for Pearl by Deirdre Riordan Hall and Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate. 

What has your week in books and blogging looked like?