Blog Tour: When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn (Review & Giveaway)

When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn
(standalone)
Published: August 1, 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
Source: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review as part of the blog tour. All opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Summary from Goodreads:
“This isn’t meant to be a confession. Not in any spiritual sense of the word. Yes, I’m in jail at the moment. I imagine I’ll be here for a long time, considering. But I’m not writing this down for absolution and I’m not seeking forgiveness, not even from myself. Because I’m not sorry for what I did to Rose. I’m just not. Not for any of it.”

Ben Gibson is many things, but he’s not sorry and he’s not a liar. He will tell you exactly about what happened on what started as a simple school camping trip in the mountains. About who lived and who died. About who killed and who had the best of intentions. But he’s going to tell you in his own time. Because after what happened on that mountain, time is the one thing he has plenty of.

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I don't have much experience with thrillers or mysteries, but when I read the synopsis for WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH  YOU, I was immensely intrigued and knew I needed to read this novel! I'll admit, this is more of a survival story than a thriller, so it wasn't quite what I expected, but there were still so many wonderful things about this book! 

The characters in this book and their relationships with each other were phenomenally done. That was by far the most fascinating aspect of this story. Here we are with a group of teenagers, all broken and flawed and hoarding their secrets, but just trying to do their best. I was so invested in figuring out the intricacies of this group. Who is lying to whom? Who is sleeping with whom? Who hates whom? That was the most thrilling part for me, unraveling their truths. They were all kind of shitty, but that was most of the fun. 

From the very beginning, Ben, the narrator, tells us he is locked up, that he killed his girlfriend Rose and he doesn't feel bad about it. He tells us that he's not explaining everything because he's seeking to lighten his punishment. He just wants the truth to be out there. Interesting, no? Of course, the main appeal of the novel is to figure out why he killed Rose, but from the beginning, I had a hunch and my hunch was correct, so the ending wasn't as shocking as I would have liked. But, once again, it was amazing to see Ben transform with each page, to see how he reached that point, how he ended up in a cell. 

While this book had plenty of plot, it felt more character driven for me. I just found the plot to be...slow toward the second half. As far as thrillers go, I wasn't particularly thrilled. And I guess that's because this book is more of a survival story than a thriller. That's the only reason this book wasn't a five-star read for me. Because, while the writing was incredible and the characters were enticing, I found myself slogging through certain parts. Plus, it's a dense book, so even though it's only like 300 pages, it felt much longer than that. 

My rating: 

3.5/5

•3 copies of WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU by Stephanie Kuehn will go to 3 winners 

•1 winner will receive a copy of WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU & THE SMALLER EVIL by Stephanie Kuehn

•4 winners total

•US Only

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I grew up in Berkeley, California, which is a quirky sort of a place with many wonderful bookstores. When I was fifteen, my very first job was working in one of those bookstores. It’s where I would go after school, and I’d read everything that I could. Back then, some of the books that had the greatest impact on my life were young adult novels, and now, as an adult, I’ve found my own passion in writing for teens.

Other passions of mine include mental health advocacy, social justice, and sports of all kinds. When I’m not writing or reading (or studying for graduate school), I’m usually outside running or playing with my family. I currently live in Northern California with my husband, three kids, and our menagerie of pets. Life is loud, joyous, and filled with animal hair.


Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my last name is pronounced keen. I know! I don’t get it either.

Lefty's Lowdown: Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
(standalone)
Published: May 3, 2016 by Simon Pulse
Source: Read for free via rivetedlit.com. All opinions stated in this review are my own 100% honest thoughts.

Summary from Goodreads: 
“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

 As you may or may not know, in February I will be studying abroad in Austria for my final semester of college. So when I saw that this takes place in Europe, I knew I needed to read it. While this novel had its problems, it was a light, interesting read, and it definitely made my wanderlust flare.

So, Lina's mother just died. On her way out, she started telling Lina these stories of her time studying abroad in Italy, and her friend Howard, who she met there. Then she breaks the news that this Howard character is Lina's father and begs Lina to go live with him in Italy and get to know him IN ITALY after she dies (not in Italy). Obviously, I enjoyed the setting of this novel, but it was moreso than the fact that it takes place IN ITALY. Howard lives in a cemetery, basically, and all the friends Lina makes IN ITALY have really interesting houses. I was really charmed by that aspect because I am obsessed with cool houses.

Something else I really loved while I was reading is that when Lina arrives at Howard's she discovers a journal that her mother sent to the house for her from her time in Italy. It catalogs a scandalous romance, some poor decisions, and a harsh truth for Lina. The journal is a story inside of a story, which I always love, and it presents an almost-mystery--and I needed to figure out how things played out. Plus, we get to follow Lina as she checks out some of the places her mother mentions going to IN ITALY so it was like a lil tour and that was a lot of fun.

The romance between Lina and Ren is cute and sweet, but nothing particularly special. It seemed to move a bit fast. Not insta-love fast, but fast nonetheless. Ren was immediately taken by Lina, and part of it just seemed to be because she was new. But don't get me wrong: Ren was cute! I loved that he was willing to be there for Lina for anything, and he always seemed to be down for an adventure. I was rooting for their romance, definitely, but it was no Epic Love, ya know? What I thought was cuter than the romance was the relationship Lina and Howard develop. It's a strange father-daughter dynamic, considering the two of them have only known about each other for a short time, but the way their relationship changes and grows is heckin adorable. As a bonafide daddy's girl, I'm a sucker for a lovely father-daughter storyline.

Now for the thing that bothered me most about this book: THE END. Yes, it was a bit predictable. But that's to be expected. It was really just one event that genuinely angered me and spoiled the entire ending for me. You see, Lina goes out with a guy she'd been flirting with throughout the whole book, except she's only using him to see Ren, and that just bothered me so much. It made some of their sweet moments taste a little bitter as I was reading.

This book was charming and sweet and a really quick read. It is a really nice summer read, and it will absolutely sate any desire for a light, fun contemporary book.

My rating: 

3.5/5

A post shared by The Left-Handed Book Lover (@leftyreads) on Jun 29, 2017 at 2:28pm PDT

Lefty's Lowdown: Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger

Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger

(Follow Me Back #1)

Published: June 6, 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire

Source: I received an eARC of this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley, but that had no influence on my review or opinions. 

Summary from Goodreads: 
Tessa Hart’s world feels very small. Confined to her bedroom with agoraphobia, her one escape is the online fandom for pop sensation Eric Thorn. When he tweets to his fans, it’s like his speaking directly to her…

Eric Thorn is frightened by his obsessive fans. They take their devotion way too far. It doesn’t help that his PR team keeps posting to encourage their fantasies.

When a fellow pop star is murdered at the hands of a fan, Eric knows he has to do something to shatter his online image fast—like take down one of his top Twitter followers. But Eric’s plan to troll @TessaHeartsEric unexpectedly evolves into an online relationship deeper than either could have imagined. And when the two arrange to meet IRL, what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish takes a deadly turn…

Told through tweets, direct messages, and police transcripts.

 Here we go again with a celebrity book. I'll admit, I was skeptical about this one. Partially because it was originally a Wattpad book and partially because it just seemed a bit like the "I'm not a regular mom, I'm a COOL mom" kind of book with the hashtag on the cover and "IRL" and "troll" in the synopsis. Now I have some really mixed feelings about this book, but I did end up enjoying it!

Okay, so this book has two points of view. Tessa, who is agoraphobic after a mysterious traumatic event and wrote a famous fanfiction about our other narrator, pop star Eric Thorn. Eric took me a long ass time to warm up to. He got famous after posting singing videos on Youtube for 2 years and now all he does it whine about how famous he is and how his fans are obsessed with him. Like, do I think he has a point that his fans are more in love with his abs than his music? Yes. But honestly WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM BEING FAMOUS????? This is actually one of my pet peeves, not only in books but in life as well. You worked so hard to be famous, okay? Don't complain about how hard life is once you're there. You poor thing, people think you're attractive.

Anyway.

Once he and Tessa started to get closer and he cut down on all the woe is me crap, he grew on me more and more. But one of the problems I had with this book was that I couldn't suspend disbelief for some of the characters' logic and decisions. Like, did Eric really think that creating a fake Twitter account and calling himself rude names would make his fans see him in a different light? That's ridiculous. I guess that's how I could sum up parts of this book: ridiculous.

HOWEVER. As the end approached, I found myself reading with increasing ferocity to figure everything out. Was it a mind boggling thriller? Absolutely not. It was fairly predictable and bit drawn out, if you ask me, but I still wanted needed to know what happened to the characters in the past, present, and future. They both experienced a lot of change over he course of the novel and I was rooting for them and their relationship more and more as the final page grew nearer.

And then the final page happened. And my jaw dropped. I wasn't ready for the ending, and now I'm desperately waiting to see what comes next. Also, I just need to mention that this is another mixed media book, which, as you may or may not know, I am a complete sucker for. There are police transcripts and tweets and DMs and it was all good fun.

So, no, this isn't the best book I've ever read, but it is an addicting read. A quick read. An exciting read. And honestly, it stuck with me. I can't wait to see where this story goes next, though I do have an idea.

My rating: 

3.5/5

Lefty's Lowdown: You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross by Mark Perini

You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross and Mark Perini
(standalone)
Published: August 2, 2016 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: I received an eARC of this book for review via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not influenced my opinion of the book.

Summary from Goodreads: 
Model Finley needs someone to help her shed her "good girl" persona, so she'll try Eddie on for size.

New York City model Finley is fed up with hearing the same feedback at castings: she needs to take some serious action to wipe the "good girl" stamp from her resume if she wants to launch to stardom.

Enter Eddie Wells. He's shallow, predictable…and just as lost as Finley feels. Deep down, Finley is drawn to Eddie's bravado, his intensity. Except Eddie is hiding something. A big something. And when it surfaces, both loving and leaving Finley will become so much harder.

 Y'all, books like this are my guilty pleasure. This is not what anyone would consider top-notch literature. It's got tropes coming out the wazoo. AND YET--I ate up every word. I read the novel in one day.

Okay, so this book is told from two points of view: Finley, the too-sweet model losing out on jobs because she's not edgy enough, and Eddie, the new, gorgeous, mysterious model on the block. They meet at a party, shouldering their own separate burdens, and have a one night stand. Except afterward, instead of going about their lives and looking fondly back on that one night of spontaneity, their lives continue to collide. Like I said, this book is brimming with tropes, starting with these characters and their romance. There is nothing particularly special about any of it (I didn't even remember the characters' names until I read the summary), but when I was actually reading, I was incredibly absorbed in the story. I wanted to see them finally confess their love for each other; I wanted to know the secrets they were keeping; I was rooting for them to get their shit together.

That's not to say that this story had no depth or anything, because it did! Finley and Eddie both had to work through some personal issues and figure out what they wanted for their futures. They struggled with vastly different familial issues. They both grew a lot by the end of the novel and I was satisfied by the conclusion.

Some other smaller things that helped me enjoy this story are 1) the minor characters--I just adored Finley's family! I thought every time her dad & brothers were in a scene, the book just got so much more interesting--and 2) the modeling. I know that Mark Perini actually is a former model, so it created this authentic insight into the world of high-fashion modeling, which is something I've not really seen a lot of in novels.

This is basically just another "trashy" (I only say this because I don't know what other word to use. It's not really trashy, but I hope you get what I mean) new adult book. I'd say it is similar to Abbi Glines's work (a little less steamy, though) so if you're a fan of the types of books shes writes, then I definitely recommend this one. It's really a great book if you just want to get lost in some fictional drama for a few hours.

3.5/5 stars

Lefty's Lowdown: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
(Book #1)
Published: June 7, 2011 by Quirk
Source: Purchased

Summary from Goodreads:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

 The second I saw the movie trailer for this book's adaptation, I knew I wanted to read it. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably have seen my struggle with this book. I finished the last page with very mixed feelings, and, even a week later, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book, so this review is going to be a little bit different than my usual reviews.

PROS: 

+ The writing - I enjoyed the style, and I loved Jacob's voice.

+ The photos - If a book has mixed media, I instantly like it more. And these aren't just photos; they're creepy af photos. And probably my favorite part of this book!

+ The peculiarity - I really enjoyed reading about the side characters and what their peculiar trait was. Some of the traits were more common (invisibility, fire balls), but some were much more unique (controls bees, back mouth)! It was a lot of fun!

+ The second half - I became pretty damn hooked when Jacob started unraveling the truth about his grandfather's past, and the truth about the peculiar children, and the truth about himself. It became exciting and fast-paced! Not to mention there was a little twist that I hadn't seen coming (even though I probably should have).

CONS: 

- The first half - It was so hard to make it through the first half of this novel. While I thought the writing was good, it just didn't hook me in. It was slow and drawn out. I really think Ransom Riggs could have cut out a good chunk of the first half and got to the good stuff quicker.

- Lack of connection - I liked Jacob's character. He grew a lot over the course of the novel, and, like I said above, I loved his voice. However, I didn't really connect with him the way I would have liked to.

- The romance - It felt rushed and, yes, WEIRD. If it developed more slowly over the course of the series, I'd probably be a bit more into it, but it felt a little forced this early on. (But it wasn't insta-love or anything, I promise.)

- The world building - I'm still just a bit confused about it all? This is probably more my fault than the book's fault, I just didn't think some aspects of the world were explained sufficiently enough. Maybe I'll understand it more as I read the rest of the series.


As you can see, I'm pretty torn. There were some aspects I thought were great, and some that made it really hard to get through this book. It took me two weeks to read this book, and for a little while, I began to feel slumpy, and I debated DNFing. I'm glad I didn't DNF, though, because by the end of this novel, I was hooked enough to want to continue the series! And I am unbelievably stoked for the movie!

Actually 3.5/5

Lefty's Lowdown: This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin

This Song Is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin
(standalone)
Published: January 5, 2016 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: I received an eARC for review from the publisher via Netgalley, but that hasn't influenced my opinion at all!

Summary from Goodreads:
Bandmate, best friend or boyfriend? For Ramona, one choice could mean losing them all.

Ramona and Sam are best friends. She fell for him the moment they met, but their friendship is just too important for her to mess up. Sam loves April, but he would never expect her to feel the same way--she's too quirky and cool for someone like him. Together, they have a band, and put all of their feelings for each other into music.

Then Ramona and Sam meet Tom. He's their band's missing piece, and before Ramona knows it, she's falling for him. But she hasn't fallen out of love with Sam either.

How can she be true to her feelings without breaking up the band?

This book is weird. There is no other way to put it. The characters are weird and the romance is weird. But weird isn't always a bad thing. I requested this book because it was about teenagers and music and I'm a teenager who likes music, but I had no clue what I was getting myself into. In This Song Is (Not) For You, Laura Nowlin uses quirky outcasts to explore ideas that we don't often see in YA lit. 

I wasn't lying when I said these characters are weird. Ramona is this ball of energy. She gets these ideas in her head that she is usually right about, but she feels so strongly about things she won't let anyone tell her she's wrong. She plays the piano and the drums. Her best friend (and the guy she loves) is Sam. He is pretty quiet and thoughtful and he plays basically every stringed instrument known to man. He is in love with Ramona, but he's too afraid to tell her. Then they meet Tom who is truly a unique character. He feels very strongly about changing the way people look at the world. He likes art and glitter. All three of these characters have very distinct voices and are very interesting to read about. It was really enjoyable to see them grow and figure themselves out and break out of social expectations. 

Here's a fun fact about me: I absolutely loooove when people challenge society's expectations and viewpoints. I love when people learn to accept themselves even though every one else tells them there is something wrong with them. That's a very prominent aspect of this novel, and I just adored it. I especially loved that this novel deals with asexuality. The author doesn't explicitly use the word "asexual" but that's what it is. I think that this book is really important because of this. I have a friend who is asexual and I still have a really hard time wrapping my mind around the concept. The thing is, I think there are a lot of people who don't understand the concept all that well, even though it's really important. I just think that This Song Is (Not) For You is great because it brings attention to asexuality (among other things), helps widen our understanding, and makes us think. 

Like I previously stated, the romance is really weird (again, not bad) and different and you might not fall in love with the situation, you might not ship it very much. I know I didn't. But I just can't stress enough how important I think this book is and the ideas in it. 

I'm very happy I read this book. I know I say that about pretty much every book I read, but that doesn't make it any less true. I think a lot of teens who are struggling to figure themselves out could benefit from reading this book. It's quick, it's fun, and it's riddled with music talk and self-discovery.

My rating:

actually 3.5/5