Her Letters Were Kept In A Teal Hatbox....

To All The Boys I've Ever Loved Before: Jenny Han

Well, I have not read such a good contemporary novel in a while. I did opt to watch the Netflix version of this before reading because I'm stubborn and wanted to find a copy without the movie poster cover but apparently they don't make them anymore. Lara Jean Song Covey is an introverted girl who tries to live in the shadow of her sister Margot, always playing it safe. Whenever Lara Jean has a crush on a boy she writes out a love letter for them but keeps it in the hatbox given to her by her late mother. When her Letters are mysteriously mailed out, Lara Jean's world is turned upside down, especially when one of the letters was to her sister's ex-boyfriend. One of her love letter recipients, Pete Kavinsky,  approaches her with a deal to fake a relationship to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and to save face in front of Josh, Lara Jean accepts not knowing that the two of them would indeed fall for each other.

This was a good, quick read; it went by so fast. Even though I have watched the movie a handful of times, there weren't that many differences. I would've really liked to see Lara Jean and Peter at the Estate sale and more of the character's backstories in the movie it was a pretty spot on adaption.  I would really like to get my hands on the two following novels and I can tell you that they are in my Barnes & Noble cart waiting for me to hit that button. 

Pros:
Nice, easy love story

Cons:
Gets a tad boring in the beginning. Letters aren't introduced until a quarter way in.

What's The Point Of Having A Voice If You're Gonna Be Silent In Those Moments You Shouldn't Be?

The Hate U Give: Angie Thomas

Oh boy, I have not flown through a book so fast. I would've finished sooner if I hadn't forgotten it at work going into my day off. I adored this book and the strong message behind it. The amazing story that Angie Thomas is able to tell is so real and heartfelt that anyone who reads this will come out thinking like a whole new person, I know I did. Starr Carter grew up in Garden Heights, what most of her friends now would call the ghetto. After her childhood friend is killed in a drive-by shooting, her parents send her and her brothers to a private school where they are one of the only black children there. When Starr and her friend Khalil leave a party and are pulled over by the police, her world gets turned upside down when the officer shoots and kills Khalil. Learning that she can no longer keep her home life and school life separate, Starr slowly becomes an activist against police brutality and testifies before the grand jury. Bringing both her worlds together is hard but something Starr must do to bring Justice to Khalil.

I am so mad at myself that I chose to read this at work for the number of times I had to put it down versus reading at home where I could read non-stop. I just loved how this story flowed and was so real. The fact that she uses Tumblr and Twitter to show how actual young people actually communicate was awesome and her characters are so relatable, I felt like I was there with them the whole time. Please if anyone reads this, GO READ THE HATE U GIVE BY ANGIE THOMAS NOW!

Pros:
Story with a message

Cons:
I. Want. More.

A Tale As Old As Time Told Again...

Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge: Lisa Jensen

As it will become obvious on this page, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, even to the point where I have a Belle collection in my room that bothers the heck out of my husband. Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge is a brand new retelling of the tale from the perspective of one of the enchanted servants. Lucie, a lowly maid begins to work for her master and is later assaulted by him. When she attempts to kill herself, she is saved by a witch who helps her get revenge on her master by turning him into a beast but when Lucie says she wants to watch him suffer, she is also transformed into a candlestick. She is able to watch him suffer then change as if he is a completely different person.  When a lost merchant stumbles upon the manor and plucks one of the Beast's roses,  Beast demands he stay prisoner but his daughter comes in his place. While they grow fond of each other, Lucie becomes concerned that should Rose break the spell, she will suffer the same fate Lucie did. Lucie sends Rose a vision of her father dying to send her away and Beast attempts to kill himself to restore Lucie to her human form but as he takes his last breath, Rose returns and he transforms back into the Master with his original memories and personality.  With a pretty big twist that I won't spoil at the end, Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge, has turned into one of my favorite Beauty and the Beast retellings. 

I very much enjoyed this retelling from a servant's point of view is a breath of fresh air when it comes to this genre. Too often we see these retellings from the Beauty or the Beast's pov but never from the servant, especially a servant that doesn't want the curse broken, to begin with. One thing that does bother me about this genre is the majority of these that constantly name the beauty Belle or Rose. there are other names that you can use and these are way too overdone. I absolutely enjoyed this book and can't wait to get my hands on more of Lisa Jensen's books.

Pros:
Can't go wrong with beauty and the beast retelling
Creative POV

Cons:
Drags in the middle
Uses most overused beauty name