My goals for Take Control of your TBR Challenge hosted byThe Caffeinated Book Reviewer are to read as many of my physical ARCs as possible. I have two of those books today along with giveaways and mini reviews!
First up:
Romeo and What's Her Name by by Shani Petroff
Understudies never get to perform
. . . which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly "Evening with Shakespeare" is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it's just:
a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show.
Then, Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?
Kindle Edition, 224 pages
Published February 7th 2017 by Swoon Reads
Source: Publisher
Four stars: A cute, funny, predictable friends to lovers romance that will have you snickering.
Emily is thrilled. Her life long crush and neighbor, Wes, just broke up with his girlfriend. That means Emily might finally have her chance, but she is too chicken. So when Emily realizes that Wes is trying out for Romeo, she is determined to be his Juliet. That is until mean girl, Amanda, lands the role. Emily is the understudy, which means being Amanda's errand girl. Understudies never get the part, right?
What I Liked:
- Romeo and What's His Name was a surprisingly cute and funny romance with the ever popular friends to lovers trope.
- I loved the humor. Emily is a hilarious main character. I enjoyed watching her land into one awkward scene after another, and handle it with humor and grace. She is laugh out loud funny. This girl has guts and heart, and she will make you laugh.
- The romance is totally predictable, but sweet. I loved watching it unfold. You can never go wrong with the old friends to lovers romance.
- I enjoyed the strong focus on friendship. Emily's two besties always have her back through thick and thin. I loved the positivity and support of the friendship the girls shared.
- I also liked that family was important to both Emily and Wes. Wes always looks out for his younger brother. Emily's parents are present and supportive, which is always a plus in Young Adult books.
- The ending was sweet and adorable. It ends on a high note.
And The Not So Much:
- I disliked the strong mean girl theme. Amanda is downright awful.
- Even though Wes was sweet and charming, he doesn't have a backbone. Why did he not stand up to Amanda instead of going along with her when he wasn't happy.
- The whole Shakespeare gone wrong was a little over the top and cheesy for me.
Romeo and What's Her Name was a surprising read for me. I went in expecting the typical high school romance, but was surprised by the hilarity in this one. I loved Emily, she is the perfect heroine. This is a friends to lovers romance that is completely predictable, but it's so fun to watch unfold. I loved the humor in this one.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
The giveaway: Open to U.S. Residents. One paperback copy of Romeo and What's Her Name.
To enter read the Contest Policies and fill out the Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Next up:
Genius: The Game (Genius #1) by Leopoldo Gout
Trust no one. Every camera is an eye. Every microphone an ear. Find me and we can stop him together.
The Game: Get ready for Zero Hour as 200 geniuses from around the world go head to head in a competition hand-devised by India's youngest CEO and visionary.
The Players:
Rex- One of the best programmers/hackers in the world, this 16-year-old Mexican-American is determined to find his missing brother.
Tunde- This 14-year-old self-taught engineering genius has drawn the attention of a ruthless military warlord by single-handedly bringing electricity and internet to his small Nigerian village.
Painted Wolf- One of China's most respected activist bloggers, this mysterious 16-year-old is being pulled into the spotlight by her father's new deal with a corrupt Chinese official.
The Stakes: Are higher than you can imagine. Like life and death. Welcome to the revolution. And get ready to run.
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published May 3rd 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
Source: Publisher
Three stars: A fast paced read with interesting and diverse characters, but it lacks realism and a cliffhanger.
Tunde, Rex and Painted Wolf live in completely different parts of the world, but they are best friends, connected thanks to their computer hacking skills and the internet. When Tunde and Painted Wolf receive an invitation of a lifetime, Rex can't resist inviting himself. The trio meet for the first time to compete in The Game. The Game is the brainchild of a rich, visionary, computer CEO. Two hundred geniuses from around the world are to compete head to head to win a significant prize. Little do they know, the stakes are higher than they can imagine and that they are being watched all the time. Who will win the game?
What I Liked:
- I liked the ethnic diversity of the characters. Tunde is fourteen, a self taught computer genius and inventor living in a small impoverished Nigerian village. Painted Wolf (Cai) is a brilliant hacker who goes undercover to expose corrupt people in China. Rex is a Mexican-American living in California. He is a brilliant programmer/hacker determined to find his older brother.
- The Game was exciting and fast paced. I liked watching the players unravel the clues.
- I enjoyed all the hacking and computer parts of the story.
- I liked the illustrations and diagrams in the book.
- I appreciated the darker part of the story involving a sinister motive to take over the world by taking down the current system through exposure and hacking. Scary!
- The book is fast paced and it moves quickly. I liked that it never dragged or got dull.
- I can see this book appealing to young teenage boys.
And The Not So Much:
- Even though I liked the main characters, I didn't find them believable, mainly because there are hardly any background details on any of them. How did they get to be these gifted computer geniuses? Especially Tunde, who lives in a rural village without modern conveniences. How would he even have access to a computer to learn all he knows?
- I never bought the whole concept of Rex being able to write a computer program for a computer he has never even seen in person.
- The book builds and builds but goes nowhere. It cuts off and ends without any resolution. A big, fat disappointing cliffhanger.
Genius was an exciting, fast paced read that I can see appealing to teenage boys. I thought the story had potential, but I never bought into the story because there were too many aspects that I found unbelievable. I was also disappointed that there was no resolution, the books ends abruptly with a cliffhanger.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
The giveaway: One paperback copy of Genius. U.S. residents only.
To enter read the Contest Policies and fill out the Rafflecopter.
Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Watch for more giveaways as part of my Take Control of your TBR Challenge!
