Guest Review by Emily*: Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Title: Right of Way
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating:
Paperback, 320 Pages
Published July 2013

Summary: Here are Peyton and Jace, meeting on vacation. Click! It’s awesome, it’s easy, it’s romantic. This is the real deal. Unless it isn’t. Because when you’re in love, you don’t just stop calling one day. And you don’t keep secrets. Or lie. And when your life starts falling apart, you’re supposed to have the other person to lean on. Here are Peyton and Jace again, broken up but thrown together on a road trip. One of them is lying about the destination. One of them is pretending not to be leaving something behind. And neither of them is prepared for what’s coming on the road ahead… 

Road Tip rip Summer by Lauren Barnholdt consisted of two books, Two-Way Street and Right of Way.

Two-Way Street, starts with Courtney and her ex, Jordan, starting their road trip to Boston University. The book jumps back and forth between the tirp and the before leading up to the trip and is also in dual POV. Jordan and Courtney embark on a three day trip to Boston, recently broken up, there a lot of fighting and secrets being kept. Jordan has made up a fake Facebook girlfriend to cover the real reason they broke up, and the night before the trip Courtney hooks up with her friend, Lloyd, to find out he now thinks they’re dating.

Before the trip,Jordan meets Courtney at a party, only to go home that night to find his mom cheating on his dad. Courtney never thought she’d fall for Jordan. After dating Courtney for two months, Jordan breaks up with her after finding out a secret about her dad. Jordan doesn't want to be the one to tell her so he creates the fake Facebook girlfriend and tells her he met someone else. 

Now, on the trip after a bad night in North Carolina, the secrets come out. Courtney is even more heartbroken now that she found out Jordan knew the whole time and didn’t tell her. 

Truthfully, I feel bad for Jordan in this situation because it's something that affects both him and Courtney. It was a situation he wasn't comfortable sharing with Courtney because of the way she'd react. But also, if I were Courtney, I don't feel I would be as angry (don't get me wrong, I'd still be fuming that he kept it that long from me) because he wanted her father to be able to explain ( warning spoilers) that he was cheating on Courtney's mother with Jordan's mother.

Though I really enjoyed this book, I did only give it 4 stars because it didn't capture me like I wanted it to. I wanted there to be more heartfelt conversations and listening to each other. It really bugged me that Courtney wouldn't let Jordan explain why he didn't want to tell het what happened. But overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

*What's this?

Our best friend Emily is currently on board to become the third (and newest!) Book Brat, so instead of throwing her into everything full-force, she'll be starting by posting some guest reviews here and there of some books she's read. So throughout the next few months, expect to see more frequent posts coming from her! :-)

Waiting on Wednesday: Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine where we highlight some of the upcoming books we can't wait to read!

Jessica's Waiting on:

Title: Carve The Mark
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 
Publication Date: January 17th, 2017

Summary: On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not — their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?
Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power — something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.
Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuve, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive — no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive — or to destroy one another. 

I was a huge fan of the Divergent series, so I'm so super excited to get my hands on another Veronica Roth book! If she writes this one as well as she did the Divergent trilogy, it's going to be fantastic. *heart eyes and grabby hands*

What are you waiting on this week? Leave your links so I can stop back! 

A Brief Check In

Hi guys! I'm here today to just give everyone a brief check-in on me, on Amber, and on everything that's going on. June is a super busy month for me, because of prom and graduation and everything, so I've really only had one day a week to set up blog posts and very limited time on the blog's social media, which I'm trying to fix. (P.S. I used the Deadpool GIF because that's my favorite Marvel movie ever.)

So as for the blogging situation - I'm still currently blogging solo, because Amber's on a bit of a hiatus to sort some things out. She also just had emergency gallbladder surgery, so she's been recovering from that and reading just a little bit whenever she gets the chance.

Also, one of our good friends, Emily (who, if you've stuck around The Book Bratz from the beginning, you may be familiar with) is slowly transitioning to become the third member of The Book Bratz! For the time being she'll just be posting some guest reviews until she gets the hang of Blogger and everything and can navigate everything herself. So expect some more stuff from her in the future.

As for just hanging around - my last day of high school EVER is tomorrow, and then the whirlwind of prom and graduation and grad parties and everything starts to pick up. So I'll still be posting every day, but my social media presence may get a little slower. I'll do my best to check in with you guys at least once or twice a day, though! :-)

So that's my brief check in for today. Have a great day and stick around all week for some more reviews, memes, and fun!

 

Guest Post & Spotlight: The Ceruleans by Megan Tayte

Title: Death Wish (The Ceruleans, #1)

Author: Megan Tayte

Publisher: Heaven Afire

eBook, 305 Pages

Published May 2016 

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Blake is haunted by death. Her estranged sister has made the ultimate dramatic exit. Running away from school, joining a surfing fraternity, partying hard: that sounds like Sienna. But suicide? It makes no sense. Following in her sister’s footsteps, Scarlett comes to an isolated English cove with grand plans to uncover the truth. Alone. But she hasn’t reckoned on meeting two boys who are determined to help her. Luke: the blue-eyed surfer who’ll see the real Scarlett, who’ll challenge her, who’ll save her. And Jude: the elusive drifter with a knack for turning up whenever Scarlett’s in need. As Scarlett’s quest for the truth unravels, so too does her grip on reality as she’s always known it. Because there’s something strange going on in this little cove. A dead magpie circles the skies. A dead deer watches from the undergrowth. Hands glow with light. Warmth. Power. What transpires is a summer of discovery. Of what it means to conquer fear. To fall in love. To choose life. To choose death. To believe the impossible. 

I'm here today with author Megan Tayte, who's sharing the inspiration for her series, The Ceruleans. I spotlighted the first book above, and now here's her guest post on what inspired her with the series!

Guest Post From Author Megan Tayte

Musical inspirations for The Ceruleans

Music is a huge source of inspiration for me. Before each writing session I listen to music from my ‘book playlist’, to get me in the mood. All of my books have individual playlists, and each has its own signature song:

Book 1: Death Wish – Florence and the Machine, ‘Never Let Me Go’.

Book 2: Forget Me Not – Fun, ‘We Are Young’.

Book 3: Wild Blue Yonder – Charlene Soraia, ‘Wherever You Will Go’.

Book 4: Forget Me Not – Stereophonics, ‘It Means Nothing’.

Book 5: Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully – Muse, ‘Madness’.

Overarching all of The Ceruleans is Scarlett and Luke’s song, which plays when they first kiss at the top of a crumbling clifftop folly, on top of the world and a step from death – Ed Sheeran’s ‘Kiss Me’.

I'd like to thank author Megan Tayte for stopping by the blog today to share her playlist! I'm actually a fan of a lot of the songs that she mentioned, and it makes me all the more excited to eventually give this series a start. If you're looking for something new and different to add to your TBR, I recommend The Ceruleans! 

Five Songs That Remind Me of Books

Hey guys! I'm here again with another list post, since those seem to be pretty popular over here. So today I bring you another topic, and one that I particularly like: five songs that remind me of books! So without further ado, here I go...how many of these songs have you heard before?

#1: "Always Be" by Holley Maher - The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

#2: "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade - Looking for Alaska by John Green

#3: "Sugar" by Robin Schulz - The Gossip Girl Series

#4: "Brighter Than The Sun" by Colbie Callait - Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

#5: "I'm So Sorry" by Imagine Dragons - Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

How many of these songs have you already heard? Do you agree with the books they make me think of? Do you have any suggestions of your own? Comment down below; I'd love to see everybody's thoughts on this!