Books Via Ashley

Geekerella by Ashley Poston Synopsis (from Goodreads) Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first. Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Dari...

Gone Viking by Helen Russell * I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review * Synopsis (from Goodreads) Frazzled mum Alice Ray likes to think she’s on top everything – she has FOUR bags-for-life in the boot of her car for heaven's sake. But after spectacularly embarrassing herself at work, she finally gives in to her sister’s pleas to take a much needed break. But this is not the luxury spa holiday Alice hoped for – instead, she finds herself in Denmark, in the middle of nowhere, on a ‘How to be a Viking’ getaway. Can the two sisters finally learn to get along or will learning to embrace their inner warrior just make them better at fighting? Review This book had zany characters and hilarious situations, but also some tender, heartfelt moments. It also made me want to craft a sword and build a boat and be a Viking! Alice is a very uptight woman who has a tragic past. Her way of dealing with that--with anything really--is to...

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng * I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review * Publishing date: 12 Sept 2017 Synopsis "In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned - from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. "Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother - who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. "When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a C...

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) "Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life." Review I loved this book for two reasons: 1) I think this is a very important discussion that we need to be having r...

Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon Synopsis Madeline has a rare disease that makes her allergic to the world. She's never left her house, where she lives with her mother and spends her days reading. One day, a new boy moves in next door, they begin texting, and soon Madeline is realizing her bubble world doesn't contain everything she wanted. Review This book is along the same lines as The Fault In Our Stars , in terms of teens with illness finding love, but it's much more lighthearted. The main character, Madeline, is smart and cute, especially in her awkwardness of getting to know Olly (the boy next door). Olly starts off a bit as a manic pixie dream boy , but as the book develops we get some more depth to him too and he becomes a well-rounded character. I thought the romance was cute, even with it being a bit of an insta-romance (she's basically in love with him from when she first sees him). But the whole process of their relationship is really cha...

This Is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp Synopsis A school shooting takes place over the course of 54 minutes and the events are told from four different perspectives. Review I liked that it showed a school shooting essentially in real time, and that it was told from the perspective of people who were close to the shooter. So really, it should  have been an interesting, heart-breaking, deep-felt book. But it wasn't. In all honesty, it's an affront to everyone who has had to experience the horror of a shooting. I felt like it completely lacked emotional resonance.  It was like I was reading a description of events, and being told what characters were feeling, but I couldn't feel the fear and terror and guilt. And when characters died (not a spoiler because it's a shooting; people die), it was sad in that I know it's sad when people die, but it didn't pack a punch because I wasn't invested in the characters. The book was  very  short, and I kn...