Night Owls - Jenn Bennett

Night Owls by Jenn Bennett
Published on August 13, 2015 by Simon & Schuster UK

Feeling alive is always worth the risk. 

Meeting Jack on the Owl—San Francisco's night bus—turns Beatrix's world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive...and possibly one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists. 

But Jack is hiding a piece of himself. On midnight rides and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is.

Night Owls or The Anatomical Shape of a Heart in the US edition focuses on Beatrix, a high school student that wishes to become a anatomy books illustrator because of this she ends up meeting Jack, on a Owl, and this whole story unravels.

I was a bit scary at first of the artist aspect of the story, I think it's because artists are usually pictured as tortured souls and all that shit, so I usually run from these kind of stories, this was not the case here, the art of both Beatrix and Jack do reflect on their personal feelings but it's much more than that, it's an intrinsic part of who they are and their characters.

And the story doesn't focus only on their art, each of them have this whole fleshed out life. The family of both characters are really present in the story and I loved this, each had their problems to overcome and it made me emotional so many times, I even cried out a little bit. There were some hard topics to be dealt with here and I feel like Bennett did a great job, with the divorce aspects and the mental health.

What made this one not be an instant favorite for me was that the romance took a while to be shippy levels to me, especially because of Jack's character arc. See, Jack is holding up on things at the start and most of it is understandable, there is some hard stuff with his family and it's hard to trust someone to tell it, but this made me not be all that sympathetic of him and a lot of times it seemed like Beatrix was opening herself up to him only to be shut out of his life. This changes of course, but it was only latter on in the story so it tool a tool on my enjoyment.

Other than that I don't really have complaints about this story, it was a touching tale about first love and family, and it made me cry a bit more than once. Definitely recommend to lovers of YA contemporary.

The Unexpected Everything - Morgan Matson

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Published on May 3, 2016 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Andie had it all planned out.

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected.

And where’s the fun in that?

I've been wanting to read Morgan Matson for years, so when I saw this beautiful book on the bookstore I just needed to have it, I can't resist a cover with puppies in it. I'm so glad I got it and read it, this book was a delightful read, I honestly was a bit worried about the length, it has more than 500 pages and it's a contemporary book, but I flew by it in three days (which is quickly for me), that being said I do think that some people may have problems with this book, it's very character driven and if you asked me the plot of it I wouldn't have much more to say than that it's a story about a girl finding herself during a summer, and I know that for some people that may not be enough, so keep that in mind.

For me this totally worked, Andie, starts out the story pretty... Stiff, she has a plan for her summer (and entire life really), she has know what she wants to do in college since forever, knows what she needs to get there and works really hard towards it and that is a great accomplish but her control mania doesn't fit only on her academic level. Through the story we get to know that Andie is closed of in all of her relationships, all so that she won't lose control, care too much and end up with disappointments - of course that isn't healthy and things will happen so that she will realize that.

When her plans for the summer fall apart, due to a political scandal of her father, she accepts a dog walking job, which is definitely not a job that will impress colleges but is better than staying in her house everyday with her father there too. I really liked the way this story line played up, it was a way for Andie to get to know herself better affecting her entire future, it showed how a job that she would never have took otherwise, because it wouldn't look ambitious or good enough, managed to make her feel much better about herself than most of the stellar things on her curriculum. Also I loved reading about the dogs, so that was a bonus.

One of the things that was bought into her life because of this job is Clark, a super cute and kind of awkward new guy that would fit the slot of summer fling perfectly, except that he doesn't want just a superficial thing as she is used to have with her ex-boyfriends. Clark unsettles Andie, he challenge her barriers and wants to actually get to know her and not just pretend to talk in between make out sessions, this is unusual and it makes Andie run at first, but of course things happen, these walls come down and for once she let things just... Happen. Their romance is pretty sweet and it has a great development, with a bigger focus on their connection and talks, than in a physical focus.

One of the greatest things about this book is the friendships, Andie is part of a tight group of four girlfriends and their complement and support each other in amazing ways, I was a bit bummed for the ending because I loved them so much, can't talk much because spoilers but it broke my heart a bit. But what I want to highlight isn't the girls friendship but the boys friendship that develops between Tom and Clark, they are both boyfriends that tag along with the group of girls and it was really fun to read about them fitting with them, it' rare to read YA books that have an actual bromance in it, or really just a friendship between boys pictured in the same way that it's pictured girlfriends, it's a nice touch.

Other relationship that touched me was the one amongst Andie and her father, ever since the death of her mother things haven't been the same between then and this definitely affects Andie a great deal, is a major aspect of why she doesn't open herself up to people and his carer, on politics, has been dictating her behavior in a lot of ways. They start of without really knowing each other, there was some funny/awkward moments because of it but it was mostly sad, it got me to tear up a bit, but it was great to read about them re-connecting and really trying to work things out. Their interactions where definitely the ones that made me more emotional, specially on towards the ending, it broke my heart that Andie had to feel that way, worse yet, that it had been her father actions all these years that made her feel that way.

Long review, for a even longer book, I'm sorry but I just had a lot of feelings with all the aspects of Andie's journey. In case you didn't notice yet I absolutely loved this one so much that when I finished I wanted to start re-reading right away, is a perfect summer, fluffy read that has a great character arc, moving family dynamics and a great group of friends with a cute romance on the side, it has everything you could ask for a contemporary novel. Recommended to everyone, but mostly to lovers of Kasie West, fluffy and light reads that still have some depth to it.

Don Tillman Duology by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman #1
Published on October 1, 2013 by Simon & Schuster

I don't know why I waited so long to read this book, it's an amazing! Don is kind of a Sheldon Cooper, in the way that he doesn't perceive the world around him the same way most people do. Now Don thinks its time to settle down and find someone to have a romantic relationship with, on the course of the story he finds Rosie, a girl that doesn't check any of his requirements for a good partner but still manages to make him care and fell - something that had never happened before.

Don is a great main character, his narrative way is unique and reading about the way he sees the world made some moments hilarious and others very heartfelt. I'm not very sure about the romance, Rosie is pretty crazy on her own, maybe that's why Don is such a good fit for her with his schedules and everything organized, and her for him making him loose himself a little.

This was a one sitting kind of read, a can't stop reading cause is so good since page 1. Super recommended to everyone but specially to lovers of chick lit or adult romances.

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman #2
Published on December 30, 2014 by Simon & Schuster

I absolutely loved the first book but something of that first spark was lacking on this book.  The plot seemed to be moving from one check point to the other without real time for seeing Don's growth as in the first book, turning this more in a entertainment to see what crazy thing Don would do next time than making me care about its characters. Also in the first book there was some major changes on Don's character and in this I just didn't felt like there was much difficulties for him, except of course for Rosie. Rosie was different on this book, she suffered from something like the maniac pixed girl syndrome, she just came in to tell the news of the baby and them was practically gone for the entire book, except when she needed to turn up and give cryptic messages to Don.

What I did liked was the group of friends that Don created, these four boys are completely different but still managed to be friends because of Don putting them together on the same table, drinking every week, it was nice and I felt like they are genuinely friends.

Overall I feel like this book was nice and entertainment but didn't live up to the emotional connecting that I had with the first book, also it was less hilarious.