YA Review: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

The Art of Lainey - by Paula Stokes

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be? (Goodreads)

The story picks up with the main character Lainey (popular girl and soccer player), who appeared to have her whole summer and senior year planned out, getting dumped by her popular boyfriend. And Jason isn't just a popular jock, no, he's also her first serious boyfriend and the older brother of one of her best friends! Well, what is a girl to do when her perfect life and all her plans seem to be crumbling around her? Wage a war to get him back of course!

The Art of Lainey is a fun, quick, and surprisingly layered YA Contemporary Romance read. I truly enjoyed getting wrapped up in Lainey's world, and feeling sixteen again, and breezed through the book in a day. This book is a sure win with fans of the YA Contemporary Romance genre, those who love a good breakup story, and fans of authors like Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols, Janette Rallison, and Susane Colasanti.

Highlights:

It's hard to figure out where to begin - I can honestly say that I found this book to be a unexpected and refreshing treat. I knew I would enjoy the book, but I didn't realize that I would enjoy it so much or find a book that took some tried and true plot pieces and made them feel original and new.

One thing that immediately stood out to me were the content and emotions of the story. I felt it was very realistic, and brought me right back to high school, being sixteen, and dealing with all the issues that go along with it: finding yourself, friendships, relationships, and breakups. I liked that the story was more than simply a romance, that it was also a coming of age story - it was about learning who you are and how to accept that person, it was about looking at the world around you with fresh eyes. Lainey had to learn to look beyond appearances and pre-conceived notions, she also had to learn about who she really was and what truly mattered to her. This really added depth to the story - the character growth and change we get to read about over the course of the novel.

I really liked the characters in this book - I was very pleased that each character felt well-developed, and that you got to see a glimpse of the meaning behind who they are and the choices they make. One thing that definitely stood out for me was the fact that the author chose to take the time to create 3 dimensional characters, all around and not just create "stock" bad guys and good. Even the Lainey's ex, Jason, is shown in this way - yes he's a teenage guy, yes he makes bad decisions, but he is not shown as a bad guy.

My favorite characters by far had to be Bianca (Lainey's best friend from childhood) and Micah (a boy who works with Lainey, and known her since they were kids). Both characters were fantastic in their own ways, and I enjoyed seeing them help Lainey to grow and also seeing their growth throughout the story as well. One thing that definitely stood out to me were some of the physical descriptions - I liked seeing some variety in the characters. Bianca is described as being pretty, but curvy and not super-appearance/fashion conscious. Micah has an alternative-punk type look, but despite being a main male character was not all "built" or super tan, he just sounded normal. Lainey herself, despite being a popular girl, is not described as perfect but instead is athletically built, strong, tall and with normal skin, etc. She's a bit of a tomboy but also has a feminine side she embraces as well, she's assertive but also insecure and unsure of herself at times. It was nice to see some variety - no super skinny, perfect teeth, hair, eyes, size etc.

I absolutely loved the friendship between Bianca and Lainey, it was a strong female friendship that endured over time. It was refreshing to see, and it was also nice to see this in contrast to Lainey's friendship with her other best friend Kendall.

I think one of the strong suits of this book is that it touches on universal issues, I think everyone will be able to find some part to relate to: the friendships, the identity issues, the relationships. It was great to see a book that tackled all these and made it feel real, I also enjoyed the fact that the book went about the changes slowly. A unique touch was the use of The Art of War, woven throughout the story.

Wishes

Normally, this would be the part where I lay the wishes on you...however, I didn't really have any with this book. I really enjoyed it start to finish, and for me - it worked.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book - I read it in one day, and stayed up waaaay too late to finish it. It's one I hope to get my younger sibling (who is in high school) to read, I think it touches on a lot of great topics and would be a great read for her and her friends. So, if you're looking for a fun, realistic, Contemporary YA read - look no further, give The Art of Lainey a try.

Recommendations:

What Happened To Goodbye - Sarah Dessen

Stealing Heaven - Elizabeth Scott

Dare You To - Katie McGarry

Summer State of Mind - Jen Calonita

When It Happens - Susane Colasanti

Rating - 

5 out of 5 Doxies - Loved it, definitely a reread and own it book!

Reasons Why You Should Read (or Listen to) Heist Society by Ally Carter

Title:                           Heist Society

Author:                      Ally Carter

Release Date:          January 2010

Publisher:                 Disney Hyperion

Genre:                        YA, Contemporary

Pages:                       304 pages

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. 

Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected. Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. 

Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help. For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way. (Amazon.com)

Reasons Why You Should Read (or Listen to) Heist Society by Ally Carter

1. Katarina Bishop - she is an amazing heroine and I LOVED her. She's fun, she's relatable, she just seems real and I'd totally be up for having her as a best friend. This girl is smart, loyal and strong - she is the mastermind behind a heist of a famous museum - and she's a teenager! She's the kind of character I like to read about, and I want more young girls to read about. 

2. This is a story that places an emphasis on friendship, family, and loyalty: I don't know about you, but I feel like a lot of the stereotyping of YA books has to do with how all YA books are about love triangles. I don't think this is true, but I do see a lot of romance books in the YA market - NOT that these are the only books and not that I have a problem with it. (I enjoy a good romance too). However, I love seeing books where the emphasis is on loyalty, family and friendship. I love to see that their are books where the teen isn't just striving to get out of the nest and their family life isn't awful. Most of all, I enjoy a book where the focus is friendship, where the focus isn't primarily on the main characters getting together but on building trust and working through things.

3. It's a book about a heist…a museum heist…masterminded and preformed by teenagers…working against a clock and with the overhanging threat of a mobster-type baddie waiting for them to screw it up. So, basically all things awesome and suspenseful and great!

4. It's FUN: I have read Heist Society before, more than once, and I know I will come back and read it again. It is just such a FUN read, it's interesting and funny and suspenseful and fun. I love the characters and the premise, it's just a really enjoyable read. It is just a feel good book. 

5.  The audio version - it's amazing! I really loved the narrator for the audiobook, she did great voices for each character. She had nice pacing, her tone was great, and her voice overall was very enjoyable. One thing I really enjoyed about her was the fact that each character she was reading a line for had a distinct voice so I could tell who was supposed to be talking at each part. Loved her Kat voice, and the twins, and especially her uncle!

6. It's been optioned to be made into a movie! - Which means hopefully it will be making it to the big screen, like so many other popular YA books recently. Personally I am a huge fan of heist movies and this one would be like Ocean's 11 except even more awesome (in my mind) as it would have a cast of young thieves and a female mastermind!

7. The Places - the story takes place in a variety of great locations: New York City, Paris, London. Who doesn't love a story with some international travel?

8. The Other Characters - I really loved all of the great characters in this book, especially the teens. The teen cast was strong with a nice mix: the mystery Hale, the grifting Gabrielle, the hilarious twins, and super-smart Simon, not to mention the mastermind Kat! Then there were characters like Uncle Eddie and Marcus, equally amazing and enjoyable.

Recommendations: 

Uncommon Criminals - Ally Carter

Gallagher Girls Series - Ally Carter

Also Known As - Robin Benway

Ruby Red Trilogy - Kirsten Gier

Secret Society Girl - Diana Peterfreund

Rating:

5 out of 5 Doxies - Loved it! A must read, reread, and own it book!

Chick Lit Reviews: Jill Mansell's Don't Want to Miss a Thing and The Unpredictable Consequences of Love

  

My Thoughts

Ok, to begin with I guess I should state that Jill Mansell is amazing! She is one of my favorite authors – I love her books so much that I order them from Amazon UK and have them shipped over so I can read them – like I said: amazing!

Anyway, with that out of the way…I have recently read to of her amazing books and will be reviewing them today. On a sad note, this means I am all caught up on her books – even the titles that were not released in the US and I special ordered…which means I will have to wait for a new one. This kind of makes me want to cry because like I said – I love her books!

If you are a fan of chick lit, story lines that revolve around multiple characters, contemporary adult, and/or UK authors – then these are definitely books for you. Go now – run, don’t walk and try out a book by Jill Mansell!

As with all Jill Mansell books, we are introduced to an assorted cast of intriguing and engaging characters, each of different ages and experiences.The settings, as to be expected, are charming English ones that just pull at you and makes you wish you were there. Each story feels real to me, has pieces and characters that feel real to life – and I often find myself wanting to be friends with the characters. Each story is filled with moments of love, laughter and tears – these books are perfect. They are the books I look forward to after a long, stressful day – I just want to sit with a warm blanket, my pups, and warm beverage and one of these books to relax with.

Don’t Want To Miss A Thing 

by Jill Mansell

Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope?

Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood - a much better place to work on his parenting skills - and he and Molly become neighbours. There's an undeniable connection between them. But if Dexter's going to adapt, he first has a lot to learn about Molly, about other people's secrets...and about himself. (Goodreads)

Highlights:

First, I once again loved the characters, and I loved the sub-plots. I adored the village and the neighbors – I wanted to go live there while reading! I found Molly (one of the main characters) to be very relatable, and warm – I just really enjoyed her: bad decision making and all.

I really enjoyed that the story was made up of both serious and light moments. I found myself absorbed in the story from start to finish and was very sad when it came to an end. The writing flows, and really draws you in.

I really enjoyed the Molly and Dex story line; I also really adored the Dex and Delphi storyline. I loved that the story was about a love that grows, that starts as friendship and just progresses over time – I’d like to see more stories like that.

Wishes:

I know many people would state the predictability of the story and wish it was less so…however I just can’t do that. You see, I actually expect and enjoy some predictability in my Chick Lit. I want the couple to get together in the end, I want a happy ending that cheers me up and gives me hope. For me, the enjoyment of the story is in the journey the how and why of reaching the happy ending, and yeah a bit in the ending itself and it’s resolution – each one is a little different.

So I can’t really complain or have any wishes with this book. At times I found myself frustrated with characters like Dex and Frankie’s husband, but ultimately it was part of the journey and growth of the characters. I also really liked these characters and found them relatable because of their flaws and frustrating bits.

Overall, I would definitely give it a thumbs up and recommend it - so go ahead and grab yourself a copy and a cozy spot to read and relax! :)

**For Recommendations see below second review**

Rating:

 4 out of 5 Doxies –  Liked it a lot, definitely worth a read!

              The Unpredictable Consequences of Love 

                                        by Jill Mansell

When Josh Strachan, newly returned to his home in north Cornwall from sunny California, first meets Sophie Wells, he's immediately smitten. Sophie's pretty, she's funny, she has lots of friends and she clearly loves her job as a photographer, despite the sometimes tricky clients. There's just one problem: Sophie has very firmly turned her back on love. It's nothing personal, she tells Josh, but she just doesn't do dates. And no one - even Sophie's scatty best friend Tula - will tell him why. Josh is sure Sophie likes him, though, and he's just got to find out what's put her off romance. And then put things right... (Goodreads)

Highlights:

Ok, to begin with I LOVED this book. I mean, I truly love all of Jill Mansell’s books, but with any favorite author you have your favorites – this one was definitely one of mine. For me, it hit all the right notes and feels, and I just really enjoyed myself while reading it.

I adored the characters (as I so often do with Ms. Mansell’s books) but in this one I was just really attached to all of them. I really loved feeling like I was experiencing it all with them – the characters were spunky and fun. I wanted to be friends with them and hang out and I definitely wanted them all to get their happy endings – though I really didn’t want it to end!

I thought the back-stories were great in this, and particularly enjoyed Sophie’s. I really felt for her, and I was invested and interested in seeing how things would pan out for her. And I really thought the flashbacks were great, and appreciated them as a means of experiencing some of the back-story. I also really liked watching her growth throughout the book, and her getting some closure.

I appreciated once again, the delicate balance that was made between the more serious and light moments of the novel. These more serious explorations always make it feel real, but the lightness makes it enjoyable and hopeful. I also delighted in the fact that once again, various ages and generations were accounted for in the story. That is something that has always appealed to me about Ms. Mansell’s books – it isn’t all teens, or twenty-somethings, or even thirty-somethings. She strives to provide a varied cast of relatable and likeable characters with their own storylines in each book. Life isn’t all about one age group, and I enjoy seeing different points of views, and experiences across a span of people.

Wishes:

Although I enjoyed the book immensely, and would definitely recommend it (in fact I lent it to a friend already), like any great book you still usually walk away with a wish or two. In this case, I might have liked a bit more of a build up to Josh’s feelings/infatuation with Sophie. Although at the same time, the author did only make him infatuated with her – not in love – which is totally believable.

My biggest wish however would have to be with Laurence, I liked him but I also hated him. It wasn’t his personality that bothered me, in fact, based on that alone I really enjoyed and liked him. It was part of his story line/actions – I’m not a big fan of love triangles or falling in love with someone while in love with someone else. Personally I do believe in true love, I don’t believe there is more than one person out there for each of us – I believe in true love and working on a relationship over time. So, this was really just a matter of personal preference – and it wasn’t an active part of the story, it was part of his back-story. But it still irritated me throughout – mostly because I liked him and I wanted to despise and dismiss him out of hand based on the back-story.

Anyway, overall this book was an amazing read that I would definitely recommend and/or lend (or force) on others. J As my friend Lizzy can attest too. Once again, Jill Mansell has done it – left me with another book to love, a book hangover and a prevailing sadness as I realize I now have to wait for her next book to come out. Luckily I have all the others to reread in the meantime.

Recommendations:

If you enjoyed this book and are looking for more romantic, Chick Lit type reads:

I’ve Got Your Number – Sophie Kinsella

Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service – Beth Kendrick

Do or Di– Eileen Cook

The Little Lady Agency – Hester Browne

Faking It – Jennifer Crusie

Rating:

 5 out of 5 Doxies –  Loved it! A must read, reread, and own it book!

Jenn

 Tale of Two Doxies

www.taleoftwodoxies.blogspot.com

Review: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinesella

Title:                    I’ve Got Your Number

Author:                    Sophie Kinsella

Release Date:         February 14, 2012

Publisher:                The Dial Press

Genre:                      Fiction, Adult, Chick Lit

Pages:                      466

My Thoughts

Imagine losing your heirloom engagement ring during a “let me try the ring on” shuffle amongst friends, and then having your phone snatched by a thief…. Welcome to Poppy’s world.

Poppy can’t risk her fiancé and his family finding out, the only option is to contact everyone and find the ring –fast. Unfortunately she is without a phone, but luckily enough she happens to find an abandoned cell phone in a trashcan. Well it’s her only option currently and finders, keepers, right? Unfortunately the owner of the phone, does not agree – and she is now receiving calls and texts meant for him...

This was a fun, light and quick read. Perfect for fans of Kinsella’s previous work, fans of other British Chick Lit authors, and Contemporary Romantic Comedies. Personally, I enjoyed this very much – I found myself laughing out loud and very much enjoyed the interactions between Poppy and Sam. I found the story to be charming and fun – a definite breath of fresh air and a great pick me up read!

I liked Poppy, and though I found myself cringing in embarrassment on her behalf at times, I still found her to be a fun main character and very relatable. There were many other charming characters, but I enjoyed Poppy and Sam the most.  Although I did find the initial idea behind the set up a bit unlikely, Kinsella plays it off as a fun romantic-comedy romp that feels if not plausible than believable, and fun very, very fun.

 I definitely enjoyed myself while reading this one and will be hanging on to it to read again at a later date. Overall, I would recommend this book as a perfect Chick Lit read – it was cheerful, fast-paced, and thoroughly enjoyable. I can’t wait for Kinsella’s next stand-alone novel!

I will make one note regarding format – I bought this book on Kindle and was not able to enjoy it as fully as I would have liked. Much of the story and humor in this book is included in footnotes at the bottom of the page (which is not accessible on Kindle, and are all stored at the back). So it is doable to read either way, I would have preferred an actual copy so I could easily enjoy this part. Something to think about when choosing your format!

Recommendations:  

If you enjoyed this book and are looking for more Contemporary Adult Chick Lit reads try:

The Little Lady Agency – Hester Browne

Don’t Want to Miss A Thing - Jill Mansell

Boy Meets Girl – Meg Cabot

She Went All – Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble – Meg Cabot

Holly’s Inbox – Holly Denham

           

Rating:

 5 out of 5 Doxies –  Loved it! A must read, reread, and own it book!

Jenn

 Tale of Two Doxies

www.taleoftwodoxies.blogspot.com