Book Reviews by Genre: Romance

This book is the first of a 13 book series and it is FANTASTIC!!!!! It is hilarious, the characters are very well developed. The story line is very intriguing as well as entertaining. All around this book is a great mix of romance (beware it seems a little surprising how descriptive it is), supernatural and comedy!!

Twilight Was a great book! This book is about a girl named Bella who moves to the gloomy small town Forks, she just wants to go back to her mom and the sun. She has her first day of school ahead of her and dose not expect to find anything that she likes, but then she meets Edward Cullen. He and his siblings are strange. they seem different, even flawless. The moment Bella walks into her bio class and is forced to sit next tho Edward she knows that he dose not like her, or as she thinks. As Bella and Edward draw closer and she discovers his greatest secrete, a secrete that could kill her. Bella dose not know it but Edward begins to love her. how far will they go for love?
Grade 7 reviewer.

I love this series! Each book gets better and better as it goes on.
Although this one might not be my favorite out of all the series, it still is an amazing book. I loved every bit of it. If you read the first book you already know that there are some scenes that are more for teens and not kids, but only a few. Overall this book was so much fun to read and go through everything with the characters.

I can honestly say, this is the worst book I have read in 2018. I couldn't believe it was written by Janet Evanovich. It lacked her usual wit and laugh out loud moments. I actually thought I would love it since I enjoyed the graphic novel. But no. I didn't care about any of the characters.
I thought the story line plodded along and at the end, I just didn't care. I was hoping a canister of nerve gas would just destroy every copy of this book so no one else who's thinking of reading will suffer.

Living as a slave her whole life and with it many stories and scars, Mariah and some family and friends are finally saved when the Yankees come and take them along as they march towards the war. The slaves will be dropped off at a free state, but they must endure the troubles. Mariah meets Caleb, someone who assists the soldiers. He ends up falling in love with her, but is too afraid to become attached to someone due to experiences in the past. As Mariah tries to overcome troubles and thoughts, Caleb fights his internal struggle, both hoping for something more.
This book is based around a real event that happened during the civil war at Ebenezer Creek, and the author did a wonderful job illustrating and spreading a story not much have heard. I recommend this story to anyone who is into war history and romance.

Written in the Victorian Era, Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy follows the story of Tess Durbeyfield and her tragic downfall. When Tess’s father discovers that he is the descendant of an ancient noble family, the d’Urbervilles, he sends Tess to the d’Urberville mansion hoping that Mrs.
d’Urberville will make Tess’s fortune. After being forced to take a job at the mansion to provide for her family, Tess is taken advantage of by Alec d’Urberville and is forced to live in shame and exile. After meeting a man named Angel Clare, Tess and Angel fall in love, but Tess has neither the strength nor the heart to tell Angel of her shameful secret. When she finally does, her secret tears their relationship apart, but will their love triumph over this “sin” ? This novel by Hardy truly reveals the division of men and women during the Victorian period and how a sin commited by a woman, even if not by her own fault, had everlasting consequences back then. I recommend this book to mature readers, as there is mature content and sexual references, but I highly recommend reading it because it holds both culture and themes that are present even in modern society.
Reviewer Grade: 12

The novel “The Longest Ride” by Nicholas Sparks unravels two beautiful romance stories. The two stories are more different than alike but each love story have its own unique characteristics. The first story is about a man named Ira. He gets into a wreck on a snowy night and starts hallucinating his wife, who died 9 years ago. They start recapping their “Longest Ride” together. There love story came to be in the 1900’s around World War 2, making for some tough times and some beautifully romantic times. The other story is about young Sophia and Luke. Sophia is in college and Luke rides bulls. They meet at a rodeo and their totally different worlds collide. They soon start a relationship that is different than any other they’ve had. I loved this book because I love romance novels. I recommend it if you love sappy romance.
Reviewer grade 10

This novel is about forty-six year old, Paris after her husband ups and leaves her one day for a younger woman. Paris’ identify as a wife and mother is quickly shattered. Her youngest leaves for collage and she is left with nothing but grief. She slowly progresses to developing a new life and self understanding. I will start off by saying that this is a book I picked up for 99 cents in a thrift store and sat on myself until I had read all the other books I had picked up. So needless to say this wasn’t a novel I was anticipating reading. With that said I enjoyed it more than I originally thought I might. Steel has a very descriptive writing style that keeps you engaged. As a seventeen year old, it's not the most relatable book because I just haven’t had the life experiences that were so important to Paris. Due to the fact that it's a romance novel I would say its pretty predictable but it does have a good twist at the end. When I first started reading this book I didn’t really like Paris as a character as she was very unmotivated and didn’t have any anger towards her cheating husband but as the book progressed she changed a lot and grew on me. I don’t know if I would really recommend this book to anyone my age. It wasn’t bad but I've read books I liked much better. I think this book would be better enjoyed by someone a little older who could relate to the characters and Paris’ situation more.

This is an amazing book! However, if you do not like the classic-book-writing style, this book might bore you out of your mind. You have been warned! But, if you don’t mind the style of writing, you will love this book! Besides from being a classic it is also a romance novel. I really enjoyed this book and I hope you will to!

Reviewer grade: 8th

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is a beautiful, classic novel that has an extremely compelling story. The book is about a Parisian opera house that is “haunted” by a mysterious and alluring phantom. The phantom falls in love with soprano Christine Daaè which causes a ton of trouble for the opera house. It is a story about romance, obsession, suspense and mystery. The book was extremely interesting and thought provoking. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of classic literature or the Broadway musical. The story does go more into depth in Christine’s childhood and the phantom’s backstory. I also enjoyed the psychological suspense aspect of the story as well. This book was very detailed and at some points extremely complicated, which made that story even more interesting. There were some boring parts, but most of the time the book kept me engaged. This book is a somewhat hard book because of it’s old fashioned style of writing that may not appeal to the younger reader.
There is no swearing in this novel. Overall, I would recommend this to an older teen who has an interest in Broadway based stories.

Kylie Chan mixes modern life with traditional Chinese mythology in her enthralling tale. The story follows Emma, a nanny for a young girl of a wealthy business man living in Hong Kong. As Emma becomes more and more connected with her charge, she become more entangled with a mystery that surrounds the household. She soon discovers that her employer is an ancient Chinese God, and is pursued by demonic forces. Kylie Chan writes with a faced-pace adventurous quality that keeps readers on their feet.
(Reviewer Grade: 12)

Safe Haven is one of Nicholas Sparks's many romance novels. Main character Katie's status quo is quite somber and desperate, with an abusive husband and no independent life of her own. Safe Haven shows Katie's journey as she struggles to get away from her old life. Although I normally do not enjoy romances, this one was different. The storyline was gripping and thrilling. The writing was perfectly suited for the plot. I recommend this book to anyone, whether you like romances or not.

As is likely the case with many readers, I was assigned to study the play "Romeo and Juliet" in a high school English class. While it's true that I was led on to read the book out of obligation, I ended up forming some pretty spirited opinions on the novel. I definitely was not engaged in this read, but even still, am able to respect its excellence in the context of Shakespeare's time.

As a reader, you can tell that the language used is vastly different from that of the common, English vernacular. For this reason, it can sometimes be a challenge to understand what is going on in the plot, especially since the story is told through the lens of a play. Before attempting this read, I would certainly brush up on some basic play terms, to grasp a better understanding of the composition of such a work.

Another factor contributing to the difficulty of this read is Shakespeare’s use of Iambic Pentameter, a rhyming scheme ideal for sonnets where three sets of rhyming quatrains and two lines of rhyming couplets are alternated. I found it truly impressive that Shakespeare manages to devise these rhymes with so much detail and insight. To go through with reading this novel, I would have to suggest to understand the rhyming scene of Iambic Pentameter, as doing so allows you to come to terms with a greater appreciation for Shakespeare’s work.

I found the plot itself to be a bit too inconstant. While at first the novel seems somewhat believable, the ending turns totally wild and unpredictable. I don’t mean to critique Shakespeare’s work, as his play was truly revolutionary for its time, but to a 21st century teen, this novel may not be the most enjoyable.

In terms of the themes, the novel excels with powerful and proactive lessons.
Reflecting on the plot, and Shakespeare’s use of literary devices such as foreshadowing, can lead to meaningful conversations and analyses about life, love, and happiness.
Overall, I would pin my recommendation on this book, but only if you take the time to understand the niche delicacies of Shakespeare’s writing. At face value, the novel may not seem the most exciting or engaging to the reader, but by appreciating the literary masterpiece found in Shakespeare’s work, you’ll definitely enjoy the read!

Reviewer’s Grade Level: 10

Under a Painted Sky was just okay for me. The book was probably very similar to being on the Oregon Trail - every once in a while something exciting would happen but for the most part, you're on the trail with a long stretch of boring ahead of you! That being said, I really do like the fact that Stacey Lee used a "historical" setting to present two strong, multicultural female characters. Annamae (African-American) and Samantha(Chinese) came into each others lives at a critical time and in the end, they realize that you can choose your family. Also being accepted for who you are was a central theme. But I felt Under a Painted Sky was a historical novel with not much history. The story takes place on the Oregon Trail, and we do hear of some of the hardships of traveling that the pioneers faced, but Stacey Lee only did one mention of Native Americans in the book. One sentence about the Cheyenne. It's hard to believe that on the trail, they didn't encounter any Native Americans. I think this book will be popular with teen girls. They will love the romance!

A metafiction novel documenting the struggles of a young misinformed thirteen year old, Atonement by Ian McEwan provides an intense glimpse into the power of lying and the consequences resulting from deception. Briony, a British girl in the early twentieth century witnesses a crime she twists in order to fuel her intense jealousy. Her eagerness to fulfill her own desires corrupts and destroys her sister Cecilia and Robbie’s romantic life and Robbie is whisked away into World War II. Within the last chapter of the book, current Briony reveals the truth about her manipulation of the book in order to immortalize the love between Cecilia and Robbie, both who die as a direct result of Briony’s lies. I would recommend the book to anyone willing to read deeper and not take everything written on page as the truth.

Those who enjoy deep, complex, twisted plots would be captivated by Atonement. The seriousness of the crime and depiction of the same scene from multiple perspectives limits the prospective audience to those high school and older. Despite the book’s intriguing start, the ending infuriates many as Briony lifts the curtain to reveal her distorted depiction in order to repent for her guilt. Atonement fortifies the pang of a guilty conscious and the powerful repercussions that result from lying.

Reviewer Grade: 11

Vinegar Girl is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. In this version, Kate Battista lives a stagnant life - she got part of the way through her college degree, works a job that she hates, and lives with her scientist father and younger sister, Bunny. Kate's father starts to shake things up when he suggest that Kate marry Pyotr, his research assistant at the lab who is in desperate need of a green card.

I was pretty curious about how this book was going to shake out as the very premise is extremely offensive in modern times - it's really unpalatable to think of a strong woman being "tamed" by her husband. And unfortunately, the book does sort of go there. Pyotr did and said a few things that made him Dead To Me, and on the whole, I found most of the characters to be pretty unlikable. Kate herself was interesting and relatable much of the time, though the circumstances of her situation were pretty avoidable. The epilogue was cute, the writing fine, and the narration was great. I just think it could've been better - after all, 10 Things I Hate About You (don't judge) was a pretty successful modern retelling of the story. Sadly, for me, this book was just ok. 2 stars.

It’s been 2 years since Will Traynor’s death. Louisa Clark traveled for a while, but now she is stuck in a bad job and just treading water. Even surviving a fall from the rooftop of her apartment building doesn’t shock Louisa into wanting to experience more of life. Louisa joins a support group to deal with her grief and develops a relationship with the paramedic who saved her. However, it’s the arrival of teenage girl with a link to Louisa’s past that sets her life into a spin and changes it in more ways than she could ever have imagined. After You, Jojo Moyes’ sequel to Me Before You, is a well-written, realistic look at dealing with grief and all the curves life throws at a person. Fans of the first book will feel like they are catching up with an old friend. Be prepared to cry and laugh out loud as you spend more time with this loveable character.

A must read for dog lovers.

I have to admit, I chose to read this book based on the title alone! I liked the title and I loved the book. Classic chick-lit. The main character of the book is the LBD (Little Black Dress) of the season. The dress that every woman, no matter her age or size, wants! The dress affects the lives of not only the nine women, but a few men too! If you are looking for an easy read, this book is for you! It made me laugh and smile. A fun read! I can't wait for Jane L. Rosen's next book.

This is an epic love story that spans, not only generations in Australia, but follows them around the world. Yes, it was made into a mini-series in the 1983 (worth watching), but you would be doing yourself a disservice if that is your only exposure to The Thorn Birds.

The main characters in the story are Paris Christie, Cooper McQueen, Tamara Maddox (the Maddox family is the family who owns the Red Thread Bourbon company), and Levi Shelby. The Bourbon Thief is a must read! It's simply captivating and different from many other thrillers I have read. The story focuses on the past and ties it with the present. The author did a spectacular job in making sure we were blown away in everything she wrote. It felt original and the plot was mysterious and romantic. It was mysterious because the Maddox families bourbon company shut down suddenly and no one knows why. Paris wants the bourbon, but why? What does Paris want to hide? I love the third person narrative because I saw each characters view points and the fact that I could read that was already amazing to me.
Reviewer Grade: 12

This book is incredible. It has fascinating characters and a plot that will keep you guessing. My only thing with this book is that there are two inappropriate parts that I was not at all expecting. You can easily see them coming and skip them and if you skip them it does not affect your understanding of the plot or anything. Just skip them, especially younger readers. I have read the Temeraire series (which is the best series in existence) by Naomi Novik and it did not have a single inappropriate part so this surprised me in the novel; however, you should still read this book. After you've read it, you will have forgiven the inappropriate parts (if you're like me and do not like inappropriate parts in books) and truly have enjoyed yourself. Then, when you are done read the Temeraire series because that is even better than Uprooted.

Bella, a regular girl from Phoenix, decides to live with her dad in Forks, WA for the rest of high-school while her mom and step- dad travel for her step- dad's job. When Bella starts to settle down in Forks a strange boy named Edward catches her attention. Who is Edward? And why does he act so strange around Bella? I'd rate this book a 5 out of 1 to 5 because it was romantic, dramatic, and had some action. I could relate to Bella because we both are terrible at sports.
Reviewer Grade: 8

With Valentine defeated and Clary's mother finally awake, things seem to be finally working out. Sadly, nothing's ever as it seems. Jace has been having nightmares where he hurts Clary, and it's put a strain on their relationship. Meanwhile, somebody is out to get Simon, but his mark protects him. Sinister forces are lurking, and it's only a matter of time before the world comes crashing down around them again.

This book was okay. I didn't find myself as drawn to it as I was to the first three. Honestly, it felt like a filler book that was just there to get the series moving along. While it was necessary, it was also boring. It took a while for the action to actually kick off.

Reviewer Grade:12

To revive her mother, Clary must travel to the City of Glass to find the warlock who brewed the potion that put her mother to sleep. When she misses the portal there, she decides to find a way there herself, even though that means breaking the law, which is punishable by death.

Things are finally coming to an end as Valentine uses all of his power to destroy the shadowhunters. Fighting alongside the downworlders may be the only way to save them all, but can the shadowhunters let go of their prejudice against them enough to accept their help? The fate of the world depends on it.

This series has not disappointed me. It was fun to watch as Clary grew as a character and learned to handle herself. While love can be powerful, it can also be dangerous, and this book just goes to prove it.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Clary may have succeeded in rescuing her mother, but things will never go back to normal for her. Her mother is in a magically induced coma, and nobody knows how to wake her up. Her father is an evil sociopath who wants to cleanse the world of demons, downworlders, and anyone who gets in his way. Her brother is under suspicion by the Clave, who thinks that he's a spy. Sadly, though, her family troubles are the least of her worries.

Somebody has been murdering downworlder children. On top of that, the second mortal instrument, the soul-sword, has been stolen. Nobody knows why, but one thing's for certain - whoever it is that's doing this must be stopped.

I loved this book. To be honest, I haven't been this enticed by a book series in ages. I've always been a fan of things involving the supernatural, so this book is perfect for me. Also, the "forbidden love" aspect isn't bad. After the reveal in the previous book, it's been played out well. I like how the author handled it.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Clary Fray is an ordinary girl with an ordinary life. When she goes out to a club, the last thing she expects is to witness a murder, let alone one that only she can see. The next day, her mother disappears and she finds herself thrust into a world that she didn't even know existed. Now, she must find a way to save her mother without jeopardising the fate of the world as well.

I really enjoyed this book. It has the perfect mix of action, romance, and suspense. I found myself completely absorbed in it from start to finish.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Set in the 1930’s and 40’s, Janie is a woman who just wants love. She was raised by her grandmother, but the two did not agree on what Janie’s perfect life should be like. Janie’s grandmother sets Janie up with a man who will take care of her. This is just the beginning, though. As Janie meets more people, she becomes a different person herself. Eventually, she meets Tea Cake, a mere boy to her womanness that swoons her with the love that she’s been searching for all along. Be prepared, though for the teary ending that was bound to happen from the beginning.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Me Before You is a tragically beautiful story about life and peoples will to live in it. After you read this it is impossible to look at life the same as you did before.

Louisa Clark has just lost her job of six years and is desperate to find a new one. She is even desperate enough to work for the Traynor's, a wealthy family whose son, Will, was paralyzed in an motorbike accident two years in advance. She is hired as Will's caretaker, but soon learns that caring for him is easier said then done. Despite his efforts to make her quit, and their constant bickering, she soon grows to like him as they grow closer as companions. When she overhears an argument between his sister and mother, her job, and life, will never be the same.

Seldom books have the power to make me cry, but this book left me bawling (I suggest you stock up on chocolates and tissues in advance). The further you read into the book the more you understand Will's
requests. It leaves you with a different outlook on life, and on love. Moyes does a wonderful job on never letting us really know what to expect. Even though parts of the storyline were slow, and some characters hard to relate to, the books dynamic and plot made up for it.

This book first caught my eye when I saw the new trailer for the movie adaption. The trailer looked so interesting I had to put the book on hold immediately. I am glad I picked up this book, and am looking forward to the movie coming out in June. I highly suggest it for anyone looking for a quick read.

Reviewer Grade: 9

Actual Rating: 4.5

When I first saw the cover and title of this book, I was intrigued. The title of this novel does not reveal much about what the plot was all "about". The main character of the book, Janie, is a woman of mixed race who is trying to find her happiness, which she believes is love. Hurston writes this novel in a way that the readers too, can feel what Janie is feeling, and see what Janie is seeing. Even though this book was written in the 1930's, the topics that pop up are still relevant today, including Feminism. This book may have been predictable at certain times, it was surprising as well. I have never read a novel like this one before. I encourage others to read this book, so they too can experience the journey of Janie's coming of age.

Reviewer Grade: 11