Save Me (Maxton Hall, #1) by Mona Kasten Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Season One of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

The day the season one of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us dropped, I binged the entire thing in one sitting and told all of my friends that they needed to watch it immediately. I was so excited to find out that the books would finally be receiving an English translation, and with the second season releasing this fall, I knew I had begin reading them as the translations are being published. There is always going to be a difference in the true words when translating a book, and I cannot tell if the translation was made in effort resemble Wattpad-style writing, or if it was the author's true intent. It truly had that After series aura to it in the sense that it was addicting to read, but not the best caliber of writing.

As someone who watched the show before reading the book - unfortunately I do not speak German, otherwise I definitely would have read it first - I found that while reading, the television adaptation is surprisingly very accurate to the events of the book. There are little details here and there that were omitted or altered, but the overall essence stays true. Looking at the book and television show as completely separate entities, I found that I enjoyed the characterization of James more in the show compared to his book counterpart. While he does have a decent amount of development in the book, the television show version certainly expands upon the author's original thoughts more in depth.

Ruby truly just wants to mind her own business but is constantly running into drama that she avoids like the plague. It was actually comically how much she was a witness to when she just wanted to get a good reference letter for her Oxford application. She really wanted to be left alone and yet everyone and their mother seemed to have their secrets spilled right in front of her. There were definitely moments when reading that I was getting some major second hand embarrassment from her actions, especially when it came to a certain outburst - I nearly had to put the book down and take a lap around the room. Overall, her character is very driven and knows exactly what she wants, almost to a fault. I do hope she becomes more care-free as the series goes on, because she certainly needs to be able to relax after everything she has been through.

The supporting characters helped move this story along, and Alister quickly became my favorite of the bunch. It was interesting to see his and Ruby's friendship / acquaintance grow throughout the book, considering it was unexpected and usually had James climbing up a wall that they were interacting with one another. Ruby's sister was not a major player in the game and her appearances in the book were nothing to write home about. Lin and Kieran served as Ruby's main friends, with Lin taking first place over Kieran's involvement. Seeing more into James and Lydia's home life really started to flesh them out as characters, and readers are able to understand why both of them have a stand-offish personality that they continue to guard.

For fans of My Fault / Culpa Mía by Mercedes Ron, Save Me opens a whole new world of enemies to lovers that is riddled with societal expectations, internal dilemmas, and the unsteadiness that comes with new love.

You can add Save Me on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

My Life with the Walter Boys (My Life with the Walter Boys, #1) by Ali Novak Review

This is a spoiler-free review! My Life with the Walter Boys is now available to stream on Netflix.

To be completely honest, I watched the Netflix adaptation prior to reading this book, and when I found out that the author is officially writing a sequel, I knew I had to jump on this book before season two or the sequel were available. After Jackie's parents and sister tragically pass away in a car accident, she is forced to move in with her mother's friend and her literal soccer team of boys on a farm. True to my nature, I automatically started rooting for the older, more mysterious brother that is essentially a Conrad Fisher variant living in Colorado. I will always support the older brother in literally any scenario, especially when they are introduced in what is essentially a slow-motion realization.

When Jackie discovers the exact details of her new life -- living with twelve boys -- she is understandably shocked and has a rough introduction to the family. Many of the boys do not give her the warmest welcome, and some are downright wild in their treatment of her, especially Isaac, who is borderline sexually harassing her for a decent portion of the book. If I was her, I would literally lock myself in my room if I had to move from New York to Colorado. The number of twins in this family is absolute insanity -- there is not one, not two, but three sets of twins in this family and I was left just as confused as Jackie when learning everyone's names.

I cannot truly believe Jackie does not own a pair of jeans... surely there was a pair she needed for something... at least a themed party. There are fifteen people in this house now that Jackie has arrived, and yet this entire sports team of a family seems to only have two bathrooms, which is absolutely diabolical -- please build more bathrooms! Jackie does not catch a single break for almost the entire book as this gang of boys literally commit war crimes against her from the second she steps foot on their property. She lost her entire family in one second and they cannot even give her time to settle in before they are torturing her on a daily basis.

Cole... the boy who can do no wrong in my eyes. He is brooding, he is older, and he is absolutely the correct choice for Jackie, no matter how many people insist that Alex is the boy she should choose. Much like Jeremiah from The Summer I Turned Pretty, Alex throws tantrums like no tomorrow when he does not get his way, and is clearly jealous that Cole attracts a lot of attention from everyone, but especially from Jackie. There is quite literally a point in the book where Jackie compares Alex to a puppy... take that as you will.

This book was honestly a blast to read -- as a young adult romance, it keeps the reader entertained while still touching on more serious topics without allowing them to overtake the narrative. I have been in a bit of a reading slump, and this book truly had me getting back into the groove of things with its wholesome story and a fun love triangle. All of the characters acted their ages and the author did not make literal high schoolers act like mature thirty-year-olds, which was refreshing because you expect teenagers to act like teenagers. One thing that did tend to get to me was the fake cursing the brothers would do -- aka "What the fudge" and other childish replacements -- considering multiple characters do not censor themselves.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Netflix adaptation was pretty spot on with the plot and events that occurred in the book when translating it to the screen -- there are obviously some differences and not everything is able to fit in, but the essence of the story is definitely present in the show. Some scenes in the book that I loved did not make the cut in the show, and I can only hope that in season two, they revisit some of these scenes and work them into the plot.

If you are looking for a quick romance read that is a mix of much-loved classic cliches and self discovery, My Life with the Walter Boys is just the book for you. For fans of Float by Kate Marchant, readers will be thrown into a story that is more than romance.

You can add My Life with the Walter Boys on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Summer I Turned Pretty on my blog now!

I decided to dabble in the world of audiobooks, and with It's Not Summer Without You being only six hours long, I figured now was as good a time as any to test out this format. From the very first chapter, Belly is going on and on about her love for Conrad and how much she thinks about him. It is so incredibly obvious that Belly clearly likes one brother more than the other, and despite what all of these Jeremiah girls say, I will be a Conrad defender until the day I die.

Once again I want to preface this review by noting that I have seen both seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime, so there were a few plot points in this book was a surprise to me. There are definitely a decent amount of changes comparing the book to the television series. A lot of chapters in this book were essentially Belly describing a number of parties that she and Taylor attended, and it became repetitive pretty fast.

While the flashback chapters were a nice reminder of the memories Belly and everyone has of the summer house, most of the stories were lowkey describing moments where Belly was getting in trouble or Jeremiah and Conrad were being yelled at by their annoying dad who seemed to care more about a blender than his own children.

Suffering through the Jeremiah perspective chapters... I feel like I have been held hostage. His chapters truly felt as though he was giving an exact play by play of even single interaction he had -- I could not feel the emotion behind his thoughts. For the majority of his chapters, he was throwing himself a pity party because every single time he looked at Belly, she was looking at Conrad, and vice versa. Jeremiah is so focused on the fact that Belly and Conrad are totally not over one another that he is completely blind to the fact that he will always be second place to his brother.

Belly is immature to say the least, and her constant whining about Conrad (though I would be crying over him too) was incredibly annoying. She was basically judging everyone's decisions in this book and did not see any issues with herself, always painting herself in the right. When she argues with a number of characters, she somehow always ends up as the victim and is angry with anyone who tries to make her see straight. I understand that she was going through a lot, but she definitely needs to have some more compassion for other characters.

There really was not too much side character involvement in this book compared to the first one -- we see Belly's mom and Mr. Fisher, and Taylor through a few interactions and phone calls, but it truly centers around Belly and to my dismay, Jeremiah. Belly's chapters are the majority perspective, with Jeremiah's making a few guest appearances throughout this installment. I do wish there was more of an ensemble feel to the story -- I found myself missing Steven, and as annoying as she was, it would have been nice to see Taylor more often if she got her attitude in check.

This series still holds true to me that it reads on the younger side of young adult -- Belly is definitely growing and learning to understand her feelings, but she continues to make me agitated when it comes to her decision making. Also, why do they not have cell phones? These books were definitely published when teenagers had cell phones, so the constant Conrad calling Belly on the house phone was not my favorite detail.

The weather has been getting nicer and now that flowers are starting to bloom, this was a great choice to get me into the spring and summer spirit. Overall, the general message of the story is prominent and the reader certainly does not forget why all of these characters are acting out of their normal personalities, and hopefully character growth is upon them all for the final book. Even with the qualms I have with the characters, this series is quick to move through and while this installment is certainly a little darker than the first, it has that nice summer feel to it that makes you want to go on a walk.

You can add It's Not Summer Without You on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1) by Jenny Han Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

As a preface, I have seen both seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Prime Video before reading this book, so I knew what I was getting myself into from the start. I still cannot get over the fact that our main character's nickname is Belly -- if that was me and someone decided that Isabel needed to be shortened to Belly, I would go insane. 

I am a Team Conrad girlie for life -- no amount of convincing could ever make me change my mind and end up rooting for Jeremiah. That boy is always up to something and only became interested in Belly when he realized that Conrad was into her, because he has this weird urge to one up Conrad on getting into a relationship with Belly, even though it is obvious that Conrad has been in love with her for years.

Jeremiah is one of the most pick-me boys I have read in fiction, neck in neck with Mal from Shadow and Bone, and continued to annoy me throughout the entire book. He never really looked after Belly, he would only become protective after Conrad would protect her. He and Belly may have had one or two semi-cute moments, but they were brief and I spent the entire time begging them to end. He was more oblivious and not present in the book compared to season one of the show in my opinion -- I actually enjoyed him more in the show.

Taylor throughout her time in the book was something so incredibly agitating to me and it was solely because she was giving me whiplash every other page. One minute she is telling Belly that she likes Conrad, and then two chapters later she is completely over that and now is interested in Jeremiah. It felt irrelevant to have her mention to Belly that she was interested in both of the boys, especially when it was obvious that Belly was definitely struggling with her feelings.

I high-key felt bad for Cam throughout the entire book -- he could tell that Belly was not really into him as much as she was into Conrad, and the way that she treated him was more like a placeholder than a boyfriend. Belly may have been battling her emotions over Conrad and Jeremiah, but she basically used Cam as a pawn during the summer to make them jealous and then continued to deny it for nearly three months.

The "flashback" chapters definitely aided the story's development regarding helping readers understand how Belly felt about the boys since she was younger, but I found myself getting bored of essentially reading the same scenario of how she would feel left out when Steven, Jeremiah, and Conrad would exclude her from things, only to have Jeremiah or Conrad find her later and "make up" for it with a two minute conversation. I wish we got to see more summer romance in the second half of the book with either of the boys (preferably Conrad) rather than Cam, but I can imagine that will be in store for the rest of the series.

It was incredibly obvious that Conrad was really going through something, and even though Belly acknowledges to herself multiple times, she still treated him horribly when she did not get her way. She basically expects him to confess his undying love for her just because she finally decided that she was ready to acknowledge her feelings after nearly six years of falling for him.

Belly seemed to exchange all of her brain cells to get tan over the summer, because that girl was not using a drop of common sense the entire book, and she sounded very self-centered for the majority of the story, making her as a main character insufferable at times. There was so much back and forth with Belly on who she liked... Jeremiah in one chapter and then Conrad two pages later because he glanced at her for two seconds... back to Jeremiah because he wanted to go to the boardwalk too... Belly girl, stand up!!!

This is a super quick read that is perfect to get you back into that summer mindset as we make our way further into fall. It certainly was a good choice to read over a rainy weekend, and it was a light read that can pull you out of a reading slump. I was a big fan of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy back in high school, so it was nice to revisit a fun little romance.

You can add The Summer I Turned Pretty on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!