Almost Everything by Tate Hallaway

Title: Almost Everything
Author: Tate Hallaway
Series: Vampire Princess novel # 3
Publisher: NAL Trade (February 7, 2012)
Length: 320 pages
Source: Amazon.com
Format: paperback

Description from Goodreads:

Whoever said vacations were relaxing?

To say half-vampire, half-witch Ana Parker has boy trouble is putting it lightly—something her text messaging bill can attest to. Her rocker ex-boyfriend Nikolai is trying to heat things up again, and high school hockey star Mathew wants her to try out with him for the Renaissance Festival. At least her sort-of boyfriend Elias isn’t hounding her cell—considering the vampire knight is currently living in her basement.

Ever since her father banished Elias and Ana from the court of the Northern vampires, Ana has been trying to live a normal life. But when the Prince of the Southern Region vampires informs Ana that they’re on the brink of war and she accidentally offers up Elias as a peace offering, the princess knows that she’s going to need some help to get out of the situation.

With Ana’s boy drama meter hitting an all time high, summer in St. Paul is heating up for all the wrong reasons ...

My Thoughts:

Almost Everything picks up where Almost Final Curtain left off. ana has to contend with her conflicting worlds of vampires and witches, all while trying to figure out which of her many guys she wants to be with. Should she pick Nik the uber sexy rock 'n' roll witch, the chivalrous vampire living in her basement Elias, or the former enemy jock turned theatre buddy Thompson? By the end of the story I still hadn't decided who I wanted her to be with. Some people might say that three guys liking her is a little excessive and it kind of is, but I liked it. This installment was more action packed and drama filled than the previous one. The ever present dilemma that Ana and her friends have to solve was heavier and more life threatening than usual. She grew as a character and come into her own person in Almost Everything. Another side of her mom, dad, Thompson, Nik, and especially Elias is shown. Readers are able to learn a lot more about the background of Elias and Thompson as well as getting a taste of other vampire colonies ( is that the right word?). I loved how Tate continued to build this extremely unique take on vampires and witches.
     There isn't really anything I wish was different with the book. I just wish that Bea had been more present. There's just something about her bitchiness that makes her a favorite. Lastly, lets talk about the cover. What happened? The first two were so pretty with the white backgrounds and contrasting clothes and hair. This one is definitely not my favorite. Not only does it not look the same they don't even have the same textures. Maybe I'm just picky, but I'm upset they don't match.
     I am a huge fan of Tate Hallaway and a huge fan of this series. All I can say is that PLEASE let there be a fourth book. With the ending I'm not sure if there is or isn't. I give this book a 4 STAR rating.

***Check out Tate Hallaway's Garnet Lacey series. It is an adult series, but I believe it has cross over appeal for older teens and fans of Tate's and YA in general. I personally like The Garnet Lacey series better.

You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry of Love in High School by Rachel Vail

You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry of Love in High School by Rachel Vail

Josie isn’t and never has been one of the popular crowd. She has Tru, Zandra, and Michael, her best friends. The only people she could ever need. Josie and Michael along with a few other guys are makeout buddies. It never means anything more. Josie has no desire to lose herself in a relationship. One day the Golden Boy, Carson, starts paying attention to her. Will he change her mind about relationships or just change her?

I try to give every story a fair chance. I hate to be mean and give a book a bad review, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.  After saying this I must confess that I HATED this book.  I know high school teens are hormonal and change their minds every day, but I left my teens about three years ago and still live with two teens; 15 and 17 and this book was just off. It was almost as if the main character suffered from mood swings or had a really bad case of month long PMS. She had what I would call a psychotic break with stalker tendencies. None of the other characters were any better. My favorite was her mom who didn’t want anything to do with her, but change her. I completely understand the feeling.  I normally try to find something redeemable about a book, but I couldn’t find one in You, Maybe. If you want to read a short book about a dysfunctional teen, with swiftly changing, nonsensical emotions that defy logic, be my guest. I have seen some good reviews about this authors other books, and I’ll give them a try. A horrible book does not a horrible author make. I give this a 1 ½ STAR rating.

***You, Maybe Extras***

You, Maybe by Rachel Vail has approximately 224 pages and was published on June 26, 2007 by Harper Teen.

Falling in Love with English Boys: A Novel by Melissa Jensen

Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen

Cat is going on what some might consider the trip of a lifetime. Cat and her (s)mother are going to spend 10 weeks over the summer in England! Many would ask why this is a bad thing, well here are the reasons; she is 16 and old enough to stay on her own, her mom won’t let her stay with her grandma, her soon to be stepmonster needs her dad’s guest bedroom for wedding plans, she has no friends in England, they have weird TV shows, different magazines, and different chocolate. It’s not like she and her mom will be going sight-seeing, shopping, and to parties, no they are there for research. Her mom is doing research on some woman from a long time ago, that no one has heard of, and no one cares about. For some reason her (s)mother thinks Cat will be interested in reading the diary of Katherine, the daughter of her research subject. (S)Mother thinks she needs to get out of her depressing funk, so she asks the hot English descendent of the research subject, whom if you squint just right and tilt your head, kind of looks like Orlando Bloom. The thing is Cat can’t tell if he’s hanging out with her because her mom suggested it and he’s trying to be nice, or he just feels obligated. Luckily, she makes some awesome gal pals here in Jolly Ol’ England. Follow Cat’s blogs to her friends as she navigates her way through England and learns that sometimes no matter how far in the past some things never change.

Falling in Love with English Boys: A Novel by Melissa Jensen was a pretty good book. It alternates between Cat’s voice and her blogs to Katherine’s diary entries. I don’t know how I would feel if I found myself in England, but Cat seemed kind of like a whiner and very shallow. Maybe it’s just the history buff in me seeing the missed opportunity. Katherine, in her diary entries was shallow, but I enjoyed her best. Her view on the balls, social politics, and relationships of the era were fascinating. It is interesting to think on how little the emphasis on women finding a mate today has changed. As for the friends Cat makes, I can’t make up my mind about them. The main one Elizabeth seems to hate Americans with a passion, but thinks Cat is ok because she likes Al Gore?  And they become bffs? Something just doesn’t click with that. I know I would get tired of hearing how “stupid” us “yanks” are. I have to admit I found her friends more interesting than she was. I am a sucker for all of that British slang and vulgarity. As for Cat’s blog posts, I know I’m being picky here, but her constant usage of “thang” and “sez” killed me. She’s from Philadelphia, do they talk like that? I guess it was to spice up the blog entries. There are other things I could harp on, such as how fast she is able to pick up the British slang herself and use it without hesitation, but I won’t. The ending was ok, but I think it should have been fleshed out a little more to better wrap everything up. I felt like I was left hanging and thinking, “I read all of that for this ending?”  Enough complaining, all in all, this was a cute and short book. If you are looking for a fast and shallow read, go for it. I give this book a 2 ½ STAR rating.

***Falling in Love with English Boys Extras***

Falling in Love with English Boys: A Novel by Melissa Jensen has approximately 304 pages and was published on December 23, 2010 by Speak.