XOXO by. Axie Oh | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: XOXO

Author: Axie Oh

Format: eBook (own)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 7/13/21

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Teen, K-Pop, Music

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

Bought this one on a whim because it the ebook was on sale for $1.99 on Amazon and I was craving a light hearted, cute romance and this one delivered.

Girl meets boy and off in Los Angeles and then off to South Korea we go! I love that this mostly took place in South Korea, the author did a great job transporting my mind there. Jenny can handle herself in South Korea pretty well because she’s taken Korean language courses since she was young. I like that she’s independent, talented and she’s nice. Jaewoo is a member of rising K-Pop group XOXO and he’s what girls dream the perfect boy to be: gorgeous, talented, charming, responsible, follows the rules and a super star. The two hit it off in the most innocent way possible and when Jenny moves to South Korea and coincidentally to the school Jaewoo goes to – it’s hard for them to fight their attraction.

There are some family issues discussed in this book, especially with the issue of responsibility. Jaewoo is his family’s breadwinner – anything he does in public could jeopardize his career. Jenny is trying to reach her goals and get into her top choice music school and be a cellist. Her mom tells her the only path to succeed is no distractions (no friends, and especially no boyfriends). Yet Jenny finally finds out the truth about her mom and grandma’s strained relationship.

The romance is so super cute and sweet, I usually like some fighting and angst in romances but this was adorable. I felt like they gave each other enough space – Jenny was making new friends at her school and Jaewoo being in a k-pop group had many things to do with school and the group. I can’t say there was too much drama except the usual – how does a k-pop star date a normal girl? So even their little moment of a break-up it was short-lived.

Fun side characters like XOXO member, Nathaniel. I liked Jenny’s new friends also.

Content Warnings: bullying

I’d like to see this one as a k-drama, it would be so good!

Jaewoo remained the perfect boy in this story – would have like to see him break more rules like Nathaniel haha but everyone has their own role in the group it seemed and Jaewoo was the mysterious, song writer. Speaking of Nathaniel…do we get a book on him? Because I’d read it! Actually make one for each of the other guys in the group also haha.

I’m not a huge k-pop fan, I only know the popular ones like Black Pink and BTS (of course) so for me I thought it was fascinating learning about how they audition to be in a group and then how they are marketed. This becomes their lives and way of supporting their families so it’s a big deal!

Why you should read it:

super cute, forbidden romance between a K-pop star and a Korean-American girl
relatable issues about family responsibilities
a fun, quick, light romance

Why you might not want to read it:

not into the pop star and regular girl trope

My thoughts:

This one made me feel happy at the end and that’s what I really needed so it hit the mark for me. Would have love to see Jaewoo be a little imperfect but hey for what this story was about, he and Jenny were perfect for one another. XOXO had a good combination of friendship, family, romance and fun. I look forward to reading more from this author.

📚 ~ Yolanda

WWW Wednesday | 12/15/21

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What’s on your WWW Wednesday? Or what are you reading this week? ~ Yolanda

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 12/14/21

Happy book birthday to this week’s new releases!

He’s cosplaying as her boyfriend but their feelings for each other are real in this romantic comedy from Seressia Glass.

Sometimes Kenya Davenport believes she was switched at the hospital–how else could a lover of anime, gaming, and cosplay come from STEM parents? Still, Kenya dreams of being able to turn her creative hobby into a career. She finally has a chance to make it big when she joins the reality show competition Cosplay or No Way.

There’s just one catch: the challenge for the final round is all about iconic pairs, and the judges want the contestants’ significant others to participate. Unfortunately, Kenya is as single as can be at the moment. Luckily her best friend, Cameron Lassiter, agrees to be her fake boyfriend for the show.
Roleplaying a couple in love will force them to explore what they’re hiding under the mask of friendship. Can Kenya and Cam fake it until she makes it, or will she be real about her feelings, knowing it could cost her the best friend she’s ever had?

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the “dangerously, darkly gorgeous” (Cassandra Clare) Curse Workers trilogy, now together in one beautiful bind-up!

Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of curse workers, people who have the power to change emotions, memories, and luck with the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re also all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists, but not Cassel. He doesn’t have magic, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family—except for the small detail that he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two older brothers, who are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s an unwitting pawn in a huge con game, he must unravel his past, and his memories. To find the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

This magical bind-up includes:
White Cat
Red Glove
Black Heart

What are you looking forward to getting this week? ~ Yolanda

Books on My Winter 2021 To-read List | Top Ten Tuesday | 12/14/21

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Books on My Winter 2021 To-read List

I feel like all I’m doing in winter 2021 is playing catch-up. The only “new” reads I have are arcs that are being published in 2022 but everything else are still titles that came out earlier in 2021 that I’m trying to finish. So let’s see what I hope to finish this winter…

What is on your TBR list for winter 2021?

~ Yolanda

When You Get the Chance by. Emma Lord | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: When You Get the Chance

Author: Emma Lord

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 1/4/22

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

Emma Lord has lately become a must read author for me. I enjoy her young adult contemporary stories very much! This book cover totally grabbed me with the colors and when I saw it was an Emma Lord book, I had to request it.

This one is for the broadway lovers. I love broadway shows but Millie Price LOVES broadway because her dream is to be a Broadway star – and this girl is not taking no for an answer. Millie is bold, vivacious and just so full of energy – her character pops off the page. Millie takes an intern job but she has an ulterior motive – she’s trying to find her mom. Yes…this is definitely like the broadway show Mamma Mia!, except instead of finding a dad, she tries to find her mom and has three candidates in mind because yes….she read her dad’s journal. Ha! I thought it was fitting.

The romance between Millie and Oliver is really cute. Oliver can’t quite stand Millie and vice versa but they are thrown together for the internship. It takes some time but the relationship grows into a truce, a friendship and then something much more. By the end I was invested in their relationship.

Millie’s search for her mom is the main part of the story and I thought the reveal was great and emotional. Not in that there were tears and what not between them, but there are a lot of revelations and a lot that Millie learned about her dad, her aunt, her bio mom and herself.

It took me awhile to get into this one and I can’t pinpoint why. It might be that I wasn’t in a Broadway kind of mood? I love Mamma Mia! and broadway but for some reason I couldn’t connect to Millie at first. But I’m glad I kept reading – I’m just bummed that I was struggling to get into the story because in the end, I did enjoy the second half of the book!

Why you should read it:

you love theater and broadway
a cute romance
reverse gender Mamma Mia!

Why you might not want to read it:

you don’t care for broadway
slow first half of the book

My Thoughts:

This one is not my favorite Emma Lord book but if you can get past the slow first half, it finishes off strongly with emotion and romance.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Dream Collaborations | #SixforSunday | 12/12/21

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to post what my dream collaborations would be or who are already dream collaborators in the book world. So I just went with the later and chose books already written by duos or trios.

#SixforSunday is… it’s really just that. You choose 6 books (normally) that you’d choose to fit whatever the prompt is that week. This meme is hosted by A Little but a Lot and you can follow the link to find the prompts for October to December.

This week’s topic:

Dream Collaborations

This two author team are amazing!

I’ve enjoyed this series that these two authors have made together. Hopefully they make more together.

I haven’t finished this one yet, but book one was pretty good!

I haven’t read this series yet but I’ve seen it everywhere and heard many good things!

I’ve only read this book from this sister duo but I enjoyed it a lot!

This is one I saw everywhere for awhile but I never did pick it up even though it did intrigue me.

**So what are your dream collaborations? Leave me a comment below!

Here is the schedule for December and go to A Little but a lot for more info!

December – Christmas wishes

5 – Red/Green books
12 – Dream collaborations
19 – Books you wish for under your Christmas tree
26 – Favourite books of 2021

Weekly Wrap Up | 12/12/21

Aloha friends!

It rained and poured in Hawaii the beginning of this week. The wind was whipping my house Sunday night and the next morning there were uprooted trees, many fallen tree branches, leaves, petals…it was kind of a mess. It rained all day Monday – we haven’t had rained like this even during the hurricane watches we had the past few years. So this week the island was all about getting power up to those who lost it, cleaning up and drying up.

Another thing we are dealing with here in the islands? The Navy’s fuel tank storage from WWII is leaking into the water wells. 😡 It has contaminated the water in the Navy housing community, with people getting sick and now the rest of the public is wondering if our whole system could get contaminated. It’s a mess and very concerning. Our water is okay in our neighborhood but for the areas affected, I hope they do the right thing to fix the situation.

Anyway that was my week – how was yours?

Blog Posts This Week:

Books I Read:

Currently Reading:

Shows I’ve Watched:

Nothing this week!

Music I’ve Listened To:

Just Dance 2022 – my son keeps replaying Mr. Blue Sky by. The Sunlight Shakers and Happier Than Ever by. Billie Eilish, so that’s what I keep hearing lol
Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift – because we had torrential rain for 2 days and it matched my mood.

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you hated? lol…Leave me a comment below!

💖 ~ Yolanda

The Upside of Falling by. Alex Light | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Upside of Falling

Author: Alex Light

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 2/18/20

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Fake Dating, Young Adult, Teen

It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.

Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse.

Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?

This is a very light young adult romance book. I think the writing is more for teens than young adults with some cursing here and there (not a lot).

It’s a typical fake dating scenario: Becca is pretty unknown on campus, she loves losing herself in romance books (even though she is a cynic about real life love) and Brett is the star football player so they decide to get together for their own reasons – not very serious reasons, but they seem to think fake dating would be a good idea.

Becca doesn’t believe in love because her parents got divorced. Brett believes in marriage and true love because his parents have the perfect one – or so it seems. This is the only time the book gets heavy when Brett finds out his perfect life isn’t so perfect. Also Becca deals with some issues about her dad and his new family as well. In this aspect, Becca and Brett had each other for support, dealing with the mistakes of their parents.

As a couple, I thought Becca and Brett were cute and somewhat innocent about dating. Neither of them have dated before so they take things really slow. I like that they become friends, even as they are fake-dating, before admitting their feelings had grown.

Content Warnings: cheating, divorce

One thing that I thought was cheesy was Brett always pouting haha – I guess some girls would find that cute. It made me feel like I was too old to be reading this story, probably because I am! lol…but I read it anyway, it’s nice to reminisce.

Becca and Brett did get along very well, even if she was new to being in the spotlight or a fake relationship. I think they got together on the fake-dating plan way too quick – there was no real lead up and bam, they agree it’s a good idea. It would’ve been nice if that scene was developed a bit more because Becca and Brett weren’t exactly strangers to one another, but they had no history with one another at all. I can’t say I connected to either of them but the parental issues are very relatable.

The story is predictable and doesn’t have any big surprises. The story is short, under 300 pages, so I finished this rather quickly.

Why you should read it:

very quick, cute, light teen romance
fake-dating
relatable issues

Why you might not want to read it:

predictable, nothing that stands out
more for teens than young adults or adults

My thoughts:

There isn’t much that makes it stand out but I did like that Becca and Brett each had different family issues to deal with. The fake-dating part was easy compared to the family drama, which was sad to see for both of them. But the problems sort of work themselves out in their own different ways and Becca and Brett are stronger because of it. If you like a light contemporary romance with a fake-dating trope that’s under 300 pages then you will fly through this one.

📚 ~ Yolanda

First Lines Fridays | 12/9/21

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

“Once upon a time, on the coldest night of midwinter, in the darkest heart of the forest, Death and Fortune came to a crossroads.”

Can you guess what book it is?

Did you guess it? I just started this one and already I’m loving it. Have you read this one?

📖 ~ Yolanda

Vespertine by. Margaret Rogerson | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Vespertine (#1)

Author: Meghan Quinn

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 10/05/21

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Spirits, Saints, Magic

The dead of Loraille do not rest.

Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past.

When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.

As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.

I love the world building with the nuns (Gray Sisters) and other clergy wielding relics that contain spirits in them. The story gave me a sense that the setting was in some place that resembled France in a time when the clergy was in power, game me Joan of Arc vibes at times. We learn about how the relics, spirits and revenants (spirits) are used and contained. There is also some history about the spirits as well and information about their ranking or order. The spirits are listed in order in the book if you get confused, I only saw it at the end of the book but it is helpful! There was a good amount of action in this story and the story moved quickly.

Artemisia is not an open character at first. She comes off as someone who wants to be alone and not good in social situations. People think she is different because of her past and how she survived being possessed by an ashgrim. It left her with burned scars on her hands, a tendency to not want to be close to people and with a high tolerance to handling a relic. When things take a turn for the worst she is entrusted with the care of a relic that holds a highly powered revenant and she has no training with it whatsoever. But she trusts her instincts and for the most part she finds ways to work with her revenant to help defeat other spirits. Also she learns how to let others in to help her when things get too tough.

Her revenant, Rathanael, is mean, grouchy but hilarious. At least, he was funny to me even as he was berating and insulting Artemisia every chance he could get. Their partnership is unconventional but they are perfect for one another.

Leander was poised as a villain but we don’t understand his motivations until way later in the book. He is a very private guy as well and it was hard to get a good read on him in the beginning other than him trying to control Artemisia. Is there a potential for a romance there? I’m not sure. This whole book didn’t have any romance in it but I felt like it hinted at something between Leander and Artemisia. We shall see.

Content Warnings: self harm, violence, death, PTSD, anxiety

It took me a few days to get through the first chapter because I needed to get into a nun mood? If that makes sense haha! But once I grasped what was going on and was immersed into the world-building, I found my bearings. I will say it can get confusing with the relics and revenants and unfamiliar terms, so use the spirit order/ranking list in the book.

There is no romance, and I was hoping for some but it was okay without too. The main relationship is between Artemisia and her revenant and it’s pretty entertaining.

Why you should read it:

fascinating world building
lots of action with nuns, soldiers, and knights trying to fight spirits
good character growth

Why you might not want to read it:

sometimes confusing, with the ranking or classification of spirits, unless you keep checking the list
nuns fighting spirits isn’t appealing to you 🤷🏻‍♀️

My thoughts:

Once I got into the story I was hooked and love the world-building (might be the Catholic upbringing in me). I enjoyed Artemisia’s growing, if reluctant, relationship with her revenant. I found them entertaining. I’m also interested to see where book two goes and if Leander comes back into the story a changed man! I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

📚 ~ Yolanda